"Hmm... So what exactly is today supposed to be?"
In the human tribe, at the central area.
Couronne was looking at the silver-haired boy and the petite girl standing beside the silver-haired girl, with a strange expression on her face.
The boy's name was Riku, Riku Dola.
When Riku was a child, his tribe had been destroyed by war. He was the only human who survived. Afterward, he was fortunately taken in by Couronne tribe and raised, eventually showing remarkable leadership abilities and becoming the leader of the tribe.
This time, as the chief, he had personally gone out. The goal should have been to investigate a lost Elven city.
But why did he return with a little girl?
Seemingly noticing Couronne confusion, Riku scratched his head awkwardly and said, "I came across a destroyed tribe while exploring. I found this child there. She was all alone, so I brought her back."
Upon hearing this, Couronne expression became even stranger.
Origami Tobiichi had come from a destroyed tribe. And now this girl also came from a destroyed tribe?
Looking at the small girl in front of her, whose entire body was wrapped in a coat and whose young and tender face showed no emotional fluctuations, Couronne couldn't help but think of Origami expressionless face.
You two… could you be from the same tribe?
"Little girl, what's your name?" Couronne asked kindly while patting the girl's head.
"Schwi," the girl replied emotionlessly.
"Schwi, huh… Do you know someone named Origami Tobiichi?"
"I don't."
"Origami Tobiichi? Who's that?"
Hearing an unfamiliar name from Couronne mouth, Riku asked in surprise, "Is there someone like that in our tribe?"
"Origami Tobiichi was a girl brought back not long ago by the hunting party," Couronne explained while pointing to the supplies being distributed nearby. "According to them, she also came from a destroyed human tribe. All these fabrics, gear, weapons, and food were brought back by the hunters along with her."
Upon hearing that, Riku body instantly tensed up, and he cursed inwardly.
Crap—her backstory just clashed with mine.
The girl he brought back, Schwi, wasn't actually named that at all. In fact, she didn't even have a name to begin with.
Not even human. She was a member of the Ex-Machina, one of the mid-tier races among the 15 races.
Her body was entirely mechanical, equipped with hive-mind capabilities, specialized in analysis and construction.
Though a single unit's combat capability wasn't particularly high, when a swarm of them gathered, even the Flügel didn't want to mess with them.
Because this Ex-Machina wanted to analyze the human "heart", Riku had no authority to refuse. Moreover, he lost to her in a game. Having lost, he had no choice but to bring her back to the tribe as agreed.
But to avoid causing panic, he deliberately hid Schwi true identity and fabricated the current backstory.
What he didn't expect was that, while he was gone, his tribe had taken in another stray.
And that stray just so happened to also be from a destroyed human tribe.
Although this world had various human tribes scattered across both continents, they rarely interacted.
A destroyed human tribe appearing near their own was already a once-in-a-century occurrence. But two at the same time? That was statistically near impossible.
No one would believe it.
"This child was mentally traumatized," Riku said with a forced smile. "She's a bit slow in the head. No matter what you ask her, she just says she doesn't know. I'll take her to rest first. I'll introduce her properly tomorrow."
"Yeah, I'm pretty busy right now too. Tomorrow then," Couronne replied without suspicion. "Want me to assign her a room?"
"No, no need. She'll stay with me."
Riku quickly waved his hands to refuse.
Are you kidding? This girl's an Ex-Machina. She doesn't understand a single bit of human common sense.
If she were left unsupervised, who knows what disaster she might cause?
"Hmm…"
Seeing Riku awkward reaction, Couronne gave him a knowing smile as if she'd understood something: "You brought home a wife, huh? Well, it's your business. But don't go too hard on her, okay? Girls this age can't handle that kind of thing."
In this world, there were no marriage laws or child protection regulations.
Survival was humanity's top priority, and girls often reached reproductive age very early. The only condition was mutual consent.
But if the girl was too young, there would still be some gossip in the tribe.
Faced with such an overt accusation, Riku tried hard to clear his name and argued with Couronne for a long while.
Eventually, when more and more tribe members started gathering around, curious about what was happening, he had no choice but to shut up.
"Forget it, arguing with you is pointless," Riku sighed, exhausted. "Where's that stray named Origami Tobiichi? I'd like to talk to her later."
"Oh right, that reminds me—she wanted to see you too," Couronne replied. "If she isn't wandering around, she should be resting in my room right now."
After speaking, Couronne gave Riku a meaningful look. "That girl is a top-class beauty. Don't go abusing your position as chief to take advantage of a stray."
"What kind of image do you have of me?"
Rolling his eyes at her, Riku, not wanting to be further teased by his adoptive sister, took Schwi hand and left.
As the crowd thinned out and they walked through a narrow corridor, Riku composed himself and began thinking about what to do next.
"According to Schwi calculations, the optimal solution to resolve the current issue is to make the individual known as Origami Tobiichi disappear."
Sensing Riku distress, Schwi spoke up, "If Riku requires it, I can relocate Origami Tobiichi outside the village and create the illusion that she left on her own."
"And then what? Let her fend for herself out there?" Riku frowned and shot her a look. "You know how fragile humans are. No one can survive alone outside for a month. That's basically murder."
"Schwi merely proposed a solution. The choice of execution lies with Riku."
"Don't bring up that kind of solution again."
"Understood." Schwi nodded, her amber eyes flashing with the light of a new directive being stored.
"For now, let's just talk to her. If we can get her to cover for your identity, that would be ideal."
Riku arrived in front of Couronne room.
Just as he was about to knock, Schwi eyes seemed to pierce through the wooden door and see the scene inside.
Her detection algorithm suddenly picked up unusual signals. She immediately tugged on Riku sleeve. Her coat fluttered slightly, as if preparing some kind of spell.
"Hey! Didn't we agree not to use magic in the village?!"
"Riku, the lifeform inside… is strange."
Schwi stared at the door, her tone for once carrying a hint of uncertainty: "I've detected unfamiliar energy fluctuations. There is no corresponding data in Schwi database."
"What do you mean?"
"The lifeform inside—the one called Origami Tobiichi—might not be human."