episode_0079

“Why do you block my path like this? Don’t you know that in the end, you are just volunteering to be the lackey of an incompetent government?”

Jackie’s small stature, contrasting with her pale blond hair, freckled face, and notoriety as a bandit leader, was probably due to poor nutrition during her childhood. She staggered backwards, her hand that had been holding her weapon hanging limply as if she had sensed her own death.

“It’s over now. Choose whether to be captured quietly and put on the scaffold, or fight and die here.”

Mila said, taking a step forward.

“Do you think that peace will come just by taking my life? If I fall, another will rise up with a weapon.”

Jackie continued speaking in a voice mixed with a raspy sound. She had nothing to show for it, but she had one talent: a natural talent for bewitching and gathering people. If we consider what she did with this ability, it would be more appropriate to call it a curse.

After Jackie’s only brother died of a fever, she risked her life to escape and was taken in by a country doctor in the South. Although she could not read a word, she memorized the illustrations in medical books day and night and watched over the doctor’s shoulder as he treated the sick who came to his cabin.

One of her heads was extraordinary, and after five years, she left the cabin and began to travel around the southern region to treat poor patients. As time went by, the number of people following her increased, and Jackie, who watched the number of patients increase day by day, prescribed more fundamental and radical treatments as a doctor.

“Kuhehehe… . Maybe one of you guys will succeed me. But I punished the landlords, fed the starving poor, and raised the poor and sick. What kind of faith do you have, blinded by revenge?”

“I don’t know about that.”

Mila answered cynically.

“… … … What?”

Jackie’s expression becomes distorted.

“I’m only thinking about finishing it quickly and going home, so let’s wrap it up quickly and leave the will at that. Like a woman.”

Mila takes off her helmet as she says this. Her face is soaked with sweat.

“How ridiculous… . How shallow! I’m getting so angry!”

Jackie’s heart boils as he thinks about why such a thoughtless guy had to take over Memer.

Soon after, Jackie, unable to overcome the man, charged at him brandishing her weapon, and with that, her eventful life came to an end.

Jackie’s neck was impaled on the end of a pole and hung inside the castle of Songrad. The vigilantes, who had successfully completed the operation, were too busy cleaning up the situation to enjoy the joy of victory.

“We’ll go back as soon as the sun rises. Ailee, you stay here with your men and clean up the castle. ”

The leaders of the vigilante group sit together under a makeshift tent.

“Do as you wish.”

Ailee answered while fixing her hair tie.

“Oh, hm. They were more bland than I thought.

Remili, whose shoulders were raised high, coughed in vain, perhaps still feeling the excitement of victory.

“Yeah, you guys were the most helpful this time too.”

Mila, who couldn’t ignore the sight of her body twisting as if to demand to know the ball, responded in a tone of voice that seemed to be soothing a child. As expected, Remili smiled happily and her nose went up.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get a generous portion. How’s the loot count going?”

As she said that, Mila looked at Sarah. She thought that it was time to take off her helmet, but since she had decided to stop caring about other people’s little things, Mila decided to stay still.

“Yes, I just got a report that they finished it all. For things like art or crafts, you have to check the detailed value to know. ”

Sarah answered with her round eyes blinking between her eye sockets. It felt like her voice was echoing.

“Don’t forget even the smallest thing and put it on the list so there won’t be any complaints. Okay? Phew, I can finally take a breather.”

Mila stretched, taking off the chest armor she had been wearing all day. Her bare skin finally exposed to the outside air began to steam, and Mila spread her sternum with her fingers and wiped away the sweat that had accumulated with the handkerchief Ray had handed her. The Kindle sisters and Sarah turned their heads, their faces crumpled.

Before long, one of the scouts poked his head into the tent, opened his mouth, and rubbed his nose at the pungent smell of sweat that he could sense.

“Excuse me, I found this… … .”

“What is it?”

Sarah asks in a ringing voice.

Instead of answering, the scouts tilt the jars they are holding in their arms, and the leaders, without exception, crane their necks to examine the contents of the jars.

“It’s alcohol!”

Remili was the first to shout. Mila looked up at the scout who was standing there quietly without saying anything, her eyes filled with anticipation.

“You want me to drink it? How much more is there like this?”

And asked.

“Hehe, as expected, you’re really good at it. I found a huge wine cellar! There are even bigger barrels than this one.”

Gulp, four times. How long has it been since I last had alcohol in my mouth? The situation has been sorted out, so the thought that it shouldn’t be a problem crosses my mind, and the four women look at each other and realize that they aren’t the only ones who have had such thoughts.

It didn’t take long for the Songrad Castle, which had been their battlefield until just a moment ago, to transform into a noisy drinking party.

“Ohhh!”

“Just a little more! Just a little more!”

“Keep going! Don’t stop!”

The large-bodied man who was said to be sober waves his hand and puts down the barrel of alcohol. Along with that, sighs and cheers erupted.

“Puhaa, don’t mess with me, you guys! Who am I?”

Remili finally emptied one of the barrels, lifted it over her head, shook it, and shouted.

“Wow! I believed you!”

“Romantic maiden Remili!”

The agents, who seemed to be quite drunk, formed a circle around Remili, whistling and shouting. The special forces broke away from the line and rushed towards Remili, hugging her and jumping around.

“I love you Remili!”

“Hehehe, I love you too, guys. Anybody else want to go at me? Huh?”

Some people took advantage of the heated atmosphere to make heartfelt confessions, but Remili’s expression remained bright.

And not far from this bustling place, people gathered together and enjoyed drinks and food while chatting away.

“Stop talking about men! Where can I live in sorrow… . Hiccup.”

“Then what do you talk about while drinking? Hehe… Isn’t that right, Captain?”

Ailee empties her glass, smiles brightly, and nods.

“Look at that. Ah… talking about it makes me miss my squirrel… … … .”

“Wow, it’s a squirrel. Kkekekekeke.”

“How are our youngest ones? Do you miss your husband a lot when you stay here?”

“Yes… That’s right… … . If they knew that they had reclaimed their castle, the children’s father would be happy in heaven too.”

As Teria finished speaking in a hazy tone, the air seemed to freeze for a moment.

“Ahaha… . I see… … . Eh, hey! Then, our youngest scout! How about you? Do you have a groom in mind? You’re not like the rumors say you’re a womanizer or anything, are you?”

The agent who first asked the question instead put his arm around Latia’s shoulder and naturally changed the subject.

“… Huh? That’s not it? Why am I revealing a woman!”

Latia, who had been hitting the fireball, spoke angrily. And this time, the air was freezing again.

“… … ? Why are you guys like that?”

Latia tilts her head and asks, feeling embarrassed.

“Anyone who just found out…?”

When one of the members broke the silence and spoke, everyone present except Latia burst into laughter.

“Ahahahahahahaha! So country!”

“This guy’s accent gets weirder when he drinks!”

“What? Say it again. What?”

“Oh my gosh…! Why are you saying this because of my speech!”

Latia, her face flushed red, is now fed up with the same old repertoire that is making her dizzy.

“Hahahahaha!”

“That’s not it!”

“A A”

The crew members are busy teasing Latia by imitating her speech. Whenever a word ending in [ɑː] appears at the end of a sentence, it is replaced with a pronunciation closer to [ɛj], which is a characteristic of the western mountainous dialect that Latia and Ray came from.

“Try it. Yellow socks of a dry carpenter.”

A sentence full of the pronunciation of the word that is widely known to be useful in distinguishing between people from the western region.

“A dry, yellow carpenter’s sock.”

Latia started off curiously, but as she continued, her confidence seemed to diminish and her voice became smaller and smaller, and she spoke all the sentences in her mouth.

“Oh… … . It was okay this time.”

“Applause!”

“Try again, again. Socks.”

“Socks.”

Latia pronounced it while receiving applause that she was not happy about receiving at all.

“… A[ɛj]”

“Poohahahahahaha!”

“Ah, my stomach hurts! Gyahahahaha.”

Latia, who was sullen, and other agents from other regions who were rolling around on the floor while laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

Mila suddenly appeared from behind and spoke. She was supporting Sarah, who had fallen asleep before even finishing her glass.

“Ah, Captain! Come and listen to this. Youngest, try that again.”

The members pushed her back and told her to pronounce it again as if she was showing off her talents. However, Latia kept her mouth tightly shut.

“You’re making fun of my dialect again. I think your way of speaking is pretty funny, right?”

If you look closely, Mila also had a strong ‘Seoul dialect’ that was a bit far from the standard language. Mila, who immediately caught on to the general mood of the situation, eventually concluded that they were all just like other country bumpkins.

“Oh, it’s heavy. Are there any hikers here? Put your leader down somewhere. His shoulders slumped because you guys were teasing him. I’m fine, but it’s cute when a boy talks like that.”

Mila said, handing Sarah, who was snoring on her shoulder, over to the scout and then plopping down next to Latia.

“Hee… That’s right. The kids there are pretty… … .”

“What, so you’re so used to the guys there that you don’t notice the southern guys?”

“Yeah… What.”

Latia scratched her head as she answered. She had no idea that her hometown was famous for its pretty boys.

“Here you go, boss. Would you like some more?”

One of the soldiers brought a plate of salted meat that was boiled in snow as combat rations and handed Mila a glass of alcohol.

“Thank you. What were you talking about? Other than making fun of the dialect.”

Mila accepted and said.

“Hehehe… Of course, that’s a guy story.”

“You must be stupid. Those people with their lower lip hanging out.”

Mila snickered and ate meat with her fingers. Sinister laughter erupted from here and there.

“The captain is also famous for having a pretty girlfriend!”

Mila and another person flinched at the words someone blurted out. Of course, it was Latia.

“Ohhh!”

“How did you get it?”

“So. How on earth can I do that?”

“These… When I listen to them, they seem like they’re going to eat me?”

Mila was furious. Latia, who had been silent while hugging her legs, nodded quietly as if she deeply sympathized with the intentions of the agents. How on earth did they make Ray fall for it? That was also Latia’s long-standing question.

“The secret is… …this!”

Mila answered by straightening her shoulders and tapping her chest. The word for a woman’s breast also had meanings such as maternal love or inclusiveness in the language here, so everyone except Mila mostly understood it that way.

“Of course! If you’re the captain, you’d do that.”

“Wow… … That’s cool!”

Some people pout, perhaps because they thought the answer wasn’t very satisfactory. Of course, it was Latia.

“And… Wait a minute. I have some really good news for you guys.”

As Mila spoke, she rummaged through her belt and took out a small box. Latia raised her head as she felt something strong.

“Okay. I’ll get married when I get back.”

When the box was opened, what appeared was a small gold needle decorated with a pearl stuck on a velvet cushion.

“Waaah!”

“Beep!”

The special forces were singing at the top of their lungs, and the agents were whistling and shouting so loudly that even they had to turn around. And only one person’s face turned ashen.

Of course, it was Latia.