Stars glittered in the night sky, and bonfires lit the earth. In the garrisoned camp, Camp Commander Pimon summoned several dozen personal guards and held a welcoming dinner for the kingdom's expedition team, who had come from afar.
Big basins of Black Bean Paste were enough to fill every belly, and baskets of Tortillas were more than enough to go around. Beyond that, there were plentiful tropical fruits, fresh fish soup seasoned with spices, and the special treatment reserved for leaders: a deer roasted until it gave off a mouthwatering fragrance.
Everyone ate great mouthfuls of Tortilla and drank soup in big gulps, carefree and delighted. Pimon told stories of how, since the Eastern Expedition began, His Majesty had won every battle. Puapu also boasted of what he had seen and heard while exploring the northern continent. The two of them were in high spirits, talking over half the world, drinking an entire jar of fruit wine dry, and when the drunken warmth came over them, they began singing the songs of home.
"Oh-ya, oh-ya! Mother goddess in the water, She is the mother by the lake!
Her milk falls down, and in the vast Lake Patzcuaro, it breeds delicious fish~"
"Oh-ya, oh-ya! Mother goddess in the water, She is the mother of the sky!
Alone She wanders in the silence, searching for Her flying children, until dawn~"
"Oh-ya, oh-ya! Mother goddess in the water, She is the mother of the Purepecha people!
She never distinguishes, never cares what Her children look like, no matter where they are~"
When the two sang to this point, their hearty voices echoed through the camp. All the Purepecha Warriors raised sincere smiles, and even the old Militia, who had kept silent all along, had a smile on his aged face. Everyone answered loudly,