Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

”Have you arrived, So-ryong?”

The moment my feet touched the floor, a familiar voice rang out softly.

When I looked toward where the voice was coming from, Chief Steward Mong-a was standing there in a neat posture.

In her eyes, warmth and relief were seeping through.

Since I’d sent word ahead of time that I was leaving, it looked like she’d come down and was waiting.

A familiar face I was glad to see again.

I greeted her with a grin.

”I’m back.”

Chief Steward Mong-a returned the smile.

Then, with a calm smile, she pointed upward and said,

”The young lady is waiting upstairs. To the point her eyes might fall out. Hehe.”

”Her eyes can’t fall out, so let’s hurry.”

It looked like the young lady had been waiting a long time.

Even when we talked through the talisman last time, she’d shown how worried she was, so I picked up my pace.

After climbing the familiar stairs and reaching the top of Blood Market Tower, the young lady—who’d been busily checking documents in her office—kicked away her chair and sprang to her feet.

Joy and relief flashed in her eyes, and it felt like the air in the room warmed in an instant.

”Young lady, I’m here.”

”Junior Brother!”

She rushed over, grabbed my hand, and beamed.

”Junior Brother, you really aren’t hurt anywhere, right?”

As she looked me over from every angle, I nodded.

Her gaze carefully swept over my whole body, and that worried look made my chest tighten.

”Yes. Of course.”

”Thank goodness. Ah, sit here. Junior Brother. Mong-a, could you prepare some tea?”

”Yes, Miss.”

”Junior Brother, tell me what happened out there.”

”Come on, Junior Brother hasn’t even caught his breath yet.”

”S-sorry, Junior Brother. I was curious.”

”Haha. All right. So, what happened was...”

While drinking tea, I explained in detail what had happened out there.

The warm scent of tea filled the room, and her expression kept shifting—sometimes to shock, sometimes to relief—like she was following my adventure alongside me.

And after that, I asked the young lady what I was curious about.

What she was going to do about White Night City, and what the plan was going forward.

Through the window, I could see the whole view of White Night City.

”All right. You said you’ve made up your mind, so what are you planning to do with this place?”

At my question, the young lady nodded and began explaining.

Her voice was calm, but I could feel the resolve inside it.

”I’m going to leave it to someone else.”

”Sounds like you found someone trustworthy?”

”Yes. It’s someone you know too.”

”Someone I know too?”

Was there anyone else up here in the Nine Heavens that I knew besides the young lady?

I tilted my head, then flinched on instinct.

One person came to mind.

That guy with the unforgettable chest hair.

Hwangwoo.

Just imagining that smile made my whole body shiver.

’No way. It can’t be that guy, right? Chief Steward Mong-a even said he wasn’t someone you could trust.’

”It’s not Hwangwoo, is it?”

I asked, convinced it couldn’t be, and what I got back was confirmation that it was.

For a moment, all I could do was blink.

The young lady’s smile confirmed the answer.

”That’s right, Junior Brother.”

”...”

Hwangwoo’s evaluation definitely hadn’t been good.

And people the young lady cherishes are going to remain here too.

So I couldn’t help wondering if it was really okay to leave this place to a guy like that, but maybe my expression looked strange, because the young lady laughed and replied.

”Well, he said he’ll serve you, and honestly, he’s pretty capable. He’s the one who grew a backwater town into something on the level of a central city.”

”Really?”

”Yes. And Junior Brother, you’re not used to this place yet, so you might not know, but there are Law Arts that enforce promises. If we use that to force him to take good care of people, then even if he has no goodwill, we can still be somewhat at ease.”

”Oh?”

I’d thought Hwangwoo was some useless nobody, but if this were a simulation game, it sounded like his domestic management stat was pretty high.

Not combat power, not character—domestic management, the stat you need most to develop and improve your territory.

If that was high, then the choice made a strange kind of sense.

And if there really were Law Arts that forced you not to break contracts, then it would probably be fine.

He had the ability to keep the people in his territory fed, and he wouldn’t take the territory’s residents and grind them into pills.

”We’re still negotiating, but if the negotiations go well, I’m thinking of handing this place over to him before we leave.”

”I see.”

When I nodded like it sounded reasonable, the young lady asked something in return.

There was anticipation in her eyes, like she was looking ahead to our life to come.

”By the way, Junior Brother, could I possibly go into the Heavenly-Heart Lotus-Venom Utopia Map in advance? I want to check if there’s anything we need. We’ll be living there for a while.”

It looked like she wanted to see the place ahead of time and check what needed to be prepared.

”Ah, Dokmul-hyang?”

”Dokmul-hyang?”

”I gave the Heavenly-Heart Lotus-Venom Utopia Map a name. I called it that because it’s like a hometown for all venomous creatures.”

”Ahh, that’s a really good name.”

Just seeing her praise my naming sense, the young lady really was the young lady.

At her saying she wanted to go into Dokmul-hyang, I nodded and said,

”Do you want to go in right now? Ah—wait a moment. I should ask my wives first. Last time, I didn’t tell them in advance and I got scolded.”

I was about to bring the young lady straight in, but I decided I should ask my wives if it was okay.

Because last time, I brought someone in without warning and got chewed out.

If I did it again and just brought a guest along, wouldn’t that be a disaster?

Remembering that made me cautious.

”Oh my, something like that happened?”

”Well, it’s still their home, after all.”

”Ah... That’s true. Your wives could definitely think of it as their home.”

As soon as I asked Hwa-eun, I got a positive answer.

””Hwa-eun, I arrived at White Night City, and the young lady says she wants to look around Dokmul-hyang in advance. That’s fine, right?

”The ancestor lady?

”Yeah. Since it’s where she’ll be living, it seems like she wants to see if anything is needed.

”Yes, husband. All right.””

Now that I had permission, I was about to bring the young lady inside right away, but there was an additional guest.

I could feel Chief Steward Mong-a’s expectant gaze.

”They said it’s fine. Let’s go, young lady.”

”Yes, Junior Brother. Mong-a, get ready.”

”Yes, Miss. I’ve been so curious, and now I finally get to see it.”

It felt like Chief Steward Mong-a wanted to go in together and come back out with us.

Well, she was basically a secretary-type figure. If she was going to check what we needed and prepare things, she had to come along.

I called Gun Hye-rin out to guard my body, and I decided to go in too.

’Hye-rin, can you come out and protect my body for a bit? I need to guide the young lady.’

’Understood.’

As soon as I brought the young lady in and Gun Hye-rin came out, I stepped into Dokmul-hyang as well.

The moment I entered, I saw the young lady and Chief Steward Mong-a near the entrance, looking around.

”I-it’s even more incredible than I expected just hearing about it!”

”Right?”

”Yes, Miss.”

”This way, please.”

”Yes, Junior Brother.”

”Understood, Elder.”

When I brought them to the central village, the wives who’d been waiting greeted us politely.

”Welcome, ancestor lady.”

”Welcome, young lady.”

”Welcome.”

Hwa-eun, Zihwa, Ji-ryeon, and Sister Seol—plus Myoran, purring on Sister Seol’s shoulder.

At the wives’ greetings, the young lady smiled warmly, took Hwa-eun’s hand, and said,

”I’m happy to see all of you. Since we’ll be living here, I stopped by to see if anything is needed. Is there anything you need?”

I’d thought the young lady came to check what she’d need to live here, but it looked like she’d come with a kind heart to see what my wives needed too.

”Us too?”

”Of course. When I saw it last time, the living quarters were made of bamboo, so if it rains, it feels like it might leak. Is it all right?

Ah—does it not rain here?”

”Ah, it definitely leaks.”

”You noticed well. We came up in a hurry, so the house is a bit shabby.”

I didn’t live here, so I hadn’t known, but since we ascended with a house hastily built of bamboo, it sounded like it had drawbacks, like leaking when it rained.

The moment I learned that, the weight of responsibility as the head of the household came down hard.

’Ah, damn. This is something I should’ve taken care of.’

In an era like this, it should’ve been my job to handle issues like that. It was my mistake.

I was starting to feel sorry at my wives’ words when, from behind me, Mirang spoke in a cautious voice.

”Elder... may I say something? There’s something we need. Of course it’s not for me personally, it’s for managing the household...”

”Oh, sure, Mirang. Go ahead.”

Mirang was the one responsible for running the household here.

So if anything was needed, Mirang would know the most.

When I nodded, Mirang began listing the things that were inconvenient or needed in daily life.

Her explanation was specific.

”First, I don’t really know how to take care of a vegetable garden, so if there’s someone who knows how, I want to learn. We also need a storage shed. We put the things we’ve received in a bamboo storage shed, but because of the humidity, everything’s getting damp.

And we need more things like corner cabinets, too... If something breaks, we have to fix it, so I want to learn how to make them as well...

Ah! Lady Yo-hwa said she wants to learn how to weave cloth, so we need a loom. And if things like knives break, we need to fix them, so we have to learn that too.”

”R-really?”

It wasn’t just one or two things.

I felt endlessly ashamed as the head of the household.

”Yes. And there are a few places where the house is broken, but we don’t know how to repair it...”

”The house is broken?”

”While the spirit creatures were moving around...”

”Ah...”

It looked like the kids who still weren’t registered yet had been moving around and broken the house.

Bamboo was sturdy, but if spirit creatures moved around, it probably couldn’t hold up.

But as I listened, it sounded like Mirang was planning to learn everything and handle it all alone.

She was talking like she had to learn everything and do it herself.

Since it wasn’t easy to bring people into Dokmul-hyang, she probably thought she had to handle it all.

After thinking for a moment, I decided that when we brought the young lady in, we should bring in some more people as well.

To make this place more stable and abundant, it was necessary.

From what I heard, we needed a carpenter, people to farm, and even a blacksmith.

And on top of that, we needed separate carpenters—one to make furniture, and one to build houses.

”Mirang, you can’t do all of this yourself, so it’d be better to bring in some more people when the young lady moves in.”

When I said we should bring in more people, the young lady held her chin, thought for a moment, then said,

”A blacksmith shop, an iron workshop, carpenters, a master builder... and people to farm won’t be enough with just one or two.

Mm... Ah! Junior Brother, then how about we just take all of White Night City with us?”

”What?”

I was planning to bring a few more people, and she was saying we should bring all of White Night City instead.

As I blinked, the young lady asked,

”Isn’t it true that you can put in anything you can handle? Then it feels like you could put in all of White Night City too.”

I hadn’t tried anything that big because I didn’t think it would work, so I didn’t know—but it felt like it might.

Beside me, Zihwa spoke like it wasn’t a bad idea.

”It is not a bad idea. Once we go up, we will need people to serve you, and those inside Dokmul-hyang will serve you without question.

Because they will share their fate with you.”

It really wasn’t a bad idea.

In my previous life, wasn’t there a saying that above the maker was the landlord?

This was even above a landlord—this was a lord of a fortress.

No, several ranks above a lord of a fortress.

Not just a few buildings—if you had a fortress, you had a small self-sufficient village.

I was achieving, in a much bigger way, a dream I never managed to achieve in my previous life.

In my previous life, my dream was to have a decent building where I ran a pet shop on the first floor and rented out the other floors so I could live comfortably.

”This doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

It felt like it was worth trying at least once.