Dawn of Humanity (5)

It's said that humans have three great desires: appetite, sleep, and lust. Ah, but turns out that's complete bullshit. I looked it up, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there's zero academic or scientific backing for it.

Anyway, the misconception exists because appetite is such a crucial factor for humans. Well, duh—you starve if you don't eat.

In short, eating is an essential act for any creature's survival, something you can't neglect. So, what happens when primitive humans, who only did it to stay alive and had never tasted anything beyond raw meat and fruit, get introduced to delicious roasted meat?

"Keeik! Kkeek!"

"Kyaa! Kyakyaak!"

The answer was unfolding right there in the human tribe.

Yeah, after trying meat roasted over fire for the first time, they'd end up dancing around it like that. Not sure if you could call it dancing, but it sure expressed joy.

They spun circles around the bonfire, branches skewered with steaming hot meat in their hands, dancing nonstop. Seeing them so happy made it all worthwhile—the effort of teaching them how to make fire.

And so, today I had another gift prepared! Ta-da!

It looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like a plain white rock at first glance! But this wasn't just any rock...!

Ahem, got a bit excited there. Let me calm down.

While wandering the world to check on things and hunt for traces of the vanished Erebos, I stumbled upon a spot that used to be ocean but was now land. Curious, I investigated and found this intriguing rock.

A faint pinkish-white boulder rising from barren soil where grass struggled to grow. Looked like a gem? As I examined it, herbivorous animals passing by licked it a few times. Turned out it was rock salt.

Hmm. Just a hunch, but...? Sure enough, it was, and I was a little shocked. This place was definitely sea hundreds of years ago, now land somehow. No idea if the ground rose or sea levels dropped... Maybe an earth spirit shifting underground caused the terrain change.

Eh, whatever—good things are good. Thanks to that, I scored this gift.

I could've made it with magic, but I preferred something found naturally. Giving them this rock salt might encourage them to seek it out themselves later. Can't keep handing out presents forever, right?

I approached the tribe, rock salt in hand.

"You lot. Doing well?"

"Keeik? Kick! Kiiik!"

Spotting me, the primitives got super excited, jumping around. They still remembered me teaching them fire, giving me a wild welcome.

"Oo! Ooo!! Kyaa! Koo!"

"You guys really need to learn some language."

No clue how long it'd take, but how long do I have to listen to this ooga-booga crap? Ugh... They wouldn't develop some secret language I don't know, would they?

"Kiiik! Koo! Kiii!"

"Ah, thanks."

As I approached, one managing the bonfire skewered a roasting hunk of meat on a branch and offered it to me—like showing off how well they used fire now.

Hmm. Pretty impressive. And they weren't exactly overflowing with food themselves.

Good kids like this deserve a gift. I levitated the salt lump with mana, pinched off a bit between thumb and forefinger, crushed it to powder, and sprinkled a light dusting over the meat.

Too much would make it too salty. Just a touch.

The white powder scattered lightly, melting into the juices right away.

Mm. Perfect.

Ideally, you'd season before cooking, but oh well! I inspected the salted meat, then handed it back to the one who'd given it to me.

"Keeik?"

"Try it."

"Kiii...."

Mm. When will they learn to talk? I wanna have a real chat.

Ah, wait—can't magic fix this? Let's see... Translation spell? Nah, no language exists yet, so translation won't work.

Better: a spell to convey intent directly... Yeah, worth researching.

"Kooo...."

The primitive took the salted meat, examined it curiously, took a bite.

"Keeik?!"

His face lit up in shock. Impressive—could read expressions through all that fur.

"Oakyak! Kyak! Ukyak!"

Clutching the salted meat, he started jumping and devouring it. The others gathered, watching him bounce around like a lunatic.

Makes sense—I'd think someone going nuts like that was crazy too.

I grinned at the onlookers.

Good—they seem to want salted meat too. Time to work some magic.

I lifted a nearby rock with mana, transmuted it into a huge slab of meat, sliced it thin with mana blades, crushed more salt to powder, and sprinkled evenly.

Finish with mana flames. A blaze roared up, cooking it in seconds.

Juices dripped, the savory aroma mouthwatering—even for me, who doesn't need food.

"Kyak! Ukyak!!"

"Keeik! Kiiiik!"

The speechless primitives cheered. Amid the uproar, I distributed bite-sized portions.

There. This is what delicious tastes like, little humans.

Seeing them so thrilled made even me happy.

And just like that, dropping by the tribe with gifts became my routine.

What is humanity's favorite color?

Red, blue, green—among the countless shades in the world, it's said to be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠silver.

Is it because the Empire's most common currency is the silver coin? Or because the Empire's symbol, the Guardian Dragon, has silver scales?

— Article from the Empire's entertainment magazine. Apparently, some Imperial Academy scholar was furious upon reading it.