Chapter 18: Lessons and Progress

“Wow, you’re traveling incredibly far!”

“As you may have gathered from their accent, the majority of our mercenary group originally hails from Bnennta. We’re returning home.”

Bnennta was the term used to refer to the Western Continent, much like Eurasia or Africa.

‘They truly came from a distant land.’ To his embarrassment, he had never paid enough attention to anyone’s accent to realize they hailed from the Western Continent.

“Oh, really?”

“Should you ever come to Bnennta and require assistance, please seek out our mercenary group through the guild. We would be glad to help.”

“Even just the offer is appreciated.”

‘He doubted he would ever actually travel to the Western Continent, but the gesture was kind.’

“I’m not just saying that.”

“Bri!”

Alan, who had already stepped out beyond the city gates, called out to Bri, his voice echoing loudly. Bri was the only one left from their departing procession.

“I suppose I must go now. If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”

“Indeed. In any case, I wish you a safe journey.”

“You as well, Mr. Styles. And…”

Bri suddenly peeled off the glove on her right hand. Reaching out, she gently stroked Hay’s forehead and the bridge of his nose with her thumb. She then placed her right hand on Hay’s right shoulder, performed the same action for Renki, and said,

“May the blessings of Solashan be with you both.”

It was the Western Continent’s way of bidding farewell.

****

“What are all these?”

Renki looked down at the parchment with a bewildered expression. Ten Arabic numerals were written on it.

“They’re numbers.”

“They look different from the numbers I know.”

“That’s because they’re a different script. They’re called Arabic… I created them.”

‘His conscience pricked him, but he had no other excuse.’

“Wow.”

Renki naively seemed to believe him completely.

“But why numbers?”

“Starting today, I’m going to teach you arithmetic.”

“Arithmetic…? What’s that?”

Renki’s brows furrowed slightly, visible through the fabric. His eyes, filled with unease, darted around, betraying his turbulent thoughts.

“Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.”

“Do I have to learn all that?”

“Didn’t I tell you before? Ignorance is a sin. There’s nothing to lose by learning, so stop complaining and just learn.”

“Alright.”

Hay then showed him another parchment, covered in even more characters.

“What are these now?”

Renki’s eyes widened again.

“It’s Hangul.”

“Hangul?”

“I created these characters too.”

‘He felt a pang of guilt towards King Sejong. If he were in Korea, he would be drawn and quartered as a traitor, his head displayed at Gwanghwamun, and he wouldn’t be able to say a word in protest.’

Renki’s mouth gaped open. Hay, feeling a twinge of conscience, discreetly avoided Renki’s gaze.

“We’ll use it as a secret code, just between you and me. If there’s anything we need to discuss privately, you can use these characters. It’s not very difficult. Shall I write your name?”

Hay wrote ‘렌키’ in Hangul, tracing each character.

“Ren, Ki. That’s how you read it.”

“Huh? There are only two characters? Is this my name?”

“Yes.”

“Come to think of it, I see several characters combined, don’t I?”

“That’s right. This is the character ‘Rieul,’ this is ‘Ae,’ and this is ‘Nieun.’ Combined in order, they form the character ‘Ren.’ This is ‘Kieuk,’ and this is ‘I,’ which combine to make ‘Ki.’”

Renki seemed fascinated by Hangul. ‘He would come to appreciate its marvels as he learned.’

“For now, just memorize these Arabic numerals and Hangul. The pronunciations are written below the characters, so you can refer to them.”

“Alright.”

At the instruction to memorize, Renki’s eyes showed a hint of weariness. Hay suppressed a laugh that threatened to escape.

“Ask if you don’t understand anything. Let’s start with the easiest, the Arabic numerals. Shall we begin?”

Hay stacked a generous pile of parchments in front of Renki. Renki took a deep breath, as if steeling himself, then picked up a quill and carefully began to write the numbers neatly while memorizing them.

Hay merely watched him from the front, arms crossed. Renki occasionally asked questions, and Hay meticulously answered them. He found Renki commendable for his diligence and lack of pretense.

“In ten years…”

“Yes?”

At Hay’s unintentional mumble, Renki looked up. Hay smiled and shook his head.

“No, it’s nothing. Just keep memorizing.”

Hay picked up a random book he had received from Bri and opened it. Renki lowered his head again, concentrating on his memorization. Hay glanced at him, swallowing his unspoken thoughts.

‘In ten years, Renki will be over twenty, so he should be able to live independently.’

‘At that point, he would let him live freely.’

****

Three months later.

It was the twenty-fifth day of the Fruit Moon, the harvest season in full swing—September 25th.

The air in the clearing was filled with the sharp whistle of wind. Thwack! Clatter—.

With a gesture from Hay, an invisible precisely cleaved a log in half, which had been suspended by an unseen string and swaying from side to side in the air. Hay grinned, pumping his fist in silent triumph. He had successfully split ninety-seven out of a hundred logs exactly in half from a distance well over 50 meters.

Three months prior, the accuracy of all his skills had been lacking, but now, even at long distances, he could hit his mark with considerable accuracy. This was good enough. Hay looked down at his palm; the power of the wind still lingered within his grasp. He calmly regulated his ragged breathing. As he allowed the fully amassed power to dissipate, he smiled with satisfaction.

He had now become a low-intermediate spirit user, approaching the intermediate level. Given the increased size of the spirits, it was clear his rank had risen. Thea, once like a Jindo dog, had grown as large and majestic as a Malamute, and was more imposing, while Kelpie, formerly like a python, had thickened and lengthened significantly. Compared to three months ago, the amount of mana he could contain within his body had noticeably increased. The time he could summon spirits had also extended from an average of three hours to five, and his application of spirit arts had vastly improved. His goal had been to raise his rank to intermediate if possible, but low-intermediate was a sufficiently good achievement. Considering his past, having remained at the lowest rank for over fifteen years, he had grown at an astonishing pace over the past three months.

Hay, a pleasant expression on his face, retying his disheveled hair, followed Renki with his eyes. Renki was running in circles around him in the clearing.

“Renki! Stop that and let’s clean up!”

Renki stopped running and turned to Hay.

“Already? Isn’t there still time left for exercise?”

Hay picked up the hourglass beside him. There was no more sand to flow.

“It’s finished.”

Renki then wiped the sweat from under his chin with the sleeve of his sweat-soaked clothes, catching his breath.

“Time flies.”

“Let’s clean up. I want to wash.” Hay said.

Renki nodded and began tidying up the clearing, which was somewhat disheveled from their training. The split logs would be kept by the person who lent them the clearing, as that was part of their agreement. His shoelace came undone. Hay bent down to re-tie it, looking at Renki. Hay wasn’t the only one who had grown; Renki had too. First, to the naked eye, Renki looked healthier than before. His stamina had definitely improved, and compared to when Hay first took him in, he had grown another handspan taller. Second stage puberty usually begins after fourteen, but Renki’s development was fast for a twelve-year-old. It might be due to the combination of regularly consuming healing water and engaging in physical exercise. His leg had also fully healed, and he no longer limped. Honestly, Hay hadn’t expected such an improvement in just three months.

‘He’s quite the tenacious one, isn’t he?’ Hay marveled inwardly. It was true that the plan he had devised for the boy was admittedly quite rigorous for someone so young. Renki had even sustained injuries a few times from overexertion. While the plan was tailored to his physical condition, Hay had put Renki through training comparable to commando drills, which said it all. Initially, he had worried about Renki’s lack of grit, but unexpectedly, Renki possessed a truly viper-like tenacity. He executed every curriculum item with terrifying diligence. Moreover, he was incredibly intelligent. In three months, he had not only mastered Marten but also arithmetic and Hangul. Hay was even considering teaching him Korean later on.

‘For such a talented child to be a s*ave, it’s a waste of potential.’

‘Perhaps my kid is a genius.’

Hay dusted off his backside and stood up. Renki, drenched in sweat, ran over after finishing the cleanup.

“It’s hot, isn’t it?”

It was the harvest season, so the sky was high and the sun was scorching. As he fanned Renki, a gentle breeze wafted, cooling his sweat.

“Ah, it’s refreshing. Thank you.”

“What should we have for lunch today?”

“Meat.”

“Chicken, beef, pork.”

“Chicken!”

“You rascal, so you’ve come to appreciate the taste of chicken now.”

“I want the seasoned chicken that Big Sister Meggy makes.” Renki’s green eyes sparkled brightly from behind his black mask.

“Alright, alright. First, let’s go back to the inn and wash up.”

“Yes!”

Renki, bubbling with excitement at the mention of chicken, quickly gathered Hay’s belongings. When they returned to the inn, Meylin had prepared bathwater, timing it for their return.

“You two are a bit late today, aren’t you? I heated the water, but it’ll get cold! Hurry up and wash.” Meylin ushered them out the back door of the inn as soon as they arrived.

“Master, you go first. I’ll put down the luggage and get some clean clothes.”

Hay nodded, heading to the bath chamber. As he undressed and began to wash, Renki returned. He placed the clean clothes on a shelf, sprinkled the fresh herbs Meylin had placed in Hay’s wooden bathtub, and picked up a piece of plain cloth.

“I’ll scrub your back.”

“Oh, alright.”

Hay propped his arms on the rim and leaned back, casually accepting Renki’s bath service. Since it was quite awkward to do alone, Renki had started scrubbing his back about two months ago. If he had known how convenient it was, he should have had Renki assist him with bathing much sooner. After Hay finished washing, it was Renki’s turn to bathe. Of course, Hay, being the master, did not assist Renki with his bath.

While putting on his new clothes, Renki shed his sweat-soaked clothes. It suddenly occurred to him that it had been two months since he last properly saw Renki’s bare face. He wondered how much the scars had faded.

“Renki.”

“Yes?”

He was about to tell him to take off his mask, but there was no need. Renki was just removing his mask, and their eyes met. Though slower than other areas, the scars were definitely diminishing. At this rate, they’d likely be completely gone by the end of the year.

“Never mind. Just wash up and come out.” Hay said indifferently, leaving the bath chamber and heading up to his room.

Sitting on the bed, he summoned Sylph to dry his hair. Sylph perched on Hay’s head, generating a breeze while singing an unsolicited hard metal-style song. Regardless, he let Sylph’s peculiar musical taste serve as background noise as he pulled out his money pouch.

“Time to count the money…”

He emptied the contents of the pouch onto the bed, separating gold, silver, and copper coins, then counted them. When he had counted his money upon arriving in Nudan, he had 64 gold and 29 silver. Now, only 49 gold and 56 silver remained. He had been in Nudan for 119 days since his arrival. He had certainly stayed a long time.