I asked Philiana and Nina about something that had been on my mind.
The next morning, we continued to advance on the barren sand. Our water was running out, and our food was scarce. The sand kicked up by the wind constantly made my mouth gritty.
After walking in silence for a while, we finally began to see what looked like buildings in the distance. The town appeared clean and white, giving a good impression. Even though it was still far away, our steps naturally became lighter.
As we got closer, we realized it was a much larger town than we had expected. It was completely surrounded by a white outer wall, and people with camels were coming and going outside the town. I had everyone wait a little distance away and entered the town with Sharin.
The inside of the town was immaculately maintained and very lively. As expected of a town thriving in the middle of a desert, everyone looked wealthy. There were also many travelers. The market was packed with goods, making it hard to believe we were in a desert. Of course, the prices were high overall.
But this was no time to complain. We had to quickly resupply and return to everyone. I bought some water and a few fruits. It looked like I wouldn’t be able to carry it all at once.
I took the purchases back to the camp. Everyone was gathered in a spot where a few trees were growing.
“How was it? It looks like a pretty nice town.”
“Piyo wants to go too!”
I loaded the luggage I was carrying onto a cart. This was going to be a lot of work.
“Sorry, Piyo can’t go. Please wait with Philiana and the others.”
Piyo looked bored.
“Piyo’s always left behind, you guys are excluding us!”
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing I could do about it. I had to avoid danger as much as possible.
With a heavy heart, I returned to the town. I decided I would buy them a souvenir at least, to stave off their boredom. As I began to wander the market with that thought, the area around me suddenly became strangely noisy.
People were walking somewhere. I wondered if some event was happening.
“Shall we go take a look? It’ll be a shame to miss it, even though we’re leaving everyone behind.”
“That’s right, it might be a good opportunity to learn about this place.”
And so, Sharin and I followed the crowd. A large number of people were gathered in a plaza with a fountain. A special stage had been set up, making it look like a circus.
A slightly plump man, dressed in a wine-red tuxedo and holding a cane, came up from the side of the stage.
“Come, come, everyone, please gather around! Those who are rich, step forward, step forward, don’t be shy!”
Laughter erupted from the surroundings at his lighthearted joke.
“Ahem, thank you for waiting. Welcome, patrons of the Desert Oasis, to the world’s most unusual, rare beast auction!”
