"How near is that 'near place'?" I asked the cabbage seller.
"We'll arrive soon," he said.
For the last few hours, he had been saying the sa thing whenever I asked him this question.
It's no wonder the Avatar had a beef with him. This man was pure evil.
Also, what kind of man is he, to get into places where the Avatar would reach by flying bison while still dragging a cart?
"Cai," I called. "By your definition, what is near, and what is far?"
*Bump*
"Shit," Cai cursed. As we had been talking, there was a hole we hadn't paid attention to. It was around 40 cm deep. The stall fell in.
"Forget I said anything," I said.
"Let's try pulling it out," Cai said, pulling with all his strength. But it was to no avail.
I tried to help him too, but we couldn't do it.
"Seems we have to empty it, and then reload it," he said.
I turned to the cart and shook my head.
That was a lot of work, unpaid work.
"Forget it. I'm tired already," I grumbled as I sat down on a nearby rock.
"Young n nowadays are lazy," he grimaced. "Ryuk, we haven't been walking for that long."
I pointed at the sky. The sun was about to set.
"Not long, my ass. When I t you, the sun was there," I pointed at the middle of the sky. "And now it's about to set."
I didn't know what this old man's definition of laziness or hard work was. I didn't know what the word 'near' ant to him, but I knew that I was tired.
"There's no use in grumbling. Let's empty it, push it up, and then reload it," he said. "You won't even feel the ti passing."
"Excuse ," said a voice. "You guys sound like you're in big trouble."
We turned our heads to see a young, handso man in his late teens or early twenties. Long hair, tanned skin, and green eyes. A native Earth Nation citizen.
"Great," Cai clapped his hands. "Why don't you help us, young man?"
I turned my head toward the cabbage guy. 'Does he impose on people directly? No introduction, no courtesy. Just 'help .'? I guess the only thing this guy cares about is the cabbage.'
The young man smiled and replied, "Looks heavy, though."
"You won't feel the flow of ti," Cai said. "Besides, if you don't help , I won't be able to feed my poor family."
'Poor my ass. Your stall has been wrecked by the Avatar multiple tis across the nations, and you still manage to sell fresh cabbage every ti. Forget it. I wonder how he's faster than a flying bison,' I thought to myself, but I didn't say those words.
The young man seed to believe his story. A sympathetic expression took over his face as he said, "In that case, I can't let your family starve. But you have to promise to keep whatever you see here a secret. Swear on your poor family."
Cai rolled his eyes. "I swear on my family, if you help , I will tell no one about it."
"Very well," the young man said, raising his hand toward the hole and squeezing as if he were holding a lemon in his hand, slowly raising his arm. The wheel was lifted and the hole was closed in an instant.
"You're an earthbender?" Cai said.
The young man put his index finger to his lips. "Rember, you promised."
"I know," Cai said. He turned to . "Earthbenders are taken to jail to be held."
"I promise I won't tell them. Happy?" I sighed. I was soon to be an archenemy of the Fire Nation anyway—well, not the Fire Nation as a whole, but the Fire Lord and his followers. I had no grudge against their civilians or soldiers, just the invaders and the supporters of the massacres.
"Just one more thing," I turned to the young earthbender. "How near is the nearest village?"
"It's pretty near. If you walk for an hour, you'll make it there."
"Just an hour," I replied after him.
In my previous life, just an hour ant 'hail a taxi.'
"Two hours, dragging that," he said. "But if you want help, we can make it faster."
"What a young gentleman you are. Your peers should learn from you," said Cai. It was needless to say that he was talking about .
'He's just an old man,' I shook my head. 'I've always wondered why this world was full of assholes. I guess there's a good reason for that. Being nice isn't helpful.'
"Thanks," smiled the young earthbender. "What's your na, by the way?"
"Cai."
"Ryuk."
"I'm Haru, by the way."
The three of us dragged the stall then.
Not long after, as the sun was setting and the sky turned red, we arrived at the entrance of one of the villages of the Earth Nation.
At the gate, there were two soldiers dressed in familiar armor.
Two Fire Nation soldiers with long mustaches and sabers around their waists stopped us. They let Haru in as soon as he showed his identity plaque.
The cabbage guy was allowed in since he had a reason for his visit.
When it was my turn, the fire soldier said, "Your identity?"
"Left it at ho," I said. "It's very far from here."
"Turn back then," he said.
"What if I have a very good reason to co here?" I replied, thinking that Cai didn't have to show an identity plaque. It may be obvious that he's a rchant, or maybe he's just that famous in this world.
"And what might that be?" the fire soldier asked.
"Spend money to rest for a few days, and then I'll leave," I replied, taking his hand and placing two silver coins in it.
"Very good reason indeed," he said.
"I'm not convinced, though," the other fire soldier interrupted, extending his hand toward .
"Isn't it though?" I replied, placing two silver coins reluctantly into his hand.
'Lesson learned. Next ti I want to bribe soone, I'll divide the intended money according to the number of guards and put it into their hands.' I thought.
"How long are you willing to stay?" he asked.
"Two weeks at most. One week at least," I replied, not being entirely honest. I might stay less, I might stay more.
"Wait a mont, I'll write you an entrance permit," he said. "What's your na?"
"My na is..." I began, thinking of nas for earthbenders, so I wouldn't get exposed as coming from another nation.
Definitely, my na wouldn't be Jeff.
But I had already exposed my na to Cai and Haru, so I needed to co up with a different na, yet keep my real na as a nickna to avoid suspicion.
"My na is Bumi," I said. "But my friends call Ryuk."
"Alright," the fire soldier said, going inside to write a permit for . When I held it, it was a wooden plaque.
[Permit: Bumi, AKA: Ryuk.
Duration: 2 weeks.
Starting Date: ]
As I was about to enter, I saw a carriage being pulled by many monster beasts coming our way.
From the carriage, a group of soldiers, lifting one injured soldier, entered.
I resisted the urge to widen my eyes. The injured person, his face, sohow looked familiar. It was the survivor.
"Sir, one of our soldiers survived the South Pole. He has to make a report, but he lost consciousness. We need to treat him imdiately," said one of the soldiers to the gate guard.
"Get him in!" the gate guard yelled. "Call the doctor!"
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