act36side

Frick that, I saw four of 'em earlier! Go for the two shorties first!

Let's gettem!

Hey, wai—

...Eh? Only four of them? What kind of gang is this?

Two groups? Be careful, they've got weapons, and more of those magic items Marcille can't do anything about. Just stay calm.

CALM?! I AM <i>DONE</i> BEING CALM! My hair's all messed up thanks to that explosion! Ruined my braid! I really liked it, you know?!

You ess-oh-bees think you can mess with me? You sick freaks think you can just bomb my barn?!

No, stop! Let's talk it out like civilized folk! The drones are still flying around like crazy! Do you really want to pick a fight <i>now</i>?

Shove it! You think I'm scared of my own drones?

What good is talking going to do when it's <i>them</i> who attacked <i>us</i> out of nowhere?!

Shut it, lady, you're the ones who blew up my barn! You guys got a death wish—

They're attacking! Take cover!

Well, yeah, they're the ones controlling the magic items!

Gah! Yowch! None of these pains-in-the-butt are listening to me— Ow!

Look, fighting out in the wild's just going to draw in who-knows-what! Let's all calm down and talk things out, okay?

As though in response to his earnest plea, all of a sudden, the ground begins to rumble.

Could it be another Catastrophe? The thought flits through the minds of some, but is immediately dispelled by what comes next.

A tidal wave of gloompincers seems to have had enough of the drones dropping bombs in the skies above their heads. They raise their pincers in formation and march towards the gaggle of people...

A swarm of monsters?!

Run! We can't handle that many with just the four of us!

But there's nowhere <i>to</i> run! We're surrounded!

Let's just back off for now...

Ugh!

—Gah! Watch where you're going! Who was that?! I'll hammer you into—It's you punks?!

We can't run, boss! The gloompincers got us hemmed in!

Everyone, please, listen to me. We'll deal with them together, alright?

A-And don't forget the drones!

I-Is it over? Did we manage to take care of them all?

Hah... Hah... I'm beat...

Hahaha! Not bad, girlie! You've got quite a few tricks up your sleeve. I sure am a big fan of casters!

Oh... Good... They aren't at fisticuffs any longer... Good, good, as long as everyone's fine...

C'mon, let's go, I'm in a good mood today! You can have a taste of some of my corn!

Boss, you...

Hmm? ...Wait, corn...

The laughter dies on the pioneer's lips as he raises his weapon at the team of four.

*huff*... *huff*... Guess he remembered. And here I was thinking we could bury the hatchet.

Marcille raises her staff, strands of her hair rippling with magic.

Wha? Are we back at this already? Really? You were all battle buddies earlier, surely that's got to count for something, right?

Hmph!

*huff*... *huff*...

Let's not go for magic right away, Marcille.

We're all tired out from dealing with those things. There's no benefit in starting up another fight.

We'll count down from three, lower our weapons, go back the way we came, and agree not to bother each other for the night. How about that?

*cough* *cough* *cough*! How... about...... that...........?

Look, this guy's plenty sincere, alright? He's still offering even after he got a bomb chucked at him! Why not think his offer over?

Our boys are tuckered out too, boss. I don't think fighting'll do us any good neither.

...Fine. We'll get out of each other's hair for the night. Start counting.

Oh, yes, good!

Three, two, one!

Great... I can sleep soundly tonight...

Zzz...

Marcille? Marcille?

Zzz... Eh...?

Ah! Wh-What's going on now?!

Nothing.

We were thinking of going to examine the bodies of those monsters earlier, and while we're at it...

...Huh?

Well, they looked like crabs to me, so they might taste like mimics.

Ahh, the chewiness of mimics... The more you chew it, the better the flavor gets.

Just don't use my lockpicks to scoop the meat out again.

But they've got just the right shape for it!

'Bob's Gourmet Guide' says they're edible. Apparently they're delicious, as long as you can get through the shell! Don't you want to have a taste?

Absolutely not! Besides, if those villagers think we're sneaking back onto the battlefield for an ambush, we might get into another fight!

Those magic items flying all over the place were a pain to deal with, and there's still plenty of them out there! Not to mention, I'm still tired as—

Huh?

Munchmunchmunch... Huh?

Munch... Huh?

Huh???

The pioneers freeze in the middle of stuffing gloompincer legs into their mouths.

The only sound breaking the awkward silence is the crackling of the bonfire.

The sparks plik and plak amidst the flames.

Their pincers and limbs are stuffed full of flesh. No wonder they can support such heavy shells, as well as crush those magic items...

So you cut them open from the belly, then pull back their shell... I see now. Looks like you prepare these things the same way you do mimics.

Then... Oooh...

That smells amazing!

Err... Wanna try some?

...Ggh.

Laios accepts the roasted meat, hesitates for a moment, then stuffs it into his mouth.

...MMM!!!

IT'S DELICIOUS!

Haha! It's all in the technique—*cough*! Gah...

Want a taste?

...Eh? It really is chewy! So fragrant too!

Here, you guys have some as well.

Huh? For me? Thanks...

It's roasted just right, so it hasn't lost any moisture. It even <i>tastes</i> just like mimic!

Alright, just eat already.

Keep your lips shut once you're done, I've got a reputation to keep.

Not a word about tonight, you hear?

(How is it you can be at each others' throats during the day, but be eating roast gloompincer together at night?! Guess there wasn't any need for me to rush over...)

Just going for a midnight tinkle, don't mind me, haha.

Gosh darnit... C'mon over! You've given us meds, and I never forget a debt.

I'll let you guys off this time...

...No, I can't! My barn! Why'd you guys blow up my barn?!

We didn't! It was your magic items that attacked us! We had to counter their magic in self-defense!

M-Magic items? You mean my drones? They went nuts, weren't listening to me!

Huh?! But you still came out and attacked us!

Because you were gonna steal our crops!

You thought we were <i>what</i>—

Alright, alright, I've heard enough, I get what happened now! This was all one big misunderstanding!