episode_0111

[Episode 111] Longing

“… declares that he has passed the second trial.”

With the words of the servant reading the scripture, the second trial came to an end.

Just like when the first trial ended, I lay on the bed, alternately stroking Sarilang and Samseok, who were asleep in my arms, reminiscing about the events of that day as another rest period was given.

By the way, Maincoon seems to have calmed down a bit.

I feel somewhat sorry for the residents of Cat Country.

Those friends forgave us for intruding, but eventually, conflict arose again because of the treasure…

Of course, at that time, considering the situation where I couldn’t leave the bead behind, even if I didn’t want to confront them, I would have had to face it again…

Suri is patient too. Regardless of what was said, be a bit gentle.

They were kind kids; could we have conversed affectionately? How scary did I have to be for Cat Country to establish a divine relationship with me?

Whenever Suri barked at Maincoon back then, Maincoon looked at me with fear…

Hmm… Suri might be fluffy and cute to me, but a terrifying presence… Probably because it’s immortal.

Perhaps if Suri disguised itself and took a walk, it could erase Cat Country from the celestial map with just one stroll.

What’s scarier is that even after erasing a country, Suri wouldn’t even realize what it had stepped on.

Cats have sensitive senses, so if they felt even a fraction of Suri’s power, it was natural for them to react that way.

The problem was the reactions of the surrounding cats.

After Suri negotiated or threatened Maincoon, and Maincoon gave Suri the blue bead and knelt before me, the atmosphere among the cats became quite gloomy.

Although forced by the king to drop their weapons and kneel, they all looked at Maincoon with tails drooping, emitting either sad cries or angry, sharp sounds, clearly showing a mood of censure towards Maincoon.

It’s not unreasonable to understand the perspective of the cat soldiers.

How resentful their king must have seemed in their eyes.

In reality, Maincoon knelt to protect the safety of the cat residents, realizing the gap in power, but to them, it was no different from losing the country without doing anything.

So, I felt the need to make other cats understand why Maincoon made that choice, even if it meant preserving Maincoon’s authority.

Since we’ve established a vassal relationship, we can’t just leave things as they are, right?

Regardless of the intention, ultimately, since Maincoon handed over the country without bloodshed, it was inevitable that the king’s authority would diminish. In that case, historically, rather than blaming me or Suri, the people of Cat Country would end up resenting the cat king.

How much flak has my hometown’s military commander been receiving until today?

Judging by the outcome alone, this place must be in a more serious situation, so unlike our military commander, Maincoon might even lose the throne altogether.

Then, the alliance we just formed would be of no use.

From what I see, the cat king appears to love his subjects to an extent incomparable to our military commander…

He didn’t want to be misunderstood by his people and suffer more than necessary.

Also, I really liked Cat Country.

The beautiful and quaint atmosphere of the village, the adorable residents, and their warm hearts that forgave us for invading so readily.

If the king changes, I may never be able to visit this cute Cat Country in a friendly manner again.

That’s unacceptable!

I want to come back here with my family!

How much would Heeseon and our unborn baby love this cute and lovely country?

So there should be no confusion in Cat Country. Furthermore, the people had to live a comfortable and happy life to maintain that warm atmosphere.

That’s why.

It was Maincoon who made such a proposal.

I’ll give you a chance to fail. Even if you lose to Frost, your pride will be somewhat broken, but your authority will be maintained.

It was a proposal of this kind, and it was fortunate that the Cat King accepted it.

The result was obvious. It’s nothing more than a snack for that worthless lump of iron.

“Sigh.. Feeling a bit tired? Should I go to bed early today..”

With Hyangdan, Sari, Samseok already asleep for a long time, alone in the quiet room, as I continued to think, drowsiness began to creep in.

As I gradually fell into sleep, at that moment,

Knock, knock, knock!

“Young man! Are you there?”

My mind cleared at the sound coming from outside.

“Yes! Just a moment!”

Quickly getting up and opening the door, I saw an elderly Dongbangsak with a kind smile.

“Were you resting, young man? It must have been tough after the trial ended.”

“Oh no, sir! Please come in. It wasn’t that hard, just a long way back and forth.”

“Oh.. Wasn’t that hard…? Huh… really… Do you truly believe it wasn’t difficult?”

With a slightly surprised expression, Dongbangsak entered the room and sat on one of the chairs at the large table located on one side of the room.

“Well, it was tough. Fortunately, all the cat friends were kind. By the way, what brings you here?”

“…Hm? Kind cats from an aggressive and sensitive cat tribe..? …Oh well, that’s not important. Let’s see.. Here it is! How about this? Would you like to taste the Heaven’s Brew personally brewed by Sinseon?”

With a warm smile, Dongbangsak took out two glasses and a bottle from his arms.

Pouring liquor into Dongbangsak’s glass.

I was a little worried about the sudden visit, but when I asked, he said he came just to chat, so I felt relieved.

I should ask Dongbangsak about Heesun’s news first.

Sigh.. Going through trials and tribulations, separating during the sweet honeymoon period, what is this nonsense…

Not considering the tender heart of the husband who can’t see his beautiful wife’s face?

Of course, I shouldn’t expect consideration from a thief who married my precious daughter without her father’s knowledge.

“Hehehe. Looks like Heesun is on your mind again.”

“Oh. Yes.. We’ve been apart for a while. Is Heesun doing well?”

“Oh, she’s doing fine. Seeing you two together, it seems like you’re truly meant for each other. In fact, the reason I came to see you today is because of that… Heesun wanted me to check if you wanted any news about her… Oh, it’s becoming unbearable.”

Ah! Heesun misses me too..

Hmm.. Hearing the news makes me miss her even more.

Is she keeping herself warm?

Even though she’s a princess, is she being taken care of properly…

“But I still want to take care of her myself…”

Just imagining Heesun makes me feel her unique sweet peach scent brushing against my nose.

It’s already tough being apart for a short while, but how does Guenoojiknyeo feel…

“I miss Heesun so much too. But can’t I just be with Heesun? It doesn’t seem like it would affect the trial I’m going to face anyway…”

“Um.. That would be difficult. You’re still considered a sinner, and… Oh, this is confidential… Um… The third trial is related to Heesun.”

“With Heesun?”

Why on earth is Heesun involved..? Isn’t she suffering unnecessarily by participating in the trial? She’s not even single anymore….

“Haha! Don’t worry too much, there won’t be any difficult or challenging trials for Heeseon. By the way, do you know that His Majesty worries so much about his grandson that he fusses over every little detail from what Heeseon eats to even trivial aspects of his daily life? That nobleman, just causing trouble unnecessarily and then getting scolded by Heeseon, coming back to me and nagging all day long!”

“Oh?”

“Oh! I misspoke again. Uh… let’s pretend you didn’t hear what I just said, okay? It’s because I’ve been stuck in the youngest position for so long, dealing with all sorts of troubles… Anyway! What I wanted to say is that since your son-in-law is someone His Majesty loves dearly, there’s no need for Heeseon to worry.”

“Oh…. Thank goodness.. Thank you, Elder Dongbangsak. If you weren’t here, both Heeseon and I would have been so frustrated…”

Expressing gratitude while refilling Elder Dongbangsak’s cup.

“Haha. There’s no need to be overly thankful. Didn’t you treat me to a delicious meal back then?”

“Oh, it’s nothing special. Besides, I didn’t prepare it alone; Heeseon helped too…”

“Haha, that’s why I’ve become the messenger between your couple. Anyway, tell me that story once. How did you manage to pass through trials so smoothly until now?”

“Oh, that?”

I didn’t know that the trials I faced weren’t just about passing or failing.

Even within passing, they are divided into three levels: Heaven, Earth, and Human.

For example, if I had passed the first trial exactly as intended without any twists, it would have been at the Human level. Of course, given the twisted nature of the story, achieving the Human level was practically impossible.

In the end, I bypassed the Human level and passed the trial in my own way, which was precisely at the Earth level.

Therefore, having achieved a sufficiently high score, His Majesty secretly wanted me to be satisfied and stop.

And… my own story of changing the script.

That was at the Heaven level.

I only strived to create my own story, but to pass the trial at the Heaven level, one needs permission from the heavens.

So, Elder Dongbangsak seems curious about that as well.

Especially regarding my abilities, he seems quite intrigued.

“The first trial was easier because Heeseon informed me of its contents. Thanks to that, I could prepare and plan for the trial in advance. Also, I had a hidden helper. So, I thought I could create a completely new story.”

“A helper? Who is that? The immortal? Oh! Come to think of it, Heeseon mentioned something about the sari and how surprised and flustered she was…”

“Haha, did Heeseon say that? Please tell her that Sari is doing well with me and had no issues during the trial. Oh! Don’t blame yourself too much for forgetting about me or Sari. As for the helper… I’m sorry, I’ll tell you after the trial ends. Maybe I can introduce them after finishing the exam. They’re a shy friend…”

“Haha. Alright, take your time to tell me. Now, how did you manage to pass the second trial at the Heaven level?”

Uh… to be honest, I’m not sure about that part.

The trial involved finding the treasure of Cat Kingdom, so I brought back the most precious blue bead I could find…

His Majesty didn’t even look at the bead, just stared at the tricolored cat on my arm and declared my passage.

Later, I heard that I had passed at the Heaven level, and I was quite taken aback.

Hmm.. I’m not sure about that either.. It’s not a part I specifically designed…. Actually, I don’t know the original story of the trials I face. So I don’t know what parts have deviated from the original fate… Ah! Just that it’s related to the kitten I brought in? Maybe it was just good luck?

Surely Samseok was a treasure of the Cat Kingdom? Nah, that’s not it.

It’s strange to call a stray cat a treasure, isn’t it?

Treasure, what treasure, ask people passing by with a cat and a blue bead in front of them which one seems like a treasure. They’ll all say the blue bead looks like a treasure.

This one clearly has been wandering around since the first trial. If it were a treasure, could it roam around like a stray cat?

By the way, when asked how to deal with the difficult blue bead, a wise man said he didn’t know either, so he just told me to take it.

Bringing it back was the content of the trial, it didn’t say to offer it, right?

So, I made it into a necklace and put it on Samseok.

The bead looked a bit heavy on Samseok, but I was relieved that Samseok liked it.

Later, when I go to the Cat Kingdom, I’ll probably have to ask Samseok to return it to the Cat King.

But Samseok will need a name too… What should I name him?

Ah! Get a hold of yourself, thinking about other things in front of an elder…

Fortunately, Elder Dongbangsak seemed momentarily lost in thought like me.

“Luck… Haha.. Yeah. Let’s go with that. I hope that luck will help in the third trial too…”

“I hope so, but I’m not hoping for it. Haha.. There is a monk I respect who said we shouldn’t seek luck anymore. He always advised me to contemplate and worry about my own abilities. So, rather than seeking luck, I will focus on finding my own center and overcoming the third trial.”

“Oh…”

Upon hearing my words, the elder widened his eyes for a moment, then smiled proudly and poured me a drink.

“Yes.. This is how it should be.. Hahaha! It’s as if even the remaining worries in my heart are being washed away! Yes, drink up, you’ve met not a monk but a Buddha! He must be a noble person, so honor him well in the future.”

“Haha, he’s like a Buddha indeed. And also like a father.”

The conversation continued at length thereafter.

We mainly shared stories that happened under the sky, and although it hasn’t been long since I ascended to Heaven, I suddenly felt very nostalgic for those I love.

Now only the final trial remains… We’ll be able to meet again soon.

Before I knew it, the night had become deep, with the bright moon shining through the window, and Elder Dongbangsak left with a smile, riding a crane, bidding farewell.

On the bed, Sari and Samseok were still sleeping soundly, their ears twitching cutely.

I guess I should sleep now if I want to face the trial tomorrow.

Heavenly liquor is nice. Even though I’m drunk, my head feels clear like this.

When I return, I should bring something for our old man Gil-yong as a gift.

Feeling the warmth of Sari and Samseok as I get into bed, I slowly drift off to sleep.