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A Tribe's New Beginning.

As for Ronan and me, after eating we dedicate ourselves to exploring the new cave. The bear cubs follow me.

"Should I take them back to their mothers?" I ask my friend.

"It's not necessary, I don't think there's any immediate danger since they lived here."

"Great," I smile.

I've given them names but not to the seed of evil. I think the wolf pup is getting jealous but, come on, it's the seed of darkness—I'm not going to call it Patch, Brownie, or Glutton like I've unconsciously named several of the other cubs. A bit of seriousness, please; the divine beast, though very cute, commands respect.

As we walk, Ronan stops frequently to inspect every corner with a critical eye, looking for possible dangers or weak points in the defenses.

"What are you looking for?" I ask after a while. "Super papa bear lived here. If there had been any threat to his females or cubs, he would have eliminated it."

"Yes and no. Don't you think that bear was too big? It must have hunted and killed a lot to level up so much."

Come to think of it... I didn't get a look at its level. As soon as the pit bear arrived, the one bigger than my father's van, I was so scared I couldn't think about anything except fighting. Let alone with the second bear.

"Do you know what level it was?"

"How would I know? The identify spell is wind magic, not everyone learns it, and besides, you need to level it up a lot for it to work on anything other than objects," he answers, puzzled.

Riiiight. This wasn't like this in the game—you could see name tags and levels above characters' heads. If you entered combat or a dungeon, you could also see life bars for both allies and creatures. Going hunting in a forest, I never did that in the otome game and, from what my friend told me, she didn't either. I guess that identify spell would have existed too, but players didn't need it to see someone's or an enemy's level.

"My lady?" he asks, seeing that I've gotten lost in my thoughts and haven't answered.

"Sorry, Ronan. Sometimes it seems like I'm the one who's been locked up all her life. Well, in a way I was because I studied so much in the library."

He raises an eyebrow. The way he's looking at me suggests that my extensive studies aren't very apparent if I don't know something this basic.

"But I hit my head, did I tell you? Man, since then I have like memory gaps and forget things from my past. No, don't worry," I quickly add seeing his reaction. This boy is quite expressive. "I'm perfectly fine," I assure him.

And to cut off the conversation, I also start examining the cave wall, bringing my torch closer and acting super interested.

We don't find anything—everything seems safe, except in one of the small caves branching off from the main one. There's a cave-in on the wall. A pile of large stones mixed with earth covers one corner of the cavern.

"Perhaps some creature or animal used to enter through here and the bear fought and won, and that gave it a lot of experience," Ronan thinks aloud. "Well, if that was the case, the path is closed now. We just need to keep it in mind. I'll tell the goblins to make a wooden gate and put it at the entrance, to keep that cave controlled."

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By the time the goblins return, with some of the meat already smoked and the rest of the tribe's belongings, the sun is setting. We all gather at the main cave's entrance for dinner. Ronan and I update the goblins on our findings.

"The cave is secure," Ronan tells them. "We haven't found any threats. But still, we shouldn't lower our guard. From now on, this is our home and we must protect it. There's an area with a possible tunnel cave-in that I want watched, and no children or cubs should be housed near there. I'll show you where later," he turns to the totem.

He and his goblins nod, satisfied. The truth is, they're delighted with their new refuge, which is much more spacious and welcoming than the previous cave. Plus, the bears' presence makes them feel safer, even though they're still getting used to the idea of living with them.

When we finish dinner, sitting on mats on the ground, the tribe's shaman stands up and plants himself in front of me with a solemn expression. Before I can react, the elder prostrates himself at my feet and places his ceremonial staff before me in a sign of respect.

"Thank you for everything you've done for the tribe. At first, I didn't trust humans, even less after they forced us to leave our prosperous village and flee through the mountains. However, you have proven worthy of trust and respect. I, the totem shaman and leader of the Shattered Tooth tribe, from now on, recognize you as our leader and protector."

Damn... But I'd be lying if I said this catches me by surprise. I just wanted to help them, and complete the mission along the way. But with the contract and after that notification about the bears that I didn't want to read, this was bound to happen.

I don't know what to tell him. The shaman is still prostrated on the ground. Since he's elderly, it seems wrong to me. So I thank him so he can stand up.

"Thank you very much, it's not neces—"

Right at that moment, a system notification window opens before me. I'm left with "it's not necessary to recognize me as leader" unfinished in my mouth.

Congratulations. Mission completed. You have saved the goblin settlement and earned their loyalty.

Reward: 100 XP.

Additional reward: loyalty of the Shattered Tooth tribe.

A few seconds later another appears, covering the first:

Congratulations. You have leveled up. You are now level 7 and have one free stat point to use. Specialization has been unlocked. You have new skills and spells to choose from.

What? I leveled up! But before I can happily reread the part about specialization or think through the math—that if 100 XP was enough to level up, then slimes and skeletons must give tiny amounts of experience—another notification appears.

The goblin totem wishes to be your vassal and swear loyalty to you, along with the rest of his village.

Do you accept?

Accept? How cute of the system, I think ironically. As if killing the wolf pup was even on the table.

Obviously, I press yes.

Look, I like the goblins, but leading them... I glance sideways at Ronan. He's my vassal and has already been acting as second in command. Maybe he'd even help if I asked. No, Bianca, you can't take advantage like that, I mentally scold myself.

Another window appears, probably congratulating me and informing me about influence points. I swat it away, I'll read it later. Ronan looks at me oddly but says nothing.

"Please stand up," I ask the totem.

He picks up his staff, leans on it, and rises to his feet. He's looking at me, the other goblins too, as if waiting for something.

Um...

"Continue leading your people as you have been, totem. For important matters, I'll give you directions. Finding me might be a bit complicated. Until I figure out a way, I'll stop by at least once a week. Also, I want to bring you what you asked for on my next visit."

The truth is, I need to sell more pelts to afford everything. It’s just basic necessities like nails, tools, and a few cooking ingredients. Still, I ended up spending part of the boar money on six shovels, so I really should gather more pelts to sell. This week, however, I’ve been so busy with classes and studies that I haven’t had time to go hunting.

"I'll take some of the small bear pelts to sell and complete the purchase."

It sounds like an order, but I don't think they'll mind since they're keeping the giant bears' pelts. Those, obviously, I don't want to take to the village. It would be too complicated to explain how I got them.

"Of course, my lady. Thank you."

"Call me Bianca. I'm too young for 'my lady.'"

The goblin looks at me puzzled. I guess in his culture it would be an honor, but in my Earth culture, not so much. And if he's thinking that I allow Ronan to do it... Well, I don't allow it, but what’s the point in repeatedly asking him not to call me that? I suppose I could order him to stop, but I’d rather avoid the sight of those huge, round, sad eyes of his.