I opened the Gate and came out, but no one was there.
“What the hell. Why is no one here?”
I had clearly told them to bring everyone. Had my words not sounded like words to them?
I looked around the empty village clearing and spat the words out in irritation. Then, from somewhere, I heard a familiar voice.
“My loooord!!!!”
“Yu-bong?”
Jeong Yu-bong poked his head up from beyond a dirt wall a short distance away. After confirming it was me, he came running in a fluster and hugged me tightly.
“Oh, my lord! Are you unharmed, my lord!! Oh, my loooord!!”
“Good grief? You bastard, let go before you speak. This is disgusting.”
When I peeled the clinging bastard off me, Yu-bong seemed to belatedly realize how disgraceful he had been and gave a dry cough before muttering.
“Ahem, hm. Goodness, my lord. Are you unharmed? This lowly one feared something might have happened to you, my lord, and—”
“Were you happy?”
At my question, Yu-bong’s face filled with panic.
“Pardon? Wh-what do you mean......?”
“Were you disappointed that I came back perfectly fine?”
When I asked as if probing him, Yu-bong blinked as though I had struck the mark. A beat later, he waved his hands and answered.
“Ahaha. My lord, wh-what a hurtful thing to say. How could you look upon this Jeong Yu-bong’s loyal heart and—”
“Enough. Did the boys come?”
I cut off the bastard as he tried to spin out something unamusing and looked around.
At that moment, from the place where Yu-bong had popped out and from around it, heads began lifting one by one.
“Ah, that is......”
“Ahem, hm. Woo Hoe-jung, Commander of the Special Military Unit of Namwon Protectorate, greets the Lord Magistrate.”
Before Yu-bong could say anything, a man wrapped in a black military robe stepped forward and spoke. I looked the man in front of me up and down.
The man had a fairly solid build, wore the black military robe that symbolized a Special Military Officer, and had three strands of red thread hanging from his official cap.
It meant he was a third-grade Special Military Officer.
“Commander of the Special Military Unit?”
“Th-that is right.”
When I glanced at the crown of his head, I saw a single flower bud swaying along with his ability name.
‘If he’s third-grade, that means it’s been at least six years since he became a Special Military Officer, yet he’s still only at First Bloom? Ugh.’
Looking at Woo Hoe-jung as he answered stiffly with his chin raised, I swallowed the sigh that threatened to burst out.
During the days when I was Deputy Magistrate of Pyeongan, the former Special Military Officers privately employed by merchant groups—men who had once served as Special Military Officers before leaving and joining those groups—were mostly about third-grade Special Military Officers as well. Even then, they were at least Second or Third Bloom in skill.
But a third-grade Special Military Officer with six years of experience being at the same First Bloom as someone who had only just Bloomed was beyond pathetic.
There was a saying that the more capable a Special Military Officer was, the earlier he died. At this rate, the man before me looked destined for a long, healthy life free of illness.
“Go in before the Gate closes and collect the rest.”
At my words, Woo Hoe-jung asked back as if dumbfounded.
“Wh-what did you say?”
“Didn’t you hear me? I brought out one, but I couldn’t bring out the rest, so hurry up and go fetch them.”
“No, how am I supposed to know when the Life Gate will close?”
“If it closes, open it again. Don’t tell me you became a Special Military Officer without even knowing how to pry open a Gate.”
My words must have hit a sore spot, because Woo Hoe-jung’s face flushed red.
“I-I-I have never even heard of such a thing—”
“Whew. So you do not know even that. Anyway, there is still about seven or eight minutes before that Gate closes, so hurry up and bring them out.”
When I cut him off and frowned, the bastard talked back without backing down.
“That sort of thing should be left to the underlings—”
“Are you standing before me right now and discussing who is above and who is below?”
When I asked back with one eyebrow crooked upward, the bastard hurriedly added,
“No, that is not what I mean. No matter if it is your order, Lord Magistrate, Dire Gates are strictly under the jurisdiction of the Special Military Unit—”
“Ah, you really do talk too much.”
Instead of listening any further, I reached out, seized him by the collar, and threw him straight beyond the Dire Gate.
“Aaaagh—!”
Seeing me lightly toss Woo Hoe-jung, who was bigger than I was, inside, the other members of the Special Military Unit flinched and stepped back.
“You lot there. Are you going in or not? Shall I put you in myself?”
“W-we are going! We are going!!”
At least their brains seemed to work better than their boss’s. Watching the members of the Special Military Unit scurry hurriedly into the Gate, I let out a deep sigh.
Because they had been inserted merely to fill out the appearance of the First Bloom captain’s little command, every ordinary member was someone who had not even Bloomed yet.
Even people without abilities were occupying posts, swaggering around with their shoulders squared as if they were Special Military Officers. Was that not practically fraud?
No doubt they had bought their positions from that bastard Woo Hoe-jung for a few sacks of grain.
I forcefully swallowed another sigh that threatened to burst out and glared once more at the Life Gate they had entered.
I had certainly known that the farther down one went, the worse the situation became, but seeing it with my own eyes still left a bitter taste in my mouth.
In the north, people were dying off fighting already established Dire Species. In the south, all the useful Special Military Officers had already been plucked away by merchant groups and local worthies, so only empty husks like those remained.
Namwon Protectorate at least had enough to put on appearances. In smaller towns, most places had no Special Military Officers assigned at all.
With the situation like this, it was obvious that if things continued, the entire Eight Provinces would be devoured by Dire Species spilling over from Dire Gates within a few years.
“Um, my lord. But will it be all right to leave it to them?”
While I was briefly sunk in thought, Yu-bong approached and asked quietly.
It seemed he was worried they might skim off the by-products of the Dire Species I had gone to the trouble of hunting. Even in this situation, he did not forget to look after the rice bowl that had to be protected. As expected, it was a quick-wittedness worthy of Byeon Hak-do’s strategist, who had stood at the forefront of exploiting commoners.
“Do not worry. I already removed everything important.”
At my words, Yu-bong’s eyes rounded in surprise. I tossed the bundle I had been holding in one hand into his arms.
CLINK—
“Oh my, what is all this...... Hiiik! M-M-M-Mana Crystals, are they not?”
Yu-bong’s eyes went as wide as lanterns. At that sound, I saw the people watching from a distance begin murmuring and peering this way.
Of course they would.
To people these days, Mana Crystals were more valuable than gold.
I spoke to Yu-bong, who was hugging the bundle tightly as if someone might steal it.
“Count them carefully and record the number in the ledger.”
“D-did you catch all these, my lord? By yourself?”
Yu-bong asked, looking me up and down as if he could not believe it.
Strictly speaking, not by myself.
“Not by myself.”
I remembered the stubborn line of Chun-hyang’s mouth as she pushed all the Mana Crystals harvested from the lower-grade Dire Species onto me, insisting again and again that since I had saved her life, I should take them.
‘As expected of the protagonist, perhaps. She’s on a different level, a different level.’
Just as the corners of my mouth were about to loosen without my realizing it, I heard someone’s voice from one side.
“Oh my, my baby! Oh my! My child, my little one!! My little one came back safe, oh my, oh myyy!!!”
It was Wolmae.
As if she could not believe that Chun-hyang had returned alive and unharmed from the Dire Gate, she kept checking and touching her all over. Tears of joy flowed from the eyes of the old mother as she confirmed that the daughter she had raised so dearly, as precious as gold and jade, was breathing with all her limbs intact.
“Ah, right.”
Only then did I remember that I had forgotten something important, and I approached where they were.
Then I heard Chun-hyang’s gentle, soft voice.
“Mother, I am truly all right, so please do not worry.”
Wow, that was worlds apart from the voice that had been like a bitter northern winter wind.
Marveling inwardly at Chun-hyang’s voice, which was as different as heaven and earth from the one she used with me, I approached the two of them.
“Is that true? Is that truly true? Oh, ancestors, heavens above, thank you for watching over our Chun-hyang, thank you, thank youuu.”
“See here.”
“!!!!”
At my voice, Wolmae turned back with a stiff face. Her tear-filled eyes were full of fear and wariness.
In the most courteous tone I could manage, with a voice that sounded amiable, I said,
“Your daughter is outstanding, so I would like to make special use of her. Will you permit it?”
At my words, I saw Wolmae and everyone around her draw in a sharp breath at once, their eyes as round as saucers.
It was no wonder.
Who was I? A mere half-day ago, I had been human garbage who forcibly dragged out someone who refused and demanded that she attend my bedchamber.
Of course they would be flustered when that sort of man suddenly changed his words.
Well, I understood.
While I was muttering inwardly, Wolmae, who had been silently staring at me, whipped her head around, looked about her, and shouted loudly.
“Oh myyy! People of the world, look here. Before I even get to hold my baby who came back alive from the Dire Gate, our magistrate says the first thing he wants is to make her attend his bedchamber! Oh my, even the heavens are heartless—”
“What? Wait, wait, wait!”
No.
What the hell was she talking about?
At the unexpected words mixed into Wolmae’s rapid-fire speech, I hurriedly waved my hands and cut her off.
“Attend my bedchamber? When did I ever say that?”
“Did you not say it just now, my lord? That she was outstanding, so you wanted to use her separately or whatever. I heard it clear with these very earholes of mine!”
Wolmae shot back fiercely.
Before she even had time to enjoy the joy of her child, whom she had thought dead, returning alive, there was a lustful bastard before her trying to take the girl away again. Her eyes looked as if she wanted to strangle him by the neck if she could.
......Even the gazes of the onlookers focused on me did not seem very different from Wolmae’s. At the sharp looks of the people glancing this way and whispering low among themselves, a sigh escaped me on its own.
“This is driving me mad. No, how does that sound like I’m telling her to attend my bedchamber?”
“Then what is it!”
At my words, Wolmae glared fiercely at me. She looked ready to charge and bite me if the chance came. Truly.
Good grief.
I wondered whom Chun-hyang took after, and it was her mother?
I glanced over Wolmae’s shoulder, as she stood in front of her daughter as if to block me, and saw Chun-hyang watching me with eyes filled with the same suspicion as her mother. I smiled inwardly and opened my mouth again.
“I mean that I want to employ your daughter as a Special Military Officer.”
At those words, Wolmae’s eyes widened.
“Wh-what did you say?”
“A Special Military Officer. I mean a Special Military Officer who hunts Dire Species. Your daughter has talent.”
At my answer, Wolmae blinked as if she could not believe it, then called Chun-hyang beside her.
“Wh-what did he say? Ah, child, Chun-hyang. What is that nobleman saying right now? What is this—”
At Wolmae’s words, Chun-hyang, who had been silent until then, opened her mouth.
“My lord, I am grateful for your words, but.”
At the unexpected answer from Chun-hyang’s mouth, a crease dug between my brows on its own.
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of refusing?”
You cannot.
If I let you slip away, I die.
I stared for a moment at Chun-hyang, who stubbornly kept her mouth shut and lowered her gaze.
“......”
Judging by that face, it did not seem like she would fall for any smooth words from me in the present situation.
‘Whew...... In that case.’
I had no choice but to do what Byeon Hak-do was good at.
After organizing my thoughts, I opened my mouth again.
“By the way, what do you intend to do about the five Mana Crystals you consumed earlier? At a rough estimate, even one of those should be valuable enough for a family of four commoners to live half a year without working.”
At my words, Chun-hyang’s calm expression wavered for an instant.
I knew this might happen, so I had taught her how to absorb mana. The way she handed over every single Mana Crystal to me without keeping one had given me a bad feeling.
Mana eaten right after working in the field was always sweet as honey. On top of that, today was her first Blooming, and she had cut down Dire Species for the first time, so her mana consumption must have been severe.
In the end, she had been completely taken in by my offer to teach her how to absorb mana from Mana Crystals, and she had absorbed five in a row while standing there.
Chun-hyang’s expression twisted as if she had belatedly realized she had been had.
‘Exactly. You shouldn’t gobble down everything a stranger gives you like that.’
You may be the protagonist, but when it comes to how the world works, I am one move above you, kid.
Meeting the glare in her eyes, I curled up the corner of my mouth.
“......Are you threatening this girl right now?”
“Threatening? There is no way.”
Actually, yes, it was a threat.
That was what Byeon Hak-do was good at.
I was about to grin when I suddenly froze.
The Mindscape Garden appeared before my eyes, and the petals of the eighth Mindscape Flower I had barely revived were burning again!
Ah, no, that cannot happen.
It was a joke. A joke, I said.
Ah, damn, you have one hell of a short temper.
Grumbling inwardly, I hurriedly opened my mouth.
“Three months!”
“???”
Chun-hyang, who had been frowning deeply, raised her eyes to look at me. Not missing that opening, I quickly continued.
“I will give you a position as a temporary Special Military Officer, so come to the government office and help with the work for three months only. Of course, I will pay you fairly for the work you do.”
At my words, Chun-hyang pressed her lips together and fell into thought.
Please think carefully, all right? From what I can see, you are absolutely not the sort of person who should live shut away in the women’s quarters waiting for a bridal palanquin.
If you were, you would not have Awakened in the first place. And even if you had Awakened, you would not have been cutting the throats of Dire Species on your own without anyone teaching you.
After watching Chun-hyang for a moment, I threw out the next bait with the heart of a fisherman who had a big fish before him.
“Exactly three months. After that, I will not concern myself with where you go or what you do. If you wish, I will even sign it in writing. What do you think? If you add five Mana Crystals and three months of wages, it is treatment equivalent to a third-grade Special Military Officer. It is not a bad offer, is it?”
Chun-hyang’s eyebrow twitched.
Good. She took the bait.
Just as I was about to add another word, a different voice cut in from beside us.
“Chun-hyang, what is that nobleman saying right now? Why is he calling a grown maiden to the government office? What hidden scheme could he possibly have......?”
It was her mother, Wolmae, who had been listening to my conversation with Chun-hyang in a half-dazed state until now.
Ah, wait, wait.
I had just about hooked her, so do not ruin it.
I quickly shot back.
“What hidden scheme? Did I not tell you? Your daughter has Bloomed. Letting her remain shut away in the women’s quarters and letting her ability rot would be to turn away from this country’s ancestral shrines and altars of state, and from the safety of its people.”
“Goodness, do you think anyone would fall for honeyed lies like that?! Do you think I do not know you mean to lure her out with pretty words and try to have your way with her?”
“No, I am telling you that is not what this is.”
“If that is not what it is, would a man start with a gisaeng inspection the moment he took office?”
“Th-that was......”
No, that was that bastard Byeon Hak-do!
It has nothing to do with meeee!!!
Just as I was inwardly screaming words I could not spit out, it happened.
“Thief! Catch the thief!!!”
Ha.
What now?
When I twisted my face and turned toward the source of the sound, I saw Woo Hoe-jung just emerging from the Life Gate.
“What is this? What happened?”
“That wench! It is definitely that wench. Seize her!!”
Ignoring my words, Woo Hoe-jung and his subordinates came running out of the Life Gate and charged at Chun-hyang without warning, so I quickly stepped in front of them and blocked their way. At that, Woo Hoe-jung huffed and pointed over my shoulder, shouting.
“My lord, that wench stole the Mana Crystals. Hurry and punish that wench to show the sternness of the national law—”
“Stop.”
Cutting off Woo Hoe-jung’s words, I asked him,
“The Dire Species?”
At my question, Woo Hoe-jung opened his mouth as if he had only then remembered.
“Ah, th-that is. We were just about to bring them out now.”
“The Gate is closing.”
As if time had just run out, the Gate was disappearing. Seeing that, Woo Hoe-jung stammered on.
“Uh, so, the thing is, there was not much time.”
“What did I say?”
“......To collect the Dire Species.”
“And?”
Sensing that my mood was no ordinary thing, Woo Hoe-jung watched me for a moment. Then, as if he had belatedly remembered, he lifted his head and said,
“We tried to collect the corpses of the Dire Species as ordered. But all the Mana Crystals had vanished. This is clearly something that wench—”
“Where do you get off calling women wenches like that? Is this your own backyard?”
When I spoke coldly, only then did Woo Hoe-jung shrink his neck and mutter quietly.
“......My apologies.”
“I told you to collect the Dire Species, did I tell you to collect the Mana Crystals?”
“But......”
As if that was not the same thing.
Looking at Woo Hoe-jung as he muttered like he had been wronged, I felt the thread of patience I had barely been maintaining snap.
As expected, there was no point in speaking at length to bastards like this.
“Third-grade Special Military Officer, Woo Hoe-jung.”
When I called him quietly with a stern face, I saw the bastard straighten his posture in tension.
“Y-yes, my lord.”
“For now, you need a beating.”
At those words, the face before me twisted instantly.