WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈

Chapter 72: The World of Maritime Sorcery

──────

A few days later, Seoul Station.

"It's so hot... Ugh."

As we waited for the train on the platform, Su-a was practically melting in real time as she fanned herself nonstop.

'...More importantly, what is all that luggage?'

There was a suitcase by her feet, a trident case slung over her shoulder, and a stuffed backpack on her back.

She'd brought a whole mountain of stuff.

Huh. She even had a straw hat hanging around her neck?

"What's with all that luggage?"

"..."

She wasn't answering again.

Hey, she wouldn't even look at me?

With her cheeks puffed out, she looked exactly like a sulky little kid.

"Hey. Are we avoiding each other again?"

"You said we were going to see the sea."

"...? We are."

"We're going there to work!"

"So what? We can do both."

"Tch...!"

Su-a sharply turned her head away.

Sure, I'd said that, but.

'A train, huh... It's been a while.'

The last time had probably been when I was little, holding Ji-yeon's hand as we went down to our grandfather's house.

It was a quiet weekday platform, with cicadas chirping somewhere in the distance.

'This really takes me back.'

We were going to take on a job and get some materials, but honestly, I felt like I was going on a trip with a younger cousin.

"So? What did you pack so much stuff for?"

"Um, you're asking what I brought~"

She'd looked ready to refuse to speak to me, but immediately turned back and started counting things off on her fingers.

So she did want to tell me.

"A swimsuit, sunscreen, snacks, board games, drinks, goggles, a beach ball... And."

That was already a lot.

"...An inner tube!"

"...Why an inner tube?"

"You said we're going to the sea."

"I said we're going to work."

"...You said we could do both! And you have a lot of luggage too!"

I tapped the case on my back.

"Oh. This is a portable forge kit. I need to work when we get there."

"...? Then what about your luggage?"

"I'll just buy whatever I need there."

"What kind of answer is that?"

"Worry about your own luggage. I'm absolutely not carrying it for you."

Soon, the train arrived.

After loading all those bags into the overhead rack, we were finally on board.

Naturally, Su-a claimed the window seat.

Clack, clack.

As soon as the train started moving, Su-a pressed herself right up against the window.

Her eyes sparkled as she watched the view, as though she'd never been sulking in the first place.

"What are you staring at? Is this your first time on a train?"

"No! It's my second time!"

"Same difference."

"Hmph."

Yet she still couldn't take her eyes off the window.

Come to think of it, maybe this was her first time going to the sea since she was little.

"Hmm-hmm~"

Apparently in a good mood again, she started humming.

Then she rummaged through her backpack.

First, she took out a bottle of cider and tucked it neatly into the pocket on the seat in front of her.

Click.

She opened a plastic container.

Inside were hard-boiled eggs!

Crack.

Su-a cracked one against the armrest, peeled it neatly, and popped it into her mouth.

Munch, munch. Munch, munch.

She was eating it just fine, then suddenly choked.

"...Mm."

She patted her chest, then gulped down the cider she'd taken out earlier.

"Ahhh...!"

'...She sure knows how to entertain herself.'

"...!"

Only then did she seem to realize I was watching.

After sneaking glances at me, she held out the plastic container just a little.

"Do... Do you want one?"

Look at her, barely holding it out because she didn't want to share.

Still, hard-boiled eggs and cider on a train?

Do kids these days even know about that?

"That's a pretty old-school taste, Senior."

"...! I-It's not old-school! You're supposed to eat this on a train!"

"Who says?"

"Uh... Um... My mom said so."

"Wow. Your mom has incredible taste."

I quickly took one.

Then.

Thump.

"...Agh?! Hey!!"

"Oh. It cracks nicely."

"Why did you crack it on my forehead?!"

Ignoring Su-a as she grabbed the top of her head and yelled, I chewed.

"Oh, this egg is good."

"Ugh...!"

Su-a ground her teeth and aimed the remaining egg at the top of my head. I smoothly dodged.

"Why did you dodge?!"

Fuming, Su-a began peeling the egg again with extreme care.

Not a single bit of egg white tore away. It was perfectly smooth.

"Look at this~ It's completely clean, right?"

Then she held it out in front of me as though showing it off.

Chomp.

"Yaaaaaah! Spit it out! Spit it out!"

Well, that was roughly how we passed the time.

After we demolished the hard-boiled eggs, I wasn't sure how long we'd been riding when I noticed it had gotten quiet beside me.

"Hehe..."

Su-a was staring at her phone with a goofy grin.

"What are you looking at?"

"N-No?! Nothing!"

It was suspicious as hell how she flipped her phone over and hugged it to her chest, but I didn't press her.

A little while later.

Nod.

Nod.

Maybe she'd gotten tired of looking at the scenery. Her head bobbed against the window.

'Ah. It's Su-a's naptime.'

Slowly, she tilted the other way and rested her head on my shoulder.

"..."

Breathing softly.

It'd be awkward to wake her.

'...Looks like I'm giving up one shoulder.'

We rode on for a while longer.

[This station is...]

Before I knew it, an arrival announcement was playing.

"Hey. Hey, we're here."

I tapped her shoulder.

"...Huh!"

Su-a jerked her head up.

Slurp.

She wiped the drool at the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.

"...I wasn't asleep."

"Maybe wipe the drool off my shoulder before saying that."

"...!"

* * *

The moment we stepped outside the station, a salty sea breeze hit us.

Caw, caw.

Seagulls circled overhead.

A train station by the sea. The atmosphere was incredible.

Buzz.

[Seo Ji-an: Have you arrived? Please wait in front of the station for a moment. Someone will come pick you up!]

From here, a high-ranking sorcerer from No Corp was supposed to show us around.

They were affiliated with the company, but this coast was their main territory rather than the Seoul headquarters.

"Ahahaha! The sea! It's the sea!"

Su-a had been excited from the start.

She'd asked to borrow some money earlier, then somehow bought a bag of shrimp crackers and was feeding the seagulls.

'She's over the moon because she hasn't been to the sea in so long.'

"You're glad we came after all, right?"

"Yeah! Totally!"

Whenever she tossed a shrimp cracker into the air, a thin cord glinted at Su-a's wrist.

It extended from the gap in the trident case on her back and connected to her wrist.

It was the simple Ritual Implement I'd made for her yesterday.

Until we got some Sea Heart Stone, she had no choice but to carry the trident around. Still, she couldn't hold it all day.

So I'd made a strap that linked the trident to her wrist, allowing Spiritual Power to flow even while it remained in its case.

Of course, it wasn't as efficient as holding it directly.

It was only a temporary solution until I could make the Sea Heart Stone necklace.

'Which means we need to go mine some soon.'

"Come try it too!"

"No thanks~"

As we messed around like that.

'...When are they getting here?'

Bzzzt.

"Hello?"

"You've arrived."

When I turned around, a bronze-skinned man was leaning against an old truck, smoking a cigarette.

He had broad shoulders and a faded T-shirt.

He looked more like a sailor than a sorcerer.

The man ground out his cigarette and strode over.

"You're Master Do, then? Nice to meet you."

"Hello."

When we shook hands, his palm felt like a rock.

Then.

"Oh? Uncle Taegong?!"

"Oh, isn't this Su-a!"

"...You two know each other?"

"Yeah! Uncle Taegong taught me sometimes."

"Get in first. We can talk on the way."

Su-a excitedly climbed into the passenger seat of the truck.

* * *

Vroom.

The truck started along the coastal road.

On the way, Taegong first told me about the mining rig.

Things were exactly as the request had said.

It had broken down because of water monsters that had begun appearing along the southern coast, and there was no one who could repair it.

But as I listened, it sounded like the water monsters had caused far more than one or two problems.

"Those bastards have been a real headache lately. You know the prices of all the spirit seafood have gone up, right?"

"Spirit... seafood?"

"Ah, first time hearing that?"

Spirit seafood.

Apparently, that was what the Occult World called the seafood it dealt in.

It was an umbrella term for things like marine spirit beasts and spiritual materials such as Sea Heart Stone.

"We're completely running out. The boats can't go out. Cheonghae Fisheries is making a big fuss about driving those things away, but it's not like there's a solution."

Cheonghae Fisheries, the client for this request.

The name made it sound like something you'd find in the tuna aisle of a supermarket.

It was registered as a fisheries company, though what it caught was a little different.

In reality, it was less a company and more a massive occult cooperative formed by fishermen who harvested marine materials, like marine spirit beasts and Sea Heart Stone.

Naturally, every fisherman in it was a sorcerer.

"It isn't like that across all of Korea's waters."

There were particular waters where Spiritual Power gathered densely.

Among them, the sea at the southern tip of the southern coast was called Cheonghae in the Occult World.

'Ah. That's why it's Cheonghae Fisheries.'

"I heard you mainly work at sea, Taegong. What kind of work do you do?"

The company had only said he was a high-ranking sorcerer.

Taegong grinned and pointed his thumb at his chest.

"Me? I'm an occult fisherman!"

"...Pardon?"

An occult... fisherman?

'That's a thing?'

When I looked at Su-a in the passenger seat, she nodded as though she already knew.

'What? Was I the only one who didn't know?'

And that wasn't all.

There were divers who hunted with harpoons, gatherers who searched underwater for spiritual herbs and Spirit Stones, fishermen who used traps and nets, and even fish farmers who raised spirit beasts to sell.

There was a massive occult fishing industry.

The Occult World had plenty of professions unique to the sea.

'...So there was a whole marine sorcerer scene.'

There were even workshops specializing in making those kinds of things.

'Fishing Ritual Implements, huh.'

Grin.

...This sounded fun.

My heart was suddenly racing.

"You look like you've got a lot of questions."

Taegong grinned at me through the rearview mirror.

"Seeing it for yourself is faster than talking about it all day. Good timing, then. Let's stop somewhere before we go."

"Where?"

"We'll be out for a while. We need to pick up supplies, don't we?"

* * *

The truck left the coastal road and turned onto a narrow side path.

It rattled down an unpaved dirt road for a while.

Screech.

Then the truck stopped.

"Uh...?"

There was no market or busy district.

Instead, we were in a remote forest, with a massive waterfall right in front of us.

A coastal waterfall where a river poured straight over a cliff and into the sea.

Roar.

Spray scattered in every direction.

"Uncle, where are we...?"

Looking frightened, Su-a slowly edged closer to my arm.

'Mm, I see. This is her first time seeing something like this.'

Slide.

Su-a pressed even closer.

Soft.

'Mm. That's a little too close.'

Grin.

'Should I mess with her a little?'

"Chae Su-a."

"Y-Yeah?"

"Do you still think I'm a good person?"

"...!"

Su-a startled and stepped back.

I slowly turned my head and gave her an evil smile.

"You've been kidnapped."

"Eeeeeek."

Su-a's face went pale.

"...Y-You're joking, right?"

"..."

I wiped the smile off my face and silently approached her.

Step. Step.

"Don't joke around..."

Hic.

Why was teasing her so fun?

Tears began gathering in Su-a's eyes.

She looked like she was about to burst into tears.

'...Okay, that's enough.'

Pat.

I put my hand on top of her head.

"...?"

She looked up at me, trying to read my expression.

"Just kidding, just kidding. Why are you so scared?"

I'd been wanting to try that for a while.

"Yeeeeek!"

She began smacking my arm with her tiny fists.

"Jerk...! You scared me! I thought it was real!!"

'Mm, that doesn't hurt at all.'

Well, that was the normal reaction.

Someone says they're taking you shopping, then brings you to a secluded place like this?

Anyone would think they'd been kidnapped.

Of course, I was used to this kind of thing now.

"Hehe, just wait a moment."

Uncle Taegong let out a hearty laugh and strode toward the waterfall.

Then he took a bluish conch shell from his clothes.

He held it to his mouth and poured Spiritual Power into it.

Bwoooooong!

A strange resonance rang out on the sea breeze, cutting through the roar of the waterfall.

Then.

Rooooar!

The massive waterfall split apart to either side.

"...!"

Where tens of thousands of tons of water had been swept aside, the entrance to a huge cave appeared.

The multilayered Barrier around its entrance rippled like a heat haze.

'...What's with that scale?'

I'd assumed it would be the entrance to an arcade, but it couldn't compare to the entrance of Seoul's Goblin Market.

"Let's go inside."

The moment we entered the cave, a thick salty smell and boisterous shouts poured over us.

"Clearance sale, clearance sale! Freshly caught deep-sea fish inner cores, only five hundred!"

"Barrier harpoons for sale! They'll pierce water monster hide in one strike!"

Blue bioluminescent coral hung from the cave ceiling like lamps.

Every stall was piled high with the corpses of bizarre marine spirit beasts I'd never seen before, along with marine Ritual Implements.

A massive underground aquatic arcade connected to the sea.

"Wow..."

Unknown materials I could never find on land, and unfamiliar Ritual Implements developed for the marine environment.

'This is...'

A whole new world.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried