If Jeong So-hee Is the Saintess, Then I Am the Saintess's Grandfather
The life of the frontier is simple.
We go to bed early, rise early to clear stones from the fields, share meals while chatting with the others about village matters, return to our plots, eat dinner while holding another meeting, and then sleep. That ends the day.
These same hours repeated themselves every single day.
If this keeps up for a whole year, it might start to feel tedious.
For now there was simply too much work for boredom to set in, but once everyone grew accustomed to the routine, some might begin seeking stimulation. Humans have always been creatures that chase after excitement.
When harvest season arrives, perhaps we should hold a modest festival—even something as small as a harvest celebration.
Of course, that depended on the crops doing well. Still, even a simple gathering where the villagers could rejoice together would be worthwhile. Much like the wild boar feast from a few days ago.
I straightened my aching back after clearing stones, stretching with a groan, when Ji-geu came sprinting toward me.
“Uncle! Someone’s here to see you!”
Ji-geu skidded to a stop right in front of me, panting hard.
“There’s a grandfather wearing fancy clothes and some uncles carrying tons of stuff. They’re looking for the village chief. Dad told me to come get you.”
They must be the people the boss mentioned earlier. He had said traveling merchants would stop by.
“All right. Thanks for letting me know.”
I brushed the dust from my clothes and started walking, but Ji-geu simply stood there, staring up at me.
“What’s wrong?”
“It feels weird when they call you village chief, Uncle. You’re a mage.”
Ji-geu tilted his head in confusion.
I found the title awkward myself. Every time the villagers addressed me as “Chief” and bowed their heads, I caught myself scratching the side of my head without thinking.
Popcorn, perched atop Ji-geu’s head, tilted his own body back and forth in imitation.
“You can all call me whatever you like.”
“Then is it okay if I keep calling you Uncle? Won’t that ruin the village chief’s dignity?”
“Who said anything about dignity disappearing?”
“They did. They said if we don’t call you Chief, you’ll lose your authority.”
“It’s fine. Dignity doesn’t vanish over something that small.”
When I reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair, Ji-geu quickly dodged away.
“Don’t touch it! My hair looks really cool right now.”
“Ji-geu, what did you put in your hair?”
It felt sticky. His entire head was glossy with grease. I had assumed he simply hadn’t washed it, but touching it told me otherwise.
Ji-geu flashed a wide grin.
“I used pig fat. In the city, they say stylish people put oil in their hair.”
When we butchered the boar recently, we had set the fat aside, rendered it, and collected the oil. I’d heard it was hardened and used for cooking.
When I asked if that was what he’d applied, Ji-geu nodded enthusiastically.
“Fashionable men put oil in their hair.”
“The oil meant for hair is probably a different kind. At least, I doubt it’s pig lard.”
Ji-geu didn’t seem convinced.
“But Uncle Geob-bo said pig oil works just fine…”
He trailed off and clapped a hand over his mouth, realizing he had slipped.
Geob-bo was one of the former thugs. The fool who had pointed a knife at me, then fainted in terror at his own actions. It seemed he had fallen in with gangsters shortly after leaving the village for the city, too naïve to realize he was being used. He ended up exiled here after being caught running errands for them.
Once you talked to him, it was clear he was more simple-minded than malicious. The villagers had decided he was harmless. Unlike the other thugs they simply called “Hey, you,” he earned the permanent nickname Geob-bo—Coward.
Even before arriving, he had often carried tired children on his back or given them shoulder rides. At this rate, it felt like he would simply melt into village life.
Children were normally forbidden from associating with the thugs, but the adults turned a blind eye whenever Geob-bo was involved.
“Was it only Uncle Geob-bo, or were the others with him too?”
The rest of the thugs had different dispositions. It was difficult to call them decent people. The last thing we needed was the children picking up bad habits or being exploited.
“……”
Ji-geu kept his hand firmly over his mouth.
“You know it was wrong, don’t you?”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
“You must not approach those people from now on.”
“Okay.”
Realizing the lecture was over, Ji-geu trotted beside me and began chattering again.
“What does proper hair oil look like? Is it white? Does it smell nice? Uncle Geob-bo said it’s all the same, but is the stuff they sell in the city better?”
I answered the boy’s rapid questions as we walked toward the spot where the visitors waited.
They stood surrounded by the villagers: a man who appeared to be an official, two who looked like merchants, and two carts piled high with goods.
Ji-geu had called him “grandfather,” but the official was only in his mid-forties, his hair simply heavily streaked with gray.
The villagers stood around them with slightly bowed heads, fidgeting nervously. In this world, even the poorest owned at least one hat, yet every man had removed his.
The children, curious about the unfamiliar guests, had gathered close. Every small head gleamed with grease. It seemed the pig fat had been generously shared.
Popcorn drifted through the air, hovering around the children’s heads before reaching for his own. Then he wobbled back toward me with an oddly solemn air. Perhaps he was sad that he alone couldn’t have shiny hair.
No. There are plenty of things to envy in this world, but that is not one of them.
When I drew near, the villagers’ faces brightened noticeably.
“Chief, this gentleman is the administrator.”
“He says they’ll stay in our village for one night.”
“Chief, how should we receive them?”
They seemed tense in the official’s presence; their speech had become awkwardly formal, each sentence ending with forced politeness.
The white-haired administrator gave a wry smile and shrugged.
“Every village reacts this way at first. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Kenson.”
“A pleasure. I’m Jinu, chief of this village.”
My real name was Kim Jin-woo, but commoners in this world had no family names, and “Jinwoo” proved difficult for locals to pronounce. For convenience, I had settled on Jinu.
Kenson looked mildly surprised. He stroked his chin and let out a thoughtful “Hoo.”
“You’re the first person I’ve seen carry themselves with such confidence in the pioneer lands. You seem young, yet your manner and speech are excellent. Were you perhaps a noble from another country?”
He studied my face, then laughed. “Ahaha. That was an awkward question, wasn’t it? Everyone who comes here leaves their past behind. My apologies.”
He hadn’t actually expected an answer. Even if he had, I wouldn’t have known how to explain it.
“Have you chosen your land yet? Once decided, we’ll need to survey it and prepare the documents. That is the most important step.”
Kenson asked cheerfully.
“Before we do that, there’s something I’d like to ask.”
“Of course. Ask anything you wish.”
“Once the land is measured and the documents are made official, can they never be changed?”
Kenson nodded.
“Correct. Once the official papers are issued, alterations become extremely difficult. That land will belong to its owner from then on.”
At his confirmation the villagers let out delighted gasps. Even though they had already understood the concept, hearing it from an official made it real. Owning their own land was literally a dream for farmers in this kingdom. Smiles bloomed across every face.
“Chief, let’s hurry and prepare the documents!”
“I can’t believe I’ll finally have my own land. It feels like a dream.”
The villagers spoke up one after another.
I didn’t respond to their excitement and asked again.
“Does that also mean the size cannot be reduced or modified afterward?”
“……”
Kenson looked at me with genuine surprise.
“I’ve done this work for many years, yet you’re the first to ask that question.”
“I’m also curious what punishment awaits if the land yields poorly and taxes cannot be paid.”
“Truly the first. Most people beg to have their documents drawn up immediately.”
But these were crucial matters. After clearing stones from my plot, I realized one person could never cultivate such a vast area alone. The villagers, greedy for land, had claimed far too much territory. It could cause problems later.
“When is the final deadline for choosing land and completing the documents?”
“The last day of the year you arrived in the pioneer region.”
“Then I’d like to delay the paperwork until as close to that date as possible.”
“Very well. We’ll do that.”
Before long Kenson listened with complete seriousness, answering each of my questions thoroughly. I had worried an official might look down on frontier folk, but he was nothing like that. He not only answered every potentially tiresome question but explained each point with courtesy.
“And… this is rather embarrassing, but I cannot read or write this country’s script. Would it be possible to obtain a primer or textbook for learning the characters? A teacher would be ideal, but at the moment we cannot afford lessons.”
“Hm. Every village should have at least one person who can read. Otherwise official notices from the kingdom become problematic.”
Kenson frowned.
“However, a proper textbook will be difficult to obtain.”
It seemed this world had no dedicated primers for learning to read. Then how did anyone learn?
As I hesitated, Kenson nodded.
“All right. Since I’ll be staying here tonight anyway, I’ll write down the basic characters and a few common words before I leave. It won’t be comprehensive, but it should help.”
“You’d really do that?”
When my eyes widened, Kenson smiled.
“I once taught the children of nobles. The work suited me. Had I not become an administrator, I might have continued doing exactly that. So please, don’t feel burdened.”
Afterward he explained the support goods the kingdom would provide the village. Rather than fixed supplies, we could purchase up to a certain value from the merchants’ stock.
“The merchants remain until tomorrow, so consider carefully and select only what you truly need.”
Having said that, Kenson turned in a slow circle, clapping his hands to draw everyone’s attention.
“Everyone, please look this way. Today I bring truly important and joyous news.”
Do not be alarmed. The Saintess has been summoned to our kingdom.
The villagers exchanged glances.
“The Saintess?”
“You mean… the one from hundreds of years ago?”
It clearly wasn’t an everyday occurrence. Their reactions seemed strangely subdued.
Kenson smiled as though he had expected exactly this and continued.
“Thanks to the Saintess’s summoning, a sprout has emerged from the Spirit Tree. This was personally verified by a high priest…”
Before he could finish, cheers erupted from the crowd.
“A sprout from the Spirit Tree?”
“Oh my goodness!”
“Then does that mean rain will finally fall?”
“The spirits are returning to the land!”
The uproar dwarfed their reaction to the Saintess news itself. Cheers quickly became thunderous shouts of joy.
“When the spirits return, this land will receive the rains of abundance too!”
At someone’s cry, I noticed Ji-geu tilting his head in confusion.
“But we already have spir—”
A nearby villager quickly clapped a hand over the boy’s mouth.
A child beside me yelled loudly.
“Idiot! Our chief being a mage is still a secret! Mages are precious—if outsiders find out, they might try to steal him away!”
“……”
Sudden silence fell over the entire area.
“Aha… ahaha… The children must have been dreaming…”
Someone laughed awkwardly. Kenson turned to look at me quietly.
“…I am not a mage.”
Everyone was simply misunderstanding.
Kenson shrugged.
“Well, mages are rare and valuable. As the villagers said, if you were a powerful one, the kingdom might indeed covet you. However, the crown does not desire just any mage. Nothing will usually come of it, so please don’t worry.”
Relieved sighs rose from every direction.
Popcorn, who had been circling above Kenson’s head, suddenly grabbed a fistful of the man’s snowy hair. Having never seen anyone with such pure white hair, the little spirit must have found it fascinating.
“Is there a bug?”
Kenson muttered, swatting at his own head. The gust from his palm sent Popcorn tumbling through the air.
For a brief instant the spirit sparkled. Ji-geu and the other children reached out, chasing after him.
“The spirit is flying away!”
“After him!”
Watching them, Kenson smiled gently.
“When I was young, I used to mistake spirits for visible beings and chase after insects just like that.”
It seemed he hadn’t noticed the sparkle.
One of the villagers let out a long, relieved breath.
Still… the Saintess has been summoned…
That had to mean another otherworld summoning, right?
Suddenly I remembered the moment I had been enveloped in white light. Jeong So-hee had been standing right behind me then.
Could it be…?
No. Impossible. That woman, a Saintess? Absolutely not.
If Jeong So-hee was the Saintess, then I was the Saintess’s grandfather.
Whoever had been summoned as the Saintess from another world, it had to be someone else. Perhaps she hadn’t even come from Earth.
I smiled to myself and shook my head.