‘It’s a good thing to have fantasies.’
‘Is there any difference between a woman without dreams and a salted fish?’
The night deepened. Night in Bitgel was not peaceful; roaming beastmen often tried to raid the camp.
When morning arrived.
Three waves of wandering beastmen had come in a single night. Anyone else would have felt exhausted.
While they were eating breakfast, the camp suddenly became lively. Baccus had brought his tribesmen over early. It seemed the “pig-head” had thought about it all night and finally came to his senses.
However, the tribesmen he brought were even stronger. Having heard there were powerful humans who could fight their chief to a draw, many clamored for a challenge.
Remus was definitely not up for it.
Aililan felt bad for her subordinate.
“Then let…”
Aililan suddenly felt a piercing gaze. Fina Nisi was casting a look filled with murderous desire.
Aililan narrowed her eyes.
Letting Fina Nisi go up would certainly be the best choice. That overpowered girl could probably take down everyone present using only one hand and holding back four fingers.
Aililan looked at Fina Nisi, then pointed to another person and said, “Milisanel, you go and spar with them. Just stop when the point is made.”
It would serve as entertainment for breakfast.
Aililan continued eating her breakfast.
Rye, or rather, this “genuine” whole-wheat bread—without the baking technology of her old world—was, for the poor girl, simply too scratchy on the throat.
“Gulp.”
“Cough, cough, cough.”
Baccus, the Chief of the War Pig Tribe, brought over a cup of morning tea and said respectfully, “Human Miss, please have some tea.”
Aililan took the morning tea.
She was very satisfied with Baccus’s performance.
As for why Baccus had such a change in attitude, it could only be said that he had received guidance from a master. There was still a Sage within the tribe who had keenly observed the massive opportunity of the Mutual Market.
The Sage’s exact words were: [Regardless of what the humans intend, this is an opportunity for the War Pig Tribe. As long as you seize it, Baccus, you will make the War Pig Tribe great again.]
And that opportunity might lie with this young girl before them, who claimed to be quite formidable among humans.
As for whether Aililan was beautiful or not, Baccus didn’t care at all. Their standards of beauty were different. This human Miss was as thin as a bamboo pole. Could those hips even produce offspring? She was even worse than a scrawny beastman girl.
Aililan noticed the other’s gaze.
“Chief Baccus, we humans have an old saying: Do not let beauty cloud your eyes.”
“Beauty? You? Human Miss, please don’t misunderstand. I mean, if I had played around with someone like you when I was young, my father would have probably picked me up and beaten me to death.”
*Pfft—*
*Cough—*
*Guffaw—*
Many people enjoying breakfast nearly choked to death on their tea.
They looked at their noses and their hearts, but there were still many pranksters whose shoulders were shaking violently as they tried to suppress their laughter.
Aililan lost her composure for a moment: 凸(艹皿艹)
She quickly picked up a silk handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth and then looked toward the sparring area to shift her attention.
The Squad Leaders of the Chaste Knights were simply too overpowered. Unless it was someone of Baccus’s level, they won their battles without much effort.
As they moved to the next round.
Aililan once again felt Fina Nisi’s intense gaze. Her finger skipped over that overpowered girl and landed on Daphie, saying, “You go for the next round. Don’t let the men have all the glory.”
Daphie rubbed her palms together and said, “Don’t worry, hehe.”
She then saw Fina Nisi’s anxious expression.
Aililan’s mood suddenly brightened.
‘I can’t beat you, but I just won’t choose you now. I won’t let you show off, just to spite you.’
Another round of sparring began.
But it was also time for business.
Baccus pushed forward a girl with a pig’s head and a human’s body. ‘Uh… how should I describe this… her hair is a bit lush… and she’s very, uh, sturdy!’
Baccus took a deep breath and said seriously, “Let me introduce you. This is the most beautiful girl of our War Pig Tribe, and also my daughter, Naris. You asked what we could give you; Naris is our tribe’s most precious treasure.”
Naris looked directly at Aililan and asked, “Let’s get this straight. I have sworn that I will only marry the strongest. Tell me, are you a powerhouse?”
Aililan trembled with fear, pretending to cough to hide her loss of composure. “No, no, no. I am neither powerful nor a powerhouse.”
Naris sighed and said, “You humans are too weak. Not a single one can fight.”
Aililan retorted, “My Knight, Remus, is an opponent who can fight your father to a draw.”
“The person I, Naris, want to marry must be someone even more powerful than my father.”
“We have countless human experts.”
“How come I don’t see any?”
‘Ugh, this is never-ending, isn’t it?’
Aililan decided to send out her strongest asset. She pointed at the resentful Fina Nisi standing near the sparring ground and said, “Fina Nisi, you go next. You aren’t allowed to kill anyone, you aren’t allowed to cause serious injuries, and you must stop once the point is made.”
Fina Nisi was overjoyed. “Yes, Saint… uh, Miss Aililan, you finally picked the right person. Come, come, come! I want to fight ten!”
Naris was stunned for a moment.
She was drawn in by the aura of the strong.
On the other side, Aililan wiped away her cold sweat and continued, “Chief Baccus, you should change to something else!”
Baccus said in a low voice, “Our War Pig Tribe is destitute. As you said, many of our tribesmen are so poor they can only dig up grass roots to eat.”
Aililan asked, “Do you have mines?”
“There are barely any mountains on the plains; where would mines come from? But I have grass roots.”
“Cattle, sheep, hides?”
“We have grass roots.”
*Tsk—*
This War Pig Tribe was truly poor.
She couldn’t expect to get anything good from them. Aililan said, “In that case, why don’t I propose a few conditions first and see if you agree, Chief Baccus?”
“Human Miss, please speak.”
Aililan thought for a moment.
She listed her conditions.
[One, designate Bitgel as human territory and allow us to build a city here.]
Aililan’s first condition was almost impossibly demanding. The War Pig Chief felt like he couldn’t continue the conversation just by hearing it.
[Two, to ensure the safety of the Mutual Market, the humans will station an army here.]
[Three, the War Pig Tribe must guarantee that the surrounding beastman tribes will not attack this place. The humans have the obligation to clear out threats, or allow the humans to send their own troops for a cleanup.]
[Four, merchants come from afar; they must be respected. If anyone from the War Pig Tribe harms a human, the humans have the right to judge them according to human law, including but not limited to execution.]
[Five…]
Before Aililan could even finish the conditions, the War Pig Chief was already clutching his chest. His two nostrils were puffing heavily, sounding like a coarse bellows.
Conditions like these.
No one would ever agree to them.