On the snowfield outside the city, wind and snow howled, and as far as the eye could see there was nothing but a vast expanse of white.
The Silvermane Guard, carrying out patrols according to orders, were split into small squads. Each squad moved slowly through the area it was responsible for.
As one squad of Iron Guards moved away, a vague figure appeared amid the wind and snow.
The figure gradually became clearer. The newcomer held a cane and looked very much like a well-educated, refined gentleman.
Mr. Yang raised a hand and adjusted his glasses. He had finally arrived at Jarilo. He wondered how the kids were doing now, and where that robot called Svarog, mentioned in the message sent by Nero, might be.
His slightly serious expression was mixed with a hint of relaxation and anticipation. Mr. Yang quickly gathered his thoughts, surveyed his surroundings, and began to think about what he should do next.
Nero had also sent another message, saying that a well-connected local would come to meet him, someone named Sampo…
Mr. Yang had seen Sampo's photo. He looked a bit frivolous, and the look in his eyes gave the impression that he was good at scheming and disguising himself.
However, Mr. Yang was not someone who judged others by their appearance. Before actually meeting someone, any first impression formed from a photo was nothing more than a reference.
Strictly speaking, though, he was not very willing to let Nero and March interact with someone like that. As for Stelle and Dan Heng, they should be able to take care of themselves.
After his thoughts briefly wandered, Mr. Yang raised his head and looked to the side.
Sampo had somehow already appeared beside him.
This man really was no ordinary person. He had come right up to him without making any sound at all, and had not even left a single trace in the snow.
While Mr. Yang was observing Sampo, "Mr. Cold Feet" was also observing this man whom his junior colleague called "Mr. Yang."
Those green eyes first swept over him from head to toe, then paused briefly on the cane.
'Oh my… the Nameless really are… none of them are simple.'
But Sampo didn't let any of that show on his face. He quickly put on his usual ingratiating smile.
"Hehe… you must be the Mr. Yang that little ancestor keeps talking about, right?"
Mr. Yang nodded, then frowned slightly, looking at Sampo with a strange expression.
'Little ancestor? Who's that supposed to be?'
'Is he talking about Nero?'
What exactly had these kids been through during their time on Jarilo?
According to what Nero had said earlier, hadn't they been chased into the Underworld by the local government's troops?
The question flashed through his mind, then passed. Mr. Yang spoke up, "In that case, you must be Mr. Sampo. In our previous contact, Nero already told me that you would be responsible for meeting me."
After that, Mr. Yang looked around again.
"May I ask, where are those kids right now?"
As he listened to Mr. Yang, Sampo's expression darkened slightly.
'What exactly did the junior colleague say when introducing me to the other Nameless?'
'Hopefully nothing like 'Sampo is bad news' or 'Sampo is easy to bully'.'
'Judging from the situation so far, it should be fine. This Mr. Yang is cautious, but not overly alert or hostile.'
'It seemed that, thanks to the little ancestor's introduction, he was still leaning more toward trusting me…'
Thinking this through while smiling, Sampo said, "Hahaha… the heroes still have some other business to take care of. Commander Bronya gave them a letter, and after returning to the Overworld they hurried off. Sampo here is only responsible for picking people up. You see…?"
Mr. Yang nodded and did not make things difficult for Sampo. Aside from his own observations on the train, Nero had explained a fair number of things during their communications.
For example, about the two kids Bronya and Seele…
Although they shared the same names, they were indeed different people, yet somehow also far too similar…
Seeing Mr. Yang nod, Sampo continued, "Then please follow me. This way, this way."
Very soon, the figures of the two men disappeared into the wind and snow, vanishing from sight.
———
Serval led the group to a rough, makeshift camp, where they found some resting Silvermane Guards and Captain Dunn.
Serval walked right up and greeted him in a loud, casual way, "Yo, Dunn! Long time no see, you've even become a Guard Captain now?"
Captain Dunn immediately turned his head when he heard her voice and stammered, "S-Serval, long time no see… you're still as… ahem, you look well."
Serval didn't mind Dunn's awkwardness. She stepped aside a little and introduced Dan Heng and the others.
"Let me introduce you. These are my assistants. They help share the workload at my workshop."
Then she briefly introduced Dunn to the group.
"Everyone, meet my old friend, Captain Dunn. He used to be the ace keyboardist in my band."
"Oh?" March blinked in surprise and said, "So this Iron Guard big brother plays rock music too? Hello!"
"Nice to meet you," Dan Heng said with a slight nod.
Stelle thought to herself, "This feels… hard to put into words…," but still said politely, "Please take care of us."
Seele also gave a brief greeting, though because of her personality, it felt a bit perfunctory.
All in all, everyone was being quite courteous, which made Dunn feel somewhat flattered.
"Oh, hello…"
Stelle was very cooperative. Seele was blunt but thoughtful. As for March, she was just like Nero, saying whatever came to mind.
The girl quickly wrinkled her nose and said, "It kind of feels like there's a strange smell…"
Hearing this, Dunn was startled. Wanting to preserve his image, he snapped at a soldier behind him, "Hmph, ahem! Sakrei, how many days has it been since you last bathed?"
The Silvermane Guard named Sakrei was startled by the sudden scolding. After a moment of confusion, he blurted out, "Ah… ah? I just, right before my rotation..."
The poor Sakrei didn't even get to finish his sentence before Dunn spoke again in a clearly threatening tone, "…Hmm? Say that again?"
Sakrei shuddered and hurriedly replied, "R-reporting, sir, two days without washing!"
Weak, pitiful, and helpless, Sakrei could only take the blame upon himself. Perhaps this was the sorrow of a working man.
Dunn continued to stubbornly scold him, "Disgraceful! How can you be so rude in front of visitors!"
Then he turned to the group and said, "My apologies for the embarrassment."
Serval saw through it but didn't say it out loud. Besides, there were more important matters to deal with right now. She gave him an out first.
"It's fine, Dunn. By the way, if we get the chance, how about we get on stage and play together again?"
"My current keyboardist isn't bad either, but I still miss the days of playing in a band while in the military…"
Dunn went along with it, though there was regret in his tone.
"That's all ancient history, Serval. I haven't touched the black and white keys in ages. Besides, I'm stationed in the restricted zone year-round now. I'm afraid I won't have many chances to return to the city."
What Dunn said wasn't wrong, but the people behind Serval all lowered their heads and fell into brief thought. They exchanged glances, feeling that this probably wasn't just their imagination.
'This Dunn seemed to be trying very hard to look cool at all times…'
After some small talk, Dunn spoke again.
"This might sound a bit distant… but did you come for something? If you didn't find any problems during the inspection, you should head back to the city soon. This place isn't safe."
"I've already checked all the pipelines. There don't seem to be any major issues. The only thing left is the mechanical energy core. The guard over there said that a key is required to open the gate. Could you help us out?"
"…"
Dunn fell silent.
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