Ch.115My thousand years, your thousand years

# 115. Mien sard nein sard

On the morning of the second day, after our direction was set, our party moved busily without a moment’s rest.

Seyeon and Yuri, who were both level 19, took turns helping Arang with training and quests. They reported Arang’s progress to me regularly, complaining about when she would finally reach level 20.

Subin mainly focused on learning new types of magic while simultaneously doing quests for leveling up and making money whenever she had free time.

Sister Soyu seriously began reading scripture. She spent more time alone meditating, contemplating, and praying. She also faithfully fulfilled her role as Arang’s primary physician, who was working intensely all day except for meals and sleep.

Sister Yehyun contracted with spirits of different attributes and was busy trying to form contracts with special spirits as well.

So what was I doing during all this?

‘This is driving me crazy. What are the conditions exactly?’

On the surface, I was learning level 20 skills (with effort), gaining favor with various residents who could help our party, listening to our party members’ stories and giving advice, and completing quests to secure gold or items whenever I had free time…

But everyone in the party was doing quests too, and besides gaining favor and giving feedback to party members, I didn’t seem to be doing anything particularly special.

I was busy, but it felt like there was no substance to my activities.

I felt a bit self-conscious. The party members weren’t saying anything about it, and they probably had no intention to, but I felt pressured to master the level 20 skill quickly.

‘Am I doing something wrong?’

I followed along on party members’ quests, gave orders as usual, and talked more than normal, but I wasn’t getting that sudden flash of insight like I had when learning other skills.

‘In games, once you meet the skill prerequisites, you just pay money and learn it, and that’s it.’

Feeling frustrated, I went down to the first floor. Danya was sleeping, and all the party members were out, so I planned to have a cool beer alone to clear my head.

“Ah! What brings our kind and polite guest here alone, meow?”

“Could I have a beer, please?”

“Of course, meow!”

It was an awkward time of day, so there were hardly any people. I actually preferred the quiet.

I was resting my elbows on the windowsill, staring blankly outside when I heard the sound of a beer mug being placed on the table.

“A cool beer has arrived for our kind and polite guest who seems to have a lot on his mind, meow!”

“Thank you.”

“Hmm. Guest, guest. If you don’t mind, would you like to chat with a cute cat, meow?”

“With Atiya?”

The waitress who was suspiciously committed to her cat impersonation, Atiya, nodded. Originally, I wanted to be alone, but thinking this might be because of the favor I’d built with her, I nodded as well.

After taking a sip of beer, Atiya, who was watching me with her chin resting on her hands, asked:

“What’s troubling you, meow?”

“Troubles? Just something that’s not working out well.”

“Ah-ha. So you came to drink because you’re frustrated, meow?”

“Well, yes. I’m just planning to have one drink. I can’t waste too much time.”

Atiya, who had asked me to chat with her, went to the kitchen and returned with her own beer mug, then silently drank with me.

“…Is it okay for you to drink while working?”

“This little bit won’t make me drunk at all, meow.”

“That’s not the issue.”

“If the boss doesn’t like it, he can come out and work himself, meow. Besides, there are hardly any customers, meow.”

…I decided not to press the issue.

Drinking more slowly than usual, I finally emptied my glass. As I put down my empty mug, Atiya, who had also finished hers, grabbed both mugs in one hand and said:

“I may be just an inn employee, but I can still listen to the troubles of a guest I like, meow!”

“Haha.”

“You can share whenever you feel like it, meow! Until then, I’ll give you one free beer every day, meow!”

“What? No, that’s not necessary.”

“Free starting today! A guest I like can just go upstairs now, meow!”

Atiya waved her free hand as if shooing me away. I couldn’t help but laugh.

‘The dialogue for rewards is not exactly the same as in the game, but I guess the favor is around 30-40.’

Even in a moment of kindness, my gamer brain was still calculating—I really am a severe case. I smacked my forehead hard.

Thanks to that, my head felt a bit clearer.

‘Let me go back to basics. How was it when I first learned skills?’

**

Dong- Dong- Dong- Dong- Dong-

Soyu, who was reading scripture while resting on a long church bench after completing the quest “Salvation for the Poor – Healing,” looked up at the bell announcing five o’clock.

‘Yehyun said she’d be looking at flowers in the church backyard.’

Mien sard nein sard. Miel waht omeni tas salvium.

“Act as though you are not sad even when you are. For those who look to me, even that can be salvation.”

*Thud*

After carefully reading the final phrase, she looked at the statue of Laella, the goddess of compassion and tolerance, one of the main deities of “Dawn Faith,” the most popular religion.

‘Is this really helping?’

Soyu always asked the goddess.

Why, when she first came to this world, was she immediately able to use Radiance of Salvation and Record Erasure?

She never heard an answer. Yet she couldn’t deny that even though her level remained the same and she hadn’t invested in any specific abilities, her skill levels and efficiency were gradually improving.

‘I want to learn other skills quickly.’

She wondered if she was being too greedy, but then again, she wasn’t trying to learn a level 20 skill like Sunghyun… it felt quite unfair.

‘Anti-Sunghyun.’

Her thoughts naturally flowed to their party leader. Soyu took out a small stone from her pocket and held it tightly in both hands. The stone quickly warmed with her body heat.

The stone itself wasn’t anything special.

Just that.

– “In Soyu is a pathetic woman? Would that make 99.9% of all humans pathetic?”

When she held it like this, that moment came vividly back to her.

– “I’ll accept anything. Get angry, resent me, vent your frustrations. You have every right to do that with me, noona.”

Not just Sunghyun’s voice, but the “desire to comfort” contained in his words could be felt.

– “If you’re a bad woman, then 99.9% of all women in the world would be bad women, right?”

Despite being mentally overwhelmed at that time, and knowing that Sunghyun had three girlfriends, she had momentarily felt her heart flutter at those half-joking words, and thought herself crazy…

– “You’re exaggerating. A playboy with three girlfriends really has no shame.”

Holding this stone made her feel mentally at ease and happy, but regret would also flood in simultaneously.

I should have spoken more kindly. No, maybe it would have been better not to say anything. I should have pretended to be crazy or collapsed from exhaustion.

Before regret could consume her happiness, she put the stone back in her inventory. The state of deep concentration that Yehyun and Arang had once observed always began and ended like this, repeating over and over.

The aftertaste of reminiscence always ended bitterly, because the past cannot be changed, because the memories engraved in the stone were so deeply embedded… Soyu might take out the stone again tonight or tomorrow morning.

Because the first taste was always sweet.

“Sister. So this is where you were.”

“…Ah. Sister Nun. I was just taking a break.”

“I’m not here to scold you. I just wanted to express my gratitude for joining us again today, but hadn’t had the chance yet.”

The head nun of the church Soyu attended carefully sat down beside her. The nun looked at Soyu for a moment, then silently took out a small scripture. She turned the pages for a while.

Soyu thought the soft rustling sound of the thin pages turning matched the solemn atmosphere of the church perfectly.

“The teaching you seek today, sister, is about love.”

“Love?”

“Yes. Love. Lady Laella is the goddess of compassion and tolerance. Love is an important virtue that penetrates both compassion and tolerance.”

Soyu had asked the head nun for a small teaching, separate from quest rewards. She thought she might gain something by receiving teachings about scripture from a genuinely devout religious person rather than being a fake believer herself.

But when the subject of the teaching turned out to be “love,” she immediately realized the nun wasn’t talking about romantic love, but her body and mind had already become conscious of it.

“Many of the goddess’s words and deeds remain, including those about love. The most famous saying is this:”

Affectia. Affectiamen affectial ibel tas, ien fini argel blessium.

Love. Those who love can be loved, and that is the greatest blessing.

“You’ve surely heard this before, sister.”

“I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t been exposed to the goddess’s teachings for long, so I haven’t heard it often.”

“…I keep forgetting because your holy power is so pure. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“It’s fine. I’m the one who should be grateful to you for taking the trouble.”

“Hehe. Then today, I would like to humbly share my interpretation and understanding of this precept.”

The head nun’s smile was kind and gentle, allowing Soyu to gradually calm her fluttering heart.

“Love. To love. Sister, why do you think the goddess emphasized loving, saying it is the greatest blessing? What kind of love do you think the goddess described as a blessing?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Hehe. I also thought about it for a long time, but now I think of it simply.”

That is the love between a man and a woman.

It is the foundation of all love, and it is necessary for the world to maintain and continue.

I believe all of the goddess’s teachings stem from there.

‘…Eh?’

Soyu’s heart, which had just calmed down, began to race again.