Episode 71 Blood and Flesh (4)
“Why is this human here…”
?
Bikir was dumbfounded and studied the portrait for a while.
However, even if you look closely at Yomojomo, the person in the picture is definitely Hugo.
Black hair, red eyes, blade-like nose, thick chin, and a mustache that I still don’t have. How can you not know this face?
What is it? Why is Hugo’s portrait here?
When Bikir is confused, Pomerian sneaks up and pulls the pendant string.
It sounded like he was begging for it to be returned, even if it was with little force.
Bikir asked while returning the pendant to the Pomeranian.
“Who are the people in the picture? What’s their relationship to you?”
The Pomerian flinched at the hard tone, as if interrogating a criminal.
Bikir said a little more softly.
“Who are the people in the picture? What’s their relationship to you?”
Only the mother was different, the tone was the same.
Pomeranian trembled nervously at the stiff tone.
Then Iyen stepped forward.
“If you ask me like that, the kid will give you a good answer.”
“……? What did I do?”
“I’ll ask you with a smile.”
Vikir hesitated for a moment at Ayen’s point.
Before long, Bikir had a maritime smile on both sides of his lips.
“Who are the people in the picture?”
Then the Pomeranian raised his head with a less fearful expression than before.
“It works. You’re right…”
Bikir turned to Iyen.
Moment.
“……?”
Bikir’s eyes caught Iyen’s blank expression.
She stood blankly for a moment, looking into Bikir’s face, then suddenly came to her senses and said:
“Slave. Did you know you could smile like that?”
“…”
Bikir immediately frowned.
I’ve never had a big smile since I was born, so it’s understandable that I get teased because it’s so awkward.
at that time. Pomeranian replied.
“Mom. Grandmother. Installment plan.”
Upon hearing that, Bikir was silent for a moment.
My head spins fast.
A pendant faded portrait that looks like decades have passed. Hugo Les Baskerville, an unknown young woman and a young girl. The mother and grandmother and grandfather that the Pomeranian spoke of.
‘……no way?’
Bikir made a reasoning.
Hugo in the pendant is young. And the young woman next to him was probably his wife.
And the first eldest daughter born between the two.
What if the eldest daughter was abducted by the Rococo tribe and the child born there is a Pomerian here?
‘Come to think of it, I think I heard that Hugo’s personality wasn’t as cold as he is now.’
When Hugo Les Baskerville was in the ecliptic before coming to the periphery, Vikir was not yet born at that time, so he does not know much about it.
However, I had once heard a ghost story (?) from the old Butler Barrymore that Hugo was very affectionate and family-friendly.
‘At that time, I thought it was nonsense and ignored it.’
Vikir briefly recalled the history of the Baskervilles.
It was not because of the relegation that the Baskerville family, which once had their home near the ecliptic, completely moved to the borders of Jeok and Black Mountain in the west of the empire.
I knew that Hugo Les Baskervilles went before the Emperor and the entire Baskerville family volunteered to move to the periphery.
The reason is because of the savage tribe who kidnapped his first wife who died during childbirth and his first daughter whom he cherished.
Because of this, Hugo developed a mad hatred for the enemy and the barbarians beyond the Black Mountains, and he rarely cared for his wife and children.
After that series of events, he became an extremely cold and cold killing machine and lived only to slaughter monsters and savages.
The emperor thought Hugo was competent and entrusted him with expanding the borders of the empire, and Hugo became more and more immersed in work to forget everything.
The current iron-blooded swordsman, Baskerville, was created in that way.
And now. One of the hounds who had fallen out of the iron-blooded sword family met a completely unexpected relationship here.
Pomeranian. Pomeranian La Baskerville.
‘Penelope’ is the daughter of ‘Roxana’, the woman Hugo loved the most or only in his entire life.
And ‘Penelope’s daughter ‘Pomerian’.
In other words, if the guess is correct, the girl in front of you will be the direct granddaughter of Hugo Les Baskervilles.
‘……Then will I become an uncle?’
It was a strange feeling.
Even at this moment, nieces and nephews might be being born somewhere, but none of them were female.
In the first place, the daughter is an extremely precious Baskerville family.
Come to think of it, there is not a single daughter in Hugo’s direct lineage.
No, not even in the entire hometown.
It’s a son, but it’s all in the middle of the day.
‘Anyway, Hugo is a man who says that men are more helpful in battle and will only look for sons and grandchildren.’
What would Hugo’s expression look like if he saw his little granddaughter?
Bikir shook his head.
No matter how much I think about it, only negative thoughts come to my mind.
In addition, the blood of the savages was mixed in, so they might not like it even more.
Vikir reached out and placed a hand on the Pomerian’s head.
The Pomerian flinched slightly, but didn’t dodge like before.
Bikir said in a low voice.
“Looks like you didn’t get a good treatment from the Rococo tribe.”
“…”
“Come with me.”
As long as the Rococo tribe left after suffering great damage from the plague, Pomerians cannot remain here either.
However, Pomerian steadfastly held on to the barracks pillar and endured.
Vikir looked up and found out why the Pomerian didn’t want to leave.
It was because of the crude stone tomb in the back.
While Vikir was at a loss as to what to do, Ayen stepped forward.
She bowed her head once in front of the stone tomb and said to Pomerian.
“Ancestors shed their earthly skin and go to heaven to become stars. Your mother is the same.”
“…”
“What lies here in the stone tomb is only a shell, but Mother’s soul will become a star in the sky and look down on you.”
“…”
“I want you to get out of this scary place quickly.”
Then the Pomeranian raised his head. He seems to be able to understand not only the imperial language but also Balak’s speech.
After pondering something for a while, Pomerian soon let go of his hand holding the barracks post.
And he took a step toward Bikir.
black hair red eyes.
Bikir and Pomerian are very similar.
Pomerian looked at Bikir and said.
“Mom. Hair. Eyes. Color. Same.”
“Yes. All the dogs of the Baskervilles are alike.”
Bikir hugged the Pomerian.
It was the first meeting between uncle and nephew.
* * *
After that, Pomerian came to Balak’s village.
“Samchun. Where are you going?”
She clung to Bikir’s leg and wouldn’t let go for a second, which was quite an ordeal for Bikir, who was accustomed to living alone.
“Your uncle has a meeting and he has to go. The chief is calling.”
“Aang. Samchun. Let’s go together.”
The Pomeranian seemed afraid to be alone.
After escaping from her mother’s stone grave, she seems to realize that she is truly alone.
That’s why he seemed to rely more on Bikir, who resembled his mother in both hair color and eye color.
“……It can’t be helped.”
Bikir picked up the Pomerian and put it on his back.
While looking around to see if there was anything that could be used as a blanket, a piece of thick, tough fur caught my eye.
It was the fur of an Oxbear given to him directly by the chief in exchange for the successful (?) trade the other day.
I was wondering where to use this precious and expensive fur, but I ended up using it as a cloth.
Bikir went outside with the Pomerian on his back.
“…I guess I’ll have to ask Chihuahua later.”
I couldn’t raise this girl in Balak’s village.
Even if they weren’t sent to Hugo, they had to be raised in a place out of his sight, at least within reach of the empire’s civilization.
Bikir later made plans to get out of the floodwaters and into the city.
‘Should I stop by the Morgue family once?’
There was also a need to spy on how the alliance with Baskerville was going.
While Bikir was thinking about this and that, he quickly arrived at Chief Aquila’s barracks.
When you go inside, you see Aquila and Iyen and the other elders with serious expressions on their faces.
On this day, Iyen and Bikir appeared as witnesses.
Chief Aquila asked.
“Yes. You mean there is an epidemic?”
Iyen and Vikir nodded.
How the Rococo tribe perished, the current state of the remaining villages, etc. were reported in detail.
Other hunters also testified that they had seen bodies of Orcs, Lizardmen, and other apes lying with red spots on them.
Aquila rubbed her chin with a serious expression.
“The rainy season is coming soon, so it’s a big problem.”
If an epidemic spreads, the damage will be even greater. I had to find a way to prepare.
at that time.
“Chief. It’s not a plague, it’s a curse!”
The sorcerer Ahheman stepped forward.
He argued that the red death was not a disease but a form of witchcraft and could be solved through sacrifices.
And there were some old elders who sympathized with the claim.
They emphasized that this was the time to hold a great sacrifice, and it seemed clear that they were planning to greatly increase the authority and power of the shaman.
On the other hand, the young people said that the red death was not a curse, but an epidemic, and that they should abandon their village and migrate.
Old and young engaged in a heated battle between superstition and practical solutions.
It didn’t seem like it would be easy to decide who was right.
“Hmm. What should I do with this?”
When Chief Aquila expresses disapproval.
There was one who silently raised his hand and asked for the right to speak.
He was the first to coin the term ‘red death’.
“I know how to stop this disease.”
It was Bikir.
