[170] 1. Kergo Autonomous District (2)
-What the hell happened?
-The Galliant government, which made a lot of money through tourism, became more greedy. So I came up with a new business. That’s human tourism.
Silence flowed through the mental channels.
At the word human tourism, everyone expected.
Tess, in particular, was not as expected. A student of political science, she realized what had happened between the Galliant government and the Kergos.
– You made the worst choice a human could make.
-okay. The Galliant government went beyond Kergo Ruins culture and treated Kergoin as a tourist product. Of course, that fact surfaced much later. It is said that at first the natives were stopped so that they could observe them as they rode in their wagons. Then the possessiveness kicked in. It led to human hunting. Mercenaries captured boys and girls and sold them to nobles at high prices.
– It’s good that the war didn’t happen.
-It is the fate of those who have fallen behind in civilization. Of course, Kergo’s might is not weak. At least not weaker than the Galliant government. But in terms of political power, they were no match. If the children are being taken away, then the culprit must be the Galliant government, but there is no evidence. He must have spent a lot of money to get rid of the evidence, but he said that human hunting was serious enough to be a surplus business. It was helpless. If you fight with only your heart, the natives who rely on tourism capital will end up on the streets in an instant. In the end, I had no choice but to come to an agreement. Instead of opening the ruins, they blocked access to the autonomous district. That’s how they closed the door and came this far.
Even though Amy knew that the sons and daughters of the tribe had been sold to nobles, Kergo’s joys and sorrows, which had no choice but to open the ruins, came to her desperately.
But whatever their position, the situation has taken a dangerous turn. Only that fact mattered.
It was the same reason why Canis spoke up.
– But that’s not what’s important. Even among the natives, there must be villains, and loops are trafficked because there are actually such people. In any case, the natives in the Autonomous Territory won’t see us well. I don’t think there will be a physical clash, but you can’t relax.
-Then isn’t sirone dangerous too?
– No, that’s not going to happen. The number one reason Kergo opened the ruins was money, but not necessarily because of it. To them, the meaning of the room of achievement and sacrifice is different. Kergo has been waiting for someone for a long time.
-Who are you waiting for?
-well. An angel… maybe?
-angel?
Amy asked back, but Canis didn’t answer.
Arin confirmed that the time had come and announced it on the Spirit Channel.
-Sorry. I’m closing the channel because I want to save my sanity. Even if I connect again in the future, I won’t panic anymore.
Telepathy is also magic, so it consumes mental power. In particular, the way information was exchanged in real time through channels constantly gnawed at the mind like a fire wall.
As the mental channel closed, Amy looked straight ahead. As my hearing opened, the cry of the railroad filled my eardrums.
The trolley disappeared into the darkness of the cave.
@
The place we arrived at was an underground city.
Although it lacks a schematic style, the tunnels split like anthills and the squares that expand at each junction of the tunnels are an amazing result of coexistence with nature.
Amy went back to being a tourist and looked around. Her heart fluttered for a moment, but her eyes wavered in bewilderment.
Kergo’s life was far removed from the landscape. Everyone was hungry and very skinny. It was more unexpected than when I heard that Kergoin was hostile to outsiders.
Elderly people like war refugees moved along the tunnel. The elderly, who could not walk, leaned against the earthen walls and closed their eyes while holding the children entrusted to them.
It was as if I could hear the screams of the dreary landscape. This is an ant nest. And they were ants.
Elderly people carrying heavy burdens took an impossible step forward, and in the corner, hunched old women weaved tree bark to make a colander.
“Is this really Kergo Autonomous Region?”
There was no one to answer Amy’s question. The expectation that the tribe owned expensive real estate called historical sites was wrong.
Kanis felt a nameless rage and grabbed Arin’s shoulder. Her shoulders were also shaking. He remembers life in Radum, which is called the city’s hell.
They both knew that starvation was the most terrible pain in the world. That’s why… they were the most painful people in the world.
“Hey, come this way.”
The native driver of the trolley motioned for them to come. It was clear that he did not want to show the current scene to outsiders.
After passing through a road that curves like a torrent, the place we arrived at was a blocked tunnel. A single torch hung on the wall illuminated the surroundings.
Amy looked back on the way she had come. Because of the long distance detour, even if there was a commotion here, it seemed that the outside would not know.
The native took Amy and her party in front of a man.
The man with his arms crossed and his mouth tightly closed seemed to match his imagination, as if claiming that this was the real Kergoin.
His upper body muscles are more developed than Rian’s, and he has black tattoos on his face. In both ears, she wore earrings made from the fangs of a beast.
When Jis spoke to him, he introduced himself as Mahatu.
When Amy heard that she was a descendant of a warrior the other day, she remembered that there was a pronunciation for mahatu.
Mahatu, whose name was a warrior, was also a warrior in reality.
“Uh, so this person’s name is Mahatu. They say he’s the one who grows loops and supplies them to the temple.”
Amy guessed that the black tattoo was the color of those who manage the loop. If white is the one who performs the ceremony, then black is the one who prepares the ceremony.
Since Arin did not attempt telepathy, Amy and the others had no choice but to wait for Jis to translate.
Tess thought it was the right decision. Judging from Mahatu’s temperament, he is not an ordinary strong man. The sensory system of the schema was at risk of detecting telepathy.
While everyone was thinking that, Mahatu’s words suddenly began to make sense.
When Amy turned around, Arin smiled.
– Did you try after all? That guy looks pretty strong. Contrary to what you see, you are strong.
-no. I didn’t cast telepathy on Mahatu.
-what? So how do you translate?
Arin quietly pointed at Jess.
Only then did Amy realize. He cast telepathy on Jess, who was talking to Mahatu.
If you only intend to eavesdrop on the language of the surface mind, there is no need to contact the speaker. It was another strength of Arin’s ability.
“Falcoa is dead?”
“okay. The Freeman Organization won’t buy loops. I’m thinking of leaving the island soon.”
Jess was honest. After meeting the general manager, there was no way to hide the truth.
As expected, Mahatu’s complexion deteriorated. He looked at Amy and the others with a kind gaze and asked again with his eyes wide open.
“Then what are they?”
“I didn’t mean to buy a loop, I came here for work.”
“Day? Don’t you know that outsiders are not allowed to enter this place except for loop transactions?”
“I know that, but I have to announce the withdrawal of the deal anyway. And here’s the pass…! Oops!”
Mahatu pushed Jis and walked away. His clenched jaw twitched and his eyes seemed like fire was about to come out.
While looking at the group, he singled out Amy as the target of conversation. It wasn’t because I thought I was a leader. Only she had her provocative eyes raised.
“Sent from the Freeman organization? If so, are you a member of the organization?”
Jess ran in and translated. Seeing that he fulfilled his duties even under these circumstances, his sense of responsibility was above average.
Of course, Amy had understood the words through Arin. However, I couldn’t reveal it, so I replied a beat late.
“no. But I know Freeman well.”
“How well do you know? Are you willing to risk your life?”
“of course. I actually did.”
The lies came out easily. In fact, it wasn’t a very wrong thing to say because he fought for his life.
“Then maybe we can pay the balance instead.”
“balance? What balance?”
“Falcoa just paid an advance and took 8kg of loops. I couldn’t pay the balance for it.”
Thinking of Falcoa’s face, Amy snorted. The bravado shuddered as it was, and it was a sticky transaction.
In any case, he said he had money, so he had no choice but to ask.
“Even if I risk my life, I’m not in a relationship to lend you money, but anyway, how late have you been?”
“10,000 gold.”
“what? Ten thousand?”
Amy’s eyes widened. Jis, who was interpreting, was confused as to whether he had mistaken the units.
However, Amy knew precisely through Arin’s telepathy that it was 10,000 gold.
I thought it was at most 8 kg of tree roots. But 10,000 gold? No, since he said he had paid in advance, it meant at least 10,000 gold.
I suddenly had a question.
Even if he didn’t know it, Falcoa would have bought the loop for five years. How, then, should the life of Kergoin be explained?
Selling 8 kilograms of loops can feed the people in the plaza to their stomachs for a year. It was something that did not make sense.
Jis persuaded Mahatu.
“I will report back to the organization about the balance. Whether you return the loop or pay the balance, he will take care of it.”
Jess, unsure, turned to his friends and asked for their consent.
Tess nodded. Marsha and Freeman, who value honor, will definitely pay the balance.
Jis, who gained strength from her support, spoke confidently.
“Now is it okay? I’ll pay the balance later, so let me stay here for now.”
“I don’t understand. Then what purpose did you come here for?”
said Amy.
“I am waiting for a friend. I entered the room of achievement and sacrifice. He will probably come here sooner or later.”
Her tone was harsher than before. It was because I thought that Mahatu and Falcoa were the same human beings in the way they earned a large sum of money but did not solve the hunger of their own people.
“The room of achievement and sacrifice?”
Mahatu took a close look at the party. Evaluating temperament, not appearance, he said with a mocking smile.
“You have a big dream. give up and go back Your friend will be waiting outside.”
“joy! How do you know that?”
“It’s obvious. It is not an altar built to call out to children like you. Many idiots come to Kergo Ruins. To get gold to buy loops. Did you think I would send my friend to the altar and allow you to come and insist? You will never pass at the level of fine hair or rolling.”
“Do you know what you are good at? Have you thought about how many people out there have been poisoned with loops trafficked here?”
“The loop is a sacred item. It’s you who abuse it as a drug. And I don’t need to know the circumstances of stupid outsiders. you have always been They judged ours and tried to take it away. But it won’t be easy here.”
“We won’t go back. Until you know if your friend has passed the room of achievement and sacrifice.”
“You can never pass with your skills. Tell me your honest purpose for coming here.”
said the native who drove the trolley.
“Maybe a thief. To steal gold.”
There were no more pretentious smiles on the faces of the natives. If it wasn’t for the loop deal, Amy and the others were the outsiders he hated the most, and they were just nobles.
“It could be. I can’t let you in anymore.”
“Why don’t we search their bodies? Villagers could get hurt if they hid weapons or something.”
Even though Mahatu was an enemy, he did not want to touch the woman’s body. As a warrior, this is disgraceful.
Still, the reason I keep quiet is that I know what my colleague means.
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