The Tyrant Empress is Obsessed with Me

16 – Obtain. Lion Tribe

He was an old man in Erindale who used a wooden stick to search for water veins in the barren land by himself. For eighty-four days, he couldn’t find a single water vein.

‘You can’t find a water vein with such a stupid wooden stick.’ His late friend scoffed, but the old man didn’t lose faith. His ancestors and their ancestors had all found water veins using this method.

It’s been a long time since Erindale was called the land of death. His family had left the land long ago. The old man still remains, searching for water veins using a stick made from a broken birch tree.

A gaunt-faced newcomer stepped forward to help the old man. The old man didn’t believe the newcomer, who smelled of ink and paper. He didn’t even take the time to answer; he just kept moving the stick to and fro.

The young man followed the old man and broke a branch from the birch tree, making it into a Y shape. The old man, exhausted, sat down and watched the young man’s actions. It looked more like a clumsy dance than searching for a water vein.

“That’s enough.”

The old man spoke with a cracked voice. The young man, whom the old man thought would get tired and give up soon, didn’t give up easily. He was foolish and stubborn, just like the old man himself.

The young man finally stopped moving the birch branch and stood still. It was a place the old man had checked dozens of times already. The young man grabbed a hoe and began digging at the spot.

Clang!

Clang!

“Stop. There’s no water vein there…”

Whoosh!

Cool groundwater gushed up.

“Huh!?!?!”

The old man peed himself.

“A benefactor has come to our village! Prepare a feast! We need to slaughter a cow!”

“Village head, the cows starved to death with only bones left a week ago.”

“Well, prepare a pig then.”

“The wolves took the pigs a few days ago.”

“Fine, prepare some chickens.”

“We already fed the chickens to the children when they were sick.”

The village head looked at Ascal.

A determined will once again filled the village head’s eyes.

“Hero! Though our offerings may be humble, please be satisfied with what we have!”

The village head raised a long knife again.

“Oh, Heavenly ancestors! Watch over me! The grandson of your descendants is coming to where you are!!!!!!”

Is this man’s hometown Aztec?

Ascal hurriedly stopped him.

“Stop. Just stop. I have plenty of food in my bag. Let’s have a feast together with that.”

“Really? Can we eat the food you brought? You found water for the village, and now you’re sharing your own food? Are you perhaps a saint?”

Ascal quickly took out jerky, preserved food, and stone bread from his bag before the village head could say more nonsense.

When he roughly put it in a pot, added the freshly sourced groundwater and boiled it, a surprisingly appetizing smell wafted up.

“Oh… I never thought I’d eat stew instead of tree bark again…”

The old people couldn’t hold back their tears, licking the stew from their bowls until they were completely empty.

The old man patted his satisfied belly with his bony arm.

“I really don’t know how to repay this kindness, benefactor. I’m truly grateful.”

“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”

Askel stood up from his seat with a dry voice.

‘It was the same this time too.’

He had struck the pickaxe with the determination to succeed, and he found the water vein.

It was obvious from the beginning. His psychological state had nothing to do with the outcome. Rather, considering that as long as there was a desire deep in his heart to fail, it might be impossible to fail…

While Askel was immersed in his tangled thoughts, someone patted him on the shoulder.

It was a girl holding a clover-like flower.

“Oh, Ashna. Do you want to give a gift to our benefactor?”

The girl was the village chief’s daughter.

With a shy bow, she offered the flower.

As a man who was born in a country of Eastern etiquette in his previous life, it was impolite to refuse such a thank-you gift.

Askel moved to accept the flower, but hesitated.

“Is there any traditional meaning behind receiving this flower, like having to marry the person who gives it?”

“Caught on, huh? You’re quick.”

Darn.

The village chief clicked his tongue, seemingly disappointed.

“But if something is bothering you, benefactor, why not try our tradition? There will be no such thing as marriage, of course.”

“What tradition?”

“Sowing seeds.”

“?”

Fortunately, the seed sowing the village chief mentioned was an entirely normal tradition.

It was a culture of blowing the seeds of a flower called Kamshubire from a hilltop and scattering them far and wide.

“There’s a legend passed down in our tribe. Long ago, when our people were starving to death, a man with black hair visited. He blew on the Kamshubire, and where the seeds touched the barren land, fruits grew.”

The village chief gazed at the distant horizon as he spoke.

It was a clichéd story like any other, but the chief seemed to genuinely believe in it.

“The sick were healed by eating the fruit, and the old men became young again in an instant. After everyone in the village became healthy, the man left. And since then, he has been called Mazar nim, the guardian of the tribe. It’s an old word meaning ‘fortune.'”

The village chief knelt.

“Benefactor, thank you. Thanks to your discovery of the water vein, we can survive somehow. Although we may not be as prosperous as in the distant past, we can now have hope. Thank you.”

Ascal helped the village chief get up.

“It was just simple luck. If it weren’t for me, someone else would have found the water vein.”

“hahahaha. If that’s true, Sibachu wouldn’t have gone 84 days without finding the water vein.”

The chief handed Ascal the Kamsuvire.

“Now, blow it toward the west. After blowing it, you can leave this place. I have no intention of holding onto our benefactor for too long. Anyway, you are the benefactor of our Lion tribe.”

“That’s right.”

“A benefactor.”

Other tribe members also came up to the hill to watch Ascal blow the Kamsuvire.

Although it was not a very high hill, they gasped and patted their waists as if they were exhausted.

“Come to think of it, you have black hair too. hahahahaha. Maybe you’re the Mazar-nim of our tribe?”

“Me, a god? That’s too much of a joke.”

It becomes burdensome when many people are watching. Ascal decided to hurry and finish the ritual.

He faced the west and blew the Kamsuvire.

In an instant, the seeds scattered in all directions and flew far, far away.

“They’re flying far away…”

And although the Kamsuvire seeds landed on the ground, nothing particular happened.

‘Phew. I was worried for a moment.’

Ascal turned his back.

And just as he was about to leave.

“Look at that! Look over there! Something is growing!”

“Fruits, fruits, fruits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

‘Damn it.’

Ascal didn’t look back and ran at full speed. How could this happen? No, not just a joke, but what about ancient legends?

At that moment, he felt a sharp pain in his leg.

“Mazar-nim is running away!!!!!!!! Catch him!!!!!!!!!!!”

One of the tribesmen had shot a paralyzing dart at Ascal’s leg.

‘Which tribe captures their guardian deity with a paralyzing dart…’

Ascal’s consciousness was fading.

As he lost consciousness, a story he had heard once suddenly came to mind.

A moment later, I realized…

Today’s lucky constellation is Leo…

The lucky direction is west…

This place is Erindale Village in the west, where the Lion tribe lives…

Having come to his senses, Ascal saw all the elders of the Lion tribe lying prostrate before him.

Fortunately, it seemed there were no aftereffects from the paralysis. Rather, his head felt refreshed, as if he had been hit with a dose of propofol before an endoscopy in a previous life.

“Forgive my rudeness, Mazar! If you wish, take our lives!”

“Everyone, please get up. I am not a Mazar.”

“Mazar is angry! Offer a sacrifice!”

“Our ancestors! Watch over me!”

Ascal, who had stopped the village chief from performing another self-humiliation show, spoke.

“Fine. Let’s say I am Mazar. Then, what should I do?”

“Please allow us to eat the Eriel fruit.”

Eriel fruit.

It seemed to be the fruit that had grown when the Kamshubire seed touched the ground earlier.

From No ble mt L dot c om

“I permit it.”

“Ohhhhh… Mazar has granted a miracle to the Lion tribe!”

The village chief raised his head to the sky and tears flowed like a waterfall on his dry face.

“Everyone, take the Eriel fruit!”

The wrinkled elders picked up the Eriel fruit and bit into it at once.

The village chief, who seemed intent on not leaving a drop of juice, chewed the fruit thoroughly and swallowed it. Suddenly, he turned his head to one side and closed his eyes.

Then something strange happened.

The chief’s original hair fell out, his muscles twisted, and white smoke began to rise. Then a black liquid seeped out from the gaps in his body.

‘The smell…’

Ascal covered his face with both hands because of the stench and when he opened his eyes again, an unbelievable thing had occurred.

All the elders had transformed into strong, healthy men.

“hahahaha! Is this youth?”

“Come, wolves or lions! I’ll make you bite-sized!”

The elders, who had been groaning only a while ago, now boasted vitality. As a result, the tent began to heat up like a sauna.

“Guardian god Mazar! We will head west! We pledge on behalf of our long-standing tribe that we will conquer the western land of Elber, the land of monsters, and return.”

“One year will be enough. Accept our tokens of loyalty. After one year, when the punishment is over, we will become the faithful guard unit dedicated solely to Mazar-nim!”

“Okay, kids. Follow me! I’ll teach you how to hunt!”

With that, the old man, or rather the muscular warriors, took the children and left westward.

Askal, who was left behind, sighed as he looked at the lion’s tooth necklace given to him by the village chief.

‘I won’t brag about success again. I was even mistaken for a god.’

Speaking of which.

‘Wait, how do I get back to the capital?’