Chapter 38

Inside the prison made of ice and roots.

Wendigo woke up from a long, long sleep.

‘… I’m not sure how much time has passed.’

Thinking of the boar incident, at least 1 month, or up to 2 months might have passed.

Wendigo looked around the prison. He was still wearing the root collar, and the prison maintained its original form without collapsing.

However, not everything was unchanged. Wendigo looked at the talisman attached to the root collar.

It was a talisman to repel evil energy.

‘Seems Skadi has been managing it.’

For such a talisman to be placed, quite some time must have passed.

As he slowly moved his body, Wendigo’s stiffened body creaked and screamed.

Tearing off the talisman attached to the collar, Wendigo slowly got up and…

“This is where Wendigo-nim is sleeping. After facing the evil spirit, he’s now in deep slumber…”

“Aaaaah!!! The, the corpse is moving!”

“……”

Wendigo, who was about to express his joy at seeing Skadi entering the prison, froze at the sight of the woman screaming beside her.

The woman was so shocked that her eyes rolled back and she fainted. Wendigo looked at the woman with an incredulous gaze.

“Wendigo-nim. You’ve finally awakened!”

“It’s good to see you, Skadi. You must have had a hard time protecting me.”

“Not at all. Assisting Wendigo-nim is my job and my joy. More importantly, are you alright?”

At Skadi’s question, Wendigo observed his own body.

The mystery flowing through his body was still overflowing, but its nature had changed somehow.

‘The mystery feels deeper… and more stable.’

The mystery of wildness seemed to have good compatibility with Wendigo. He had felt this sensation when absorbing the boar’s core, but this time it was more special.

A sense of fulfillment, as if things that should have existed from the beginning were now filled.

It felt like the absorbed cores had become gears, meshing stably with each other.

“It’s quite good. I’m not sure exactly what has improved, but I feel certain that I’ve become stronger than before.”

“Your efforts have paid off, Wendigo-nim. I’m so glad.”

“Yes… But is it alright not to wake that woman?”

Wendigo asked, pointing at the woman he had been trying to ignore.

The reason for the woman’s fainting was easy to guess. If his appearance made even warriors tremble in fear, how terrifying must it have been for a woman?

Skadi looked down at the woman for a moment, then lowered her posture. Surely the kind-hearted Skadi would help her up…

Slap!

“Wake up!”

“…?”

Wendigo, who hadn’t expected her to slap the fainted woman’s cheek, stared blankly at Skadi.

It was enough to make him wonder if he was seeing things due to Oneton tampering with his core, albeit very slightly.

However, as Skadi slapped her cheek again, he realized it wasn’t an illusion.

‘… Did Oneton’s temperament somehow transfer to Skadi while I was unconscious?’

At least when he absorbed the boar, nothing like this had happened…

Wendigo approached Skadi, intending to stop her.

“Skadi. Has she perhaps done something wrong?”

“Huh? She hasn’t done anything wrong in particular.”

“… Then couldn’t you wake her up in a gentler way?”

“Ah!”

As Skadi seemed to understand, Wendigo felt relieved. It seemed she hadn’t gone through puberty while he was unconscious.

However, Skadi didn’t stop slapping the cheek. She explained the reason while gently slapping.

“I don’t like using such violent methods to wake her up either, but I have no choice. There are quite a few people who want to visit this place!”

“Wait. What do you mean there are quite a few people who want to visit? What…”

“S-stop. Skadi-nim, please stop slapping! I’m awake. I’m awake, I tell you!”

As the slapped woman shouted, Skadi stopped and stepped back.

The woman frowned, rubbing her stinging cheek. Sensing her scent, Wendigo was perplexed.

For someone who had received an unexpected slap, she exuded quite a bit of goodwill and respect.

Unless the woman had some peculiar tastes, there must be some reason for this.

“Skadi. Why is this woman here?”

“Well… It’s quite a long story. Is that alright?”

‘If it’s a long story, I’d like to skip it because it’s troublesome, but it’s awkward to say that because of her eyes.’

Looking at him with sparkling eyes was almost cheating.

How could he refuse when he could imagine how disappointed she would be?

“It’s fine, tell me. I need to know what happened while I was unconscious.”

“Yes! Well then, let’s see…”

Skadi smiled brightly and began to speak.

---

Skadi was fundamentally diligent. Not only due to the attitude towards life she learned from her mother, but her nature was far from laziness.

Befitting such a person, as soon as she learned that Wendigo had lost consciousness in the self-made prison, she took action.

She gathered people and informed them of Wendigo’s condition.

“Oneton, was it? It seems Wendigo-nim has fallen into a slumber to prevent the curse left by the evil spirit called Oneton.”

“My goodness… Shaman-nim. Is that true?”

“Are you doubting Wendigo-nim!!!”

“No, absolutely not! I just thought a spirit wouldn’t do such a thing…”

No one could argue with Skadi’s words. Not only those who followed Wendigo, but also the warriors of the Blue Mane tribe.

Who would dare to contradict the shaman serving Wendigo, who had overwhelmingly slaughtered the hateful Oneton?

Naturally, the thought ‘Wendigo-nim is different from other spirits!’ settled in their minds.

The same was true for Jaken. No, rather, he had been favorable towards Wendigo from the start.

From anyone’s perspective, Wendigo was clearly on the good side, and he even forgave the warriors’ sins.

Recognizing him as the de facto leader, Skadi made a proposal to him.

“Wendigo-nim doesn’t hold much grudge against the Blue Mane tribe. So if you’re not thinking of returning to the plains, how about joining us? Wendigo-nim would be pleased.”

“That’s…”

Although Jaken wasn’t the official chief of the Blue Mane tribe, he was practically the chief in all but name.

With Lektar’s death, the lineage was cut off, and all those higher in rank than Jaken had died, so whether he liked it or not, becoming chief was the natural course of action.

Jaken’s deliberation ended in just a day.

“We, the Blue Mane tribe, will follow the spirit-nim.”

“A wise choice. There are few as rewarding to serve as Wendigo-nim.”

Having been driven from the plains, they couldn’t return without gaining strength.

In such a situation, with warriors dead, the chief dead, and even their spirit lost, Jaken didn’t have many choices.

Among those limited options, choosing Wendigo was the best choice Jaken could make.

However, even with justification, the massacre of the Blue Mane tribe was still a massacre, so some desertion couldn’t be prevented.

Skadi found this somewhat regrettable but didn’t worry too much. After all, the core wasn’t all that Wendigo had gained from this war.

“Since Wendigo-nim has confined himself, rebuild the village centered around that place!”

“Who are the craftsmen in the Blue Mane tribe? It would be good to have someone skilled in metallurgy or construction.”

“Shall we talk about ‘The Oath of Wendigo-nim and the Nameless Warrior’ today?”

Many tribes chose to follow Wendigo, and Skadi, who had gained new skills and knowledge through the Blue Mane tribe, worked hard.

She arranged a new village layout centered around the village with the temple and where Wendigo had lost consciousness.

To supplement the lacking technology of the forest people, she threatened… no, persuaded the craftsmen of the Blue Mane tribe.

She told stories to leave a good impression of Wendigo on the newly joined people.

Thanks to her painstaking efforts, the forest quickly stabilized.

The reason for her efforts wasn’t anything grand.

‘This should be enough to receive praise from Wendigo-nim!’

It was pure if you call it pure, and madness if you call it madness. But it wasn’t a way that harmed others, so wasn’t it fine?

Thus, she spared no effort while waiting for the day Wendigo would wake up.

Bringing the slapped woman was also one of her efforts to expound on Wendigo’s greatness.

---

“It’s impressive that you accomplished so much alone.”

“Ahaha… I didn’t do everything alone. Mr. Geron helped, and Mr. Jaken helped persuade the craftsmen.”

Realizing that it could sound like self-praise depending on how it was heard, Skadi blushed and answered humbly.

Wendigo looked at her admiringly. Even if others had helped, it was still an impressive feat.

To put it bluntly, if she hadn’t taken the lead, could the people have built a village and united?

Wendigo thought absolutely not.

‘… I should let the scolding about the bone helmets slide.’

Her dedication was too weighty to scold her for such things. Even Wendigo himself wasn’t confident he could have done so much.

For capable companions, the carrot is usually more effective than the stick.

“Skadi. If there’s anything you want, tell me. If it’s something I can do, I’ll grant you one wish.”

Flinch.

Skadi swallowed hard and looked at Wendigo. How could she not have wishes for Wendigo?

Rather, as a shaman, she had many things she could receive from Wendigo.

‘A necklace made from Wendigo-nim’s nail clippings… No. Should I ask for some fur to make a bracelet?’

Whatever it was, as one serving Wendigo, she absolutely couldn’t give up (?) on it!

Skadi made a difficult decision and answered energetically.

“If it’s alright, your hand…”

“Skadi-nim. Skadi-nim! Are you alright! It’s been an hour already! Please answer!”

“……”

Wendigo realized today that people could curse without speaking.

As Skadi’s eyes flashed dangerously, the woman who had been rubbing her cheek approached Wendigo with a shrill scream.

She thought Wendigo could calm Skadi’s anger.

‘I’m glad she’s not afraid, but… it’s a bit sad that she fears Skadi.’

Wendigo tapped the woman’s shoulder with his claw to calm her. Seeing this, Skadi glared at the woman with jealous eyes.

The woman trembled with indignation and fear. If she said the wrong thing here, Skadi might…

“Skadi. Though it’s a bit noisy outside, we can continue our conversation if you’d like.”

At Wendigo’s words, Skadi was tempted but soon shook her head. She was too diligent to just ignore it.

“No. No matter how happy I am, it’s my fault for forgetting that people are waiting outside. Let’s talk about this next time when Wendigo-nim is comfortable.”

‘Being too diligent is also a problem.’

As Skadi drooped her shoulders in disappointment, Wendigo inwardly vowed to compensate her. Such things needed to be taken care of by the one giving the reward.

As Skadi left the prison first, Wendigo followed her outside.