The town of Ismar was situated quite close to the Harihari Desert.
To protect against the sandworms that inhabited the desert, the town was enclosed by a stone wall approximately five meters high. Naturally, the town itself did not sit atop the desert sands, and the wall was effective precisely because there was no danger of attacks from beneath the soil in that area.
As it happened, this was a town Reiko had visited once before while searching for Jin after he had gone missing due to a Warp Gate malfunction.
"I see, so this is the Harihari Desert."
A side-tunnel had been carved into a black rock mass protruding about thirty meters above the sand, and a Warp Gate was cleverly concealed within. Emerging from the tunnel, Laozi and Anne looked around at their surroundings with curiosity.
A reddish-brown sandy plain stretched as far as the eye could see. Aside from rocks jutting out here and there, the landscape was desolate, with not a single plant in sight. The air was incredibly dry, though Laozi lacked the sensory input to perceive it to its full extent.
"If I recall correctly, this was the third location Elder Sister arrived at when she was traveling about in search of Father," Anne said quietly after confirming that the installed Warp Gate showed no signs of degradation.
"Indeed... Regarding these Warp Gates, it might be wise to assign guardians to them."
While they were hidden with great care and protected by security measures that limited their use to Jin and his subordinates—and were further monitored from the Shinkai relay station—Laozi felt it might be necessary to guard the primary gates themselves.
"Perhaps the Mini-Smiths would be suitable for the role?"
Laozi reasoned that small golems, which were difficult to detect, would be ideal. They could simply destroy the gate if there were any risk of it being seized. He decided he would propose the idea to Jin in the near future.
Leaving the matter of the Warp Gate guardians to Laojun and Jin, Laozi turned his focus to his own mission.
Due to his immense processing power, Laojun was capable of dividing his functions to perform multiple parallel processes. Laozi was one of those partitioned functions. Laozi was Laojun, but Laojun was not Laozi.
Laozi was merely a small fraction of Laojun’s whole, and Laojun could view or intervene in Laozi’s actions, knowledge, and experiences at any moment. In a manner of speaking, Laozi was a separate persona of Laojun, temporarily partitioned off.
"Now then, a Quinta should be here to meet us."
"Laozi, over there."
In the direction Anne pointed, one of the Quinta units, Regulus 42, was waving his hand. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and a medium build—an entirely unremarkable appearance.
"Welcome, Laozi."
"Thank you for meeting us. What name are you using here?"
"Yes. Please call me 'Glar'."
"Understood, Glar. What is the current situation?"
While Laozi received periodic reports, he had not yet been updated on the information from the last twenty-four hours and desired the latest details.
"Understood. I will explain as we walk."
The three of them—Laozi, Anne, and Regulus 42, known as Glar—set off toward the town of Ismar.
It was about a thirty-minute walk to the town. It was currently midday, and the gates in the stone wall were wide open, with people bustling in and out.
"Things don't seem particularly suspicious at first glance."
"No. However, I have managed to find a few clues regarding the foreign tribes."
"That was in the report from two days ago. Tell me more."
Laozi decided to hear the details before they entered the town proper. Moving a short distance away from the stone wall and ensuring no one was nearby, Glar began his explanation.
"Unofficial interactions... or rather, 'trade' with the foreign tribes has apparently been conducted for quite some time."
"I see."
It was a plausible story. Many merchants believed that relations between nations were separate from relations between individuals, and trade often occurred when two such people met.
"Furthermore, the foreign tribes appear to be more advanced than we expected."
"Oh?"
"They seem to be producing something we haven't even seen on Hourai Island."
"What was that?"
"It's called 'katsuobushi'."
This was information that was sure to pique Jin's interest. If this 'katsuobushi' was indeed the dried bonito Jin knew, it was more than enough reason for Laozi to decide on making contact with the foreign tribes.
After entering the stone walls and moving into Ismar, Laozi and his companions took rooms at an inn.
The price was four hundred Toll per person per night, meals excluded. It was a standard establishment for the town, named the 'Desert Bird Inn'. One might wonder if there were even birds in the desert, but in this region, people jokingly referred to the Scorpia—a small, scorpion-like magical beast—as a "small bird." The name came from the high-pitched, chirping sounds the creatures made when they felt threatened.
"Now then, how should we proceed?"
Back in the inn room, Laozi addressed Anne and Glar to organize their next steps.
"First, we must make contact with the foreign tribes."
Whether their goal was to obtain the dried bonito or to verify the rumors of an invasion, they could do nothing without direct contact.
"That likely won't be easy," Glar interjected. "The foreign tribes are said to be extremely cautious. We will likely need to start by getting to know the merchants who trade with them."
"Do you have any candidates in mind?"
"Yes. There are two merchants I have my eye on. One is 'Oliver.' He's young, but a very successful businessman. The other is 'Rudman,' a wealthy middle-aged merchant."
It was clear that Regulus 42, as Glar, had conducted a thorough investigation.
"However, both are very wary, and I judged it dangerous to approach them carelessly."
"Dangerous in what sense?"
"Both have connections to the town's Security Guard and employ many private guards. I decided it would be unwise to cause a scene with them."
"I understand."
"And there is one more thing. There are several individuals—three, as far as I can confirm—who appear to be undercover spies from the Shouro Empire."
"I see. They are likely investigating the foreign tribes as well. Have they uncovered anything?"
Laozi reasoned that if the Shouro Empire's spies had already secured useful information, there would be no need for him to overextend his own efforts.
"No, it seems they haven't learned anything yet either. The foreign tribes are being very careful."
Laozi—or rather, Laojun—fell into thought. Since the foreign tribes were engaging in trade that was likely on the edge of illegality, they wouldn't leave a trail easily. If that was the case, what was the best move?
"Should we move to intercept a transaction in secret...?"
He considered the idea, but that would likely make the target wary of Laozi. Since his goal was not an arrest, he discarded that option.
"I suppose our best path is to steadily build a relationship with the local merchants."
"Yes, I believe you would be capable of that, Laozi."
The strategy of producing something a merchant might covet and using it as a catalyst for friendship seemed sound. He could think of several other possibilities as well, and decided he would choose the best one once he was on the scene.
"Let's take it one step at a time, then."
He decided to first check out the shop owned by the younger merchant, Oliver.
Laozi took Anne with him and made a circuit of Ismar to memorize its layout. He then asked Anne to gather rumors around town while he headed alone to Oliver’s shop.
Oliver’s shop was located on the outskirts of Ismar. Even so, the area was bustling. It appeared to be a developing district, and many of the shops were clearly on the rise. A large sign hung outside, making it easy to identify.
Laozi stepped inside to take a look. It was what one would call a general store, stocked with a wide variety of miscellaneous goods.
(Ho, there are some interesting items here.)
He spotted shirts of a design not seen in the central territories, featuring cuffs and collars that could be tied shut with drawstrings. Laozi surmised they were designed to keep out the sand. Similarly, almost all the outerwear came with hoods, and the footwear consisted mostly of tall boots rather than low shoes.
(All adaptations to the environment of the Harihari Desert, no doubt.)
Laozi continued his walk through the shop.
(This section is food... Oh! This is the katsuobushi!)
Laozi finally found what he was looking for.
(If I recall... this was called 'karebushi', was it not?)
When he picked it up, it was rock-hard. It was a block of dried bonito, a product famous for being the hardest food in the world.
(If we only knew how it was made, I'm sure we could produce it on Hourai Island.)
Two blocks were on display. Laozi took one in each hand and tapped them together. A clear, high-pitched clink rang out, a testament to their incredible hardness.
And then, a voice called out from the back of the shop.
"Excuse me, customer. Those aren't meant for drumming."