North x Northwest

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Epilogue Chapter 362

Epilogue 2: Sawa

Duasuhal, Northern Island.

Off the coast of the Northern Island of the Western Continent, bordering the Anatole Sea was a vast grassland that could be reached after passing through a jungle full of sparsely rooted palm trees, vines, broad-leaved trees, and wetland plants. The grasslands of red rocks ended with massive cliffs that cut through the Northern Island itself. Through those island-splitting cliffs ran a river, a river that the pioneers from the Empire named the Leonard River, after their Emperor at the time.

A waterfall could be heard in the distance. Lil and Ed had recently passed through the jungle. The dense broadleaf forest gradually thinned, revealing a wide, slow-moving river and a sparse collection of short shrubs. Herds of horses and antelopes bowed down to drink water along the wide, multi-branched river. The sound of the cries of those wild animals mixed with the flapping wings of birds.

Lil uttered an exclamation.

“Finally…”

Ed said as he set his backpack down behind a suitable rock.

“This is a time when lions come out to hunt, so we need to be careful.”

The pair then threw the rest of their luggage off and jumped into the river, not thinking about who would go in first. The downstream river was shallow, allowing Lil to sink her feet into the fine sand. Although the water was lukewarm, it felt refreshing enough for the bodies that had just emerged from the hot jungle.

The shallow depth of the water, that didn’t even reach her waist, made it difficult for Lil to swim. Lil wanted to play in the water with Ed at first, but because they had been on a forced march through the jungle and were exhausted, she preferred to float around facing the sky instead. Not being able to avoid the bothering of the sun, she closed her eyes, but then a shadow quickly fell across her eyelids.

When she opened them again, there was a massive palm leaf above her head. Ed was beside her, gently swaying the leaf above her face. Lil couldn’t help but laugh at his smile, which was alternatingly visible and masked through the leaves.

“Why did you get such special things?”

“It’s useless in the jungle, but it’s very useful in the grasslands where there’s little shade.”

He pulled the now drifting Lil into the shallows. Leaning against a rock, he locked her in his arms. Neither of them had taken off their clothes properly, so their shirts stuck to their bodies. Ed shoved a small nut into her mouth, Lil chewed without knowing what it was before turning her head when she noticed the familiar taste.

“When did you get this?”

“I always gather them as soon as I see them because I know you like this fruit.”

Ed placed a bunch of purple fruit in Lil’s palm. She put them in her mouth one by one while observing a herd of animals drinking water in the meadow. Every animal on the Western Continent had a mysterious appearance. In particular, the skin of some of the horses was striped in black and white, and the pattern was as distinct as if it had been drawn with paint.

Lil asked, holding up a fruit.

“What’s this called again?”

“Little cherry.”

“Is this the same as the Western Continent cherries?”

“No, because this one has a bumpy surface.”

“Who named it that way, anyway? The naming is really weird. It’s confusing.”

Ed burst out laughing.

“You did!”

He wasn’t lying. All of the plants and animals on this continent lacked names for an imperial citizen like Lil at first glance, so she named everything she came across for convenience. As time went on, she found it increasingly difficult to identify some of them, so after a week, she began to use random words instead. And strangely, Ed remembered all of the names she had given.

Lil, who was leaning against him and eating a little cherry, raised her gaze upward. The clouds in the sky were torn apart as if on purpose. As she gazed at the deep blue sky, she noticed a tree standing out in the jungle.

“Do you see that?”

There were incredibly large fangs hanging on a tree. A rope made of teeth was wrapped around the trunk like decoration, no, more like a territorial mark left by someone.

“It’s the mark of the Northern Island warrior clan. If they’re here in the vicinity, our plans will be disrupted…”

Despite saying this, Ed didn’t appear to be troubled. He simply took out a blue fruit, similar to an apple, and bit into it. According to the name Lil gave it, it was a blue apple with sour flesh.

“Didn’t you say their territory was beyond the river?”

“It could be that they expanded their territory for defensive purposes.”

They rose from the river and approached the tree, where the sun shone brightly. Lil placed a hand on her forehead to block some of the sunlight and brushed the mark. She had never seen canines this size before. Some of the teeth were bigger than her palm. In addition, an elongated bird skull hung high in the tree with wing bones hanging in pieces from thick branches.

“What type of animal bone is this?”

“I’m not sure, but it looks like the bird used by the warrior clan here.”

“…This belongs to a bird? And it doesn’t have a beak, but fangs like these?”

Lil tried to estimate the size of the bird by looking at its skull. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t figure it out.

‘With fangs of this magnitude, it seems like it could easily crush a person.’

“Did we pick the wrong continent? What if we get killed by just one hit of this creature?”

“A lot of people actually died during the pioneering squadron era, they were basically annihilated.”

“What about you?”

Ed answered, biting into the blue apple.

“I didn’t participate in that battle.”

“You said they were flocking birds, right? There was a captain like that in the South, too, who used a flute-like instrument to attract and command birds…”

“This place is a little different. As you can imagine from its head and wings, it’s big enough to carry a person.”

“I guess you’re right. Even lion’s fangs aren’t this big…”

‘What should I do if we come across it? I can’t just kill a bird on someone else’s land, but I can’t let ourselves be eaten by such a creature either…’

“Is there any way for us to quietly explore and quickly head back? Or should we just quit here?”

Ed said after swallowing the pulp.

“In any case, I guess we can only go this far for today.”

They explored the meadow and climbed a small hill. On the hill, a group of monkeys gathered to graze on the grass. When Lil and Ed went up, they stopped their busy hands and stared blankly at the humans. Their reddish-brown hair was short along their rounded heads. Some monkeys resumed eating grass, but when their gaze met Lil’s, their hands came to a halt once more.

Lil laughed as they climbed the hill.

“So cute.”

“These monkeys are herbivores, so you don’t have to worry about them biting your leg.”

The monkeys’ heights reached her knees or thighs. As Lil and Ed crossed the hill, the animals reacted quickly to avoid them. There appeared to be more than 100. They shrugged their shoulders and looked at the two humans with round eyes that closely resembled human expressions.

Nearby, were the remains of a lightning-struck tree, which was still tall enough to block sunlight and protect their heads from birds of prey. Ed lifted the burden off his shoulders and spread out the rolled-up cloth from his backpack to make a camp. While he was setting up the tent, a curious monkey climbed onto his back.

Lil was amazed by the animal clinging to Ed like a child on its parent’s back. But Ed paid no attention and focused solely on setting up the tent. She knew she was stating the obvious, but she wanted to point it out anyway.

“You got yourself a monkey.”

Ed glanced back and answered.

“It was like this the last time I came. At first, I didn’t know what was going on and tried to get it off me, but these guys actually enjoyed it that they rushed at me in groups. It was so annoying.”

Imagining Ed with monkeys hanging from his head, shoulders, and legs, Lil laughed so hard she almost fell backwards. But the next moment, her smile disappeared, for there was also one that had clung onto her arm. Lil held the beast like a child who was throwing a fit. She sensed the heat of life beneath its soft fur. Since she didn’t pat it nor shake it off, it snuggled rather comfortably into her arms and even appeared like it was about to settle for sleep.

Lil looked at Ed in confusion.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Just stay still for a moment.”

He turned away from the half-built tent and took out a drawing notebook from his backpack. Lil realised his intention and immediately complained.

“Oh, but I’m going hunting!”

“Just wait a minute, this sight is so rare.”

– – – – –

TN:

Hi guys,

Maybe you remember the map of the Western Continent, back in chapter 107 we added it in the hopes it would give you a sense of direction, we added it to this chapter for that same purpose. This arc takes place on the Northern Island displayed in the Anatole sea. Judging from the info we now have, we figure that the island is closer to the western continent and the ‘large bird tribe’ and ‘warrior tribe’ are one and the same.

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