The village of Ramman was a fragrant little settlement kissed by warm rays of the sun.
Although it was smaller in size compared to the village of Zahrah, in return, the place was surrounded by a picturesque landscape straight out of an oil painting, with fences running through the carpets of endless yellowish-green fields. And in the distance, precipitous mountains that looked as if they had wrapped themselves up in mother nature like a veil serving as the unforgettable backdrop.
Seol Ji-Hu paid the balance to the two carriage drivers, and slowly closed his eyes as the gentle breeze tickled him by. The gentle winds stroking his cheeks brightened his mood up greatly.
‘We got lucky." (Seol Ji-Hu)
They didn"t encounter any ambushes during their travel and arrived in their destination before nightfall. Although it might have been nothing to fret over, but for some reason, he couldn"t help but feel good about this.
It was as if the heavens were blessing his first outing as the….
"Bleeeurgh-!!"
His peace was shattered by the sudden noise of someone vomiting on the side. And then, that was followed by the disgusting noise of something falling on the ground, too.
He broke out of his reverie and opened his eyes, a deep frown forming on his face. Not too far from him, a girl with a slightly wavy blonde hair was bent over, busy emptying out the contents of her stomach.
The superbly green fields were instantly soiled by the thick mess of reddish brown liquid.
"Khyahk, ghyaahk!"
Was she trying to scream or vomit? Which one was it?
After successfully vomiting out a rather terrifyingly large chunk of something, Maria maintained that deep grimace while she shoved her index finger back inside her throat. And then - began vomiting one more time.
"That"s why I told you to drink in moderation." (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu walked over to her and patted her back.
It was understandable, though. She drank that much yesterday and then had to ride a carriage non-stop for the past twelve hours, so it"d have been a miracle if her innards were still intact and functioning properly.
Maria barely managed to lift her head back up and began breathlessly grumbling out in her usual manner.
"Pant, pant… Argh, this G.o.d-f*cking motion sickness….." (Maria)
Seol Ji-Hu took out a clean rag and began wiping Maria"s cherry-red lips all dirtied from the puke. She looked unimpressed, but had no energy left to resist him, so she remained docile for the time being.
"Our little Maria is go~ing through a lot, isn"t she~?" (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong giggled and approached the duo, before handing over a bottle of vodka. Seol Ji-Hu gasped in disbelief but Maria seized upon this chance to s.n.a.t.c.h the bottle away and took a mouthful of the hard liquor.
She used that as a mouthwash; the cheeks ballooned up as she sloshed the alcohol around in her mouth before spitting them back all out. And then, she tilted the bottle a little to take a small sip.
"Keu-heuh… Urgh! Now I feel alive." (Maria)
"………."
Seol Ji-Hu suddenly thought that, rather than blood, actual alcohol must be circulating within her vessels, instead. It became somewhat torturous to watch anymore, so he turned around to leave. Even Veronika looked as if she was fed up, as well.
She saw the depressed look on the youth"s face. She sighed and lightly patted him on his shoulders. Somehow, that helped in consoling him a little.
"Looks like we"ll have to rest for the day." (Mikhail)
Mikhail shook his head in helplessness. Seol Ji-Hu agreed with that a.s.sessment. It wasn"t just for Maria"s sake, though. Riding carriages for half a day straight was never easy. Besides, they weren"t pressed for time, like how it was with the Arden Fortress back then.
The six of them agreed to search for a suitable place to get some rest and entered the village"s entrance. And that"s when this happened.
"I saw it! I swear, I did!"
Out of the blue, a hoa.r.s.e voice greeted them from the side. An old woman standing in front of the thatched-roof mud hut was staring at the group with unblinking eyes. She seemed to be a Paradiser.
"It was a white s.h.i.+p! A white s.h.i.+p lowered its anchor!!"
‘A white s.h.i.+p? Anchor??" (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu tilted his head.
The old woman grabbed the handrail, hard. She looked as if she"d rush out at any second now. It was at this moment that a man hurriedly ran in from a distance.
"Mother! Why are you doing this again?"
"I saw it! I"m telling you, I saw it!"
"I understand. I understand, mother, so please go back inside. These people are Earthlings."
"I"m telling you, a white s.h.i.+p lowered dozens of anchors!!"
The old woman continued to shout out even as she was pushed back inside the hut. The man sighed helplessly and urgently lowered his head to the group.
"I-I"m truly sorry! My mother has a small problem with her mind and…."
"No, it"s fine. Don"t worry about it." (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu"s calm voice caused the man to blink his eyes in a bit of daze. His previous nervous demeanour had softened just a tad.
"Are you here because of the subjugation request?"
"Yes. Are you the one who issued it?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Ah, no. I"m actually in charge of the security of this village. My name is Brice. The issuing of the request is always taken up by the village head, actually."
‘The village head is in charge of it all the time, is it…." (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu began chewing on those words, causing Brice to cautiously ask him again.
"Is there anything that I can help you with?" (Brice)
"Ah, yes. We need a place to rest for a while." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"We"ll definitely provide you with a place like that. Let me guide you to the inn." (Brice)
Seol Ji-Hu felt someone touching him on the arm, He turned to look, and found Maria shaking her head.
"I don"t want to breathe indoor air right now. It"s a bit of a bother, too. I"ll be fine if I just get some air for an hour or so." (Maria)
"Well, that"s what she said. Looks like we"ll be fine with an outdoor area." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Please, follow me. I know of a place that fits your criteria." (Brice)
Brice guided the team to an open area with a log table seemingly carved out from the trunk of a huge tree, surrounded by several aged wooden chairs. He continued to sneak glances behind him, perhaps worried about the team making other demands from him.
Just as Maria planted her forehead on the smooth surface of the log table, Mikhail opened his mouth.
"Hey, leader. If it"s okay with you, can I ask him a couple of questions? I came here before so I just wanted to confirm a few things, you see." (Mikhail)
"Really? It"s fine." (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu replied with an expression that asked back, Why are you asking my permission for that? Mikhail grinned refres.h.i.+ngly at the youth"s att.i.tude.
Since he wasn"t a header, he should refrain from stepping up too much, but most leaders wouldn"t mind this little bit of insubordination, unless they were of pernickety nature.
"Hey man. You said your name was Brice, right?" (Mikhail)
"Ah, yes." (Brice)
"It"s nothing much, actually. I was just curious if anything has changed since the last time. The contents of the request, that is." (Mikhail)
"No, not at all. There aren"t any changes, as far as I can tell." (Brice)
"In that case, it means we can scoot over to the night fog zone to kill them before they come out, right? Like the last time?" (Mikhail)
"Yes, that"s correct." (Brice)
Mikhail nodded his head. Brice asked if he was curious about anything else, and after hearing the reply of "No, not anymore", hurriedly departed from there.
"Looks like it won"t be that difficult again. We can conclude our first goal by going to the night fog zone." (Veronika)
Veronika spoke up, yawned, and stretched her limbs grandly. Rather than asking his teammates what this night fog zone was, Seol Ji-Hu recalled it from the records he read before coming here.
"The night fog zone is where the variants resp.a.w.n every four months, yes?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Yeah. It"s a bit of distance away, but if we walk fast, we can get there under two hours, max. The monsters that appear beside the variants aren"t all that much to worry about, either. With our team"s ability, we"ll probably ma.s.sacre them when they show themselves." (Veronika)
"We can"t let our guards down, though. Our leader did say that the variants could have gotten stronger, after all. Don"t forget that Moles appeared near Haramark recently, and Lioners showed up in the Forest of Denial, too." (Gierszal)
Gierszal finally broke his weighty silence and voiced his opinion. Veronika shrugged her shoulders.
"Hey, let"s eat something! I haven"t had anything since this morning, and this hunger"s driving me insane." (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong sounded really grouchy as she spat those words out. She took her bag from one of the porters and pulled out the dried meat, fruits, and pieces of bread.
The rest of the team were also feeling hungry at this point, so they reached to grab their share.
Seol Ji-Hu fell deeper into his thoughts as he chewed on the dried meat. If he wanted to, they could finish this mission today and go home. Of course, he didn"t want to return after doing only that.
‘Why couldn"t anyone find the colony yet?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
There was no result without a cause. There had to be a reason why variants kept appearing in this place.
‘….Should I just start digging the ground or something??" (Seol Ji-Hu) (TL: not sure what this line was supposed to imply. TLed as is.)
He set out to solve this mystery, but he simply didn"t have enough information to do that. Even Ian ended up throwing his hands up in defeat, so this task was never going to be easy.
But, he did have his suspicions.
He got up from his wooden chair while taking a couple of things to eat along with him. Seeing him get up, the bread sticking out of Cho Hong"s mouth bobbed up and down.
"Bare bah byu goong?" (Cho Hong)
"I"m going to take a look around the village for a bit." (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu turned around to leave after activating ‘Nine Eyes". He originally planned to use it when he got to the night fog zone, but he figured that activating it within the village wouldn"t be such a bad idea as well.
Well, having more information was better than not having any, after all. And if he got lucky and stumbled onto a jackpot, then even better.
And so, after he"d been walking a while….
‘Green colour…. Another green…."
He walked around, looking to his left and right. He then suddenly sensed someone tugging at his hand. He looked down to find an unfamiliar little girl tugging at the bread held in his left hand with her small, cute fingers.
"B-r-e-d. Brreead."
Seol Ji-Hu had to stop walking as the girl was barely keeping up with her hurried trot.
"Heeey!!" (?)
The little girl suddenly went Hick! from the sudden yell coming from somewhere and began hiccuping in fright.
"What do you think you"re doing?! Come over here, quickly!" (?)
A young boy rushed in a hurry and s.n.a.t.c.hed the little girl"s hand away. He must"ve been around ten years old or somewhere there. He was about a head taller than the girl and looked to be her biological older brother.
"He"s an Earthling, an Earthling! I told you not to go near one, didn"t I? You want to be spanked?!" (?)
"But, hiiing… the bread…."
Did she want to eat it so badly? The eyes of the complaining, kicking little girl became moist in no time at all.
The boy managed to drag his little sister away, but his actions came to a sudden halt when Seol Ji-Hu knelt down on one knee to match his eyeline.
"Here." (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu smiled and pushed forward the lengthy bread. The little girl"s eyes sparkled from seeing the food being offered. She then shook off the fl.u.s.tered boy and came running back to the youth. She grabbed the bread, and after opening her mouth wide, she took a healthy bite.
Seol Ji-Hu lightly patted the little girl"s head as her small lips busy chewed on her meal.
"Is it good?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Yeah!"
She grinned brightly and continued to bite into the bread. He found her so adorable and couldn"t help but smile. She quickly polished the bread off, then her eyes sparkled even more at the sight of the dried meat.
He handed it over to her, and the widest smile imaginable formed on her face as if she just got a present from Santa Claus.
"Thank you."
"There, there. Ah, right. Do you want to eat this, too?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu pushed forward a fruit to the boy, but the kid hesitated briefly before shaking his head.
"….No, I"m fine…."
"You can take it. You bravely stepped forward to rescue your little sister, so you should be rewarded, right?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu encouraged the boy to take it. The child hesitated for some more, but eventually, he took the fruit. He hurriedly bit into it, but then, realised Seol Ji-Hu was still there and quickly bowed his head.
"Thank you very much."
"You"re quite mature for your age. You two live in this village?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Y-yes."
The boy nodded before cautiously asking a question of his own.
"What about you, Mister Earthling, sir?"
"You don"t have to call me sir or a Mister Earthling, you know. Just call me ‘hyung". I"ll get embarra.s.sed if you keep calling me that." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Hyung…. Did you come here because of the request, hyung?"
"That"s right. Don"t worry about it, though. We"ll definitely beat them back." (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu"s gentle demeanour worked wonders, and the boy"s wariness had lessened somewhat. His stiff expression had softened just a tad as well.
"I"m not worried. My sis and I aren"t allowed to go near the night fog zone, anyway."
"But, that"s obvious. It"s dangerous over there." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Well… I don"t know."
Seol Ji-Hu stopped smiling and tilted his head at this unexpected answer from the boy.
"You… don"t know?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Yes. Grandma Hans did go there once before, but she came back all fine and the like, you see? Well, she speaks funny things now, though."
The boy must"ve been unhappy for a while, because he was quick to unload what was on his mind. Seol Ji-Hu remembered back to the old lady shouting something by the village"s entrance.
"I mean, honestly, I"m not a six or seven year old kid anymore, so I can"t understand why I"m not allowed to go there."
Seol Ji-Hu formed a wry smile.
"It"s probably because variants keep appearing there periodically, that"s why. The grown-ups are just worried about you, that"s all." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"I know. But still, things become safe again once you beat them back, right? But they don"t want to let us out, busy coming up with strange excuses and calling them three taboos and all…."
The boy grumbled softly to himself.
"Hng. A monster will kidnap you to another world if you break one of the three taboos? Does anyone think I"ll fall for that childish story?"
Seol Ji-Hu"s eyes opened very wide.
"Three taboos? Another world?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"That"s right. Hyung, you also think it"s just nonsense, right?"
Seol Ji-Hu"s eyes were withdrawn deeply now.
"Can you tell me more about those three taboos?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"U-uhm, that is…."
Groan… The boy ma.s.saged his temples before carrying on.
"Ah, right! First, never go towards the voice coming out from the fog. Second, never go where the hand is beckoning you. Third, if you see people wearing grey clothes, don"t go near and run away. Those are the three taboos."
"Who told you about those? Was it your parents?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"My parents told me, but I think the village head asked them to tell us. I know everything, you see."
"Can you tell me where the village head lives?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
That question immediately caused the boy to stop answering diligently and signs of hesitation reappeared on his face again.
"Uhm… W-why?"
"I wish to stop by and talk to him about something. I can"t?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Well, it"s not like you can"t, but…."
The boy"s voice became progressively smaller.
"If you wish to ask for more reward money, then…."
"Reward?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu finally figured out why the other villagers were behaving so oddly towards him and his teammates.
"No, that"s definitely not it. The amount of reward money is set in stone the moment I accepted the request, you know. So, you don"t have to worry about that, okay?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"….Really?"
The boy asked with a pair of bright, innocent eyes. Seol Ji-Hu could only sigh inwardly.
"Of course. I promise it"s the truth." (Seol Ji-Hu)
Soon the boy told him the directions, and Seol Ji-Hu moved towards his next destination. The abode of the village head was a proper house with scale-like tiles added to the walls, quite different from the mud huts of other villagers.
More importantly, though - it didn"t have any colour in ‘Nine Eyes".
Seol Ji-Hu"s eyes narrowed to a slit.
‘Man, this is so frustrating." (Seol Ji-Hu)
If only he knew what this ‘no colour" thing could mean. That would make his life so much easier. But, what could he do? Gula told him to stop dreaming of unlocking that part so easily, after all.
Regardless, this was the first place that didn"t s.h.i.+ne in green within this village. He wasn"t sure whether this would lead him to anywhere or not, but he"d lose nothing by finding out.
He climbed up the short stairs and knocked on the front door. He heard a soft cough and the door was slowly opened, revealing an old man with a thick head of white hair, his wrinkle-covered eyes growing wider.
"Who might you be, young man?"
"Ah, h.e.l.lo there. I"m the guy who accepted your subjugation request this time." (Seol Ji-Hu)
The village head let out a soft groan when he heard Seol Ji-Hu"s introduction.
"Ah, I see. I beg your pardon. I"ve been having health issues lately, and I couldn"t come personally to receive you."
"Oh, no. It"s fine. Besides that, I"d like to have a word with you about something. I only need a moment." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"M-mm. If it"s about the rewards, we don"t have much to discuss here, I believe…."
The village head continued on.
"Truthfully, majority of the money for the request rewards come from the support funds provided by the kingdom. If you wish for additional rewards, I fear it"d be more productive to speak to the kingdom"s officials, instead. Haramark"s royals are known to favour the Earthlings, so it could be the best solution for both sides."
Maybe this wasn"t his first time, because the village head recited his words as if he had them memorised to the very last letter.
"Actually, I"m not here for the talk of additional rewards. I"m here to ask you about a couple of things regarding this request, instead." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Mm? If you mean the contents of the request, in the night fog zone, you will….."
"I"m sorry for stopping you there, but I know all about those. What I"d like to ask you about is something else." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Y-you wish to ask me something? An Earthling wants to ask me?"
"Yes."
The village head looked very, very surprised then.
"Huh… What an odd development this is."
The village head tilted his head as if he couldn"t understand anything and muttered softly to himself after lightly coughing to clear his throat.
"You must be the second time, since that man, Like "em t.i.tties."
"………Eh? You like what now?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu couldn"t help but doubt his own hearing.
"Ahh, that. There was another Earthling who came to see me, wanting to talk to me about the request as well. I thought he and I were about the same age, and because his name was so unique that I ended up remembering him."
"What… what did you say his name was?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Like "em t.i.tties. He said that his surname was t.i.tties and his given name was Like "em. Well, I let it be since he told me that it was a common name in the world he came from. He sure was a funny man, that guy."
"……….."
Seol Ji-Hu thought that the village head might start ripping Ian"s beard off after learning the truth. He only regained his wits after seeing the village head turn around.
"In any case, please come in. We"re a poor village, so we can"t treat you well, but as a client, I can certainly talk to you about the request."
Finally being let inside, Seol Ji-Hu settled down on a chair the village head pulled out for him. The décor itself was pretty bare-bones, but there were books aplenty in the bookshelf. He did his best not to look around too much, though.
Because, he was acutely aware of how uncomfortable the villagers felt about the Earthlings overall, that was why.
‘I should leave right after asking the questions." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"So, what would you like to ask me?"
Seol Ji-Hu quickly organised his thoughts when the village head settled down in front of him. He had spotted more than a few suspicious points when he went through all the records. If some of his questions could be answered, then he just knew that he"d find that elusive clue, a thread to unravel this mystery once and for all.
"From what I know, there had been around twenty subjugation requests issued so far. And the whole thing started from quite a while ago, as well." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"That sounds about right."
"And the request is always been issued by you, the village head." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"That"s correct."
In that moment….
"If that"s the case," (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seeing the village head keep agreeing without holding anything back, Seol Ji-Hu"s eyes began gleaming elegantly.
"Please take a look at this." (Seol Ji-Hu)
He pulled out a piece of a doc.u.ment from his inner pocket and presented it before the old man.
….Towards the elderly man with no colour coming off of him.
< 71.="" taboo=""> Fin.