Chapter 261: Old Members

[Host, 61 beasts are approaching the Dow clan territory]

’Sixty-one?!’

What the hell? That was way too many. Where was she supposed to put sixty-one beasts? She was barely managing to build shelters for the ones she already had—

She stopped herself.

Why was she even considering housing them here?

But that aside, a tribe was usually over a hundred beasts, and the Jackdaw tribe had a whole lot more than that. Unless a lot of them had died in the move...

Just to be sure, Tera asked the system.

’System... where are the rest of them?’

[The storm must have killed a large number of them, Host]

[(╥_╥)]

[Including the long journey here]

Tera didn’t say anything.

She nearly felt bad for them until she recalled their treatment of the old Tera, even before she started her antics, along with their unfair judgement of Ermin.

Even as she considered trying to talk things out with them, the idea did not seem favourable in any way.

Tera would not have them here.

She walked past the beasts who were busy chattering and made her way to the farm, walking past it to then see the small crowd through the trees in the distance. A huddle of beasts was making their way towards her clan.

The huddle came closer, and Tera could pick out Naiya’s face from the others.

’Urgh...’

Tera stood where she was and let them come. It felt a little too surreal watching faces the old Tera had seen every single day of her life.

A lot of them did look prideful, but some looked terrible and weren’t even bothering to pretend otherwise. One female was limping on a leg that had been bound with strips of bark.

And yet some of them were snickering.

’Are these idiots even aware of their situation?’

A lot of them were laughing at her and whispering to each other, especially.

’Unbelievable.’

Then Naiya stepped forward out of the group.

At first she looked very confused to see Tera, then she looked past her at the clan before eyeing Tera a second time.

’Hell no.’

Naiya looked like she was about to say something, and Tera automatically knew it was going to be rubbish.

"Nope," Tera said.

And she brought the portal down on them.

The portal passed through them, swallowing them and transporting them out of sight. A clean patch of the ground appeared where they had previously stood, and Tera panicked as it had been very close to the farm.

If she had done this when they came closer, she would have literally cleared a portion of her farm with them.

[(⊙_⊙)]

[Host did not even give them a chance to say anything]

{BeastWorldAddict is surprised by Tera’s quick action}

{PervyGoddess finds Tera’s reaction hilarious}

Behind her, her clan had gone completely still. Then they found their voices all at once.

"Where did they go?"

"Did you send them back?"

"Are they dead?"

"What?! They are not dead." Tera turned around to eye them. "That is not what the portal does!"

"Why did you send them away?" one of the females asked.

Another male faced her with an incredulous look. "Did they not insult us the last time?"

"Exactly!" Tera pointed at him. "Also, they looked like they wanted to pick a fight."

A long pause.

"Ahhhh."

"That is true. They did look like that."

"They were doing the faces."

"They were doing the faces."

"Then she was right to do it."

Heads nodded all through the group like Tera had just resolved a complicated legal dispute.

Then Tera noticed the look on Ermin’s face.

He was looking out at the empty patch of grass where sixty-one beasts had been standing, and his shoulders had dropped.

Tera’s stomach went tight.

"Ermin?"

He looked at her.

Tera stepped closer. "What’s wrong?"

’Please don’t say you miss them.’

Tera remembered that conversation she’d had with Ermin about him missing the tribe, and she hoped that wasn’t the case now. Was he sad because he had sent them away?

The idea that some part of him still wanted something from those people, after everything they had said about him, and after the way they had judged him, hurt Tera.

"It is nothing." Ermin quickly shook his head.

Why was he not saying anything?

"It’s clearly not nothing."

He was quiet for another moment. Then, "I thought I would be able to see my uncle."

’Oh.’

Tera felt her heart drop. She had been so keen on getting rid of the whole tribe that she hadn’t thought for one second about the fact that there might be somebody in that crowd who mattered to someone she loved.

"It is fine." He said a little too quickly. "It has been a long time. I did not expect—"

"I’ll bring him here."

Ermin looked at her, surprised.

"I’ll bring him." She waved a hand toward the edge of the plateau. "They’re not far. I only sent them to the bottom."

"The bottom?"

"Of the plateau. Right down there." Tera pointed.

If they wanted to come back up, they would have to take the long journey round till they got to where they would need to climb uphill to get to her territory.

For a split moment before opening the portal, Tera had very seriously considered opening the portal straight back to the Jackdaw territory and dropping all sixty-one of them where their tribe had originally been.

She hadn’t done it.

Mostly because she had no idea what state that place was in. The storm had taken more than forty of them. She didn’t know what was left standing over there, and if she dumped them back there for them to start their journey from the start, it would be her fault for putting them back there.

So, the bottom of the plateau was there, and Tera would keep sending them back there each time they came close to her territory. She would make sure to visit her clan every few days whenever she could, even if it burned through her passes.

By the time she did it a few more times, they would give up and not come near again.

Tera vaguely remembered what Ermin’s uncle looked like, but underneath that thought was something she wouldn’t say out loud.

His uncle was an old man when Tera had been in the tribe. But she had a cold, creeping feeling that his uncle might not be down there at all.

Tera didn’t let it show on her face.

While she wasn’t looking forward to seeing the faces of those tribe members, she decided to go anyway.