The Flower-Applied Man (2)
Without the slightest idea that his own portrait had become the talk of Eltron, Patrick finally resolved to tackle one of the tasks he had been putting off.
“Alright, let’s get the bees calmed down first.”
Today’s instructor was Maksim. Patrick donned the veiled hat and leather gloves, then slipped into the full beekeeping suit Josh had nagged him into making. Once fully geared up, he flashed a confident grin.
“The honey must be packed in there nicely, right, Maksim?”
“You said you haven’t opened the hive once since I gave it to you?”
“Yes. I never had the courage to do it alone.”
“Haha, smart move. It’s probably stuffed full. The flowers bloomed so well this year. First, let’s make a smoker.”
Beekeeping was something every aspiring farmer dreamed of trying at least once. Today was the day Patrick would finally open the hive he had left sitting beneath the acacia tree ever since he received it. It was his very first attempt at beekeeping—and the historic moment when he could finally achieve self-sufficiency in sweetness.
“You can burn straw if you like, but since the goal is to calm the bees, using herbs is better.”
“I see.”
Maksim skillfully placed a handful of dried herbs into the smoker and demonstrated how the smoke billowed out.
The bees aren’t going to die, then. Well, that makes sense.
Pesticides were obviously out of the question. Bees weren’t disposable.
“Shall I demonstrate first so you can follow along?”
“……Yes!”
After one deep breath, Patrick trailed closely behind Maksim. The bees buzzed fiercely, as if they had already sensed the invaders coming for their honey. Patrick felt every hair on his body stand on end and tensed with all his might.
Gulp.
Even though he was wrapped head to toe in protective gear, the sheer number of bees swarming around his ears with their furious wingbeats was something no one could truly understand without experiencing it. Yet Maksim strode toward the hive without a hint of nervousness.
“Now, you open the hive like this…… Watch carefully. That way you’ll be able to harvest the honey even when I’m not around.”
With practiced ease, Maksim lifted the lid, revealing multiple layers of densely packed honeycomb.
“As expected, since we haven’t harvested even once this year, it’s heavy! We’re going to get a lot out of this.”
“R-really?”
“No need to be too scared. Here, if you puff the smoke this way, the bees will move aside.”
More like they’re fleeing……?
Patrick couldn’t help feeling a twinge of guilt, as though he were robbing the bees of the honey they had worked so hard to gather.
Wait, it’s not ‘as though.’ It literally is robbery, isn’t it?
Still carrying the mindset of an ordinary salaryman from his previous life, Patrick found himself empathizing with the bees about to lose their honey. It felt like working yourself to the bone to earn a little money, only to have it all drained by rent, student loan payments, utility bills, taxes, and credit card debt until you were left with nothing.
Whoosh—
Just then, Maksim chuckled and lifted Patrick’s veil slightly before popping something into his mouth.
“……!”
Rich, thick, and intensely sweet……!
Ah—this is real, natural honey!
What had entered his mouth was a piece of pure, 100% natural honeycomb straight from the hive.
Whoa, damn!
Patrick’s eyes widened like saucers. He had assumed all honey tasted the same, but he was wrong. This wasn’t honey from bees fed sugar water—it was the finest creation of bees that had feasted on wildflowers in a world untouched by pollution.
“There’s nothing quite like eating honeycomb fresh like this. Haha!”
“You’re right, there really isn’t!”
The honey the generous villagers had shared had been delicious, but this was on another level. The slight warmth from the bees’ careful temperature control, the satisfying texture of the comb, and the way the natural sweetness slowly oozed out with every chew—it was a perfect harmony.
No wonder department store gift sets always include honeycomb honey.
In his previous life, he could never have afforded natural honeycomb honey worth hundreds of thousands of won. Now it was free!
Grin—
The ordinary salaryman who had been sympathizing with the bees was gone. In his place stood a honey-drunk invader.
Using a knife warmed in hot water, they sliced the honeycomb clinging to the hive walls and transferred it into wooden collection buckets. Next came the real work.
“Do we just squeeze the honey out?”
“Not yet. First we have to remove the wax.”
“Wax?”
Maksim pointed at the white caps sealing both sides of the comb.
“This is beeswax. Once the cells are full of honey, the bees seal them with wax like this. You have to carefully scrape it off with a thin knife, one layer at a time. It has plenty of uses.”
“Oh! I need it too!”
Beeswax was an essential ingredient in cosmetics. It helped thicken lotions, provided moisturizing benefits on its own, and improved elasticity. And it wasn’t just for cosmetics—soap, candles, even waterproofing leather. Truly versatile!
No wonder there’s that old saying about beekeeping starting out as a way to get wax instead of honey.
Once again, Maksim demonstrated first.
“You can’t let the knife cool down. Otherwise you won’t be able to separate the wax and honey cleanly.”
Repeatedly dipping the knife in warm water to maintain its temperature, he carefully lifted thin sheets of white wax and placed them into a glass jar. Patrick quickly joined in to help. In a world without the internet, it was common sense to learn everything you could while someone was willing to teach. Unlike the twenty-first century overflowing with tutorials, even the smallest bit of know-how was precious here.
“L-like this?”
“If you tilt the blade a little more, you can get the wax off cleanly. At this angle…… Yes! Perfect!”
Though it was only one hive’s worth of comb, the learning process meant it took nearly an hour just to harvest the wax.
“All that’s left is to transfer the honey onto a clean cloth and press it firmly.”
“Ah! I can do this part by myself.”
“Yes. It takes time and effort, but it’s not difficult. As long as you’re thorough, you’ll be fine.”
“Thank you, Maksim.”
“No need to thank me! Compared to everything you’ve done for us, this is nothing. If you have any more questions, just come find me. Ah, since the hive isn’t very big, you should be able to harvest one more time this year.”
“Oh! I see!”
Even at the end, he had received excellent instruction. Truly, a person must keep learning.
“Now, the only thing left is……”
Good old manual labor. There was no centrifugal extractor like the ones he had seen on YouTube. After sterilizing a wooden stick in boiling water and drying it in the sun, Patrick pressed down firmly on the cloth-wrapped honeycomb. Golden honey gushed out in thick streams. Just watching it made his stomach feel full and his mouth sweet.
“They say honey doesn’t spoil. I wonder if that’s true.”
He had already prepared glass jars for this day. If he filled them to the brim and stored them in the cellar, he might be able to enjoy real “honey sweet potatoes” this winter—not the sugar-coated kind, but actual roasted sweet potatoes dipped generously in honey!
I really need to get my hands on some rice.
Snow falling outside, a fluffy bed, charcoal crackling in the fireplace, and in his mouth—honey-dipped rice cakes paired with chilled, half-frozen sikhye……
Imagining a future that hadn’t even arrived yet, Patrick pressed on without feeling the strain.
“This is what they call honey peaches!”
“Whoa!”
The next day, Patrick served the children an extravagant snack. He had thinly sliced naturally sweet flat peaches, soaked them in honey overnight, and chilled them with ice magic. The thrilling sweetness painted pure happiness across the children’s faces.
“I guess I need to plant more flowers.”
“More flowers, sir?”
“Yeah. Turns out this suits me perfectly. Beekeeping fits me way better than farming. If I want to expand the number of hives next year, I’ll have to plant plenty of flowers this year, won’t I?”
One taste of honey and he was hooked. To eat as much as he wanted without holding back, he would need at least three hives.
“Heh heh. You’re well on your way to becoming a man buried in flowers.”
The Village Chief had arrived, a pouch dangling from his hand.
“It’s a success. Congratulations, sir!”
“Pardon?”
“The men’s cosmetics. Heh heh!”
All the prototype batches had sold out. People were even placing advance orders for products that hadn’t been released yet.
“I hear your portrait has become quite the sensation.”
“Well, that’s only natural……”
This was a world where people had almost no resistance to advertising. It was no wonder so many fell for the smooth talk of wandering medicine peddlers and bought “immortality elixirs,” “cure-alls,” or “love potions” by the cartload.
“The soldiers who tried it first and spread the word helped a lot too.”
Patrick’s eyes gradually glazed over.
The sound of money flowing in……
He quickly accepted the pouch and opened it.
“……Whoa.”
Silver coins. All of it—silver coins!
While the amount wasn’t quite enough to call it a complete life-changing fortune, it was more than sufficient to turn the idle dreams he often entertained into reality.
“A-are you serious, sir?”
“Yes. So, could you gather some carpenters for me?”
The Village Chief’s mouth fell open at Patrick’s morning visit.
How is this possible? Could I have done something like this?
No. He couldn’t. As an ordinary man, he would never have come up with such an idea, and even if he had, he wouldn’t have had the courage to act on it. Yet this young wizard teacher showed no hesitation in offering up the money he had earned by freely sharing his skills—for the sake of others.
“A village hall……!”
That was the answer Patrick had reached after pondering all night how to spend the money.
“It’ll be a space anyone in the village can use freely. From the elderly to the children—everyone. Inside, we’ll set up classrooms for those who want to learn. There’ll be a place where experienced seniors can teach beginner farmers and fishermen. How about building a spacious area for the elders to do morning exercises? Right now, they can’t exercise when the weather’s bad.”
Patrick’s words flowed without pause.
“We should also make a communal kitchen. Eating together will strengthen the bonds of the village. We’ll build storage rooms, workshops, and craft rooms too. Ah! And we need books. Right now we can barely fill two shelves, but if we add a few more whenever we have money, it’ll gradually improve, won’t it? We’ll make club rooms, install bulletin boards so people can exchange what they need……”
“That’s going to cost an enormous amount of money……”
“I’ll keep receiving technology fees every season. We can expand little by little with that, can’t we?”
“You mean……”
“Yes. I’ll do my best to cover as much as possible.”
The Village Chief’s jaw dropped.
The village has to develop.
Patrick wasn’t pouring out his own hard-earned money simply because he was a good person.
If I can’t leave the island, then I just have to develop the island, right?
Patrick’s Dunbrook Island Development Plan—Phase One.
It was time for the isekai version of the New Village Movement.