I was helped by a youth of the Sand Lizard Tribe named Rose.
Stella, a child of the Sand Lizard Tribe, was eating dried meat with gusto.
“Ah, hey, that’s for our guest.”
“No, it belongs to you all.”
For my part, I was already content with just receiving water. My gaze swept across the room, and my eyes landed on some books. They were varied, including novels, guidebooks, and explanatory texts.
“You read a lot, don’t you?”
“Hehe, I’m the only one who does this. It’s a secret from everyone else, because they’ll dirty them if they find them.”
I recalled the children who had been fighting earlier. They certainly looked like rascals.
“Stella, don’t you go out to play with everyone else?”
At my question, Stella fell silent. Perhaps she was a little shy.
“Our tribe is a little peculiar. You saw those children earlier, didn’t you? They’re the same age as Stella.”
I couldn’t help but blurt out “Eh?” They looked at least a head taller. Well, perhaps she was born small. It must be a race with a large variation in individuals. It must be boring for her to have no playmates then.
“Is that so? Well, it’s fine since everyone’s growth rate is different. Will you turn out slender like your father, or more like your mother?”
“Father? … Um, do you mean me? I’m not a father.”
Huh, was that the case? Is he just babysitting? Then where is the mother? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any women since arriving here, but where are they? Was she among those monsters? Perhaps they usually live in a different place?
“I see. I assumed as much. I apologize for saying something so rude.”
“No, it’s alright. That’s right, you’re from the outside world, aren’t you? It’s hard to understand, but our tribe has no women.”
What?! What does that mean, no women? A tribe of only men? Then how do they have children? Surely they don’t kidnap them from other races?
“You probably don’t understand. We are all born male. But then you might wonder, how do we reproduce? Well, within the flock, those with smaller bodies can bear children for a certain period.”
So that’s how they do it. There are stories of fish that change between male and female within their schools, so it’s not entirely strange. Still, that’s about fish. And usually, it’s one male to many females. If there are few females, not only will there be competition, but the number of children will also decrease. Seeing my reaction, Rose smiled wryly.
“It’s difficult, isn’t it? It’s fine. I didn’t understand it myself until I read books like this. And I only found out when I went out into the world. I was surprised, because some people can have children all the time! We are what are called ‘men,’ and those who can always have children are called ‘women’.”
So that’s how a tribe with only men perceives it. Indeed, if you only know one gender, there’s no need for distinction.
“It was fascinating. Men sing and offer flowers for mating. Moreover, they avoid having children during mating. It made no sense to me; they do it solely for pleasure.”
“Didn’t you know about other animals, um, courting, or males and females existing?”
“I’m not interested. Everything other than ourselves is basically food or a nuisance, and we’ve been this way since birth. In our tribe, what’s important is power; your position is determined by how strong and large you are.”
If that’s the case, then those monsters I saw earlier must be the higher-ranking members of the flock? I can imagine it’s a race that’s rough and settles things with fistfights. If so, it must be difficult for a small-bodied Stella to survive.
“I see… So, do you also find a mate through fighting?”
“Hahaha, that seems to have been the case in the past. Actually, we don’t know who will become a ‘woman.’ When the numbers are small, maybe only two or three. Then it’s a free-for-all, and whoever gets there first wins. Because of that, there were suicides, and that’s how we came to be able to ‘choose’ a woman.”
To have managed to continue the species like that. I’m impressed, in a strange way. The sandstorm shows no sign of stopping, so I decided to stay a bit longer and help him with his work.
