The Gift of a Surname
So just leaving things alone doesn't get the work done, huh?
FWOOOOSH
"Whoa..."
Up close, it was truly terrifying. An absolute catastrophe. The wildfire that had broken out three months ago in eastern Sinsi had ridden the wind northeast, spreading past Moda and following the river onward.
If there hadn't been a big river in the way, it might have swallowed everything clear up north in no time.
"Well, I'd better put this out first."
She would have to scoop the burning trees—and any patch of soil that might still hold embers—into her subspace.
"Guess I'll have to do it like I'm peeling a whole mountain off the earth..."
It felt a bit like this was her own fault, too. The World Tree's growth-accelerating aura worked on trees as well.
If the forest had been alive and lush, all that moisture would have snuffed the fire out quickly—but apparently the dead, fallen timber had been the problem.
"This one's on me, then. Well. Who could've predicted it would go this long without rain?"
With the feeling of scraping a mountain bare, she began scooping up soil wholesale, wherever she could grab it. The animals would have long since fled from the fire, surely?
The area was so vast that even flying as she worked, it took her a full week.
"Hmm. If it rains on terrain like this, there's going to be landslides and total chaos."
But what was she supposed to do with this monstrous mountain of scorched earth and burned timber?
Tap-tap.
"You have returned, Haneul-nim."
Huh? Had he been waiting for her?
"Yeah. That wildfire was absolutely enormous. I couldn't believe it hadn't rained even once."
"You've worked hard. Thank goodness you were there, Haneul-nim."
No kidding—where would it have burned to if they'd just left it alone?
"Anyway, I hauled back a ridiculous amount of soil and burnt trees. Any use for it?"
"The wood can just be stockpiled in Moda, but the earth, I'm not so sure."
It wasn't as if anyone was running large-scale land reclamation projects in this era. Maybe she'd just have to stash it away...
"Oh, and warn everyone to be careful—there are no trees left up there, so landslides could happen if it rains."
"Understood, Haneul-nim."
And then, as if on cue, the heavens opened.
SHWAAAAA
"Are you kidding me...?"
Absolute garbage. A little earlier would've been nice! Ha! At least it's coming down hard. Fine, better late than never, I suppose.
But if it rains this much... what about the landslides?
"Just as you warned, Haneul-nim, there have been many landslides. Word is even the mountain visible from Moda collapsed, and it gave everyone quite a fright."
How long had it been since the rain stopped, and the news was only arriving now? The communications system needed some serious work.
"Was anyone hurt?"
"Hard to say? We told people to stay away, but you know how it is—there's all kinds."
True enough. She'd just have to write off the reckless ones as natural selection.
"More importantly, the prospectors are beside themselves with joy."
"What's got into them?"
"With you scraping away all that earth and the landslides on top of it, they've apparently discovered a great many new mines."
Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Well, there were all sorts of deposits buried up there—with any luck, they'd even found ores that had gone undiscovered even in the modern era.
"Still, tell them to be careful. With the trees all gone, I'm worried."
"They say the saplings are already sprouting, so please don't worry too much."
Already? It had barely been any time at all. Well, that was good news. Trees mattered—in this era and in the future alike.
"Oh, right. How does news actually reach you here?"
"From the merchants passing through, Haneul-nim."
Ha... no wonder it was slow. If nobody says anything, not a single thing gets better, does it?
"Hey."
"Y-yes?"
Scared, are we? Trembling like a leaf?
"If a war breaks out someday, is that how you plan to receive reports—from passing merchants?"
Was there not even a system for dispatching messengers?
"N-no..."
"The roads are paved beautifully, aren't they? Set up relay stations at regular intervals and pass the word along station to station. Are you planning to figure that out after disaster strikes?"
It was a genuine mercy that this country had never known war. Otherwise the border fortresses would fight to the death, get captured, and everyone would bleed trying to take them back.
"Ah... I see. You're right."
Th... this little—? Seriously?
"Huh? Huh? HUH!?"
SKWEEELCH
Time to wring that ear like a dishrag.
"AAAAGH! It hurts!"
"It's supposed to hurt! Did I look like I was joking?"
Oh, so it looked like joking to him... Fine. Time to use my full strength.
"I'm sorry! I'll work hard!"
"Not hard—well! Do you ever actually think things through?"
"Hnngh-hnngh... It hurts... I'll do better, I promise!"
A grown man, sniveling? Ugh. Exhausting.
"Hnngh-hnngh..."
"Hoo... We'll do better, yes?"
"Yes... hnk..."
"Wipe those tears, sniffle sniffle, and get back to work, hm?"
"Yes..."
Had she squeezed too hard? His spirit seemed utterly crushed... Aigoo. She'd have to sneak into the meeting hall later and patch up his morale somehow.
"Hmm. What should I bring him, I wonder."
Ha. Look at me, ever so considerate. Carefully selecting gifts for my people—such a thoughtful deity I am.
Nothing fancy came to mind, so she'd just cut some cloth into handkerchiefs and hand them out. There were twelve departments, so thirteen pieces would do. Nothing grand—just plain square scraps of fabric.
La la laaa~ hm~ hm~
CRASH-BAM! THUD-CRASH!
What on earth was that noise? Sounded like it was coming from the meeting hall? Like the sound of people flying through the air? A fight!
She darted over and peeked through the crack in the meeting hall door.
"Hey, you bastards! Do you have any idea what I've been through because of you lot?"
"N-no..."
"WHAT!?"
Of course they didn't know. So it was one of those questions asked purely for intimidation purposes.
SMACK!
"GWAH!"
Ooh? A double flying kick? And the muscle wasn't just for show—that boy moved fast!
"You want me to keep going like this!?"
"No, sir!"
"Then! Is this the inside or the outside, you punk!?"
Ooh? Where on earth had he learned a line like that?
THWACK
"Khh."
CRASH-TUMBLE!
One punch to the gut and the man goes flying into the wall? And how is he still alive after taking that?
Whew. This country really did offer endless variety. Nothing to worry about here, clearly. The gifts looked unnecessary, so she might as well head home.
The ones who'd just been beaten would go terrorize their own subordinates next! A beautiful scene of the cascading chain of scolding, unfolding before her very eyes. This was exactly why appointing a Chancellor had been the right call! Otherwise she'd be the one thrashing every last one of them personally, wouldn't she?
"A total of 715 relay stations will be established at one-ri intervals along the roads!"
"Good. Excellent. Now—if the enemy invades Bonghwa, how quickly do you get word where?"
It wasn't a hard question, so he should manage it easily enough.
"First, we dispatch a rider to Seoju, nineteen ri away! Estimated travel time, roughly eighteen hours."
Hmm. Good. About right.
"..."
Hm? Why so quiet?
"And next?"
"From Seoju, on to Haseo!"
"Hey! Isn't there something you should do before that!"
"...Pardon?"
Was this dimwitted oaf really the Chancellor?
"You fool! Aren't you sending anyone to Bongpyeong? It's the neighboring city! You confirm whether anything's happened there, and then you send for reinforcements!"
"Ah..."
"Hm? Hmhm?"
Hahaha. Hahahaha. "Hm," was it? Hehehe.
"Should I just kill you now?"
"I-I want to live!"
"Hoo..."
Fine. She'd seated one of the smarter ones among that brood, that was all. Swapping him out wouldn't magically produce a genius who'd never existed.
"I will do better!"
"That's the last time, understand? Get your head in the game. We're clear?"
"Yes, Haneul-nim!"
She really needed a rest. This was far, far too exhausting...
Knock-knock.
"Haneul-nim, a master craftsman has come from Moda."
"Mm, send him in."
Huh? A Moda craftsman, and he was pale? Everyone from there was bronzed as copper. No beard, either? He had a sharp, clever look about him. You didn't see this type often...
"It is an honor to meet you."
"You're a curious one. You don't look like a Moda man at all?"
"Ah. My mother is from Seolju, so perhaps that's why."
Ah, so there was mixed blood in him already. The population had blended together quite a bit. Good to hear.
"You know why you're here, I take it?"
"Yes! I was told I'm to make something!"
Hmm. Life in his expression, vigor in his answers—he'd throw himself into it, surely. Above all, his eyes were sparkling almost uncomfortably bright.
"To start with the basics—Moda has piles upon piles of ash from burned charcoal, doesn't it? Gather it up, dissolve it in water, then boil it down and collect the white powder that forms."
"The alchemists do fetch ash and do something with it—is that what that's for? What exactly is it?"
Oh? That's supposed to be lye... lye powder?
"Ash... powder?"
But then how would anyone tell it apart from regular ash? Ugh, he could have just named it himself—now she was stuck.
"Ah. Since it is lye turned back into a powder, 'ash-powder' it shall be."
"Uh... you do know that stuff is seriously dangerous, right? Don't touch it with bare hands, and store it somewhere separate."
"Yes. Lye ate into my hands once before. This must be worse still."
"That's right."
They used lye for all sorts of things here, so he probably knew a little about it.
"Now then—if you mix sand, the ash-powder, and limestone just right, and melt them together, you get something called 'glass.' Your task is to find a way to make it beautiful and durable."
Would the local sand even work? She knew there was such a thing as proper glass sand, but...
"Will any sand do? And any limestone?"
"It'll probably come out differently depending on where each batch was gathered. You'll have to experiment yourself to find out what works best."
Hmm. This wouldn't be an easy job. It might take his whole family throwing themselves at it.
"It will take quite a long time, then."
"Yeah. Do you have many siblings? It may take the entire family working together. I'll take responsibility for everyone's livelihood."
"Gah! Having the work entrusted to us at all is honor enough..."
Ah... why was he about to cry again? This is hard labor I'm assigning you!
"So, how many people will be working alongside you?"
"Hmm... perhaps... three hundred? I couldn't say precisely."
Ridiculously many. How many children were these people having...
"Set up a workshop in Moda and request whatever you need from the Temple. It may be that even your grandchildren's grandchildren's grandchildren won't live to see it bear fruit. Even so—don't give up. Try."
"There can be no laziness and no surrender in work entrusted by Haneul-nim. Anyone who tries such a thing, I will personally cast into the fire myself."
Hey... why are you saying something so terrifying with such a happy smile...
His people were good-hearted, truly—but sometimes they were plain frightening. This was excessive loyalty, you lot! Downright fanatical!
"I'm counting on you."
"I shall work until my dying breath."
It was just the ancient society talking, surely? Once education really took hold and their minds opened up, this sort of thing would fade... probably.
.
.
.
Knock-knock-knock.
"Haneul-nim. The glass artisans have come to see you."
"Mm, let them in."
It had been quite a while, hadn't it? Something going wrong, perhaps? They used to drop by with questions now and then, but not lately.
THUD.
"Hnnk—sob."
Uh? Why were they prostrating themselves and crying the moment they walked in? She'd told them repeatedly how unnerving this was.
"Huh? What's wrong? Did it not turn out?"
Scrape... scrape... scrape...
Something was being dragged in?
"Oh! That's glass! You actually made it?"
"Yes. We shaped it to be as durable and useful as we could."
"Wow! You've made it beautifully!"
Teal and greenish-brown, was it? Not perfectly transparent, but you could see a little way into it. Genuinely well made.
Still lumpy and homely, sure—but in its own way, rather endearing, wasn't it?
"Well done. Truly well done."
"It is all thanks to your teaching, Haneul-nim."
"From here, the research has to continue—make it easier to produce, make more of it, make it lovelier. You've worked hard. Truly."
Once they figured out how to filter the impurities out of the sand, they'd be seeing much clearer glass before long.
Was there something she could give them as a gift?
"I'd like to give you something special. Do you have a family crest, or a character or mark of some kind?"
"Nothing of the sort..."
Hmm. Should she grant them a surname? Come to think of it, nobody here had one—everyone went by a given name alone.
Flourish~
She drew out a square of cloth roughly the size of herself. This big should do it, no?
Swoosh, swoosh.
A big bold YURI—glass—written across the middle, and done. Hm, a little plain though?
Stamp!
She coated her palm generously with ink, wiped away the excess, and pressed a handprint onto one corner. That way the shape would come out crisp instead of smearing.
"This is your gift."
"So this shall be the emblem of my family. Thank you."
"And this is your surname. It goes before your given name. Since your name is Giju, from today you are Yuri Giju."
People had used family names in the old days, hadn't they? Somehow everyone here had ended up going by first names only.
"Ah... ah....."
What now? Was he moved? He couldn't get a single word out, just standing there with tears streaming down his face.
"I look forward to working with you all for a long time yet."
"Yes! We shall give it our utmost!"
Yes, yes, stop gritting your teeth like that—she was telling them, she genuinely found it scary when they did that?