Chương 14: Sampo Koski

At Sunny's question, the captured man just smiled as if he didn't have a dagger next to his throat.

"…Whatever do you mean, my friend?"

Sunny pushed the suspicious man off, no longer wanting to threaten him. March and Dan Heng hurried over to his sides. The former seemed to have some major complaints with how the situation was handled.

"Are you nuts?! You can't just… go around holding people at knife point!"

Not keeping his eyes off the man, Sunny answered both of their questions.

"First of all, I'm not a nut. I would have thought that I resemble a human more. Secondly, your Memory dampens your presence by a single Rank, so it's obvious that you're a Master."

Dan Heng looked towards the supposed Master, scanning him from head to toe. Yet, the sleazy man didn't seem to be one. However, if Sunny was right, then the man was wearing a Memory that would make a Master seem like an Awakened.

The man casually brushed off the snow from his body. Looking towards the trio of Trailblazers, he sighed.

"My fine fellow, was that really necessary? Is crawling around in the snow a crime these days? I mean, c'mon, surely it doesn't warrant a dagger to the neck?"

Rubbing the back of his head, Sunny replied slowly after thinking for a second.

"Well, it was necessary. It's not a crime, but it's a pretty easy way to get yourself killed. And yes, it did warrant a dagger to the neck."

"…That was a rhetorical question."

"I know."

'Unfortunately, I have to answer every question directed towards me, rhetorical or not.'

Sunny bitterly cursed his flaw within his head.

Seemingly at a loss for words, the sleazy man coughed into his fist.

"...But then again how can I blame you? I mean, I caught you off guard. It had to happen — you could even say I deserved it, huh? Besides, I've made a gallant group of new friends as a result, hehe..."

The man started to cautiously look around the area, looking as if he was frightened of a certain something or someone being nearby.

"...Is Captain Gepard around? H—He's an old buddy of mine..."

Sunny, Dan Heng, and March 7th looked at each other, and saw that neither of the three knew who the man was referring to. March turned back towards the man.

"Who?"

The man sighed in relief, as if a major load was taken off his back.

"Wait, you're not Silvermane Guards? Well, why didn't you say so? Turns out we're on the same side after all!"

The man performed a dramatic bow, one that reminded Sunny of someone else…

"Pleasure to meet you, the name's Sampo Koski."

Seeing March and Dan Heng looking at him in expectation, Sunny was forced to introduce the three of them.

'Man, being a leader is tough.'

"My name is Sunless. The tall one is Dan Heng, and the loud one is March 7th."

Ignoring the indignant "Hey!" from March, Sunny was about to ask the man about the nearest point of civilization. However, once he had stated his name, Sampo started to send him a strange look. He seemed to be deep within his thoughts.

"…By any chance, people don't usually call you Sunny, right?"

Blinking, Sunny nodded at the question. This man only got more suspicious by the minute. First, he was hiding in a pile of snow. Second, he seemed to be evading law enforcement. And finally, he easily guessed Sunny's nickname.

He narrowed his eyes, tensing up slightly.

"How did you know?"

The man waved his hands in front of him in order to appease him.

"I mean, Sunless is a bit awkward to say consistently. It would only make sense that you would have a nickname, and Sunny was the only one I could think of."

Sampo quickly brushed aside the matter in a frantic manner, showing that he wasn't quite sharing everything he knew.

"Excellent, I'll remember the name. I never thought I'd run into friends from the same line of work out here in this frozen wasteland. Business is bad these days, but fear not, Sampo Koski isn't interested in hoarding. There's more than enough treasure to go around, so let's get rich together! Hahaha."

Sampo looked to his sides before leaning forward. He spoke in a lower tone than before.

"Say, why don't we join forces? I have reliable intel the main strength of the Silvermane Guards is being deployed to the front line. This is a golden opportunity..."

Sunny blinked as he made eye contact with his allies. They both shrugged, showing that none of them had any idea what Sampo was talking about.

"What business are you talking about?"

Sampo shook his head with a wry smile on his face.

"...Come now, friends. I can understand the mistrust, but there's no need for the charade. Then again, I know the rules, vigilance is the name of the game in our profession. It's my fault for letting my enthusiasm and sincerity get the better of me..."

"Anyway, a meeting like this has to have been written in the stars. Ask me anything you like — I won't skimp on the details. Still, make it snappy, you're never more than ten feet from a Silvermane Guard..."

'Yeah, this guys is definitely a wanted criminal.'

Sunny looked back towards Dan Heng.

"Any questions for this guy?"

Dan Heng sighed as he stepped forward, allowing Sunny to fall back next to March as he talked to Sampo. The girl looked at him with a curious expression.

"Why didn't you ask me if I had any questions?"

Sunny shook his head in exasperation.

"The fact that you even needed to ask that is the reason why."

"Huh?"

March didn't seem to understand what he meant. Not that he expected anything else.

Dan Heng inquired about the situation from Sampo.

"Is there a settlement nearby?"

Sampo chuckled.

"Settlement? What a literary turn of phrase. Why, there's only one place in this world where the living still reside — our beloved Belobog! The further away you get, the dicier things become. The City of Preservation, the Towering Citadel, humanity's last bastion against the Eternal Freeze... It may sound a bit over the top, but those names are grounded in truth. The only place humans can eke out an existence is behind those impregnable walls."

'…He knows.'

Based on the way that Sampo told them about this Belobog place, it sounded more like a grand introduction to foreign tourists than simple directions to lost locals.

Despite how isolated this planet should have been, this random Master seemed to know that the three of them were not from Jarilo-VI, and was attempting to play dumb. Of course, he was failing.

Dan Heng paused, most likely noticing this inconsistency.

"…Why were you hiding in the snow?"

Sampo pointed towards himself in an exaggerated motion.

"Me? You guys scared me to death... There I was looking for relics to sell, when all of a sudden you came stomping over. I thought the Silvermane Guards were paying me a visit. Seriously though, try treading a little lighter next time, hmm? If you run into the Guards, they won't hide in a snowdrift... and you'll be in a cell before you know it."

Sunny sighed. They were barely getting anywhere at this rate. It seemed that he needed to make things more clear to Sampo.

"I have no idea who these Silvermane Guards even are..."

Sampo put on a surprised expression.

"You...You really don't know? The Silvermane Guards are Belobog's soldiers, enforcers, and police. Let's just say they're not the most flexible of people... and they like paying visits to folks in our line of work."

'Man, this guy really is a bad actor. Nobody acts that dramatically!'

"Seems like you guys really are new to the business. To be young and naive again... How about this. As a senior in the field, which I'm sure you don't mind me saying, I'll give you some free guidance. There are ways of doing things in this profession, and you better get familiar with them. Moving in the shadows, finding the goods, pricing your stock, hiding from the Guards... there's an art to all of it."

March seemed to be getting tired of Sampo's charade, despite the fact that she probably hasn't even noticed that it was a charade yet.

"No need, why don't you just take us to the city? We don't really know the way."

"The city? Already? I haven't even started trading yet. Showing you the way is easy enough, missy, but it would cost—"

Sunny twirled the Moonlight Shard between his fingers, making sure to never lose eye contact with Sampo.

"...B—But it would be my pleasure! "Kindness" is Sampo Koski's middle name. Follow me, friends, and keep quiet. We don't want to be spotted by the Guards."

As Sampo lead the way, March asked him a question:

"So why were you hiding from the Silvermane Guards?"

He replied in a very unconvincing manner.

"Uhh, I was just storing a few relics away from prying eyes, nothing serious. If it weren't for the uncompromising nature of our civil service, there'd be no need for secrecy."

'Are you an idiot? You're don't say that it wasn't anything serious unless you are specifically asked if it was serious or not!'

Sampo threw back another question in a horrible attempt to redirect the conversation.

"So whereabouts are you guys from, anyway? I don't mean to pry or anything, I just care about my friends! No pressure..."