Sehyun grabbed the arrow stuck in the wooden wall, braced his foot against it, and yanked with all his strength. After pulling out two like that and storing them in his inventory, only then did he turn toward Yoon Jeha and the other men.
“So let’s go, Mr. Yoon Jeha. Doesn’t look like there’s any need to deal with them. Bug-eaters don’t even realize they’re bug-eaters. Their eyes are so messed up they only see me as human, apparently. Ah, maybe I should tell Mr. Baek Dohyun. Wonder what they’d see him as.”
With an easy smile, Sehyun slung a friendly arm around Yoon Jeha’s shoulders. Passing by the stunned men who only blinked dumbly, he gave the door a hard kick and strode out of the weapons forge.
“That crossbow you made was really good. Next time, make me another one.”
“Yes, yes? Ah, uh…”
“If you don’t want to, I can’t force you.”
“No? No, not at all! I’ll make you another one!”
“And don’t forget, you still owe me one favor. Think carefully before you use it.”
Yoon Jeha nodded furiously, completely at a loss. Just then, he spotted Lee Jaeyoung and Gwak Junghan running over, panting. Sehyun let go of the shoulder hold and gave Yoon Jeha’s shoulder one last encouraging squeeze.
“And Mr. Yoon Jeha. Don’t let yourself shrink. You don’t need to bow your head or step back. Even if no one else does, you don’t have to.”
“…No. All I’ve done since coming here is wrestle with fish every day, and I can’t even catch them.”
“What, do those bug-eaters bring back wild boar or something? They just pick up pebbles and act tough. Just think of it as different talents. You’ve got a good one of your own, so don’t get discouraged. If you think about it, I don’t have any talent at all.”
“…Huh? Ah… yes, thank you.”
“Let’s go eat breakfast. Ah, bet it’ll be vinegar porridge again.”
“Hyung! Who’s that guy! Hey! Get away from him!”
“Mr. Sehyun, why’d you head out so early today? We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
At Lee Jaeyoung’s sharp glare, Yoon Jeha flinched back like a bear chased by a tiny Chihuahua. Which left Sehyun’s side nicely claimed by Lee Jaeyoung. Gwak Junghan didn’t lose to him either, closing in tight on Sehyun’s other side.
Sehyun glanced toward the direction they had come running from. At the end of the path was the village chief’s house.
“This morning’s hunting group brought back crabs with the nets we made yesterday. Looks like today’s breakfast will be a bit richer.”
“Ah… crabs.”
Guess I’m stuck with vinegar porridge again. Pushed along by Jaeyoung and Junghan clamoring for him to come, Sehyun headed toward the dining area by the well.
By the time they got there, the once-quiet village had already grown busy. The magic stone group must have already left, since Baek Dohyun was nowhere in sight. The busiest people now were the cooking team, steaming giant shellfish in a cauldron.
They weren’t ordinary crabs. Bigger, with twice the number of legs, and so grotesque they made your skin crawl. Of course, this wasn’t Earth, so they couldn’t be the same species — but allergies didn’t care about worlds.
“Sigh…”
“What’s with the sigh?”
“Mr. Junghan, do you like crabs?”
“Yes, well… I don’t dislike anything in particular.”
“Then you can have mine too.”
“…What?”
“Why?”
This time it was Jaeyoung who spoke. Sehyun gave them a weary look and said, “Allergy,” before finding a seat. Their faces instantly turned grim, more serious than he’d ever seen since arriving here.
“Ah, Mr. Yoon Jeha, come join us. Don’t just stand there.”
“Hey! Don’t sit next to hyung!”
“Our boy’s fourteen, you know. Please understand. Sit a little farther away.”
“Ah, yes, thank you.”
Even so, Yoon Jeha’s eyes were glued to the pot. Looked like he was just as excited for crab. After days of vinegar porridge, who wouldn’t be?
As expected, the perfectly steamed crabs brought tears to people’s eyes first thing in the morning. Only Sehyun ate vinegar porridge. Junghan and Jaeyoung watched him with pity, but knowing allergies were serious, they didn’t try to force him.
After breakfast, while Jaeyoung and Junghan went off to the ability development center, Sehyun slipped away, pretending he was heading for the training ground, and instead made for the chief’s house.
By now, Kim Gapjun should be home. Usually he spent time roaming the village, asking curt questions about what was needed, or sketching plans for future buildings.
Contrary to the old-fashioned, blustering impression he gave at first, Kim Gapjun was doing his job fairly well.
Knock, knock—
[Come on in-sho.]
That damned “-sho.” Without waiting another second, Sehyun pushed the door open and stepped inside. The moment Kim Gapjun realized it was Sehyun, his face twisted into a deep scowl.
“Come on, ease up. I don’t like looking at you either, Mr. Pithecus.”
“Why you little bastard! Then what’d you come for?!”
“I’ve got something to talk about.”
Glancing around the neatly arranged room, Sehyun dropped into the chair opposite. Wooden, but padded with cushions, soft enough.
“Where’d you sell off your conscience? The rest of us are sleeping on grass mats stuck to the wall.”
“What the hell do you want, you son of a bitch? Spit it out and get lost!”
Behind Kim Gapjun, Daegong stared straight at Sehyun. The gaze was so blatant it was frightening. Sehyun met it briefly, then turned back to Kim Gapjun.
“That seat… I know it’s a hard one.”
“…What, did you eat something bad? The hell?”
“Well, I did end up with vinegar porridge alone this morning because of my shellfish allergy…”
At that, Kim Gapjun’s face took on a strangely pitying look, as though he’d just seen the world’s saddest sight. Sehyun hadn’t expected comfort from him. First Jaeyoung, then Junghan, and now him — was it really that pitiful? He wouldn’t know, having never eaten crab.
“So what, you want me to catch you some fish?”
“No. I’m saying if the magic stone group gets wiped out today, you’ll be in trouble.”
“Damn Pithecus again… so what, you telling me to run away right now?”
“So you knew?”
“Enough already, just get to the point, you bastard.”
Even though he looked relaxed, digging in his ear, it was obvious he’d already braced himself.
When sacrifices pile up, people may be discouraged at first, but after the second, the third, they overthrow the leader and build their own ways to survive. The first cause of most empire collapses. Sehyun knew it well.
Back when he first started, he hadn’t understood his retainers’ hearts. No bonds, no trust. He’d just thrown them into the magic stone groups, thinking someone would survive anyway.
Until one day, an outbreak happened, and Sehyun was killed. His first collapse. Only three days after the game began.
Unlike kings, retainers could eventually reach a stage where they revived infinitely. But until then, kings bore the brunt of sacrifice.
The throne was far heavier than he’d expected. A king had to consider everything, guard against unknown variables, and above all, pour his strength into ruling his people.
Sehyun didn’t believe it would be any different for players.
“Spare the kid. I’ll go as planned. You know morale will collapse if even the child dies.”
“Damn it! That brat and the fish-man came to me this morning too, raising hell. Why the hell does everyone line up to nag me? And that brat! That kid’s temper’s like a snake’s fang! Don’t think I don’t know he only acts like a puppy in front of you!”
“I wouldn’t know about that.”
“How can you not know?!”
“How should I know? Far as I can tell, he looks like a puppy.”
“Damn! Anyway, he’s flat-out refused to sit out. Said he’d rather die than back down. Don’t think I didn’t offer.”
“Look, Mr. Australopithecus.”
“I told you I don’t care! I’m about to die myself, and you think I’ve got the luxury to worry about your lot?!”
As Kim Gapjun snapped his head away, Sehyun recalled seeing Jaeyoung and Junghan running from this direction earlier. So they’d come here first after all.
“You’re not dying today, Chief.”
“Listen to this bastard. Suddenly calling me chief instead of Pithecus?”
“I mean…”
“If I pull him out, what then? Want me to throw in the fin-boy instead? No one’s volunteering. So the third group goes with four people instead of five? Don’t you realize that’s more of a burden on the rest? You dying alone doesn’t matter. The problem is if others could survive, but end up dying because of you.”
“…I’ll handle that myself.”
At that, Kim Gapjun snorted, laughing in disbelief. Of course he wouldn’t believe it.
After all, Sehyun was still an unawakened human.