"So, this is good bye." Lara slung her sack over her back, then smiled at my colonists. This is the fourth day after she said she would leave my colony.


    Seb smiled back. "Take care. We are very grateful to you. Because of you, we were able to speed up preparations for winter."


    "Nothing really." Lara shrugged, smiling back. "I am grateful to you guys too. Without you guys, I''d be dead surrounded by those stump scorpions. And also thank you for letting me stay at your ce."


    "You''re wee."


    Lara started to leave my colonists, waving.


    "Can she survive alone? Winter ising and before that she must have permanent shelter and food reserves." Pif looked at the blonde woman, who was getting further and further away. "Could she actually make this trip tomit suicide?"


    "You''re thinking too much, Pif." Seb took a deep breath. "I''m sure she can survive no matter what."


    My colonists disbanded. Kat goes hunting, Seb takes care of the nts, and Manu starts making bricks. Assisted by Pif, Manu had made quite a number of bricks, which were now arranged around arge fire under a hut.


    I looked around, finding that the leaves had changed color and were falling. Maybe because I was too focused on the events that happened, I didn''t notice this beauty.


    My colony still had to build a firece, kitchen, and storeroom. Is there enough time? I don''t want my people''s struggle for survival to be in vain just because of ack of preparation against winter.


    "Alright!"


    I looked at Seb, who just shouted. It turned out that my blonde colonist had just picked up a sprig of potato. The potatoes on the nt were still dotted with dirt and were a little less than a fist in size.


    "We got a good harvest!" Seb looked at the light brown staple food source with a satisfied smile.


    Pif and Manu walked closer, also looking happy.


    "Finally, we don''t just eat meat, meat, and meat." Pif snorted. "Sometimes there are bananas and berries, really. But …. You know what I mean."


    Even though Seb was smiling, I could see the sadness in his eyes. "Ah, if only there were spices here. At least peppers. Anything else would be even better. I could make a nice sauce for potatoes and meat… Well, not sure it would be nice, but I could try."


    "Spices?" Pif frowned. "Those nts in the legend? The one that says it can make food really tasty?"


    Seb''s mouth dropped open immediately. "Ah, that''s because you guys never saw it, huh? That''s not a legend, Pif. The nt really exists. The food from the escape pods is proof of that. It''s all seasoned with spices."


    "No wonder it''s delicious." Manu gulped. "Ah, I want to eat it again."


    "On ourrge expedition ship, there are seeds of those spices. However, I don''t think anyone would have brought it with them when they escaped."


    Manu narrows his eyes into the distance. "Looks like we have a guest."


    I zoomed to the west. There was a group of two men, one woman, and a horse who had indeede towards our tribe. Like cave dwellers, their clothes are still primitive, but they wear shoes, or rather leather covering both feet. They also wear jewelry such as bracelets and nes made of various kinds of bones.


    They did not appear to pose a threat, even though one of them carried a spear with a sharp tip made of stone. Even so, I still gave briefings so that my colonists would prepare everything. Seb will be the one to confront them, while Pif and Manu continue to work with weapons near them. I also called Kat and her pets toe back.


    I checked the three people''s stats. Nothing special. The highest stat was melee attacks from the spear wielder. And that''s only 59.


    "We are a traveling merchant of the Acornhull tribe." The leader of the group, a dark-skinned, bald-headed, and tall man, bowed slightly. "We want to make transactions with your tribe if your tribe is willing."


    "Sure." Seb gave a friendly smile. "Please, kindly show me the things you brought, sir."


    The group leader ordered his two men to unload the sacks of goods from the horse''s back. Then, they spread the sacks in front of Seb.


    Unfortunately, none of the items they sell are needed by my colonists. There were only a few weapons still made of stone, a few pieces of leather, jewelry, pemmicans, and…. What? Why is that thing here?


    Seb''s attention was also drawn to the thing I found, and he was immediately taken aback. However, I immediately whispered to him to keep his face normal.


    "Oh, that…. We don''t even know what that thing is. One of our members found it while out for a walk." The leader of the merchant group said as Seb took the item: a stic bag sealed in silver. In the bag was the text: thirty seeds of garlic.


    I saw two of the group leader''s men who showed agitated gestures. Perhaps after someone found it, a lot of misfortune coincidentally befell their tribe, so they decided to sell it.


    Why not just throw it away?


    "How much is this?" Seb asked after I ordered. I could see that he was holding back his enthusiasm.


    "Just one silver, sir."


    When Seb was about to take the money, the leader of the party offered another object. Seb refused ording to my request because there really wasn''t anything needed. After paying what was asked, the group from the Acornhull tribe left.


    "Yes!" When the party from Acornhull was out of sight, Seb jumped for joy.


    It seems you don''t feel guilty for buying that rare item at such a low price, Seb.


    "What''s wrong, Seb?" Manu,ying bricks under the hut, asked in surprise.


    "This is the seed of the spice nt! Garlic!" Seb held the silver package up.


    Pif and Manu immediately looked at each other, then ran to the blonde-haired man.


    "Aah, I can''t wait to nt it!" Seb shook his head, and I even saw that his eyes were starting to fill with tears, probably from being too happy. Well, he likes to cook indeed.


    At first, I was also happy. Good food will definitely boost the morale of my colonists. However, suddenly the incident about the salt cave shed through my head.


    Shit.


    With a heavy heart, I whispered to my male colonist. "Don''t nt that, Seb. If salt alone can kill a lot of people, what about spices?"


    Seb''s smile suddenly faded. He was now looking at the onion seed wrapper with a sad expression and gaping mouth as if he really wanted to cry. His two fellow colonists just looked at him with raised eyebrows.


    After my colonists talked about spices, suddenly there was a traveling merchant selling garlic. This is no coincidence. This game wants to give me a challenge.


    If this is a typical game, I''ll ept it.