The village chief had intended to personally lead all the village's able-bodied young men in escorting Kallen and the others to the great city, but Kallen declined. He did, however, decide to take the little girl Nailu along. She would represent Tajima Village and collect intermediary service fees in every great city the team entered. Kallen also promised to bring Nailu back, money and all.
The money here did not mean paper notes or precious metals in the traditional sense, but mineral crystals from which Soul Power could be directly absorbed. They served as currency in the Inner Gate World.
Little Nailu walked at the very front of the group, carrying a basket on her back. Every so often, she would turn to look at the group behind her, then break into a silly grin.
This frequently recurring sight baffled Passio and the others. They kept wondering whether this local native had something wrong with her mentally.
Kallen, on the other hand, thought it was perfectly normal. For little Nailu, it was like a little girl in another world going out with twelve pandas following her in a neat line as she strolled down the street.
If it were you, you would also keep looking back and grinning like an idiot.
Their first destination was Black Forest City. After five consecutive days of travel, the gray moon above them was still whole. This meant the "extremely short" scenario would not occur, and quite a few people breathed inward sighs of relief.
At the very least, suitable or not, everyone could find souls of passable quality in Black Forest City to contract with, rather than leave empty-handed.
When they made camp for the "night," Bart and Demel took the first watch on the perimeter.
Before resting, the others first sat together