Chapter 474 – [A Guide for Transcendentalists Traveling Post-Apocalypse]

No matter how deserted the world is, water itself cannot exist. If you live in life, you will usually need moisture there. So, naturally, water can be replenished somehow, and people tend to live there.

The village was at the level of a small village. A wall is built by piling up stones around the water source, and a village is built outside of it.

A stone wall was built outside the village, but its height was not as high as that surrounding the water source. That alone showed that they valued water more than outside intrusion.

“First of all, the older sister there puts some of this on to cover her skin, and her face too.”

Ruri handed Shion a cloak and scarf and said so.

“Why is that?”

“Hmm…Here, my sister has some things that other people might misunderstand. That’s why I’m preparing in advance to avoid problems as much as possible.”

“I’ll hear the story later.”

I’ve been sailing for several days, but there are many things I haven’t heard because I have to learn the language or what to do. There was a sense of anticipation that I could learn such things with my own body.

Several sturdy men who appear to be village guards are pointing their weapons at us. There are bows and spears, but since the blades of the spears are made of metal, it seems that there is a separate source of supply.

“Hey, you’ve worked hard! It’s a stray dog ​​passing by. Can I buy some water for you?”

“A wild dog?”

The man who appears to be the head of the guards examines the Drum suspiciously.

“It looks like a wild dog with quite a skill. Is it a relic excavation?”

“Well, that’s right. I’m lucky, though. Can I come in anyway?”

“It’s fine as long as you don’t cause trouble. If you want to buy water, talk to the guard before entering the water source, and pay the price after accurately reporting the amount of water.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Ruri talked smoothly and beckoned for me.

“Mister, hang out some sand tiger skins. We need to dry them a bit more, so let’s do it anyway.”

“If I lay it openly in a place like this, who wouldn’t steal it?”

“In a village like this, the minimum level of security is maintained. The village head manages it in its own way, so if there are residents who steal things, even from outsiders, they will be dealt with severely. ….More than anything else, wouldn’t that be a threat that we’d be able to catch a sand tiger?”

“Aha?”

Even if you steal something that makes money but is not money, you cannot turn it into money unless you have the infrastructure to purchase it.

As Ruri said, even if you steal something in such a small town, it’s only a matter of time before you get caught. If there is a limit to self-sufficiency, you have to interact with the outside world, but it becomes quite a problem when it is known that the person stealing things is a villager.

I spread the skin of a sand tiger across the deck. I have treated it separately so that it does not blow away in the wind, but the leather itself is quite heavy, so it will not fly away even in moderate winds.

Then a guard saw the skin of a sand tiger and shouted.

“Me, that!!!”

“Aren’t you the old man?!”

“The scar on the side of the leather!

Apparently, among the people he ate were people from this village. Take a quick look and you’ll be amazed.

The captain of the guard changed his attitude when he saw the skin of the sand tiger. He harbors a little intimacy and fear in the way he is wary of strangers.

“Keuheum, did you get a sense of the place around here?”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s the old man or not, but first of all I caught him because he came at me. An old merchant strangled him to death.”

“Huh! Looking at the fact that there are no other scars…”

The guard captain’s gaze turned to me. I just let it go and stood still.

But maybe because of my eyes, he seemed to see it as a threat. He backs away with a slightly frightened expression.

“You look like you could kill ten sand tigers by yourself.”

It’s a cibiter right now?

Anyway, the news spread, and people came out and started looking at the sand tiger’s skin.

“Kuheuheuk, mother…”

“Euhahahaha! He died well!!! He died well!!! Now my father will also go in peace!”

“That guy!!!!

“Ah…….”

Some are crying, some are laughing, some are angry, some are silent. It’s a different reaction.

Calling them the same tiger is a story that came to mind. Since ancient times, there have been many tigers in Korea, and it was called Hwan-hwan (虎患) to be bitten by a tiger.

They are compatible people That’s why they vomit joys and sorrows, albeit in leather, and appeal to their emotions.

It’s a pretty sad sight. But even so, people have no choice but to live.

“Excuse me, my name is Janghwan, who is in charge of the village chief.”

“Oh, how are you?”

The village chief, whose face showed the passing years, jumped out wearing a tabi.

Glancing at the sand tiger’s skin, he showed a slight greedy look. But he doesn’t reveal it openly. I was able to figure it out because I was like me, but because I was quite skilled in the way of life, it only looks like hospitality from the outside.

“I heard that you recently caught a sand tiger that has settled down. Oh, let’s go inside and talk.”

We entered the village chief’s house. It is a thatched house made of stones, mud, and grass without using trees, but the fact that mud can be used in a place where even water is rare is proof that there is room for it.

Water is served in a pottery-like cup made of baked goods. It wasn’t like tea, and it wasn’t even boiled water, but I drank it for now.

“I heard that you are a wild dog, but have you crossed the Great Desert?”

“Well, there are various circumstances.”

“Well, if you have an excavated item like that, it will be much easier to cross the Great Desert.”

Shion and I took a step back and watched as Ruri took care of herself. Because I was wondering what to do.

Ruri drank the water the village chief gave her at once. It wasn’t that I was thirsty, it was more that I felt that if I didn’t drink now, I wouldn’t have a chance.

“But… What are you going to do with the sand tiger’s skin?”

“I’m going to sell it in the city after it dries. I think I’ll get a good price because it’s a clean leather with no scratches.”

“Then, how about selling them in our village?”

“Can you pay for it?”

“It may not be enough to pay for what you want, but we can accommodate you during your stay.”

“What about water?”

“Treat me like a villager.”

“Like”

The deal was over in an instant. Ruri’s big smile seems to have done her well. All she’s heard is that it’s a convenience, but is that a good thing?

As we went out of the village chief’s house to get some leather, Ruri explained.

“People in these villages can use at least one piece of water freely. Only outsiders sell it for money. Besides, the price of water is not cheap.”

“Will you pay the insufficient amount for water instead?”

“If you’re a village chief, you’ll know that Lake Drum has a water tank. You can fill that water tank up for free. Great, the price of water is solid.”

In Korea, even in the 20th century, buying and drinking water was considered a joke, but in the 21st century, the era of buying and drinking water has come.

Does it mean that even if you cross the desert and reach a village, you cannot buy water if you do not have money? It’s a pretty brutal story.

“Ah, Shion. Where are you looking?”

“I’m just watching people”

“What do you think?”

“I feel pretty naive.”

“It can only be”

The development of technology is good, but it takes away something from people. People lost their innocence when we became an information society and could get a lot of information on the spot.

To put it simply, it feels similar to elementary school students in those days dyeing their bridges yellow, wearing Magic Kid magic necklaces, and eating Pikachu pork cutlet, and recent elementary school students wearing long padding and walking around using their smartphones on KakaoTalk or Facebook.

“No matter what the people before the destruction did, they must have achieved that level of civilization and lost their innocence. But to find it only after it perished… It’s quite ironic, but it’s fucking fun.”

“Your personality is bad when you see it like this.”

“As the Great Demon King, I can see civilization without being subjective, so I can’t help it”

It was night. Originally, desert nights are cold. However, at night here, you can feel the muggy heat even at night.

It’s not like the murderous heat in broad daylight, it’s like a hot summer night, but it’s still hot.

Like that heat, the heat of the people did not cool down either. A memorial service and festival was held in honor of the dead by catching the chieftain of this place. It is not abundant, but there is alcohol and meat.

“Can I use the sand tiger meat like that?”

“I left the jerky stuff anyway, so let’s show some respect for the tasteless ones. Shouldn’t we eat something other than meat? Drink alcohol.”

“But it’s strange. There’s alcohol in a place where food is scarce.”

“Ah, that’s called a cedar cactus. There’s a cactus that has an alcohol component in its sap. If you grow it with just water, crush it, and mix it with water in moderation, it becomes drinkable alcohol.”

“It’s pretty amazing”

“It’s a little expensive because you have to water it and grow it, but originally, alcohol is a luxury item. Also, alcohol made from real grain distillation is very expensive here. There are cheaper ones than this, but… It’s very cheap, so if you drink it, it’s really bad for your body.”

Originally, there are many ways to make sake, but usually it is made by fermentation.

It is made using fruits, grains, etc., And it takes quite a lot to make a bottle of alcohol. Food is not enough, but you have to have enough time to make sake.

No matter how much such a plant is, the fact that it has to be watered and grown is a challenge in itself. As it is a village with a water source, there is no need to worry about water, so it is leisurely to see.

“But it’s not absolute. Just because it’s a water source doesn’t mean that water comes out in abundance.”

“Is there ever a drought?”

“So what”

A bonfire is lit in the middle of the village and people dance. The cheerful atmosphere of drinking alcohol resonates with the first song you hear.

Shion quietly drinks beside her. Even though it’s not that good, I was focusing on alcohol rather than snacks, as if I liked it quite a bit.

“Does it fit in your mouth?”

“It’s pretty good. The scent suits my taste.”

“Should I get some cactus seeds when I go back?”

Travel is so good. We don’t know all dimensions, so we’ll find one or two that we like while wandering around.

One of the excited villagers sees us and gestures. To be exact, it’s looking at me.

“Sir! How is our daughter?”

“Uh?”

“If I receive Mr. Jang’s seed, a strong and strong child will surely be born. If you wish, tonight…”

“I’m sorry I have a wife, but…”

“Ah, that’s right”

Then why was he looking at Ruri instead of Shion? Surely you don’t think of Shion as much as her daughter-in-law?

Come to think of it, there was, of course, such an invitation. When a village lives together, marriages occur within the community over time, so even after a few generations, they become related to each other. So there are often things like this to receive outside blood in the middle.

It’s not just because it’s post-apocalyptic, it’s happening in an isolated village in an undeveloped place. On the other hand, it may be because humans know that it is not good for people of the same blood to continue to be connected.

Glancing at Shion’s eyes, it doesn’t seem like he’s showing any reaction.

“Ah, even if we throw a harem orgy party, I think we’ll do it all. Why don’t we go and enjoy it?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Is it OK to do it here? Rather, the male stray dogs go around bragging about how many people they’ve slept with?”

“My wife is blue-eyed next to her, but she turned around?”

“But are you quiet?”

Come to think of it, it was somehow strange, so when I checked properly, I must have drunk quite a bit.

She hides her face under her eyes with a scarf so you can’t see her blush, but her eyes are slightly out of focus. How much did you drink?

But on the other hand, seeing that I drank like this, it seems that it is a drink that suits my taste. With the body of a transcendental being who doesn’t even get drunk at all, he controls his intoxication and drinks like that…

“Would you like to dance?”

“What, why all of a sudden?”

“I just wanted to dance when I saw people dancing.”

“It’s fucking impulsive, but that’s why it’s good.”

The dance the villagers danced was just a dance without any special training. Shake, turn, stir, and that’s about it. Even the song was just a humming with a certain beat and no lyrics.

But that’s good. Because it proves how pure it is.

I got up, took Zion’s hand, and danced around the campfire. It’s not a dance that I learned separately like them, it’s just a hand in hand and spinning around with excitement, but it’s still fun.

“Will you be okay with a hangover tomorrow morning?”

“Well, I’ll just hold on.”

Spinning around, Shion’s hood comes off. Shion’s pretty silver hair is revealed.

What? But didn’t Ruri tell me not to take it off?

At that moment, silence fell over the festival. The place, which had been noisy just a moment ago, became quiet at once, and only the sound of bugs could be heard.

People’s eyes were turned toward Zion.

“Hee, fair skin…”

Uh? Maybe you guys is that it?

You fucking racist!!!!!!