Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Three Peaches (5)
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"...Hmm."
Droplets fell from her still-damp hair. Hong Yeon was holding some documents, and I read through them carefully.
"Hey."
"...?"
"No matter how I look at it, this isn't part of my responsibilities."
"What, really?"
A look of embarrassment crossed Hong Yeon's face. Even after checking the documents again, it was clear this wasn't my job.
She quickly scanned the papers in her hand and narrowed her brow upon realizing her mistake.
"Sorry. I've had so much work lately, I must have spaced out."
That could happen. When work piles up suddenly, mistakes are bound to occur.
I took the documents from her hand and read them over thoroughly.
Eh. Amid the long sentences, a familiar two-character name suddenly caught my eye.
-Cheon-do.
Cheon-do's name was listed among the new recruits starting tomorrow.
Why is she here?
I wondered. She barely had time for training as it was, so why this?
Aside from occasionally helping at the inn, Cheon-do devoted herself entirely to training.
For some reason, though, she seemed intent on helping with this stressful work.
I'll ask her tomorrow.
I'd see her anyway if things stayed on track.
I handed the finished documents back to Hong Yeon. She received them with both hands.
"......"
For some reason, her hand trembled as she took them.
Her bright red eyes were filled with fear, and anxiety clouded her complexion.
"You're... not going to yell at me?"
A moment later, the words slipped from her mouth.
"Yell? Why would I yell at you?"
"Like, 'Are your eyes painted on? Can't you handle something this simple?'"
What?
As my voice rose, Hong Yeon frantically shook her head side to side.
"N-no! Sorry. I must have said something stupid."
She apologized again, pressing her brow with a dejected expression.
"That's why I thought you'd do it again today."
"What do you mean 'again'?"
"......"
Her gaze fixed steadily on me.
"What?"
I stared back defiantly, and she looked down like a dog that had lost a staring contest.
I'd tried to help out of concern, but she was acting up. I sat down beside her and pulled out a few file folders.
"I'll help a bit today, so go to bed early. No need to pull an all-nighter with me. I've got a unique constitution; you don't."
I took out a quill, dipped it in ink, and began sorting the documents.
Hong Yeon stared at me blankly, then gave a wry smile and bowed her head.
"Thanks."
"What would you do without me?"
Scritch-scratch. The satisfying sound of the quill gliding across paper. The feather pen felt incredible in hand as I pressed it down.
Hong Yeon also picked up her pen and focused on her paperwork.
"It's funny. You dump all the work on me and run off alone."
"What are you talking about? Wasn't this what you were going to do anyway?"
"True."
Hong Yeon chuckled softly, letting out loud, hearty laughs like some jovial office colleague.
I twitched my eyebrow. Had I ever seen this woman smile since coming here? All I remembered were grimaces of pain or faces weary with fatigue.
"You are taking breaks, right?"
"I am. When I sleep."
"So you're working whenever you're awake."
She was the kind of executive politicians or tycoons would wine and dine. That was my growing impression of her.
"Do-won was created by that old man, so I have affection for it. Work here is no different from play."
She had a sense of responsibility toward her work and a wisdom about Do-won that belied her position.
She'd picked up computers—completely foreign to her—in mere days, to the point of teaching others. Her intelligence was practically genius-level.
Worrying about factions and trying to take me down had been a smart move too. The problem was her opponent.
"Lately, I've seen the changes more clearly the more I work. Peaceful times are just around the corner. What could be more enjoyable than laying the foundation?"
Hong Yeon smiled even as fatigue made her eyelids droop.
Her manner of speaking made her seem truly like someone from the old martial world.
"That's why I'm grateful to you. Without you, the Little Heavenly Demon, it might have taken years to get this far."
"Says the woman who tried to chop off my arm not long ago."
"I'm sorry about that."
She apologized straightforwardly to my gruff reply, without a hint of shame.
When she acted this meek, I couldn't stay mad. We'd been working side by side almost all day, so she'd grown a bit fond of me, it seemed.
"Just checking, but you haven't forgotten I'll be gone in two months, right?"
"Of course. I mentioned it earlier."
Do-won would vanish anyway.
Only I and the old man knew that.
This place would disappear in the near future. I knew from the future, and the old man vaguely suspected it.
That's why I knew the reforms I was leading now were ultimately pointless.
What would Hong Yeon think as she closed her eyes when Do-won fell?
I'd thought about it, but it wasn't my concern anyway.
-Scritch-scratch.
The reason I kept working despite not being able to change the future was simple.
It was the lingering anxiety in a corner of my mind.
If, in the timeline where I lived, this moment—now that I'd come to the past—became history...
I couldn't change the present, but acting like I could might make it so.
A vicious paradox.
When I first arrived in this world, I'd lived in a house prepared by someone unknown.
Now, having come to the past, I'd personally set up that house and identity myself.
It had been thoughtless at first, but damn if the puzzle pieces didn't fit.
The World Tree of Time had told me I couldn't change the present.
'You can influence it, but no matter what you do, the outcome won't change.'
That was the nature of the past timeline I'd rolled into here.
Once I realized I could influence it to some degree, I'd become cautious in everything.
What if, just maybe, the present did change?
During that long blank period, something might have gone wrong, and the World Tree of Time could have given faulty info.
My head hurts. And now I'm overthinking.
My frontal lobe throbbed.
Simple: Staying in the past as long as possible benefited me.
The flow of time differed between present and past. Training, info gathering—anything was far more efficient here.
That was enough for now.
-...If I disgust you, just step on me and go. I'll keep following you.
Thoughts of the present kept surfacing.
I took a deep breath and pushed away Azalea's voice echoing unconsciously in my mind.
Still, my hands kept processing documents.
Roughly an hour later, splitting the work made it finish quickly.
"Done. You?"
"Almost."
Clack-clack. We both set down our quills at the same time, wrapping up.
Working together so often made everything click smoothly.
I stood, stretched, and reached for the light switch.
"Then head back and get some rest."
"Aren't you sleeping?"
"After dozing off and having nightmares, I don't feel like it. I'll do some mana training before heading in. Or whatever."
I couldn't risk falling asleep carelessly and dreaming again.
-Creak.
I opened the door. The chilly dawn breeze rushed in. Unlike the present, the weather here was bitterly cold.
As I stepped out, a voice came from behind.
"How about... a drink? I can't sleep tonight either."
Alcohol.
The tempting word lingered in my ears. It had been ages since my last drink. Just thinking about it sparked a thirst.
"I've got peach fruit wine. Sweet, sticky mouthfeel with an amazing aroma."
She sold it well.
"Sure."
"...Sure?"
"Means I'm in."
Sometimes booze was just the medicine needed. Tonight was one of those times.
*****
The next day, after Heavenly Demon training and arriving at work in the morning, a familiar new face jumped out at me.
Her face shone brightly even compared to those around her.
One of Do-won's three beauties. Cheon-do beamed at me with a big smile.
"Good day to you, Little Heavenly Demon~"
I shot her a fierce glare, and she clasped her hands pleadingly with one hand.
Play along a bit? I lowered my voice and asked casually,
"Why'd you start working?"
"...I wanted to learn."
She wanted to learn the job. The conviction in her voice told me it was genuine.
That wasn't exactly what I'd meant, but I could ask later once work settled.
I called over a woman fumbling awkwardly with the printer.
"You."
"Yes? Did you call me, Little Heavenly Demon?"
"Take her and teach her the ropes. Whatever you're doing."
Simple paperwork even beginners could handle. Or listening to residents' complaints.
Cheon-do perked her ears, shoulders tense.
"......Think you can manage?"
"I have to."
"Hey. You don't need to do this. It's just grunt work."
I spoke quietly so others wouldn't hear, but no reply came from Cheon-do.
Stubborn one. I sighed and patted her head.
"Fine, give it a shot. You'll get used to it. You'll get chewed out at first, but that's how everyone learns, so bear with it."
"Got it... I just follow this sister?"
First-time mistakes were inevitable, but her pretty face would spare her the worst scoldings.
I sent Cheon-do off and watched her back until she vanished from sight. Hong Yeon sidled up and asked,
"Did you bring that kid in?"
"Huh? No, not me."
"I thought so because you were talking to a newbie like that."
I sometimes scouted promising kids wandering around and turned them into workers.
Hong Yeon must have assumed Cheon-do was one.
"Still, she's sharp. She'll find her own tasks within three days."
Cheon-do was one of the few Do-won women who'd had proper training.
Hong Yeon eyed her, then shrugged.
"If you say so... probably."
She'd become noticeably friendlier since sharing drinks last night.
We toured the area, shared a cup of tea, then dove into our tasks.
During breaks while handling work, I checked on Cheon-do. Sure enough, sweat poured off her every time she showed her face.
"How do you screw up something this simple?"
"S-sorry!"
"......Come here. I'll teach you again."
A mere clerk scolding the Little Heavenly Demon. A sight in its own right.
Fortunately, with everyone watching, tasks didn't pile up undone.
Nothing worse than coming to work and having nothing to do.
I finished my tea and returned to the office.
-Slurp.
Back to documents for hours. Ate lunch midway. Took occasional outside calls. The sun soon dipped low.
Do-won's quitting time, no overtime.
I left the office to find Cheon-do.
The lonely silhouette of a girl leaning on her desk, utterly drained, met my eyes faintly.
"......Ugh."
As expected. Cheon-do slumped over her desk, soul drained.