Cherreads

Chapter 114 - Chapter 112. Oh No (1)

I was deceived.

I was deceived.

By what?

I don't know either.

Was it that guy who deceived me?

Or was it my past self who deceived my present self?

I have no idea.

However, there is one thing that I can say for certain.

I am now...…

"You'll be digging through compost. Like this. Like that. Like you're mixing bibimbap. Scoop up the stuff from below and bring it up. Turn it. Mix it. Stir it. Shake it. Got it?"

"......."

I'm going crazy.

You're telling me, to do that?

That lump, which reeks so horribly that it's awful to even call it a smell, I have to dig through that?

The former Demon Queen.

The Witch of Melody.

Artanis unconsciously gulped down dry saliva. And in the next moment, almost gagged without meaning to.

'That's definitely it. I remember.'

She recalled.

Was it yesterday?

It must have been right before she went berserk. At that time, Credos had followed her. And with a splat, he had slapped compost across her forehead.

However, at the time, she hadn't experienced the catastrophic destruction of her sense of smell like she did now.

Because she had been right on the brink of going berserk.

Because her sanity had been about to fly away.

Thus, before she could fully register the horror of the compost's stench, her reason had departed first.

And somehow, she had managed to avoid the worst.

But now, it was different.

'I'd rather...'

I want to go berserk.

Then my sanity would fly away.

I wouldn't remember this moment either.

It would be easier.

I wouldn't have to suffer.

"......Kiyo?"

It was while she was drowning in her miserable thoughts.

Someone's voice poked, poked.

Poked her ears and eardrums.

The pricking sound snapped her out of her daze. She turned her head. Their eyes met. Kim Jangcheol was grinning brightly.

"Excuse me? It's fine if you want to daydream, but it would be even better if you finish listening to the explanation first."

"........"

Why did I make a promise with this person, no, this bastard? Why did I think that he had completely removed my seal artifact?

So hastily.

So foolishly.

'I should've... looked more carefully.'

Who would have imagined that this bastard could only open her seal artifact for exactly three minutes once per day? She had never even dreamed of it. Never even thought to consider it.

And that's why she'd been moved.

Why she'd made a promise with sincere feelings.

"......"

But regret always comes too late.

And a promise already spoken, a contract already signed, can never be taken back. All the more when even her soul was wagered on that promise.

Sigh.

Artanis exhaled heavily, as if the ground would sink. Then she accepted reality.

Fine. Got it. Let's begin.

A lamentation written in the air with her finger!

Kim Jangcheol smiled brightly, without an ounce of conscience.

"Well, if you say so, I'm very thankful."

-......

"Then, let's start. Huuup."

Kim Jangcheol inhaled.

And then he shouted up toward the sky.

"Bountiful harvest! Blessing!"

Boom!

A resounding shout!

Soon after, a reaction came.

....Sparkle!

A rift in space opened above.

Through it, a heavy chair came crashing down.

Kwaaaang—!

A chair pierced with dozens of farming tools, presenting an overwhelming visual and bizarre shape!

Kim Jangcheol approached the chair.

He pulled out all the farming tools stuck into it. Then he turned to Artanis.

"Prepare yourself, please?"

-....Fine.

Artanis let out another long sigh.

At the same time, dozens of chains reflecting her complicated emotions sluggishly rose into the air. They reached reluctantly toward Kim Jangcheol.

But whether she did that or not,

"Lululu. Lururulu~"

Kim Jangcheol hummed a tune as he equipped the farming tools onto the chains. Without missing a single one. Without mercy. Firmly and meticulously.

Thanks to that, in a short while, Artanis became the very image of a walking, high-performance, comprehensive farming machine, with dozens of farming tools dangling from dozens of chains.

"Wow. Amazing."

"...."

"Now, over here. Let's start with this lump first."

"........"

"I explained earlier, right? Using the chains and the farming tools attached to them, like this. Like this. Mix it, turn it."

"......"

"Excuse me? Lady Artanis?"

"......"

"Are you not going to work?"

-...I have to.

"Then why are you just standing there blankly…..?"

Because I have a question.

"A question?"

That's right.

"What exactly?"

Is this really something that only I can do? Is it truly something that requires me?

She asked sincerely.

Honestly, she truly, really didn't want to do this. She had only taken a few steps closer to the compost heap, yet already her insides felt like they were flipping over.

So she asked.

Is digging through a compost heap really something that needs me? Is it really so desperately necessary that it has to be me?

And upon hearing that, Kim Jangcheol nodded without a second of hesitation.

"Of course."

-...What?

"From the very start, it was you, Lady Artanis, who promised, wasn't it? That someday, when the time came that I truly needed you, Lady Artanis, you would surely stay by my side and help me."

I did. But this is...…..

"I desperately need you. Lady Artanis' power. I truly, desperately need Lady Artanis' assistance."

-...…

"Never in my entire life have I yearned for Lady Artanis' help as desperately as I do now."

Well, that's because this is the first time you've ever asked for my help, so of course...

"I am desperate. I am earnest. I wish so deeply. Ah, if only Lady Artanis would dig through this compost heap. Ahhh, if Lady Artanis would use the dozens of chains and farming tools to vigorously mix the compost heap, our work would become so much easier. We would all become happier."

No, this isn't something worth such grand exaggeration....

"It may sound like an exaggeration, but it's the truth. If Lady Artanis refuses, dozens of farming corps members will have to come and manually dig through and mix the compost heap by hand. Enduring the hardship, persevering, finishing the day's work, and returning home to sit at the dinner table with their families. And only then, will they realize."

Realize what...?

"Ah, my sense of smell has been destroyed. I have become someone who can no longer smell the scent of food on the warm family dinner table."

No, that's just a sense that would recover after a day or so...…..

"But the warm, once-in-a-lifetime dinner with the family, that moment, would be lost forever. From the memories with their spouses, from the smiling conversations with their sons and daughters, the scent of that dinner they shared will be erased forever."

-..... Is that something so seriously tragic?

"Of course it is!"

-...…

"A life with dinners! A life of leisure with one's family! Isn't that why we all work so hard! But! Hic...!"

-...… Damn it.

Fine, let's do it, let's get it over with.

Even if it's filthy, I'll just finish it quickly.

'Why on earth, did I make such a promise...…..'

..... back then?

A rising tide of regret and remorse!

In the midst of it, Artanis moved the chains. Using the farming tools attached to the chains, she dug into the compost heap.

"There you go! Lift it up! Mix it sideways!"

-...…

"Excuse me? I can see the chains getting a bit sluggish? Since you're at it, could you maybe speed up a little... faster?"

-...…

I want to kill that bastard and mix him into the heap.

But Artanis held back.

Because this bastard was the only one who could unlock her seal artifact for three minutes a day. Because she had made a promise with this scamming benefactor.

If she just endured a little longer, she could have the snack break.

'And...'

Except for the smell being a bit overwhelming, except for the fact that she had to do this kind of work, living here didn't seem all that bad.

Whoooong.

The wind blew by before she noticed.

The sweat was wiped away by the breeze.

Following the flowing wind, she shifted her gaze.

And she saw.

Beyond the compost heap.

A vast cornfield.

There, the three loyal followers were farming boisterously together with the Four Heavenly Kings.

"......"

Everyone looked happy.

Largo, the eldest with the aged face.

Veloce, the second with the blue eyes.

And Andante, the youngest with the youthful face.

Somehow, with relaxed faces, holding farming tools instead of the deathly instruments they once wielded, getting dirt all over their hands and faces, clumsily learning the craft of farming.

It was unfamiliar.

But it was nice to see.

Since the day they followed her, it was the first time she had seen them looking so purely happy.

'Maybe... this is enough.'

It seemed that way.

The warmly shining sunlight.

The breeze blowing over the ridges of the field.

Sitting down among it, opening a lunchbox for a snack.

And... the long-awaited three minutes.

"Unlock it."

Click!

At Kim Jangcheol's single word, the seal artifact was undone.

That's when it began.

Artanis got busy.

"......!"

Papapap! Pop!

Her hands moved with precision, not even a hair's breadth off.

She grabbed a piece of chuno from the lunchbox. Put it in her mouth, chewed it. Took a sip of water before choking. Ate chuno again, drank water, chewed chuno, and swallowed water.

"...Hooah."

I'm full.

This feeling, it's been so long.

To chew and eat something by myself, to drink cool water to my heart's content, it was like this.

As she finished her meal at lightning speed before the three minutes ended, a satisfied smile bloomed on her lips.

Click!

The time of freedom(?) ended.

"......"

Ah.

I didn't even get to properly say a single word today.

Holding the now empty lunchbox, she trembled with an unknown sorrow. Naturally, a sulky complaint toward Kim Jangcheol escaped her lips.

–But you know...

"Yes?"

–Why is it that you can only release this seal artifact for just three minutes a day? Hm?

"Ah, that's..."

A troubled smile spread across Kim Jangcheol's face.

"I'm sorry. It's really because my ability is only this much."

–Then, is there no way to extend the time?

"There is."

–How?

"I have to get stronger."

It was true.

A message floating in front of his eyes was telling him.

As the Mana Seed grows, the power of the Absolute Command will also strengthen. The time he could influence the seal artifact would also increase.

–Get stronger, huh. That's a big problem.

Artanis furrowed her brows.

Get stronger?

That weakling?

How long would that take?

A hundred years?

Two hundred years?

No, maybe even longer.

Just as her sigh was about to grow even deeper.

"Tbong!"

.....Boink!

With a sudden shout, something soft and squishy touched her shoulder from behind, poking her.

When she turned around, there was Tbong, smiling brightly.

"Tbong! Tbobong! Bong!"

–Hm? A praise sticker? You're giving it to me?

"Tbobong! Bong!"

–But, what's a praise sticker, exactly?

"Tbong! Bobongbong, Bbong!"

–Something really good...?

"Tbong! Tbobong!"

Tbong alternated his gaze between Artanis and the compost heap.

An enormous pile of compost that would normally take dozens of people an entire day to finish mixing. And yet, Artanis, alone, had stirred it all in less than half a day.

The moment Tbong confirmed it.

"Tbobong! Bobong! Bongbongbobobongbongbongbongbbong!"

Boink! Boink! Boink! Boink! Boink! Boink! Bbobokboink! Boinkboink! Boink-Boink-Boink-Boink! Boink!

Tbong's rice cake-like palms began to deliver praise stickers in a flurry, a continuous issuance onto Artanis' shoulder and back.

It was a storm of praise unparalleled in the history of the Abandoned Land.

Thanks to that, Artanis thought.

'Maybe, just maybe...'

I'm secretly made for farming.

No, maybe I'm a genius at farming.

Thus, boundless and unstoppable confidence filled her chest.

More Chapters