The old chief stared at the mountain of meat.
His eyes turned red almost instantly. He lowered his head, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
Then
"Ahhh !"
He burst into loud, unrestrained sobs.
The sudden emotional collapse left the still-stunned villagers completely frozen.
His crying snapped them out of their daze. They hurried over, surrounding him, speaking over one another as they tried to comfort him. They assumed he was simply overwhelmed with joy.
"Chief, what's wrong? This is a good thing!"
"Don't cry, people will laugh at you…"
"Are you just too happy?"
No.
No one understood how heavy the burden on his shoulders truly was.
To keep his people alive in this increasingly chaotic world, he had rationed food, saved every scrap he could, all just to exchange for those thin "Cicada Leaves." He hoped that somewhere in those fragments of news, he might find a way out for his tribe.
The villagers had tried to persuade him otherwise.
"Our island is still peaceful," they said. "Why waste food every day on those unsettling reports?"
But the more he read, the more he understood.
And the more he understood, the more afraid he became.
Piruka's airships.
The giants of Elbaf.
The faceless tax collectors in the sky.
None of these were things a small tribe like theirs could ever hope to resist.
He had lived on Blueblue Island his entire life. He had only learned to read for the sake of trade. Most of what was written on those leaves was beyond him.
And yet, even that limited understanding was enough.
Enough to show him how powerless they were.
He was just an old man on a remote island.
But he had no choice.
He was the chief.
That helpless despair, knowing disaster might come at any moment while having no power to stop it, not even knowing where to run, had nearly crushed him.
Yes, the food in front of them could sustain the entire tribe for a year.
A miracle.
Something that could drive anyone mad with joy.
But the old chief simply wiped his face hard, forcing down the surge of emotion and the flicker of greed.
When he raised his head again, his eyes were still red, but now they were clear.
He looked straight at Reid, his voice hoarse.
"You foolish boy… do you know…"
"This is nothing," Reid cut in calmly.
The chief's words caught in his throat.
He stared at Reid's indifferent expression, recalling the terrifying strength he had just witnessed, along with that absurd "hunt."
A thought struck him like lightning.
If this young man had acted yesterday…
Then suddenly, another detail hit him.
He remembered Reid's condition when he first arrived. Ragged. Exhausted.
Reid had said:
"I wasn't being chased. The ship was just terrible."
The chief inhaled sharply.
"Then… those people… Piruka, the royals, the others…"
His voice trembled.
"They're like you too, aren't they? So powerful that we don't even have the strength to resist? Our struggles… are meaningless…"
Reid didn't answer.
He simply looked away.
That silence was the answer.
This had been his second purpose in displaying his strength.
To show the old man, as clearly as possible, the brutal gap in power that defined this world.
Luck and kindness could not save anyone.
Only by understanding that gap could one make realistic choices.
The chief staggered slightly, as if all his strength had drained away.
Now he understood.
Completely.
The lifeline he had been desperately searching for…
In the face of true power, it was nothing more than dust. Something that could be erased with a single wave.
After a long silence, he looked again at the mountain of meat.
This time, there was no excitement in his eyes.
Only heaviness.
Clarity.
Reality.
He wiped his tears clean, straightened his hunched back, and turned to face his people. His gaze swept across their confused yet hopeful faces.
He took a deep breath.
"Everyone! Quiet! Listen to me!"
He pointed at the boars.
"These are not just a gift. They are a warning!"
"I am old. My world is no bigger than Blueblue Island. I saved everything I could just to read those 'Cicada Leaves,' and only then did I realize how much the outside world has changed!"
"Piruka. Elbaf. The powers in the sky…"
"Any one of them could crush us without even noticing!"
"Our peace was never because we were strong!"
"It was because no one had noticed us yet!"
Silence fell.
Heavy and absolute.
Reid spoke at the right moment.
"As payment for the ship, I can help you."
A faint blood mist began to gather around him.
"I'll carve out a region deep in the forest and shroud it in mist. For a hundred years, it will shield you from outside eyes and most dangers."
"You'll have time to recover. Time to survive the worst of what's coming."
"But it won't be a perfect life."
The crowd erupted.
A young man shouted excitedly:
"Then we'll just stay hidden forever! Never come out!"
"Idiot!"
The old chief roared.
The entire tribe froze.
It was the first time anyone had seen him this furious.
"Hide forever? How is that any different from death?!"
His beard trembled with anger.
"If we hide, we become blind and deaf! We won't know what the world becomes!"
"Our children will forget how to communicate with others! Forget how to build better ships! Forget how to live!"
"A hundred years later, when the mist fades, our descendants will crawl out into a world they don't understand!"
"How will they survive? Just wait to die?!"
His voice rang out with raw, unfiltered truth.
"This world is chaotic. But chaos also brings opportunity!"
"We cannot be afraid!"
"Some of us must go out. See the world. Learn. Trade. Even if it's dangerous!"
"We must understand the world… so we know when to hide, and when to act!"
"I'm old. I'll stay here."
His voice softened slightly.
"But if no one goes out… then even if you survive one storm, you won't survive the next."
Reid couldn't help but feel a trace of respect.
For this old man.
For this clarity.
For this courage.
A tribe led by someone like him was truly fortunate.
The moment he finished speaking, the crowd exploded like a boiling pot.
"No! Absolutely not!"
A strong young hunter stepped forward first, his face flushed.
"Chief! The tribe can't survive without you! You're our backbone!"
"If anyone goes, it should be us!"
"That's right! Let us go!"
"I'm fast!"
"My eyesight is sharp! I can navigate!"
In an instant, the entire group of young men surged forward, each eager to take on the dangerous role.
They might be expendable.
But the tribe could not afford to lose its chief.