It's a blessed year for the Golden Empire. The weather is good and wheat is prime for harvesting. The time of abundance is the best time to save up for the rough times.

  The great war is still fresh on everyone's mind, famine was a traumatic experience. Ever since then, the bounty of the land would never be taken for granted. It became a custom in the Empire to have central granaries in all villages for storage of food. Primarily hardtacks. Dense, compact, easy to transport, long shelf life, and cost effective. These qualities make it an ideal food for uncertain times.

  But such granaries would also attract the unwanted. Smart monsters know every village has a granary full of food, wild animals are lured by its smell, bandits that pounce on unsuspecting people delivering their quota, and even pests like rats population is something to watch out for.

  This is where the Empire’s soldiers come in. In times of peace, they are repurposed to be stationed at the village granaries. A jack of all trades: lookouts, caretakers, pest control, record keepers, and finally, swords to protect the population.

  When they are off duty, they never forget to do their drills. At least that's what they were used to when they were in the academy. But here in the middle of nowhere somewhere in the Southern Kingdom, no one will really bat an eye. They are safe here. Mountain ranges that pierce the clouds offer natural protection from their enemies and they have castle walls with magical barriers for extra protection. Maybe there's a problem with occasional monsters, but that's about it..

  The young lady safely arrived at her destination. Tired and all sweaty. She covered a great distance under the heat of the sun while running and carrying a heavy basket bag around. This is no problem for her as this is her daily routine.

  Reaching the village walls, leather armored individuals catch her attention, it's the village’s stationed soldiers. They are circling a tree stump making a fuss. Curious, she will check out what the deal is about.

  On a tree stump, she could see two squarish gems. One is red and the other is blue.

  The soldiers were supposed to be training, but somehow got sidetracked over something interesting. They can become very passionate when something like this happens. These kinds of things rarely happen in the backwater, they barely see any activity around this place.

  “HUH?”

  The soldier with a chicken like mohican hair interrupts in a mocking tone.

  A voice from somewhere could be heard asking a question.

  “Are you all deaf or just ignoring me? i asked if any of you idiots know about an artifact called the Golden Augustus”

  The young lady upon closer inspection realized the voice came from the red gem. Confusion is written all over her face.

  “HUH? golden dingus?”

  Replied the mohican hair soldier in a mocking tone. Again.

  “HAHAHAHAHA!!!”

  Every soldier will burst out laughing.

  The blue gem can't hide her disappointment.

  “Ugh, these NPCs think they're funny. This game is such a joke. Might as well grind my battle pass.”

  The red gem raising her voice,

  “Oi! stay with me you btch, help me convince these idiots!”

  *clack*

  The blue gem turned dark, as if its light had been turned off. It sounded like a telephone hanging up.

  All the red gem can mutter,

  “Ugh, this sucks.”

  “Okay, a library will do. I need to find a library or something to get more info on the artifact or are you all just too busy being worthless?”

  The red gem is getting agitated and getting impatient. She could already feel the difficulty of the game.

  “Ah! the other gem went out.”

  The soldier with a parted curls picks up the blue gem and tries to see it closely.

  “HAHAHA!”

  He then casually shakes the blue gem hoping it will turn on.

  “HEY! don't ignore me!”

  The red gem doesn't even hide her displeasure anymore.

  The captain was resting on the back not too far, but he couldn't help but notice the commotion.

  The soldier with a bandana picks up the red gem and asks a question while shaking it at the same time,

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  “What happened to the other gem? did it run out of magic?”

  “Hey! knock it off! I'm about to lose my lunch! buweeeehhhh!!!!!”

  The red gem is powerless and could only beg.

  Sensing the commotion is getting out of hand, the captain steps in.

  *CLAP*

  The soldiers immediately line up and stand straight in attention. Stomping their feet in unison, and waits for further instruction.

  “All right that's enough, get back to your post everyone.”

  The captain ordered. He takes back the gems from their hands as the gems are his property.

  *thud* *thud*

  Soldiers stomped their feet in unison to acknowledge the command, and they went back to their assigned post.

  “Ahh thank you.”

  The red gem sighs in relief.

  “Sorry about that, I apologize on behalf of my group. I haven't heard of a Golden Augustus thing. only the Golden Empire and you're currently on it.”

  “Golden Empire…”

  The red gem smells a possible lead.

  “The gem talks?”

  A voice from behind the captain can be heard

  “WHOAH!”

  Upon seeing the source of the voice, the captain can't help but jump in surprise. Opposite to his usual cool, his face becomes red the moment he sees the young lady.

  “WHOAH!”

  Upon seeing the source of the voice, the red gem is surprised but can't jump. She had already lost her cool earlier, she is already red even before seeing the young lady.

  “Hmmm??”

  The young lady is confused by their reaction.

  “Uh oh hi, yeah they do talk, it seems like you already know about them.”

  Wasting no time, the captain tries his best to answer her, even though he's stuttering.

  “Yeah, I came across one this morning,"

  The young lady answered.

  “D-do you have it? I can buy it from you for 2x the normal price.”

  The captain tries to fix his cowlick as he's conscious of it.

  “No it's not mine, it was just shown to me.”

  “Ahh what a shame it would’ve b-been a nice addition to my collection…”

  “Are they really worth that much? it seems everyone wants to get one.”

  “Yeah they're all the r-rage now.

  m-my boys treat them like talking toys… b-but i think they're more tha-”

  The red gem, though was saved earlier by the captain, can't help but get pissed when he treats her like a collectible item. She suddenly interrupts the stuttering captain.

  “HEY HEY HEY what's your name?”

  “Hmmm? My name is Ria. And you? Do you have a name?”

  The young lady asks in a soft voice as if talking to a baby.

  “Hmmmm….”

  The captain being left out of conversation, could only pout his lips.

  “My is name is Cal-, I mean Fujojojo”

  The red gem is beginning to stutter too. She likes the way how she's being treated

  “Nice to meet you Fujojojo, that's a weird name.”

  “I know right? It's quite weird to hear someone say it out loud to me. lol.”

  With the introductions out of the way, Ria immediately switches gear. Ria turns off the baby talk, and gets serious. The recent events are still very fresh on her mind.

  “So Fujojojo…, you fell from the sky right?”

  “Uh… yeah..?”

  Sensing Ria’s menacing tone, Fujojojo would be thrown off.

  “Right. Where exactly are you from? it seems you know the gem next to you how about the other ones? like the ones falling right now? do you know them too?”

  Ria fires a barrage of questions.

  “Uhh-hmmm we came from another world i guess. And no, I don't know them all, only a few of them.”

  Fujojojo starts to panic. She is uncomfortable. Ria does have some sort of commanding aura around her, its intimidating.

  “Interesting. Then can you tell them to stop falling on these lands?”

  Ria makes a humble request.

  “I can't it’s impossible”

  “Why not? at this rate your kind will burn the whole kingdom down.”

  Hearing her negative answer, Ria, wears an intimidating smile.

  “Like i said it's impossi-”

  “Hmmmmm?????”

  Hearing the first words of Fujojojo’s answer, she wasn't even finished. Ria closes her face in Fujojojo's face to intimidate her all while wearing a smile.

  Fujojojo is taken aback. you could hear a loud bang inside the gem. In reality, Fujojojo had fallen on her chair in shock. She quickly stands and does her salute to Ria right away.

  “EeeeeeEEEEEEEKKK!!! yeshhh ma'am i'll try!”

  “Good. I expect great things from you!”

  Ria’s aggression vanished like a balloon that popped. She was quick to change gear and her smile turned comforting.

  “Hahhahhahhaha hot…”

  Fujojojo can't help but wipe her sweat. She has a newfound admiration for Ria.

  “Captain, what was that you were saying earlier?”

  Ria remembered the captain had something to say.

  “Hhh-haha it wasn't anything important. Hahaha”

  The captain, witnessing another side of her had to rethink his moves”

  “About the other gem, do they ever stop talking suddenly?

  Ria asks.”

  *tmp* *tmp*

  footsteps could be heard from a distance.

  “Y-yeah about that, yes they do it without notice i can't seem to wake them up no matt-”

  “EHEM!”

  A coughing noise interrupts their conversation.

  Another soldier with a long hair ponytail carrying a clipboard would ask Ria a question. It's the vice captain of the stationed soldiers.

  “Is that basket for the decree?”

  “Ah yes sir!”

  The vice captain checks the contents of the bag basket. He picks one hardtack and checks its smell and flavor. It's quite crunchy. Satisfied, he continued.

  “Looks good, you can take them to the granary.”

  “Thank you sir!”

  Ria goes on her way, but she does a quick last glance to the captain and Fujojojo and waves goodbye. The captain turns red and reluctantly waves back.

  “Ah, the devs cooked with this one.”

  Fujojojo can't help but express her feelings.

  “EHEM…”

  The vice captain repeats the cough again, implying he intentionally coughed earlier to interrupt his conversation with Ria.

  “Is there a problem captain?”

  “Tsk…”

  The captain realizing this, slows down his waving hands, turns it into a fist, and throws it on his vice captain.

  *PAAAAAAAK!!!*

  The vice captain blocks the punch easily.

  “Ehhh that's kinda weak captain. It feels like a punch a lovestruck maiden would throw.”

  “You…”

  The captain is not letting that sentiment slide.

  They then beat the crap out of each other. Weirdly they seem to be having a good time. It turned out to be a good training session.

  Meanwhile Fujojojo, being held by the captain, pukes all her lunch.