The cold wind and warm sunlight hit Lara. She stood before the chieftain's hut with Rion in her arms; the other children who had reached the age of five also stood there with their parents.
Seeing that everyone was accompanied by both parents, Rion softly poked at Lara's cheek with his tiny fingers and said, "Mama."
She looked at him and asked, "What's wrong, my baby?"
"Where's Papa?" He questioned because Haden wasn't with them, which was pretty strange considering how he always stayed with Lara and him every day.
'On the second thought, I haven't seen Papa for the past few days... where is he?' Rion thought as a frown appeared on his face.
In the early days of this new life, he still saw Haden and Lara as strangers, or at most, as acquaintances, but that changed over time. He had become addicted to their love, their quarrels, their anger... their everything.
He had truly become their son, their little king. That's why he didn't like that Haden was not with them during such an important time in his life.
Lara stared at his expression, which kept turning darker with each passing moment. She smiled and squished his cheeks with her right hand.
He came out of his reverie and looked at her with eyes waiting for the answer.
Which she gave him right after, "Your Papa is not here because he has to help with the preparation of the ceremony."
His eyes widened in surprise, a thought forming in his head, 'That makes sense... he is one of the strongest tribe members, after all.'
"Would I meet Papa later?" He asked. He still wanted to meet his father even though he knew that Haden would be busy.
Her smile faltered a little, but after seeing the star of expectations in Rion's eyes, she nodded and spoke, "Of course, you would."
Right at that moment, the door of the chieftain's hut creaked open, and a broad man walked out.
He had grey hair tied in a single braid and a silver beard streaked with age. A vest of layered hides clung to his frame beneath a dark cape of wolf fur, pants of a dark hide covered his unshaken legs, and heavy leather boots accompanied his steps. Just like other warriors, marks of valour and survival — scars — covered his body.
As he walked out, all of the tribe warriors, who stood before his hut, knelt on one knee and folded their palms together. Lifting them like a cup.
The chieftain scanned everyone who knelt before him and spoke, "Stand, my children."
Everyone stood up at his words, and Rion asked, "Mama, what was that?"
Lara shifted him in her arms and answered, "That was our tribe's formal greeting... It's only for the descendants of the gods."
"That man is a descendant of a god?" He questioned with a finger on his chin as he glanced at the chieftain.
Lara replied with a nod, "Yes. He is the descendant of the God of Unity and Harmony."
'Oh!' His eyes sparkled. Imaginary drool dripped down his face as he thought of what kind of amazing reward he would obtain from the chieftain's hut.
The door of the chieftain's hut opened once again, and three beautiful women walked out. One of them had flowing red hair, the other had dark green hair tied into a bun, and the last one had blue hair tied into a ponytail. All of them wore a sleek fabric gown similar to their hair's colour.
'What the...' Rion pointed at one of them and asked, "Mama, who are they?"
Lara looked at him with a wry smile before answering in a low voice, "They are the wives of the chief."
'Holy hell.... that dude has a harem. God of Unity and Harmony. Nah, he is a descendant of the God of Unity and Haremony.' Rion thought as he looked at the chieftain and his wives.
Just then, the chieftain turned and walled inside his hut as he spoke, "Let the children in."
Lara put Rion down, crouched to match his eye level and spoke, "My little king, I want you to go inside the chief's hut."
He looked at the hut, then back at her, "Okay, Mama," he said before walking towards the hut.
As he walked, the other children also stepped towards the hut. He looked around and counted the children. He finished within a few moments, 'Twenty-five... there are only twenty-five of us.'
He knew that his tribe wasn't a big one; they barely had a thousand members, after all. But still seeing such a low number didn't sit well with him. However, for now, he threw that thought to the back of his mind.
He walked inside the chieftain's hut, and his eyes fell on painted skulls and weapons that filled the walls. At the same time, a blue screen flickered before him.
[Ding!]
[Sign-In at
[Yes / No]
'Yes.'
[You have obtained the passive skill (Seductive Charm)!]
'That... sounds like an eroge skill...' he thought as the next screen flickered.
[Ding!]
[Lucky spin is in effect!]
[You have obtained (No Reward)!]
[You did not obtain any reward.]
He stared at the screen with a dumbfounded look as he thought, 'I knew it! I shouldn't have raised that damn flag... It's actually better this way... I don't want any eroge skill.'
The screen blurred and disappeared as his focus shifted to the chieftain who sat at a throne of wood, bones and feathers. However, his mouth was left agape from the skull that hung behind him...
"Is that a dragon's skull?" He asked in an awed tone.
"No, it's the skull of a drake," the green-haired wife answered as she crouched near him.
He nodded while still staring at the skull.
"Take this," she said while offering him a bowl painted with tribal marks.
He took the bowl, saw a violet liquid inside and looked at her with confusion.
Seeing his confusion, she pointed at other children who had similar bowls and spoke softly, "Drink."
He gave her a nod and drank the violet liquid. A bit of it dripped out from the corners of his lips as he finished.
Right then, his vision darkened as he fell to the floor.