I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 22
022 Hello, Did You Sleep Well?
00#022 Hello, Did You Sleep Well?
Everything in this world changes. Just as a child becomes an adult and a sapling becomes an ancient tree, forms are bound to shift as life goes on.
The human heart is no different. The fiery heart that once held grand ambitions in youth cools with age, and in its place, greed, selfishness, and desire grow.
After poking at the wood in the hearth to revive the fire, the Village Chief turned his gaze toward his wife, who was hauling water from the well.
She carried the jige into the kitchen and poured the water into a large wooden bucket. She didn’t give him so much as a glance.
Having emptied the buckets, his wife waddled toward the opposite corner, her wide hips swaying. She tried to shoo away a hen that had laid eggs in the corner, but it wouldn’t budge. The particularly ill-tempered hen pecked at her hand, bobbing its small head back and forth to protect its eggs.
“Why, you stupid bird! You don’t even recognize your own owner? Where do you think you’re pointing that beak!”
His wife’s hand, broad as a pot lid, struck the chicken. The hen flapped its wings in a brief moment of rebellion before finally being shoved aside and scurrying away.
Watching his middle-aged wife turn back with the eggs in hand, the Village Chief patted the spot beside him on the hearth.
“Come over here for a second.”
“What for?”
The middle-aged woman spoke gruffly as she stomped across the house. She still refused to look at him, deliberately letting her feet thud against the floor. With her lips pouting, she placed the eggs into a basket in the kitchen area.
“What do you mean ‘what for’? I have something to tell you.”
“….”
It seemed she was deeply upset about him taking the fabric last night to give to the Forester.
‘Ignorant woman, she has no idea of a man’s grander vision.’
The Village Chief sighed and patted the seat again, telling her to come over. Grumbling, his wife came and plopped down beside him. Hiding his irritation, the Village Chief spoke.
“Stop it already. How many times do I have to tell you? We can’t do without the Forester. You know that, so why are you acting like this?”
“I know, that’s why I packed the flour and salt for them. But there was no need to give away that fabric. Do you have any idea what that was? I’ve been saving it for ten years without using it.”
“I know, but I had no choice. That man looked like he was seasoned in combat. If more people die or get hurt because of some mistake, everyone will starve to death this year. If giving a little fabric settles things, we should be thankful.”
The Village Chief recalled the giant’s arm he had seen when handing over the fabric. The wound, which looked like a beast’s bite, was still large, but it was clearly healing. Gus’s words were undoubtedly true. That man was a Magician—one who used Healing Magic.
Even with his wife right in front of him, his mind naturally drifted toward the Forester.
‘I have to think this through. A Magician that strong is someone even a noble would want. Perhaps even royalty would covet him.’
He could sell him for a high price. Being the Village Chief here was fine, but if things went well, he could live a life far beyond this.
Magicians weren’t that rare in the big cities. However, a high-ranking Magician was a different story. Not to mention, a rare healer. He might receive a sum beyond his wildest imagination.
But he had to be careful. If the nobles or the Guild caught wind of this, the Magician would be snatched away without him receiving a single coin.
“….”
The Village Chief glanced at his still-fuming wife and sighed. It would take a while for her anger to subside. He turned his thoughts back to the Forester.
He didn’t know how a Magician ended up in a prisoner’s carriage. The soldiers didn’t seem to know either.
‘Since he can’t communicate, he must not be from this country.’
Perhaps he was a criminal who fled from another land. No, he certainly must be. Otherwise, there was no way a Magician would be in such a ruined state.
If that were the case, the man wouldn’t go around boasting about being a Magician, making it easy to hide his existence. He just needed to quietly make inquiries and find the place that would pay the highest price.
“….”
A smile crept onto his face despite himself.
No one knew yet that a healer was here. It was a remote Forester’s hut deep in the mountains, so the chance of anyone approaching was slim, and it would be a long time before the official sent by the Lord arrived.
The people in the village were ignorant fools; they would never notice unless he told them. If Gus hadn’t mentioned it, the Village Chief wouldn’t have known himself.
‘It’ll be trouble if rumors spread prematurely because of a mistake.’
He had to be very careful. He would even have to keep it a secret from his loose-lipped wife.
In this situation, Gus was the only one he could trust. Seeing as Gus had told him instead of keeping the information to sell it himself, the old man wouldn’t likely betray him later.
Old Gus was the Forester his father, the previous Village Chief, had brought in.
Though an accident had prevented him from officially becoming the Forester, he did most of the work a Forester was supposed to do. Although his leg injury kept him from hunting large game, he was far better at his job than most hunters.
The reason no problems had arisen despite bringing in incompetent hunters from time to time was because Gus had supported them.
Gus monitored the wolves and Goblins and hunted to ensure animals like badgers, foxes, and field mice didn’t overpopulate. Because he knew these mountains, there was no need to worry as long as things were left to him.
Since nothing had gone wrong so far, yes, he would leave the Forester’s duties to Gus. That would be best.
In the meantime, he would look into whether any Magicians had escaped from somewhere and which nobles were looking to hire a new healer.
He couldn’t contact nobles directly, but there were information brokers in the big cities. He could ask them after paying a small fee. Until then, no one must know. He had to keep the Magician tied to the mountain.
The Village Chief turned his gaze toward his wife.
“Hey, try to get along with that Forester’s wife.”
“….”
At his words, the corners of his wife’s eyes flared. The village women did not like the frail Forester’s wife who had come from the outside.
Her lips pouted like a pig’s snout. Before she could grumble, the Village Chief spoke first.
“Gus says this new Forester seems quite skilled. He learns hunting quickly and is smart. He’s different from the others. If we’re not careful, he might find out we’re skimming the Lord’s goods and report us.”
His wife flinched, her shoulders trembling.
“That Forester seems to have a good relationship with his wife, so try to get close to her. When the women become friends, the men naturally follow suit.”
“….”
“Besides, if you get close to the Forester’s wife, you might be able to get rabbit pelts for cheap, if not anything bigger. That woman seems timid and clumsy; by spring, you might even get field mouse meat for free.”
“Fine. Well, there are things women have to do together anyway, so I’ll handle it even if you don’t tell me.”
His wife grumbled as she dusted off her skirt and stood up.
The Village Chief added a few more dry branches to revive the dying embers.
He decided he should return a few of the things he had taken from the Forester’s hut. He would pick out a few items the Lord had provided for the Forester and give those back as well.
It was fine for now since the man didn’t know the language, but it would surely become a problem later.
The other fools couldn’t say a word because they couldn’t do the Forester’s job properly, but this giant was different. Even without hearing it from Gus, he looked much smarter and stronger than the others. He was different from the riffraff he had brought in before.
He let out a bitter sigh. It was a waste to give the goods back, but it couldn’t be helped. He shouldn’t dwell on the loss and should give him something decent. Fabric would be good. There were some sturdy wool products among the items meant for the Forester.
‘My wife is going to throw a fit again.’
A sigh escaped him automatically.
His wife had once been rumored to be the most beautiful woman in the village, but no trace of her former self remained now. Just as he aged day by day, his wife had grown haggard with time. Only her greed increased.
“….”
Once he came into a large sum of money, it wouldn’t be bad to take a young concubine. The chiefs of other wealthy villages all had one or two. He was the only one without.
The newly added branches caught fire. The flames grew a bit stronger. Seeing that, as if it were a sign of his bright future, the Village Chief let out a small laugh.
Morning comes early in a mountain hut. Juhwan opened his eyes before the sun had even risen, but Riji was already up and moving busily.
She transferred hot water from the iron pot on the hearth to another container and added cold water. As steam rose from the bucket of warm water, Riji smiled happily, holding a small cylindrical iron ladle.
The number of items in the house had increased slightly, including water buckets, shelves, salt, and flour. These were things the Village Chief and the villagers had brought over.
The bucket Riji had just poured hot water into was also brought by the men back then.
The presence or absence of a couple of old buckets made a huge difference in this impoverished hut. Riji had been incredibly happy when they received several buckets. To Juhwan, it felt like the gap between the wealthy and the extreme poor back on Earth.
Riji had been bewildered at first when the villagers suddenly started hauling things in, but she seemed to have accepted it as a consequence of the men intruding into their home. She seemed to think the villagers were frightened because Juhwan had driven the men away back then—and that they were returning some of the things they had taken.
The way Riji looked at Juhwan, her eyes sparkling like a maiden smitten with a hero, began from that moment as well. Riji was far happier about this than she was when she realized her bruises had disappeared.
In Juhwan’s opinion, the Healing Magic was more impressive, but he didn’t understand a woman’s heart. To her, an old bucket brought more joy, coarse fabric brought happiness, and the fact that she could make one more set of clothes for Dorothy made her beam…
Looking at Riji’s face made him think that happiness wasn’t such a grand thing after all. It was a sentiment often found in books—finding happiness in the small things.
He had never actually felt that way in his life. He used to think that claims of being happy just by seeing a single flower on the road were lies. He thought such talk was only for people who were well-fed and had no worries in life.
But watching Riji, he began to understand those words. Seeing her smile made him feel happy for some reason. He vaguely began to feel that this must be the emotion similar to what was written in those books.
Even if he wasn’t quite at the point of being moved by a flower yet, he felt that if this time continued, he might become that way one day. The past version of himself, who used to return home to a lonely house, would never have imagined he would think such things.
Realizing Juhwan was awake and watching her, Riji gave him a broad smile and approached.
“Hello, did you sleep well?”
At Juhwan’s clumsy greeting, Riji smiled brightly and replied.
“Hello, did you sleep well?”
“Hello, did you sleep well?”
When he repeated her words, she nodded as if praising him.
Riji held out the toothbrush she had kept in the corner. Ever since she learned that Juhwan brushed his teeth as soon as he woke up, she would hand him the toothbrush every morning.
As Juhwan took the toothbrush, Riji held out a wooden cup with some water in it. She didn’t have to do such things, but for some reason, Riji seemed proud of these actions. While he felt a bit sorry as the recipient, it also made him very happy.
“Thank you.”
At Juhwan’s words, Riji lowered her head slightly, looking bashful.
Juhwan took the toothbrush and cup and went outside.
The toothbrush wasn’t an artificial one like the ones used in modern times. In this world, they used a thin branch, shaved it thin with a knife, and crushed the inside to make it soft.
Naturally, one had to make it themselves. He didn’t know if there were any for sale, but at least in this mountain and village, they didn’t buy them.
Since not all trees could be used as toothbrushes, Gus had taken him around and taught him through gestures and a few words that only branches from certain trees were used to make toothbrushes.
Dorothy hated brushing her teeth, so she had a tug-of-war with Riji every night. It seemed children were the same in this world as they were in his.
Recalling that he also hated brushing his teeth when he was young, Juhwan chuckled as he brushed his teeth with the wooden brush.
When he went back inside, Riji was working on the wolf pelt. It was something Gus had taught her. As a hunter, Gus knew how to treat hides.
Riji pulled and kneaded the inside of the damp hide with her fingers. As strength went into her slender fingers, they turned even paler. Riji had to repeat the task for a long time, until her fingers were so sore that moving them became difficult.
It wasn’t something that could be finished in one or two tries. She was already repeating the process of soaking the hide in water, kneading and rubbing it, and then drying it again for the umpteenth time. Apparently, that was how the hide became soft.
It looked so taxing that Juhwan tried to help, but Riji refused. She seemed to have decided that treating the hides was her job.
During the day, Dorothy would add her small, delicate hands to the effort. Juhwan doubted she was actually any help, but the two of them looked happy working on the hides together regardless. It was a bit concerning that Dorothy occasionally pointed at the pelt and shouted, “Meat!”
Juhwan looked toward the bed and chuckled.
Dorothy had been rolling around on the bed alone, and her belly was now exposed. Juhwan covered the child with the coarsely woven wool blanket and went outside with two buckets.
Outside was a long wooden jige with ropes on both sides. Juhwan hung a bucket on each side of the frame.
From now on, he had to fetch water several times to fill the buckets and then chop firewood. After he spent some time sweating like that, Gus would arrive.
His heart fluttered slightly at the thought of Gus.
Today, they were going rabbit hunting.
Over the past few days, Gus had been teaching Juhwan how to find the paths rabbits frequently used. It mostly involved checking for rabbit droppings. It seemed that if you set a snare on a path where droppings were frequently seen, you could catch a passing rabbit.
Yesterday, nothing had been caught in the snare. Today was the second day since the snare was set. He wondered how it would be today. For the sake of Dorothy, who was constantly singing about meat, he really hoped they could catch a rabbit today.
“….”
However, he hadn’t even seen a rabbit yet. He was briefly worried about what he would do if the rabbit was too cute to kill. He knew he had to discard his Earthling sensibilities, but his heart hesitated at the thought of a white, round, cute rabbit.
