93 AGAINST FATE (1/2)

In the K Block on the tenth deck, Gerett entered the hollow hall allotted for tending the children they had saved from Znjoa Schweess and his associates. Usually, the hollow hall was mostly filled with triple bunk beds, but now only a few regular beds remained, and the rest of the hall was filled with dolls and toys. The floor was also carpeted with grass to give the park vibe.

When Gerett entered, many children ran over to hug him, though none of them could tightly hug him because of his fatness.

”Uncle, did you bring sweets for us?” their eyes were on the bags in his hands.

”No, these are my snacks,” replied Gerett, taking slow but larger steps while keeping his chin up. ”If you want a bite, you'll have to wait till pigs fly.”

”Uncle, you're already fat. You shouldn't eat so much,” they tried to pluck the food out of his hands.

”I'm not fat. I only weigh twenty-five stones.”

”But your belly is bigger than a pot.”

”What are you batty brats babbling about! My belly is the best thing since sliced bread,” Gerett came over and plomped down on a swinging bench, then opened the bags and gorged on the hot and spicy items first while the children sat on either side and kept gulping their saliva. A couple of female workers were standing nearby, and they were also drooling a bit.

Chaves had given him some of these food items, so Gerett was quite impressed because they carried a unique flavor, though not super delicious.

Upon waiting for a couple of minutes, sensing that Gerett wasn't going to give them any food, the children slowly started poking his sides with fingers. Though Gerett wasn't bothered initially, as they raised their frequency, he felt a bit irritated and barked, ”Stop it.”

The children moved away a bit, but their eyes were still on the food.

Gerett continued eating at the same pace and kept chewing like a buffalo that masticated dried grass many times over.

”S-Sir Gerett,” one of the female workers voiced her mind. ”Did you bring anything for the children?”

Gerett took his time to reply. ”I only brought food for myself and my wife.” He glanced at that woman.

”But, sir, you are not married.”

”I know. I was hoping one of you would become my wife,” Gerett shamelessly said.

”N-No, thanks,” the woman said and spoke no more.

”Hmph, too bad for you,” Gerett indifferently snorted. ”You can never get a husband who can become your pillow whenever you need.” He looked at the second woman, who awkwardly scratched her chin but didn't say anything. Gerett could only sigh. ”You know not what you're missing. Anyway, I've come here just to check on the children, and they seem to be doing fine. I've already sent a letter to Jawn, so he'll be sending fruits and vegetables every other day. Take care of these children well until we drop them off at Shepherd's Town.”

Gerett, though he was stuffing his mouth, didn't feel all that good now after getting rejected by two women. (I've initially taken up this job to find a partner, but even after all these years, I'm still single. Women used to either take pity or laugh at me in the past, but now they're scared of me. I know I'm chubby, but what can I do? It's hereditary. My dad used to rip hundreds of waiters to shreds because they didn't get the order in time, but I'm different. I think twice before even ripping apart a paper, given it's not covering food. And my dad can't even roll over properly, but I can. He can't touch his feet, but I can. However, he got married, but why can't I? I smell much better than him, yet why? Just why?)

When the memory of Gerett's mother crying when cooking breakfast for his father flashed in his mind, his eyes turned a bit teary. His mother didn't know how to say no, yet his father often treated her like trash and was needlessly mean to her. In the end, his father's momentary anger accidentally took his mother���s life. After his father got sentenced to ten years in prison, Gerett was left alone. Upon receiving the news that his father died in prison, he became absolutely alone. Only food gave him a piece of mind. Just thinking about those past incidents boiled Gerett's blood. (Why can't I find someone kind like my mother? Why am I so unlucky?) Suddenly, Stussy's image came to his mind. One the first day he met her on this ship a few months ago, she gave him a handshake and a light hug and appreciated him for his work, which no other chief before her took the effort to do. (Though she remarked about my size, she never called me a fatty. Maybe, I have a chance with her. I know it's a long shot. She and I live in different worlds, but she's the one who's closest to my mother. If I impress her in some way, I might have a chance! Yes, I can't give up! I'll marry her and change my fate!)

Gerett got lost in thought for a while. However, when he came back to this world, he realized that the children had taken out the food from the bags and were all eating like ravenous little crows. The veins popped out in his forehead. ”You little thieves!” he mercilessly snatched the half-eaten food items from their hands and put them in the bags and walked away, leaving the children and the two women in stupefied silence.

”You two worked as governesses in child booths,” Gerett spoke without looking back. ”Teach these kids well, and if you do a good job, you might get your jobs back.”

The two women's expressions brightened a bit upon hearing that. ”Thank you, sir.”

The children, however, still kept pouting. Nevertheless, Gerett didn't say another word.

Gerett walked out of the hall, looking somewhat angry and irritated. Two men were passing by, and one of them, the thick-lipped man, recognized Gerett and approached him from behind. ”Brother Gerett, do you have a moment, please?”

However, he got no response, as Gerett kept walking, muttering things to himself.

”Brother Gerett, it's me,” the thick-lipped man overtook Gerett and poked his chest. ”Don't you remember me? We drank together a few weeks ago. You said you would—”

Gerett grabbed his shirt and shoved him into the wall. ”I don't know who the fuck you are,” Gerett's eyes turned red from rage, ”but poke me again, and you can bet on your stinky little ass that I'll make you bleed from your nine holes for all four mother-fucking seasons.” He pressed the man further against the wall and deepened his voice, ”Understood?”

”Y-Yes, sir,” the thick-lipped man was sweating crazily.

”Never do it again. Never,” Gerett let go of him and walked away, still looking to be in a pissed-off mood.

The thick-lipped man looked at his friend, who came to help. ”What the fuck did I do, huh?”

”You shouldn't have poked the man. He's not your friend like I am, so you probably ticked him off. They say what goes around comes around, and that's what happened to you.”

”Yeah, 'they' can go fuck themselves.”

”Well… Simmer down first, buddy. You look like an angry cookie.”

”Fuck it. I'm never gonna go near that pig again. He almost gave me a bloody heart attack.”

”We are not martials yet, so we should act more carefully. Once we become martials, we can then live like a maggot in bacon.”

”Don't bullshit me, okay?” the thick-lipped man straightforwardly said. ”I don't have flowers in my ears to believe that we can surely become martials one day. If becoming a martial was so easy for a nobody like me, I'd have turned into one right now, so I could go and poke that fat prick's nipples until he begged me a billion times not to!”

”I must say, you are not wrong this time. If plucking feathers off a chicken made it a martial, then we're currently the same as bald chickens. We must grow some feathers, no matter what lotion it takes.”

”Yeah, but where can we get this lotion or whatever that can help us? Things won't just happen because we want so.”

”I don't know where we can find the lotion, but let's not give up on our hopes.”

”Heh, for a second, I thought you were gonna surprise me.”

”Actually, I do have an idea.”

”What is it? C'mon, tell me.”

”Maybe we're barking up the wrong tree all this time.”

”Speak common tongue,” the thick-lipped man gritted his teeth. ”I'm not in the fucking mood to decipher your rhetorical rubbish.”

”Sorry. I'm just saying, why don't we take a step back and look for another tree, and by that, I mean, why don't we try becoming cruxlers first?”

”Are you kidding?” he was quite startled. ”A cruxler? Their lifestyle was built on high-risk. One wrong step, and we'll blow ourselves to pieces before we know it, or in the worst case, we'll be roaming the woods as monsters in making.”

”Yeah, but if you have a better idea, then tell me.”

”Not right now, but… let's give it some thought.”

Meanwhile, near the foster hall on the twelfth deck, Burton was lying in wait about a hundred meters away from the entrance, where many poor-looking souls were gathering on either side of the street. Eventually, he stood and approached them without blinking. They realized that he was coming their way, but they acted like they minded their business by having frivolous conversations and laughing out loud.

Burton stopped in their midst. ”I've only come here for my ring. It's a copper ring with a sword symbol and weight scales on it. I know one of you has taken that ring, so it'd be nice if you give it back, or...”

The men and boys continued to laugh and ignore Burton.

”I won't ask again,” Burton stressed his words. ”If you have that ring, then come forward. If you know where that ring is, then tell me, and I'll reward you. However, if none of you have anything to say, I'll be forced to bring the answers out in an unpleasant way.”

Still, there was no change in their expressions.

”Don't blame me afterward,��� Burton turned to his left and approached the nearest group of two, who seemed like a father and a son.

As Burton closed in, the father stood and said aloud, ”Go away, or you'll get hurt—”

Burton grabbed the father's collar and pushed him against the wall. ”I know that it's you who took my apple before.”

The father's expression changed a bit, but he was quick to cover up. ”I don't know what you're talking about.”

”Let go of him!” the son barked and at the same time kicked Burton from the side; however, Burton didn't budge an inch.

”Where's the ring?” Burton's cold gaze began to eat away the father's confidence bit by bit.

”I-I don't know what you're talking about!” the father replied without much hesitation.

The other men and boys, who were sitting on the sides until now, got up and surrounded Burton. ”Why did you come back, youngster? Why are you bothering us when someone else stole your ring?”

Burton let go of the father and turned to face them. ”Stop playing dumb. I only want my ring. I'll pay if you want.”

”We have no idea what you're talking about,” the men cracked their knuckles and grinned evilly before launching their fists at Burton. Even the teenagers threw in their kicks.

SWOOSH~~!!

However, before their fists and feet reached him, they all withdrew their attacks in the middle and began to cry out loud.

”Hotatatatatot!”

”Hot! So freaking hot!” The men kept blowing air at their fists, whereas the teenagers kept dancing on a single foot. ”Ah! It's freaking hot!”

”What did you do?”

”He was just standing, but he definitely did something!”

”It feels like I put my hand in the oven. So hot!”

”I thought I touched an eel or something!”

They all kept crying in mild but sharp pain, and fear crept up in their faces.

”Where… is… THE RING?” Burton's voice grew deep. All the dozen or so people surrounding him suddenly felt shivers running down their spines. Without wait, they bailed like deer that got a first-hand taste of the spite of a tiger.

”Not so fast,” Burton, however, caught one man, the father, the same person he caught before. He pushed him against the wall. ”I'll give you five seconds. Speak, or I'll begin to break your fingers one by one.”

”I-I really don't know what you're talking about, sir,” the father said. ”I didn't steal anything. I was just sitting and begging here, that's all. So please let me—AHH!”

Burton bent the father's little finger till it touched the back of the palm. He immediately moved on to the ring finger.

”Ah! Fuck! Wait!” the father cried and gasped. ”I'll tell you. I'll speak. Your ring—I don't know who took it, but it's probably already got exported from this deck.”

Burton was quite surprised. ”What do you mean 'exported?'”

”T-The stolen goods won't be sold on the same deck, sir,” the father hurriedly said, while his face was cooked with wretchedness. ”That's all I can say. Now, let me go, please!”

”Which deck would the stolen goods mostly go to?” Burton bent his ring finger more than just a little.

”Stop! Ah! Thirteenth deck! It's the thirteenth-fucking deck! Please, stop!” the father replied in double-quick time, tears streaming down his cheeks.

”If you're lying, you'll regret it for the rest of your life,” Burton let go of him and started walking away.

The father gritted his teeth and attacked Burton, ”You blue-eyed bastard!”

Burton swiveled and kicked in his abdomen, causing him to spill saliva and blood. As he collapsed to his knees in utter disbelief and pain, Burton looked mildly frustrated, ”Tch, my bad, I put some strength into the kick.” He flicked a silver coin and then started to walk away. After taking a couple of steps, he stopped and flicked two silver coins over his head. ”These are for your courage.” Saying that he continued to walk.

The father, despite being in so much pain, still crawled on all fours and picked up the three coins. Even so, when he looked at Burton's back, there was simply distress and dissatisfaction in his eyes.

”If the ring was sent to other decks, finding it will be infinitely harder. What a mess,” Burton, on the other hand, looked visibly disappointed with himself. ”I shouldn't have let my guard down.” He put his hand on his face. ”Now, I'm suffering for it.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the twelfth deck, as Lirzod entered the voting hall, the lottery was almost finished.

Everybody was eagerly waiting for the last item, a beast bit. Hundred took out the final slip and read the name, ”Mr. Heehaw.”

Almost all the shoulders in the crowd dropped for the moment. No one raised their hand or stepped forward.

”Who's Heehaw?” Hundred asked again.

”I'm Heehaw!” one thick-browed man stepped forward.

”Hey, your name's Nicholas!” another man barked. ”Stop acting!”

”What are you saying? My full name is Nicholas Heehaw!”

”Bullshit! Who are you fooling! Your full name is Nicholas Bootless!”

”Get back, please,” Hundred urged the thick-browed man and then addressed the crowd. ”I guess I'll be taking another one.” He took out another slip and was surprised by seeing the name. ”Mr. Sean.”

”What?” everyone was slack-jawed.

Judging their reactions, Hundred tossed the slip toward them, and only after checking the name on it, many people got convinced that they weren't being fooled by a pretense.

Hundred walked over to Sean, who was watching over the vote counter. ”Mr. Sean, you won the beast bit.”

”I'm sorry, but that thing doesn't feed the soul,” Sean was rather quick to reply. ”You can keep it.”

Hundred briefly froze. ”A-Are you sure?”

Sean slightly nodded. ”In case either you or your friend is uncomfortable with this, then consider that as an Extensive Award for trying to help the cats.”

”Thank you, Commander,” Hundred happily said.

Sean pressed his lips together and forced a smile, for he could easily see that Hundred wasn't at all uncomfortable with taking the beast bit back.

”Mm?” Hundred looked to his right, only to see Lirzod stepping onto the stage, holding an almost empty water bottle in his hand. ”If you've come for voting, then you're late, sir. The voting has already finished.”

”You're still salty about the bread, huh, Brother Big Belly,” Lirzod said and smiled. Hundred's belly was no longer as swollen, for he had already vomited multiple times. ”That's what some are calling you.”

”All because of you,” Hundred harrumphed.

”C'mon, I can't eat that much bread and still freely walk around, like how you are doing…”

Hundred ground his teeth. (He's purposely testing my patience. Just wait, I'll make you eat something worse real soon!) He looked at Lirzod's swollen face. ”Anyway, what happened to your face? Did you run into a beehive or something?”

”No, I just kissed a woman, and she rewarded me a thousand times for it with her feet,” Lirzod pitifully said.

”W-What? Which whippersnapper dared to do that?”

”It's the elf from the clinic.”

Hundred's heart skipped a beat. Imaginations such as Mulyk pointing a gun at him already flooded his mind. ”O-Oh, that girl is dangerous.”

”Dangerous, maybe, but definitely not so friendly,” said Lirzod rubbing his cheeks a bit. ”I've grown up around girls, but it's hard to see through them, you know.”

”You have no idea,” replied Hundred, ”but… what made you say that?”

”Well,” Lirzod's memories drifted into the past, ”there was a girl named Navoni. We used to be classmates when we were kids, but she suddenly stopped talking to me because I never kissed her, and told me I can never become a good friend.”

”That's one crazy kid, I mean, girl.”

”Back then, like everyone, I only kissed those I loved, but Navoni's words affected me a lot. Not long after Navoni stopped talking, I became friends with another classmate named Megha. This time I went out of my way and kissed her one day, but she bit my hand and said I was indecent and that she could never have proper friendship with me.”

”What? T-That's too much for just a simple kiss on the cheek.”

”Yeah, right?” Lirzod's voice gained some strength. ”If one girl says yes, then another says no to the same thing. They can be so confusing and obscure at times. You never know when they laugh in their sleeves or fart in others' faces.”

”Your childhood seems to have many twists and turns.”

”Mm, after many such experiences, I've eventually decided to just be myself and go with the flow, you know. I've made many friends just this way, though I've lost some, too.”

”That's the right thing to do,” Hundred gave a thumbs-up. ”If you care too much about what others think about you, you'll never be able to do what you want to do.”

Lirzod faintly smiled and then faced the commander, ”How did the voting go, sir?”