At the southern end of the lower lake was a large region where the lake and the wetlands blended into each other. Multiple structures had been built there, with a dozen wooden stilts serving as a foundation for each one. A door opened at the side of one of these houses, and its owner entered the sunlight.
His demi-human race was known as lizardmen.
Lizardmen were beings which shared human and reptilian characteristics. More specifically, aside from their heads which did not have basic human features, they were bipedal lizards, with dexterous hands and feet.
They were regarded as demi-humans along with goblins and orcs, and were not as civilised as humans, with a lifestyle considered barbaric to others. However, it also could not be denied that they have a culture of their own.
Adult male lizardmen had an average height of about 190 centimeters and were proud of their strong muscles, weighing over 100 kg with little body fat
A reptilian tail used for maintaining balance grew from their waists.
Evolution caused them to have webbed feet for ease of movement on the wetlands. It was also because of this that land activities were slightly inconvenient, but this posed no problem for their general lifestyle.
Their dark green and charcoal grey scales were similar to those of a crocodile instead of a lizard’s, and they were harder than the low-end defensive equipment used by humans.
Their hands had five fingers just like humans, but with short claws growing at their tips.
The weapons wielded by both hands were basically very primitive items. Since it was impossible for them to discover ore in the wetlands, their weapons were mainly spears crafted from magical beasts’ claws, or akin to blunt weapons with stone bound to them.
The sky was a clear blue, the sun had already risen to mid-air, and a small amount of thin white clouds were in a combed pattern in the sky. It was a good weather, with the distant mountain range clearly visible.
The lizardmen’s field of vision was wide, and the sun’s blinding glare could be seen even without moving the head. He, Zaryusu Shasha, squinted and walked down the stairs rhythmically.
He, Zaryusu Shasha, squinted and walked down the stairs rhythmically, while scratching the imprint of a black scale on his chest.
Lizardmen had a strict class society, with the tribal chief as the leader of the tribe. This position was not determined by blood, but elected by the tribe for being the strongest individual. This election for tribal chief took place once every years.
Assisting the chief was the council of elders made up of elected elderly lizardmen. Below them were the warrior class, followed by general male lizardmen, general female lizardmen, and lizardmen youths. Their society was structured this way.
Of course, there also existed those who did not belong to any of these categories.
First were the druids, who were led by the elder druid. They aided tribal life through the use of magical cures and weather forecasts to predict dangers.
Next were the hunters, whose ranks consisted of rangers, responsible for fishing and hunting, but since ordinary lizardmen would also assist in this aspect, their most important job were forest activities.
Lizardmen were omnivores, but their staple food was a species of fish around eighty centimeters long, and they did not consume many plants or fruits.
Despite this, hunters entered the forest mainly to harvest timber. For lizardmen, land was not safe, and even simply collecting wood from the forest required skilled personnel.
As such, they were allowed to make their own decisions, but still fell within the jurisdiction of the chief and had to obey the chief’s commands. Lizardmen therefore had an explicitly paternalistic society with division of labour done according to jobs. However, there were also those outside the jurisdiction of the tribal chief.
Those were travellers.
Hearing about travellers would evoke the impression of foreigners, but this was impossible in lizardmen society. Lizardmen had a closed society, and a situation where an outsider was accepted into the tribe was exceedingly rare
So, who were these travellers?
They were lizardmen who wished to see the outside world.
Basically, unless something drastic like a shortage of food occurred, lizardmen would not leave their hometown. However, there was a small chance that a lizardman who wanted to see the outside world would appear.
When travellers decided to leave the tribe, they would have a special insignia engraved on their chests. This was proof that they had left the jurisdiction of the tribe’s control upon leaving the tribe.
Most of those who left the tribe never came back, died during their travels, found a new place to call home, or encountered a different fate… but on rare occasions, they would return to their hometown after having seen the world.
Travellers who returned were evaluated highly because of the level of knowledge they had gathered. Although they were individuals detached from the power hierarchy, they were still prominent within the tribe.
There were some who kept their distance from Zaryusu out of respect, but his fame was greater than that. It was not only because he was an traveller. The reason was…
When descending from the lowest stair to the wetlands' surface, his favourite weapon holstered on his waist collided with his scales, creating a clicking sound.
It was a blue and white blade with a dim glow. The shape was a bit peculiar, the blade and the handle were integrated, resembling a three-pronged fork. Starting from the grip part of the body it became increasingly thinner, until becoming paper-thin at the tip of the blade.
There were no lizardmen who did not know of this weapon. All the surrounding lizardmen tribes referred to it as one of the four treasured magic items: Frost Pain.
This was the reason behind Zaryusu’s great fame.
Zaryusu started to move.
He had two different destinations. The gift which he intended to bring to one of those destinations was currently carried on his back.
It was one of the large fish which served as the staple food of lizardmen. Walking as he carried four of these fishes on his back, the stench which entered his nose did not cause any discomfort to Zaryusu. On the contrary, it was a smell which made him feel very hungry.
A strong desire to eat. After puffing out wind several times out from his nose, he expelled this desire. Like this, Zaryusu pattered as he walked without stopping through the Green Claw tribe village.
Children, who still had their bright green scales, ran around and let out ‘sha sha’ sounding laughter, but stopped as they noticed the objects on Zaryusu’s back. Healthy growing children peered towards Zaryusu from under the shadows of houses—— no, it was because of the fish that they gathered together. Their mouths were slightly parted, even drooling. They stayed a slight distance away, but their eyesight was still locked on, with gazes like children who craved snacks.
Zaryusu smiled wryly and pretended to not notice as he continued walking. He had already decided who to give them to. It was regretful, but they weren’t meant for the children.