Episode 136: End of vacation (2)
Abel crouched down and listened to the old woman’s words.
“Let’s see, around that guy. One, two, three, four… … Huh, this is it. I can see the people who stick to him, especially the women, continuing to increase like cells. At this rate, they’re no different from walking pheromones, tsk tsk.”
Nod nod.
“Hmm. But the problem is… I have no sense at all. If others saw me, they would envy me to death, but I have no idea. But it’s not like I treat the opposite sex like a rock.”
Nod nod.
Abel nodded vigorously at the old woman’s words as she scratched the itchy spot.
“But, there seems to be a reason for this. It’s not like I’m just a novice when it comes to relationships, but, what should I say… .”
The old woman closed her eyelids tightly and stroked the crystal ball. Grayish-white smoke swirled inside the soccer-ball-sized ball.
The old woman mumbled a spell.
“Asurabalbalta… Asurabalbalta!”
The old woman opened her eyes wide. Her eyes, as if possessed by something, sparkled transparently like glass.
“… This guy, his humanity is gradually drying up.”
“What does it mean that humanity is drying up?”
As the old woman’s expression turned serious, Abel swallowed dry saliva as well. Then the old woman opened her mouth quietly.
“Additional cost 50,000⎯”
⎯Snap. Shin Saimdang is in the old woman’s hand. The deal is done.
The old woman smiled briefly in satisfaction, then quickly erased the smile.
Hmm- two or three coughs. The old woman deliberately lowered her voice tone and opened her mouth.
“I mean it literally. This guy, emotions, reason, empathy, morals, etc. The things that are natural for a human being are gradually fading away.”
“For what reason?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t see the reason. I received the money, so I want to give it away. If I say something I can’t see, I’ll be punished by the gods. As for me, I just feel sorry for this young man. If he continues like this, he’ll soon become something in human skin. What a strange life, strange.”
The old woman clicked her tongue as if she was herding a crane.
“… … .”
Abel’s face darkened. She had clearly not believed in street fortune telling until a few minutes ago, but now she was completely absorbed in it.
Then Shail put his hand on Abel’s shoulder.
“Young lady, let’s go now. I made a mistake. I asked you to see this, because you don’t like this kind of thing. And… … .”
Shayle glared at the old woman with a cold gaze. He was the one who had messed up the young lady’s mind with his useless words. A feeling of anger rose from deep within him.
If she had been a pure fraud, I would have laughed and left. But honestly, the old woman was a gifted fortune teller.
He described the sword master so accurately that it was as if he had seen it in person.
A humanity that is being chipped away, an emotional line that is as dry as a drought-stricken land, and even an inorganic impression.
If you put together all the words that the old woman keeps reciting, it all comes down to a character called ‘Ganggeomma’.
Even though Shayle glared at her with narrowed eyes, the old woman just shrugged her shoulders.
In the awkward atmosphere, Abel, who had been crouching like a totem, suddenly asked a question.
“If that’s true, is there anything I can do?”
“of course”
The old woman stared calmly at Abel. Despite her aged body, her eyes were brimming with life.
“People can be treated with people. Since ancient times, people have supported and relied on each other. That is how we humans live as human beings.”
The old woman continued speaking.
“That’s not all. No matter how tactless you are, if there’s someone who’s always by your side, you’ll feel better. Then, you can develop a relationship that’s more than just friendship.”
“More than friends?”
The old woman held up her little finger.
“A romantic relationship. If it goes further, you might even aim for a companion. Isn’t that what you wanted, to be next to that friend?”
Dori dori.
Abel denied it, crossing his arms in an X shape.
“No? Not at all? It’s just that I owe him so much money?! I hate people who are so unreasonable!”
With those words, Abel abruptly stood up from his seat. She grabbed Shail’s arm tightly and turned around quickly.
“Shaila, let’s go.”
Shayle nodded with a trembling face. She was startled by the sudden change in stance.
The old woman spoke vaguely to Abel, who was suddenly moving away.
“But if you want to get what I paid for, there’s one person you really need to worry about. The one with the blue hair, that guy is the most dangerous. So you just need to keep an eye on that kid.”
For a moment, Abel stops.
“… … .”
After standing still for a few seconds, Abel moved his legs again. His fists were balled into fists.
“Haha.”
The old woman laughed loudly.
* * *
… the old woman was still sitting on the carpet, looking in the direction where Abel had disappeared.
That was when.
“Haa, haa. You were here!”
A young man with a pale complexion like an anemic patient approached the old woman. He wiped a drop of sweat from his chin and said,
“Can’t you stand it and disappear? I’ve been looking for you for a long time. No, didn’t I tell you not to do this! What’s that look like!? Each and every one of those things is blasphemy. The one who knows best… … .”
The young man kept nagging, panting for breath. A look of boredom appeared on the old woman’s face.
‘Okay, okay,’ the old woman said, waving her hand. Then she grabbed my face tightly.
Booooook- The sound of skin being torn. Only after the dangling skin fell away did the reversal appear on his face.
A girl with silver hair and black eyes. She was a beautiful girl who gave off a holy aura. She shook her head, scattering sweat.
The young man who was watching was disgusted.
“Can you stop using that human skin mask? If you run away because of that, I’ll never be able to find you again.”
“Is that what you meant? Well, Welter found me 10 minutes later than before. If I study a little more, I think I could hide for over 30 minutes?”
“No… why on earth are you doing this to me?”
“Hey, but I still earned 100,000 won while I was out of work!”
The woman giggled and laughed. Welter covered his forehead with a look of disgust. He let out a weary sigh.
“… Haa. Please, I don’t know about anything else, but please don’t act like a fortune teller, seriously. You could be tried for blasphemy, Your Majesty.”
“The meaning of a saint, a holy woman. That’s me. Then, if Welter says so, then I’m blaspheming myself, but I just need to do self-confession. ‘I forgive myself for my sins.’ How about that, see?”
“Oh, my God! How could you put this little lamb through such a trial!”
The escort priest Welter was crazy and jumping for joy.
A person like that is a saint. Even if it is an era where mythology has come to an end, that in itself is blasphemy against a walking god.
Welter closed his eyes. He made the sign of the cross over and over again to calm his mind.
‘Phew.’
Thanks to the faith I had built up so diligently, I was able to quickly control my worries. I felt like my colorful images had become as clean as a blank sheet of paper. I liked it.
Welter opened his eyes.
“lol.”
“… … .”
Regardless, the saint touched the two Shin Saimdang paintings while licking them. Blood spurted from Welter’s temples.
“Saint!”
“What a surprise! Why are you yelling and making a fuss!”
“You waste your mystery on a little coin!”
“Dig somewhere and see if you can find 100,000 won. And the heads of the foreign press office are collecting all the money they can, so why are they only doing this to me? And it’s money I earned through my own labor!”
Welter’s face suddenly became pale. He held on to his faith, which was almost gone.
‘No, even though she’s seventeen, how can a saintly person be so frivolous?’
Still, Welter couldn’t say anything back loudly.
Saint Yusein. The only woman among mankind who is permitted to communicate with the gods outside the world, the outside world gods.
But his speech is vulgar, his hobbies are mobile games and reading genre novels, and he spends most of his daily life lazing around.
Whenever he goes out for work, he goes under the watchful eyes of a five-member escort group of priests to find money somewhere.
Moreover, the money I saved up little by little was spent on games or genre novels.
This was because the foreign press office’s tuition could not be used to spend money on such things.
Imagine if your donations were used to pay for mobile games or genre fiction.
The faith of the saints would have been reduced to ashes in an instant.
However, even so, Yusein carried out the duties assigned to her as a saint perfectly. She prayed, meditated, celebrated Mass, and worked for the foreign missionaries, without missing a single thing.
But the problem is that I spend all my remaining time making weird human-like masks.
If I devote my outstanding talents to religion, the believers will shed tears of joy, but I may not be able to hear their confessions…
While Welter was sighing inwardly for a long time, Sein stuffed two bills into his pocket.
“How did that go? Transferred to Joaquin Academy for the second semester.”
“Ah, in that case, I just finished creating the fake identity. I made the identity the third daughter of a minor noble from the border region. Since the identity is that of a saintess, it took a full half a year.”
“It’s easy to change your nickname in games. In reality, there are too many annoying procedures.”
“But wasn’t this something that the Saintess suddenly urged about a year and a half ago, and His Holiness barely gave permission? And the reason for that is… .”
Rollin~
Sein’s pocket vibrated softly. She took out her cell phone.
Welter asked.
“…Are you that friend who played games with me again?”
“Yeah, I just got a notification saying that I leveled up, so I need to reply.”
The sunken Sein’s black body looked closely at the contents. And then, tap tap – a finger touched the glass liquid crystal.
After a while, a line appeared at the corner of Se-in’s mouth.
“I want to eat sushi.”
“Huh? Suddenly?”
“Yeah, hearing about this guy makes me crave raw fish or sushi.”
“What kind of person are you… and you even got into Joaquin Academy… To me, it’s really… .”
“Welter, what is the role of a saint in this world?”
“Yes. Escort Priest Welter, here you are.”
Welter straightened his back at the story of the doctrine.
“Now that the age of myths has ended, the sacred role of communicating with foreign gods outside the world and imparting doctrines. That is the saint’s sacred work and mission.”
“I know. That’s why I’m going. To fulfill that mission and duty.”
“…yes?”
“Well, that’s the thing, this guy. He’s leveling up too slowly, so I have to go and help him out. Otherwise, his future might be a bit bleak.”
“It’s dark. Are you talking about that mobile game?”
Instead of answering, Se-in just smiled. It was a truly angelic smile that didn’t match his actions.
“Even if I tell you, Welter won’t understand. Anyway, I found a delicious sushi restaurant in Geneva!”
“Ah, ah. Yes, I understand.”
Se-in walked forward with a brave face filled with excitement.
“The future is bleak… … .”
Welter stood there blankly, mulling over her words a few times before taking his leave.
* * *
Time continued to pass.
I was just getting used to the routine at Castle Sigurd, but the day to leave Switzerland soon arrived.
Before leaving, I looked around the room I had stayed in for a month, holding the doorknob. The atmosphere of the time was permeating the furniture and interior.
“… … .”
Squeak-
He quietly closed the door. As he came out of the castle, the master swordsman and his butler, Caron, were standing side by side.
It was to see Abel and I off to the academy. Originally, the inspector was going to come with us, but he said he was a little late because he had some unfinished business.
So, Abel and I are heading to the academy. Shail will drive us to the airport.
The inspector told me.
“It seems like only yesterday that I came to Switzerland, but it’s already been a month. But when I think about it, a lot has happened since then. You’ve worked hard, Cadet Kanggeomma.”
“No, I am the one who is grateful. I have learned a lot.”
The inspector lightly patted my back. Then I turned my gaze to the butler.
“Thank you for all your help, Caron. Thanks to you, I am having a comfortable and enjoyable time.”
“We will make your next visit more comfortable. Please come back again.”
Caron bowed his head in greeting. I bowed in return.
After the farewell party was over, Shail opened the car door for us.
“I will keep you safe on your way.”
He stared at Shail with his feet planted on the car body. Then he nodded.
“I feel safe when Mr. Shail drives.”
She responded with a bright smile.
“Grandpa, Caron. We’re going now!”
Abel opened the car window and waved his hand. The next moment, the car was thrown forward like a javelin.
The Alps zoomed by beyond the window. The difficult month of vacation seemed to resemble those rugged mountain ridges.
I leaned back on the seat, taking in the beautiful scenery outside the window.
Now it’s my home.
