The Ashira Empire, a city on the southern border. Built in the heart of a scorching desert, this city was a far cry from the glory of the Empire. Step just a little way out of the main district, and you would find slums packed with shacks huddling together. This was where Guang-guang was born and raised.
"Big sis, I’m hungry..." At the sound of her younger brother Nuang-nuang’s voice, Guang-guang looked down at the empty rice sack. The half-handful of rice that had been there yesterday was gone.
"...I’ll find us something, somehow." Guang-guang wrapped a tattered piece of cloth around her waist and stepped out of the shack. The morning sun was blistering. Her brown skin glistened with sweat.
There used to be three of us. Dad, me, and my brother. We were poor, but happy enough. Dad worked carrying loads at the docks and would occasionally bring home fruit on his way back. My brother would beam when he saw the fruit, and I would smile watching him.
I wonder how long ago that was. It was about five years ago when the Pirami immigrants began pouring into the city. Diligent as ants, the Pirami worked for far less than humans without a word of complaint. Naturally, the employers chose them.
Dad lost his job. "I’m going to go out and make a lot of money, so stay here and look after your brother, okay?" With those words, Dad left the city. He never came back. It has been three years.
"I’m here to collect taxes." An Imperial Tax Collector stood at the door. He was a middle-aged man with a greasy face and a protruding belly, holding a ledger and a brush.
Guang-guang swallowed a sigh. "I don’t have any money. I just paid last week." "What? Are you joking?" The collector’s eyes narrowed. "You cockroaches disrupting the nation. It’s thanks to the Empire’s taxes that you can sleep safely with your legs stretched out. You know you’ll be sold into slavery if you miss a few more payments, right?"
Taxes were supposed to be collected once a month. Why did a different collector show up every week? The answer was simple: Corruption. The collectors were pocketing the money themselves, and those above them looked the other way. The money they worked so hard for vanished just like that.
When taxes aren't paid, a loan is automatically triggered through the Merchant Guild Bank. That debt carries interest. Compound interest. And if you can't pay? You are hauled off to prison and sold as a slave to settle the debt. That was exactly the situation they were in.
"Ugh... what am I going to do..." Back in the room, Guang-guang clutched her head. Through the window, she saw Nuang-nuang in the yard, swinging a wooden sword. He was a boy slashing at the air with a deadly serious expression.
"Sis! I’m definitely going to pass the Warrior Training Academy this time, so don't worry!" Nuang-nuang shouted, his sweat-streaked face shining in the sun.
The Warrior Training Academy. It was an institution run by the Empire to train warrior-police. If you got in, tuition, room, and board were covered, and a stable job was guaranteed upon graduation. It was the only escape for the children of the slums.
"Right, Nuang-nuang. I’m counting on you." Guang-guang forced a smile. Since when had smiling become such a difficult task? She had to hold on until her brother took the exam. Somehow.
Duran’s Bar
At the end of an alley that even the warrior-police avoided, a weathered sign read "Wanderer’s Haven," but no one called it that. It was just "Duran’s Bar."
"Hello, Uncle Duran!" As Guang-guang entered, a massive man behind the counter looked up. He was middle-aged, with a belly like a mountain and a bushy beard. He was an old friend of her father’s from his hometown.
"Oh, if it isn't our pretty girl!" Duran smiled broadly, wiping a table with hands covered in crumbs. "Is there any new work available?" "Hmm... nothing right now." Duran’s expression darkened. "Lately, the Empire is focused on reclaiming territory at the borders, so all the jobs are over there. All that's left in the city are the scraps."
"Oh... I see..." Guang-guang’s shoulders slumped. "Eat something before you go anyway. I happen to have some leftover eggplant rice."
Duran disappeared into the kitchen. Guang-guang sat in a corner of the bar and sighed. She needed money immediately, but there was no work.
Just then, the voices from the next table caught her ear. "Anyway, if you can just grab a few of the soldiers' swords from there, you’re set for life." "Heh~ really?" They were drunken wandering mercenaries. Judging by the thick dust on their scabbards, they hadn't had a real job in a long time.
"The northern border. The Imperial Army and those Sun Cult fanatics are fighting every day." "Wait, wouldn't you just get beaten up by both sides if you go there?" "You sneak in at night and just loot the corpses. What use do dead men have for swords?"
Guang-guang’s ears perked up. "But I heard there are cannibals out there?" "That’s why there’s a hazard pay. One month, pay is ten thousand gold. If you come back alive, your life changes."
Ten thousand gold. That was enough to clear the debt and have money left over. "Anyway, anyone who wants to try their luck, meet in front of the bar tomorrow morning."
Guang-guang slowly turned her head. A piece of paper was posted on the bulletin board.
[Recruiting Corpse-Looting Expedition. No experience required. Pay: 10,000 gold.]
Several names were written below. Guang-guang stood up, walked to the board, and picked up a pencil. Guang-guang. She scrawled her name roughly.
"You made a good choice." A voice came from behind. It was Uncle Duran, holding the bowl of eggplant rice. "Be careful. That place... it’s truly dangerous." "I will."
Guang-guang took the bowl and bowed her head. She’d be sold as a slave if she stayed here anyway. Might as well take the risk.
The Departure
The next day, she woke up before the sun rose. Nuang-nuang was still asleep. Guang-guang placed her hand on his forehead. It was warm. He looked like such a child, tossing and turning in his sleep. "Stay safe," she whispered and stepped out.
About fifteen people were gathered in front of the bar. Mercenaries, unemployed laborers, gamblers chased by debt... they all had faces of people driven to the edge by life.
"Is everyone here?" An old man stepped forward. He had white hair tied back and carried a large bundle on his back. Despite his hunched posture, his gaze was sharp. "I am Ken. I’ll be leading this expedition."
Ken coughed once and continued. "Briefly: it’s a two-day journey to the northern border. There, we scavenge valuables from the corpses of the Imperial Army and the Sun Cult. Once we hit our target, we return. 10,000 gold per person including hazard pay. Questions?" There were none. "Good. Move out."
The expedition began to move. The desert was silent. The cool dawn air brushed against her skin, but it was short-lived. As the sun rose, the heat began to weigh down on them.
"Ugh, that smell..." someone grimaced. ...Are they talking about me? Guang-guang discreetly sniffed herself. There was no way not to sweat in this weather. She definitely smelled a bit sour.
"Hey, you'll collapse from dehydration if you sweat that much." A voice spoke from beside her. She turned to see a woman standing there. She had silver hair fluttering in the wind, skin so white it was pale, and red eyes. She looked like someone who had stepped out of a myth.
"I haven't traveled the desert in this weather much..." "Come here." The woman suddenly hugged Guang-guang’s arm. "Eek?!"
It was cold. No, it was refreshing. Cold air seemed to radiate from the woman’s body. It felt like hugging a block of ice under the scorching sun. "Haa... so cool..." "My skin stays cold, even in the desert." "That’s amazing. How?" "..." There was no answer. Was she being ignored?
Then, the woman opened her mouth. "You know, honestly speaking." "Yes?" "Looking at you reminds me of my lost younger sister." Guang-guang blinked. Where was this coming from?
"When I was young, on that terrible day... cannibals raided the village, fires spread, and people's screams pierced the sky. I was so busy running that I got separated from my family." The woman’s voice was calm, as if she were talking about the weather. "I actually got caught by a cannibal once... anyway. After that day, I was alone. I could never live a normal day again. So I’ve lived my life swinging swords, firing crossbows, and practicing fighting every night."
It was a heavy story. However...
"But you know, talking so seriously suddenly makes me think about last night’s dinner." ...Huh? "I had rice in soup, but the broth was a bit salty, so my throat was parched. I was gulping down water and suddenly thought, 'Man, if I were stuck in the middle of a desert, how precious would this water be?' Just useless thoughts like that."
What is wrong with this person?
"Oh, and speaking of the desert reminds me of the survival training I did back then. I tried to catch a snake to roast it, but it escaped. Ever since then, I get goosebumps just seeing a snake. I act tough, but I’m actually quite a coward. But actually, that snake tasted like chicken, it was pretty good~" She wouldn't stop.
"Anyway, back to my sister... I still haven't found her. I joined a band of cannibal hunters and searched through countless villages and ruins, but there wasn't a single clue. So I always wonder: were those things monsters from the start, or were they people like us who changed for some reason..." Guang-guang just stood there, dazed, listening.
"Oh, right. I talk a lot, don't I? I’m not usually this talkative, but for some reason, I keep rambling in front of you. I was like this with my sister, too. Oh, and speaking of bread makes me want bread. I love bread filled with crispy dried boar meat and cactus pickles. My sister loved bread too. I remember us getting in trouble with our mother for stealing bread together..." She really had no intention of stopping.
"Oh, by the way, what’s your name?" Finally, it was over. "My name is Guang-guang." "Guang-guang? Kwang-kwang? I’ll call you Pang-pang from now on." "How does it even change to that? Anyway, I want to know your name too."
The woman grinned. "My name is... Tokki (Rabbit). Nice to meet you, Pang-pang." Tokki? A person’s name is Rabbit? "Yes... nice to meet you, Ms. Tokki." Guang-guang nodded. She was a strange person, but she didn't seem bad.
The desert night was the polar opposite of the day. The scorching heat vanished, and a cold wind chilled them to the bone. "We camp here tonight," Ken announced. The expedition members unpacked their gear and pulled out sleeping bags.
Guang-guang laid out a borrowed sleeping bag and lay down. The sky looked like it was spilling stars—a sight she had never seen in the city. Tomorrow, we reach the border. She felt nervous, yet strangely calm.
"Guang-guang." A voice came from beside her. It was Ms. Tokki. "Yes?" "I'm cold." Then, she suddenly burrowed into Guang-guang’s side. "Ack?! You’re cold!" The chill radiating from Ms. Tokki, which had been refreshing during the day, became pure cold at night.
"You're warm. I like it." Ms. Tokki hugged Guang-guang and closed her eyes. "W-wait—" "Goodnight." "..."
Ms. Tokki fell asleep instantly. How could someone who talked so much during the day fall asleep so fast? Guang-guang let out a long sigh. "Zzz..." Well, she does look pretty cute when she’s sleeping quietly. If she just kept her mouth shut, she was a beautiful woman.
Guang-guang slowly closed her eyes too. Tomorrow was the battlefield. No one knew what would happen. But somehow, the fact that she wasn't alone made her feel a little better.