Chapter 59
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: One Night
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As we spent time joining in the festivities, the sun finally began to set bit by bit.
By the time darkness had fully settled over the plains, we followed Takya's guidance into a massive ger.
Above the enormous bonfire in the center, an entire sheep was roasting to a golden crisp, dripping fat with sizzles. The savory aroma of lamb meat mingled with the tangy scent of fermented mare's milk alcohol, assaulting our noses.
No sooner had I sat down than women from the Qiang tribe, adorned with flashy ornaments, squeezed in not just beside me but next to Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Ma Teng, Wei Sok, and Jia Xu as well.
"Administrator, have some liquor."
"This meat is delicious."
The women spoke clumsy Han Chinese, but pretending to pour drinks, one slyly groped my thigh, another pressed her breasts firmly against my back while offering meat. The one clutching my arm thrust her chest right up against me with blatant intent.
'No way... is this what I think it is?'
A sidelong glance showed everyone in a similar predicament.
Zhang Liao and Gao Shun stiffened awkwardly, fiddling only with their cups, while Ma Teng casually accepted and downed the liquor poured by the woman beside him.
Meanwhile, the one guy thoroughly enjoying himself, Wei Sok, was already chugging liquor with women on both sides and bellowing out.
"Kahahaha! Brother! This is paradise!"
That fool was bound to get us in serious trouble over a woman someday.
In the midst of the revelry, Takya and Myagon approached me holding wooden cups filled with fresh red blood.
"Heh heh, Administrator. How's the banquet?"
"Hm... It's different from Han banquets, but how could I not enjoy it when I feel your tribe's hospitality toward a guest?"
"Haha, glad to hear you say so."
"But what's in that cup?"
Takya held out the cup brimming with red blood and said,
"It's our Qiang tribe's tradition to offer the blood of a freshly slaughtered sheep first to honored guests. Han people find it too fishy and avoid it. Care to drink? No matter if you don't."
The whole point of attending this banquet was to win over the Qiang tribes' hearts, so I had no intention of backing out.
I waved off the women beside me, took the cup, and downed it in one go.
―Gulp, gulp
The metallic, fishy taste exploded across my mouth.
"....."
My action silenced every sound in the ger. Moments later, someone shouted, and all the Qiang tribesmen leaped to their feet, roaring.
"Woooooo!!"
"The Administrator drank the blood!"
As the mood hit its peak, Takya grinned in surprise and said,
"Heh heh heh... Administrator, that was meant to be shared among the chieftains here... but you drained it all."
"Oh, it wasn't supposed to be all at once?"
I wiped the blood from my lips with my sleeve and replied nonchalantly. Myagon looked at me with intrigued eyes and shouted,
"Hahaha! You seem less like a Han and more like one of us Qiang! You'd fit right in."
Myagon pointed to the woman who had been groping my thigh beside me.
"That's my daughter. She's just reached marriageable age. Any interest?"
The woman looked up at me, but I shook my head firmly.
"I have a fiancée."
"Heh heh, even in the Central Plains, having multiple wives isn't frowned upon. You don't have to make her your principal wife—just take her along?"
Even Takya chimed in, but my answer remained the same.
"One woman is enough for me."
"Tch..."
At my resolute refusal, Takya and Myagon clicked their tongues in disappointment but pressed no further.
Instead, they now aimed to drown me in liquor.
"Come on! Drink up, Administrator."
"Hahaha! Your capacity is impressive!"
"For peace between Han and Qiang!"
The chieftains crowded around, thrusting cups at me one after another.
Wei Sok was already half-drunk and out of it, while Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, and Ma Teng nodded at my glance and accepted their drinks.
As the banquet reached its climax, Takya and Myagon hauled in a massive jar half the height of a man.
"Now it's time to find the true warrior here! Whoever empties this jar of liquor is tonight's true warrior!"
All eyes turned to me. I wasn't so dense as to miss what that meant.
'Uh... uh... they want me to drink all that?'
As every gaze fixed on me, Takya approached with a broad smile.
"Oho! Administrator! Not just brave and skilled in arms, but with such capacity too! This rivals the might of Mukdol Chanyu himself!"
"N-No..."
"Come on then, drink up! Haha, to think I'd live to see a Han take tonight's warrior title!"
"Woooooo! The Administrator challenges for night warrior!"
Damn it... I was trapped with no escape.
I squeezed my eyes shut, hoisted the jar, and poured it straight into my mouth.
―Glug, glug, glug
The tangy mare's milk liquor filled my mouth, and it seemed endless. My belly felt ready to burst, but with all eyes on me, I couldn't stop.
How much did I pour down? Finally, I saw the jar's bottom and set it down on the ground.
―Thud!
The clear ring of the empty jar unleashed a ger-shaking roar of cheers.
"Waaaaaa!!"
"The reincarnation of Mukdol Chanyu!"
Endless cheers echoed around me. But my vision blurred.
Even I couldn't endure this much. My face flushed red, my body swayed.
"Hahaha! Administrator, time to rest now. Come this way. I'll guide you to the quietest ger."
I nodded frantically at Takya's words.
I staggered out of the ger, leaning on Takya.
Even in summer, the northern night wind chilled, but my alcohol-heated body refused to cool.
Cheers from the Qiang still echoed behind. Amid my hazy mind, I quietly ordered Gao Shun.
"Gao Shun. Guard the front of my ger... until dawn."
"My lord, worry not."
Takya supported me as he led to the largest, quietest ger.
"Hahaha! Administrator, this way. I've prepared the coziest spot."
Takya flung open the ger's entrance.
The moment I stepped in, the alcohol haze seemed to lift at the sight of a figure sitting silently by the fire.
―It was that bold woman from earlier, Chienya.
I froze with a start, and Takya gave my back a slight push, whispering in my ear.
"Too much liquor harms the body. My granddaughter will tend to you all night."
With that, Takya vanished outside.
'That old geezer...!'
I tried to protest, but the alcohol garbled my words. In the end, only Chienya and I remained in the ger.
In the heavy silence, only the crackle of firewood resounded.
I plopped down roughly on the ger floor, glaring at Chienya without lowering my guard.
Chienya ignored my fierce glare. Seeing my cold sweat, she quietly rose, soaked a cloth in a water jar, and approached.
"What's your game."
When I demanded, Chienya just pointed to my forehead and said curtly.
"Sweat."
"?"
She truly seemed to have no ulterior motive, gently wiping the sweat from my brow.
The cool touch eased my tension a bit.
Once done, Chienya retreated to her spot by the fire and silently stared at the flames.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Her actions softened my wariness gradually.
As tension faded, the mare's milk from the jar surged through my body. My head throbbed like it would split, vision spun.
I collapsed onto the spot as if falling.
My eyelids weighed a thousand pounds. In my fading consciousness, I mustered the last of my strength to ask Chienya.
"Why... are you... here..."
Chienya looked at me.
Her eyes gleamed like embers in the firelight. In clumsy but clear Han Chinese, she replied.
"Strong seed."
"...What?"
With that, my awareness plunged into darkness.
In the darkened ger.
Only the bonfire burned quietly. I gazed down at the man passed out drunk from the liquor.
'A pretty-faced Han man. To think this one beheaded the Northern Palace White Jade of the Xianling Qiang.'
I hadn't believed it at first. But the archery I'd seen that day... even Father and Myagon couldn't match such divine skill.
Splitting my arrow in half—this Han man was truly strong.
Grandfather had said for our tribe's future, we needed a 'strong seed.'
'Strong seed... if it's this man's—'
―Gulp
I swallowed dryly. A woman of the steppes, yet I'd never seen a man's body before.
With trembling hand, I gently placed it on the Han man's firm thigh. Heat seeped through his leather pants.
'Inside here... must be the man's thing.'
I hesitated briefly, but curiosity overcame fear.
Shaking hands undid his belt, carefully peeling away layers of pants and undergarments. At last, I faced 'it.'
"....!"
I clapped a hand over my mouth. So this was the man's thing I'd only heard of. But this—this exceeded imagination.
"...Th-This... if it goes in... you'd die..."
Entranced, I reached out and touched its shape gingerly.
Hot and hard.
'It' twitched faintly like a living creature. Goosebumps rose at the hot, firm texture.
As I fondled it at length, lost in its size and feel, suddenly the man let out a deep groan.
"...Nngh..."
I jolted, yanking my hand away—but his massive arm flashed like lightning, wrapping my waist.
I couldn't even scream as I was dragged into his embrace.
"Eek!"
When I came to, my face was buried in his solid chest. I prided myself on my strength against anyone, yet his arm wouldn't budge.
"C-Can't... breathe...!"
"Mm..."
At first, I struggled. But he just mumbled in sleep, hugging tighter. Eventually, I gave up.
"Hah...! St-Stop touching..!"
All I could do was endure his sleepy groping of my back or grabs at my rear now and then.
A vicious headache brought me back to consciousness.
Before opening my eyes, a sweet fragrance tickled my nose, and something soft and yielding pressed against my palm.
'What... this softness...?'
Unconsciously, I squeezed. Feeling the warm sensation, I snapped my eyes open.
First thing I saw: raven-black hair and flushed-red earlobes. And my hand.
My hand—was gripping Chienya's ass.
'F-Fuck... what the hell is this?!'
I yanked back in shock and tried to sit up. But Chienya lay curled in my arms, asleep.
Her leather garb was half-undone, shoulders and back fully exposed.
Then Chienya stirred in her sleep, opened her eyes. Seeing me, her face turned crimson, glaring with mingled contempt and fury.
"N-No, this is..."
As I stammered an excuse, a commotion erupted outside the ger.
"Brother! You up? Last night you were totally... uh...?"
Wei Sok flung open the ger flap and poked his head in.
Wei Sok froze at the scene inside. Alternating glances between me and disheveled Chienya, his face shifted to one of shock and admiration as he bellowed.
"Kahahaha! Brother! Man, you turn into a real beast when you drink! Went all out like that, huh?!"
His idiocy snapped my reason.
"Shut your trap, you bastard!"
I groped around for my sword hilt. Seeing my murderous glare, Wei Sok paled white.
"B-Brother! Brother! It's your little bro Wei Sok! Spare me!"
Wei Sok shrieked and darted behind Gao Shun.
In the chaos, Chienya swiftly rose, straightened her clothes, still flushed beet-red, glaring daggers at me.
Chienya walked out without a word. Just before leaving, she turned and spat one cold word.
"...Responsibility."
That single word 'responsibility' hung heavily in the ger.
After Chienya vanished, Gao Shun silently smacked his own forehead, and Wei Sok finally realized something was wrong.
"...Wait, Brother? You're not joking... did you really...?"
I stared blankly at the ger entrance where Chienya had disappeared.
'Responsibility? What responsibility? I remember nothing. No, even racking my brain, all I recall is passing out drunk...'
Cold sweat trickled down my back.