episode_0047

Currently, Usher and Belka were having a late dinner with Donar’s group. They didn’t need to go looking for them; they simply ran into them on the way to eat and ended up eating with them whether they wanted to or not, but it wasn’t too bad. It was better for him to be with Donar, who was the most familiar person among the people here.

“I had something to check, but what were you two doing that made you so late?”

“We had a little something to do.”

Usher vaguely brushed off Donar’s question. Although an unpleasant incident had almost occurred, the girl had also asked him not to reprimand her further. For some reason, even though she was the one who had almost committed such an act, she seemed more scared herself, so he didn’t even think about reporting it to someone. If it happened one more time, it would be a different story, though.

“You guys don’t really have anything to do. What kind of ‘something’?”

Donar said that but didn’t press them further. Usher chatted casually with him, received a piece of fully cooked grilled fish from him, and took a big bite.

“By the way, these fish taste a bit unique.”

“Fish?”

And at Usher’s words, Donar wore a strange expression.

“Yes, it feels like I’m eating something grilled that’s more like chicken or pheasant, like a bird, rather than fish.”

Usher didn’t notice that Donar’s expression was strange and was thinking that the taste of the grilled fish served for dinner today was peculiar. It didn’t taste entirely unlike fish, but the texture, which felt like eating bird meat, was peculiar.

“To think there was a place that called fish ‘fish’ besides the Holy Land.”

Only then did Usher, who sensed something strange in Donar’s words, look at him, and only then did his expression, visible through the visor, register in Usher’s eyes.

“Why that expression?”

“You, no, it’s nothing.”

He waved his hand and tore into a newly cooked piece of grilled fish. Usher, thinking about how many he had eaten this time, felt a question arise.

“But I haven’t seen any water around here at all. Where did you get all these fish?”

The number of fish served for the meal was so large that it was more than enough for the people here to eat generously, with some left over. Even though people were eating a little more, as if it were a welcome food they hadn’t had in a long time, it still seemed fine, so he wondered where all these fish came from.

“Hmm, I had a feeling.”

Donar mumbled something, but the sound was so quiet that Usher couldn’t hear him.

“Where else? Caught them from the sky.”

“Huh?”

Usher stared blankly at him, unsure how to react to his words that followed a brief sigh. Caught fish from the sky, he said. What kind of nonsensical talk is this? Usher thought he was making fun of him.

“Or where else do you think all these fish came from?”

“Well, maybe you found a lake or something nearby.”

“If you’re talking about an oasis, I can guarantee I haven’t seen one even once while driving the wagon.”

According to Donar, finding an oasis while traveling through the wilderness is considered such immense luck that finding one even once in a lifetime is called a miracle. There are also many stories that even the oases that are found disappear quickly due to natural elements like sandstorms, so even if you go back to look for the oasis again, you can’t find it anymore.

“Even in those oases, there’s only water; fish don’t live well there.”

It seems they are just formed by underground water occasionally rising to the surface, so the conditions are not suitable for fish to live there. And he pointed to the sky.

“Now look at the sky. Don’t you think something’s different?”

“Huh?”

Usher, who looked at the sky following his words, let out a dumbfounded sound. In the sky, which he remembered seeing no clouds at all, there was a gigantic barrier. It wasn’t an illusion. A gigantic barrier of clouds, shining pure white like untouched cotton in the moonlight, so much so that he wondered why he was only discovering it now. Who could this gigantic barrier of clouds, erected in the sky, have been built to stop? Even though it should have been built on the ground if it were to stop people, this white barrier of clouds, starting from a not-so-high point in the sky and ultimately not rooted to the ground, soared up to the high heavens invisible from below.

Was it only high? That wasn’t it either. Its end was barely visible to either side. He could faintly sense its curved shape, as if it were drawing a circle, but that gigantic barrier made even the presence of its curve seem faint. It was a white, gigantic barrier that people, no matter how hard they tried and struggled to build a wall of the same size, could never create. As he stood there, spellbound by the majestic and beautiful sight, staring blankly, Donar, who had finished eating a piece of grilled fish, spoke.

“How is it? Isn’t it magnificent?”

He said it was a sight he never tired of seeing, and Usher also agreed with his words.

“These fish are creatures that live in the sea of clouds formed like that.”

However, since they hadn’t fully entered the zone of influence of the sea of clouds yet, the fish they caught this time weren’t entirely caught from there.

“Then how?”

“Observe it a bit more closely.”

Following his words, as he looked at the cloud barrier, he realized the presence of small shadows emerging from between the barrier and entering it again. Shadows so small compared to the giant barrier that they wouldn’t be visible unless one squinted and concentrated. Then, seeing the shadows that had completely emerged from the barrier moving around in groups in the night sky, clearly visible, he realized that the outlines of those shadows were almost the same as those of the fish he had seen in the forest. Although they felt a little more flat.

“As you can see, sometimes they pop out of the clouds like that, wander around, and then go back in.”

During the day, the sunlight is hot, so they don’t come out far and the frequency of coming out is low, but at night, they pop out frequently like that. He said the fish they were eating now were the same kind.

“But how do you catch something that’s up in the sky like that?”

“Usually, they’re caught with nets tied to floating stones.”

“Floating stones?”

Another unfamiliar word appeared.

“It’s literally a stone that floats in the sky. This is used a lot in useful ways.”

He had heard many stories about the outside world from the person who visited the village, but the story about stones floating in the sky was something Usher had never heard before. It was while Usher was concentrating on Donar’s story, thinking that there were really many strange things in the outside world. It was near the end of the story that he felt a small force pulling on his clothes. It wasn’t a strong enough force to pull him forcefully, but it was enough to make him turn around.

“…Usher, I know things like that too.”

The girl was wearing a mask, but Usher realized with a start at the pouting expression he could sense even through it. Perhaps because he had asked many questions he normally would have asked her to someone else, the girl seemed sulky. Watching the sulky girl and Usher trying to appease her, Donar smiled. Then he raised his head and looked at the sky where the giant white wall was located. That cloud barrier, which was wondrous and magnificent every time he saw it, is formed in many places around the world.

The exact reason for the sea of clouds to form was unknown to anyone, but it was true that those clouds, where fish that could serve as food lived and which also brought rain, significantly influenced people’s survival. For that reason, cities or countries are usually built near the sea of clouds. It meant their destination was not far. Their hometown, Pasifenia, was also located near such a sea of clouds. Glad to taste fish after a long time, people’s dinner became longer than planned.

But no matter how long it was, the end eventually came, and he saw people preparing for the trial one by one and taking the children back to the wagon. It was true that the contents of the trial were inappropriate for children to hear. He heard that these children, exceptionally, had decided to watch the trial. He understood their intention, but…

“It’s not even a grand trial, you know.”

Yes, it wasn’t a grand trial. The circumstances were clear, he and Syph were witnesses, and Trus wasn’t making any excuses. Above all, due to the nature of the merchant group, the trial couldn’t be prolonged, so the merchant group leader had to make a decision even if the evidence was insufficient. It was just that Ermis, who was in charge of the merchant group, had a gentle personality and wanted to find more certain evidence. There was no one who didn’t know that this trial was being held as a formality. It was while he was watching the preparations for the trial with a bitter feeling. That the appearance of a boy familiar to him caught his eye.

“Huh? Isn’t that Logi? Why isn’t he back at the wagon yet?”

Because he was a mischievous kid who often got scolded by Donar, he was one of the most memorable children to him. Most of the other children had returned to the wagon. As he watched, curious why he was still there… He saw him looking around here and there, then looking towards where Donar was. However, it seemed he wasn’t looking at him.

“Ah, so even that unruly kid was a captive after all.”

Following Logi’s gaze, it was directed towards Belka, who was with Usher. It wasn’t really something strange to find odd. It was because the girl’s appearance was fatally beautiful to that extent. And even a mysterious aura that made one want to grasp her carelessly. It would have been enough to capture the heart of an immature boy.

‘I wonder if it’s possible when the biggest obstacle is always by her side.’

Was it because Logi had tripped him when they first met? Or did he instinctively realize they were rivals? Donar recalled Usher, who was particularly wary of Logi. They had even fought fiercely yesterday, for some reason. Although children grow by fighting among themselves, when Donar, who predicted that this would be a rough first love for Logi in many ways, let out a chuckle…

“Donar!”

He heard someone calling his name. Turning towards where the voice came from, he saw Shalvi approaching him, calling his name. Running quickly, as if something was very urgent.

“What’s wrong? For you to come running like that.”

Since Shalvi, who had a calm personality, didn’t run unless something was quite urgent, Donar asked with a curious mind. And when he felt his questions growing even larger at the sight of Shalvi looking around first before answering his words… At his whisper, Donar’s face hardened.