They watched as the new guy carried the redhead in a direction, and for a moment Bart's group was unsure of what to do.
Louie, on the other hand, prayed to the heavens for his very good boss.
Bart's eyes twitched. "That guy…." he said. "Will he be alright?"
"Is he friendly to Gochi?"
"Yes, he said they're family."
"Then, they'll be fine," he said, shrugging. "Would you like to continue with your tour?"
"Well, yes, if you want," he said. That was what boss Fred would've preferred, bless his soul.
Of course, he was still worried for his boss. He looked at the aborigines' whose attentions were on the direction where the half-orc went. "Should I guide you to the Guardhouse, then?" he asked, and they nodded immediately.
Louis smiled, relieved, and he led the way to the place, though their pace was quite brisk.
Baku was really conspicuous and there was no challenge in finding him. There were also plenty of people who looked badly at the tiger because of who he was manhandling.
However, they saw that he was only carrying Fred to the guard station so they held back.
Bart and the team soon arrived at the guard station, a two-story building with a large 'Guard Station' signage at the top (with Terran language translation subscript just below it).
Now, the half-orc was staring down at three guards who were blocking the door. The three were staring at him guardedly, though they remained calm.
The fact that the system hadn't thrown this guy to the prison was because there was no hostility. After all, Alterra was a place wherein people who make threats could get imprisoned even before they even did anything, if their intent was strong enough.
These were not privy to the aborigines watching in interest though. "I'm really curious how this will turn out," Sipa said, and the others nodded in agreement.
They continued to watch and realized that one of the guards on a standstill with Baku was someone familiar.
It was none other than Chris, wearing that regal-looking guard uniform that they found to be really aesthetic.
Bart looked at their guide and asked. "What is this place for, exactly?" All he could surmise was that they could somehow contact those outside via aether letters, so he assumed that there were such tools there.
Speaking of which, having more than a few aether letters in a village was already impressive enough. Bart knew there were only a few specific cities that sold such tools, and they wondered if this team somehow got connected to one.
How? Who knew. The most likely answer was that they somehow found a connection during the Ferrol Fair. Or it could've been bought from Pietro, who also had a couple of connections in cities.
Louie answered his question diligently and with a hint of pride. "The place where people can run to in case of trouble or if they have something to report."
Cities and High-level Towns have similar functions, though it was a special building. It was a small building where people could write reports that would be sent to the guards. It also had a minute function of very slightly hastening healing the mana of guards.
They had never seen it in a village before, so they mused it was a manual construction. Either way was very impressive.
"Well, it's very well made," Bart said, and the others nodded in agreement.
Their chatter was cut short with a roar. Apparently, the standstill had been broken. "LET ME IN!"
"No," Chris said, and Baku looked at the three guards and the others inside who were also looking at him guardedly.
It was not his intention to fight, especially not in someone's territory where he could really be held down. He just wanted to see Gochi and his temper got the better of him!
When he thought about how many delays he was subjected to, he got angry again!
It was like an invisible force kept delaying things for him!
"This bastard said I can go here! Now tell me," he paused, his low growling voice deepening as he spoke impatiently with gritted teeth. "Tell me where Gochi is!"
In his anger, he practically threw Fred in their direction. The moment the redhead landed on stable ground, he pretty much crawled several meters away to perceived safety.
Chris looked at him and then at Baku. "Gochi is outside at this time, and we will send him a message, though it might take a bit for him to get back.
"He's safe… however, I may not be able to say the same thing to you."
It was in the half-orc's nature to be belligerent, regardless of whether he was hostile or not. His eyes were red and one could see his sharp teeth.
But Chris was not weak and wasn't intimidated.
"Alterra is not a place you can do just whatever you want," he said. "Manhandling one of ours is already warranted to send you to prison."
Chris looked at him with furrowed eyebrows.
"Are you going to calm down and meet the elders as scheduled or do you want for Gochi to pick you up in prison?"
It was only Mathilda who came to meet the group in the Center, to finalize the trade.
All the elders were busy with all the things happening, but it so happened that Mathilda was nearby.
Bart received a lump sum amount of 500 gold, sparkling, and said his thanks.
The Half-orc, normally would sneer, but in front of Mathilda he was strangely calm.
This was actually Mathilda's passive skill at work.
"He's here," Bart said, pointing at Baku who stepped forward and looked at the strange situation.
Mathilda nodded and looked at the Half-orc. "You know that we don't take slaves here, so you will be a normal civilian. However, you will have to pay back what the territory spent on you."
Baku was a little shocked. Although he heard they didn't keep slaves, he didn't exactly believe it. They just spent 500 gold on him! That was years worth of salary for an average man.
There must be a catch, he was sure of it.
However, when the oath and contract were finalized, he realized they weren't lying.
Bart and the others stayed in curiosity. When they heard the half-orc was getting freed after being spent 500 gold on, Bart and the others were also a bit startled.
Mathilda saw this and smiled. "We believe that you'd be able to pay for your debts with your ability. As long as you work hard for Alterra, you'd be completely free soon enough."
She then looked at Jun, who was standing next to her. "Take him to the half-orc dorms," she said. "It's not free, but it only costs 3 copper a day. I'm sure you'd be able to handle yourself.
As he watched the large half-orc lean down to exit the Center, Bart couldn't help but walk over to Mathilda and ask. "Aren't you worried about him?"
"But…" what if there was a loophole somewhere?
"We believe in Alterra and its charms," she said, looking at him. "Speaking of that, enjoy your stay here.
"I'm sure you'd understand what I mean soon enough."