Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

"So where is this place? There are monsters everywhere, the environment keeps changing, and why are you here?"

Tomat didn't hide anything. After Bardock asked him a question, he directly explained his experiences on Terra during this time and also gave him a general overview of the planet.

"Is this another planet? It seems quite remote. And you said they don't even have a spaceship, and all they have left is the small one-person boat you came in with?"

This is an alien planet with civilization, frequent disasters, but barely habitable. The natives can use various special abilities. After this basic concept took shape in Bardak's mind, he seemed to stop worrying about what he had encountered during this time.

“That’s right, but you don’t even have a spaceship, so there’s no way to explain your appearance here.”

The two sides exchanged information they had as much as possible, but Bardock, whose existence was incomplete and whose memories were even affected, could not offer much explanation for his appearance.

"Maybe it was Towa who did it, tsk, whatever, anyway I remember fighting them and winning..."

"Yeah, it doesn't matter."

Since I can't figure it out, I'll just leave it at that.

Saiyans have always been indifferent to such complicated matters.

A moment later, the surrounding scenery gradually blurred. Just as Bardock stood up to be on guard because of this change, Tomat said:

"It's alright, they're not enemies, they're the local inhabitants."

A flash of white light, and the ravaged mobile city vanished completely from sight, replaced by a mountain landscape covered in snow.

A dilapidated hut stands before you, but this is not a scene from another painting; it is a real building that exists in reality.

The basis for his judgment was the familiar faces of his companions around him.

Nian and Xi were arguing fiercely about something. Keober was lying in the snow, rubbing his bloated belly and hiccuping, while W was squatting on a tree stump a little further away, holding a broken twig and drawing a bunch of messy patterns on the ground.

As for the cloaked figures who called themselves the Inspectorate, they stood further away. When they saw Tomat and Badak suddenly appear, they looked somewhat surprised and each assumed a stance, facing them.

"Hehe, this time... it's really the world, isn't it?"

Bardak smiled as he wiped the dried blood from the corner of his mouth, whether from happiness at finally being in reality or from bitterness at the thought of wasting two months in the fake world.

"It's true. If you don't believe me, punch me and see if it disappears."

Thomas responded to Badak, and it was only when their voices rang out that the others gradually noticed their return from the painting.

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Note: In the official storyline of "The Man in the Painting," Saga arrives at Xi's place ten days or so before kkdy and Yanrong go there, several years later. Therefore, in the current timeline, Saga does not exist in the world of "The Man in the Painting."

[Main Text] Uninvited Guest: Chapter Twenty-One Now that you've mentioned this, I'm no longer sleepy.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't try such pointless things. This girl trapped him in the painting precisely because she was afraid you'd do something like this..."

Nian stopped arguing with Xi and, seeing that Tomat had made such a joke, quickly stepped forward to give Xi some instructions while looking at her.

—And Xi froze on the spot the moment Nian uttered those words, her eyes wide open.

As expected of her older sister, she sold herself out with just one sentence.

Just as she was about to look away, she met Bardak's gaze precisely as he shook off Tomat's support.

Although his eyes were very tired, the unspoken but clear aura they exuded made everyone immediately realize Bardock's current mood.

If Bardock was trapped in "real time" for two months in the painting, then Nayuta also painted the same time period consecutively.

However, Xi, who had finally stopped painting, was not feeling tired, nor was she feeling relaxed after liberation.

Instead, he tensed up once again, stood firmly in place, and did not allow himself to show any signs of panic.

But she is still like a frog being watched by a snake, unable to move.

"...What? She did it?"

"To keep you from doing anything reckless. You didn't even recognize me before, and you were even planning to kill me."

Bardock walked unsteadily toward the sunset, with Tomat following closely behind, trying to smooth things over while attempting to stop Bardock, whose intentions seemed quite obvious to outsiders.

"Keeping someone trapped inside a painting for who knows how long is certainly not in accordance with the hospitality of our Great Yan Dynasty, but if you..."

Just as Nian was about to block Bardak's path, he even exuded an aura that could melt the surrounding snow the moment Bardak walked toward Xi. But Bardak's steps suddenly stopped at that moment.

"Tch, how embarrassing, to be fooled by a little girl for so long."

He complained as he stopped beside Kroos, who was lying on the ground, and sat cross-legged on the snow, picking up the packaging bags that had inexplicably fallen around her.

That was the food that Kroos always carried with him.

"Is this food...?"

Before asking the question, Badak opened the container, stuffed what looked like compressed biscuits into his mouth, then scooped up a pile of snow from the ground, melted it in his palm, and drank it all in one gulp.

Everyone else stared at the scene, frozen in place, while Bardock, after swallowing the food in his mouth, drooped his head and remained unresponsive.

"Snoring..."

He just sat there and fell asleep.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, speechless at the scene before them, whether they were prepared for a fight or just to watch the spectacle.

However, a battle that seemed inevitable was thus averted, and people breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, it seems that all the goals have been achieved, and it can even be said that much less effort was required than expected.

Nian found Xi, and now all that's needed is to bring her back. What was expected to be a sisterly battle has turned into a Saiyan fight that is now over.

Tomat's unexpected encounter with Badak here was also a pleasant surprise.

Now all you need to do is return home—bring Xi and Badak along.

"Didn't you say you were indifferent to life and death? Why did you smell of fear just now?"

"Shut up. When you were blocking his way just now, you looked like you were going to your death too."

As Nian calmed down, he continued to bicker with Xi, who had recovered her senses. Each of them held a fan, their faces close together as they glared at each other. The imposing Nian and the indifferent Xi refused to give in to each other, their two pairs of dragon horns of different colors pressed together, and their thick, long tails seemed about to whip each other.

In the end, however, they both seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, creating some distance between them and letting go of their confrontational attitudes.

"My younger sister was too scared to move. If I didn't protect her, could I still be considered the older sister?"

"...have a finger in the pie."

Xi turned around, bolted her little house door with an extremely ordinary bolt, and then, with the sound of the door closing, said something in a very low voice.

"...Thanks anyway."

The two sisters have a significant rift due to their personalities and other factors.

Xi rarely yielded to her older sister's impulsive ideas, and Nian understood just as well that she and her younger sister were incompatible in many ways.

However, perhaps like the suspension bridge effect, after the two have weathered a "crisis" together, even if they still argue, their relationship will temporarily ease.

However, this crisis is merely at the level of "a dangerous man approaching Xi, who is his younger sister".

But in the end, Xi had already decided to leave the valley with Nian and go to Rhodes Island to celebrate the New Year.

At this moment, W casually tossed away the wooden branch in his hand, directly waking up Kroos, who was feeling sleepy from indulging in food and drink in the world of the painting.

The latter sat up, touched his forehead where he had been hit, and then stared at Bardak, who was snoring beside him. Looking at the unfamiliar face, he tilted his head.

She was probably the only person in the whole incident who didn't know what had happened.

Seeing everyone stand up, the inspectors standing to the side also took further action.

They whispered among themselves about what to do next.

But everyone was caught in a dilemma.

Tomat and the others were planning to leave, so should we just let them go?

That's impossible. He entered the country without permission and is a dangerous person. Da Yan isn't a marketplace where people can just come and go as they please.

Should we stop them and question them?

It seems... even less likely?

Thunder magic can burn down the entire world, but the opponent can do the same with a single punch. One is a matter of elemental counteraction, while the other is a matter of brute force.

Even if one person appears to be in a coma, the other still looks full of energy.

With Nian and Xi also present, and excluding the Sarkaz and Pero people whose backgrounds are unclear, this lineup is quite formidable for the Inspection Department, which only has this many members...

There are a few minor difficulties.

More importantly, this place is far from the main capital of Yan Kingdom, and reinforcements will not arrive for the time being.

As everyone ignored the Inspectorate, who was standing there openly and blatantly, and prepared to leave in a very disrespectful manner.

As Tomat set up Bardock, he asked the young man:

"By the way, when are you planning to keep your promise to 'treat me to a good meal in Yan'?"

"What? Eat your fill? Where?"

Even though he had already fallen into a deep sleep, upon hearing Tomat's words, he shuddered as if he had been electrocuted, half-opened his eyes and looked around, then asked.

"Tonight is New Year's Eve, so I'll let you enjoy the New Year's Eve dinner to your heart's content. You can come to Yan Country to eat again next time."

While declining the promised reward to Tomat, Nian looked at Badak, who also became enthusiastic about food, and became certain that although the other man had no tail, he must be Tomat's kin.

"Wait!!!"

Just as everyone was about to leave, and Xi had already drawn a door-like passageway in the air, a shout suddenly came from the Surveillance Department.

[Main Text] Uninvited Guest: Chapter Twenty-Two: The Spirit of Contract

Although Xi didn't explicitly say what the door she drew was for, judging from Nian's behavior, it was probably a portal that led directly to Rhodes Island.

Most of the people present had already witnessed Xi's abilities, so they weren't too amazed by this convenient move.

However, the shouts coming from the Inspectorate stopped them in their tracks as they walked toward the door.

"I have heard that Nian and this outstanding individual are currently residing on Rhodes Island, and Rhodes Island has indeed provided ample assistance after the previous attack on Lungmen by the behemoth."

The speaker was a tall man who appeared to be the leader of the group from the Inspectorate. Although he wore a mask to conceal his face like the others, his prominent horns suggested that he was either a hoofed creature or some other horned race.

He smoothly shifted the topic from whether or not to retain these people to matters concerning Lungmen and Rhodes Island.

At the same time, they made no secret of their knowledge of the factions to which these people belonged.