“Last chance for you to change your mind and throw that packet in the bin, or you’ll face the consequences.” A group of forty or so members of the plunderers guild blocked Lirzod’s way ahead, and even though all, except their leader, had masks covering their noses and mouths, the folding of the skin on the side of their eyes showed that they had strange smiles on their faces. Everyone was wearing large wooden baskets on their sturdy backs. On all their shirts were printed a few words: Hope High. Expect Low.
At the moment, the street was full of hungry folks, and their eyes were all on one lad.
Lirzod, however, blurted out without hesitation, “Last chance for you all to change sides and stop looting people, or you’ll all face the consequences.”
“Hoh… you dare to threaten us the Dustbin Diggers?” the leader of the group, a tall man with a rough bearded look, showered an uppish smile. He had king-sized nails piercing his whole torso, and he struck as a fearsome fellow and gave off a threatening vibe. “You think you can throw garbage in any dustbin on this belt without our permission?”
“I’ll take my chances,” Lirzod replied in a positive tone.
“Take your chances?” the leader of the group narrowed the windows of his view. “Those who won’t factor in our words into their way of living will suffer from our spleen. I’m not going to ask again. Give us the meat, or I’ll nail you to the wood!”
“You’re welcome to try,” Lirzod said dauntlessly. “I’m not the type who fights without rhyme or reason, but at the least, I’ll test your testiness.”
“Hmph,” the leader glanced at his underlings, and they all took out various things from their baskets.
Lirzod blinked numerous times upon seeing the ‘things’ they had taken out. “W-Wait..”
Without wait, the underlings hastily tossed many nasty items at Lirzod.
“Wait, stop! This isn’t fair!” Lirzod danced around trying to dodge the banana peels, rotten eggs and tomatoes, fungus-housing loaves of bread, and much more. After more than a hundred of such spoiled items got hurled, the leader signaled to his underlings; they stopped.
All of them sported a smug look with their hands in their pockets, even though they were quite surprised in truth.
“Not bad,” the leader said, looking amusedly at Lirzod, who was perfectly alright, though he was panting audibly, “you dodged the first wave, but the second one will be much more entertaining. Do you want to dare face that?”
“Not as long as I have legs,” Lirzod turned around and put all his concentration on fleeing.
“Trying to escape?” the leader was slightly surprised. “Is this the ‘consequence’ you alluded to a minute ago?” He immediately pulled out one of the nails pierced in his arm, but no blood leaked out, only a bit of transparent liquid. He swiftly flung the nail at the boy. It spun like a drill as it whizzed through the air.
The nail scraped past Lirzod’s calf muscle and hit the floor in front of him, then stood upright and continued to spin. In that fraction of second, Lirzod’s foot stepped right on the flat top of the nail, and before he knew it, the spinning nail took him along for a ride. “Bambarammm!” Lirzod cried out as he was carried away like a spinning top.
“What?” the leader and all the underlings were thoroughly slack-jawed.
“T-That’s so cool!”
“I’ve never seen such a thing.”
“I want to try it, too.”
The underlings were quite impressed by what they were witnessing. Still, the leader quickly shoved the shock aside and ordered, “Stop admiring and chase him, idiots!”
“Y-Yes, Boss!”
However, after traveling for more than fifty meters like a spinning top, the direction of the nail changed, and it came back toward the Dustbin Diggers. Lirzod bumped into the wall a couple of times, and the momentum died out. He fell off the top of the nail, then stepped on a banana peel and crashed onto the floor. The nail was still spinning. Lirzod felt like the surroundings were spinning. And so was his mind.
Before he could get back to his feet, he got surrounded from every angle. All of those men together tried to shamelessly snatch the meat packet away from him, and despite his efforts, they readily overwhelmed him and plucked it out of his hands.
Though Lirzod tried to get it back, they kept tossing the packet from one to another and made him run around like a driven dog.
“I need to give it to someone,” Lirzod yelled. “Give it back!”
“Give it back?” The leader smiled. “Fine. Let’s give him what he wants.”
“Hehe,” everyone snickered, and then a storm of garbage came at him. The sounds of foul eggs cracking, and rotten tomatoes breaking, combined with the foolhardy laughter of men was all that could be heard in the street. Though Lirzod initially tried to dodge, he eventually got sick of it and dashed straight at them, in the direction of the packet-holder.
“Stop persisting,” the leader said and smirked. “It’s useless.” he waved his hand. “Commence the Fleeing Tactic 3!”
All the underlings suddenly blocked Lirzod’s way, and, at the same time, got together. While the ones in the front lines blocked his vision, they concealed the meat packet in one of the baskets, and then they all dispersed and ran in different directions.
Lirzod stood right where he was with a blank expression on his face. After they left his sight, he eventually smiled a little. “Spoony thugs. They are going to meet their expectations like never before.” He put his hands in his pants and took a small packet out. “The real meat is here. Wearing underpants is uncomfortable, but it sure has its uses.” He looked around and scratched his head. “Which way was that clinic again? Is it up ahead or on my rear? I was sure I was close enough, but those thieves made me lose my way, and now I’m confused.” Just then, he sniffed once, and his expression changed. “What’s this sense-killing smell?” he blinked twice and then looked down at his clothes. A couple of egg and tomato marks were left on his clothes. “Oh, right. That’s coming from me.” He shut his nose. “It stinks.”
Meanwhile, the leader and the underlings of Dustbin Diggers gathered in the neighboring street.
“Haha, he stopped following already?” the leader laughed thoroughly. “That was easy.” He looked at one of the underlings. “Take it out.”
The underling promptly took a packet out of the basket, then tossed it to the leader, who was nestled among his men. When he opened the pocket, his smiling face froze and shriveled like aged wood on a summer noon. Everyone around was puzzled; they couldn’t control their urge and took a peek inside, and their expressions soon metamorphosed into mortified monkeys. The leader soon pulled out what was inside the packet: Wet dough. He squeezed it in frustration.
“I-Is that dough?” the underlings had no more words to say.
“A work of art…” the leader squeezed the dough some more and then tossed it in his basket. “He couldn’t have gone far.” He took a meat pie out of his bag, grabbed a big bite, and strode forth in high dudgeon. “I don’t care what you do to him, but I want the fish meat!”
“Yes, Boss!”
A few minutes later.
Inside a child booth on the twelfth deck, a tall blonde woman in glasses was teaching five kids by asking questions rhythmically, and the children replied in a simple, avid fashion, and there was a rhythmic song in the air.
“Where is the sun?” the teacher, who was missing the left ear, asked, lifting the stick, so it’d point toward the ceiling.
“In the clouds!” the children replied together.
“Where is the moon?” she asked again, shifting the position of the stick into her other hand.
“In the clouds!” the children replied just as enthusiastically.
“Where are the stars?” she dotted the air with the stick.
“Also in the clouds!”
“Where are the clouds?” she drew rings in the air.
“In the sky.”
“What do they all do in the sky?” she asked and grinned.
“They give us light throughout day and night.”
“And…” she circled the kids and also moved her arm in a wavy motion.
“They cause the seasons and the waves of the oceans.”
“And…” she spun the stick on her fingers, making the shape of infinity with it.
“They tell us the time, day, and month of the year.”
“And…” she stopped and leaned closer toward the children.
“They shine for those who have eyes to see and sing for those who have ears to hear!” this time, the children replied in a strikingly loud tone.
“That’s right,” the teacher looked pleased. She started walking back to her position at her own pace. There were drawings of the clouds, sun, moon, stars, and some other heavenly things on the board. “To be more clear, they do different things. The sun gives away the time of the day, the moon gives away the day of the month, and the stars give away the month of the year. Seasons depend on the sun’s position from us. Now that the luminaries in heaven are taken care of, let’s move on to another set of questions. This time about battling. What do you do when you encounter an enemy you can’t defeat?”
“Run.”
“Hide.”
“Surrender?”
The children kept giving answers that didn’t quite please the teacher, so she kept shaking her head.
“Do whatever it takes to defeat the bad friend, I mean, the enemy.” Just then, a voice echoed through the room. Everyone looked toward the door where Lirzod was standing. He had washed himself using tap water, so he appeared okay, not counting for the wetness of his clothes.
“It’s Brother Lirzod!” all the children sprang to their feet and ran to him.
“Whoa, calm down. I didn’t bring you guys anything this time,” Lirzod hastily said.
“Eh?” their eyes, however, were still set on the packet in his hands. “What’s in that bag?”
“It’s not for you,” Lirzod lifted his hand and kept the packet out of their reach.
“We’ll give you kisses.”
“S-Still, not for you.” He had to stand on his toes as they kept jumping to get their hands on the packet.
“Brother Lirzod, you stink!” the children finally caught the smell still lingering off his clothes. A couple of them moved back, but the rest did not. “It doesn’t smell like sweat.”
“Sorry,” Lirzod said and rubbed the back of his head, "but that's not because of sweating. It’s something else.”
“You must be working so hard.”
“Not really. Being a teacher here is perhaps much more toilsome and tiring than doing my daily affairs,” Lirzod opined.
The teacher, also the governess of the child booth, slowly walked over with a smile on her face. “What brought you here again?” Anyone would think that she was a bourgeois lady, judging by the amount of gold on her body, but only the children of the booth knew that was all fake metal.
“Actually,” Lirzod scratched his jaw, “I was heading for the clinic, but I somehow ended up here.”
“The clinic isn’t far from here.” Her voice was quite kind and mature for someone who was in her late twenties. “Want me to lead the way?”
“Thanks, but no thanks. You seem to be busy here. Besides, I think I can find my way from here,” Lirzod replied, as he was forced to spring about on his toes.
“Okay,” she observed him for a bit. He had a rakish, genteel look only a little while ago, but now his hair and clothes were all messy and looked anything but suave. Still, he had that genial bearing, which made up for the loss. “What happened to the dough I gave you?” the teacher couldn’t help but ask because Lirzod was holding a different packet at the moment. She gave him the dough in a packet made out of coconut leaves, but Lirzod was currently holding a palm-leaf one.
“Ah, that’s a long story,” Lirzod said and then tussled with the kids. “You guys can have this food if you can touch the bag.”
“So, there’s food inside! Yay!” The kids excitedly endeavored to touch the packet; however, Lirzod didn’t go easy on them. Some of them managed to pluck the paper that was in Lirzod’s other hand and then ate it out of frustration.
Lirzod pressed the kid’s cheeks and forced the paper out of her mouth. “You shouldn’t eat paper.”
“Eh? Why?” many kids looked surprised. “Paper tastes good.”
“Still, you can’t eat it,” Lirzod shook his head. “I once ate a book and then couldn’t release my bowels for two nights! Those times were nightmarish. Could you guys imagine yourself not being able to take a dump even for a day?”
The children clearly looked like they didn’t want to experience such a thing.
“But we don’t eat books, brother,” one of the kids replied. “We only eat one or two sheets of paper. They go well with pencil leads and erasers. So we should be okay, right?”
“Not at all. If you eat a book at once, you’ll only suffer severe pain for a few days, but if you eat a paper a day, things might look fine in the beginning, but then nature will one day stop calling you, and when it does, nobody can help you relieve yourself. If you add erasers and pencils on top of that, then...”
The children already had petrified looks.
The teacher looked pleased with the way Lirzod handled the kids. She had been telling the kids to not chew on paper, but they weren’t quite listening to her. She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to change the minds of the paper addicts, but now, she felt at ease.
“You won’t even be able to sing in the bathroom then,” said Lirzod.
“Eh? S-Sing in the bathroom?” the children looked surprised. “Can we sing in the bathroom?”
“Of course,” Lirzod quickly said. “Don’t you guys do that?”
“No, no, that’s it. Stop,” the teacher rushed hotfoot and intervened. “Don’t teach them weird habits.”
“What food is in that bag, brother?” the children still kept trying to get the packet from Lirzod again.
“Find it yourself, that is, if you can,” Lirzod continued to tease them.
How did these kids come to know Lirzod? A few hours ago, Lirzod brought a wounded little girl back to the child booth, and he gave papaya to the other kids, so everyone in the booth got quite friendly with him in so short of a time. The papaya was offered to him prior to that by a stranger whose father had lost all his wealth in betting while Lirzod was taking Cat Conflict.
Currently, Lirzod randomly ran about in the room, trying to escape from the kids, using one avenue of escape after another, and continued to own the meat packet.
However, when Lirzod arrived at a certain spot, he stopped and kept sniffing.
“Did you stop to distribute the food?” the children asked with full expectation. Their eyes glowed restlessly.
“My nose can smell anything nutty,” Lirzod replied, still sniffing, “even if…” his eyes fell upon a book that was on the floor, “it’s hidden inside a book!” he quickly picked up the book and flipped the pages, and a nut fell. He let go of the book and caught the nut. “An almond!” he tossed it into his mouth. “Thank you very much.”
One of the kids immediately started crying and saying that it was his almond, but Lirzod continued to run away. The other kids kept chasing him again.
The teacher called for them, but they didn’t respond, so she smartly posed a question, “Tell me one of the riches of the world that can heal the creatures of the land and the water.” She said, but nobody replied. “They are flat,” the teacher gave a hint.
Still, no child replied, for they were too busy chasing Lirzod.
“Flat lakes are truly earth’s awesome riches that heal,” replied Lirzod.
“C-Correct answer,” the teacher was a little surprised. “How did you know that?”
“Well, all life forms in the world can depend on lakes,” Lirzod replied while running away from the children and hurdling past all obstacles, including even the teacher. “Of course, lakes are obviously not as spread out like rivers, but you don’t find rivers in deserts. Lakes are cool in their own way for so many other reasons. Then again, I guess, water gets the credit in the end. After all, we all know—the world is in waters.”
The corners of the teacher’s lips curved down as she nodded in approval. As she watched Lirzod run around in the room, she pondered. Who’s this boy with a babyface? If not for his height and the scar on his face, he’d have looked like a sixth-grader. No wonder, even though it’s only their second time meeting him, he’s already mingled with the children. It’s as if he cracked immortality without even becoming a martial. She put her hands on her cheeks. He’s such a cutie patootie. I hope he doesn’t mind if I pull his cheeks.
“Since I answered correctly, I’ll get a gift, right?” asked Lirzod.
“Sure,” she said and smiled. “What do you—”
Just then, Lirzod ran into the kitchen and climbed the ladder and entered the attic where many food items were stored. He quickly pulled the ladder up so the kids wouldn’t follow him up. Teasing with the tongue followed.
However, all the kids had fearful expressions on their faces. “Brother Lirzod, you shouldn’t enter that place,” they said in a low voice. “Come down quickly.”
“Haha, you are not fooling me with that,” Lirzod said and looked around. There was a lot of food stacked up nicely as if put for an exhibition. “Wow, so many varieties.” There was enough room for him to freely walk, so he decided to take a look. The smell of fresh food made him close his eyes and take a deep breath. His tongue was already producing saliva.
Just as he opened his eyes, a door opened up in the wall right next to him. “Mm?” he turned and looked to his right. A familiar face came climbing up a ladder. “You are… the elf-impostor!”
“Eek!” Startled from his shout, the elf girl, Mulyk, let go of the ladder. She fell backward. “Kya!”
“Oh, no,” Lirzod straight away took a peek down.
Mulyk fell on her back and hurt her head. “Etetete.” However, she seemed to be alright.
Lirzod climbed down half the ladder, then turned and jumped. He landed safely on his feet. There were mickle trees and plants everywhere around him, so many that, for a second, he felt like he was in a forest. “Wow, where is this place?” he was momentarily left in awe by the scenery. “Wait, what am I doing?” he slapped on the back of his head and then advanced toward her.
Mulyk hastily got back to her feet and frowned a bit. That was an inelegant fall. Did he see me fall?
“You look fine,” Lirzod slowed down upon seeing her stand without a problem, “even though you fell from tens of meters height. Your bottom must be tough.”
He saw it! Embarrassment washed over her face like the high tidal wave on a full moon night. “You, you shouldn’t be here. Wait...” She sniffed once. “What’s this raw smell that’s rushing into my nose?”
“That’s coming from me, haha,” Lirzod leaked out a broad smile.
Mulyk paused for a second, for she suddenly felt strange. She remembered her childhood days when her butler told her not to open her mouth in front of the guests because she had a missing tooth. He can smile freely, even with so many missing teeth. Unknowingly, she clutched her dress at the chest region, not feeling sure if she could ever do that. Just then, she saw Lirzod walk to a banana plant and clean himself with its leaves.
“What are you doing!” she ran half the distance and lunged. With a kick to the shoulder, she sent him rolling.
Though Lirzod wasn’t wounded, he looked baffled. It took him a few seconds to process what just happened. “W-Why did you do that?” he asked as he stood.
“Why?” Spots of redness surfaced on her face. It seemed like she might turn into an angry bird at any moment. “Hmph! Be thankful that I didn’t cut your nose for what you did!”
“What did I do?” Lirzod’s perplexity only multiplied.
“It hasn’t been a day, and you spoiled the clothes already,” Mulyk fumed like a mad swan, “and now you’re trying to spoil my plants, too!”
“Plants?” Lirzod took a look at the soul of his boots. “Did I step on some seedlings or something?”
A vein on Mulyk’s forehead bulged. “You truly are…” At the moment, more than Lirzod, her anger was proving to be a more difficult customer. “Hmm?” Her gaze shifted down and noticed a packet lying at her feet. She picked it up. “What’s in this?” Her nose immediately picked up the smell. “This…”
“Ah, that’s for you,” Lirzod said, pressing his own shoulder a bit. That was one good kick.
“For me?” she sniffed the packet once again. “The smell is surely making me salivate…” she forthwith opened the packet. A peek inside widened her eyes. “F-Flesh!”
“No, that’s fish meat,” Lirzod said, his gaze crept from her face to the foot. “That’s all yours.” Currently, Mulyk was wearing shoes, so he still found it hard to digest that she just kicked him while wearing footwear.
“For real?” Her eyes broadened.
“Abso-loving-lutely,” replied Lirzod.
Her face gained a lot of glow. “It’s been a long time since anyone has offered me food. Thanks.”
“It’s okay, but I’d be happier if you do me a favor,” Lirzod said, his voice sounding sanguine. “Just a little parting gift.”
“If it’s anything I can afford, I’ll surely give it,” Mulyk hastily ensured.
“It’s something you can certainly do,” Lirzod tapped his finger on his cheek. “Just one kiss.”
“K-K-Ki…” Her complex turned a shade pinkier when Lirzod showed his cheek. “In your dreams!” she barked and tossed the fish meat back to him. “Keep this for yourself. I knew that you were up to something. You vulnurs all have an innate talent for skulduggery. I should never take anything for granted with a human-fu.”
“U-Uh,” Lirzod felt a bit sad, but he quickly shrugged it off and laughed. “Haha, I was just joking-fu.” He tossed the packet back to her.
She caught it but then narrowed her eyes to a slit. “You didn’t mix anything nasty in it, did you?”
Lirzod shook his head vehemently.
“Mm, then,” she gave him a tight stare, “never try to pull such a shenanigan before me ever again-fu.”
“Fu. Fu.” Lirzod nodded twice.
“Say ‘yes,’ not fu-fu!”
“Yes, yes.”
“Anyway, it’s hard to get any meat on these lower decks, so I’ll gladly accept this, but....” her voice was no longer appreciative but rather interrogative, “where did you get this?”
“I won it in the competition of chefs,” his voice was dull and a bit dispirited. “I think it's called…” Lirzod tried to remember the name, but it proved to be harder than he thought.
“Competition? You?” she furrowed her brows. “Why don’t you be more honest?”
“I was being fully honest.”
“Really?” Mulyk narrowed her eyes and examined his expression. He’s an amenable youth, but he also has that disorderly side to him. I guess adolescents are the same, whether it’s an elf or a human. She remembered how he tried to play a trick on her back when they were in the clinic.
“What?” Lirzod looked bewildered. Is she going for another kick?
“Nothing.” She gave a tight-lipped smile. “I was just wondering if this might be the first time you were being honest with me or not.”
“Of course not,” Lirzod straight away retorted as if he was razzing her, “but you talk like you were honest all the time when you are still in that costume?”
“What?” she hardened her voice. “I’m in a ‘costume?’”
“J-Just kidding,” Lirzod stepped back and rubbed the back of his head. “But seriously, it’s my first time seeing an elf, so it’s not proving to be easy for me to believe, you know. I read that elves can move their ears as well as animals. If you can show me that skill, I’ll apologize and will believe in you and in your honesty—fully.”
“I don’t need to prove myself,” she stressed her words, her gaze implicating a warning. “This is my real appearance! And I’m always honest!”
“Always honest?” Lirzod shook his head and then waved his hand with confidence. “Till now, I’ve never met a single soul that’s always honest.”
“Hmph, then everyone you’ve met till now must’ve been a disappointment. I’m not like the rest,” she proudly said, putting the hand on the chest. “I’m one of a kind.”
“One of a kind, huh. Let’s see how honest you are then.”
“Forget it. I’m not going to fall for your jiving.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Lirzod’s voice contained pity and doubt, “or maybe you’re scared?”
She paused for a moment and asked, “What are you going to do?”
Lirzod smiled and said, “Simple. You only have to take a test called Candor Grill that I created. For the first round, I’ll ask a question, and you have to answer me honestly.”
“That’s it?” Her posture unwinded reasonably. “How easy. Give me something more challenging.”
“Well, first, pass this question, and then we’ll move on to a tougher round,” Lirzod continued to speak with certainty.
“Okay,” she snapped her finger stylishly. “Throw your question.”
“How many times do you fart per day?” he asked right away.
Mulyk’s expression froze like a rat that had come across a cat.
“How many? Give me an ‘honest’ answer,” prompted Lirzod, wiggling his brows.
Mulyk’s expression soon warped into that of a chimpanzee suffering from constipation.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Lirzod closed the distance and continued in a teasing tone, turning her face into gleed. “Don’t tell me… you are still counting because the number is too big—”
“Enough!” Mulyk punched him in the face, and she was panting and blushing a bit. “You don’t have any manners whatsoever.”
“Eh?” Lirzod looked bewildered as he rubbed his jaw. He was even more disappointed. “I shouldn’t have expected an honest answer, given that no woman has answered this question till now. Not one has passed the first round yet.”
“No one in their right mind would!” Mulyk snarled, her voice crackling with fury. “It was my fault to think you would ask a decent question.”
“My question wasn’t decent?” Lirzod tried to speak back, but he stopped after getting subjected to her glare. “U-Uh, okay, it was only ninety-nine percent decent.”
“You are unbelievable,” she shook her head, but just then, she remembered that she was holding fish meat in her hand. “I almost forgot about this precious thing. How silly of me. I’m going to make good use of this, but...” Mulyk still had traces of doubt written all over her face, “why are you giving this to me, huh?” she coldly glanced at Lirzod. “If you are thinking of getting treated for a lower price in the future, then—”
As she was saying, Lirzod strolled around, still rubbing his cheek. “I must say, a nice place you got yourselves here. So many trees in this closed space, yet they’re so green. How do you grow them where there’s no sunlight? I mean, there’s light in this room, but is that enough? And how do you even water all these things?”
“That’s a secret.”
“Secret? Like how women break wind!”
Mulyk ground her teeth. “Talk about that again, and I’ll really....” she blinked twice and then went silent.
“Really, what?”
“Never mind,” she averted her gaze.
“C’mon, another secret again?”
“I will tell you just enough,’ she folded her arms. “You asked how these plants grow in this place, didn’t you? Well, this ship has as many secrets as the hairs on your head,” her voice contained traces of arrogance. “Consider its architectural design a strand among those. I get by with what I know, that’s all.”
“I’ve got too many hairs to count, you know,” Lirzod moved his hand through his hair once. “Are you sure you don’t want to change your words?”
“I’m pretty sure,” Mulyk advanced toward him.
“If an elf beauty is so sure, then it can’t be helped,” Lirzod said and continued to walk and observe the surroundings.
Mulyk’s face turned pink, and her expression partly bloomed. E-Elf beauty? Me?
“It’s hard to imagine that there’s a spacious garden like this inside a ship,” Lirzod wondered. “I know that it’s a big ship we’re on, but still… I can’t help but wonder how big thing actually is.”
“Uh, exterior-wise, I think I know Exvo’s measurements,” Mulyk replied with a somewhat softened voice. “It’s 21.1 miles long, 3.5 miles wide, and 2.1 miles tall. That said, I may be wrong, though, because interior-wise, every deck has its own unique dimensions and atmosphere, so the estimates I told could be wrong.”
“That’s still freaking huge,” Lirzod was wide-eyed.
Mulyk faintly smiled.
Lirzod glanced up at the ceiling, “This place would’ve been perfect if there were a night sky and a cool breeze.” Then he couldn’t help but look at the text engraved on the ceiling at a particular spot. Most of the writing was stricken, and only a bit remained; however, the size of the letters was large enough for their naked eye to notice. “There’s something written up there. What language is that? It’s just a string of letters with no breaks.”
“Ah, that… that’s probably an ancient language used before someone invented the punctuation system.”
“Ancient language?” his interest picked up a bit. “Each character looks so complex, and I can’t tell if it’s all a single word, or...” he slightly scratched his head.
“It’s only natural for you to be bemused. Because of the lack of punctuation, the same text can express different meanings, which can raise confusion, but it may also have been written that way intentionally. Who knows?” she said. However, after seeing that Lirzod was still staring at it, she continued, “Though I don’t know the name of the language, I do know what it says, well, only one of many interpretations.”
“And what does it say?” Lirzod put his hands in his pockets.
“That you should go and get a bath first,” Mulyk said, closing her nose with her hand.
Lirzod laughed. “I’m sure it doesn’t say that.”
“Well, you are right for once,” she said. “It says, ‘When the wicked ones are done…’”
“That’s all?”
“Yeah.”
“Sounds like something written to scare children.”
“I was told that it was either related to a fictional tale or maybe an apocalypse, but God only knows.” Her expression subtly turned serious. “These sorts of mysterious texts unnerve me because they are trying to tell us something, which means there are others keeping secrets. Every time someone holds information for their own benefits, something always goes wrong.” She let out a long sigh. “Anyway, go and clean yourselves first.” She pointed in a direction. “There’s a washroom in the corner.”
“What? Really?” Lirzod asked, and upon receiving a nod, he was overjoyed. “That’s great news. Then I’ll be using it.” He dashed away without delay.
Mulyk just watched him leave and muttered under her breath. “He’s not a bad egg. I don’t even remember the last time when someone set my cheeks on fire.” She then went on to do her business.
Meanwhile, outside the child booth, there was a comfortless ambiance.
The blonde teacher and the children stood frozen in awe and shock, for more than twenty men were lying outside, beaten out of senses and shape. They were all the men of Dustbin Diggers, a gang that was part of the plunderers guild.
The leader just arrived at the scene and was left baffled. “What just happened?” he was stunned upon seeing his men in such a pitiful situation. Some got their teeth and jaws broken, and some others had their noses bent out of shape. The leader knelt and asked one of the men who was barely conscious but was bleeding by the mouth, “Hey, what happened? Who did this to you?”
“Boss… we’ve come to the booth to ask for our weekly quota, but the governess refused to give it in full, saying that they lacked food. Guh,” he coughed up some blood. Speaking itself brought a lot of pain because his nose was turned into a grotesquerie. “So we tried to force our way in. The kids got in our way, so we manhandled them. Things were going well until a son of a bitch showed up out of nowhere.”
“Who?” the leader gritted his teeth, and his eyes gained redness. “Who dared to meddle in the business of the plunderers?”
“He didn’t give us his name,” the underling replied in a painful voice, “but he had purple hair. He saw through our tactics and took all of us out with ease, and one more thing, Boss... He kept asking for some ring.”
“Even the commander of this deck would think twice before sticking his nose in our affairs,” the leader clenched his fists, and the nails on his body started quivering, “so where does this purple-haired punk come from? I’ll not let him be after he sleighed over us like this!”
The teacher of the booth, on the other hand, had a frown crease her forehead. It was common for the big guilds on the ship to bully the small guilds, child booths, bread booths, and every other delicate establishment, be it businesses or public institutions. So, she couldn’t help but worry about the passing friend who freely offered help when they were in need.
“W-We have nothing to do with him,” the teacher spoke out before the leader’s gaze even settled on her. “He was just a passerby. It was our first time seeing him.” Though she felt guilty for saying that, she had to do what she could to keep herself and the children safe, even if that required her to act like an ungrateful, thankless person.
“Go and prepare the Dustbin Slice,” the leader indifferently told her without even casting a glance at her.
She frowned but nodded without delay. Dustbin Slice was the weekly quota they had to offer to the Dustbin Diggers, who were part of the plunderers guild. People had to accept that the quota was a good deed and must be thought along the lines, ‘throwing some food away for the sake of the dustbin and those that live by it.’ Even though everyone knew that the plunderers guild never helped the real beggars or the destitute folks, there was nothing they could do about it, for they were all only small fish in a small pond. Even the fat cats on the ship would avoid upsetting a big fish like the plunderers guild, so what could small fish do other than surviving as long as they could in the large pond of a ship?
Landing a governess job in the official child booth on any deck wasn’t easy, and it was considered a privilege. After all, the governess could eat anything from the booth just like the children, which was why they would generally think of themselves as cat’s whiskers. So the governess jobs were heavily sought after by women, especially in the decks from ten to nineteen. However, those who didn’t sway to the demands of the big fish were still not cut out for the job. If any governess went against the big fish, they’d mysteriously lose their limbs or organs or something precious to them. The previous governess of the same child booth also refused to give the quota repeatedly, and she soon lost three kilos of her skin, which she could only blame on her recklessness. Skinning the unruly governesses was the most fearsome tactic employed by the plunderers guild, who had mercilessly plundered the beauty of many women and brought shame to those women for not doing their bidding.
The current governess was also missing her left ear because she once said ‘no’ to the advances of a man from another big guild and publicly humiliated him by slapping him. Since sexual assault resulted in a death penalty on Exvo, that man took his revenge by cutting her ear off so she would never look the same in the mirror ever again, at least not until she was wealthy enough to visit a healer who might very well demand an unreasonable price. The reason why she wore fake gold ornaments was probably to catch the attention of a healer or some other rich man and make him do her bidding.
Currently, the governess was entering the child booth with a strained expression, and the children were even more tensed up. She packed a bunch of vegetables and fruits in a large sack and brought them out of the booth.
“Stop it,” a voice came from inside the booth.
The governess looked back. Mulyk was standing at the door. “Sister Mulyk!” the children immediately ran over to her and hugged her and cried.
“It’s going to be alright, little vulnurs,” she patted their heads and then walked past them, her gaze set on the leader of the Dustbin Diggers.
“Miss Mulyk, you shouldn’t—” the governess tried to speak, but Mulyk raised her hand and stopped the teacher from speaking another word.
“A miserly pointy wants to poke in a man’s affairs?” the leader turned to face her and crudely stated.
“We elves are very fixed in our ways like the vulnurs who are too long in the teeth to properly eat an apple,” Mulyk said, striding forth fearlessly as the underlings got back to their feet, “but many people misunderstand us elves because of their lack of comprehension. We don’t meddle in others' affairs, not because we’re callous but just cautious. We stay set in our ways for the sake of ourselves and the world. However, you—”
“Pointies sure can talk the hind leg off a donkey!” the leader lunged at her and threw a fist.
She bent her head to the left and dodged the fist.
BAM~~!!
Her ankle struck the leader’s head from the side and almost bent his spine. Stress marks appeared around his mouth as he straightened his spine and simultaneously pulled out a nail and attempted to stab her calf.
However, she deflected his arm to the side and thrust her foot into his belly. Her foot pressed against the nail and forced it deeper into his flesh as he got blown back.
“Boss!” the underlings were quite shocked. Some of them attacked her, but with her kicks, she easily put multiple assailants at bay.
The leader, meanwhile, still safely landed on his feet and tightened his stomach muscles and brought the nail back to its original place again. To think she’d target above my waist, she must be quite confident in her speed. If she had more time, the nail would have sunk in. He then slightly grinned. “Not bad, pointy. You can move. I’ll give you that.”
Mulyk stood rooted, wearing a placid yet frosty expression. This bastard is strong. Fighting him off the cuff will result in unnecessary sores. She put her hand behind her back and pulled out the revolver, startling the leader. “Don’t make me use this in front of children.”
The leader glowered at her for a bit and then shifted his attention toward the governess. “Hey, governess. The plunderers guild is much more understanding than the other great guilds. Do you seriously want us to let your booth out of our shielding? You think you can have a peaceful life after that? Take a hint!”
The governess started shivering visibly. If she didn’t keep the booth under an umbrella, it would get washed away by rain sooner rather than later. Either she would be replaced, or the booth itself would get abandoned. After all, there were many ways to oppress and bully the weak.
“Please take it,” the governess said and tilted her head down, feeling culpable for wasting Mulyk’s efforts.
The leader smiled cockily at Mulyk, who was clenching her fists. The underlings picked up the food sack and wilfully snickered as they walked away. Mulyk could only watch as the leader threatened her by running his finger over his ear as if warning her that her ears would be cut if she butted in his affairs again. His taunting, however, didn’t tick her off.
Mulyk hid the revolver and started walking back into the booth.
“I’m sorry,” the governess said, but Mulyk didn’t care to stop.
“Your duty is to not only educate the children but also keep them healthy,” said Mulyk, “and you’re failing at both.”
Ridden by guilt, the governess broke into tears. The children went over to commiserate with her.
Ram: I see.
Ravi: No matter how many times I tell them, they never change. They are eating my brain cells by the day, man. It’s so frustrating. At this rate, I’m afraid they’ll wake up the beast in me.
Ram: I feel you.
Ravi: You’re also married. When your mother and wife quarrel, whose side will you take?
Ram: Street-side.
Ravi’s jaw slackened to the soil.
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