#258
Zhuge Emperor (4)
Crying —
As the tea that flowed from the teapot entered the teacup, a delicate scent spread everywhere.
The interior is neat and classically decorated without being flashy.
In a room reminiscent of the residence of a scholar, the old man, Zhugegunak, the head of the Zhuge family, who brewed tea by hand, slowly lifted the teacup and savored the scent.
“Hmm.”
Although he had already lost his eyesight for a long time, there was not even an inch of extraneousness in his movements while performing the tea ceremony.
After a long period of training, he had a keen sense of being able to carry out daily life without much trouble.
‘Harry-soo… and Ha Seung-hoon.’
And of course.
That keen sense was also very useful in understanding someone.
The strangers who suddenly came this time were no exception.
‘They’re from another world… These visitors go beyond common sense in many ways.’
But even for Zhugegunak, it wasn’t that easy to figure out those two people.
He had interacted with several people from another world during his childhood, but he was very different from the people he encountered then in all aspects, including his disposition, behavioral style, and abilities.
‘But both of them were far from villains, and I didn’t feel any particular hostility. Or should I say it’s closer to favor?’
Although Harris’s attitude was a bit rude, it was not something to be faulted for being arrogant for a powerful person of that level.
But this time, the other side took the initiative to express their intention to restore the relationship.
By intentionally revealing to him about Ha Seung-hoon’s healing abilities.
‘I don’t know how I found out about Hyemi’s condition.’
It was an obvious maneuver, but Zhugegunak pretended not to know anything and acted as intended.
Because I knew that this was the first hand they extended for reconciliation and cooperation.
‘There are still many questions, though.’
As I spoke with Harris, I knew right away that he was hiding something.
The same goes for the winged stranger who is presumed to be the culprit of this chaos.
But the hostility he showed when I told him about him was real…
‘Hmm, I guess we need to keep an eye on him a little more.’
There is no need for further response right now. It is recommended to maintain friendly relations.
That was the first opinion of Taesang Gaju, who was dealing with strangers on behalf of the busy Gaju.
“Hehehehe, and he is also a lifesaver for my only granddaughter. Did you say it is already showing signs of recovery? I was holding back because I was worried that this old man would get into trouble for no reason. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to see my granddaughter’s face.”
A small smile appeared on the lips of Zhugegunak, who was enjoying the tea ceremony in the still air and gathering his thoughts.
As the eldest member of the family, Sega was the top priority in everything, but he was also worried about his sick granddaughter.
‘One is a master of Hyeon-gyeong, following in the footsteps of Cheon Gi-moon of the Mysterious School. The other is Uiseon (醫仙), who saved the life of a patient whom not only his family but also doctors invited from outside had given up… no, he was a divine doctor. Isn’t it actually beneficial to have a relationship with them at this level?’
Of course, it was their clan’s inevitable fate to instinctively weigh pros and cons.
***
Healing through divine power was not universal.
Of course, since it was given directly by the saint, its efficacy was certain, but it required a lot of time and effort to treat a serious illness.
The same was true in this case.
It’s been three days since Hugo started treating ‘Lady’ with divine power once a day.
Paaaat—
Just like before, the soft light that leaked from the holy symbol naturally seeped into the body of the person being healed.
The scene was exactly the same as the first day, but there were some things that had clearly changed since then…
“Wow, that’s amazing. Something feels different from my inner strength. It was as if they were hugging and embracing it a little more warmly…”
The person in question, Geum-ok-yeop of the Zhuge family, was awake.
She was in a coma but came to her senses on the second day of treatment.
Her face, which was as pale as a corpse, had a faint blush, and her skin had a distinct vitality unlike before.
Compared to the past, when people could barely survive despite using all kinds of elixirs, there has been a truly dramatic change.
This is only my third treatment.
‘I’m glad it’s effective, but isn’t it different from other diseases in that it reacts to divine power? ‘Is this really a disease?’
However, Hugo, who was actually performing the treatment, just made a subtle expression in an unknown mood.
He knew something was different, but he was simply transferring divine power through a medium and had not been baptized. With his senses, he could not pinpoint what the problem was.
‘I would know more clearly if Heinrich himself confirmed it here.’
Of course, that was impossible, so for now we had no choice but to indirectly check the trend by looking at long-term changes.
Anyway, looking at the situation, it didn’t seem like this treatment would be over in a short period of time.
‘But it’s true that I’m recovering. ‘If existing procedures are combined here, the period may be shortened further.’
It was a somewhat snobbish thought, but in a way, I thought it wouldn’t be such a bad thing since I would be able to strengthen my bond with the Zhuge family during that period.
It might be a bit annoying for Heinrich who has to constantly supply divine power.
“Ha, I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve felt this. No, it almost feels like the first time? I have been weak since I was young. Just from birth…”
And during the treatment process, I was able to have various conversations with Zhuge Hye-mi.
She, who usually just lay down in her room, must have felt resentful of this fact and chatted non-stop to him, who could be considered an outsider.
Thanks to this, Hugo was able to unintentionally learn a lot about her on only the second day of her awakening.
That she is the youngest with three older brothers, that her biological mother died giving birth to her, that she is a cursed child who caused chaos in the world from birth…
Most of what she says in a playful voice is pessimism and self-deprecation about herself. However, there was one part that particularly bothered him.
“Uhm, excuse me, Jegal Soje. “How old are you?”
“Eh? Are you asking the lady’s age? Ugh—ha, Confucius, I didn’t look at it like that, but it seems like you lack a little attentiveness…”
That won’t work.
If I leave it like this, I don’t know how long it will continue to talk alone.
Hugo boldly cut her off.
“As far as I know, the reason the world is like this is because of that incident 22 years ago, isn’t it?”
“yes? that’s right. “It is not a generally known fact.”
“So Sojeo’s age is twenty-two?”
“And again.” Is it really necessary to ask that question? “Just ignore it, even Confucius.”
He looked at her with a puzzled expression as she playfully puffed out her cheeks and pouted her lips.
No matter how she looked or what she did, she looked like a girl no older than fifteen years old.
‘No, you said you’ve been sick since you were young, so it’s only natural.’
It was quite possible, and in fact, it wasn’t that important.
What bothers me now is that in the year she was born, a major event occurred that shook the foundation of this world.
‘Accident?’
It can’t be due to a real curse or something, but maybe that incident and her condition have something to do with it…
“So, how old is Confucius?”
The moment I was lost in thought.
Zhuge Hyemi asked him a question in an innocent voice.
The wry smile on his face was back, as if he had been pretending to be upset for some time.
“I’m twenty-three.”
He answered firmly.
For some reason, I thought I would get more involved if I said she was younger, so I deliberately called her someone higher, but if you think about it, it wasn’t wrong.
Although he was still twenty years old on Earth, he was now entering his third year since entering this world.
In reality, it could be said to be twenty-three, and considering that the density of time spent within the same period with multiple alter egos was much higher than that of other people, perhaps it should be given more than that.
“ah! Are you my age? I thought you were somehow older. Hehehe.”
Are you just criticizing this because it looks bad?
That’s what I thought for a moment, but seeing the bright smile on his face, it seemed like he didn’t have any special intentions.
As expected, she was a tiring woman to deal with.
“Ham—hap!”
At that time, she, who was yawning defenselessly, covered her mouth in surprise.
She stiffened for a moment, perhaps because she had yawned without realizing it, and then began to secretly look at her with round eyes.
“You seem tired. “Today’s treatment is over, so please sleep well.”
“Oh no! You’re not very tired, are you? “I’m completely fine?”
“Don’t be stubborn. Rest is also a necessary process for recovery. “Talking also consumes a lot of stamina, so that’s all for today.”
Hugo spoke firmly and stood up.
It was a moment when I saw an opportunity to arise, and I thought it was good timing.
“Uuuu… will you come tomorrow too?”
“Of course. “I plan to come every day for the time being.”
“…Okay then.”
Then, Zhuge Hyemi, who had become sullen, dozed off and crumpled into bed again.
It was too much intimacy for someone she had only just met, but to her, it was not strange since he was her lifesaver.
‘Maybe I needed someone I could comfortably confide in.’
Not a member of her family or clan—an outsider who had nothing to do with her life.
If I think back on what she said, I think I can understand it.
“…see you tomorrow.”
“Yes, see you tomorrow.”
In this way, Hugo smoothly established himself in the Ganghwan world with new connections.
***
A corner of the battlefield that was in chaos as if a battle had taken place.
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
of of the man, who was kneeling with his hands clasped together in a reverent posture.
Although he was simply praying quietly without any movement, his solemn appearance radiated an overwhelming sense of intimidation that took the viewer’s breath away.
And there happened to be someone looking at that with admiration—.
‘As expected, Heinrich! He never stops praying even for a moment.’
It was Riesta, a saint of the main church.
Immediately after defeating the white giant that appeared again.
After returning from helping the victims in her area, her eyes sparkled as she saw Heinrich, who was praying every chance he got.
‘I can’t lose to this either!’
The heat of faith seemed to have moved into her heart as the divine power rose like flames from his body.
She carefully took a seat next to him and began to pray in the same position.
Heinrich, who led the battle and even helped with the cleanup, was quite tired after having just used an ultra-wide-range healing technique nearby following the battle, but Heinrich, who led the battle and even helped with the cleanup, was showing such faithfulness, so she couldn’t be crying!
In a space where such godly divine power flows arrogantly.
The saint and the saintess sat side by side and prayed to the Lord—.
‘Well, is this enough?’
Today too, Heinrich was able to successfully refill the divine power to be sent to the Ganghwan Realm.
***
“It’s here too. “This is a real treat, isn’t it?”
Harris smiled happily as he picked up a plant root as big as his forearm.
This is Wudang Mountain, located not far from Yongzhong Mountain, where Zhuge Dynasty is located.
It was Yeongsan where the shaman faction, a large group within the Ganghwan world, was located.
‘Of course, it’s just my garden now.’
I could definitely feel it when I came here and still had a lot of energy.
The reason why the energy contained in the elixirs he had collected so far was not as satisfactory as expected.
‘It was like that in Zhuge Dynasty. The overall efficacy of elixirs is decreasing.’
It was all because I was so sensitive to the energy around me that I was affected by the world’s energy drying out.
Unless it was grown from a dragon vein, most other elixirs remaining in this world would probably be in a similar state.
It was said that the value of Yongmaek Mountain elixir was increasing accordingly.
‘And the food that Hugo eats must always be of the highest quality!’
If you take a lot of elixirs, your tolerance will build up and the effectiveness will decrease, so you can’t fill that limit with useless things.
Even if I fed my child with only carefully selected ingredients, it wasn’t enough.
‘When I think about it that way, it was an excellent choice to hand over the elixirs discovered elsewhere to the Zhuge family. I was even able to show a moderate amount of condescension.’
Harris nodded with satisfaction and busily flew around, collecting the elixirs that caught his eye one by one.
It was a bonus to hide my presence as much as possible and avoid other people’s attention because I was afraid that friction would arise and be bothersome even though I didn’t have time.
‘Of course, even if it’s not now, I plan to come whenever I get the chance. Still, in the meantime, it would be a good idea to prepare things in advance for Hugo to use right away.’
As I continued collecting with that mindset, the amount was increasing beyond my expectations, but it was better to have too much than not enough.
If you feel like you can’t use all of your affection, you can just spread it to others as if you were generous.
‘Well, this will be enough for now. Then, now…’
It was the 10th day since Harris entered the Ganghwan realm.
It was a moment of true labor just before he returned to Outerica.