Some time had passed since Sirius and Professor Rigel left the outskirts of Tourmalina. The two of them left the city in a truck that had been brought from the beginning to the outskirts of the city.
The truck they brought crossed buildings that were destroyed by explosions from the aftermath of the war. The rubble of houses and ruins from quite tall buildings sometimes blocked the road, this made Sirius and his professor need to get down and move it together. Sirius sometimes felt bad about waking his sleeping professor. However, he was forced to do it. The road they were taking now was different from the road they had used to reach the outskirts of the city this afternoon.
There were several reasons why they did not use the same road. First, they wanted to try to find Trigolika residents, both alive and dead. They had previously conducted a thorough search in most areas of Tourmalina city. The southern area of Tourmalina city was the last area they still needed to explore.
The second reason was because this was their last day in the Republic of Trigolika. The Hexalida imperial army that had taken control of the capital of Trigolika would likely make an official declaration announcing that the entire Trigolika region would belong to them. That was something his professor had said. So like it or not, they had to leave the Trigolika region by tomorrow at the latest or they would be attacked by the imperial army.
Inside the truck, Sirius was focused on driving the truck while trying to look around the area to try to find survivors and the remains of corpses. He had indeed found several corpses before. However, gradually the road they were taking was no longer a human settlement area. So Sirius stopped his search.
Their current destination was the Trigolika port in the south. In order to reach the port, they needed to pass through quite a large field and forest. It was quite far, but maybe they could reach their destination around midnight if there were no problems.
The truck that Sirius was driving entered a new road, around the right and left of the paved road there were corn fields. Part of the field was burned down. Only a small part survived the flames. Sirius saw dry hairs on the surviving plants, a sign that the corn was past its harvest time. However, until now the corn had not been picked, a sign that the farmer had left it.
'Maybe tomorrow the corn will be picked by the imperial army'
Everything related to Trigolika will be branded as belonging to the empire starting tomorrow. Maybe even a single corn will be taken by them. Sirius did not know for sure why the Hexalida Empire attacked Trigolika. However, he only had a guess. When the empire attacked, he thought it was all to control the food supply. However, this war gradually became crazier.
The setting sun began to appear after being covered by thick smoke in the fields, a sign that night was starting to cover the sky. Sirius felt the pain in his arm was quite pronounced. He thought about trying to ask Professor Rigel about some things that made him curious.
"Professor? Are you still awake?" asked Sirius.
"What? Kid."
Hearing Professor Rigel answer him, made Sirius think that this was his chance to ask.
"I want to ask something, professor."
"About what?"
"What is the real reason the empire is so determined to attack Trigolika, professor? I only have a vague possibility." Sirius asked.
Professor Rigel sat silently as he pondered. He considered how far he needed to tell Sirius. This was their last day in Trigolika, Sirius' home country. The boy he saved five years ago had turned 18. He deserved to know something about his country.
"Hoo... what do you think is the reason?" Professor Rigel asked him back.
"Maybe the people of the Hexalida region are experiencing a food crisis? That's why they attacked?" Sirius replied hesitantly.
"That's only a small part of the reason," his professor replied.
Food crises are a fairly common problem in various countries now. Among the seven countries, the Hexalida empire is the country with the worst crisis for several years. However, Sirius was somehow confused as to why the empire chose to attack its neighboring country instead of engaging in profitable trade.
When Professor Rigel want to continue his explanation, there is a sound coming from the back of their truck.
Brakkk... brakkk..
The sound made Sirius step on the brakes suddenly. and Professor Rigel quickly grabbed the rifle beside him.
"Get ready Sirius!"