Chapter 217
"After establishing Shambhala, scorpions kept appearing. So I alone couldn't handle them all."
Yurik's misdeeds traced back to the early days of Shambhala.
The scorpions that had been barely scraping by in the desert among themselves sensed that there were Shambhala people, And came up to hunt people regardless of day or night.
Thanks to that, Yurik, who was the only one who could kill scorpions at the time, had to stand constant guard without a moment to rest his eyes.
"It was hard for me then too. Incomparably harder than now. But suddenly I had this thought. If I were to be injured by a scorpion, what would happen to Shambhala?"
"So?"
"I resolved to create the Arahan."
The Arahan were Yurik's disciples, and also Shambhala people who understood Yurik's 'secret' to a certain depth.
From being pulled out of the mud pond to coming to Shambhala, Throughout the journey, he had felt that the bond between the Arahan and Yurik was deep.
"Create them?" "As I told Yesung, they are copies of me but also degraded versions of me. So I couldn't strengthen their bodies to the same level as mine."
"You touched something other than the body."
"Right. Still, the power they possessed was considerable. The Mi-Go species called this magic power."
"Wait. You can sense the magic power inherent in others?"
"To some extent."
Yurik discovered the only hope in the Shambhala people, his copies.
However, having power, 'magic power,' alone wouldn't change anything.
Just as raw stones become beautiful and gain value only after being processed, Magic power also required the correct pathways and incantations for users to achieve their desired effects.
The Mi-Go species and Elder Things had mechanical devices that operated on magic power, but stealing them was nearly impossible.
So Yurik.
"I met snake-people. It wasn't intentional, just purely by chance. They were descendants of the snake-people who lived in Valusia."
"And then?"
"I was going to leave them alone so they wouldn't know of my existence, fearing they might be a threat. But suddenly I remembered the snake-people magic I had seen long ago. I became curious. I wondered if these descendants before my eyes also knew such things."
"So?"
Yurik blinked a couple of times.
"I won their favor and learned magic. Among the snake-people's magic, there were methods to strengthen one's own body, and thanks to that, it became easier to kill scorpions."
"You immediately passed that on to the Arahan? What about those snake-people?"
"I banished them far away. But if I had known that rumors would spread among the snake-people, or that their ancestor Ig would remember Yesung and me because of it, I never would have done such a thing."
"To summarize, the snake-people are targeting me because you stole their magic."
"They probably thought Yesung was an easier target than me, who had acquired magic. You had also gone to Valusia with me long ago."
Yurik spoke seriously. Looking at his face alone, it sounded as if there wasn't a single lie in the story he had just confessed.
Yet, the uncomfortable feeling wouldn't leave at all.
Just because their kin had magic stolen and were chased far away, the snake-people had come to target him instead of Yurik?
Because of that, Yurik had tried to take him to build a village in a completely new place?
It didn't make sense.
If the snake-people were desperately searching for him with gritted teeth, It might be a situation where Yurik had committed something worse than what he had confessed with his own mouth.
But even if he questioned this now, it wouldn't make what Yurik had done undone, And the snake-people wouldn't stop chasing him either.
The situation wouldn't change much.
"...Right. It's something already done, so it can't be helped. I don't like that we've made the snake-people our enemies entirely."
"Yesung. Aren't you angry? I thought you would definitely be angry."
"Have I ever been angry at you? Besides, I usually don't get angry at others. I do get annoyed, but I've never been angry..."
Wait, when was the last time he had been angry at someone?
He had asked the snake-people if they were crazy in front of Yurik long ago, But that irritation was clearly different from the 'anger,' the rage that Yurik was talking about.
And Yurik had asked if he was furious with him.
Even now, it was annoying to be dragged into troublesome matters regardless of his will, but it didn't seem like an incident worth getting angry over.
Or was it? Should he be angry? Why were his emotions so jumbled?
When his words stopped, Yurik urged him.
"Really? You're not angry?"
"I'm not. I promise I won't be angry. Anyway, even if snake-people try to invade here, you and the Arahan are here, so they won't come recklessly."
"Don't you want to go somewhere other than Shambhala? Aren't you scared? The preparations are ready. If only you want it."
"I'll think about it after resting, so calm down a bit. You know my body isn't like it used to be."
Yurik seemed to want him to get completely away from the snake-people, But his current physical condition was terrible.
He had no energy from the heat and was covered in sweat and sand, Even if he couldn't sleep, he desperately wanted to lie down somewhere.
He barely managed to wash off the dust with water outside the house with Yurik's help, then lay down for a long time using the red book as a pillow in a corner where the sun didn't shine.
*
The Shambhala people had been busily moving around since the sun began to tilt.
It was to welcome Anutara and the Arahan who had returned from their arduous journey, and the strange guest they had never seen before.
A large space was prepared next to the oasis for everyone to gather and eat and drink together, And when dishes that were by no means shabby were assembled, people brought Anutara and the guest.
Once again in an official setting, the guest was introduced as Anutara's 'teacher.'
The teacher of Anutara, whom the respected Arahan respected. So Anutara's teacher should also be respected accordingly.
However, he humbly requested to be called 'Yesung.'
"We can't keep calling me teacher forever. I am Anutara's teacher, not your teacher."
Thanks to this, a harmonious dinner proceeded in a much lighter atmosphere.
Naturally, questions poured on Yesung throughout the meal.
Had he seen Anutara's childhood, was he an extraordinary person even then, what kind of person was he when young?
Each time, Yesung would sip the fruit juice from trees growing beside the oasis and answer.
"Yu... Anutara was no different when he was young than he is now. He was innocent and cute. Sometimes he would act his age."
"Innocent?"
"Aren't all children similar when young? Like sulking often. That's similar even now."
"Sulking...? Even now?"
In front of Yesung's benevolent smile without a trace of lies, the Shambhala people briefly had doubts.
But no matter how kind he looked, he was still Anutara's teacher.
Thinking that Anutara and Yesung were special people different from other Shambhala people, They nodded their heads roughly in understanding and continued their meal.
The Arahan who attended the gathering tried to tell Yesung how mysterious, cool, taciturn, and kind their Anutara was.
"I've had this leg since birth, so I couldn't carry water alone. But thanks to Anutara awakening the power that was sleeping in me, I was able to take on various roles."
"You must be very happy."
"Even though it may not look like it, Anutara is always carefully watching over us."
One of the Arahan began to openly boast.
"Since Yesung is also Anutara's teacher, seeing your disciple become such a wonderful person must make your heart swell. Do you know the story of how Anutara founded Shambhala long ago?"
"Ah, that."
"You know! Actually, I thought you might. Was Anutara already acting separately from Yesung at that time? Did Anutara receive everything from Yesung? What did you teach him? What was Anutara's specialty?"
"Wait a minute. So that's."
"The magic that Anutara passed on to us, when you think about it, wasn't it all something Yesung knew? Since he was Yesung's disciple. Couldn't you pass that on to us too?"
"I think."
"But Yesung, how are you planning to handle this power? Did you gain enlightenment on your own?"
Yesung realized that Yurik hadn't told the Shambhala people about the conflict with the snake-people.
How should he answer this?
Yurik, who had been watching Yesung being bombarded with questions, casually threw out while drinking water.
"That belt. You're still wearing it."
"What? Ah, ah! You mean this."
The Arahan who heard this happily pointed to his waist.
A belt made of snake skin was holding up the cloth covering his lower body.
"How could I leave it at home when Anutara gave it to me for the first time? Of course I have to wear it."
"It looks a bit worn."
"It's fine. I take care of it every day."
Yesung carefully asked the proud Arahan.
"Did Yu, no, Anutara give you that belt as a gift?"
"Exactly. It was before we became Arahan. One day, Anutara gave us these things and taught us about power."
"You're saying it's a gift that all the Arahan have?"
"Yes. At that time, Anutara was away from his position for quite a long time, but seeing this gift, I understood why he hadn't been in the village."
"To obtain snake skin?"
"Besides giant scorpions, many other things live in the desert. Like insects that only hide in the ground. Usually we don't bother them either, but if they're things that could harm Shambhala, the story is a bit different."
"When you say things that could cause harm, it sounds as if those snakes were venomous."
"Probably similar? Anutara wouldn't just stand by and watch us be put in danger."
"I see..."
"I still remember that day. It was only about 200 years ago."
Yesung's gaze lingered subtly on the snake skin belt for a long time before turning elsewhere.
While the Arahan was diverting Yesung's attention by bringing up things that happened 200 years ago one by one, Yurik was secretly enjoying himself, recalling cutting skin from living creatures.
*
Staying at Yurik's house didn't last very long.
Recently, one of the village residents had reached the end of their lifespan, and the funeral had ended a few days before Yurik and he returned to the village.
Thanks to that, the house that person had used was empty, And since not much time had passed since they left, he heard there wouldn't be much need for major cleaning.
Yurik offered to help, but he declined, thinking it would be better to preserve the fantasy the Shambhala people had about him.
The house assigned to him was a little away from the oasis at the center of the village.
Just looking at the exterior, it didn't seem much different from other houses, But when he entered the interior, admiration burst out naturally.
"What is all this?"
Paintings filled one side of the wall.
Though they weren't colorfully painted with various colors like in modern times, They were murals carved deep by gradually digging into the wall using dyes obtainable from nature.
Besides that, there were many other various things.
Rugs made from old clothes that could no longer be worn, Small cacti transplanted into the empty shells left after eating hard woody fruits, Small window covers made by drying and weaving unknown grasses, Traces of someone's touch remained everywhere.
Were these traces of the person who had already died?
But looking at it, it didn't seem to be decorated according to just one person's taste.
Some places were practical, others were not.
Some places preferred simplicity, but other places emphasized things that were complex but nice to look at.
Perhaps the people who inherited this house continued to tend to it, and such tending accumulated to create this unique beauty.
He looked around the house, then sat on the rug and sighed.
Yurik's house had looked like no one lived there.
...Maybe he had no talent for decorating houses? That could be possible. What he had grown up seeing was the Elder Things' stone city.
He felt like he wanted to help, but not right now.
He had to solve the problem right in front of him first.
Opening the book that Yurik had carefully preserved and handed over, he glared at the last written passage.
[The Snake King, who had fainted from pain, instead awakened because of that pain. The maw without even consciousness devoured his faithful believers to heal his wounds.
The snake cave began to collapse rapidly. To avoid being crushed to death under the dirt that poured down like hail, they had to run immediately.]
This was his last memory with Ig.
Now how to chase this bastard from the planet was entirely up to his plan.