Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

When the smoke cleared, all that remained on the ground were a pile of craters, large and small, still burning with embers; Tomat and W were nowhere to be seen.

W knew that in this situation, it wouldn't be a big deal if the Sarkaz mercenaries, who were nominally her comrades, shot her along with them; after all, she had done similar things before.

When she saw Tomat raise his hand earlier, her first thought was that he was going to attack her. While jumping away to avoid it, she prepared to lower her body and use Originium Arts to avoid the impact of other people's attacks.

Even so, her chances of survival were slim.

But in the next instant, W felt a sudden weightlessness, and the sound and impact of the explosion seemed extremely distant. A cold, biting wind suddenly swept around it, and at the same time, a sharp pain shot through its tail.

Ultimately, it's the part connected to the spine that's being gripped so tightly by something, so the pain is self-evident.

W subconsciously released the dagger in his hand, his face contorted with rage, his legs trembling, as he turned to check the condition of his tail.

W was stunned.

Because her tail is currently being held tightly by Tomat, and this is not the ground of a square.

Instead, it's the very top of a tall building near the square.

"You just want some food, why are you so agitated? Are you going to get so worked up that you won't even eat yourself?"

But Tomat still didn't look at W. He just looked regretful as he increased the pressure in his hands while watching the large pot of stew that had been fried to pieces.

[Main Text] Uninvited Guest: Chapter Four - Warm Hospitality of Kazdel

"No...no, you can't use that much force..."

With a flushed face and dazed eyes, W collapsed onto the top floor of the dusty, cold, and desolate building ruins in a kneeling position.

She gasped for breath, struggling to get up, trying not to expose her embarrassing state to others. Perhaps the only saving grace was that she wasn't wearing the lace dress and black stockings, but rather ordinary trousers for ease of movement.

But the first time someone uses such rough methods on a place that has never been touched by an outsider before, it hurts terribly.

The pain was so intense that even W, who lived a life of constant companionship with death and licking blood from the edge of a knife, found it hard to believe that he actually possessed such a weakness.

She propped herself up, her vision blurred by the numbness in her head, and looked at the injured area, which had turned a light red from bleeding. It was also twitching occasionally from the excessive stimulation.

"It hurts so much...it hurts so much!!!"

W, who was shouting, not only felt pain, but also heartache, and a strange bitterness welled up in her heart.

How could Sarkaz tolerate such an injustice!

W managed to wrap its tail around to its front, stroking it as it distanced itself from Tomathi.

W was able to check her injuries with peace of mind because she was still quite clear-headed and instantly understood that Tomat had grabbed her tail and pulled her out of the attack range.

She kept her distance because she really didn't want to go through that again.

"Oh, sorry, I meant to grab your tentacles."

"That's...my...hair!!! And the red part won't grow back once it falls out!"

W, who repeatedly emphasized that the two conspicuous tufts of red hair on her head were not a racial characteristic, accidentally increased the pressure in her hand and pressed it back onto the sore spot. As her expression distorted, her voice became like that of an off-key singer, bursting out with a series of exaggerated shouts.

"Ah → Ah↗ Ah↑!!!"

"At least for now, your tail seems pretty sturdy, because when I came up here, I didn't have half a bloody tail in my hand, but your whole body."

"Are you praising me? Then I'll thank your whole family!"

Before the people in the plaza below could figure out why there wasn't a single corpse in sight, W and Tomat, on the top floor of the ruins, finally began a slightly more normal conversation.

Thomas explained to W why he was there, a reason that initially relieved W, but then made him frown and ask a question as if he remembered something.

"Then why did you point your finger at me just now?"

“I saw you cooking a whole pot of food and just wanted to ask if I could have ‘a little bit’ of it, but everyone around me started hitting me. Are you that stingy? But in the end, you overreacted. They probably think I’m some kind of dangerous person.”

—The most dangerous person in the area is accusing others of treating him as a dangerous person.

"You suddenly appeared here, so of course I assume you're here for me, and the only reason I can think of is to kill me."

"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't be holding your tail, I'd be holding your spine. Besides, why would I want to kill you?"

If he hadn't unconsciously restrained himself, seeing the dish he might have wanted to use turn to ashes in front of him, Tomat might have accidentally "pulled" W's tail out.

Faced with someone who intends to harm him and he is powerless to resist, even though Thomas gave a ridiculous reason for being there, W had no choice but to believe him.

Perhaps the pain in her tail has subsided somewhat, or perhaps it has become numb, but W is now walking and talking much more steadily.

She took out her communicator and spoke angrily into Kazdel. After ending the call, she continued:

"Go down, they won't attack this time."

W is, after all, a Sarkaz with exceptional physical abilities. Although he can't jump that high, he can still jump down from where he is now.

When the two returned to the square, the expressions of the other Sarkaz people around them changed from hostility to confusion. Although they could fire directly at W under special circumstances, W was alive and well now and had ordered not to attack Tomat, so they still had the obligation to obey orders.

"Damn it, the pot and all the food supplies here have been blown up."

The explosion had covered a large area, but they missed all the people they wanted to bomb, while losing almost all of their supplies. They couldn't salvage anything usable from the debris. W sighed, rolled his eyes, and said:

"Never mind, let's just get some from another camp."

However, this was just a temporary stop for W and his group. They lost some things, but they could simply turn back to another camp to retrieve some more.

However, this also indirectly suggests that the area is not as deserted as it appears on the surface.

Mercenaries don't waste time in places where there's nothing to do. The fact that W and his group are here means they have something to do.

Considering that this is the country of the Sarkaz, and most of the Sarkaz are infected, it is impossible to determine from the atmosphere how many of these people are still active here.

Who knows, this place might actually be just like a city, crowded with a considerable number of residents.

"Oh, thank you so much."

"Don't mention it, just consider it as me being robbed, and at least it's better than being killed."

It wasn't just a dark humor-like realization coming from W's mouth; W then asked:

"Are you taking your companion with you? This area isn't very safe—unless, of course, if she's in a similar situation to you, then disregard my question."

"Her? She's already here."

As the mercenaries packed their gear and prepared to depart, Thomas, at W's request, pointed behind them.

Nian stood not far from them, leaning against a recliner that seemed out of place with the desolate surroundings, as if watching a play.

When she saw Tomat point to herself, she even waved in that direction while lying down.

"But is it really okay to bring outsiders like us to a place like a base?"

Thomas wasn't worried or concerned about whether W had some kind of conspiracy. He openly used the pretext of bringing him to the base to lure him into a trap, because he had already experienced such things before.

"It's just a barracks-like place, nothing secret in this area. You see Kazdel mercenaries far more often than police in other countries—do you understand how awful this place is?"

W spoke rudely, but seemed quite proud of himself, like a local native introducing famous customs and traditions.

"Rotten? I find it quite endearing."

[Main Text] Uninvited Guest: Chapter 5 W, you can't even organize a picnic properly!

Judging from the fact that their base could be reached on foot, the plaza in front of W's base shouldn't be considered too far.

In other words, they might have directly placed their activity area in this seemingly dilapidated and worthless place.

As W's mercenary squad traversed the ruins of this ancient city, they gradually began to spot other Sarkaz groups operating in smaller groups.

However, the people looking at her were mostly wary, and they didn't seem like friendly locals at all, let alone W's subordinates—after all, when Talulah was on the verge of defeat, those Sarkaz mercenaries left even faster than W, and she didn't even have time to find most of them and get them to follow her elsewhere.

W's current team has shrunk by almost 90% compared to before.

After seeing W ignore them and walk past them, the others lowered their weapons and left in different directions.

Tomat also noticed that W and many Sarkaz were active in the area, and raised questions about it.

"I've heard that there's a civil war going on every day in Kazdel. Logically, there should be more business in the city. Why are you operating in a place like this?"

At least while Tomat was working as a mercenary, his activities, apart from the battlefields, were mostly in relatively prosperous areas.

But this ruin doesn't look like a battlefield at all.

"Huh? I admit that mercenaries are a legal profession in Kazdel, but we're not going to expose our heads to being targeted at any time."

After realizing that the other person wasn't after his head—regardless of whether he was lying—W reverted to his usual nonchalant way of speaking.

She spread her hands as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world, and explained something that seemed to be common knowledge to the locals with an impatient expression.

"Besides, a place that has already become ruins is much safer than a place that may become ruins at any time."

After listening to W's words, Thomas thought for a moment and realized that although they had both been mercenaries, their circumstances were different.

After all, at that time, he didn't really need to worry about his personal safety. If he encountered natural disasters or man-made calamities in other places, it wouldn't have much of an impact. Although his hometown was a fixed place, if he lived in other places, he didn't need to care whether anyone would want to kill him.

"But we can't move this either, what if a natural disaster strikes?"

Thomas continued to ask.

"Brother, there are plenty of people who can't live in mobile cities. Villages and settlements are everywhere. Not everyone can squeeze onto those metal blocks."

W, looking weary yet compelled to reply, explained the reason for their activities in this area.

"What do we do when a natural disaster strikes? Run! We're not without messengers of natural disasters."

After about twenty minutes of travel, with W saying, "Watch your step, you deserve to be blown up," they officially entered the local area controlled by W's Sarkaz mercenaries.

—Thomat and Nian had no idea why W would deliberately station itself so close to its base.

"Let me warn you first, don't wander around. I can't even remember how many landmines are buried around here."

Nearby were defensive fortifications made of tattered cement bags, and barbed wire and makeshift watchtowers were set up on the ground not far ahead. Further in, the lower but more intact buildings that could be seen were probably W's base.

W took out a powerful light source from his waist and fired several intermittent signals into the air.

In a world rife with bizarre tricks, a face isn't necessarily proof of identity. Even if W personally leads the team back, a code word is still necessary when needed.

But after waiting for a long time, there was no response from that direction.

Are they all fast asleep?

W took out a monocular telescope with slightly cracked lenses and looked at the nearest watchtower, only to find that there was no one on guard duty there.

It's not surprising to slack off, but it's problematic when a group of people slack off together.