…It’s烦死了.
Sosik stared at the Bald Octopus that had fully entered his field of vision.
At that moment, the food ‘takoyaki’ he had seen on TV came to mind, and Jelly started to bubble.
In fact, aside from that, Sosik didn’t particularly regret or even hate the creature. He had no animosity towards baldness, nor did he enjoy it.
The gesture Sosik used to provoke the Bald Octopus was merely something he had copied from TV. If pressed for a cause, wasn’t it the bald-phobic society that was the problem?
Regardless of its implications, one could see TV influencing Jellies in various ways beyond Lime’s thoughts.
Just as Lime herself sits and watches TV blankly every time, she now feels it’s too late to stop the Jellies. After all, they got hooked on TV because she watched it so earnestly.
In the end, it’s like a mirror.
Wouldn’t Jellies naturally grow up well if they were only shown good things?
Take the current Sosik, who was enthusiastically luring the Bald Octopus and racing around the fortress.
Suction-cupped tentacles swung about, causing buildings to crumble like cookies. Though underwater, they collapsed quickly due to the tentacles’ strong power, sending fragments flying like grenades.
However, Sosik used his tiny body skillfully.
With nimble movements and立体机动(using tentacles), his actions contrasted sharply with his usual lethargic demeanor—almost as if the world were about to end.
Yet, Sosik’s face still clearly exuded boredom, as if asserting he remained himself.
For some unknown reason, upon seeing his face, the Bald Octopus with its mustache flailed its tentacles even more furiously, jumping to crush Sosik.
It could tolerate being teased about being bald because of the lack of hair. But it couldn’t endure being teased as bald.
For how long had this furious attack been raining down?
The area where Sosik and the Bald Mustached Octopus had passed was now Bikini City deep in the ocean. Like Lime wondered, whether the Bald Mustached Octopus was made consciously or just ended up like that, it didn’t seem to care much about the fortress remaining intact.
It might even wish for everything to collapse and all distinctions to vanish.
Just like its glossy bald head.
The chase between these two singularities seemed like it would continue forever until the appearance of a new variable. Though the Bald Mustached Octopus couldn’t precisely target Sosik.
And Sosik had no means to attack the Bald Octopus with its mustache. Not that he had no means, but it would be akin to declaring one’s intention to kill someone with a toothpick.
Even if he were to cling and nibble… well, it wasn’t entirely impossible, but the very thought itself never entered Sosik’s mind.
The command Lime had input was to draw attention and flee.
Thinking further…
was just too troublesome.
And this sense of boredom inadvertently created a variable.
As Sosik dodged the tentacles, he gradually realized that there wasn’t much of the debris left that had protectively blocked his back.
The Mustached Bald Octopus hadn’t destroyed everything. There was still a densely stacked pile off a bit, but in front of Sosik was the large hole he had previously lured the creature into.
In other words, there was no more room for escape, unless he threw himself into that abyss.
Had it not been for Lime, he wouldn’t have been able to escape from that pitch-black hole.
At that realization, Sosik shivered. What he had perceived as random attacks from the Mustached Bald Octopus was, in fact, a cunning guidance of his direction.
It was unclear whether it had caught on to Sosik’s way of thinking, but it was certain that Sosik was in a life-or-death situation.
Sosik, feeling embarrassed, started scratching his Jelly.
Uh, um…
What did they say in similar situations on TV?
How about we call it a draw?
That seemed right.
…But feelings can’t be conveyed if they’re not stated.
The Mustached Bald Octopus, distorting its suspicious-looking body as if savoring the situation, slowly approached. It impressively blocked every possible escape route to ensure Sosik couldn’t slip away.
Was it that hurt to have been teased about being bald?
Since the Mustached Bald Octopus couldn’t speak, no one knew the truth.
What mattered was that Sosik was in imminent danger of becoming a flat Jelly.
A foreboding sense of impending doom enveloped Sosik.
Now what?
Would jumping into that behind work?
While Sosik seriously considered this in his mind and the Mustached Bald Octopus pondered how to cook him, an odd noise started to be heard.
It sounded like something was breaking through the debris and approaching—menacingly so.
Moving along the hidden tracks amidst the debris wasn’t particularly difficult for me.
I was momentarily perplexed when a small hole showed up, but since anything smaller than my body—including Kim Cheon-soo—could somehow…well, we managed to solve it pretty well. Though it was probably tough for Kim Cheon-soo, it was still better than dying, right?
After that arduous adventure, I came across a ‘door’ that felt distinctly different from the surrounding clutter. There were also windows…well, what used to be windows beside it. It’s rather amusing to call something that can’t block anything a window now.
Naturally, it was different.
The fortress of junk buildings had no real doors like this.
These buildings were merely buildings in appearance—hardly fit for their proper function.
Anyway…
I was slightly cheered by the feeling that I’d come to the right place.
I’d like to credit this discovery to Sosik, but he’s probably too busy running around.
I just hope he hasn’t become a flat Jelly.
Though I sent him off feeling confident, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. Since I’ve found a clue to solve this, I must help him as soon as possible.
Kim Cheon-soo and I stepped inside after opening the door.
A somewhat familiar yet strange scenery welcomed us.
A squashed chair.
A shelf that could hold things.
Doors lined up front and back.
Windows—or remnants of them—placed at regular intervals.
When summarizing all these, it was clearly a train car.
Boil, Boil.
Kim Cheon-soo, realizing it too, emitted an awkward boil-boil. That’s probably all he could feel right now.
Though, it really is too random. Why would a train car suddenly appear? It also looks pretty old.
That’s why I said it felt familiar yet strange.
I’m familiar with trains, but ones like this…well, they aren’t commonly found these days. I’m not sure about other countries, but especially not in the one I live in.
Steam punk enthusiasts might go nuts over this train car. Observing it while idly scratching my Jelly, I looked at the numbers engraved on the doors leading to other cars.
[5]
The closer number was [5], and the farther one was [6].
If there were any secrets, I thought they’d be near the train’s head.
The condition of the next car wasn’t much different from the one we entered. Buried in junk and dimly lit, it looked ready to fall apart at any moment.
It seems like it’d only be useful as scrap metal these days…
What purpose does this serve? If the state is like this, the locomotive wouldn’t be much fun either.
Even train enthusiasts might say, “We don’t do that in our industry.”
…But is that right?
I’m not sure about that, but something left a bitter taste in my mouth. If this is just meaningless scrap metal, then Sosik might be in danger.
After all, what use is this thing underwater?
This isn’t a cartoon, it’s reality!
But since I had no immediate plan, I swiftly moved ahead. There were no obstacles blocking the way, so I arrived quickly.
Opening the door that led further… I found a space that seemed oddly more modern. It was like the driver’s seat at the end of a subway car that you occasionally peek at.
Though not completely different from the cars we’d passed through, it felt slightly disconnected. But since it’s strange to have a train underwater in the first place, pondering over it seemed useless.
After all, how many things have I been able to reasonably comprehend until now?
Trying to understand is losing here.
And just then…
A space that perfectly fit what I currently held appeared. It was as if it had been waiting for this all along—a perfectly matching hole.
Kim Cheon-soo also emitted a boil, so it must be the right one.
Alright, let’s see if it fits.
If I fit it, will the train transform into a robot and defeat the Mustached Bald Octopus?
Oh…that would be pretty cool.
I inserted it without hesitation.
Then, there was the sound of a perfect couple meeting—a clicking sound. Thinking that turning the key was all there was to it, I turned it, which gave a growling sound like an animal’s roar.
…Even if it’s not a robot, it seems like it’s really going to move.
I stopped questioning how.
Losing is for those who think here.
Pretty soon, the growling train began breaking through all the junk and moving forward.
The crash sounded loud, making me doubt if this was really okay, but the train surged ahead without care.
I focused my sight when hearing the sound of carriages crumbling. To my surprise, the damaged carriage suddenly twisted into a pristine state.
Ah, this isn’t normal either.
I just decided to stop thinking altogether. Whatever. I just wanted to go home already.
Then, shortly afterward…
Behind the front window of the locomotive…
A shiny bald head appeared.
…Uh, when did it get here?
It was a little surprising.
Toot, toot!
The horn’s noise was loud.
…
