Chapter 33 : Trading & Meeting King Mino

Nakami approached the minotaurs cautiously, finding them surprisingly friendly and civilized. His stealthy skills allowed him to get within a meter of them before they noticed his presence.

He raised his hands to show that he meant no harm, proving he was unarmed.

With the help of the [Animal Language] skill he had learned, Nakami attempted to communicate with them.

"Hello, hello... I am Nakami. Can you understand me?"

He repeated the words a few times until one of the good-looking and cleanest minotaurs responded.

"Stop... We understand you... Strange... How can you communicate with us? The other humans in our camp couldn't do that..."

Nakami was taken aback when he learned that there were other humans somewhere else.

"Since it's very dark here, do you want to come to our camp and meet the other humans?"

Nakami nodded eagerly in response.

They chatted for a bit during the journey to their camp, which was a bit boring as they had no transportation technologies, so they ended up walking for about half an hour until Nakami finally spotted their camp.

There, he discovered that the minotaurs were just like him, transmigrated from another world. They had been on this island for a few years already, which explained their extensive knowledge about the creatures living there.

They clarified that the werewolves Nakami had killed were different from them, as those wolves were wild and lacked consciousness, except for their leader. The minotaurs expressed gratitude that Nakami had dealt with those barbaric wolves, as they had been causing harm to other creatures in the forest, including the minotaur tribe.

Nakami was impressed by the wooden buildings in the camp, with only a few sections of the outer walls made of stone, serving as sturdy pillars and beams. Passing through the giant wooden gate opened by their tribe, Nakami noticed wooden structures that resembled the one he had built when he first arrived on the island.

He couldn't believe how similar most of the houses were to the one he had showcased on his YouTube channel.

They brought Nakami to meet their leader at the center of the settlement, where a large, well-crafted wooden house stood apart from the others. Nakami felt nervous as they asked him to enter the house alone, explaining that their leader wanted to meet him privately.

Initially, they wanted Nakami to relinquish everything he had on his body, especially the black katana on his back. However, after negotiating for a while, Nakami managed to convince them to let him keep his backpack while leaving the katana at the entrance.

He walked cautiously until he reached the main room of the house, which appeared to be the largest space inside. There, he saw a bigger and more majestic-looking minotaur sitting on a giant wooden throne, gazing intently at him. The leader gestured for Nakami to take a seat on a large chair placed in front of him.

"Hello, human. I heard from my tribe that you can understand me. My name is King Mino, the first and current king of this tribe since we were stranded here. Nice to meet you, Nakami!" the minotaur spoke in a deep and rumbling voice.

The minotaur extended his enormous hand—or rather, hoof—toward Nakami for a handshake, but it was so massive that Nakami decided to do a fist bump instead. King Mino chuckled warmly after Nakami's gesture.

"You're a funny human. It's truly a pleasure to be able to converse with one of your kind."

King Mino spoke at length about their tribe's transmigration years ago. He also mentioned that he had sheltered a few humans who were stranded here, which piqued Nakami's curiosity as he had been eager to meet other humans living in this place.

"Excuse me, King Mino, but is there any possibility for me to meet the other humans here? Rest assured, I mean no harm to them," Nakami asked politely.

"Hohoho, you don't have to be so formal with me. I would have loved for you to meet them, but they are hesitant and doubtful about your intentions. Moreover, none of them seem to know you..."

Nakami's mind buzzed with surprise at Mino's revelation. He couldn't believe how the minotaurs had treated the other humans with such kindness and it dawned on him that this generosity was likely a way of reciprocating for the shared technologies. The remarkable houses they had constructed together stood as a testament to the bond formed between the humans and the minotaurs in this settlement.

"So, Nakami, what do you have to offer me?" Mino inquired, his demeanor suddenly business-like and serious.

Nakami felt taken aback by the unexpected question, but he swiftly composed himself, remembering that he, too, was a leader in his settlement.

"Have you seen the metallic weapon I brought with me? I left it at the entrance," Nakami replied calmly.

Mino promptly summoned his butler to retrieve the katana left by Nakami at the entrance. Though Nakami was a bit uneasy about others handling his belongings, he understood the need to let Mino inspect it for their negotiations to be on equal footing. He wanted to showcase his skills, to prove his worth, but he also knew that revealing all his abilities without reason wouldn't be wise.

As the butler brought the katana to Mino, the minotaur king examined it with keen interest, running his eyes over its gleaming surface. Nakami could tell that Mino was assessing not only the weapon's craftsmanship but also Nakami's capabilities.

Nakami eagerly listed all the valuable resources his settlement could provide—the abundance of fish from their waters, the medicinal herbs and fruits they cultivated with care. However, he tactfully avoided mentioning any modern weaponry, like his katana, or the explosives he had created. Some secrets were best kept for safety reasons, and Nakami decided to reserve his advanced skills solely for himself.

As the conversation stretched on for half an hour, both parties exchanged ideas and discussed potential collaborations. Nakami found himself impressed by Mino's openness to cooperation and his understanding of the benefits that each settlement could gain from such an alliance.

Eventually, the late hour prompted them to conclude the meeting. The minotaurs graciously offered Nakami a guest house to spend the night. Although the structure appeared somewhat rudimentary, Nakami appreciated the effort and skill that had gone into building it. It stood as a testament to the minotaurs' proficiency in creating solid structures, even without modern technologies.

Nakami couldn't manage to sleep for more than three hours, relying on his quick recovery skills. He still felt uneasy about sleeping in an unfamiliar place. Surprisingly, nothing eventful happened to him after he arrived at the guest house, and it was only at dawn that the tribe finally reached out to him.

In the time leading up to dawn, Nakami had informed Alice that he wouldn't be returning for a while as he was busy negotiating with the minotaur tribe.

Though Nakami didn't have high expectations from the tribe in terms of technologies, but he couldn't deny their impressive numbers and power in handling resources like wood and stones. Even if they simply offered basic resources, he'd be grateful, considering that his settlement's people were fewer and weaker compared to the minotaurs.

Nakami spent a good chunk of time discussing the trading plan with Wenwen, who was well-versed in the workings of the settlement as she managed it now. After exchanging ideas for about half an hour, Nakami finally made up his mind.

"Ugh... I've got 4000E now, but it seems to be capped," Nakami thought, a bit amused by the strange limit on his points. He felt like he had earned more than 4000E, but for some unknown reason, it was capped when he checked his phone.

"Since I have some extra E, I should upgrade the furniture in this room, hehe!"

With a thought and a bit of magic, Nakami used Transmute!

A comfortable, queen-size bed materialized before him, and the table and chair transformed into new, modern-looking pieces as if straight out of a furniture shop.

He even crafted a solar panel table fan, considering the guest room was unbearably hot without any means of cooling.

At 8 AM, Nakami received a summons from the king's butler, interrupting the movie he had recently purchased. Despite the interruption, he was relieved to pause the film. Nakami was eager to gather new skills from the movies he could access now that he had enough E to buy anything he deemed beneficial.

Following the butler's lead, Nakami entered a different building, an open area with a leafy roof where the tribes gathered to eat. He maintained his composure for the most part, but his calm demeanor was shattered when he laid eyes on a giant roasted meat that resembled a wild boar, resting on a massive table right in front of him. On the opposite side of the table sat Mino, the king.

Surprisingly, the tribe remained silent and didn't make any attempts to disturb the table once they saw their king entertaining the human guest, Nakami.

As they indulged in the meal, Nakami and Mino engaged in a serious discussion about their business plans.

"I'm in complete agreement with the business proposal," Nakami stated confidently.

"My people will arrive in a few hours to collect the woods. I trust that your tribe will be prepared for the arrangements we discussed earlier."