Ch.190Chapter 190. Meter’s Ark

Generally, when one thinks of a shelter, it’s common sense for it to be surrounded by walls or built underground like a bunker.

However, the shelter we had just entered was designed to navigate water like lakes and rivers, befitting its name as an ark.

Moreover, it could not only traverse land using the legs attached underneath but also submerge underwater to hide from outside eyes.

But what was more surprising than it being a mobile fortress was something else entirely.

“What is this?”

“It’s what was once called a World Tree, cultivated by elves. It’s just a sapling they obtained and grew, so it’s relatively small.”

After guiding Tashian Pailoi, Cheska Flandor, and the refugees to their resting place, I was now receiving a separate tour of the shelter.

Following Garam Lee, I couldn’t help but express my astonishment at what I saw.

And for good reason—not only were there fields of crops growing inside the shelter, but the leaves of the tree at its center were actually emitting light.

“The World Tree itself contains mysterious magical power, and plants grown in soil nourished by this power grow faster and stronger. It’s said that elves once considered the tree’s power sacred and established settlements on lands where World Trees grew, rejecting outsiders.”

“…So elves really do exist.”

I had thought fantasy races were just fiction since there was no trace of them in reality, but apparently I was wrong.

“I’ve never seen elves myself either. The World Tree sapling was just something the lord brought and planted in the shelter.”

Ah, so Flandor provided the foundation for this?

Well, being someone who hunted various anomalies, she must have had opportunities to collect rare items from other races.

“What matters is that with just soil and seeds, we can safely and abundantly grow crops inside the shelter.”

As I was processing this information, Garam plucked a tomato from the field and took a bite, then swallowed it.

She then held out the tomato she had been eating and asked me, “Would you like some too, oppa?”

“…Are you offering me something you’ve already eaten?”

“My, why are you acting like this? We’ve shared meals before, so why are you suddenly being shy?”

“You should learn to be a little embarrassed.”

No matter how comfortable I am with her, isn’t she being a bit too familiar?

Still, they say one should accept kindness gratefully, so I took a bite. The sweet and tangy flavor spread throughout my mouth.

It tasted good and seemed nutritious, being so plump and full. I had been worried about food supplies in the shelter, but this seemed to resolve that concern.

“Next, I’ll show you the helm. It’s where the fortress’s movement and facility management are controlled…”

Garam continued to guide me through various parts of the fortress.

From the helm that controlled the vessel-like navigation and operated stone tablets that responded to magical power, to the power room that supplied the necessary energy, storage warehouses, and even a factory for processing materials on-site…

Each component was not only marvelous—unlike anything I’d seen outside—but everything was structured to be self-sufficient within the shelter.

So Flandor provided all this foundation?

When she first joined the expedition, she said she had to work hard because she lacked money… yet she prepared all this meticulously.

“Oh, who do we have here!! Isn’t it Hyoseong Woo!”

I encountered a familiar face while visiting one of these areas where construction was taking place.

The familiarity I felt from the shovel carried on his shoulder told me that the person before me was another old acquaintance of mine, like Garam.

“Jaseong hyung?”

Paladin of the Spade, Jaseong Nam.

Like Garam, he was an acquaintance I had parted ways with at the excavation site a year ago.

“Yes, it’s your hyung Jaseong! How have you been!? I’ve seen in the newspapers that you’ve been flying all over the place!”

“Ah yes, I’m glad to see you’re healthy too, but… why are you here?”

“Why am I here? This ark was built by our order in the first place. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the name of the order I belong to?”

The name of the order… Ah, was his order called Meter or something?

When I subtly signaled that I needed more explanation, Garam, who was standing beside me, immediately provided it.

“The foundation provided by the lord was good, but given the scale, it required a substantial budget. That’s when Jaseong ahjussi offered to do the construction cheaply in exchange for naming the shelter after his order.”

“It was a perfect deal. Our order needs influence more than money.”

So they substituted part of the construction cost with the shelter’s name?

I understand the reasoning, but personally, it seemed like quite a gamble.

Participating in the establishment of a shelter during ongoing pioneering efforts was essentially silently acknowledging that the empire’s existence was in peril.

Of course, now that even people from the capital were seeking refuge here, the situation had clearly become serious… Life truly is unpredictable.

“Well, the lord—Flandor or whatever—said she didn’t care what the shelter was called… She even said it would be good to have at least one religious order in a shelter like this, so it wasn’t difficult to get permission to use our name.”

“Refugees are actually finding a lot of comfort in ahjussi’s order. There’s a gathering happening right now—would you like to take a look?”

“Well, I suppose a quick look wouldn’t hurt.”

Indeed, refugees typically need something to rely on.

In that sense, nothing provides mental stability better than religion, but for some reason, a chilling sensation crept over me as I followed them.

The reason became immediately apparent upon arrival at the scene.

“Touch them and it’s death penalty! Roll call in hell!”

“Until the day we exterminate all pedophiles in this world!!!”

“Lady Yuinoi guides us! Everyone shout louder!!!”

Ah, I had forgotten.

This was the kind of order my hyung had established.

“Yes, yes. I am the holy maiden. I am the holy maiden. Evil ones begone, Demon Tribe begone… Hehehe!”

And at the center of this scene of madness was a girl who laughed hysterically, having lost her mind.

The young succubus who couldn’t accept her situation when I first met her had now completely given up and was playing along with their antics.

While demons are generally considered selfish and unsociable beings, it’s quite remarkable how thoroughly they’ve trained her.

“Anyway, with so many people seeking salvation, I wonder what those Priga bastards are doing and where.”

As I was feeling sympathy for the demon girl who had unwittingly become a holy maiden, Jaseong muttered complainingly.

The content was something I couldn’t simply ignore, as the incident I experienced before coming here was directly related to the Priga Order.

“Being practically the national religion of the empire, they should be helping people in trouble, but while they collect enormous tithes, they’ve locked themselves in their sanctuary and there’s been no news from them…”

“Ah, about that.”

And naturally, news of what happened there hadn’t been shared externally.

Judging that more people needed to know, I explained the situation, causing both Jaseong and Garam to look at me with surprised expressions.

“Priga has fallen?”

“Yes, I originally planned to report directly to the imperial family, but as you know, the situation in the capital is so chaotic that I couldn’t bring myself to go.”

“Come to think of it, many refugees are from the capital… I heard they’re arresting and imprisoning innocent people as rebels…”

“Good grief. People are angry, authorities are punishing innocent people, and what should have been this world’s Christianity has completely collapsed… The state of the world has truly become apocalyptic.”

Garam’s expression hardened, and Jaseong let out a lament.

But suddenly, as if something had occurred to him, Jaseong placed his hand on his chin and lifted his head.

“Wait a minute. If Priga has fallen, doesn’t that make our order the largest in the empire now?”

“Pardon?”

Wait a second.

It’s true that Jaseong’s Meter Order was the second largest after Priga… If Priga has fallen, does that mean Meter will become humanity’s main religious order?

“We love you, Lady Yuinoi!!!”

“Stop right there! You dare whisper words of love to the holy maiden?!”

“Feed this guy kimchi with a Scoville rating of 15,000!”

As this realization dawned on me, I saw people tying someone to a cross and force-feeding them kimchi.

While staring blankly at the scene, Jaseong, who was watching beside me, clapped his hands and exclaimed, “Oh.”

“Why are you saying ‘oh’ at that?”

Oh, this is insane.

No matter how much the world has gone to hell, how can such a deranged order become mainstream?

***

Well, while Jaseong’s order is bizarre, in such a harsh world, perhaps having some form of hope is better than none at all.

After leaving the gathering hall, Jaseong patted my shoulder and spoke in a hearty voice.

“Anyway, thanks to your arrival, I can rest a bit easier now. Can you help out with some work while you’re staying here?”

“Of course, if needed.”

I also need a safe place until I can return to the imperial court.

Having that place be with old acquaintances is an opportunity too good to pass up.

“I’m fine, but take good care of Garam. She’s been pushing herself too hard lately, not even sleeping…”

“Ahem!”

Garam cleared her throat to cut off Jaseong’s complaints.

Then, with half-closed eyes directed at Jaseong, she casually said, “Speaking of which, don’t you have a lot of work piled up, ahjussi? Why don’t you leave guiding oppa to me and get back to it?”

“Ah, well, that’s true. There’s still a lot of construction to do… Wait, something’s been bothering me—why do you always call Hyoseong ‘oppa’ but always call me ‘ahjussi’?”

“Because you’re an ahjussi. Now hurry up and go.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll go. You two enjoy your time together.”

After Jaseong left, the two of us were left alone.

However, Garam’s expression as she watched him leave remained unsettled.

“That ahjussi is always so tactless…”

“Well, that’s just how Jaseong hyung is.”

In such a dark world, isn’t it good to have someone like him who can lighten the mood?

I hoped the atmosphere would lighten, but after he left, considerable concern was visible on Garam’s face.

The expression I had glimpsed occasionally while we were together.

“If something’s bothering you, talk to me.”

Unable to ignore that face, I spoke up, and Garam, belatedly coming to her senses, looked up at me intently.

“…Oppa.”

“I don’t know the details, but in a world like this, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed. You’re younger than me and have had to shoulder too much, so if it’s difficult, isn’t it okay to ask others for help?”

Despite maturing over the past year, she still looked like a precarious child in my eyes.

At my words, Garam smiled bitterly and patted my back in return.

“There are always worries. Like oppa’s love life.”

“…Hey, why are you suddenly bringing me into this?”

“Ah, speaking of which, I heard a rumor that oppa has a wife who’s about to give birth… Did something happen between you and Irie unni?”

“You’re getting cheeky.”

Even when I’m genuinely concerned, she deflects like this. I was about to give her a light tap on the head when—

“…Oppa.”

Garam leaned her head against my back and spoke with a bitter voice.

“Do you remember our promise?”

“Promise?”

“The promise that if you had no reason to leave my side, you would stay with me.”

She was referring to the promise we made when we were isolated in the dungeon that day.

Although that promise became meaningless after we parted ways following the excavation, we had now met again.

“…Please don’t leave me, oppa.”

Just as I was realizing that the promise still held in this moment.

The bitter voice that followed made me turn to look at Garam with a blank expression.

“What do you…”

Don’t leave?

What exactly did she mean by that?

-BOOM!

At that moment, a violent tremor shook the space.

As I instinctively tensed my body, a crew member who had rushed out from the path ahead approached us and shouted.

“Hero! There’s a pirate ship blocking our route!”

“…Pirates? Aren’t we on a lake?”

“These aren’t ordinary pirates. The only connection is that this lake was once part of the sea… If we can’t eliminate them completely, we’ll have no choice but to engage in a relentless battle.”

So this is a dangerous situation, is it?

Having been looking for something to do, I thought this was perfect timing and immediately headed to the upper part of the ark with Garam, who had also responded to the call.

From the submerged underground to the surface.

What appeared before my eyes when I reached the flat ground that served as the deck was a massive shadow visible through the fog.

-SWOOSH!

Harpoons extended from that shadow were embedding themselves in the surface of the ark.

Figures crossing over to the ark via the attached ropes began to approach, drawing their weapons one by one.

“This… is… the territory… of our Black Anchor pirate crew.”

Their identity became clear as the distance closed.

Withered bodies, empty eye sockets, and worn-out weapons.

With an appearance truly like corpses, their voices were strained and cracked, as if forcing sound through dried throats.

“Begin… the plunder… of those who… have trespassed… our territory…!”

The Undead.

The bodies that had been submerged in the lake—once part of the sea—had now appeared before us, seeking to repeat their actions from when they were alive.