Speechless or not, Lania had no objection to what Altaïr had done. If anything, it helped sell their bandit personas.
As for those unlucky sand pirates, she certainly did not pity them. The fact that she had not personally cut those scumbags down already was proof of her restraint.
Lania adjusted her expression. Since they were posing as bandits, she could not afford to look too friendly.
She led Altaïr into the densest cluster of tents and campfires. Most of the people there were Nomads who had come to trade supplies and information.
Firelight reached beneath Lania's hood, revealing her baleful gaze as it swept over the crowd.
Her voice held just the right touch of rasp. "We're looking for someone, a Hunter in blue armor. We hear he's tracking a red Diablos.
"A Hunter in blue armor and a red Diablos. Anyone with information can come to me for a reward. But if anyone knows something and chooses to hide it..."
She drew the curved blade at her waist. Its edge flashed, and a nearby palm tree with a trunk as thick as a grown man's thigh split cleanly in two.
Adults gasped, children wailed, and terrified mothers covered their children's mouths, silently begging the fearsome bandit woman not to turn on them.
Altaïr: "..."
He had thought his own performance was fairly convincing, but Boss Lania here... This did not seem like an act at all.
All he could say was that Mr. Alva was a truly brave man.
Lania reversed her grip on the curved blade and swept her gaze around the oasis. Her keen eyes caught the strange expressions on several faces.
Surprise, fear, hesitation... They were clearly hiding something.
She turned her stare on them. They immediately lowered their heads and nervously avoided her gaze.
Lania gave a cold snort and shot Altaïr a pointed look.
Altaïr: "?"
Huh? What do you want me to do? Did you forget we're only pretending to be villains?
While Altaïr was still agonizing over what to do, a figure burst from a tent near the group. He crossed the distance like a bolt of lightning, appearing in front of Lania as cold light flashed.
Clang!
With a sharp clash of metal, her reversed curved blade parried a... Carving Knife.
The blades ground together with a grating screech that set teeth on edge.
Lania had met the sudden ambush without giving an inch, and her expression remained perfectly calm. She regarded the disheveled, haggard attacker with icy eyes.
"Hmph... At least you still remember the one line a Hunter must never cross. You didn't use a Hunter's weapon against another person." With a sneer, Lania twisted her blade and knocked his knife aside.
Startled, the attacker tried to pull his knife back into a guard, but Lania had already drawn the second curved blade at her waist.
Her swift flurry bore no resemblance to a Hunter's Dual Blades techniques. She easily broke through his defense, then struck his knife hand with the back of her blade and disarmed him.
Her foot snapped out like a striking viper and caught him behind the knee. He staggered, and by the time he recovered, Lania's blade was already resting against his neck.
One of the young men who had looked suspicious earlier gritted his teeth, shouted, and rushed forward to help.
Altaïr stepped sideways to block him without even drawing his weapon. One forceful shove sent the young man stumbling backward until he landed on his rear.
With blood rushing to his head, the young man tried to scramble up again, but his companions hurriedly held him down.
The gaunt man held at blade-point hurriedly shouted, "Don't come any closer! I'm all right!"
At last, the situation was under control.
The Nomads scattered around the oasis did not know the group, and the two "sand pirates" did not seem bent on indiscriminate slaughter. Naturally, none of them saw any reason to risk their lives by intervening.
They hurriedly lowered their heads and averted their eyes, terrified of provoking the fearsome woman.
"With skills like yours... you're no ordinary bandits." The man at swordpoint wore a conflicted expression. "You're Guild Knights, aren't you?"
"You have no right to ask questions," Lania replied coldly, then gave Altaïr a meaningful look.
This time, Altaïr felt no hesitation whatsoever. He found a rope nearby, bound the man's hands tightly behind his back, then trussed up his entire body.
This was no slapdash knot. It was a specialized way of binding prisoners, one that not even Isis could wriggle free from.
"Into the tent." Once she had confirmed that Altaïr had tied the man securely, Lania withdrew her curved blade and gave the prisoner a forceful shove.
He had no strength left to resist, so he could only obey and return to the tent he had occupied earlier.
—--
Inside the tent, Altaïr found a cerulean Rathalos Soul U Armor Set and a long, narrow blade as black as pitch.
By the light of the kerosene lamp hanging inside, he examined them carefully.
Neither the armor nor the weapon was in good condition. It was clear that neither had received proper smithy maintenance in a long time.
"Watch him." After giving Altaïr the instruction, Lania began meticulously searching the luggage and parcels inside the tent.
Altaïr pressed the man down into a sitting position, then crouched beside him and looked him over.
His hair had grown much longer. Months without washing or grooming had left it greasy and tangled, while the stubble covering his gaunt face made him look more than a decade older than he had in the photograph.
Even so, his features were still recognizable. This was definitely Mr. "Sid."
"Tell me, are you an idiot?" Altaïr glanced at the Rathalos Soul U Armor Set and Black Katana Mk.III lying nearby, his tone heavy with exasperated contempt.
"You've practically got one foot in High Rank already. Do you really have to defy the Guild's ban and throw your life away fighting the 'Demon King' right now?
"Couldn't you wait a few years and hone your skills? Once you officially advance to High Rank, you could gather several powerful High Rank Hunters and work together to kill the 'Demon King' with a sound plan and a carefully coordinated strike.
"Or do you think the comrades who gave you the chance to survive are so impatient that you need to hurry after them?
"If so, what was the point of their sacrifice?"
Altaïr's final words clearly struck a nerve. The Hunter named Sid flew into a frenzy as though possessed. Ignoring the coarse rope tearing into his skin, he struggled wildly and howled in fury.
"What do you know? What could you possibly understand? Do you have any idea what it's like to hear the vengeful dead wailing in your ears day and night?
"You just–"
Smack! Altaïr backhanded Sid hard across the face. He put real force into the blow. Half of Sid's face immediately began to swell, and his furious rant died in his throat.
"So you're blaming the dead for what's wrong with you?" Altaïr gave a derisive snort. "If I didn't owe that Argosy Captain a small favor, I wouldn't even bother with a fool like you."
The words fell over Sid's rage like a shovelful of sand over a flame, smothering it instantly.
His head drooped, and his long, disheveled hair hid his face.
"I found no further evidence of illegal hunting."
Having finished her search, Lania came over and displayed her Guild Knight badge. "You're returning to the Guild with me. Even if they impose the harshest possible sentence for your current offenses, you'll only spend a few months behind bars."
"He actually played by the rules?" Altaïr asked, somewhat surprised.
Judging by Sid's appearance, he had not been living well. In truth, a Hunter at the very peak of 5★ could have lived quite comfortably by hunting a Large Monster and selling it on the black market.
Yet he had devoted himself solely to pursuing the "Demon King."
Sid did not answer her. He kept his head lowered and muttered dazedly to himself without pause. "What do any of you know... What do you know about that kind of pain...?"
His refusal either to cooperate or resist began to irritate Lania.
She grabbed Sid by the hair and forced his head up. "Do you think you're the only person in this world seeking revenge?"
She shifted aside and pointed at Altaïr. "When he was eight years old, a Grimclaw Tigrex attacked his tribe. He was the sole survivor of the entire tribe.
"The Guild gives that Monster a Danger Rating of 8★. It's even stronger than the 'Demon King.'
"And what did he do? He studied hard and trained like a madman. He became an official Hunter at sixteen, and now, not yet twenty-two, he's already reached 6★.
"He plans to reach 7★ within a few years and attain the minimum standing required to challenge a Grimclaw Tigrex. After that, he'll carefully devise a strategy and organize a methodical hunt..."
"..."
Sid stared at Altaïr in shock, while Altaïr looked at Lania with equal astonishment.
"Wait, how do you know all that?"
His childhood was one thing. That was recorded in the Guild archives. But how did she know about his plan to reach 7★ within a few years and hunt the Grimclaw Tigrex?
"I got it out of Isis and your cat," Lania replied casually.
"..."
"..."