Chapter 86

Though it wasn't intentional, the Cha family, whom I had somehow met again, looked surprisingly peaceful despite having been kidnapped by mermaids.

“You can’t work as a Hunter if you get scared by things like that….”

As an F-Class, Cha Ara knew that people were scarier than monsters.

Compared to the scumbags she had met so far, the mermaids were extremely polite.

“I had a good time, too. Next time you see Eun-ha, can you call me? I want to be friends with the tall Eun-ha. We promised to be friends, but he gave me his partner then took her away.”

Cha Isold’s thick skin was already a famous story.

“…Yes, well, since I’m raising kids like these….”

Cha Eun-hyeok, who saw monsters others couldn't, was also exceptionally calm.

If his younger siblings had suffered any mental or physical harm from this incident, Cha Eun-hyeok wouldn't have been so composed.

But since both of them seemed to be fine, there was no need for him to step in and waste his energy.

Yu Seong-un took the Cha family's reaction rather normally.

“That kind of indifference is also an important virtue of modern people.”

“……”

“The Cha family will survive for a long time. They have good life skills.”

I think it’s not that they have good life skills, but good survival skills.

I, Jio, was once again deeply intimidated by the frightening state of my homeland today.

‘So, it’s a virtue for modern people not to be scared even when they get kidnapped.’

No matter how little direct harm there was, wasn't it clearly a kidnapping incident?

‘What on earth do Hunters see and how do they live that they don’t get scared even when their precious younger sibling is kidnapped, and what is modern life like that the child victim is talking about making friends, and their guardian just lets it go, saying it’s fine since everything’s okay?’

31 years ago, there would have been an uproar like no other.

I wouldn't be surprised if I had been grabbed by the collar and it would have been all over the news.

But my collar was not only fine, it was crisp, and according to Yu Seong-un, it didn't even make the news.

‘It’s a truly scary world.’

I felt like I wanted to feed them five or six meals for living so steadfastly in a world like this, but anyway, the Cha family was all safe.

To be honest, I was very tempted by the fire meat, but I thought it wasn't polite to intrude on a happy family meal without prior notice, so my conscience brought me back to the portrait.

I praised myself for being so considerate.

“……”

Tadah.

“Was something skipped?”

“Mmmng.”

“It’s fine since Dana is cute.”

The cuteness of Dana provided the justification for the omission.

“Sluuurp.”

“Mng.”

I inhaled Dana’s belly.

At first, Dana, who had expressed pure curiosity with a ‘Has he lost his mind?’, seemed to have gotten used to my bizarre behavior and accepted it with a ‘Dad has lost his mind.’

Not long after, Dana, freed from me, went straight to the teddy bear.

“You two still get along well.”

“Kkuu….”

“You feel she’s like a granddaughter.”

“Kku.”

“Yes, Father, indeed.”

One grandfather, one father and two son/daughter creatures made for a family with a lineage of its own.

“Hmm….”

If two mermaid friends were added to this, they would perfectly fill the role of neighbors.

“……”

Even though I had told them how to get here, the mermaids still hadn't thought of visiting my cabin.

‘We’re neighbors, you guys.’

When did they make such a fuss about being happy to see their teacher? No, I mean, why aren’t they coming when it’s so close?

“Shouldn’t neighbors, by definition, come over with some steamed rice cakes on the first day of moving in?”

The storage where ‘Breathing Sea,’ one of the works I painted, was kept was quiet again today.

As I looked at the wooden stairs that no one was coming down, I turned to the teddy bear.

“Do Aria and Iseur still need time to think?”

“Kkukukku.”

“It seems like quite some time has passed, but they aren't thinking of visiting our house. It should be convenient to visit now that ‘Breathing Sea’ and the ‘Kingdom of the Deep Sea’ are connected….”

The system had informed me that some tutorial or whatever was over.

It said that the ‘Breathing Sea’ I had painted and the mermaids’ dungeon, the ‘Kingdom of the Deep Sea,’ were now connected and when I checked, my painting was hanging right there in the temple.

Even then, I couldn’t see the mermaids.

“Seeing that, I suspect they’re not coming because they’re afraid of being scolded.”

My perception of the mermaid siblings was that of young children who wouldn't come home because they didn't want to get in trouble.

“They’ve become more childish since I last saw them.”

“Kuruk?”

Honey briefly wondered, ‘Was that really childishness?’, but soon stopped thinking as it realized that mealtime was approaching.

Honey poked the top of my head gently, not to hurt, appealing its hunger.

“Kkungkkungkkung….”

“Are you hungry?”

“Kkuk.”

“Then you must eat.”

I, Seo Jio, who inherited the hands and heart of a grandmother from the mountains of Gangwon-do, couldn't bear to see my child go hungry.

“Hm.”

After thinking for a moment, I turned to the teddy bear.

“Father, do you like clams?”

“Kku…?”

“Then again, you’ve probably never had them.”

“Kku.”

What kind of audacious priest would have offered clams of all things as a sacrifice?

Back then, clams weren’t such a precious ingredient.

‘...There were clams sold as a famous specialty, but if you were to ask if they were valuable and rare enough to be placed on an altar, not really….’

In the first place, the Sun God didn't even have an appetite before meeting me.

This meant that even if he ruled over a world where the sun and the sea were close, the probability of him having tasted clams was nil.

“To think they didn’t even let you taste such delicious clams, isn’t this sacrilege and heresy?”

“…Kkuu….”

“This son cannot tolerate such impiety. I deeply regret not having offered the delicacies of the sea sooner. If you wait just a moment, I will serve you grilled clams and tomato stew, the pride of the Edlen region.”

“Kku.”

“What do you mean, calm down? I wasn't excited in the first place.”

I gathered my things and headed for the ‘Breathing Sea.’

“I still remember vividly where the village of Edlen was. And even if I don’t go looking for that specific area, the clams I’m looking for are surely scattered about. If you wait just a little, I’ll be back with clams in no time.”

Honey followed alongside me.

Honey, a creature of my creation, always wished to be by its parent’s side and hoped to remain in a form befitting my taste.

“Kkururururuk.”

“Will you help me?”

“Kkur.”

And I liked things that were good and polite. Honey could help its creator in any way. As long as it didn’t mess up its cute and lovely appearance.

And so, the clam-finding expedition was formed.

***

A great pig knows how to eat anything deliciously, but at the same time, it must also know how to enjoy fine cuisine.

“In that sense, I can be called a true pig.”

“Kuruk.”

“Yes, you too. A pig without stubbornness is not a real pig.”

I finally managed to find the village of Edlen, where he had lived in his past life, in this ruined world.

It was thanks to Honey, who had grown large and carried me through the air.

“Is this what it feels like for Hunters conquering a dungeon?”

It was probably a bit different from that, but it was fun, so it didn't matter. I was very proud.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here, too.”

“Kkuk?”

“Ah, no. Should I not say it’s been a while?”

“Kkur….”

“Then again, since we’re both me, it doesn’t matter.”

My hair had, at some point, turned platinum blond.

“It’s such a sentimental countryside.”

There were no signs of people.

The beach stretched out long and shallow, and just a little way off, green grass was growing.

The small houses visible within revealed white bricks and orange roofs, following the old tradition of Edlen village.

“……”

On the corroded window of a submerged house where no one lived anymore, seaweed was growing and swaying.

“…It’s strange that the shape of the village is still intact even though it’s become such a deep abyss. If this had happened on Earth, the houses and everything would have been destroyed and broken.”

“Kkururururu?”

“It feels strange that a place that was reality for me has turned into something like a fairytale. Now, instead of people, fish and jellyfish are staying in this village.”

It was a gruesome and beautiful sight.

“The light is faint, too.”

The teddy bear in my cabin was, strictly speaking, like the soul of the Sun God.

Its light, which could be called its empty body, or perhaps its remains, had grown even weaker, dimly illuminating the sea.

“The darkness has gotten deeper than before, right?”

“Kkururuk.”

“It’s like night has fallen.”

“Kkur.”

“There are stars out, too.”

In the sky I looked up to check, however, in the deep sea, something glittering was floating about.

“It looks like the Milky Way.”

It was a school of jellyfish that emitted their own light.

With small, round bodies, they formed a long line like a river and moved very slowly.

Thanks to the cluster of light that seemed ready to pour down, like one would find in the middle of a pitch-black desert, I could see ahead even in this dark abyss.

The enchanting void was truly beautiful.

“I couldn’t see them when the sea was bright because Father was here, but there were jellyfish like that. Now that it’s dark, I get to see things like this….”

“Kkurureuk.”

“Hm.”

Giovanni thought.

“It seems like it would sell well if I turned it into a tourism industry.”

That’s right, this priest hadn't been sentimental for a long time.

Even looking at his ruined hometown, the only words that came out were about a business item.

“Mr. Yu Seong-un said that The Collectors bought up all the entry passes to the ‘Kingdom of the Deep Sea.’ If the monster problem can be solved, wouldn’t it work quite well as a tourist spot? Isn’t the fact that it’s an underwater place where you can breathe novel in itself?”

“Kkung….”

“I could try adjusting the brightness too. If I change the theme for day and night like that, there will be more to see, and since I’ve inherited the qualification as the Sun God from Father, I think I can handle that much adjustment… Isn’t it really not a bad business item?”

My hair had returned to black again.

“Let’s think about all this when our stomachs are full.”

“Kkurururururururuk.”

Honey agreed vehemently.

“Kuruk? Kkurureuk?”

“You’re asking where the clams are?”

I looked around.

“It’s true that everything is submerged under the sea now, so I wonder if it’s still there, but seeing how the beach and the village have kept their forms, that place is probably fine too.”

“Kkuk?”

“There’s a separate place to dig for clams. It’s a subterranean cavern on the east side of the village, and I don't know the exact principle, but… there are mudflats.”

There were a lot of clams there.

“Clams can live in quite a variety of places. There are clams that hide in the sand, clams that hide in the mudflats, and there are even clams that live in freshwater instead of the sea. The types will vary considerably depending on where they live, but….”

I moved my feet towards the subterranean cavern he remembered.

“For your information, there are no clams on the beach of Edlen village. It might be because it’s not that wide. So the people of Edlen usually caught fish in the sea and dug for clams in the cavern to sell.”

The cavern wasn't that far.

“This is the entrance.”

When I pushed aside the seaweed that hung down like a bush, a rugged rock staircase, as if carved from hard rock, was revealed.

It was a dark entrance, but thanks to Honey, who was glowing with a warm light, no separate light was needed.

“Let’s go down.”

“Kkurureuk.”

“But….”

I looked at Honey.

“If you want to go down, you should rightly reduce your body size.”

“Kkuk?”

“You’ve gotten too big.”

Because it had carried me here and because it had absorbed a lot of seawater, Honey had swollen to a size larger than me.

“You’re cute in this state, but it will be impossible to dig for clams together. As you can see, the entrance to the cavern isn’t that wide, so it would be better to adjust, my son.”

“Kkururu….”

Honey understood and shrank.

Because of the water pressure from the existing seawater, I, who can't even swim, was almost swept away.

Honey’s father was quite light even in the water.

The path leading underground was neither very wide nor very narrow.

The path, wide enough for an adult male to pass through with a little room to spare, continued for quite a long time.

“See these holes carved into the wall here? Originally, we put things like lamps in there to light the way. Ah, there it is. To think the remains of a lamp are still here.”

“Kuruk, kkururuk.”

“…Is a piece of glass with moss on it also an accessory that suits your taste? Well, a lot of time has passed and the sharp edges have become dull, so a rounded piece of glass like this probably isn’t dangerous.”

While watching Honey secretly pick up a piece of glass, I had arrived at the subterranean cavern before I knew it.

“……”

An endlessly high ceiling, and the seawater that filled it to the top.

“…It’s not.”

I stuck out my tongue slightly.

“Mm, it’s not salty.”

“Kkungkung?”

“It’s freshwater.”

I nodded.

“This place was close to… a spring where freshwater flows.”

People on the coast always had a hard time finding water, but that wasn't the case in this village of Edlen.

It was thanks to being able to use as much freshwater as they wanted, which endlessly gushed from this wide cavern.

“I think it was a system where the seawater was purified through some process and filled the cavern as drinkable water. It was clean water without lime, so it was the pride of this village.”

I stepped onto the floor of the cavern.

“This is the mudflat.”

The freshwater in this cavern, which had high and low tides, came and went just like seawater, creating these white mudflats. The clams hiding in between were excellent in both taste and quality, becoming a specialty of Edlen village.

“And I, too, would often bring the mermaids here….”

“……”

“…and enjoyed a boisterous clam hunt together.”

I, still with black hair, caught sight of a child sitting in the middle of the cavern.

“Aria.”

“It’s been a while.”

“I see.”

I was still in the form of Seo Jio, but soon, Giovanni’s smile faintly spread across his face before disappearing.

“It’s been a long time.”

The mermaid in the form of a child.

That was her appearance from a very long time ago, from the days Giovanni remembered.

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