Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Symbols of Trust
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Rakrak then wrote various characters on the dirt floor—ones that he, Jaol, and the many people of the tribe had created and shared together—and explained their meanings.
This primitive writing system wasn't extensive, and it was simple, so the quick-witted Owen memorized it all in no time.
'Not just simple doodles or... hunting marks. Combining this and that creates another meaning. Just like speaking.'
Rakrak spoke to Owen, who had been listening quietly and absorbing the explanations.
"Fun, isn't it? My tribe and I made it together."
"...Interesting. I'm not sure if it's useful."
"It definitely has its uses. We call this 'writing'. And writing is something you don't understand the meaning of until you learn it."
"Why state the obvious..."
As he spoke, Owen realized what Rakrak meant.
'He and I just learned it, but the other Froglins don't know. Did this black-scaled Lizardman want to meet me alone just to teach me this? ...Why?'
Rakrak spoke as if reading his mind.
"'Faith', Owen."
"......"
"The stories we shared earlier, the conversations about faith—they weren't between you and me. They were between Rakrak's Lizardman tribe and Aulroy's Froglin tribe. But the faith I truly want to exchange is between you and me."
"...Haha. You don't need to go that far. I'm just a go-between for the Froglins and you black-scaled Lizardmen..."
Rakrak cut him off.
"We shared faith today, but I don't trust the Froglins. I don't take any of the stories you told about them at face value. In fact, I believe there are far more stories you haven't told—ones you're hiding."
"Hoh, does that mean everything you said today was a lie?"
"No. I swear on my tribe, my name—everything—that it's all true."
Rakrak glared as he spoke, and looking into his eyes, Owen knew this proud warrior and tribal chief spoke only the truth.
Owen himself could never make such a claim.
Rakrak softened his expression and continued.
"What's important is the faith between you and me."
"Why is that important?"
"You have the face of someone in pain."
"Me?"
"Yes."
Owen unconsciously touched his face.
Lizardmen, with their long snouts, weren't a species rich in facial expressions.
Rakrak said,
"I know pain well. My tribe and I know all about the outcasts, the rejected. I've simply seen that in you."
"Ah."
Owen let out an involuntary gasp and quickly interjected.
"No. I'm not in pain."
"Only those in pain say that."
Silence fell between them.
Rakrak twirled a twig lightly in his hand, then spoke.
"Alright, a few more left. This means 'no' or 'refusal'."
Rakrak wrote a character on the ground.
X
"And this means 'lie' or 'fake'."
As Rakrak moved his hand, another character appeared below the X.
√
Owen blinked.
"Put them close together, and it means... 'No is a lie', which is to say 'true'."
"Oh, wait. Never thought of it that way. You're smart."
"...And about what you wrote earlier..."
Owen shared a few ideas about the writing with Rakrak, who thought they were quite valuable discoveries.
For some reason, Owen found this moment joyful and fun, though he felt his voice trembling.
It was the thrill of intellectual immersion he hadn't felt since the Froglins began dominating them.
The sensation wise ones feel when uncovering the value of a new civilization.
As Owen voiced his ideas, a faint thought crossed his mind.
'I wish time would stop right here.'
But it didn't.
Rakrak lifted his head slightly at the sound of footsteps.
"This has been enlightening. Oboi's wandering around over there—shall we head back?"
"...Yes."
Owen stood, watching Rakrak's back as he walked away. He hesitated, then finally spoke.
"Nothing more to say?"
"No. I believe faith has passed between us. And I've already seen the sign."
"A sign?"
Rakrak just grinned silently, showing his teeth.
Owen sensed there was something in that confident demeanor, but he couldn't pinpoint what.
"Good work, Owen."
"N-No, it's nothing."
"Impressive results for just handing over a single bow."
Owen bowed his head before Shunen.
Rakrak had revealed nearly everything about his tribe and village. That alone was a huge achievement, but Rakrak had even spoken of faith and invited a few of Shunen's warriors to his village.
At first, the ever-suspicious Oboi thought it might be a trap, but it wasn't.
The Froglin warriors hadn't gone deep into the village, but they confirmed every piece of information Rakrak shared was true.
"Who knew he'd trust us that much. This is largely your doing."
"Thank you."
"Tell me what you want."
Owen swallowed hard.
"That... promise you made before, do you remember...?"
"Promise? What was it?"
Owen wanted to smack the forgetful Froglin in front of him but held back.
"If I accomplished something big, you'd let me bring my child from the island so we could live together..."
"Ah, that. Hm, sure. Why not."
Shunen nodded.
"Oboi will object, but I can convince Father. I've always thought we need to show the Lizardmen that if they obey us well—not just obey, but serve for our benefit—good things can happen."
"Th-Thank you."
Owen felt his chest swell as a long-held dream came true.
And yet, he also thought of Rakrak.
Of Rakrak, and the writing he had shown.
And the conversations they'd shared about it.
'...But even that confident tribal chief can't win against this many Froglins and a Two-Headed Abomination.'
In Owen's mind, even those thirty warriors would struggle to leave a single scratch on the abomination's scales.
'He said he'd hunted giant monsters before. But to those who live with real monsters, that's just bravado.'
During the barter, Rakrak had brought a very large, tough shell, but the Froglins valued it cheaply, and Rakrak had been disappointed and refused the trade.
'Maybe some wanderer called it valuable and tried to barter. We Froglins have plenty like that—arm-thick fangs or leather that doesn't rot. Curious items, but not truly valuable...'
In short, Owen thought Rakrak was deeper-thinking than his initial guess, but still a naive tribal chief.
'He should have been more suspicious, more guarded. He shouldn't trust someone like me.'
Owen thought he had steeled his resolve.
'He shouldn't have trusted someone like me.'
But in the dead of night, Owen stared at the island in the middle of the lake, picked up a twig,
'...Why did he try to trust me? I'm just a swindler.'
and began scribbling characters on the ground.
On the day Rakrak and his warriors arrived, Shunen was in a good mood.
"Welcome, friend."
"Thanks for the invitation. I hope this exchange deepens the bond between our two tribes."
"I agree."
Shunen led his other warriors out to greet Rakrak and his group at the edge of the Froglin village.
Oboi, who hadn't dropped his suspicions to the end, had insisted on matching the greeting party to exactly thirty warriors, which left Shunen a bit annoyed, but fortunately, Rakrak seemed to have no doubts about Shunen himself.
Rakrak said,
"Ah, I hope you don't take our being armed the wrong way. You frightened us so much with talk of cockatrices that some of our warriors insisted on carrying weapons. It would be trouble if we ran into one on the way, right?"
"Ah, I understand."
Shunen chuckled inwardly.
'Fool. I told him spears can't do anything to cockatrices.'
And the Froglins used bows, so even if they brought three or four spears, it didn't matter.
They could throw spears only three or four times, but a single Froglin carried ten arrows.
'I'll get them drunk in the middle of the feast hall. Then stick them with poison arrows in the back.'
They hadn't shown the Lizardmen yet, but Froglin warriors carried a secret weapon on their belts alongside quivers: live poison frogs.
The poison frogs secreted neurotoxin from their backs, and simply coating arrows with it before firing produced a powerful paralyzing effect.
Shunen felt elated imagining the hulking black Lizardman before him collapsing helplessly.
'Father will finally be satisfied.'
There was something Shunen hadn't even told Owen fully.
The Froglin tribe was divided into three large zones around the lake.
One was the lower zone where Froglins—non-warriors or elders—and Lizardmen coexisted under surveillance.
Another was the island zone with Lizardman children for sacrifices and the Froglins guarding them.
The last was across the lake, where Aulroy, the elders, the warrior class, and their families lived.
'Good thing the itching disease hasn't spread much to the lower-class Froglins. Father's not the only problem now.'
The disease known as the itching plague, with white pus oozing from the body, had spread throughout the upper-class village.
Many had already died.
Over ten warriors had perished from it alone, and another ten were bedridden. Strangely, it seemed more lethal to the young and healthy.
If the Froglins weren't split into two villages, the remaining Lizardmen would have noticed.
Shunen kept his eyes glued to Rakrak and his warriors to ensure no hitches in the plan.
Rakrak was invited to the central feast hall and said,
"By the way, where's Owen?"
"I put him in charge of feast preparations... Let me see... There he is. Owen! Owen! Hmm, too far to hear. What is he doing?"
"Looks like he's 'writing' something on the ground."
"Ah, got it. Probably marking seats. Smell that rising smoke and food aroma. Go take your seats. Greet Owen too."
"Will do."
"I'll just check if the food's ready."
With that, Shunen left, and Rakrak led his warriors into the feast hall.
Ten Froglin warriors and Owen awaited them.
"Owen."
"You've arrived, Rakrak?"
"Yes."
"The spots where I wrote the 'characters' are your seats. Once you and your warriors sit, a joyous feast celebrating peace and friendship between our tribes will begin."
Rakrak nodded and looked at the characters Owen had drawn at each seat.
√
√
√
...
Rakrak glanced back and said,
"Yur."
"Yes, Tribal Chief."
"Begin."
"Yes, sir."
Yur drew a spear shaft lightly tucked at his waist.
The motion was so natural that the Froglins surrounding the Lizardmen in the feast hall didn't realize what was happening.
Yur said,
"Bone Warriors, kill all the Froglins."
A sharp javelin shot from Yur's hand like lightning, piercing a Froglin warrior's skull.