It’s a well-known fact that animals display unusual behavior as a precursor to earthquakes.

Pets like dogs and cats often grow restless before a quake, hide in places they perceive as safe, or even run away. Some livestock become agitated and rampage around.

The same goes for my area of expertise—amphibians and snakes. They may suddenly appear in swarms, or even crawl out of their burrows in the middle of winter and freeze to death.

The cause of this behavior remains debated, but there are three main theories that dominate the field.

First is the wave theory.

When an earthquake occurs, it generates two types of waves at the epicenter: P-waves and S-waves. P-waves travel faster and arrive much earlier than the quake itself.

Humans usually don’t perceive them, but animals can sense P-waves and thus begin acting strangely well before the shaking reaches them.

Next is the physicochemical theory.

Prior to a quake, minor cracks in the crust or underground vibrations may release gases or trigger groundwater seepage. Since animals have senses far sharper than humans, this theory suggests they react to these changes with unusual behavior.

Lastly, there’s the magnetic field theory. As pressure builds up in bedrock before an earthquake, a strong magnetic field forms, and animals exhibit sensory disruptions in response to it.

'Personally, I believe the third one is the most plausible.'

And I have a reason for that.

When ants or certain insects are exposed to magnetic shielding or strong magnetic fields, they lose their ability to move in straight lines.

This is because many animals possess magnetoreception—the ability to detect Earth’s magnetic field to orient themselves.

While the precise mechanism remains unclear, recent observations show that magnetic anomalies are often recorded in epicentral areas hours or even days before an earthquake.

These anomalies likely interfere with animals’ magnetoreception, and in response, the animals exhibit group behavioral abnormalities—this, I believe, is the real reason animals act strange before a quake.

With that in mind, it should’ve been perfectly normal for animals to show strange behavior before this earthquake. Yet the dog hadn’t sensed anything ahead of time, nor had it been particularly startled. That in itself was odd.

If I recalled the scene from a few days ago, when the birds only took to the sky after the earthquake struck—then it was definitely even stranger.

Because they should’ve been airborne before the quake. Not during.

A few days ago. A few hours ago. Even just a few seconds earlier.

I was in the middle of pondering how off this all seemed when the princess’s voice broke through.

“So-ryong, what’s on your mind so deeply?”

“I was just thinking... this earthquake feels a little strange.”

“Strange? In what way?”

In response to the princess’s question, I glanced toward the dog and its mother and said,

“Animals normally show odd behavior before an earthquake. But even as the tremors continue, they seem relatively calm.”

“Oh, I’ve heard that before. A few years back, there was an earthquake in Shaanxi, and they said the city’s dogs had been howling sorrowfully for days beforehand, and rats flooded the streets.”

See? Even a princess from this era knows this story.

'I probably need to speak with the villagers to hear exactly what’s happened from the beginning of the quake until now.'

It felt necessary to hear what the villagers had to say.

Things did seem off, but it was still possible the animals had shown strange signs before I arrived.

Turning to the princess, I asked,

“Do you think the officials at the local government office also fled because of the quake?”

It’d be too inefficient to go person by person. But thinking about it—no matter the era, for something this serious, someone would’ve kept records.

So I figured I’d see if I could meet with one of the officials and perhaps review any written reports or gather eyewitness accounts starting from the onset of the quake.

The princess nodded and replied,

“No. I think it’s highly likely some of them are still there. They were appointed by the Emperor—if they just ran off on their own, they probably wouldn’t survive the aftermath anyway.”

I thought to myself once again how being a government official in this era is definitely not a good job, then asked the princess for a favor.

“I think we should meet with the local officials here... Could you help me out? Oh, right, you were banished by His Majesty so maybe you—uh, maybe not?”

Just as I was asking, I realized she couldn’t publicly reveal her identity right now.

I thought I might’ve said something unnecessary, but the princess just responded lightly.

“No, it’s fine. That much I can handle. Let’s go.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Let’s return to the ship first.”

I wasn’t sure if this was okay, but hey—if she said it was fine, what could I do?

I was grateful.

Once we got back to the ship, the princess summoned the commanding officer and issued an order.

“Go to the local office in the village below Wangoksan and confirm what happened before and after the quake.”

“Before and after, you mean?”

I had intended for us to go personally, but I guess this is how royalty operates.

As the officer asked for clarification, the princess—who had just been lazily slacking off—turned to me and asked,

“So-ryong, what exactly do you need?”

“Oh, nothing complicated. Just... I’d like confirmation of any unusual events in the village or the mountains just before or after the first earthquake.”

“Unusual events?”

“Things like birds taking off into the sky, rats wandering around town looking dazed—anything that was out of the ordinary. Could you check if anything like that was witnessed?”

“Understood!”

The officer immediately prepared to launch the ship, but I asked one more time to be sure.

“Could you also ask the villagers the same questions, just in case?”

“Of course.”

With that, the officer who’d received orders from both me and the princess turned the ship around and disappeared downstream once more.

***

After the commanding officer departed to gather information from the local office, we paused our search and loitered around the camp.

We had to wait for the results of the investigation into the time before and after the earthquake to decide our next course of action.

If there were any signs beforehand, we’d continue the search for a bit longer before moving on elsewhere—but if not, then there was only one place left to check.

While I was thinking that, Gun Hye-rin hesitated as she approached, then asked with some awkwardness,

“Um, So-ryong, could I borrow Cho for a bit?”

“Cho?”

“Yes.”

Asking to borrow Cho as if she were an object?

I made a mental note to properly educate her later and asked,

“Why do you need Cho all of a sudden?”

“Ah, well, I was thinking of catching something for dinner.”

“Dinner?”

She answered while looking out over the Yellow River, which made sense since that’s exactly where we were camped.

“Yes, I thought I’d try catching some fish again—it’s been a while.”

“Don’t Yellow River fish smell muddy?”

I was a little concerned at the idea of fishing from the Yellow River.

Given how murky the water is, I figured the fish would have a strong earthy odor.

I’m no expert, but doesn’t that kind of smell count as part of the fishiness?

At that moment, the princess shook her head and cleared up my concern.

“No, So-ryong. Fish like the carp from the Yellow River are actually very prized. They’re rare enough to be offered to the Emperor. They don’t smell fishy and taste amazing.”

“Really?”

“Yes. They’re delicious when fried. Grilling works well too.”

Hearing that it was the kind of fish the Emperor eats made me curious enough to agree.

After all, every dish I’d eaten back when I spent a night at the imperial palace had been top-tier.

“Cho, could you go with Aunt Gun and catch some fish for dinner?”

— Tsrurur. 『Okay, Daddy.』

— Tsrit! 『Unni, I wanna go too! I wanna watch!』

— Tsrururur. 『Alright, Hyang, let’s go too.』

Hyang and even Lady Water General followed Gun Hye-rin, but as dusk approached, she still hadn’t returned.

“I’m starting to get hungry. What’s taking Gun Hye-rin so long?”

I figured we wouldn’t come up empty-handed with Cho around, but this was dragging on.

Just as I thought that, Cho arrived with the other kids.

— Tsrurur. 『Daddy, we’re back.』

— Byuuu.

“Oh, well done, Cho. You too, Suran.”

Cho and Suran were dripping with water, so I quickly brought over a cloth to dry them off.

But even though Cho and the others had returned, there was no sign of Gun Hye-rin.

When I asked Cho where she went, Cho pointed to one side of the camp.

“Where’s Aunt Gun?”

— Tsrurur. 『She went over that way.』

Gun Hye-rin didn’t show up until about half a meal’s time later.

I was getting hungry and asked why she was so late.

“Miss Gun, why did it take you so long?”

“I was preparing the fish dish, of course.”

“A dish?”

At the mention of Gun Hye-rin cooking, I flinched a little.

She’s not exactly known for her culinary skills—she couldn’t even grill meat properly, so what kind of dish could she possibly make?

I figured she’d just wasted the fish. But... there was no dish in sight.

“So... where is it?”

Just as I thought it had all gone wrong, Gun Hye-rin looked toward the area where the Jin Yiwei soldiers were having their meals and said,

“I asked the camp cooks over there to prepare it.”

Currently, we had guards stationed all around the camp.

They were the same soldiers who had been aboard the military ship, and among them were cooks responsible for preparing the meals.

She must’ve asked them to do it.

Which meant the food wouldn’t be inedible, at least.

Smacking my lips in anticipation, I said,

“Oh, good job, Gun Hye-rin.”

If it was the army cooks who made it, it would be a thousand times better than if she’d done it herself.

I headed over to where the food was being prepared, and there was a spread laid out, giving off a mouthwatering aroma.

Among the dishes was fish, fried like sweet-and-sour pork and coated with sauce. I popped a piece into my mouth and was instantly struck by how delicious it was.

— Crunch.

Crispy batter, like a real tangsuyuk, with a slightly spicy, tangy sauce.

Finally, the oily yet clean-tasting flesh hit my palate.

“Oh, this is good.”

“Is it?”

“Help yourself, So-ryong.”

“Everyone, dig in. Gun Hye-rin, great work. Eat up. You too, Princess.”

We were stuffing our faces when the commanding officer’s ship must have returned—he approached us and bowed deeply.

“Your Highness, based on my investigation, no particularly unusual events have been reported so far.”

The princess looked toward me at his words.

I asked once more for clarification.

“Nothing at all? No sudden swarms of bugs, no pets going crazy—nothing like that?”

“No, sir!”

“And you confirmed events from several days prior to the quake?”

“Yes, of course. The earthquake began seven days ago. For about ten days before that, the weather was clear and nothing out of the ordinary occurred.”

'So it really is like I thought.'

I nodded and said,

“Then we have no choice but to check the last remaining spot.”

With the situation resolved this way, only one search area remained.

We’d have to /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ investigate inside the vertical cave at the quake’s epicenter.

But it was dangerous—if Hwa-eun found out, she’d never approve.

Turning to Gun Hye-rin with a serious expression, I asked,

“Gun Hye-rin, weren’t you supposed to go catch carp?”

“U-Uh?”

Gun Hye-rin flinched noticeably at my question.

Flustered, she stammered,

“Ah, w-well, that was the plan, but Cho... Cho couldn’t catch any carp, see? Ahaha...”

“This is fine too. Eat up, So-ryong.”

“Yeah... well, it tastes good.”

It wasn’t the carp I’d been expecting, but the eel wasn’t bad either.

Nodding to myself, I asked Cho mentally,

“Cho, were there no carp?”

Gun Hye-rin’s flustered reaction was just too suspicious.

And then a strange answer came.

— Tsrurur. 『Aunt Gun said to catch snake-like ones instead of carp.』

'Really?'

What a bizarre thing.

She had no reason to—but she went and fed me eel anyway?

To anyone watching, it’d look like she was plotting something.