By Zephyria =======
Black Weasel did not exist in this world. It wasn’t that he had died and vanished; it was that he was a human who simply never existed. The owners of his regular inns, his favorite taverns, his usual blacksmith—even the owner of the inn where he had stayed for over a month, the assassination brokers, and even Old Lady Erem—no one knew Black Weasel. Whenever he asked, “Do you know a wandering mercenary named Black Weasel?” the only answer he received was, “Who is that?”
Furthermore, ‘Silver’ did not exist either. To the question, “You don’t know me?” the response was invariably, “And who are you?” It was truly terrifying.
This bizarre hell began after Black Weasel died. After burying his biological father’s head, Silver spent some time contemplating his next move before deciding to track down the man who had commissioned the murder of his mother’s lover. If he were to rank his targets for revenge, that man was first, and Wolf was next.
Silver visited a regular broker he had long suspected. That was the first time he heard the words, “Who are you?” Even when tortured to the brink of death, the broker remained consistent: “Who is Black Weasel? And who are you?” Sensing something was wrong, Silver headed to the place where his mother and her lover had lived. Because the lover had been so wealthy, many people still remembered him even after eleven years. The problem was his mother.
“There was a mistress who was murdered with him. But did that woman have a child?”
“I worked as a servant in that house and remember clearly. There was no child.”
From that moment on, Silver wandered here and there, half-mad. For three years, he traveled the world, confirming the same fact over and over again: the humans known as Black Weasel and Silver did not exist. People remembered every event associated with them differently than Silver did. It was truly, truly terrifying.
Where does the truth begin and end? Why did this happen?
In Silver’s memory, his biological father certainly existed. A man with monstrous strength befitting his massive frame and outstanding skill, yet one who lacked patience and grew bored easily. A flighty man who could hold his liquor but was abysmal at gambling. Silver remembered the various things they had experienced while wandering across Stohl for eleven years. That distinct, husky voice still echoed clearly in his ears.
‘Hey, kid, Silver!’
‘Silver! You’re thunder too!’
It’s so vivid in my memory. Why, why does no one but me know him?
Is my biological father really just my imagination?
Then… who… am I?
Is my name… really Silver?
People… don’t even know me…
…
“Hahaha!”
Silver burst into a fit of laughter, as if having a seizure. Starry eyes fluttered up in surprise.
〔Prururu? You again?〕
“What do you mean ‘again’! A person can laugh!”
Silver hauled himself up, clutching his stomach.
“Who am I! Where is this! Fuck, I don’t know a damn thing!”
〔Prururu, your name is exactly what you remember! Prururu!〕
“See! Even you call me Prururu!”
〔I already explained that! I think I’m broken! Even if I say your name correctly, the moment it leaves my mouth, it always turns into ‘Prururu’! And this is Pirate Island!〕
“No! This is the river port dock! I’m just some nobody! A Prururu whose name isn’t even Silver! Maybe I’m even a Ppoojijik!〕
〔Prururu! Calm down! You’re not a dock beggar!〕
“I’ve seen them countless times! Crazy beggar bastards sprawled out on the docks spouting nonsense! They all firmly believe they’re someone great and live in a wonderful house! Ha! To think everything I believe to be a memory is just the delusion of some dock beggar…!〕
Silver threw both arms up toward the sky.
“That’s right, my memories are fake! Suddenly dying and falling into a skeleton wraith den only to be brought back to life! That Attendant suddenly transforming into a berserker and taking the Ice Armor Warrior’s head in one swing! Every bit of it sounds like something that would come out of a lunatic’s head!”
〔You’re not crazy! Look at me!〕
Starry eyes flew right in front of Silver’s face.
〔I’m right here! So your memories aren’t an error!〕
“You’re probably a hallucination too,” Silver muttered lowly.
“A talking mantis… definitely a hallucination. I’m probably not thunder either.”
Laughter surged again. After giggling for a while, Silver whipped around.
“I’m crazy! I’ve gone mad—!”
He kicked open the door and ran outside. Rain beat down upon Silver’s entire body.
“It’s weird that a Stohl bastard would use the name Silver! Thunder? Puhaha! What a grand dream for a beggar bastard begging on the docks!”
〔Prururu! Prururu!〕
The pirate village was submerged in torrential rain. No people were in sight. Silver ran and ran.
“I’m a beggar bastard! Spare a coin!”
〔Prururu!〕
Starry eyes blocked Silver’s path. In that moment, lightning struck, and for a very brief second, the world turned blindingly bright. Simultaneously, Starry eyes slid down to the ground. One wing was folded, as if unable to withstand the rain. Only then did Silver come to a stop.
〔Prururu…〕
Starry eyes looked up at Silver. Silver leaned down and scooped Starry eyes up with both hands.
“Are you… really a fairy? The one I kidnapped from the wraith den?”
〔That’s right, you hid me in your belt pouch. By human standards, a fairy; by our domain’s classification, external tool type 3 no. 78. In charge of the kitchen.〕
“To others, I must look like I’m talking to a palm-sized bug.”
〔Others can see me too! I told you, you’re not crazy!〕
“If I’m not crazy, then the world is crazy. It means the world manipulated the Ice Armor Warrior and me into humans who were never even born. Does that make sense? What are that guy and I, that we’d be worth such a grand conspiracy…?”
Silver put Starry eyes back into his belt pouch and wiped his eyes. A piercing loneliness washed over him. The only blood relative he had, whether he liked him or not, was actually a fiction created by the imagination of a dock beggar. And to imagine him as Stohl’s strongest assassination broker—it was clear what kind of person the beggar was. Probably some pathetic loser who spent his life getting beaten up by nobodies.
I don’t know. I honestly don’t know what’s what.
He had run so far that he had already reached the beach. Under the pitch-black sky, only the paths where lightning tore through were momentarily stained white. The waves tore at the sand like hungry beasts.
Suddenly, something drifted in with the waves. A single human arm, emerging from the deep blue current, flipped over. The wave tossed the person near Silver and then receded. It was a man. He didn’t move. His worn-out top and pants were covered in stitch marks.
Dead, huh.
Silver lost interest and turned away.
“Luckier than me.”
* * *
Two days later, the rain stopped.
The beach of Pirate Island, after the storm had swept through, was a disaster. One wondered if it would be this messy if giants got drunk and caused a ruckus before leaving. Splinters of wood, broken oars, and overturned barrels. Clumps of waterlogged rope and torn pieces of sail. Broken jars and crates. Bloated sacks of grain. Swollen corpses.
It seemed at least three or four ships that had been passing through the nearby waters had been smashed to pieces. Only the pirates were thrilled. Like farmers rushing toward free barrels of liquor on the first day of a harvest festival, they were frenzied with joy. They popped the bungs of barrels scattered across the beach and gulped the contents. They cheered, throwing gold coins and jewelry taken from crates into the air. They ransacked body bags, stripping away clothes and boots. If a corpse wore a ring, they sliced off the finger with a knife and stuffed it into their pockets.
“Rookie! Get to work! Strip the bodies!”
A senior pirate yelled. Silver looked around the beach with indifference. There were dozens of corpses strewn about. All of them had been picked clean by the pirates and were stark naked.
“There’s no work left.”
“What do you mean there’s no work, you brat! That one!”
The senior pointed to a corpse lying far off. The lower body was submerged in seawater, lying face down. A white bird sat on the naked back, enjoying the sea breeze.
“Someone already stripped him.”
“He’s wearing pants!”
Just then, the tide receded, revealing the man’s lower body. The pants clung to his body so tightly that the skin was almost visible. The senior smacked the back of Silver’s head.
“That fabric is Atania Belfoca cotton! I’m a man who touched that fabric ten thousand times at a cloth store in an Atanian port city in my prime, so I recognized it at a glance! Wash those clean and bring them to me!”
Fuck. What kind of bullshit is this?
Silver swallowed the curse rising in his throat and turned around. This bastard is making a pirate act as a laundress? This isn’t even in my job description; does he even intend to pay me? Just you wait; when I escape, I’ll pull out every one of your teeth and wear them as a necklace.
“Starry eyes, you’re bored, right?”
Silver took Starry eyes out of his belt pouch and perched him on his shoulder. Starry eyes neither spoke nor flew in front of people. He only acted as a large mantis, but because people’s eyes changed the moment they saw him—as if they had encountered their naked ideal type—Silver was always careful.
“If you’re really a fairy, I’m going to sell you for a huge sum later. Because I’m a beggar bastard.”
〔Prururu. You are thunder.〕
“One thing is certain: you’re a rare mantis. This should be a reliable seed fund for me… huh?”
Silver faltered and stopped. That bird sitting on the corpse’s back…?
80 – Hell Execution Order