Chapter 58. Birds of a Feather (3)

Think about it.

A person I've never seen before.

And not just anyone, but someone who could easily snap the back of a bear in a showdown!

If such a person suddenly approaches and says, "I'm hungry!" who wouldn't be taken aback?

"At first, I thought he was just some crazy guy."

But then I found out...

"...he's even crazier than I thought."

It was a type of crazy person that Yurii had never encountered before.

He sighed and asked,

"...Aren't you tired?"

This guy has been standing behind him with his arms crossed for hours.

Thanks to him, Yurii could rest comfortably in the shade he provided, but now he was curious about why he was standing there.

That's why he asked, and the answer was simple.

"I'm hungry."

"But I asked if you were tired."

"I'm hungry."

"...Can't you say anything else?"

"I'm hungry."

"This guy..."

That was it.

The reason Yurii categorized this guy as a new type of crazy person.

This big, crazy guy only answered questions with the same phrase.

Of course, it wasn't that this guy only knew how to say "I'm hungry."

Yurii asked again to confirm.

"What's your name?"

"Vovikrtnakapurta."

"Vovik... what?"

"Vovikrtnakapurta!"

"Okay, Vovik..."

Yurii sighed again.

After experimenting for a few hours, he found that this crazy guy only knew how to say "I," "I'm hungry," and his long name, "Vovik" something.

Just those three things.

No, he only said his name when asked directly.

So, in everyday situations, he only used "I" and "I'm hungry" to answer all questions.

It was frustrating to the point of making one want to tear their hair out.

'He doesn't seem to be lacking in intelligence, though.'

The guy changed the intonation of "I'm hungry" to match the question.

He even added a bit of appropriate action.

In other words, Vovik understood the meaning of what people said and was trying to communicate.

A person lacking in intelligence couldn't act like that.

So, Yurii had to think.

'Is this some new, trendy method of driving people crazy and killing them?'

Otherwise, why would he understand everything but only repeat "I" and "I'm hungry"?

"Huff..."

Yurii sighed deeply and slowly got up from his seat.

He pointed at Vovik and shouted,

"Hey, you! Fine... fine, whatever! But... why do you keep standing next to me with your arms crossed!"

The reason Yurii kept sighing deeply was because this Vovik was following him around.

"Damn it!"

Yurii quickly moved to a different spot.

But Vovik followed him closely, wherever he went.

Left and right.

Front and back.

Everywhere.

No matter where Yurii went, Vovik followed him like a shadow.

It was a truly bizarre sight, like a needle and thread moving together.

But the other 50th batch members, who had seen this for hours, just turned their heads and thought, "Here we go again," without much interest.

Meanwhile, Yurii kept moving to different spots.

But no matter how much he tried to escape, the heavy presence behind him made him increasingly irritated.

"...I'm going to lose my mind."

It was like he had chased away a fly, only to have a bigger, more persistent fly stick to him.

'I need to know why he's following me to do something about it!'

But this guy only repeated "I'm hungry" in response to any question, making the person asking feel like they were about to explode.

'Ah, really!'

Following Yurii around, Vovik eventually made Yurii snap.

"Get lost!"

"I'm hungry."

"Hey, you! If you're hungry, go find something to eat! Leave me alone!"

"I'm hungry."

"...Do you want to fight? Are you really challenging me? Come on, let's see what you've got!"

"I'm hungry!"

Thud-thud-thud.

Suddenly, Vovik shouted loudly and ran off somewhere.

He soon reappeared.

In his hand was a large shield.

A really large... at least 1.6 meters in diameter, circular shield.

Thud-crack.

The metal shield, placed lightly, shattered the wooden floor of the Black Line.

Vovik, who picked it up with one hand as if it were a pillow, ...

"I'm hungry!"

shouted loudly and took a stance.

As if he was ready to fight.

Seeing this, Yurii's irritation melted away.

"...No, that's just talk. Who would really fight?"

You have to know your limits when dealing with crazy people.

'Crazy acts only work on those who recognize them as crazy.'

No matter how much you rant and rave at someone equally crazy, they'll just take it as a joke.

'In that sense, he's... well, yeah.'

It wasn't because Vovik was the biggest person Yurii had ever seen.

Nor was it because he was intimidated by the various scratches and mysterious dark red stains on Vovik's shield.

'Of course, I would win if we fought, but... if we fight here, we'd just be doing someone else a favor.'

Rationalizing this, Yurii gently waved his hand.

"Come on, Vovik, you're a good boy, right? You don't go around threatening people with such a dangerous object."

"I'm hungry?"

"No, it was a joke. Why would we fight? Put that dangerous thing down, quickly!"

"I'm hungry..."

Vovik, looking somewhat dejected, put down the shield.

Or rather...

Crack.

He stuck the shield into the wooden deck of the Black Line.

Seeing this, a large bead of sweat formed on the back of Yurii's neck.

"Right, right, Vovik is a good boy."

Exhausted from calming Vovik down, Yurii squatted on the ground and looked up at the sky.

At that moment, a shadow fell over his head.

Turning his head slightly, he saw Vovik standing behind him with his arms crossed, just like before.

"Ah... my fate."

It seemed he would have to put up with this big, persistent fly for a while.

In the shade Vovik created, Yurii half-gave up.

Meanwhile, someone watching Yurii and Vovik muttered,

"Crazy people stick together."

Birds of a feather flock together.

Crazy people had gathered.

After that, time passed.

Night fell, and the sun rose again beyond the horizon.

January 2nd.

The 300 half-batch members of the 50th batch landed on the mainland of the Cradle.

* * *

The 300 members of the 50th batch finally set foot on the mainland of the Cradle.

Waiting for them were 100 two-horse carriages.

A one-eyed man standing next to them shouted loudly,

"This carriage will be the first and last luxury you'll enjoy in the Cradle. The carriages are spacious, so pair up and get in."

Those who heard this looked bewildered.

'Just this? This is it?'

'I wouldn't have gotten in even if they had asked me to...'

The one-eyed man called them carriages, but they were just covered wagons.

What were known as cargo wagons.

For the children of wealthy families, these were not meant for human use.

But no one dared to voice their complaints.

A few looked at Yurii, thinking that the crazy guy with the black head might do something, but the person in question seemed more touched than annoyed.

In fact, Yurii was very touched.

"Good heavens... how long has it been since I rode in a carriage without having to pull it myself?"

Muttering this, Yurii looked at the horses tied to the carriage with pity.

His eyes were filled with the sorrow of a fellow sufferer.

Yurii patted the side of a snorting horse and quickly climbed into the carriage.

The wooden floor was hard, but Yurii sat down comfortably.

And as he sat, Vovik naturally followed.

Yurii, who had given up on this, didn't pay much attention.

As Vovik was about to climb into the carriage,

Thud.

Startled by the carriage's sudden lurch, Yurii shouted,

"Hey, you crazy guy, put that heavy piece of metal somewhere else!"

The carriage was designed for four people.

But with Vovik's massive build and the shield, which was impossible to estimate in weight, it was already over capacity.

"...I'm hungry."

Scratching the back of his head in response to Yurii's scolding, Vovik placed the shield on the carriage behind them.

The horses pulling that carriage neighed in distress, so no one dared to get in the carriage with the shield.

After placing the shield, Vovik sat next to Yurii.

"It's cramped."

Yurii glared, and Vovik hugged his knees and huddled.

Even so, Vovik's size made the four-person carriage feel cramped.

It might have been possible to squeeze in one more person, but Yurii wasn't worried about it.

'Who would want to sit with us?'

A sane person wouldn't choose their carriage over another.

No, even if it was the only carriage left, they wouldn't come.

Look, everyone is avoiding the carriage we're in...

"Can I sit here too?"

...Not so.