Etranger - Chapter 111

‘The Imperial-designated Warrior said that such a person existed. He said I could look forward to being pleasantly surprised. However, he said that the process of persuading them and bringing them to the capital of the empire would be the most difficult test for me. He said that they would decide, not me. Does that make any sense? It’s not like I’m looking for a god… Ha…’

Rain straightened her clothes and got up. She wiped the tears around her eyes. It was time to see them. Today, she wore the best clothes she had brought. She wore a scarf soaked in a fine fragrance with the delicate spring scent around her neck, brushed her hair finely, and wore a red hat. She wore a modest dress in a subdued color that went down to her ankles. Whenever she took a step, her toes from her open sandal would show from beneath her dress.

She would be taking an exam today. It wouldn’t make sense to argue who should be asking questions of whom. She had come to seek something, so she was ready to face whatever came her way.

Episode 3. Book 1 – Happiness – Chapter 9

Rain tilted her head as she left the reception room. Behind her, San and Biyeon followed closely behind to see her off.

Rain’s face was tinged with excitement, but she wasn’t that happy. Their answers were concise and clear. Still, she felt confused. She felt more like a foolish girl than a genius woman during their meeting. The conversation she had a while ago…

“When do you plan to leave?”

These were the first words San asked as he took a sip of tea and put the teacup down on the table. He asked her when she would leave as soon as they met? At that time, Biyeon was sitting in a chair and the man stood naturally with his arms on the back of Biyeon’s chair. Behind the half-open rear door, Rain saw children moving about busily.

Rain continued talking with them in a sloppy posture, with her butt halfway off the sofa and with a slumped back. It was not a beautiful figure befitting of a princess, but somehow, it turned out this way.

“I have work, so I can’t stay for long. About fifteen more days?” Rain replied, removing the teacup from her mouth.

“Let’s go together in a month,” San casually said.

“What?”

“We also want to see the capital of the Empire…” Biyeon replied with a laugh.

“There are a lot of things we want to do together…” San added on while squeezing Biyeon’s shoulders.

Rain looked at the two’s faces alternately. This man and woman played really well between themselves. Why did she come here…? Where did her status and dignity as a princess run off to?

“What do you mean?” Rain asked carefully.

“Did you not want to cooperate?” Biyeon asked.

“Cooperation…?”

“To find what each other wants. You’re very interested in our talents, and we’re very interested in this world’s geography and knowledge. Am I correct? We can help each other,” Biyeon said.

Rain nodded, looking at the faces of Biyeon and San alternately.

“What’s left is trust.”

San slightly spread his hands with his palms upwards and smiled brightly. Rain suddenly felt dizzy. Suddenly, something warm and hot rose from her chest. It seemed her face had become red hot as well. The honest and plain feeling she felt was really too much…

“You’ll have to risk your life to do this work. Why do you believe me? Also, how can I trust you…?” Rain asked first. There was no power in her voice.

“Let’s believe in each other. Will you believe us more if we run around screaming that we believe you wholeheartedly?” San said as he laughed.

“…”

“Just believe. I know because I’ve lived a little longer than you… If you just shut up and believe, you’ll have faith. Is there anything special in life? We live while depending on each other to cover our backs.”

“???”

“We’re thinking of leaving in a month, so think of something interesting to do in the meantime. You said it takes three months to get to the Imperial Palace, right? Let’s make a plan together starting from tomorrow. It’ll be fun, right?” said San.

“I’m feeling excited just thinking about it!” Biyeon added on with a smile.

“Well, it’s time for us to teach the kids… You’re going to have to excuse us for today. We’ll see you off.”

The first meeting ended this way. Just enough time passed to have a cup of tea. Rain could still taste and smell the tea in her mouth as she was leaving. It was a deep and fragrant scent, oozing out with every breath she took.

She took a step forward. The first step was taken while deep in thought and the next step was taken with a cheerful spirit. She couldn’t help but let out a laugh. She felt that the morning breeze was refreshing. It seemed that her sticky heart had been blown away at once, becoming soft once again.

Roses on shaggy vines, winding around the wall, were waiting to brilliantly bloom, soaking themselves in the morning dew.

***

“It’s more cramped than I thought,” San said with a frown.

“There’s no courier service here… no convenience stores either… so, eh…” Biyeon said as she sighed.

Both were looking up at the large mound of gear and supplies that had piled up on their travel carriage.

“We have to live like humans… Let’s never give up on being human,” San said as he clenched his fist.

“Indeed. Since we’re a bit known now, we shouldn’t have to go through as much trouble.”

The pile of supplies and gear were just the basics. They realized how convenient their life was in Korea. San and Biyeon’s travel plans were much different than what they originally had planned. From the moment the travel plans were spoken from their mouths, things went a lot differently than they expected.

First, their plan to stay in the Count’s estate was extended from one to two years. To properly obtain the geographic features and demography of this world, they needed to visit the Imperial Palace, as the maps and information they wanted would all be there. However, they really liked the base they built in Count Essen’s estate.

In the future, perhaps for the rest of their lives, if possible, they would settle down in this place. Here, they could rest, recharge, and move around freely. There were many natural resources here. And, either willingly or unwillingly, the Dark Guilds’ main base was moved to this territory.

It was not an exaggeration to call the Dark Guilds a ‘Guild of Weaponry’. Their weapon design and production levels were quite high. In particular, their experiments and data on electricity, chemistry, and biochemistry were surprisingly thorough and large.

In San’s eyes, they also had a considerable level of skill in alchemy and electricity. Based on their long experience in the field, progress had been made to the stage where various experiments could be immediately conducted.

The old Dark Guild technicians were aware of the properties of various materials, and their classification and empirical system were well established. However, they were not able to link the cause and effect of chemical reactions with a consistent law. There were many hypotheses, but variables were not properly handled, and the experiments were clumsy and inaccurate.

San and Biyeon quickly implemented their systems into the Dark Guilds. Recalling what they studied in school, the theoretical knowledge related to the laws of basic chemistry, electrical and electronic, control and measurement was reconstructed in their minds and conveyed to the technicians.

All the memorable laws and principles had been rewritten on this world’s paper. However, they stuck to Earth’s symbols and systems of operation. Once true principles and methodologies were added to the experience of the Dark Guilds technicians and engineers, explosive innovation began to take place.

The achievement was astounding even for San and Biyeon. However, it couldn’t be compared to the surprise of the Dark Guild members who looked at San and Biyeon’s newfound principles and knowledge. They really felt a sense of ‘trust’ towards one another. The match between prediction and experimentation progressed at breakneck speeds.

With each alchemist’s mystery that was resolved, the nerves of the scientists began to settle. The synergy effect of understanding a concept and applying it to other areas awakened creativity and launched creative progress forward.

“The speed of technology development is really fast. Is it okay to do this?” San said while admiring the Dark Guild’s achievements. Various pieces of equipment were held in his hand. Scissors made of steel performed well as he opened and shut the scissors in his hand. The bolt and nut were still stiff, but they worked properly. At this rate of advancement, it wouldn’t be long before they would mechanize and automate their daily work using a power source…

In addition, multiple inventions were occurring simultaneously in various basic mechanical technologies such as treatment, molding, sintering, polishing, and cutting of materials.

There were also advances in the field of electricity. Batteries and electromagnets, which started from a very poor stage, were also producing good results. Speakers, made by woven paper and magnets, could now be connected to their MP3 players to amplify musical sounds. This advancement also allowed for the remote triggering of explosives by electrical means. If they could find a way to deal with semiconductors, they would be able to implement basic computer machinery and automation processes.

“If you know the principle, the application is easy. The principle is the same as the recipe. Inventing it is difficult, but it’s very easy to see and copy it, right? It’ll be difficult to discover new ideas. We already knew a lot, so it’s been relatively easy to get up to here,” Biyeon said.

“But if it weren’t for your approach, this rapid development would have been too difficult, no? It was very impressive, especially your methods of expressing the concepts.”

“Which method was so impressive?” Biyeon asked while looking at San.

Praise makes people happy. Sometimes one wants to check if one is doing something praiseworthy and receive that praise. For those who listen, respect will soon follow.

“You decided to teach them about the scale first. Now, they’re making scales, flow meters, and even voltage and current measuring devices.”

“And?”

“Then you showed them how to make tools. When I think about it, I think that was the right order. Unify language and method.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah…”

The two stopped talking and looked into each other’s eyes.

[Yesterday, did you know that Sil (Siluone’s Sage) came?]

[Apart from bringing the ‘deadline’ extending medicine, was there any other news from her visit?]

[She told me to get a physical examination.]

[Has the time already been like that?]

[Time is passing fast, right?]

He silently touched her hair as she stared at him.