[God You're A Liar] Chapter 1 : Custom

Hello, everybody!!! I've found something interesting to translate that has potential to be a great story. I'm just going to post the first chapter first and then I will decide to continue this if it receives good feedback! 

  

The village where I was born and raised was a little mysterious, and ... it has a very difficult custom.

 

"I'm sorry Lana unnie [1], I've already promised Ru a future."

 

"You must be kidding……"

 

 

I could only mutter, stunned as I looked at my childhood friend who refused my gaze doing so while scratching his freckled cheeks.

 

 

"In the first place, when I applied, it was you who refused me with the usual lines. What's up now?"

 

"..."

 

"Oh, maybe you’re impatient by this time?"

 

"Uh, noisy! It's true when I said 'I'm not ready'!"

 

 

Replacing my embarrassment with anger and trying to regain my sanity, I glared at him. With half his body turned away, he glanced down at me and turned his gaze towards the day after tomorrow.

 

 

"Well, that's why. Hit someone other than me."

 

 

Then, he turned his back while waving his hands, leaving. After that, I was too stunned to see him off.

 

When I kept squeezing my skirt tightly, my white fists eventually got tired and relaxed. I finally took a step in the opposite direction to him.

 

…… While having a terrible and empty heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the edge of the village.

 

I tailored the wedding gown by myself.

 

 

 

The same is true for children born here and children who have been taken by their parents from other places to immigrate. When they come of age, they all start making wedding dresses that they will wear in the future.

 

It is the mother or grandmother who spins the thread. If you don't have a relative, you can use an aunt in the neighborhood, but it's customary to do it with the hands of experienced women who have a family. While being taught by them, the girls start weaving, sew the fabrics together, embroider and decorate them, and create their own unique outfit.

 

 

Everyone is desperate because it is said that "a bride wearing a carefully finished wedding dress can be happy".

 

This is not an uncertain rumor or a mere legend. Outsiders may not believe it, but it was an undeniable fact in the village.

 

The bridal gown will be dedicated to a corner of the village the day after the first night.

 

Women do not enter the dedication place, so it is all hearsay, but there is no shortage of sightings because many elderly people act as watchers. I heard from my father and uncles in the neighborhood several times about the mysterious scene.

 

I believe in all that story.

 

Therefore, from the time when the moon thing [2] first arrived, I received the thread spun by my mother and continued to weave the machine.

 

Even with this, she was called the most beautiful girl in the village at that time, and because of her self-esteem, she was enthusiastic about wearing the most glittering bridal gown among children of the same age. It's ridiculous to hide and get the help of others. I tried to do it on my own until the end, and I pushed my tiredness from helping the family business and working in the fields deep into my body and worked hard almost every night.

 

 

 

"I'm sorry, the costumes haven't been finished yet." --- I don't know how many times I said the idiom when I declined the application for marriage premise.

 

There are many men who have been waiting for me a few years later.

 

However, the number of suitors who were overflowing decreased by one and two as the days went by ...

 

By the time I looked up and looked around, men and women around my age were already enjoying sweet and sour youth in appropriate combinations. Leaving me behind.

 

The boys, who were a little younger than they had looked at until a few years ago, are spending their days with happy faces, each with a candidate for a companion next to them.

 

Finally, in a hurry, I was ashamed that I couldn't change my stomach on my back, and I called out to my childhood friend under the age of four, who had previously refused to associate with me...

 

 

 

There is no intention of doing this for a child younger than my childhood friend. With that in mind ... there are only a few singles left. Only the man who was said to be unsuitable for marriage by any means, and the man who couldn't even live a decent social life, let alone get married.

 

 

…… It was jammed.

 

My future in this village was bleak.

 

My life was already closed at the age of nineteen due to the combination of stupid self-esteem and elaborate personality.

 

 

 

 

 

In small room inside small home.

 

The costume-making tools that were placed in a narrow space were put into view one by one.

 

Finally, when I dimly looked at the crystal of my efforts, a heavy sigh that seemed to come to life spilled from my mouth.

 

…… When was the first time I made a major upward revision to the direction of design? That's right, when a traveling magician came to shop at a tool shop run by her parents.

 

When I was staring at the embroidery sewn on the cloak so beautifully that it bit into it, I was approached by a magician. I learned that if you insert a needle with all your heart, it will have magical power, and that there are various designs in a word, embroidery. So, I decided to add elaborate embroidery to my bridal gown.

 

 

About a year later, I learned about the existence of lace knitting.

 

I received an expensive handkerchief with a beautiful lace edging, and was shocked to hear that it was hand-knitted by a lady in the city. After I knew that I could knit lace with just needles and threads, without the need for expensive looms or extra tools, I became more and more passionate about making the wedding gown.

 

 

 

―――― Actually, my bridal gown has not been completed yet.

 

I don't like the part that was sewn when I started making it because of the loose sewing line, and because the body shape is different from that time, I can't wear it unless I correct the chest and waistline.

 

But ... no, no.

 

My heart broke.

 

 

 

Is it so strange that you want to put out the costumes you wear on the sunny stage of the first generation and tailor them with all your might?

 

…… I'm sure it's strange. The other kids say that it takes two or three years, and even the clumsy one in five years, but I'm still unfinished after eight years.

 

I also know that my parents were impatient with me who never let go of the needle. I also know that "Lana is a terrifyingly clumsy girl" and "I'm late to marry because I'm staying high and choosing a man", and so on.

 

From tomorrow, rumors of "a pitiful and miserable Lana who proposed to a man four years younger and was refused brutally" will be added to this.

 

 

"Already ... no"

 

 

The voice of a glittering cloth lump placed on my lap was surprisingly flat.

 

 

---

 

 

 

When the sun went down and the people walking outside disappeared ――― I sneaked out from my house on the main street and went to the outskirts of the village.

 

The bridal gown held in both hands is extremely heavy to carry alone, both physically and emotionally.

 

I continue walking for a few moments.

 

My heart was mysteriously dry.

 

 

On the outskirts of the village, there is a large rock that contained monsters long ago. A simple pedestal of Hiraishi[3] placed in front of it --- this is the place where costumes are dedicated.

 

When I gently put the wedding gown on the pedestal that I never put on myself, my emotions did not rise.

 

I don't know what will happen to the wedding gown dedicated by an unmarried bride. Will it ignite suddenly and burn violently like a normal dedication, or will it change differently, or will it remain as it is without anything happening ...

 

I hope it burns safely.

 

I want you to bury my efforts in an instant. Then, I'm sure that the obsession with this village will disappear together.

 

I looked up at the sky. The sky over the treetops is faintly bright. It's almost dawn. What if there is no change in the morning ... No, then I should think about it after that happens.

 

 

I gently stroked the designed part that was the most dificult to say goodbye to and stepped back a few steps. I knelt on the ground, folded my hands around my chest and took a prayer position.

 

I closed my eyes and turned my consciousness forward for a while --- I suddenly felt a warm breeze on my cheeks.

 

 

"Daughter. What are you going to do with this outfit?"

 

 

Immediately after, a strange voice echo around.

 

I was called and it immediately made me shudder.

 

 

"You're bowing down over here. Raise your face. Then answer the question."

 

"……Who are you?"

 

"It's quite courageous to ignore my question and ask the opposite question."

 

 

I opened my eyes fearfully. Then there was a man leaning against the stone.

 

Looking up at the tall man who laughed and folded their arms in order from their feet. ...... It's a strange face. At least not a villager. I mean ... maybe not even human.

 

Overall dark skin, which is clearly different from sunburn. Whitish hair that looks shining even in the dim light of dawn. The colors found in the man’s features are far from common sense.

 

The clothes he wore were high-class items that you can see at a glance.

 

The design using abundant fabrics so that many simple shirts worn by the village men could be made is a luxury itself, and the material is probably the finest silkle [4].

 

I was born and raised in the production area of Silkle, and I myself have come into contact with Silkle on a daily basis, so my expectations are close to my conviction.

 

Although he dressed such a gem casually and without any discomfort, he felt uncomfortable in the place where he did not wear any ornaments such as gold and jewelry.

 

In the corner of my head, the story that was repeatedly heard when I was young passed. The "odd god" that appears in the legend about the sealed monster ---

 

Maybe…?

 

 

 

"... Zeine-sama?"

 

"Some people call me that."

 

"---!"

 

 

When I spoke the name that came to my mind on a whim, he nodded smoothly.

 

My eyes widened.

 

With an astonished expression, I kept staring at the person who walked to me slowly.

 

The man looked at me at a close distance. Sharply developed teeth could be seen in his raised mouth.

 

His long ears are shaking beside his deeply carved and well-organized face.

 

Although there are minor differences ... Overall, he is so beautiful that you can't see it unless you go to the city.

 

 

"So? You're an unattended daughter. You brought a terrible thing ... Did you escape from your husband on the first night?"

 

 

A voice without any implications.

 

Maybe it was because I was asked in a very light tone, and for some reason it shook my heart strongly.

 

Hot tears threatened to fall.

 

I clenched my teeth. I don't know how to cry cutely.

 

The man crouched down. A large, stiff hand enters the corner of my eye. A bunch of hair that fell from my shoulder to the chin line was held.

 

…… I was proud of the hair flowing between his fingers. The long hair, which I kept carefully caring for every day, was intended to be extended until the day I wore the bridal gown. For a while, I was worried about how to tie this hair and what kind of race to put on. After all, the veil colors the cold pedestal without decorating her hair.

 

When I put my eyes on it to endure the tears that seemed to overflow, a big drop overflowed in the time signature. Every time I blink, big tears spill.

 

The hand of a man who keeps stroking my hair and stroking my head without making a voice is very warm.

 

My tears became more and more slackened by the existence that quietly snuggled up without saying anything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"―――― …… So, I don't need this bridal gown anymore ... But I'm too attached to dispose of it like worn-out clothes. So I decided dedicate it to Zeine’s hand."

 

 

 

He waited patiently until I settled down, and he was also patient with the emotional story that I began to tell.

 

After talking about the general situation, I exhaled deeply.

 

The person I talked to was neither a close family member nor a villager, but a god who should be a distant existence. That's why, my ugly part ... self-esteem, opposition, desire for approval, everything was revealed.

 

 

"Burning or rotting, I hope you can do whatever you want with it, Zeine."

 

 

After making a statement, I felt guilty. It may be quite cowardly to throw something that I can't dispose of yourself to others. I wonder if no one waited for the wedding gown to be completed because I have such a personality.

 

 

"Lana? I understand your situation for the time being.”

 

“What are you doing?"

 

"... ha?"

 

"What do you do after you let go of this?"

 

"... I'm going to go out into town and look for a seamstress job."

 

I don’t want to be in this village anymore. I feel terrible for being talked about behind my back all the time. I don’t need sympathy. I don’t need pity.

 

I know that all the reasons are in myself. That’s why I choose to take bold action than to live in the village with miserable feelings.

 

The sewing technique that I had refined in the last eight years will surely be useful in the future.

 

Speaking of my destination, the neighboring village is currently best as I have never been to the town where the lord lives. I was able to decide on letting go of my important wedding gown. I only have my own momentum remaining. It would be difficult to travel to unfamiliar places but I want to take action since I’m still comfortable. If I hesitate and stop, my legs will give up in a blink of an eye.

 

 

"Do you have any connections?"

 

"……Connections?"

 

 

 

However, the bass that fell from above shook my mind without any effort.

 

 

“You’re nineteen. It’s an age that you would be treated as an older girl in this village, but when you go to town, you would become prey to others.”

 

 

The sound of stepping on soil was slightly far away.

 

I gently raise my eyes. The man was crouching in front of the stone pedestal.

 

 

 

"But you definitely have good skill."

 

"..."

 

"I don't really know the sense of embroidery or decoration, but I can tell at a glance that you did great work. I like things that have such a smooth texture."

 

 

The man who continued to say that my hair was also quite comfortable to touch, beckoned with a light movement.

 

With my knees on the soil, I approached him.

 

His big hand touched my crossed arms and the bridal gown that I had just let go was thrown to them. My previously folded hands let go of their position, grabbing the clothes quickly.

 

Looking down at me from a close distance, his fearlessly beautiful face grinned.

 

 

"Why did Lana make this?"

 

 

That's decided.

 

 

"I wanted to wear the best outfit when I become a wife."

 

"Okay, I'll accept you."

 

"……eh……?"

 

"If an innocent bridal gown is offered, the contents are of course mine, right?"

 

 

The golden eyes looking into my direction narrowed happily.

 

The next moment, my vision dimmed with the feeling that all consciousness was pulled by him.

 

 

 

[1] korean of big sister.

[2] this probably refers to the menstrual period.

[3]I'm not too sure as to what this refers to but I believe it's an image of a god of some sorts. pls. tell me in the comments though if anyone knows about this.

Tl: This really seems interesting. I’d probably continue translating this if it receives positive feedback and interest as i mentioned earlier. Cuz as of now I’m planning on a hiatus after completely releasing my previous translation work. Anyways, pls. Let me know if you want me to continue translating this ^^ 

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