Be Careful You Don't Go Extinct, Too (5)
Capricornus's bombshell left me staring blankly at the goat.
Hold on. The East Sea Kingdom, the West Sea Kingdom—was every last one of them harping on about war?!
War isn't some children's game, you fish-squid-sea-cucumber-anemone bastards!!!!!
Hena, every bit as shocked as I was, seized Capricornus by the horns and shook him.
"What are you talking about?! War? What do you mean, war?!"
"Whoa, whoa, I'm dizzy—calm down first!"
It was the first time I'd seen Hena, usually nothing but gentle, turn that rough. The only one who paid for it was a blameless goat head, left thoroughly seasick.
At last freed from her grip, Capricornus went on with a fuller account.
"You know I work as an official at Poseidon's temple. The orders that started coming down this morning… how do I put it. They really feel like war preparations."
"What kind of orders?"
"Well, for one, they told us to check the condition of the sea serpents. …And because of that, a staffer who hadn't been down there in ages handled the equipment wrong, and a few of them escaped."
…So that's why we nearly got eaten?
If you haven't been there in ages, at least read the manual, you unmotivated civil servants!
"Ordering an inspection of this underground bunker is suspicious too. It hasn't been used in forever, and then an official notice just drops out of nowhere on a Saturday morning?"
What? Weekend duty on top of that?
Cruel from every possible angle…….
"Is there any reason you can think of why the West Sea Kingdom would want to start a war?"
"For starters, the sea temperature's been dropping lately, so resource yields are way down."
The goat tapped the bunker wall with a hoof—tok, tok—and continued.
"Our West Sea Kingdom, as you can see, is strong in construction and civil engineering. But if you want to build something new, territory has to be developed, or the old buildings have to come down, right?"
The goat head hesitated a moment over his phrasing, then opened his mouth.
"…The thing that fit that need perfectly was wars against the smaller nations around us. But they don't fight those anymore."
Ha. Why is their whole economy leaning so hard on that miserable war?
"So I figure they were trying to breathe some life back into things and secure resources with a land-base construction project. But it seems they got word that the East Sea Kingdom is pushing the same island as a land base."
…This is sliding the same way things went with the East Sea Kingdom. A rough economy, with bad blood between them stirred in on top.
"Why don't the two countries get along?"
"Hmm. They've been fighting over territory since way back? They're similar-sized powers that keep each other in check, and their cultures and customs just happen to be complete opposites. It's a rivalry. That's all."
There isn't even some grand reason. Then can't they just get along?
Ha…
Head throbbing, I tried to sort the situation out. If war broke out and the land-base project stalled, then client evaluations aside, this assignment would snap clean in half. That meant no bonus, two jobs in a row.
This is bad.
And I couldn't very well pretend I hadn't noticed a war unfolding in some bizarre world that had nothing to do with me. This was home to a teammate I spent more than eight hours a day face-to-face with.
Hena had seemed so glad that a commission from her own world had come in.
The way things stood, I felt rotten about it from every side. Aaaagh, you damned gods of the sea!
As if to ease the sunken mood, Capricornus spoke up.
"Well… it's only my guess, in the end. If you want, I'll show you around the West Sea Kingdom."
"How long do you have for the related preparations—the shelter inspection and the rest?"
"They gave us a tight window. About a week, I think."
Then the time we have left runs out before next weekend…
I set the heavy feeling aside. Whatever else, we had come to look around the West Sea, and that purpose still needed fulfilling. Under Capricornus's guidance, we toured the country. Merfolk and sea fairies laughed and chattered through the ordinary business of their days—a fragile everyday peace that war would shatter in a single breath.
"Capricornus, thank you for showing us around. We got a proper look thanks to you."
"Don't mention it. …Be careful, like I said. If this is real, the border will take the worst of it. If you're worried, bring your family to our place!"
Once the tour was done we said our goodbyes, and watched the goat-fish wave a hoof as he drew away. Hena and I waved back, and once again it was just the two of us left in this sea.
"Shall we take a look at the border region last?"
"Ah, yes, um… I'm not sure how much help it will be. But all right. If you're curious, Lee-hyun, I'll show you!"
Hena, as if forcing her spirits back up, led the way with determined steps. Following her, we reached the border, and rugged ground opened before us—a harsh terrain where reefs running all the way to land, and the roots of islands, blocked the path here and there.
…If this were real estate, it certainly wouldn't be a neighborhood anyone preferred.
Hreeeee—!
"?"
I turned my head at the sound of a horse crying. There were the horse-fish residents who had driven the West Sea Kingdom's chariots before, kicking a ball around and savoring their weekend.
"The half-fish, half-beast folk live in the borderlands too, I see."
"That's right. …They were looked down on for having hard hooves meant for land, the opposite of fins. So they settled here."
She added that Capricornus had originally been a childhood friend who lived here among them—a rare case who had lucked his way up in the world.
"Most of the half-fish, half-beasts hold rough work, like pulling rickshaws. Employment is limited, so they're struggling with a job shortage as well."
Hena hesitated a little, then went on.
"…We jellyfish-folk have venom, so the people of both kingdoms don't welcome us. That's why we live here."
Huh.
What… was I supposed to say to that?
Uh, what do I do—did she bring it up first because she was afraid I couldn't ask about something so sensitive? I had been curious. That part was true!
But I'm a third party. It isn't easy to pile anything on top of that!!
"……"
Aagh, the mood went awkward! I blurted out whatever came to mind, just to change the subject.
"They say the polar regions are expanding, and it does feel pretty cold, hahaha…"
"Ah, you are cold! Well, of course—we overdid it, wandering around all day. Our house is right here, actually. Come in and warm up!"
…Visiting a coworker's home?
This is far too much pressure too! Wouldn't it be rude? And it's the weekend……!
Hena, deaf to how badly I wanted to refuse, marched cheerfully up to her own house, right under our noses. Before I had a chance to decline, she undid the lock and flung the door open, and voices spilled out.
"Hena!"
"Sis!"
"Who's this?!"
Younger siblings with jellyfish bells draped over their heads, just like Hena. Adorable. They greeted her with open delight—the siblings clearly got along.
…Still, with the kids here, it ought to be less of a burden than the two of us alone, right?
We'd come this far, and refusing now would be embarrassing. I'd stop in for a little while.
"Sis, the stove's out of fuel."
"It is? Ah—Lee-hyun, just a moment! I'll extract some fuel and be right back. Please go on inside!"
……Waiting for the homeowner to return, surrounded by a coworker's siblings I'd never met?
The social-skills exam had just jumped in difficulty, so I decided to follow Hena.
"I might be able to help, so I'll come with you."
"Wonderful! Follow me!"
Hena took a bucket and headed for a slope that looked like the root of an island. When we reached the spot, she moved her hair as freely as hands, then—shuk—drove it into the ground and dug as if she were drilling.
What came up with it was some white substance.
"What is this?"
"Mm, it isn't widely used, so it doesn't have an official name. We call it heating ice."
Hena worked her hair and dropped what she had mined into the bucket.
"I'll carry it. Here, let me have it."
"Thank you—then I'll leave it to you!"
In no time the bucket was full of the white stuff. Hauling its new weight back toward Hena's house, I asked,
"There's quite a lot of heating ice buried here, isn't there."
"It never seems to run out no matter how much we use, so I think so. It might be because no one but us jellyfish-folk can dig it up very well."
When we got back, the siblings' curiosity fixed on me—from a youngster who looked about school age to a baby face that seemed only just grown. As the three of them chattered their questions, Hena introduced me.
"He's a coworker from my job. All of you, mind your manners."
"Hello. I'm Choi Lee-hyun. Excuse me for intruding."
The younger brother—about twenty, if he had been human—gave a polite bow, then muttered under his breath.
"…I need to find work soon, the way my sister did."
……
She'd said the jobs the half-fish, half-beasts could get were limited. Hena hadn't said it outright, but the jellyfish-folk, oppressed the same way, were probably in much the same bind.
Is that why Hena took the job at Vanta?
No—losing a talent like Hena to another world just because she's a jellyfish! And look how well she does at our company!
If I had to pick one person on the team I wanted to work with… no, one living being, I'd pick Hena.
……The other one being Seo Gwan-yul, it might not land like much of a compliment!
"Lee-hyun, could I have the bucket? I'll light the stove."
I brought the fuel over to Hena, who stood before the stove. She opened the door of the stove—its long chimney punched straight through the ceiling—and put the ice in.
The water's shallow here, so the chimney must run all the way up to land.
Then the water filling the stove was vented, and flame leapt up. Fire caught the white fuel and roared, and the house warmed in no time.
"Incredible. It's just like burning ice…"
……
Wait. Halfway through my own sentence, something clicked.
Burning ice?
A thought flashed, and I worked the smartphone in my waterproof pack to ask Vanta Bot.
Right! Methane hydrate!
And isn't this stuff notoriously hard to extract?!
If the reason those rulers are even considering war is an economic crisis, then if we could solve that crisis…!
Once the right pieces slotted into place, inspiration struck like lightning.
"Hena! I've just had a great idea!"
"Yes? What kind?"
"Let's draft a counterproposal before next weekend!"