Chapter 10
Early morning, Harriet barely managed to raise his body. His white pupils, still hazy from sleep, looked even more opaque. Limping into the bathroom, Harriet squeezed toothpaste onto his toothbrush, put it in his mouth, and only then opened his eyes.
Harriet took the toothbrush out of his mouth.
“…It’s new.”
Though he didn’t know why it was new.
.
.
Harriet couldn’t drink carbonated beverages. He watched the bubbling carbonation rising and then looked up.
The outside seemed even hotter, perhaps because the sun was high in the sky. Perfect summer had arrived. The scorching sun mercilessly continued to deprive Harriet of moisture.
Hydration was especially important in this weather. Being in water would actually be best, but after the last battle, the lake was a mess and inaccessible.
The mud hadn’t settled, turning the lake into murky, muddy water, and it was full of tree branch debris that hadn’t been cleared. When he tried entering once, his skin was painfully scraped by the branches.
Fortunately, even in this remote mountain military base, the army had installed air conditioning. Harriet thought that without it, he might have died of dehydration long ago.
The important thing was that while Harriet had a constitution that made it difficult to endure hot weather, he wasn’t particularly strong against cold either. Once, Angela had looked at him with pitying eyes as he stood frozen still, his skin turning blue in the bitter winter wind.
She was strong in summer, and especially stronger in winter. After witnessing her hunting wild boars in the mountains wearing a short-sleeved shirt on that cold day, Harriet couldn’t treat her carelessly.
Harriet didn’t know the exact reason why Angela was demoted to this rural area, but he didn’t plan to ask until she decided to tell him.
More important at the moment was the carbonated drink in his hand. He had accepted it from an elderly villager, unable to refuse when it was offered.
Absently holding the soda while performing a ritual, Harriet picked up the remote. When he clicked on the TV, a news broadcast was in progress. The subject was Ender McGuire. The news mentioned that he had a meeting scheduled with the president today and might be promoted at a young age.
While his young age in attaining the rank of colonel was a notable issue in history, the bigger news was that he had secured the surrender of the southern mermaids.
The eastern mermaids had been annihilated, and the western and southern mermaids had surrendered. Since the northern mermaids didn’t come down, it was effectively a victory for humans. Harriet’s ears perked up slightly as he stared blankly at Ender’s image on the screen.
Thump, thump, thump.
Very strong and gallant footsteps were heard. The person who flung open the office door was a small and cute woman who didn’t match the word “gallant.” Angela entered with dirt all over her face, wiping away sweat.
“I’m back~”
“Welcome back.”
Angela had just helped harvest a 15,000 square meter garlic field run by a pitiful elderly couple. She had even received a hearty snack and brought back a basket of honey rice cakes, spreading the fragrant smell of sesame oil throughout the office.
Harriet wasn’t particularly hungry, so he declined the honey rice cake she offered. Angela didn’t insist and stuffed two rice cakes into her mouth. Sweat beaded on the forehead of Angela, who was smiling brightly.
“Oh? It’s Major Ender?”
Angela’s expression became slightly odd as she stared at the TV. She had been a fan of Ender but seemed disappointed after meeting him in person.
I wonder why she’s disappointed, Harriet thought absently. Ender, whom he had met after a long time, was still an incorrigible junior who acted spoiled toward Harriet.
“By the way, Captain, are you performing a ritual with that?”
“I’m letting the carbonation escape.”
His pupils, faded to white, were staring blankly at the drink in front of him. Seeing this, Angela thought she should prepare sports drinks next time.
When Harriet sat still without moving like that, he sometimes looked like a doll rather than a person.
On days when he wore a white shirt, his presence was so faint that she had to check several times. Come to think of it, his white hair had grown a bit longer than when she first saw him.
Angela’s mind was troubled, wondering what the captain was thinking so deeply about. But Harriet was just blankly watching the carbonation bubbles, thinking about when they would all disappear.
An unremarkable day was passing by. The village chief invited Harriet, who was leaving work, for a drink. Harriet, who wasn’t particularly fond of alcohol, shook his head.
But young people seeking entertainment in this quiet rural village were different. Angela and Ryan followed the village chief with sparkling eyes, like dogs wagging their tails.
Harriet blankly watched their receding backs, then smiled with his eyebrow ends drooping as if troubled. Then he turned and limped toward his home.
“Hmm…”
Harriet blankly held up a comb and observed it carefully, tilting his head several times. The comb he had thought needed replacing due to missing teeth was perfectly fine. It was as good as new, with no missing teeth and a gleaming shine. It had been one of the items on his shopping list for his next trip to town.
First a new toothbrush, now a new comb… did a goblin visit?
Harriet took off his clothes before laying out the bedding and entered the bathroom. This place wasn’t a nice house as it was old, but Harriet liked that the toilet and bathroom were separate. That’s why the first thing Harriet did when he moved here was to remove the washing machine from the bathroom and have the bathtub expanded.
Harriet sighed in the hot weather as he filled the tub with cold water. When it was full, Harriet got in.
Splash.
What protruded from the water was, surprisingly, not human legs but a fin made of snow-white scales.
It was Harriet’s tail fin. Although one side of the tail fin was grotesquely distorted, it still gave off a beautiful light. Harriet closed his eyes in pleasure as he swished his tail a few times in the bathtub.
Webbed gills formed on his ears, and his white faded hair took on a bluish hue. His pupils undulated with blue and white, as if containing a lake.
In the distance, on the dresser, he could see a cute egg-shaped decoration engraved with a blue sea and shell pattern. It was a gift from Ender. Harriet, who had been wondering where to put it, finally placed it in the bathroom due to lack of a better spot.
‘He said it was a listening device…’
Harriet blinked as he submerged in the water. The taciturn man didn’t open his mouth at home. He occasionally let out exclamations but didn’t particularly enjoy talking to himself.
But Harriet thought that indulging a junior’s whims was part of being a senior. Of course, in terms of current rank, Ender was higher.
Splash-
Harriet emerged from the bathtub and, leaning against it, said:
“Hello, Ender…”
Though he wasn’t sure if the busy Ender would hear this. Blue hair swayed over Harriet’s face as he closed his eyes.
* * *
“Yes, sunbae…”
The man with the seductive face smiled and leaned back in his chair. With his long, sturdy legs crossed, he looked handsome enough to be featured in a fashion spread.
The man closed his eyes gently, as if enjoying sweet sounds through the earphones in both ears. Anschel, who was quietly checking the schedule beside him, glanced at him.
“I’m going to retire.”
Anschel shook his head, recalling Ender’s leisurely voice.
Ender was about to meet with the president. Though he seemed relaxed enough to listen to music, that wasn’t the case.
Ender had been dragged here without properly washing or resting. Moreover, the reception room he was about to enter was swarming with reporters. Since Anschel couldn’t go in with him, he had to wait in the office.
This is why being a hero is exhausting.
Anschel sighed. Even if he wanted to retire, the military wouldn’t let Ender go. The military now focused more on the symbolism he represented rather than his strong and ruthless abilities.
Ender was a hero and idol to the citizens. The military was quite adeptly exploiting him. Of course, the benefits Ender received were also substantial.
The splendid base he received this time had gleaming marble floors, and he had been awarded a total of 12 medals. The prize money was also enormous.
“Major, it’s almost time…”
“…Right.”
Ender slowly opened his eyes. He frowned like someone interrupted during a good meditation. Sensing his displeasure, Anschel quietly closed his mouth.
During combat, when Ender showed such a demeanor, it felt like he might sink allies along with the mermaids. Though Ender had never once attacked allies…
Ender took off his outer garment and stood up. But he still had an earphone in one ear.
‘Surely he’s not planning to meet the president like that…?’
Anschel sent an anxious look.
My anxious gaze and your rough actions…
As Anschel picked up Ender’s outer garment that had fallen to the floor, he felt something obstructing in the pocket. First wooden chopsticks, and now what is it?
Anschel unconsciously took it out of the pocket.
“…A toothbrush?”
Anschel looked at the vacuum-packed toothbrush and tilted his head. It even still had moisture inside.
Drip-
What fell from the inverted outer garment wasn’t just a toothbrush. A comb with missing teeth, glass fragments presumed to be from a cup handle, and more tumbled out.
Why are these things coming out of this pocket? It’s not a trash can.
It couldn’t be that he thoughtfully put them in his pocket because there was no trash can. The Ender that Anschel knew wasn’t that moral. He might consider people next to him as trash cans, but he wouldn’t deliberately collect these items.
Anschel’s intuition and instinct warned that getting involved with these items would surely lead to something bad. A gloomy aura emanated from the objects, as if daring him to put them in the trash can if his life wasn’t precious.
Anschel gulped and carefully put them back into Ender’s pocket. Then he clasped his hands together and prayed that these items would never see the light of day again.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
