224 – Barnacle (3)
People in Lien spend two hours more each day than others.
It is natural to wake up before the sun rises, and thanks to the lights illuminating the streets, it is also late to go to sleep.
It was no different for workers repairing overturned roads; they worked in two shifts, day and night.
“Ten Seals! Where are the Ten Seals!”
“…I’m coming!”
As a loud voice echoed through the underpass, a middle-aged man wearing yellow epaulettes appeared in a huff. The general supervisor in charge of sewage facility restoration checked his epaulettes with a flashing baton, then huffed and turned away.
“There was an order from the higher-ups to bring the deadline forward by two days.”
“ah…”
“This is an order to definitely finish it before the deployment ceremony. You can do it, right?”
The supervisor tapped the ten seal on the shoulder with the red baton. Although it was an action filled with encouragement rather than argument, the Ten Seals looked sour at the supervisor’s words.
Is this surprising?
no. It is common in the field to openly show disapproval of a superior’s orders.
However, this is the first time I have ever faced a direct rejection.
“Unable to.”
The supervisor couldn’t believe his ears. In the field, it was not because of the authoritative thought that instructions from superiors were the law, but because I felt nervous that something might have gone wrong.
An unexpected moment was captured in the midst of the obvious. The supervisor raised his chin and said, ‘Let’s hear the reason.’
“Workers are complaining of severe fatigue.”
“Have the workers been tired for a day or two? It’s probably due to overwork…”
I guess that was the only reason, but what followed was beyond my imagination.
“Anyway. It looks like it’s due to a strange illness.”
“If you’re talking about diarrhea or abdominal pain…”
“I don’t think that’s true. People have been complaining for the past few days about pain in their wrists and ankles. Because of that, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to meet the deadline…”
“So then, you look fine?”
At the supervisor’s distrustful face, the ten took off their asbestos gloves and showed their wrists. The appearance of gray-white spots the size of millet rice. The supervisor’s face fell as he saw this disgusting sight for the first time in his life.
“…Stop it.”
“yes?”
“Stop all work! Gather everyone and come upstairs!!”
Why didn’t you tell me earlier? No, I’m glad I found out now. [Drunkard Charlie] threw the red baton he was holding on the floor and ran to the ground.
*
A small town on the eastern coastal cliffs. climb.
Because it was always raining, not many outsiders came here.
“Well, how many aren’t there?”
The tavern owner blinked at the question from the woman wearing the hood. And then puhahahahaha! Doesn’t this make you laugh out loud?
“Although it is an imperial territory, should I say that the fact that there is a village is not even known? Thanks to that, even tax collectors do not come and go.”
“Right.”
“hahahaha! Isn’t it funny? Even a tax collector who is scarier than the grim reaper can’t come here… Except for the fact that the storm doesn’t stop, there are few places as peaceful as this!”
Bang – A frothy beer was placed on the counter table. Then the hooded woman placed a copper coin and a silver coin on the counter.
“Uh… Is this too much money? One dong is enough. It’s a small town, so prices are cheap.”
“It is an offering to the master of the sea.”
“……this.”
The smile disappeared from the bar owner’s face at the sound of the woman’s simple voice. After leaving the counter, he locked the bar’s door plate and eventually turned off the lights that illuminated the room.
“I heard there are many people who don’t take shelter from the rain even during the storm, but it turns out they were pilgrims who came to offer an offering.”
Crack-crack-crack-
Every time the bar owner moves, there is a sound of something hard hitting each other.
Although there is no light indoors, Yoru has the talent of Cheon Kang-seong. She was able to fully capture the sight of the middle-aged man in front of her being covered in lumpy shells.
‘Ugh, no matter how many times I see it, it’s disgusting.’
As Yoru’s face turned into a look of disgust, the bar owner, who had changed his appearance, was not offended and laughed heartily.
“hahahaha. You must be quite a religious person to come on a pilgrimage even though you hate him so much.”
“Well… can’t I just look normal? The goddess I’m about to meet isn’t as creepy as you.”
“How can you see God in a false way when you receive Him?”
The bar owner passed Yoru, who frowned, and headed outside.
People who are disappointed should just shut up. Yoru headed to the stormy cliffs, guided by someone he could not possibly regard as a fellow human being.
The extermination team members, including Soi, do not follow. The person you will meet from now on does not like noise.
‘If you rush in, you could die.’
As we go through the storm, a huge whirlpool appears. The bar owner, the demon, took out a dagger and slashed at my hand.
Kagak – Kagagak – It is difficult to cut because of the shells that cover all of the skin. After drawing it several more times, red blood began to fall.
“…Go in.”
“okay.”
Yoru followed the demon and jumped into the whirlpool. It seemed like a suicide attempt, but the sea did not swallow Yoru. Rather, the whirlpool becomes a road and leads Yoru to a certain place.
When we finally arrived, there was a temple. The demons did not go in together. This is because the voice of God in his head commanded him to let in only foreign girls.
“Are you hurt?”
Inside the temple stood a woman whose entire body was covered in smooth scales.
Her hair shined as blue as bluestone, and her voluptuous body was clearly exposed as she wore nothing on her body.
Yoru, who knew the goddess of the sea, bowed her head deeply. She has a stiff head and does not show courtesy simply because her opponent is stronger than her.
However, she showed appropriate behavior toward those she felt had benefited.
“I’m sorry for not being able to see you more often.”
“No, it’s okay. Your presence telling the story of the outside world is enough.”
Goddess of the sea.
Queen Kihara of the Deep Sea laughed and walked closer to Yoru.
I’m already so excited to have something to say that I’ve lost my ‘goddess’ status, but the girl in front of me doesn’t care about such trivial things.
“It smells like battle. Coming here means I brought a story that will satisfy me, right?”
“of course.”
“where…”
Kihara looked around to get Yoru’s attention as he made a trace on the floor.
This is the use of ‘past time’ to see the intense experience engraved on Yoru.
Knowing the situation, Yoru waited for the sticky gaze to end.
“…I was attacked without even having a chance to do anything.”
Kihara closed his bright eyes.
Yoru also closed his eyes tightly due to bad memories.
17 years old, the age when you are completely intoxicated with yourself. Among the warriors in the tribe, Yoru was exceptional, and among her peers, she felt that no one could match her.
In addition, she was also called princess because she was the precious daughter of the great elder, so it was natural that she felt quite humiliated by this defeat.
Although it was a surprise attack, Siron Prien successfully exploited the loopholes of Yoru, who had been hesitant.
He was caught off guard when he saw that there was no weapon in his hand. He had the arrogance that he would not get tired even if he had a sword and fought with his bare hands.
In such a situation, I lost after hearing all the ugly insults. I even made up my mind to become a slave. I tried to ignore the provocation that I was scared and just ran away…
‘It’s pitiful at such a young age…’
Kihara, who had seen Yoru’s past, understood well how she felt.
“You must have learned a lot.”
So I patted his shrunken shoulder. There is no one who does not experience defeat in life. The important thing is to stand up again with an unbroken heart from that defeat.
Just like Kihara, who lost to Kylie but grew in strength, Yoru will also do the same.
“But, isn’t this an interesting story? If this is going to happen, I’d like to receive another tribute.”
“…Is that so?”
Yoru stared at Kihara with a puzzled face. In order to receive the Goddess of the Sea’s protection, an appropriate offering is needed.
If it is not an interesting story that will satisfy the goddess, you will have to prepare an offering equal to the benefit you gain thanks to her protection.
Thanks to her, the lives of her compatriots were saved from the maze-like underground, so goods or a living person’s life were needed to save one person.
However, Yoru is not holding anything right now. All she has is her body.
Kihara knew that too and licked his lips.
A shiver runs down Yoru’s spine.
“Behind… the interesting story lies behind.”
“What do you mean? After that, the ceiling collapsed and your compatriots came and ran away. Isn’t that the end?”
“There was a little boy next to the man.”
“so?”
“The little boy seemed stronger than the man. Don’t you like strong women? So…”
“Maybe I was mistaken? I lost a lot of blood and was exhausted, so I just misjudged my opponent’s strength.”
In an instant, Kihara’s eyes lit up again.
-I am Kyle.
…I wondered what it was.
– Didn’t you hear? Let me tell you again, I am Kyle.
…The human said twice that he was Kylie.
‘Past Poetry’, which delved into Yoru’s experiences,
We dug into Kihara’s past as seen through Yoru’s eyes.
-It is a waste to call him a galbo. Wow, what the f*ck smells like rotten abalone…
Offensive language, rude gestures.
Black hair, black eyes.
A woman who looks a little like Yoru in front of me.
From noble mtl dot com
A human holding a rapier that appears to embody light as a sword, a representative of God, and a symbol of a warrior.
Kihara,
I felt Kylie’s presence in Shiron, who was covered in red hair.
Kylie.
A sea without light. Even in that overwhelmingly unfavorable situation, the monster overwhelmed Kihara like a dried dried pollack.
‘lie…’
Kihara’s face was colored with astonishment.
‘Are you alive?’
Have you ever been born again?
Rebirth
I thought it was such a ridiculous idea… but when I thought about it, it didn’t make any sense at all.
The soul spins and turns in the fate of the world.
A story she heard from the god she followed in the past. Kihara raised complete denial to the realm of understanding.
But even in the midst of that, denial that can’t be raised at all. Kihara thought as he bit his nails.
‘Why a man?’