CHAPTER 9: MINAHABA'S DREAM

***The village of the Chicken tribe***

Once a small, albeit lively place, the village of the Chicken tribe—or what was left of it—was now an almost empty hamlet. Plagued by death, starvation, monster attacks, and sickness, it was only a matter of time before the entire tribe vanished from the face of Cherwind.

“…”

One of the few healthy villagers left was the tribe elder’s daughter, Yatoi. Together with others who could still lift themselves and walk, they would go around the village in a hurry, looking for those who were already dead and bury them. Time was of the essence, for there were some corpses that already attracted the harpies.

In those cases, they had no choice but to leave it to the monsters. Those cadavers that they could retrieve, they’d do so under extreme care and silence.

It was a grisly sight. Yatoi had lost count of how many times she threw up upon witnessing the scene. And it was painful, too. Those bodies being devoured were once her friends, neighbors, and kin. Her companions wanted to at least scare the harpies away; however, without proper weapons and equipment, they could only try in vain.

After burying the last corpse, Yatoi and the rest would race back to their derelict huts to hide. Just merely opening the windows was a risky business, for the harpies could always come and force open the houses in search of food. Whenever that moment came, the villagers could only cover their ears to avoid hearing the desperate screams of their helpless kin being eaten alive.

“Y-Yatoi…”

The chicken-woman was brought back to her senses by the weak voice of her father, calling her to his bed. She took a jug of water before proceeding to his side, “Yes, father, I’m here.”

The once strong and formidable chief of the Chicken tribe, Habu, was now a shadow of his past self. His skin now hung loosely from his bones, his eyes had deep, dark marks under the eyelids, and he just couldn’t stand anymore. Even lifting an arm required a great deal of effort from him.

“Y-Yatoi…” the elder said in-between his labored breaths, “I…I can’t…c-continue longer…”

“Please don’t say that father…I’ll try my best to get help from the other tribes.”

“L-Listen…you’re still young…” the chief weakly shook his head, “Running away…is w-what…you sh-should do!”

“No!” Yatoi held her father’s emaciated body in her arms, and tears were welling up in her eyes, “I won’t leave you to die, father! I’ll get help!”

“Our tribe…is weak…I ha-have failed…”

“Don’t say that! Y-You tried your best!”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Father…” at that moment, Yatoi could not control her emotions any longer. She let out a bitter, yet suppressed cry.

Outside, there was another commotion.

“Here they come again!” someone shouted as a warning, “Harpies!”

Still in the middle of her grief, Yatoi quickly picked herself up and raced for the windows of their hut to secure it. Then she pulled whatever furniture they had to dump it at the doorway, reinforcing the barricade at the entrance. Once she had everything done, Yatoi drew her sword and went back to her father.

“Yatoi…”

“Shh…I’m sorry, father, but please keep down for now,” her eyes were fixated on their thatched ceiling, for right now, it was the weakest part of the hut. The harpies could always force their way in through there. She could feel her heart beat wildly while anticipating the worst.

“…”

A moment of intense silence came. Only the sounds of the harpies’ wings and their terrible cries could be heard. The noises went back and forth, a sign that the monsters were hunting for food again. Yatoi covered her father with a pelt blanket as she uttered a silent prayer to the heavens.

“!!!” Then came a loud banging sound from another house nearby. She could hear well the desperate cries for help of its occupants. But Yatoi—as well as the other villagers—could only hide in fear. The seemingly endless moments of suspense and horror were slowly taking root in the chicken-woman’s heart. She wanted to scream as well, just to let out the pent-up feelings, but she had to content herself with biting her hand.

Please, someone, help us!

“!!!” Another loud banging shook their entire house. At that moment, Yatoi knew a harpy had already landed at the roof. With her hands trembling, she raised her sword. Deep in her heart, she already steeled herself to keep the harpies away from her father once the monsters broke in.

The terrible shuffling sounds of the thatch showed that the harpy on their roof was making its way inside.

If that accursed creature gets in, please just make it quick!

In Yatoi’s mind, she was thinking of pre-empting the monsters by killing her father and herself. She had already turned the sword to the elder, who just silently stared at the blade as if encouraging her to do it.

However…

“!!!”

A strange cracking sound suddenly rang outside. She heard a harpy cry in agony, and the shuffling on the roof stopped, followed by a thud just right at the front of their hut.

“Guuuooohh!”

Then came the cries of the other harpies, mixed in with shouting and beating wings. It’s as if there was a battle going on outside.

Yatoi and her father exchanged puzzled looks. “I’ll check on what’s happening,” she told him.

“Teviki, for goodness’ sake, don’t bite the harpy! Kill it!”

“!!!” the chicken-woman turned back to the elder, “Did you also hear that, father? Sounds like there are other people!”

Another small cracking sound, followed by the sounds of blades hacking through flesh. The smell of blood floated in the air, and the harpies were screaming wildly. By that moment, the chicken-woman was sure that something extraordinary was happening outside. She removed the barricades on the windows to look, but…

“!!!”

Yatoi was thrown back to the ground when a body of a dead harpy flew inside their house, crashing through the window. And along with it was a black-haired human soaked in blood, clutching a dagger that was lodged in the monster’s neck.

“Hello there!” he greeted her, “My apologies for breaking your window, but I’m just killing this harpy.”

The chicken-woman suddenly felt nauseous and her vision went dark.

----------

When Yatoi’s consciousness returned, she was on her bed, surrounded by her father—who was now back to his ‘healthy’ self—as well as some Beastmen from the rabbit, tiger, and bear tribes.

“Ah, you’re finally awake, my daughter!” the chief smiled at her.

“Father? Is this the afterlife?”

“Haha! No, of course, it’s not!” the elder chicken-man began flexing his muscles, “As you can see, I’m now back to my good health! It’s all thanks to these guys, especially that human male who healed me with the god-powers.”

“I don’t understand?”

“Heh, so are we!” the bear-woman finally spoke, “That guy is really weird, see? He’s a human and yet he respects the Beastfolk. And he’s got the god-powers too.”

“Err…you are?”

“Oh yes, sorry for the late introductions. My name is Ursura of the West Ursus. And these are Senna and Gero from the Rabbit tribe, and the little one is Teviki from the Tiger tribe.”

Yatoi could say nothing; her expression revealed to everyone that she was still confused. Her father helped her to sit up, as the door suddenly burst with two familiar persons…

“Sister!”

“M-Minahaba? And…Ruja!” the chicken-woman couldn’t hide her surprise, “Are those really you?”

“It’s nice to see you again, sister!” Ruja answered her, along with a smile. As for Minahaba, she was quiet, but ran towards Yatoi and hugged her tight.

“I never thought I’d see you two again! Please tell me I’m not dreaming this—ow!”

“Teviki, stop biting her!” the rabbit-girl lightly slapped the tiger-girl. “She’s a friend, not food!”

“But Senna, the chicken-girl wants to wake up, so Teviki bit her!”

“Well, at least I’m fully awake now!” Yatoi laughed.

“These people had come to our rescue!” the Chief Habu explained to his daughter once again, “Thanks to them, our tribe can live a little longer!”

----------

**Kuro**

Well, I know that the situation at the Chicken tribe’s village was worst, but honestly, I didn’t expect it’s this worst. Harpies chewing on what was left of one of their victims; harpies trying to enter some huts, and harpies circling around the place, as if they were vultures looking for someone to feast on.

All of us were appalled at the sight; Minahaba and Ruja, perhaps overwhelmed by their emotions, nearly dove to their deaths, if not for the quick-thinking of the Eagle tribesmen who held them back.

Well, it’s not that they have wings to fly, it’s the harpies we’re worried about.

And speaking of the Eagle tribe, we taught them how to catch fish to augment their food supplies. Since their land’s interior was infested with harpies and other terrible creatures, the sea was the safest source of food for the Eagles…next to their farms. Upon learning the ability to fish, Chief Gislaine was more than thankful and happy—not only did she send an entire army of Eagles to escort (or the proper term was ‘airlift’) us, she also asked her tribesmen to carry at least two bushels of grain each from their granaries.

I guess, with proper rationing, that food supply will last in this tiny place for a while.

“…”

In the meantime, we focused on the villagers. With the help of the Eagle tribesmen, we fought and drove out the harpies, attempting to build nests out from the ruined houses. It was a short, yet bloody affair. Good thing we could surprise the monsters; or we’d have casualties on our side, as the Eagle tribesmen surmised. Once the threat was over, we turned to treating and healing those who were weak and starving.

“Careful Rishnu!” I instructed the mantis-girl, “I know they are hungry, but don’t let them eat much and eat fast; they could kill themselves that way.”

“Eh? Why, Chief?”

“Well, they haven’t eaten for quite a while, so their bodies will need to adjust for the meantime.”

“Can’t you just heal them quickly, Chief?” Rumia, who was helping us, asked.

“I could do that, yes. However, what do you think would happen if you’re the ones who are here, instead of me, and you don’t know what to do?”

The dog-girl remained silent for a few moments, wondering the answer to my question. Then, when she realized what I’m trying to do, she just smiled and said, “Oh…okay! So you’re teaching us how to treat people so that we can do ourselves in the future?”

“Exactly!” I ruffled Rumia’s hair and tickled her ears. She liked it when I do that, see?

“Chief Lawrence,” the captain of the Eagle tribesmen approached me, “we should bury the harpies killed as soon as possible, or the corpses would attract more of them.”

“Yes, can I entrust you with that?” I asked him, “I’ll be busy healing the villagers.”

The Eagle captain nodded and flew to his men. In the meantime, I also had some of them man the broken palisades, just to watch out for any incoming monster flocks. When I deemed the village was secure, I returned to the patients to sort them out according to the ‘triage’ system.

“Rishnu, separate those who are quite weak from those who can’t stand anymore. I’ll take care of the latter; you feed the former according to what I instructed you before.”

The mantis-girl obeyed and went on her way. It’s a good thing that Yufa, Yufos, and Rumia were helping her in food distribution. As for Colheen, Taro, and Luka, I sent them with the Eagles to watch the skies for the harpies.

Hmm…I guess it’s time for me to get to work!

----------

Using Maddie’s god-power, I healed the severe cases. I remembered back then, when I was in Chersea, that she did an ‘area healing’ spell, so I tried to do that. Slowly channeling the mana to my left hand, I imagined something like a healing ‘bubble’ to engulf the spots where the patients were laid.

“…”

Then I slowly opened my eyes. Much to my relief, the ‘bubble’ materialized and the villagers inside were all up and awake, albeit confused. Their bodies were back to normal, and chicken-children were happily running around in circles.

“Beautiful…” I heard Rishnu say from nearby.

“What is that?”

“!!!”

Since the villagers were now fine, I promptly stopped the area healing spell. Turning around, I saw the chicken tribe elder’s daughter approaching us.

“It’s an area heal spell,” I explained to her, “I used it to treat the worst cases of malnutrition among your villagers.”

“Huh? A mal—what?”

“Let’s say the worst cases of ‘the effects of not eating for a long time’.”

“You mean, ‘starvation’?”

“It’s close to that.”

“Ah, anyway! I thought I misheard my father talk about a human male having the god-powers of the human saint. But I’m mistaken; that really is the healing spell of the human saint! Who are you?”

“Err…” my eyes fell towards the Eagle tribesmen, who were similarly surprised by what I did. “Your eyes must be playing a trick on you! It’s just a normal healing spell!”

“Yeah, I’ve seen the healing magic you humans use, but your area healing cured my kin in a flash! Don’t you fool me—mhhmmfff!”

I quickly covered her mouth and whispered to her, “Please, just go along with me! You’re right; it’s the god-power of the Human Saint. However, I’ve got some problems with it, so let’s hide that fact from the Eagles over there.”

The chief’s daughter nodded and loudly said, “Oh, I guess I’m mistaken! It’s just a normal healing spell! My apologies!”

“Haha!” I could only scratch my head; at least, she understood me.

“Anyway, my name is Yatoi, daughter of Chief Habu of the Chicken Tribe,” the chicken-woman curtsied before me, “I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to you for saving my blood sister, Minahaba, and my brother, Ruja.”

“You’re welcome! I’m K—Lawrence, by the way!”

“Greetings, Lawrence!”

“He’s Chief Ku—I mean, Lawrence!” Rishnu was quick to correct her.

“Huh? You’re also an elder? But you’re a human!”

“Trust me, it’s a long story you don’t want to hear.”

“But chief!” the mantis-girl protested, “It’s a story I’d always tell my friends…if I had at least one.”

“Aren’t your companions in our ‘tribe’ your friends?”

“I mean someone else.”

“Chief Lawrence, huh?” the chicken-woman had a sarcastic smirk on her face, “Well, I guess we all have our secrets to hide. But from what I see, these children love you! Even Minahaba speaks highly of their ‘Chief Lawrence’!”

I could only laugh at her words.

“And really, I’m getting the feeling that ‘Lawrence’ is not your true name…” Yatoi whispered to me.

“It isn’t. I guess, Minahaba and Ruja didn’t tell you the details, but I’ll explain later. For now, what’s the reason you came to us? Surely, it’s not just to say thanks.”

“A man of mystery, eh?” The daughter of the chief stared at me for a few moments, before saying, “I was sent here by our father to invite you to our hut. It’s almost time for supper, see?”

“Hm? Alright then, it’s cool.”

“Huh? What’s cool?”

“I say, yes, let’s go!”

“Al…Alright…”

“By the way…” it’s kind of getting awkward, so I diverted the topic, “…how’s your father doing?”

“Oh right, you also healed him.”

“Yep.”

“I thank you for that as well…” Yatoi may have said that, but there’s something off in her expression, “…though, if I may say…”

“Is there…any problem?”

“Can you just come with me and see for yourself?”

----------

“Leave me alone! I’m a bear, and you’re a chicken! There’s no way we should mate!”

“It’s just for once! I really love holding on to your buttocks too!”

“Shut the fuck up! I don’t want you to be my mate!”

“Gueh!”

Like a weird adult comedy show, we came to the chief’s hut just in time to witness the strange banter between Ursura and the elder Habu. He was trying to touch her in forbidden places, while the bear-woman was struggling to shake him off. Minahaba and the orphans were playing around with some chicken-children, while Ruja was sitting beside the rugs where the food was placed.

“I’d say, your god-power is way too effective,” Yatoi commented.

“I could see that.”

“Chief, what’s the meaning of mate?” Rishnu asked.

“Forget you heard anything.”

“Kuro!” Ursura angrily stood up and went over to my side, “If you don’t do something about that lecher, I’ll throw him to the harpies!”

“Aww…don’t be like that, my sweet bear-woman!” the elder-chicken ran after my companion, never bothering to hide his lascivious stares from us. “Come, come, come!

“I’m really sorry for my father.”

“It’s fine, I understand. Though I really have to intervene now, or he’ll be a gory mush later.”

“Yes, please.”

I stepped forward and put myself between Ursura and the elder, “Greetings, Chief Habu! I’m…err…”

“Minahaba just told me that your real name is Kuro!” Chief Habu revealed, “And Lawrence is just an alias to the Eagle tribesmen because you’re on the run or something?”

I took a glance at Yatoi, “Yep…that’s what it is!”

“Welcome to my home, Kuro!” the elder’s smile was prominent on his face, though he’s muttering something like, “Though you really had to ruin my sweet time with that beautiful bear-woman.”

“Excuse me, Chief Habu!” Rishnu was indignant, “But he is also Chief Kuro!”

“A human playing an elder to a tribe that doesn’t even exist!” the chicken-elder chuckled, “This is funny!”

“…”

Well, that is uncalled for. I could feel the bloodlust coming out from my young companions, especially Rishnu and Ursura.

“Ah, don’t get me wrong! It’s just that, you’re a human with a lot of mysteries!” Chief Habu continued, “Maybe it’s your secret to attract all these wonderful ladies to your side?”

“W-Wonderful?”

“Yeah! That bear-woman’s buttocks and chest are top-notch! And just one look at these young ladies from different tribes, I know that they’ll grow into beautiful girls later on!” the old chief’s perverted intentions were oozing out; my young companions took a step back away from him.

“Kuro, please don’t let that pervert near me, or he’ll die,” Ursura whispered.

Uhh…this talk was turning into a weird direction. Perhaps I should divert it now. “Anyway, Chief Habu, thank you for inviting us to your hut for supper.”

“Ah, don’t mention it! You and your companions saved my kin from becoming harpy poo, and also brought us grains for food…and healed us…and saved my children too,” the enthusiasm on the chief’s face slowly vanished, and was replaced with concern, “Gosh, I just realized we’re heavily-indebted to you, human chief! What do you want as compensation? All I could offer you is my daughter, Yatoi; she’s a fine lady like her mother before her. Or would you like Minahaba as a mate, that’ll be fine too!”

Err…this guy just doesn’t hold back his tongue, eh? I could feel the awkward air around us, and I glanced at Minahaba, who was also looking back at me. “No, really, it’s fine! I don’t need such compensations. Minahaba actually invited us to this village; because to tell you the truth, we have no place to stay, Chief Habu.”

“Oh?” the chicken-elder’s face turned serious, “Uh…not to discourage you or anything, but you’ve seen our village and how dangerous this place is. While I’m happy that you’re thinking of staying with us, we can’t assure you and your companions’ safety here!”

“It’s okay! Your blood daughter told us before of what to expect, and we’re well-aware of the risks.”

“I see…”

“That’s why I have a lot of proposals for your tribe’s improvement! Would you care to listen?”

“Improvement, eh? I think I like the sound of that!” Chief Habu then gestured for us to sit down around the food rugs, “But first, let’s eat something. I’m sure you’re all hungry from the long journey from Navaren to this place!”

----------

Once everyone had eaten their fill, the chicken tribe elder gave us a couple of huts to stay. Though Chief Habu wanted to talk about my suggestions, it was his daughter Yatoi who reminded him we came from a long journey, thus we still need to rest.

“Come with me, my sweet bear-woman!” the tribe elder tried to coax Ursura, “I’m sure we’ll have a good time…”

“Fuck you!” was what she said, displaying the ‘finger’ before scurrying off inside one of the huts.

“Guys…just don’t emulate these adults, okay?” I told the orphans. They just nodded in wonder.

In any case, I divided our group into two and had the girls come with Ursura, while the boys would stay with me.

Well, I don’t know. I’m just used to this kind of setting, see?

The children were tired and sleepy from the journey we took from Navaren to this place, so I’m not surprised that they immediately fell asleep when they hit the sack. I guess it’s good in a way since I didn’t have to ‘babysit’ them until they snooze.

“…”

And because I’m not yet sleepy, I went out of our hut for a while, just to check on things.

The Eagle tribesmen had just finished burying the last harpy corpse and were now being given accommodations by the villagers. Chief Habu was kind of angry at their elder for ‘leaving them to starve’ before, but we did explain to him that the Eagle tribe was dealing with their own problems following the disappearance of the human trade ships. I guess the old guy understood; but well, they couldn’t help to have some lingering bad blood with the other tribe.

As for the Chicken tribesmen, a lot of them were still rebuilding their homes, destroyed by the harpies, or were caught in the battle earlier. Only the adults were up and busy; perhaps the chicken-children also went into bed for the ‘long sleep’.

Then I went to the palisades of the village and looked around.

“…”

Honestly, the Chicken tribe village was a beautiful place. It was on a grassy hilltop, and the scenery before me was composed of endless green hills, with some having small forests at the top as well. In fact, looking at it made me remember a place back in my old world, the Chocolate Hills.

“…”

Man, that is some nostalgia for you.

“You must’ve been bewitched by the beauty before you, Chief!”

“!!!” I was returned to my senses by the familiar voice of Minahaba, who was still up and walking around.

“I saw you go past the palisades, so I checked what was wrong,” she said, “As it turned out, you’re just captivated by my village’s wonders!”

“Ah, I will not deny, this place is really worth fighting for.”

“Indeed, no? That’s why I left this village in the first place!”

“To kill the human heroes?”

“Actually, that isn’t my first plan,” the falcon-woman explained, “I originally wanted to ask for help, but the villagers only laughed at me and called me weird.”

“Eh? Why?”

“They say it’s impossible,” Minahaba’s eyes gazed far from where we were, “They say that we’re a weak tribe, and so no one would pay attention to us. And, what do you know? It turned out to be true!” she chuckled.

“That’s…horrible.”

“Indeed, it is, Chief! Imagine my embarrassment when I returned to the village empty-handed.”

“You really went through a lot, no?”

“Heh, I can’t help it,” Minahaba smiled, “I love this tribe who considered me like their family, and I’d do anything to protect everyone.”

I could only nod in agreement with her. I mean, if I was in her position, I’d certainly do the same!

“And you know what, Chief? I didn’t learn my lesson! I tried another way once more!”

“Let me guess, that’s when you thought of killing the human heroes?”

“Nah, that’s the last part. I attempted to encourage my adoptive kin to rise and learn to fight. You know, retake the land we gave to the humans. They only shook their heads and told me ‘It’s impossible’. So that’s where I got the idea of setting an example by killing one of the human heroes, and I left to find them.”

“And you reached mainland Cherwind?”

The falcon-woman nodded, “My journey to find the heroes came to a close when I learned that the crossing from this land to Chersea was closed.”

“Oh…”

“And I did some odd jobs in the human cities before I was driven out when Malvette got destroyed.”

I felt worse upon learning that. I mean, all of what happened to Minahaba was connected to me. However, I couldn’t possibly tell her the truth about myself, ain’t I?

“Chief, you know, I’m really thankful.”

“Hm?”

“Well, looking back at my foolishness, I’m glad I haven’t found the human heroes,” she laughed, “Who knows what might’ve happened if I succeeded?”

“You could’ve been killed,” I answered, knowing full-well the abilities of Lily when she activates the ‘Bloodbath’. As for me? Well, I don’t want to talk about that.

“Yes, that, and that I met all of you,” Minahaba gleefully smiled at me. “You’ve done so much for my kin, like they’re your own tribe, Chief!”

“Haha…I only did what I had to.”

“However, Chief…” the falcon-woman grabbed my hand and put it on her chest, near her heart. I was surprised by the gesture, but well, since we’re in the middle of an emotional conversation, I didn’t want to interrupt Minahaba. I’ll just enjoy the soft sensation for a while. “…would you please, please, help my blood tribe to stand on their own? Help them with everything you can!”