Chapter 414 The City of the Center, Parlamer

Chapter 414 The City of the Center, Parlamer

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"My goals?..."

Hina was caught unprepared, not expecting this kind of "deep" question.

She remained silent for the following moments, thinking of a response. But as time went on, her expression changed a few times, eventually resting on helplessness as she said:

"Do I need one?" She asked, uncertainty in her tone

"When you see something interesting in the distance while playing an RPG, you go there out of curiosity or merely to see if you can get there, not because of any deeper goals or intent."

"The Capital was interesting, but it's not the fantasy I wanted to see. It's too saturated with boring plots I've seen everywhere and the usual competitiveness between people."

"I'm tired of seeing that... Of dealing with that. And I didn't want to just leave this game. Everything's been quite fun."

She turned to look at the passing forest, smiling lightly.

"Things seemed cooler here, so I came here. And so far, I've been having fun, that's all that matters."

"..."

Although her words implied she had none, Dale saw, from her expression, that she hid her true intentions.

He didn't break into a smile, but a hint of amusement played on his lips... And a touch of regret for probing her for such a personal answer.

'Maybe I went too far.' He thought as he closed his eyes

Knowing it would be for the best if he stopped things here, he chuckled, saying:

"I see, I didn't know I was so interesting. I'll work hard to make things engaging for you."

"What?" She asked with a baffled expression, her eyes widening slightly as she grew embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed, and she looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment

"Well, you said you came to Resko because you found it interesting, and you said you came to me because you saw me in the distance, so putting those two together, I imagine you came to me expecting something fun, no?"

"A-Ah! Those are two completely different things!" She exclaimed as she grew a little erratic

"Uhum..." He said dismissively as he saw her grow restless 'She's not used to being teased back... Right, she's a pampered child, she isn't used to hearing these kinds of things.'

"Hey! You... You're stretching things! Don't ignore me!"

She kept shaking Dale's shoulders as she spoke, but he ignored her completely, looking away, causing her even greater embarrassment.

"I want to go back! This isn't fun anymore!" She said with a 'humph' as she crossed her arms and looked away, trying to fake frustration

"... Do you even believe yourself?" Dale asked as he raised an eyebrow

"... Can we just... Move on... You win... Dunce." She said in a defeated tone as she dropped her head to look at the boat

/Smile.../

Dale smiled, resting his elbow on the canoe's sides as he listened to the sound of water passing by, the gentle lapping of the waves against the boat, and the soft rustling of leaves in the distance...

Fish swam underneath the canoe, and insects flew over it, some resting on its surface.

It was a peaceful sight, such a shame it was all... Virtual. Erile thought quietly as she placed her fingers on the water.

"Be carefull, else something may bite your fingers off." Dale said with concern as he looked at her, but in the end, he burst into a smile when she turned to him, terrified

"YOU!"

A 'terrific' fight began!

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For the next few hours, Dale and Erile talked about a series of things, with Erile logging off not long after as she couldn't stay on the canoe for that long, returning towards the end as they approached the city.

Sightings of Karkavan became frequent, with watchtowers and fishing boats dotting the river's shores, together with a small 'port' in the distance.

"Just like most would find a handsome, rich guy driving a top-of-the-line Lamborghini in a suit to be to their tastes, the women in here may find a Six meter tall, totally jacked Karkavan wearing the fur of a white tiger he hunted to be that equivalent."

"So his face, regardless of how ugly it may be, is irrelevant. Maybe the Karkavan don't even have a properly formed beauty identity for that part of their body, given that, from birth to adulthood, they rarely see the faces of anyone aside from close family or in rare instances where their mask fall."

"How about that? Do I look 'intelligent', now?" He asked with a chuckle as he crossed his arms

"... You sure like to talk." She teased again as she covered her smile

"You little..."

Dale had a frustrated expression as he saw her chuckling on the side.

Hina seemed to love these pointless conversations with no start nor finish as she instigated them repeatedly... She found them more interesting than lectures or "deeper" talk, which she was used to hearing.

Dale could do little aside from replying, but he could not do much besides waiting.

After they talked, their guide and the elderly Karkavan bid their farewells, returning to their ordinary lives as the warriors escorted Dale and Hina through the city.

And, as they moved, Hina kept asking questions... Keeping their previous conversation going:

"... Now that we're here, what's the name of this place?"

"This is the Central City of the Karkavan, Parlamer. Rulled by the Parlamerita Council. Although that's not a perfect translation, it would be something around Parlameran instead."

"A council? Do they have a democracy of some sort here?"

"No... They have a group of elders chosen based on merit and achievements. Usually strength-based achievements."

"They are then ruled by a Clan house chosen amidst several of the ruling, long-lasting houses."

"This small group of people makes the decisions, albeit they rarely have to do anything substantial as the Karkavan are pretty self-sufficient; still, if worse comes to worst, they can easily solve the problem themselves, and if not, the higher authority can stir them in the right direction."

"Isn't that an easy system for corruption to settle?"

"That's not something I can comment on, but I think that corruption, even if existent here, is likely not something prevalent, nor it'll ever be."

"These are a group of individuals that live within a highly hostile environment. They don't have the time to be overly selfish... Otherwise, they'll all die."

"Any "evil" and "stupid" Karkavan that thinks otherwise or doesn't care has long since been shoved aside from their ruling houses, and those that remain are capable; were they not, the Karkavan would've vanished long ago."

"Even if not, it just means they were stronger than their predecessors."

"Then, how do they keep themselves in line? I mean..."

"You're putting too much thought into it... And me..." Dale said with a sigh as he looked around

"Take a look around you; if you're an old ruler, and suddenly you offend a monster twice your size with ten times more muscle mass than you, I wonder if you would try to oppress them again..."

"Karkavan can be as little as three meters tall and as high as seven, although I think the average is slightly beneath 5."

"Being around 6 meters tall is about the same as being 6 feet back on earth, and being 7 meters tall is an exaggerated height even for them."

"Anything below that, and you're as tall as the elderly... Or a teenager."

"How can an old Karkavan around three meters tall that can barely even hold their walking stick try to intimidate a seven-meter-tall young Karkavan holding a four-meter-long battle axe? You can guess what would happen..." "How can an old Karkavan around three meters tall that can barely even hold their walking stick try to intimidate a seven-meter-tall young Karkavan holding a four-meter-long battle axe? You can guess what would happen..." "Yeah... This is a society of few words, I imagine..." Hina said slowly as a bead of sweat fell from her forehead

"Don't be so gloomy, they're gentle giants... Just don't upset them. They punch really hard." Dale replied as he touched his chin, memories of a past encounter flashing before his eyes

"... How do you know that?"

"We're almost there." "Hey! If you ignore me again, I'll cause a scene!"

Although there were some mishaps, the duo finally stood before a large circular house.

The Manor of the Elder, Kuddan!

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Notes