Elizabeth let out a faint, amused smile at the comical bewilderment plastered across the young warrior's face. She spoke in a casual, reassuring tone:
“Alright, alright, don't look so frightened. I was looking for you because I have an important matter to discuss.”
“What exactly is it?” Valeria took a deep, controlled breath, forcing her racing heart to steady. She scolded herself internally:
You are someone destined to become an elite Totem Warrior any day now!
You must maintain your composure and dignity in front of the new Sharu immediately!
“How many able-bodied people are currently left on guard duty within the camp after the scouts departed?” Elizabeth asked pragmatically.
“Very few people remained in the tents. My mother took a large group deep into the forest just a moment ago to search for those strange plants, and Uncle Riven gathered the rest of the hunters and set out with the main hunting party to the valley,” Valeria replied, knitting her brows slightly as she tallied the absentees.
“And you? Why didn't you go with them if you were so eager to head into the woods?” Elizabeth sized the girl up with genuine curiosity.
“…” Valeria looked straight into Elizabeth's blue eyes. After a brief hesitation, she answered in a very quiet voice:
“My mother explicitly ordered me to stay put and guard your tent at all times, so the new Sharu would have someone trusted on hand to issue direct commands to whenever necessary.”
“Oh? And who was the previous person the old Sharu typically gave his commands to and entrusted with daily affairs?”
Elizabeth's eyes sparked with keen interest. Finding someone who had spent years training as an assistant to the former priest would instantly provide her with a fully trained, ready-made aide.
“He's dead… He was killed while escorting the wounded Sharu during the bloody battle against the Green Snake Tribe,” Valeria's blood-red eyes noticeably dimmed, the shadow of suppressed pain returning to her gaze.
“Is that so…” Elizabeth sighed heavily, brushing a strand of blonde hair from her forehead.
This truly is a monstrous, blood-soaked feud to the death, where neither side takes prisoners.
“Sharu, do you have any specific commands for me to carry out right now?” Valeria asked quickly, straightening her posture.
Previously, when the old sage was alive, no one allowed her anywhere near the Sharu's secrets due to her young age. Yet, deep down, she had always secretly dreamed that the Sharu himself would recognize her worth and directly entrust her with important missions. Now, unexpectedly, she was presented with the exact honorable opportunity she had long desired.
“Help me find a young girl in the camp who is exceptionally bright, observant, and isn't afraid of hard, diligent work,” Elizabeth stated her primary requirements for a future assistant without hesitation.
“Does this mean… the Shaman is looking for a personal Priestess?”
Valeria's expression instantly became incredibly unnatural, tense, and brimming with consternation. The nagging words of her mother from just hours prior violently resurfaced in her memory - how she had pushed with all her might for Valeria to become the new Sharu's Priestess.
“What exactly is a Priestess?” Elizabeth tilted her head slightly to the side, raising an eyebrow in a questioning gesture.
“It's a trusted confidant who cleans the Sharu's private quarters daily, guards their belongings, washes their robes, relays their instructions to the entire clan, and handles all similar, confidential affairs,” Valeria explained, feeling a treacherous, faint blush involuntarily creeping onto her jade-white cheeks.
Out of innate embarrassment, the girl concealed the single most crucial and intimate truth - if the chosen Priestess managed to win the deep favor, trust, and heart of the Sharu over time, she could seamlessly become their wife. Consequently, the rank of Priestess alone held an incredibly high position in the clan's hierarchy, second only to the Sharu themselves, the supreme Chieftain, and the lead commander of the hunting party.
“So that is what a Priestess is in practice…” Elizabeth quickly digested the definition and said with full conviction:
“In that case, without a doubt, I urgently need to find a suitable Priestess to help me manage all this chaos right away. Do you know anyone in our Tribe who would be a perfect fit for the role?”
“I-I know someone like that…” Valeria stammered uncertainly.
If she failed to finally awaken and become a full-fledged Totem Warrior, she would never be able to avenge her fallen friend, Ilyra.
If she chickened out now and chose the quieter life under the Sharu's wing, Ilyra's spirit in the afterlife would undoubtedly mock her mercilessly. When she was alive, the winged girl was only a hair's breadth weaker than Valeria, and they had both sworn to achieve great deeds on the warpath together.
“Is everything alright? Is it really that difficult to find this person in our camp?” Elizabeth asked, easily noticing the young warrior fighting a fierce internal battle.
Valeria's inner turmoil was glaringly evident on her pale face: the girl fiercely furrowed her brows, then pouted her lips, and a moment later gritted her teeth so hard that faint veins bulged at her temples.
“No, it's not hard to find her at all… This person is just my other close friend.” Valeria's red eyes flashed with determination as she finally forced the explanation out.
A final, hardened resolve settled in her heart: regardless of how tempting the offer was, above all else, she had to become a true Totem Warrior.
Had she yielded to her mother's pressure and become the Sharu's personal Priestess, she would spend her days in the tent cleaning and assisting the Sharu, leaving no time for muscle conditioning. Without properly developed vitality and accumulated internal energy, she would never manage to awaken her own Totem.
To exact bloody vengeance and butcher the beasts of the Green Snake Tribe with her own hands, her body had to become a living weapon.
“If that's the case, excellent. Take me to her. We'll go look for her together,” Elizabeth said calmly, not digging deeper into the girl's obvious dilemmas. She operated on the simple assumption that every teenage girl had her own private worries and secrets.
“No, wait here! I'll quickly go and bring her to you myself!” Valeria hastily objected, waving her hands frantically.
How could she possibly allow the highest-ranking Sharu to personally wander around the camp asking after a mere recruit?
If her mother found out about her daughter's laziness and lack of respect, she would undoubtedly chew her out in front of all the warriors again.
“There's no need. Don't make a ceremony out of it,” Elizabeth smiled gently, adjusting the rolled-up hide under her arm. “I'll use this walk as an opportunity to personally look around and better understand the daily situation and living conditions of our Tribe.”
As the newly minted “village chief” standing at the helm of this impoverished community, she needed to assess the scale of poverty and the real needs of her people with her own eyes as quickly as possible.
“Alright then…” Valeria nodded her horned head helplessly. Resigned, she stepped forward to lead the new Sharu deeper into the settlement.