That morning, Jahir and his companions immediately left the port city of Ishmaya. The plan was to stay in Ishmaya for about two more days. But based on Salam's judgment, they left the town immediately.
"The way home is different from the way go."
Jean said, and Jahir, running next to him, smiled.
"This time it's an emergency, so we'll take the shortest route."
"Is it because Brother Salam joined us after all?"
"That’s also true."
Jahir replied, looking at Salam running in front of him.
"We'd be in trouble if we got caught up in that commotion."
"Is that so..."
Jean nodded.
"But they caught fire and sank in the middle of the ocean, right?"
"That's what's going to happen, but just in case something happens, it's better to leave town just in case."
"Is that so..."
Jean nodded after hearing Jahir's explanation. The group ran for a while, took a break, and then ran again. At night, they decided to camp out instead of in the oasis. It was two days later that they were finally able to stay at the oasis.
"Jean, let's go to the stall together."
When Salam appears in Jean's room, Jean sees Jahir nearby, dismantling his belongings. Jahir laughed and nodded.
"Let's all go."
"Yes, Teacher!"
Jean nodded happily and ran towards Salam. Salam immediately picked Jean up and went outside. Several members of Salam's Squad were already waiting outside.
"Ah, it's Mr. Jafar. Good evening!"
"Good evening, Mr. Jean."
Jafar greeted politely and smiled. When Sabadda and his friends left the inn, Salam headed straight for the street food stalls. Since it was a big oasis, Jean thought there were many people. Dancers and people show off their skills here and there, making it very lively. Salam laughed as Jean moved his hand to imitate the dancer's.
On the way, they bought some food that Jean was interested in and headed to the eat-house. The Sabaddas each bought the dishes and side dishes they wanted to eat and brought them in.
"Is it delicious?"
Salam asked, and Jean nodded. Seeing that Jean was already stuffing his mouth with the food and looking delicious, the Sabaddas laughed and arranged various dishes. Jahir conversed with Salam while eating skewers.
"Maybe Jean should gain a little more weight."
"I thought so too."
Saman said and Sabadda also nodded.
"So eat more. Abu, give that skewer to Jean."
Amir said, and Abu laughed and put a large skewer on Jean's plate.
"(Crunch) Thamfou (Crunch)"
"Jean, empty your mouth before you speak."
Jahir said in shock, and Jean nodded. Salam laughed took the skewer and ate it.
This is the first time he felt this way, Salam thought as he ate the skewered food. Even when his younger brothers and sisters were born or when they played together, he never felt this way. Moreover, he only thought of their existence as a nuisance.
But Salam just looked at Jean with a cheeky face, and he laughed heartily.
Salam looks at Jean and thinks he feels strange.
He's such a small and cute little brother, Salam thought while taking the bread Jahir offered and ate it.
After everyone finished eating, they continued to walk and enjoy the night market. Jean got sleepy on the way, so they returned to the inn.
"Can I sleep with Jean tonight?"
Salam suddenly asked, and Jahir and the others were surprised.
"Jean is sleeping poorly."
Jahir said and Salam laughed.
"I've never slept with my brother. That's why I'm curious."
"Well, I don't mind, but if you wake up midway through Jean's kick, don't blame me."
Jahir said with a laugh. And he looks at Salam with a serious face.
"First of all, even if he punches or kicks you, don't kill him, okay? He's your precious little brother, right?"
"Ah, yes."
Salam nodded, looked at Jean who was sleeping soundly, and tilted his head, wondering if Jean was sleeping that badly.
That night, Jean ended up sleeping in the same bed as Salam. As Jahir said, Jean was quiet at first, but suddenly his foot hit Salam's stomach and he woke up. Salam went back to sleep and Jean's hand hit his face again. In the end, Salam couldn't sleep, so he opened the window. Salam sits at the window, watching the city go silent at night.
There was a knock on the door, so Salam grabbed his sword and opened the door.
"Oh, vice chief?"
Salam said and Jahir smiled.
"You don't seem to be sleeping properly, do you?"
"Yeah."
Salam nodded and motioned for Jahir to enter.
"I don't understand why such a small creature takes up such a large sleeping area."
"Hahaha, that’s why I said it, right?"
"Yeah, I underestimated you and regretted it."
Jahir said and Salam nodded.
"Please, sit down."
"Thank you."
Jahir nodded.
"Vice chief, I heard from Sahim, but couldn’t believe my ears."
Salam drinks water and then he says so.
"Did Mr. Sahim say anything?"
Jahir asked, sitting in his chair.
"The Ircandians are expanding their influence and establishing colonies around the world...I don't even know where the country called Ircandia is, so how could Sahim say that? I did not understand."
Salam said and Jahir nodded.
"I don't know either... But yesterday, Jean revealed what they did, and it turned out to be true. Now that I know that, I'm convinced it's true."
"What did Jean say?"
Jahir said, and Salam listened intently.
"That ship has three colors painted on the side. He said that was a characteristic of Ircandian ships. Then he translated the conversation and I learned what they were up to."
"Hmm."
"After that, Jean got the clothes through gambling. He acted like he saw through some kind of trick, but I don't know much about it."
"Really?"
"It seems they were trying to squeeze 500 Dali out of me. However, Jean successfully broke the trap."
"That's great."
"Yeah, I thought so too. I'll learn how to do it when I return to Magraf."
Jahir said and Salam nodded.
"Then, on the way, Jean said they will cause a commotion. He said they would tell the security guard that we were thieves who had stolen the cloth to be offered to the queen. They didn't intend to give it up easily."
"Why? Is that something Ircandians often do?"
"I don't know all that much about it. However, that's exactly what happened. Just as Jean said, we were framed as thieves. However, we had placed the cloth on the date palm tree beforehand. When they investigated us, they couldn't find it."
"Hmm."
Salam nodded, thinking. Salam thought that since Jahir and Jean had proven their innocence by going so far as to strip naked, the people there would have thought they were innocent. The kind-hearted Urdans would have felt angry if fellow Urdans were called thieves. In Urda, thievery is a serious crime, and if it is proven guilty, the person can be sentenced to death.
"Jean said it clearly. The Ircandians will find out whether Urda is a country that is kind to foreigners by the noise it makes. They will come and the security forces actually moved. But I don't know if they were motivated by money."
"I see."
"However, the opponent was bad."
When Jahir said this, Salam couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Jean, who knew everything about their language, was superior to them."
"That's right."
Jahir nodded.
"Are they going to keep coming?"
"Sooner or later, they'll come again. If the ship goes missing, they'll send someone to look for them."
"Hmm."
"And there were many witnesses, and the angry civilians attacked the ship, and the ship, which was desperately trying to escape, caught fire and sank."
"Will stories like that spread among sailors?"
"Maybe."
Jahir said, sighing.
"Just in case, I got five guns yesterday."
"What about bullets?"
"Are there any bullets?"
"Of course. Without bullets, it's just a stick."
"I do not know that."
Jahir said and Salam laughed.
"Well, no problem. I brought a lot of bullets. I'll share them with you later when we get to Magraf."
"I appreciate that."
When Salam said this, Jahir was relieved.
"Where did you get the gun?"
"I don't know. Sahim went with Jafar to Tux, and they took a ship somewhere. Before boarding the ship, Sahim returned Jafar to me and entrusted me with a letter. He asked for money, and asked us to meet at the port of Ebrou."
"Ebrou?!"
Ebrou is a port town that belongs to the Kingdom of Efix in the southwest.
"After waiting a few days in Ebrou, Sahim appeared and brought the goods. I was surprised by the amount."
"Are those all guns and bullets?"
"Yeah."
Salam nodded.
"Sahim said that the gun was the reason Archia lost. He said there was indeed some movement in the west. He said he needed money to investigate."
"Hmm."
"After that, we took a boat to Ishmaya. By chance, I saw you and Jean, and noticed you were in such a situation."
"That's right. Thanks to you, I was saved."
Jahir thought after hearing Salam's words.
"By the way..."
"Yes?"
"I heard that Jean's father was killed in battle, but was it by that gun?"
"I think so. Jean said that Archia had more people than them. But it seems the battle was decided in a flash with guns."
Jahir said, and Salam thought about it.
"Sahim says that Ircandia is not the only one expanding its colonies. Erganti, Torpia, Smilkia..."
"That's almost all the words Jean can speak."
When Jahir said this, Salam felt something.
"What other words can Jean speak?"
"Min and Saikis."
"Are they all countries participating in expanding their territory and creating colonies?"
"I don't know."
For some reason, Salam felt incredibly anxious when he heard Jahir's answer.
"The reason why such a small child learned so many words was not just because he was interested."
Jahir said and Salam nodded.
"Somehow, I want to return to Magraf Village as soon as possible."
Salam said and Jahir laughed.
"Please calm down. It won't be too late even tomorrow. And their home country still not knowing their ship was on fire and sunk. There's no way it's that close."
"Yeah..."
Seeing Salam's reaction, Jahir laughed and stood up.
"I'll get Jean. You can't sleep, can you?"
"No, just leave it be. I'm fine."
"Is it good?"
"Ah, no problem. Thank you."
"Okay. Good night then."
Jahir nodded, looked at Jean, and left the room. Salam sits by the window for a while, staring outside.