Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Hot Tea and a Day Out
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‘It’s been a while since I had hot tea.’
Kang Jae-hyeok, sitting across from Park Hae-rin and sipping tea, suddenly realized.
Warm tea was a symbol of leisure. Savoring the time as it slowly cooled.
It wasn’t suitable entertainment for a boy living so intensely.
“Gulp!”
Uncomfortable with the unfamiliar time, he still downed the hot tea in one go.
It felt like his esophagus was burning, but enduring pain was his specialty.
Seeing the empty teacup put his mind at ease, and he actually felt pretty good.
Park Hae-rin tilted her head.
The still young girl couldn’t understand Jae-hyeok’s odd behavior.
Even if the wounds she’d suffered her whole life were as deep as those etched in Jae-hyeok’s heart, the lives they’d lived were different.
At the very least, she’d grown up treated like a proper young lady.
It was impossible for her to fathom Jae-hyeok’s emotional unease from the simple act of drinking tea.
But an old man who’d been through it all was different.
‘He doesn’t know how to enjoy a single thing.’
The pharmacist elder’s expression turned complicated as he returned with a gift for Hae-rin and happened to witness Jae-hyeok’s actions.
A child stripped of everything by greedy adults.
The elder could vaguely guess what kind of mindset Jae-hyeok had lived with and what goals he’d set.
He just felt pity.
Of course, he had no intention of casually offering comfort or advice.
It would be utter arrogance to prattle on knowingly to a boy walking a harsh path even he hadn’t experienced, just because he was old and had lived long.
‘Even the Yaksha of the world wouldn’t be qualified to advise that child.’
As long as Jae-hyeok didn’t abandon House Kang.
He had a duty to reclaim what the Yaksha had lost.
Not to follow in the Yaksha’s footsteps, but to become a better man than him.
‘It’ll only get harder from here.’
A child with no guiding lighthouse to chase, no family to hold his hand and walk beside him.
At least entering Lion’s Castle and gaining friends might offer some comfort to Butler Hwang.
‘Hard to believe, but… they really are friends.’
The pharmacist elder’s eyes sharpened as he stroked his goatee.
The girl with long black hair sitting across from Jae-hyeok.
At first, he thought she resembled the female students Kang Dae-seong had toyed with.
That she’d be used by Jae-hyeok at his whim and discarded once she’d been squeezed dry.
He was greatly mistaken.
The emotions in the girl’s gaze toward Jae-hyeok were far from mere affection.
Jae-hyeok’s gaze toward her wasn’t cold, either.
It was curt, but he could feel the mutual consideration.
“Here, drink this too.”
Violet.
Hae-rin pushed her teacup toward Jae-hyeok.
The problem was that it was also hot tea.
‘…Is that consideration or just picking on me?’
Wouldn’t a normal person offer cold water in that situation?
“You think I downed it because I like it?”
As expected, Jae-hyeok’s reaction was negative.
He grumbled with a sullen expression.
“Ahem.”
The elder cleared his throat and sat between the two.
A subtle scent wafted faintly as he placed a small red wooden box on the table.
A sharp, charred smell.
Jae-hyeok narrowed his brow, naturally recalling the moment he’d fought an ogre in a burning forest.
“What’s this?”
“It’s called Sohae. An elixir made from the heartwood of the Baekrin Tree that grows wild in a tiny number of Gates. It’s an incredibly rare item. Not only are the materials and recipe scarce, but it demands exceptional skill from the apothecary. There are hardly any in Korea who can meet that standard. Heh heh.”
The elder pushed the wooden box toward Hae-rin.
“Take it to your father and tell him to chew it slowly. I guarantee his condition will improve tenfold.”
“Really…?”
“You think I’d bother scamming a kid? Pfft.”
“How much?”
Hae-rin swallowed dryly and asked.
In truth, she didn’t even know her father’s exact illness.
She couldn’t blindly trust an old man she’d just met.
But she wanted to buy the medicine in front of her, even if it meant emptying her piggy bank.
The guild would verify its authenticity, so even if it was a scam, it wouldn’t harm her father.
“Never mind that.”
The elder shook his head.
“You don’t need to know. He can pay the price once he’s healthy.”
“But…”
“I’m not doing this out of pure kindness. Proving my skills to Guardian Guild and opening trade is a huge opportunity for me too. Remember this, kid. There’s no such thing as a favor without a price in this world.”
“…….”
Hae-rin nodded in understanding at the elder’s explanation, then glanced sideways at Jae-hyeok.
Vowing to one day repay the kindness he’d shown her.
Jae-hyeok, who’d been eyeing the wooden box with interest, caught her glance and shook his head.
“Don’t worry about it. You’ve already paid me.”
“…?”
“You joined our team, remember?”
“But that…”
Joining the team seed was beneficial for Hae-rin too.
If she had to join a team anyway, being with Jae-hyeok was unconditionally better for her.
It was ambiguous to call it payment.
If anything, Hae-rin felt like she’d received a double favor.
Jae-hyeok shrugged.
“If it still bugs you, just buy me snacks more often.”
“…Okay.”
Hae-rin’s blank expression broke for the first time in a while as she nodded.
Just a faint smile made her look incredibly happy.
It rivaled the face Jae-hyeok made when eating delicious food.
Kids who’d endured harsh pain their whole lives, who knew they’d face even more ahead, yet could still smile.
The pharmacist elder liked the innocence of Jae-hyeok and Hae-rin.
***
“Then we’ll be off.”
Bow.
Jae-hyeok bent at a perfect ninety degrees to the pharmacist elder who’d seen him out.
Immense respect was packed into every gesture.
He could’ve even bowed fully on the ground, and it wouldn’t have been strange.
Community points: 1 per 20 low-grade potions.
The business contract between Jae-hyeok and the elder was overwhelmingly favorable to him.
Who else in the world would buy mass-produced factory potions with points?
Of course, price-wise, it wasn’t a losing deal for the elder either.
‘Points are hard to come by, that’s the issue.’
Anyway, the elder was satisfied too.
What he’d sought from this deal was Jae-hyeok himself.
‘This kid will definitely get stronger. Considering how few talents like him there are in Korea, he’ll surely qualify for the Jörmungandr Raid someday.’
The elder had many conversations with Jae-hyeok.
Because the Yaksha loved snake liquor so much, he’d roamed Gates hunting countless types of snakes, brewed liquor from them, and ended up cursed ridiculously by touching the incarnation of the snake god…
Sometimes calmly, sometimes bursting with anger, sometimes in tears.
The elder detailed his days adventuring with the Yaksha.
He didn’t curse or criticize the Yaksha in the process.
He seemed to sense Jae-hyeok quite liked his father.
‘Even that damn bastard was soft on his late-born son, huh?’
Tsk, tsk.
The elder clicked his tongue in annoyance, then chuckled as he waved to Jae-hyeok until he was out of sight.
‘Well done. If he didn’t even have memories of being loved by you, that kid wouldn’t know how to smile.’
May the day come when those black eyes shed the abyss within.
The elder hung the “Closed” sign on the door and wished blessings for the boy’s future.
***
Kang Jae-hyeok and Park Hae-rin had no experience playing with friends.
That actually turned into an advantage(?).
Having finished their errand, the two suffered from an obsession that they had to do something since they were already out.
‘I can’t let him find out I’ve never played before. Jae-hyeok’s quick on the uptake and would worry.’
Hae-rin moved enthusiastically to avoid worrying Jae-hyeok.
She showed interest in everything she spotted while walking the streets.
Though her eyes were dead since she wasn’t actually interested.
“That side dish looks tasty. Should we buy some?”
“You gonna eat packed lunches at school?”
“Look at those flowers in the flower bed.”
“The ones at school are prettier.”
“It’s an arcade. Says you can take pics and sing there. No, it does.”
“You can do that on your phone too… I mean, sure. Let’s go.”
Jae-hyeok tried for a different reason.
‘I have to uphold House Kang’s honor.’
The pharmacist elder had mentioned Kang Dae-seong several times in conversation.
To praise Jae-hyeok more dramatically, he’d used the comparatively worthless Kang Dae-seong as a comparison.
It wasn’t entirely welcome to Jae-hyeok.
He worried Hae-rin might misunderstand House Kang and spread rumors.
He felt the need to prove it was Kang Dae-seong’s personal failing, not an issue of House Kang’s bloodline.
So he actively went along with Hae-rin.
He experienced everything she showed interest in, no exceptions.
They ate street food while hunting landmarks, tried every game in the arcade.
They hit the movies and karaoke, didn’t forget shopping in between.
They even visited SNS-famous eateries.
“…….”
When he came to his senses, the result was…
Dozens of shopping bags hung from Jae-hyeok’s hands.
His phone even had nearly 300 certification shots.
‘What?’
By now, the surroundings had gone dark.
The sun had long set, and most street neon signs were off.
“The shops… are mostly closed.”
Hae-rin, snapping out of it at the same time, looked around and said.
Her breathing was a bit rough.
She’d kept up with Jae-hyeok’s pace all day traversing the city, so even as a Player, it was natural to tire.
“Yeah. Guess we have no choice but to head back. Right?”
“Y-yeah. It’s a shame, but let’s go.”
“Sure. We had fun, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, it felt… no, we definitely played normally. We can go back without regrets.”
They hadn’t really meant to play when they came out, but…
‘Anyway, this counts as doing well, right?’
‘He won’t worry since it looked normal.’
Sighing in relief, they turned toward the Gate visible beyond the city.
A few merchants spotted their backs and let out hollow laughs.
“That couple’s still wandering around.”