The Story of Becoming a Married Man in Another World

022 Goodbye, Did You Sleep Well

Everything in this world changes. Just as a child becomes an adult and a young tree becomes an old tree, forms are bound to change as we live.

The same goes for people’s hearts. The passionate heart that harbored ambitions in youth cools down with age, and in its place, greed, selfishness, and desire grow.

The village chief stirred the wood in the hearth a bit to revive the fire, then turned his gaze to his wife, who was drawing water from the well.

The water buckets swayed at both ends of the long pole slung over her shoulders. She carried the water yoke into the kitchen and poured the water into a large wooden tub. She didn’t even glance at him.

After pouring all the water, his wife headed to the opposite corner, swaying her plump hips. She tried to shoo away the hen that had laid eggs in the corner, but it wouldn’t move. The particularly ill-tempered hen pecked at her hand, shaking its small head back and forth to protect its eggs.

“Hey, you stupid chicken, don’t you recognize your owner? Where do you think you’re pecking?”

His wife’s pot-lid-sized hand struck the hen. The hen flapped its wings in protest for a moment but eventually got pushed out of its spot and fled away.

Watching his middle-aged wife gather the eggs and turn around, the village chief patted the spot next to the hearth with his palm.

“Come over here.”

—

“Why.”

The middle-aged wife spoke curtly as she stomped across the house. She still didn’t look at him. She deliberately stomped her feet. The wife, with her lips pouting, placed the eggs in the basket in the kitchen area.

“Why, you ask? Because I have something to say.”

“….”

It seemed that the wife was deeply upset about giving the fabric to the mountain keeper last night.

‘An ignorant woman who doesn’t understand a man’s grand vision.’

The village chief sighed and patted the seat next to him, signaling her to come over. Grumbling, the wife plopped down beside him. The village chief, hiding his irritation, began to speak.

“Stop it already. How many times do I have to tell you? We can’t do without the mountain keeper. You know that, so why are you acting like this?”

“Of course I know. That’s why I gave him flour and salt. But there was no need to give him the fabric. Do you know what that is? I’ve been saving it for ten years, not using it.”

“I know, but there was no choice. That man, he seems like someone who’s used to fighting. If more people get hurt and die, this year’s harvest is really over. Everyone will starve. It’s a relief if we can settle it with just a bit of fabric.”

The village chief recalled the arm of the burly man he saw when giving the fabric. The wound, which looked like it was from an animal bite, was still large but was clearly healing. It was evident that Gus’s words were true. That man was a wizard. And one who used healing magic.

Even with his wife in front of him, his thoughts naturally drifted to the mountain keeper.

‘I have to think carefully. A wizard that powerful would be desired by nobles. Maybe even royalty.’

He could sell him for a high price. Being the village chief here was fine, but he could live a much better life if he played his cards right.

In a big city, wizards weren’t that rare. But a highly skilled wizard was a different story. Especially a rare healing wizard. He might receive an unimaginable amount of money.

But he had to be careful. If nobles or guilds caught wind of it, they would take the wizard without paying a single coin.

“….”

Glancing at his still fuming wife, the village chief sighed. It seemed it would take some time for her anger to subside. He turned his thoughts back to the mountain keeper.

He didn’t know how the wizard ended up in the prisoner’s cart. The soldiers didn’t seem to know either.

‘Judging by the language barrier, he’s probably not from this country.’

Maybe he was a criminal who fled from another country. No, he definitely was. Otherwise, a wizard wouldn’t be in such a fallen state.

In that case, it would be easy to hide his existence. He wouldn’t go around bragging about being a wizard. He just needed to quietly find the highest bidder.

“….”

A smile crept onto his face without him realizing it.

No one knew that a healing wizard was here. The mountain keeper’s hut was in a remote part of the mountains, so the chances of someone approaching were slim. It would be a long time before the lord’s officials came.

The villagers were uneducated fools who wouldn’t notice unless told. If Gus hadn’t mentioned it, the village chief himself wouldn’t have known.

‘It would be troublesome if rumors spread carelessly.’

He had to be really careful. He couldn’t even tell his loose-lipped wife. The only person he could trust in this situation was Gus. If Gus had wanted to sell the information quietly, he wouldn’t have told him. It meant Gus wouldn’t betray him later.

Old man Gus was a mountain keeper brought in by his father, the former village chief. Although he couldn’t become a mountain keeper due to an accident, he did most of the mountain keeper’s work. Despite his injured leg preventing him from hunting big game, he was much better at the job than most hunters.

Even though he occasionally brought in incompetent hunters, there hadn’t been any problems so far because Gus had been supporting them.

—

—

Gus kept watch over the wolves and goblins, and hunted animals like badgers, foxes, and field mice to prevent their numbers from growing too large. He knew the mountain well, so there was no need to worry if he was in charge.

There had never been any problems so far, so yes, it would be best to leave the mountain to Gus.

In the meantime, he could find out if there were any wizards who had escaped from somewhere, or which nobles wanted to hire a new healing wizard.

He couldn’t contact the nobles directly, but there were informants in the big cities. He could give them some money and ask. Until then, no one should know. The wizard had to be kept tightly bound to the mountain.

The village chief looked at his wife.

“Hey, get along with that mountain keeper’s wife.”

“….”

At the chief’s words, his wife’s eyes narrowed. The village women didn’t like the frail mountain keeper’s wife who had come from outside.

Her lips protruded like a pig’s snout. Before she could grumble, the chief spoke first.

“Gus says this mountain keeper seems quite capable. He learns hunting quickly and is smart. He’s different from the others. If we’re not careful, he might find out we’re stealing the lord’s goods and report us.”

His wife flinched and shuddered.

“That mountain keeper seems to get along well with his wife, so try to get along with her. When women become friends, men naturally follow.”

“….”

“Besides, if you get close to the mountain keeper’s wife, you might be able to get rabbit skins cheaply. She seems weak and clumsy, so in spring, you might even get field mouse meat for free.”

“Alright. Well, there are things women have to do together anyway, and even if you didn’t say anything, I would have taken care of it.”

His wife grumbled, dusted off her skirt, and stood up.

The village chief added some dry twigs to the dying embers.

He would have to return some of the items he had taken from the mountain keeper’s hut. He would also give him a few of the items the lord had provided for the mountain keeper.

“….”

It was fine for now since he didn’t know the language, but it would definitely become a problem later. The other guys couldn’t do the mountain keeper’s job properly and didn’t dare to speak up, but this one was different. Even without listening to Gus, he seemed much smarter and stronger than the others. He was different from the riffraff they had brought in so far.

The village chief sighed bitterly. It was a bit of a shame to give up the items, but there was no choice. He decided to give him some decent items without thinking it was a waste. The wool products given to the mountain keeper were quite sturdy.

‘My wife will be furious again.’

He sighed involuntarily.

His wife, once rumored to be the most beautiful woman in the village, no longer had any trace of her former self. Just as he aged day by day, his wife had become uglier over time. Her greed had only grown.

“….”

If he came into a large sum of money, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a young mistress. The village chiefs of other wealthy villages all had one or two mistresses. He was the only one without one.

The newly added twigs caught fire. The flames grew a little stronger. The sight seemed to show him a bright future, and the village chief smiled faintly.

*

Mornings in the mountain hut came early. Juhwan woke up before sunrise, but Lizzy was already up and busy.

She transferred hot water from the iron pot on the hearth to another container and added more cold water. When steam rose from the container with hot water, Lizzy smiled happily, holding a small cylindrical iron ladle.

—

—

The house had gained a few more items like water buckets, shelves, salt, and flour. These were brought by the village chief and the villagers.

The water bucket that Lizzy had just poured hot water into was also brought by the men at that time.

The difference between having one or two old water buckets and not having them was significant in this poor hut. When several water buckets appeared, Lizzy was extremely happy. It felt like the difference between the rich and the extremely poor on modern Earth.

When the villagers suddenly brought things over, Lizzy was initially puzzled, but she seemed to understand that it was because of the incident where men had broken into the house. She thought that the villagers were scared because Joo-hwan had driven the men away. So, they were returning some of the things they had taken.

Lizzy’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Joo-hwan, like a maiden who had fallen for a hero. She was much happier than when she found out her bruises had disappeared.

Joo-hwan thought that healing magic was more amazing, but he couldn’t understand a woman’s heart. Lizzy was happier with old water buckets, rough fabric, and the fact that she could make another dress for Dorothy, smiling brightly…

Looking at Lizzy’s face, Joo-hwan thought that happiness wasn’t such a big deal. It was something often said in books. Feeling happiness in small things, that sort of thing.

He had never actually empathized with it in real life. Who could believe such a lie, that seeing a single flower on the roadside could make someone happy? He thought it was something only people with no worries in life would say.

But watching Lizzy, he began to understand those words. Seeing her smile made him inexplicably happy. He vaguely felt that this might be the same emotion described in books. Even if he couldn’t yet be happy about a flower, if this time continued, he might someday feel that way. Thinking like this, his past self, who used to return home alone and lonely, could never have imagined it.

When Joo-hwan woke up and realized Lizzy was watching him, she smiled brightly and approached him.

“Good morning, did you sleep well?”

At Joo-hwan’s clumsy words, Lizzy smiled and replied.

“Good morning, did you sleep well?”

“Good morning, did you sleep well?”

When he repeated her words, she nodded as if he had done well.

Lizzy handed him the toothbrush she had placed in the corner. Since she found out that Joo-hwan brushed his teeth as soon as he got up, she handed him the toothbrush every morning.

When Joo-hwan took the toothbrush, Lizzy handed him a wooden cup with some water in it. She didn’t have to do such things, but for some reason, Lizzy felt proud of her actions. Even though he felt a bit sorry, Joo-hwan was very happy.

“Thank you.”

At Joo-hwan’s words, Lizzy lowered her head slightly, as if embarrassed.

Joo-hwan took the toothbrush and cup and went outside.

The toothbrush wasn’t artificial like the ones used in modern times. In this world, they used the end of a thin twig, shaved thin with a knife, and softened by crushing the inside, to make a toothbrush.

Of course, they had to make it themselves. He didn’t know if they were sold, but at least in this mountain village, they didn’t buy them.

Not all trees were used for toothbrushes. Gus had taught him by gestures and a few words to cut only the branches of certain trees to make toothbrushes.

Dorothy hated brushing her teeth, so every night she and Lizzy had a tussle. It seemed that children were the same in this world and that world.

Remembering that he also hated brushing his teeth as a child, Joo-hwan chuckled as he brushed his teeth with the wooden toothbrush.

When he went back inside, Lizzy was tending to the wolf fur. Gus had taught her. As a hunter, Gus knew how to handle leather.

Lizzy was pulling and kneading the inside of the damp leather with her fingers. Her thin fingers turned even paler as she put strength into them. Lizzy had to repeat this process for a long time until her fingers hurt and it became difficult to move them.

It wasn’t something that could be done in one or two times. She had already repeated the process of soaking the leather in water, kneading it, and drying it several times. It seemed that this was necessary to soften the leather.

Seeing her struggle, Joo-hwan tried to help, but Lizzy refused. It seemed she had decided that handling the leather was her job.

During the day, Dorothy helped with her small hands. It was doubtful whether it was really helpful, but the two of them seemed to enjoy working on the leather together. Sometimes, it was a bit concerning when Dorothy looked at the fur and called it “meat.”

—

—

Juhwan glanced at the bed and chuckled.

Dorothy, who was left alone on the bed, was rolling around, her belly exposed. Juhwan covered the child with a roughly woven wool blanket and then went outside with two water buckets.

Outside, there was a long wooden yoke with ropes attached to both sides. Juhwan hung the water buckets on both sides of the yoke.

From now on, he had to fetch water several times to fill the buckets and then chop firewood. If he sweated for a while, Gus would come.

Thinking of Gus made his heart beat a little faster.

Today, they were going rabbit hunting.

For the past few days, Gus had been teaching Juhwan how to find paths frequently traveled by rabbits. Mainly, it was about checking for rabbit droppings. If you set a snare on a path where droppings were often seen, it seemed that passing rabbits would get caught.

Yesterday, nothing was caught in the snare. Today was the second day since setting the snare. What would happen today? For Dorothy, who sang songs about meat, he hoped to catch a rabbit today.

“….”

But he had never seen a rabbit yet. He worried for a moment about what would happen if he found the rabbit too cute to kill. He needed to abandon such earthly sentiments, but when he thought of the white, round, cute rabbit, his heart hesitated involuntarily.

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