Translator: Wan ED/PR: Solarin
68. Restart (1) [1]
Hyangrok happily took off his shoes and took the seat Hwang Jiho offered.
When he opened the carrier, I saw a small jade mortar and pestle, and vacuum-packed pouches of suspicious herbs and powders.
“The request Hwang-ho made this time is complicated, so I brought the ingredients, thinking I will have to make the prescription after personally taking pulse!”
Hyangrok diligently busied his hands and took out the contents in the carrier.
Hyangrok talked something about the request being a complicated one, but he looked extremely excited.
It seemed Hwang Jiho’s commission fired up Hyangrok’s challenge spirit.
Hwang Jiho spoke, pleased by Hyangrok’s attitude.
“I’m going to say it again, Jeok-ho is unaffected by ordinary recovery items. Only Gwangrim borrowing an authority of a higher being can heal Jeok-ho. Ordinary elixir won’t do.”
“Using Gwangrim will be exhausting, but I’ll make sure to prepare to use Gwangrim!”
Asking the Nok tribe’s head to come and go, and even use Gwangrim, wouldn’t end with one or two pennies.
I guess Hwang Jiho was throwing his money again.
It was not a problem that Hwang Jiho was spending money on Jeok-ho, but the problem was that he was blowing money on me too.
But in this case, I was more dizzy at the thought of drinking another batch of that beyond terrible elixirs, rather than being a burden.
“Jo Uisin drunk quite a few elixirs already, right? If I’m going to adjust it so there are no side effects, it will get a bit complicated. I think it’s going to consume a lot of active ingredients.”
“I’ll pay you plenty. Use your power and ingredients without sparing.”
“Key! Ah, it’s fine if you give me experiment subjects instead of cash, like last time.”
The sense of crisis grew as the conversation between Hwang Jiho and Hyangrok grew longer.
The more you put in a ruined dish, the worse it tastes — won’t it be the same with elixir?
If he puts even more power and active ingredients than the last time, won’t it be even more disgusting?
My mind grew anxious at that thought.
‘Hwang Jiho hasn’t yet been able to pierce through Jeon Mu-yeong’s Gwangrim ‘Time Without Shadows[2]’. There is still an opportunity to flee.’
Just when I started to unknowingly look for a chance to escape.
The warmth in my arms wriggled, and I came to my senses.
Keung…?
My angel was telling me to stop blankly staring and pet it, while wagging its tail.
That’s terrible. I couldn’t flee, leaving Snare behind!
No, can’t I take Snare with me and flee?
When I was thinking of a place worthy for an angel to stay in, I felt a gaze.
“…”
Baek Ho-gun was quietly observing me.
It seemed that Baek Ho-gun, who knew the taste of elixir, saw through my thoughts.
When thinking about my cowardly thoughts of trying to flee so I won’t drink the elixir were found out and felt shame.
“I’ll help you.”
Baek Ho-gun said, moving only his lips.
Baek Ho-gun was thinking of helping me escape if needed!?
I don’t know if it was just Hwang Jiho here, but I couldn’t flee in such a situation.
I couldn’t involve my angel Snare and my main Playable Character Baek Ho-gun into it.
In addition, though in Hwang Jiho case there was a degree of wanting to tease me mixed in, in Snare and Baek Ho-gun’s cases, weren’t they sincerely worried about me?
As such, my will to flee was immediately broken.
“Jeok-ho, you remember that the Red Smoke can’t hide you from me and Baek-ho’s eyes, right?”
“… I know.”
I guess Jeok-ho was also thinking of running away like me.
I was reassured by that thought that I wasn’t alone in this.
In the meantime, Hyangrok started taking pulse, as if he finished his preparations.
The first one to have his pulse checked was Jeok-ho, who was thinking of trying to run away, but was caught by Hwang Jiho.
Hwang Jiho, who watched the process of taking pulse and Hyangrok preparing the ingredients, said:
“It doesn’t seem like the ingredients you brought will be enough.”
“I couldn’t bring all the ingredients. I’ll first make only the portion for today and go back to make the rest of the week’s share — then send it over!”
You mean I’ll have to drink the elixir for an entire week!?
A vein pulsed on Jeok-ho’s forehead, who had his pulse checked by Hyangrok.
Whether he knew what Jeok-ho felt or not, Hyangrok continued to calmly take his pulse, while he spoke:
“Drinking elixir probably won’t have much effect on Jeok-ho. The power on your shoulders is too great. Still, you have endure and drink it all within the set period of time. It’s difficult for the elixir to retain its power for a long time.”
The effect won’t be great, but he will have to drink the entire disgusting elixir within the limited period of time, huh?
I understood Jeok-ho’s hardships, so my heart ached.
Once Jeok-ho’s pulse taking was finished, it was my turn.
Like the last time, Hyangrok moved his small fingers filled with superpower wave and took my pulse.
Hyangrok, who instilled superpower wave and checked the pulse on my neck, fell silent.
“Um…”
Was there a problem?
As if he finished checking my pulse, Hyangrok took away his hand and stared at me.
Both I and Hyangrok were sitting on cushions[3], so Hyangrok, in his appearance of a young child, ended up looking up at me.
I wanted to lower myself to match Hyangrok’s eye level, but as both of us were sitting, so regretfully I couldn’t do that.
It was the Nok tribe’s head, who made the horribly tasting elixir, but as I thought of him as a young child diligently making medicine, I couldn’t hate him.
As if he finished organizing his thoughts, Hyangrok suddenly said:
“Jo Uisin, do you hate to breathe?”
“… Yes?”
What was he suddenly saying?
Did he meant to ask if I want to die?
There were so many things I had to do, so wouldn’t dying mean abandoning it?
I immediately denied.
“No.”
It was only a natural answer, but Hyangrok quickly blinked his eyes, as if he had trouble understanding.
Hyangrok sweated a little, and then replied:
“Really? You have to make absolutely sure to call me when your breathing becomes uncomfortable.”
Hwang Jiho, who was watching me and Hyangrok, asked:
“Is there something wrong with Jo Uisin?”
“No, it looked painful, but there is nothing wrong.”
Isn’t it ok if there is nothing wrong?
Was it because Hyangrok’s question was too strange? After Hwang Jiho, Baek Ho-gun also seemed worried about me.
Without drawing attention, Baek Ho-gun raised the index finger and pointed at me.
‘… No way, are you suspecting that?’
When I played chess with Baek Ho-gun before, Baek Ho-gun pressed my forehead with his index finger to calm down my superpower wave.
We shared such a conversation that day.
— You press your windpipe with your superpower wave when you play chess.
— If it was a habit that would impede on your life, other people would notice. But the fact that it’s a habit that causes you pain doesn’t change. Correct it.
No way, was I unintentionally pressing my windpipe again?
I didn’t play chess recently, but…
Jeok-ho, who stared at the medical ingredients with a stiff face, broke the silence.
“It’s a fortune if there is nothing wrong. Well, even if there was, You will get better if You drink the elixir. There is no way there won’t be any effect if You endure that taste.”
“What that taste?! This is your first time drinking my elixir.”
“… I watched others drink it from the side. I can guess the taste just from the reactions of the people who drank it and the smell.”
“Um… the disgusting taste can’t be helped, but there is no way that something I made personally, will have no effect! I should put even more effort into Jeok-ho’s elixir.”
Hyangrok’s enthusiasm soared at Jeok-ho’s words.
It seemed that the elixir for Jeok-ho to drink would be even more disgusting and with even more outstanding effects.
Jeok-ho belatedly regretted saying anything after seeing Hyangrok’s reaction, but it was already too late.
“I want to see your reaction after tasting it, so wait until I finish making it! Would you like medical tea while you wait?”
When Hyangrok took out a thermos, Hwang Jiho prepared cups as if he was waiting.
I felt warmth surge in my whole body when I took a sip of the fragrant medical tea.
I thought that the taste and even effect was amazing to a degree, so why did I have to put aside the medical tea and drink the poison-like elixir.
While I contemplated such things, Hyangrok didn’t rest and continued to prepare the medicine while chatting.
Hyangrok talked about meeting Qítiān Dàshèng at the TC Research Institute.
“Qítiān Dàshèng complained that it was disgusting, but ate the medicine well. But it seems that he pays attention to taste when he personally makes the medicine.”
It seemed that Hyangrok brought up Qítiān Dàshèng because Jeok-ho complained about the taste, and thanks to that, I was able to hear what Qítiān Dàshèng was up to these days.
I guess Qítiān Dàshèng contacted Hyangrok after that.
Hyangrok’s story continued.
“Not a long time ago, he contacted me to borrow some precious ingredients, perhaps because he plans to personally make pills, and looking at the ingredients, it seems he really pays attention to taste.”
The pills Qítiān Dàshèng was making were probably medicine to treat Wúzhīqí.
Yu Sang-hui healed her, but wasn’t Wúzhīqí chained for a long time and was used as an energy source in the ‘Higher Being Artificial Descent Project’?
Time was probably needed for Wúzhīqí to completely recover.
The skilled in medical art Qítiān Dàshèng would help to decrease that time.
‘Unlike Hyangrok, I guess Qítiān Dàshèng pays attention to the taste.’
Thanks to indirectly hearing news about Qítiān Dàshèng and Wúzhīqí, my heart warmed, but thinking of the poison party that was about to be held in the future, my heart suffered.
Leaving me and Jeok-ho in a somber mood, Hyangrok quickly completed the elixir.
“Step back a little.”
Paaat!
Before Hyangrok activated his Gwangrim, he summoned a thin cloth, knitted with superpower wave and wrapped it around himself.
The lined up medical ingredients, tools and Hyangrok himself were covered by the cloth, so nothing could be seen.
“Is the medicine making process difficult to disclose?”
“No. Even if I personally trained others in my medicine-making method, there would be only a few apothecaries who could do it.”
Hyangrok spoke confidently and explained that the cloth cover is to block the tiny streams of superpower wave.
I guess he prepared such a cloth, because there were tigers, who lived through the myth era and a Divine Beast in font of him.
After the supernatural cloth was put on, Hyangrok activated the Gwangrim borrowing the power of a higher being, and completed the elixir.
Hyangrok’s elixir-making process was mysterious and delicate, but truly strangely, the result was something with a taste beyond a deadly poison.
“… We haven’t eaten dinner yet.”
“It’s fine if you drink it before meal.”
Jeok-ho’s last resistance ended up meaningless.
I quickly gave up and accepted the jade cup.
* * *
Next day morning.
I opened my eyes in Hwang Myeong-ho’s great mansion’s hanok side-building.
‘I didn’t plan to stay, but…’
I was planning to go back after eating dinner, but somehow I ended up staying in the mansion.
It was because Hyangrok’s elixir making took a long time, and it was late, but it was also because I lost all energy after tasting hell.
‘I will have to live in hell for the whole week!’
It was impossible to overcome that horrible, disgusting taste with just baesuk[4] handed by Hwang Jiho and medical tea prepared by Hyangrok.
Based on what Hyangrok said, Jeok-ho’s elixir was even more disgusting than mine, so I have no idea how the hell he endured it.
I thought it was indeed worthy of the Legend category Ho.
“Hahaha! Hey, let’s eat breakfast. Elixir or a meal, whatever you want first.”
The moment I put on the new school uniform that was prepared in the room and came out, I heard Hwang Jiho’s laughing.
As if Jeok-ho already reached stoicism, he grabbed the pouch with the elixir with an expressionless face.
I decided to follow Jeok-ho’s example and also choose to drink the elixir first.
Like this, the painful morning elixir time has passed.
“It’s weekend soon, so how about you come to the mansion again? You will have to receive the elixir Hyangrok will send anyway.”
As I listened to Hwang Jiho talk on the way to school, my expectations for the weekend plummeted to the bottom.
Whether it was the weekend or not, I would like to not drink the elixir.
Hwang Jiho kept talking as if he was in a seriously good mood since morning.
“Someone is going to attend school starting today.”
The words ‘attend school’ perked up my interest.
No way, did one of our class’s truants is going to start attending school?
“Gye Idam finished his treatment yesterday and was discharged. He was said to plan to start attending school again from today.”
At the news that the malicious commenter, whom I wasn’t curious about, was coming back to school, my enthusiasm hit the floor.
Today’s morning was the worst.
“Hahahaha! You hate him so much? I also have some coming back to school news that will make you happy.”
Seeing Hwang Jiho’s laughing, my expectations dropped to 0.
“Tao Wonu is expected to attend school again. He won’t be able to come in the morning, but he should come in the afternoon. Ah, there is another person over there, eh?”
In front of the 1st year class 0’s classroom stood Yu Sang-hun.
*~*~*
[1] Restart — Literally ‘again/another’ + ‘start’. ‘Resume’ would also be a good translation. Homonyms for ‘start’ are as follows ‘writing a poem’, ‘prototype, producing something for a test’, ‘farmer tenant’. Also, both ‘again/another’ and ‘start’ has the syllable ‘시(si)’ in them, which can mean time.
[2] Time Without Shadows — alright, so after thinking of how many times I had to make a note ‘remember that ‘traces’ also means ‘shadows’, and the fact that ‘Mu-yeong’ can literally mean ‘zero shadows’, I decided to trust everyone intelligence and change Traces to Shadows.
[3] cushions —traditional sitting cushions that you can find in hanoks (traditional Korean tile-roof houses).
[4] baesuk — a fruit punch. 배숙 (baesuk) also means (very very simply put) ‘for a seed to mature and be ready for another growing phase’ (so it’s kind of like another start?).
[?] Nok — for a ‘deer’.
Translator’s note: Our kid is holding for this life by a straw… Everyone quick! Tell him if he dies, everyone will be bringing him elixirs to his grave! This way he will have to live.
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