Episode 130. Currently, it has been almost three years since Yeong Jeong-hoon, a foreign worker, came to this world.
I, who was just a foreigner, worked as an adventurer and came close to being recognized as a hero, but ironically, I did not think about becoming an adventurer when I first came to this world.
Well, when I first came to this world, everything was unfamiliar to me, so I had no choice but to be careful about my actions.
Even if it doesn’t suit your temperament, the priority should be to gradually adapt to the situation you’re in and think about it after you have a foundation to start something.
The reason I worked as a porter was when I worked in a factory to adapt, and of course, at that time, I worked with workers who came to this world before me or who came into the world at the same time.
‘Wow, is this a watermelon or a cow?’
‘f*ck you, you son of a b*tch!!!!’
On a fictional day, such words come out in the morning, and the daily routine of pouring molten iron or hitting iron in the factory is repeated.
There are many workplaces that do not properly comply with labor laws, so you cannot expect to work overtime or on weekends, and it would be fortunate if you could receive a decent wage.
There are some places that provide lodging and meals, but even they only give you porridge and impurities that are not properly purified.
In order to eat a decent meal, you have to spend your own money, but things are so bad that if you spend your meager salary on food and renting an inn with a bed, what’s left is debt.
The only thing that was cost-effective was to burn off calories by adding sugar to the leftover milk, and to sleep in a drafty alley near the factory with a bunch of newspapers thrown away by nobles.
When I thought about it again, I thought it wasn’t something a human would do, but since most porters were treated as expendable items by the warriors, it was difficult to say which was better.
‘If you don’t want to work, hit me! ‘There are many people who would work even if it weren’t for you!’
Whether it’s employers or warriors, they always say things like that, so I’ve always realized how persecuted the foreign laborers are in this world.
In such a situation, the only way to escape from being a laborer was to save up money and start a business, become an adventurer like me, or maintain one’s dignity and be lucky enough to be noticed by the nobles and become a slave to the governor’s house.
Of course, either way, you need a lot of money.
Therefore, foreign workers who were not satisfied with their current situation generally spent their days drinking milk tea and newspapers, saving as much money as they could to invest in their future.
‘Yoo~ Uhyooh~! ‘Lend me some money~!’
On the other hand, there were also those who gave in to the harsh reality and spent the money they earned each day on alcohol or prostitution.
Among them, the most memorable one is a fellow laborer named ‘Young Jeong-hoon’.
He was a bastard who always borrowed money from me and hasn’t paid me back even after almost 3 years.
‘Have you forgotten the money you borrowed last time?’
‘Hey, I’ll pay you back with interest later, so lend me a little bit~’
‘… hehehe, I’m lending it to you because you covered up my mistake last time.’
But at the time, he was a smart and quick-witted guy, and he covered up the mistakes of other co-workers, including me, to prevent them from getting noticed by their employers.
I thought it was a debt, but whenever he asked me to borrow money, he would reluctantly lend me the money to buy a few drinks.
‘Kyaha~! After all, Woohyo, there’s no one I can trust except you!’
‘Stop making that damn noise. ‘How many times do I say Woo Hyosung and not Woo Hyo?’
‘Ah, that’s okay… …. Hey Woohyo, I’m going to go have a drink from now on. Would you like to come along? I heard there’s a new girl who came into the bar this time and it’s amazing~’
‘Okay, so go alone and have fun.’
He maintains the motto, “If you have money, spend it first and think about it,” And after work, he always drinks and women… ….
He was a trash guy who always borrowed help from his classmates because the money he earned wasn’t enough, but when I thought about it, it was just shameful and I didn’t think of him as a bad guy.
Even though everyone knew that his behavior was not good, they lent him money because they knew that having at least one person who enjoys it with them every day would at least brighten up the tiring working life.
Yes, since there was such a bad relationship, I went to the funeral home as written in the letter…….
“… What is this.”
When I arrived at the tent where the funeral was being held, the first thing that came out of my mouth was embarrassment.
That’s because the funeral taking place in front of me right now was in a format that was far from what is normally held in this world.
Yes, most funerals for the poor tend to end in a simple manner, with priests placing an urn as a service and visitors coming to pray there.
“Oh my gosh, Jeonghoon~~!!”
People crying while sitting on the floor.
And the frame containing the portrait of Young Jeong-hoon, placed in front of it, was modeled after the frame originally used in the world for what was called a ‘portrait of Young Jeong-hoon.’
“Hey, you’re the one looking after the funeral, right?”
As I was staring at the scene in bewilderment, a man in a resident’s uniform suddenly caught my eye.
When I approached him to understand the situation, he immediately bowed his head towards me in a skillful manner and spoke.
“Yes, I am the person in charge of the funeral proceedings as agreed upon in advance with Customer Jeong Hoon. “Here, take my business card.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
What is written on the business card is the identity of the director of a certain errand center and a seal stamped directly by the empire.
It wasn’t just some random person, he was a person who ran a place that was quite famous enough that I had heard of his name.
So what is it? Is it true that Jeong-hoon entrusted the funeral process to the errand center before that guy ran after him?
Is the fact that a letter was suddenly sent to the home address of an acquaintance from several years ago with whom I had little contact was because I entrusted this person with researching the acquaintances I remember?
“… “Well, I don’t quite understand.”
It may seem absurd up to that point, but if you think about it, he was also a guy who showed quite a bit of eccentric temperament.
Just in case, I decided to throw a few doubts at him right now.
“Aren’t funerals usually held at churches? “Why did he even use the errand center staff to hold the funeral?”
“He said that even if he leaves, he wants people to remember him at the end. “I was confident that if people were from the same world and the funeral was held in the way of their hometown, he would never forget.”
“… “Then what about those people over there?”
“These are actors from a theater company who are paid to hire them. “I was asked to cry in front of the photo during the funeral.”
“Oh my gosh Jeonghoon~ Oh my gosh~!”
The bereaved family cries before the funeral photo is taken again……. No, actors who play bereaved family members.
Once I realized that the sincerity felt in those tears was the curse of capitalism, one word unconsciously came out of my mouth.
“… “Crazy guy.”
In order to realize a funeral culture that does not exist in this world, we had to build equipment from scratch, including hiring the director of Named’s errand center and hiring employees with excellent acting skills…….
Is that really the economic power that a guy who only drinks and borrows money and doesn’t know about me can demonstrate?
No, in fact, the reason I fell behind may be because I took out a private loan and didn’t pay the money back.
Even if you somehow managed to get the money, you might end up falling and breaking the back of your head while drinking, or getting syphilis from playing around with your lower body.
“Hmm, is this the funeral of the humans in the other world?”
No matter what, even patheticness is an art worthy of being displayed in a museum, a voice faintly heard as I was thinking about it.
Belatedly realizing that this was what Marilyn, who came with me, said, I took my gaze away from the portrait for a moment and took the time to observe her thoughts.
The sight of her staring with wide-open eyes at a funeral taking place, not mine.
“There is less to see than I thought. “It doesn’t seem to have much meaning.”
“… “Marilyn?”
“Oh, by the way, if it’s a funeral, Hyosung should also have time to mourn, right?”
The cold atmosphere felt when talking to oneself.
I was worried about that and was about to ask, but before I could, Marylin put her hands together and started smiling brightly.
“Then, since I am an outsider, I will leave for a while, so when you are finished, please come to the streetlight in the alley over there.”
“Oh, yes then…” ….”
Marilyn leaves the tent and disappears into the street, despite having come together for so long.
The steps she took to leave her position were infinitely light, but what I felt when I actually saw her was none other than a sense of disconnection.
That’s because, recently, when she left her home, it was accompanied by a very serious atmosphere.
‘I’ll leave for a moment and come back.’
‘You’ve been going out a lot lately?’
‘Yes, I have something to do a little research on… ….’
Since his main occupation is a bard, it is understandable that he wanders the streets and collects stories.
But lately, she has been showing quite a bit of a sense that she has lost her unique lively feeling.
Is the reason why the mood seems particularly light this morning simply because the worries I’ve been having recently have been resolved?
****
Well, anyway, after a quick trial at the funeral home, I finished the meal and left the place, heading towards where Marylin was waiting.
Although I only came to check on it briefly, what happened there was so deeply imprinted in my mind that I am sure I will never forget it.
Damn you, if you spent all your money on a funeral, you should know how to treat yourself to a big meal.
Are you saying that the food given as a meal is the dead honey that we used to eat in the factory days?
“Anyway, they have the right to screw a bastard who doesn’t pay back until he dies.”
As someone who skipped breakfast, I couldn’t help but feel angry.
But that doesn’t mean that only very bad things happened.
First of all, I wasn’t the only one who came to the funeral, and fellow workers who knew him also came.
Some of them were people I knew, so the moment I met and talked to them, I was able to feel nostalgic, as if I was at a class reunion.
Okay, what’s the point of being annoyed by a dead guy?
I’m not in a situation where money is tight right now anyway, so I should be thankful just for letting me hear about what friends I haven’t seen for a while are up to date.
“Ah, Hyosung. Are you finished?”
“Yes, I have finished all my errands.”
“hehehe, then shall we return home right away? “Now, Hyosung, please come this way~”
When she came out onto the street, Mary Lynn appeared as if she had been waiting.
Afterwards, as I saw her smiling brightly and walking ahead, I felt the same sense of alienation that I had felt before come over me again.
“Why are you doing that?”
“… “No, it’s nothing.”
How long had it been since I walked down the street following her, wondering if it was all for nothing?
Although she would normally have said a few small words, Marylin just kept her mouth shut and focused on walking down her street.
Before she knew it, she had set foot on a deserted street and soon entered a place that no one could see.
“Marilyn. “Isn’t this road the direction toward home?”
“Aha, you don’t know Hyosung? Actually, this is a shortcut… ….”
-Good luck!!
A magical spear created with a swinging hand.
The moment I aimed the tip at the back, Mary Lynn stopped her steps and turned to me with her stern voice.
“… Hyosung, why are you suddenly acting like that?”
“Shut up and answer the question.”
No, this is not Marylin.
That’s what I’ve felt ever since we met on the street this morning.
And as my suspicions deepened, I gradually began to notice behavior that would never have been seen by Marylin.
“What are you? “Where did you hide Ms. Marilyn?”
Maybe this damn thing did harm to Marylin.
“Ha, this is true. She hid it well, but….”
The moment he felt that sense of crisis, he threw away the black cloak he wore and revealed his true face.
“This is why I don’t like quick-witted kids~♡”
With a bewitching voice.
The shape of a woman with the color hidden in her flowing red hair.