episode_0005

[005화] Criminals and Brokers

[Help me, Lumberjack! The hunter is chasing me!]

“What, what deer speaks human language?”

“Please, please hide me!”

The lumberjack was greatly surprised when a deer suddenly appeared and spoke, but after a moment’s thought, he hid the deer.

“Well… for now, let’s stay behind this tree? Go hide over there.”

After a while…

“Panting! Have you seen a deer pass by here?”

A hunter who approached hastily asked the lumberjack about the whereabouts of the deer.

The lumberjack glanced at the hunter with fishy eyes.

Although his clothes were torn and covered in dirt as if he had camped in the mountains, the handsome young man had a dignified air about him.

The lumberjack knew this young man well.

He was the child of a hunting couple living in the mountains.

When that hunter came to sell leather or meat, the village would become noisy.

As village women flocked to catch a glimpse of that handsome face, from young children to elderly women, everyone was interested.

The lumberjack found it truly annoying.

Even just walking around the village, people looked at him as if he were filth, furrowing their brows and turning away, but those humans following him were nothing but mischievous brats throwing stones and spitting behind his back, teasing him.

“But that guy, instead of stones, fills his cart with melons and jujubes… What a show-off!”

They called it “Throwing Fruit and Filling the Cart.”

A skilled person could fill a cart with fruit just by walking down the street.

The lumberjack felt uncomfortable in his own skin.

In a gruff voice, he said to the hunter, “What do I know? You should know better who you were chasing.”

“Are you sure you didn’t see anything? He was quite big, so you couldn’t have missed him passing by…”

The hunter’s eyes seemed desperate as he spoke, causing the lumberjack, feeling guilty for lying, to raise his voice.

“Am I lying right now? How can a young kid like you talk so confidently to an adult? Huh? Are you disrespecting me?”

The hunter was taken aback.

“Why are you suddenly angry?”

He had only asked where the deer had gone. Was there a need to get so upset?

However, not wanting to waste time arguing here, and thinking that his words might have sounded like an interrogation, the lumberjack, in a polite tone, apologized and asked again.

“Oh my, I’m sorry, sir. I just noticed footprints up to here. Did you happen to hear any noise?

My mother is very ill, and I need to catch a deer to pay for her medicine.

You live near the entrance to the outskirts of the village, right?

I will definitely show my gratitude later. Could you at least tell me the general direction?”

His relaxed smile and manner of speaking seemed so radiant that even an ordinary person would feel their anger dissipate instantly, but to the somewhat eccentric lumberjack, it felt like his insides were twisting even more.

“He’s going to explode… Doesn’t this guy have any patience?”

He had planned to provoke the hunter loudly and, if he got angry, to grab his collar and give him a piece of his mind, but…

The old man raised his voice and even gave an example, making him feel unnecessarily confined, with no grounds to argue further.

“But who is this old man? It’s not like I’m treating him like an old man! Is he subtly mocking me? I’m the young one here, right? A lowly parasite… who feeds off others.”

Although he had initially asserted that he was the younger one, in the woodsman’s mind, that fact had long been forgotten.

Was it because of that?

He wished the hunter had a bit more misfortune.

Missing a deer in hunting was not really unfortunate compared to his pitiful situation!

That guy should experience a bit of the misery he feels. He’ll probably swagger around with his fancy cane.

“What did the woodcutter see? There was some noise coming from over there. Should I go that way or not?”

“Oh, thank you, sir.”

The direction the woodcutter pointed to led deeper into the mountains.

Without hesitation, the hunter ran straight in the direction indicated by the woodcutter, thinking he had to chase the deer.

There was nothing special about why the woodcutter pointed there.

“He might as well wander around the mountains aimlessly.”

It seemed that simple.

“Oh! Sir!”

“What, what is it!”

Thinking the hunter had left immediately, the woodcutter turned back to call the deer, only to be surprised when he saw the hunter.

Awkward and suspicious, the woodcutter’s glances at the hunter were uncomfortable, but the hunter, knowing the nobleman was known for being peculiar even in the village, shrugged it off and spoke.

“I saw tiger tracks on the way here. Seems like they’ve settled in these mountains. You should be especially careful.”

“Well, then, I’ll take care of myself. You can go now.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll see you in the village later.”

“……”

The woodcutter, who had moved hastily, remained cautious for a while after the hunter left, finally feeling relieved when he was sure the hunter had completely gone.

“That was close. Almost got caught… Now, what to do with this guy?”

A strange deer that speaks.

Initially, the woodcutter thought hiding the deer, which he had received as a gift and used for offerings, and secretly eating it at home would benefit him. But upon reflection, he realized how valuable the deer itself was, let alone a talking deer.

If he sold this creature to a wealthy household, he could make a good profit, pay off his debts, and maybe even send his daughter to school with some money.

“The unlucky hunter gets his comeuppance, and I caught a deer. Isn’t this like killing two birds with one stone? Hehehe.”

“Hey, deer. Come out now that the kind hunter has left.”

The woodcutter’s voice as he spoke was truly cheerful.

The deer, who had been hiding and holding its breath, cautiously approached the woodcutter after glancing around.

“Thank you, woodcutter! I won’t forget this kindness.”

“Kindness? But are you injured somewhere? Your leg seems injured?”

It was a concern about whether the price would be reduced if there was a flaw in the product, but the deer, without imagining that the benefactor who saved him would have such thoughts, was simply deeply touched by the woodcutter’s concern.

“I got caught in a hunter’s trap and got slightly injured! Truly, woodcutter! You are a very kind person! Please allow me to repay your kindness! Do you have any wishes?”

“Huh? Wishes? What wishes?”

“I will grant you any wish! Don’t worry, just tell me one wish.”

“A wish granted?”

At the mention of a wish, the woodcutter’s ears perked up.

A talking deer offering to grant wishes. It was oddly hard to trust.

The woodcutter calculated in his head.

In fact, for the woodcutter, the unrealistic situation of a deer speaking like a human was not entirely unfamiliar.

He had a secret that no one else knew.

That day was when the woodcutter realized he was a special and remarkable person.

Once again, it seems the heavens are helping me!

That’s how he felt. Just like that day, this time too, it must be a gift from the heavens to me.

So there’s no need to doubt this guy’s words.

Instead of selling this lump of rock, it’s better to ask for money and make a wish.

Even if he sells it, his reputation in the village will plummet, and he might not even get a fair price if he tries to sell it to a rich household.

Moreover, if rumors spread about the deer being sold, how can he know if an angry hunter might come looking for him?

“Wait, is it right to ask for money and make a wish? Is my wife in urgent need of money?”

Money can always be earned, and even when he didn’t have a penny, there wasn’t a single good woman around, so will there really be a woman willing to marry him now that he has money again?

After pondering for a while, the woodcutter finally made up his mind.

“I haven’t gotten married yet… Is it possible to gain some pretty color or something?”

Upon this, the deer thought for a moment and nodded.

[Alright, when the full moon rises after a few days, go to the lake on top of the mountain. The fairy maidens will come down to bathe there. When they take off their winged clothes, steal one. If a fairy without wings cannot ascend to the sky, then you should take her as your wife.]

The deer paid its own life as if it were obvious, in exchange for the woodcutter’s future with the fairy maiden.

[But there is one thing you must be careful about, Woodcutter! Until you have three children, never show the fairy your winged clothes!]

“Why?”

[Naturally, if you have fewer than three children, the fairy will carry a child on each arm, wear the winged clothes, and return to the heavenly realm!]

“Oh, that makes sense! Thank you, dear deer! Don’t be chased by hunters anymore! Live well!”

…And so, the human trafficker disappeared into the bushes, leaving quietly.

In the desolate mountains, only humans planning theft, robbery, kidnapping, and forced marriages through rape were preparing to return home with a load of firewood.