Ch.207202 – The Inheritors

I arrived in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, following the Saemangeum Seawall, which holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s longest seawall.

We parked our car in front of a strangely shaped building that resembled the bow of the sinking Titanic.

While Professor Cheon went to visit the Saemangeum Development Agency, I stayed in the car with the air conditioning blasting, admiring the horizon where the mudflats met the sea.

The Saemangeum reclamation project began 60 years ago with the goal of creating environmentally friendly farmland. However, as the importance of primary industries declined in modern times, the project faced difficulties.

Just when it seemed the reclaimed land would be useless, a mana field was coincidentally discovered there—truly a case of stumbling upon good fortune by accident.

“Mana stream” might be a more appropriate term than “mana field,” but the terminology is already established, so there’s not much we can do about it.

Unlike oil, mana doesn’t remain stationary but continuously flows.

This world is different from my previous life where mana was densely packed everywhere.

Here, there’s a massive mana trunk that runs through Earth’s Pacific Ocean, with scaffold branches and secondary scaffold branches extending from it. Mana power plants can only be built along these branches.

Though not official terminology, people often refer to them as primary and secondary branches for convenience.

The pressure in the smaller capillary-like branches is too low to be useful, which is why we can’t use magic without the “storage” process that connects us to power plants.

“There’s no direct boat to Durido Island. You’ll need to go to Biando Island first and personally ask the residents there for help.”

Professor Cheon started the car.

“Who did you meet?”

“The head of the development agency is an acquaintance of mine. I asked if there were any boat routes available.”

Professor Cheon, with his suspiciously extensive network, sipped his cheap instant coffee as we headed back to the harbor.

That sweet aroma… looks delicious.

* * *

“Whaaaat? What did you say we did?”

“Du! Ri! Do! Take these people to Durido Island!”

“What? Durido? Why go there?”

“I’m sorry, my grandfather is quite hard of hearing.”

“No need to apologize. We’re already grateful for your help.”

We were able to head back out to sea with help from an elderly couple who run a seaweed farm on Biando Island.

The salty sea air mixed with the oily smell of the small boat’s engine.

The weather was so clear that I could still see the harbor and mudflats we’d left behind, even though we hadn’t traveled far.

“Did people used to live on Durido Island?”

“Huh?”

“I asked if people used to live over there!”

I shouted loud enough to cut through the sea breeze, but the elderly man still seemed to have trouble hearing.

“Who lives there? Nobody lives there!”

“I see…”

“Ah, I wonder if old man Bonggon came back.”

With no useful information gained, I went back up to the deck and stood next to Professor Cheon, holding onto the railing.

He pointed to a spot on the mainland we had just left.

“That’s the Gunsan Mana Power Plant. It’s the first in our country built on a primary branch.”

It was still a barren site with only drilling equipment installed.

There were many more buildings yet to be constructed, like the Central Storage Bureau and base stations.

“Our country really has terrible luck. Just look at Japan next door—they have scaffold branches in five different locations.”

No oil, few mineral resources.

And even that supposedly common mana stream—only secondary branches were discovered here, so until the Gunsan plant was established, we had no choice but to build in places like Ulsan and Gangneung.

Oh, and there’s one on Mount Bukhan too.

“If the Gunsan Mana Power Plant is completed, will Korea’s mana tax decrease?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure about that.”

“I guess they wouldn’t lower prices anyway.”

Once they raise prices, they never lower them.

In the end, it’ll just fatten someone’s bonus and wallet.

While chatting with Professor Cheon about various topics, we arrived at the Durido Island dock in the blink of an eye.

There were definitely traces of human presence, but unlike Biando, the ominous silence made it feel like a truly uninhabited island.

“There’s another boat here?”

“Indeed. Someone must be living here after all.”

Despite the island being officially designated as uninhabited in administrative records, there were signs of human activity.

We needed to find at least three people: Baek A-rin, her six-year-older adopted brother Baek Min-woo, and the “scary grandfather” A-rin had mentioned.

“I don’t know if I should just leave you folks here…”

“Yes, it’s fine. Thank you for your help.”

“Strange people, I tell you. Why come all this way to visit an uninhabited island?”

Thanks to the grandfather’s help, despite his grumbling, we were able to reach the island in just one day.

The white foam left in the wake of the small boat sparkled as it caught the evening sunset.

“Let’s look around quickly before the sun sets.”

“Yes. Let’s follow this path for now.”

The island appeared quite small at first glance.

In reality, it was about half the size of Korea University, so we could walk around the entire island in an hour with time to spare.

We followed the path that extended from the dock.

The gentle uphill path suddenly ended, and beyond that point was just grassland.

Looking carefully at the overgrown weeds, I could see areas where they had been bent.

Signs that someone had walked through here.

And quite recently, too.

I turned my head and gave Professor Cheon a look.

[Shall we go?]

He shrugged his shoulders.

[Do as you please.]

Feeling somewhat like a thief, I took long strides forward.

The soft ground sank beneath my feet, making me afraid I might fall.

“…!”

“Are you okay? You need to be careful.”

“Something caught my foot.”

As if my words were prophetic, I nearly fell forward after getting caught on what felt like a solid stem.

With Professor Cheon’s support, I stood up again and looked toward the end of the stem.

“It’s a watermelon?”

“It’s a watermelon.”

We spoke simultaneously.

There was a watermelon that looked delicious even at first glance.

“Wow. This is my first time seeing one actually being grown.”

I was happy to see this fruit after so long.

In my previous life, there were no fruits like this, so I had missed watermelon punch more than once.

I crouched down to tap the watermelon and roll it around.

Curious, I rummaged through the grass looking for other watermelons.

“…?”

What I thought was another watermelon shadow was unfortunately not something edible.

Not a fruit, but a person’s head.

A boy and girl lying flat on the ground, quietly holding their breath.

These monster-like figures opened their blood-smeared mouths wide and suddenly screamed at me.

“AAAAAAHHHHH!”

“HIEEEEEEK!”

“Ah! You scared me!”

* * *

“Why are you screaming when you’re the ones who surprised us!”

I lightly bonked the girl on the head.

I was the one who was more surprised!

Of course, they weren’t monsters or vampires but normal humans, and the red stuff around their mouths wasn’t blood but watermelon juice.

Watermelon has only one-third the calories of blood… anyway, A-rin began devouring the watermelon hastily.

“Hic… I thought you were grandpa… nom nom… hic… Min-woo, see? I wasn’t lying, I told you NoName would really come… munch…”

“Either cry or eat or talk—pick one. You’ll get indigestion.”

Ms. Baek A-rin was eating watermelon with tears in her eyes.

I asked Professor Cheon to cut up a watermelon into manageable pieces and handed a slice to each of the starving siblings.

I had a mountain of questions, but filling their stomachs took priority.

“Your hair has grown so long. Have you never cut it?”

A-rin nodded up and down.

Beside her, Baek Min-woo, who was quietly stuffing watermelon into his mouth, also had hair that reached his shoulders.

“Why are you so skinny? Have you been starving? How long have you been on this island?”

“Well… I don’t remember clearly…”

“Eight months and thirteen days.”

Min-woo said, crunching on the black watermelon seeds.

His empty gaze, looking straight ahead, contained various emotions that were difficult to even guess.

He threw the empty watermelon rind far away in irritation.

“Sigh… I should have just said no…”

“Why would you say that, brother! You’re the one who told me not to give up!”

“Of course you shouldn’t give up! What have we been suffering for all this time! Ouch!”

Min-woo frowned and rubbed his calf.

There were clearly visible red lines, with a dark bruise in the middle.

“Wait, A-rin, show me your leg too.”

“Ah!”

As I feared, she had the same switch marks on her legs.

“Who did this? Was it that grandfather you mentioned?”

“…”

“Tell me quickly.”

“Yes… but we were punished because we did something wrong…!”

“Sigh… A-rin, no matter what you did wrong, that’s not a reason to be hit.”

I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

So is the person who adopted them also on this island now?

“Uncle Hochan? Yes, he’s probably preparing dinner at home right now.”

“His name is Hochan?”

“Yes. Uncle Baek Hochan.”

“I see…”

Setting aside my grinding anger for now, I tended to A-rin’s calf.

As it was getting dark, I took out my wand to provide light.

[2nd Circle Cast: Tissue Regeneration]

“Ugh…! It’s cold!”

“Cold? That shouldn’t be possible?”

“Oh, it’s fine now.”

“Hey, don’t joke around.”

“I’m not joking…”

Seeing A-rin’s gaunt appearance made my heart ache.

Now I realized that he had only adopted children with the surname “Baek.”

I didn’t know what scheme he was running on this remote island, but it seemed I needed to meet this person.

“If I had known A-rin would suffer like this, I should have stopped her back then… I’m sorry.”

“No, no! I’m just so happy that NoName came to see me! Hehe! I’m really happy to see you after so long…”

A-rin pressed her lips tightly and hung her head.

Tears were already streaming down her flushed cheeks.

“… This won’t do. It’s getting late, so let’s quickly—”

That’s when it happened.

A thunderous shout came from down the path.

“You rotten thieving brats! Get back to your places right now or you’ll be punished!”

I made eye contact with an elderly man who had a small frame despite his booming voice.

“Wait, what… what’s this! Thieves! Catch those watermelon thieves!”

An elderly man wielding a walking stick charged through the grass with a frightening intensity.

He was wearing a traditional Korean hat that you’d normally only find in Itaewon these days.

A beard grown down to his chest, and a fierce expression that couldn’t be hidden by his wrinkles.

“You heaven-cursed rascals! Do you want to go back to the punishment room again?”

He raised his walking stick high, looking ready to beat us all.

“Stay right where you— AAAACK!”

Unfortunately, he promptly face-planted onto the ground.

It was the same vine I had almost tripped over earlier.

“Grandfather! Grandfather!”

A young man came running, panting heavily.

His appearance was familiar.

Green tracksuit, matching top and bottom.

Though his current appearance was quite shabby, he was definitely the rich man who used to visit the orphanage frequently.

“Grandfather! What are you doing the— AAAACK!”

THUD—

Like a slapstick comedy, the man planted his face in the mud right next to where the old man had fallen.

It wasn’t even autumn yet, but we were witnessing a bumper crop of absurdity.

* * *

We all sat around a table that wasn’t exactly lavish but had all the basics, picking at our food with chopsticks.

Professor Cheon said he would explore the island while we ate, taking just a few bites before leaving the house.

Except for the mackerel, protein was hard to find.

There were vegetables next to vegetables, next to more vegetables, and even more vegetables.

This wasn’t some idol survival program, but there was a parade of vegetables that all looked slightly different but were essentially the same.

The children, however, seemed hungry and were busy putting rice in their mouths first.

Normally, the grandfather would sit at the head of the table and teach table manners, according to what they said.

They seemed relieved that the uncomfortable presence was gone.

Meanwhile, I stopped Baek Hochan from taking the fish with his chopsticks.

“…?”

“Give it to the kids. Don’t you feel sorry for them when they have so little to eat?”

“Alright. But you’re that kid, right? The one from the news…”

“Yes.”

“I see, I see… AAAAHHHH! Ah, forget it. I’m done eating. Everyone, eat up.”

Baek Hochan suddenly clutched his head and put his chopsticks down on the table.

The sound of what might have been an owl or a screech owl penetrated through the paper window.

I also put down my chopsticks and asked him:

“Why did you bring the children to this island? You’re rich, aren’t you?”

“Who says that… I’m broke.”

“What kind of broke person donates two VR capsules?”

“I wasn’t broke then! I was just about to become broke…”

There seemed to be a backstory, but I had absolutely no desire to ask about it.

“Our grandfather has some dementia. As you can see, his mind wanders a bit… Two or three months ago, he collapsed suddenly and we thought he wouldn’t make it.”

The traditional teacher Baek Bonggon, whom he called his grandfather, was nearly ninety years old.

Yet he was still spry enough to run long distances, which made me question if he was really sick.

“He spent his whole life as a traditional teacher on Durido Island. Of course, most of his classes were held at the school on Biando Island.”

He was born on Durido and was the last resident to remain on the island.

He eventually moved to Biando due to relocation pressure, but a few years ago, his dementia worsened and he insisted on living on Durido again.

“But what does that have to do with our A-rin and Min-woo? Did you want to roleplay or something?”

“That’s exactly it!”

“What?”

Baek Hochan clapped his hands together.

“Grandfather said he would only leave his fortune to someone who is qualified.”

BANG-!

“Just for something like that!”

I slammed the table and stood up.

Does he not know what happened to A-rin’s calves?

“…!”

“Ah, sorry. Keep eating.”

“Okay…”

Baek Hochan scratched his head and continued his explanation.

“No, listen to the end. You’re misunderstanding something.”

“What, that your family finances went bad so you’re trying to get on your grandfather’s good side to secure a favorable will? If that’s the case, why not just file for a statutory share claim later instead of dragging children into this!”

Was I so wrong about judging people?

We should leave this island right now—

“It’s not that simple! Would I have been doing this ridiculous thing with young children for eight months for such a simple reason?”

“Then explain.”

“The kids agreed to everything before coming here!”

“That’s why I’m asking you to explain?”

“Wow, really… Are you really eight years old? You’re exhausting…”

Baek Hochan moistened his throat with barley tea, then gritted his molars and began to speak.

“Without grandfather’s help, we can’t properly receive the inheritance.”

“Don’t you know civil law? Inheritance is automatically initiated upon the death of the testator—”

“It’s not money, land, or buildings.”

His eyes now contained all sorts of hardships he couldn’t hide.

“Bitcoin.”

“What?”

“Grandfather won’t tell us the password to the digital wallet containing his Bitcoin.”

“You mean cryptocurrency? How much are we talking about?”

“10,825 coins. At today’s lunch price, about 249.8 billion won…”

So that teacher lying over there is a Bitcoin nouveau riche?

The world has gone mad.