episode_0390

***

The saber-toothed tiger’s sharp teeth dug into his shoulder. My vision was momentarily interrupted by an eerie sensation running to the top of my head.

If I had made the slightest mistake in giving up my shoulder instinctively, my entire neck would have been bitten off and I would have been rolling around in the snow.

The blood welled up and soaked the snowy field.

Tough grass will grow after drinking the blood that seeps into the earth.

She thought.

Suddenly, my legs lost their strength and my knees fell to the ground.

His body was shaking, so it seemed like he had lost a lot of blood.

I touch the ground with my weak arms.

She thought that the way she was crawling around was really ugly.

Finding a suitable rock to rest on, she leaned back against the smooth part.

As I got into a half-lying position, the sky without a single cloud came into view.

Unlike the high blue sky and peaceful scenery, the ground was filled with nothing but blood, sweat, and heavy breathing.

I feel dizzy. The feeling of exhaustion after a breathless fight and the dizzy feeling that comes from losing blood came together.

Rushing into the saber-toothed tiger was a mistake made by Manyong,

Giving the shoulder to the saber-toothed tiger was a fatal wound caused by insufficient skill.

After spending her seventeenth winter, she rummaged through her arms.

The medicine cabinet containing the hemostatic medication was not visible, as if it had fallen during the fight.

“Ah.”

Only then did death become a reality.

He died holding a saber-toothed tiger, so it wouldn’t be an dishonorable death.

If you do well, you may be able to get one more tattoo on your dead body.

Thinking about that made me laugh.

Tattoos, yes. It’s a tattoo.

Looking at the size of the saber-toothed tiger, it must have been the largest among the children who participated in the coming-of-age ceremony.

If he dies here, that Tark guy who has been needlessly fussing over him lately will forever miss his chance to beat him.

I laughed when I thought of the guy snorting and stamping his feet at the funeral.

More blood is lost.

It seemed like my heartbeat was getting slower and slower.

“Mother Earth, I will soon return to your embrace.”

Sweat-soaked black hair hung down.

She quietly waited for the eternal silence that would soon come.

It was when her blood turned the surroundings bright red that I heard footsteps.

Jeopuk, Jeopuk, Jeopuk.

“Are they barbarians?”

“I think so, Little Duke.”

When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw a man of similar age looking down at me.

And next to him, a wrinkled and skinny old man was serving the man.

“Are you a person inside the wall?”

When he spoke in a voice that sounded like it would be blown away by the wind, the man’s eyebrows rose.

“People inside the wall?”

“Ah, this is what barbarians use when they call us imperialists.”

Barbarians. If I had heard that on a normal day, I would have smashed your head with a bayonet…

She complained that her hands had no strength.

“That’s an interesting expression. So do they call themselves people outside the walls?”

“They call themselves ‘people outside the walls’ and ‘sons of the earth.’”

“What a cool name.”

“What a cool name… If the Duke had heard, he would have been scolded. You haven’t forgotten, right? The Duke of Wiltenfrim….”

“A family with the honorable mission of protecting the northern border. I heard it until my ears prickled.”

“Seeing that they are trying to contact the barbarians like this, I think you need to listen more.”

As if this situation itself was unpleasant, the old man had no intention of frowning.

“I think I got hurt. Did you defeat the saber-toothed tiger over there by yourself? That’s amazing.”

Despite the old man’s dissuasion, the Duke came to her side.

Even when approached by a stranger, she was unable to resist in any way.

They want to kill me for coming close to the wall, but it is dishonorable to be killed by someone inside the wall.

She thought about her honorable death.

“The wounds are significant. Kedine, bring a first aid kit.”

“Little Duke.”

The old man said that he hoped he would please swallow his words, but the Little Duke did not give in to his wishes.

While the old man ran towards the horse, the Duke examined her wounds.

“He looks about the same age as me, but he killed a saber-toothed tiger that size by himself… I heard that I’m pretty good at using a sword, but the world is a big place.”

Even in her daze, the Duke’s chestnut-brown hair came into view clearly.

The day after heavy snow fell, it was like seeing a flower that had reached its peak through the snow.

He continued to praise her skills, and in the meantime, an old man came carrying a first aid kit.

“Ah, it’s Kedyne. I think it would be a good idea to bring some dry food with you. To cheer you up, you have to feed him something.”

“Hehe… I understand.”

The old man headed back to the pack horse, and the man began to treat her wounds with first aid medicine.

After wiping away the blood with a cloth, apply a hemostatic agent to the wound.

And tie the wound tightly.

She tried to capture the face of the man in front of her.

“Why. Are you helping me?”

When asked with caution and doubt, the Little Duke shrugged his shoulders.

“There is no reason for people to help others. If you had attacked our castle, you would have been an enemy, but at this moment, aren’t you just a girl in need?”

Girls.

She closed her mouth at that unfamiliar title.

Is it because I lost a lot of blood? My face got hot.

The Duke’s treatment took a while, but she thought it was a very short period of time.

“Then, please go back carefully. And I hope I never see you again. If we meet again, we will be enemies.”

The Duke of Xiao held out the food and smiled kindly before riding his horse back to the wall.

She watched them disappear as dots as they moved away, and then returned to the tribe.

On his shoulder was a saber-toothed tiger he had hunted.

***

“You would be the only one who would think of catching a saber-toothed tiger at a coming of age ceremony.”

The shaman said as he closed the container containing the blue dye.

He, who had tattooed an arrowhead on the girl’s body, looked at her in bewilderment.

“Is this a great game?”

“It’s a great game. Even the warriors who are said to be strong in the tribe don’t often think about catching him alone. Because he is fierce, smart, and quick.”

“When I caught it, I definitely thought it was a great game….”

“Did puberty come late? You’re unusually calm.”

“It’s just that I’m more interested in something.”

“Hmm, I guess I saw a more attractive prey in the process of catching him.”

“…Maybe. But I don’t think I’ll be able to see it again. I live very far away from my tribe.”

“Then just hunt.”

“Huh?”

“The descendants of our land built their home through hunting. Hunting is fundamental to our culture. We hunt to protect the tribe, we hunt to maintain the tribe, we hunt for honor, and sometimes we hunt to get the game. If there is a game that catches your attention, why not hunt it?”

“Uh… Is that so?”

“Well, I was wondering something.”

The shaman stood up and left the tent as if he was dumbfounded, and the girl looked at the direction he had left and remembered the conversation from earlier.

“You mean I just have to hunt down that man and bring him to the tribe?”

She thought carefully about whether she understood correctly.