Krish said, "Mia, you should rest first. We'll talk properly later."
Mia and the other warriors went into the discussion room and were offered water and fruits. But Mia stood outside, where Max was standing and observing them.
Max looked at Mia. She had a fit body, stood around 5'7", had brown hair and black eyes.
She said, "I heard you're not from around here."
Max replied, "Yes... my home is quite far."
Max's thoughts raced: She looks about 20... maybe a little younger than me. And she's already a warrior.
He wanted to ask her how someone becomes a warrior, but before he could, Mia asked,"Can you lead us to those bandits?"
Max replied directly, "I can show you the way, but I won't go there myself."
"Why?" Mia asked.
Max said clearly, "There are too many of them... and I neither know how to fight, nor do I have any weapons."
All the warriors present had swords—some big, some narrow, some double-bladed.
Max continued,
"You all can defend yourselves, but I can't."
Just as Mia was about to say something, one of the warriors stepped out and said,
"Don't worry, Max. You just show us the path, we'll handle the rest."
Before Max could say anything, he described what he saw especially about the bandit boss.
Mia turned to the warrior and said, "Isn't he the one we've been searching for?"
The captain asked Max, "Did you really see him? Can you tell us more about the bandit boss?"
Max described how the boss crushed his own man's skull with a single hand, like it was made of mud.
The captain went silent for a few seconds and then shouted angrily,
"I'm going back for backup. We're not letting that f**king bastard escape again."
He called out to his team:
"Four of you stay here. The rest, with me!"
Two male warriors followed the captain while the remaining four (two men and two women) stayed behind to monitor the area.
Max turned to Mia and asked, "How long will they take to return?"
Mia replied, "Normally, it would take two days. But this is a serious situation. Max... it could take up to 20 days."
Max asked, "Who is this boss? Why is everyone after him?"
As soon as Mia heard this, her expression changed to sadness. She simply said,
"He's done... a lot."
That was enough for Max to understand. He had read enough history and seen enough on his own planet to imagine the kind of horrors bandits like that could bring.
But Max felt relieved that warriors knew more about this world than the villagers.
That meant he could gather more information. He thought about building a good relationship with Mia she seemed open-minded and approachable.
He asked casually, "So... how do you know the village chief?"
Mia replied, "We both went to take the warrior examination together. I passed, but she got seriously injured."
She smiled slightly, "We're childhood friends, born in this very village."
Mia then began to tell Max about her childhood, her journey as a warrior, what she saw, what she learned, and how she came to know this world.
Just as they were talking, three warriors walked up to them.
One male warrior looked at Max and said,
"If you're lying, just know this—I'm not into girls."
The second male warrior gave a "here-we-go-again" reaction.
The female warrior simply sighed, as if saying, "Not again..."
Mia had the same reaction.
She tried to explain to Max that it was just a joke, but before she could, Max replied,
"I wish I were lying."
Mia and the female warrior were surprised by his quick comeback, and the two male warriors looked at each other and laughed.
"He's got some brains, at least," one of them said.
Max smiled a little. Back on his world, this kind of humor was normal.
But here, a single dark joke could probably get you executed people were too straightforward here.
And just like that, evening turned into night, and everyone went to sleep.