My Strange Savior - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Money is the best. It’s the best.

In a place that had already succumbed to destruction, food was the top priority. However, in this place, which had not yet fallen, Gia’s eyes seemed to sparkle with the thought of something like golden, round things.

“Are you grateful? Huh? So incredibly grateful?”

In response to the voice insisting on gratitude, Kalion pondered how he should handle this woman and kept his lips tightly sealed.

Amy, who had been listening to the exchange between the two, chimed in.

“Did you provide emergency medical treatment, miss?”

Amy asked with a gleam in her eyes, and Gia responded by wrinkling her nose.

“Well, something like that. I stopped the bleeding and saved him when he was dying, didn’t I?”

“You’re amazing. Even if the organs were grazed, with a wound like this, there must have been significant bleeding.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

Kalion covered his forehead with his hand as if he were unsure of what to do with Gia, who seemed to want more. Their initial encounter, where they confronted each other, seemed like a thing of the past to Gia. She was quick to forget and recover.

“Did you use any special medicine?”

“Well, that’s a trade secret.”

Gia rolled her eyes, unable to show anyone items from another world.

“Oh… You can’t tell me, I guess.”

Amy said with a disappointed expression. A medicine that is so effective for hemostasis would naturally arouse the curiosity of a medical professional like her.

“Well… even if I told you, you wouldn’t be able to make it.”

“What?”

“That’s tricky.”

Gia wanted to teach, but he looked at Kalion as if she found it difficult because she didn’t know how to implement the teachings of a different world’s oracle.

Kalion arched an eyebrow at the questioning look.

Whenever she wanted to hear praise in her own words and felt embarrassed to boast, she came to him.

He was worried about Gia’s spontaneous actions rather than thinking and planning.

“Later… Let’s talk later, and for now, please focus on the treatment.”

He doesn’t know why his breath keeps getting heavier. Kalion, who tightly held back the sigh that came out unconsciously, closed his eyes slightly during the hurried treatment.

What could his master be thinking? He couldn’t quite anticipate how he would react to such an unexpected story.

He felt Amy’s touch move away, indicating that the treatment had ended.

“Be careful not to let any water touch the wound for a while. I’ll raise the medicine three times a day just in case of any infection, so please make sure to take it on time.”

Amy, who had finished the treatment resolutely, said she would go.

“What kind of person is the master”

Gia asked in the quiet reception room.

She knew it wasn’t an easy story to accept, but she had to come up with an alternative quickly. She had to stop Morrison’s people before they did anything.

She had a promise to Rey, too, so Gia nervously turned to Kalion, who was closing his eyes and thinking.

“He’s a righteous person.”

“…That’s not the answer.”

“Yes?”

“In any situation, do you believe that people can change at any time?”

Gia felt like she was shattering his belief in the overly idealistic master. Her mouth felt dry as if filled with sand.

You can’t judge a person at first glance, but what’s even scarier is that you can’t judge them even after decades. People are the easiest to crumble in the face of selfishness.

“What you know might not be everything.”

“But, Master…”

Would he be able to say, “He’s not that kind of person,” to the end? Kalion also knew that the world wasn’t as beautiful as he might have thought.

However, he didn’t want to vilify even the master who had taught him when he was young.

“Let’s believe and wait for now. Maybe he’ll answer today.”

Kalion, who sincerely hoped that the master he knew from the past and the current master was the same person, wiped his dry face with his hand.

The master who had taught Kalion when he was young, who had taught him the limits. The old master who had shown him why he should wield a sword.

“Let’s wait a bit longer.”

Looking into the red eyes filled with trust, Gia also hoped fervently that he was the person Kalion believed him to be.

* * *

As the sun set, Gia entered the assigned guest room feeling refreshed after her bath. She sat on the soft bed. Kalion’s mentor, a man of deep thought, didn’t even show a hint of emotion during dinner.

“What is he thinking?” 

Gia, who found everything here to be frustratingly complicated, dried her still-damp hair with a towel.

“Ah… really. What’s so difficult about just catching the bad guys? Why is it so complicated?” 

Gia lay back on the bed, waving her arms toward the space in frustration.

“Catch the bad guys, and then what? I go back too? Why is it so hard for us to have a win-win situation?”

Gia knew about their complicated situation, but every passing minute felt like a waste to her, and her frustration grew.

“Haah…”

She sighed heavily and lay there, gazing at the dust-free ceiling.

“I know it’s complicated… I know…” 

Even though she understood their situation well, she wondered if there would be enough time left for her.

Procedures, laws… it had been a long time since the shelter life had crumbled. That life had become Gia’s world—a ruthless place where the weak were trampled upon.

Establishing their order and maintaining a facade of civilized living on the outside wouldn’t make things go smoothly. There were still robberies and conflicts at every opportunity, and ethics had disappeared from the underground world that is known to a high school student Gia.

Strength equaled justice here.

Being weak meant it was only natural to be taken advantage of, and to avoid starving, one had to work hard. Women with children secretly sold their bodies for food, and men risked their lives to go outside and procure supplies.

Though it seemed like the shelter was being maintained reasonably well on the surface, inside, it was a disaster waiting to happen.

There was one reason they couldn’t impose sanctions on these issues, even though they knew about them.

If that terrible boil burst from within, the shelter would also be doomed. Those in charge tended to turn a blind eye unless something severe happened.

Having lived in such a place, these procedures seemed incredibly bothersome yet strangely fascinating to Gia. After all, her world before it crumbled had its moments too. When she dug up memories of those days, it felt like the sound of cars passing by was still ringing in her ears, as if it were a distant fantasy.

Vroom…

Screech…

Gia and her friends, as typical teenagers, blocked a narrow alley with their fists while walking home from school. Cars honked their horns impatiently, and friends hurriedly moved out of the way.

Being high school students, they joked around without realizing how scary cars could be. Those times felt like a distant yesterday.

“I’m hungry. How about some tteokbokki?”

“Did you turn into a tteokbokki ghost or something?”

Despite the taunting, their friends followed Gia to the snack bar as if it were only natural. When they opened the door, a warm gust of air greeted them.

“Is it over now?”

“Yes, we finished a bit late today.”

“Same as usual?”

“Yes.”

The snack bar owner, watching the students laugh, placed a plate of tteokbokki on the counter.

“Is this enough?”

“Yes!”

The green plastic snack bowl was covered with disposable plastic, and on top of it, a generous portion of bright red tteokbokki was piled up. As soon as they saw the appetizing tteokbokki, without a word, they picked up their disposable chopsticks and began to savor it.

“You’re not eating it?”

“When did I say that? I just asked what it was. Is she trying to blame me?”

It was a half-joking conversation, and since there was no ill intent, the friends laughed it off.

“Pour some soup.”

“Okay.”

They scooped up a ladleful of the simmering fish cake broth and poured it into a paper cup. The fragrant scent was so inviting that it tickled their noses.

It felt like yesterday.

The ceiling shook as she stared at it through squinty eyes, and a drop of water fell down the side of her face.

“Why am I even thinking about that now?”

Since coming to this world, Gia had become needlessly sentimental. Did she think she could return to the way things were by watching people live their lives as they used to?

“Why am I crying again?”

Gia wiped her tears away roughly, and her reddened nose indicated her frustration.

“It’s all better now.”

She looked at the back of her hand, which had quickly healed as if to prove she wasn’t human. Its cleanliness, as if there had never been any injury, made her feel even more downcast.

“I can’t wait any longer…”

Her impatience made her want to rush to the mountains alone to find Morrison. But Kalion had asked her to wait. 

So she would. 

She felt like she could wait a little longer.

* * *

As the morning light brightened, a knock on the door echoed.

“Who is it?”

A small and adorable reply answered Gia’s voice.

“Sister!”

“Come in.”

Plop!

It felt like a sound similar to that, and Rey, with his sparkling face, looked at Gia, who had just finished washing up.

“Sis, let’s go eat!”

“Sure.”

If this was all about eating and surviving, they had to go eat. Gia willingly got up from her seat and held Rey’s hand, and as they started to walk, they encountered Kalion in front of them.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was waiting.”

“Come in.”

“In the ladies’ room, there’s an adult male… Well… Never mind. Let’s go eat.”

Gia walked past Kalion, who stopped talking, toward the dining hall.

“What do you think they’re serving today?”

“I hope it’s meat!”

“Me too!”

Gia had quite enjoyed the gourmet meal of this world that she tasted for the first time yesterday, so she excitedly walked with Rey’s hand in hand toward the dining hall.

“Oh… the smell is amazing…”

“It’s a delicious smell!”

Seeing Gia and Rey rushing to the dining hall like people who had gone hungry for days, Kalion sighed and smoothed his forehead.

Get used to it.

He resolved while trying to steady his crumbling heart. Who’s seven years old, and who’s twenty-five?

As he saw the two happily eating with utensils in their hands, Kalion sat down as if he were collapsing into his seat.

“Hey, you eat quickly too.”

“I’m not… Don’t take any.”

“I know, right?”

“You don’t have to rush.”

“It’s become a habit.”

Gia, who had sauce smeared on her lips and was wiping it off with her tongue, reluctantly put down her utensils in her hands.

“Well… No, please continue.”

Because she had been eating in a hurry while being conscious of others, it had become a habit, and it was hard to change. 

Gia looked up with a sulky face, aware of Kalion’s gaze. His expression made her feel like she had become a bad person for no reason, so she cleared her throat.

“When eating, you don’t even touch a dog…”

“I’m sorry.”