The Snow Leopard Tribe's Arrival
My words made Miya's father and mother bow their heads. Behind them, the lined-up Snow Leopard tribe prostrated themselves on the ground.
23 inhabitants wish to join the territory.
Inhabitants affiliated with the territory will act according to their satisfaction level.
Target: 23 Snow Leopards of the Eternal Snow Mountain.
The target's satisfaction level is very high.
The Lord must care for the territory and its inhabitants.
The inhabitants must protect the territory and the Lord.
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“I have a question. Will you migrate to my territory?”
Even though the System had already informed me, I asked anyway.
“Yes. If it is the god’s wish, I will offer this body and follow.”
“I’ll have to correct that a little. I am not a god, merely the Lord who governs this place. I possess some special abilities, but I am an ordinary human. Can you still follow me?”
“We know that not all humans are evil. Seeing our daughter in Your Lordship’s arms, we can tell how well you have treated her. We wish to follow you, my Lord.”
“My Lord, please accept us.”
Miya’s father and mother spoke in turn. When I turned to look at the entire Snow Leopard tribe, they all gave the same answer.
“I accept all of you.”
In an instant, the number of inhabitants had risen to twenty-seven. Most of them were Snow Leopards, but the increase in population finally gave the place the feeling of a living territory.
“You must have suffered greatly. You are safe now.”
At my words, the Snow Leopards let out sighs of relief.
“Mom! Dad!”
Miya threw herself into their arms. It was a truly moving sight.
Yet…
“Miya…”
“She really is Miya, but if she had grown for about ten years, she would have looked like this… *sniff*!”
Miya’s mother silently stroked her daughter’s back. Miya’s father tilted his head in confusion and spoke to Miya, only to have his side pinched by his wife until he fell silent.
“Because I used my ability to turn back time and bring the Snow Leopard tribe here, you must be bewildered by how different Miya looks from the one in your memories.”
“Huh…? Minsoo, am I… different somehow?”
“It’s not that. Miya’s parents came from the past.”
“The past…?”
Miya tilted her head left and right, clearly not understanding. Even though I knew the Snow Leopard tribe had been summoned from the past right before their annihilation, Miya did not. So of course it made no sense to her. I probably needed to explain that first.
“I believe the Snow Leopard tribe was attacked not long after Miya ran away from home. Isn’t that right, you two?”
“It is. The very next day after Miya left…”
“What!?”
Miya was shocked by her father’s words.
“Our tribe had already resigned itself to extinction. We were simply grateful that Miya had left the village. At least one of our bloodline could survive… that was what we thought.”
“Dad…”
“You said you were summoned several years after Miya ran away, right?”
“Umm… more than ten years… maybe eleven? Twelve?”
Miya and her parents had been summoned from different points in time. According to Miya, there was at least an eleven-year gap. Standing together like this, they looked more like siblings than parent and child.
“That’s why, even though Miya’s parents recognized her, they were still confused.”
“Uuu… Mom, Dad, is Minsoo right?”
“Hehe… That’s right, dear. I’m just so happy to see our daughter looking this beautiful.”
“Hehe… I’m happy too!”
“Our little girl… she was such a tiny thing, and now she’s grown so much… I can feel the power in her. She’s about as strong as her old man. You didn’t neglect your training. Well done, my daughter.”
“Hehe! I believed what you said, Dad—that if I wanted to eat and live, I had to get stronger!”
Whether ten years or twenty had passed, a child remained a child forever in their parents’ eyes. Even though Miya had grown, they accepted her as she was. So I quietly stepped aside to let the family talk.
‘Our fighting strength has increased dramatically.’
Judging by the grade of magic stones required for the summoning, Miya’s father was probably 9th grade. If he was similar to her, then Miya was also 9th grade. On top of that, there were five 8th-grade, eleven 7th-grade, four 6th-grade, and two 3rd-grade individuals. The two children were the 3rd-grade ones, and the four who looked like teenagers were the 6th-grade ones. The adults were 7th grade, and the five whose wounds I had just healed were 8th grade.
Even by Korean—or world—standards, they were incredibly powerful. And yet they had been driven to the brink of extinction. The humans of that world might be even stronger than the ones here.
‘Well… Asne is here, someone who can casually slaughter even 11th-grade beings…’
There was a saying that it wasn’t the strong who survived, but rather that those who survived became strong. It meant you had to evolve to endure your environment if you wanted to live. If monsters surrounded you, you simply had to become a monster yourself.
“Minsoo! Minsoo! Let me introduce them again. This is my dad, the former chief of the Snow Leopard tribe—Minoode Leu Spau!”
“Thank you once again for saving our Snow Leopard tribe. I am Minoode Leu Spau. You may call me Mino.”
“And this is my mom, Diya Leu!”
“I am Miya’s mother, Diya Leu. Please just call me Diya.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Kim Minsoo, the Lord of this territory.”
“Lord Minsoo. Thank you so much.”
Miya’s father, Mino, bowed politely. Miya’s mother, Diya, offered a warm smile and a graceful greeting. I briefly explained the situation to them.
Miya had wanted to leave because she found life in the village stifling, but Mino had opposed it. That very day she ran away, and the Empire’s knights attacked. Realizing he had been wrong, Mino resolved to do whatever it took to save the tribe. The entire Snow Leopard tribe, unwilling to die, had agreed to become inhabitants when I suddenly asked.
‘If Miya hadn’t run away and been summoned by me, the Snow Leopard tribe would have been wiped out.’
Miya herself had only been summoned because she was in a desperate situation. It seemed the condition for answering my summons was being in dire straits. A series of fortunate coincidences had allowed the Snow Leopard tribe to escape extinction.
“You must all be exhausted and hungry. Let’s eat something and rest.”
“Ah, that’s all right. We wouldn’t want to trouble you, Lord Minsoo. Besides, isn’t there food scattered all over this place? A territory with such abundant provisions must be blessed by your grace, Lord Minsoo.”
Mino spoke confidently, but I couldn’t see any food anywhere in my field of view. When I looked at Miya, she blushed in embarrassment.
“D-Dad… I did say that, but… grass isn’t our staple food…”
‘Aha!’
I suddenly remembered what Miya had eaten back in the snowy mountains—porridge made from grass and soaked tree bark.
“Nonsense! The blessings of the earth must be eaten whether they are staple foods or not! Miya, even after growing up you’re still a picky eater!”
“Minsoo… please stop my dad…”
“Miya, the elder is speaking.”
“Eh? No! My dad is younger than you, Minsoo!”
“What?”
Mino stood well over 190 centimeters tall, with broad shoulders and a body packed with muscle. He didn’t look like someone who had grown up eating only grass porridge and tree bark. His face alone made him look like he was in his twenties. Though his features were youthful, there was a certain depth of experience in his expression. Based on the aura he gave off, he seemed to be in his late thirties to early forties.
“Hm? Lord Minsoo, are you older than you appear?”
“Ah… I’m thirty-five this year, but… what about the two of you, if I may ask?”
“Oh! Then you’re my elder brother. I’m thirty this year! My wife is the same age as me.”
Miya’s parents were younger than me.
“No…! If Miya has grown for ten years, then the two of you should have aged as well…! That means you’re both older than me…!”
“How kind of you to be so considerate…! Such thoughtfulness isn’t necessary. May I call you elder brother from now on?”
“No… that… Miya’s mother… could you please stop your husband…?”
“Oh my… please speak casually with us. And I think I’d like to call you ‘orabeoni.’”
Diya spoke with a bright smile.
“Yeah! Minsoo’s the best, so Mom and Dad should call him that!”
“And what about you? You just call him whatever you want?”
“Eheh~”
The family tree had become hopelessly tangled. Adding the years that had passed since Miya ran away, her parents were over forty. But they had died at thirty. Since I was the one who reversed that, the responsibility ultimately fell on me.
“Fine… do whatever you want…”
“Oh! What a straightforward elder brother!”
“Hehe… I look forward to getting along with you from now on, orabeoni.”
Miya’s free-spirited personality had clearly been inherited from these two. While the socially mature parents maintained some decorum, Miya still felt like a teenager mentally. After running away, she hadn’t had time to mature emotionally. Constantly pursued by humans and completely alone, she wouldn’t have been able to grow in that sense.
“Hey! Stop!”
“Yes?”
“Drinking seawater will only dehydrate you! Drink this instead.”
My head was starting to throb. In the distance, I saw one of the Snow Leopards trying to scoop seawater with both hands to drink, so I shouted urgently. I took out a water bottle from the status window and handed it over. Miya stepped in to show them how to use it when they looked confused.
‘A tribe that eats grass porridge and tree bark in the snowfields and uses their tails as blankets… they’re literally people of nature!’
“Hey!!! Stop eating the grass!”
“Angnyangnyang… Ah! That’s right. This is Lord Minsoo’s land, so I should have asked permission first!”
I had finally heard the sound of a Snow Leopard munching on grass. I did my best to calm my throbbing head. The Snow Leopards were beautiful in appearance. But they had lived far too removed from civilization. They were savages in every sense of the word.
“Everyone, gather around!”
This was my territory. I could understand what kind of life they had lived until now, but I couldn’t allow that kind of behavior in my domain. So it was time to teach these Snow Leopards the conveniences of civilization.
