Chapter 1067 – #253_술래잡기(4) – DeepL
#1061
1.
After the battle, Xiu used the lotus flower to absorb his prey.
With the number of people in the group, it took quite a while, even with his know-how.
As the transparent lotus gradually filled with a reddish color, he was filled with both hope and a nagging feeling he didn’t want to face.
“There.”
I retrieved the lotus and placed it in my arms.
It made things easier.
It would have been much more complicated if they had chosen to split up and stay in their workshops.
But because they stayed together and stayed on the same page, it saved a lot of unnecessary time.
With the drama behind us, the coastal town is calm again.
Hovering at an angle above the churning water, Akula opened the hatch.
Xiu is not alone in this endeavor.
Amelia is pregnant, Linnaeus is injured, and the Master is unable to contribute, but Leroy and Sharon are aboard the Akula, providing invisible support.
So far, it was Leroux who had sunk Solidus’s smuggling ship under Xiu’s direction.
“It’s been a while.”
“How have you been?”
“I am well, Jim, always in good spirits.”
After a quick kiss, Xiu walked through the hatch with Lerouet and was greeted by the sight of the luxury nuclear submarine Akula.
He’d been here for months, and it didn’t look much different from the last time he’d left.
“…….”
With that thought behind her, Xiu glanced at Leroux.
Just a moment ago, Lerouet had shown her the dignity befitting a queen of the sea….
To be honest, she was very worried.
This is her first battle, and her first kill, regardless of the cause.
Even though she joined the mission because of her strong appeal, and Xiu couldn’t dissuade her, he was worried about her inexperience and whether she could handle the shock.
“Hm? What did you do to Jim’s face?”
But when Leroux turned around to face the piercing stare, he looked very nonchalant.
I’m almost afraid to ask if he’s okay.
But it’s also possible that Leroux, who is surprisingly thoughtful even when he doesn’t seem to be, is just trying to put on a front for fear that Xiu will worry.
“You’re sure you’re okay, right?”
“Oh, is that it?”
Lerouet turned his back to her and walked away, as if his back was no big deal.
“Those who kill others must expect to die at the hands of others, for they reap what they sow.”
“…….”
“Why hesitate when there is a chance to seize a friend of Jim’s who has died in vain, and not in empty revenge?”
“I understand.”
There was a definite difference in disposition between the two men due to their upbringing.
Leroux’s ancestor, Shalit Nukelabi, was an old witch known for her iron-blooded discipline.
Her descendant, Leroux, is no slouch in the pulpit either.
“So, aside from your luggage, what about you?”
“I’m fine. So-so. I’ve never been particularly difficult.”
Xie shrugged.
It had been a mostly one-sided hunt so far, except for when they’d dealt with Talia the Tragedy Witch, Herja’s top lieutenant on the Lehar Group side.
“Don’t push yourself too hard, if you get hurt, Dorothy will be a lost cause.”
“I know, but I have to push myself.”
“Then push yourself a little. Oh, by the way, the chef brought in some decent seafood the other day. We’ll have a small banquet to celebrate the improvements.”
“Oh, that sounds good.”
Small talk as usual.
I feel the blade of my mind dulling a bit after weeks of killing.
Doesn’t a sword sharpened too sharply break sooner or later?
Not dulled, but not broken.
With the mindset of a ritual for balance, I let go of the tension as I joined in the comedy.
I managed to kill seventeen of them in one fell swoop.
He would rest for a day or two.
Partly to drop Lydia’s trail, partly to get a feel for the Rehar group.
In Akula, their natural hideout, where they can dive freely for kilometers, they won’t have to worry about being tracked.
“Where’s Sharon?”
“The green-haired one is doing the work you entrusted her with.”
Xiu followed Leroux’s lead and found Sharon, her hair tied up in a tight bun, deep in thought.
An intricate magic circle was being drawn on a piece of paper that was larger than the carpet.
“Hmmm, mmmm….”
She’s so focused that she doesn’t even notice when I peek around.
Xiu, Leroy, and Sharon.
That’s all the people who participated in this project, Lotus.
Originally, I didn’t want to attract lovers.
The very act of using the lotus is not only an act that walks a fine line between righteousness and evil, it’s also excessively dangerous.
However, Leroux insisted that he deserved revenge, so he followed Xiu, and Sharon boldly boarded the Arkula, convinced that she was doing nothing.
Coincidentally, only Sharon and Leroux, who had been initially excluded for being a ‘young witch’ when she was kidnapped by Linnaeus, were participating in the operation.
“Whoa.”
“Gah!”
Sharon gasped, startled, as Leroux nudged her on the shoulder.
“How’s it going?”
“Shhh!”
Sharon’s eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t make a sound of protest as she was hugged.
It felt like a soft body touching her for the first time in a long time, soothing her tired mind.
“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? Come here, I’ll give you a little rub.”
“…No, wait.”
“Ugh. Look at the hollows in your cheeks. You’ve been struggling to lose weight!”
“It’s not like you’re losing weight….”
“I can’t believe I’m not alive! Look here. I swore I wouldn’t get hurt, and here I am, getting hurt like this….”
Droplets of dew form in Sharon’s big eyes as she pours out her concerns.
She knows.
Knowing what a dangerous river Xiu was crossing.
She knows how strong he is, and she knows that even if he’s prepared for this hunt, he’s overmatched.
“You idiot….”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Xiu held Sharon’s shaking shoulders for a while.
2.
It’s been a long time since we’ve had dinner at an Akula restaurant.
The table was piled high with dishes made with seafood so fresh it could pass for a seafood restaurant.
We talked about work minimally.
It was more of a review of the current situation.
Xiu shared what she knew and checked in on the progress of the magic circle she’d entrusted to Sharon.
A trick that might not be needed now, but might be used someday.
Only Sharon could do that.
“I’m almost done. Maybe I can give it to you tomorrow?”
“Yeah? That’s great. It’s Sharon again. She’s determined.”
“Oh, you’re so embarrassing, hehe.”
“Enough about work! Doesn’t it make the rice taste bad?”
“Yeah.”
The mood was not serious or rigid.
Sharon and Xiu, and perhaps Leroux as well, pushed as much sarcasm, tension, and unintelligible snark away from the table as they could.
“Green hair. Have you ever seen anything like it?”
“Wow, what is this?”
“Alas, this is a coconut crab, a rare creature that can only be found near the South Pacific.”
“Really? Is that what it is?”
“Hoo-hoo, you who pay homage to this delicacy of the sea deserve to eat it.”
With a smug expression, Lerouet held out a very strange and large crab.
Honestly, as far as Xiu was concerned, that’s what crabs are for, and Sharon, the crustacean enthusiast, had a surprised reaction by putting her hands on her head.
“I, I, I saw this on You Tube, and I really wanted to eat it…!”
“Is this so special?”
“Of course! Thank you! Lol! Thank you!”
“Hoo hoo hoo, eat as much as you can.”
Xiu also changed his mind when he tasted the rusted offal.
The flavor was thick, like eating a risotto that had been cooked for a long time.
As he savored the creamy, melting flavor and slightly tangy, crustacean-like aroma, he saw Sharon’s body start to melt.
“This is it, I’ve been living for this….”
“Is it so good, eat more, dip your flesh in the guts!”
“Wuhihihi!”
Watching in amazement, Xiu realized.
That’s right.
One must not forget the goal.
You can’t let hatred and revenge for your enemies drive you to fight.
We must fight to protect this peaceful life, to protect the sight of our loved ones smiling.
But a ferocity that was the opposite of that rose up like a sharp repulsion.
An inner voice tells me that such thoughts are too idealistic.
It’s a watered-down mindset, and Sullivan’s sense of justice is the reason he lost Dorothy.
“You should try it, Xiu!”
Leroux thrusts a crab leg at Xiu’s cheeks as if to smear them with coconut crab guts.
“Oh, thank you.”
I couldn’t decide which was the right answer right away.
I decided to stick to the crab flavor today.
3.
Lydia was reminded of a self-evident truth.
In hide-and-seek, it’s much easier to hide than to find.
“Oh, shit. Forget it. I’m pissed.”
After scouring the South American continent for signs of Xiu for a while, Lydia put an end to that stupidity within two days.
She tried, but she couldn’t get any ideas on her own.
“I’d rather look for a needle in a haystack. Secretary.”
“Four!”
The secretary, who had been shaken by her boss’s muttered complaints, stiffened her spine and replied.
“I need to go see the kids, it’s been a while.”
“Oh, do you want me to call the orphanage?”
“Yes, and have a gift ready. You know they have to be age-appropriate, right?”
“Of course.”
It’s not uncommon for Lydia to visit orphanages.
It wasn’t just therapeutic, but also educational.
She felt the need for a helper.
This was not something she could do alone.
“Oh, and…”
Xinxiu secretly revealed his identity, leaving Lydia to pursue him alone.
But that’s a myth.
It’s a tight-knit public society where no one can be trusted, but Lydia has an army under her command that will never betray her.
“Bring in as many ‘Las Huérfanas’ as you can.”
