24 Hearts

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The appearance of the room through the open door was completely different from what he had initially thought. Speaking of the chieftain, he had always thought her room would be full of objects with unidentified magical totems, but he couldn’t see that at all.

Rather, it looked presentable and almost a parallel to Baekje interiors. A large seat was laid on the floor, and a sitting desk, folding screen, and ceramics were on display. However, it was the one woman in the room that drew much more attention than that.

“What are you looking around for, stranger?”

It was the chieftain. Her long reddish-brown hair was curled up with her hairpin, and her cool, arched eyebrows and shiny eyes seemed to catch the eye of the beholder.

‘Isabel.’

The moment he saw her, Judah thought of her two things. Her charisma reminded him of Peerchen, the lord of Serenia Castle, and the way she spoke was reminiscent of Gentia. Judah remembered the chief had talked to him, and then he bowed his head to reply. Fortunately, it wasn’t too late.

“Excuse me. This room is just different from what I expected. Can I go in?”

“Huh, of course. Take off your shoes and come in.”

She gave him permission with a soft chuckle. Before entering the room, there was a separate place to put his shoes off, like a front door. It took a little while because he had to untie the laces of his shoes, but the three of them took off their footwear. Fortunately, no off-putting scent came from their bare feet. Seeing a cushion in one corner, Judah went at it and sat down, even if the chief didn’t say anything. Judah sat in front, facing the chieftain, with Jeanne and Arhil sitting behind.

“This is a little late, but welcome to the land of the Black Tree. I’m the Chief, Isabel.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Judah Arche.”

In turn, he revealed his name. She looked at Arhil and Jeanne.

“Are these your wives?”

“Yes.”

Arhil gasped when Judah answered without hesitation.

“Looking at their reaction, it looks like they’re not?”

“It’s because they’re shy.”

“They’re ashamed? How interesting, stranger. No, you said it was Judah?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Looking at you, I understand why they would call you a spirit.”

Chief Isabel, dressed in what could be a bikini, leaned forward with squinted eyes, with her chest on her desk. There seemed to be an unreasonable favor in her gaze, staring straight into Judah’s eyes.

“Even if you say you’re not a spirit, you have its qualities. Pure crystal-like black hair, and look at your eyes…”

“…Well, I am human.”

“Hoho, I know. I am too. Unlike my tribal people, I don’t believe that you are a spirit. Above all else, I won’t argue about it. But… I’m interested in you.”

“Yes?”

“If I accept you as my husband, I think our Black Tree tribe will be able to have much superiority compared to other tribes. We can be hailed as a tribe that had been chosen by the spirits.”

Her gaze seemed to pierce through Judah. If Arhil and Jeanne weren’t there behind them, she wouldn’t take back such a statement. Feeling the caution in Judah, she pulled back.

“I’m kidding. No need to look at me like that… or do you not like me?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

“Then, do you like me?”

Watching the chief tease him in such a playful voice, Judah had a dilemma. Whatever answer he gave will lead to another conversation. Judah, who had been having trouble for a moment, eventually nodded.

“Yes, the chief’s…”

“Isabel.”

“…Isabel is a beautiful woman. As a man, I have no choice but to like her.”

A satisfactory smirk curled up in her lips, and then she burst into laughter with excitement.

“Hahaha! Okay. I like you because you’re honest. Now, I like you too, stranger. We like each other. How about spending one night together?”

Jeanne and Arhil, too at a loss for words, grew flustered. It went without saying that Judah also blushed, looking at the chief’s chest framed tightly by her leather clothes, almost as if tempting him. He paused for a moment. The chieftain spoke again.

“It looks like you need more time. Well, I’m being serious, so think about it seriously.”

“Okay…”

“So, is it your turn to talk about why you came here? What is your purpose, stranger?”

“I’m on a trip.”

“…Huh? You’re traveling?”

Isabel made a look as if she had received a very unexpected answer. Traveling to see a place like this? She stared at Judah as if it was incomprehensible. If their words were false, what would this boy want to get for him to come here? She squinted her eyes and looked at the stranger, but she could not see any further purpose.

His black eyes showed purity, so she had no choice but to dismiss her doubts.

She said that Judah seemed too young to say that he came from the forest, and all of the demons who came before him arrived with a purpose.

Many visited her tribe from the empire and other kingdoms. There were times they came with a dirty purpose, and others came to find a mercenary who could shoot the bow of the Black Tree tribe. She was stupid, and she almost fell into cowardice at first, but by being competent and smart, she could chat with them and grasp their intentions. But she could not feel any suspicion from Judah.

“It’s a trip…”

She tilted her head and seemed to think slowly, then laughed in vain.

“Say, stranger, are you an adventurer or someone with an occupation? Many say they do a lot of useless things.”

“You seem to know about adventurers. That’s right. We’re adventurers. But adventurers are just a means of making my dreams come true, chief.”

“Call me Isabel, not the chief.”

Stubborn, she corrected his words. Judah nodded and said once more that it was Isabel. When he called her name, her stiff expression softened.

“Are you merely curious at what kind of land our tribe is?”

“It’s not as dangerous as we expected it, so for now, yes.”

“That’s fun. Okay then, stay here as long as you want. Watch and experience as much as you want. Don’t do anything dangerous. I don’t need to warn you, do I?”

“Thank you for allowing me, Isabel.”

She laughed at Judah’s words.

“Of course. It’s not free. You have to pay the price?”

“The price?”

“Well, in this harsh and dangerous forest, where do you think can you spend the night without worrying about food or water? Where to wash? The Black Tree tribe thinks of Judah as a spirit so that we might favor you, but we can’t say the same for other tribes.”

Just like she said, they were treated better here. If he thought about it, people politely bowed down to Judah the moment they entered the village. He would be comfortable while staying in this village, although it may be a little burdensome.h

If the people of Regen saw a beautiful woman or a handsome man, they might kidnap them to make them their wife or husband. Jeanne and Arhil were beautiful enough to be targets of kidnapping. However, if they revealed that they were Judah’s wives, whom they believed was a spirit, they wouldn’t touch them. Judah thought about it for a moment, then nodded his head.

“Okay. We’ll be staying here, and we’re happy to help if it’s something that my wives and I can help with. But I hope you don’t waste our time with too many requests.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Then let me guide you where to stay. Anyone outside?”

She called out, and the man in bearskin, who had just brought Judah’s party into the village, came in.

“Did you call me, Chief?”

“Yeah. Guide them to their room. There’s a building that was built for people from that empire to stay.”

“Would you like me to take them there?”

Isabel blinked at the words of the anxious hunter.

“Since when did you question my words, Arek?”

“Sorry. I’ll guide them right away.”

“Arek.”

Isabel once again called the name of the hunter who guided Judah’s party. The hunter then responded in a cold sweat.

“Be careful next time.”

“I shall remember that deep in my heart.”

Jeanne and Arhil got out first, and Judah, finally leaving her room, went to close the door. Isabel and his eyes met through the cracks of the door. She, who seemed so charming a moment ago, frowned and waved her hand. Judah bowed his head at her little sign of favor and shut the door loudly. He felt so threatened that he had no chance to think over everything.

‘I’m in trouble.’

He never thought his black hair and black eyes would benefit him from this kind of thing. But he was being real. He wouldn’t lie and would accept the request of spending the night together if it weren’t for his companions listening in the same room. Her voice and dress were tempting. He had already experienced sharing the same bed with a woman, and that thought of it made him grow hard, making it difficult to walk. Thanks to his robe, he was able to hide it while walking.

“Why do you keep looking down?”

Arhil, walking ahead, asked as she looked back at him. Judah was puzzled by her sudden question and shook his hand.

“It’s nothing. Come on.”

“?”

Arhil tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows at him.