In the reception hall, Reya and Jisen brought over the items needed to make salt.
The three clan leaders inspected the equipment one by one, only relaxing when they were certain no salt had been smuggled inside.
“I still need raw materials,” Misha said.
“Misha, tell me what you need, and I’ll have someone prepare it for you.” A bright glint shone in Chief Saki’s cloudy eyes.
Misha shook her head.
“To prevent anyone from tampering with them, Reya will gather the materials.
If the three clan leaders are worried, you can send your people to follow him.
However, they absolutely cannot interfere.
Otherwise, I won’t be able to guarantee the quality of the salt.”
After such an incident, she no longer planned to hide her salt-making method.
However, she still needed to maximize her leverage; they couldn’t expect her to just hand it over for free.
“Good, good, good.”
“That works.”
The Rabbit and Deer Clan Leaders agreed immediately.
It was too late for Chief Saki to refuse even if he wanted to.
After Misha listed what she needed, Reya and Jisen headed into the forest to forage.
The males from the Dog, Rabbit, and Deer Clans followed closely behind them.
By the time the sky grew dark, Reya and the others returned from the forest, completely exhausted.
The three clan leaders checked the baskets again and found nothing unusual.
Misha took inventory of the salty fruits, as well as the blue flowers and red berries, before saying, “Please wait outside, everyone.”
Dora flared up at those words.
“Why should you kick us out?
If we don’t watch, how can we be sure you actually know how to make salt?”
Chief Saki nodded.
“Little female Misha, don’t waste time.
The sooner you make the purple salt, the sooner you can prove your innocence.”
Although the Rabbit and Deer Clan Leaders didn’t speak, they clearly didn’t want to leave either.
“Is Chief Saki planning to effortlessly steal my salt-making method just like that?
Aren’t you a bit too calculating?” Misha retorted.
Called out so directly, Chief Saki’s old face flushed red.
The Rabbit Clan Leader looked embarrassed; he had indeed harbored such thoughts.
The Deer Clan Leader’s lips curled up slightly.
He mused that this little female was truly clever.
Misha smirked.
“Rest assured, three clan leaders.
Once my innocence is proven, I will naturally teach you the salt-making method.
After all, as a little female, I just want to live in peace.”
The ability to produce salt independently was of monumental importance.
She understood the old adage that an innocent person could invite disaster simply by possessing something of great value.
“Little female Misha, are you telling the truth?” The Rabbit Clan Leader was incredibly agitated, his red eyes looking somewhat frightening.
The Deer Clan Leader’s cold and stern expression also softened a fraction.
Chief Saki, however, felt a pang of regret.
The group left the reception hall, each harboring their own thoughts.
Reya remained inside to help Misha.
The doors and windows of the hall were tightly shut.
Chief Saki even stationed Dog Clan males outside to guard against peepers.
Three hours later, a pot of purple salt had been boiled down and was ready.
Everyone was utterly shocked when they saw the finished product.
The Rabbit Clan Leader was so pleasantly surprised that his entire body trembled.
He darted over to the stone pot, pinched some of the purple substance, and popped it into his mouth.
“It’s salty!
It’s salty!
It really is salt!
You really know how to make salt!”
The Deer Clan Leader also picked up some salt and sniffed it, a dark undercurrent surging in his eyes.
This little female had given him far too many surprises.
When they first met, he merely thought she was exceptionally beautiful, but he wasn’t going to overlook the grave crime of destroying the salt storehouse just because of her looks.
Now, seeing her produce purple salt to prove her innocence, he realized she was truly different from other unreasonable and willful little females.
“Little female Misha, I am the Deer Clan Leader, Klein.
Are you truly willing to teach us the method for making salt?” Klein looked at Misha with a serious gaze.
Misha nodded.
“Naturally.
However, I have one condition.”
“What condition?” Klein’s thin lips curled up, thoroughly intrigued.
“I was not the one who destroyed the salt storehouse; someone deliberately framed me.
I demand that the person responsible be found.
No matter who it is, they must be strictly punished.” Misha’s cold gaze swept over Dora.
This time, she was determined to make Dora pay the price.
Even if it didn’t kill her, it would cost her dearly!
“Alright, I promise you,” Klein was the first to declare.
The Rabbit Clan Leader quickly followed suit.
“I promise you, too.”
Then, the two of them turned to look at Chief Saki.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree.
“It’s getting late today,” Misha announced.
“Tomorrow morning, you will follow Reya to the forest to pick salty fruits, and in the afternoon, I will teach you how to make salt.”
With that said, she turned and left the reception hall.
The Rabbit Clan Leader and the Deer Clan Leader, Klein, also took their leave.
Harry, unable to hold out any longer, went back to his room to sleep.
Soon, only Dora and Chief Saki were left.
The burning firewood in the reception hall let out a loud CRACK, startling Dora and making her shudder.
Chief Saki stared gloomily at his daughter and asked coldly, “Speak!
Did you frame Misha? Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Were you the one who ruined the salt storehouse?!”
Dora shook her head desperately.
“Father, it wasn’t me!
It really wasn’t me!”
“If you don’t speak now, I won’t be able to protect you when they eventually find out,” Saki said, exasperated by her foolishness.
Terrified to the point of tears, Dora finally recounted the entire sequence of events, trembling as she spoke.
Chief Saki was so furious his temples throbbed.
“Is all the salt in the storehouse truly destroyed?”
“No, no!
I had Jira hide it in a cave.
Only a small portion was destroyed,” Dora confessed timidly.
Chief Saki let out a heavy sigh.
“I can help you cover this up, but let’s hope Jira doesn’t get caught.”
“Thank you, Father.” Dora clenched her fists tight.
“Dammit, another failure!
That wretched Misha, why doesn’t she just die already!” she thought bitterly.
Winter was fast approaching, and salt needed to be made quickly.
Thus, early the next morning, the Rabbit Clan Leader, Klein, and a few others arrived at the wooden cabin.
Not only did they show up, but they also brought two pieces of prey as compensation.
Only then did Misha notice that Klein’s shoulder-length hair was a gradient color, fading into light green at the tips, much like a modern dye job.
This meant Klein must be on the verge of reaching Green-tier strength.
“Some of you will go with Reya to pick salty fruits.
Two of you stay behind to make stone pots like this one—the bigger, the better,” Misha instructed, pointing to her own stone pot.
Soon, the males of the two clans divided up the work.
Harry and Caesar were the ones who came from the Dog Clan.
Harry was assigned to carve the stone pot, while Caesar followed the group into the forest to gather salty fruits.
In just two hours, Klein returned carrying a massive stone pot.
It rivaled the large cauldrons used on rural earthen stoves back in her world.
Misha marveled inwardly; crossing into another tier truly made a world of difference.
By the time Reya and his group returned with the salty fruits, the Rabbit Clan male and Harry finally arrived belatedly with their stone pots.
After lunch, Misha began teaching them how to boil the salty fruits.
The mixture had to be stirred constantly during the boiling process; otherwise, it would easily stick to the bottom and burn.
However, the boiling salty fruit sauce would occasionally splatter, and if one wasn’t careful, it would easily get on them.
SPLAT!
A dollop of boiling salty fruit sauce splattered out.
Howling in pain, Harry instantly dropped the wooden spoon in his hand.
The spoon plummeted heavily into the pot, splashing up even more of the searing hot sauce.
Immediately after, Misha’s vision went dark as she crashed heavily into a sturdy embrace.
“Careful, little female Misha.”