Chapter 145 – Three Peaches (5)

“…Hmm.”

Droplets of water fell from her damp hair. Hong-Yeon was holding the papers, and I read them thoroughly, step by step.

“Hey.”
“…?”
“Isn’t this not the part I’m responsible for?”
“What, really?”

Hong-Yeon’s face revealed her confusion. Even after checking the documents again, it was clearly not my task. She quickly read through the papers in her hand and narrowed her brows, perhaps realizing her mistake.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been swamped with work lately, so I must have forgotten.”

It could happen. If work suddenly piles up, one could become confused.

I snatched the document from Hong-Yeon’s hand and read it carefully. Between the lengthy sentences, two familiar characters’ names suddenly caught my eye.

– Cheondo.

Cheondo’s name was written among the new recruits starting tomorrow.

‘Why is she here?’

I couldn’t help but wonder. With limited time for training, what could be the reason? Other than helping out with the inn occasionally, Heaven had always been fully devoted to training. What compelled her to assist with this stressful task?

‘I’ll ask her tomorrow.’

At this rate, we would inevitably meet the following day. I extended the completed documents to Hong-Yeon, who received them carefully with both hands.

“…”

For some reason, her hands were trembling as she held the papers. Her eyes, a deep shade of red, brimmed with fear, and her expression was riddled with anxiety.

“You’re not… angry?”

After a moment, the words tumbled from her lips.

“Angry? Why would I be angry at you?”
“About my eye being sprained, shouldn’t I handle something like this properly?”

What?

As my voice rose, Hong-Yeon hurriedly shook her head from side to side.

“Oh, no! I’m sorry. I must have spoken nonsense.”

Hong Yeon, who apologized once more, touched her forehead with a disheartened expression.

“I always thought that’s how it was, so I assumed it was the same today.”
“What do you mean, ‘always like that’?”
“……”

Her gaze was fixed on me.

“What, why?”

As she tried to bravely step away, Hong Yeon lowered her eyes like a defeated dog. Even when I worried and took care of her, she could be so difficult. I sat down beside Hong Yeon and pulled out a few file folders.

“I’ll help you a bit today. Go to sleep early. You don’t need to stay up all night with me. I have an unusual constitution, and you don’t.”

I grabbed the penholder, took out the pen, and began sorting the documents. Hong Yeon stared at me intently, then offered a bitter smile and bowed her head.

“Thank you.”
“What would you do here without me?”

The pen’s pleasant sound as it scratched across the paper. The sensation of the quill pen, dipped in ink and writing, was incomparably satisfying.

Hong Yeon also concentrated on processing documents, pen in hand.

“It’s amusing. Taking care of everything and then running off alone.”
“What are you talking about? Wasn’t this what you originally intended to do?”
“Yes.”

Hong Yeon chuckled softly. She made the sound deliberately, like the boisterous laughter of a carefree coworker. I furrowed my eyebrows. Had I ever seen this woman laugh since I came here? All I could recall were her expressions, distorted by pain or dampened by exhaustion.

“Are you really resting?”
“I am, when I sleep.”
“So, you work whenever you’re awake.”

Hong Yeon was the kind of executive politicians and businesspeople would go to great lengths to have on their team. The more I observed her, the more this thought struck me.

“As for Do-won, it’s a place that old woman created. I can’t help but feel affection for it. Working there is hardly different from playing.”

Hong Yeon was responsible when it came to her work, and she displayed wisdom that made it nearly impossible to believe she was in Do-won.

She had mastered the unfamiliar computer in just a few days, becoming skilled enough to teach others. Her intelligence was truly on par with that of a genius. It was also a clever move to try and control me out of concern for political factions. The problem was that I was the opponent.

“Recently, the more we work, the clearer we can see the change. A golden age of peace is imminent. What could be more enjoyable than laying the foundation for that era?”

Despite her fatigue, Hong-Yeon managed a smile, her eyelids quivering from exhaustion. The way she spoke made her seem like a person who had stepped out of an ancient martial world.

“So, I am grateful to you. Without you, the Heavenly Demon, it might have taken years to reach this point.”
“You’ve got some nerve, considering that not long ago you cut off my arm.”
“I apologize for that.”

Although she replied brusquely to the embarrassing words, she humbly offered an apology. When faced with such meekness, I couldn’t find the words to respond. Having spent almost an entire day working together, it seemed that Hong-Yeon had developed a begrudging fondness for me.

“Just to make sure, you haven’t forgotten that I won’t be here in two months, right?”
“Of course. Didn’t I tell you earlier?”

Do-won was destined to vanish.
Only the old man and I were aware of that fact.

The Do-won here would soon disappear. I knew this because I had come from the future, and the old man had vaguely suspected it all along.
That’s why I knew. The reforms I’m currently leading are, in truth, completely futile.

When Do-won falls, what will Hong-Yeon think as she closes her eyes?

I pondered the question, but ultimately, it was none of my concern.

– Rustling.

The reason I continued my efforts, even though I couldn’t change the future, was quite simple.

It was the lingering anxiety in the corner of my heart.
If, in the era I used to live, my actions in the past were already part of history, it meant that I couldn’t alter the present, yet I was still changing it.

It was a terrible contradiction.

When I first arrived in this world, I found myself living in a house whose origin I knew not.
And now, in the past, I had prepared that very house and its associated status with my own hands.
Initially, it was a thoughtless act, but confoundingly, the puzzle pieces fell into place.

The World Tree of Time informed me that I could not alter the present.

‘One can exert influence, but regardless of one’s actions, the outcome remains unchanged.’

Thus came my sojourn in this realm, rolling along the temporal landscape known as the past.

Upon realizing the extent of influence I could wield, I adopted a more cautious approach in all matters.
For if, against all odds, the present were to change?
During the lengthy interlude, some disruption might have occurred, causing the World Tree of Time to provide inaccurate information.

‘My head aches, and my thoughts proliferate.’

My frontal lobe simmers.
In short, I concluded that remaining in the past would be to my utmost advantage.

The flow of time differed between the present and the past. Everything done here, be it training or gathering information, was considerably more efficient.
That was sufficient for now.

– …If you find me repulsive, then step on me and move on. I’ll continue to follow you.

These thoughts persistently surfaced in the present.
Taking a deep breath, I wiped away the sound of Azalea’s voice that reached me unconsciously.

Nevertheless, my hands continued to process the documents.
In about an hour, the two of us managed to complete the task quickly.

“Done. You?”
“I’ll be finished soon as well.”

Tap tap. By simultaneously placing our quills back into their holders, we concluded our work.
We often worked harmoniously together, making our tasks fit seamlessly.

I stood up, stretched, and reached for the light switch.

“Then go and have a good night’s sleep.”
“Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“I had an interruption while I was asleep. I don’t feel like sleeping now. I’ll do some magic training and then head to work. That’s it.”

I couldn’t accidentally fall asleep, dream again, and have such an experience.

– Dripping.

I opened the door. The cold wind of dawn penetrated into the room. Unlike the present, the weather here was quite chilly.

As I extended my foot beyond the door to leave, I heard a voice from behind.

“Then… how about a drink? I’m just having a hard time sleeping tonight, too.”

Alcohol.

A beguiling word echoed in my ears. It had been a long time since I last drank, to the point where I felt an unexpected thirst for it.

“There’s a fruit wine made from peaches. The aroma that comes with the viscous swallow is unparalleled.”

Quite the sales pitch.

“Call.”
“…Call?”
“I mean, I’m in.”

Sometimes alcohol can be just the remedy. This was one of those times.

* * * * * *

The day after drinking with Hong-Yeon.
After being trained by the Heavenly Demon, I arrived at work in the morning and immediately noticed a new recruit with a familiar face.

A radiant countenance that stood out even among those around him.
One of Do-won’s three beauties. Heaven was grinning at me with a beaming smile.

“Are you well? Little Heavenly Demon~”

Heaven made an imploring gesture with one hand.
Was she asking me to set the pace? I inquired with a tempered tone in my voice.

“Why did you start working?”
“…I wanted to learn how to work.”

I want to learn to work. The conviction in her voice made it instantly clear that her words were not untruthful.
It wasn’t the question I had intended to ask, but it seemed like I would have to wait until work was over to inquire further.

I called out to a woman who was clumsily fumbling with the printer.

“You.”
“Yes? Did you call for me, Little Heavenly Demon?”
“Take her and teach her some work. The kind you do.”

Tasks like simple paperwork that one can manage even when learning for the first time, or listening to the grievances of people living in Dowon. Cheondo was attentively listening with her shoulders tensed.

“…Can you do it?”
“I have to.”
“Hey, you don’t have to do this. It’s just manual labor.”

He spoke in a way that other employees couldn’t hear, but Cheondo didn’t respond. She was quite a stubborn one. I sighed and gently tapped her head.

“Alright, give it a try. You’ll get used to it eventually. You’ll face some criticism at first, but understand that that’s how everyone learns.”
“Okay… Should I follow this older sister?”

Though it was her first time doing this and she might not be entirely mistake-free, her pretty face would likely save her from getting scolded too harshly.

I let Cheondo go and watched her closely until her figure disappeared from my sight. Having witnessed this, Hong-Yeon quietly asked me.

“Is she the one you brought in this time?”

“Huh? No, that’s not it.”
“I thought it was clear when I saw you talking like that to someone who had just arrived. I guess I was wrong.”

Sometimes, they would scout promising youngsters from the neighborhood to work for them.
Hong-Yeon must have thought of Cheon-do as one of those, based on my attitude.

“Still, she’ll learn quickly. In three days, she’ll find something to do on her own.”

Cheon-do is one of the few educated women in Do-won.
Hong-Yeon glanced at Cheon-do and shrugged her shoulders.

“If you say so… I guess you’re right.”

Their relationship seemed to have warmed considerably since sharing some drinks yesterday.
We took a look around, each had a cup of tea, and then went about our own tasks.

During breaks while working, I went to check on Cheon-do, and as expected, every time she showed her face, I could see her sweating profusely.

“How can you manage if you can’t even handle simple tasks?”
“I-I’m sorry.”

“…Come here, I’ll teach you again.”

A civil servant chastising a lesser heavenly demon.
In a way, it’s quite a spectacle.

Still, it was fortunate that there was no shortage of work, thanks to the interest of many people.
There’s nothing more agonizing than coming to work and being idle, unable to find tasks to do.

I finished my tea and returned to the office.

– Slurp.

Processing documents once more, it took hours to check everything. I ate in between. Occasionally, I answered calls from outside while working, and the sun quickly sank toward the horizon.

Do-won’s office hours, without overtime.

I left the office and went to find Heaven.
The forlorn figure of the girl, whose presence was barely perceptible, came into view.

“…Hmm.”

As expected, Heaven was leaning against her desk, her face devoid of expression.