Chapter 560: Amijin
I’ve arrived at Amijin. It’s a peninsula that looks like a dragon’s claw, located south of Marina. The terrain around Marina is quite intricate, resembling a hand, so it feels like Marina is the right hand and Amijin is the left.
In the end, I ended up acquiring some land, so I quickly came here with Soleil and the others to finalize the contract. Since this land doesn’t come with any annoying titles or nobility, I thought it would be fine. Well, the rush was mainly because the people of Amijin seemed to be in a tight spot.
Despite being in a pinch, they were debating until the last moment about letting outsiders in.
Amijin is a peninsula, but as a country, it extends much further inland. It was once a thriving place during the Era of the Boulder, but after the great Stone Spirit departed, the population dwindled, and now they seem to be living a meager existence.
Even though it’s called a country, it’s more of a remnant of what used to be. Nowadays, most people don’t settle down or own land individually; they live a nomadic lifestyle, moving around in family units.
And when I say family, it seems to encompass all blood relatives traveling together, almost like one big extended family.
Due to the drought, the feed for sheep and goats has decreased, and their food reserves—essentially their livestock—are in a precarious state. The heads of families gathered to discuss and decided to seek help, ultimately turning to Blue Spirit Island.
So, the plan is to acquire the coastal part of the peninsula, which juts out into the sea, as a substitute for wheat, largely influenced by Karianto Manju.
Soleil, who desperately wants a bay deep enough for large ships, seems to find that the nomadic people have no need for the sea.
In the past, merchants overflowing from Naruadeid tried to establish a port, but it didn’t go well. After the departure of the great Stone Spirit, the area became unstable, and they couldn’t build anything along the coast.
Moreover, it’s said that a castle from the Boulder Civilization era, which faced the sea, crumbled and sank into the ocean. The collapse altered the landscape, making it resemble a dragon’s claw—this is what I found in the Spirit Library.
Since just reading about it isn’t enough, let’s ask the locals. Stone Spirit of Amijin?
“I’m burned by fire.”
“We crumble under fire.”
“I’m pierced by wood.”
“We’re split by wood.”
“I’m dissolved by wind.”
“We turn to dust.”
That’s all from the locals.
Setting aside the strange games, it seems like there’s a transition here from the Era of the Boulder to the Era of Fire, the Era of Wood, and the Era of Wind? But it feels like the decline is more severe here than in other places. Well, that’s just my human perspective.
It feels like places that were once prosperous, like Karn’s Country, have been thoroughly flattened. Those prosperous areas were where the Spirit’s Power was strongest during that time, right?
“Then, we will limit our nomadic activities to the center of the dragon’s palm, and we will have the freedom to use the rest of the dragon’s hand as we see fit.”
“Indeed. All families living in Amijin will abide by this agreement.”
The representative of the heads of families signed the contract and pressed their blood seal, then passed it to the heads of families with speaking rights. I felt a bit distant at the mention of the blood seal.
It seems like there are strict rules. I understand that strict rules arise from the harshness of nature and the difficulty of survival, but I’d prefer to live a more relaxed life.
Speaking of which, isn’t Soleil a bit out of his element? He’s passing around alcohol and clean cloth to disinfect his injured finger.
The blood-sealed contract—no, the contract—was checked by Soleil and handed to me. This contract follows Amijin’s format. Do I have to seal it with my blood too? Now that I think about it, Captain Cat also used a blood seal… It heals quickly, but I still dislike it.
However, it seems like I have no choice but to go along with it, so I quickly did it and healed right away.
“Ooooh…”
And then something emerged. It was an unfamiliar spirit that vanished almost instantly.
“That form is our Blood Spirit…”
“The faded ancient memories recounted by the storyteller have resurfaced!”
“We retract our opposition to relinquishing our land to outsiders!”
“Our land and blood accept this.”
“What is this?”
“I can hardly believe my eyes…!”
It seems that this spirit was special to the people of Amijin. After all, there are bound to be those who oppose letting outsiders into their land. Even if we reached a contract, it feels like there might still be lingering resentment… though it seems to have been resolved already.
“Um, nice to meet you? If possible, I’d like to continue our exchanges in the future. Once things settle down, I plan to hold regular markets in the dragon’s palm (this place), so please don’t hesitate to come by. Starting with wheat, of course.” I said with a bright smile.
When times were easier, merchants from Marina and Naruadeid would come regularly for trade, but that has ceased since the drought worsened. They mainly brought food, while Amijin offered textiles, embroidery, and deer and fox furs in return.
I’ll bring food, so let’s have a relaxed shopping exchange.
“The promised wheat is in that hemp sack; please open it and check the contents. Also, I’ve prepared salt and sugar as a gift to celebrate today’s agreement.” Soleil said as Auro and a familiar employee removed the cloth covering the load.
By the way, it’s Mail Wheat. I’ve given up on exchanging regular wheat since it’s becoming too late for that. It shouldn’t be obvious that it’s Mail Wheat, so I’ll just call it regular wheat.
Soleil seems to be handling things with ease, but in reality, he’s probably stressed out since they can’t build a port. Don’t worry; I plan to handle the land development myself.
Here, I want to brew some alcohol. Grapes or sugarcane—I’m hoping for something with a high alcohol content. Well, it’s too late for the next feast with the Earth Folk, but still.