Reincarnated to the Past 5: History and Deals (Patreon)

The chief looked thunderously angry.

Thankfully, it wasn’t aimed at me but at Ureya.

“Y-You-!” he seethed. His face was red and his body trembled with barely contained rage while everyone around us looked uneasy. 

Personally, I still didn’t understand why and what was happening. I understood that Ureya was under the misconception that I lied to her. I also understood that it was something big enough for her to take the issue to her father/chief.

But apparently, I’m not the one at fault like I expected? Granted, it was Ureya who shot first, but you never know with the ancient world. I mean, it was just two hundred fifty-ish years ago that the French Revolution happened, and they killed off all of the nobles - including babies and children - on the flimsiest of excuses. For all I knew, the chief could have taken grievances with me for not telling him that I was a “warrior” when I really wasn’t.

“It’s alright, Chief Ghigari,” I spoke up, attempting to defuse the situation. “I don’t know what I did -”

The chief whirled on me, and I thought for a second that I might have to fight a defensive battle if the chief decided to use the spear in his hand, but he stopped. He let out a big sigh of breath before turning to the people who’d gathered around us. “Leave. I must speak privately with my troublesome daughter and wise man Alan.”

It was a command, and the tribes members did as ordered, leaving the three of us alone. 

Seemingly having had his winds taken out of him, Ghigari turned to me. “I am sorry, my friend. You have done much for the tribe already, yet all my family has done was attack you. I ask for your forgiveness,” he said with a light bow of his head. Most people would bow deeply in a situation like this, but he was the tribal chief; they didn’t have much choice in their actions lest they were seen as weak.

Humility, after all, wasn’t something that made a tribe strong or look strong, and looking weak might invite attackers. It was simply a cultural byproduct of this unstable era. 

“There is nothing to forgive,” I replied. At the same time that humility was looked down on, magnanimity was valued. It made one’s superiors, peers, and subordinates feel safer around them. At least, it was valued in this tribe. I wasn’t sure about others.”I am only just honestly confused as to why she would attack me so.”

Ghigari glanced at Ureya before looking back at me. “It is because she hates warriors,” he replied. “And made me promise that I would not wed her to a warrior.”

I was .. surprised by that. Most tribes worked under a patriarchy because it was warriors who provided leadership, martially and politically, more often than not. In such societies, daughters weren’t handled with care like Ghigari was showing but as cattle to be sold to gain allegiances and alliances. 

Ghigari must love his daughter a lot.

“And I insisted that I was no warrior.”

“So it is false that you caught an arrow in flight?”

“No, I did, but that does not make me a warrior.”

“How so? Most of my warriors can’t do what you did.”

And then he struck. I saw that it wasn’t aimed at me but to threaten me into action. I didn’t move at all, letting the spear tip brush pass my cheek without touching.

This attacking thing must be his family’s thing. First, it was Ureya. Now, it was Ghigari. Or was it just a cultural norm of the tribe that I just didn’t see until now? 

Argh, too many questions and not enough answers.

“... You saw it.”

“I did.”

“And you still say that you are not a warrior?” he asked as he pulled the spear back.

“Just because I move like a warrior does not mean I am a warrior.”

Both the daughter and the father gave me flat stares.

“I’m not even strong!” I asserted. “Look at this arm!” I said as I showed my arm, which was pretty pathetic compared to most of the warriors of the tribe.

“You look weak,” Ureya spat with a frown. 

Urk. “See?” I said/asked, not sure what I was getting to. Ureya was the one who called me a warrior and then called me a weakling. 

“But girls can be warriors, too,” Ghigari countered.

… Maybe I misjudged the Kettin by calling them a patriarchy. I am also so very confused at the direction of … everything. What did girls have to do with warriors beyond their ability to become warriors to warrant having that pointed out by Ghigari?

Ureya glared at him. “Father, you promised!”

“And he says he’s not a warrior. I’m sure he’s not lying. He hasn’t lied so far.”

Points in my favor, I supposed. 

“You saw him!”

“I only saw him not react to a feint.” Also true. “Doesn’t this also mean that if you wed him, then he will be able to protect you and any youngins you two make? Without being a warrior?” 

“I have a question…” I asked, and the two turned to me. “What exactly is a warrior in your tribe?”

Two of them blinked. Ureya’s frown changed into a snarl. She was probably still stuck on the idea that I was lying to her. Ghigari looked more understanding.

“A warrior of the Kettin tribe is someone who is proficient in archery, swordmanship, spearmanship, or other ways of war.” I supposed that being able to knock an arrow out of air was worthy of that… “And,” he stressed the word. “Having proved his worth to the tribe.”

“… But by that definition, I wasn’t a warrior because I hadn’t done anything for the tribe yet.”

“But you did,” both of them told me. 

“The water puller,” Ghigari quickly spoke up. “You may not have proven your martial worth, but you have proven yourself to the tribe.”

“But why does it matter to Ureya if I am a warrior or not?” I asked. “Beyond the promise?”

Ureya, who’s almost been growling at me, clamped up at my question and walked away. 

Ghigari sighed. “Something happened when she was a child,” he said. “A warrior of mine… touched her in ways he shouldn’t have. Had him executed for that, but Ureya’s never been the same since.”

I blinked and blinked before the words settled in. 

Oh. Oh shit.

-VB-

Life went on, but the mood was definitely heavy whenever Ureya and I were in the same area. Ghigari agreed to my proposal to not make anything concrete until Ureya and I both want to be with one another, but the agreement in and of itself got me to stay as a permanent member of the tribe.

It was Ghigari’s way of inducting a somewhat willing and valuable foreigner. 

I, of course, took this as a chance to get something out of the deal. I knew that most of the knowledge I had could not be implemented easily without years - if not decades - of work being put into it. Remember, I was in an ancient tribe and not a pre-industrial mercantile or feudal society. Raids by unknown tribes, nearby or nomadic, or even neighboring rivals were common even on the fringes of civilized parts of societies like Egypt, Phoniecia, Assyria, Mycenaean Greece, and China. 

If the Kettin tribe got raided, then the work I put into them would also burn up. As much as advances were important, I had to ensure that the basic foundation was important as well.

In exchange for staying longer as Ghigari requested (because I wasn’t exactly thrilled about this matchmaking he was attempting, not because someone harassed Ureya but because I didn’t know if she wanted it or not), I asked him to allow myself to build a blacksmithing forge and work as one and to be a teacher for the children.

My reasoning for the blacksmithing forge, to myself, was two fold. First, it was to have both a reason and a facility to experiment. I doubted that the few blacksmiths that the tribe had would be willing to entertain “wild fantasies” of mine, and if I got the chief to back me up, then I would only earn their enmity. Second, the sociopolitical driving force of the tribe as I saw it laid mainly in the hands of the warriors. 

Who else could I get to back me up at a later date than those who might appreciate better steel to protect themselves and their homes?

As for the school, well...

I intended to play the long game.

-VB-

“Are you sure this is necessary?” the chief asked me while staring at the children who were being herded towards me by their parents, some of whom sent me less than pleased looks towards me. 

“I’m sure,” I replied. “Education is very important, and I don’t intend to keep them for long.” 

“Hmm. As long as you keep to the promise that it won’t be long. Many families did not appreciate having to send their children in the middle of the day to a new tribe member when they could be helping their families instead.”

I nodded. “I’ll make sure to keep to it.”

Two hours a day for three days was all I got. It was still a lot, and my reputation as someone who provided good things to the tribe so far had worked in my favor. If I screwed this up however, I doubted that I would get another chance like this.

“... Will it be enough for some of those fantastical weapons you talked about?”

Yeah… that wasn’t my best moment, ranting and talking in general about anything not suitable to this era. 

I shook my head. “You don’t have the tools to make the tools to make the tools to make any sort of that weapon.”

He looked downtrodden, but recovered quickly. “And healing like you helped?”

“The children will certainly learn about them as much as they can.”

“Good. Even if that's the only thing you teach, pushing for the children to come see you every other day will be worth it.”

And so, my new life began in earnest as a teacher of the Kettin tribe. 

It was time to “infect” the children with new ideas and ambitions.