They approached cautiously. There was no hostility, but they didn't seem exactly welcoming either.
"You don't need to worry," said an elderly woman who appeared in the background, and the atmosphere changed instantly. "I can feel it—an ancient ancestral energy flows through him. A deity brought him here to be welcomed by our people."
The eyes that had once been full of suspicion now showed a mix of curiosity, disbelief, and admiration.
"Come, you'll find shelter in our home for as long as you need," said the woman, now addressing me and motioning for me to follow her.
As instructed, I followed the woman through the woods. No one else spoke to me along the way.
"My name is Juraci. And you, what's your name?"
"Ah, yes… my name is Maculelê," I replied, a little embarrassed by my awkwardness.
"Maculelê, welcome. In time, you'll learn everyone's names. Forgive the intrusion, but you seem to be having problems with your mana."
"You can feel it? I don't know why, but I used to be one of the cursed. Mana wouldn't flow through my body. So I never learned to control it."
"Then you really are one of Aruanda's heirs. I suspected it, but I was confused to see you generating any mana at all. Don't worry—you can learn to control it alongside the children."
I could hear a few giggles when she said I could learn with the kids. It made sense—mana control is something they all learn when they're still very young. I'd never needed to learn, having lived without it.
After a few minutes on the forest path, we arrived at the village. It was simple, yet very well organized. Several mud-brick houses circled a large central hall built from wood with a thatched roof.
We all headed to the central hall. It was late afternoon, and by then, a banquet awaited us. For a moment, I thought all that food had been prepared for me, but I quickly realized that was just a normal dinner for them.
I had spent the last few months on the battlefield, fighting in the war against the Eastern Empire. Seeing real food for the first time in months was comforting. For a moment, I thought of my comrades, the Black Lancers, and how I would've loved to share that banquet with them.
Grieving them wouldn't be easy. In that moment, I promised I would one day avenge their deaths. Juraci must have noticed the change in my expression, because she gently squeezed my arm in a comforting gesture.
"Come, sit by my side." I followed her and sat next to her.
The hall was lined with animal pelts. The food was laid out on low tables, and there were no chairs; we sat on mats and pelts spread on the floor.
A bowl, made from a decorated coconut shell, was handed to me with a warm vegetable soup. A banana leaf was laid before me, and some bread was served. There were many types of game meats, fish, seafood, and exotic fruits I had never seen before.
To drink, they served a beer diluted with water. It wasn't great, but in the face of that feast, there was no room to complain. I ate like there was no tomorrow. No one seemed surprised, and no one judged my hunger. This was clearly a fertile land, where everyone could eat their fill.
During the banquet, everyone talked. Adults played with children, couples shared affection, and friends toasted. Yet no one spoke to me. I wasn't upset, just curious. So I gathered my courage and asked:
"Juraci, why isn't anyone speaking to me?"
"Don't worry. They simply don't know how to treat you; they're not ignoring you."
"Don't know how to treat me? Why?"
"They can't tell whether you're a child or an adult." She noticed my confused look and didn't wait for me to ask. "You have the body of a man, but you behave like a child."
My bewilderment was obvious, so she continued, listing my mistakes:
"First, you don't know how to control your mana. On the trail, you walked carelessly. And lastly, you look at women with desire, like a teenager still trying to understand his own body."
My face turned red with shame. Yes, I was surrounded by beauties, and they wore far less than I was used to. But being called out so blatantly was deeply embarrassing.
"System, mental note: avoid looking at women."
"Note recorded. Would the user like to be alerted when failing to comply with the self-imposed directive?"
"I don't think we need to go that far, do we? I'll manage."
"If that's what the user believes," it answered, with a sarcastic tone. I guess asking the system to change to a female voice had shifted its personality too.
"Don't worry. You'll adjust to our ways in time," Juraci reassured me.
She signaled to two people in the crowd, and they approached us. The first was a woman. Of course, at the first opportunity, I was already breaking my own rule.
"This is Tayná. She teaches magic to the little ones. You'll learn the basics with her starting tomorrow."
Tayná was a stunning woman who didn't seem older than twenty. She just nodded in greeting and stepped away.
"This is Kauan. Since you haven't gone through the coming-of-age ritual, you can't hunt or sleep with the single adults. So, you'll stay with the youths training to become warriors."
"Kauan, you'll be responsible for showing him around. Take him with you to do your daily chores. He's only exempt when he's studying with Tayná."
"Maculelê, you're welcome to stay as long as you need, but we have strict rules here: those who don't work, don't eat. Tomorrow, we'll talk more calmly about your stay and your plans. For now, it's bedtime. Kauan, take him to sleep with the others."
"Alright, grandma. You coming?" Kauan asked me. He looked about seventeen.
"Yes, please. Lead the way."
Kauan walked ahead of me and took me to one of the mud-brick houses surrounding the central hall.
"You know how to hang a hammock?" he asked, but before I could answer, he continued, "Probably not. Come on, I'll show you."
Despite saying he'd teach me, he just hung the hammock and asked, "Got it? I'm not explaining it again."
Luckily, I had the system now. "You got that, right, System? Just in case?"
"Yes, user. Correct hammock setup according to Dark Elf tradition recorded."
"Yes, understood," I told Kauan.
"Good, good. Now you can sleep. Rest well—tomorrow's a long day, doing all my chores... I mean, our chores, of course."
Of course I noticed Kauan's attempt to offload everything onto me, but for now, I didn't mind. I lay in the hammock and was asleep in no time. My first good night's sleep in many months