Once he fell into the scent, he couldn’t control himself and became absorbed in Riena. He panted like a dog with his nose buried. He became dazed as if losing his reason and couldn’t lift his face from her br*asts.

She pushed him away with frightened eyes. Pushing both of Murat’s cheeks with force, she let out words mixed with sobbing.

“Don’t do this. What kind of scent am I giving off?”

When she finally raised her head at the ominous atmosphere, his companions were all trying to stick their heads close. They swayed their heads like fish trying to bite bait. It felt different from simply attempting to smell. It was closer to a hallucinogenic state or being intoxicated by drugs.

Murat, who came to his senses, stepped back and separated from the group. First he gathered her clothes tightly.

“There is indeed a scent of milk.”

Saya followed with intoxicated steps.

“It’s not an ordinary scent. It’s milk from the gift of the gods. The smell is really…… incredibly killer.”

They stopped what they were doing and followed Murat like ghosts. Those who smelled had glazed eyes, and those who couldn’t smell followed behind, unable to contain their curiosity.

Murat felt an unpleasant sense of crisis. He held Riena tightly in his arms and shouted loudly. He deliberately spoke strongly so his loud voice would spread far.

“Weren’t we in the middle of a funeral? The chief who passed away sacrificed for us, so is this how we should be acting now?”

Then he pushed Saya’s shoulder hard.

“Saya, he’s your father. You should pray for his soul’s peace.”

Taking advantage of the moment when the group briefly stopped walking, he hurriedly fled the scene.

Murat was surprised too, but Riena was beyond surprised to a frightened state. She felt like she’d seen a group intoxicated by drugs. She didn’t know what was causing the scent said to come from her, but she stayed curled up without moving. She also predicted that if she opened her body to expose her chest or spoke, she might instead stimulate them.

When they were several yards away, Murat briefly stopped and watched the situation. The men whispered among themselves then returned to where they were holding the funeral. No one showed particularly strange behavior, and they continued the ceremony honoring the deceased with somber funeral songs.

Murat, holding her, retraced the path they had climbed down. When they were far enough away that the men were no longer visible, Riena finally relaxed her curled-up body.

Had they really just approached to smell? The atmosphere she’d briefly felt was too eerie, so she couldn’t help but be half-doubtful.

She casually draped her arm over Murat’s shoulder and observed his reaction.

“Milk scent, that’s ridiculous. I’ve never given birth to a child.”

When her chest opened toward Murat, he suddenly hardened his expression completely. He clenched his jaw while letting out a troubled groan.

“The fragrance seems to be getting stronger. I only felt it faintly just a moment ago, but now I can clearly tell.”

“Is it that bad?”

“It’s very stimulating. An especially sexually arousing scent.”

Riena’s expression also became serious. When he unconsciously lowered his head and inhaled near her br*asts, she raised her hand to block his nose and mouth.

“The scent has permeated your hands too. Whew…… A scent that’s hard to endure.”

Worried something might happen, she simply pinched his nose with her fingers. Though she didn’t think they were close, it was an action taken in urgency. They stayed in that state while passing through the forest, then she carefully removed her hand. Murat walked quickly without a word and only regained his composure after quite a while.

“I think I’m getting used to it now. I seem to have worried you, Riena. I’m sorry.”

“Yes, actually a little……”

His manner of occasionally taking deep breaths while glancing at her seemed peaceful. It was an attitude deliberately showing he would no longer react sensitively to the scent.

“Our tribe’s village is just ahead. I’ll take you to my house first.”

When they emerged from the forest, they could see a village surrounded by fairly wide fields. It was a peaceful-looking place where dozens of mud brick houses were clustered together. The roofs piled high with dried grass took on a warm light brown color under the morning sunlight.

But there was no one in the village. What could have happened? The people seen at the funeral on the ridge earlier were only eleven in total. Moreover, looking closely at the houses, they somehow felt empty and showed signs of damage.

Murat took her to a decent house located in the middle. The interior was dark and gloomy with the hearth fire extinguished.

Riena was placed on a wooden bed in one corner, and the bed’s condition was much better than the roughly piled sleeping place in the cave. The spot with soft fur blankets made pleasant rustling sounds, perhaps stuffed with straw as filling.

“Rest a bit. You didn’t seem to sleep well last night.”

He tended to Riena’s bed and covered her with blankets up to her chin.

Soon he brought fire from outside to warm the house and also prepared food. His busy movements were fascinating. Every scene included objects and actions Riena had never experienced.

Though her whole body ached and she felt drowsy, she couldn’t easily fall asleep in an unfamiliar environment. Even thinking briefly about this situation immediately brought waves of fear. The distinctly painful sensation between her legs proved this place wasn’t a dream.

It seemed like no answer would come from just being vaguely afraid.

She covered her fear with blankets and only rolled her eyes busily. Her mind also rolled complexly.

‘First, this place has a civilization much more backward than my world. Since they have the ability to bring people through sorcery, should I see it as different rather than primitive? My world has cars and newspapers but can’t bring people from other worlds.’

But watching the soup with meat and vegetables bubbling in pottery placed on the hearth, she decided she should definitely judge this place based on a distant past timepoint. No matter where she looked, no metal was visible. What was more amazing was that they seemed to live without great inconvenience even without iron tools.

Riena had recently learned quite a bit about prehistoric times. It was because she had researched materials to write a book.

‘But I notice parts different from what I know. First…… did people live this well in ancient times? The fields are wide, clothes are decent, and beds are soft.’

She had thought primitive people only caught animals to eat and boiled rough grains in plain water, but surprisingly, the nearly completed soup gave off a very appetizing smell.

‘Besides, the milk scent thing doesn’t make sense either. Could it be the power of sorcery? This might need to be seen as a completely different world rather than simply a past timepoint.’

She couldn’t understand being dragged to such an absurd world in the first place. The ritual Murat had explained — the fact that a gift from the gods appeared to choose twelve men and have s*x — was absolutely unacceptable from the standpoint of an educated intellectual.

However, since the situation had reached this point, there was no choice. To return to normal, she would need to start by acknowledging this place that was different from dreams.

Murat brought soup in an amount as much as washing water, ladled into a wooden bowl as smooth as pottery. The spoon he placed in her hand was also stylishly made like wooden products sold at city night markets.

“I don’t know if it will suit your taste.”

When Riena hesitated, he directly scooped up a large piece of meat with the spoon and brought it to her lips. The well-cooked meat gave off a familiar smell.

“Is it mutton?”

“We caught a mountain goat yesterday. It seems the divine world where you lived also eats sheep.”

Thanks to the floating leaves and vegetables, there was no gamey smell either. Murat stared intently at her chewing. Then he scooped up more and brought it to her. His gaze was so piercing it was embarrassing to eat.

“I’ll eat by myself.”

To the point where the hand holding the spoon felt awkward, he continued bringing food to Riena’s lips.

“You’re so pretty. I didn’t know you could eat so prettily too.”

Because he kept insistently offering pieces of meat, she ended up accepting several more spoonfuls. Since he praised such an odd aspect, she felt she should say some words of gratitude too.

“It’s well-seasoned and delicious.”

“We haven’t long since mined rock salt, so we can use it generously.”

“Wow, there’s a rock salt mine nearby?”