episode_0138
by fnovelpiaThere are two major events that occur in Lake Fortress.
One is friction with other tribes, and the other is subduing the demons. The former will happen on its own if you wait, and the latter can be heard through Darka’s mouth.
Karami knew the content, but he had no intention of coming forward. This was a story Darka was telling Assis. He should just stay quiet and wait.
‘But I can never stay still.’
The master wanted to help his troubled slave. He planned to provide at least a bridge of connection.
He introduced Asies to Karamigadarka, who entered the chieftain’s tent smoothly as his friend’s son.
“Chief, this is Miss Assis. Miss Assis, please say hello.”
Assis tilting his neck slightly.
Darka sticks his face out and stares intently at Assis. He tilts his head from side to side like a seesaw, looking at him as if he were looking at someone new.
The wide-open eyes gave off a different vibe than usual.
“You… .”
“Why are you like that?”
“You… … .”
Darka, who had been staring at Assis for a long time, opened his mouth.
“What a pretty girl!”
He blurted out such cliche words.
“It’s like looking at my childhood!”
“Haha, you’re seriously crazy.”
“You crazy bastard! I was so pretty when I was young! Do you know how many men from other tribes harassed me to marry them?!”
“Oh, I didn’t know that. I said something very rude. I thought I was going crazy or something?”
“You damn bastard.”
Tsk tsk Darka clicks his tongue.
I look at Asia again.
“What a wonderful wife. When I look at her, memories from the other side come flooding back vividly.”
“What do you remember?”
“When I was young! My grandmother used to tell old stories. Other people said they were boring, but I loved them. I would sit in front of the campfire and eat snacks while listening.”
“That’s interesting. Would you mind telling us what the story was?”
“Good! I needed someone to talk to anyway, but as expected, the only person I can think of is Karami! No matter what I try to talk about, those other rotten guys just throw a tantrum and don’t want to listen.”
As he speaks, Darka looks at Yorn, who is watching Karami and his party from a corner of the tent. Even though he suffers from dementia, he remembers the sad memories very well.
Yorn slightly avoids eye contact. The chieftain, who had spent half his life assisting the chieftain, was instantly reduced to an enemy with the appearance of Karami.
“Where should I begin… . Yes, I should tell you about when the tribe was first created. The first chieftain of our tribe was my great-great-grandmother.”
Darka begins to tell an old story.
She looked excited.
It’s like the old people who cast spells in my time.
“Of course I’ve never met my great-grandmother, but I know she’s a great person. Our Lake Fortress chieftain has been a sorcerer for generations, and she was no different.”
A being also known as a sorcerer or shaman. They practice sorcery from a young age. They protect their tribe members and pray for the safety of the village.
It may seem like a small thing, but it plays a very important role and is a spiritual pillar for northerners who value tradition.
“But he was no ordinary sorcerer.”
“Is that so?”
“He was a wizard of a great kingdom! He could see the future. He saw an evil dragon coming to the kingdom and escaped before it happened, and founded our tribe! ”
“Did you run away alone? Leaving the others to die?”
“Quiet!”
Darka’s rebuke fell.
“He didn’t run away! He was trying to achieve a greater cause! If he hadn’t escaped, this story wouldn’t have been told to future generations!”
“Oh, of course. You are an amazing person.”
“You didn’t just escape, you also brought back something very important to the royal family. This magic jewel!”
“Theft… .”
“Quiet!!!”
Darka suddenly got up.
There must have been some magic in Karami’s voice that invigorated him. Otherwise, there would have been no way for the withered old man to become so full of energy.
But Karami kept his mouth shut. If Darka became more energetic here, it seemed like the staff would burst out in flames above his head.
Darka, who had been grumbling, sat down on the chair.
“You seem like a guy without a haircut. I knew you when you played with Bascal. Huh… How far did I leave off?”
“We even talked about magic jewels.”
“Yes, the magic jewel. This is the magic jewel that my great-grandmother brought me.”
Darka held out the necklace with the Lazrite attached to it.
“What effect does it have?”
“If you hold this, you won’t be cold.”
“Is that the end?”
“Actually, there is one more secret hidden… .”
Darka, who had been looking around, whispered cautiously.
“This is a great gem that can remove the cold of Isenghar. It can remove the dragon’s curse.”
“Is that true? Isn’t that a lie?”
“This idiot with no hair is lying when he says that he is an adult! That is what my great-grandmother said, you idiot!”
“But why don’t you lift the curse?”
“Because the time has not yet come. And it is not I who will lift the curse.”
A will passed down from the great-grandmother of the magician of the kingdom, Izadarka.
“He said that a hero would come one day. He said that he would bring spring to Isenghar, so when the hero comes, hand over the jewel. That is the role of our chieftain.”
A duty passed down from generation to generation from the chieftain.
Even in Darkado’s jumbled mind, he remembers that clearly.
If a hero does not come from Darka’s generation, she must pass on the responsibility along with the jewels to her successor, just as she received them.
“But Bascal is still far from enough… .”
Darka muttered with a serious expression, fearing that the legacy of his ancestors would be cut off by him.
If you fail to fulfill your duty, your soul will not find peace even after death and you will become a ghost, wandering aimlessly in this harsh North.
That was what Northgard feared most. Darka fiddled with her necklace with trembling hands.
“Let it go in one ear and out the other. It’s all old people’s nonsense.”
Yorn, who had been listening silently, couldn’t stand to hear any more and interrupted.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Everything. The fact that the first chieftain was a wizard. The fact that the dragon left a curse. What power does a mere jewel have that can end this cold? A hero? It’s not even funny.”
“That’s not bullshit, Yorn!”
Yorn ignored Darka and continued speaking coldly.
“Do you know why fairy tales are fairy tales? They are made into fairy tales because they do not happen in reality. There are only two types of people who believe fairy tales are real. They are either ignorant children or sick people.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Karami tilts his head and thinks.
“So don’t listen to it… .”
“There’s one more.”
“What?”
“People who believe that fairy tales are real.”
Yorn narrows his eyes and glances at Karami.
The pupils looking at him shake slightly with anxiety.
“… Who is that?”
“A resident living in a fairy tale.”
Karami, who drew a smile with the corners of his mouth.
He glances at Assis and then meets Yorn’s eyes.
“Whether this is a fairy tale full of false hopes or an essay that is still in progress is not for you or me to judge. When all the stories are over, it is for the readers to judge.”
“… … .”
“Until then, we will play the role given to us as one character. You as the chieftain of Northgard. I as the master of my slaves. Just waiting for the hero, the main character, to act.”
Looking at Karami who was laughing heartily, Yorn clicked his tongue inwardly.
Is this the merchant’s advanced rhetoric? Whenever I talk to Karami, I always feel like I’m being tricked by him. Even the old-fashioned Yorn is fooled.
“What the hell are you two talking about? Where did we end up?”
“To hand over the jewel to the hero… .”
“Oh, right! I should tell you about when our tribe was first created.”
“Did you do that earlier… .”
“That’s a story my maternal grandmother told me. In fact, my great-great-grandmother was a famous magician in the kingdom.”
A conversation that repeats itself like a hamster wheel.
Karami closed her eyes tightly, and Assis listened to the story without any change in expression.
Darka’s expression as he told the story to the two seemed happier than usual.
***
Days when Assis helps with hunting and listens to Darka’s stories.
Even though Darka was repeating the same story over and over again, Assis listened silently without complaining.
It seemed like it was just Asisra’s thoughtlessness, but it was subtly different. Asis listened carefully to Darka’s story, which some people considered a delusion or a fairy tale.
The tribesmen didn’t bother to tackle him either. They took turns being the companions of Darka, who had been lonely up until now.
You had to hear the same story over and over again until your ears were worn out, but Assis voluntarily took on that role. If you stir up a hornet’s nest for no reason, you will have to take responsibility for it.
Assis tacitly permitted Darka to enter and leave his tent.
“Oh my, look at this. What kind of house is built like that? This way, it is much more efficient insulated.”
“Ohhh…! This kind of use! The dwarven craftsman’s skills are truly extraordinary.”
A small group of dwarves who came with Karami. They don’t share their know-how with just anyone, but they are the type that can’t sit still when they see a sloppy structure.
He steps forward and helps out even when no one asks him to. When he is praised by a northerner, he reacts as if nothing happened and twitches his beard.
‘How can the basic trait of a race be tsundere?’
Well, it’s true that the dwarves helped me a lot in gaining favor with the northerners.
The reason the underdeveloped northerners and the dwarves, the ultimate in technology, were brought together in the first place was for this purpose.
If he had shown off his skills and looked down on others with an elf-like personality, even a northerner would have rejected him out of pride, but it was possible for a dwarf.
Contrary to the initial concerns of the northerners, Karami’s party arrived and peaceful days continued.
“Oh… . You are a truly beautiful woman. Do you have any intention of handing her over to me? I will give you a lot of money.”
Until a group of merchants came to town.
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