flint

Hell no! Do I look like I'm <i>that</i> bored?

I only went with them because they had a lot of tough fighters with them!

But in the end, they kept assigning me to protect some worthless loser who always stayed inside some metal box. No way I'm doing that! Outsiders are so weird. They're all a bunch of wusses, but they keep calling the shots.

That's why I didn't even ask for any money and came right back.

Normally, those stupid lumps would've been long gone, but they're dawdling around because they keep saying their metal box has broken down.

Who knows how to fix those metal boxes anyway?! And there are all those weird metal thingies. I've never even seen those things!

I mean, it's not like you guys would have any repair equipment...

What did you just say?

*cough*... I mean... repairing transports is no cake walk.

Have the Acahualla warriors ever considered acquiring some tools for convenience?

Such as?

Such as, uh, that Feline's transport... or some kind of robot that could automatically help you with your tasks.

Not interested.

What would I do with those? I'm willing to bet those gaudy metal trinkets wouldn't last a single punch of mine.

Well, that's weird.

What's weird?

To tell you the truth, I came to Acahualla to try my luck at business because I heard rumors about this place.

But... I guess there's probably not many opportunities for that.

Huh? What do they say about us outside?

Is it how prestigious the Tiacauh warriors—

Uh, that's got nothing to do with it.

Tch.

I heard the tribes here are large and prosperous, that they've mastered quite a lot of robotics technologies, and they've even started trading with the outside.

From the looks of it, they were nothing more than rumors.

But it's too soon to jump to conclusions. As a merchant, you have to be patient and attentive. I'd still like to have a look around.

Maybe I'll run into a big tribe like from the rumors!

...What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying I'm lying?

Where's this coming from?

You—

—Wait, don't move!

Hide behind me.

What?

Hurry! Stop dawdling!

—A big one's coming.

Phew...

Alright, we're safe. Come out.

You actually managed to beat that huge pack of beasts all by yourself...

That's nothing. Didn't I tell you? You'll only have proven yourself as a warrior if you can beat the most ferocious beasts on your own!

This pack's huge, otherwise I would've had an easier time.

Thanks.

No need to thank me. I was the one who brought you into the rainforest.

...Didn't you say you weren't going to guarantee my safety?

...Ah.

*sigh*...

Fine, let's get your wound taken care of. Give me a moment. Let me look for some medicine and bandages.

Here, they're yours to keep. We'll call this your payment for protecting me earlier.

Oh! You sure about that?

I'm sure. Take them.

Eh, this really isn't quite like what they said outside.

In hindsight, I guess I shouldn't have trusted those rumors.

Hold on.

Why shouldn't you have trusted those rumors?

What? Do you mean...?

Our tribe's big and prosperous! There's no doubt about that!

We can have up to forty or fifty people going out on a hunt at once!

Watch out! Why are you losing your footing all of a sudden?

I-It's nothing. I walked a bit too much, and my legs are getting sore... Are we there yet?

What's the rush? We're getting close. It's just up ahead.

I guarantee it'll open your eyes.

You're back. How was it?

...Worthless.

What happened to your face?

Eh, don't get me started. I ran into a bunch of barbarians who've got nothing but muscles growing in their brains. They said I had to fight their warriors to go inside the village, then they immediately welcomed me with a punch in the face.

The village was small and rundown. They hardly have any people there, and they haven't even seen transport repair tools before. What a waste of time!

Did you find anything on your end?

Nothing. I took a stroll in the other direction and found a redhead Vulpo fixing his transport. He said he was going to take me on a ride once it was fixed.

I followed him around a little, and there were only some rundown houses.

Though it kind of felt like he didn't want me poking around too much. Something didn't feel right about that.

If you ask me, I think there's nothing to the rumors.

You sure? You remember what the Padishah ordered us to do, right?

Of course, but the results couldn't be more clear.

At the very least, we've found no developing power here, and there's nothing we can gain from this place either. The Messenger stationed here wasn't lying.

But according to the gossip...

I just think something doesn't add up about all this.

You said it yourself. It's just gossip.

The Messenger here... Our intel calls her Inam. She liked to trade and barter to begin with, so I'm not surprised the rumors got blown out of proportion.

Besides...

If the lords ameer take control of the territory here and it doesn't meet their expectations, having painted a rosy picture is only going to get us in trouble.

...Fair enough.

You're right. They're a bunch of barbarians who do nothing but compare who's got the bigger fists. How could they possibly have fooled the two of us?

Let's go back to the city and let the Padishah know.

All taken care of?

Yeah.

How were things on your end?

We hid all the machines and metal choppers in a cave nearby. Nobody saw us.

And we reminded everyone in the tribe not to talk about machinery in front of any outsiders.

Good work. Now we just need to wait till Inam's back.

She left a letter and disappeared without a trace. Tch.

Right, that wound on your face...

I'm fine.

Sorry, you can punch me back at the training grounds next time.

Really, don't worry about it.

Chiave probably would've been better at putting up that show, though.

We didn't have a choice, since there was more than one of them. I asked Chiave to take care of the other person.

Actually, we could've gotten through this without that fight, but...

But?

I couldn't help myself.

I'll bash your face in at the training grounds next time.

Haha, just kidding.

But now those guys definitely consider us a bunch of barbarians who only think about fighting.