《From Chief to the Emperor (Rewrite)》Chapter 3: Showing his worth
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Below Edward’s foot was a large patch of grass that showed marks of an animal paw. It was clear that an animal had passed through here, leaving behind these tracks.
Edward pointed the grass out for Night. He had seen trails like these before. During one of his regular wilderness retreat, his more experienced friend had shown and taught him about tracking. Edward knew the trail was left by a hare.
“There is a hare nearby!” Edward pointed at the grass and looked back towards Night with excitement in his voice.
Night raised her eyebrows, she apparently saw the clue, but then she shook her head.
"Hare? Is there a rabbit? But rabbits are hard to catch. The people of our tribe have never caught one."
Humans have not domesticated captive animals in this era, and there was no such a similar concept. It was hard for anyone to catch small games like hares and rabbits without using traps, which was a foreign concept to Night.
If Edward could capture a rabbit, he would surely win some favor from Night while shedding a more positive light on himself too. Everyone favored a more capable person than a freeloader.
‘Maybe she would be happy if I catch one seeing as she hasn’t ever caught one. Prove my worth and maybe get access to her tribe.’
However, at the moment, Edward was like an infant just out of a mother’s womb. Edward himself didn’t know a lot of things about this place.
Edward remembered that his old buddy used a wire to set up a trap, but in the current situation, where could Edward find a wire from?
Even ropes were out of the question for Edward. This era had nothing artificially made for him.
While being anxious, he wandered around.
Inadvertently, he saw the animal skin wrapped on the upper body of Night and had an idea.
"I can catch rabbits, but I need a rope." Edward stared at the fur on Night with a smile while holding a hand and pulling an imaginary rope.
"Rope?" Night looked at him inexplicably.
Not only did she have no rope, but even the concept of the rope was foreign for her!
But the apt Night apparently understood his gestures, her pair of heroic eyebrows raised up and asked,
"Do you want to use this skin?"
"I think," he scratched his head. "I want to cut a leather cord with a knife." Just after saying that he nearly had a stroke.
"Knife?" Night frowned again and repeated his question.
‘What dog shit luck! What beautiful woman!? She is a savage girl, who knows what she thinks I mean when I say knife?’
Edward’s head started to hurt, and he felt really desperate at his situation.
At this time, Night took out something wrapped in a small piece of animal skin from behind her arms and handed it to him.
"Light...Do you want this? I know that some tribes are different out there," she asked softly.
‘Such a sweet person, still trying to help me after not even understanding what I meant.’
Edward’s doubts came over, wondering what Night was showing him and slowly opened the animal skin, only to find that it had a sharp-edged obsidian knife, less than two inches long.
This was something that could be considered the Swiss Army knife of the Stone Age. It represented the most advanced technology of mankind in this era. For Edward, who usually liked to read some books on human history, it was exhilarating to hold this thing.
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Obsidian is actually natural glass. After it is broken, the section left is shell-shaped and very sharp, so it is the ideal cutting tool for prehistoric humans.
‘This is really a smart, savage girl.’
Edward couldn’t help but exclaim in his mind. He was elated, which caused a trembling in his voice due to the excitement he felt.
“Night, I... guarantee that not only will I be able to catch a rabbit today but….”
His excitement rising up the more he spoke. So much so that he started dreaming big.
“….I’ll let you eat good food every day!”
He knew very well how to find and catch a rabbit. He had roasted dozens of rabbits during his time in the wild. However, for Night, rabbit was something of a dream. Rabbit could become an essential source of meat. Instead of the usual bugs and insects, she was previously eating. Meat was a luxury during these times.
‘Night has saved my life and helped me. She deserves at least this much for her kindness.’
"What do you want me to do?" Night's dark eyes looked at him. Her pure eyes felt like they could look at the depths of his soul.
Edward deeply observed the animal skin wrapped around her chest. He ran his finger lightly over the area he was thinking about cutting off.
He raised his head and nodded towards Night with a smile.
“This much will do for the rope. The entire skin won’t have to be wasted.”
Without any hesitation, Night unwrapped the animal skin from her upper body and handed it over towards Edward. Her expression held childlike innocence and curiosity. For Night, it wasn’t a bad trade even if she was going to give a piece of the animal skin to this stranger just for a chance to obtain meat.
As they traveled down the trail, Edward felt that his breathing was not smooth. His body temperature was steadily rising. He was once again thankful for the big-sized leaf covering his lower body.
Without a hint of shyness or embarrassment, Night was walking alongside him. Her twin peaks were slightly jiggling with her movement, but it was as if Night wasn’t even noticing them. It felt like this was the most natural thing in the world. For Edward, this was the most awkward thing ever. He even had to slightly hunch forward while walking.
“Are you okay?”
Night tilted her head to the side as she gazed at him curiously for his “weird” walking posture.
“Ah.. ahem. I’m really fine.”
His eyes wandering down towards her peaks. Her tanned skin matched with the two small pink dots on each peak.
Edward hurriedly shook his head.
‘No wonder the natural process of human evolution was perfect by my time with women having genes like Night.’
At that time, human beings only had an elusive concept of privacy to protect from cold. They only covered a few bare parts and only wore animal skins.
Her body had just the right curve at the right place, along with her long shapely toned legs. Something people with a leg fetish would kill for.
In fact, at that moment, when Edward woke up at the beginning while lying on Night’s lap, he inadvertently glimpsed at everything on her body.
Edward, who had been lost in his thoughts, nearly collided with Night before waking up.
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With a deep sigh to restore his mental state of mind, he worked along with Night on making the rope. Soon, a leather rope that was more than one meter long was cut out. Edward had decided to weave 3 leather strips together to make the most basic rope he could.
Edward made a lasso from the rope. Then he found a nearby small tree that he could easily bend. He placed some grass nearby the trap. Once finished, he took Night with him and squatted behind a large tree in silence, waiting for a prey to be trapped.
Night had her doubts after seeing the strange contraption. She couldn’t understand how just sitting in silence would just bring them food. For her, who was used to running after animals to kill them, it was difficult to digest that they had to do nothing but wait, and food will just arrive for them to eat.
Edward understood what Night was thinking but didn’t bother to explain it to her. He felt it was better to show not tell.
After waiting for less than half an hour, he heard a bang, the small tree bounced, and a rabbit was hanged out of the grass like a magic trick!
"Hahahaha, success!" Edward couldn’t believe it; his luck wasn’t that bad!
Night was so happy just like Edward that she gave a gasp of surprise before uncontrollably laughing. Night was so pleased that she pulled Edward and licked his face with her delicate soft tongue. This was something akin to a miracle for Night.
At that time, humans did not have something similar to a handshake, and embracing was the standardized social etiquette. Edward was shocked by the actions of Night, but he soon understood what she meant.
‘Don’t take everything for face value. They have different values and cultures compared to mine. Not everything they do means what it usually means to me. It might mean something different for them.’
Edward remembered the example of smiling and showing teeth to monkeys was something considered aggressive. Still, for humans, it was something good-natured.
‘Night is my first contact with people of this world. I’ll need to keep her happy and satisfied with me. If she can totally rely on me, then I’ll have someone to guide me along. She isn’t dumb like I thought someone of this time might be. She might not have the knowledge, but she is at least curious and sharp-minded. She can be taught, and soon I’ll capture her heart with my 21st-century intelligence.’
Edward had not felt it before, but up till now, his heart held unease and anxiety. He was restless and confused in an unfamiliar environment. His heart finally calmed down and gained a bit of confidence to be able to do anything after he was successfully able to catch a rabbit. It was like a small victory for him.
‘Do savages drink blood? Are they terrified of fire? Ahhhh, there are still so many things I have to figure out.’
“Night… I can let you eat meat like this every day…..” He paused, holding the rabbit by its ear in one hand.
"You don't have to go to the forest to collect food with so much difficulty in the future. I can promise you delicious rabbit meat every day, at least.”
He handed the dead rabbit to Night while peering at her face with sincerity. He really needed someone trustworthy. He couldn’t make it alone, no matter how smart he was.
Although Night had just seen how Edward had just caught a rabbit, even then, she didn’t readily believe his promise of eating rabbit meat every day. It was such a bizarre concept that it was difficult for her to actually believe it.
Edward untied the leather rope on the trunk, broke half of the branch, and made a bow drill. Then he carved a small pit on a dry wooden stick he found nearby using the obsidian knife.
Once he was able to complete a basic rudimentary fire starter, he found some dry grass and other materials from his surroundings. Once ready, he smiled towards Night, who had until now been curiously watching him from the side.
“Night, I’m going to do something dangerous, but you need to trust me. Just like with the rabbit, I’ll show you something good.”
He wasn’t sure how much Night would trust a stranger she just met, but he knew how much she feared fire, and he could use that to his advantage to make his position better.
“Don’t be afraid, no matter what. You saved me, so let me repay you.”
Night silently heard his incoherent words that didn’t make sense to her. She wasn’t sure, so she just opted to keep quietly observing instead of making a statement.
Edward felt the slight uncertainty remaining in Night. He remembered how she licked his face when she was happy. He wasn’t sure how people like her expressed themselves, and he knew his norms of society won’t apply here.
A thought crossed his mind, he remembered how once a friend of his had a baby and told him that touching your nose with the nose of the baby relaxes the child somehow and allows the baby sniff your scent as much as he can, so he would relax with you more and remember your smell.
‘Even if the society I came from is vastly different from hers, some things must still apply true, such as basic human instincts. If something can be applied to children, then it might work here too.’
Edward slowly brought his face closer towards Night. If it was a modern girl, she might recoil back in fear of a surprise kiss, but Night wasn’t aware of such modern problems. Edward wanted her spirit to relax and express his goodwill and intentions in the most basic way possible, something even she could understand.
He touched his nose with her nose and then gently rubbed his nose against hers. Her face showed surprise, but her curiosity made her try this “new” thing.
They both took in the scent of the other person. A few moments later, Edward retreated back.
“I mean you no harm. Let me show you something interesting.”
His face held a smirk, imaging how Night would react to what he was about to do.
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