This man, I could only introduce in a singular way; he was a cowboy. There has never been anything more cowboy than him nor will be. As he stood tall there, greeting us with a grin, fixing his wide brim cowboy hat, with a cigar between his teeth, he indeed looked like he would ride his horse into the sunset.

That, at least, was how my first impression of him went. Upon closer inspection, I found him absurdly lanky, and in need of a bath. If the place didn't stink enough, he did. This he later explained with a light hearted statement, followed by a laugh.

"Got 'em backdoor trots, 'aven't been out much since, y'know", he said.

I knew, of course, that he had no such digestive problem but he wasn't a man you could convince in any way.

In any case, after he took a closer look at us that fateful afternoon when we first entered his hut, he lost all interest, sinking back into his sofa.

"Nothin' but dudes...", he muttered, loud enough for us to hear him.

"Oi!", Chopper was ticked off.

Then, as if recognizing his voice, he sat back up. Chopper let the door open wide so the sun wouldn't let him relax.

"Ho! What in tarnation...?!", he got up and started towards us.

Chopper apparently, didn't like the man much. After a bit of tantrum, with Chopper opening the windows and dusting the place, accompanied by shallow protests by the man himself who had started drinking, it was finally time for introductions.

"The name's Jean V. Frien's call me Jean V. but ya'll can call me Jean V."

He was rather spirited after his drink now.

"So, what bring ya city slickers to my...uh...humble abode?", he asked, casually, settling for another drink.

"Got a letter for ya, old man", Chopper got straight down to business.

Indeed, Jean V. was quite on in years, despite his years.

"Well, I'll be darned, Saddle Bum!", he barely shifted, "This buckaroo can't read nuffin'!"

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

That didn't go too well with Chopper. He unfolded the letter, gritting his teeth, while a nerve popped on his forehead. The piece of paper was utterly blank.

"That damned b-", he ripped the thing to shreds.

"Whoa there, Old Scratch", Jean dropped in.

I suppose this was Lady's idea of a vacation, sending us out here. Although, this outing might not have been meant for me at all but for Chopper alone, I was only accompanying him after all. Though, seeing as how Chopper hated Jean V., this was more likely to be a prank on Lady's part.

"So", began Jean, gulping down some alcohol, "Who're ya again?"

Chopper sighed heavily, "Remember the old hag, what did you even call her? Lady?"

"What lady?", he continued after a sip, "Ya mean the lady? That lady? Oh yea, she was fine as cream gravy, and I ain't one for the fluff duff but that lady--But then I had no tail feather left, so she took her French leave. Al'ays the way with sage hens, I tell ya."

Chopper and I listened in silence, respectful perhaps of his sad loss or perhaps his association with our Lady.

"Not the one", Chopper consoled him in his own way, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Try remembering me, Jean, you useless old idiot."

Chopper snatched the bottle from his hand and set it aside.

"So the other one...", Jean mumbled, "Lil girl, that one."

"Indeed", Chopper replied.

"Some bad medicine ya got? She went to do some...bad works. Not me, not that I was too namby pamby for that sorta works. It was all hands and the cooks, then I heard some afterclaps. Bout half of it though...ballyhoo! So she's kickin'?"

"Plenty", Chopper replied.

"An' who's this unsalted yack?", he was talking about me.

"Her boy", Chopper answered, "The newest one."

I wasn't really sure how to react to that kind of introduction but Jean seemed to understand better than me.

We ended up staying a couple days with Jean. That night, Jean told us how he'd built this town from dust to gold, but in the end, came out here and there was no other way he'd have had it. He had newly come out into his solitary life outside town when a young girl visited him.

It was seven years ago now, right before she established Valhalla. He was the first she invited to join, but he refused, as much as he liked her.

"I told her...y'know, she was barking at a knot, but the lass wouldn't listen. Ne'er been a fan of her all horns and rattles!"

He hadn't thought it possible that someone her age could do it. And he never did trust the military so he refused her outright. She persisted for a time but then left, with a simple statement, "Watch me!".

She recruited Chopper right afterwards and so he was the first member but not the first one she wanted. Chopper and Jean talked about the history, a lot of which I had no idea about. Still, the two argued more than they talked. Jean loved to pick on Chopper and the latter was surprisingly short on comebacks. I watched the two bicker back and forth all night as we camped outside the hut, since there was no way we'd have slept in that demonic hut.

"Yer bazoos been goin' long nough', no? I ain't jawing the night away with some sachet kitten."

With that, it was time to sleep, although there was barely an hour before the sun came knocking back.