The Great Mother's Warm Embrace

The cold winter day when I left, the smile of my adoptive mother, Sophia the Great Mother, as she saw me off, was warm. Yet I could feel the quiet sorrow hidden beneath that warmth—the reluctance of sending me away.

“My son, Geum Taeyang! My child born of my own heart has returned! A miracle has happened to this mother!”

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

Three years later, upon spotting my triumphant return, the Great Mother came running with her herb basket, her smile radiant like sunlight.

“Haha! Great Mother! Running like that in front of so many people doesn’t suit you! Please walk slowly!”

Sophia Barbara, a woman of the Mohican barbarian tribe, possessed beauty and a figure worthy of being called a peerless beauty. Yet that was only a small part of her. Already in her early twenties, she carried the dignity and aura of a Great Mother of the tribe.

Even so, she charged toward me like a child. I quickly spoke up to calm her.

“What could be more dignified than a mother welcoming her child? I missed you so much, my precious son!”

Whoosh!

“Yes! I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠missed you too, Mother!”

Yet the Great Mother refused to stop and enveloped me completely in her voluptuous body.

‘Kuh, this is it! This is Mama’s embrace! Thank you, Main Developer!’

The skin of the young she-wolf Athena had been truly fantastic. That was why I understood the appeal of younger women. But the embrace of a fully ripened milf was on an entirely different level.

I had already noticed while she ran: the Great Mother’s breasts were easily twice the size of Athena’s. Right now, what filled my chest was her overflowing maternal love—and the sheer, heavy mass of a barbarian cow’s udders.

“I see. So you went swimming in Cargo Lake with Athena after so long? Well done, Taeyang. Those who come from afar are said to wash away misfortune by entering the lake.”

“It seems the effect is already working. I got to see you the moment I entered the village.”

“Hohoho! Living among civilized folk has made you quite the smooth talker, our Taeyang! Do you know, Taeyang? Athena marked the days on the stone slate, waiting only for your return.”

“Really? Athena did that?”

“N-no! That never happened! Mother is lying!”

Athena, the Great Mother, and I headed toward the central tent, the chieftain’s dwelling. Along the way, the three of us shared a truly family-like conversation.

“It’s a shame, Great Mother. To think I have to leave again right after seeing you.”

“You know how it is. This season always keeps me busy with the tribe’s children. So don’t feel bad. We’ll see each other again this evening. We still have so much time ahead, like the open blue sky.”

However, the Great Mother would not enter the central tent with us. She would head instead to the outer tents of the Gaia tribe residents.

“You’ll be there for a long time once you go. The conversation here will probably finish first, so tell me where you’ll be. I’ll come find you.”

“Would that be better?”

The Great Mother had spent her life caring for those who had just settled in the tribe, as well as the sick, the elderly, and children. Right now, she was finishing the last of her tasks before sunset. Even so, those remaining tasks would easily take two hours, meaning she wouldn’t return until after dark.

“Then let’s meet later, son. Have a good talk with the chieftain. And Athena, don’t get sulky with him, all right?”

“I won’t anymore! That was ages ago! It was before I became Tessadar!”

The Great Mother left with a benevolent smile. When I had gone to the academy, there had been a cold war between the chieftain and Athena. Apparently, it still lingered.

After seeing her off, Athena and I announced our presence at the central tent and stepped inside.

“Kuhahaha! I heard the Great Mother’s bright voice and our daughter’s unusual cry, so I wondered if it might be so—and indeed, Geum Taeyang, you were with them!”

Conan Barbara, chieftain of the Gaia tribe and leader of the Mohican people, greeted us from his seat upon the Gruman, the seat of authority.

‘As expected, he lives up to the nickname White-Haired Siakan. Even past fifty, his body is…’

Though similar in height to me, his muscles were far more imposing. With his white hair and beard, he gave off a kindly impression at first glance, yet facing him felt like standing before Galatea’s giant tiger, Siakan. The real Conan Barbara, not the one stored in my memories, was exactly that.

“I offer my greetings upon my return, Chieftain. Blood follows the chieftain.”

I bowed with far more decorum than I had shown Grandfather Gandalf. “Blood follows the chieftain” was a mark of respect given by warriors to their chieftain.

I had received my warrior title the year I turned nineteen.

“Good. Welcome back, Geum Taeyang! My son!”

Step. Step. Step.

The chieftain rose from the Gruman, descended the platform of the chieftain’s altar, and slowly walked toward me.

“Whoa! You’re almost as tall as me now? I was worried about you living among civilized folk, but your physique and eyes carry even more of a warrior’s presence than three years ago!”

Thud!

He came within a meter and grabbed both my shoulders. He was testing my strength.

‘He’s strong. Stronger than Athena, who inherited Tessadar.’

Of course, he was also unconsciously displaying his own power. Beyond the hands gripping my shoulders, I could feel the battle prowess of Conan Barbara, chieftain of the Gaia tribe and the strongest warrior of the current Mohican people.

‘[Eye of the Transcendent]’

So I immediately activated the Eye of the Transcendent.

‘Terrifying.’

The moment I saw the combat level listed after his name, I nearly broke my poker face.

‘A+ is rare even in the Empire. No wonder he tried to unify the Mohican tribes and become Great Khan.’

If B+ made someone an executive in a powerful combat group, then A+ was commander level. Of course, rank wasn’t determined by combat power alone, but that was roughly the weight of it.

‘And [Paewangchammado]…’

His special abilities included Fighting Spirit Aura, which Athena lacked, but what truly caught my eye was the special item: [Paewangchammado]. Seeing it, I frantically searched through my pre-knowledge from Record of World Conquest.

“Since two years ago, the Bakara and Tarka tribes have been strengthening their contacts with the outside world.”

After the reunion gestures ended, the three of us sat down properly and began a serious conversation. The chieftain sat upon the Gruman while Athena and I knelt on the massive Siakan pelt spread before the platform—Athena cross-legged, I on my knees.

At first the chieftain asked about my small daily life in civilized society, but once I described its complicated routines, he soon brought up the changes sweeping through the Mohican tribes as civilization seeped in.

“So naturally, our Gaia tribe has also encountered many complicated situations.”

The Bakara and Tarka tribes were the largest and most prosperous among the Mohican tribes classified under Gaia. With barter trade flourishing across the Mohican people, their openness was clearly affecting the Gaia tribe as well.

“The Great Mother and Athena are clever enough to read and write, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even that isn’t enough. Civilized society is so finicky. Almost nothing can be done by word alone, and there are countless things that must be recorded.”

The Mohican people had both language and writing, but the latter was especially simple. Until now, they had passed everything down through oral tradition based on trust rather than records. Therefore, as civilization brought more need for documentation and reading, dealing with outsiders grew increasingly troublesome.

“Athena, you’ve been using a lot more outside-world words lately. Is that why? Have you been studying separately?”

“Yeah. It feels like too much of a burden on Mother. I should help at least a little.”

Listening to the chieftain, I recalled how Athena had behaved toward me since our reunion. She had always been talkative around me, but today she had been even more proactive—almost as if trying to act like a civilized person, chattering away. She had been actively using the results of her diligent language practice over the years.

“Last summer, our livestock died in droves. An epidemic spread. Yet the Bakara and Tarka tribes were fine. Turns out they had already received some vaccine from the civilized world. After that incident, your mother rolled up her sleeves and got to work.”

“Ah, so the livestock influenza reached even the southern regions.”

“You know about that?”

“Of course. I heard the noble ladies and young lords at the Imperial Academy who own fiefdoms talking about it.”

“Oh…”

As large-scale barter with the outside began, continental viruses expanded their reach at the same time. The Gaia tribe, tucked deep inside the Galatea region and slow to receive news, had taken a direct hit.

I could easily imagine what the Great Mother, who went mad with worry over the tribe’s well-being, must have looked like.

“I thought there were more totems than before. So that was the reason.”

“Yes. Psychological reassurance is important for the people too.”

When I mentioned the increased number of shamanic totems I had seen upon entering the village, the chieftain nodded slowly. He looked deep in thought.

“So I’m afraid I must ask something unreasonable of you, who should be resting.”

After a brief silence, he continued in a low voice.

“I want you to take the position of Deputy Chieftain. I believe that would have the most positive impact, both practically and psychologically for the tribe members.”

In other words, he wanted me to become the tribe’s second-in-command. He called it a “position” because the Great Mother already existed, so a deputy wasn’t strictly necessary in reality. Given ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the context of our conversation, it meant handling external affairs. With the Imperial Academy title, outsiders would naturally view our tribe differently from the start.

“Simply returning to my homeland has already healed my body and mind. I will gladly follow the chieftain’s command.”

That was why I had gone to the academy in the first place. Even though I had entered through special admission with low tuition, it was still the civilized world, and the tribe’s people had paid every last coin of that hefty sum. So I had to show results. I accepted the request with determined, sparkling eyes.

“You’re not coming with me?”

After finishing my talk with the chieftain, I headed toward the Great Mother as promised. Yet Athena said she wouldn’t accompany me, which made me tilt my head.

She had never backed out when I had somewhere to go—unless it was something special.

“I think I overdid the swimming. I’m feeling a bit chilly.”

“Nonsense. You’re the healthiest and strongest person here.”

“Just accept it!”

“Fine. Whatever you say.”

I guessed she was trying to claim she had caught a cold from being pushed too hard earlier. I didn’t really believe it, but I decided to play along.

‘When I left for the academy, Sonya was five years old, wasn’t she?’

So I went alone to where the Great Mother was. It was the house where the girl named Sonya lived. They were a community that had begun settling in our tribe a year before I left for the academy.

‘She’s still here. The sign is up.’

The Great Mother always hung a sign on whatever tent she was in. It meant that if anyone needed her, they should come find her.

“Great Mother, I’ve finished speaking with the chieftain and returned.”

After checking the sign, I poked my head into Sonya’s tent.

“Oh my! You’re here, my son?”

What greeted me was—

“I still need to finish milking, so can you wait a moment?”

Pushushushut! Viewrit! Pushushushut!♥

The sight of the Great Mother’s bare upper body as she diligently squeezed her own breasts.