Surviving in the 121st Century - Chapter 87



Only Noblemtl

Jincheol opened his mouth, ignoring the sound of Bonchip’s voice echoing in his chest.

“Aiman? Are you leaving too?”

“Yes. I got an urgent call from Sandesiya. I have to go back.”

How did they get in touch from across that distant sea? But before Jincheol could ask that question, Haita smiled brightly.

“Then we’ll be together while crossing the sea!”

“Huh? Oh, oh, yeah···”

“I’m so glad. I knew Jincheol would leave someday, but I didn’t know we could move together···”

“I see.”

Jincheol looked around at the people who had come out to see him off while receiving greetings from Haita.

Miguel, Ramien, Ipani, Maro, the Knights Pastel, and a few Revolutionary Army soldiers. Those who were leaving were Jincheol, Doljumeok, Aiman, Haita, Harmel, the pirates, and the white-haired Esai Snow, who was standing quietly. They soon began to exchange greetings.

Stone Fist received a small bag from Ramien, and soon exchanged greetings with Maro, who was clearly holding back tears. Aiman ​​exchanged greetings with the Knights Pastel, and Snow exchanged greetings with Miguel. Each exchanged greetings differently. Some shook hands, while others hugged each other.

As Jincheol was looking at those scenes from a distance, Maro, who had been shaking hands with Stone Fist and Tears, approached Jincheol with a wet and determined expression.

“···?”

“thank you.”

“what?”

“Thank you for saving me.”

Jincheol laughed with a “Heh,” muffled sound.

“Well, I didn’t pay much attention to you.”

“When the other two were hesitating, Jincheol told me to take him with me. Thanks to him, I am here now. Thank you.”

Jincheol, who saw the boy’s voice and eyes, instead of saying anything in return, simply held out his hand. The boy took his hand with a firm hand that was unusual for a Rabito.

“Take care.”

“It’s true.”

The guy who finished greetings faced the stone fist again and finally burst into tears, unable to hold it in anymore. While Ramien and Ipani were trying to comfort him, Miguel approached Jincheol. He handed Jincheol a piece of metal.

“What is this? A badge?”

The piece of metal looked like a police badge, like the ones you see in places like Midway. Miguel tilted his head.

“Have you ever had anything like this?”

“Badges and epaulets are the things a conscript who wants to live a long life must be most wary of.”

“You’re not a conscript, you’re a hijacker.”

What exactly is this hijacker you’re talking about? While Jincheol was thinking like that, Miguel continued speaking.

“Anyway, take it.”

“What is this?”

“It’s a sign. If you ever need help, no matter where in the world it may be, the Comintern will go.”

The badge opened in half with a click, revealing what looked like a small button inside.

“···If you need help, press that button?”

“Yes. Then the Comintern will go wherever that is.”

“Anywhere in the world?”

“Anywhere in the world.”

“It’s a caller for a flying battleship that can come anywhere in the world,” Jincheol said with a grin.

“You’re going to launch a new revolution now? Do you think you can throw away that revolution and fly in just because of someone like me?”

“Revolution is for the people. And people fight for their friends. No Comintern crew will refuse to cross the sea to help you. And, in fact, considering the price of the Urata flying battleship you captured, this is cheap.”

Miguel’s expression was much more serious than he had thought, and Jincheol just shrugged his shoulders. Is there any use for this? After finishing speaking, Miguel held out his hand. Jincheol took his hand.

“Have a nice trip. I’ll take good care of Snow.”

“You too, do well in the new revolution.”

The last greeting was from Ramien. She handed Jincheol a bag, the same one she had given to Doljumeok. When she received it, she saw that it contained something heavy, something small but heavy.

“What is this?”

“It’s a bonus.”

“Stipend?”

I glanced at the bag and a yellow light dazzled my eyes. What the hell, it’s gold!

[Wow! It’s so noisy!]

The eyeless Bonchip shouted as if he had sensed the light. And as he said, there were several gold bars in the small bag. The bars were thin and small, but they were definitely gold. Ramien had prepared gold as a compensation.

“Wait a minute, that guy got this bag too?”

Ramien handed the same bag to Doljumeok. Given her personality, it must have contained gold nuggets like Jincheol’s. Jincheol looked at Ramien with surprised eyes.

“You are truly a real golden carrot···”

“Oh, golden carrots? What’s that? Are you trying to tease me even though we’re breaking up?”

“It’s a good thing. You’re as beautiful as gold and as sweet as a carrot.”

“Huh? Oh, that, that’s right···?”

Naive guy. Ramien scratched his head as if he had heard an awkward compliment. Ipani, who was next to him, smiled faintly and said. Jincheol felt that those narrowed eyes were somewhere.

“That’s right. Our Rami is really beautiful and sweet.”

“Ah, stop it… There are a lot of people watching…”

Ramien, who had been trying to push Ipani away, reached out her hand to Jincheol. Jincheol took her small hand. She said with a smile.

“I won’t say goodbye. Just, see you again sometime.”

“Okay. Let’s meet again sometime.”

Jincheol, Aiman, Haita, Harmen, and the pirates, who had finished their greetings, and the quiet Snow boarded the airship. As they closed the rear cargo bay and slowly lifted the airship off, the people who remained in the airfield waved their hands.

Jincheol looked at them getting smaller and smaller.

Miguel. Can he set out on the revolutionary path again? Can the Comintern crew really abandon everything they have achieved in the land of Jasso with the same intention?

Ramien and Ipani. What will happen to their love? In fairy tales, lovers meet again after suffering and live happily ever after, but the culture of the Rabitos is not so romantic. Even with the support of her mother, will the innocent Ramien be able to protect her love in the militaristic society of the Flying Fascists?

Maro. Rabito who has been taught by Olog. How will he live? What kind of life will it be to live Olog’s life in Rabito’s world with Rabito’s body?

What about Urata, who lost their general? Will they really be able to become a federation with Jaso as per the agreement? What about Siapo, who is eyeing the south? What about the dozens of Rabito nations that are advancing eastward but not even Jincheol has a look at? How long will they just watch the chaos on the western coast?

Some things have come to an end, but many things continue to roll on their own wheels without stopping. Even after Jincheol leaves, this land will be gripped by new chaos and passion.

It would be nice if Jincheol had some kind of mythical power to put an end to all this chaos, but he’s just a former soldier who’s gotten a little stronger. And that’s on the way out now.

As the airship gradually gained altitude, Jincheol recalled the burning city he had seen before falling into a long sleep. Black smoke and red flames, soldiers who looked like monsters made of shadows, and corpses strewn across the alley.

There, Jincheol had to feel helpless, his fingertips tingling. A mere conscript caught in chaos, he could do nothing but save himself, let alone follow orders from his superiors. Meanwhile, the wheel of fate was engulfed in flames, burning the entire world.

Jincheol was like a tiny ant, helpless in front of the rolling cartwheel. Jincheol felt his fingertips tingle once again as he looked at the rabitos that would remain on this land.

At that moment, a bright light pierced his eyes. Jincheol squinted and turned his head.

Under the sun heading towards noon, the reconstruction of Rostang was in sight.

Clearing the collapsed buildings, clearing away the debris, and repairing the roads. The small Rabitos are working together, working together with their hands and feet. Trucks can be seen, as well as various construction machines that are the size of the small Rabitos. People and supplies are being unloaded from the Comintern and Urata battleships anchored on the outskirts of the city.

The city in the ashes is preparing for resurrection. The real city is not the land but the people gathered there.

Jincheol turned his head. He saw the rabbits waving their hands even as they became dots under the airfield. He saw the revolutionary, the boy, and his friend.

Even Jincheol’s eyes were blurry, so they probably couldn’t see the people on the airship. But they kept waving their hands. As if they believed that the people were looking back even though they couldn’t see the people leaving.

Jincheol also waved his hand. Believing that they, his friends, were seeing this gesture.

* * *

“First, let me apologize.”

As soon as the real journey began, only Aiman ​​said that. And that apology was not directed at Jincheol.

Esai, with her red eyes, instead of responding, just stared blankly at Aiman. Aiman ​​bowed his head to her and spoke.

“The assassination attempt that happened this time. The person who guided the assassins to you was a Pastel of the Knights, right? He received bribes from the assassins and came to find you. He said he didn’t know it was for an assassination, but considering the precedent, he must have guessed that the Esai who were looking for you would be dangerous. Even so, he guided those Esai to you, so it was a huge mistake. I apologize in return. I’m sorry.”

After saying that, he really bowed his head to Snow. However, Snow, who was receiving the apology, just blinked blankly and spoke briefly.

“You are not pastel.”

“We are the same Knights. And even though I knew the truth, I was afraid that you would be angry, so I told you the truth after the airship took off. Pastel holds an important position in Miguel’s revolutionary army. Most of the information and influence of the Knights on this Eastern Continent comes from his presence. Please forgive me.”

“···”

Snow just stared at the child, then turned away without saying a word. It was unclear whether it was forgiveness or an expression of anger that made her not want to talk at all. She disappeared into the airship.

“···You don’t seem angry?”

“Did I look like that? I looked like I was angry and refusing to talk.”

Jincheol thought of Pastel, a member of the Rabbit Knights, as he listened to the conversation between Haita and Aiman. I thought he was a cool guy because he was called a Rabbit Knight. But he was actually a guy who took bribes.

“It was the same last time in Sioux, but the knights are in a bit of a shabby state.”

“Korom? What is that… Ahem. Haven’t I said this before? Most of the knights are just members of a friendly group. Only a very small number of members actually act in accordance with the founding principles of the knights…”

Aiman’s expression sank as he made excuses. It seemed that he too was troubled by these issues. However, he soon shook his head and shook off the thoughts, and then turned to Jincheol and Doljumeok and said.

“Then let’s go. I’ll show you to your rooms.”

“Do you even have a separate room?”

“I’m sorry, but you two will have to sleep together.”

The expression on Doljumeok’s face drooped. Jincheol, whose expression had become pale, lightly hit the back of the guy’s head. However, the guy’s expression did not soften, and Jincheol did not tease him any further. He seemed to be in enough pain after parting ways with Maro, even without teasing him.

The airship room that Aiman ​​guided was a narrow space that had to be entered by passing through a narrow outside balcony. When Jincheol and Doljumeok lay down, their shoulders would touch each other.

[Is this a room or a coffin? It’s so cramped.]

“Ahem ahem···”

Only Ai, who heard Bonchip’s muttering, coughed in vain. Jincheol laughed as he threw his bag inside the room.

“Well, this is fine even if it’s not first class. Thanks to this, I can cross the ocean for free. But what brings you back to Sandeshiya? I thought you were going to pursue the meditation gathering in Urata.”

Aiman ​​waved his hand and sighed.

“Don’t be ridiculous. All traces left in Urata are of the Baika merchants. And they were just doing business with Urata, not following orders from any assembly. And since their heads had already disappeared, there was nothing more to find out.”

“So, in the end, I have to go find the tribe?”

“No. There won’t be much gain from the tribe either. Isn’t that place already being stirred up by the envoys of Shiol? If I were to be kicked out, I would have been kicked out long ago.”

Jincheol tilted his head.

“How did you know that I sent envoys from Shiol to the tribe? They must have been sent after I left for the Eastern Continent. Didn’t they come here right after they had something to do in Sandesia? How…”

Jincheol thought for a moment and then came up with an answer on his own.

“···There are knights in the tribe too.”

“That’s right. Not all Bikans look down on and ignore other races. Aren’t there Bikans like Mr. Parm?”

“But isn’t it still the case that we’re far apart? Even if I send a messenger, there’ll be a time difference of several months.”

Instead of answering, Aiman ​​just chuckled. His earring dangled from his ear, making it jingle.

“···What is it?”

“We have our own way. The reason we can have members all over the world is not simply because there are so many people who are willing to step foot on the ground. But that’s another story, and it’s something else that you and I need to talk about now.”

“Are we going to talk about something else? Aha. You want to hear old stories. Didn’t we end up talking about movies last time?”

Aiman ​​and Haita often visited Jincheol and asked about the Jincheol era. They didn’t ask anything special, just light questions like what they ate in that era and what they did when they rested.

However, the two found the stories coming out of Jincheol’s mouth very interesting, and Aiman ​​especially liked the movie stories.

But Aiman ​​shook his head.

“No, no, that’s good too, but what I’m talking about is something else. I’m talking about the swordsmanship, or martial arts, that you’re going to learn.”

Jincheol blinked his eyes.

“Didn’t I decide to continue to steal and learn from that in the future?”

“That’s all well and good, but we’ll be sailing across the vast ocean for the next few days. Since we have this much time, why don’t we learn something properly?”

Jincheol, who was scratching his head, smiled awkwardly and said.

“Well, I guess it would be good to learn. I don’t really have anything to do. So what are you going to teach me? What was it called, that ancient secret sword or something?”

“Do you remember? Yes. I am a master of the Five Swords, and I found and restored an ancient secret sword in the Western Wilderness. But that is not the kind of swordsmanship I will teach you.”

“···Then what is it?”

“I will teach you the art of dragon fighting.”

“···A dragon?”

Despite Jincheol’s expression of bewilderment at the word ‘dragon’ suddenly appearing, a certain heat sparkled in Aiman’s eyes.

“Yes. You are a being more powerful than Ganesan. You are a being that has transcended the limits of humans, a dragon. So you must learn the way they move and fight, the dragon’s martial arts. Dragon Fist. I will teach you that.”

At those words, Jincheol momentarily doubted Aiman’s mental state. Was this not the 121st century, but a martial arts novel?