To Fort Yano (13)

<Author's note: The things (racism, sexism, political views, etc.) depicted or mentioned in this story do not reflect the real world and are purely coincidences. If they do, please keep in mind that they are simply for world-building and are only work of fiction. Thank you for your understanding.>

"Mhello, mthere, mfriend," said Ernest.

"Msir, mwhat mbusiness mdo myou mhave mwith mus?" said Clara.

Nathan just smiled and titled his head to the side as he studied the couple.

He looked at Ernest first.

'Heh~ A booty warrior…'

'And based on his accent… Iustian.'

'Also, he's wearing System items.'

Ernest was wearing a black sleeveless shirt, cargo pants, and a pair of running shoes. And as for his System equipment, he had a pair of Earrings on his ears, a Necklace around his neck, an Arm Bracelet around his bicep, and two Rings on his fingers.

Next was Clara.

'This woman…'

'Definitely Muwinian…'

'Hmm… Even without makeup, she still has that look…'

'That look of a bar girl or prostitute…'

And just like Ernest, some of the System equipment that she was wearing were visible.

He then looked at the RV behind them.

'That boy from earlier doesn't look half…'

He returned his gaze at Clara.

'So a single mom…?'

'A divorcee…?'

'A widow…?'

'Ah, whatever…'

'The important thing is…'

'Is that boy the only kid…?'

'Hmm…'

While judging the appearance of the couple, two topics also popped inside his head.

Topic #1 - Brown-skinned Asian countries are generally conservative societies.

Although brown-skinned Asian countries are generally conservative societies, if one were to look closely at the top 5 richest brown-skinned Asian countries, and on in this case, Muwin, specifically among Muwinian-Trinitians communities in the northern region, there is a growing movement there that's all too familiar in first-world Caucasian countries.

That, of course, is everyone's favorite movement -- feminism.

And if one is knowledgeable about Asian cultures, one would quickly realize that feminism in Asian countries is far scarier compared to feminism in Caucasian countries.

The thing about Asian countries, specifically in brown-skinned Asian ones, there is this cultural practice where a man's money isn't just his money. His parents, his wife, and his wife's parents also have a share in it.

Now, as a man, of course, you have every right to put down his foot and say that you don't want to have any part of such cultural practice. However, doing so is a 101% guarantee that you're going to end up alone.

It doesn't matter even if you're the most handsome or richest man in the world. If you won't adhere to this cultural practice, sooner or later, you're going to be alone.

And on top of that, being alone in a developing or third-world country is very hard, especially if you're a foreigner.

It isn't like the first-world countries where the economy is more or less stable and there are social welfare programs to help people get back on their feet.

In countries like Muwin, although there are social welfare programs, the help being offered is very limited. It's so limited that it's no different than giving a single glass of water to a person traveling a vast scorching desert on foot.

Fortunately for Nathan, given that his roots are from the southern region of Muwin and his family's religious background is Iklasian, he has the option to marry a Muwinian-Iklasian woman.

Yes, there are some issues about human rights within the Muwinian-Iklasian community. Also, Muwinian-Iklasians in general would never agree for their women to date or marry a Muwinian-Trinitian, let alone a foreigner. If that happens, the best scenario would be the woman only being disowned by her family. Meanwhile, the worst scenario would be Honor Killings for both the man and woman.

However, from Nathan's perspective, as sick and unfair as it may be for the women, at least on his part he knows that he would be marrying a "proper" woman despite it being done through a barbaric method such as arranged marriage.

Also, it isn't like it's all gloom and doom for the Muwinian-Iklasian women.

First of all, the way how the arranged marriages work, it isn't like Nathan could just be standing in the middle of the street, sees a woman, falls in love with her, decides to follow her home, knocks on the front door of the woman's house, and asks her parents if he could marry their daughter and the dowry.

If he did that, before he could even ask about the dowry, either the woman's family will beat him up before kicking him out of their property or shoot him for harassment and trespassing.

The arranged marriage is actually a very long, tedious and expensive process.

And this is how it works:

Firstly, the man must know the address of the house of the woman's parents.

Once he knows the address, he has to go to the local Iklasian church of the community and ask the head priest there to act as a mediator to go to the woman's parents' house and tell her parents that he wants to marry their daughter.

Now, regarding the identity of the head priest, the older and more influential he is, the better.

Because if not, nothing is going to happen.

But let's say the head priest is old and very influential, especially in the local community, and agrees to the mediator. He then will bring along his fellow priests with him to go talk to the woman's family.

And if the woman's family agrees, both parents from the woman's and man's side will have a meeting, and the location is usually at the Iklasian church where the head priest acting as the mediator is from.

In that meeting, with the head priest present and acting as the mediator, both families will assess each other's background -- economic status, religious background, reputation in the community (this is why there are Honor Killings in Iklasian communities), and etc.

However, of course, the woman's parents have the high ground here. They have the final say.

Also, the ones who will be making the decision from the woman's family depends on the family. It could be 50/50 or 60/40, in favor of her parents and the remaining is hers (this is also why eloping is common among Iklasian communities).

But let's say the meeting ended with the woman's family interested in marrying their daughter to the man.

What will happen next is that there will be 2-3 meetings more which could last for weeks before the final decision could be made of whether the woman's family will agree to have their daughter to be officially engaged with the man or not.

This is because in these 2-3 meetings, assuming that the woman doesn't know the man, she will have the chance to meet him and his family in person with the head priest present. Moreover, both families will discuss the dowry and other things.

But let's say nothing went wrong at the man and woman got engaged.

The next thing that will happen is that there will be a 6-12-month engagement period.

Also, this is the most important period of it all.

Firstly, the groom must offer gifts to the woman and her family on a weekly basis.

Secondly, the groom and bride aren't allowed to kiss, touch or even be alone together. There must always be a chaperone.

And lastly, the most important one out of the three, this is the time period where both families will be closely observing and investigating each other if they're really fit for one another, both for the bride and groom and also the families.

If one party decided that they aren't fit for each other within this 6-12-month engagement period, then they can cancel the engagement.

Also, the gifts that the groom gave to the woman and her family can't be taken back.

But let's say they were no hiccups, everyone got along, and the groom and bride got married.

At the wedding, the groom will officially give the dowry to the bride's parents.

And now about the married life.

Yes, male family members have the right to "discipline" their female family members. However, it's not like they can just hit them without any proper reason. Because if the woman, for example, a wife, is being abused without any proper reason by her husband and her family hears about it, there will be an all-out clan war with guns blazing, machetes clashing, and divorce.

As for the police, this is Muwin, a third-world country. Only the military can stop them. The police won't even bother interfering and will only deal with the aftermath.

Anyways, this is the reality of arranged marriages of Iklasian communities -- at least for most cases.

This is why here in Muwin, Muwinian-Trinitians and foreigners can't just date, let alone marry Muwinian-Iklasian or Iklasian women in general, especially the "proper" Iklasian women.

This is also why Nathan won't even bother messing with brown-Caucasian women.

What about Aena, Amir's sister? Well, as far as Nathan was concerned, she was a Westernized Asian, not a Muwinian-Iklasian.

Continuing on, this is another reason why despite the issues of human rights in Iklasian communities such as Honor Killings, marriages here usually last a lifetime because it isn't just about two people getting together, but two families merging as one which has been carefully assessed by both sides and strictly upholds the teachings of the Iklas religion.

So yeah, this is why Nathan's end goal, at least after his break up with Karen and before the zombie apocalypse as an average man, was to marry a "proper" Muwinian-Iklasian woman.

Topic #2 - International couples

Nathan admits that he used to feel disgusted whenever he sees foreign men dating Muwinian-Trinitian women and the disowned Muwinian-Iklasian women who survived Honor Killings.

But thanks to his experience living in St. Augustine City (the capital city of Muwin which is located in the northern region) and also living in Cram City at Womania for 8 months, his opinion about it more or less changed.

Truth be told, before he went to Womania, he used to hear stories that the dating scene for Asians in Western countries is very, very brutal.

But when he got there and lived there for 8 months, based on what he has experienced, it wasn't really the case -- well, at least for him.

Now, of course, he didn't dare to mess with brown-Caucasian and uber-white Caucasian women because he just didn't want to deal with any unnecessary drama or risk his life.

Also, it wasn't like he was constantly looking for dates. He was busy with work and other things after all.

But putting those two racial groups aside, based on his dating experience in Womania, yes, there was that subtle racism where Asian men aren't exactly considered as "manly" and "threatening" which allowed him to get away with a lot of things there that he would normally not get away with here in Muwin so it wasn't really a bad thing.

But in general, as far as his success rate in pulling women there goes, it wasn't any different from what he would've experienced in Muwin.

But then again, maybe it's because he was 6ft tall.

Maybe it's because he has a good physique due to the fact he exercises and diets.

Maybe it's because he's a foreigner.

Maybe it's because his main job is a progressive and liberal editor so it's attractive to women living in a super politically correct country.

Or maybe it's all of the above.

However, if there was one thing that really surprised him there, it was that it was easier for him to pull in non-Asian women compared to the Westernized Asian and mainland white-skinned Asian (aka white-skinned Asians born and raised in Asia) women.

But what has this got to do with the interracial dating scene here in Muwin?

Well, here in Muwin, around 80% of the local women that African, brown-Caucasian and Caucasian men usually end up dating and marrying are what the locals would label as "low-class", "3rd /4th tier" or "leftover women" which from an Asian standard are women that's anywhere between the modern/liberated/Westernized Asian women, gold diggers, bar girls, prostitutes, single moms, scammers, and from uncultured or poor backgrounds.

So as far as Nathan is concerned, if these African, brown-Caucasian and Caucasian men want to marry these "leftover" women, by all means, let them. Because if one would really think about it, not only are these foreign men taking one for the team by dating and marrying these women, but they're also helping the economy so it's a win-win for all parties.

Except for the local men who are at the bottom of the society, of course.

But what about the white-skinned Asians?

Now this is where things get really interesting.

Thanks to the unspoken caste or strict social hierarchy in Asian societies, there is this very unbalanced dating ratio between brown-skinned and white-skinned Asians.

Not counting the Asians who grew up outside of Asia because they have a different mindset compared to the mainland Asians, it's very rare for a mainland white-skinned Asian woman to consider dating, let alone marry a mainland brown-skinned Asian man.

In fact, in every 100 brown-skinned Asian man and Caucasian woman couples around the world, there's only one mainland brown-skinned Asian man and mainland white-skinned Asian woman couple.

That's how rare it is.

Whereas, the kind of mainland brown-skinned Asian women that mainland white-skinned Asian men can pull are 50/50 - some are from the middle-class while others are from the low-class.

With this, whether Nathan is aware of it or not, if one would consider these things, they could understand some of the psychology behind his actions towards Rose, Akane and Hae-won back in Womania, his strong preference towards Asian beauty, and realize how bitter and pathetic he actually is.

It also shows how divided Asia is between brown-skinned and white-skinned Asians.

Noticing Nathan wasn't responding and remembering that he greeted them in Regisian earlier, Ernest decided to switch Regisian.

But before that, given that Nathan came forward to them without carrying any obvious weapons, he put down his axe and said, "Hello there, friend. What can we help you with?"

This time, Nathan finally replied, "Ah, yes. But first, can I ask for a favor? Can we stick with Regisian? My companion doesn't understand Muwinian and I don't want her to feel left out."

Ernest and Clara glanced at Zita.

Judging from her physical appearance alone, with her icy blonde hair, green eyes and facial features alone, she was definitely 100% Caucasian.

To be exact, an uber white.

They returned their gaze to Nathan.

Based on his accent, he was definitely a native Muwinian speaker and was somewhere in the lower middle-class bracket. However, his accent was a little stiff.

"Sure, no problem," Ernest said and smiled.

"Yes, of course. Please, have a seat. I'm preparing some snacks. Where are you from, by the way?" Clara said and smiled.

Nathan looked at Clara.

'I've always wondered about this. How come whenever a low-class woman like this dates or marries a foreigner with a Western accent, they always try to force a Western accent? It's not like they're in another country or something. They're just in Muwin. And what's really funny, it only happens with Western accents, especially Regisian and Iustian, never other accents...'

He ignored Clara simply because she was a woman and looked at Ernest. He smiled and said, "Thank you. Can I ask if you know anything about Fort Yano?"

"Do you want to sit down?" said Ernest.

"Answer my question," Nathan said, still with a smile on his face but there was a small hint of coldness in it, especially in his eyes.

The air around them immediately turned awkward.

Clara had a worried expression on her face and her eyes were bouncing between Nathan and Ernest.

The same went for Zita.

This was, after all, the second group of people she and Nathan encountered, not counting the ones that were trapped inside the building.

"Fort Yano? It's about 2.5km from here and it's currently serving both as a military base and shelter from the zombie threat at the same time."

"Are there any other shelters aside from Fort Yano?"

"In the first week of the zombie apocalypse, the Muwinian government set up shelters in each city here in Kelurga. A few days later, I've heard some of them fell from the hands of the zombies, while others I'm not sure."

"Is Fort Yano is like the main shelter or something?"

"Here in Kelurga? I believe so."

"You mentioned that Fort Yano is only 2.5km from here. How come you're not there?"

"It's… Uh…"

"Don't even think of giving vague answers. I want clear and straightforward answers."

"Although Fort Yano is serving as a shelter from the zombie threat, the law there is more or less too unstable and it's only a matter of time before shit is going to hit the fan. And given that I'm a foreigner, I am fully aware that Muwinians hate it when outsiders try to interfere with their country's politics. Because of these reasons, I decided that I rather take my chances here outside."

Nathan raised an eyebrow.

'Even at the expense of your family's safety…?'

'Well, this a Westerner after all…'

'These people, especially Iustians, value freedom so much even at the expense of everything else…'

"Do you know anything about Prophets? What are they? How they are treated?"

"Prophets?" Ernest said and thought for a moment. "From what I've gathered and I haven't personally met one, they're God's chosen people or something. Although they only have one skill or spell, it's a bit overpowered. Each Prophet has their own skill or spell. I also heard but I'm not 100% sure that they get +1 stat to all four attributes every time they level up."

'Fuck me sideways… Does this mean everyone here knows about Chosen Ones? I mean, just this random guy that I met knows it, not to mention those lowlifes who ambushed us! Fuck! FUCK! FUCK!!!' he thought. "I see. You mentioned that they're God's chosen people. So they aren't being treated badly?"

"About that, it's a bit complicated. For the most part, they're living luxuriously under the government's care. But in exchange, they have to help in fighting the zombie threat. However, I believe, and this is just my conspiracy theory though, that that's not the only thing they have to do."

Nathan squinted his eyes.

'Another thing that Westerners loves -- conspiracy theories…'

Ernest continued, "But there are also some people who are specifically aiming for the Prophets because in their mind Prophets represent God's will or something and they want to vent out their frustration on them for unleashing this zombie apocalypse. I don't really understand their chain of thoughts, but that's how they see it."

'Hmm… Can I really trust everything this booty warrior said to me…?'

'My biggest issue here is the fact that this Iustian would rather risk being here outside rather than being in Fort Yano…'

'Is it really that bad there…?'

'Or is it just the freedom-obsessed Iustian in him…?'

He looked at Clara.

'No point in asking this woman I guess…'

'But I must say, I'm quite surprised…'

'Westerners are mostly seen as nothing but ATM machines…'

'Once they ran out of money, the woman and her Muwinian family will stop giving a damn about the foreigner…'

'And now that money is pointless because of the zombie apocalypse, this foreigner is definitely useless already…'

'But this woman still stuck with him…'

'Strange…'

'Maybe she was already alone with her son even before the zombie apocalypse…?'

'Or maybe she lost all her Muwinian family members…?'

'What about her friends…?'

'Maybe she's dumb…?'

'No, a mother's instinct is to protect her child…'

'Well, at least most of the time…'

'Maybe because she's a bar girl or prostitute...?'

He returned his gaze at Ernest.

"Well, as far as I remember, that kid didn't look like a half-breed…'

'And these people don't strike me as Chosen Ones either…'

'The booty warrior said it himself, the Chosen Ones are living a luxurious life under the government…'

'But in exchange, they have to be under this government's beck and call...'

'And brown-skinned Asian governments are a complete joke...'

'They're so corrupt that even a blind man could see it...'

'But then again, there's the freedom-obsessed part of him as an Iustian...'

'There's also the conspiracy theorist in him...'

'Ugh… So many things to consider…'

'Well, at least the information he mentioned so far has more or less matched with what that person back at the Sports Complex has told me…'

'It has given me somewhat a rough idea on what it's like there…'

Nathan smiled and said, "Ah, I see. Thank you so much for the information. It was very helpful. I really appreciate it. As a matter of fact, I appreciate it so much that I'm going to offer you a very good deal that you can't refuse."

"Oh, it's okay. You don't have to thanks us," Ernest said and smiled.

"No, no, no. Please let me. I insist."

"Really, it's okay. We're just happy to help."

"I really insist. So listen up. Give me this RV. And in exchange, we won't kill you guys," Nathan said with a very warm and kind smile on his face.

Ernest and Clara weren't sure if they heard Nathan correctly so they knitted their brows and said, "What?"

*********************************************

Author's thoughts:

Hello, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading!

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