Reincarnated to the Past 52

Reincarnated to the Past

Chapter 52: Confrontation 

-VB-

Reyan took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. 

This was … boring. 

He thought that he would be telling people what to do, getting involved in something, and … just doing something. 

Instead, he found himself looking over a project that was just men digging dirt. He didn’t need to do anything except correct the entire work group when they were moving away from the wanted direction of this pit to “store” shit. 

Because that’s what this project was about. 

It was about storing shit so that it can be used to help farmers and keep the village from smelling like shit. 

But unlike what Alan had said to him, this was just … nothing. It was literally just digging a shallow pit away from the village. 

“He got you, huh?”

He turned around and saw one of his friends. “Ku’an, what brings you out here?”

“I was surprised that you took on a task from the chief, so I came to check it out,” he replied. The warrior, a real one who’s been in battles, looked around. “But all he has you doing is looking over non-warriors as they … dig.”

“It’s the task,” Reyan huffed. “So I’ll do it.”

“... And it doesn’t seem odd to you?”

Reyan frowned. “Odd how?”

“You are a member of his family. Family from his wife’s side but family nonetheless. But he’s told you to basically stay out of the village,” Ku’an frowned. “Told you to watch over farmers and menial laborers.” 

He frowned. “This is good work for the tribe.”

“Aye. But it’s work that he could’ve given to anyone else with lower standing.”

“He sought my help.”

“Your help. You?” he asked with a cocky raise of an eyebrow. “Rey, I’m gonna be honest. Why would he need your help?”

“... What?”

“Come on, man,” Ku’an sighed. “There’s plenty of people - and slaves - who’s fought with him and did a lot more. Why would he seek your help? I’m not being sarcastic. I’m asking you to think about all of this.”

Reyan opened his mouth and then closed it. “Why…?”

Why did the Wiseman ask him?

“He has you talking about literal shit to the villagers. He has you hauling shit out of the village. Doesn’t that sound … demeaning?”

“... It keeps the village clean.”

“Yeah. And you look like a fucking slave.”

He glared. 

“And the people know me as someone who’s doing something for the village.”

“Yes, but why you specifically?”

… Yes, why him?

“It’s a job that a fucking slave can do. He could’ve put a dozen slaves to do what he asked you to do with a few other villagers. Did you also notice how the villagers he asked you to ‘lead’ aren’t exactly the good kind of people? Not exactly dregs but certainly not people someone of your standing should be associating with?”

Reyan looked. 

And he frowned. 

“What if…” Ku’an hummed. “You are being isolated? Made to do tasks that puts you further away from being a chief? Because no chief hauls shit.”

-VB-

It started with an absence. 

One of the workers came up to me at the front of my house when I was taking a day off.

“What is it, good man?” I asked. I knew this man. He was from the western edge of the village, someone who usually made his means by fishing, but had taken this summer to make a bit more coin by working for me and my project, the one that I put Reyan in charge of.

“Ah, chief,” the man scratched the back of his head. “We were wondering what we should do next.”

I blinked. “Isn’t Reyan in charge of the construction?” 

“He was there at the start, but he disappeared somewhere inbetween then and now.”

With a sigh, I got up from my rocking chair. “Let me go find him. He should have the plans with him.”

“Thank you, chief!” 

And so I went out to the village to look for Reyan. I visited the old longhouse, which was now his house. I didn’t find him there. I went around to look for him around the village. I didn’t find him. Finally, I stepped out of the village and looked around. 

And that’s when I found him loitering around with girls over a hill and by a stream.

“Reyan.”

He jolted and looked up.

Neither he or the girls with him wore anything. 

I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. 

“What is this?” 

“I was just … hanging out with my friends!” he said as he hurriedly put his pants up while the girls hid behind the river brushes. 

They looked like they had more sense than Reyan did. 

“You were put in charge of a project because you said you wanted more responsibilities.”

He grunted and looked away. 

“It wasn’t anything interesting! You just had me tell people to put stuff where and dug somewhere over there. That’s not fun.”

“...” I stared at him for a moment.

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. 

Ow. 

Stress.

“Do you honestly think that leading people is all about fun?” I asked him. 

“Well, obviously. You went out and led the village in war!”

“... You think war is fun?”

“Of course, it is!” 

Now, even one of the girls looked surprised by Reyan was saying and looked like she couldn’t believe what he was saying. 

“Reyan. Go back to the construction and go back to work.”

“You just pushed work you didn’t want to at me! You said you needed my help but all you did was put bullshit in front of me!” 

I opened my eyes and dropped my hands.

“I gave that work to you…” I gritted out. “Because you needed to get used to working with peopl-”

“Bullshit!” 

I glared down at him just as he glared up at me from the riverbank.

“Is that what you think this is?” I asked.

“Of course, it is! You never intended for me to lead anything! You just … gave me a bullshit construction project to keep me away from the village!”

I thought trying to work with him was the best thing I could do. That bringing in and teaching Reyan was the best way forward for both Ureya’s family and myself. 

Instead, the guy couldn’t even last a week, went to play with his girls, and then metaphorically spat at me for trying to help him. 

“Would you do something else if I offered?”

“No.”

Yeah, see? 

“Alright. Then I’m going to leave the construction project in someone else’s hands. Where are the instructions?”

He left it by where most of his clothes were. 

I went and picked it up.

When I stood up, I saw how he glared at me. 

Little punk. 

I turned and walked away. 

I’ll let his family know and let them deal with it. 

-VB-

The day after, I was having a meal with my family when … Reyan marched down the street toward my house. I could see him because the kitchen had windows facing that way.

And he was making a show of his anger. 

I sighed as I set my fork and spoon down. When I did, I saw Ureya look up at me and then at the direction I was looking at. 

Immediately, her face flushed. “That boy…!” she hissed. 

Yesterday, she and the rest of her family - minus me - had laid into Reyan for abandoning a task given to him by a chief. Regardless of whether he liked the chief or not, that was abandoning work for the betterment of the village, and thus he had discredited himself.

Reyan might be a teenage boy with a good constitution, but against half a dozen experienced older men, their wives, their children, and Ureya, he was nothing. 

I didn’t see it happen but Ureya had told me about it. 

And what she told me lined up nicely with the black eye he had. 

I walked out of the house after putting Ureya at ease with a hand on her shoulder; she was carrying our babe and didn’t need to be outside where there was a high chance of shouting. 

I stood waiting for him as he walked up to me and stopped ten paces from where I was. 

That was either a good sign or a bad sign.

Good if he was respecting my space. 

Bad if this was him declaring that he and I were strangers.

“Good morn-.”

“You are a coward.”

“REYAN!” Ureya shouted from inside the house. 

I looked up and sighed. 

Calling a warrior a coward in this day and age? 

Feuds started from that.

And considering that it was the first word he said right after interrupting me when I was greeting him? 

This idiot had a death wish. 

“Which of your warrior friends thought that this was a good idea?” I asked with a snarl. 

My snarl made him flinch but the mention of his “warrior friends” had already given him pause. 

“I-I don’t know what you are talking about! You put my fami-”

“I asked,” I rumbled. My chest literally rumbled and I finally saw him realize that something might be wrong. “Which of the warriors began to pit the family of the chief against the chief?”

Because it was obvious to me now that there were actively subversive forces within my tribe.