In a village beside the industrial district, a sun-darkened young man returned to his family's tent and sat down on a stool in a fury.
His anger was directed not only at the Velanders, but also at the Alliance people who had stopped them from taking revenge, and even, in part, at his own inadequacy.
He was the bravest young man in the village. He should have led the villagers in arguing their case, yet even now, his shoulders would not stop trembling.
He despised his own cowardice, though he did not know how to stop being cowardly.
Looking at his grandson, the wrinkled old man sighed and spoke slowly.
"Bosaka, you were too impulsive."
Bosaka turned and glared at him, pouring out all the anger and resentment in his chest.
"I don't understand what they're trying to do. Aren't the Velanders their enemies? We can deal with their enemies for them, and we aren't asking for much!"
The old man shook his head.
"In the desert, enemies and friends are clearly separated. But beyond the desert, there are more concepts than just enemies and friends. Your way worked in the Great Desert, but it won't work outside it... There was a man named Lacy in Boro Province. Someone wrote his autobiography for him. I bought it from a merchant from Evernight Port and put it on your bedside table, but you never even opened it. If you ask me, you should learn from him and see what he did in the same circumstances."
Bosaka's eyes were full of confusion.
Lacy?
The world beyond the Great Desert?
What did that have to do with his confusion?
He had seen the book on his bedside table, but he barely knew any words, and learning was far too troublesome.
Seeing that the