Every breath carried the gritty sensation of sand, waves of thirst assaulting him until he couldn't help but untie the water pouch Ace had given him and take two careful sips.
The cool water slid down his throat, temporarily relieving the discomfort.
"Young man, is this your first time in a place like our Alabasta?" Matar asked, observing Giyu's reaction to the sandstorm and glancing at his clothing.
"Yeah," Giyu replied.
"Ahahaha, I could tell just by looking."
Matar laughed, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepening. "After all, your clothes are quite noticeable—not the style we wear here. So, what do you think... this place is pretty terrible, isn't it?"
He seemed to be talking to himself, his voice filled with deep exhaustion and helplessness: "Nothing but sand, as far as the eye can see... not a trace of life..."
He looked up at the scorching sun and sighed: "And in such a hot place... it doesn't even rain... truly, the heavens have turned a blind eye."
"Young man, you should go easy on your water too. In this desert, water is life."
The sky remained as always, without a single cloud in sight.
Just then, Batu approached, tugging at his grandfather's sleeve and whispering, "Grandpa... I... I want some water too..."
A look of embarrassment and heartache appeared on Matar's face. He patted Batu's head, his voice somewhat hoarse: "Hold on a little longer, Batu, be good. Once we reach Alabasta... Grandpa will definitely buy you water there."
The child looked at his grandfather and, understanding, didn't make a fuss. He simply lowered his head silently, licked his slightly chapped lips, and softly murmured in agreement.
Giyu watched this scene without speaking.
He just untied his own water pouch and held it out to Batu.
Seeing this, Matar quickly intervened, his face filled with alarm, "No, no, no! Benefactor, that's not necessary, really, it's not!"
"We'll be there soon. Water is precious in the desert; we can't take yours... You've already helped us greatly earlier, we're already so embarrassed..."
Giyu was somewhat taken aback. In his view, sharing water was the most direct and simple help at this moment. He didn't quite understand why the old man was refusing this resource.
He didn't speak, just continued to hold the water pouch out to Batu.
Batu looked up, his eyes longing as he gazed at the water pouch, then at his grandfather. He didn't dare take it.
Seeing the desire in his grandson's eyes, Matar finally sighed, a faint, helpless yet grateful smile appearing on his face as he nodded to Batu:
"Drink, Batu. Remember to say thank you."
"Mmhmm!!! Thank you, big brother!!"
Batu's face immediately lit up with a smile. He carefully took the water pouch as if holding a treasure, and gulped down a mouthful.
As the cool water flowed down his throat, he squinted his eyes in comfort.
Then, after a moment's thought, he held the water pouch out to his grandfather: "Grandpa, you drink too!" Matar immediately waved his hands, too embarrassed to accept. "Grandpa isn't thirsty, you drink it."
But Batu clung to his grandfather's pant leg, insisting stubbornly, "Grandpa, you have a sip too! Just one sip!"
Matar looked at his grandson, then at Giyu. Giyu also gave a slight nod.
The old man, feeling his throat was indeed parched and dry, finally stopped refusing and took the waterskin.
Instead of drinking directly from it, he tilted his head back slightly and carefully poured just a small amount of water to moisten his lips and throat. Then he immediately sealed the waterskin and handed it back to Giyu with great care.
"Thank you! Thank you so much. You are truly a savior!" Matar's voice carried a hint of emotion.
Giyu took back the waterskin. "It's nothing," he said, tying it securely. Remembering Matar's earlier words, he asked, "What did you mean about no rain?"
At this, a bitter smile appeared on Matar's face. He heaved a heavy sigh and began sharing this sorrow that belonged to all the people of Alabasta with the outsider.
"Alabasta... ah, it's truly a tragedy... For the past few years, most places... haven't seen a single drop of rain."
"Except for Alubarna, where we're heading. It still rains there from time to time."
Hearing this, Batu immediately looked up and said loudly, "That's because the King used the Dance..."
"Silence! Batu!" the old man suddenly shouted sharply, cutting off his grandson. His expression was unprecedentedly stern, not allowing Batu to continue.
Looking toward the direction they were traveling, he seemed to recall a certain figure and simply said, "King Cobra... he, he definitely isn't that kind of person, he wouldn't do such things... There must be some misunderstanding! It must be a misunderstanding!"
Batu shrank his neck at his grandfather's scolding but still muttered under his breath discontentedly, "But it's clearly him... everyone says so... Why is it only raining in Alubarna..."
Giyu watched the emotional Matar and the aggrieved Batu, remained silent for a moment, then asked, "What kind of person is the King?"
Hearing this question, Matar seemed to calm down somewhat, as if lost in memories, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out slightly.
"King Cobra..." he began slowly, his voice filled with respect.
"He's a good king... Many years ago, I once saw him personally when I was selling goods at the market in Alubarna."
"He wasn't sitting high up in a carriage like other nobles, but walking among the people in plain clothes. He would stop to ask vegetable sellers how business was doing, pat children's heads, and seriously listen to us common folk... He even asked me about this year's harvest and if my family was facing any difficulties..."
Matar's description was simple, even somewhat trivial.
"A king like that... how could... how could he do something to harm the country? I don't believe it..." His voice gradually trailed off.
The two generations held completely different images of the king in their eyes. Combined with those strangely behaving King's Army soldiers from earlier, this country... was indeed strange.
Giyu listened quietly and eventually just responded with an "Mm," without saying anything more.
Just then, Giyu's gaze caught a dot gradually growing larger on the distant horizon. In the boundless sea of sand, that speck of green stood out strikingly.
"That should be it," Giyu said, pointing in that direction. "Alubarna?"
Matar looked in the direction Giyu pointed, his voice rising with a hint of excitement: "That's it! It's Alabasta! We're almost there!!"
"Hooray!!"
Batu also jumped up, forgetting his earlier displeasure, then ran over to pat the camel and loudly encouraged: "Keep it up! We're almost there! You'll get water to drink too when we arrive!"