Alina pushed the cart with great effort as she arrived at the checkpoint.
"Halt! Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
Seeing someone approaching, a man immediately walked over, brandishing a weapon.
Alina put on a look of surprise.
"Good afternoon, officers... I'm a mountain dweller living nearby. Isn't there a gathering over at Mickey Village today? I made some handicrafts at home and was planning to take them there to sell so I could buy some grain to bring back."
"After all, winter is coming. Once the heavy snow falls in a while, I don't know if I'll have another chance to come to the market."
"You officers are still busy even though winter is almost here; it must be hard work!"
As Alina spoke, she allowed the other party to rummage through the items on her cart.
"Pah, a pauper!"
Just as Alina had said, there were no valuable goods on the cart; most were just little trinkets that mountain dwellers would occasionally weave.
Seeing that there was nothing valuable on top, Alina tactfully fished out a few Para (Ursus currency) and handed them over; they decisively chose to let her through.
"Damn it, there's no profit to be made on this route at all. Which idiot insisted on setting up a checkpoint here?"
"Sigh, just bear with it. I heard it was a decision from above. Apparently, the lords up there raised taxes again, so the higher-ups had no choice but to arrange for us to do this on these country paths."
"They also know there's not much profit here, which is why they didn't give us a quota to meet."
"Anyway, we can withdraw once the north wind starts blowing."
Alina overheard the conversation between the two soldiers and couldn't help but start calculating in her mind.
Upon learning that it wasn't targeted at the Infected, her mood improved considerably.
Seeing Alina successfully pass through the checkpoint, Flandre also breathed a sigh of relief.
There weren't many of them; killing them wouldn't have been much trouble.
But for now, she didn't want to affect her image in Alina's eyes.
"Sister Alina, those guys didn't make things difficult for you, did they?"
After turning a corner, Flandre appeared in front of Alina.
Alina shook her head.
"No, these things are just ordinary trinkets that those soldiers have no use for, so they didn't intend to make things hard for me."
Flandre followed up with another question.
"Then, are they here to target the Infected?"
"No, the local nobles raised taxes again. Those people were assigned to these roads to collect taxes."
Alina's tone was very lighthearted.
The fact that these people weren't here to look for trouble with the Infected was good news to her.
After passing the checkpoint, the two quickened their pace and soon arrived at their destination for the day, Mickey Village.
"Wow, it's so lively!"
Compared to the Infected camp, the people here seemed more vibrant.
With the gathering taking place, there were many people coming and going in the village.
Alina took Flandre to find an open space to set out the items they had brought, and then she stood there and began to hawk her wares.
Flandre found this sort of thing very novel and stood behind her, imitating her actions.
Since they could only rely on these woven goods to make money, the Infected had put extra care into making them; the appearance and quality of these woven items were top-tier in the market.
Coupled with her warm and generous personality, the things Alina brought were soon sold out.
Holding the heavy coins, Alina took Flandre to the place in the village where grain was sold.
"The biggest difference between Mickey Village's market and others is that they don't charge extra stall fees here, so many poor families take advantage of the market to buy and sell what they need."
"That's why this is the liveliest market in the area."
"Also, the grain reserves here are very sufficient, and the prices are the lowest in the region."
"We should be able to bring back quite a lot today."
Alina whispered to Flandre.
Soon it was their turn.
Alina took out all the coins and handed them over.
After counting them, the man said,
"This money can buy three hundred catties of grain in total."
"That's not right; I remember this much money should be able to buy at least three hundred and fifty catties!" Alina asked with wide, puzzled eyes.
"Winter is coming, so grain prices naturally go up. Are you buying or not? If not, next person."
Alina bit her lip; if prices had risen even here, they would likely be even more expensive in other villages.
But with fifty catties less than expected, many people would have to tighten their belts for a while.
"I'll buy it. Three hundred catties it is!" she said firmly, holding back the tears in her eyes.
The grain was soon loaded onto her cart.
Noticing Alina's low spirits, Flandre pulled out the candy Alina had given her earlier.
"Don't be sad, Alina. How about I go back and kill him?"
Alina grabbed Flandre's hand and shook her head vigorously.
"No, it's not his fault."
"Sister Alina really is a gentle person!" Flandre tilted her head.
"Let's go!" She looked back at the granary, then pulled Flandre and pushed the small cart away without looking back.
On the way back, Alina suppressed her sadness and told Flandre stories until they returned to the checkpoint.
Since she was the only one traveling back and forth today, the people at the checkpoint only did a simple check, and after confirming it was all grain, they let her through directly.
Flandre, who had bypassed it from the side, looked behind her.
Three identical versions of herself were off to the side, each carrying a large sack that looked to weigh at least two or three hundred catties.
Earlier, when they were leaving, she had seen Alina's expression and couldn't help but go to that warehouse to swipe some.
Once they met up again on this side, Flandre took the initiative to admit it.
"That bad guy made you cry, Sister. I already gave him face by not killing him."
"I swiped these with my own skills, so just take them, Sister!"
Alina looked at the three bulging sacks, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.
"But stealing is bad behavior!" Alina said gently.
"Then I promise there won't be a next time!"
Flandre answered decisively.
"Alright, since you've already brought them out, it's impossible to send them back. But there must not be a next time!"
Alina reached out and flicked Flandre's forehead.
"Ouch, okay, there won't be a next time."
Flandre clutched her forehead with a pitiful look, making Alina laugh again.
They had originally expected to bring back three hundred and fifty to four hundred catties of grain, but now they were bringing back nearly one thousand two hundred catties.
Suddenly, their stores were much more abundant.
As for the granary...
In such a large granary, the loss of a few hundred catties of grain wouldn't be discovered for a while.
Plus, with the nobles occasionally sending people to take some, it would likely be written off as "shrinkage" and wouldn't attract anyone's attention.
Naturally, the small cart couldn't move over a thousand catties of grain.
Besides the two sacks placed on the cart, Flandre also carried one sack in a back basket and carried another by hand, following behind Alina.
When the two returned to the base, the sight of so much grain drew bursts of exclamations.
Yelena, who had stayed behind, came over to ask about the situation.
Because she knew very well that the things Alina took could have bought a third of this at most.
After hearing Alina's explanation, she also looked at Flandre with a mix of amusement and exasperation.
"However, the matter of those checkpoints you mentioned is indeed worth paying attention to."
"I will instruct everyone to try and avoid going out lately."
"To avoid running into patrolling Ursus soldiers."
The news about the checkpoints that Alina recounted drew even more concern from Frostnova.
With Talulah absent, she could only issue a notice in Patriot's name, telling the Infected at the base not to appear on the roads easily.
"Lest they be discovered by those soldiers."
Then she also relayed this news to Talulah.
Talulah agreed with her course of action upon receiving the news.
Ursus was about to enter winter; no matter how restless they were, moving through the wind and snow was much safer than a direct confrontation with the Ursus army.
In the evening, just as Flandre was preparing to rest, she suddenly heard a commotion not far away.
She walked out and found everyone watching in silence as an elderly woman walked out. She was dressed very thinly, nodding and smiling to those around her as she walked.
The others also responded in silence, making a path, and the old woman just walked into the wind, snow, and darkness.
Two sturdy men followed her, each holding a shovel.
Flandre had some guesses about this. She turned to look at Alina and found that Alina also had a face full of sadness.
"Grandma Asari's illness has reached its final stage."
"She didn't want to die indoors, saying that cleaning up the dust would be too much trouble and might affect the people moving in later."
"So she prepared her own burial plot long ago."
"She didn't even want to wear an extra layer of clothing, saying she wanted to leave everything in the house for everyone."
oripathy?
There was a very detailed explanation of this thing in her other memory.
And according to that explanation, oripathy wasn't some extremely dangerous thing; on the contrary, it was a positive enhancement.
It was just that the people of Terra were too weak and couldn't manage to rely on Originium to strengthen themselves, which is why it became like this.
What should have been Originium with positive effects was turned into a terminal illness by the little animals of Terra.
But seeing how sad everyone was, she didn't feel it was right to comment on it.
On the next day, Flandre found Yelena.
"I have news about an organization that treats oripathy. I wonder if you're interested?"
"There are many organizations in Terra that claim to treat oripathy, and we've come into contact with quite a few."
"For example, some of the agents we use now were provided by those organizations."
Yelena spoke patiently with Flandre.
At that moment, Flandre saw that massive figure passing by.
"Mr. Buldrokkas'tee, I have some information I hope you can judge."
Both Yelena and Buldrokkas'tee looked at Flandre in surprise.
Because it was out in the open that Buldrokkas'tee didn't like Flandre.
So Flandre usually wouldn't take the initiative to seek him out, let alone ask about his business.
Today, she actually, for the first time, hoped to get help from Buldrokkas'tee.
Buldrokkas'tee also froze for a second before speaking.
"Speak. What is it?"
Flandre organized her words before saying,
"Remember what I told you before about the Sarkaz civil war?"
Buldrokkas'tee nodded. Although he didn't care much about the Sarkaz civil war, he was still a Sarkaz after all, so he would still pay attention to such news.
"After the Princess was defeated, her remnants didn't completely scatter. Instead, they reorganized under a doctor named Kaltsit and formed a medical organization called Rhodes Island."
"This organization travels all over Terra in the name of treating oripathy, and they do indeed have some skill."
"While they can't say they've cured oripathy, the drugs they've developed are indeed very effective at delaying its onset and providing emergency treatment for patients experiencing flare-ups."
"My idea is that the Reunion Movement could send someone to contact them. The Reunion Movement is an organization of the Infected, and they promote helping everyone control oripathy; there's no conflict between the two."
"As for whether their identity is sensitive, I think it's a bit too arrogant to talk about such things in the face of death."
"The Reunion Movement is in Ursus, and their reach doesn't extend here. Whether you use them or reach a cooperation, the final say is yours."
"And as the side that lost the Sarkaz war, I think if the last Wendigo is willing to extend a hand of friendship, they likely won't refuse a request for cooperation."
Flandre expressed her views from the perspective of the Reunion Movement.
After she finished speaking, both Buldrokkas'tee and Frostnova fell into deep thought.
Buldrokkas'tee was recalling the people and events of the Sarkaz, while Frostnova was indeed somewhat moved.
Just as Flandre said, regardless of the other party's background, Ursus was an extremely xenophobic place.
Their reach couldn't get in, so as long as they were still within Ursus territory, the initiative would be in the hands of the Reunion Movement.
In that case, they could indeed try to "cooperate" with them; after all, the Reunion Movement had nothing, so it would be hard for the other party to get anything from them.
And on their side, even if they only obtained some agents from the other party, it could greatly ease the pressure on the team.
"Should we wait for Talulah to come back and ask?"
Although Frostnova was tempted by the proposal, the one who could make the decisions for the Reunion Movement wasn't her, nor her father, but Talulah.
Buldrokkas'tee nodded slightly, which could be taken as agreement with Frostnova's suggestion.
"Write... the details down. When Talulah... returns, give them to her."
Buldrokkas'tee spoke one word at a time.
"Alright!" Seeing that he hadn't rejected her proposal, Flandre left the area with a smile.
"Old Stubborn One, do you think it's possible Flandre is one of Theresa's people?"
After Flandre left, Frostnova looked at Buldrokkas'tee and asked.
Buldrokkas'tee shook his head.
"No."
"Why are you so certain?" Frostnova looked at him, puzzled.
"Her words... show no respect... for that Highness."
"That's it?" Frostnova didn't know much about the Sarkaz, and she didn't understand why the Old Stubborn One would be so certain based on just this one point.
"You don't understand... the Sarkaz. I do!"
Buldrokkas'tee looked towards where Flandre had left, not quite understanding. Was she really a Sarkaz?