What the Third Playthrough Gave Me - 1
Ever since Yohwan had arrived, and ever since Master Zhongli's Plantain Fan had been installed, the only inn in Seomhwachon had swarmed with customers the moment mealtime rolled around.
The food had never been bad, even in the old days, but with Yohwan installed as head chef the dishes had improved by leaps and bounds — and on top of that, the inn was reaping the full benefit of the dharma treasure. Yet the prices hadn't changed by a single coin, so it was only natural that the laborers — whose bodies ached from a hard day's work and whom a meager meal could never console — had taken the place to their hearts.
And it wasn't only them. More and more men, instead of trudging home after work and asking their wives to put a meal on the table, were leading wife and children straight through the inn's doors. How often, after all, did a village laborer get the chance to taste the cooking of a chef who had once served in the Imperial Palace? There was no word of Yohwan leaving for anywhere else, of course — but everyone knew that opportunity never looks back. Once it was gone, there was no catching it again.
Perhaps that was why the inn that would once have filled with drunkards by night now drew a fair crowd of whole families instead — so many, in fact, that we'd had to set up extra seating.
"Get that tent over there!!"
I'd watched it happen more than a few times: customers drawn by the crowds trudging all the way to the entrance, only to turn back in disappointment. So I decided the business needed room to grow, and made up my mind to add more seating on the open ground in front of the inn. It was my land anyway — the lot where I kept the general store's goods — so there was nothing to stand in the way. And so the preparations were underway: a tent going up on the empty ground across from the inn, with tables to be set out beneath it.
While the servants and servers grunted and strained under the great tent, I spotted Chae Jin approaching with a long, sturdy pole in her arms.
"Does this go here?"
"That's right. Right there in the middle."
"Hup!!"
THUNK!!
Perhaps because she had channeled her inner power into it, the pole sank dead center into the ground, planted firm and true. As the servants gaped in admiration, Chae Jin grabbed the tent and sprang lightly into the air. She lashed it to the top of the tall pole and drifted back down, flashing a grin.
"Will that do?"
"Splendid. Thank you for the help."
"Hehe. Think nothing of it."
Chae Jin stepped back with a warm smile, and the servants moved in. They were just about to carry over the tables and chairs stacked inside the inn when a voice called out from behind.
"Oh my? Are you setting up shop out here too?"
It was a voice brimming with energy. I turned, found the ash-grey-haired girl standing there, and smiled.
"I am. How was the patrol? And what's that you've got there?"
"Hehe. Yu Hui is coming to help too. She said she'd just finish writing up the log and come straight over."
It was Sa Yun. In her hands was one of the tables meant for this very spot. Delicate as the girl looked, she carried the heavy wooden table with ease — proof enough, if any were needed, that she was a martial artist with real inner power.
"Everyone's working so hard — wouldn't it be kind to let them rest a little? I saw earlier how much trouble they had making these tables... and they still have to run the inn later on, too."
The servants were gazing at Sa Yun with eyes full of gratitude. It was true enough — with martial artists who had inner power lending a hand, the work would be finished in no time. And they had sweated over building those wooden tables and chairs, just as she said.
"Tell them to rest. Have Yohwan fix them something to eat."
"Thank you, Master! Miss Chae! Miss Sa!"
"Oh, it's nothing~!"
"Make sure you work hard again later~!"
Wiping the sweat from their brows, the servants filed inside. In the meantime, I turned to Chae Jin.
"Why don't you rest a while too, Miss Chae."
"Huh? I'm fine, really."
"Even so. You set aside your own training to come help, didn't you?"
"Ahaha... I honestly don't mind. But then, may I ask a favor of my own?"
"It's my business we're talking about. No need for favors or asking."
I shrugged, and Chae Jin walked over to Sa Yun. Crouching down to meet her eyes, she gave the girl's shoulders a gentle pat.
"I'll leave the rest to you, all right?"
"Leave it to me!"
"Ahaha. Very dependable."
With a bright smile, Chae Jin headed for the back yard, where she drew her blade and began raising it slowly — training in slowness, by the look of her. I'd have to track down the second volume of Understanding Distance for her one of these days. The first volume had already brought her her enlightenment; reading the second could only help her further.
"Innkeeper! Where does this go?!"
"Over here."
Just then Yu Hui came approaching, her log finally finished. Like Sa Yun, she carried a huge table as though it weighed nothing at all; I showed her where it went, then spoke to the two girls.
"Just a few more trips and we're done, so I'm counting on you. I'll make it up to you when it's finished."
"Aw, come on~. We're always eating off you anyway. Think of it as paying down our tab."
"Yes, sir! Yes, sir!"
Instead of answering the two energetic girls, I simply smiled.
Still, I'd give them something.
With the ropes at the tent's edges tied down taut and the seating arranged beneath it, the preparations were complete. If it had been just the inn's own staff, it would have taken far longer — but with the girls' help, we finished sooner than I'd expected.
"Is that everything?"
"That's it. The rest we can manage ourselves... You've both worked hard. Wait just a moment."
They had given me their time; I couldn't very well send them off with nothing. Smiling at the pair as they protested over and over, I led them into the general store.
"Here. Take one each."
"Huh? These are... mooncakes?"
I had noticed some time ago that Sa Yun seemed fond of mooncakes, so I'd asked Old Man Mak to carve a mold for them. With a mold in hand, the cakes themselves weren't so hard to make — and when Yohwan said she knew how to make them too, I'd added them to the general store's lineup of sweets.
"Wow..."
"Eat some here, and I'll pack extra for you to share with the others — take it with you when you go."
"I didn't help because I was hoping for something like this..."
"When an elder offers, all you have to do is say 'thank you' and take it."
I pressed the mooncakes into the hands of the two protesting girls. In the end they accepted without another word and settled onto the long bench in front of the store.
Mooncakes alone would parch their throats. I'd better bring out some tea.
After one last glance at the pair on the bench, legs swinging as they nibbled away at their mooncakes, I headed inside. But when I came back out with the tea, Sa Yun was the only one still there.
"Why are you on your own?"
"Ah, Yu Hui said that since she was already out, she'd run over to the market first."
"She should have stayed for tea, at least."
"Ahaha. She already had something to drink — from her, over there."
Following Sa Yun's gesture, I found Yohwan. She was fanning herself against the heat; when she lifted the fan lightly in greeting, I shook my head.
So the tea had been brewed for nothing, then.
"Then I'll enjoy this, thank you."
"You already have the tea Yohwan gave you."
Yohwan was far better at brewing tea than I was, after all. I pointed at the cup sitting beside Sa Yun, but she only beamed at me.
"Then I'll drink both! Hehe. I could never refuse something the innkeeper himself gave me!"
"Much obliged."
"Huh? Shouldn't I be the one thanking you?"
"What does it matter who thanks whom?"
I sat down at the far end of the bench beside her. For a little while, a pleasant silence settled over us — Sa Yun nibbling at her mooncake bit by bit, and me sipping my tea. It was a stretch of peace I hadn't known in a long time.
"Sitting like this reminds me of when we went to Palseon Village."
"Does it, now?"
"Yes. That was such a fun trip."
Happiness suffused Sa Yun's face as she looked back on the memory. It wasn't an expression I was used to seeing on her — but it was by no means one I minded seeing.
"I'd like to have an experience like that again sometime."
"A journey of chivalry?"
"Ahahaha... well, there's that too."
Nibble, nibble again. Fiddling with the half-eaten mooncake in her hands, she took a sip of the tea I'd brewed, then gazed up at the sky with joyful eyes.
"Just... a trip with someone. Traveling together, I mean. I've never really done that before."
"You will, once you're older."
Sa Yun was a disciple of the Hongseong Sect, after all; the day would come when she made her name in the murim. Not right away, of course — she would step into the world only after she had grown at least somewhat. Even if I gave my blessing, the sect never would.
"Yes. Once I've built up my strength, I'll journey through the murim with my martial sisters."
"That sounds nice. If you go with Hong Ryeon, you might even get to see the Murim Alliance."
From what I knew, only a rare few ever got to visit the Murim Alliance on their first outing into the murim. But Hong Ryeon was an inspector of the Alliance, and Sa Yun was the Sword Saint's disciple — getting a look inside would be no trouble at all for her.
At my words, Sa Yun smiled brightly.
"That's right. I'd love to see the Murim Alliance at least once. The others say it's worth a visit, too. Have you ever been, Innkeeper?"
"No."
In Cheonsang Myeongwol, though, I'd been there plenty of times. It was enormous — practically a city unto itself. There was equipment that could only be obtained there, and rare elixirs besides; anyone who had played Cheonsang Myeongwol was bound to stop by at least once. But I had never set foot in it in this world, so "no" was the honest answer.
"Then someday, I'd like to take you there with me. Would that be all right?"
Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at me. The Murim Alliance, hmm...
"Ah. Y-you must be busy, though. And the Alliance is such a long way off..."
"Well, that's all in the future, isn't it? It'll be at least two or three years before then."
"That's true, but..."
"By then, the inn might even have closed its doors."
"That mustn't happen..."
"Haha. It's all someday-and-maybe. Don't dwell on it so much — I could always leave the inn in the hands of someone I trust. So look forward to it."
"I really hope you do..."
That was when it happened — Sa Yun's words cut off mid-breath. Her gaze had snagged on something.
I turned to follow her eyes. A laborer was walking toward us: thick arms, sun-browned skin, flecks of dirt still clinging to him here and there. He had clearly just come from work, yet his face held nothing but joy.
"Daddy! Daddy! Are we eating at the inn today?!"
"Of course we are. Haha. Dad's been tucking away his wages so our Ryeong here could stand treat."
They looked poor, father and daughter, with a wide gap of years between them. But they looked happy, too — unmistakably happy. Sa Yun watched the two of them walk hand in hand, her gaze lingering.
"A sight like that... I think it's truly beautiful."
I could read the deep, quiet longing in her eyes. Watching her for a moment, I rose from my seat.
"You have plenty of people at your side, you know."
"...Hehe. I do, don't I."
Only then did Sa Yun look away from the pair. Rising slowly from her seat, she met my eyes and beamed.
"You're one of them, Innkeeper."
"Flatter me all you like — mooncakes and dang-gwa are all I have to give in return."
So I'd give her both!
"Wha?! You really don't have to give me this much!!"
Smiling at her flustered sputtering, I brought out a whole box of mooncakes and a box of dang-gwa and held them out. Yu Hui came up behind Sa Yun, who stood there not knowing what to do — and she looked just as flustered.
But I had no intention of taking back what I'd already given.
"Haha! Eat up, you two — eat plenty!"