Chapter 217 – Decisions.
When Usher saw the dagger reaching Eison, he wished he had stabbed it straight through. Just because it was his son’s request, he didn’t want to care about the man who casually dragged Belka around and made her suffer.
“That…”
But soon after she heard Lenny’s voice, Usher turned to her. Lenny looked back and forth between Eison and Krikaliev, unable to hide her trembling eyes. Come to think of it, did they say she was Aison’s niece? She wondered what it had to do with herself, but when she remembered the image of her leading her to save Helena, she felt frustrated. She was obviously fed up with Ison, who dragged Belka by force, so she wanted to ask if she should just cut off her ties, but she thought of Lyudmilla and couldn’t speak.
“You’d better decide quickly. Are you going to bring Belka or not?”
“If you don’t bring her, are you going to die with her?”
“Yes?”
“What are you talking about?!”
Even though everyone was taken aback by Krikaliev’s words, he continued to say something out of the blue.
“One on each pillar. Two on the ceiling and one under the table.”
I couldn’t understand what the hell he was talking about, but Helena immediately lifted the cloth that was covering the table, looked down at her, and hardened her face.
“Is this an explosive?”.
“Yes, it seems that they used the soil in Parz.”
“What are you talking about?! Then you’re saying we lived on explosives!”
Lenny was taken aback by his words. That came as a surprise even to Usher. It was said that if Parzu’s soil could be made into explosives, then this royal castle itself was no different from explosives. It was Helena who answered him.
“The soil itself shouldn’t be a problem. But the soil here is very absorbent.”
In order to continue her life here, she researched and experimented with Parz, and of course, there was also Parz soil. Helena was an alchemist anyway, it was only natural for her to study and utilize the ecology and materials of new regions and countries.
“I don’t know about that, but thanks to this soil, it’s cool inside the house, and the cold air or heat from the floor doesn’t come up, so I can live comfortably.”
In Parz, it was easy to obtain and process, so there was no problem even making a house with this soil itself. It was the perfect soil to build a home for, especially for hairy Cattsy, but also for humans. In the outskirts, it was to the extent that bricks were baked and used.
“It’s okay if you use it that way, but it’s a problem because it absorbs too much.”
“Nyaang?”
Even if Lenny said that, Helena’s hard expression couldn’t be straightened. Usher was curious as well, and followed her to look under her table. She could see it through the tablecloths she had lifted, as Helena was right next to her. There were several small, square sticks stacked close together under the table.
“”Proto Dyna.””
Explosives are usually in the shape of a round ball, so Helena and Jude’s voices overlapped as they were worried about the heterogeneous appearance. Jude giggled as they raised their heads from under the table.
“If you’re an alchemist, you can’t know, right?”
“What, what? What are you talking about?”
If Lenny was frustrated, she asked Helena by the shoulder.
“…Protodyna is a type of chemical that is highly dangerous. The conditions for making it are difficult, so it is a substance that cannot be made without the power of wizards.”
“It has a very low ignition point and is sensitive to shock and heat, so it is dangerous enough to burn even if left alone.”
Taking Helena’s words, Jude picks up a stick, the same shape as the one under the table, and throws it back as if playing with a toy.
“In particular, protodynas exist in a liquid state at room temperature.”
“So what does that matter…”
Only then did Leni realize something, and her complexion turned pale. Her body froze as Usher realized what she was talking about. It is said that the soil of Parzu is highly absorbent, so of course it will absorb liquid well, and if Proto Dyna exists in a liquid state, is there any reason why the soil here cannot absorb Proto Dyna? Lenny’s gaze turned to the stick that Jude had tossed and caught her. It looks like a simple stick, but it was wrapped in paper and pressed into something about her.
If she had listened to Helena and Jude, she could have easily guessed what was in them.
“Ah, even if it was absorbed, it might not explode, right?”
“I hope so, but given the nature of Proto Dyna, you’d better not expect it.”
Helena’s words cut off even that hope.
“Isn’t that scary?! To play with something like that casually!”
“So what is it?”
Lenny shouted in a frenzied voice, but Jude seemed alright.
“Originally, Krikaliev, it was something I prepared for you, but it’s gotten better. So, are you going to get Belka or not?”
“What if I don’t come to save you?”
“It can’t be helped. If we all want to die together.”
His voice spoke calmly of death. Usher gnashed his teeth and shouted. It’s true that it’s scary, but I couldn’t stand it without it.
“Why are you so obsessed with Belka!? It’s been a while since we met, so why!”
She was a precious girl who had been with him since childhood. But why did he, a wizard, risk his life so obsessed with Belka?
Hehe, I don’t know. But one thing is certain. Even if I die, I don’t want to hand over Belka to you.”
Seeing him face to face for the first time, Jude’s eyes were swirling with dark, dark emotions.
“Now, let’s choose whether we all die together or go get Belka.”
Silence filled the room again and only Jude’s voice could be heard. There was only one option from the beginning.
“I ate well today too!”
“Come again next time!”
In the late evening, when the sun had gone down and even the twilight had receded, Nausicaa finished her meal and saw off the last of the returning guests. As she walked back into her store, her empty store caught her eye. The other lights had already been extinguished after the guests had left, so only a single lantern burned and lit up the surroundings. Nausicaa looked around the store and picked up the only remaining flaming lantern, and she picked up a dishcloth.
“Ugh, it’d be nice to go back quickly after the business is over. Cleaning is also a job. It’s a no-brainer.”
She murmured as she tidied up the messy plates and cups as the last guests left. That’s how she dipped the plates and cups into the dishwashing bucket and belatedly wiped her table that hadn’t been cleaned.
“Good!”
Scanning her table with her fingers, she nodded and went back to her kitchen. The dishes of the other guests had already been washed, so the dishes were washed only by the last remaining guests. A rattling sound echoed through the empty inn. Even after finishing her overtime, she still had work to do.
“When the hell did we get all of this sorted out?”
She sorted out the accumulated copper coins, iron coins, and occasional silver coins, and began writing them down in her household account book, collecting notes from customers’ orders for the day. In a quiet store where you could hear the sound of a quill pen scratching the paper loudly, she was startled by the sound of the account book screeching.
“Aagh! You have to rewrite it from the beginning! Ugh, it’s a waste.”
Nausicaa took out a new piece of paper and placed it beside her. Paper was easy to find in Parz, but it wasn’t cheap by any means, so she had to use each piece carefully. She sighed as she wrote down her account book, more cautious that she had already ripped up her paper.
“At times like this, it would have been nice if you had an uncle.”
Nausicaa recalled her Krikaliev and looked across from her at her chair. Although she was the one who left her records with her because her power was so strong that if she tried to write it down herself, her paper wouldn’t come out, but she was so good at calculating her calculations that she used to do simple calculations. Unless she had a special job, she was always the one watching over her, so her Nausicaa was weak.
“You’re not coming today.”
She put aside her household account book in a pen that hadn’t caught up with her today, and lay face down, staring at the store door. Even if it is a little late, Krikaliev’s footsteps and shadow, which had returned before sunset, are still invisible. Eventually, it was when she straightened her back again and tried to keep writing her household account book.
– Jeolgeureok
“Mister?”
She turned her head at the familiar sound she had heard many times and looked at the door. She even welcomed Helena, Usher, and Lenny by her side.
“Why are you so late! What about the baby bunny? You’ve been saved!”
And she immediately looked between them. I thought that Belka’s inability to see was covered by the girl’s small stature. But when she looked everywhere she couldn’t find even a tinge of red, so she realized something was wrong with her. Most of all, because their expressions were not good.
“Mister, what about the baby rabbit?”
When Nausicaa asked curiously, Krikaliev quietly opened his mouth.
“Nausicaa, I need to get the sword… Back.”
