Chapter 5 of 10
Chapter 5
6 min read1,395 words
Return from Nodaji
Return from Nodaji
The guard knight handed a leather pouch to the baron after returning from the manor.
He held the pouch in his hand and pondered for a moment.
But soon, he closed his eyes tightly and extended the leather pouch to the other side.
“I don’t know if this is enough, but it’s all the sincerity I can offer.”
Yeong-su slightly opened the pouch he received from Baron Gantreig and peeked inside. The yellow and white light glittered, piercing his eyes.
‘They said gold and silver, so it’s gold and silver coins.’
“There’s no need to check, I suppose.”
They use money in units of copper, silver, gold, platinum, and mithril. The value increases by 100 times from copper upwards.
The guard knights quickly gathered the spring water.
Yeong-su glanced at the swords hanging from their waists.
This place is at least 700 to 800 years behind Earth in terms of civilization, and it is a place where might rules.
Yeong-su thought that he would need to prepare means to protect himself when he visits next time.
Bang!
“I’ll be going now.”
Yeong-su closed the cargo hold and extended his hand for a handshake with Baron Gantreig.
“Are you leaving already?”
Since the mission was completed, there was no need to linger.
He had come at night, and it was getting dark, so he was starting to feel tired.
“Yes, I’m leaving now.”
Baron Gantreig shook his hand with a clear but regretful expression.
“I was thinking of inviting you to dinner…”
“Really, it’s time for me to go. I’m quite tired.”
“Well, I’ll let the guards at the gate know, so feel free to visit often.”
Baron Gantreig overlapped his other hand and held Yeong-su’s hand with both hands.
His warm hand and the words inviting him to visit often seemed genuine.
‘Is there something more?’
The fact that he couldn’t leave the area suggested that he had more to say.
However, the business was done.
If he could come back later, it would be different, but for now, it was goodbye.
“I’ll see you when I come back.”
Yeong-su pulled his hand away and headed for the driver’s seat.
“The manor is the largest in the territory, so you can visit anytime. Or, I’ll tell my subordinates to guide you…”
Baron Gantreig followed him, talking all the way to the driver’s seat.
It seemed that he couldn’t easily bring up the topic, so it wasn’t something easily resolved.
Click.
“Yes, then I’ll be going.”
Yeong-su opened the door, put his foot in, and turned to look at Baron Gantreig one last time.
“Mr. Yeong-su, the Mage!”
Baron Gantreig’s urgent voice made Yeong-su pause.
“In fact, gardening is my hobby, but there are too many pests, so the flowers don’t grow well. Pruning alone has its limits, so could you give me some advice?”
Baron Gantreig, who had called him, started talking about his garden.
“Why don’t you spray pesticides or give them fertilizer?”
Yeong-su said casually as he got into the driver’s seat.
“I see… pesticides and fertilizer…”
“Sure.”
Bang!
Even after the driver’s door closed, Baron Gantreig couldn’t leave.
‘A garden… he’s giving me a very obvious hint.’
Yeong-su actually had a good idea of what he was trying to say. The answer was in his words.
‘Someone must be eyeing his land.’
The flowers represent his land, and the pests represent the people eyeing his land.
Considering his talk about buying water bottles to lighten his equipment, it was clear that he was trying to strengthen his military, and this was the reason.
‘If I come back here, it would be a good thing to owe him a favor, but…’
He is not the real mage they think he is, so there’s nothing he can do for him right now.
Moreover, what Yeong-su was most curious about was not Baron Gantreig’s situation but what was written on the navigation.
<Mission Tutorial Completed.>
<Check the menu for rewards and missions.>
Yeong-su pressed the menu button in the top right corner of the screen.
Three icons appeared.
‘Find a mission?’
Tap.
<Click the mission to see detailed information.>
<Mission: Solve Baron Gantreig’s problem.>
<Reward: 1 Reinforcement Point, 1 Memory Point>
<Mission: Solve the fishermen’s problems in Baron Gantreig’s territory.>
<Reward: 2 Reinforcement Points>
There were two new missions.
‘Okay, let’s put the missions aside for now…’
Yeong-su pressed the cancel icon to return to the previous screen and immediately clicked the second icon.
<Setting a memory point allows you to connect paths.>
<There is a 72-hour delay after moving between paths.>
<Currently set paths: 0>
<Current memory points: 0>
<Remaining memory points: 2>
“Ah!”
The explanation was brief, but he understood.
Press.
He clicked the icon labeled “Earth.”
The map screen switched, and the familiar roads around the last intersection he was at appeared.
<Use memory points to set a memory point.>
Tap, tap…
Yeong-su dragged the map to find his rented room not far away.
Press.
<Do you want to use a memory point to set a memory point?>
<Y/N>
Press.
<You have selected Y.>
A circle appeared on the map, and lines formed inside it, creating a hexagram with six points.
<Memory point set.>
<Change the name of the current memory point from ‘<Earth>-Unnamed’ to a new name.>
A message appeared, but nothing else changed.
When he pressed the back button, the previous screen appeared.
The screen had changed. The numbers after “Current memory points” and “Remaining memory points” were now 1.
He clicked the icon labeled “???.”
A map mostly in black with some roads marked appeared.
This was clearly the map of the world he had explored.
Tap, tap…
Yeong-su moved the map to find a point where the sea was visible.
There was a red triangle marking the current location of the truck.
Press.
<Do you want to use a memory point to set a memory point?>
<Y/N>
<You have selected Y.>
<Memory point set.>
<Change the name of the current memory point from ‘<???>-Unnamed’ to a new name.>
After making the selection, Yeong-su pressed the cancel button to return to the previous screen.
<A new path has been set.>
<Currently set paths: 1>
<Current memory points: 2>
Press, press, press, press!
Yeong-su pressed the currently set path repeatedly. When he pressed the number part, the screen changed.
<Path: From ‘<???>-Unnamed’ to ‘<Earth>-Unnamed’>
“This is it!”
Press!
<Destination selected. Do you want to move? Y/N>
“Of course!”
<You have selected Y.>
Suddenly, the truck was enveloped in light.
The light was so intense that Yeong-su closed his eyes and bowed his head.
“…”
Yeong-su slowly lifted his head.
He saw columns of alternating yellow and gray marble and white lines drawn on the asphalt.
It was a very familiar sight.
“Really… it’s a parking lot.”
Yeong-su looked around and noticed a new message on the navigation.
<Movement completed.>
<A 72-hour delay is required to use the same path again.>
72 hours, 3 days.
Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!
Suddenly, his phone in his pocket started ringing.
He took it out and saw continuous missed call notifications.
‘Now that I think about it…’
He had finished one delivery and was about to do the rest when he suddenly ended up in another world.
The customers must have been calling.
Vroom!
The last message came in, and the vibration stopped.
The last message was not a missed call notification but a threatening message from Lee Se-hoon, the head office employee of Taeguk Express.
It was around 10 AM, the time when the drivers gathered at the sorting center and were sorting packages by region without pay.
“Should I go?”
He no longer needed to be bound by Lee Se-hoon’s threats.
He felt bad that others were suffering in his absence, but he would compensate them with enough money to satisfy them.
Vroom…
Just then, a call came in.
As expected, it was Lee Se-hoon.
Yeong-su hung up and pressed the block button.
He searched for a phone number he had saved previously.
“This is Han Yeong-su. Mr. Park, how have you been? Yes, I was wondering if you have something like Yongyangxiang… Yes, I understand.”
Yeong-su hung up and called again, asking around to various places.
His expression brightened as he made the final call to somewhere.
The number displayed on the screen was unusually long.