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Understood, I'll make sure not to overwater them.

These Originium snails, and that metal crab, they look nicer than any I've seen before.... Your hometown is in Sargon, correct?

That's right. It's a very remote place in the Sargon countryside.

What's it like?

It's a.... Well, a very poor place with very few resources.

You can't farm there, because there's nothing but sand. You have to hunt to survive. All the children in my tribe are raised to be great hunters.

You too?

Yes, me too.

Then why did you join Blacksteel...?

It's kind of embarrassing, but... for money.

Money?

Yup. Blacksteel, Blacksteel Worldwide, is just a mercenary group.

Maybe everyone joins with a different goal, but a lot of mercenaries just need money.

And that's me.

Is that right? But it seems as though Jessica doesn't want for money?

Jessica...? She has some other motivation, I guess. She doesn't talk about these things much, so I don't really know.

But where I come from, everyone is very poor...

It doesn't rain much in the Sargon deserts. When it does, the water accumulates in small oasis pools, and caravans cross the entire desert looking for them, stopping briefly as they pass by our tribe to take out some goods to trade.

It's mostly barter. No one has much money. But every home has a little something to trade.

The caravans usually stays for just a day or two. And when it gets very cold at night, so everyone gathers around the fire.

We eat a little jerky. The adults drink a couple of sips of wine to ward off the cold, and the kids get a handful of dates to snack on.

The traders tell the children about what's going on in the world outside the desert, usually something new and fun.

Like how in the far, far east, there are fragrant cities with flowers everywhere, huge metropolises overflowing with wealth and happiness...

I could go for some of that.

Right? But since I've been out here, I haven't had a chance to check and see if the east is really so great.

Anyway, having heard stories like that, it's only natural I'd be curious about the outside world. There's no way I could stay in the desert and be a regular old hunter.

So I followed the merchants out to a small town on the edge of the desert.

And you found out things weren't as good as you thought?

They're not so good, but also not so bad... At least the food is better than back home.

I didn't have much money on me. Everything my family had still wasn't enough. Even a hostel was too expensive to stay in.

It's not like I had a lot of options besides mercenary work. But I don't regret it.

...Anyway, that's enough of that.

Where's your hometown, Steward?

I'm from Kjerag.

Wow! I heard it snows there all year round. Is that true? I've never seen snow...

Haha. And you never will, at Rhodes Island.

Really! Well, I'll have to save up. Jessica says those new body insulation suits are really expensive!

...Haha, that might be a bit overkill...

Melantha was so happy you asked her to help.

Though she may not show it, which is both a strength and a weakness of hers.

Really...? I hope I'm not being a bother.

Certainly not. It's no bother to Melantha, or myself, for that matter.

Now, off on your mission, Vanilla. And rest assured I will take excellent care of Puffball and the others.

Oh, just a minute, Steward!

Hm? Was there something else?

Um....

Not that I totally understand everything you and Blaze were talking about, but...

Next time Reserve Op Team A4 visits the kids in the treatment wards, please bring me along!

Let's learn how to make paper flowers, so we're ready for that mixer.