episode_0177

Because of the distance, it was impossible to get there in one day. It may be hard work for the person who is flying, but it is also hard work for the person who is hanging on.

After we had no choice but to come down to the ground, we had to build a fire and prepare for camping. Shir’s wings disappeared as if they were storage devices inside his body, and he lay down in front of the lit fire and closed his eyes.

“Eat something and sleep.”

“I don’t like it.”

When I tried to take out the dry food, I put it back in.

Because I didn’t really have an appetite either.

“Okay, then.”

I raked the fallen leaves, laid them down, and leaned against the tree.

It’s so fluffy. How nice it is that there are no bugs.

Looking up at the sky, there is no moon today.

Nevertheless, the stars shine brightly. If I were to return to Earth now, wouldn’t I vomit from the exhaust fumes the moment I entered Seoul?

If you live in a place with clean air, you may get motion sickness the moment you breathe in a place where the air is polluted. How toxic is the rotten swamp?

“···Sihyeon, do you like sirens?”

No, this bitch?

Are you still thinking about what happened a week ago?

“Isn’t it like that because she’s a siren? Do you know that humans absolutely love sirens?!”

Sirens have deformed back muscles that make their backsides incredibly thick.

It feels like watching an odd bodybuilder who only trained his back muscles. Thanks to this, if you look at their backs, they don’t look like the same person.

“Yes.”

I got caught.

Shir smiled brightly and leaned forward.

“I’m simply asking.”

Simply…

“···The voice was good.”

I thought it would turn around overnight.

But what was also good was that just listening to it made me fall asleep, so it was helpful when checking out enemy lines.

Shir glances at me and laughs.

“Then, shall we find out what your tastes are?”

My taste?

“How?”

“Because I can change into the ultimate beauty you pursue.”

Ah, so… I am also curious about who I think is beautiful. I was curious too.

“Okay, let’s see.”

“Just close your eyes for a moment.”

Shir stood up and walked away from me.

“You can’t turn around until I tell you?”

“Okay.”

How has Shir changed? What does my taste look like?

I started to look forward to it. Hyeyeon? Jules? Or───

“Now, you can take a look.”

‘voice····!’

The voice is so sharp that one wonders if it is a person.

At this point, you will be so captivated by the song that you will have nothing to say even if you throw your boat on a reef and die.

After opening my eyes, I was out of breath.

Shir had a familiar face.

Black hair and white skin. Amber eyes and red lips, alluring and decadent…

“Widow Grand Duke…?”

why?

After I blacked out, I lost consciousness.

When the Grand Duke Widow smiles, I even feel admiration for that beautiful smile.

“How about it? My appearance.”

I shook my head.

“Still, I like your original self better.”

“I’m so surprised, can you feel it?”

There are many facets to a person, but it is safe to say that the Grand Duke Widow had perfect beauty.

So much so that we have to rewrite the scale of beauty.

The beauty of the Grand Duke Widow would be widely praised in any era of mankind.

“I watched it well, so it goes back to normal.”

“I don’t like it.”

Shir smiled and started to burn me.

The Grand Duke of Widow smiles decadently and caresses my cheek. Does Shir know what I’m thinking?

“I’m scared that you’ll forget who you are.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about─?”

“I like you. Not that kind of woman.”

“······.”

“At least remain Shir in front of me. So that I can recognize you.”

Shir’s polymorph is released.

He belatedly covers his face with both hands and hesitates with a bright red face as he looks at me.

The reaction of a child was so cute that I held it in my arms.

Then he took off his cloak and covered himself with it. When I held Shir in my arms, it felt just right to hold him.

Amber eyes look up at me.

“···That person from earlier was pretty. Who is it?”

“Widow Grand Duke. He’s a bad person targeting you and me.”

I closed my eyes as I accepted Shir, who was putting his weight on me.

*

“···Rotten smell.”

Shir is using up his Oman statue.

It doesn’t sound like anything to me at all. I was scared of flying at first, but now it feels like I’m just riding a simple amusement ride.

“Eat.”

When Shir opened his mouth, he put some jerky in his mouth and put some in my mouth as well.

···It’s bland.

“How far have we been? I think we’re almost there.”

“Right in front. Hey.”

The place Shir pointed to with his chin is visible.

All the trees around were cut down or withered and died. The ground looks rough even from here.

“Smell…!”

‘Does it smell bad?’

If Shir is having this much trouble, I should smell it too. But it doesn’t get better.

That’s not the only strange thing.

─The tree did not rot.

What this means is that even the surrounding ‘microorganisms’ die and organic matter does not decompose.

in other words.

‘The toxicity of the rotten swamp is comparable to that of the knuckler.’

For an ordinary person, even one drop on the skin is the end of the world.

“Shir, what color does that wetland look like?”

“It’s pitch black! Boiling!”

…To my eyes, it doesn’t look like a speck of dust.

Transparent. To the extent that the depth cannot be measured.

It was as if tap water had been poured into a basin.

The entire area around the pond was tightly barbed with iron fences, and guard posts could be seen being erected here and there.

“Let’s get off from afar.”

I am being watched by the elf at the guard post.

Normally, they would stand guard on a tree, but there is no living thing around the rotten swamp. In other words, it is an open space without any shields or shields.

If you go in like this, you will definitely get hit by an arrow.

“Yes.”

Shir landed some distance away from the Rotten Swamp.

“Ugh…! I think I will finally buy it now…”

Was it because I had been in a rigid position for too long?

When I stretch once, I hear a strange sound of my joints cracking.

The clothespin is still attached properly.

“Let’s go.”

Even though it looks black in Shir’s eyes, it is transparent in my eyes?

They say that it is the servants’ fault that the swamp is rotting.

If you do it right, servants will definitely pop out like sausages, like ghosts.

I walked behind Shir, who was leading the way. The gently swaying tail caught my attention.

How long did it take to chase that trail like a cat?

“Stop. You can’t go in from here.”

The elf on top of the guard post was watching this direction and aiming his bow.

“We have received permission from Consul Douglas. I would like you to let me inside the guard post.”

When I raised my wrist, the elf’s eyes, which had been looking at Shir, turned to me. The elf looked at my sleeve.

But the guy just laughed.

“What you’re saying is that the consul personally attached the certificate of agency to the slave’s sleeve? Not Hosott? To human slaves?”

“Stop talking nonsense and come down and check.”

When Shir looked up at the guard post with a murderous look in his eyes, the elf, tired of the momentum, closed his mouth like a mute who had been fed honey.

But that only lasts for a moment. The sentry was so angry that he jumped down from the guard post, which was probably 5 meters away.

I was surprised because I thought he was trying to commit suicide by jumping, but he naturally rolled over and minimized the shock, and then he came towards me with great strides.

From the anger reflected in the elf’s eyes, I could feel the will not to let anything go if something was wrong.

But it doesn’t matter because it can’t go wrong.

She smiled and held out her hand gracefully, like a noble lady offering her hand to the knight to kiss him.

The sentry grabs my hand like a man grabbing a woman’s hand in a romantic drama.

A gold badge hanging there.

The sentry politely let go of my hand.

“···It is authentic. I’m sorry for being rude.”

It’s worth it.

Not only was it a problem to be human, but my clothes had become rags from being hit by a bow, being cut by a knife, and falling.

“No. it’s okay. Archon Douglas says there is a swamp keeper from the Rotten Swamp. Can you tell me his whereabouts?”

I don’t want to ask this guy, but I need directions and basic information. Because it is impossible to know where people have been abandoned.

“The swamp keeper lives in a cabin directly visible from the inside.”

“Thank you.”

I walked ahead.

Soon, Shir came over and started walking in step. The elf may be glaring at me, but the back of my head feels extremely stinging.

“Shir, didn’t you say that the swamp has a strong smell?”

“It’s okay. Because my sense of smell was blocked.”

It wasn’t just the senses that could be blocked.

It’s an enviable ability. However, that didn’t mean Shir’s complexion looked good.

The more I went in, the paler I started to become.

What’s wrong? As the elf said, the swamp keeper’s house stood tall at the entrance.

The log cabin standing tall in the middle of nowhere is very noticeable. A house is bound to have household tools. However, I don’t see anything that could be called household tools in this house.

The windows were curtained so you couldn’t see inside, so you couldn’t tell if there were people inside.

“Are you inside?”

···No answer.

Just as I was about to knock on the door again.

“What business do humans have?”

A voice came from the other side of the door.

ah. You have an external scope.

“I was introduced to you by the consul. I heard that you are someone who can guide me through the Rotten Swamp.”

The other person did not answer.

Instead, the sounds of chains and locks being removed were heard.

I’m going to have a good time…

Soon, a Lamia stuck her head out the door and held out her hand. When I hold out my arm, I gently pull my hand and look at the clothespin.

The swamp keeper glanced at my face and let go of my hand.

Dark circles are dark and pale.

Thanks to this, he looked quite tired.

“If he came as the hand of the consul, he must have come because he needed something… What do you need?”

“There is nothing particularly necessary. I just want you to guide me through the swamp.”

“······I have to prepare, so just wait a moment.”

As expected, it seems to have different meanings depending on where it is placed.

“Yes.”

Lamia went back inside the house.

Lamia, who came out of the house again, was holding a strange leather bag and a sweet that looked like medicine in her hands.

However, it was presented to me and Shir.

“Dan’s medicinal effect takes effect 30 minutes after ingestion. If you go close without preparation, your lungs will rot, so eat it.”

“What is that swaddle used for?”

“You use it to avoid showing your face to the swamp.”

···A tool used to hide one’s face?

Are you into voodoo? As I took the bundle and ate it, Shir also took the bundle and took the leather bag.

“···You like rocks? It must be quite a role.”

“Wow!”

Shir is in a state of arrogance and nauseated.

···is it? It doesn’t feel very disgusting.

“Although it is bitter, I don’t think it tastes bad in my mouth.”

There is nothing to do for 30 minutes for the drug to take effect.

As I sat down, Shir also sat down around me.

Lamia keeps glancing at my face.

He glances at me to see something.

At this point, I should ask about the swamp.

“How long have you been a swamp keeper?”

“130 years.”

I was embarrassed.

···In this empty plain?

There’s nothing to enjoy?

“I thought this swamp was rotten with Drekkar corpses piled up. But──.”

“Their bodies did not rot.”

Did you already know this too?

Well, after 130 years, it’s even weirder not knowing.

“Why doesn’t it rot?”

“I don’t know either. What is certain is that everyone who enters that swamp faces death.”

The swamp is quiet.

There are no waves, no movement in the water, no sound.

“In that case, the inside of the swamp would still be full of corpses.”

“I guess so. You can’t see it, but it’s definitely sinking.”

What is the best way to stimulate ghosts? I can’t think of a good number.

······Is it okay to damage the body?

I needed to create probability in my actions.

“Where was the body dumped?”

“Bodies were dumped all over these swamps.”

After killing time like that for a while, Lamia put on the swaddle first and then tightened the hair tie as if she were wearing a subway gas mask.

“I’ll be back for a bit.”

─Have a nice trip.

I wondered who the greeting was to, and it seemed like there was someone in the house too. To infer from its vocalizations, it is a young ramrat.

Probably the last companion of your life. This Lamia is at least 130 years old. They will probably grow old at a similar age and die at a similar age.

“Oh, the smell…! Can I not use this?”

Shir cried and looked at the swamp keeper.

“If you show your bare face, the swamp will know you’re alive.”

···Is it megalomania?

In the first place, there is no technical device in this swaddle.

There is no purification tank, there are plenty of holes, and it only blocks the view.

“Me and my group will not use this.”

“Even if I get cursed by the swamp and die?”

“That’s what I want.”

Lamia looks at me through her round eye sockets.

“Do whatever you want.”

Then he went ahead without a word.

Ultimately, the curse comes from the servant. When we come out, we can talk face to face.

“···I want to do it?”

Shir glances at me.

I think my thoughts changed because the swamp keeper set the mood.

“Coward.”

Whether I teased him or not, Shiri put on his hood.

“Isn’t it uncomfortable? Why are you suddenly trying to write something like this? No, can you see straight ahead?”

“That swamp is strange. It looks like a shape, but even though my sense of smell is blocked, the smell continues.”

“It smells?”

“····Fishy and bitter smell. It smells just like if you cut an earthworm into pieces.”

‘Didn’t you say earlier that it wouldn’t fly?’

It is impossible to smell anything when your sense of smell is blocked. This means only one thing.

─Mental manipulation.

Maybe that’s why the swamp keeper suffers from delusions of grandeur. I became increasingly convinced that it was Pluto who had manipulated this swamp.

“Aren’t you mistaken and feel it smells?”

“No, it smells?”

Even if you check again, it’s the same.

I felt embarrassed by the look in Shir’s eyes.

“···If you’re scared, would you like to rest here?”

“No.”

Shir took the lead and went forward.