Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Hot Tea
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‘It’s been a while since I had hot tea.’
Kang Jae-hyeok suddenly realized this as he sat facing Hae-rin, sipping tea.
Warm tea was a symbol of leisure. Savoring time as it slowly cooled.
It wasn’t suitable entertainment for a boy living so intensely.
“Gulp!”
Uncomfortable with this unfamiliar time, he still downed the piping 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.
Hae-rin tilted her head.
The still-young girl couldn’t understand Jae-hyeok’s odd behavior.
Even if the wounds she’d received throughout her life were as deep as those carved into Jae-hyeok’s heart, the life she had enjoyed was different.
At least she had grown up being treated like a proper young lady.
It was impossible for her to empathize with Jae-hyeok’s emotional unease from something as simple as drinking tea.
But an old man who had seen it all was different.
‘He doesn’t know how to enjoy a single thing.’
The pharmacist elder’s expression grew 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 vaguely guessed the mentality Jae-hyeok had lived with and the goals he had set.
He just felt pity.
Of course, he had no intention of offering comfort or advice lightly.
To lecture a boy walking a harsh path even he hadn’t experienced—just because he had lived long and seen much—would be utter arrogance.
‘Even the world’s Yaksha 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 better than him.
‘It’ll only get harder.’
A child with no guiding lighthouse to chase, no family to hold his hand and walk beside.
At least enrolling in Lion’s Castle and making friends might offer some comfort to the Hwang butler.
‘Hard to believe, but… they really seem like 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 toyed with and discarded by Kang Dae-seong.
Someone Jae-hyeok would use at his whim until she had nothing left to give, then toss aside.
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 stoic, but he could feel their mutual consideration.
“Here, drink this too.”
Hae-rin pushed her own teacup toward Jae-hyeok.
The problem was that it was also still hot.
‘…Is that consideration or just messing with him?’
Wouldn’t a normal person offer cold water in that situation?
“Who said I like it enough to chug it?”
As expected, Jae-hyeok’s reaction was negative.
He grumbled with a sullen expression.
“Ahem.”
The elder cleared his throat and inserted himself between the two.
A subtle scent wafted as he placed a small red wooden box on the table.
A sharp, charred aroma.
Jae-hyeok furrowed his brow, naturally recalling the moment he fought an ogre in a burning forest.
“What’s this?”
“It’s called small liver essence. An incredibly rare elixir made from the heartwood of the baekrin tree that grows wild in a tiny number of Gates. Not only are the ingredients 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 slid 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…?”
“Would I bother scamming a kid? Pfft.”
“How much?”
Hae-rin swallowed dryly as she asked.
In truth, she didn’t even know her father’s exact illness.
She couldn’t blindly trust an elder she’d just met.
But she wanted to buy this medicine 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 lines will be a huge opportunity for me too. Remember this, kid. There’s no such thing in the world as favor without a price.”
“……”
Hae-rin nodded in understanding at the elder’s explanation, then glanced sideways at Jae-hyeok.
She vowed to someday repay the kindness he’d shown her.
Jae-hyeok, who had been eyeing the wooden box with interest, read her intent and shook his head.
“Don’t worry about it. You’ve already paid me.”
“…?”
“You joined our team, remember?”
“But that was…”
Joining the team seed was beneficial for Hae-rin too.
If she had to join a team anyway, teaming up with Jae-hyeok was unconditionally better for her.
It was ambiguous to call it payment.
If anything, Hae-rin felt like she’d received double favors.
Jae-hyeok shrugged.
“If it still bugs you, just buy snacks more often.”
“…Okay.”
Hae-rin’s blank expression cracked for the first time in ages as she nodded.
Just a faint smile, but she looked immensely happy.
It rivaled the face Jae-hyeok made when eating delicious food.
Kids who had endured harsh pain their whole lives, knowing 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.”
Jae-hyeok bowed exactly ninety degrees to the pharmacist elder who had come to see them out.
Immense respect was packed into every gesture.
It wouldn’t have been strange to full-on kowtow.
One low-grade potion bottle for twenty: community points.
The business contract Jae-hyeok and the elder had drawn up was extremely favorable to Jae-hyeok.
Who else in the world would buy mass-produced factory potions with points?
Of course, if you crunched the numbers, it wasn’t a losing deal for the elder either.
‘Points are just hard to come by, that’s the issue.’
In any case, the elder was satisfied too.
What he sought from this deal was Jae-hyeok himself.
‘This kid will definitely grow stronger. Considering how few talents like him Korea has, he’ll surely earn a spot in the Jörmungandr Raid someday.’
The elder had many conversations with Jae-hyeok.
Because the Yaksha loved snake liquor so much, he roamed Gates hunting countless snake varieties, brewed liquor from them, and wound up cursed ridiculously by brushing against the serpent god’s incarnation…
Sometimes calmly, sometimes bursting with anger, sometimes in tears.
The elder detailed his days working with the Yaksha.
He didn’t curse or blame the Yaksha outright.
He sensed Jae-hyeok quite liked his father.
‘Even that damn bastard must’ve been gentle with his late-born son, huh?’
Tsk, the elder clicked his tongue in annoyance, then chuckled as he watched Jae-hyeok wave until he was out of sight.
‘Good job. 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 all the abyss within.
The elder hung the “Closed for Business” sign on the door and wished blessings for the boy’s future.
***
Jae-hyeok and Hae-rin had no experience playing with friends.
That actually turned out to be a boon(?).
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 sharp; he’d worry.’
Hae-rin moved enthusiastically to avoid worrying Jae-hyeok.
She showed interest in everything they passed on the street.
Though her eyes were dead since she had no real interest.
“That side dish looks tasty. Should we buy some?”
“You gonna eat school food with it?”
“Look at those flowers in the flower bed.”
“The ones at school are prettier.”
“It’s an arcade. Says we can take pics and sing there. Or, it has them.”
“You can do that on your phone too… Actually, sure. Let’s go.”
Jae-hyeok tried for different reasons.
‘I have to uphold House Kang’s honor.’
The pharmacist elder had mentioned Kang Dae-seong several times during their talk.
To praise Jae-hyeok more dramatically, he’d used the comparatively worthless Kang Dae-seong as contrast.
It didn’t sit well with 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 with House Kang’s bloodline.
So he responded enthusiastically to Hae-rin.
He experienced everything she showed interest in, no exceptions.
They snacked on street food while sightseeing, tried every game in the arcade.
They hit the movies and karaoke, squeezed in shopping between.
Visited SNS-famous eateries too.
“……”
When he came to his senses, the result was this.
Dozens of shopping bags hung from Jae-hyeok’s hands.
His phone even had nearly three hundred certification shots.
‘What?’
By now, it was dark around them.
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 timing, looked around and said.
Her breathing was a bit ragged.
She’d kept up with Jae-hyeok’s pace touring the city all day, so even as a Player, fatigue was natural.
“Yeah. Guess we have to head back. Right?”
“Y-yeah. It’s a shame, but let’s go.”
“Sure. We had a good time.”
“Yeah, it felt totally normal… No, definitely normal. We can go back without regrets.”
They hadn’t meant to play in the first place, but…
‘Anyway, doesn’t this count as doing well?’
‘He won’t worry since it looked normal, right?’
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.”