Chapter 117: Village of Hope
ㅤ”Uu, uun…”
ㅤ
ㅤI groaned as I opened my eyes.
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ㅤThe first thing that came into view was a stone ceiling.
ㅤTurning my gaze to the side, I saw a window without glass in the stone wall. Something resembling a large leaf with its flesh removed, leaving only the mesh-like veins, hung down like a bamboo blind. It was probably something like a sunshade and a screen door combined.
ㅤ
ㅤThis time, I looked to the other side.
ㅤThere, I saw Arsh, sleeping soundly, slumped over the bed I was in.
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ㅤI was in a stone room, about three times the size of the bed I was on.
ㅤTo put it in terms of my previous life, it would be about four and a half tatami mats.
ㅤ
ㅤ”…Um…what’s going on?”
ㅤ
ㅤAs I muttered,
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ㅤ”━━Ah, you’ve awakened?”
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ㅤTurning towards the voice, I saw a girl in simple clothing entering the room from the entrance, which had no door.
ㅤShe was about the same age as me, and she wore clothes that looked like they were made from tanned leather.
ㅤHer flaxen hair was tied in a ponytail. She wasn’t a beautiful girl, but she had a charming face.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Um…where am I?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Thank goodness, you’re awake. You were unconscious for three days.”
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ㅤThe girl sighed in relief without answering my question.
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ㅤ”Ah, are you hungry? I don’t have much, but I’ll prepare something for you.”
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ㅤ”More than that, the situation…”
ㅤ
ㅤIgnoring my words, the girl disappeared down the hallway.
ㅤ
ㅤ(Um…If I remember correctly, I was fighting Grunblin…)
ㅤ
ㅤI remember up to the point where I was about to be killed and Arsh did something.
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ㅤJudging from the situation, Arsh must have somehow dealt with Grunblin and carried me here.
ㅤ
ㅤWhen I tried to sit up, a sharp pain shot through my right shoulder.
ㅤ
ㅤ”…Ah, hot!”
ㅤ
ㅤLooking, I saw that my right shoulder was bandaged.
ㅤIt was less of a bandage and more like long seaweed, similar to wakame, that had been pounded and dried.
ㅤ
ㅤ”I’ve brought you some soup.”
ㅤ
ㅤThe girl entered from the entrance, carrying a tray.
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ㅤBeing careful not to wake Arsh, I sat up and leaned against the bed.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Are you sure you’re alright to move?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Ahaha… It hurts a little, but I’ll heal it after I eat.”
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ㅤ”Heal it… Are you a healer?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”It’s a side skill.”
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ㅤI received the soup and brought a spoonful to my mouth.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Delicious.”
ㅤ
ㅤIt had a rich seafood broth.
ㅤThe ingredients included red and white fish, large shellfish, seaweed, and even sea urchins.
ㅤ
ㅤ”I’m glad you like it. There’s nothing but the sea here, so we eat whatever we can.”
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ㅤLooking at the soup again… I noticed a small starfish hidden among the other ingredients.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Eh… You can eat this?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Yes, you can. Many people don’t like it because of its appearance.”
ㅤ
ㅤIt would be rude to leave it after it was served to me.
ㅤI took a bite of the starfish.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Oh… Yeah. It has a strange texture.”
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ㅤI think it tastes good if you don’t mind the appearance.
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ㅤAfter a while, I finished the soup.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Thank you for the meal.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Eh, ah… So that’s how you say it.”
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ㅤ”Yeah. It might be unique to my birthplace.”
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ㅤ”It must be a country with good manners. This place has no such culture; we’re just doing our best to survive.”
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ㅤ”You’ve been mentioning it a bit… Where exactly is this place?”
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ㅤ”This is the 『Navel of the World』.”
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ㅤ”Huh!?”
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ㅤ”It’s the exposed seabed at the center of the whirlpool. Even though it’s the seabed, there are only ancient stone ruins, and it’s a place where hardly any plants grow.”
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ㅤI pondered the girl’s words.
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ㅤ(Well, it’s only natural. That dungeon was supposed to be connected to the 『Navel』 where the Museum of All Creation is located.)
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ㅤThinking that far, I finally realized.
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ㅤ”That’s right! What was the situation when I was brought here? Was there a woman chasing after me and Arsh?”
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ㅤ”No… You two were found collapsed in a small room of the ruins, which had been an unopened door until now, by Miicha… the explorer Schmos. There shouldn’t have been anyone else.”
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ㅤ(So, does that mean Arsh defeated Grunblin? Or at least inflicted enough damage that she couldn’t follow us… There’s also the possibility that he somehow destroyed the warp gate exit after we escaped.)
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ㅤNone of those options seemed possible considering Arsh’s usual behavior…
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ㅤ”Right, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Minato. I’m an adventurer.”
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ㅤ”Arsh-san told me. I’m Marianne. I’m the daughter of the village chief of Hope Village.”
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ㅤ”Hope Village?”
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ㅤ”Yes. The people living here were caught in the whirlpool and drifted to this place. Hoping to return to the outside world someday, we named this place Hope Village.”
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ㅤ”Ah… So that’s why the food is all seafood, and the buildings are made of stone without wooden doors or furniture.”
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ㅤ”That’s right… The only things exposed from the whirlpool are the large building in the center and the surrounding stone corridors. Even though I say ‘only,’ it’s quite vast, large enough to fit a small town…
ㅤHowever, the problem is that no plants grow at all. So, to obtain lumber, we have no choice but to wait for the occasional shipwreck or driftwood. We can’t plant and grow food either, so we eat seafood or seaweed. Our clothes are made from tanned hides of sea beasts.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”I see…”
ㅤ
ㅤI never thought there would be a settlement in the Navel, but it made sense when I heard it.
ㅤMany ships must have drifted here over the years.
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ㅤ”By any chance, haven’t any Celesta soldiers drifted here recently?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Yes, just recently.”
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ㅤThere was a story about a Celesta galley ship sinking while investigating the disappearance of pirates from the Kielhen Islands.
ㅤ
ㅤ(I doubt everyone survived…)
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ㅤMany must have been eaten by Krakens, Oceanuses, other marine monsters, or familiar sea creatures like sharks and killer whales.
ㅤMany probably died from exhaustion before they could even reach the shore.
ㅤ
ㅤStill, there are survivors.
ㅤThis is good news for Harriet-san.
ㅤ
ㅤWhile listening to the story, I removed the bandage from my right shoulder.
ㅤThe wound inflicted by Grunblin’s magic spear was still tight.
ㅤI held my left hand over it and healed the injury with magic.
ㅤThe injury had caused atrophy even to my ether body, but I had experience treating Sherry-san when she suffered a similar injury in the Mist Forest.
ㅤMy wound was healed in no time.
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ㅤ”A-Amazing!”
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ㅤMarianne’s eyes widened.
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ㅤ”I can heal minor injuries. If there are any injured people, I’ll treat them as a way of repaying your kindness for the lodging and food.”
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ㅤI briefly considered paying for the lodging and food with money, but I doubted that currency circulated in this small, isolated settlement.
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ㅤ”Thank you! Many monsters drift here, and there are many injuries! People who used to be adventurers are taking the lead and have created the Hope Village Branch of the Adventurer’s Guild to deal with it, but it seems that only a limited number of monsters drop potions.”
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ㅤ”Wow… That’s amazing. To create a village after drifting ashore and form a guild to survive. Everyone is so resilient.”
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ㅤMarianne’s face darkened slightly at my admiration.
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ㅤ”Not everyone… There are those who have lost hope and shut themselves off, and those who have taken their own lives. Some people have been living here for twenty years. They live their lives lamenting that they will never see the outside world again…”
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ㅤThat’s… tough.
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ㅤ(I’m in the same boat. There don’t seem to be any decent ships here, and even if there were, there’s no way they could sail out into the open ocean against the whirlpool.)
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ㅤIt would be great if we could use the warp gate we used to get here.
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ㅤ”You said earlier that an explorer found us. At that time, was there a transfer formation – a large circular pattern – in that place?”
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ㅤ”No… I don’t know without asking, but I think he would have told me if there was anything noticeable.”
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ㅤ”Right…”
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ㅤIf it’s a gate for entering and exiting the underwater Museum of All Creation, it should be bidirectional.
ㅤThe fact that it’s not there means we might have been transported here through some unusual method.
ㅤHowever, that might be the reason why we were able to escape from Grunblin.
ㅤ
ㅤ”I’ll have to ask Arsh when he wakes up.”
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ㅤ”Arsh-san was very diligently taking care of Minato-san. At first, he almost suffocated you by putting a soaking wet towel on your face.”
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ㅤMarianne said with a chuckle.
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ㅤ”Well, it’s not really a laughing matter.”
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ㅤ”He’s quite clumsy. He must be a nobleman’s son or something, raised like a prince. He’s not good at handiwork at all.
ㅤBut he insisted on taking care of Minato himself and was doing his best.”
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ㅤ”Is that so…”
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ㅤI gently stroked Arsh’s light blue hair as he slept, slumped over the bed.
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ㅤThat’s when it happened.
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ㅤA loud male voice could be heard from outside the house.
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ㅤ”━━P-Pirates are attacking!”
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ㅤ
ㅤMarianne and I exchanged glances.