episode_0293

The Sileia that Lucia remembers were hunters who gathered together and lived at a lake surrounded by winter mountains.

They ate the meat of the demonic beasts they hunted and withstood the harsh cold with the oil squeezed from their hides.

Now, 500 years have passed since then. Lucia walked along an unfamiliar forest path.

The forest was dense, despite the winter season.

Lien, a famous place to live, is also snowing lightly, but here the leaves are barely visible.

“Isn’t it hot in summer?”

“Then, just move to a cool place. It’s winter now so I just came down south.”

After saying that, Yoru cut down the black figure along with the thick bushes. A demonic beast that tried to attack the group. Once cut, it becomes minced meat, so its name is unknown.

Yoru muttered as he shed his sword.

“The devil is fearless. Before I left, I didn’t often attack on purpose…”

“It could have been moved to another place?”

“…That won’t happen. There aren’t many warriors from the tribe enough to move through this level of demonic beasts. The number of warriors mobilized for this attack is probably at its limit. That’s probably the only adults who can protect the village.”

“Well, I don’t know what the so-called Grand Elder was thinking when he did that!”

Lucia snorted and looked back. There was a long wagon train there, and while Seira and Siriel dealt with the approaching demonic beasts, Siron was leisurely reading.

‘…I don’t know what Shiron is thinking.’

It took a month to get from the capital to the border and here.

Even though it was impossible to use teleportation, it was enough to cover the distance in three or four days alone, so Siron was willing to go through the trouble of forming a large procession.

Of course, Lucia knows that Siron is not really acting without thinking.

The cart they are leading is empty, and there are no additional escorts other than the five, so they are probably taking the Yorune people somewhere.

“Do you have something to say?”

Siron, feeling the gaze, closed the book and stood up.

“If you want to go to the bathroom, you don’t have to ask permission.”

“Oh, no!”

“Then what is it?”

“…Are these carriages prepared to carry the people of Silea?”

“Yes.”

Siron said as he jumped out of the carriage. Then he smiled at Yoru, who was leading the way.

“We will settle the people of Silea and incorporate them into the empire. If this goes well, they will no longer be called barbarians. The empire no longer needs to experience friction.”

“Isn’t that too optimistic?”

Because he was concerned about the story of his own people, Yoru immediately joined in the conversation. Siron patted the seat next to him, asking to have a chat.

“You haven’t fully remodeled your mind yet, but you’re complaining about my words.”

“…I’m not trying to refute your opinion. Of course, the process of taking the tribe members will be difficult, but since we are on the edge of a cliff, it is not an impossible problem if you take the time…”

Yoru said, rejecting Shiron’s gesture. Just as Lucia no longer calls Yoru a nigger, Siron also reduced the beatings he gave Yoru.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The question is whether the empire… can accept Silea.”

However, learning engraved in one’s bones cannot be easily erased. Yoru continued to talk even though he was nervous about when the honey chestnuts would fly.

“I know there is a lot of antipathy toward this group because it is the group that caused terrorism. But it’s only been 100 years since the terrorist attack took place. Even before that, they were looked down on as barbarians, so I wonder if they will ever be able to unite…”

Yoru glanced at Lucia with mischievous eyes.

“…It’s okay to call me a nigger and beat me like a dog. But please treat children like human beings.”

“Why are you saying this only to me?”

“Stop fucking with both of you. Arrived.”

A village located in the middle of Mt. Cheopcheop.

As soon as we came out of the forest, what we saw were tents erected on a rocky island in the middle of a huge river.

‘You were living in a place like this.’

The tent made from the skin of a demonic beast had a similar shape to that of 500 years ago.

Lucia admired the village that seemed to be floating on the river and then looked around.

There was no bridge connecting the riverside and the island.

“Should I cross by boat?”

“It originally had legs. Even a small boat doesn’t float.”

Yoru also felt strange. The village on the rocky island was in such a precarious state that if the river flooded, the entire village would be washed away, but since it was the season without rain, the bridge did not float away.

As for whether there was an attack by a demonic beast, that was not the case. This river was somewhat sacred, so unclean things could not easily access it.

“You cleaned it up on purpose.”

Siron stared at the rocky island with narrowed eyes. Although they were killing everyone, they could not hide the hostility towards them. The elderly and remaining warriors were good at hiding their presence, but the inexperienced children were not.

“There’s nothing I can’t cross anyway.”

Siron stretched out his feet without delay.

Blink-

The water my feet touched was frozen. An icy path appeared wherever his steps took him, and Siron walked leisurely on the river as if he were walking on solid ground.

“Hya…”

Lucia watched Siron’s feat with sparkling eyes.

She can walk on water, and Yoru, who follows Shiron, also walked on water, but Shiron has long legs and an unusual walking posture, which doubles his coolness.

“Where are you going?”

Just as she was about to follow Siron in, Seira grabbed Lucia by the back of her neck.

“If you go, who will guard these carriages?”

“We must also protect the theory.”

“Why do you need a guard when you can use that much magic without chanting?”

“There is no business in Daguri. And you and Siriel can easily protect the carriages…”

Seira, who received a dissatisfied axe-eye, lowered her voice, conscious of Siriel, who was still following her.

“You fool. Please make a reasonable excuse. I want to see how my distant descendants are doing. Or that Shiron feels bad for being with that kid named Yoru. Huh?”

-Then I’ll do that! Please take care!

Lucia, who was free from Seira’s hand, ran along the river and waved.

*

To put it in one word, the village of Sileia was a ‘shantytown.’

The number of households was small and the condition of the buildings was so miserable that it seemed appropriate to call it a village.

“Didn’t you say that the tribe’s warriors are guarding it? Why is there no one?”

Siron arrived at the rocky island and leisurely looked around. Even when he reached the entrance to the village, there was no proper guard, and only a pair of jangseung with a hint of totemism greeted him.

“It looks like they are wary of you.”

“I won’t hurt you~ I want to talk quickly, so anyone can come out~”

‘It gives me goosebumps…’

Yoru was astonished by Lucia’s gentle voice, which he had never heard before.

“It’s no use. There are very few people left in the village who know the imperial language.”

“…I’ll tell you sooner.”

Lucia looked embarrassed and listened intently.

-I am afraid of harm.

– After meeting, meeting, meeting, meeting, departure, etc.

[mother. I’m scared.]

[are you okay. They say they’ll be leaving soon…?]

‘I feel like a villain.’

Siron massaged the back of his neck, feeling bitter. Even without Latera’s interpretation, I could clearly see that they were scared, but after directly understanding what they meant… I felt like I was committing a crime.

“Has the conversation gone beyond the water?”

“That’s not true. Seeing that the village is still maintained, the old people will still remain. Follow me.”

Yoru took his group deep into the village.

The place she headed to was the only wooden building in the village. The height is 3 stories, which makes you wonder how they built it on a rocky island. Siron guessed that this building was probably the house where the elder lived.

“You’re back. Yoru.”

Perhaps because he was conscious of Siron and Lucia, the first thing he heard as soon as he entered the building was the imperial language.

An old man with a cane in his hand was sitting in a chair, and around him were people who looked ‘less’ old than him.

“We thought you were dead, but it’s nice to see you alive again.”

“…Yes, [Arim Patriarch]. Yoru is back.”

“Shameless! Is that all it is?”

It was not [Daeju Arim] who shouted. One of the old men standing behind. He, who had not been hiding his hostility towards us earlier, was wearing round glasses.

“No conscience! Bringing outsiders into the village?! uh! Even if he sacrifices his life to make his intentions known like his father, what kind of joke is that?”

“…Mister, please be quiet. Aren’t you talking to the Arim Patriarch?”

Yoru glared at the old man wearing glasses with cold eyes. However, perhaps because he was an old man whose death was coming soon, the man who was called ‘uncle’ did not have the energy to back down.

“Are you coming?! Old men who don’t even have the title of elder should be left out! Gaijin has grown so much! Even if you were still alive, your father would never have become an elder!”

Siron quietly listened to the old man and then opened his mouth.

“You are so angry that you write in the imperial language thoroughly. Thank you so much.”

“I want you to listen too!”

“Shiron, should I kill him?”

“Hey, that Goyan…!”

“I didn’t come here to fight.”

Siron grabbed Lucia’s back and stopped her.

“Did you say Arim Daeju? We’re here to have a serious conversation. There is no time to hang out with a senile old man.”

“…Akju, shouldn’t that have been enough? No matter how angry you get, you only end up urging people on. Shouldn’t the living live?”

Arim, the patriarch, raised his cane and calmed down the old man called Akju. As expected, that alone didn’t dampen the old man’s spirit, but it still made him clench the snout that wanted to beat him up.

“Now I feel like having a conversation.”

“Yes, I said I would talk. But what did you come all this far away to talk about?”

The patriarch stared at Siron with narrowed eyes.

“Are you really trying to persuade us to surrender? This is a town that will be ruined and run out of business anyway. If that’s all you’ve done, you’ve wasted your efforts.”

“No, that’s right.”

Siron took out a piece of paper from his pocket. A document of surrender with the emperor’s seal. The pen that rolled around on the table came to an exquisite halt in front of the patriarch.

I came to talk, but not to have a long conversation.

“Sign there and surrender. Then I will save this village.”

“…Is this the end?”

The patriarch rubbed his bleary eyes and scanned the document, but there were no special provisions written on the paper. There are only two lines written: surrender and follow the laws of the empire.

“In all my life, this is the first time I have seen such a concise letter. On the contrary, it makes me feel wary.”

“Why don’t you sign? Are you leaving it like this?”

“Go away!”

“…What do you want?”

The patriarch raised his staff and focused on Siron.

“You’d better not fool this old man. Isn’t there a reason to reach out like this?”

“What nonsense? Are you senile?”

“Yes, think of it as a senile old man’s strategy.”

“There is no other choice anyway. It would be better for you if you didn’t listen.”

“I just want to know what the truth is. Anyway, the Presbyterian Council without a senior elder is willing to surrender.”

“Act first.”

The patriarch nodded and held a pen. He was confident that Siron would not lie in this situation.

Siron put the signed paper in his arms and smiled brightly.

“What I want is the complete fusion of Silea and the Empire.”

“More.”

“In the future, a big earthquake will occur. An earthquake that could split the world in two. A disaster that splits the world in two and causes the mountain to sink.”

“What do you mean?”

Lucia looked up at Siron with a surprised face. Siron didn’t care and continued speaking quietly.

“If that happens, the demonic beasts in the Demon Realm and the demonic beasts that do not need to cross the mountain range will spread across the continent. If that happens… wouldn’t the world be destroyed even if there wasn’t an evil god?”

“…Are you telling us to stop those demons?”

Everyone except the patriarch became angry. Shiron clicked his tongue and laughed.

“What are you doing to the old people today and tomorrow? Anyway, you warriors have already broken the dantian.”

“Then?”

“I should have said that. What the empire wants is complete fusion.”

Siron shifted his gaze from Lucia, who was standing like a folding screen, to Yoru.

“Do you remember?”

“…Well, what do you mean?”

Yoru’s shoulders trembled as he received the strange gaze. And suddenly, a dirty and obscene memory floated in Yoru’s mind.

-Give birth as much as you kill.

‘no way.’

Shiron, who was watching Yoru’s confusion, shrugged his shoulders.

“Isn’t it unfair to ask you to have a baby since I just killed you?”

It was a story too innovative for old-timers to accept.

“Shouldn’t you be fair and give birth to your compatriots too?”

thud!

Old people fell, holding the back of their necks.