The Slash-and-Burn Blunder
The field belongs to the farmer, and games to the gamers. Caught off guard by each other's surprise visits, the four of us couldn't just keep standing in the narrow entryway, so we finally headed inside. The manager mentioned he hadn't had lunch yet, so as thanks for his help last time, we decided to treat him to a meal.
I guided Yoon Ra-yoon and the manager to the table, while Na Hyun and I headed to the kitchen.
"Uh... so... you mean former coworkers from the same company?"
"Yes, though we're both retired now."
It was a simple task—just drizzling on the sauce—so no extra hands were needed. But Na Hyun seemed a bit uncomfortable, so I tactfully pulled her aside and asked about her connection to the manager.
The two had been senior and junior in the same guild back in the day. The manager had already quit hunting life six years ago, but until then, he'd taken good care of Na Hyun when she was a rookie hunter.
"So, Na Hyun, that's why you came here...?"
"My senior heard about my situation somehow and suggested it first. He said his hometown is safe, so why not live here until I stabilize?"
So that's how it happened... Na Hyun was currently suffering from otherworld PTSD, a mental illness. Severity varied by person, but some would have panic attacks just from seeing a dungeon or gate.
In Na Hyun's case, I didn't know how bad it was, but the fact that she'd retreated to the countryside like this meant it was probably serious.
It was still just a hypothesis, but studies showed gates appeared less frequently in low-population areas, a fact widely reported in the media. While cities like Seoul or Busan saw them three times a month on average, rural towns or villages might get one a year at most.
Not definitive research yet, but psychiatrists often recommended rural life—essentially "returning to the farm"—as a prescription for otherworld PTSD patients. Whether it was the Pygmalion effect or not, there were plenty of cases where people actually recovered, so maybe the hypothesis held water?
As I learned about Na Hyun's situation, the egg benedicts were finished before I knew it. Carrying a plate in each hand, I headed to the table, but the people who should have been waiting weren't there.
"Where'd they go?"
"Maybe they went to the bathroom?"
"Yeah... could be. Should we set the table anyway?"
I'd originally planned five per person, but with the manager joining, we cut it to three each. We were all awakeners, so it might be a bit light, but with Ra-yoon's mom's corn and sweet potatoes to try too, it should be fine.
Just as lunch prep wrapped up, the balcony door to the living room slid open as if on cue.
Ra-yoon and the manager emerged from an unexpected spot. Ra-yoon was grinning, but the manager looked strangely serious.
"Ra-yoon, where'd you go?"
"Unnie's field. Dae-gun ajusshi wanted to check it out real quick, so I tagged along~"
Ra-yoon kicked off her shoes and came in through the balcony door into the living room, but the manager stared at me with a grave look.
"Um... Ji-na-ssi?"
"Yes?"
"Did you... set fire to the field by any chance?"
"...Pardon? Oh, yeah, the weeds were everywhere, so I figured I'd burn them for fertilizer..."
Hearing my answer, the manager suddenly rubbed his face dry, like he'd overheard something he shouldn't have.
...?
Did I screw up again...?
"Alright, open your textbooks. Where did we leave off yesterday?"
"Slash-and-burn farming."
"Right, slash-and-burn. We call it slash-and-burn agriculture when forests are deliberately burned to make fields on the ash. This way, you get vast land quickly, and the wood ash acts as fertilizer, so it was a common method."
"But teacher, isn't burning forests bad?"
"Of course it is! But back when food was scarce, they had no choice but to farm like that."
"So slash-and-burn is a good farming method?"
"Yes, yes. Now, next is plantations..."
......This is the curse of Korea's rote education.
Damn it, they only taught the upsides and skipped the downsides just to keep the lesson on track. I still resented that homeroom teacher who taught us about slash-and-burn.
"Ji-na-ssi, soil is practically alive. If you just set fire inside the field recklessly, all the organic matter in it dies, doesn't it?"
"............Y-yes... I'm sorry..."
"Sigh... At least no wildfire spread to the surroundings. Next time you want to work on the field, call me over."
In the end, I got scolded by the manager. In front of my younger friends, no less.
I barely tasted the egg benedict I made with such care—did it even go down my throat or my nose?
"Pfft, what does city girl unnie know? Everyone makes mistakes~!"
"Y-yeah, senior! Unnie didn't mean to... um..."
Ra-yoon and Na Hyun jumped in to defend me, but it felt weird, yeah! Thanks, both of you! But could you stop? My deep-seated elder pride was plummeting in real time.
I was already at life zero. At least I wanted to look cool in front of these two, but I'd totally blown it. Ra-yoon aside, even Na Hyun stepping up so boldly left the manager a bit flustered.
The manager cleared his throat awkwardly and quickly changed the subject.
"Ahem. Anyway, egg benedict, right? The sauce is light and creamy—delicious."
"Th-thank you...!"
"And the 'black hair' suits you well too."
"Pardon? Oh, this?"
I touched my side-swept hair—it wasn't my usual rose-pink but jet black.
Come to think of it, I went shopping this morning and hadn't changed it back yet...
Ra-yoon, who'd been listening, chimed in with a teasing tone.
"Hehe, Dae-gun ajusshi seems like he's hitting on Ji-na unnie or something."
"......I'm a married man, so don't say that."
"Huh? From the sidelines, it totally looks that way? Na-hyun unnie thinks so too, right?"
The fire suddenly turned to Na Hyun.
"Uh, yeah? Come to think of it, back when senior was still in the guild, something similar..."
"N-Na Hyun?!"
"...!! What the hell is that juicy episode?! Spill the details!!"
The manager paled at Na Hyun's bombshell, while Ra-yoon jumped up like a reporter on a scoop and closed in on her.
Ooh... turns out Na Hyun was the manager's hard counter?
Thanks to those two bickering over Na Hyun, I could finally focus on my meal.
Right after lunch, the manager got up and headed home. I packed some extra egg benedicts for him on the side, and he thanked me again, saying his wife and Ga-eul would love them.
He really seemed like a devoted family man. According to Na Hyun, he'd always been the type to look out for others, so he was popular during his hunter days and got a lot of misunderstandings.
Apparently, once a woman from the same guild confessed to the married man, causing a guild-wide uproar... He had a personality that tricked people into misconceptions.
After the manager left, Ra-yoon and Na Hyun had been battling it out on the living room console I'd bought recently.
Neither had played fighters before, so I suggested they give it a try.
Watching their match from the sofa, I suddenly got curious about Na Hyun.
"By the way, Na Hyun, what's your 'specialty'?"
"Pardon? Well... I'm pretty good at games, I guess..."
Was that true? Ra-yoon's character was floating in the air under Na Hyun's relentless assault, unable to land.
Frustrated at getting one-sidedly pummeled, Ra-yoon started flailing the controller around.
"Eeeeek...!! Unnie, you're lying about never playing this before, right!?"
"N-no, really! This is my first time too...!"
As expected of a game streamer—her reflexes were on another level. But wait, that wasn't what I meant by my question...
I must've phrased it poorly and caused a misunderstanding.
"Ah, sorry, weird question. I meant your specialty as an awakener."
Keeping her eyes on the screen, Na Hyun replied.
"Oh, that? I was a support hunter like you, unnie. Specialty's healing magic."
"Whoa, really?"
Healing magic was super rare in this world. Even among support hunters, treatment varied by spell type, but healers were fought over by guilds.
Totally different from me, who got mistaken for a mere buffer.
Hmm... but thinking about it again, it still pissed me off. Noona and So-hee unnie branded me a buffer just because I used Miracle Time. Out of spite, I secretly registered as a hunter.
I wanted to prove it with results ASAP, but without a license, I was banned from dungeons for a month. Meaning I couldn't do jack for a whole month.
"Argh, I'm done! Na-hyun unnie's already a pro!"
On the TV, Perfect blazed across the center. Na Hyun had won without taking a single hit.
Ra-yoon plopped down next to me, huffing.
For some reason, my competitive spirit ignited.
"Na Hyun, wanna try me next?"
"Sure?"
"Oh yeah, Ji-na unnie."
"Yeah?"
"Why'd you suddenly set the field on fire anyway?"
"Well... obviously..."
Huh? I glanced outside. The sky was already darkening. Clock said just past 5 PM.
Today was the day I'd been waiting for: planting the moonflowers.
"......Na Hyun."
"Yes?"
"This isn't the time to be gaming."
"?"
I had about 100 moonflower seeds. With two free laborers for once, I planned to plant them all before sunrise.