Chapter 127: The Old Man’s Story

"So, how did you escape from your own tribe, Suja?" Manu asked with his body still tied, though he wasn't squirming anymore.

Suja, who had just devoured Seb's soup, took a deep breath. "After the coup, they killed all my friends, subordinates, family, wives and sympathizers. However, they didn't kill me and tortured me every day instead. So many of my own people came to my cell to give me their own version of punishment." The old man then turned his head to look at Xe's corpse in the corner of the shrouded room. "If it wasn't for Xe, I don't know how long I would be in that hell. That kid had been planning my rescue for a long time. Luckily enough, Xe wasn't killed even though his father was my best friend. Redtooth still needs a skilled craftsman like Xe."

The old man coughed, and Seb helped him drink some water. I just realized several cuts on the back of his neck and Suja's hands, maybe all over his body, but they couldn't be seen because they were covered in clothes.

"They hold a grudge against me after being oppressed for years.... Maybe I deserve it. I think more of myself, and often make rules that my people don't like, even though I feel it's in their interest." Suja closed his eyes.

"Thank goodness you finally realized your mistake." Leva, who was sitting some distance from her former tribe leader, laughed sarcastically. "All this time you were fattening your body, drinking, and having sex with your bitches, but your people were forbidden to do things for your lust. And then, you fell because of your lust too. How does it feel?"

Suja was silent for a moment. "Leadership can turn out to be an intoxicating thing. In the past, when I was chosen to be a leader, I considered it a burden, but over time I let my guard down. Everyone bowed to me and assumed they would continue to obey my orders."

"What is the purpose of you talking like this?" Leva got up and came to the old man with a wild breath. "Your regrets are pointless. I've been dragged for miles naked, my private parts--front and back--have been tainted time and time again, and all my family members are gone. Bitching of any kind will not make up for that."

"If you want to torture me, go ahead." Suja closed his eyes for a second time.

Leva shook her head with tears starting to fall. "That won't change anything."

The red-haired woman stepped back, then sat back down where she belonged.

It was quiet again. The storm had subsided, but the sound was still heard from outside.

***

The next day, Suja and Manu are in the hut containing blacksmith tools. The former tribe leader was pulling the lever on the bellows, a device made from wood and leather, to push air into the fire. It will allow the furnace to reach a high enough temperature to make iron melt. Meanwhile, Manu watched with a shivering body.

"Now it's your turn, Manu." Suja signals. "You've noticed how I work, haven't you? Don't worry, it's wrong to think that after using the devil's tears your muscles become very exhausted. You can still do your normal activities. The only thing that gets in the way is your mind."

Manu nods stiffly, then starts taking over Suja's activities.

Having just done his job a few times, Manu was already wincing in pain and clutching his chest.

"Focus, Manu. If you focus on your work, you can get past the pain." Suja gives orders. "Breathe in, and keep pulling the lever regularly. Don't think about your pain."

Manu continued to do the work, though he continued to wince in pain and whimper. Using a kind of small shovel, Suja started to put the dark gray chunks into the kiln, which was getting bigger and bigger. Those chunks reminded me of the silvers that Leva used to mine.

I guess making iron isn't as simple as this in the real world. Well, I have to remember that this is all still a game. There must be some things that are simplified from the real world.

"Come on, Manu." Suja gives motivation when Manu's movements start to become erratic. "You can get through this…."

Suja's words were interrupted by a loud explosion from outside. The man immediately came out of the hut to check what was going on. It turns out that Kat is shooting a rifle at a tree with Eric teaching her. Seb's son wasn't really a long-range fighter, but no one else knew how to use that weapon.

I did ask my colonists to do activities, but I didn't force them to do them at specific times. What matters is that they want to do it. I think they need a diversion from their own grief.

Or am I doing this wrong? I can't tell what Kat is feeling because the girl's face is back to how it was, almost expressionless. However, her eyes were very puffy.

And what worries me the most is Eric, who looks very discouraged, and the dark bags under his eyes are getting thicker.

When Kat fires another shot, Suja returns to the blacksmith area. Manu's movements and breathing were getting regular again.

"Keep it up, Manu." Suja searched around the hut and found a sack in one corner. The old man opened the sack and found a rifle, a pistol, and parts that looked like they would be used for a sniper rifle, with a long barrel and a scoop. Apart from these spare parts, the other firearms looked worn out. "What the..."

Turns out they kept the firearms here too. I have hidden the others in a safe place in the house.

How risky is it to put those dangerous things in an open space like this? Or maybe it's weapons that are damaged and will be recycled? How about those spare parts?

"Where did you get all this from?" Suja asks Manu in a cautious tone. "I've seen weapons that explode like this before. But at that time, I was very young."

"It belongs to the people who used to inhabit this place." Manu struggled to answer as he continued to pull the bellows lever.

Suja gulped, took the revolver from the sack, and studied it. "Hey, if we can reverse engineer this, no one can beat us."