The town of Ismar is located near the Hariri Desert.

It is surrounded by a 5-meter-high stone wall to prevent the harm of sandworms that live in the desert.

Of course, the town is not in a desert, and there is no harm from underground, which is the reason for this wall.

By the way, this was the town that Reiko had once visited to look for Jin, who had gone missing when the warp gate went out of control.

"Hmm, this is the Hariri Desert, isn't it?"

A side hole drilled into a black mass of rock protruding about 30 meters from the sand. A warp gate was cleverly hidden there.

Lao Tzu and Anne stepped out of the gate and looked around with curiosity.

A field of reddish-brown sand stretched as far as the eye could see. The landscape was desolate, with no plants to be seen except for rocks sticking out in places.

The air was very dry, but Lao Tzu could not feel that much.

"As I recall, this is where the lady came out for the third time when she went around looking for the Goshujin-sama.

Anne, who had confirmed that the warp gate had not deteriorated, said something like this.

"That's right. ...... we might want to put someone in charge of protecting these warp gates."

It is cleverly concealed, with security so that only Jin and Jin's men can use it, and guarded by an intermediate , but it may be necessary to protect the main transition gate (warp gate).

"I think a mini craftsman (Smith) would be the best person for the job.

Lao Tzu thought that a small golem, which would be hard to be found, would be suitable for the job.

Lao Tzu decided to propose this idea to Jin in the near future.

* * * * *

Lao Tzu decided to leave the guardians of the warp gate to <> and Jin, and to concentrate on his own task.

By the way, <> is able to divide itself into several parallel processes due to its enormous processing power.

One of the divided functions is <>. << Lao Tzu>> is << Lao Kun>>, but << Lao Kun>> is not << Lao Tzu>>.

The <> is only a small part of the <>, and the <> can view and intervene in the actions, knowledge, and experiences of the <> at any time.

So to speak, <> may be considered as another personality of <> who is temporarily separated from him.

"Well, the fifth column (quinta) should be here to pick you up..."

"Lao Tzu, over there."

Anne pointed in the direction where Regulus 42, a member of the 5th Quinta, was waving his hand. Brown hair, brown eyes, medium height. He had a common appearance.

"Welcome, Regulus.

"Thank you for meeting me. What do you call yourself?

Yes. <

Okay, Gral. What's the situation?

Lao Tzu asked. He had been receiving regular reports, but not for the past day, and he wanted to know what had happened.

"Yes, I will explain as I walk.

So Lao Tzu, Ann, and Regulus 42 started walking toward the town of Ismar.

After walking for about 30 minutes, they arrived at the town of Ismar. It was midday and the gates of the stone wall were open, and people were coming and going.

"You don't seem to be in a particularly bad mood.

"Yes, but there are no clues to a foreigner. But we did get a few clues as to who the foreigners might be.

You mentioned them in your report the day before yesterday. Tell me more about them.

So Lao Tzu decided to go to the front of the town to listen to what they had to say.

After moving a little away from the stone wall and making sure that no one was around, Gral began to talk.

"There have been unofficial exchanges ...... and <> with other peoples for a long time."

"I see."

It is not impossible. There are many merchants who think that nation to nation and individual to individual are different, and if people who think like that meet each other, they may do business with each other.

"And it seems that the different ethnic groups are more advanced than we thought."

"Hmmm..."

"They seem to be making something we've never seen before on Horai Island."

"What?"

It was called "katsuobushi".

That is information that Jin might be interested in. If the dried bonito was the dried bonito, it would have been enough motivation for Laozi to decide to make contact with a foreigner.

* * * *

After moving inside the stone walls to the town of Ismar, Lao Tzu and his friends took rooms at an inn.

The price per person per night, excluding meals, was 400 Tiru. This is a standard inn in this town. It is called .

You may wonder if there is a little bird in the desert, but in this area, a small scorpion-like creature called a scorpia that lives in the desert is called a little bird as a pun.

The reason for the name is because of its high-pitched and threatening voice.

"Now, what are we going to do?

Lao Tzu turned to Anne and Gral in the room of the inn.

"First of all, we need to make contact with the different ethnic groups, don't we?

Whether it is to get the dried bonito or to confirm the truth of the invasion, we have to make contact with the different ethnic groups.

"It won't be easy."

Gral remarks.

"I would say that the different peoples are very cautious. We need to start by getting to know the merchants who are doing business with them.

Do you have any idea who they are?

Yes, I have two merchants in mind, one of them is . One is , who is still young, but is quite a good trader. The other is , a middle-aged merchant.

Regulus 42, Gral seemed to have done a lot of research.

"But both of them are very cautious, and it would be dangerous to approach them unintentionally.

Dangerous?

"Yes, both of them are connected with the town's security forces and have hired a number of guards at their own expense. I don't think it's a good idea to cause a disturbance with them.

I understand.

And one more thing. There are several people who are probably secret agents of the Shoro Empire. ...... As far as I can tell, three of them have infiltrated.

"Hmm, they're probably looking for information about the aliens. What do you know about them?

Lao Tzu thought that if the secret agents of the Shoro Kingdom had useful information, there was no need for him to make a big effort.

"No, they don't seem to have it yet. It seems that the different peoples are being very cautious.

Lao Tzu, or rather Lao Kun, thought about it. Since the foreign people are also doing illegal business, they would not do anything to get their tails caught in their own pockets. Then, what should he do?

I thought, "I should secretly seize the place where the deal is made. ......"

But that would make the other party be wary of Lao Tzu. Since the purpose is not to expose him, that line is rejected.

"I guess it would be better to make a steady approach to the merchants on our side, wouldn't it?

"Yes, I think Lao Tzu can do it.

It seems to be an effective way to make friends with the merchants by creating something that the merchants might want. There were several other ways to do this. Which one to use will be decided on the spot.

"Shall we go steady? ......"

First, they decided to visit the store of the younger one, <>.

Lao Tzu, accompanied by Anne, went through the town of Ismar and memorized its geography. Then she asked Ann to gather information in the town and went to Oliver's store alone.

Oliver's store was located on the outskirts of Istmar. Even though it was on the outskirts of the town, it was lively. It seems that this area is a newly developed area, and many stores seem to be on the rise.

A large signboard hung on the wall, which made it easy to recognize Oliver's store at a glance.

Lao Tzu decided to take a peek inside.

There were various kinds of miscellaneous goods in the store, which could be classified as a so-called "Yorozuya" (a kind of general store).

（There are some interesting things here.)

Shirts of a style not seen in the center of the store were lined up. The cuffs and collar are tied with a string. Lao Tzu guessed that this was to prevent sand from getting in.

Similarly, most of the jackets had hoods. Shoes, too, are usually deep and boot-like, with only a few shallow shoes.

（This is due to the environment of the Hariri Desert.)

Lao Tzu continues to walk around the store.

(This is food. (This is food. ...... Oh, this is dried bonito flakes!)

Lao Tzu finally sees dried bonito flakes.

(I think it's called kare-bushi (dried bonito flakes). ......)

(I think it is called "kare-bushi" (dried bonito flakes). <

(I guess if you know how to make it, you can make it in Horai Island, too.)

On display were two pieces of kare-bushi. Lao Tzu took each of them in his hand and tried to make them together.

He heard a clear, high-pitched sound, which seemed to indicate how hard they were.

And then...

"Sir. That's not something you should hit.

A voice came from the back of the room.