Listening to all of this, Rick realised that the previous host hadn't been as completely alone as he had first assumed.
Because if it hadn't been for Grog, Phyllis, and Shaman Ophelia, his predecessor would almost certainly be dead right now.
And if that had happened, Rick's soul probably wouldn't have transmigrated into this body at all.
So in other words, Rick owed those three his life.
'Hmm, so it seems I have a friend here in this tribe after all.' Rick pondered to himself as he recalled what the system had shown him earlier about Grog already having a sense of loyalty toward him.
But how did an elf who spent most of his time sitting alone in a cave corner manage to have a friend when he never even talked to his own family?
Rick found this strange, so he turned toward Gwen and asked. "Who is Grog?"
"Grog is your friend, or at least I think he is. But I don't really know that much about him. All I know is that whenever everyone eats together in the tribe, I've seen you give him a portion of your food every single time."
Hearing this, Rick now understood exactly why Grog carried that sense of loyalty toward his predecessor.
It all made sense now.
But still, something else was sitting on Rick's mind.
"What about Zok's friends? Are they still alive?" Rick asked because since Zok was dead now, Rick was worried Zok's friends would blame him for Zok's death and might even try to kill him too.
"Yes, they are. But don't worry. None of them would dare touch you while I'm here. The only reason Zok had been so bitter toward you was because Zok had always been bitter toward everyone in the tribe. He recently lost his father during a hunt, and that made him worse. As for his friends, they're all currently being punished."
"Punished?"
"Yes, they're buried up to their chests in the ground and won't be allowed to eat for what they did to you. Shaman Ophelia made sure they were all dealt with. But the elders also said Grog should be punished as well, for fighting in the woods and for not informing any adults beforehand."
Rick remained silent because from what he could understand, it seemed like the elders really wanted to punish him because of what his predecessor did.
Since his predecessor hadn't undergone his rite of adulthood yet, Rick's predecessor was not allowed to leave the tribe, but since he had done this, the elders felt like a punishment had to be in place.
But maybe because they probably didn't want to upset the Shaman, the elders thought it would be best to have a reasonable reason to punish Grog himself.
In other words, Grog was currently being punished for a mistake the previous host had made, and right now there was nothing Rick could do about it.
"For how long?" Rick asked.
"Two days. They're not allowed to eat more than a small amount of food for two days. But I doubt anyone will even have anything to spare for them because right now the food we have left in the tribe is barely enough to satisfy one person, let alone feeding anyone close to them."
Rick nodded in understanding because he realised that the food Gwen had brought for them to eat was nothing more than a single type of fruit.
And to be honest, even that had been unable to make him feel full and satisfied.
So he was still hungry right now but he had been quiet about it because he could see that the tribe was currently experiencing a severe scarcity of food and there was not much for a single elf to eat, much less a family or the tribe as a whole.
And so, once again, silence reigned within the cave but Gwen swiftly called out to Rick.
"Rick? It's getting late. Let's sleep and talk more in the morning, okay?"
"Okay."
"Goodnight Rick." Gwen made herself comfortable under the pelt.
"Goodnight Gwen." Rick replied, and to his quiet surprise, he watched the beautiful huntress fall asleep almost immediately.
It made sense when he thought about it because Gwen had been out in the woods for a full week, barely getting any real rest because she was always keeping one ear open for the sound of night creatures that might creep toward her without knowing.
But now that she was home, she could finally have a good night sleep and her exhaustion instantly kicked in, the moment her body registered that it was time for her to rest.
Meanwhile, Rick stayed still as he watched her breathing steadily.
He looked at her quietly for a moment before turning his gaze back up toward the dark ceiling of the cave.
Rick acknowledged the fact that his new life might not be as easy as he might hope for it to be, but regardless of this, Rick was prepared to live his new life to the fullest without fearing what others might think of him.
He had already spent a lifetime back on Earth being told, in one way or another, that his body had limits.
He had been told that there were things his body simply couldn't do and Rick had accepted this quietly and without complaint.
But that was then.
Now, he was in a new body that could breathe and move properly without him feeling any pain.
So, as long as his body continued to remain like this, Rick had absolutely no intention of spending this second life sitting in a corner doing nothing.
Yes, he might be the cursed elf of the tribe.
But he was not going to let that be the last thing anyone said about him.
So, Rick made up his mind as his eyes grew heavy and the warmth of the pelt pulled him closer to sleep.
But just before he could drift off to sleep completely, a familiar system prompt appeared before him.