Surviving in the 121st Century - Chapter 64



Only Noblemtl

Because the warning sound on the airship’s instrument panel was at a serious level, Jincheol and his party had to land on the ground. Naturally, the airship on the other side also followed suit.

A dilapidated airship and an old airship landed side by side on a wide field. As I got off the airship, which was smoking here and there, I saw people getting off in a hurry on the other side.

“Jincheol!”

The first person to run was Haita. She was the sorceress of Sandesiya whom I had met during the operation to break out of the underground prison in Shiol. She walked up to Jincheol in one step and looked up at him with the aforementioned expression.

But when she actually met Jincheol, something felt off.

“Uh, hey, how are you… doing?”

“As you can see, it’s so-so. What about you?”

“Hehe, I… well, actually, I’m kind of….”

When Jincheol asked her while nodding to the messy airship, she scratched her head and hesitated. When she looked closely, she could see a hint of fatigue on her face. Yes. Everyone has a difficult part in their lives.

While I was chatting with Haita like that, a child with a cane slung over his shoulder came walking towards me. There was an indescribable elegance and freedom in the sight of the sword-wielding Camponi leisurely approaching me, stepping on the wind-blown plains, the swaying grass, and the fluttering hem of his long clothes.

The puppy swordsman smiled faintly at Jincheol. His ears twitched slightly and the earrings hanging there made a jingling sound.

“You must have had a hard time.”

“Pretty much. But thanks to that, I survived, Aiman. The last Battlewing was pretty dangerous.”

Aiman. A swordsman so skilled that it’s hard to believe he’s from the Camponi tribe. He’s also from Sandesiya, and he was part of the group that carried out the underground prison escape operation with Haita.

“That guy next to me was making such a fuss. He barely managed to hold back and shoot quickly because he was going to die. I thought he was going to get in trouble because he missed the target. This guy saw that and started crying like a kid···”

“Just kidding, uncle!”

Haita was so surprised that she screamed and called out to Aiman. Then she covered her face with both hands in surprise, and her ears were already red. This friend is so shy.

Jincheol, who was looking at her, noticed two more people getting off the airship. His memory, which had become clearer after waking up from a long sleep, recalled their faces. One was an Esai named Harmen, whom Aiman ​​and Haita had tried to rescue from prison, and the other was a pirate who had been rescued with the others.

They were each carrying a large leather bag that looked like a toolbox and were walking briskly toward the Jincheol airship.

The Esai man who discovered Jincheol, Harmen, opened his mouth.

“The airship is a total wreck. It would be more profitable to sell it for scrap metal.”

“Will you pay me some money for scrap metal?”

“Ha. I don’t deal in scrap metal. I’ll let you have enough to get to the next city.”

What the hell is that kid talking about? But what does he know about airships? Harmen left Jincheol’s thoughts behind and approached the airship where smoke was pouring out.

Ramien, who was spraying smoke from a small fire extinguisher, approached him and started talking to him. It seemed like they weren’t communicating well, as they were both using hand gestures.

Then he took out his extension cord and went into the airship with her. Was he really trying to repair it? He wasn’t trying to hijack our airship right away, was he?

“Harmen may be a bit rude, but he’s naturally talented. He even maintained our airship all by himself while we were here.”

Jincheol looked back at Aiman’s words.

“I think you called him a jerk the last time we met.”

“···Well, well. At that time, it only seemed like a joke.”

Aiman ​​scratched the back of his ear and smiled bitterly. He seemed embarrassed. Jincheol, who was looking at that face, opened his mouth again.

“It’s really nice to meet you again, Aiman, Haita. But it’s also a sudden meeting. And it came at such a good time.”

“Oh, right. It’s a good thing we weren’t too late. We took off as soon as we intercepted the enemy’s radio, but we still couldn’t keep up with the Battlewing’s speed with our airship.”

“Radio tapping?”

When Jincheol asked again, Aiman ​​nodded.

“There is endless wiretapping and information warfare between the Revolutionary Army and the Urata Army. They are trying to avoid direct armed conflict, but in this case, they seem to have decided that it would be better to shoot you down. They probably thought that if you arrived before the negotiations were concluded, they would be at a disadvantage. And of course, they will kill Miguel’s best guerrillas.”

Only Ai raised his finger. He smiled and continued speaking.

“Then you ask about the middle ground of this story? To explain, the Solcan Revolutionary Army radioed Miguel about you and the incident you were having there. It was intercepted. However, the Revolutionary Army was also intercepting your radio, so they were able to detect the Battlewing sortie later. When Haita found out, he dispatched our airship to help you in some way.”

Jincheol stood with his arms folded and listened to Aiman’s words. A smile similar to Aiman’s appeared on his lips. Aiman ​​continued to speak.

“Well, then why were we with the revolutionaries? It’s because of that guy Harmen.”

“Your pirate friend has come a long way. Are you after the treasure of the East?”

“Heh heh. A treasure. I wish I had something like that. But the reason I said it was because of that guy Harmen is because of what happened after we left Sioux and arrived in Sandesiya. Do you know who that guy is?”

“What kind of royal lineage was it?”

Only Ai nodded, and at that time, Haita, who was next to him, also lowered the hand that was covering his face as if he had calmed down. Still, it seemed inevitable that a blush would appear on his cheeks.

“Yes. The Knights judged that if that bloodline was executed in the Temple of Shiol, there would be a violent conflict between the two cities in one way or another, so Haita and I took that guy out of there. After that, we returned to Sandesiya and showed that guy’s face to the swordsmen there, but there was a bit of a problem there.”

After saying that, he closed his mouth for a moment. It seemed as if he was recalling that time.

“···Let’s talk about what the problem was next time. Anyway, after that incident, Harmen had to leave Sandesiya right away. He couldn’t stay there any longer. Various interests got entangled, and after we took over that airship, we ended up moving here, to the East. I told you last time, right? If there hadn’t been a Harmen rescue operation, I would have headed to the East. To investigate the gathering of meditation.”

“That’s what it was.”

At that time, Aiman ​​said that there were knights in the East as well. Rabbit Knights. The Knights of the Crown of Understanding were somewhat like a social club, but they still sounded cool. Rabbit Knights. They seemed like they would be of a high level.

“That’s why we left Sandesiya and came straight to the East. We originally planned to meet you again in Shiol on the way, but you left for here first. That’s why we quickly flew here too. Our relationship is truly fate. Isn’t it?”

“I see. So that knight is in the revolutionary army?”

“That’s right. Thanks to that unit, I also met Miguel, the leader of the revolutionary army. I heard that you had already met Miguel? He was very happy when I brought up your story. Thanks to you, I received more consideration than the members of the revolutionary army. Thank you.”

“What did I do? Don’t mention it.”

As Jincheol began to laugh moderately, Aiman ​​just laughed. Jincheol was also giggling, but Haita, who had been listening until then, quickly joined in.

“Jincheol, what about Jincheol? How have you been, Jincheol?”

“Me? Me? What···”

Jincheol turned his gaze towards the group’s airship. He saw Snow, who had gotten off the airship and was slowly approaching them wearing an owl mask. Ramien was muttering something with Harmen on one side of the airship, and Doljumeok and Maro were probably also inspecting the damage to the truck and not coming out.

“I originally came on General Rabito’s flying battleship called Donchava···”

Watching Snow approach, Jincheol began to talk about the story of his arrival on the Eastern Continent. Of course, he left out Snow’s family secrets and useless stories, and only talked about the events that had occurred on the way to Solkain and the incidents that had occurred in Solkain.

“···It seems like a very abbreviated story?”

“Let’s talk about that next time.”

When Jincheol said that with a sly smile, Aiman ​​nodded and laughed again. Then, when he saw Snow approaching, he said as if he was happy to see her.

“You are Esai-kun, known as the White Nightmare of Jaso and Urata. Nice to meet you. I am Aiman.”

“···Snow.”

It was a voice that was neither loud nor masked. Just hearing the voice, Aiman ​​seemed to have guessed her disposition and nodded, but did not say anything else.

But Haita, who was next to her, was looking at her with strange eyes, carefully observing the outline of Snow’s body that was visible on the outside and the braided hair that was waving behind the mask.

As if sensing that gaze, Snow’s owl mask also seemed to be directed at Haita. In Jincheol’s view, both of them were wary of each other.

One side was from Sandesia and the other side was from Sioux, so it was only natural. Weren’t the two cities at war?

Fortunately, at the right moment, only the child spoke again.

“Don’t be too upset about Miguel not sending support. The revolutionary forces in the Rostang area are almost ready for war.”

“···I thought we were making a peace treaty with Urata.”

“Urata is making too many demands. They want to sell Rostang and the war reparations, and most of the factories in Jaso Land to the Urata people. Is that some kind of peace treaty? It’s just a threat to become a vassal state. In addition, the radio transmission from Solkain and the information the revolutionary army has investigated so far have come together to reveal one fact.”

Aiman’s hand scratched his chin. It seemed that he was quite dissatisfied with the sight of having come all this way to such a foreign land.

“You must already know, since you were the one who sent the information from Solkain. The Urata army is forcing the Jaso people to dig the ground in the Rostang area. And in the process, dozens of people are dying and getting injured every day. Is it to excavate some ancient city?”

Jincheol’s eyes also sank deeply. Aiman ​​continued speaking, revealing his teeth.

“Based on the information gathered within our Order, the gathering of meditation played a key role in this excavation. The money for the Rostang excavation site is even provided by the Byka merchants. They are digging the ground at the expense of ordinary people’s lives. We must stop them.”

“···Is that what Miguel and the Revolutionary Army think?”

“Yes. They are preparing to fight to save the citizens of Jaso who were taken to Rostang. I intend to lend a hand there too.”

Jincheol looked at the child for a long time and said.

“Wasn’t the Knights’ ideology harmonious coexistence through mutual understanding? I thought that was how they prevented the war between Sioux and Sandesia.”

“Of course, it would be best if there was no war. But now is not the time to just talk about such things. The number of deaths at the Rostang excavation site that has been identified so far is already close to hundreds. At that level, it is not a disaster during construction, but rather a massacre site for the purpose of destroying the future of Jaso Land. Where is there coexistence and mutual understanding there?”

He tapped the floor with the cane he was carrying on his shoulder.

“I am a swordsman before I am a knight, and a swordsman should be able to cut through problems that cannot be solved. And, more than anything, I think that those who do such things should pay a clear price.”

Jincheol just stared at the child. His eyes were firm, and his upright posture clearly revealed his determination.

Aiman ​​wouldn’t know about the Ophesis mercenary. That was information that only Jincheol, Mr. Parum, and Udim had obtained. And the fact that Ophesis is an ancient human race is information that only Jincheol can guess. It seems that they will eventually come face to face with the Ophesis mercenary at the end of this incident. How will Aiman ​​react then? Will he look down on Jincheol as an old monster?

Only then did the child speak again.

“What do you think? I can guess since he’s already moving towards Rostang, but don’t you think that General Rahiman of Urata should pay the price for tormenting so many people?”

Jincheol, who had been lost in thought, smiled bitterly. You should be able to cut out problems that cannot be solved. That was right. At least for now.

“I almost died because of that kid when I came to the East. Thanks to that, I think I can handle it without any worries.”

Aiman ​​nodded as if he was satisfied with Jincheol’s answer. Jincheol looked at Aiman ​​for a moment and then gestured toward the airship and said.

“Let’s go. I’ll introduce you to our group.”

“Oh. That pilot who was avoiding the Battlewing’s attack with that airship in the sky earlier? I really want to say hello to him.”

Jincheol led Aiman ​​and Haita to the airship, where they exchanged names. Aiman ​​was slightly flustered upon seeing the appearance of the stone fist, but the group mingled without much friction.

In the first place, Aiman’s side was the people who came to help Jincheol and his group who were in danger. It would have been difficult to collide with them. Of course, thanks to the ticking Harmen, Ramien also shouted back.

*

After emergency repairs, the airship known as the Brigantine took to the skies again. It wasn’t completely repaired, just refitted enough to fly to the Revolutionary Army base.

But even that was something that only a skilled mechanic could do. In Jincheol’s opinion, Harmen seemed more suited to this job than being a pirate. Even if he told him that, Esai, who had a bad temper, would only frown.

The airship Brigantine and the Sandesia pirate ship flew side by side in the sky, heading southwest. The Brigantine was a little slow due to a breakdown, but the pirate ship kept up a reasonable pace, so the distance between them did not increase.

After a long, unexpected air battle and the completion of airship maintenance, it was already late afternoon. Thanks to this, the sky was filled with the brightly rising moon and twinkling stars as the two airships flew.

And Jincheol was sitting curled up in a corner of the airship, leaning his head against the wall, blankly staring at the night sky through the gaping holes in the airship.

Ramien, Maro, and Snow were sleeping on the cockpit side, and Doljumeok was watching the control panel. Jincheol was also there and had sneaked out.

Jincheol, crouching in a dark corner, looked up at the night sky with blurry eyes. The beautiful night sky was visible only through torn and broken cracks. If it had been completely invisible, it would not have been noticeable, but now that it was visible, the hull of the airship, which had become a waste of waste, stood out even more. It seemed to represent Jincheol’s feelings.

“···”

But Jincheol’s eyes were not looking at the present, but at the past. It wasn’t a very distant past either. He was recalling the scene he had seen a few days ago in Solkain’s forest, at that camp.

Now that I am looking back on the past that was swept away by the past, it may sound like a pun, but it was a moment when the person involved felt like he was going crazy.

After becoming convinced that he was left behind in the very distant future, Jincheol tried not to think about the past or the future as much as possible. He just tried to look at the present.

Of course, it was because I felt like I would go crazy if I didn’t do that.

Fortunately, after two months of wandering the back alleys of Shiol, my escape had some success. At least I was able to stop whining to others about how I was a soldier from the past and that I must be the last of humanity.

I neither yearned for the past nor envisioned a hopeful future. All I could do was accept with my whole body that I was left behind in a strange world.

But the journey of the past few weeks has shaken that Jin-cheol up again. The azalea I met in the basement of the Shiol Temple. The meditation gathering that erases the traces of humanity. The Ophesis humanity that seems to be behind them. The flying battleship of Donchava and the flying fascist rabbits I saw when I came to this eastern continent.

Those images, so human, so reminiscent of the past. Images of war that had been forgotten in a quasi-medieval city like Shiol suddenly came crashing down on Jincheol.

In the end, the armored soldiers with machine guns dragged Jin-cheol back to the past. In a way, they did not win, but they left deep scars on Jin-cheol.

I had that thought in the forest of Atukai. This must be a purgatory before going to another world or the afterlife. I wish it had been purgatory. Someday, I would have crossed over to the other side and met the faces I missed.

With that thought, a sudden cold and loneliness came over him, making his whole body shiver. There was no one in this era who knew him, and no one who shared a common identity with him.

Complete failure. Jincheol is the only human in the 21st century. This place is like another world to him.

At the end of that thought, Jincheol finally recalled a line of thought that he had tried so hard not to have even during the 21st century war, and that he had tried so hard to avoid with all his might after realizing that he had fallen into this era.

I want to go home.

I miss my mom. I want to meet my friends. I want to drink soju with pork belly. I want to go to a PC room and stay up all night. I want to go back to my normal daily life of worrying about getting a job or worrying about relationships, not the fucking days when the comrade I woke up with becomes a corpse that same evening, and I have to be thankful that that death passed me by.

“···”

Jincheol lowered his head from his crouching position and swept his face with both hands. Then he raised it again and grabbed his hair. All of the above cannot be recovered. Not now, but already in the 21st century.

There is no place to talk about these worries and thoughts anymore. Ramien is busy rescuing her lover, and Doljukpum seems to be having fun raising Maro. Snow still has a hard time knowing what he is thinking.

Aiman ​​and Haita met again. It was nice to see them again. But we had overcome adversity together in the underground city of Shiol. But I couldn’t hold on to them and vent my frustrations. That would have been too one-sided an expression of emotion.

They will try to listen, but in the end, they will feel a great distance from Jincheol. Of course, even Jincheol himself would want to avoid a ten thousand year old military uniform.

Jincheol, who had thought that far, began to laugh heartily. When he thought of himself crouching in the corner, holding his head in his hands, and giggling, his laughter grew a little bigger.

Jincheol felt that he was now divided into two sides like a coin. He was the one who was bold and good at everything. He was the mercenary from the west who was digging into the conspiracy of the meditation meeting and Urata. He was almost like that when he came to the Eastern Continent.

The other side? This is the moment. A suffocating lung that doesn’t even understand where the floor is and where the ceiling is unless you corner yourself. I didn’t tell anyone, but this is what I looked like when I was stuck in a corner during my two months in Sioux.

What he said to Ramien plausibly, something he believed. That was because Jincheol also wanted that kind of belief. There was no such thing as certainty. What could he be certain of in the strange situation of being buried underground and skipping through time?

“···Fuck.”

A curse came out in the middle of laughter. What if I hadn’t fought the armored soldiers in Solkain? Then I wouldn’t have been suddenly dragged back to the past, and I wouldn’t have panicked and cowered in a corner like this. But this was an abscess that would burst out someday. I couldn’t have avoided it like that.

The man who had been shooting hundreds of meters into the air with a rope tied around his waist just this morning was now crouching in a corner of the airship’s cargo hold, face down, and laughing alone. It was a very embarrassing moment to show to anyone.

So, when he heard the sound, Jincheol was startled without realizing it.

“···”

“···”

Moonlight seeping in through the bullet holes of the airship. Esai, who was walking slowly through the moonlight, was a woman with skin and hair as white as the moonlight. Red eyes shining in the moonlight. Her name was Snow.

“···”

Jincheol and she looked at each other for a moment without saying a word. She didn’t frown, smile, or cry. She just stared blankly at Jincheol. She didn’t even look embarrassed at Jincheol’s messy appearance buried in the darkness.

Then, as the airship passed through the clouds, the moonlight disappeared. The airship’s cargo bay became dark, and in the darkness, only her red eyes shone faintly. Jincheol, who had originally been stuck in a corner, was now truly buried in the deep darkness.

At that moment, she, who had been staring blankly at Jincheol, quickly turned her head and looked towards the bullet marks on the airship that had been soaking in moonlight just a moment ago. Then she whispered quietly.

“···Mother of vengeance who lies behind the moon. Please give a little comfort to those who are sad and suffering.”

As if hearing those words, the moonlight returned.

Of course, that was just a phenomenon that happened because the airship had escaped the clouds. It was far-fetched to think that the goddess of vengeance had really listened to Snow’s words and sent down moonlight.

But instead of being surprised by that lucky moment or lightening the mood by smiling at Jincheol, she simply gently reached out and caressed one of the moonlights seeping through the bullet marks. As if she could touch the moonlight, as if its rays had a physical form.

She stroked the moonlight for a moment and then turned around without saying a word like when she came. Jincheol blankly watched her return to the cockpit and laughed.

“···What are you out for?”

Jincheol, who had been laughing like that, turned his head and looked at the moonlight. The moonlight seeped in between the torn bullet marks. Suddenly, Jincheol realized that his mind had become calm.

Jincheol, who was finally able to see the beauty of the high night sky, sat there for a while, but did not push himself into a corner and comfortably admired the night sky.

The airship arrived at the base of the Jaso Revolutionary Army on a morning when the moon and stars had set and the hot sun was shining brightly upon the whole world.