Chapter 146. Jeju Island. (Reni and Cassius Illustration)
At Cassius's sudden remark, everyone immediately glanced at Chaeyeon and Jia, gauging their reactions. They knew exactly who the "queen" he mentioned was, too. And not only that — they also knew about the time I had unintentionally stood her up.
"That's... for later."
"Come on, it's fine to talk about it now."
"Right. Is there something we're not supposed to hear, or what?"
She was smiling and used a soft, good-natured tone, but it definitely wasn't a genuine smile. Fortunately, my mother-in-law stepped in at the perfect moment to mediate.
"Girls, you already knew about this."
"Tch."
"Hmph... we just wanted to tease him a little."
There was a hint of envy in their voices, but it was clear they really had only been trying to mess with me. Watching this, Cassius smiled quietly, his expression benevolent.
"Nevertheless, it was clear to see just how deeply your wives adore you, Commander."
That was certainly true, but hearing someone say it aloud seemed to embarrass them — both of their ear tips flushed red.
"Anyway, Mr. Cassius, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"
"You may address me casually, by name alone. Madam."
"Oh my... I'll try to get more comfortable with that in time."
"Hmm... to answer your question, Madam, I've long since lost count of the years and don't quite remember. What is certain is that I am younger than the Commander."
"Have you really lived that long?"
The group looked back and forth between Cassius and me, visibly questioning it. To anyone who didn't know us, we'd look exactly like a grandfather with his grandson. Though, of course, since we're different races, no one would mistake us for blood relatives.
"Ho ho, that is because I had already grown old by the time I reached the Realm of Mastery. The Commander was still in his youthful prime when he entered that realm, which is why his appearance remains fixed at that age."
"Anyway, I'm curious now. Finish what you were saying earlier."
"Her Majesty the Queen is also preparing for the Dimensional Fusion, much as we are."
"...?"
That was hard to believe. Fame and power aside, the Mercenary Corps was little more than a company compared to a nation. Relocating a company would be possible, but moving an entire country would be enormously difficult.
'Wait. Could it actually be possible?'
Compared to Earth, her country was about the size of Singapore — a very small nation. Now that I considered it, it didn't seem so impossible after all.
'It's probably a little smaller than Busan.'
"In fact, she often visited our headquarters, and we discussed many things."
"Oh?"
"Yes, and most of those conversations were related to you, Commander."
"You talked about me?"
"We did, but..."
Cassius glanced around, hesitating a little. That only made everyone all the more curious.
"Tell me straight — no sugarcoating."
"Ahem... Her Majesty once said that if she ever met you again, Commander, she would 'make sure to bear your child so you can never go anywhere again.'"
The queen's audaciously direct comment made the whole party freeze up. Chaeyeon and Jia, for their part, looked as though a strange competitive fire had been lit inside them.
"Good grief. Looks like her pushy personality hasn't changed, now or then."
"She is a most steadfast person, after all."
At that point, as if something else had just crossed their minds, Chaeyeon and Jia spoke up.
"Sihu, do you remember you said you'd grant our wish?"
We had made a bet, sure, but now that I thought about it, the outcome had practically been decided from the start. Still, I couldn't go back on my word. I'd have to grant it.
"Hmm... what kind of wish?"
"Let's go on a trip!!!"
Jia's sudden declaration caught me off guard. It hadn't even been half a year since a group from the village had gone to the seaside, and the situation with China still wasn't fully resolved.
"..."
I glanced sideways at Chaeyeon, and she nodded — apparently, she wanted the exact same thing Jia did.
'Do I need to swing by that place one more time?'
"Not that place — let's go somewhere different this time!"
It was as if she'd learned mind-reading — she cut in before I could even say it. To my surprise, Cassius also seemed interested.
"Ho-oh... this would be an excellent opportunity for my squad members and the existing villagers to build camaraderie."
"But if we empty the village of too many people at once, that's a bit..."
The answer came quickly: split the squad in half, and the villagers in half, and go in turns.
We could fit roughly fifty to sixty people per Chinook helicopter, so we'd need at least three to move everyone in one go. That settled, the question became: where would we even go? I told everyone to throw out ideas, but nobody could think of a specific spot right away.
"Somewhere with not too many people, but still reachable by helicopter..."
I briefly considered an airplane, but finding a functioning airport in decent shape would be nearly impossible.
Just then, someone's muttered words drew everyone's attention.
"Jeju Island..."
"Oh, Jeju Island sounds good."
"Jeju Island — that's an island belonging to Korea, isn't it?"
"Jeju Island is perfect."
Our vacation destination was settled on Jeju Island in an instant. Once we had a destination, everything else fell into place just as quickly. Personnel assignments, food supplies, helicopter maintenance — it all proceeded at a rapid pace.
Before we knew it, today's planned drinking session had been postponed so we could enjoy it on the trip instead.
'They're not actually going to try getting in the ocean in this weather, right?'
On Titan, seeing the ocean was incredibly difficult unless you lived on a continent that bordered the sea. The landmass was so impossibly vast you couldn't even compare it to Earth, and it wasn't a world with developed cities and transportation like here. The major facilities did have Teleport Gates, of course, but the outrageous cost meant only the wealthy or the nobility could use them.
Perhaps that was why the squad members who had never been to the sea were completely giddy with excitement, while those who'd grown up near the coast had already started bragging about this and that.
"Anyway, old man, have you ever seen the sea?"
"Hmm... long ago, when I worked as a servant, I did briefly accompany someone as a guard, but I have never gone on a holiday like this to enjoy it."
"Then make sure you enjoy it plenty. The place we're going is an island that people from other countries often visit for tourism, you know."
While I was talking with Cassius, Leni, who was sitting on my lap, started tapping my chest from behind with the back of her head: thump, thump.
"What?"
"Commander, so are there things like krakens or lizardfolk too?"
"Hmm... no. There's nothing like that, but there are really big whales."
Leni, too, seemed pretty excited about getting to see the ocean for the first time.
'But wait — did whales like that actually live around Jeju Island?'
The journey took two hours — the helicopter was fast for its cruising speed, even if slower than an airplane. We'd picked a spot on the map where we guessed there wouldn't be any zombies, and it seemed like a good choice.
Since I really didn't want to get stuck with the labor of killing zombies even all the way out here, we skipped hotels and pitched tents instead. Once the tents were set up, Cassius called the squad members together.
"Everyone, go hunt and secure enough food to meet the designated quota."
I'd been watching to see what he'd say, but now he was giving them some strange orders.
"What's this, why are you suddenly making them do that?"
"?"
Cassius, on the contrary, gave me a look as if he had no idea what I was getting at.
"Is this not meant to be a hunt for sport, much like a noble's holiday?"
"Well, there are people here who go bird hunting depending on the season, sure, but that's not how we do things. All we have to do is drink, get drunk, and enjoy ourselves."
"Understood."
It wasn't winter, but it was still too chilly for playing in the water — yet there were Leni and the others frolicking anyway, people laying out mats and chatting, and then there was me and Cassius doing absolutely nothing.
"Old man, aren't you going to do anything?"
"Ho ho, perhaps it comes with age, but simply sitting here and gazing at the scenery feels comfortable."
"What are you talking about — I'm older than you are."
"It's a figure of speech, Commander."
For a moment, we sat in silence, watching the others.
"It's nice, right?"
"Yes. It's very nice. I think I understand a little now why you wanted so desperately to return here, Commander."
"If I had stayed on Titan any longer, I probably would've just... frozen solid inside."
"..."
When I returned from Titan, the Earth I'd been longing for wasn't waiting for me. I had imagined what might have happened — a war breaking out, some disaster striking. But I had never, ever imagined zombies roaming the streets.
"Commander, are you happy?"
"For now."
"When you say 'for now'..."
"There's a rule that every person has a total amount of happiness they're meant to enjoy in life."
"..."
"I spent over nine hundred years in a grind, and when I got back to Earth... how much of my accumulated happiness do you think is left?"
"It would be impossible to gauge..."
"So until I've felt all of it — I can't call myself happy."
"I am but a small presence, but I will do whatever I can from your side, Commander."
Thinking to myself that Cassius was truly steadfast, I took a sip of the beer beside me.
"Anyway, I've also got to make a trip to China."
"Are you speaking of the Celestials?"
"Those cockroaches keep crawling out the moment they think I've forgotten about them."
"If that is the case, I shall take the squad members and..."
"No. I'll go there myself. No matter how many times I kill them, they just keep coming — so this time I'm planning to go in person and take control so they can't even lay their eggs."
Over the top of his sunglasses, I caught Leni waving her hand. I waved back, and she beamed before running over to me. Seeing this, Jia called out.
"Leni, you're going to catch a cold!"
Hearing that, Cassius and I both snorted at the same time. Leni, catching a cold — what a ridiculous thought.
"Commander! Come play with me!"
"I'm cold, so I'd rather not..."
"Don't lie, you don't even feel the cold! Come on!"
As she kept pestering me, I put on an expression of reluctant resignation and let Leni pull me by the hand to the water's edge. After that, I threw myself into playing with her wholeheartedly.
As evening rolled in, we set out the grill plates and everyone began eating meat together — the noise was so boisterous it felt like the island itself might float away. Most people ended up completely plastered, and you'd frequently spot someone passed out, sprawled across the beach.
And all the while, Cassius kept attending to the girls, constantly checking to see if they needed anything.
"Mr. Cassius, please take a break and eat something too..."
"No, thank you. Is it not my role to see to it that you ladies have everything you need?"
As expected, the two of them still didn't seem too fond of being addressed as 'ladies' or 'madam.'
"The, um... the 'madam' title, please, really..."
"I understand this to be the correct form of address, however..."
"..."
Before anyone noticed, Leni had gotten tired and had long since fallen sound asleep. When she sleeps near me, I sometimes gently touch her ears, and they always twitch softly in response: flick, flick.
"I wish I had a daughter like her..."
"Unnie, I was thinking the exact same thing!"
Still in their early twenties and already wishing for a daughter like that. They must have really taken a liking to Leni.
"But the way you two keep treating Leni like a little kid... strictly speaking, Leni is way..."
When I tried to finish saying it, Jia yelped loudly to stop me.
"But she's still adorable!"
"Gororong..."
Whether she knew people were talking about her or not, Leni was still sound asleep.
This is Leni, Vice-Commander of the Disaster and the one in charge of cuteness!
She might look like this, but she's actually a beastkin, so please consider her to be a bit older than Chaeyeon and Jia. (Though in human terms, she might be exactly the age she looks?)
She wields the daggers the Commander gave her, one in each hand, when she fights.
I was personally really satisfied with how well Leni's illustration turned out!
This is Cassius, who serves as Advisor to the Disaster.
He possesses wisdom and insight befitting his years, and in truth, he has lived for a very long time.
In contrast to Leni, I'm not quite as satisfied with Cassius's illustration. Please keep in mind that his deeply etched wrinkles didn't quite make it onto that face. (I originally envisioned an older man with a dignified, handsome look, but those wrinkles... ㅠㅠ)
When he fights, befitting his dignity, he wears black gloves so he won't soil his hands, and he battles using martial arts.