Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Living in the Same Time
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"What happened? You were clearly dead."
Star Reader raised his index finger to his lips.
It was a gesture to be quiet, but it also felt like a warning not to ask questions.
"Does that mean I shouldn't ask?"
Star Reader neither confirmed nor nodded.
Rakrak thought to himself.
'The last conversation I had with Star Reader was right after all. Even if we die, the Blue Insect God takes us back. If the dead conversed with the living exactly as before, there'd be no way to tell the dead from the living. That's why some can speak and others can't. At the very least, we shouldn't pry into how the dead return. Death must be something secretive.'
Even though the dead Star Reader had returned, Rakrak held no particular prejudices.
So Rakrak simply decided to think ahead.
Star Reader had appeared in response to his question, so he suggested continuing the discussion on the matter.
Rakrak said,
"What does it mean to live in the same time?"
Star Reader silently slid open the sliding door.
A corridor appeared, and sliding open another door led to the outer veranda.
Only after pushing open yet another door did they step outside.
A few torches stood in the garden.
A cold wind teased the torch flames and slipped between Rakrak's sleeves.
As Rakrak followed Star Reader out, the night sky unfolded, brimming with stars.
Star Reader said,
"What do you make of the night sky?"
"It's beautiful."
"I was wondering if you still remember what I taught you."
Rakrak shot Star Reader a reproachful glance, as if questioning whether this was a test, then replied,
"I see the blue star there, flanked closely by two yellow ones. At this time of year, those stars are in the south, slowly wheeling around until they vanish toward the northern horizon by spring. That's why you have to cross-reference them with that stationary North Star to gauge distances."
"You remember well. Then, do the stars look the same from here in Orazn as they do from the distant land of Maganen? What about the northern coast's edge? Or across the wasteland in Renar's lands or Satyros's? Is the sky shaped the same everywhere?"
Rakrak stared piercingly at the heavens before realizing,
"They're different."
"How so?"
"The positions of the stars are different."
After answering, Rakrak understood what Star Reader was getting at.
"Just knowing the patterns of the sky you taught me isn't enough."
Rakrak added,
"When I first met you, I couldn't find a wanderer who had roamed wider lands than yours. But looking back now, your wandering life only took you across the wasteland and the northern peninsula. The sky you saw was narrow compared to what I've witnessed, and minuscule against the skies from the eastern continent's edge—or perhaps even across the seas."
"That's right. I've only lived my own time."
"...But wasn't that enough? Everyone lives out their own time. You lived your life to the best of your ability."
Star Reader cut in,
"I don't regret my life. It's true that everyone lives out their own time. But that's not enough. Especially not for a king like you."
"...Then?"
"You must live everyone's time."
Rakrak mulled over the words.
It rang true.
Before Star Reader's teachings, the cattle simply followed the wind's whim.
Only after learning to read the sky and time—knowing when rain would fall, when grass would grow or wither, and when unbearable cold would come—did the herder's role emerge.
It wasn't just herders.
Not only in other nations, but even in Heukrin, staple grains had only recently become the norm.
Farming is impossible without knowing time.
You need to know when to plow, sow, irrigate, drain, when rain falls, and when grains begin to ripen.
Only then can you prepare workers, craft tools, plan ahead, and know deadlines.
Not just agriculture.
Silkworm rearing, logging, and herb gathering all required it. Eating, clothing, sleeping—everything demanded knowledge of time, gleaned from the sky.
Even miners who never saw the sky and carpenters under roofs had to avoid the rainy season.
Even war obeyed it. When winter froze the ground, carts couldn't move, so campaigns ended.
Star Reader said,
"Since everyone lives in different times, even on the same land, their hearts divide. A king must understand this."
"Ah, I see."
Rakrak knew this was no mere metaphor.
Heukrin's Lizardmen or the humans of Jidongseong with their seer Muelle carried on Star Reader's teachings.
They lived in sync, with little confusion.
When a star aligned a certain way, it was time; when the sun tilted so, the appointed hour had come.
But other races in Heukrin lacked such guidance.
Agreements faltered, misunderstandings piled up.
Tax collectors visiting villages often gathered less grain than needed.
To meet Rakrak's demands, they'd take what little there was, starving the village and breeding resentment against Lizardmen.
Such incidents occurred.
One war chief requested young dwarves from a neighboring village for work, but on the agreed day, none appeared.
The war chief deemed it a rebellion plot and raided the dwarf village in punishment.
But the dwarves had simply miscounted the days.
Dwarves read the sky differently from Lizardmen.
Rakrak sighed.
"It's a difficult problem."
He'd identified the issue, but solutions were elusive.
Learning was hard enough; teaching was harder.
Even in Heukrin, few knew the sky well enough to teach it.
And those who did held important posts.
Star Reader said,
"Why do you think it's difficult?"
"Teaching is hard. Especially since those I'd teach often hate Lizardmen."
"That's why I'm here, isn't it?"
"...Hm?"
Star Reader pointed to the sky and said,
"Do you see that shining blue star?"
Rakrak nodded.
"That's you."
"Me?"
"Connect those stars properly. It's you riding the cockatrice Anakse."
"Hm."
"Remember how those stars move? They rise in spring and sink in winter. As a warrior, you retire to sleep as winter approaches."
"Ah... Then that star?"
"That's Owen. He's a wanderer, isn't he?"
"Aha."
"But it doesn't forget you. When the time comes, it brushes past. Owen figures you'll have piled up new tales in his absence, so he returns to hear them—then departs again to spread the word."
"Fascinating. More?"
"Of course."
Star Reader smiled and continued,
"You have no idea how much your warriors talk about you. We could name every star in the sky with your stories alone."
Rakrak wondered if it was truly so, listening intently.
Not just Rakrak, but Jaol, Yur, Owen and Seiran, Hwiso and Hwikyung, and his other four brothers—nor only the living, but the dead too: Blue Skin's chieftain Viewe, Froglin chieftain Aulroy and son Shunen, warrior Oboi, Salkait of the Cropped-Ear Tribe, centaur chieftain Tamaridu, ogre chieftain Kazin, Asthasidian Rubo, Renar king Hati, Satyros king Fav—all casually named.
Star Reader's tales featured centaurs, ogres, elves, Renar; even trolls, nixies, kobolds Rakrak hadn't fully fought. Jidongseong, its wagon wheels, Orazn—all became constellations.
The feats and achievements forging Heukrin had become stars.
Star Reader divided the sky into twelve parts, filling them with about thirty days each.
Rakrak realized that following this method, all of Heukrin could live in the same time.
Forgetting the cold, Rakrak immersed himself in Star Reader's tales.
Finally, naming the last constellation, Star Reader said,
"Now I must go."
"Already?"
"I've stayed too long. Greed got the better of me. I feel the god calling."
Rakrak reached for him, but Star Reader's glowing silhouette slipped through his fingers.
"I could show you my palace."
"I've already seen it. Impressive."
Star Reader ascended invisible steps, one by one.
Rakrak couldn't follow.
From below, Rakrak called,
"Are you going just like that? Won't you ask how many children I have? There must be so much you're curious about."
"That's for the living."
"Then what of the afterlife? Can't you tell me more?"
"That's for the dead."
"...Is that all you can say?"
Star Reader smiled silently.
Rakrak curbed his greed.
"...Death is frightening."
Star Reader turned.
"Indeed."
"Indeed?"
"The living must fear death."
Those who believed in gods and lost fear of death would leap into fire pits willingly.
"The dead can't change anything. They can only watch. Even if the god allows, that's all I can hint."
"...Ah."
"Only the living can change things."
Star Reader climbed without looking back.
Rakrak gazed at his back, then up at the sky.
The stars' positions seemed slightly off.
Tracing them with his eyes, connecting with imaginary lines, formed a giant overlooking Orazn.
The star giant silently extended a hand, palm open for the floating Star Reader to board.
Rakrak dared look at the giant's head.
It was like a skullcap of cow bone.
Its eyes glowed blue, flashing to meet Rakrak's gaze.
Rakrak knew it was the Blue Insect God.
He knelt, bowing his head in prostration.
"...Lord Krak. Rakrak, sir."
Rakrak opened his eyes to the voice calling him.
The retainer said,
"It's time for the meeting. All the ministers have gathered."
Rakrak rubbed his eyes, confirming his surroundings.
He sat upon the throne.
Morning sunlight filtered through the paper windows, accompanied by birdsong.
"Bring large paper and charcoal."
"Uh, Lord Rakrak. Sorry, but how large?"
The retainer blinked at the sudden demand.
The freshly awakened Rakrak's request for paper drew puzzled stares from the ministers.
They seemed curious about his intent.
Rakrak answered,
"Large enough to draw the sky."
Choi Seong-un had anticipated that creating a calendar early would be possible upon discovering the entity known as Star Reader.
Of course, it couldn't be done in Star Reader's lifetime, but through afterlife research,
Rakrak's tale would spread, and Star Reader—as a foundational ancestor—would spark Heukrin's afterlife worldview.
'Of course, my heart raced every time a chunk of Faith resource vanished with each word from Star Reader.'
Knowledge of the afterlife ultimately didn't belong to this world.
It wasn't as direct as a god intervening in science or civilization, but manifesting an ancestor in Rakrak's dream consumed vast Faith resources.
Since the afterlife was heavily bound by causality, Seong-un had restricted Star Reader from statements that might violate it and waste more Faith.
In the end, Star Reader conveyed exactly what Seong-un intended about the calendar, making it a sound investment.
Seong-un spoke through the video chat window.
"Plus, it's great that Renar is using it well."
Runda, wearing a grim expression, replied,
"Yeah."
"It's a solar calendar that even accounts for leap years, not just a lunar one. I'd say that's worth celebrating more."
"Wow, I'm so thrilled... or something? We're barely fooling Krampus and Wisdom, but keep filling gaps with Heukrin goods, and we'll end up as a vassal state at this rate."
It was exactly what Seong-un hoped for, but he decided not to poke the bear.
Seong-un regularly received one-sided info dumps from Runda, but this time she had initiated contact—a rare exception.
Runda cooperated grudgingly on info sharing, so she wouldn't chat just to bond.
Seong-un said,
"So? What's up?"
Her irritated face hardened into seriousness.
Runda said,
"It seems a new power has appeared in the central continent."