Chapter 254 – The Road to the Present.

“How long have you been back in your hometown and you want to go up again?! Why are you so anxious about not being able to go up!?”

Usher trembled at the sound of Thaddaeo’s voice screaming as he overheard their conversation. I knew it was rude, but I was focusing on their voices without even realizing it. I heard that you need it to go rescue Belka.

“Sorry. That guy isn’t mature enough yet, so be kind to him.”

The old man clicked his tongue as he let out Ta Taeo, probably thinking he was surprised.

“Are you familiar with the old men?”
“Cheukkeul, I know. In the old days, if there was trouble in the neighborhood, it was those guys.”

It was strange to Usher that he had a childhood too.

“What was Mr. Yakaf like when he was little, not Krikka?”

I was going to call him by his original name, but I remembered that he was called by a completely different name here, so I corrected it and asked him, but the old man answered kindly as if he didn’t notice.

“When I was young, I was famous in many ways in the neighborhood. Zug father was Kuratar, so his skills were very good. Thanks to that, many people said that he would follow his father and become Kuratar.”
“What is a kuratar?”

At his question, the old man salivated, looked at Usher, and shook his head. I’m looking at what it means.

“Looks like it’s from the Pavilion sector. Be careful, I don’t know if it’s your area, but other areas have a lot of antipathy towards it.”

In the first place, Usher didn’t even know what Gurney and Pavilion Sector meant, but Usher kept his mouth shut. He could understand that what he said was a warning that he shouldn’t show off what he doesn’t know.

“You know about cogs, right?”
“…Yes.”

When he was downstairs, he looked up and saw a bunch of stuff, so he knew it was all cogs.

“Kuratar is the blacksmith who oversees the blacksmiths who manage the cogs.”

Cogwheels have been playing the role of delivering energy that moves most of the magic tools that have come down since ancient times and raising water from the underground. Even though it looks simple from the outside, the role it plays in each size and location is different and complicated, so Kurataar who can oversee it must be very competent. Because of this, even those in the Pavilion Sector say they can’t treat him carelessly. That’s why his son, Yakaf, who is talented, received a lot of expectations from Perevaaru Sector, which manages the cogs.

“But that’s all a thing of the past now. Huh, that’s all because I met the wrong woman. What’s that woman…”

Usher wanted to ask more about him, but he missed the opportunity to speak when the old man set the bowl of small fruits down in front of them.

“Okay, that’s all done. Since we’ve put all the sweet things together, it should suit your taste.”
“Then I have this!”

As soon as Erica saw it, she picked up the small crimson fruit as if she had been waiting. At first glance, it looked like a commercial car given out by mermaids, but the color was brighter and the size was smaller. She also had fruits of various colors, but they were all cut in the same shape, so I couldn’t tell the exact names. Eventually, as they are about to finish eating the fruits, they hear Thaddaeo’s tired voice.

“Huh, no matter how much I say it, it’s useless. You’ve been like that since the old days.”
“So the self-supporting power generator is a line or a horse?”
“Give it, give it. If you don’t give it to me, your personality will upset everything.”

Soon after, I turned around at the sound of getting up and saw Krikaliev and Thaddaeo coming up behind them.

“Are you leaving already?”
“It was nice to meet you, even for a moment, old man.”
“Because the money is enough.
“I don’t think that’s going to work. Just accept it.”

The old man refused the iron coin that Krikalpiryov took out, but he forced it into the old man’s wrinkly hand.

“What do you mean by that?”
“Originally, it’s not something you have to be sure about. Let’s go now, kids.”
“Oh, yes, good-bye.”
“Grandpa, bye bye~”

They left the store with the old man’s bewildered expression behind them.

“Now then, give me a self-supporting power generator, you bastard.”
“You really… Can’t help it. Follow me.”

Thaddeo, who followed him, seemed to have given up in the end, and started moving forward. When he followed him through the village, everything he saw was full of things he hadn’t seen anywhere else. Houses made of trees are lined up tightly without empty space, dyed in the color of the sunset and getting old, and the only road that looks like the lower floor has people’s footsteps. It was rare enough to hear the sound of moving objects in Usher’s bag, but the traces of life were visible here and there, and it looked old but not gloomy.

“Are there many trees here?”

But what stood out more than that was the trees that lined the streets they were walking on. It seemed strange that large trees with yellow leaves were so common that they could be seen even among the houses where people lived.

“See how many trees there are on the ground?”

If that caught Thaddeo’s attention, he glanced at Usher and asked Krikaliev.

“It’s a pity, but trees are precious on earth. There are only places where they exist.”
“Ha, you want to go up to the ground like that, but it’s worse than good.”
“But they don’t banish people to a place close to the wasteland just because they don’t have any talent there.”

Thaddaeo said it sarcasticly, but kept his mouth shut at Krikaliev’s words.

“Exiled to the basement?”
“Yeah, if you’ve been to food distribution, wouldn’t you have seen it a lot?”
“No way…”

What comes to mind is the children receiving the food distribution that I saw this morning. Children pushing each other, begging, and even selling their bodies to get even a little more food. Among them, the first thing that came to my mind was the last woman I saw, Natalia. She looked older than he did, but perhaps because she was possessed by a monster, she was helplessly captured and raped by men her own age. When Usher looks at Erica in her wistful heart, she silently nods her head.

“That’s right.”

Did you mean that the children who had most of them disappeared were the ones who had been expelled from this place to the extent that it felt empty after only a day had passed?

“If this is a good place to live, why are you expelled…?”
“This place is underground anyway. Space is limited and people naturally increase as they live.
“How is that so?!”

Then, as if to cut off their conversation, Thaddaeo’s voice pierced sharply.

“So are you and that woman! She says that’s where she is bad? A person with ability can live in a good place according to that ability, and a person without ability is banished.”

Usher looked back at them and faced him. Is it anger? Is it a feeling of betrayal? If not even that, would it be sad? His face was contorted with all sorts of emotions swirling around, and it was so distorted that it was difficult to describe.

“Isn’t it simple? If you keep these rules, you can live a rich life! Where else can there be a rule as perfect as this?!”

Thaddaeo was so enthused, but Krikaliev was just looking straight ahead, so Usher couldn’t tell if he was looking at him or elsewhere.

“Is that really an absolute criterion?”
“Erika?”

However, confusion spread across Thaddaeo’s face at the voice of the girl who had just joined in, but there was certainty and expectation in his voice as he answered.

“Of course.”
“Then on what basis did you support me?”
“Yeah, you’re a good dancer!”
“Is that really all there is?”
“It’s not a normal dance, is it? It’s a ceremonial dance that has been passed down from a long time ago. Where is Mika who has learned all of it?”

The girl had a bored expression, but Thaddeo was busy explaining how important her talent was.

“Mister, what is Mika?”

Usher took the opportunity to ask Krikaliev.

“To put it simply, it’s like a priest or shaman. While serving the gods, they supervise various ceremonies and ceremonies.”
“Wizard, isn’t it the same thing?”
“I’m openly special, like a wizard. I don’t feel the same way. For example, Jeremiah is a shaman.”
“…I got a feeling for some reason.”

I knew it was the person who had healed him, but when I thought of him wearing his bone armor so that I couldn’t see his skin, I couldn’t be more friendly with him.

“So come here with me…!”
“It’s a contradiction.”

Thaddaeo kept trying to say more, but Erica didn’t wait for him.

“Is something like a ceremonial dance really more valuable than other technicians by the standards of this place, not yours?”
“That…”

In the end, Thaddaeo could not speak any more. The girl’s gray light inorganically scans him and heads elsewhere as if he has lost interest.

“Now stop talking nonsense and guide me quickly, man. They said they’re releasing a self-supporting power generator.”
“Ah, it was.”

Pushed on by Krikaliev’s urging, he led the way. And when we arrived, it was in front of a large building that looked like two houses stacked on top of each other.

“Why arena?”

The large building in front of them seemed to be calling an arena.

“That’s because what you want is here. That’s right.”

Thaddaeo led them to the front of the arena.

“Pause. What business are you here for?”
“Yekrani said he came to see Arbit.”

When they reached the entrance, a guard with a spear blocked their way, but after hearing his words, they removed their spears as if they had never blocked the way.

“Are the people in the back party?”
“Okay.”

Thanks to this, they were able to enter the arena unhindered, but instead of entering the arena, they took a detour into the inner hallway.

“Hey, it’s not like you’re selling a self-supporting power generator as an arena product, is it?”
“I wonder if there are any other guys like you?

At Krikaliev’s question, Thaddaeo smiled as if he heard a joke and led them into the building. It’s not dark thanks to the lanterns that light up the inside of the building, but somehow it feels like it gets darker as you go deeper and there’s a strange smell, is it because of your mood? By the time even the anxiety is increasing. What appeared at the end of the corridor was a large door. Thaddaeo flung the door open without hesitation, so they could immediately see what was inside.

-Shaaaaagh!
“Who’s the bastard who managed Baranus 17! He’s already awake!”

A large lizard I saw downstairs is running rampant inside the cage, and someone hurriedly sprays something on the lizard. In addition to that, many of the cages were full of lizards like him, and in some cages, snails and large clams that were obviously monsters, although smaller in size than those seen underground, were quietly watching outside the cages. People were moving around these cages, and among them, I saw people bleeding and dying.

“I can’t use number 5 Baranus anymore?”
“Leave it for now. Even if they look like they’re dying, these guys have good resilience, so they come back to life on their own.”

Usher stopped covering his nose and frowned at him. It wasn’t just the fishy smell of an animal. It was filled with a terrifyingly strong smell of iron, no matter how much blood had been spilled here.

“Hey! Clean up quickly! If it hardens later, you won’t lose it!”

When someone sprinkles water on the floor, the water soaks up bright red blood with a whooping sound, and the cleaner brushes the water away as if annoying. Usher wondered if he was really allowed to set foot here, but Krikaliev and Thaddaeo were already ahead, so he walked behind them, holding hands with Erica. Strange eyes from around them flocked to them, but soon they seemed busy concentrating on their work. How long did he walk after them? Someone soon caught my eye.

“Can’t handle the work correctly?! Be sure to manage the object! Do you want to be scolded by speculators? Eh!?”

With a bulging belly and a shaggy beard, he looked like he was scolding someone. Thaddaeo approached him and spoke to him.

“Lucas!”
“Who will tell me my name…?”