25

EP.25 Contact

As if binge-watching a slightly delayed drama, a year had passed while following Yujin's training and victory story.

Wow, he really grew well.

He could now handle advanced magic quite adeptly… In fact, it seemed like his persona was even better than mine.

Meanwhile, it had been three years since the creation of the elf race.

On the elves' planet, less than a year had passed.

By slightly tilting the planet, four seasons were established. Currently, the northern hemisphere was transitioning from late autumn to winter preparation, while the southern hemisphere was moving from spring into summer.

The female elf leader Lasi's group, which had originally numbered 1,000, had now grown to about 1,050.

Initially, their numbers had decreased to around 900 due to various events, but the birth of 150 newborns from pregnant elves had increased their population.

Since they were set to have a 10-month pregnancy period similar to the Terrans, the children were born relatively quickly.

Hmm… Considering the planet's orbital period, perhaps the pregnancy duration should have been longer, but…

In any case, the faster the population grows, the better.

Even if the planet's population reached saturation quickly, it wouldn't matter once they ventured into space.

The village was already well-protected with moats and fences.

They had developed spears from sharply cut stones and slings to throw stones more forcefully, making them formidable against nearby beasts.

Hit by slings and spears, the beasts were no match.

Moreover, the village was surrounded by a moat, making it difficult to approach.

Consequently, the beasts turned their attention away from the elves' village and started targeting elves who ventured out for food.

However, even those elves were well-equipped with spears, throwing weapons, and wooden armor and shields, making them tough targets.

Of course, not everyone could venture outside the village, so the number of people who could fight was limited. This led to ongoing concerns about developing better weapons and armor.

At least the village's internal safety was guaranteed.

Now was the time to focus on breeding within a stable society to increase their numbers.

With safety ensured and the population starting to grow through reproduction, the next critical need was food to support the increasing population.

"For now, we have enough, but it's risky. The 'Merow' has passed, and the weather is getting colder again. It would be great if Merow returned, but if it doesn't, we'll have to live through continuous cold weather. This could lead to serious food shortages."

Lasi referred to 'Merow' as the warm days in their village language, essentially meaning the summer that had lasted until a year ago.

Although the winters on this planet weren't extremely cold, it was still a concern.

Each season lasted a standard year, and enduring sub-zero temperatures for an entire year would be harsh.

Thus, even during 'Arow,' their term for the cold days or winter, temperatures didn't drop below freezing.

The lowest temperature was around 3 degrees Celsius, and on warm days, it could reach up to 10 degrees Celsius.

By the standards of the Korea I lived in during my previous life, this weather was akin to 'late autumn.'

However, for primitive elves without proper heating facilities, insulated buildings, or food production technology, even this degree of cold was quite deadly.

Their bodies were naturally strong, so the cold itself wasn't a problem.

Considering that the elves were born during winter, the planet's winter wasn't a big deal for adult elves.

But it was a different story for babies. The elves caring for the babies had to stay inside their huts all day, doing nothing but keeping warm by the fire.

Even if those caring for babies were excluded from the labor force, other members would still be less active than during warmer weather. More importantly, food would be relatively scarce in winter.

There would be many mouths to feed, but less food available.

This situation would last for an entire year by Galactic Union standard time.

As a result, Lasi, the leader, had many concerns.

The elves in other regions faced the same dilemma.

They were worried about how to endure the approaching winter.

If they could farm, raise livestock, or produce food in various ways, they might manage.

But since they hadn't developed to that point yet, the best they could do was gather and store as much food as possible.

Perhaps I should teach them farming techniques or how to raise livestock?

Growing something like potatoes in winter could help them survive.

Livestock might not be a viable solution within a year, but still.

Even without my help, they would find a way to endure.

The elves in the southern hemisphere were in the middle of summer, so they had plenty of food even if babies were born.

…Honestly, my biggest concern was something else.

"Oh, great deity! Thank you for providing us with food even in this cold weather!"

"We offer this sacrifice to you, our mighty god!"

...

What the hell, you crazy idiots, why are you offering the food you've worked so hard to gather to me?

And then, instead of eating the food after the ritual, they just leave it, saying it's an offering to the god.

They barely eat what's left after the offering.

No wonder their population isn't increasing; it's actually decreasing despite my help.

How do I deal with this crazy cult?

The only silver lining was that dangerous beasts no longer approached.

These fanatics had become so deranged that they didn't fear the beasts. Instead, they crazily charged at them to offer them as sacrifices, scaring the beasts away.

And another thing.

Since their population was small and they hadn't had many babies yet, they could survive even with less food.

There was a clear cause-and-effect relationship.

But these crazy people…

"The beasts aren't attacking us! The god has blessed us!"

"Oh, it must be the Hand of Protection among the six hands!"

You crazy fools!

The beasts are scared off because you're charging at them like maniacs, trying to offer them as sacrifices, no matter how many you kill!

And what's this about the Hand of Protection among the six hands?

Did you guys just randomly decide I have six arms, each with different abilities?

What even is the Hand of Protection?

"Even in this cold, we have food to eat!"

"Not starving is all thanks to the god's grace."

"It must be the Hand of Abundance among the six hands!"

That's because your population is so small that even a little food is enough to keep you from starving.

What god's grace?

Hand of Abundance, my foot.

Which hand is that, anyway?

"Thank you, oh great god!"

"We pray to you, mighty god."

Sigh… Just thinking about that fanatical group makes me sigh.

It's endearing that they worship and pray to me so fervently, but can they even survive like this?

While I was pondering this, something happened.

"…Oh!"

"Hm?!"

An event occurred in the southern hemisphere of the planet.

One of the intelligent elves I had been keeping an eye on, Muwan, led a group of elves.

A scout from Muwan's group encountered an elf from another group gathering food at a nearby point.

Oh, finally!

After approximately three years by Galactic Union standard time, elves from different groups finally encountered each other.

Until now, they had been too busy organizing their villages and dealing with beasts to expand their range of activities.

However, the southern hemisphere had entered a bountiful summer, allowing them to extend their exploration range.

What would happen next?

Would they fight? Engage in a territorial war?

Or, given their strong sense of kinship, would they cooperate to expand their territories?

Although food supplies were still a bit uncertain, the southern hemisphere's summer allowed for ample hunting to sustain them.

"…Bagu. Abonsu. Warandu?"

"Segrinu, Lata."

"…?"

"???"

Hmm, it seemed like the language barrier was quite significant.

Well, these elves were so intelligent that they developed their language systems too early.

Each village likely had different languages or meanings.

But they had body language and drawings to communicate!

Realizing they couldn't understand each other despite being the same species, they started using gestures and drawings to communicate.

It was fortunate that they didn't attack each other upon meeting but instead tried to communicate.

Apparently, body language worked, and some of Muwan's scouts decided to visit the village of the elves who were gathering food.

Others returned to their village to inform Muwan, their leader, about the existence of another elf village and that some scouts were heading there.

The fact that they were willing to visit an unknown elf village suggested an instinctive understanding that they wouldn't harm each other as the same species.

I was glad I had fostered strong kinship among them.

Thus, the first contact led to a visit to a new village.

I was starting to look forward to seeing how interactions with external elves would unfold from here