Orichalcum (9) — The Heavy Weight of Freedom

‘Fucking hell. Men and women shouldn’t sit together after the age of seven.’

This was the first time since coming to this world that I’d been so thoroughly screwed over by something as simple as gender differences. In a world that hadn’t even developed Puritan ideals, why the hell were they enforcing this kind of segregation between men and women?!

“I hate them… I hate every single Viking in this goddamn world…”

─Thud.

I collapsed to my knees in despair before the wall that separated me from my wives’ swimsuits. Dana stared down at me with the same pitying look one might give a dog chasing its own tail.

“Told you so, you stubborn idiot. Should’ve gone when I fucking said to go.”

“Goddamn it. Why didn’t you tell me earlier…”

“If I’d told you earlier, you really think you would’ve believed me?”

She had a point. I wouldn’t have. When my shoulders slumped even further, Veronica spoke up as if to comfort me.

“Since we decided on pairs of at least two, I’ll stay behind with Norde. My condition is also a factor, and I wasn’t particularly interested in swimming anyway.”

“You will? Thanks. If Nor was waiting outside, we’d probably rush through picking our swimsuits and feel rushed the whole time.”

Franc smiled gently and said, “Nor. Will you wait nicely? I’ll surprise you with a swimsuit as pretty as how much I disappointed you.”

“…Yeah.”

When she put it like that, I couldn’t throw a tantrum. Besides, even if I did, there was nothing I could do about it.

Larilura licked her lips with clear regret before waving at me.

“We’ll be back~? You take care too, senior~.”

“Yeah. Have fun.”

And so I parted ways with the group and turned back with Veronica. To avoid the Ada legion—according to Veronica’s judgment—that was advertising beer in preparation for the festival, we took a path with fewer people.

Veronica pulled out the cat statue she’d bought earlier and was examining it.

“Hey, is your body really okay? You seem to be holding out a lot better than when I first saw you.”

When I asked after recovering my mental state, Veronica let out a small chuckle.

“Hehe. Did it look that way? I am simply enduring because I now have a reason to endure.”

“Ah, I see. Sorry. You’ve been going through a lot because of us.”

“It is something I wished for myself. Why would it be your fault? More importantly, you recovered surprisingly quickly despite looking so depressed earlier. I thought you would remain sullen for quite some time.”

It was true that I felt down about missing my wives’ sexy fashion show. I answered with a wry laugh.

“Back in my hometown, there’s a saying that joy comes after hardship. I’m just enduring today’s sorrow while looking forward to the swimsuits I’ll see later.”

“Joy comes after hardship? Hehe. That is quite a pleasant phrase.”

Now that I said it out loud, it really was. Highs after lows. It sounded like a four-character idiom that the Bicorns would love.

“As you said, today truly felt like finding joy after hardship. I enjoyed it immensely. …Which is precisely why I have so many thoughts running through my mind.”

It sounded like she was getting serious, so I paused to think of a proper response. But Veronica ignored me and held the cat statue up to the sky, as if she were examining a jewel in the light.

“As a prophet, I believed I understood the human world better than any of my kin. Yet when I truly looked, what I knew was merely the tip of the iceberg. I feel guilty toward my people, as if I alone had enjoyed the freedom of the human world.”

“You suffered as much as you were rewarded, so what’s there to feel sorry about?”

Veronica’s ordeal couldn’t be paid off with just one day of fun at a tourist spot. At least from what I knew. Having to suffer over a hundred years just to eat at a restaurant and buy souvenirs? I was starting to understand why the Bicorn curse was so terrifying.

“When you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠say it like that, for some reason my heart feels lighter.”

If my nonsense had brought her any comfort, that was good. But despite saying she felt relieved, Veronica muttered with a slightly bitter tone.

“However, even in moments as enjoyable as these, I cannot help but think. Whether my lack of courage is forcing consideration upon you, your companions, and even my own people.”

“Courage?”

“…The courage to bear the side effects of the dispel that may exist, along with all the other minor complications. If we only half-remove the clan’s curse and fail to find a complete solution afterward, it will cause generational conflict, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠will it not?”

She was talking about how the Bicorns who had been freed and experienced the human world might clash with their future descendants who had not. It was a worry only a long-lived species could have. That generational gap would only appear after at least ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two to three hundred years.

In three hundred years, my great-great-grandson’s great-great-grandson would probably be crying “waah.” Leaving behind uncertain changes that could cause future trouble was worse than doing nothing at all. I could at least sympathize with that kind of thinking.

“How amusing. I longed so desperately to stand at a crossroads of choice, yet now that the opportunity has truly come, I hesitate. Freedom is heavier than one can possibly describe.”

“Ah, Franc and Dana said something similar before.”

“…Perhaps that is a common trait among the females who take an interest in you?”

Veronica spoke with an unusual inflection. I grinned and wiped my nose.

“Hehe. Well, yeah. My back is just so reliable that all my wives want to lean on me and follow along.”

“…Hah. That tongue of yours really knows how to twist things.”

Maybe because I’d turned her meaningful words into a joke, Veronica stopped walking and glared at me. It didn’t seem like she was truly angry—more like she was sulking.

“I am now certain after this conversation. The closer you become with someone, the more mischievous you grow. The only exception seems to be Franc.”

“Even I think my personality has some pretty crooked parts.”

I gave a cheeky reply, but talking like this to someone who was clearly struggling with her worries made me feel like a total asshole. I wasn’t some amazing guy who could just sit still and wait for a woman to come to him, like that Bicorn lady had said. If I wasn’t proactive in times like these, it felt like I was drawing a line between us before we even started!

“Still, I have fun talking with you like this.”

I lengthened my stride to meet her eyes. I was a free-loading pervert from another world who never refused a good thing. But repaying what I received was the secret to long-lasting relationships. No matter what kind of relationship Veronica and I ended up having.

“Don’t you think it’s pretty important whether your hearts match when you talk and play together? Or am I the only one who feels comfortable when we’re together?”

“…Hmph. I did not ask for such obvious flattery. I will take your jokes and cheekiness as twisted goodwill.”

Veronica brushed her hair back and spoke with a somewhat satisfied expression. Well, anyone who wasn’t an idiot would eventually figure out how the other person felt about them if they talked long enough. Unless they were some twisted bastard, that is.

“Anyway, to think the master I serve is this vicious. I wonder how I ended up in a position where I am tormented by the very person I must serve.”

“That’s rich. What servant in the world throws a tantrum saying she wants to go out and then talks back to everything her master says?”

“My apologies. As befitting a lowly divine servant, shall I crawl on all fours, Master?”

“Look at this damn servant’s attitude.”

Why the hell couldn’t I become human trash? If I just jumped on her back right now and yelled “Hee-yah!” for a rodeo, she’d never say such cheeky shit again.

“Is that a complaint? This manner of speech is my master’s peculiar hobby. As her loyal confidant, I endure this wretched tone with a heart full of apology.”

Veronica laughed brightly and spun around 360 degrees like a prima donna, then gracefully lifted the hem of her skirt. The complete lack of respect in her winking eye pissed me off.

“It seems our master’s hobby is treating an arrogant-tongued servant like a pet. Yet he treats me with such touching kindness normally that matching his pace is exhausting.”

“Got it. I’ll be sure to pass that on for future reference in your education.”

“Oh? Was that a slip of the tongue? I fear the consequences. I wonder in what way this pitiful servant will be tormented.”

“Your meals will be hay until we get home.”

“After letting me taste the delicacies of foreign lands, you suddenly switch to horse feed. You truly are a devil. …………You’re not actually going to do that, right? That was a bit too harsh a joke, wasn’t it?”

When we got back to the inn, I was going to need a nap. Fighting with Ursula had made me suddenly exhausted.

“Hey, why are you not answering? You there? Master? I have never even put hay in my mouth, you know? Your loyal confidant will die from loss of taste? You will regret it? You will hold my skinny corpse and regret it?”

“You won’t die just because your taste buds get wrecked.”

I didn’t know what this world’s dried radish leaves tasted like, but they said you had to eat vegetables during sea voyages. I’d make sure to prepare a full nutritional K-vegan course so our servant wouldn’t keel over from malnutrition.

I dragged Veronica, who was trying to cling to my leg, through the alley. From now on, Bicorns were officially herbivores.

Two days later, we visited Ursula’s mansion again. We were fully prepared. I had applied enchantment magic to my spear and repaired Larilura’s marionettes. Now we could fight if we happened to encounter enemies.

I had considered buying new armor since mine had been ruined, but it was now difficult to find any armor with higher defense than my own skin. And even if it existed, it would probably be insanely expensive. I decided to put off getting new armor until after I could rely on Beast Regression + 【Gertyr】.

─Flutter!

Ursula stood on the deck, her coat flapping dramatically from her shoulder epaulets as she looked down at us. Behind her, busy sailors were moving about, and surprisingly, ninety percent of them seemed to be women. Thinking back to what the owner of that food challenge restaurant had said, it made sense. After all, the gay sailors of Germania apparently hated sailing with women.

“Haaam…”

Franc covered her mouth as she let out a small yawn. Even though she was a strong Germania woman, waking up at dawn to prepare had been too much for her. We had also come out rubbing our sleepy eyes since dawn, yet Ursula’s crew already looked ready to set sail. Just how early had they started?

A sailor lowered the wooden ladder at Ursula’s shout. We carried our luggage and climbed aboard.

The sailing ship Golden Ship was, despite its name, just a wooden vessel. It wasn’t even that big. ‘Still, it must’ve been crazy expensive.’ The entire ship was probably made from processed sea monster materials. In other words, it was a floating mansion.

Whether the ship was big or not didn’t really matter to us since we were just borrowing it. As long as it got us to the island, the size was irrelevant. Any road that led to Seoul was fine by me.

When I stepped onto the deck, Ursula spoke.

“Sorry. The information was only passed down orally, so we don’t have an actual map. I should have mentioned that sooner.”

Ursula took out a black cigarette case and generously accepted the situation.

“No thanks. Everyone in our party is a non-smoker. I hope we can return before the food runs out. If we trust in your skills, Lady Ursula, I’m sure everything will work out.”

“Ju Kudoses. ‘Of Kudoses’ Ursula. Correct?”

Germania’s surnames worked like that. It was a naming system that basically meant ‘So-and-so from such-and-such region.’ Here, Ju was the feminine preposition. So the name Ursula Ju Kudoses had the same naming sense as ‘Kang Geon-ma from Iksan, North Jeolla.’ It gave off an incredibly barbaric vibe. Like she’d carry a double-bladed axe in her panties. Ursula of the Blood Sea at Gunsan. ‘Fucking hell, what a savage.’

That was why the people of Germania had been nominated as one of the three great barbarian tribes. For reference, the neighboring country Nidavellir was no different. For example, Franc’s full name, Francesca Aitrynen, meant ‘Francesca, descendant of Aitry.’

Ursula put the cigar-like cigarette in her mouth and twisted her lips into a grin.

“Very reassuring.”

Look at all that confidence. So damn cool. She wasn’t an alpha male—she was an alpha female. In other words, a radical feminist. Let’s award Ursula the title of Honorary Radical Feminist. Ursula the Otherworld Feminist! It sounded better than Witch of the North Sea, didn’t it?

─Creak. Creak.

While I roughly explained the route to Ursula, the rest of the party also climbed onto the deck. Veronica carried a bag stuffed full of dried grass and crawled up the ladder with dead-fish eyes.

“You there. This bag is too heavy. I feel like a pack mule.”

“It’s your own food. Why do you look like you’re attending a funeral?”

“Don’t say such stupid things. I secretly brought a fishing rod without you knowing. I will catch and eat my own fish. Who would eat dried grass? I will not eat it. No, I cannot eat it.”

“Do you really think fish will chase after a moving ship and bite your bait? If they do, they’re monsters.”

“I hate them… I hate every hay farmer in this world…”

Hay? How rude. That was perfectly edible grass. Of course, I wouldn’t eat it. People should eat meat. What the hell is grass? Grass is nothing but a side dish for meat. In this world without doenjang, gochujang, sesame oil, or soy sauce, grass was only good for salads and stew ingredients.

‘I hope there’s a jar-culture civilization in Mongshellia or Tartarnia or wherever.’ Since they were nomads, they were probably just eating bread smeared with butter and drinking mare’s milk.

Sea voyages were always fucking boring no matter when you did them. For a 21st-century person addicted to multimedia, even a treadmill felt like shit, but when the entire 360 degrees—up, down, left, right, front, back—was nothing but blue water, I felt like I was going to die.

“The heavens move all things!! Dice roll!!”

So we gathered together and played a board game from this world. You’re asking why we’re playing while others are working? Hey, we can’t interfere with professionals doing their jobs. The other sailors were also working in three shifts of three, chatting away, so what was the problem?

“Jackpot! I got the horse! I’m gonna ride on your back and suck you dry!”

“You can’t even move your horse because it got trapped last turn, you idiot.”

“Ah, fuck. You big-headed, horse-headed bastard.”

“You there. Please stop. For some reason, my heart aches.”

That’s because you’re lacking vitamins. Eat more grass, dear.

Veronica, who had been reading a spellbook, closed it. Larilura, who had grown tired of the board game after just two days, was in sleep mode in the hammock. So only our little family was playing together.

Honestly, if it was just me, Franc, and Dana, strip poker would’ve been way more fun, but the time and place weren’t right, so we couldn’t. What a shame.

“Okay, Nor. It’s your turn.”

As I was licking my lips, my turn came around. I took the dice Franc handed me. This game was already reaching the point of diminishing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠returns. I was even starting to think about recreating a 21st-century game that could be replicated here, but unfortunately—or fortunately—I didn’t get the chance.

─Crash!!

The sailors were shouting outside the door. I was about to roll the dice but slapped my forehead instead.

“Yeah, of course. I was wondering why nothing was happening.”

Wishing for a peaceful sea voyage in Viking territory was just stupid. I stood up, brushing off my knees, and rolled the dice. A six came up. Of course the good number only appeared at times like this.

As if to calm the commotion on deck, Ursula’s roar rang out.