Chapter 8: The Feast

The situation had turned chaotic, I felt... overwhelmed. The women swarmed me, tears streaming down their faces. Their hands touched me, reaching out, while thanks and "Savior!" filled the air. They called me "What a handsome man!" I tried to smile modestly, though the truth was, I felt damn good. A couple of old women, eyes red from crying so much, pinched my cheeks. "Bless you, boy!" one said, while the other offered me a strange fruit. "You brought hope back to us!" "A true hero," a young woman with green eyes commented. She was very thin and petite, but she had two massive assets that made me question the laws of gravity in this world. I bet the tits Lyra was supposed to have, she had them, hahaha, how amusing. It was hard to hold back my laughter thinking about that, while the girl kept looking me up and down. I winked at her, and she let out a giggle. "See you later," I whispered to her, making her blush with embarrassment and run off. Just then, Manaia approached. Her presence was strong, but now there was a certain warmth to her. She stood before the people and raised her voice. "Listen!" Manaia said, and the noise quieted. "He is Jax. He arrived here by chance. While he is with us, you must treat him with respect. He is our guest, and we owe him more than we can ever repay. Let’s give him a strong round of applause to show our gratitude!" The villagers nodded and began to applaud me. For a full minute, they didn’t stop; some had red, swollen hands from clapping so much. I really didn’t know where to look. I felt like a birthday boy being sung "Happy Birthday" to; you’re never prepared for something like that. After they finished applauding, they set up a small table with what little they had left. Manaia gave me the best seat. "Please, eat, Jax," Manaia told me, gesturing to the food. "It’s the least we can offer you." I looked at the plates. There was a bit of dried fish, a few cooked roots, and something that looked like berries. The portions were so small my adventurer’s stomach clenched. I realized the villagers had emptied their pantries, using the last of what they had to honor me. A damn worry crept into me. There was a serious food problem, and I couldn’t ignore it. I had to help them, but it wasn’t the time to offer my aid. I didn’t want another minute of awkward applause. During the meal, the atmosphere was a mix of relief and a bit of cheekiness. A small girl clung to my leg and wouldn’t let go, looking up at me with admiration. "Are you a prince?" she asked me, eyes wide. I smiled at her. "Something like that, little one. But without a crown or a castle." An older woman laughed. "With that smile, you could be anything you wanted, boy!" As I ate, I couldn’t help but overhear an interesting conversation near me. Two young village women whispered, glancing at me. I wondered what would happen if they knew there was nothing within hundreds of meters I couldn’t hear due to my high level. "Do you think he has big muscles?" one whispered. "Of course, you idiot! Did you see how he impaled that orc on the tree?" "I wonder if those arms are as strong as they look..." I faked a cough. It was hard not to laugh, but I just smiled. The compliments kept coming, and the sparkle in the women’s eyes was obvious. The food, though scarce, was gone quickly. "Manaia, Jax," one of the old women said. "We know you have important things to discuss. We’ll clean up." Manaia and I stood up. I gestured for her to follow me. When they saw us, the two warriors who had been with Manaia in the cave, Vira and Zyra, tried to follow us. The duo was truly beautiful to behold; they looked like a chocolate and vanilla cookie. Zyra was a black beauty with beautiful braided hair. She had a decent but relatively small bust, and it looked quite firm, while the real prize was behind her: like a good Afro-descendant, she had the biggest ass I’d seen since I arrived in this world. I swear, since I saw it, I couldn’t think of anything else. Vira, on the other hand, was so white she looked like she was made of milk. True to her color, she had enormous jugs of milk. Even Manaia looked small next to her. "Where are you going, Matriarch? We are your protectors, we must go with you wherever you go," Zyra said in a firm tone while staring at me. Apparently, not everyone was too happy with my presence. Manaia stopped and looked at them with an icy smile. "It’s not necessary. Jax is not a danger. I trust him... with my life." Her words were firm, and the warriors, though confused, stayed behind. Manaia followed me to a more secluded area, under the shade of some tall trees near the beach. The air was fresher, and the sea gave us some privacy. "Manaia," I said to her, turning to look at her. The sunlight filtered through the leaves, illuminating her face. "I appreciate the food and hospitality. But I want to talk about serious things." Manaia nodded seriously. "I’m listening, Jax. I’ll answer anything you ask." "Good," I continued, crossing my arms. "I know we haven’t finished discussing how you’ll repay me, but before that, I want to know the real state of the village... I was thinking throughout the meal... the scarcity is obvious. Tell me, how many people are left in the tribe? How many left on the rescue expedition? How many children disappeared in total? What do you eat? What do you harvest or cultivate? Where do you hunt? What’s on this island? Why are you even here, to begin with?" Manaia sighed, her face grave. "We are... few. Before the children were kidnapped, we were less than a hundred, and with the rescue expedition, we lost even more people... We are 28 people, including children." She paused and looked out at the sea. "We eat what little we find. Some roots, a bit of fish. We harvest and cultivate a few seeds and fruits, but it’s difficult. Hunting became almost impossible after the warriors left, because monsters control a large part of the island..."