This girl's name is "Yimiyi," which is a pretty tacky name—it just means "flower bud," or more poetically, "about to bloom." If I had to localize it, I'd probably go with "Little Flower." She's the youngest daughter of the old hunter, Zapinon. The old hunter owes Ah Man a black fox fur. Ah Man has asked for it over and over, but he never coughed it up, so Ah Man just "snatched" his daughter to pay the debt.

Of course, actually, it was the Zair Tribe that sent people to take care of Ah Man's daily needs. Besides Yimia, there were three other girls; all of them were requested by Ah Man herself. She figured, given her status, of course she was supposed to have maids—so, obviously, she needed them assigned.

When it comes to personal treatment, she would never let herself suffer, not even in a "savage" tribe. If there's enjoyment to be had, you bet she'll have it.

She's not a fool like Harano, the dumbass who wouldn't even enjoy a good thing if it fell into his lap. If she had been the ruler of Wanjin, she'd have long since ordered every household to offer up a young girl to work for her for free—unlike Harano, who spends all day lost in thought, never learning how to push people around.

If you can't boss people around and enjoy yourself, then what the hell is the point of fighting and bleeding?

But she just can't win against Harano, so she can only pretend to behave herself for now.

While Ah Man was still cursing those "tribal leaders" in her head, she suddenly realized that the "barbarian tribe" of Zai'er, which she used to think was uncivilized, was actually one of the more advanced and civilized among the Ainu. For a second, her mind just blanked out. She took the water cup without thinking, almost drank before snapping out of it and asking, "Did you boil this water?"

She'd been with Harano for so long, and he'd nagged her several times about it. Now she only drinks boiled and cooled water, not like before when she'd just drink anything she found.

Yimiyi answered right away, "Yes, we boiled it then cooled it, just like you told us. We all remembered."

Only then did Ah Man feel okay to drink, then she asked, "What's for lunch?"

"My dad brought over some bear meat. We can cook or grill it, either way."

Ah Man looked like she was in agony. The Ainu only cook or grill their food, and half the time they can't even spare salt. Everything is bland as hell. She's been eating like this for so long, she's about to lose her will to live.

She hurriedly asked, "Where's the iron wok? Didn't I ask someone to send one over last time? Stir-fry me something... anything is fine, even wild greens! I'm already shitting so bad it stinks to high heaven, I can't keep eating all this meat."

Before, they were fighting, then the tribe migrated, the temporary camp didn't have good supply lines, and daily necessities couldn't be shipped in. But now things have stabilized, so she decided it was time to change her lifestyle. She immediately asked for stuff like iron woks, soap, toilet paper, condiments—just normal things—and by now, they really ought to have arrived.

"The iron wok?" Yimiyi thought for a bit, hesitating. "I think we got one of those, but how do you use it?"

Ah Man was speechless, squeezed her little bean eyebrows, and sighed, "Let me teach you guys!"

She gathered Yimiyi and the rest, and brought them over to the clay stove—the same one she'd taught them how to build. Then she rummaged through the "emergency supplies" they'd sent over, and fished out the blended oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and spices like star anise and fennel that Harano had basically "invented." She started showing these "savage girls" how to cook.

Ah Man herself never cooked—no way the great Ah Man would stoop to that—but she'd spent so long following Harano, watching him teach people, and she's got a freakish memory, so her lesson went off perfectly. Once the stir-fries were done, she watched as Yimiyi and the girls tasted them. Each one was amazed and talked to her in this worshipful tone—which only made her sigh again. Seriously, what a bunch of hopeless idiots who've seen nothing in their lives.

But just as she was thinking this, she cocked her head and caught sight of her own reflection in the water jar—and realized that her expression looked kind of familiar. The whole scene was weirdly déjà vu, like she'd seen it somewhere before. She thought for a second, then, with her excellent memory, finally remembered.

Damn it, isn't this the exact face Harano used to make? That super worn-out expression? So back when he was teaching her, and teaching Yayoi, Wen, and the others, did he also think of them as a bunch of clueless idiots?

Ah Man was annoyed for a second, but then reconsidered. Given Harano's nature, he probably wasn't the type to just write them off as fools. He might've thought their ignorance was inevitable, but actually calling them idiots was unlikely. Still…

She thought about everything she'd taught the Zair Tribe lately—how to build dams for fishing, make wagons, improve tents and clothing, teach them about parasites, brew fruit wine, even help with childbirth—so many random things, and the more she remembered, the more familiar it felt.

At the time, she hadn't felt anything, not even pride. In Wanjin, all this stuff was already basic knowledge—she just thought everyone here was hopelessly backward. But thinking about it now, was that how Harano had once seen them?

Even the way Yimiyi and the other girls gossiped in private was disturbingly similar.

Yimiyi and the Ainu girls all thought Ah Man was way too precious: insisting water be boiled, hands be washed before every meal, changing clothes whenever possible, even secretly wiping her ass with paper. They figured if you dumped her in the wild, she wouldn't last three days—which, to be honest, was exactly how she and the others used to talk about Harano behind his back.

But she and the others were taught by Harano; he single-handedly changed not only their habits, but pretty much every aspect of Wanjin culture. And who had taught Harano to be that way—taught him so much that now, as a pioneer here, he couldn't stand the backwardness around him?

Yeah, that look wasn't smugness or disdain. He just couldn't take it anymore. It was pure suffering—like, when is this ever going to get better…

The feeling of living here among the Ainu—the endless frustration, the countless things she just couldn't stand—was exactly the same as what he'd felt.

Harano must've come from somewhere much nicer, way better than Owari, somewhere no way on earth could be just Kyushu Island. Kyushu's not advanced enough to make Harano pull that face. It had to be a huge gap—a difference big enough to make someone look at you like that.

So where did Harano come from?

Ah Man completely lost her appetite, starting to think this over. But after a while, with no answers, she put the question aside.

It wasn't an urgent issue. No matter where Harano was from, he was family now. Even if he wanted to kill the emperor, she'd go along—those bigwigs never cared about commoners like them anyway. At least with Harano, most people could actually live like humans.

The Ainu should get that chance too—at least to survive. But the Ainu's leaders were just a bunch of morons. Kicking out the Lizi Family would obviously help everyone, but they just kept squabbling, never willing to unite, basically beyond saving.

For now, Ah Man didn't really know what to do. She almost wanted to write Harano a letter, but after a while, her gaze slowly drifted to Yimiyi and the other girls.

The old folks wouldn't be able to adapt to this new era, and it wouldn't be possible to take down the Lizi Family quickly. It had to be the new generation. Maybe it was time to train up a batch of Ainu exchange students.

The Ainu tribe was already such a divided mess—might as well try to integrate them into Wanjin.

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