Upon seeing that moving mound of snow, Shen Wan immediately recognized the scene: ah, the Masked Fool—the dark-blue-haired handsome guy.
Signaling quietly with her eyes for the trio to make no sound, she walked slowly over to the snowdrift, swept it with her spiritual energy, and kicked hard at a specific spot.
With a yelp, a dark-blue-haired figure leaped out of the snow, clutching his backside with both hands, tears nearly streaming from his eyes.
After rubbing his backside for a while, Sampo finally recovered. He turned around, and upon seeing the trio, still forced a smile onto his face, but when he laid eyes on the fourth person, his brain completely short-circuited.
*Who am I? Where am I? What is this place? How did the Astral Express crew run into him? Running into them is one thing, why are they hanging out together?* Sampo's thoughts were complicated at the moment, but on the surface, it was only a momentary shock before he put his fake smile right back on the next second.
"Ouch, come on, my friend, isn't that a bit much? Hiding in the snow isn't a crime, is it? No need to kick me straight in the backside! And by the way, that kick really packs a wallop—it's got old Sampo's backside still aching faintly. May I ask what business my big brothers and sisters have with me? Old Sampo will definitely lend a hand to the utmost." Sampo began his sleight of tongue.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Sampo Koski, a well-known and respected merchant in the city. Surely you military folks have heard of my reputation at least a little bit?" Seeing that the others didn't take the bait, Sampo went on talking to himself.
"May I ask if Captain Gepard has arrived? I'm quite close with him." Sampo began pretending not to recognize the first few people, treating them as Silvermane Guards.
"Who? We have no idea what you're talking about." Marching out her baseball bat, Stelle tapped it against a stone nearby. Dan Heng silently drew Cloud-Piercer, and March 7th nocked an arrow to her bow. Only Shen Wan, standing off to the side to watch the show, stood quietly doing nothing at all, playing the expert.
"Bah, you're not Silvermane Guards? Well, there's no need to resort to violence either! We can talk things out. If you'd said you weren't Silvermane Guards earlier, I wouldn't have struck up a conversation like that." Sampo had originally put on a very frightened look, but the moment he saw Shen Wan just standing by watching the fun, his words grew a lot bolder.
"Have some mercy, my friends! We're all one family hunting for treasures in this frozen wasteland—what's the point of fighting? Isn't that completely redundant?"
"Who's family with you? I'm March 7th." March 7th replied.
"I am the Galactic Baseballer." Stelle remained deeply attached to this title.
"She is Stelle, I am Dan Heng, and this is Shen Wan." Dan Heng took over the conversation.
"All right, all right, I've got it. To be honest, I really didn't expect to run into peers in this freezing wasteland. Lately, the Silvermane Guards have ramped up their outer patrols a lot, making business harder and harder to run. But don't you worry, I, Sampo, never hog the spoils. There's plenty of treasure out there—when there's money to be made, we all make it together, hahaha!"
"How about we team up? I have reliable information that the main force of the Silvermane Guards has been mostly redeployed to the front lines. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..."
Before Sampo could finish, Stelle interrupted him: "What are the Silvermane Guards?"
"……Hey, that's a bit much. Not trusting old Sampo I can accept, but there's no need to play dumb to this extent," Sampo said.
"Fine, I know the rules. Everyone's in this line of work, so having a bit of guard up is understandable! Blame it on my natural warmth and sincerity as a Sampo..."
"Meeting each other is always a matter of fate. If you folks have anything you want to know, just ask me—I'll tell you everything I know without holding anything back! Though I do have to remind you: the Silvermane Guards could show up at any moment."
"Where is the settlement?" Stelle asked next.
"No need to sound so scholarly, isn't it just asking where living people are? If you walk anywhere else, you're definitely out of luck. The only place left in the entire world with living people is our city of the Preservation, Belobog." Sampo replied. Although slightly annoyed, he still told the truth.
"So why were you hiding in the snow?" Shen Wan spoke up.
"Ugh, wasn't I hiding from Belobog's official personnel—the Silvermane Guards? Those guys are a bunch of inflexible blockheads. In our line of work, we fear nothing except a Guard buddy patting you on the shoulder, grabbing your hand, and saying 'gently' that you're under arrest."
"I was scared by you lot! I was originally thinking of looking around here for some ancient relics to make a quick buck on the way back... and I was right in the middle of it when you guys made such a huge commotion. I thought the Guard buddies had arrived." The more Sampo spoke, the more aggrieved he sounded, as if he'd genuinely been bullied, and he hypocritically continued:
"I'm begging you, go a little easier next time, really. The Guards won't hide in the snow when they run into you, but you guys? You'll definitely end up in a cell..."
"Hmm?" A soft hum escaped her nose as Shen Wan narrowed her eyes at Sampo, wanting to verify something.
"Ah, well, it shouldn't come to that. After all, big brothers and sisters like you are so handsome, you definitely wouldn't launch an attack on the Silvermane Guards, right?" Sampo chuckled ingratiatingly, casting a very subtle glance at Shen Wan.
"Hah," Shen Wan let out a meaningless chuckle.
"So, what now? Shall we all head back together? It's getting late anyway, and I need to rush back to grab a bite," Sampo said.
"How come our group keeps getting bigger?" March 7th muttered.
"Acceptable." Dan Heng was concise.
The group set off once again on the road toward Belobog.
"Let me tell you guys, my friends: walk slowly, don't make too much noise. If we get spotted by the Guard buddies, we'll be in trouble. I don't care much myself—I get along well with Gepard, the current boss of the Guards, but it's hard to say for you lot. Still, don't worry, even if you really do get locked up, old Sampo will come to the rescue and guarantee you won't spend too long in there."
"Come to think of it, I still don't know where you friends come from? I'm not prying, just caring about my friends, it doesn't matter if you don't say..."
"You talk a bit too much." The gang boss, Stelle, spoke up in response.
"Uh, er, alright, let's pick up the pace a bit now. We're almost at Belobog." Choked into silence, Sampo had no choice but to honestly pick up the pace.
But how could a prankster give up his snark over such a small setback?
Sampo didn't stay quiet for long before he started popularizing the "Belobog Outskirts Treasure-Hunting Rules" he had summarized himself.
"......Rule number seven is: leave no footprints behind. I have a unique secret skill called 'walking on snow without leaving a trace,' specifically used for shaking off pursuers..."
"Rustle..." Before his voice trailed off, a fully armed squad of soldiers marched toward them head-on.
"Remember the Silvermane Guards I was just talking about? That's them." Sampo broke character in a second, his legs starting to shake and his voice developing a tremor.
"Do me a favor, guys, I don't want to get arrested!!!" Sampo surrendered to his cowardice.