Summoned and Unwanted

*Munch, munch* Amela chewed the food.

Amela looked at her husband with a beaming smile, and her eyes widened. She now understood why her husband was acting as if he couldn’t believe the taste in his mouth.

“Amie. Lamin. Here is your food.” Vincent offered with a warm smile.

“Take it, mother and father. The taste is heavenly.” Awa said while excitedly smiling at her parents. “I bet the taste is so good that it will make you feel young again.”

Awa’s parents looked around. They saw all the Dullahans observing their next action. Awa’s parents also noticed Labh and his mother glaring daggers at them.

“Okay.” Amie and Lamin agreed one after the other.

While Awa helped her parents hold the plate to eat, Vincent stretched his back and maintained a poker face.

Vincent’s back was aching from pain, but he couldn’t apply the blood-stopping powder Iris gave him. He needed to remain acting weak and hurt to increase the chances of winning the trust of most of the Dullahans.

.....

Vincent noticed eight Dullahan children curiously looking at the food being eaten. After Vincent saw one of the children lick their lips, he went to offer a plate of warm food to eight Dullahan children.

The children’s parents didn’t let their children take the food at first, but after watching their child drool and beg to eat, their parents looked at Amie, Lamin, Amela, and her husband eating without a problem.

The first child Vincent offered the food to was the child he protected from the arrows. The child’s parent agreed to let their child eat the food Vincent offered after hearing their child beg to eat.

After taking the first bite and swallowing, the child told Vincent with a beaming smile, “Mister. The food is very good. I like you.”

The parents of the other children glanced at Labh and his mother, but their glares appeared less important than their children earnestly begging to eat food.

In the end, all the parents of the eight children let their children eat the food. They also felt hungry watching their child eat so happily.

After the children were eating happily and making their parents drool, Vincent went to offer food to the second pregnant woman.

The woman and her husband didn’t know what to do after noticing Labh and his mother glaring daggers at them. However, after watching the beaming smiles on the children’s faces, the couple decided their unborn child needed to smile brightly too.

The couple accepted the food and their smiles let Vincent know the food was being eaten without any regrets.

Vincent went to the middle of the Dullahan audience circle. He wanted everyone to be able to observe him, and he observed them.

[We are done helping and bribing the most important and weakest Dullahans. Regrettably, there aren’t very old Dullahans apart from the shitty clan chieftain and a few others in their forties.]

[Furthermore, the food inside the cave isn’t that great. There are only vegetables, mushrooms, and some fruits. The amount of food is only enough to sustain all these Dullahans for a month, or longer, based on how little they eat.]

-Did you check the clan leader and the clan chieftain’s house? I bet they have food hidden.-

Kazumi’s curiosity was piqued. [I had seen a large shack with better wood and decorations. I will take a look inside since it is obvious who the shack’s owner is.]

Vincent saw Kazumi leave. He could hold himself from smirking. A few moments later, his pants tugged downwards.

“Can Plow have food now? Plow is hungry.” *Pho*

Vincent looked down. He saw Plow cutely begging to eat with a pair of puppy eyes. He chuckled and summoned a plate of food on the ground.

Vincent felt hungry after offering a lot of food. He summoned a pelt and placed it on the snow casually. He sat down and summoned a plate with warm food.

Vincent moved his head from left to right. “Cheers.” He said before he started eating the food.

The Dullahans could only swallow their drooling saliva while peeking at the children eating enough food to feed two to three adults for a day.

While Vincent was at the center of the Dullahan audience and while Labh and his mother became infuriated by the second, Kazumi entered a larger shack.

Kazumi was shocked to find food hidden behind or under objects in multiple places. Kazumi even found a small hole dug under the shack with food fresher than the food stored in the cave.

The mother and son duo were stealing the best food the collective of the Dullahans found. Their bodies were fatter than many fellow Dullahans combined. This proved the mother and son leading the Dullahan had been stealing a lot of food for a long time and probably making reasonable excuses if found.

[I wonder how Vincent will react after I tell him. I wonder if he can keep his poker face since I know he is resisting the urge to reveal his anger.] Kazumi said to herself before returning to Vincent.

*Burp* Vincent patted his belly and glanced at Labh. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the view of the infuriated Labh and his mother holding his shoulder from charging Vincent.

Kazumi returned. She informed Vincent of the hidden food, causing him to frown.

“That was tasty.” Vincent looked around. “Does anyone want to eat? or do you think the scraps your pathetic leader, the very leader who hides the best food in his home, offers you all the better than what I am offering.”

The Dullahans started to question what Vincent was talking about. Unless Awa told Vincent this information, he had no way of knowing.

“Vincent... what... what does that mean?” Awa asked.

“You were ordered to clean their home, and you still didn’t find the abundant amounts of food they are hiding under the bed, under the floor beside not too far from the fireplace, and many other places?”

Awa shook her head. “I cleaned where I was told, and I was in a hurry to meet with the clan chieftain to take her lessons.”

Vincent stood up. “Who does not want to believe my words can go to check for...” *Step, step, step* “Hehe, those three Dullahans sure are brave to discover the truth.”

Labh pushed his mother’s hand off his shoulder. “Don’t try to stop me, mother. I can not take this anymore. I will kill him myself and then make those who do not believe in our good will suffer.”

“Do not be provoked by him. It is a trap.”

Labh shrugged his shoulders. “So what?” He grabbed a spear and continued, “I will show them how a weak slave trader is nothing compared to the might of the Dullahan race.”

“...” Labh’s mother understood her son was being controlled by his emotions. She stopped talking to someone who wasn’t going to listen to her suggestions and began to think of a way out.

Labh approached Vincent. He pointed the spear at Vincent.”I lead the Dullahans, yet it appears my generosity for the work I do is not enough.”

Labh pointed the spear at Awa and continued, “You should have been honored to bear my child even if you died in the process. Yet you went to sleep with a slave trader of all people. Aren’t you ashamed?”

Vincent moved in front of Awa and pushed the spear aside. “These aren’t words spoken to a woman who was going to give you her entire being in order to save her parents. In fact, your words are enough to let everyone know Awa was going to be your tool to bear a child.”

“Tool? Heh. We gave her food to prepare her body, yet she chose to share the food instead of fulfilling her duty by eating the food all by herself.” Labh answered.

Awa didn’t like what Labh said. The mother and son duo wanted Awa to keep the food all for herself instead of sharing the food.

Awa started to realize that Vincent’s theory was correct. The questions became difficult to answer because Awa was sharing the food instead of eating all the food herself.

At that moment, any last shred of hope and doubt for a better future with the current clan leader and clan chieftain was shattered.

Awa became convinced the Dullahans needed a new leader. She was willing to make the sacrifice of becoming the new Dullahan leader if Vincent kept his word.

“You and your mother will be thrown out of this village when I become the new leader.” Awa threatened angrily.

“Daughter. Please do not speak so foul to our clan leader.” Amie requested nervously.

“I lost an arm to save the clan leader. Please, my sweet daughter, do not make my sacrifice go in vain.” Lamin said.

“I will not! I can speak foul to a foul person, and I can act this way after we received no compensation for saving the life of the foul clan leader.” Awa glared at Labh and continued, “Today is your last day in this village. Today you will get beaten, lose the rank you possess, and be kicked out of our clan because of your actions.”

Vincent and Kazumi were surprised to hear Awa speak so aggressively to a person she didn’t hate that much a few days ago.

It was like the Awa they saved and got to know was a different person than the current Awa.