Chapter 56. Birds of a Feather (1)

"Hey, you!"

A voice that seemed to be on the verge of breaking, as if the speaker had just entered puberty, came from nearby.

Because of this, Yoo-ri, who had been lost in thought, sighed inwardly.

'Ah, damn it...'

An encounter with a perverted troublemaker.

And Yoo-ri's subsequent choice.

Thanks to that, Yoo-ri had the opportunity to gain points and various items.

However, where there is light, there is also darkness, and along with the opportunity came some negative consequences.

That was...

'I drew too much attention.'

He had stood out too much.

Appearing last and disappearing with the Black Sword Beasts,

and then returning with a strange bundle and items.

It was a situation where he couldn't help but attract attention, even if he didn't want to.

Although all of this was inevitable due to his own plan, it still felt uncomfortable.

'Since the three I told about aren't here, it seems Jerry took care of them properly. That's a relief, but...'

The problem was that when he removed the three flies that had been bothering him, he ended up attracting even bigger flies.

Sure enough,

the flies had already started to gather.

"Hey, black head! Can't you hear me?"

Despite the voice clearly calling him, Yoo-ri just stared blankly at the sky.

'Ah... this is so annoying.'

His eyes, hidden behind his long hair, overflowed with irritation.

When Yoo-ri didn't respond to his call, the other person moved this time.

"Are you not answering, you beggar? You, the one who slept for days, right?"

The person who approached Yoo-ri was a boy with brown hair and freckles.

His slightly slanted eyes hinted at a temper.

He smiled at Yoo-ri, with one corner of his mouth raised.

"Wow, you managed to survive? I thought you'd be the first to fall out."

Yoo-ri didn't say much in response.

Instead, he smirked and pointed his chin alternately at the freckled boy and himself.

"Beggar? Who?"

"..."

Yoo-ri's gesture made the freckled boy flinch.

He instinctively scanned his own body.

His clothes were torn and dirty, and he hadn't had a proper wash, making him look quite disheveled.

In contrast, the boy in front of him looked spotless, as if he had just come out of a laundry.

His skin, visible through his clothes, was incredibly fair.

Only then did the freckled boy realize that among the 50 people on this black ship, the cleanest one might be the black-haired boy in front of him.

Yoo-ri knew this fact as well.

That's why he immediately launched a wide provocation.

"Ah, I wasn't talking about that beggar... I was talking about..."

Yoo-ri pointed his chin at the freckled boy's back.

The disheveled qualifiers scattered around the deck.

"Those guys?"

Yoo-ri's wide provocation drew the attention of hundreds of eyes.

"......?!"

People can sometimes intuit when someone is looking at them.

Especially when there are hundreds of pairs of eyes?

You can't help but notice, even if you don't want to.

Squish.

The freckled boy, feeling the piercing gazes on the back of his head, broke out in a cold sweat.

He shouted at Yoo-ri.

"What, what are you talking about! When did I say that!"

"Just now. You called me a beggar."

"That was to call you!"

"Really strange, these days, do people call others beggars just because they're cleaner than them?"

"Wha, what? That's not it, it's because you were dirtier in the past..."

"Huh? So, if someone is dirtier than you, you can just call them a beggar? Is that it?"

Yoo-ri, speaking in rapid-fire, sighed heavily before the freckled boy could react.

"Did everyone hear that? He said if someone is dirtier, they're a beggar. But... look around."

Yoo-ri's eyes swept the area.

"From what I can see, there aren't many people here cleaner than me. So, does that mean everyone here is a beggar?"

"...Huh?"

"See! You, you called them beggars, not me! Wow, you really are a guy who spouts off without thinking. Scary, really scary."

"...Huh?!"

The freckled boy, now branded as a beggar caller by Yoo-ri's miraculous logic, was flustered.

He hurriedly turned his back and waved his hands.

"No, no! I never said that, don't misunderstand!"

Some of the onlookers chuckled.

Only then did the boy realize he had been manipulated by Yoo-ri.

He turned around with an angry face.

"But... who are you!"

"Who am I?"

"Who, who are you to get such special treatment all by yourself!"

"Special treatment? What special treatment?"

"Are you asking because you don't know?"

"Yes, I'm asking because I don't know."

"Those items! You disappeared with the Black Sword Beasts and came back with them!"

The freckled boy pointed at Yoo-ri's shoulder.

The miscellaneous items he was carrying.

As the freckled boy shouted, several... no, quite a few people around them showed signs of agreement.

To them, Yoo-ri, who had suddenly disappeared and reappeared with items, seemed to have received special treatment.

Feeling the crowd's agreement, the freckled boy became even more confident.

"Maybe you have connections with the Black Sword Beasts?"

"..."

"From the moment you appeared late, it was strange. Hundreds of people waited for you, and there were no penalties..."

Blah blah.

Mumbling.

The freckled boy rambled on, but Yoo-ri barely paid attention.

However, the longer the freckled boy talked, the more Yoo-ri's irritation grew.

'Ah, so annoying...'

Why had he given up points and handed over Eric and the others to Jerry?

To avoid situations like this, where excessive attention leads to annoying problems.

'Is this right?'

Yoo-ri planned to spend his first year in the cradle subtly, keeping a low profile.

Without showing too much strength, he intended to intervene at the right moments and extract the benefits he needed.

'Something like a strong person who hides their power?'

Or perhaps like a mastermind who manipulates everything from behind the scenes.

'That was my plan...'

But things had already gone awry from the start.

At this moment, Yoo-ri realized something.

'Strong person who hides their power? Mastermind? It sounds cool, but...'

It wasn't a role that suited him.

'If I keep doing this, I'll suffocate first.'

How was he supposed to tolerate such a braggart fly right in front of him?

The discomfort was already rising to his throat.

'Hmm...'

After a brief moment of contemplation, a determined look appeared in Yoo-ri's eyes.

'Right, preventing annoying situations isn't just about hiding your strength, is it?'

Annoying situations often arise from entanglements with others.

So, if he avoided entanglements with others, he wouldn't have these problems.

And when it came to avoiding entanglements with people, Yoo-ri was an expert.

'People avoid dirt not because they're afraid of it, but because it's dirty.'

The same goes for human relationships.

People instinctively avoid those who seem dirtier to entangle with, more so than those who are just scary.

So, Yoo-ri made a decision.

To become a massive pile of dirt that everyone would avoid.

Mumbling.

Yoo-ri, still facing the freckled boy, opened his mouth.

"Hey."

"..."

"Do you know how to swim?"

"What's with the sudden question?"

"I'm asking if you can swim or not."

"I can."

"Really?"

Yoo-ri's lips twitched, forming a dimple.

He took a step back and said,

"Hey, but do you know this?"

"..."

"Every time you open your mouth, it smells like rotten squid for 27 days?"

"......?!"

"When was the last time you brushed your teeth? The stench is no joke."

"......?!"

Yoo-ri pinched his nose and took another step back, causing the freckled boy's eyes to waver in confusion.

Honestly, he was a bit guilty.

He had washed his face and hands with snow, but he couldn't remember the last time he had brushed his teeth.

While he was flustered,

"I can't take it anymore."

"..."

"Go wash up."

"...What?"

Where was he supposed to wash up here?

Before he could even voice his question, Yoo-ri moved.

Thud!

Yoo-ri's figure disappeared with a short step.

Snap.

In an instant, Yoo-ri had grabbed the freckled boy's throat with one hand.

At the same time, he swept the boy's legs with his right leg, knocking him off balance.

And.

Thump thump thump thump.

He pushed the freckled boy's neck and ran forward.

"Gu, gurk!"

The freckled boy, whose throat was grabbed, struggled to free himself from Yoo-ri's grip, but Yoo-ri's grip was so strong that he couldn't move.

Squish.

The freckled boy, held by Yoo-ri, was dragged forward.

His flailing feet were dragged along the deck.

Thud.

Before he knew it, the boy's back was against the ship's railing.

Yoo-ri smiled, revealing his white teeth.

"Go wash up properly."

Without hesitation, he pushed the boy over the railing.

"Wh, wha...?"

The freckled boy flailed his hands, but no one caught them.

Thus, the freckled boy was plunged into Lake Montparnasse.

Splash.

All of this happened in just a few seconds.

The crowd was too stunned to react.

But soon, a few people were shocked and jumped up.

"Wh, what?!"

"Crazy!"

Confusion and shock erupted from all around.

They hadn't expected him to really push someone off the ship.

In contrast, Yoo-ri remained calm.

"Maybe you can come back, maybe not, but bring something tasty when you do!"

The ship continued to move, and Yoo-ri waved at the freckled boy, who was drifting away.

After waving for a while, Yoo-ri slowly turned to face the crowd.

A chilling smile hung on his lips.

The crowd saw a strange vision in that smile.

Rrrr.

The image of a mad dog with crazed yellow eyes.

It was a vision that clearly said, "I'll bite you even if you don't touch me!"