#but he very much pities them... especially considering their former occupations and backstories

[volot]

mugged... as a traveling merchant in hisui, bandits are most definitely a common run-in, for sure. in a land where you have to scrounge to survive and earn your keep? fend for yourself if you've been cast out or don't belong to a settlement of some kind? reject the notions set and live on your own? of course they're going to go to those lengths, and of course the merchants who travel will be likely targets. volo says outright that he's had experience with the miss fortunes in the past, though how truthful it is in that moment ( ie, if they Did in fact swipe his wares earlier or if he's bullshitting ) -- and how likely it is he's just spilling an unrelated truth in the past or telling a white little lie to give reason to "help", considering he cares less about the wares and more for the fact that they swiped a piece of ancient celestica ruins -- is a little unclear, he knows of them and holds distaste for their actions.

( a tangent, but it's well-worth noting that the coat clover wears is a torn-up, raggedy version of the guild coat. makes you think. )

while he can understand the hardship there and why this is happening -- they've been essentially screwed over by the way this world turns and the climate of it all, are out of arceus's consideration, and are struggling to survive and have to resort to these kinds of extreme means -- that doesn't mean he likes dealing with them any. at least not like this. it's annoying, if nothing else: the possible attempts on his safety, the blockage of travel on the road, the occasional big fuss made by the ginkgo guild when they as a whole are hit, the headcanon i once wrote about marking them with those capsules they'd made... if he's honest, he'd slide them things under the table had they approached him a little more amicably about it all; but that isn't really an option given the circumstances, so he deals with it accordingly.

so, it's a little situational. he'll battle them ( i'm no ginkgo guild merchant if i take that lying down!, he says ) if the situation sees fit and he's on the defense -- and this is generally the case for most cases of him potentially being robbed, or having anyone try and stick their fingers into causing him any sort of trouble. being a merchant for 10+ years means you have to watch your back and fend off any trouble that comes. other times, if the situation is viable to bargain from and he can afford to, then he'll bargain so long as he's assured they won't heckle him further and no harm will come his way; throw up his hands and spin some lies to get his way and play nice, fold his cards because he really does not want to deal with this today, and throw them a bone just to get them out of his hair while playing his usual game of seeming harmless and being so unless provoked. it really depends on the factors of who's around, what angle he can play, and how he's being threatened.

the length of this also really depends on what they're swiping, with anything important to him being much, much more serious and he goes from annoyed to angry, whereas his wares... are a minor inconvenience, and just a conversation to get through with ginter and the guild later, but less of a problem for him out of going through the motions.

in the end, though? i think most of all, he pities them in that looking-down-and-pitying-someone way that he usually does. the life they lead is a pitiful one, scorned by this world, outcast -- so, despite his displeasure for these kinds of run-in's, he'll spare them scraps if he can. he knows hisui certainly won't, and arceus definitely won't, and if he has something they want that really means a whole lot of nothing to him aside from just inventory, he'll part with it if he can, whether a battle waged or not. throw in extra, even.

now, let's not worry about him trying to rob some 15 year old of some plates he essentially manipulated them into gathering for him. he's definitely just in doing so and absolutely righteous for it, right?