Chapter 113: A Language Worth Learning
The desert settlement was called Kharim.
It wasn't marked on most maps.
Because by the time a mapmaker returned...
The roads leading to it had usually disappeared beneath the shifting sands.
Still—
Life thrived.
Merchants shouted from beneath cloth canopies.
Children chased each other through narrow alleys.
Smiths hammered away at salvaged metal.
The smell of grilled meat drifted through the warm afternoon air.
It felt...
Alive.
Kai couldn't help but smile.
Compared to the silent ruins of Oheyo...
This place still had hope.
The Outlaws entered without resistance.
Nobody screamed.
Nobody ran.
Nobody reached for weapons.
Instead—
Several shopkeepers waved.
"Back already?"
"Found anything useful?"
"Oi, Munnu! Don't forget you still owe me money!"
The Outlaws laughed.
Kai blinked.
"...Wait."
"You guys aren't wanted here?"
One of the Outlaws looked confused.
"Why would we be?"
"You literally rob caravans."
"We rob rich caravans."
"...That's not helping your case."
Munnu chuckled.
"We also protect these people."
Kai frowned.
"What?"
Munnu pointed toward the settlement walls.
"Bandits."
"Slave traders."
"Desert beasts."
"Cultists."
"They all come through here."
"We make sure they leave."
Kai looked around again.
Now he noticed something.
The guards.
Their armor wasn't uniform.
Half of them carried weapons clearly made from scavenged Oheyo metal.
Some even greeted the Outlaws casually.
One elderly woman threw a sandal at Munnu.
"You still owe me a roof!"
"I'll fix it next week!"
"You said that last month!"
Kai quietly decided not to ask further.
The Outlaws spread throughout the market.
Some traded monster materials.
Others sold machinery recovered from Oheyo.
Persia disappeared almost immediately.
Dragging crates of strange components toward a workshop.
Kai followed Munnu.
"So..."
Munnu crossed his arms.
"Ready?"
"For what?"
"You promised."
Kai froze.
"...Right."
The language.
They found an empty corner beneath a weathered canopy.
Munnu placed several dusty books onto the table.
Kai raised an eyebrow.
"You can read?"
"Barely."
"I mostly recognize symbols."
Kai opened one of the books.
Most of the text still looked unfamiliar.
But...
Not impossible.
The strange ability he'd gained inside the laboratory hadn't disappeared.
Instead...
It slowly translated pieces of the writing.
Not instantly.
But enough.
Kai smiled.
"I think I can teach this."
An hour later—
Munnu slammed the book shut.
"This language is stupid."
Kai laughed.
"You've been saying every word backwards."
"It's written backwards!"
"It isn't."
"It feels backwards."
Kai sighed.
"No."
"This character means 'mana.'"
"You've been reading it as 'camel.'"
Munnu looked offended.
"...That explains a lot."
Nearby Outlaws burst into laughter.
One nearly fell off his chair.
Another shouted,
"So THAT'S why he kept asking why camels flow through machines!"
Even Persia looked up briefly.
"...Idiot."
"I heard that."
"Good."
The lesson continued.
Surprisingly...
Munnu learned quickly.
Not perfectly.
But quickly.
Kai eventually realized why.
"You've been memorizing symbols."
Munnu shrugged.
"Can't read."
"Can remember shapes."
"...That's actually impressive."
"I know."
As the afternoon passed—
Kai helped translate dozens of salvaged documents.
Most were useless.
Old maintenance logs.
Broken machinery.
Supply records.
Nothing important.
Then—
He found a damaged notebook.
Its pages were almost destroyed.
Only fragments remained.
Kai frowned.
"...'Mana compression ratio...'"
"...'Circuit stability...'"
"...'Failure probability...'"
The remaining lines were unreadable.
Munnu looked over.
"Useful?"
Kai slowly closed it.
"...Maybe."
He wasn't sure.
But every mention of circuits now made his chest tighten.
Not painfully.
Just...
Familiar.
Elsewhere—
Persia quietly worked alone.
The giant radio on his back lay disassembled.
Wires stretched across the table.
Metal cylinders.
Explosive powder.
Small magical crystals.
One Outlaw approached.
"What're you making?"
Persia didn't look up.
"Maintenance."
"Looks complicated."
"It isn't."
The Outlaw scratched his head.
"...If you say so."
Once he left—
Persia reached into his bag.
Pulling out...
A tiny black crystal.
Unlike the others.
He quietly embedded it inside the radio.
Then smiled.
"...Almost."
As evening approached—
The marketplace became livelier.
Music echoed through the streets.
Cooking fires were lit.
People gathered around shared meals.
Kai found himself eating alongside the Outlaws.
One handed him grilled lizard.
"It tastes better than it looks."
Kai took a bite.
"...It actually does."
"Told you."
Another Outlaw laughed.
"See?"
"The desert grows on people."
Kai looked around.
They laughed.
Argued.
Teased one another.
Shared food without hesitation.
It reminded him...
Just a little...
Of Asphyxia.
And for a brief moment—
He forgot these people were technically criminals.
Then...
That uneasy feeling returned.
Stronger this time.
Kai stopped chewing.
His eyes drifted toward Persia.
Who was calmly finishing repairs.
Nothing looked wrong.
Nothing sounded wrong.
Yet—
Something inside Kai whispered.
Danger.
Not now.
Soon.
Very soon.
Persia looked up.
Their eyes met.
Only for a second.
Then Persia smiled politely.
Kai forced himself to smile back.
But the feeling refused to disappear.
That night—
Long after most of the settlement had fallen asleep—
Kai sat alone atop one of the sandstone walls.
Looking toward the endless sea of dunes.
He reached out once more.
Feeling the mana flowing beneath the desert.
It answered him more easily now.
Not enough to cast anything.
Not enough to fight.
But enough...
To know it was there.
He smiled faintly.
"I'm getting closer..."
Then—
Without warning—
A distant explosion echoed across the desert.
Not here.
Far away.
But powerful enough that even the ground trembled slightly.
Kai immediately stood.
Several guards looked toward the horizon.
Smoke rose in the distance.
Munnu appeared beside him.
"...That's not normal."
Kai silently agreed.
The uneasy feeling in his chest...
Only grew heavier.