Chapter 59: Stories Behind the Outskirts

As they ate, Clyde and Craig kept glancing around. A diverse stream of passersby kept turning their heads whenever they walked past the roadside table, as though the group stood out far too much. Clyde paid attention to what the people around them were looking at, then glanced down at his own clothes, noticing the Neo Ark military crest emblazoned on his jacket.

To double-check, Clyde surveyed his surroundings once more. Even when human pedestrians passed by, their glares remained the same, as if it were bizarre to see military personnel in their town, or as though they harbored an anti-military bias, displeased by any military presence entering their streets.

Clyde was convinced that the passing pedestrians and those seated around them weren’t looking at their human race, but rather at the uniforms they wore. He then turned his gaze toward his companions.

"Looks like we need to find new clothes. These military uniforms stand out way too much here," Clyde said to Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie.

"Agreed, Brother. We seem to be the center of attention, and if you look closely, there don’t seem to be any military personnel roaming around this town," Craig replied.

"Where are we going to find clothes?" Celes asked.

"Yeah, Brother, the shops are all closed, and we don’t have any extra clothes besides what we’re wearing," Casca added.

"Oh, come on, Brother Clyde and Brother Craig are overthinking this. Just chill out. Even if they think it’s weird seeing military here and aren’t happy about it in their town, that’s their problem," Corie chimed in.

Clyde, Craig, Celes, and Casca turned to look at Corie, who seemed completely relaxed, eating calmly without a care in the world.

"But we didn’t come here to make enemies. What’s wrong with you?" Casca said, nudging Corie with her elbow.

"She’s right, we need to blend in as soon as possible," Craig added.

"Hey."

Hearing a man’s voice call out to them, all five turned around. Standing behind them were a large, muscular blue-skinned man, a man with antennae and large ant-like eyes, a human man, and a man with a crocodile face and a crocodile tail. Naturally, Clyde, Craig, Celes, Casca, and Corie spun around in their chairs.

Clyde could see many nearby pedestrians quickening their pace and moving away from their seats as if avoiding whatever was about to go down, though a few still pulled smartphones out of their pockets.

"You five look like kids. Are you military from Neo Ark? Or runaways?" the blue-skinned man standing in front asked with a serious expression, pointing at the five of them.

"I’m fifteen, not a kid," Craig retorted as he stood up, clearly accepting the challenge.

"Craig... sit down," Clyde said softly.

Craig looked back at Clyde, then sank back into his chair. Clyde stood up and took a step forward, right in front of the man.

"Sorry, we just arrived in town and we’re not military. It’s just that our clothes belong to the military because we don’t have any other clothes," Clyde answered firmly, staring right into the face of the blue-skinned man before him.

The four men in front of Clyde, who appeared to be in their twenties, stared intensely at him. Then, the blue-skinned man smirked, reaching out a hand to grab Clyde’s cheek and patting it lightly.

"Well... from your face, you really don’t look like military. Don’t go pulling any funny business in this town, got it? If it turns out you five actually are military, my buddies and I won’t hesitate to kick you out or kill you. Got it?" the man asked in a deep, serious voice.

"Yeah... I can assure you the five of us aren’t military," Clyde replied, taking hold of the man’s hand and pulling it away from his cheek.

The man yanked his hand back from Clyde’s grip, turned, and signaled to his three companions. Without another word, he turned and walked off, his three friends following closely behind while casting hostile glares at Clyde and the other four. Clyde turned back around and sat down, and they all faced their table once more. Craig looked over at Clyde.

"Brother... why didn’t you fight back? I was getting so worked up back there," Craig said.

"Dealing with them doesn’t require violence. Besides... our uniforms really are way too conspicuous, and it turns out the military isn’t liked around here," Clyde said.

"That’s right. Not every problem can be solved with violence, Craig, unless they start it first," Celes added.

"And why were you holding those skewers like you were ready to throw them at those guys?" Casca asked, turning to look at Corie.

"Oh... these? Just in case, hahaha," Corie said, placing five satay skewers from both of her hands back onto the table.

"Oh my... are you kids alright?"

The five of them raised their heads to see Ellie standing in front of them with a worried expression, while Walter stood behind her, watching the backs of the men as they walked off into the distance.

"We’re fine, Miss Ellie... but I wanted to ask, is the military hated around here?" Clyde asked.

Ellie fell silent, glancing back at Walter, who was watching her. Once Walter gave a nod, Ellie turned back to face Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie, taking a seat at the table across from them.

"Yes... the military is hated around here. Whenever they visit, they act like they own the place, sometimes strolling through town in their GEMA units. They carry themselves like the world belongs to them, even though ever since the Great Transition, we’ve integrated with humans... It’s not like we asked for two worlds to merge together just like that," Ellie said.

"You don’t need to dwell on what just happened. Not everyone in this town hates the military, but most people do because of an incident that happened to this small town in the past," Walter said, taking a seat beside Ellie.

"What kind of incident happened here involving the Neo Ark military?" Craig asked.

Ellie and Walter glanced at each other, then carefully observed Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie with a bit of caution. Walter leaned his body forward, looking at the five of them.

"You’re really not military, and you were just rescued from a farm, right?" Walter asked to confirm.

"Yes, that’s right, Mr. Walter," Clyde answered.

Walter looked into the eyes of each of the five young people before him. He then leaned back again, resting his hands on the table and tapping his fingers against it.

"The military from Neo Ark... likes to come to the small towns around Utopia, not just this one... They collect taxes and plunder produce, livestock, farm goods, and whatever else they can lay their hands on. The central government of Utopia in the main city turns a blind eye to our complaints, treating our issues as trivial. Those of us living in the small surrounding towns are squeezed by external military forces, though don’t get me wrong, the Neo Ark military does protect us if our town comes under attack, which is why not everyone hates them," Walter explained, holding his wife’s hand on the table.

"So that’s how it is... Actually, we came from Safe Haven, not Neo Ark... We mentioned that earlier, right?" Casca asked.

"Yes... that’s why we welcomed you. But those guys earlier didn’t know because you’re wearing Neo Ark military uniforms... Don’t be mad at them, they were just trying to protect the town," Walter replied.

"People from Safe Haven don’t cause trouble for us. They actually buy their supplies here, and there’s even a train line running from there to here," Ellie added with a smile.

"Hmm... I see. But why doesn’t the capital of Utopia handle the issues in the surrounding small towns? Are they short on personnel?" Craig asked.

"Because they’re also at war with a military organization out in the middle of the ocean, and sometimes they have to defend against giant attacks. We understand their hands are full, and that’s why those of us in these small towns try to guard our own homes," Walter answered.

Hearing Walter’s words, Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie felt a slight lump in their throats. They looked at Walter and Ellie before them, who appeared tired; only now did they notice how burdened the couple looked, yet they had still offered help, just like the truck driver who brought them to town. Clyde then looked at Walter.

"Mr. Walter, are there any clothing stores still open at this hour? It seems we ought to change our clothes. I don’t want to wear this military uniform anymore," Clyde said.

"Hmm... after this, let’s head to my father’s inn first. We can talk about that over there," Walter said with a smile.

"Alright, thank you, Mr. Walter," Clyde replied with a smile.

After that, they quickly finished their food and helped Walter and Ellie close up the stall since it was late at night, getting ready to head back to the inn.