episode_0220

We sat side by side in front of the round table.

The five people gathered here each held important positions in Breezedon.

Ruyef was the Village Chief. He was the head who oversaw all of the village’s rule of law and other major and minor affairs. Because of this, he couldn’t leave this cabin and spent all day listening to people’s complaints. He had married Leonne, a maiden from Taildon, and had a daughter, but he reportedly had no time at all to see his child.

Despite this, he was an amazing man who steadfastly led the village without once growing tired.

Gale was in charge of civil engineering. He led young carpenters and took charge of the construction projects Ruyef was pushing forward. It was no exaggeration to say that, aside from the residential areas, almost all facilities, including mountain path expansion and bridge pier installation, were practically built by the two of them.

A few days ago, the creaking door of our house was also fixed with the help of this friend.

Hanson was in charge of managing outsiders and transporting goods. A year ago, he established the Breezedon Merchant Group, allowing trade with other cities, and thanks to this, an enormous amount of goods began entering the village.

I owed him a lot in many ways. He supplied various medicinal herbs to the pharmacy, and he also brought back my favorite herbs, so I had Louis retrieve them every time.

Elon was in charge of cooking. She was a warm-faced woman of 30, and lunch and dinner dishes were prepared by the women gathered under Elon’s guidance. These communal meals, where everyone ate together, were maintained due to Ruyef’s strong opinion to uphold the old traditions of Breezedon.

Recently, as the village’s financial situation had become plentiful, the cuisine had become luxurious, satisfying everyone, and it was said that leftover dishes were sold to outsiders, generating a significant additional income.

I was in charge of medicine. I managed the pharmacy and also operated the medical room, which was set up as an auxiliary department.

My main duties, of course, involved making medicine for residents and treating them if they were sick. Fortunately, our residents were quite young and lived very healthily. Occasionally, there were troubling incidents when someone from civil engineering came in with serious injuries.

Nowadays, outsiders—travelers and merchants—visited frequently. Just like my book, rumors about the effectiveness of my medicine seemed to be actively circulating somewhere. Last week, a resident from Taildon even came all the way here to buy medicine.

Furthermore, since Breezedon’s air and water were so good, many wealthy, ailing elders wished to recuperate and stayed in the medical room. This had increased my workload, but it had also unintentionally brought in a huge income.

Ruyef opened his mouth.

“First… Gale. How is the bridge pier repair progressing?”

“Yes, Village Chief-nim. It’s still progressing well. Since Hanson supplied new tools last week, it seems it will be finished faster than originally expected. We’ll complete it before this winter.”

“That’s good news. Also… two windows in the outsider residential area are reportedly broken. The yellow house next to the windmill.”

“Yes.”

“Can you spare about two people?”

“Yes. I’ll send Bass and my son to repair it together.”

“Alright. Tell them to report to me once it’s complete.”

“Understood.”

Ruyef turned to the other side.

“Hanson, are there any particular issues?”

“Hmm… Last week, outsiders didn’t cause any significant problems. Everything was at a level that could be resolved internally. However, a merchant group from Gordburg sent a request to purchase a large quantity of our village’s Rubus herbs, and I haven’t been able to send a reply yet.”

“Ritsu. Is that possible?”

A question suddenly came flying at me as I sat blankly.

I quickly recalled if there was stock in the pharmacy. There was still plenty, but I couldn’t gauge how much the Gordburg merchant wanted.

“‘Large quantity,’ you say?”

“For medicinal herbs, a ‘large quantity’ typically refers to 100 bundles or more, so at least that much is needed.”

“Hmm, 100 bundles. It would be possible. But we’d have to send more people into the forest than now. We’d also need to prepare an extra portion for winter. It’ll get very busy.”

Hearing my words, Ruyef quickly concluded.

“Hanson. Tell them that the maximum trade quantity will be 50 bundles, and if they find that difficult, refuse.”

“Understood. And for Elon aunt-nim… here is the ingredient list for Taildon market this week. Please review it at your leisure and let us know the required quantities, and we will prepare and send them to the kitchen.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll check it.”

“Alright. Next, it’s said that new residents wishing to live in our village have arrived again…”

The regular meeting ended without any issues.

Although the grand word ‘meeting’ was used, it was essentially just where these department heads gathered to resolve complaints and decide on new agenda items.

In the past, opinions often clashed, and sometimes they even received Ruyef’s reprimands when things didn’t go smoothly. But now, everyone had been in their positions for nearly five years, so they were accustomed to their duties, and no noisy incidents occurred.

Gale stood up from his seat.

“Then, everyone, have a vigorous day today!”

One by one, they left the cabin to go to their workplaces, and I was about to follow suit.

“Ritsu.”

For some reason, Ruyef called my name and stopped me.

He watched everyone leave from the window, then drew the curtains.

“What’s wrong? Why the serious mood?”

“I have something to tell you alone.”

“Hmm…?”

Ruyef spoke in a low voice.

“Apparently, Louis and Joseph went to Taildon yesterday.”

“Oh, I heard from Gale on the way here. I’ll scold Louis thoroughly.”

“No. That’s not it. The children apparently ended up at the Taildon communication center, and it seems they met Vincent Teacher-nim there.”

“What?”

It was a very surprising story.

After participating in the Lykene Dynasty Restoration War in Deseo 12 years ago, Vincent Teacher-nim had remained in Deseo, taking on the task of training royal knights.

He had entered old age, his hair completely white, and since he had never returned to Taildon, I had assumed he would be buried there forever.

To suddenly return to Taildon…

“When did he arrive?”

“Yesterday.”

“Who came with him?”

“For now, he reportedly came ‘alone.’ But there’s also a possibility that he minimized his retinue or concealed them.”

“I think so too.”

This was not something to be taken lightly.

The reason was that I couldn’t comfortably say things like, ‘Oh, Vincent Teacher-nim must have missed his hometown and returned. Should I go meet him and pay my respects?’

Whatever his past, Vincent Teacher-nim was now a close associate of the Deseo royal family. I could by no means approach this with a light heart.

“Marie? Does she know?”

“Since Louis told her, she would naturally know.”

“She didn’t say anything particular to me, though.”

“If she didn’t tell you, her husband… Marie probably thinks there’s no big issue.”

Although she didn’t attend this meeting, there was still someone the village greatly relied on, no less than Ruyef.

Marie. My wife.

The very fact that she was in charge of the village’s accounting implied Marie’s immense influence, but her wisdom was absolutely necessary even for ‘behind-the-scenes’ matters that were difficult to reveal externally.

For example, matters that Ruyef and I found difficult to predict or resolve even when putting our heads together. In such cases, if we quietly asked Marie, a solution would always emerge somehow.

“So what should we do? Should I go visit Vincent Teacher-nim?”

“Hmm. It might be good to at least pay your respects.”

“Alright. I’ll make time tomorrow and go down to Taildon. There’s nothing more to discuss, is there?”

“Yes. Go to the pharmacy.”

“See you later.”

Clank.

As I walked from the cabin to the pharmacy, I felt uneasy the entire time.

Vincent Teacher-nim, of all people.

Indeed, it felt like too long since I had even heard that name.

Whoosh.

The wind blew. Its invisible force swept through the Dragon’s Forest, carrying far, far away.

As I savored the wind and blankly looked up at the pharmacy, I could see a single rock protruding from the mountainside.

Although nothing remained on it now… In my old memories, there was a large wooden log there. And the image of a red-haired girl diligently swinging a wooden sword remained like a mark.

Why was it that faded memories appeared before me today?

Was it because recalling Vincent Teacher-nim and naturally associating it with swordsmanship suddenly brought back those old days?

It was a past event, something that could never be returned to.

Yet, this feeling, which didn’t seem particularly distant… somehow seeped into my blank mind.

“…”

I lowered my head and opened the pharmacy door.

That day, I couldn’t focus on work all morning.

Even I couldn’t tell if I was making medicine or just idly fiddling with random herbs.

Anyway, it was a huge relief that no patients appeared throughout the morning.

I was lost in thought until lunchtime, and only when I saw outsiders entering one by one through the window did I finally come to my senses.

“Time to work.”

It was just as I was about to stand up, intending to check on the elders in the medical room.

Bang!

Suddenly, the pharmacy door burst open roughly.

The moment I heard that boisterous sound, I squeezed my eyes shut.

There was only one person in the village who would burst into my workplace so rudely…

My son, Louis.

He had apparently run for quite a while to get here, panting as he shouted.

“Dad!”

“Louis.”

“Dad! Dad! You know what…”

“What did I tell you? I told you not to bother Dad when he’s working.”

“No, I know, but… Village Chief-nim is scary… and I just felt like I had to ask you!”

“What about Mom?”

“Mom told me to ask Dad.”

“…”

“It’s true! Ask Mom!”

Louis looked up at me, his brown eyes sparkling as if he felt wronged.

Ha… I sometimes wonder how such an astonishing kid could have been born between Marie and me.

When we were together, anyone could tell we were father and son because he resembled me so much, but his personality was the complete opposite of our quiet couple.

Perhaps it’s because he’s only 10 years old. Will he change when he matures? If I talk to Marie, she just says, ‘Doesn’t Louis actually make the house lively and pleasant to see?’ and that’s the end of it.

On the other hand, our daughter Latina is 8 years old and calm and cute like Marie. As for Louis… sigh, I don’t know.

“So. What do you want to ask?”

“Outsiders aren’t supposed to come into our residential area, right?”

Sigh. What kind of scheme was he cooking up now that he was asking about the village’s detailed rules?

I couldn’t even guess anymore.

“It’s not entirely forbidden, but we do advise them not to enter if possible.”

“So, Dad, you’re saying an outsider can come into our house?”

“Something like that. Not all outsiders are thieves or robbers, are they? All sorts of people come into Dad’s workplace too.”

Louis nodded, then threw out a sudden question.

“Then, an outsider wants to go into the ‘Big House.’ That’s fine, right?”

The Big House?

I was about to dismiss it as nothing significant, but the moment I heard that phrase, my body stiffened.

“What… what are you talking about?”

“Huh?”

“Tell me in detail. ‘The Big House’?”

Louis began to mumble his story.

“Well—this morning I met a girl in the outer residential area? She seemed like a friend—so I talked to her to ask where she came from, but she kept asking where the Big House was. So I told her the Big House was in our area and that other people weren’t allowed in, but she just came right over anyway—.”

“So?”

“So—I ran to you, Dad! Wasn’t the Big House a place only Village Chief-nim could go? But that red-haired girl keeps saying she wants to go in there…”

“Louis.”

I hadn’t felt my heart pound like this in years.

I knelt on trembling knees, grasped my son’s shoulders with shaking hands, and pleaded in a trembling voice.

“Guide me there right now. Where is that girl… right now?”