389 - Jungle Island, Tears of Ideope #1

"Catch them! Before they escape-!"

I could feel the gazes of the pink-haired women suddenly turn hostile.

"Capture team! Throw the nets and chains!"

Pabat, pababat-.

Simultaneously, countless vines or nets flew towards me.

"What the hell."

I was taken aback by this sudden welcome.

A net to capture people.

Having had a terrible experience with nets when I was captured in Deathros's arena, I instinctively pulled my body back.

"I'm not the me from back then!"

"Hey! What do you mean, you're running away alone!"

Elfriede, who hadn't reacted in time, was caught in the net thrown by the pink-haired women.

Elfriede caught in a net! This is another rare sight.

"This flimsy net!"

Elfriede struggled with her arms and legs under the layers of vines. But the more she moved, the more the vine nets tangled and entwined, only strengthening her restraint.

"Damn it, we caught a weird woman! What are you all doing! Leave the woman for now and catch the man!"

The pink-haired women who threw the nets didn't seem to care much about Elfriede, and only growled at me.

Are they going to hold me accountable for hitting the man's head?

I thought Luna was cheating on me because a pink-haired woman and a man were together, and I was going to scold the man.

"Hunting team! You have to move yourselves!"

At the shout of a woman wearing a strange bone helmet, women armed with spears, chains, and clubs surrounded me.

"He's so huge! Can we subdue him alone?"

"I don't know!"

"We absolutely, absolutely cannot let him go."

"Not if we lose him to the Nox Child tribe!"

Luna had occasionally mentioned the Ideope Archipelago as an island of beauties. There was a time when the Ideope Archipelago was called paradise because there were so many beautiful women there.

Seeing it in person, it was just as Luna had said.

The flickering torches and the angry, furrowed faces were quite intimidating, but the sight of so many cute pink-haired girls made me feel strangely good.

"I, I'll go first-!"

Someone lunged at me while I was lost in such thoughts.

It was a girl with long black hair holding a long spear, and I was watching her closely because she resembled Luna with her hair let down.

"Taaah-!"

Her strange cry, with her mouth wide open, was also similar to Luna's.

But before I could examine her further, her menacing spear drew a large arc from above my head downwards.

"Capture Voodoo-!"

Shwaaek-!

A primitive weapon. Therefore, a weapon with barbaric destructive power cut through the wind and descended upon my head.

Pabat.

I was able to catch it with my hand and easily block the attack. My palm felt a little numb, but it was bearable.

Hwik-.

I pulled the shaft of the spear towards me.

"Ugh-!"

Then, with a surprised cry, the long pink-haired girl was pulled towards me.

I grabbed her by the waist and lifted her close to my face to examine her expression and features.

Pink hair that resembled Luna's.

However, looking closely, there were many differences from Luna. While Luna's eyes shone with the clarity of emeralds, this girl's were closer to a deep chestnut brown.

Dirring-.

『Name: Ri Aruru Lv. 17

Status: 《Insomnia》 《Accumulated Fatigue》』

Her name seemed to be Ri or Aruru. Her level was 17, which could be considered strong for a girl who looked so soft.

"Let go, let go!"

She struggled to break free from my grasp. Of course, no mortal could overcome my strength of 16.

Therefore, her wriggling was just a futile resistance.

Jilgeureok, jallang-.

Each time she struggled, the bone necklace and bracelets around Aruru's neck would shake with a clear, crisp sound, making me feel as if I were playing a musical instrument.

"You, you bastard! Let Aruru go!"

The women, pointing their spearheads at me, were closing in.

But the women around me didn't seem to be on a completely different level from this Aruru girl, so I wasn't too worried.

At that moment, the girl I was holding shouted.

"This, this guy is incredibly strong! Everyone be careful! A troll, no, as strong as an ogre!"

"An, an ogre? As strong as an ogre? Aruru, is that true?"

Sururur-.

At Aruru's words, I felt the breathing or the spirit of the women surrounding me falter significantly.

Aruru then added, as if to drive the point home.

"A-and up close, he looks incredibly handsome... A handsome man...!"

What?

I couldn't help but be taken aback by those words. A handsome man. When was the last time I heard such a thing.

At least in this world, I'd been called a bandit or a savage bastard.

Even Luna, Elfriede, and Hippolyte, who were close to me, had never praised me like that.

But hearing such a thing from a pink-haired girl, who resembled Luna, in this strange and dark land, I felt like I had fallen into a trap.

Pajijit-.

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In that moment, a strong thought formed in my mind. The standard of beauty is relative and varies depending on the region and the person.

Perhaps on this jungle-filled island of Ideope, I am handsome. Maybe my tall stature and my body, trained by various physical labor, are acting as handsome elements.

Hwareureuk-.

Just then, I heard the sound of something burning. Suddenly, my vision became very bright, and I felt a hot sensation.

"You bastard, you should be saving me, why are you so leisurely?"

It was Elfriede.

The flames from the tip of Elfriede's staff burned the vine nets that were pressing down on her body, illuminating the surroundings.

"You're so flustered by being called handsome-. It's all a lie to subdue you, you idiot-!"

Indeed, Elfriede's angry voice sharpened my vigilance again. I thought the real fight was about to begin, but then.

"She's, she's using fire magic!"

"We, we can't beat someone like that alone!"

Perhaps intimidated by Elfriede's use of fire, the pink-haired girls began to lose their fighting spirit one by one.

Magic is inherently like that. To have a mage as an enemy means having to face absurd spells and incantations.

Moreover, Elfriede, who wields fire, can put on a spectacular performance enough to extinguish the opponent's will to fight.

"If you don't surrender quickly, I'll burn everything. The things on the trees. Aren't those your homes?"

Elfriede's flames, like living snakes, wrapped around the trees. Long, long snakes of fire.

The sight of them slowly climbing the trees from the roots to the trunks, like pythons trying to eat the eggs in a nest, was eerie.

At that sight, the pink-haired girls trembled as if they were utterly terrified.

"Oh, no! If our homes burn-!"

"Someone do something! Even a Silence Voodoo-!"

"The senior shamans are all conscripted for an expedition. What can we do on our own!"

Sreuk-.

While the girls trembled in fear, someone slowly walked towards us.

Jilgeureok, jallang- the noisy sound of accessories filled the air. I turned my head and saw the woman with the bone helmet, resembling Luna, throw down the staff-like object she was holding with a *tak*- sound.

"We are a branch of the Tatari tribe, the Shallow Abyss. A fire shaman and a warrior like an ogre. We admit defeat to you. Please stop burning our home-."

Then, she knelt before me and bowed deeply. I wondered if she might use the kneeling posture to gain momentum and attack me.

Soon, the other girls around her also laid down their weapons and prostrated themselves on the ground, bowing their heads.

Some of the girls began to sob, so it didn't seem like they were trying to trick us.

"Elfriede. I think you can stop now."

"Hmph, can't even rest. What a bother."

Elfriede snapped her fingers, and the flames that were rising like snakes instantly died down.

At the same time, the illuminated surroundings darkened, and the chaotic atmosphere seemed to calm down.

All that could be heard were the trembling breaths of the women and the rustling of leaves in the wind.

I gently placed Aruru, whom I was holding, on the ground and asked the woman with the bone helmet kneeling before me.

"I apologize for attacking your men so suddenly. There was a misunderstanding. Anyway, you probably weren't close to death."

I've been practicing controlling my strength to be weaker lately. They probably didn't die.

Probably.

Sreuk-.

I shifted my gaze and slightly raised my head.

A dense jungle. The morning sun was rising through the leaves and undergrowth. Only then did I realize that a long night had passed and morning was arriving.

"Well then, I'd like to borrow some food and water to wash up."

* * *

A house on a tree.

A perfect space to use as a base.

Sitting on a chair there, I was surrounded by several pink-haired women.

"I am Garuru, the chief of the Shallow Abyss tribe."

The woman with the bone helmet, Garuru, was a young chief.

She was older than me, perhaps in her early thirties.

Her face looked young, but maybe she was even older.

Sreuk-.

When she took off her helmet, a mature beauty with pink hair, like a kindergarten teacher, revealed her face, and I was momentarily surprised.

If Luna were to get older than my current age, would she become such a pure and elegant married woman?

She explained that they were the 'Shallow Abyss' tribe and that they were a small village with fewer than thirty members.

I asked.

"So, to get to the Nox Child tribe, I should have landed on a different island, not this one?"

"Yes. It would be best to go to Crescent Island, which you can reach by crossing that shallow sea. So, you came from a large land across the sea?"

Chief Garuru examined my appearance all over. At the same time, she looked at Elfriede, who was sitting next to me.

"What a strange-looking continent dweller."

"Pretty. Like the nymph I saw last time, her ears are pointed."

As expected from people living on a secluded island, the existence of elves seemed unfamiliar and strange to them. Of course, the attention she received was nothing compared to mine.

"Hassan, your name is Hassan. It's a strange name."

"The new guy's name is Hassan. It's a funny name. They say he's the Son of Pluto. Is that true?"

"Nah, it probably means he's an orphan from a tribe that worships Pluto. Anyway, Hassan, try this too. It's bread made from hardened millet. I just baked it!"

"Drink my barley tea too-!"

It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago, we were pointing weapons at each other, but the women of the Shallow Abyss tribe were very friendly towards me.

"Wow, it's delicious."

"It's delicious!"

"This is too funny!"

Their enthusiastic reactions made me wonder if I was being teased, but.

"Wow, your arm is like a solid log. It's incredibly hard. You really look like an ogre."

"I want to poke it too!"

"Your stomach is like a steel plate too. This is what a man from the continent is like."

Seeing their slender fingers carefully stroking or poking my body, it didn't seem like they were teasing me.

When was the last time I received so much kindness from cute, young girls? When? Hell, this is the first time in my life.

This island truly deserves to be called paradise.

Gwaaak.

However, under the wooden table, Elfriede's hand pinched my thigh, so I had to pretend to be nonchalant.

I asked Chief Garuru.

"You mentioned a tribe, but there are only women here. There are practically no men. Is there a reason for that?"

"There are many reasons. Our Ideope Island itself is cursed, and the few men we had were taken by the Nox Child tribe and the Deep Abyss tribe."

"Taken?"

"We are at war. It's common to raid each other's tribes and kidnap children or men. We can't maintain our tribe otherwise...."

War.

I pictured the pink-haired girls running through the bushes and jungles, swinging clubs at each other.

The word "war" is brutal, but thinking of girls who resemble Luna participating in it made it feel like a pillow fight, so I didn't feel serious.

"Anyway, we were well treated. We're here to see the Nox Child tribe. We're looking for someone. Do you happen to know a name like Luna?"

"Luna?"

Garuru shrugged at my words. She then looked at the faces of the other girls, who also just shrugged.

Someone asked.

"Is she your girlfriend? Did you come all the way to this island to meet your girlfriend from the continent?"

"I'm jealous. Maybe I should go to the continent and meet some men too?"

"Nah, there are Scylla and Charybdis in the sea. You might die."

"Isn't it better than being confined to the island, constantly at war, and having all the men taken away?"

I'm not sure, but from what I hear, these pink-haired girls seem to dream of going to the continent of Gaia.

However, they seem afraid of going to the continent due to the sea monsters and whirlpools I heard about in the story of Odysseus.

Anyway, my business here is done.

If I go to the large island on the other side, I'll find the Nox Child tribe where Luna is.

"Do I need a boat or something to cross?"

"No, around lunchtime, the current will be weak enough that you can cross on foot. It would be best to rest here until then and depart afterwards."

At those words, the girls next to me raised their hands high.

"Wow, Hassan is staying until lunchtime!"