Night.
In the darkness, Demba’s eyes snapped open, and he rose silently.
Kanga also rose almost simultaneously.
They looked at each other and nodded in unison.
The thick branch in the hearth still flickered with a small flame.
Demba knelt and stared at the grass wall as if trying to see through it. His pitch-black face was illuminated by the flames.
Irika, who had been lying next to Emariya, noticed the presence and partially raised her body.
“What’s going on?”
“We’re surrounded,” Demba said expressionlessly as he grabbed the handmade spear lying beside him.
“What?”
Irika quickly took her bow and slung her quiver over her shoulder. Emariya jumped up as well.
“How did you notice?”
“I’ve been smelling people behind us since before we arrived here. I wasn’t sure if we were being followed, so I chose an isolated house for us,” Demba replied nonchalantly, still looking beyond the wall.
“Smell? You can detect smells?” Irika’s eyes widened.
The hunters of the Mahi tribe had senses far superior to those of ordinary people. Their sight and hearing were also exceptional. These were abilities naturally acquired for survival in the wilderness, to detect prey faster and more acutely than carnivores. Those who couldn’t sharpen their five senses couldn’t survive in the wild.
The surroundings were silent, save for the chirping of insects.
“Are they going to attack?” Irika murmured as she snuggled close to Demba. His carved black face remained still.
“If I were the enemy, I’d set fire to the house from all sides and shoot whoever runs out,” Demba said.
Kanga gently pushed his arm through the grass wall and opened a small gap. They could see distant flickering lights.
“Correct,” Kanga muttered.
“What should we do?” Irika frowned.
“I’ll go out first and distract them. Kanga,” Demba called in a low voice.
“Got it.”
“Take them out afterward, depending on the situation.”
“Leave it to me.”
“It’s dangerous. I’ll go too,” Irika said, her white, slender fingers touching Demba’s black arm. She felt a faint warmth.
“No,” he said firmly. His blue eyes slightly narrowed.
“Why? Because I’m a woman? I’m an Ainu hunter too. If the enemy is Ainu, I’ll deal with them.”
“Probably not,” Demba said, looking at Irika.
“Why?”
“It’s just a hunch. Besides, it doesn’t match what you said before. Even if they had hostile intentions, I don’t think they hate us enough to attack with the intent to kill.”
“You never know. There are all kinds of people among the Ainu.”
“But it’s strange,” Emariya, who was beside Kanga, interjected. “As Demba said, if they were villagers, they would have known we left the village. If they wanted to talk to us, they would have done so in the village. It doesn’t make sense to attack us at night, knowing we’re together.”
Irika’s eyes wandered as she listened. Just as she was about to speak, she heard a faint sound of wind cutting and a dry thud on the roof, followed by the same sounds on the outer walls from all sides.
Demba looked up. A small popping sound was heard from the roof.
“Fire arrows. We’ve talked too long.”
Demba stood up, shaking off Irika’s arm, and picked up his spear. He slightly opened the door and slipped outside. Irika cautiously followed, peering out from the door.
“It’s dangerous! If the enemy is Ainu, they’ll shoot poison arrows! Even a scratch can be fatal!”
Demba was already a few steps away from the wall. The flames spreading on the wall grew rapidly.
Demba’s face, with his back to the flames, was not clearly visible to Irika.
“As long as they don’t hit,” he murmured.
“What?” Irika started to say when she heard the sound of wind cutting.
Demba’s hand moved as if swatting away an insect. With a light sound, an arrow fell before Irika’s eyes.
The sound of arrows being released continued. Demba swayed his body from side to side. Several arrows missed and stuck in the wall.
Another arrow. Two arrows. Demba’s arm moved nimbly, swatting away the arrows as if they were flies.
“To catch arrows flying in the dark with bare hands… Amazing, Demba,” Emariya, peering out beside Irika, widened her eyes.
For Demba, who could strike down a fast-flying bird with a spear, dodging arrows was a trivial task.
Irika glanced at the arrow at her feet. She picked it up and examined the fletching.
“This isn’t an Ainu arrow,” Emariya exclaimed. Irika nodded.
“Hey,” Kanga called. When they looked back inside the house, Kanga was covering the hole in the grass wall with his hand. White smoke was already billowing from under the roof.
“Get out through here, quickly!”
The two hurriedly scrambled out through the hole in the wall, followed by Kanga.
They crouched low and ran into the forest illuminated by the fire’s light. Kanga caught up with them.
Kneeling, the three looked back at the hut. Flames spread from all sides, turning the house into a giant bonfire.
Demba stood with his back to the latticed wall. The burning flames illuminated his profile.
In the primordial light, his deeply chiseled profile remained motionless like a statue. To Irika, his profile seemed to shine black.
(Beautiful…) Irika thought inappropriately.
“Stay here,” Kanga’s voice snapped Irika back to reality.
“Where are you going, Kanga?” Emariya asked with a slightly tense face.
“I can’t leave it all to Demba. I’ll clean up those guys,” Kanga said sternly and moved out, keeping a low stance.
“Kanga, be careful!” Emariya said in a small voice. Kanga raised a hand and disappeared silently into the bushes.
“Will Kanga be okay?” Emariya looked anxiously in the direction Kanga had gone, pressing her hand to her chest. Irika, with a puzzled expression, called out to her.
“Why do you add ‘san’ to Demba’s name but call Kanga by his first name?”
For a moment, Emariya’s face showed confusion. Her eyes wandered.
“Huh? Why? I wonder why.”
“Don’t ask me,” Irika said with a smile. As she did, the forest roared.
The flames engulfing the house headed towards them.
“Oh no, the wind direction has changed. It’s this season, so the forest won’t catch fire, but we need to move deeper,” Irika said as she started walking.
“But Kanga told us to stay here,” Emariya said, turning back.
“We won’t go far. Do you want to be roasted alive?”
Irika took the lead and walked on. Emariya, looking worried, glanced back twice before following slowly.
A gap opened between her and Irika.
“Sis, wait—”
Emariya’s mouth, about to call out, was covered from behind by someone’s hand.
“Mmm!”
She grabbed the hand with both of hers, but a dull pain ran through her neck, and she lost consciousness.