I Transferred to the SSS-rank Crafting Field - Chapter 27 - Do you know the sound of the sea's cries (2)

Chapter 27

07 – Do you know the sound of the sea’s cries (2)

“What’s with your expressions?”

“Guild Leader-nim!” I was a bit resentful but relieved as well.

Choi Kwon-young, bursting into a hearty laugh, stared at the sea spirit. His smile didn’t even vanish when he saw a whale whose immense, intimidating force made my body numb.

“Was the support staff our guild mentioned actually the Guild Leader?” I asked.

“What a disappointed face you have.”

“…You’re mistaken.” I belatedly composed my expression.

Choi Kwon-young pretended to be pitiful at being considered an uninvited guest. I was grateful for his rescue, but the person I least wanted to come had arrived.

‘Who would’ve expected him to come in person?’

There weren’t many Hunters capable of underwater combat, but this wasn’t anything that required the Guild Laster’s attention.

Upon closer inspection, Choi Kwon-young’s eyes were gleaming with interest. This was mere hypothesis, but this person must have popped on over because he found this situation fun. What bull–he was the one who said he wouldn’t join us because he didn’t want our group to stand out…

“What about your work in the guild…” I trailed off.

“That’s why I have a competent deputy.”

“If the deputy guild leader hears that, you’ll be in trouble.”

Choi Kwon-young shrugged his shoulders.

I remembered how haggard Hwang Jae-hui looked as they processed documents and completed paperwork. That person used to be quite famous in the field–though now, that’s merely an old tale. I sent her my deepest condolences for her neverending flood of paperwork.

“Don’t move from there.” Choi Kwon-young shouted as about fourteen daggers appeared around him. They flew in unison and were embedded in the whale’s body. With the flick of his finger, the daggers exploded with a bang.

We were completely captivated as we watched his battle. The sense of urgency that gripped our hearts disappeared, leaving only pure wonder.

The wind that resulted from the explosions caused Choi Kwon-young’s uniform to flutter.

I recalled that he was asked in a previous interview why he wore a uniform. He had simply replied that the outfit suited him best. Indeed, the navy suit, perfectly tailored to his sturdy build, created a flawless synergy with Choi Kwon-young’s strong and muscular appearance.

Graoooo~~

The sea spirit groaned. Its huge body staggered from the impact of the explosion.

Choi Kwon-young didn’t miss that opportunity. When he rolled his food, a chain sprang out from the bottom of his shoe and embedded into the cave wall. Like an acrobat, he stepped on the chain to gain air.

“You know, that spirit is crying.” Cha Taeyang said.

“What?”

“Can’t you hear it, Unni? It’s crying in a super sorrowful voice.” Cha Taeyang reached out and pointed to the spirit. There was a shadow on her usually cheerful face. 

All I could hear, though, was the noise of the battlefield. Was she able to hear something I couldn’t?

It hadn’t been long since Choi Kwon-young had arrived, but the sea spirit’s body was damaged here and there.

Perhaps he was trying to end the battle–Choi Kwon-young aimed at the sea spirit with an unusual energy. A faint flute sound began to echo in my ears.

“Let’s use the skill that Hunter Yoon Gaho gifted me.” His voice sounded quite delighted.

At that moment, Atera, who was standing behind me, clasped my sleeve tightly. Startled, I whirled around and saw that she was shaking and crying.

She must have been incredibly scared. I bent down to make eye contact with her, “Atera, it’s alright now. You were really scared, right? Just wait a little more.”

“…You can’t.”

“What?”

Atera suddenly ran out into the middle of the battlefield. 

Though Choi Kwon-young had the battle under control, it was still a battlefield. She could have been seriously injured. Cha Taeyang ran ahead before I could and grabbed Atera’s arm.

Atera resisted fiercely, not even caring that her bangs were getting wet. “You can’t!”

“What can’t he do?”

“You can’t kill Astrona!” Atera shouted in the loudest voice I’ve ever heard. 

Choi Kwon-young, who heard our conversation with his supernatural hearing, lowered his gun.

The agitated spirit did not care about him and began to draw strength from the mana stones once more.

With a grim smile on his face, Choi Kwon-young asked Atera, “If we get hit by that, you won’t stay safe. Can I still not ‘do’ this?”

Atera shook off Cha Taeyang’s hand and stepped forward. Under the light of the mana stones, the jewel-like eyes shone blue.

‘Where have I seen this before…?’

Atera clasped her hands together as if in prayer and looked up at the spirit. Everyone fell silent, struck by her determined posture.

—Our child, slumbering beneath the vast waters. Our child, lounging underneath the coral shadows.

A small voice rang inside my brain–similar to the way the sea spirit spoke.

The sea spirit stopped moving.

–Shall I offer you the beautiful days filled with light. Or shall I scatter the night stars, scoop up two full handfuls, and give them to you?

–I will gather the morning dewdrops together. Dream under the cradle of the long, long night.

The sea spirit automatically continued with the next verse.

Searching for the one who sang the song, the sea spirit looked around the cave with large eyes. It was astonished to discover the tiny Atera singing underneath it; its eyelids shook as if it couldn’t believe its eyes.

The mana stones, which fiercely resonated with the spirit’s anger, retrieved their magic power. Instead, a gentle wave enveloped the cave.

The sea spirit gradually shrunk in size; its appearance transformed from that of a whale to a human. A normal-sized human, this time.

A man with blue, stringy–like seaweed–hair embraced Atera. 

When I saw the system message; the tension left my body, and I plopped onto the ground.

I belatedly recalled the clear conditions: Atera’s survival.

It wasn’t about defeating the Sea Spirit. This quest would be completed on its own after the time limit.

Choi Kwon-young shook his head when he saw the sea spirit and Atera hug affectionately. He gave me a hand to raise me to my feet and clicked his tongue, “I guess I really ended up being an uninvited guest.”

“Thanks to you, we were able to buy time.”

“Weren’t you discomfited by my presence?”

“Discomfiting things will be discomfiting. And, I should be thankful for things that require thanks.”

Choi Kwon-young chuckled silently and unpleasantly at my words.

I overheard Cha Taeyang whisper to dokkaebi, “It ended well, didn’t it?” 

Astrona, the sea spirit, held Atera’s cheeks with his large hands and observed her face. Without saying anything, Atera looked back with tearful eyes.

Though I didn’t know the full story, the tender scene between the two NPCs made it impossible for me to interrupt. Instead, I asked Choi Kwon-young, “Why did you come personally?”

“I simply assigned the most suitable personnel for this quest.”

“I don’t think that the deputy guild-leader would agree.”

“It’s okay–I’m the one who makes the final authorization anyway.”

I felt shivers run down my spine. 

Though I have only encountered him a few times after joining Wastelands, his smiling face made my head hurt. Hwang Jae-hui must be constantly exasperated.

We could have had a catastrophe on our hands if he hadn’t known the location of the coastal cave, but the thought of continuing on this quest together made me think our future would be dim.

“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“……Yeah.”

Unlike earlier, the spirit spoke in a normal voice.

When the sea spirit actually checked her over for any injuries, Atera pushed him away and hid behind Cha Taeyang. His eyebrows drooped as if he were upset. “Child, at least give me your name.”

“Atera! Her name is Atera!” Instead of Atera, who rarely spoke, Cha Taeyang informed the spirit. Only then did the sea spirit look at us–he made no secret of his disapproval.

Upon hearing Atera’s name, he looked back at her with soft eyes. “Athena, huh? Your father gave you a good name.”

“Not Athena, it’s Atera! Atera!”

“Child of the land, don’t worry about it. My ears aren’t clogged.” 

As Cha Taeyang continued to protest, the sea spirit added that that’s just the way the sea people refer to their family members. He continued to grumble, saying ‘This is why landfolk are beyond help.’

The dokkaebi giggled at his grumbling.

“Excuse me, my name was given to me by Farran…”

“Mm, of course. He’s your father, after all.”

Atera shook her head tearfully. The sea spirit, bewildered, hugged her, “What’s wrong, Athena? Hmm? Don’t cry, just tell me.”

“I’m not who Astrona thinks I am.”

“I care for every child born of the sea. So, of course I cherish you as well. It doesn’t matter what or whose child you are.”

“I’m a land person. Because of us, the seafolk…”

The sea spirit tilted his head as if he was hearing something incomprehensible. He patted Atera’s back and hummed the song she had sung earlier. “What does it matter if you aren’t a ‘seafolk’… I thought I would never see another child again. Do you know what you mean to me–the one left behind, alone, to protect the cradle?”

“…I’ve never been to Oceanbloom.”

“I’ll take you there. So, stop crying, hm?”

“W-Why is Astrona being so kind? I…I’m…!”

“You’re half-landfolk?”

When Atera couldn’t bear to say anything and buried her head on his shoulder, the sea spirit didn’t speak further.

“So, the harmony of a land and seafolk…” Choi Kwon-young murmured.  He squinted at Atera as if he was calculating something.

Looking closer now, I realized that the five-colored, jewel-like tone in her eye looked exactly like the scales of a seafolk. I had guessed she knew something about mermpeople and the seafolk, but I never would’ve thought she shared lineage with them.

“My dear Athena, none of that matters to me.”

“W-Why?”

“You’re Farran’s daughter–a sea child that has come to find me. What could be more important than that?”

Atera slowly raised her face. The sea spirit smiled brightly and wiped away her tears. Though she quietly muttered that she was not Farran’s daughter, the spirit didn’t even react–as if he hadn’t heard her.

He said, “You’re too small. How old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

“What? You and I are only one year apart?” Cha Taeyang jumped in place.

I couldn’t help but be surprised as well. Because she was so petite and skinny, I thought she was only thirteen or fourteen at most.

Narrowing his eyes in a slit, the sea spirit glared at us, “Did those people starve you? Come–tell me.”

“No! The Player-nims helped me! They even took me all the way here.” Before a misunderstanding could occur, Atera stood up for us with her arms splayed wide.

However, the spirit’s doubts weren’t easily resolved. I could see that he had a deep distrust of players. 

Atera opened her mouth to persuade him further, “Since I was a child, I’ve been locked in a small room.”

A terrible thirst, and a more painful loneliness. And a man that made her forget all that.

“From today on, your name is Atera.”

Atera, recalling that man from the depths of her memories, began to spill her past.

TL: So uh… Why didn’t Atera come forth in the first place to be like “Yo, Astrona, you know my daddy.”