Chapter 132: First Stage.
The two of them sat there, staring into each other’s hearts. It was only a few words from Sunnie, but they brought so much comfort to Luka. Luka found his eyes glued to Sunnie; his chest was beating and fluttering. He couldn’t explain what was happening.
But he cleared his throat after regaining himself as he smiled. "Thank you..."
"Don’t just thank me. Make sure you implement that mindset. It’s not your fault. Always tell yourself that. Okay? If you don’t, I won’t prepare yummy meals for you again."
He smiled as he nodded. "Okay."
Sunnie stared into the sky as she said, "It must have been so hard on you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry that such a thing happened to you. No one was there to say it, so I will," she expressed. "I’m sorry it happened to you. And it was never your fault."
Luka was quiet, staring into the sky for a while without saying anything. He felt his heart flutter; he felt moved.
And then she continued, "You know what? I think it’s a good thing you met them here."
Luka stared at her. "Huh? And why do you think so?"
Sunnie smiled as she stared at him. "I think fate wants you to face them. Enough of the hiding and blaming yourself. Face them, speak down on them, snap at them, pour out your heart and get mad at them. Fate is probably giving you the opportunity to do that. The opportunity to feel like the victim and express it."
It was the first time Luka had heard this. And at that moment, it didn’t feel so bad anymore. He sat there quietly staring into the sky.
And like that, neither of them spoke again. They simply sat there while staring at the night stars. Luka couldn’t stop thinking about her words.
He didn’t know if it was her words or Sunnie herself, but something about that made his heart flutter. More than food.
---
Morning arrived—the day of the competition. They were all asked to gather in front of the tribe leader’s house. Everyone competing had gathered there that morning.
As Sunnie and the rest arrived, everyone moved aside to avoid getting close to them.
"Don’t let them touch you. You might get sick and die," one said.
"Don’t even look at them. It’s bad luck," they said while isolating them.
Sunnie smiled as they stood, arms folded. "That’s better. More space for us, less for you all."
"..."
They said nothing.
Azure carried Maren. She sat comfortably in his arms while looking around. She was curious about the new scenery she was in and the people she met.
The little one couldn’t stop asking, "Who’s that?" "Who’s this?" "What’s that?"
She had a lot of questions.
Soon, the tribe leader arrived and introduced the competition to them. After the introduction and all, he went straight to the point.
He explained the rules of the game and the procedure, stating that the winner of the competition would be given the super prize of crops for the planting season.
Everyone was thrilled about it. The bear tribe looked smug because they had been winning it for ages. They were sure that they would win it this time as well.
"There will be three stages for this competition! Each stage will be hosted each day!"
He explained that the team that won two stages would automatically become the winner. If no team won two stages, they would devise another way to determine the winner.
After explaining the rules, he introduced the first stage.
"For the first stage, it will be a competition to see which team can catch the wild little boar!"
Everyone murmured, staring around while trying to understand what this stage was about.
The tribe leader explained that in their land, they had a common enemy that no one had been able to catch so far—the little wild boar. This little animal had been living underground without anyone finding them, moving around and eating up their crops and plants.
He explained that the aim of this task was to catch it. The first team to do so would win the first stage of the competition.
It was a simple instruction, and everyone understood it. After presenting the task, he said, "The competition begins now! Move!"
The tribe leader stepped backwards as he allowed them to set off in search of the boar. Everyone dispersed in their own teams to begin the search. They didn’t know where to start, but that was one of the points of the game—knowing where to find it.
---
Sunnie and the rest set off on their own, moving in search of this little wild boar by the farm side. Some other teams were also looking for it at the farm side since it was said that this little animal ate up their crops and stuff.
But everyone had searched for hours and still didn’t find anything around. It was as if it had disappeared.
They didn’t notice any openings in the ground or any signs of its movement. They couldn’t help but wonder if it was even there.
But they kept searching.
While they were moving, Sunnie sighed as she said, "Are you sure it’s even here? I don’t think there’s anything here at all."
She thought to Azure, who was still carrying the little one. He had used some leaves to shield the kid from the harsh sun while the kid looked around actively.
"My question is, is it mandatory to be moving around like this with you guys?" Karl asked, already looking exhausted.
Eris sighed as he ran a hand through his forehead. "This sun is not healthy for my pretty skin at all."
Luka, on the other hand, had his eyes running through the ground for a while before he concluded, "It’s not here."
They turned to him. "Huh? How do you know?" Eris asked.
He hesitated, still staring at the ground as he said, "I just know it. It’s not here."