FLIA 174

“…You’re saying that’s a sheep?”

Yohan mumbled in a daze. Looking down at the crown of his head, which was unusually soft today, and his flushed cheeks, Yoon Seungryong unconsciously licked his lips. Immediately afterwards, the shadow beneath his feet rippled, and he quietly closed his mouth. He felt a little wronged. He hadn’t intended to eat him for the slightest; he had simply thought he wanted to bite and suck on those soft cheeks…

No matter how insatiable his appetite was, he wasn’t insane enough to eat his savior. However, the team leader seemed to have absolutely no trust in him.

…Hmm, that makes sense. Recalling his past track record, Yoon Seungryong soon understood. The youngest member of this team was soft and tender like pudding, so it was better to be cautious.

What they were watching right now was a herd of mountain goats in the high mountain area. Although they were goats, at first glance they looked like nothing more than the common, thorny bushes of the Abyss scattered here and there. However, if you looked closely, these bushes, which were well taller than a person, were scurrying around and diligently eating moss. They also had round horns, though they were hidden by their thorny fur.

“They’re our youngest’s friends. You should say hello and it’s nice to meet them.”

“Hello….”

He was so gentle that he obediently followed orders. The old timer looked down at the extremely young youngest with an expression that said he wanted to put him into his mouth for being so cute and endearing. While Yohan was distracted by the moss squirming near his feet, Seo Yakrin’s lips grew longer. Literally. They gradually transformed into a beak and parted, the shadow rippled. Seo Yakrin, who had wanted to peck just a tiny bit at the tips of his hair unnoticed, quickly closed her beak.

‘I like that the team leader is fair.’ Thinking this, Yoon Seungryong smiled. Yohan, who had been looking down at the moss, asked with a troubled expression.

“Is this a bug?”

“No, it’s moss.”

“The moss… seems to be moving….”

“It just looks like it’s moving because it reproduces so fast. If left alone, it would be like that in a single day.”

In the direction Lee Hyunmook pointed, there was something resembling a mass of dark blue bushes. It was a dead mountain goat covered in moss. To be honest, while it was called moss, it looked almost exactly like an insect. It would be accurate to describe it as a type of carnivorous plant that had developed high mobility. To Yoon Seungryong, who was well-versed in insects, it certainly wasn’t an insect. It reeked of grassy stench.

“That’s why you shouldn’t stand in one spot for too long here.”

“Ew!”

Yohan jumped up in disgust at Ju Hoyoung’s explanation. It was because he had discovered moss crawling up his shoe. He stayed still to prevent it from climbing higher, then scattered a shimmering light. Unaware that everyone’s eyes were focused on him, Yohan purified the nearby corrupted moss and let out a sigh of relief. When he looked up, everyone had naturally turned their gaze away again.

“But where’s the drinking water here?”

They were passing through the High Mountain Zone to obtain drinking water before heading to the Salt Lake. It was not called the High Mountain Zone for nothing. Several mountains were situated on uplifted land that soared exceptionally high even for the Abyss. They had just reached the shaded spots between the valleys. Yoon Seungryong kindly pointed somewhere to Yohan, who was looking around at the surrounding navy-colored valleys.

“Do you see those mountaintops over there? The ones that look especially pitch black?”

“Uh… yes!”

Every sheer mountaintop was covered in black, and it looked as if it could be called eternal black snow rather than eternal snow.

“That is our water source. We plan to work hard collecting and processing it starting today.”

“Process it?”

“Those are all bugs.”

“Bugs…? Those? It’s not snow or ice?”

It would be much better to see it for yourself rather than to explain it. A moment later, Seo Yakrin took flight in the form of a monstrous bird. As Yohan watched with a worried expression, the bird, which had shrunk to the size of a bean, clung to the mountaintop. After doing something for quite a while, she returned a short time later.

Boom…! A few minutes later, Seo Yakrin returned and set down the golden bundle made of telekinesis that she had been clutching.

Yoon Seungryong quickly rummaged through his ‘pocket’ and pulled out a drum barrel he had prepared from the chaotic, topsy-turvy space. Meanwhile, Yohan was diligently purifying Seo Yakrin. Yoon Seungryong was envious.

“Alright, shall we get started?”

Soon, Seo Yakrin dug a pit and spread the net of telekinesis inside. Suddenly, something poured out with a whooshing sound and vigorously flopped around. They were easily thousands of black bugs. Their chitinous shells gleamed with a glossy sheen. When he saw them, Yohan wore an expression that looked as if he were about to scream. The youngest no longer was easily startled when encountering other monsters, but he could not get used to bugs in particular.

“Bugs… I hate them….”

Yohan muttered to himself without realizing it, and the listening bug (Yoon Seungryong) felt a tiny pang of heartache.

Really, just a tiny bit… maybe?

Well, actually, it wouldn’t matter even if Yohan called him a bug and scorned him to his face, as long as he purified him. But he wouldn’t do that. Why was Yohan even this kind?

“These have water pouches. So you do it like this….”

Yoon Seungryong demonstrated it himself. He quickly grabbed a flapping bug and snapped off its tail, icy dirty water trickled down.

“If you just crush them, they shatter into pieces like this. The shells will bother you every time you drink.”

The other three were already gathering their belongings and sitting down, each holding a bug. To make the work easier, Yoon Seungryong gently sprinkled poison over the bugs. Since they were like ocean sunfish that turn dry and spongy as soon as they died, he had to release just enough to paralyze them. Then, he handed a pair of gloves and a knife, which were a bit worn and rusty but still usable, to Yohan, who was bravely reaching into the bug pit despite his tearful face.

“Thank you! Um… but am I the only one using this?”

“We don’t really need it.”

Compared to them, tempered tough and strong in the Abyss, Yohan was no different from soft tofu, so he needed a bit of care.

Anyway, he was so tender like soft tofu… Soft tofu sounds delicious. Do you need coagulant to make tofu from soybeans? Since we have to conserve salt, should we try to get some from the Salt Lake?

Yohan held a bug with a trembling hand. Although paralyzed, it was still alive, so it squirmed occasionally, and each time, he froze. The downy hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. Actually, they didn’t really need to help Yohan, but his reaction was cute, so they let him be. When Yoon Seungryong looked at the team leader, his gaze was so infinitely gentle that it was practically dripping with honey.

“It looks like we’ll have to stay here for quite a while to secure enough drinking water.”

After working for hours straight, they checked and found that it barely filled half of a small drum barrel. Yoon Seungryong stared at the pile of shiny chitinous shells, then snatched one up, put it in his mouth, and chewed it. Lee Hyunmook spoke.

“Since we’re here, shall we have Yohan do some training?”

Yohan, who was cleaning the gloves soiled with bodily fluids and packing them in his bag, opened his eyes wide.

* * *

“Aaaargh!”

Yohan screamed. He looked pitiful. A huge sheep was chasing him from behind. He ran in panic, but failed to see a stone and tripped. “Tsk.” Yoon Seungryong clicked his tongue softly. However, being a high-level purifier, instead of just falling flat on his back, Yohan nimbly rolled over and jumped to his feet. “Good job, well done.”

“Yohan-ah, don’t be too scared! It’s still just a lamb!”

Ju Hoyoung shouted in an attempt to encourage him, but Yohan was shocked.

“A lamb?! That thing?!”

“If you look closely, it doesn’t even have horns!”

The youngest, busy running away, likely wouldn’t have had the presence of mind to distinguish whether there were horns or not. Seo Yakrin also clapped and cheered.

“Hang in there, youngest! If you catch that today, you can eat lamb!”

“Lamb!” Yohan’s eyes instantly sparkled. The problem was that the lamb was running much faster than Yohan. Watching it chase him all the way to his rear end, trying to butt him, Yohan silently mouthed the word.

Naturally, no one would let Yohan get butted in here. Although he must have known this well, as soon as the lamb was about to make contact, he reflexively unleashed a bright light.

“Oh.”

Yoon Seungryong laughed with delight, even as he let out a sigh. After clashing bloody battles with his monstrous comrades, seeing such a refreshing and youthful sight for the first time in a very long while naturally warmed his heart and made him generous. After all, time overflowed in the Abyss, so he couldn’t help but feel like an old uncle thinking, “It’s okay if my kid fails.”

Startled by the sudden light, the lamb awkwardly stopped. Only after the breathless Yohan had distanced himself did he finally turn around and open his mouth.

“Oh….”

The purified lamb fell into a state of confusion. Yohan was just as confused. He was at a loss for words upon seeing the lamb, which looked fluffy on the outside but remained the same size. After staring at each other for quite some time, the lamb bleated.

–Meeeee…

It cried in a weak voice that didn’t match its size, then came running at a much slower pace than before. Then it lowered its head and butted into Yohan. Baam!

“Whoa…!”

Yohan staggered slightly due to the size, but soon he was buried deep in the very soft and fluffy wool. With a suddenly happy expression, he hugged the lamb tightly and stroked it. Seo Yakrin burst into laughter.

“Yohan-ah, aren’t you going to eat lamb?”

“But… it’s a baby!”

“How can you attack such a big and cute baby?” With that thought in mind, Yohan looked at the group with a sparkling face, literally. Whether it liked the purification or simply enjoyed the touch of Yohan’s hand, the lamb was docile, only nibbling with its snout.

Today’s lamb… no, today’s training was a lost cause.

Come to think of it, it was already time to eat.