Yujin.
Yujin...
The name caught in Ling's throat like a thorn, refusing to be swallowed as she drank. Before her stretched a vista of lush green mountains and cascading waterfalls. She sat perched on the edge of a cliff, precariously sipping liquor from her gourd.
How long had she lived? Through all those years, turning points like this had been rare for her and her siblings.
Except for the recent death of their younger sibling.
That child's death had carved sorrow into all of them. It showed them what death truly was, and once the moment passed, ordinary humans forgot the child.
That must have been a wound for Ling‘s second brother.
It was a wound for all of them, but especially for Wang (望), the second of the Sui siblings.
The child who had taught him Go, the sibling he had been closest to.
"Whew..."
Draining the gourd, Ling watched the falling water. The reason the family was gathering this time was none other than the Second Brother. No visits, no audiences, not even a letter. Since the death of the Fifth, he had cut off all contact, as if he were dead himself.
She had sent letters informing everyone that the family would gather in Dahuang, but there was still no response.
"What on earth are you planning, Brother?"
She threw the question into the void, but no answer returned. However, there was another presence demanding attention besides Wang.
Yujin.
A Sarkaz. He seemed ordinary, yet he possessed a light no human should have—a monster.
"…Maybe we're the ones failing to keep up with the flow of the world."
With those final words, she vanished into the mountains like the wind.
Dining with Shu, Yujin discovered that she was an excellent cook.
"…It's really delicious!"
His eyes sparkled as he ate. Shu watched him with a pleased expression.
Why? The reason was simple.
In Dahuang, no one asked Shu, who held a high position, to cook for them. Eating with Shu usually meant enduring a quiet, formal atmosphere fit for dining with a superior.
As for her family... though she hated to admit it, her youngest brother, U, was the better cook, so he usually handled the meals.
Chongyue, having eaten too much nomad-style meat in the borderlands, had a picky palate for proper cuisine. Wang simply didn't speak; eating with him was uncomfortable even for her.
Ling was a drunkard who didn't eat rice as a snack, and Nian only liked food that was excessively spicy, salty, or sweet.
"Really? Thank you for saying so..."
In contrast, how was Yujin? Herbs, rice, neat vegetarian dishes. It was practically temple food, yet Yujin shoveled it down with glowing eyes.
Actually, she had worried he might not like it. Few people preferred vegetables.
Like Nian, who sometimes declared, 'I won't eat unless there's meat on the table.'
Shu would rap her knuckles on Nian's head and tell her to eat healthy every time.
'…Delicious! How long has it been since I had rice!'
However, there was one thing Shu hadn't predicted: Yujin was a native Korean who grew up eating rice and seasoned vegetables.
Kazdel? You should be grateful just to eat.
Kazimierz? Modeled after Eastern Europe. Do you think they have rice?
In other words, this was the first time Yujin had eaten rice since arriving in this world. And Shu‘s cooking suited his palate perfectly.
After devouring three bowls of rice and finishing the vegetables, Yujin looked at Shu. Eating neatly and calmly.
Hmm, I shouldn't think this, but she really does have that 'free pass with the in-laws' look. It actually exists?
After staring at her face for a while, Shu looked up, meeting his gaze. She tilted her head and asked.
"Is there something on my face?"
"No, just... your eyes and hair color... I thought they were very pretty."
Like deep water poured over a golden wheat field.
Her eyes were unique, but her hair color was even prettier.
"…Really? Thank you for seeing me that way."
Shu nodded calmly. Hearing her words, Yujin scooped a little more rice to eat with the vegetables.
However, he didn't see it.
Shu‘s pointed ears turning slightly red.
Meanwhile, while Yujin was comfortably stuffing his face, Theresis looked up over the mountain range.
Mountains behind, a river in front—a natural fortress.
Advanced equipment and walls to block external invasion. If they decided to barricade themselves in, they could farm inside and hold out forever.
"…What are you staring at?"
Shining asked Theresis. At her words, Theresis turned to look at Shining and recalled Yujin.
The child who wielded a sword resembling the Milky Way. Yujin got involved with this child somewhere and picked up the missing Banshee Princess like a stray cat.
Furthermore, he saved Theresis and Theresa as children, led the orphans, and now met Buldrokkas'tee and Kalaisha, solidifying his fame and position.
That was Yujin.
Without intending to, he produced good results as if protected by the world and led to victory for now.
"No, it's nothing."
Why the anxiety?
In this land where nothing happens, guarded by mysterious dragons. The feeling that something was about to happen—was it Theresis's intuition?
Theresis didn't voice it, but he prided himself on his accurate intuition.
Normally, one shouldn't rely on gut feelings, but instinctive thoughts couldn't be helped.
"By the way, how did you end up following Yujin?"
To banish the ominous thoughts, Theresis asked Shining.
"…It's nothing special. Right now, I'm more of a burden to Master. And he said he would protect me."
Shining seemed reluctant to go into deep detail with Theresis.
But Theresis could tell looking at Shining. She was a wounded child, just like them.
He wondered if there were any sane Sarkaz out there.
Most Sarkaz were mentally unstable.
If Yujin heard this, he'd ask what kind of nonsense that was, but considering their lives and trajectories, it was natural.
Rather, it would be natural to ask why he was normal.
Unless born into a noble family, life is composed of struggle. In Kazdel, selling and buying Sarkaz as slaves is common, and in foreign countries, they are treated worse than animals.
Civil war, a Royal Court rotten to the core and distrustful of each other. And a King who can't do his job.
When these three beats align perfectly, the lives of the people turn into hell.
That has been going on for 200 years.
Everyone has scars. This child, now called Shining, was the same.
"Then, what is your goal?"
Theresis's eyes looked at Shining. Shining touched the handle of the sword Yujin gave her, then tilted her head and answered.
"Becoming strong. By any means necessary... I have to sever the shackles bound to me."
Her eyes were chillingly cold.
Eyes she never showed in front of Yujin. The docile girl was wearing a mask.
"…Right. If that's your goal, I pray you achieve it."
Theresis turned his head to look at Dahuang's farmlands.
And realized with certainty.
All Sarkaz are mentally unstable.
A week passed. Yujin, Theresis, and Shining, dressed comfortably in farmers' clothes, followed the farmers to learn the work.
Theresis and Shining followed well and worked efficiently, but strangely, Yujin couldn't keep up, as if farming didn't suit his hands. So Yujin ended up moving heavy things or doing work meant for an ox with brute strength.
"…I didn't learn Arts for this."
Lamentation. But Yujin‘s lamentation changed nothing. He just did as Theresis or Shining instructed. The harvest season was approaching, so everyone was busy.
However. While everyone was taking a break to eat or entering buildings to avoid the summer sun.
'It' approached suddenly.
BOOM!
A thunderclap loud enough to tear eardrums.
"…What the?"
Yujin had never heard such loud thunder. Especially from a sky that had been clear and bright just moments ago.
"Theresis."
"Yujin, this... why is the water in the field..."
A Catastrophe? Too sudden to be a Catastrophe. If it were, the Tianshi working with headaches in the buildings wouldn't be sitting still.
Dark clouds gathered rapidly.
Not gray, but dark clouds so thick it felt like ink was splashed over the world, dyeing it black.
The person singing for a good harvest looked outside.
The person beating the drum looked outside.
Lightning spreading within the thick clouds resembled a writhing black beast.
Without warning, raindrops fell, and a torrential downpour began. The paddies and fields were submerged in rain without a chance to respond, losing their color.
And, though no one saw it.
A small Originium crystal bloomed like a flower in the middle of the paddy.
The rice ears bowed their heads, looking at the small, black flower.
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