Marulk

"Jiruo"

- to Marulk

Marulk (マルルク) (fan translation: Maruruk) is a Delver that lives in the Seeker Camp on the 2nd layer of the Abyss alongside the legendary White Whistle Delver; Ozen the Immovable. Despite his young age, he is already a Blue Whistle Delver due to being a direct apprentice of a White Whistle Delver.

He is in charge of the telescope inside the camp and is often keeping watch of the surroundings so that a gondola can be lowered when a Delver shows up.

Before Marulk travelled with his father to the Abyss, he was apparently part of Jisweku's royalty and a so-called "child of the shadows"; children born into the Jisweku royalty, who are genetically susceptible to the sun and a life expectancy no longer than the age of ten.

Appearance
Marulk is a young boy with short blue hair and a rounded face. His feminine traits and maid attire leads people to mistakenly identify him as a girl, but he's actually a male. While the details are not clear, it is implied Ozen was the one that decided for him to dress like a maid.

In his prior life in Jisweku, Marulk wore the so-called "Moon Outfit". These long-established children's clothes are worn in the far western country of Jisweku and are believed to conceal "Children of the Shadows" from the sun. The Moon clothes consist out of a headwear with a veil covering the back of the child, a formal dress with insignias on it, and formal shoes.

Personality
He is a rather shy, but polite, individual who misses having the chance to talk with people of the same age because he manages the Seeker Camp. Though he does fear Ozen at times, he knows her well and trusts her.

He's very reluctant to talk about his clothing. When Jiruo mentioned it, Marulk became very nervous, despite greeting Jiruo as an old friend only moments before.

Early Life
At some point in his past, Marulk was involved in a crash of an airship in the Abyss in which the crew, including his father, lost their life and was later found by Ozen. Following this event, he chose to stay in the Abyss and became Ozen's disciple.

Seeker Camp Arc
When Riko and Reg come to the Seeker Camp, Marulk observes them with the telescope until Ozen instructs him to lower the camp's gondola down so that the two can enter the camp.

Interested in finding out how two Red Whistle Delvers arrived at the Seeker Camp of their own merit, Ozen instructs Marulk to lend an ear to Riko and Reg in her stead; her reasoning was that it would be easier for children to talk to children. At Ozen's instructions, Marulk gives the two of them Blue Whistles; Ozen notes that it would be troublesome to explain the presence of two Red Whistles in the Seeker Camp, so for the time being they will wear Blue Whistles.

Marulk shows Reg and Riko around the Seeker Camp and the three become friends.

The next morning, following Riko wetting Reg's bed, Ozen walks into Riko explaining to Marulk and Reg what caused her to lose control of her bladder — a strange monster.

Later on, Marulk witnesses, in dismay, Ozen's and Reg's fight. Ozen instructs him to stay put and not to interfere. As the fight continues, one-sidedly in Ozen's favor, Marulk panics more and more, until he decides to disobey Ozen's order and hurries to get the other Subterranean Bandits to stop the fight.

Afterwards, it is revealed that Ozen was trying to provoke Reg and Riko into a fight in order to test if they are ready to make their way further down the Abyss. While she criticizes how Reg and Riko acted in the situation of conflict she praises Marulk, as he was the only one to take the right action in the situation; but also remarks that she will still punish him later for disobeying her instructions to stay put.

After finishing her lecture, Ozen instructs Reg and Riko to stay ten days in the forest behind the Seeker Camp as survival training. Reg and Riko return to the Seeker Camp after ten days and Marulk congratulates them on passing as most people don't even manage to make it even a week.

After the training, Ozen tells Reg and Riko the Abyss causes a person's sense of time to get lost to the point of the possibility time moving far slower in the lower layers. She also shares secrets only known to White Whistle Delvers with them, and gives the Artifact, Blaze Reap, to Riko. Afterwards, Riko and Reg leave the Seeker Camp to advance down to the 3rd layer and Marulk, with the rest of the Subterranean Bandits see them off.

At some undefined point in time, Nat helped Marulk find Laffi's Shop in Orth.

Basic Delving Skills
Marulk has been trained in the basics of delving and displays enough skill and expertise to prove to be a Blue Whistle Delver, despite his young age. As a direct apprentice of a White Whistle, he is considerably more skilled at delving than kids his age and he is capable of surviving on his own in the less hazardous sections of the 2nd layer for at least a couple of days.

Telescope
Marulk is in charge of the telescope inside the camp and is often keeping watch of the surroundings so that a gondola can be lowered when a Delver shows up.

Trivia

 * His name, "Marulk", is the Swedish word for "anglerfish."
 * Marulk has lived in the Seeker Camp ever since Ozen took him in and noted he couldn't live on the surface anyway due to his sensitivity to sunlight.
 * Marulk's clothes are order-made, and the head pockets have lenses and other work equipment in them.
 * At some point in time, Marulk met Nat while running an errand in Orth.