Chapter 144. What a Relief
After Hashidaba was resurrected, he became strangely calm, as if he had attained enlightenment.
We returned him to the Haemo Church, and as promised, we received a ship and the key needed to reach the Isolated Sea.
“...That’s huge.”
The ship was enormous.
It was comparable in size to the Empire and Alliance warships I had seen during the Karantlia incident.
And connected to that ship was another vessel of similar size.
Loaded onto it was an enormous key.
The Key of the Serpent Encircling the Sea.
If the key itself was this huge, then just how enormous was the serpent?
And how gigantic was the door this thing was supposed to open?
“Just asking in case... Is the legendary blacksmith also a giant or something?”
I took an apple from our supplies and handed it to Gildeupin, who had come along as our escort.
She let out a short laugh, as though asking if I was seriously giving her an apple as payment for answering my question.
Still, she accepted it and answered.
See?
People with Hero titles were usually nice.
“No. As far as I know, the legendary blacksmith was an ordinary human.”
She took a bite of the apple.
“But with that ordinary human body, he created legends that made no sense.”
“Was he someone from even further back than four hundred years ago?”
“Yes. From the distant past.”
Gildeupin looked toward the sea.
“So distant that no one clearly remembers when he first appeared.”
“Although he maintained friendly relations with the merfolk, even they consider him a figure from myth.”
“In other words, he truly is a legend.”
“Hmm.”
I pulled another apple from the box of supplies and bit into it while nodding.
A past even older than the erased history.
The fantasy feeling was so strong that I unconsciously copied the kind of behavior I had seen somewhere before.
If that legendary blacksmith was still alive...
Then there was at least a tiny possibility that, like Grandpa Darkness, he still retained memories from the original world.
And even if that wasn’t the case...
If he had left behind something like a diary, it could be a huge help.
Then again, maybe this was also content Super Real had thrown together in a hurry, so there wouldn’t be anything like that.
Ha!
What a trash game.
“Ingwang-nim! All the cargo has been loaded! We can depart whenever you are ready!”
“Yeees!”
I watched as the sailors who would operate the ship boarded one by one.
Then I glanced toward Gildeupin beside me.
She was nearly twice my size.
“Gildeupin, are you coming with us?”
“I would prefer to send a detestable bastard like you alone.”
She crossed her arms.
“But I cannot simply send off the Haemo Church’s new Champion by himself.”
“Ohhh. Is that also Gildeupin’s Friendship?”
“If you do not wish to be struck by a fist filled with Friendship, it would be healthier for you to glue your mouth shut.”
She pushed me forward.
“Shut up and get on.”
Her hand gave my back a couple of heavy pats.
I was shoved forward and ended up boarding the ship before I even realized it.
I had been planning to take my time getting on!
Splash... Splash...
The gentle sound of waves continued.
Nothing could be seen no matter how far I looked across the vast ocean.
Leviathan was probably somewhere out there.
But!
Gildeupin was on this ship.
Surely things would somehow work out!
And if not...
Maybe the bottom of this ship was secretly made of some kind of Sea Prism Stone that prevented Sea Kings from attacking!
That kind of setting was totally possible, right?
Okay, Sea Prism Stone would be plagiarism.
But they could just say—
‘This ship has a special magic enchantment~’
That worked.
It was fantasy, after all.
“...Since our objective is the Isolated Sea, I hope the journey remains peaceful until then.”
“If we are lucky, we will only encounter a school of monster fish.”
The ship slowly gained speed as a loud horn announced our departure.
We moved farther and farther into the ocean.
Honestly...
I wasn’t particularly excited.
In games, sailing content was usually boring unless the developers scattered pirates all over the sea.
You got on a ship and sailed across the ocean.
It was difficult to make that situation consistently exciting.
“What are you standing around blankly for? Move.”
“Do what?”
“The moment you entered the sea, you stepped onto a battlefield.”
Gildeupin looked at me sharply.
“Do not lower your guard.”
“Yes... but what exactly am I supposed to—”
BOOM!
Thirty minutes after leaving shore...
We had traveled far enough that land was already out of sight.
Then the entire ship shook violently.
...
Come on.
Wasn’t this a bit much?
Then again...
I had been getting bored.
Maybe this was actually good timing.
“That is the tentacle of a Brain Jellyfish!”
Gildeupin shouted.
“Anyone without resistance to poison, get inside the cabins!”
“Can’t the Great Hero just quickly beat everything up for us?”
“Hmph.”
She snorted.
“Traveling alongside a monster like the Great Hero of Insight has apparently filled your head with absurd fantasies about Great Heroes.”
“There is no one else on the continent at that old man’s level.”
“Not even me.”
She pointed toward the deck.
“So help.”
Grandpa Aro...
Was much stronger than I thought.
Maybe I needed to revise my Empire destruction scenario a little.
Anyway.
We were on the ocean.
If there was ever a time for Mallyangi to shine, this was it.
On top of liquid, she practically gained attack power she normally didn’t even have.
Levy had also become strangely energetic since we entered the sea.
I had a feeling she might cause something this time too.
“Most physical attacks do not work against it!”
“Those who can only use physical attacks, support the others!”
“Mallyangi, confident?”
“Leave it to me!”
Thick jellyfish tentacles began crashing toward the ship.
I tried restraining them with my chains.
But they were much stronger than expected, so holding them in place wasn’t easy.
For now, my role seemed to be throwing spears and preventing the tentacles from wrapping around the ship.
“Hyaa!”
Mallyangi jumped directly into the ocean.
She had every kind of buff imaginable stacked on her—
Her own abilities.
Jayeon’s buffs.
Pie’s buffs.
After entering the sea, she swallowed a huge amount of seawater.
Her body rapidly expanded.
Then she grabbed the transparent jellyfish, whose enormous brain was clearly visible inside its body, lifted it high into the air, and hurled it far across the sea.
Immediately afterward, she unleashed spell after spell.
Even though she had only learned holy magic, healing magic, and enhancement magic...
She was somehow using surprisingly powerful attack spells.
“A powerful summoned creature.”
Gildeupin stared at Mallyangi.
“Where did you obtain a slime like that?”
“In the sewer.”
“...If you do not wish to tell me, you may simply say so.”
Flick!
She flicked me on the forehead!
A Great Hero!
A Great Hero actually flicked my forehead!
For a moment, I remembered the time Grandpa Aro had flicked my forehead.
My heart almost stopped.
Fortunately, Grandpa Aro’s flick had been filled with frustration and scolding.
This one felt more playful.
So it didn’t hurt that much.
Still, I had been startled by the Great Hero’s sudden movement.
I looked up at Gildeupin with a terrified expression.
She looked surprisingly flustered as she stared back down at me.
“I’m serious...!”
“How does a monster that lived in a filthy sewer know holy magic?!”
She pointed toward Mallyangi.
“You expect me to believe that a slime capable of instantly firing eight Spears of Light lived in a sewer?!”
“It’s true!”
“I’m serious!”
“So what if our Mallyangi came from a sewer?! She lived a very kind and proper life down there!”
“...Fine, fine.”
Gildeupin waved her hand.
“I believe you.”
Then she smirked.
“You’re such a coward.”
Try getting hit by Grandpa Aro once!
Let’s see if you can still say that afterward!
One flick from him put me on the border between life and death!
“All right! Everyone, clean up!”
Gildeupin clapped her hands.
“The Brain Jellyfish’s bodily fluids contain toxins, so wear gloves while cleaning!”
She immediately stepped forward and began directing everyone.
The sailors followed her orders naturally, as though they were used to this.
“Hey! I told you to wear gloves because it’s dangerous!”
“S-Sorry!”
“You idiot, do you think I’m telling you to wear gloves for my own benefit?!”
She scolded the rookie sailor who was panicking and looking around.
“I’m telling you because I don’t want you getting hurt!”
“When I say something once, listen properly!”
“Yes!”
She shouted loudly.
But every word was filled with concern.
As expected of someone carrying the name Friendship.
If Erol had said the exact same thing, I probably would have started by becoming suspicious and decided to handle everything myself.
Seriously.
A person’s image really was important.
“Move faster! It’s almost lunchtime!”
“Only the bastards who don’t want to eat can keep slacking off!”
“...Yes, Mom!”
“Shut up!”
“I’ve never had an ugly son like you!”
Gildeupin raised her fist.
“Do you need another flick to come to your senses?!”
“Get to work!”
I didn’t particularly like the Haemo Church itself.
But I liked Gildeupin as a person.
How should I describe it?
