Chapter 39: Salt Wells

"Father, I found several salt wells and brought back some salt."

Martin had been preparing to scold Sora for disappearing from the tribe without permission and spending an entire night away. The moment he heard the word salt, however, every thought of punishment vanished.

"What did you say?" he exclaimed, staring at her. "You found salt wells?"

Salt was no ordinary resource.

It was one of the rarest and most valuable commodities in the beast world. Every tribe depended on it, yet very few could produce it themselves. Most tribes had to exchange large amounts of prey with hunters or merchants from the city-states, and even then they received only a small quantity because salt was so scarce.

Without salt, preserving food was difficult, meals lacked flavor, and every tribe remained dependent on expensive trade.

As tribe leader, Martin understood its value better than anyone.

The moment he realized Sora might actually have found a salt source, the stern expression on his face disappeared completely. His eyes brightened, and the cold authority he had shown moments earlier melted into excitement.

"Kaelira... where’s the salt?"

"Let me see it."

Sora almost laughed at how quickly his attitude had changed.

Exactly as she had expected.

She had deliberately mentioned the salt before explaining why she had stayed away overnight. If she wanted to avoid punishment, there was no better bargaining chip than something the entire tribe desperately needed.

As long as she won over Martin, life inside the tribe would become much easier.

After all, it was always better to stand beneath the biggest tree for shade.

Nearby, Lukan narrowed his eyes.

He hadn’t expected Sora to return with such incredible luck.

Only moments ago, people had been discussing how to punish her for leaving the tribe. Now the conversation had completely shifted.

Everything had changed because of a single word.

Salt.

Sora untied one of the animal-skin bags and scooped out a generous handful of coarse crystals.

She placed them carefully into Martin’s palm.

"Father."

"This is the salt I found."

Standing beside him, Serena immediately leaned closer.

She simply couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

How could someone as lazy, overweight, and unreliable as Sora discover something this precious?

Surely this had to be another one of her ridiculous tricks.

The moment Serena saw the coarse yellow-gray crystals resting in Martin’s hand, she burst into laughter.

"This?"

"You call this salt?"

She picked up one of the large grains and sneered.

"It’s huge."

"It’s yellow."

"It’s mixed with dirt."

"It isn’t even white."

She folded her arms proudly.

"Kaelira, you’ve really become bold."

"You actually dare fool the entire tribe?"

Many of the surrounding tribe members nodded.

Compared to the pure white salt traded by the city-states...

...the substance in Martin’s hand looked more like crushed rocks than seasoning.

Martin, however, did not rush to any conclusions.

Unlike Serena, he had seen raw salt before.

Quietly, he dipped one finger into the coarse crystals before touching it to his tongue.

Immediately...

A sharp salty taste spread across his mouth, followed by the familiar bitterness of unrefined minerals.

His eyes widened.

"It really is salt."

Without another word, he extended his hand toward Mark.

"Take a look."

Mark stepped forward skeptically.

He carefully examined the coarse crystals.

The color...

The texture...

The grain size...

After a long moment, recognition slowly appeared in his eyes.

"...It’s real."

Everyone around him froze.

Mark nodded seriously.

"I’ve seen salt like this before."

"When I visited the city-states, merchants transported raw salt that looked exactly like this."

He rubbed one of the crystals between his fingers.

"But..."

"The salt we eventually receive is already refined."

"It’s white."

"It’s much finer than this."

He sighed.

"Even if we have raw salt, we still don’t know how to refine it."

"We can’t eat it like this."

The excitement surrounding the crowd immediately cooled.

Many people had been thrilled for a moment.

Now disappointment replaced that excitement.

Raw salt was still useless if no one knew how to purify it.

Serena secretly relaxed.

So what if Sora had discovered a salt well?

Without refinement...

It still couldn’t be used.

Sora simply smiled.

"Of course raw salt can’t be eaten directly."

She folded her arms confidently.

"But I know how to purify it."

"I can turn this into fine white salt."

Silence.

The entire square fell completely quiet.

Every beastman stared at her.

Mark frowned immediately.

"Don’t talk nonsense."

He shook his head.

"Only the nobles of the city-states know the method for refining salt."

"It’s considered a secret."

"How could you possibly know it?"

Sora rolled her eyes.

"Whether I know it or not..."

"You’ll find out after I refine it."

She honestly felt her older brother wasn’t a bad person.

He simply lacked imagination.

Every time she introduced something new, his first reaction was disbelief.

If she said she could do something...

Why couldn’t he just wait and see?

Martin, on the other hand, reacted very differently.

Instead of dismissing her, he looked at Sora with hopeful eyes.

"Kaelira..."

"Can you truly make this into white salt?"

Sora nodded without hesitation.

"Yes."

"I really can."

For a long moment Martin simply stared at his daughter.

Then a broad smile spread across his face.

"Good."

"Very good."

"If you need anything..."

"If you need people..."

"If you need supplies..."

"Tell your father."

"I’ll personally come and watch when you refine it."

Sora smiled.

"Thank you, Father."

"I’ll let you know."

Only then did the crowd remember the rest of the strange items the group had carried back.

Several beastmen pointed toward the reddish-brown objects stacked beside Xavier, Ace, and Lucas.

One of them couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer.

"Kaelira..."

"If that bag contains salt..."

"Then what are these reddish-brown things?"

Another beastman crouched beside one of the large clay pots, tapping it cautiously with a finger.

"It doesn’t look like stone..."

"It isn’t wood either."

"What exactly is it?"

Soon the entire crowd surrounded the newly fired pottery, staring curiously at the strange bowls, jars, kettles, cups, and cooking pots Sora had brought back.

For the second time that morning...

Every eye in the tribe focused entirely on her, waiting for another unbelievable explanation.