Alva immediately perked up. "A black market? There's one nearby? You know how to find it?"
Altaïr looked a little awkward. "Well, it isn't exactly a black market. It's just a small bazaar where some nomads trade goods and information.
"There normally wouldn't be one around here, but now that a sizable complex of unexcavated ancient ruins has been discovered, I'd guess one has sprung up."
Alva fell silent.
"Can we all go take a look?" Francesca asked eagerly.
"No." Altaïr shook his head. "They're deeply suspicious of outsiders. None of you look like you're from the Great Desert, and you don't speak the local dialects. No one would be willing to deal with you.
"If anyone here could blend in with me... Hmm, Lady Lania might manage it. Judging by her appearance, she's originally from the Great Desert too, isn't she?"
Alva's lips twitched. "Lania? She is from a desert tribe and speaks all the dialects, but taking her along...
"Are you planning to slaughter everyone at the black market?"
"Uh, then perhaps we'd better forget it..."
Before Altaïr had even finished speaking, the flap over the tent entrance lifted and Lania walked in.
The group froze. Walking without a sound was one thing, but how did she erase her presence so completely? She was like a ghost.
"I'll go with you." Lania's tone was flat, revealing no trace of emotion.
Altaïr forced a strained smile. "Are... are you sure that's a good idea?"
Lania glanced at him. "Don't worry. Guild Knights don't police every little thing, and we don't go around arresting people."
—--
The next day, several teams set out in different directions from the ruins camp.
Altaïr and Lania boarded the small observation Airship. It would first carry them to the nearest town, then turn back to continue the search.
Altaïr was not wearing his Brute Tigrex Armor Set. Instead, he wore a robe woven from linen and coarse yarn, wide-legged Delex-hide trousers, and a cloak that kept out windblown sand.
Naturally, he had left his Hunter weapon behind as well, carrying instead a short blade commonly used in the desert.
Such clothes and weapons were common among desert townsfolk, nomads, and traveling merchants alike, so they would arouse no suspicion wherever he went.
He had prepared everything before leaving Dundorma. Once he learned that this mission would take him to the Great Desert, he brought it along on the chance that it might prove useful.
And now it had.
Altaïr looked over at Lania. If his own preparations counted as thorough, hers were downright frightening.
Of course, she was not wearing her conspicuous Guild Knight uniform either. She wore desert robes and a cloak much like his, but beneath them was a battered suit of Aptonoth leather armor. Two long, narrow, scabbardless curved blades were tucked into her belt...
Was that seriously how a sand pirate dressed?
He could also tell that the armor and weapons had seen repeated use; the stains and damage were genuine.
Combined with her cold, sharp demeanor, she looked exactly like a hardened sand pirate chief, the kind who would make a traveling merchant hastily offer up a toll at first sight.
What in the world had this woman come here to do? Why had she prepared all this...?
He had planned to pose as "a desert wanderer who left his tribe for personal reasons." Standing beside Lania, however, he instantly became "the sand pirate chief's little lackey."
Noticing Altaïr's speechless stare, Lania glanced back and spoke in a desert dialect. "From now on, no common language. We'll speak only in dialect."
Altaïr gestured that he understood.
He knew why. Although both of them came from the Great Desert, years spent away speaking the common language had inevitably left their dialects a little rusty.
Practicing together would help shake off that rust and keep their speech from giving them away.
He answered in the same dialect. "All right, Lady Lania. Judging by that outfit, you must have another reason for coming to the Great Desert. Can you give me a little warning first?"
Lania considered his request and did not refuse. "Fine, but first, one correction. Until I change out of this outfit, don't call me 'Lady'.
"'Boss,' 'Big Sis,' or 'Sis' would all work."
"...Understood, Boss Lania." Altaïr's mouth twitched. Now he really was a sand pirate's lackey.
"I do have another purpose for coming here." Lania drew a photograph from her travel bag. It showed two people together.
Altaïr recognized one of them as the Wyverian Argosy Captain who had once tried to hire them to hunt the "Demon King." He had never seen the other man before.
The stranger looked to be in his thirties and had a Long Sword strapped to his back, so he was most likely a Hunter.
The two men had their arms around each other's shoulders and were grinning happily.
"Sid, a Hunter from Shiki and a 5★ Long Sword user." Lania pointed to the man beside the Argosy Captain. "He was the first to report signs of the 'Demon King.'
"His squad was wiped out when they encountered it. He was the sole survivor."
Altaïr nodded as understanding dawned.
So Sid was the Hunter friend the Argosy Captain had mentioned, the one who kept challenging the "Demon King" because of his comrades' deaths.
Lania continued, "The Guild's preliminary assessment gives the 'Demon King' a Danger Rating of at least 6★, with a strong chance of reaching 7★. As a 5★ Hunter, Sid is not authorized to hunt it.
"His private attempts to hunt the 'Demon King' already violate Guild regulations."
Altaïr asked tentatively, "So... you mean...?"
He drew a hand across his throat.
Lania glanced at him and shook her head slightly. "Nothing that extreme. Although he has challenged the 'Demon King' in private several times, he has never succeeded, nor has he illegally hunted any other Monsters. At present, it only amounts to 'attempted poaching.'
"In other words, he has broken the rules, but not seriously enough to make the high-priority list. Otherwise, I wouldn't be the one coming after him. A fully armed Guild Night squad would."
Altaïr nodded in understanding. "So you plan to take him back to the Guild?"
"Yes. He ignored the Guild's order to report to headquarters for punishment and disappeared."
Lania explained calmly, "I've seen many people like him. Once the Guild puts out a warrant for them, they can no longer trade Monster materials, buy supplies, or repair equipment through official channels. If they still refuse to give up, their only option is to seek supplies on the black market. I intend to find him before he commits any further crimes and escort him back to the Guild to serve his sentence."
"No wonder you came along as soon as you heard about a black market..."
Now that he understood the situation, Altaïr nodded. "I should warn you again, though. There probably isn't a true black market around here yet. It's likely just a small bazaar run by nomads, and we may not learn anything useful there."
"That doesn't matter. I'll simply do what I can." Lania's expression did not change. "We have the same target as he does. Sooner or later, he may come straight to us."
She turned toward Altaïr, a hint of curiosity entering her voice. "That is something else I've been wondering. You must have left the Great Desert a long time ago. How did you pinpoint the black market so precisely?"
"It isn't a black market. First, we're heading to the nearest town."
"That would be Sun Worship Town, I assume." Lania frowned slightly. "As far as I know, Sun Worship Town is a major industrial center built around the metal trade, and the authorities maintain firm control there. A town like that shouldn't have a black market at all... I see. You plan to ask around in Sun Worship Town. You have contacts there?"
"Something like that." Altaïr smiled. "I also plan to rent a small Sandship in Sun Worship Town. We'll need transportation if we're going to the black market, won't we? Two people with no camels, no Sandship, not even a sand sled, trudging across the sand sea on foot in search of a black market would look far too suspicious. Besides, a small Sandship is fast enough to be useful for either searching or hunting."
"...I see." Lania nodded, and a rare trace of a smile appeared on her face. "Hunters with such careful foresight are uncommon. Have you ever considered becoming a Guild Knight?"
"No, I prefer my freedom." Altaïr politely declined her offer. "Speaking of which, Boss Lania, perhaps you should take off that 'Sand Pirate Set.' Wearing it into a black market is one thing, but walking into Sun Worship Town dressed like that might get you arrested by the guards..."
P.S. Sid comes from an official short manga. His teammates sacrificed themselves to cover his retreat and were killed by the Demon King. Afterward, he kept challenging the Demon King alone until he finally completed the hunt with the help of new companions. That is the gist of his original story. This version retains his teammates' sacrifice and his friendship with the Argosy Captain, but does not follow the manga's plot. You can treat him as an original character here.
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