Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: The Mosquito Sovereign
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1
Right on cue from the previous episode's mention of <Transformation>, I figured I'd talk about some bug today as well.
The bug most beloved by Koreans. Summer's ruler. A quantum mechanical bug whose presence anywhere can't be confirmed until observed.
The vampire pilot currently buzzing with noise right in front of my eyes.
Weeeeng....
That's right.
Today's protagonist is none other than the mosquito.
2
"Hyaat! Heit! Hiiit!"
One day, when I returned to the safehouse, there was Sim A-ryeon dancing in the lobby.
That is, if you could call "emitting mysterious shrieks while clapping wildly in all directions" a dance.
Clap clap! Clap! Clap clap!
Sim A-ryeon's palms clapped repeatedly at empty air.
As far as I knew, none of the loops so far had seen her aura reach the realm of the Mind Sword, nor would it in the future, so there was no way those movements held any profound technique.
Unless it was some cult ritual to summon Cthulhu or Nyarlathotep.
"A-ryeon."
"What on earth are you doing?"
"Ah. G-Guild Master. Please catch the mosquito for me!"
I blinked.
"Mosquito? Even our safehouse has mosquitoes now? Through the Inunaki Tunnel?"
"Y-Yes. Since last night, there's been this one mosquito chick following me around. Hueeng. It keeps flitting around my peripheral vision, but I can't catch it at all...."
Sure enough, her wrists and forearms were dotted with swollen, pimple-like mosquito bites.
"No, A-ryeon. You're still a guild member who received aura training methods from me. Letting a mere mosquito ruin your sleep...."
"I-It's not my fault! This one's insanely fast!"
Sim A-ryeon twisted her body every which way while clapping. Clap! Clap!
Weeeeng-.
All her attacks missed. The mosquito's flight was graceful and leisurely, as if mocking the clumsy handiwork from the food storage.
"S-See? Guild Master! This bastard! This mosquito is toying with me!"
"...."
"D-Don't look at me like that! Really, this summer's mosquitoes are weird. Super fast and super tough.... G-Guild Master, haven't you noticed?"
"Of course not. I keep a protective aura up 24/7, so mosquitoes never get a chance to bite me in the first place. It's been centuries since I last got bitten."
Sim A-ryeon's jaw dropped.
"No way.... S-Sometimes I seriously wonder if you're even human, Guild Master. Too inhuman, you know...."
What an amazing coincidence. I often thought the exact same thing whenever I looked at her.
But this time, maybe I should've listened to the pathetic A-ryeon who'd lost to a mosquito.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day out of 86,400 seconds.
3
It was summer.
An especially hot one.
-Anonymous: These mosquitoes lately are insane....
└Anonymous: Fr, catch 'em and catch 'em, they keep popping up outta nowhere. I built my safehouse right in the middle of the Void on purpose, but these crazy bastards show up here too. Caught 15 yesterday alone;
-Anonymous: You bloodsucking fucks, ease up!
Two weeks after Sim A-ryeon started whining.
Posts about "the weather's gone mad" and "wanna kill these mosquito bastards" began flooding SG Net.
Up until then, I hadn't thought much of it. If anything, I tsked at the MZ-generation fragility of the Awakeners.
'Kids these days. If it's hot, just raise your aura realm and cool your body internally, right?'
Besides, mosquito hate spiking in Korean online communities every summer was a phenomenon as old as time. No need to make a fuss.
Especially after the apocalypse dawned, humanity had lost its intimate bond with air conditioners and fans.
Now every summer, people faced a deadly dilemma: "close the windows for sauna steaming" or "open them for mosquito blood donation." Most happily chose the free blood drive.
Even the privileged few Awakeners couldn't escape the Korean Peninsula's summer.
"Dang Seo-rin, you okay?"
"Hm...?"
"Your face looks awful. If you're tired, go back to the safehouse and rest. You don't have to force yourself to eat with me when you're not feeling well."
Dang Seo-rin's complexion across the table was ashen, like someone who'd pulled an all-nighter.
We made a point to hit up a gourmet spot together at least once a month. But today, she seemed unusually drained.
"Ah.... Thanks for worrying. But it's nothing."
"Something bothering you lately?"
"No, not that.... Just, every night the mosquitoes get so noisy I keep waking up? Can't get deep sleep, so the fatigue's building up, I guess."
Dang Seo-rin let out a long yawn.
I blinked.
"You're saying Dang Seo-rin lost sleep to mosquitoes?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I developed a spell to ward off bugs and keep Song Enchantment running faintly at night.... But it didn't work on mosquitoes. Maybe I need to tweak the spell."
"How long has this been going on?"
"Hmm. Yawwn. Feels like since last week, I haven't been sleeping well."
"...."
That's when a chill started creeping up my neck for real.
Other Awakeners aside, Dang Seo-rin suffering a whole week from mere mosquitoes defied common sense.
After our gourmet outing, I immediately contacted the Peninsula-exclusive Science Vessel.
"Saintess."
[Yes.]
The reply came as if she'd been waiting. Solid proof that regressors had no such luxury as privacy.
"Have you been bothered by mosquitoes lately too, Saintess?"
[Ah. Lots of people are suffering from mosquitoes these days. With the hotter summer compared to last year, people's vitality has indeed dropped seriously.]
[I pause time while sleeping, so I don't get disturbed like others.]
But, the Saintess added.
[When awake, even I get mosquitoes swarming me constantly. It's a hassle.]
"Swarming more than seems normal?"
[Yes. This isn't usual. But ever since you told that 'Potato Bot' story from another loop.... the mosquitoes started acting up especially bad.]
I had no idea what correlation there could be between the potato saintess tale and mosquitoes, but this confirmed it halfway.
"This has a high chance of being an anomaly."
[Pardon?]
"You might've heard, but Dang Seo-rin's been tormented by mosquitoes for a week too. Even with bug-repellent Song Enchantment running."
[I hadn't heard. I deliberately tune out when you're talking to others.]
"Nothing like this has ever happened before. Maybe with the other outer gods purged, this anomaly emerged."
After outer gods were purged, "events absent from prior loops" always cropped up.
Like aftershocks following a major quake.
Anomalies bursting from the delicate balance among outer gods collapsing.
"This 'mosquito anomaly' likely emerged in that context."
[Mosquito, anomaly.]
Weeeeng-.
A mosquito buzzed right in front of my face. Normally I'd ignore it, but now with anomaly suspicions, it grated.
[...But if getting bitten transfers the anomaly, how do we even block it?]
A hint of distress mixed into the Saintess's emotionless voice.
[An Awakener as aura-mastered as you, Undertaker, maybe. But avoiding mosquito bites on the summer Peninsula? Possible?]
[Any way?]
I reached out and lightly slapped the mosquito.
Pik! Hit by aura across the cheek, it burst open body and all. Thick black blood—whoever it had bitten—splattered out.
I dusted my palm.
"I'll find out starting now."
4
I immediately sought out Sim A-ryeon and explained the situation.
Naturally, she was shocked.
"Pardon? An-An anomaly...?"
"Yeah. And from what I know, you're the first to notice this anomaly. I need your cooperation."
"Eeeek...."
During our talk, I noticed her face looked utterly bizarre.
Her under-eyes were sunken. Exaggerating a bit, she looked gaunt from weeks of sleepless mosquito torture.
But at the same time, there was this "tired satisfaction"—a strange leisureliness and ennui emanating from her.
"H-Honestly, it did feel a bit off."
"Which part exactly?"
"I'm super tired from lack of sleep, but the past few days... my mood's actually gotten better...."
Mood better?
My neck chilled.
"You don't mean it's making you feel good like you've done drugs?"
"Huh? Um.... No. Not like drugs. My head's still sharp. Just... stress-free? Even recalling dark history doesn't faze my mental state anymore.... Ah."
Weeeeng.
A mosquito approached and landed on the back of Sim A-ryeon's hand.
She smiled faintly, powerlessly. Until recently she'd freak and clap; now she gazed down at it like it was cute, endearing.
"A-ryeon?"
"Look, Guild Master. Normally, I'd go 'kyaaak- kyaaak-' shrieking whenever I recall dark history? Cringing all over."
"...Yeah."
"Right now, I'm thinking of my middle school dark history. Back then I thought I was a genius greater than Da Vinci, so every breath produced more black marks. When artists had exhibitions, I'd go on purpose, set up an easel at the entrance, and hang my paintings. Ahaha. Just recalling that should have me rolling on the floor...."
Slurp.
The mosquito plunged its proboscis and sucked her blood. The skill wasn't amateur—better than a veteran nurse's IV.
"Ahhh...."
Sim A-ryeon shuddered her shoulders pleasurably.
"N-No more torment."
"...."
"Yeah. Maybe my middle school self was wrong. But... wasn't treating the world like a joke a privilege of youth? Maybe I've been too harsh on myself all this time...."
Unbelievable.
"A-ryeon."
I put on a grave expression.
"You said you were vice student council president in high school, right?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I did. Back then I was a total storm and stress.... But how'd you know, Guild Master...? Ahh. Must've been me from another loop."
"Yeah. You said you had to give a speech from the podium, but you threw the prepared script in front of everyone."
"Eh."
"Then shouted, 'Everyone! I can't express my feelings for you with such crude words!' and tried to wing an epic live speech. But since you'd never done live speeches, after tossing the script, you kept stumbling over your words――."
"Gyaaaaaah!"
Sim A-ryeon convulsed.
"Aaaah! S-Stop! Please stop! Why! How do you know that?! Which loop's me told you that? Why tell me this?! A-Ah! Dark history! Dark history! Gyaaaaaah!"
Slurp-.
The mosquito sucked blood through its proboscis.
"Ah."
Then the miracle happened.
Her convulsing face, on the verge of fainting, suddenly relaxed.
Like a monk attaining enlightenment.
"Ah.... Well, yeah, that happened. But isn't that a privilege of youth too? Pretending to be cool.... No one starts out special from the get-go."
"...."
"Pretending to be special, acting special, building it up bit by bit.... Until you realize that specialness isn't as happy as you dreamed in childhood. Then you let go of the obsession and illusion of specialness, start cherishing bonds around you. Just a standard youth event everyone goes through—no need to be ashamed...."
In that moment.
I recalled what the Saintess had said.
-Yes. This isn't usual.
-But ever since you told that 'Potato Bot' story from another loop.
-The mosquitoes started acting up especially bad.
That's right.
This summer's mosquito anomaly didn't just draw human blood.
Incredibly, it was sucking out the person's "dark history" along with it.