The Promised Land We Never Knew
"Did we come to the right place?"
As the Jews arrived at the capital and stepped through the gates of the Temple, they began to wonder if their eyes were playing tricks on them.
"What am I looking at right now?"
"What kind of tree grows that big?"
They'd seen it even from the train as they rode in from afar, and had spent the whole trip debating how something so obviously shaped like a tree could possibly get that large.
"And what on earth is this Temple built out of?"
"The carvings are impossibly delicate and beautiful! The whole building is a work of art!"
"Right! The geometric patterns are just the beginning—look at all the animals, especially those goddess statues."
Since no one was directing the crowd gathered in the Temple courtyard, they wandered about freely, drinking in every sight.
So many Jews had escaped that even the vast courtyard was beginning to fill to capacity.
And above their heads, the sky appeared.
"Wow? There really are a lot of them."
"I imagine every living soul will gather here eventually, Haneul-nim."
"Are you planning to take all of them and make them researchers or administrators?"
"I heard you were rather good at that sort of thing?"
Eastern Continent folks, Original Continent folks—they're all the same, aren't they? THIS kind of thing they understand just fine.
"Sure, I'm leaving the fine details of operations up to you lot, so handle it as you see fit."
"Heh heh heh..."
Whatever you're scheming is written all over your face, you rascal. Where do you think you're running off to?
"Don't hand anything off to the Prime Minister."
"Gah..."
Good grief. You're such a simple creature—use that head of yours for once.
"Try hiring about twenty assistants. Then you'll have nothing to do at all, right?"
"Oh!!!"
To think THIS is what passes for a Prime Minister... it's depressing.
At this rate, taking in the Jews might turn out to be the smartest move I ever made.
"Seems like enough of them have gathered. I'll go pay them a visit."
"Do you think it will go as you plan, Haneul-nim?"
"Dunno? I can't read their minds, you know."
I intend to win them over completely and turn them into proper citizens of ours. Maybe some warm comfort will help?
「Float」
I drifted out through the air and descended slowly into the garden where the Jews had gathered.
"Huh?"
"Huh!?"
"Wh-wha—!"
What now? Did I miss something interesting?
All the children were going "whaa," so I looked around, wondering if a UFO had passed by or something.
「Rustle」
This is what I love about the Temple courtyard—the grass grows so thick and springy.
"Hello, everyone!"
"OH!!!!!!"
"THE MESSIAH!!!!!!!!"
"So You were here all along!"
"Our savior!"
Whoa. What's with this atmosphere? It feels welcoming, I guess? But everyone's shouting from every direction—I can't hear a word anyone's saying.
"All right. Quiet, please."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Yikes... that's actually terrifying. Even my kids aren't this obedient.
"Would any of you care to choose representatives so we can talk?"
I should speak with a handful of representatives—I can hardly hold a conversation with each person one at a time, can I?
They huddled together and murmured for quite a while before a few of them stepped forward, and from that group someone was apparently chosen, because one man approached me.
"Hello! Nice to meet you. I'm Haneul."
"It is an honor to meet you."
"Shall we sit down and have a chat?"
"Yes..."
「Thud」
I plopped right down on the ground without a second thought. The grass here is wonderfully cushioned—lovely feeling.
And then, with a solemn bow, the man knelt before me?
「Rustle rustle」
The others who'd been selected circled around to sit nearby, and beyond them the rest of the crowd began pressing inward in a great ring.
Luckily, the Temple courtyard was a garden that rose gently toward the middle, so I could see nearly all of the people.
"My name is Mose."
"Mm. Just call me Haneul."
"Thank you."
"No need to thank me for that. If there'd been fewer of you, I'd have loved to invite you all in for tea, but there'd be far too much for just us—so let's simply talk."
"Yes."
Though with everyone gathered out here like this, it would be strange to retreat into a room anyway.
"I gathered you all here because I want to grant whatever you wish for. If there's something you desire, or something you hope for, will you tell me? There's nothing I can't do."
"..."
What are you hesitating for? Come on, show me what's really in your hearts!
"Forgive my presumption, but there is one thing I must ask."
"Go ahead, ask."
"We wish to know when You came to this land."
"Uh... hold on? It was an awfully long time ago?"
A sudden background check? Let's see, if this year is 3811...
"It's been 3818 years now."
"GASP!"
"Hm?"
"You came before Jesus?"
Hm? By the calendar, I suppose so? I did want to meet that fellow at least once, but I couldn't be bothered wandering around that region for a thousand years or more.
"Yep, quite a bit earlier. Around 2,470 years or so, I'd say?"
"Hrrk—..."
What? Grandpa? You look like you're about to pass out—are you okay? Maybe I should get you some water?
「Slosh」
"Want some water?"
"..."
Huh? I pulled a little water out of subspace and the man nearly fainted? Hello? Your eyes are still open—what's going on?
"Here, drink. It's just water."
"...Thank you..."
He accepted the water with utmost reverence, then downed it in a single gulp. Was it that good?
"All this time, without knowing You were here... we wandered meaninglessly through the desert..."
"Oh no, it wasn't meaningless. We've met like this, after all."
I really don't care for it when older folks get all misty like this...
"Thank You. Snrk..."
"Come on, why are you crying? Nothing but good things ahead!"
I'm being generous here! Come on, state your demands so we can wrap this up!
"If we could remain in this place, we would be content."
"Hm? This land is vast. There's more than enough room for all of you."
What's this? Which land are they asking for?
"Anywhere will do. Anywhere You dwell, that is."
"Everywhere in this country is somewhere I dwell. Settle wherever you like."
I don't travel abroad much, so if they just live around here somewhere, we're bound to bump into each other once or twice.
"Then what shall we do in return?"
"Hmm... to be honest, the folks here aren't very good at paperwork or research. Could you take charge of that sort of thing for me?"
"Yes. Anything You ask. We will give it our utmost."
Jackpot! Research and administrative manpower secured! Don't come cursing me later, now?
"It'll be hard, you know."
"Hm? What could possibly be hard about paperwork?"
"Well... right! Let's give it our best!"
By the way, what was that 'savior' business earlier? Is this messiah person the savior? Me? Since when? I'll have to quietly ask about that sometime...
After finishing their audience with Haneul, the Jews stared long after the spot where she had departed—then all eyes turned to Mose.
"Ha-ha... Did you all see that?"
"Yes..."
"She descended from the heavens, and she conjured water from nothing..."
Strictly speaking, she'd pulled it out of subspace, but there was no way for them to know the truth behind it. A small misunderstanding, then.
"And she says she came to this land 2,470 years before Jesus."
"Gasp!"
"No!"
Everyone was astonished. They had waited all their lives for the messiah alone—and he had been here first, and they had failed to find him. Was that not their own failing?
"Then what of Jerusalem?"
"Ha-ha-ha. What meaning would it have now?"
"I see... The promised land was already here."
Something in the Jews began to shift. They had started to regard Haneul as their savior, and this place with the great tree as their promised land.
"Mine was a foolish question."
"Where are we to settle, and what are we to do?"
"She said we may settle anywhere, and do anything we wish."
"Gasp!"
Until now, hadn't they been treated as criminals, barred from farming or soldiering?
"Farmers and soldiers, too?"
"That as well, but she particularly wished us to handle scholarly work and administrative duties."
"Is that not exactly what we excel at?"
"One might say she prepared all this for our sake."
Hmm... Administrative work in Daehan is never easy. Caring for a population of roughly 1.2 billion is no light burden.
And counting the unregistered residents besides, a tidal wave of work beyond imagining was waiting for them.
"For now, let everyone learn the Daehan language and then begin their work."
"Yes!"
The story of Haneul's conversation spread from mouth to mouth throughout the Jewish community.
Most of them wept with awe—perhaps also from relief, for at long last they had found a land to call home.
And so the Jews, men and women alike, learned Daehan and fanned out across the nation.
Meanwhile, in the capital dwelt Yosef, son of Yuda.
"Honey, time to get up..."
"Mmmnh..."
He and his wife had completed their studies at a place called school—Daehan language and a basic curriculum of remarkably advanced mathematics and science—with excellent grades.
And on graduation day, civil servants had come in to place new hires, hadn't they? And they were said to assign people to the departments they wanted.
Confident in their mathematics, the couple had leapt at the chance to apply to the Ministry of Finance, and naturally, they'd been accepted.
"Honey, we have to go to work..."
"Mm-hmm... Right..."
He'd fallen asleep the moment he walked in the door last night, but he still felt utterly wrung out. His fatigue refused to lift, and his eyelids were so terribly heavy.
"Come on, hurry! Officer Park will nag us again!"
"Ugh!"
A sudden headache gripped Yosef. His supervisor, Officer Park, was a merciless woman.
Mess up a single calculation, and you'd endure a scolding until your ears bled.
"Haaah..."
"What's wrong...?"
"Do you suppose we picked the wrong department?"
"Mm..."
The couple felt a twinge of regret. They hadn't even looked into any other departments—applied to the Ministry of Finance the moment they heard of it.
"I heard from our neighbor Rivka—apparently everywhere else is about the same..."
"Oh dear..."
In their hearts, the couple felt they'd gained a place where life was good and they could work as they pleased—yet somehow, they'd also become exhausted.
"Come on! Enough of this moping! Up we get!"
"Right! Avoiding it won't make the work disappear—let's just get ready for work!"
Yosef and Sarah busied themselves preparing for the day.
「Shaaaaa」
"I never get tired of how amazing this is."
Clear, clean water flowed from a copper faucet of pale golden hue.
When they'd first been assigned their house, they'd spent ages searching for where the water was kept, until finally they'd asked the lady next door for help.
She'd come inside laughing herself silly and explained the faucet to them—how mortifying it had been.
"Shall we have something simple? Potato porridge with jerky?"
"Mm, I'd love that! Simple, but delicious, don't you think?"
Wasn't this the dish the couple had eaten more than anything else since settling here?
It was a simple thing: thickened potato flour simmered into a porridge, with strips of dried meat cut in and boiled. And it suited their tastes perfectly.
It cooked in hardly any time at all, which made it convenient for a quick breakfast or dinner before bed—another point in its favor.
「Nom nom. Munch munch」
"Mm, so good!"
"I'll add a bit more pepper."
"Chili flakes for me."
A magic powder that made this humble meal taste different every single day.
And it was astonishingly easy to get, too—they'd been stunned when they first went to buy it.
Back in Europe it had been so dear it might as well have been called gold dust. Just how much were the merchants pocketing, then? The couple had cursed those traders up and down more than once.
"Hurry and get dressed, let's go!"
"Right!"
The two of them stepped out the door in the respectable attire of proper Daehan citizens.
They'd planned to buy fabric and sew their own clothes, but there were shops selling ready-made garments, so the moment their first paycheck arrived, they'd bought clothes first thing.
After all, they were far too exhausted to sit sewing after work or on weekends.
"This is truly so comfortable and wonderful."
"Mm. And so soft, too."
"The work is hard, but life here is genuinely good."
"Because it's the promised land."
The Jews had arrived at the land they had wandered so long to find, and meeting Haneul had filled them with joy.
True, the work was a little hard. But not a single soul tormented them—wasn't that something?
And if anyone ever did, a trip to the Temple settled matters swiftly. How wonderful was that?
"Huh? No! Run! The trolley's leaving!"
"Eek! No!"
Lost in happy reverie, the two of them were now sprinting and gasping, for the trolley they needed to ride was pulling away in the distance.
It was the commuter trolley, and if they missed it, they'd have to pay out of pocket for another one.
"No! They won't reimburse that expense!"
"Run!"
And so, three years after arriving, this was the story of a Jewish couple who had become, in all but name, true people of Daehan.