A tall banner fluttered in the gritty, sand-laced wind.

The flag planted at the peak of the watchtower billowed ferociously, like the beast emblazoned on its crest.

The sight of circular earthen walls surrounding a stone building… it was a scene that looked a century or two older than the five advanced cities.

This was because there had been no need for it to be otherwise.

For barbarians whose main economic activity was plunder, they considered their current fortress-like structure to be the most efficient, rather than a developed city.

And this was precisely the impression outsiders had of the mounted bandits.

Barbarians who disregarded civilization.

Possessors of habits closer to beasts than to men.

It was for this reason that Colin had exuded a rather reluctant air during their journey.

“What’s your plan now?”

Colin asked, squinting against the intense sunlight.

He wasn’t opposing it, but his gaze was filled with doubt as to whether this plan could possibly succeed.

‘His prejudice against the mounted bandits is quite strong.’

The law of the jungle, survival of the fittest.

This was the motto the mounted bandits flew as their banner.

In truth, it was less a prejudice and more a rational perception built from experience.

In that respect, it was I, who had first encountered the mounted bandits through a game, who held the stronger prejudice.

But I was confident.

“I’m going to go and have a talk with them.”

“Who doesn’t know that?”

When I skirted the issue with an obvious answer, Colin glared at me.

The force of his presence, enough to bury a man alive, made Sage, who was standing beside him, flinch.

“Of course, that would normally be the right way, but, um, I think they’re more likely to shoot arrows before you even get a chance to speak.”

Not as good as a chainsaw, but arrows are also an excellent means of conversation.

“You have some kind of secret weapon, don’t you? A secret or a weakness that will make the mounted bandits bow their heads.”

Sage interjected, cautiously reading the mood.

Unlike Colin, she radiated a sense of infinite trust in me.

“Like I said, I’m planning to try and have a normal conversation.”

“Is that really all?”

“Instead, I’ll have to try initiating the conversation according to their social order.”

“?”

Sage blinked her large eyes.

Her expression was full of curiosity.

To broaden her perspective, I offered her a small hint.

“There’s a saying, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do.’”

“……?”

This world didn’t have a Rome, but the nuance must have gotten across.

The reason the self-proclaimed civilized people of the five cities had failed to converse with them until now was none other than their failure to respect the other party’s culture.

‘If you want to talk to a barbarian, you should at least make the effort to become one.’

It wasn’t a particularly difficult task.

***

I left the party behind and moved on my own.

As I headed toward the mounted bandits’ settlement, I narrowed my eyes.

It wasn’t for nothing that Colin’s apprehension had flared up, causing him to repeatedly express his doubts.

It wasn’t just the glint of the sunlight pouring down without any cover, but the cold gleam of blades and spears reflecting it was focused on me.

Ppiiik!

Before long, a whistle blew from the settlement.

It was a signal announcing the presence of an intruder.

The sentries who spotted me immediately raised their bows and aimed at me.

There was no verbal warning.

Swiish!

Thwack-thwack-thwack!

Arrows landed in front of me.

They were out of range.

However, the very act of firing arrows without hesitation was a threat in itself.

「The World Tree frets, asking if this isn’t dangerous.」

It was a murderous greeting that flew at me before I could even part my lips.

The World Tree poked me in the side, asking if this was really the right way to do things.

I paid it no mind.

Wagle-wagle!

As I continued to walk straight ahead without stopping, it was now their turn to be flustered.

The sentries exchanged glances with bewildered expressions and chattered amongst themselves.

It was probably something along the lines of, ‘What the hell is that crazy bastard doing?’

It seemed that even they, who would rather start a war, had never expected to meet someone strolling toward them as if on a walk, all alone.

“……”

I stopped at the boundary line created by the arrows they had fired.

Normally, around this point, a person in charge would appear and start running their mouth.

The mounted bandits, naturally, were not bound by such common sense.

Colin’s concerns had not been wrong.

The inside of the settlement, blocked by the earthen wall, was in a state of disarray.

The tribe’s warriors were mounting their horses, preparing to charge at me.

“I didn’t think this would be easy.”

It didn’t matter.

In fact, I agreed with them that flapping one’s gums was inefficient.

There’s no rule that says conversations must only be held with words.

This was an enlightenment granted to me by the numerous experiences I’d had in this world.

Clack!

The moment I took action.

I felt a momentary commotion arise from both in front of me, where they were keeping me in check, and from behind me, where my party was worrying.

「The World Tree is aghast, asking what you are doing.」

The sights of the M2 Maximum locked onto the earthen wall.

The spot I was aiming for was a section that had thinned after being swept by the frequent desert storms.

The bullets currently in the magazine were special rounds that fragmented and exploded.

It would be more than enough for a greeting.

BANG!

I pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Almost simultaneously with the gunshot, an explosion erupted.

The sound waves vibrated through the atmosphere, and the shockwave, spreading in a concentric circle, kicked up a man-high wave of sand.

Krrrrrumble!

It was impossible for a mere earthen wall to block an impact comparable to a bombing.

The wall, shattered into pieces, collapsed, and warriors were sent flying like balls.

The acrid smoke and screams soaring into the sky.

It was a magnificent sight.

“Isn’t it just common courtesy to return what you’ve received?”

It was a conversational technique that worked even on barbarians.

「The World Tree cautiously asks if this is really okay.」

“You just don’t know yet.”

Before long, a warrior in thick armor, who appeared to be in charge, leaped over the collapsed palisade and ran out.

With the veins on his neck bulging, he shouted.

“Who are you!”

“See?”

「!」

At the appearance of the person in charge who had been hiding away, the World Tree’s leaves formed the shape of an exclamation mark.

“I asked who you are!”

“A guest.”

“What…?”

The defense captain’s face twisted bizarrely.

“I want to meet the chieftain. Wouldn’t this be enough to qualify as a challenger?”

He couldn’t maintain the same expression at my added words.

The commotion began to subside.

The mounted bandits, who had looked ready to swing their weapons at me at any moment, tempered their aggression.

The defense captain, after frowning for a moment, finally gave a slight nod.

“Follow me.”

「The World Tree has attained enlightenment.」

Having successfully imparted my lesson, I followed him with light steps.

***

Gold is the measure of power in a civilized society.

If so, by what standard is power measured in a barbaric society where hunting and plunder are the main economic activities?

It is the military might that allows for the stable success of hunting and plunder.

In civilized society, gold commands military power; the mounted bandits use military power to seize gold.

Therefore, unlike the powerful figures of civilized society, the chieftain of the mounted bandits did not have a stable position.

He had to endure frequent challenges and constantly prove his skills.

This was for the development of the tribe, so it was close to a ritualistic act that did not tolerate interference from others.

This was why the belligerent mounted bandits, despite glaring at me as I crossed the village, could not lift a single finger.

As long as I had declared myself a challenger, I was their guest.

“……Here.”

I ignored the displeased defense captain and entered the building.

The interior was more like a warrior’s training ground than a leader’s office for handling affairs.

A taxidermied animal glared at me from the front.

Looted weapons and armor were on display, and a warrior with a tattooed torso sat on a leather sofa, waiting for me.

“I am Batu, chieftain of the Ulfirin tribe. I heard you are a challenger. State your identity.”

I didn’t feel the kind of gravitas unique to people of high station.

Instead, even his smallest movements were fierce and intimidating.

“Allen, a contractor.”

“A contractor… I thought you might be an ascetic or something of the sort. This is unexpected.”

Ascetics were eccentrics who bet their lives on training their bodies.

Whether for religious reasons or as a matter of conviction, they brought hardship upon themselves, so they were a breed of people for whom it wouldn’t be strange to cause any kind of bizarre incident or accident.

“If you’re not an ascetic, how did you know of the challenger’s tradition?”

As they had easy access to secret knowledge unknown to ordinary people, it wasn’t strange that he had mistaken me for an ascetic.

“I know an orc in the city. His lips get loose when he drinks.”

There was a simpler excuse than talking about a previous game playthrough.

The Brotherhood’s branch manager, the orc Hartig.

His existence would add plausibility to the knowledge I possessed.

“To leak our traditions to an outsider… I can see why he was kicked out to the city.”

“My thoughts are similar.”

As the one I suspected of being the main culprit behind the Brotherhood’s civil war, he was a unique orc.

“Still, thanks to him, I got the chance to talk with the chieftain, so he’s a useful connection.”

“……A talk, you say. So, mentioning the challenger was just a pretext.”

“Just hear me out first.”

He was clearly disappointed, but he didn’t seem to be in a mood to kick me out immediately, so I got to the main point.

“You’re aware that there have been frequent raids recently in the territory your tribe manages, right?”

“I’ve been receiving reports. Seeing as not a single messenger has made it out, they seem to be quite resourceful.”

Batu’s expression soured.

The damage must be severe enough that he couldn’t just bluff and say it was fine.

The fact that I had played a part in some of those incidents was a story that didn’t need to be brought up.

“It’s the Thorson Expedition. They’ve discovered some ruins nearby and are clearing out the area.”

“So it was a ruin expedition team. And?”

“Let’s cooperate for a limited time. We’re not on good terms with them either.”

“Hmm.”

His deliberation did not last long.

Leaning his upper body forward, the man drank a liquid from a gourd bottle.

When he finally opened his mouth, a sour smell wafted from him.

It was kumis.

“There has been more than one pack of hyenas trying to control us. Of course, we have never once meekly followed.”

It was an abrupt statement.

It might have felt disconnected from the topic of conversation we’d been having, but the core was the same.

“This bastard and that bastard, if you take a step back and look, they’re all just prey.”

“You know well.”

Batu grinned.

A pack of wild beasts that refuses to be tamed.

The beast they used as their crest was what alluded to this nature of the mounted bandits.

“You are no different. Have you ever seen a beast cooperate with its prey?”

Batu raised a finger and pointed toward the door.

“Still, your method was ingenious, so I’ll let you go quietly this time. Get out now.”

「The World Tree stomps its feet, asking what you’re going to do.」

Unlike the anxious World Tree, I maintained my composure.

“First, I think there’s one thing that needs to be corrected.”

I rose from my seat.

My destination was not the direction his fingertip was pointing.

My steps stopped just short of him.

“I never said that mentioning the challenger was just for the sake of a pretext.”

It was ridiculous how he jumped to his own conclusions.

“Whether it was merely a pretext or not depended on your attitude.”

“……?”

“If you have no intention of listening, then I can just defeat you and run the tribe for my own purposes.”

There was also that reason for taking the form of a challenger.

There was no need to worry about becoming the chieftain or not.

Just because they were a primitive tribe, what was to stop me from setting up a puppet leader?

In the process, Batu’s pride would be trampled, but…

‘It doesn’t go against the tribe’s values.’

According to the law of the strong, represented by the law of the jungle and survival of the fittest, it was the truth that the strong one is right.

“……Kh-heh-heh.”

Batu, who had been staring blankly for a long while, let out a strange laugh.

“To put it simply, you’ll defeat me and use me as your pawn?”

“You understand correctly.”

“Khahaha!”

His laughter was thunderous, as if he’d swallowed a train whistle whole.

「The World Tree senses the stirrings of battle and limbers up.」

Even without the World Tree’s tension, the upcoming development was obvious.

A belligerent barbarian tribe, a prideful chieftain, a conversation that had been on edge from start to finish.

Now that I had delivered my demands in a threatening tone, the only procedure left was battle.

“Unlike those rats who just watched from the sidelines and tried to curry favor, you’re hot-blooded. I like that.”

…That was the way of thinking of the so-called civilized people rooted in the five cities.

“Fine. I accept your proposal.”

Batu smiled, in his own way, amicably, and offered a handshake.

The 180-degree reversal in atmosphere left the World Tree confused.

“The day of the operation is tomorrow.”

“You mean to strike first before they catch on.”

“The more time we drag on, the more the damage will grow.”

“From my perspective, I naturally welcome it.”

Just because they were barbarians with a plunder-based economy didn’t mean they couldn’t be reasoned with.

Nor were they foolish enough to act stubbornly, unable to weigh profit and loss.

Cooperating with me was a natural and rational choice for the well-being of the tribe and the preservation of his own position.

‘It’s just that the procedure for setting up a forum for dialogue is complicated.’

Therefore, the Thorson Expedition would surely not be able to predict it.

My cooperation with the mounted bandits.

(End of Chapter)