Unlike the people in his tribe, who were all lean, the ck-haired leader was obese. The shirt he was wearing barely contained his bulging stomach.


    Ah, that guy''s shirt and pants looked like they were made of several crasnded clothes stitched together. I wonder if some parts of the garments are also made from Kat''s old clothes?


    The man with the wrinkled face raised his right hand with a big smile, making the various metal bracelets he wore jingle. In addition to the bracelets, he also wears nes made of multiple materials. I saw that some were strung together using seeds, bones, and fangs.


    Jane and Tosa then moved behind the leader.


    "Aah, you guys just sit down. You are guests here." The leader of the Redtooth tribe said as Manu and Kat were about to stand up. "You just need to follow the rules here, there''s no need to do the rituals my people usually do."


    Kat and Manu exchanged nces, then sat back down.


    "As you already know, I am the leader of this tribe." The leader snapped his fingers. Two tribe men entered carrying chairs made of wood tied to each other. As soon as the leader sat down in the chair, Tosa and Jane kneeled on the floor with their eyes straight ahead. "My name is Suja." The old man said again.


    "I''m Manu and this is Kat, your honor." Manu gave the introduction in a gentle and polite tone. It seemed he had been taught such things in his old tribe. "We are from the Tribe.... We haven''t named our tribe yet because there are only a few members."


    "I heard, you tribe bought Leva, right? The one from the east?" Suja asks, still smiling.


    "That''s right, your honor."


    Suja nods. "Then what is the purpose of youing here?"


    "I want to ask to be taught to make various kinds of things, Your Honor." Manu gulped. I understand his feelings. He must not go home empty-handed, or his colony screwed. Therefore, he must try not to offend the tribe leader. "Especially the brick firece, your honor. I see all the houses here are made of bricks. It means that the people here are very skilled at making it. We have to go through winter. So, we ask Your Majesty to grant our request."


    Manu bends slightly. At first, Kat just froze, but she did the same when she saw Manu.


    "Hmmm...." Suja clucked. "I don''t really have a problem with that. Unfortunately, I can''t say it''s free either."


    "We brought some nugget of silver..."


    "No, no, no." Suja shook his head, smiling again. "I don''t need anything like that. We''ve got a lot of wealth."


    Manu was silent for a moment. "Then what do you want, your honor?"


    "Shoe."


    My two colonists and I looked straight at the tribe leader''s feet. He was wearing shoes like the ones Kat had when she had just arrived on the ins. However, what the tribe leader was wearing looked worn and dirty.


    "The shoe that my tribe members bought from you guys are still nice and fit on my feet. Previously, the shoes of the two men who apanied Jane when shended here were too big." Sujaughed a little. "Now I''m wearing Jane''s."


    Manu''s eyes start to widen. "But we couldn''t find the other shoe..."


    "If you want to study in our tribe, you better find that one half of the shoe and bring it here." Suja interrupts the bearded man''s words. "Otherwise, I won''t allow you to learn what you want. However, you may stay here for a while until you both recover. You are also free to buy goods from our merchants."


    Shit. The shoe was clearly on fire in Kat''s escape pods at that time.


    Manu''s mouth had opened again, but not a single word came out. He couldn''t talk anymore. Same with me, who didn''t know what order to give Manu to make this deal happen without having to search for the damned half of the shoe.


    "Well, then." Suja smiles for the umpteenth time and gets up from his chair. "After this, you may stay at Jane''s house for a while until you both recover. All food and other basic necessities will be provided free of charge. We, the Redtooth tribe, have great respect for guests."


    Manu gets up too and hastily talks. "But ...."


    "That shoe or no lesson." Suja then just walked out of the room. Two tribesmen came in to take the seat of the Tribe leader.


    When the footsteps of Suja''s group disappeared, Jane grimaced at my two colonists. "Sorry, I can''t help you guys. If the leader of our tribe wants something, he has to get it. It''spletely non-negotiable."


    "Ah, my legs are so sore. I hate to have to sit in that position when the old manes." Tosa stretched his legs out, looking at my two colonists. "Well, that''s how it is, you guys have to be able to find the half of that shoe in order to face the winter...." The man chuckled. "Huh, that sounds absurd."


    Manu holds his forehead. I know how he feels now too. I could have sent someone from my colony to deliver the shoe. However, do the shoe still exist?


    "If it''s not possible to bring that thing here, you must give our leader something bigger." Tosa spoke again.


    Manu lifts his face. "Something bigger? Like what?"


    "I can''t figure it out myself."


    I haven''t given up yet. There is still another way. I paused the gamey and exited the building, then looked around.


    In this ce, there are about 80-100 houses. I started looking at them one by one. Unfortunately, I can''t check all of them because there are many parts that my colonists haven''t gone through. I could only check a few yards from the road where Manu and Kat were carried on a stretcher.


    However, even though I''ve been to all the ces I can go, I still can''t find what I''m looking for.


    Maybe he''s outside?


    I used the hover feature to jump over the fence. This time, in just a short time, I saw a young boy walking with a grown man. The grown man was walking with a bow and quiver filled with arrows.


    Of course, I don''t care about the guy. What I need is Sena, who is walking beside him.. That boy might be the key to my colony''s safety.