Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

As soon as I saw Dark Night, I got straight to the point.

“This guy is my enemy.”

“Really?”

Dark Night, with her hands clasped behind her back, approached cheerfully and met my eyes as if licking them with her dull pupils.

“Then can you explain to me what all this is about?”

“Yes. This man, Piercing Blood, when I first joined the Crimson Circle, took advantage of my ignorance and repeatedly pushed me into dangerous missions.”

I lied without even moistening my lips.

In reality, that kind of thing happens a lot in this garbage group. Damyu also tried to do something similar to me. It would be hard to distinguish truth from falsehood.

“He even tried to sell me off when I was so overworked that I was about to die from the Burden. Before I became a Family of yours, I wanted to take revenge no matter what.”

“Hmm, so that’s what was going on.”

Dark Night nodded with a bright smile, as if she wasn’t particularly curious.

“Well then, no problem, right?”

“That’s not quite it, Dark Night nim.”

It was then.

A middle-aged man with long hair down to his waist, who had been silently standing next to Dark Night, suddenly opened his mouth.

When I activated Current Sense, I saw a slightly disgusting scene.

Threads descending from the sky were stuck into his ears, nose, mouth, even his eyes, tens of thousands of strands embedded into nearly every orifice.

If those threads were Dark Night’s trust, then he was undoubtedly the second-in-command.

Of course, that wasn’t surprising. Naturally, someone like a lieutenant would exist.

What surprised me was Dark Night’s response.

“Yeah? What is it, Mother?”

“…?”

Dark Night used the term Mother to refer to the man.

I wasn’t particularly discriminatory. It’s just, that’s a man.

Of course, I knew that this title of Family was another kind of hierarchical system disguised as family… but he was the person in the world who suited the word ‘Mother’ the least, so my emotions kept leaking out.

As I struggled to hide my startled expression, Dark Night’s Mother continued speaking.

“Piercing Blood is someone quite well-known in the Lower Tier. He’s completed many missions and has many more scheduled. If we were to eliminate such a prominent figure easily, there would be significant backlash from the Lower Tier.”

“Hmm, really? I thought he was just some arrogant guy. But is that really such a big deal?”

“Of course, it wouldn’t be much of a problem regardless of how the Lower Tier feels, but others might raise objections. Void nim, too, said not to neglect the Lower Tier too much.”

“…”

Unlike with other Family members, Dark Night seemed to genuinely consider the opinion of her Mother, resting her chin on her hand and thinking silently.

Meanwhile, that guy glanced at me. It was just for a moment, but it clearly wasn’t a look of approval.

“I also had no intention of killing Piercing Blood.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“I said I wanted revenge, but if I really killed him, it would be hard to manage the aftermath, even if I became a Family of yours. And since Piercing Blood didn’t kill me either, how about this instead? Make them Family too, like me.”

“Didn’t you say he was your enemy?”

“Yes. But now that I’m with you, Dark Night nim, wouldn’t it be far better to make them useful rather than just killing them?”

“That’s not allowed, but not a bad idea. I’ll give it a try.”

“…Excuse me?”

As I was trying to figure out what she meant by ‘not allowed, but I’ll try,’ Dark Night tapped the ground with her heel.

Then, threads descended from the sky and wrapped around Piercing Blood’s arms and legs.

“Kh-”

I glanced over, pretending not to see, and the ones who had threads wrapped around their arms and legs began to squirm, then undid the bindings, and stood up with vacant eyes.

They looked like zombies.

“If I don’t receive affirmation, this is the best I can do.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Family isn’t something that can be formed just because one side wants it.”

Dark Night snapped her fingers while looking at the swaying Piercing Blood.

“Even if I force it, they just become Puppets like that. Mindless dolls who can only move within my world. Still, even so, they’re good enough to fool other Lower Tier or Upper Tier bastards.”

“I-I see.”

“No person is born perfect. That’s why we must rely on others. There’s no need to be connected by blood. Not at all. If we lean on each other, fill in our weak parts, and make sacrifices, that’s what makes a Family…”

Dark Night, who had been expounding on her view of family with a hazy expression, suddenly brought her flushed face close to mine and pressed her forehead to mine.

“Undercurrent, kneel.”

“Yes.”

Is it beginning? I knelt without a word.

She gently caressed her ring finger. There was a ring made of thread there.

The thread that extended from the ring soon tickled the back of my hand.

“You probably can’t see it, but lift your hand and try to grab the air… not there, a bit more to the right. That’s it…”

I deliberately groped a few times and caught the thread.

Dark Night smiled softly and recited the contents of the contract.

“As Family, I will bear all the pain you receive in your place. No matter how big or small. All of it. If you understand, nod.”

As I nodded, the thread squirmed and covered the back of my hand.

And from that moment on, I gradually began to feel its texture. The thread, for some reason, was extremely sticky.

“In return, you must also sacrifice for me. Will you obey all my commands and live for me?”

“I will, without fail.”

“Good, then… hmm?”

Along with Dark Night’s murmur, the thread unraveled.

The sensation also disappeared. Tilting her head, she pulled out the thread again.

“Huh? That’s strange. Will you obey all my commands and live for me?”

“Yes. I will.”

But the thread unraveled again.

“W-what…?”

A flustered Dark Night pulled the thread several times, but it never became more than a sticky strand.

After pondering, Dark Night looked at me and asked,

“What is this? Have you ever formed a contract with another Puppet before?”

“…No, I haven’t.”

“Strange. We like each other, so why can’t we become Family?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Umm, it might sound strange if I say it like this… but it seems the Puppet is completely rejecting the contract?”

“…Rejecting?”

“Yes. This is the first time something like this has happened, so I’m quite troubled. I don’t really know what the problem is.”

“…”

This damned Puppet. It’s clever.

Unlike its master, it knows that if you place the Burden of Deep Sea on the scales, no matter what else you put on the other side, the scale will never balance.

Sighing, I made a request to Dark Night.

“Could you try once more? I think the contract might be a bit unfair.”

“It should be quite fair. But go ahead and try.”

I grasped the thread and quietly recited.

“If you would take even the smallest part of my pain, then until you no longer find value in me, I will offer every last fragment of my life. Thinking only of the prosperity of Family, if you command me to die, I shall die, and if you command me to kill, I shall kill.”

“…So that’s what you were trying to do. That kind of unfair contract won’t be accepted.”

Dark Night chuckled as if it were absurd and explained.

“Family must share equal levels of sacrifice. It’s not your entire Burden, and offering your life in exchange for just a part of mine…”

– Whrrrr, Dark Night had no choice but to stop mid-sentence.

The ring spun furiously like a wheel, spitting out thread.

Eventually, the ring lost its shape, reduced to just a few strands of thread, and only then did the threads furiously rub against the back of my hand, searching for an opening until they created a tiny hole.

It wasn’t particularly painful. All those threads entered through a small hole that didn’t even bleed. When I looked around with them still inside me, she was staring at the few strands of thread that had once been the ring, with a stunned expression.

“…This makes no sense.”

“Is there a problem?”

“I just used up enough thread to make a thousand Family contracts on you. I won’t be able to create any more Family members for the next two years…”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize.”

Dark Night gave a sticky smile, as if it had been a pleasant miscalculation.

“The fact that such an unreasonable contract was established means you believe becoming part of our Family is worth that much. Right. That means you were that happy to accept my offer.”

…It was the exact opposite.

It seemed Dark Night couldn’t even begin to imagine that the Burden from my world could be worth more than a thousand people.

To be honest, that was only natural. I had no desire to boast about my shackles, but Deep Sea was simply an absurd space.

“I’ll allow you everything. Your memories, your will. Since you sacrificed for me first, I should repay you as well.”

Well, I had earned her favor from it, so it wasn’t a bad outcome.

“If it were up to me, I’d like to spend the whole day with you today… but I have a meeting. Haa, Mother?”

“Yes.”

“Undercurrent… no, could you guide Oppa around Manganji Kingdom for me? I’ll be back by dinner, so just explain the basics.”

“Understood.”

Dark Night’s male Mother bowed his head in agreement.

Dark Night turned to leave with a smile, then looked back at me and spoke.

“Welcome to the Family, Oppa.”

“Yeah, Dark Night.”

“?”

“I apologize. Dark Night nim.”

I quickly corrected myself when I saw her dull eyes blink.

Guess that wasn’t the right move.

*

Once Dark Night left, her Mother snapped at me in a cold voice, completely different from earlier.

“Follow me.”

“What should I call you? Should I call you Mother too?”

“Number 1.”

I was genuinely relieved. I really didn’t want to call him Mother.

Number 1 walked down the dark corridors of the castle and answered without looking back.

“And don’t ever do that again.”

“Do what?”

“Trying to treat her like real family. You’re not stupid, so you should know. That she doesn’t actually want a real family. If you cross the line, a fate worse than death awaits.”

“Well, I figured that much when I heard you being called Mother.”

I let the sharp provocation pass casually, and he said nothing more.

Which was good for me. I needed time to experiment.

‘It’s nearly the same.’

Deep Sea was still cold and heavy.

The only change was that the Water Barrier had widened slightly.

I hadn’t truly strengthened the Water Barrier. It was simply that the Puppet had reduced a bit of the Burden from Deep Sea, giving the Water Barrier some breathing room.

But it was really just a little. Enough to maintain the Inner World for maybe ten more minutes.

So this contract forced me to devote my entire life… for this? Others had someone take on their whole world for them.

…The fact that I understood it was just sad.

Come to think of it, a question suddenly occurred to me.

“Then, is Dark Night nim currently bearing my Burden?”

“Of course not. If she were truly taking on all your Burden, she wouldn’t be able to endure it.”

“Then where did my Burden go?”

“Everyone is bearing it.”

“I see.”

Number 1 pointed outside the window with a finger.

As I looked out at the dark night of the Capital, I noticed something was different. There were more threads than usual. I swallowed hard.

“…No way.”

“Do you now understand why even those who are not Fallen are subjected to Servitude?”

My Burden hadn’t disappeared.

It had been divided into minuscule portions and was now being carried by all the non-Fallen civilians in Manganji Kingdom.

The livestock who absorb pain. Lost for words, I stared at the homes outside, and Number 1 let out a faint chuckle.

“Do you even have time to think about anything else? Your only concern should be the Family.”

“Aren’t those people outside part of the Family too?”

“They’re livestock. Judging by the contract, you really wanted something like an actual family, but all I can say is, wake up from that dream…”

Number 1 laughed mockingly and turned away again.

“At least be thankful you’re a worker. Your job is to keep increasing those livestock, making sure they’re never exhausted or wasted.”

“Now that’s an interesting statement. How could one throw away their Family?”

“Weren’t you listening? Family means mutual sacrifice. You didn’t really think it would end with just one contract, did you? Did you think it would be allowed to dump your Burden entirely on her and run away? As long as she continues to carry the Burden, you must keep sacrificing as well. For the Family. Ah. That’s right…”

He let out a smirk, as if something just occurred to him.

“Looks like I forgot the welcome greeting. Welcome to the Cattle Shed, rookie.”

I smiled and replied in turn.

“Thank you. I’ll do my best.”

“…Tch.”

Number 1 clicked his tongue, seemingly displeased by my response, and kept walking.

But yeah, I couldn’t help but smile.

This little family game… would crumble because of those livestock.