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SSS-Class Suicide Hunter (Web Novel) - Chapter 279: Orthodox Faction (4)
Chapter 279: Orthodox Faction (4)
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Translator/Editor: Ryuu
From the beginning, he was not a man who fit in with the Orthodox Faction.
-If you bend the metal there, what will happen? No, no, don't reverse it with aura. Look at this gentleman, okay?
Viper swung his hammer.
-If you're using aura to work, that's a hobby, not work. It's just playing around. Did you come here to play?
Clang!
Viper inhaled deeply. The flames from the furnace brightly illuminated his face. Drops of sweat fell, sizzling on the hot metal.
-Did you come here to play?
Clang!
Originally, he was a man who didn't fit the role of a blacksmith.
Hitting the metal, suddenly feeling a rhythm in his forearms, swinging the hammer as if dancing, or feeling his whole body trembling, releasing pent-up frustrations—there was none of that spirit.
-Wow, shit,
Clang!
-It's tough! This!
There's no spirit in work.
-I'm dying! Damn, why is this so hard!
-Dying? Don't worry. From what I see, you're far from death. If you were really close to dying, your eyes would start drooping. You, Sir... I'll just call you 'Sir.' Is that okay? You're still full of energy.
-It's tough!
-Work is always tough.
Clang!
-Just be humble. Ah, damn, it's hard. But this isn't the toughest job in the world.
-That's not very comforting.
-Then what kind of comfort do you want? Is there some miraculous magic spell that, upon hearing a few words, suddenly makes you feel comforted, makes hammering manageable, brightens your day, and makes every day enjoyable? Comfort usually isn't very comforting. It's just there to make things less tough.
-It's, it's tough….
Clang!
-Ahh....
Clang!
The area permeated with the sound of metal gradually reddened. From a clear blue sky at midday to an evening sunset stained with blood. Merchants unpacked their evening wares, and the streets filled not just with the sound of metal, but also various other noises.
-That's enough for now."
-Huff, huff! Haaaaaaah… huff, hah….
-Let's go eat.
The elf blacksmith was neatly dressed in a suit, as if he had just washed. Despite looking like he could casually stroll around, the elf's blood couldn't hide that he always intended to walk around stylishly when going out. Viper casually wiped off his sweat and accompanied the elf.
-Wow! Sir! Look over there!
On a worn street corner, several dancers were performing. Although there weren't many spectators, everyone watched the dance moves with faces full of enjoyment.
-Looks like that store hired a troupe for promotion! That must cost a pretty penny. They're really going all out for business.
-Ah… Is it like hiring a singer to perform?
-Let's go and listen! It's free!
Freebies are loved by everyone, whether they're the Countess or an elf.
Viper chuckled and, with a tired body, walked towards the dance floor.
-Woo! Ah, woo! Ah.
-Grrrrr, growl.
The actors on the makeshift stage in front of the store seemed to belong to a small troupe. There were either very young or very old actors.
Their dance was more about matching the rhythm than powerful moves, and they sang small love songs rather than epic tales of war. The music, somewhat slow, carried on the aura released by the actors, blending into the evening.
-......
Viper crossed his arms in the front row.
The sunset, drunk on the day's blood, was particularly red. The red sunset stained the roofs, pillars, dirt roads, and cracks in the stone pavement.
-Woo, woo, woo, growl.
-Toot, toot, rrrrr, toot, toot.
This too.
This was quite nice as well.
-......
It was strange.
Viper had seen several splendid performances. He had seen many martial dances by warriors of the Fire River Council. They were all tragic yet majestic, sorrowful yet beautiful. He had even shed tears. But why?
His heart's [self] slithered, shush, shush, its tongue flickering.
That heart's snake, which had always been silent during those grand performances,
-Ah, they are dancing.
Viper suddenly looked around. It was true. Other spectators, customers watching the performance, were moving their shoulders joyfully or inviting their partners to dance.
-Good wine! Cheap!
A store was selling red wine. It was a traditional Guruian grain wine, similar to beer.
-Chilled red wine from the waterway! Ah, thank you! Thank you!
The store clerks moved through the crowd like eels swimming deftly in a stream. It turned out that the store mainly sold simple food and red wine. The sound of selling and buying red wine mingled noisily, and the musicians from the troupe played even more passionately.
-I'll have another red wine! Here too! Two glasses of red wine!
The blacksmith, jumping in place, reached out.
-Yes! Two glasses of red wine coming up! Thank you!
-Hehe.
The blacksmith laughed, handing Viper a glass of red wine.
-This is the taste after a hard day's work. You're lucky, Sir. Enjoying a free performance and all.
-......
-Drink up. Drink. Today, you didn't quite look like you were working, but I'll invest in your future. Everyone starts somewhere, right? Isn't that true?
-......
Viper felt a strange, tingling emotion as he drank the red wine.
The wine, gulped down his throat, was… refreshing.
With one sip, a crisp wheat aroma burst forth in his throat. The cool, spicy wheat flavor instantly reached the tip of his head, making his nose twitch.
-Krhh! Ah!
-How is it? Killer, right? I often come to this bar because the red wine here is just the best. There are plenty of good red wine breweries in Guru, but this place has the best value for money. Oh, Sir! You know how to drink!
-Here, uh. Another beer!
-Beer? What's this talk of beer? If you want beer, you need to go elsewhere. Anyway, hey waiter! Another red wine here!
The world became colorful.
The sunset-painted sky was like a palette of colored landscapes, and the guests chattering, drinking, and dancing underneath looked like angels. The sounds of dance and music drifting nearby seemed to be coming directly from [himself].
-……What?
His body felt itchy.
-I usually like alcohol, but, hmm. Not this much… What's going on?
-What's up?
-Don't know.
-Ah. The Sir is drunk. Seeing how you drank, I thought you were a heavy drinker and kept ordering. Sigh. You're knocked out after just two glasses of red wine? Come on, come on. Sir. Wake up. You must be tired from work. If the day was tough, alcohol hits harder.
-I'm not knocked out… just, suddenly so happy....
Ding, dong, the music changed.
His heart was elated.
-Hmm.
Viper stood up. Or perhaps it was an inaccurate description. His [heart] stood up first. His body and limbs moved to support his heart, which couldn't stand on its own. The name, Viper, his head, his consciousness, were the last to rise.
-Hahaha.
-Surprise! Sir, what... Ah. Want to dance?
-Yes!
Viper laughed brightly.
Had he ever laughed so freely since he started his training?
The elf blacksmith chuckled and, as if used to it, took Viper's hand. Since there was a significant height difference between the elf and the dokkaebi, Viper had to bend over. But his face, even while bending, was filled with joy.
-Dancing with a ghost tribesman is a first for me.
-The song is great! Woo!
-……Well, okay then.
Viper led his partner, humming and dancing, occasionally cheering up the troupe with compliments. The troupe danced more energetically with every compliment. As they danced, the aura matched the rhythm, creating beats and playing music along with the strings of aura.
-Whee!
-Great dancing! Great singing!
Other guests joined in with their support. Regardless of whether they knew how to use aura, everyone was tilting their glasses and dancing to the beat. There were even children clapping along. Boom! Clap! The sounds of the troupe's rhythm, boom! Clap! spread from the store to the streets, then from the streets to the intersections.
-Red wine for sale! Refreshing red wine!
-Whee!
-Actors' footsteps sound great! Good hand!
Smoke rose from various places in the village. It was a signal to bring families back from the battlefield known as the workplace. Workers saw the chimneys and left their jobs.
In single file, double file, quadruple file, quintuple file, the streets bustled with people returning home. At the edge of these roads, in a dimly lit bar, old troupes sold alcohol, sang songs, played music, and drank.
They danced.
-Whee!
It was like an outdoor club of sorts.
It doesn't require an expensive ticket. Just one glass of confidently sold red wine from the store. That's all it takes to listen to this old Blood Fire Troupe's performance. No dress code needed either. Customers who came straight from the workshop, those who put on a coat over their work clothes to look somewhat decent, or those who came shirtless as they were from work – all kinds of customers gathered, eventually humming with a glass in hand.
They danced.
-Ahh....
Viper firmly held the blacksmith's hand, which was as small as a rabbit's front paw, moving his face here and there, continuously looking at the surrounding scenery.
-It's beautiful.
-What is? The song?
-The song? No, not the song…. Just…. people drinking, laughing, singing along, everyone having fun and enjoying themselves....
-Wow……. You're really drunk, Sir. Now you're babbling nonsense.
-It's beautiful.
-......
-How can it be this beautiful? The world.
Viper was shedding tears.
Not tears from his eyes, but from his [self], the snake. It was blood. Tears flowing from the heart, through the veins, reaching the tired calf from working all day, the knee joints, the back, the shoulders, the forearms, the palms, under the eyes, all over the body.
-Because work is tough.
-It feels like dying, wanting to die. Everyone does.
Viper, while shedding tears from his heart, with a smile on his face, led his partner here and there. The front of the store had already become a small square. Drunk dancers surrounded the Blood Fire Troupe. Sounds like "Another red wine here!" and "Yes, coming right up!" were not just noise but seemed like a part of the music, joyfully blending in.
-So, we drink to live. To have fun.
-Drinking, dancing, getting excited, music flowing. Then dancing again.
Viper lifted the small-bodied elf. Embracing him, he spun around. "Oooooh!" sounds were heard from around, but Viper didn't hear them, nor did the elf wrapped in his arms.
-Then dance again. Work. Feel like dying. Dance again. Have fun. Beautiful. Work. Feel like dying, dance again, have fun, beautiful… Work. And work again. Want to die again, but become fun again.
Clang!
-Ah. I think I'm starting to understand now.
Viper hummed happily.
-Humans all work desperately. Working desperately, naturally, makes you want to die. Wanting to die, you find just enough fun to not die. You have to find it. Yeah, you have no choice but to dance.
Clang!
-Singing because it's tough, drinking because it's tough, eating out together because it's tough, dancing because it feels like dying. Ah, yes. There's no such thing as music for music's sake. Of course not. After working so hard that you want to forget the day, music becomes music only for those who have a day they want to forget. For those who don't have such days, it's nothing.
-What are you mumbling about…… Sir. Do you change when you're drunk?
-Ah.
Clang!
-I'm happy.
-......
-The hammering was damn tough, but yeah. It'll be tough again tomorrow, but. Blacksmith. Aren't you happy now?
-......
-Isn't life a bit fun now?
Originally, he was not a person who would fit into the Orthodox Faction..
-Yes.
Originally, he was an elf who didn't fit as a blacksmith.
-Of course, I'm happy. That's why I love the time when I'm not working.
There were many people who originally didn't fit in with something. Dilapidated stores, cool red wine, busy store clerks, those with the weariness of the day's work visibly staining their collars, the streets, crossroads, Guru, cities, every city, filled with workers exhausted from their day's work.
The luxury they have for a brief moment.
A glass of liquor. Delicious snacks. Nonsense with friends. To shave off, to lessen the dead spirit that almost killed them that day, just to be able to work again tomorrow.
Dancing.
-……Everyone is alive.
-......
-Life, it's tough enough to kill, but when you get past that moment, you can breathe for a while."
Viper wanted to protect that breath.
Righteousness is saying that the happiness of the common people is beautiful.
Righteousness is telling those who somehow finished a hard day's work to rest.
Righteousness is loving liquor, dance, and songs, but only for those who have worked and finished.
And righteousness is the Orthodox Faction’s way.
-Blacksmith.
-……Yes?
-Live long. Be careful of accidents….
Viper tapped the blacksmith's shoulder.
Staggering, he left the square where songs and dances flowed.
-Survive to the end. You too. I too….
-......
-All of us.
As he left the square, the shadow of the dokkaebi was hidden by other crowds.
Slowly.
He became invisible.
The elf blacksmith was left alone, watching the back of someone who had disappeared into the sunset.
-Right.
Clang,
Viper was running.
-Dressing up and listening to the Blood Fire Troupe seriously, no wonder I couldn't feel anything, no matter how good the plays were. Ah, of course.
He ran.
Releasing the aura sealed for half a day, blood boiled throughout his body.
His vision brightened.
Clang, and the moment he leaped, Viper's feet were already stepping on the roofs of the village. People in the streets pointed at him, "Hey- Hey-”, but they couldn't catch up with Viper's figure quickly disappearing with a taat, clang!
Viper breathed heavily.
-Originally, it's tough and feels like dying from working. Because it feels like dying, only then can you hear music and dance. To forget. To endure. Not to live happily, but to become happy to survive. To survive….
Clang!
-To survive.
From a certain point.
Whenever Viper stepped, whenever he stretched his aura in the air, a clang sound followed.
Clang!
Day 410.
Viper entered a Mountain Calamity Tribe's farm as a guest, working the land with the farmer's family for 2 years. The hardened ground was torn by the plow.
Clang!
Day 1503.
Viper joined an elf bank, working with money. Always hiding his origin, his boss, not knowing he was a ghost tribesman god, nagged at the back of his head.
Clang!
Day 2874.
Viper entered a noble's mine, wielding a pickaxe. Compared to when the Mountain Calamity Tribe enslaved people, mining conditions had improved a lot. Still, mining was tough work. Viper, gasping, struggled and swung his pickaxe.
Clang!
Day 7021.
Clang!
Day 14059.
Clang!
Day 19856.
Clang!
Day 22400.
-......
Originally, he was not a person who would fit into the Orthodox Faction.
-Hmm.
Originally, he was not a man who fit the image of a lonely but highly skilled swordsman.
-Is this enough?
Originally, he was not a man who fit as a protagonist.
-Whew.
Standing on a mountain peak, Viper took a deep breath. The world he inhaled became blood circulating through his body – arms, shoulders, back, waist, thighs, calves, feet. Then slowly, he exhaled.
-Hoo….
In the distance.
A huge turtle monster, rising from the abyss and heading this way, looked monstrous enough to destroy the world. However, Viper did not care about the monster, not even sparing it a glance.
His focus was on humans.
-Come on, Kim Gong-Ja.
He was.
For the first time in a long time, having shed the guise of a ghost tribesman, in his own body, with his own arms, above all, with the voice in his [self]’s heart, he thrust a righteous fist into the air.
-Here lies the righteous path.
Clang!
A clang sounded.
-Fighting is work.
Clang!
-Work is naturally tough and hard.
Clang!
-Fighting you is really, among them, tough enough to die.
Clang!
-After this work…
Clang!
-Let's go to a place with good music and drink like hell!
Viper laughed.
With the Five Noble sects buried under the snow, the Ten Sect Alliance disappeared in the snowstorm, and even the Head of the Martial Alliance was broken by the sword in these times. The Demonic Heaven prevailed beyond the boundaries of the world, and songs of Baraya could be heard now, here in this snow-filled world left by the last of the righteous warriors of the Orthodox Faction.
The Celestial Martial Guild Master was laughing.
