Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Hell (5)
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Yuri let out a sigh as he lightly moved his body.
"Whoa... what is this?"
Just from a simple massage, and the pain was subsiding?
No, compared to before, it was no exaggeration to say it had almost completely healed.
Yuri looked at Poppi in astonishment.
Sweat beading on Poppi's forehead.
At that, Yuri realized that what Poppi had done wasn't just simple acupressure.
Poppi beamed innocently at Yuri's staring gaze.
Then a voice cut in.
"Whoa! Was that just now the famous healing hands of the Yum tribe?"
Poppi nodded up and down at Arin's question, but Yuri tilted his head to the side.
"Healing hands?"
"It's the Yum tribe's unique secret art that dramatically boosts physical recovery. Even among the Yum tribe, not many master it... Huh?"
She was answering Yuri's question when she suddenly realized something and widened her eyes.
"Huh? Come to think of it, I heard healing hands can only be learned by the Yum tribe's monks? Poppi, were you a monk?"
Nod nod-.
"No way! That explains it! So it's not that you can't speak, but that you choose not to?"
Nod nod-.
"You're in the middle of a vow of silence?"
Nod nod-.
Arin chattered excitedly, while Poppi nodded repeatedly with a pleased expression.
Hearing their conversation, Yuri recalled what Johan had told him.
[Descendants of the ancient giant race. And among them, there's a group called monks. Perverted bunch who seek spiritual enlightenment through asceticism.]
'Ah, so Poppi's one of those perverts.'
As he nodded, his gaze suddenly shifted to Arin.
'But this girl's more knowledgeable than I thought?'
She recognized Poppi as Yum tribe.
She identified the healing hands at a single glance.
Her behavior was that of a free-spirited scatterbrain, but she knew more than expected and had sharp eyes.
Oblivious to Yuri watching them, Poppi and Arin continued their conversation.
"But why is a Yum tribe monk in Yoram? Aren't the Yum tribe famous for being reclusive?"
"I'm hungry."
"The elders told you to? Why?"
Shake shake-.
"You don't know?"
"I'm hungry."
"You just felt the flow of fate guiding you here?"
Nod nod-.
"Ahaha, what is that! So basically, you just go with the flow?"
"I'm hungry!"
"Got it, got it. I won't tease anymore, don't get mad."
Yuri, who had been listening intently to their exchange, muttered in disbelief.
"...No, how the hell do you understand that?"
As Yuri said, Arin understood Poppi's words with eerie accuracy.
Even though it was just "I'm hungry" every time.
At the question, Arin looked back at him with eyes that said he was the weird one.
"Yeah? At first, I was confused too, but after listening a bit, I got it. You can't?"
"...As if."
"Weird? Why can't you?"
"I'm hungry?"
Arin and Poppi stared at Yuri with eyes that asked why he couldn't get it.
At this point, Yuri felt like the abnormal one for not understanding.
Yuri let out a small sigh.
"Haa, if you understand him so well, then ask him why he's been following me around all this time."
"Oh, I asked about that before."
"What'd he say?"
"He said he just had to follow you? He felt like he had to, like it was fate. Right?"
"I'm hungry!"
Nod nod-.
Poppi nodded vigorously as if agreeing with Arin, and Yuri's eyes narrowed.
"Fate, huh..."
Honestly, he didn't buy that crap.
But there was one thing that came to mind.
'The Shari earrings.'
The object called Shari that came from the Yum tribe monk's body.
Maybe this guy was drawn to that?
The moment that thought hit him.
'...Drawn?'
Ding- A lightbulb of realization flickered on above Yuri's head.
He turned to Poppi.
"Poppi!"
"......?"
"Can you... catch ghosts too?"
"I'm hungry."
Poppi responded, but Yuri couldn't understand and looked to Arin.
At his pleading glance for a translation, Arin shrugged.
"He says he can't catch them."
"Ah......"
Yuri looked slightly disappointed.
But then came welcome news that lit up his face.
"But he can hit them."
"...Huh?"
"He can't catch them, but he can hit them?"
Hearing that, Yuri placed his hand firmly on Poppi's shoulder with utmost seriousness.
"Poppi..."
"......?"
"I permit you to stay by my side. Follow me always."
Found him—my personal ghost repellent.
My big, precious ghost shield talisman!
"H-Hungry?"
Flustered by Yuri's sudden shift, Poppi nodded hesitantly.
Arin, who had been watching from the side, stuck her head between them.
"What about me? What about meee!"
At her whiny voice, Yuri asked seriously.
"Can you catch ghosts too?"
"Are you crazy? How would I catch something like that? Forget that—do ghosts even exist?"
"Rejected."
Yuri flicked Arin's forehead with one finger.
Arin tensed her neck and resisted.
"Ah, why! Let me in too!"
"No."
"Why!"
"My choice."
"That's not fair!"
"That's my choice too."
Even as he pushed with his finger, Arin stubbornly held her ground, and Yuri finally snapped in annoyance.
"No, why are you so desperate to stick with us?"
"Because... with you guys—no, with you—it feels like fun stuff will happen?"
"...Just for that?"
"Yeah."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Yuri added another finger to push her forehead.
"Completely rejected. You're out."
"Ah, why! I'll eat less. I'll listen well!"
"Still rejected."
"Eek, I shoot a bow great too! Forgot those good times we had?"
Yuri paused for a moment at Arin's pleading eyes.
Of course, he wasn't swayed by her gaze.
He was just weighing the practicality.
'Her skills are definitely useful, if nothing else.'
Especially since Arin was a rare archer in Yoram, and she synced well with him.
Of course, he didn't know the skills of the other 50th Cohort members yet.
He only had a rough gauge on Gunter, who fought Teresa.
'That guy was decent too, but...'
But if a quest required teaming up with someone instead of solo, Yuri would pick Arin first.
'Then it wouldn't hurt to sync up in advance.'
Thinking that, Yuri slyly removed his fingers from Arin's forehead.
"Huh?"
As the pressure on her head vanished, Arin looked up at Yuri in confusion.
Yuri smirked and said.
"I'll test your skills one more time and decide."
"Really?"
Arin's eyes sparkled in an instant.
She threw her arms over Yuri and Poppi's shoulders in joy.
"Waaaaah!"
Seeing her genuinely delighted, Yuri couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Then he realized something and asked Arin and Poppi.
"But hey... do you guys know where we are?"
As he spoke, Yuri looked around.
In the small tent, blankets that seemed to belong to Poppi and Arin were scattered about.
At a glance, they must have woken up from fainting just like him.
At Yuri's question, Poppi and Arin shook their heads in unison.
"I'm hungry."
"No clue. We just woke up too."
"Tsk, what were you doing while I was out? Didn't even check where we are."
"I was watching when you'd wake up."
"I'm hungry."
Poppi nodded too, apparently having watched alongside her.
Yuri sighed at the sight.
And that was the moment.
Flutter-.
The tent flap rustled as someone burst in.
The startled trio turned toward the entrance.
There stood a black-armored soldier with a fierce scowl.
As the three stared at him, the soldier's face grew even more menacing.
"Hah? Look at these punks. Still lazing around? Think this is your home?"
At the tone, Yuri instantly sensed danger.
His eyes darted around.
'...What’s with this sour, trash-food-stinking attitude?'
It felt familiar and dangerous, like something he'd smelled before, so Yuri shot to his feet.
At that, a glint flashed in the soldier's eyes.
"Oh ho? At least one of you has some sense. The rest... what are you waiting for? On your feet!"
Despite his booming command echoing in the tent, Arin and Poppi just blinked dumbly.
Yuri nudged their butts with his foot.
Only then did they sluggishly get up, and the soldier sneered while pointing at Yuri.
"You, the black-haired one in the middle."
"Yes."
"Escort those two idiots."
"Understood."
With that, the soldier exited the tent.
Yuri gestured for Arin and Poppi to follow and quickly chased after him.
Flutter-.
As the three emerged from the tent, what they faced was...
"......?!"
A living hellscape.
Poppi and Arin's eyes filled with panic at the sight before them.
"What... is this?"
"H-Hungry?"
And it had to be, for the scene that met their eyes was pure pandemonium.
"One."
"Present!"
"Two."
"Here!"
"Louder! Is that all you got? Oneeee!"
"Preseeent!"
"Twoooo!"
"Heeeere!"
Four clinging to a massive 30cm-thick iron bar.
They strained with all their might, repeatedly lifting it overhead and lowering it.
"Uwaaaah!"
"Kua!"
It wasn't just tough—the training was agonizing, as even those versed in body techniques sweated profusely like it was midwinter.
And there were five such groups.
But that was far from all.
Squelch- splat-.
Over twenty crawling in the squelching mud, shackled in bizarre restraints.
Farther off, over twenty scaling sheer cliffs bare-handed.
Or even those doing push-ups on handstands.
Screams, groans, roars, and shouts echoed from all directions, tangling into chaos.
The least grueling might have been those drilling formations in one corner.
As Yuri took it all in, a low curse slipped from his lips.
"Fuck... no wonder that black-armored soldier's tone reeked of familiar boot camp stench."
It was exactly like the basic training camp of the mercenary corps he'd briefly joined months ago.
Even the overall facility vibe was similar.
Barbed wire fences encircling everything.
Watchtowers erected high at intervals along the fence to monitor potential escapees.
Each detail dredged up painful memories from his childhood mercenary corps basic training.
'I fell for the line that just finishing basic training got you paid double... and tasted hell for two months.'
The mercenary corps, born from some madman's idea to form regular troops from mercenaries in emergencies.
And the infamous basic training camp built for them.
A brutal environment packed with rough mercenaries.
To rein them in, even rougher, fiercer instructors were deployed, leading to daily torture-like drills.
Add in the seniors' abuses just for arriving a few days early, and it birthed a true hell.
Yuri, weakened by his incarnation back then, gritted his teeth and barely graduated, but coughed his lungs out for a month after.
'Ugh, goosebumps. Ugh, that camp smell!'
The taste and stench of the bland military rations—aka camp food—from the mercenary corps came back, making Yuri shudder.
Then he hurried to catch up to the soldier ahead, lest he lose him.
As he moved, Poppi and Arin followed Yuri.
The place they tailed the soldier to.
It was a massive tent with a sign reading [Tribunal].