Chapter 387: Heaven and Hell
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 387: Heaven and Hell
“What the hell is this situation?”
“Tell me about it. Fucking hell, you see all sorts of things if you live long enough.”
Watching Ha Yuri lead us from a distance, I felt a sense of bewilderment that went beyond mere absurdity. It was surprising enough that she had saved us, but the fact that she was offering to let us stay the night at her home was hard to comprehend. One thing was certain: she was undeniably different from before. And it seemed she had changed for the better.
“Is Jeong Ji-young alive?”
“Yes. He’s living with Ha Yuri.”
It was Lee Wanyong who answered Choi Seulgi’s question. While Choi Seulgi and I had completely lost interest in her, it seemed our superiors were keeping tabs on her, given her importance.
“You’ve been monitoring them?”
“I haven’t been tracking the finer details, but I have been keeping an eye on how they’re living. Just in case an unexpected situation were to arise. The possibility is slim, but there’s always a ‘what if.’ Hehe…”
I had never given such an order. This was likely a decision he had made on his own.
“If that guy’s alive, I guess you could say that’s a relief for her.”
“Well, probably…”
As we continued walking, a small house, far removed from what looked like the city’s main thoroughfare, came into view.
“She lives there? Hey, Kim Taesung, this is actually heartbreaking…”
“…”
It was a structure that anyone would hesitate to call a house; it wouldn’t be surprising if it collapsed at any moment. A foul stench hung in the air, making one reluctant to even approach, let alone enter. It was impossible to believe that this was where the Sword Saint, Ha Yuri, who had once lived in a magnificent mansion, now resided.
Ha Yuri glanced around briefly before looking back at us and muttering.
“You can come inside.”
“Ah, hehe. We’re truly grateful.”
“Isn’t there something you need to do before you come in?”
She was probably asking for payment. As Ha Yuri held out her hand, Lee Wanyong rummaged through his clothes and produced a piece of bone and leather, about the size of a finger.
“This is too much. I’m only saying this because it feels off, but the rates here aren’t this high.”
“It’s because we were hoping we might be able to impose on you for a few days. Hehe.”
“…”
Since we had already decided to spend a few days in this underground city, staying here didn’t seem like a bad idea. Ha Yuri looked at us with slightly suspicious eyes before nodding and murmuring.
“I’m telling you this just in case… but if you get any funny ideas, it won’t end with you just getting hurt. Anyway, I’ll gratefully accept this. I’ll throw in meals, too. That should make it a fair deal. Though it probably won’t be very edible.”
“Hehe. Thank you.”
When she opened the door, the interior of the house came into view. It wasn’t as wretched inside as I’d expected. There were things that could pass for household tools, and the room was quite spacious. Even Lee Wanyong looked a little surprised; it seemed the place was in better condition than the inn we had planned to stay at. She had managed to build a life for herself here.
She’s been living fucking hard.
That was honestly how it felt. I didn’t know much about life here, but I could tell just by looking at the things inside that her touch had reached every corner. I knew she was sharp, but it seemed she was more resourceful than I’d thought.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome home.”
“Isn’t it about time you dropped the formalities?”
“I’m more comfortable this way.”
“Honestly…”
The one who greeted Ha Yuri was, as expected, Jeong Ji-young. He smiled weakly at her words, then turned to us with a slightly startled expression. He seemed flustered by the sudden arrival of guests. Of course, Ha Yuri just looked at him as if it were no big deal and continued speaking.
“Ah, they’ll be staying with us for a few days. That’s okay, right? I saved them from getting shaken down by those pigs and got paid for it. They said they’re from another city, and it looks like it’s their first time here.”
“You did well.”
“I didn’t do it for praise. So stop grinning like that.”
The passage of time was visible on him. Ha Yuri’s appearance hadn’t changed much, but Jeong Ji-young looked like he had suffered a great deal. His face was wrinkled, and the skin under his eyes was so hollow he looked like a drug addict. Despite that, the light in his eyes was the same as before. He had a few days’ worth of stubble, which looked like it had been left to grow intentionally.
Scars were visible all over his face and body, some of them fresh. It was hard to tell if he’d been in a fight, but they were recent.
“This is my husband. You’ll be staying for a few days, so say hello. I’m going to get dinner ready. Not that there’s much to eat…”
“Hehe. Yes, understood.”
I had expected a rather uncomfortable silence to settle in, but Ha Yuri returned surprisingly quickly. Jeong Ji-young had been maintaining a strange silence, seemingly uneasy with our presence, and he looked a little anxious. It was then that we heard Ha Yuri’s voice.
“You haven’t even been talking to each other. My husband can be a bit tight-lipped…”
Watching Ha Yuri plop down and chew on some leftover fruit was almost painful. The meal she brought out was nothing special, but it looked sufficient for a single meal, aside from the fact that it was in poor condition. Choi Seulgi, perhaps unwilling to put such food in her mouth and dredge up old memories, merely picked at it before putting her chopsticks down.
Seeing Lee Wanyong devour even this food with great relish, I had to admit his adaptability was impressive. Unexpectedly, the same seemed to be true for me. Maybe because it had been so long, but the food went down easier than I’d anticipated.
“Anyway, you said you came from Masao?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
It was Choi Seulgi who answered. As she, who had been silent, finally spoke, Ha Yuri nodded and muttered.
“I thought the guy with you was a mute, but I guess not.”
“Yes… We only arrived in the underground recently…”
“Looks like you were unlucky enough to get caught. Were you taken by elves? Or…”
I gave a slight nod to Ha Yuri’s question, which was asking if we had been captured by elves.
“Why did you come to this city?”
“Hehe. There was a rumor that the Inquisitors were coming. We were worried we might get dragged off to a torture chamber…”
“Did someone die?”
“Yes, they did. There was a rather large fight during mealtime. Quite a few people died. They haven’t made a move yet, but we were too anxious to stay. Tsk…”
“This is the problem. Just like those pigs from earlier, a few thoughtless bastards cause trouble for people who are just trying to live quietly. It’s not like they don’t know those crazy sons of bitches will come down on us if they fuck up… What kind of balls do they have to pull that shit? If that city goes down, we’re the ones who’ll suffer… This is so annoying…”
“…”
“Masao was next in line anyway… I hope our city doesn’t get designated again because of this.”
When Choi Seulgi and I looked at Ha Yuri with curious expressions, she sighed and spoke to Lee Wanyong.
“You didn’t even explain the basics to them?”
“I… I was in a hurry to bring them here, hehe. I didn’t have the time… I figured I could just tell them gradually…”
“Simply put, if something happens to Masao, our city could become the designated city again.”
“Designated city?”
“They take people for labor. Officially, they send people up to work, but it’s less like work and more like torture. You just get worked to the bone and come back. Some bastards come back half-crippled, and some don’t come back at all. I heard some guy was torn to pieces last time for not being able to draw the Savior’s face properly. There was another bastard who came back with both arms cut off for messing up one hammer swing.”
“…”
For some reason, I felt like I’d heard this from Baek Ahyeon before.
“You there, the guy, you’re pretty good-looking, so be careful. If you get a bad assignment, you’ll get passed around by those crazy elf bitches and come back a wreck.”
The sad way she looked at Jeong Ji-young suggested that he was probably going through the same thing. I remembered being told that the act of intercourse was accompanied by pain so intense that death would be a relief. It must be incredibly difficult for him.
“Your husband, too…?”
“That’s right. My husband went up and came back. It was a good thing I managed to scrape together enough money to send him up with painkillers… If I hadn’t, he would’ve been bedridden for a long time.”
After hearing Ha Yuri’s words, Choi Seulgi spoke up.
“Will my husband have to go up as well?”
“Ah, you two are a couple?”
As she nodded, a voice immediately followed.
“Who knows? They do whatever they want. Don’t worry about it too much. It’s infuriating at first, but you gradually get used to it… The jealousy only lasts a moment, and after that, you just worry. It’s embarrassing, but when my husband came back the first time, I beat the hell out of him. I was just so pissed off. How could I not be, when he reeked of elves? Ah! Don’t take it the wrong way. I’m just giving you some advice, since I’m your senior in this, you could say.”
“I think I can understand. It must be heartbreaking for your husband, too. Truly.”
“I’m sure it is. My husband would feel that way. Right?”
“Of… course.”
It seemed conversations like this were quite natural here. I clicked my tongue softly and began to watch Choi Seulgi. Jeong Ji-young and Ha Yuri might not have noticed, but Choi Seulgi’s eyes were unmistakably smiling. Even though this was my doing, Choi Seulgi, who found joy in such a scene, was certainly not normal either. If those two could have pierced through the magic and seen her expression, they would have been horrified.
Their life was remarkably similar to the one Choi Seulgi and I had lived.
The only difference was that Jeong Ji-young was in Choi Seulgi’s position, and Ha Yuri was in mine. Only then did I realize why Jeong Ji-young was in such poor condition. The scars on his body were likely from the elves.
He must have gone through a lot on the surface before coming down here.
The situation was a complete reversal of the one between the Japanese and the elves from before. If the Japanese had exploited the elves in the past, now the elves were exploiting the Japanese. From Jeong Ji-young and Ha Yuri’s perspective, it was best described as a shitty twist of fate, but they weren’t without sin either, so it was only right to think of it as their karma.
“Hehe… By the way, painkillers? It must have been difficult to save up money. That’s truly amazing of you.”
“It’s not an impossible amount to save if you give up on eating what you want and doing what you want. You seem very interested in how other people save money. You didn’t look like a petty thief…”
“Ah, of course, that’s not what I meant. Hehe, we try to live as honest folk… It was just simple curiosity. As you can see, we believe that acting above one’s station brings misfortune…”
Though she engaged in idle chatter, she would occasionally show a sharp side. It was hard to believe she was someone who had lost her divine power. In the first place, she, like the Queen of the North, Han So-hye, was a person who could be called a genius. Even if she had lost most of her divine power, as long as she could wield a sword, she could likely face even those who used magic.
Her confidence was probably the reason she had let us into her home so easily.
“I don’t know when it will be, but eventually, we should be able to buy the potions that come down from above.”
“I don’t really need them, Lady Yuri. I’d rather you use it for other things…”
“Shut up. If I want to do it, I’ll do it.”
“…”
It was quite a touching sight. The way they still cared for each other so deeply looked truly beautiful. The smirk on Choi Seulgi’s lips was bothering me, but I just tapped my fingers on the table.
“Let’s go to bed. There’s only one room, so just huddle up and sleep.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m getting paid for this, so there’s no need to thank me. You must have traveled a long way, so get some rest… There’s no bathroom, so go outside and take care of it yourselves.”
“Hehe. Understood.”