The orange sunlight gently caressed the leaves spread throughout the forest that should have been peaceful.
The noisy sound of something that didn’t belong in a forest ruined the tranquility of the afternoon as it slowly turned into evening.
The noise came from a large speaker playing songs that would only become popular two million years later.
But the people who knew nothing about it could only enjoy it while continuing to gather around the speaker that kept producing beautiful singing voices and modern rhythmic music.
They stood there in a daze, surrounding the speaker while eating the food on the small plates they held.
Van stood not far from them, watching everyone while his own body almost started swaying to the music.
’Good grief, I didn’t expect it to become this lively... I almost don’t have the heart to move them farther away from here.’
Van slapped his cheek after a mosquito bit him. He also scratched one leg with the other since he was only wearing shorts and a pair of flip-flops.
He clicked his tongue and wiped away the sweat that soaked his gray jacket, the only thing covering the upper half of his body.
He looked up at the sky hidden by countless trees, where orange sunlight slipped through the gaps between the branches.
Van created an invisible space that covered the area they occupied. He then walked around while spraying lavender-scented mosquito repellent, accompanied by the music and a can of cold beer.
The prince, seeing Van walking around spraying something with a pleasant fragrance, immediately approached him.
"My lord... what is that?" The prince pointed toward the speaker that was still the center of everyone’s attention because of its loud noise. "And what is that noisy thing?"
Van raised an eyebrow. He kept walking while spraying the lavender-scented mosquito repellent.
"Why? Don’t you like it? It’s called a speaker... and this is mosquito repellent."
Van clicked his tongue.
"The mosquitoes here are absolutely insane... I mean, they’re really vicious."
The prince opened and closed his mouth several times before letting out a small chuckle.
"Even a god cannot endure mosquito bites?"
Van frowned. He looked at the prince with a strange expression before sighing.
"Of course!"
The prince chuckled and followed Van around the area while Van continued spraying can after can of mosquito repellent.
"I want to thank you, my lord. You returned and saved us..."
Van looked at the prince with a serious expression. He stopped spraying the lavender-scented repellent as he remembered the cries of the survivors, causing him to sigh.
He patted the prince’s sturdy shoulder.
"Don’t thank me. I’m the one who should apologize. I did something—"
Van’s words were interrupted as the prince spoke with a serious face.
"I also thank you for telling us that those who died because of that enormous object would enter heaven..."
Van froze as he stared at the prince. He scratched his nose with the hand holding the can of mosquito repellent.
’I hope they really did go to heaven... amen.’
Van forced a stiff smile and nodded several times despite his uncertainty. He then continued what he was doing while the prince followed beside him.
"The series of earthquakes last night... were they caused by your battle against those strange creatures?"
Van nodded several times. They stopped in front of a grilled meat stall managed by an ice clone.
Van bit into a piece of meat that was still hot. He frowned while looking at the ice clone.
"Add a little more salt..."
The ice clone didn’t nod. It gave no response because whatever Van thought, it would immediately carry out.
Van then handed the prince a plate filled with meat, vegetables, and several small pieces of potato.
"That’s right... I did fight them over that enormous object..."
The prince frowned as they both ate in front of the food stall.
"Do we need to help? We are ready, my lord. We are ready for a holy war."
Van choked the moment he heard the prince’s statement. He almost died as a god because of choking, fortunately a can of cold beer saved him from earning the title of the god who died from choking.
’A holy war? In my name? Good grief... that actually sounds cool.’
Van shook his head to clear his mind, while the prince and everyone nearby panicked simply because Van had choked.
Van chuckled and smiled broadly.
"A holy war? There’s no need..."
Van turned around and looked at the people happily enjoying themselves with full stomachs and smiles on their faces. The prince followed Van’s gaze.
Meanwhile, the sky grew darker.
Van took another bite of meat, this time more carefully.
"I’d rather have all of you move a little farther away... of course, I’ll help."
Van pointed toward the direction opposite the setting sun.
"You know there’s a savanna over there, right? I think it’s a suitable place to start over..."
The prince stared at Van without blinking before looking at the people in front of them.
The two of them said nothing more, simply eating their food until a group of small children led by Arsy ran over to them.
"Uncle Van!! Isn’t there anything fun left?"
Van looked at Arsy sarcastically.
"So now you call me Uncle Van? You should’ve called me that from the beginning... instead of Uncle God, Uncle God."
Arsy and the other children burst into laughter while Van narrowed his eyes. He knew one of the reasons they called him a god was because of Arsy’s and Andis’s impression of him.
Van sighed before crouching in front of the children, thinking of something.
At last, he pinched the air after coming up with something interesting for them.
Out of nothingness, a blue dolphin-shaped toy gun with a round muzzle appeared.
Van also produced a bottle of soap solution.
The children and the prince looked confused by yet another strange object Van had created, but Van immediately demonstrated what he wanted to do.
He dipped the dolphin gun’s muzzle into the bottle of soap solution.
Then he aimed it toward the sky hidden beneath the trees and streaks of orange light.
Van pulled the trigger.
Dozens of bubbles floated out of the dolphin gun’s muzzle, making the children’s eyes sparkle as they forgot even to cheer in amazement.
Van chuckled before teaching the children how to use it amid the loud music. He also created more of the same toy until each child had one.
Even Andis and the teenagers around his age wanted one.
In the end, as night replaced day, the forest that should have been silent became as lively as a festival.
Not only because modern music continued echoing through the forest, but also because of the laughter of children playing with bubbles from their dolphin guns.
That was the scene reflected in Van’s gray eyes and in the eyes of the adults whose lives were slowly returning.
Van talked several times with the prince and the others about his plan to take them somewhere new and help build new homes.
The adults naturally gathered together, sharing their opinions while the children and teenagers continued playing in the now-dark forest.
The ice clones once again lit up the sky with flashlights just like the previous night.
Their discussion seemed endless after hearing that a new hope would be created in the new place where they would begin the next Chapter of their lives.
Van was carried away by the atmosphere. His thoughts drifted toward building his dream house even though he had never done such a thing before.
All of those conversations came to a natural end as the night grew deeper and sleepiness overtook everyone.
Van eventually moved to the edge of the area where he could see thousands of mosquitoes trying to penetrate his invisible space.
He yawned while creating an invisible sofa and leaned back against it, his back cracking as it settled.
His eyes watered as he rubbed them.
He sighed with a smile, his mind feeling much lighter even though something still bothered him.
’Good... we’ve already talked about where to move. The only thing left is the Artium...’
Van lifted his legs, which weren’t fully covered by his shorts, took off his flip-flops, and lay down comfortably on the long invisible sofa.
His gray eyes stared at the flashlight beams illuminating the area where they had settled.
His thoughts began to wander as drowsiness and exhaustion overtook him.
’Do I really have to fight? I think the language barrier is obviously the biggest problem...’
Van let out another huge yawn.
’How am I supposed to do this? If I ask them to teach me, that’s impossible, right? How long would it take to learn before we could finally negotiate...’
Van frowned. His wandering thoughts slowly became more logical the sleepier he grew.
At last, something occurred to him that piqued his curiosity, causing some of his drowsiness to disappear.
"Beluga?"
Van remembered his last wish, the one that had instantly turned the crater into a lake.
"Wait... what was the payment for my last wish again?" He searched through his memory before letting out a quiet sigh. "Right... one unlucky day after the next summoning?"
Van bit his finger as his thoughts clashed together. He began counting on his fingers.
"Should I summon you now... or later?"
Van checked the time on the phone the old man had given him. It showed half past two in the morning.
He sighed after finally making up his mind.
"Beluga..."
The moment Van finished speaking, the ground around him swelled into a mound that circled around him.
The mound split apart, and brilliant light shone from the countless pieces of jewelry Beluga was wearing. He was still wearing his diamond sunglasses. He opened his mouth, but Van quickly covered it.
"Don’t be so loud, damn it... there are lots of children sleeping."
Beluga glanced toward the center of the camp where many children were sleeping soundly.
He then looked at Van while lowering his diamond sunglasses and whispered to him.
"Beluga has arrived. Beluga is ready."
Beluga swam through the air again, performing acrobatics while trying to keep his golden voice quiet.
"What is it?" Beluga conjured a diamond-and-gold wristwatch around one of his jewel-covered fins. "Your unlucky day has already started, you know... tsk, you should’ve summoned me after midnight... then you’d get a full day."
Van sat up while quietly chuckling.
"There’s something I want to do... can you do this..."
Van began whispering into Beluga’s ear—if he even had one. The two of them whispered in the middle of the sleeping camp until Beluga finally agreed to Van’s request.
"Alright... that’s possible. But it’ll take time. You’ll have to listen to them talking for a while... and as for the payment... hmm."
Beluga looked Van up and down before clicking his tongue.
"Damn... I can’t decide. I’ll decide later."
The veins on Van’s forehead bulged as he gritted his teeth.
"How can it work like that, you crazy whale?! Tell me now so I know—"
Van’s words were cut short as a chill suddenly ran down his spine in the silent forest.
He looked upward, where the trees had begun swaying violently in an unnatural way
Beyond the moving trees and the flashlight beams illuminating the sky, he saw the hull of a wooden ship floating above the camp.
An incredulous smile spread across his face.
"Good grief... so is this my unlucky day... or my luckiest one?"