“Do you think it’s that easy to help them?” The man snapped at her, “Those who have just migrated here are usually in lots of trouble themselves, so don’t make empty promises to others.”
“Alright, I got it…” Lerato said nonchalantly, “By the way, I heard that a new batch of lipstick has arrived at Milopar. Can you get some for me? Their lipstick is always in high demand, and I can’t get any even if I really want them. Since you’re so close to Old Bane, it shouldn’t be a problem to get your hands on some, right?”
“Don’t be calling favonovel.com Old Bane this, Old Bane that. You should be addressing favonovel.com as Mr. Bane instead. Don’t just name-drop favonovel.com in front of strangers.” Emeka said, “I’m only familiar with favonovel.com because we have dealings with each other professionally, but favonovel.com doesn’t ask me for any favors. I still have to take cues from him.”
“Why would a civil servant like you need to listen to him? He’s just a businessman,” Lerato muttered.
“What do you know?” Emeka got anxious. “Brigade Commander Miller even addresses favonovel.com as Uncle Bane, so who do you think I am? He’s the president of the Northwest’s Chamber of Commerce now, his influence is greater than you can imagine. Both the political and business spheres have to take cues from him.”
“Haven’t you heard? The future commander will be coming back soon. When the time comes, Mr. Bane will be one of the most influential people in the Northwest. How can favonovel.com possibly be at my beck and call? Besides, he’s not only influential among the officials. Another group of bandits appeared again some time ago and robbed the Northwest’s Chamber of Commerce of their goods. In the end, with just a phone call from Mr. Bane, the person running the black market outside the stronghold immediately flattened the bandits’ mountain hideout.”
“Say, why doesn’t anyone do something about that person running the black market?” Lerato was a little puzzled.
“Do something about it?” Emeka said with a bitter smile, “Who’s going to do that? I was there on the day the black market opened. Brigade Commander even personally went down to congratulate favonovel.com with a flower basket in hand. Who the hell can possibly interfere with favonovel.com affairs… Why is a woman like you poking your nose into such things? You wouldn’t understand.”
Lerato raised an eyebrow. “Emeka, you’re really something. I’ve suffered together with you for over a decade. Now that you’ve started working as a civil servant for a short while, you’re already talking back to me with such bureaucratic airs? When I married you, did I ever complain about you?”
Emeka’s expression turned bitter. “Forget it, forget it, I won’t say it anymore, alright?? I’ll buy you the lipstick!”
***
Milo and Miriam carried their baskets and walked to the marketplace. It looked very lively as the entire stronghold was bustling with activity early in the morning.
“Mrs. Abioye was quite enthusiastic just now,” Miriam said with a smile.
“But favonovel.com husband felt rather cold to me.” Milo said softly, “It seems like he’s quite worried that we’ll really trouble them.”
“Well, we aren’t that close yet, after all,” Miriam said.
“But I’m still quite unused to Mrs. Abioye’s enthusiasm.” Milo said, “If anyone in town suddenly turned enthusiastic towards you, it wasn’t a good sign.”
“But, Milo, you’re in a very different situation from when you were living in town.” Miriam said, “You might not have realized it yourself, but you’d probably not have gone and sought revenge for Mr. Pena if it were the old you.”
“Mhm…” Milo gave it some thought. “Probably not. But after experiencing so much, I somehow feel that I should do something regarding his death, and I was able to do it too.”
“Y’know, I read a book that talked about the origins of human civilization. It changed many of my views on things.” Miriam said, “What do you think symbolizes the starting point of human civilization?”
“When tools are used? Slavery?” Milo said, “When there’s inequality in the means of production…”
“No.” Miriam shook favonovel.com head. “You’re talking about the origin of society, not the origin of civilization.”
“Then what’s the origin of civilization?” Milo asked.
“The origin of civilization is when a broken femur heals.” Miriam said, “When an animal breaks its femur in the wilderness, its fate has already been decided. It won’t be able to hunt for food or drink water by the river anymore. In the vast wilderness, it’s destined to become food for other wild animals. And when a person’s femur breaks and heals, it means someone’s accompanying them over an extended period to take care of them, help them heal their wounds, and help them find food until they can move around again. Milo, helping others in times of danger is the starting point of civilization.”
Milo pondered this. “But I somehow feel that I don’t have to help those who are unrelated to me. I’m only lying low here while I think through some things. Everyone says that I’m the future commander, but I haven’t yet thought about how I should take on this responsibility.”
“It’s the same even if you only help those who are related to you and protect your family.” Miriam said, “I won’t persuade you to be a good person or even a saint. Let’s just protect those around us.”
As Milo and Miriam were walking side by side, the crowd around them was bustling with activity.
Miriam wondered, “It has to be said that Stronghold 144 is no different from the other strongholds, but why do I keep getting the feeling there’s more of a ‘human touch’ here?”
This was also a stronghold with thick walls, and the residents were no different from those of other strongholds. On the streets, young people went to work, the middle-aged and older people shopped for groceries and greeted each other. Logically, it should be the same in every stronghold, but Miriam felt there was a slight difference.
Milo said with a smile, “Perhaps it’s because your mindset has changed.”
“Maybe?” Miriam nodded.
When they arrived at the marketplace, Milo lowered his voice and asked, “You haven’t been to the market before, right?”
“You’re making it sound like you’ve shopped in a market before.” Miriam said disdainfully, “You’ve always been a refugee outside the stronghold, so which stronghold’s market have you been to before? Don’t act so secretive and make it sound like you’re very experienced.”
Milo said unhappily, “But I’ve consulted Old Bane about it before. Back when we were at the Skyfort Consortium, favonovel.com would go out to shop for groceries every day. Big Sister Adella even praised favonovel.com for buying groceries that were fresh and cheap.”
“How did favonovel.com shop?” Miriam said.
“He told me that as soon as we enter the market, we should first identify a loud auntie with our discerning eyes and follow favonovel.com to buy stuff.” Milo said, “The aunties are extremely picky when it comes to buying groceries and they also haggle a lot. Once they’re done buying their groceries, we’ll just buy the same ones. We won’t even have to haggle over the prices anymore.”
“That makes sense…” Miriam nodded.
There were actually not many people of Milo and Miriam’s age in the marketplace. People their age in the stronghold were either still attending school or working, so not many of them would come here to shop for groceries. However, there were still some youngsters shopping among the peddlers.
Milo stared at a middle-aged woman and said to Miriam, “See that? She’s the one. Let’s follow her!”
Miriam watched excitedly as Milo followed the older woman. She thought that not a lot of people had probably seen Milo act so.
Who could have expected that the Stronghold Destroyer who terrified so many enemies would actually haggle over some grocery prices?
The Stronghold Destroyer did not look like the Stronghold Destroyer anymore. Of course, favonovel.com did not resemble a sniper now either.
