The return trip was peaceful. They didn't encounter anything noteworthy.
It was almost noon when they returned to the village. Alex could see youths of the stone head tribe practising martial arts in the training field.
"Meru, who is he?" Charam asked while curiously looking at Kalina who was next to Alex.
'Oops, I forgot about that. The villagers don't know that she is Kalina, the princess of the ice phoenix tribe. I asked Mupan to keep her identity a secret from normal people. Only the leaders and elders of the tribe know that Kalina is staying in our village. How should I respond?'
"A friend from the city. He came here as a guest." Alex replied nonchalantly. Lie through the teeth, adapt and overcome troublesome situations. It was his motto.
Kalina was perplexed by what Alex had said.
'When did I become a he? And who is his friend?' She curiously glanced at Alex, trying to understand his words.
Meanwhile, Alex moved close to Kalina and whispered in her ear.
"They don't know your identity. After all, you are not here for a vacation. So, I asked Mupan to hide your identity. Play along if you want my help." With a sweet smile, Alex suggested.
But to Kalina, it didn't feel like a suggestion at all. He was forcing her to act according to his will. She quickly realised that she was dancing to his tunes.
Alex garnered her sympathy by describing the poor condition of the stone head tribe. He knew his worth and used it to gain advantage wherever he could.
'He is dangerous.'
"Would that mean you lied to me about the dinner? If the villagers don't know that I am here, how did they prepare the ingredients for the dinner?" Kalina said while scrutinising his action.
"Well, I wouldn't call that a lie. The condition of our tribe is poor. It is the truth. And as a representative of the tribe, My decision to use the wealth of my tribe to welcome you is comparable to my tribe welcoming you. Isn't that right? Miss Kalina."
Kalina was stumped. His words made sense. And she couldn't argue back.
"Wait a minute? Even if all that was correct, when did I become a guy?" Grumbled Kalina.
"Ahh… about that. Let's just say that it would do me no good when the villagers learn that a woman was staying in my house. Besides that, look at what you are wearing. It's my clothes. And with this fur beanie covering your head. You could pass for a guy."
"WHAT!"
'Is this guy joking with me? He fears that I, the princess of the ice phoenix tribe, would tarnish his reputation. Is he even in the correct state of mind? And how can I look like a guy? Even in these horrendous clothes, my feminine charm is unquestionable.' The princess was ready to chew him out.
"Why are you both whispering? Introduce your friend Meru. Is something wrong?" Suddenly Charam who stood nearby asked.
"No."
"YES," Kalina replied immediately.
"Pff...Hha...You have a funny friend Meru. Where is he from?"
'I am not a 'he'.' Even though the princess wanted to say that. Before she could, Alex gave his explanation.
"HE is from the blue gem city. HE might become our business partner someday. HE is also a skilled warrior."
Every time Alex said the word HE. A piercing pain went through Kalina's heart.
"But what is HIS name?" Hitting the last nail in the coffin, Charam asked for the name.
"You can call him Kali, he is from an ice element tribe."
"Oh… Great. Like the snow wolf tribe. I am Charam from the stone head tribe. Just as you have guessed, we are an earth element tribe. Nice to meet you. If you have time, come to the training ground. We are having a little sparring competition today." Charam said while running away.
"Sigh! Are the people in your tribe this dense? How can he mistake my voice for a man's?"
"It's a lie that's going to be revealed inevitably. But it will buy me some time."
After saying that, Alex went to the Mupan's house. He decided to leave the carcass of the tier 3 four-tusked mammoth in Mupan's care.
Meanwhile, Kalina went to the training ground to see what was happening. Her curiosity was piqued by Charam. So, she planned to seek entertainment by seeing the young warriors of the stone head tribe battle.
______
In the training ground, A group of people could be seen surrounding a large stone platform.
And in the centre was Thee. He was sparring against Kanal.
Kanal blocked Thee's advancements using her sword. Occasionally fiery sparks could be seen lining the edge of her sword.
It was an intense spar. Thee did everything he could to dodge the sword. But occasionally, sparks would hit his arms creating burn marks across his arms. It was hot and painful.
Kalina grew excited seeing the spar. She was one of the best warriors of the ice phoenix tribe. She knew how to judge their fighting skill. The reality that the youngster of the stone head tribe was stronger than the youngsters of her tribe shocked her.
'Still, it doesn't compare to the monster, Meru.'
Thee who was dodging left and right abruptly stopped. He made some distance between himself and Kanal.
It was time for him to display his true strength. Forcing energy into his skin, he began materialising a thin layer of stone over his body. He was creating temporary armour around his body. It was cracked in multiple places. But it was good enough to protect his body.
"Kanal, I know what your abilities are. It won't work on me anymore." He said after pointing his spear at Kanal.
After observing Kanal and her ability, stone armour was the counter he created.
Unlike the people of the stone head tribe, the abilities of Kanal were different. Her spirit guardian was different and thus she had fire element abilities.
And she was using this ability to heat her sword in combat to create fiery sparks. This was the ace up her sleeve.
Even with that, she couldn't beat Thee who was not using any of his abilities. Now that Thee was fighting for real, her chance of winning has gone down by a lot.
"Now, prepare to take on my final attack," Thee said before running straight at Kanal.
Kanal's sword was just inches away from colliding with his body.
Immediately, Thee reinforced the armour around his fist. A thick rock gauntlet formed around his left arm.
Instead of dodging the attacks, he ran forward towards Kanal, Welcoming the attack.
Using his left palm, he grabbed her sword while sweeping his spear horizontally to attack.
It was a precarious situation for Kanal. She had to drop her sword and jump away to dodge the spear. And by doing so, she landed outside the stone platform.
"Whistle… The sparring match ends here. Winner, Thee." The instructor said signifying the end of the spar.
With that, the crowd near the sparring platform went their separate ways. Kalina was the only one who stayed still without moving.
'I should increase the training difficulty of the youngsters in my tribe. Now, where is he? The damned Meru said that he would return after delivering the carcass.' She thought with puffed cheeks. She stomped her foot as she was stomping on Alex and walked away into the village.
'It wouldn't take me that long to find my house.' But it took her a long time to find the house.
____
Meanwhile, Alex was planting mushrooms on his interdimensional farm.
'I always wanted to be a shroom farmer. I like shrooms. No, in fact, I love shrooms. Better yet, they will make me rich.'
'Money…Money...Money' Chanting it like a mantra in his mind. Alex planted the golden mushrooms he got.
Planting ten mushroom seeds, he exited the farm.
'Now, did I forget something?'
'Oops! Where did Kalina go!'
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