At first, he didn't understand Yurik's words about being able to get quickly to a distant place that wasn't even visible.
How could they go quickly?
By flying? By running?
By using so-called 'mysterious power' to teleport?
But when Yurik lifted him up and jumped down a steep sand dune,
He could imdiately understand the 'fast way to go' that Yurik had been talking about.
Grains of sand rode the fierce wind and pelted his face.
Yurik slid over the sand like going down an advanced slope at a ski resort.
Sand flying in all directions sparkled in the intense sun,
And sand dust billowed up over the path they had passed.
Going around the sides of rising sand dunes, coming up from sunken places and sliding down again like on a sled.
Yurik flew around well even on sand where feet would sink deep.
He might not have felt a sense of crisis... but honestly, it was quite fun.
He wouldn't know about doing it alone, but right now Yurik was holding him,
And even if they fell and crashed into the sandy beach, it would probably hurt less than falling on ice.
Though the sand digging into his clothes was a bit unpleasant.
After Yurik, who had been sliding elegantly and roughly down the last sand dune, ca to a complete stop, he set him down on the ground.
"Fun, right? Right? ...Yesung? Why aren't you answering?"
"Sand got in my eyes. Just a mont... okay, done."
"Did we co down too fast? Don't you like it?"
"No. It's fun. A hundred tis better than walking here soaked in sweat. Let's do it again next ti."
Yurik finally smiled with relief.
"If we can, we will."
"But what was that earlier about the Arahan asking if they could go ahead first?"
"Ah, that. About the scorpion. Scorpions are an important problem for Shambhala."
Scorpions.
Co to think of it, Tika had also talked about scorpions when she asked him sothing.
It wasn't strange for there to be scorpions in the desert, but it didn't seem necessary to rush here like this.
"Why scorpions?"
"You'll see when you look. It's here. Don't go anywhere else."
Yurik looked particularly excited for so reason.
Did he like scorpions? Or was there so benefit to catching scorpions?
He speculated about various things while watching Yurik's back as he left him there and went away, but he couldn't figure it out at all.
Yurik, who had gone far away, soon beca as small as an index finger.
How much further was he planning to go?
Worried, just as he took a step to chase after him,
He felt a minute vibration from under his feet.
'This is.'
With a small sound like thud-thud-thud-thud, the sand moved little by little.
It wasn't at the level of sothing small wriggling.
An unidentifiable life form was moving quickly deep in the sand.
The direction this vibration was heading toward was...
"Yurik!"
-Thump!
A huge shadow burst up from the sand and attacked Yurik.
Due to the thick sand dust, only the attacker's outline was visible.
A long, bumpy body, a tail shooting up toward the sky.
Constantly clicking mouth and legs buried in sand.
Only after the dust settled could he see a large scorpion with a black, hard shell.
From the swollen tail tip of the scorpion, which boasted the majesty of being almost the size of a 2-ton truck, transparent and sticky liquid was dripping.
The scorpion, using both pincer claws like front paws, was holding a limp human in one side and making sounds of joy.
Was he supposed to just watch like this?
He took a step without realizing it. He didn't know what he could do right now,
But at least he could turn that creature's attention away.
But that was only for a mont.
Yurik, who had been limp, ca to his senses and shook his head a couple of tis, then struck down at the pincer claw gripping his body.
-Bang! Crash!
A hard sound ca out like cars colliding with each other.
It was unbelievable that this was a sound made between a scorpion's shell and a human's fist.
When Yurik struck once more, the scorpion's pincer claw shell was crushed and hard pieces mixed into the muscle.
Along with the giant scorpion's howling sound, Yurik landed on the ground, but his one-sided violence didn't end there.
After slapping the scorpion's face with his bare hands and bursting its small eyes, he also tore off the sharp pincers that covered the scorpion's mouth.
The disgusting sound of the shell cracking and muscle tissue tearing could be heard all the way here.
The scorpion, which had instantly lost its mouth and pincers, thrashed about and swung its tail dripping with fluid in all directions.
Liquid that flew near him made acrid smoke when it touched the sand,
But Yurik tore off the scorpion's legs one by one as if playing with the enraged scorpion, then flipped it over so it couldn't escape into the sand.
Looking at the grayish-brown thin belly skin, unlike the black shell, Yurik without any warning thrust his hand inside it.
Liquid similar in color to what ca from the tail overflowed with a gurgling sound.
The scorpion, which had been making its last resistance by trembling the ends of its severed legs, gradually had its movents subside as Yurik began dissecting its body while it was still alive.
On top of the scorpion's belly, where only the torn mouth was twitching,
He was looking for sothing while almost dropping his upper body into the scorpion's body.
After so ti passed, an organ the size of a human head ca out in his hands.
Though there was no way to know what that thing covered in black liquid was,
He crushed it with both hands without a mont's hesitation and threw it onto the sand.
It was the gesture of disposing of a useless object.
Yurik's platinum hair and the clothes he was wearing were all soaked with black viscous matter.
Yet he himself seed not to care at all.
He, who had been sitting on the scorpion's belly, jumped down as if rembering sothing.
Crossing the desert that was still smoking due to the scorpion tail fluid, he ca in front of him and said proudly.
"It's your first ti seeing a desert scorpion. It's an old enemy that threatens Shambhala. There was nothing else here because it's hot and only has sand, but only those things adapted to the climate here."
"......"
"There's specific prey they like, so they're attracted to bait that the Arahan set up for camouflage near Shambhala. That way Shambhala doesn't get attacked, and while buying ti, we can deal with the scorpion. The one who thought of this thod was- ...Yesung? Why do you look like that?"
"Well."
"What's wrong? Wasn't the scorpion fun? Or are you hurt sowhere?"
Yurik matched his eye level, full of worry.
He would have endured it under normal circumstances, but when Yurik ca close, he couldn't stand it and barely managed to say.
"You sll..."
It felt like he could hear the sound of Yurik's worried expression crashing and breaking.
*
"Sorry. Please open the door. It's all my fault."
"......"
"I really didn't an it like that. No, that was actually true, but I didn't an that you yourself sll. I said it because I didn't know the scorpion's bodily fluid would sll so bad. You don't sll."
Yurik, who had entered Shambhala, threw aside the Arahan, his snake, and everything else and went straight to the oasis.
After scooping up water and pouring it over his head several tis, he shut himself in his house without even drying his clothes.
He had no house and only knew Yurik here, so he had to bow and scrape desperately.
"Who is that person?"
"I don't know. It's my first ti seeing them. What happened to Anutara?"
"I saw them coming together since entering the village earlier. Might they be soone he knows?"
"But why is he doing that in front of Anutara's house?"
He could hear people gathering in small groups and whispering after seeing him prostrating in front of Yurik's house.
Indeed. Why was he begging like this?
It was probably because he had told Yurik that he slled.
But he felt wronged too.
The nose-stinging sll was at the level of food waste left to rot for a hundred years.
There was no way soone slling that for the first ti could stand there calmly.
Still, if he said this now, it was obvious he'd be sleeping rough tonight,
So he stuck close to the door and spoke with as much sincerity as possible.
"I was sorry. I said you don't sll. This is all the scorpion's! The scorpion did wrong...!"
Please open it. He felt like he'd die of embarrassnt from the villagers watching him.
While he was scratching at the door trying to get Yurik's attention,
Finally, the Arahan who had followed them arrived at the village and appeared.
One Arahan who had been in charge of the black snake, Naga, instead of Yurik and him who had left first, looked at him with a bewildered face.
"Why are you doing that? Why aren't you going inside? Is Anutara not there? I need to deliver Naga."
"I don't know either... Please call Anutara for instead."
The Arahan approached next to him, puzzled.
But before he could announce his arrival, the door swung open.
Thanks to that, he almost hit his forehead on the door, but at least it opened.
"Did everyone arrive?"
"Yes. No one was hurt or left behind. Two Arahan and five villagers went out to recover the scorpion shell."
"I see."
"I thought the scorpion would be a big one, and it really was. Thank you as always, Anutara. Thanks to you, we won't have to make bait again."
"It's nothing."
"But this person, who is Anutara's teacher, do they have a place to stay?"
Yurik looked at him briefly.
But that gaze was almost at the level of glaring.
"Is there an empty house?"
"If we look, there should be about one. We'll give that to them."
"Sand would have accumulated and it would need cleaning. Until then, I'll have to extend an invitation to my house."
"Ah, since you've t after a long ti, you must have a lot to talk about. Then I'll co if other business arises."
The Arahan handed Naga to Yurik and went back with a bright smile.
Yurik narrowed his eyes, then reluctantly stepped aside as if unwilling.
"Co in."
"...Just now you wouldn't let in?"
"Do you want to apologize outside again? You've already beco enough of a spectacle. By tomorrow, all of Shambhala will know about Yesung."
Damn. That couldn't happen.
He quickly entered the interior and Yurik imdiately closed the door.
The house built in Shambhala was, like what he had learned from textbooks long ago, typical desert climate architecture.
The walls were thick but the windows were small, making the interior quite dark.
Still, the light leaking through the small windows was intense, so it would probably be bright enough during the day.
But there was nothing else besides that.
No place to lie down when sleeping,
No furniture like desks or chairs for sitting or entertainnt,
Not even a scrap of cloth was laid out.
It felt like looking at a square, very large studio apartnt.
Behind him, Yurik sneered.
"Why? Does it still sll?"
This guy with a long grudge... who raised him like this?
Inwardly he cursed Yurik as much as he could, but outwardly he turned around with the most benevolent and mature expression possible and said.
"No, I said you don't sll. And sll is sll, what you did well is what you did well."
"......"
"You said you made bait to prevent scorpions from invading Shambhala. You were going to say you thought of that, right? Very proud of you. You've grown up wonderfully."
"Hmm."
"I was worried about you fighting the scorpion alone at first too. Seeing you between the pincer claws, I kept watching wondering if I should go help, but in the end I felt it was amazing seeing you take it down alone. Did you get stronger by working hard while I was gone? Very excellent. Cool. Amazing. You're the best."
"...Really?"
"Of course. Among the things I've seen, you're the best."
"What about the Elder Things? They were kind to Yesung too."
"Why are the Elder Things coming up here? I liked the Elder Things in a different sense, but they didn't work hard like you."
"What about the snake-people? Ig?"
"Do I have to ntion those guys here?"
Even praising him was draining his energy.
Was this what a parent's heart felt like?
Was this the feeling of watching a child beg for praise saying 'Dad, dad, I did this well, right?' every ti they took a spoonful of baby food?
This should be enough satisfaction, you conscienceless bastard...
"Ahem."
Yurik, who had been plastered with 'praise more' all over his face, softened a bit.
He bent his waist slightly and touched his forehead.
"When that thing jumped out of the ground, I got hit by the pincer claw."
Indeed, Yurik's white forehead was slightly red and swollen.
Ah, so that's why he couldn't co to his senses then.
Was this a bump? It probably wasn't a bump? If he rolled a round object like an egg, would it subside quickly?
While gently touching his forehead, he asked.
"The shell looked incredibly hard. It must have hurt."
"Of course it hurt. I almost cried from getting hit. If it were the Arahan, their heads would have been shattered."
"Don't say such terrible things. Is that thing really that hard? You say the Arahan's heads would break. What's the reason you're fine?"
"That's..."
His red eyes rolled around.
"You know the snake-people. I said they were chasing Yesung."
"Right. What about it? Are you suddenly worried?"
"That... actually it's partly my fault too."
"...?"
What?
What did you do to the snake-people?
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