88 SCORES OF SECRETS (2/2)

Though Lirzod wasn't wounded, he looked baffled. It took him a few seconds to process what just happened. ”W-Why did you do that?” he asked as he stood.

”Why?” Spots of redness surfaced on her face. It seemed like she might turn into an angry bird at any moment. ”Hmph! Be thankful that I didn't cut your nose for what you did!”

”What did I do?” Lirzod's perplexity only multiplied.

”It hasn't been a day, and you spoiled the clothes already,” Mulyk fumed like a mad swan, ”and now you're trying to spoil my plants, too!”

”Plants?” Lirzod took a look at the soul of his boots. ”Did I step on some seedlings or something?”

A vein on Mulyk's forehead bulged. ”You truly are…” At the moment, more than Lirzod, her anger was proving to be a more difficult customer. ”Hmm?” Her gaze shifted down and noticed a packet lying at her feet. She picked it up. ”What's in this?” Her nose immediately picked up the smell. ”This…”

”Ah, that's for you,” Lirzod said, pressing his own shoulder a bit. (That was one good kick.)

”For me?” she sniffed the packet once again. ”The smell is surely making me salivate…” she forthwith opened the packet. A peek inside widened her eyes. ”F-Flesh!”

”No, that's fish meat,” Lirzod said, his gaze crept from her face to the foot. ”That's all yours.” Currently, Mulyk was wearing shoes, so he still found it hard to digest that she just kicked him while wearing footwear.

”For real?” Her eyes broadened.

”Abso-loving-lutely,” replied Lirzod.

Her face gained a lot of glow. ”It's been a long time since anyone has offered me food. Thanks.”

”It's okay, but I'd be happier if you do me a favor,” Lirzod said, his voice sounding sanguine. ”Just a little parting gift.”

”If it's anything I can afford, I'll surely give it,” Mulyk hastily ensured.

”It's something you can certainly do,” Lirzod tapped his finger on his cheek. ”Just one kiss.”

”K-K-Ki…” Her complex turned a shade pinkier when Lirzod showed his cheek. ”In your dreams!” she barked and tossed the fish meat back to him. ”Keep this for yourself. I knew that you were up to something. You vulnurs all have an innate talent for skulduggery. I should never take anything for granted with a human-fu.”

”U-Uh,” Lirzod felt a bit sad, but he quickly shrugged it off and laughed. ”Haha, I was just joking-fu.” He tossed the packet back to her.

She caught it but then narrowed her eyes to a slit. ”You didn't mix anything nasty in it, did you?”

Lirzod shook his head vehemently.

”Mm, then,” she gave him a tight stare, ”never try to pull such a shenanigan before me ever again-fu.”

”Fu. Fu.” Lirzod nodded twice.

”Say 'yes,' not fu-fu!”

”Yes, yes.”

”Anyway, it's hard to get any meat on these lower decks, so I'll gladly accept this, but....” her voice was no longer appreciative but rather interrogative, ”where did you get this?”

”I won it in the competition of chefs,” his voice was dull and a bit dispirited. ”I think it's called…” Lirzod tried to remember the name, but it proved to be harder than he thought.

”Competition? You?” she furrowed her brows. ”Why don't you be more honest?”

”I was being fully honest.”

”Really?” Mulyk narrowed her eyes and examined his expression. (He's an amenable youth, but he also has that disorderly side to him. I guess adolescents are the same, whether it's an elf or a human.) She remembered how he tried to play a trick on her back when they were in the clinic.

”What?” Lirzod looked bewildered. (Is she going for another kick?)

”Nothing.” She gave a tight-lipped smile. ”I was just wondering if this might be the first time you were being honest with me or not.”

”Of course not,” Lirzod straight away retorted as if he was razzing her, ”but you talk like you were honest all the time when you are still in that costume?”

”What?” she hardened her voice. ”I'm in a 'costume?'”

”J-Just kidding,” Lirzod stepped back and rubbed the back of his head. ”But seriously, it's my first time seeing an elf, so it's not proving to be easy for me to believe, you know. I read that elves can move their ears as well as animals. If you can show me that skill, I'll apologize and will believe in you and in your honesty—fully.”

”I don't need to prove myself,��� she stressed her words, her gaze implicating a warning. ”This is my real appearance! And I'm always honest!”

”Always honest?” Lirzod shook his head and then waved his hand with confidence. ”Till now, I've never met a single soul that's always honest.”

”Hmph, then everyone you've met till now must've been a disappointment. I'm not like the rest,” she proudly said, putting the hand on the chest. ”I'm one of a kind.”

”One of a kind, huh. Let's see how honest you are then.”

”Forget it. I'm not going to fall for your jiving.”

”You don't know what you're missing,” Lirzod's voice contained pity and doubt, ”or maybe you're scared?”

She paused for a moment and asked, ”What are you going to do?”

Lirzod smiled and said, ”Simple. You only have to take a test called Candor Grill that I created. For the first round, I'll ask a question, and you have to answer me honestly.”

”That's it?” Her posture unwinded reasonably. ���How easy. Give me something more challenging.”

”Well, first, pass this question, and then we'll move on to a tougher round,” Lirzod continued to speak with certainty.

”Okay,” she snapped her finger stylishly. ”Throw your question.”

”How many times do you fart per day?” he asked right away.

Mulyk's expression froze like a rat that had come across a cat.

”How many? Give me an 'honest' answer,” prompted Lirzod, wiggling his brows.

Mulyk's expression soon warped into that of a chimpanzee suffering from constipation.

”Why aren't you saying anything?” Lirzod closed the distance and continued in a teasing tone, turning her face into gleed. ”Don't tell me… you are still counting because the number is too big—”

”Enough!” Mulyk punched him in the face, and she was panting and blushing a bit. ”You don't have any manners whatsoever.”

”Eh?” Lirzod looked bewildered as he rubbed his jaw. He was even more disappointed. ”I shouldn't have expected an honest answer, given that no woman has answered this question till now. Not one has passed the first round yet.”

”No one in their right mind would!” Mulyk snarled, her voice crackling with fury. ”It was my fault to think you would ask a decent question.”

”My question wasn't decent?” Lirzod tried to speak back, but he stopped after getting subjected to her glare. ”U-Uh, okay, it was only ninety-nine percent decent.”

”You are unbelievable,” she shook her head, but just then, she remembered that she was holding fish meat in her hand. ”I almost forgot about this precious thing. How silly of me. I'm going to make good use of this, but...” Mulyk still had traces of doubt written all over her face, ”why are you giving this to me, huh?” she coldly glanced at Lirzod. ”If you are thinking of getting treated for a lower price in the future, then—”

As she was saying, Lirzod strolled around, still rubbing his cheek. ”I must say, a nice place you got yourselves here. So many trees in this closed space, yet they're so green. How do you grow them where there's no sunlight? I mean, there's light in this room, but is that enough? And how do you even water all these things?”

”That's a secret.”

”Secret? Like how women break wind!”

Mulyk ground her teeth. ”Talk about that again, and I'll really....” she blinked twice and then went silent.

”Really, what?”

”Never mind,” she averted her gaze.

”C'mon, another secret again?”

”I will tell you just enough,' she folded her arms. ”You asked how these plants grow in this place, didn't you? Well, this ship has as many secrets as the hairs on your head,” her voice contained traces of arrogance. ”Consider its architectural design a strand among those. I get by with what I know, that's all.”

”I've got too many hairs to count, you know,” Lirzod moved his hand through his hair once. ”Are you sure you don't want to change your words?”

”I'm pretty sure,” Mulyk advanced toward him.

”If an elf beauty is so sure, then it can't be helped,” Lirzod said and continued to walk and observe the surroundings.

Mulyk's face turned pink, and her expression partly bloomed. (E-Elf beauty? Me?)

”It's hard to imagine that there's a spacious garden like this inside a ship,” Lirzod wondered. ”I know that it's a big ship we're on, but still… I can't help but wonder how big thing actually is.”

”Uh, exterior-wise, I think I know Exvo's measurements,” Mulyk replied with a somewhat softened voice. ”It's 21.1 miles long, 3.5 miles wide, and 2.1 miles tall. That said, I may be wrong, though, because interior-wise, every deck has its own unique dimensions and atmosphere, so the estimates I told could be wrong.”

”That's still freaking huge,” Lirzod was wide-eyed.

Mulyk faintly smiled.

Lirzod glanced up at the ceiling, ”This place would've been perfect if there were a night sky and a cool breeze.” Then he couldn't help but look at the text engraved on the ceiling at a particular spot. Most of the writing was stricken, and only a bit remained; however, the size of the letters was large enough for their naked eye to notice. ”There's something written up there. What language is that? It's just a string of letters with no breaks.”

”Ah, that… that's probably an ancient language used before someone invented the punctuation system.”

”Ancient language?” his interest picked up a bit. ”Each character looks so complex, and I can't tell if it's all a single word, or...” he slightly scratched his head.

”It's only natural for you to be bemused. Because of the lack of punctuation, the same text can express different meanings, which can raise confusion, but it may also have been written that way intentionally. Who knows?” she said. However, after seeing that Lirzod was still staring at it, she continued, ”Though I don't know the name of the language, I do know what it says, well, only one of many interpretations.”

”And what does it say?” Lirzod put his hands in his pockets.

”That you should go and get a bath first,” Mulyk said, closing her nose with her hand.

Lirzod laughed. ”I'm sure it doesn't say that.”

”Well, you are right for once,” she said. ”It says, 'When the wicked ones are done…'”

”That's all?”

”Yeah.”

”Sounds like something written to scare children.”

”I was told that it was either related to a fictional tale or maybe an apocalypse, but God only knows.” Her expression subtly turned serious. ”These sorts of mysterious texts unnerve me because they are trying to tell us something, which means there are others keeping secrets. Every time someone holds information for their own benefits, something always goes wrong.” She let out a long sigh. ”Anyway, go and clean yourselves first.” She pointed in a direction. ”There's a washroom in the corner.”

”What? Really?” Lirzod asked, and upon receiving a nod, he was overjoyed. ”That's great news. Then I'll be using it.” He dashed away without delay.

Mulyk just watched him leave and muttered under her breath. ”He's not a bad egg. I don't even remember the last time when someone set my cheeks on fire.” She then went on to do her business.

Meanwhile, outside the child booth, there was a comfortless ambiance.

The blonde teacher and the children stood frozen in awe and shock, for more than twenty men were lying outside, beaten out of senses and shape. They were all the men of Dustbin Diggers, a gang that was part of the plunderers guild.

The leader just arrived at the scene and was left baffled. ”What just happened?” he was stunned upon seeing his men in such a pitiful situation. Some got their teeth and jaws broken, and some others had their noses bent out of shape. The leader knelt and asked one of the men who was barely conscious but was bleeding by the mouth, ”Hey, what happened? Who did this to you?”

”Boss… we've come to the booth to ask for our weekly quota, but the governess refused to give it in full, saying that they lacked food. Guh,” he coughed up some blood. Speaking itself brought a lot of pain because his nose was turned into a grotesquerie. ”So we tried to force our way in. The kids got in our way, so we manhandled them. Things were going well until a son of a bitch showed up out of nowhere.”

”Who?” the leader gritted his teeth, and his eyes gained redness. ”Who dared to meddle in the business of the plunderers?”

”He didn't give us his name,” the underling replied in a painful voice, ”but he had purple hair. He took all of us out with ease, and one more thing, Boss... He kept asking for some ring.”

”Even the commander of this deck would think twice before sticking his nose in our affairs,” the leader clenched his fists, and the nails on his body started quivering, ”so where does this purple-haired punk come from? I'll not let him be after he sleighed over us like this!”

The teacher of the booth, on the other hand, had a frown crease her forehead. It was common for the big guilds on the ship to bully the small guilds, child booths, bread booths, and every other delicate establishment, be it businesses or public institutions. So, she couldn't help but worry about the passing friend who freely offered help when they were in need.

”W-We have nothing to do with him,” the teacher spoke out before the leader's gaze even settled on her. ”He was just a passerby. It was our first time seeing him.” Though she felt guilty for saying that, she had to do what she could to keep herself and the children safe, even if that required her to act like an ungrateful, thankless person.

”Go and prepare the Dustbin Slice,” the leader indifferently told her without even casting a glance at her.

She frowned but nodded without delay. Dustbin Slice was the weekly quota they had to offer to the Dustbin Diggers, who were part of the plunderers guild. People had to accept that the quota was a good deed and must be thought along the lines, 'throwing some food away for the sake of the dustbin and those that live by it.' Even though everyone knew that the plunderers guild never helped the real beggars or the destitute folks, there was nothing they could do about it, for they were all only small fish in a small pond. Even the fat cats on the ship would avoid upsetting a big fish like the plunderers guild, so what could small fish do other than surviving as long as they could in the large pond of a ship?

Landing a governess job in the official child booth on any deck wasn't easy, and it was considered a privilege. After all, the governess could eat anything from the booth just like the children, which was why they would generally think of themselves as cat's whiskers. So the governess jobs were heavily sought after by women, especially in the decks from ten to nineteen. However, those who didn't sway to the demands of the big fish were still not cut out for the job. If any governess went against the big fish, they'd mysteriously lose their limbs or organs or something precious to them. The previous governess of the same child booth also refused to give the quota repeatedly, and she soon lost three kilos of her skin, which she could only blame on her recklessness. Skinning the unruly governesses was the most fearsome tactic employed by the plunderers guild, who had mercilessly plundered the beauty of many women and brought shame to those women for not doing their bidding.

The current governess was also missing her left ear because she once said 'no' to the advances of a man from another big guild and publicly humiliated him by slapping him. Since sexual assault resulted in a death penalty on Exvo, that man took his revenge by cutting her ear off so she would never look the same in the mirror ever again, at least not until she was wealthy enough to visit a healer who might very well demand an unreasonable price. The reason why she wore fake gold ornaments was probably to catch the attention of a healer or some other rich man and make him do her bidding.

Currently, the governess was entering the child booth with a strained expression, and the children were even more tensed up. She packed a bunch of vegetables and fruits in a large sack and brought them out of the booth.

”Stop it,” a voice came from inside the booth.

The governess looked back. Mulyk was standing at the door. ”Sister Mulyk!” the children immediately ran over to her and hugged her and cried.

”It's going to be alright, little vulnurs,” she patted their heads and then walked past them, her gaze set on the leader of the Dustbin Diggers.

”Miss Mulyk, you shouldn't—” the governess tried to speak, but Mulyk raised her hand and stopped the teacher from speaking another word.

”A miserly pointy wants to poke in a man's affairs?” the leader turned to face her and crudely stated.

”We elves are very fixed in our ways like the vulnurs who are too long in the teeth to properly eat an apple,” Mulyk said, striding forth fearlessly as the underlings got back to their feet, ”but many people misunderstand us elves because of their lack of comprehension. We don't meddle in others' affairs, not because we're callous but just cautious. We stay set in our ways for the sake of ourselves and the world. However, you—”

”Pointies sure can talk the hind leg off a donkey!” the leader lunged at her and threw a fist.

She bent her head to the left and dodged the fist.

BAM~~!!

Her ankle struck the leader's head from the side and almost bent his spine. Stress marks appeared around his mouth as he straightened his spine and simultaneously pulled out a nail and attempted to stab her calf.

However, she deflected his arm to the side and thrust her foot into his belly. Her foot pressed against the nail and forced it deeper into his flesh as he got blown back.

”Boss!” the underlings were quite shocked.

The leader still safely landed on his feet and tightened his stomach muscles and brought the nail back to its original place again. He then slightly grinned. ”Not bad, pointy. You can move. I'll give you that.”

Mulyk stood rooted, wearing a placid yet frosty expression. (This bastard is strong. Fighting him off the cuff will result in unnecessary sores.) She put her hand behind her back and pulled out the gun, startling the leader. ”Don't make me use this in front of children.”

The leader glowered at her for a bit and then shifted his attention toward the governess. ”Hey, governess. The plunderers guild is much more understanding than the other great guilds. Do you seriously want us to let your booth out of our shielding? You think you can have a peaceful life after that? Take a hint!”

The governess started shivering visibly. If she didn't keep the booth under an umbrella, it would get washed away by rain sooner rather than later. Either she would be replaced, or the booth itself would get abandoned. After all, there were many ways to oppress and bully the weak.

”Please take it,” the governess said and tilted her head down, feeling culpable for wasting Mulyk's efforts.

The leader smiled cockily at Mulyk, who was clenching her fists. The underlings picked up the food sack and wilfully snickered as they walked away. Mulyk could only watch as the leader threatened her by running his finger over his ear as if warning her that her ears would be cut if she butted in his affairs again. His taunting, however, didn't tick her off.

Mulyk hid the gun and started walking back into the booth.

”I'm sorry,” the governess said, but Mulyk didn't care to stop.

”Your duty is to not only educate the children but also keep them healthy,” said Mulyk, ”and you're failing at both.”

Ridden by guilt, the governess broke into tears. The children went over to commiserate with her.