Chapter 32. A Brief Peace in the Apocalypse.
Chapter 32. A Brief Peace in the Apocalypse.
I came up to the rooftop of the district office to get some air.
'Whenever my thoughts get tangled, I always end up on a rooftop.'
As I was staring out at the view, zoning out, the rooftop door opened and Chaeyeon and Jia walked in. Jia waved her hand and ran over, striking up a conversation.
"Oppa! What are you thinking about?"
"Hmm? Nothing in particular. Just wanted some air."
"Heehee, unnie told me your eyebrow twitches when you're flustered or lying, and it really does!"
"Sihu, is this about what Mr. Terion said earlier?"
I really can't hide a damn thing from these two.
"It's just... I left behind the bonds I made over there without any lingering regrets, but the mere possibility of actually meeting them again has me feeling restless."
"Heehee, wait, don't tell me you had a woman over there or something!?"
"Haha... very funny."
"Cheon Sihu, are you serious??"
I mean, nine hundred years had passed. Even if I was obsessed with getting back to Earth, how could a person stay single for nine centuries? The moment I hesitated, Chaeyeon pounced.
"You— you're telling me the two of us aren't enough for you!?"
"What are you talking about. I spent my days fighting nonstop. Where would I even find the time for that."
What sort of madman would readily answer questions along the lines of "what was your ex like?" I took both of their hands, one in each of mine, and made it clear I only had eyes for them.
"Still, right now... things are pretty... peaceful, aren't they?"
"Honestly, I've never once felt like my life is in danger when I'm by your side."
"Me too! I'm glad you're by my side, oppa. Heehee."
"Ha... Did you two come up here to cheer me up?"
"Partially to cheer you up. And partly because Mother said lunch is ready and sent us to fetch you, oppa."
We went down to the district office cafeteria. The others were already eating and chatting, having just finished setting everything out.
"Oh my, then you've never actually met Sihu in person?"
"That's correct, ma'am. And... ah, speak of the devil, here comes the man himself now."
"...? Mother, what were you talking about?"
Everyone already knew about us, and "Mother-in-law" and "Father-in-law" felt too stiff, so they'd told me to call them comfortably. We settled on "Mother" and "Father."
"I was just asking about Titan."
"You could have asked me, and I would have told you."
"I was curious to hear other people's stories, and also how a third party views you."
Terion, in his shrunken body, answered as he scooped up food from an old-style tray.
"Hoho, ma'am, I didn't see it personally either, but the rumors about the 'Calamity' were truly widespread."
'How the hell does a guy made of nothing but bones even eat?'
"I've already heard a bit about Sihu being called the 'Calamity.' But the Sihu we know is a world away from that word."
"Kuh-ha, if the people of Titan heard the 'Calamity' being treated like a child, they'd faint. The reason he was called the 'Calamity' is because wherever he passed, not a single blade of grass remained, as if a disaster had swept through."
"Oppa... were you a dictator, by any chance...?"
"It's a bit different. More the opposite, actually. The 'Calamity' went around slaying dictators—whether he meant to or not. Think of it as the dictators using propaganda to keep the 'Calamity' in check."
As Terion said this, he stared intently at Jia and continued speaking.
"You wield a bow, don't you?"
"Yes, they said it's a bow made from an incredible tree."
"Kuh-ha, that's an understatement. It's a bow made using the Elves' World Tree. That bow, and the items the others use, are all treated as items on the level of Divine Arms. Treasures that nations would covet."
"Oppa already told us they were incredibly powerful weapons!"
"That's putting it mildly. The High Chieftain's Sun Shield, the Eternal Staff used by the Sage, the Damro and Geogwol wielded by the right and left hands of the Martial God — each and every one is an object that would spark a war if it appeared in the world."
"I heard oppa received them from his acquaintances."
"Kekeke, I see the 'Calamity' explained it to you that way."
"Anyway, Mr. Terion, please tell us more about what Sihu did."
"Ma'am, that Sky Bow the child was holding earlier is a treasure of the Elves. The Elves are a race famed for their stunning, peerless beauty. There was a kingdom that kidnapped those Elves and kept them as slaves."
Terion drank water through a straw stuck in his cup and continued his story.
"The Elves happened to be acquaintances of the 'Calamity.' Enraged, he smashed the kingdom's main gate with his bare hands and turned the entire nation upside down. He freed all the captured slaves of other races, too. That incident is what sparked friction with the other nations."
"Oh my, our Sihu stormed an entire nation alone and flipped it over? He was a prince on a white horse!"
Chaeyeon, who had been pondering something, asked Terion.
"The Elves are incredibly pretty, you say? Must have been a really important acquaintance for oppa to flip a kingdom over."
"...You are the 'Calamity's' wife, correct?"
"I am someone who is the same as his wife."
"Ah, she was a very precious comrade-in-arms... That must be why he did it..."
Chaeyeon glared at Terion, clearly unsatisfied with that answer, but she didn't pry any further. Terion glanced at me slightly and gave a knowing nod.
— Nod.
— Nod.
"But oppa, how did you start building up your faction?"
"Mm... Actually, it wasn't that the 'Calamity' actively went out and began gathering people. It was simply that those who could no longer endure the tyrants' oppression naturally gathered by the 'Calamity's' side, one by one."
"Hoho, I see my son-in-law was a person of incredible leadership."
"Teacher, from what you've seen, do you think the 'Calamity' has the personality to personally gather people and build a faction?"
"Kehm, thinking back to the old days, that was definitely never his style..."
"And there was a saying passed down among all those who held power. 'If you gaze upon the Calamity, the Calamity will gaze back at you.' Everyone was constantly racked with anxiety, desperate not to be noticed by the 'Calamity.'"
"Huh, hearing it from someone else, oppa was really an incredible person."
Everyone asked whatever they were curious about and answered in turn, and for a while we had an enjoyable time. After the meal, I gathered everyone on the first floor to check on the group's training progress. For a while there, we'd almost managed to forget the zombie apocalypse was even a thing.
After several tens of minutes of observing their progress and giving feedback, Terion came toddling over through the air.
"What, why did you come here?"
"I simply wanted to see the 'Calamity' impart his teachings firsthand."
"Fine, as long as you don't get in the way."
After I had been working them for another while, Terion stood before Chaeyeon and Jia.
"Hmm, one uses magic, and the other uses Elven archery, I see? I don't know much about swordsmanship, but considering the Sun Shield from earlier, that shield technique must be the Sun Knight Division's Shield Technique."
"Mr. Terion, magic aside, how did you know that what I use is Elven archery?"
"The bow is one clue, but I say that because there's a faint scent of spirits wafting from you. It's not coming from the bow, but from your body."
At the mention of a scent, Jia hastily lifted her sleeve and sniffed herself.
"Hoho, it's not a smell you can catch by doing that. At any rate, this lady over here is a 4th Circle mage, is she not?"
"Yes, that's right. But Sihu saw it right away too— can the two of you just tell at a single glance?"
"I am also one who devoted himself to the Demonic Arts. While I may not know other things, when it comes to magic, my ability is worthy of giving instruction."
Chaeyeon glanced at me, asking if it was alright, and I told her I didn't mind.
"Then what Circle is Mr. Terion at?"
"Mm, I am an 8th Circle."
"Incredibly high. Then what Circle would Sihu be?"
"He is a being for whom discussing Circles is meaningless. If I had to assign one, it would be the 10th Circle. However, when it comes to the Demonic Arts, I delved deeper. I governed a kingdom and personally trained mages, after all."
"Umm... a personal question, but Mr. Terion, why did you become a Lich?"
"..."
"Ah, I'm sorry. If it's difficult for you to speak of..."
"When I was a king, my kingdom fell. So, even as a vengeful spirit, I sought to personally enact revenge upon them."
"If you were an 8th Circle, weren't you incredibly powerful?"
"As a human, I was very powerful. But the Demons are different. They are born strong and wield demonic energy well, and those wretched bastards began eating away at my kingdom from the inside."
"I feel like I asked something pointless..."
"It is done. In truth, my revenge ended when the 'Calamity' killed the Demon God in my stead."
"..."
"Hut, the past is already forgotten. Anyway, sit here. I shall teach you step by step."
So while Chaeyeon received instruction from Terion, I began teaching the rest of the group. And while I was teaching, I glanced over at Chaeyeon and thought.
I know how to handle every weapon, but the skills I'm worst at are the spear and the bow.
'If she had been here, could Jia have received even more precise instruction...?'
* * * * * * * *
As day broke, we began preparing to head to the military base in earnest.
"Mr. Seo Ji-hoon, how are the preparations?"
"The elderly, weak, and children were loaded into the vehicles first, and all supplies, except for the weapons we currently carry, have been loaded as well."
"Alright, then let's start getting ready to move out."
Terion flew over and settled himself inside my shirt's front pocket. Then Seo Ji-hoon looked back and shouted to the people.
"We are leaving this place and will never return to the department store. Everyone, please check one last time that you haven't left anything behind!"
Everyone had already made full preparations to depart, and not a single person went back into the department store. After confirming the final checks were complete, Seo Ji-hoon looked at me and nodded.
"Let's move out."