Chapter 22: The Mountain Lord’s Farmhand

You know those scenes in movies where a car is speeding toward someone from a distance, yet the person just stands there staring blankly at it?

Apparently, when people are really shocked, they tend to freeze up like that.

And that was exactly me right now.

My heart was pounding wildly from the shock, and goosebumps spread across my whole body, making all the hair on my body stand on end.

‘Control your expression. Keep it together, Lee Haje. You can’t let it show here.’

“Did I scare you? Sorry. Then… should we talk more casually? Or—can I?”

“Yes, noona.”

“You can talk casually too, Haje.”

“Um, then… should I?”

I must still be dazed from the shock—my facial muscles felt stiff.

I tried my best to smile naturally, but I was scared it might look suspicious.

I could only hope that Ju Bi-yeong saw my expression and assumed I was just still feeling awkward.

Thankfully, she didn’t seem to notice anything strange.

“Sorry about that. I mean, you clearly look young, but Barami kept insisting otherwise.”

“Hmm. Do I really look that old?”

“Haha, don’t worry. Not at all. Barami’s not really human, so they don’t understand age very well. They get confused about it sometimes.”

No, actually… That Barami friend seems to know a lot more than I expected.

This could be bad.

If that spirit knows too much, it might tell Ju Bi-yeong about my condition.

What if Ju Bi-yeong tells someone else?

And what if it gets back to Hayul? How would I explain it then?

Cold sweat broke out on my back.

Was I overreacting?

Or just being paranoid?

Since I just kept grinning stiffly, Ju Bi-yeong smiled back at me brightly.

Yeah… When in doubt, smile.

Despite the shock that had turned my insides upside down, we were managing to keep up a decent atmosphere.

The topic of age passed without incident, and I intentionally focused on working in the field to avoid circling back to it.

Fortunately, Ju Bi-yeong was a great teacher.

She showed me which potatoes to harvest and which ones to leave alone, and explained how to use the hoe more efficiently.

“Haje, you’re really good at this~”

“Really? Is this considered good?”

“Yeah, you’re super skilled~”

“If you compliment me too much, I might get cocky.”

“You’re doing well enough to deserve it. I should make you work the fields again tomorrow.”

That’s how we kept the good mood going.

But now I wasn’t sure if I was naturally good at using the hoe, or if using a hoe was just inherently easy.

Even though I’d been crouched down digging in the dirt all this time, my legs weren’t numb, and the posture wasn’t uncomfortable or tiring.

Maybe I’m cut out for farm work?

‘Oh. Or maybe my stats increased?’

More likely that than having a knack for farming.

Either way, it felt good that I wasn’t tired at all and still full of energy.

Thanks to moving around constantly like Ju Bi-yeong’s avatar, my basket was pretty full.

“Potatoes are best washed outside in the yard. Too much dirt on them.”

“I’ll wash them. You sit and rest, noona. Your leg still hurts.”

“It’s almost healed now. As long as I don’t crouch or run, it’s fine.”

Hmm… You’re supposed to let injured legs rest as much as possible.

But since she said she was okay, I didn’t argue and just went to the outdoor faucet, crouched down, and turned on the water.

While I was scrubbing the dirt off the potatoes, Gamja stood beside me, staring at the mountain across the way.

Ever since it followed us out earlier, it hadn’t taken its eyes off that spot.

I checked the map just in case, but there was nothing marked there.

Still, I couldn’t be completely reassured.

There could be someone hiding, like last night—someone not visible on the map.

Bothered by the spirit’s unwavering gaze, I turned to Ju Bi-yeong and asked,

“Noona, Gamja’s been staring at the mountain for a while. Is there something over there? What’s it saying?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing serious. Probably a wild boar or some other animal. If it were anything more dangerous, Gamja wouldn’t be staying so calm.”

“Are wild boars common around here?”

“Yeah, somewhat. But they don’t come close since Gamja’s around.”

Wild boars, huh.

Actually, I had a quest right now that gives a gold reward and asks for protein-rich food.

Hunting a wild boar… That sounds hard.

‘The real problem is, there’s a time-limited quest that needs me to take down something way more dangerous than a wild boar.’

After washing the potatoes three times, I stood and looked beyond the yard.

The surrounding area was full of wild grasses and cosmos flowers growing up to my waist.

A little farther off, I saw a patch of sunflowers.

I think I read somewhere that cosmos flowers aren’t edible.

Not sure, but better safe than sorry—especially since I can’t look it up online.

I wonder if I could do something with sunflower seeds?

They should be high in protein.

In any case, I needed to complete the food-gathering quest first, even without a time limit.

That was probably the condition to unlock the shop.

They wouldn’t just assign a quest with a random currency like 100 gold without a reason.

It might be a shop where I can buy items for boss fights.

Maybe I’m being overly optimistic.

Still, since the status window seems to favor me, I doubt it would ask me to fight a terrifying boss totally unprepared.

As I mulled over various things, Ju Bi-yeong suddenly said like she’d just remembered,

“Oh, right. If you ever go outside, make sure to take Gamja with you. There are tigers around.”

“What? Real tigers?”

“Yep. Real ones. They live not too far from here, so you have to be careful.”

Tigers, huh…

Yeah, they’re scary.

But even moon bears would be scary if you ran into them outside, right?

I wonder if I could tame that tiger, like Gamja or Bamtol.

“Noona. Can’t the tiger become a friend like Gamja?”

“If it were a regular tiger, maybe. But that one’s special. It’s the mountain lord of this region.”

“Mountain lord? Like a guardian spirit?”

“Yeah. But don’t worry too much. As long as we don’t trespass or do anything weird, it won’t attack us. Still, to be safe, always take Gamja with you. Gamja knows how to avoid the mountain lord’s territory.”

“Got it…”

A mountain lord, huh.

There are spirits, mountain lords, monsters—this world really has everything.

All that’s missing now is a hunter, and we’ve got ourselves a full modern fantasy setting.

With no time to dwell on all the strange beings, it was time to start preparing breakfast in earnest.

Kang Dohee was chopping firewood in the backyard, the elderly man was boiling potatoes and mixing seasoned vegetables, and Ju Bi-yeong and I were finishing organizing the various supplies that Kang Dohee had brought back from foraging.

Then suddenly, while I was sorting canned goods by type, I felt a question arise.

We had tuna, X-pam, and canned fish — why weren’t these being counted as protein?

“Status window. What’s this? Anyone can see it’s protein. The protein content is even written right here. Why isn’t it being counted?”

Once again, the system didn’t respond.

No, seriously, I don’t get it.

Could it be that because Kang Dohee gathered them alone, they’re not being counted? After finishing organizing, I went out to the backyard and approached Kang Dohee, who was still chopping firewood.

“Noona.”

“Yeah.”

Thwack — Thwack —

Without even looking at me, Kang Dohee responded and continued chopping. I stopped a little away from the chopping block and asked,

“Noona, about the food collection quest that gives 100 gold.”

“Hm?”

“The quest where we’re supposed to gather stuff. I think there are three kinds to collect. Were your canned goods counted as protein? Mine weren’t.”

Thwack! Thwack!

Crack!

After perfectly splitting a log, Kang Dohee stuck her axe into the chopping block and began gathering the scattered firewood.

“What kind of quest is that?”

“The new one titled Repayment of the Gourmet 1, you know? Huh? You didn’t get it?”

I answered while helping her gather the firewood. But her response was one of complete unfamiliarity.

“Other than the ‘defeat the area boss’ quest, I don’t have any others. What’s this about gold?”

“Really? So…”

I didn’t hide anything and shared all the information with Kang Dohee.

After hearing the detailed contents of the quest, Kang Dohee shook her head, saying she didn’t have such a quest.

Just in case, we decided to ask the kids when they woke up.

Not long after, Kang Dojin and Hayul woke up. They didn’t have the gold-rewarding quest either.

“What the heck? Why does only hyung get a quest?”

“I don’t know either…”

“Hyung, can you buy stuff with gold?”

“I’m not sure yet. I haven’t seen any shops or anything.”

“Kkyaang! Kkyaaang?”

“Oh, Bamtol, right, right. Sorry. My hand stopped again. Bad hand, bad.”

I held Bamtol gently with my left arm while eating the boiled potato the elder had prepared with my right. The elder, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, handed Hayul more peaches and asked me,

“Eat more. You gotta eat well to grow strong. But, young man, what’s that gold for? Gold’s useless in this world now.”

“It’s not real gold, sir. It’s more like a reward for completing errands. I don’t really know what it’s for yet. I guess I’ll find out after I collect it.”

“The quest’s about getting three types of protein-rich food?”

“Yeah. So, noona, do you think that wild boar you mentioned would be hard to catch?”

“Gwuok. Gwuoook.”

“Are you nodding because Gamja says it’d be hard right now?”

“Gwuok.”

“So it’s out of my league…?”

“Gwuok. Gwuok. Gwuoook.”

“No, it’s not that — just that it’s a sensitive season for the wild boars, so it won’t be easy,” Ju Bi-yeong translated.

Hearing that, I fell into deep thought.

Hmm. This is bad. If even a wise being like the Gamja says that, it makes me worry. Not that the wild boars are impossible to hunt — but if it’s this hard just to deal with a wild boar, how are we supposed to take down the boss monster of this area?

Just then, Kang Dojin, who had given his share of peaches to Hayul, chimed in.

“If it doesn’t have to be animal protein, mushrooms or beans might work.”

“The requirement isn’t just ‘protein,’ it’s ‘protein-rich food’… We’ll have to gather some and see if it gets counted. Still, seriously, the fact that canned goods don’t count — that’s just mean.”

I said that pointedly, hoping the status window would react, but just like before, it didn’t even flinch.

Is it getting bolder or something?

“Right near here, there’s a spot full of wild greens. If you check between the trees there, you’ll find mushrooms too. Young man, come with me later.”

“If it’s close, just tell me where. I’ll be quick. Maybe I’ll go with Gamja if it’s okay.”

“Gwuok.”

“Hyung, I wanna go too.”

“Hayul, you’ve got work today. The elder said you’re helping him fix the ceiling leak on the second floor. Be a good helper, alright?”

“But I wanna…”

“Tch! Listen to your hyung! You two kids stay and fix the second floor. Young man, head out the backyard and you’ll see a big cherry tree.

Keep going in that direction and you’ll reach a path through the woods. Before the mountain trail starts, there’ll be mushrooms and wild greens. Gamja knows the spot, so follow it.”

“Gwuok. Gwuoook.”

Gamja kept nodding confidently the whole time the elder was talking.

To me, it looked trustworthy, but Hayul still seemed uneasy and looked like he was about to beg again. That’s when Kang Dohee stepped in.

“I’ll go too. Dojin, Hayul — fix that ceiling. Do it all before we’re back.”

“Okay.”

“…Yes.”

Thanks to Kang Dohee, everything was settled cleanly. We all finished our breakfast with potatoes and some canned goods.

“Alright, we’re heading out.”

“Take care. Gamja, make sure they come back safe.”

“Hyung, if you think it’s dangerous, just run away. Got it?”

“Don’t worry. Gamja and noona will be with me.”

Hayul still seemed unhappy about the task division, but he didn’t argue further, seemingly having accepted who the leader of the group was.

So in the end, our team was the same as last night — me, Kang Dohee, and Gamja.

I slung a large basket with a strap — handmade by the elder — over my shoulder like a crossbody bag. I packed a hand hoe inside and borrowed the bow I’d used last night as a weapon.

Gamja also wore a backpack-style basket, another one of the elder’s creations, and honestly…

‘Gamja looks way more competent than me…’

For some reason… it felt a bit lonely.