The chief's longhouse was filled with the sweet fragrance of herbs. The bonfire was bright and warm, yet it had little of the choking reek of smoke. Looking closely, the wooden house had been built with dedicated flues, and even the firewood had been treated beforehand. All of it showed that the master of the longhouse possessed profound knowledge as well. This knowledge did not come from books and writing, but had been slowly thought through and summed up through long practice and reflection, until it had long since become part of instinct.
"Honored tribal shaman..."
The Scholar Miki was silent for a long time before he calmed the surging emotions in his heart and faced the other man's identity as a shaman-sage squarely. Shaman Chief Cedar's sharp questioning had struck straight to the heart of the matter, leaving him deeply surprised. He had guessed the beginning of the story, but he could not foresee how it would develop, and because of that, he had lost the initiative in the conversation.
Beside him, the cloaked hunter Letian likewise showed surprise and doubt. He had never seen the amiable Shaman Cedar press someone so aggressively. But very soon, he realized why the shaman had done so.
"The brown bear in the mountain forest only roars when it feels threatened... Ancestors! Shaman Cedar actually thinks this Longship Tribe that has just arrived, with only a few hundred people... is a threat that must be looked straight in the eye?..."
Thinking this, the cloaked hunter Letian turned his head and stared fixedly at the Scholar Miki. Miki pursed his lips and hesitated for quite a while before deciding to speak of everything frankly.
"Our fleet arrived here in obedience to the Main God's will, following the guidance of the God-Inspired! And in coming