Chapter 52 – LV.Two Priest Park Taeyang – [One]

Oh Haengun spoke up.

“Chief? Remember when we went to the neighboring village to bring back those kids’ families?”

Oh Haengbok, who had been handling village affairs, looked up.

“Yeah. Why?”

“You could’ve been a bit nicer when talking to Mr. Jong-il.”

“What did I even say to that bastard?”

“Probably something like this, right? ‘What’s this little shit acting all high and mighty for? You’re gonna end up doing what we say anyway, so why put on airs and throw a tantrum? You wanna get your ass kicked with Taekwondo or something…’ It was a bit much to humiliate him like that in front of his subordinates.”

“I was pissed off having to negotiate with that bastard, man.”

“Why? Because he kept stalling and not bringing the people we asked for?”

“No, think about it. Are the people we wanted to bring back medieval serfs? Does it make sense that they can’t even decide to move villages on their own? Did they trade away their freedom of residence for some candy?”

Oh Haengbok looked at Oh Haengun with a frown.

Meanwhile, Oh Haengun seemed to swallow his words, opening and closing his lips several times. Oh Haengbok could guess what he wanted to say.

He was probably holding back from saying that these days, ordinary people survive thanks to the Players in leadership positions. He likely also wanted to mention that ordinary villagers, indebted to the Players, aren’t allowed to leave without repaying that debt.

But Oh Haengun knew his Chief didn’t like such unspoken rules. Perhaps that’s why he said something else.

“They’re our neighbors, right? It’s not good to upset them. We used to be quite close once.”

Oh Haengbok sighed.

“I know, I know. I didn’t need to embarrass him like that. Any benefit from giving him a few crates of potatoes as a so-called ‘transfer fee’ is gone now.”

“You knew and still did it?”

“But it pissed me off. If the people we brought back are like medieval serfs who can’t leave their land as they please… then am I some medieval lord who bought those serfs with potatoes? Should I be called ‘Lord’ instead of Chief now?”

As Oh Haengbok continued, Oh Haengun’s expression grew serious.

“Chief.”

Oh Haengbok was vaguely aware that his voice was rising, but he made no effort to lower it.

He continued in a voice that seemed ready to shout at any moment.

“Call me Duke of Incheon instead of Chief! Should I change my name to something aristocratic too? Changing it to a Western name right off the bat would be too much, so something appropriately classy… How about ‘Ireul’? Duke Ireul of Incheon! Doesn’t it suit my looks? Huh!”

Oh Haengbok himself didn’t know why he was suddenly angry. Why this time? Was it because recalling the situation from when they stormed the neighboring village made him feel bad all over again? Or maybe…

Oh Haengun said with a weary expression.

“You’re doing it again. Take a deep breath.”

Oh Haengbok barely managed to hold back from shouting.

“Yeah, sorry.”

Even after apologizing, Oh Haengbok felt angry again. Why should I bow my head? To that guy Oh Haengun, who’s beneath me?

Only then could he realize that his anger just now stemmed from being corrected by a subordinate and feeling resentful.

In his displeasure, Oh Haengbok thought to himself. That guy Oh Haengun has always felt like he’s climbing up as the village’s second-in-command. He acts like a loyal retainer for the Chief’s sake, but lately, that really bothers me. Should I grab him and have it out once and for all?

‘No, that won’t do. He’s the guy who even changed his name out of respect for me…’

He knew he had to suppress all these impulses. And indeed, he had managed well until now.

But lately, another thought occurred to him.

What did the villagers shout at him during the last banquet?

‘It’s okay! It’s okay…’

Right, the villagers understood his anger issues. Everyone knows their Chief suffers from a kind of mental illness.

Recalling that memory, Oh Haengbok thought.

So, maybe I don’t have to suppress my impulses as much now? Whatever I do, whether I get angry or something else, they’ll understand anyway.

Besides, all these changes aren’t really my fault…

It was surprisingly sweet to have excuses prepared for his negative behavior. Because such cowardly thoughts kept surfacing lately, Oh Haengbok now had to suppress not only his resentment but also the devil’s whispers.

As is often the case with people with mental issues, unpleasant thoughts led to more unpleasant thoughts. The urge to somehow explode in anger kept swirling inside him.

In the end, Oh Haengbok’s frown didn’t ease. Oh Haengun was watching his face with concern when a voice came from outside the tent.

“It’s Seo Yun. May I come in?”

Hearing that clear voice, Oh Haengbok immediately relaxed his expression and boomed.

“Ah, our pretty one is here? Come in!”

As Oh Haengun looked on incredulously, Seo Yun entered the tent. The moment he saw the girl’s small face, Oh Haengbok felt his insides settle.

He even seemed to have a smile forming at the corner of his mouth. Oh Haengun glanced at Oh Haengbok’s face and muttered in a stunned voice.

“If she hadn’t come back, you’d really have been in trouble…”

Even though it felt somewhat sarcastic, Oh Haengbok’s anger subsided before it could flare up.

Indeed, just looking at that girl’s face calmed his heart. Not for any grand reason, but simply because she was ‘pretty.’

‘I wasn’t originally the type to be this fixated on women’s faces.’

This too must be an effect of becoming a Vampire. The Rulebook said that Vampires, as servants of the Goddess of Beauty, develop an excessive sense of aesthetics.

‘Plus, it said Vampires develop a desire for dominance. So it’s not my fault that I, who used to hate even the military-style hierarchy between seniors and juniors, keep feeling a sense of authority after becoming the village Leader…’

As he pondered, Oh Haengbok asked, in a voice noticeably softened even to himself.

“So why did you come? Do you have business?”

Seo Yun nodded.

“I went out for a bit.”

“Why again?”

“To collect scrap.”

Oh Haengun interjected in a startled voice.

“Hey, saying that so boldly…”Then, Oh Haengun glanced at Oh Haengbok with an uneasy expression. It seemed he was worried the Chief might explode, remembering that the girl going out alone to collect scrap had already been prohibited, and after her Class Change to Priest, it had been strictly forbidden once again.

Admittedly, Oh Haengbok was a bit annoyed too, but whether it was because this happened too often or because of the girl’s face, he could bear it.

Oh Haengbok asked in a calm voice.

“So, did you bring a lot?”

“A whole lot.”

Only when Oh Haengbok grinned did Oh Haengun seem to relax.

“Show me. Should I gather the villagers to hold an item auction?”

“I think we need to bring villagers to move the items. I probably can’t take them all out here. There’s quite a lot.”

“How much is ‘a lot’?”

Seo Yun replied in a flat voice.

“Enough to fill this tent and then some. We probably need a dedicated warehouse.”

Oh Haengun’s eyes widened. Oh Haengbok also raised an eyebrow in surprise, and the three of them stepped out of the tent.

After gathering the villagers, Seo Yun opened something called a Bag of Infinity on the spread-out mat and turned it over.

Items began pouring out from inside.

Truly, as all sorts of items emerged endlessly, everyone gathered there was astonished, while Seo Yun continued taking things out with an indifferent expression.

In an instant, the mat was completely filled, requiring them to spread out new mats.

They had heard the items would be numerous, but they hadn’t expected this much. Oh Haengun muttered, unable to take his eyes off the pile of items large enough to fill a big warehouse.

“I don’t know how many Contribution Points we should give as a reward for this… No, if we just give Contribution Points for this, it feels like we’re paying with money to summon a fire instead of a salary…”

And Oh Haengbok thought with a smile. Anyway, there are reasons to dote on her excessively besides her face.

So maybe even if he keeps favoring her, others won’t find it strange…

“So where did you get all this from?”

Seo Yun began explaining that she had been to the Anyang Station Underground Mall (some among the gathered crowd were astonished again at her going that far), that there were Basilisks and a high-level Barbarian Warrior presumed to be an NPC there, and so on.

The explanation concluded with an account of witnessing petrified people.

“It would be good to go and release the Petrification and bring them back sometime, right? If the village population increases, we get more workers, which is good, right?”

At Seo Yun’s words, Oh Haengun replied in an awkward voice.

“Well, having the village population increase right now is a bit…”

Seo Yun opened her eyes wide, looking puzzled.

“Why?”

“We didn’t catch enough Monsters this summer, right? To farm, we need Vannes of Monster Souls. So, it seems food production will decrease a bit around the year after next.”

“Is it serious?”

“Honestly, it’s not something to worry about immediately. We have quite a stockpile of souls for now, and since we farm rice, we have some rice reserves too… But still, I think we need to decide carefully about increasing the village population. We already added over ten people this time.”

Listening to that, Oh Haengbok felt anger rising again. That bastard is trying to decide without even listening to me.

Oh Haengbok asked in a displeased voice.

“So, you’re saying we should just leave them as Stone Statues?”

Perhaps sensing his uncomfortable mood, Oh Haengun replied cautiously.

“Even if they die if Petrified for too long, they won’t die immediately, right? I think there was a setting about how long Petrification lasts before death. Let’s see. Detailed Magic-related settings should be written separately in a special setting book, not the general Rulebook…”

While Oh Haengun took out his usual setting book and searched through it, Oh Haengbok took deep breaths to calm his anger.

Opening some page, Oh Haengun said.

“…It says they die after ten years. That’s plenty. According to the Rulebook, Health deteriorates the longer Petrification progresses, but we have to accept this much, right? Anyway, the people farming also ruin their bodies working…”

Then Seo Yun asked.

“But can we bring the Stone Statues here? So we can release them later, even if we lift the Petrification later.”

“That’s possible. But are you going to move those heavy Stone Statues yourself?”

“Can you give me a vehicle for that? I want to buy it with Contribution Points.”

Before Oh Haengun could answer, Oh Haengbok spoke first.

“Will one truck do?”

“I’d appreciate it if you give me one.”

“You’re going back to that underground mall with that, right?”

“Yes. This time, I won’t be alone; I’ll go with those two who joined the village this time, so don’t worry. We’re going to hunt Basilisks.”

Seo Yun added an explanation, perhaps worried they might try to stop even that, saying she had succeeded in hunting a Basilisk alone. This, too, was nothing short of amazing. A murmur of “Oh…” spread among the people, but the girl was expressionless as always.

Oh Haengbok stared at that face and muttered.

“Hunting Basilisks… Right, they certainly are lumps of Experience Points…”

“Is it okay?”

Oh Haengbok nodded.

“Yeah. But I feel really ashamed to ask this favor. Can your former Party join that Basilisk hunt?”

“My former Party?”

“Kim Ak’s Party. I mean, can we send them along to hunt Basilisks too? Park Taeyang is in it, right? That guy needs to level up.

It’s awkward for me, who caused a fuss last time for catching a Basilisk, to say this, but as I said, I’m worried about food production the year after next. And there’s nothing better than leveling up a Sun Priest to increase food production? Considering the village’s situation…”

Oh Haengbok was in the middle of speaking. One village youth who had stayed behind to look at the items muttered.

“Uh, isn’t it bad for Park Taeyang to level up…”

This time, he couldn’t hold back. Oh Haengbok shouted angrily.

“What do you mean ‘bad’!”

At that moment, the Eye Light that burst forth was so crimson that even Oh Haengbok himself could feel it. As Oh Haengbok’s vision turned red, the youth reflected in his eyes shrank back.

From behind, Seo Yun’s voice was heard.

“Why are you acting like this?”

Oh Haengun sighed.

“It’s because of the rumor going around lately.”

“What rumor?”Oh Haengun hesitated for a moment before explaining in a low voice. He was probably trying to keep it from reaching this ear, but Oh Haengbok heard it perfectly well.

“You know that prophecy about the Chief being killed by the sun, right?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Rumors are going around that the ‘sun’ is Park Taeyang.”

Oh Haengbok immediately glared at Oh Haengun and shouted.

“How the hell would that punk kill me!”

“Ah, you heard…”

Oh Haengbok turned his head toward the gathered people. He shouted at all of them.

“Sure, I’m a Vampire, so sunlight messes me up, but it doesn’t kill me in one hit! Besides, don’t you know Park Taeyang is my adopted son! If anyone spreads that kind of talk again, I won’t be able to hold back my anger…”

Only then did apologies start coming from various places.

Watching the people begin to watch their words around him, Oh Haengbok felt his anger subside while a slight sense of pleasure welled up. It felt good to ‘justifiably’ explode like this.

And after that pleasure faded, a sense of wretchedness followed. I wasn’t originally this kind of gloomy person…

Oh Haengbok asked Seo Yun in a subdued voice.

“So, about having them participate in the Basilisk hunt…”

“That’s how it should be.”

Hearing Seo Yun’s straightforward answer, Oh Haengbok finally grinned.

Seo Yun walked expressionlessly, grumbling inwardly. That Oh Haengbok, seriously, being near him, I thought my ears would fall off.

First, she stopped by the swordsmanship school to pick up two Longswords for sparring.

Holding a sword in each hand, she entered a Tent. It was the tent where Han Siwoo and the Chimpanzee stayed, but now only Han Siwoo remained.

“You? Why so sudden?”

Seo Yun shouted toward Han Siwoo, who was looking this way as if dumbfounded.

“Baby Goddess, who spread that damn rumor? Was it you? Or…”