Chapter 2

By the time I arrived at the stable, our meeting place, Uncle Pell still wasn’t there.

I loaded my luggage onto the wagon first, then fed the horses the carrots and water the stable owner had given me.

“Eat plenty, Maximus… No! Not my hand!”

After spending a while playing with the horses, I sat on the driver’s seat and waited for Uncle Pell.

But even after more than ten minutes, there was still no sign of him.

“It’s already past four. Why is he taking so long?”

True to my impatient Korean nature, I decided to go look for him.

As soon as I pushed open the swinging wooden saloon doors, I caught my breath at the scenery before me.

A quiet street.

The sky at the horizon had begun turning a deep orange.

The scent of trees drifted over from the forest.

It was peaceful enough to wash away my annoyance at my late companion.

Maybe it was because I’d spent decades living in a noisy gray city, but every time I saw scenery like this, it filled me with wonder.

Sometimes, it even overwhelmed me.

The stable’s secluded location, far from the crowds, made it even more beautiful.

Crunch.

Just then, I heard the faint sound of leaves being stepped on.

My gaze naturally shifted toward the forest bordering the road.

And that was when I saw them.

“…A child from Mapel?”

Standing awkwardly hidden behind a tall cypress tree, right where sunlight met shadow, was a small figure.

The child was still wearing a face-covering mask and had apparently escaped the crowds. They were quietly catching their breath.

But for someone who had gone through the trouble of coming all the way here, they weren’t carrying much.

That bothered me a little.

The people of Mapel had to leave the city just to survive, even though the outside air made them sick.

There was no way supplies could be properly delivered to a city branded as cursed.

But almost no one wanted to sell goods to people whose faces were hidden behind breathing masks.

Even the firewood or fruit they managed to bring for bartering was often stolen from them.

Honestly…

It wasn’t something pleasant to watch.

Wasn’t it simply a city suffering from an unknown contamination?

People called it God’s curse, but that explanation had never really convinced me.

And the child being chased away by adults couldn’t have been older than ten.

That made my heart feel even heavier.

“Hmm…”

Forgetting that I’d come out to find Uncle Pell, I hesitated for a moment before going back inside.

I searched through the wagon and found my pay pouch.

It looked small, but it could hold quite a lot.

I stuffed inside what remained of my wages after shopping, a small water flask, snacks, and anything else I could fit.

Then I took it back outside.

The child was still standing there.

I looked at them and hesitated.

Am I being too nosy?

But Mapel…

…is where the protagonist lives.

Though I had no idea what the protagonist was doing at the moment.

More than anything…

If I just ignored that child and walked away, I was afraid my twenty-first-century conscience would start yelling at me.

“Hoo…”

I let out a deep breath and got into position.

Then, like a baseball pitcher, I threw the pouch toward the child.

It landed at just the right distance.

Close enough that the child would feel more bothered ignoring it than checking what it was.

Success!

Rolling my shoulder, I smiled to myself.

Unlike Yeo Hee-joo’s frail body from my previous life, Tetis’s body had pretty decent athletic ability.

Time to get out of here.

If the child noticed I wasn’t from Mapel and got frightened enough to run away, everything would be pointless.

So I quickly hid behind the stable, making sure not to scare them.

“Tetis?”

“Uncle.”

Right then, I happened to run into Uncle Pell, who was returning with his arms full of supplies.

Pretending nothing had happened, I calmly helped him carry the luggage back to the wagon.

This time there wasn’t enough room in the cargo wagon, so I sat beside him on the driver’s seat.

When we entered the forest, I glanced back from the corner of my eye.

The pouch I’d thrown was gone.

Maybe that little bit of meddling had actually done some good.

* * *

Several days after our trip to town, I declared with complete confidence,

“I’m an idiot.”

Otherwise, there was no way I could have completely forgotten that I’d left my favorite notebook inside my pay pouch.

I mourned my notebook, which had served as a place for random thoughts, to-do lists, diary entries, and all sorts of things before ending up in the hands of a child whose name I didn’t even know.

“…Sigh.”

Only for a moment, though.

Feeling miserable wasn’t going to bring it back.

Besides, I had work to do.

As part of the village’s mushroom farm, I had to go check whether the logs we’d cut down last month had dried properly.

I quickly changed into my work clothes and headed outside.

“Titi!”

There I met Lea, one of the village children who adored me more than anyone else.

She came running over and wrapped herself around my leg.

“Titi, where are you going?”

“To work.”

“I want to come too!”

“Sure.”

Today’s job wasn’t dangerous, so bringing her along wouldn’t be a problem.

Holding Lea’s hand, I listened as she happily chattered the whole way.

After walking for quite a while, the mushroom farm finally came into view in the distance.

Just then, Lea suddenly tugged hard on my arm.

“But, Titi.”

“What is it, Lea?”

“Did something good happen? Since the day before yesterday, your eyes keep looking like little crescent moons!”

Without thinking, I touched the corners of my eyes.

“…Was it really that obvious?”

“Yep!”

Her immediate answer made me feel a little embarrassed.

She was right.

There was some wonderful news that had made me forget about my missing notebook for two whole days…

And even after remembering it, I’d only been sad for a few minutes.

It all started two days earlier, on the wagon ride back from town to Oligo.

While we sat shoulder to shoulder on the driver’s seat, Uncle Pell pulled something from his belongings and handed it to me.

It was made of paper and wasn’t very large.

At first, I thought it was some kind of tabloid newspaper.

There were newspapers in this world, after all.

But it wasn’t.

Magic Science Society

New Spring General Assembly & Guest Lecture

At first, I was a little confused.

Thanks to the memories of my previous life, it was true that I’d become fascinated by astronomy.

That was why I bought introductory scientific papers whenever I visited town, despite having been a complete humanities student in my previous life.

Since Uncle Pell always accompanied me, he knew that very well.

But magical science operated on principles completely different from ordinary science.

So how much could someone like me, who couldn’t even use magic, possibly gain from attending?

As I continued reading the flyer with that question in mind, something suddenly caught my eye.

Baron Bron – Astronomical Telescope Demonstration

It was written in the tiniest letters, tucked away in the far corner of the guest lecture schedule.

My heart immediately began beating faster with excitement.

※ Anyone may attend the conference by bringing this flyer.

The moment I read the last line, Uncle Pell spoke.

“Anya’s husband, whom I met at the market earlier, gave it to me. He said you would need it, Tetis.”

The fact that Uncle Pell had handed me this flyer was practically the same as giving me permission to go.

But I couldn’t let myself get too excited.

“But Uncle… this conference is being held in the capital.”

From the rural village of Oligo to the capital, Millet, the journey took a full week.

There were no trains or similar transportation in this world.

Even if I traveled on my own horse, the expenses would be considerable.

But Uncle Pell seemed to have already anticipated my concerns.

He laughed heartily.

“You’re an adult now. Shouldn’t you start going to places like this too?”

For a moment, I couldn’t find any words.

How many people would take in a child their father had brought home without even discussing it…

Then continue caring for that child so warmly even after the father had passed away?

Whenever I experienced such unconditional affection, I felt completely lost.

I never knew how to accept it.

Where to keep it in my heart.

Or how I could ever repay it.

But beyond that helpless confusion, one feeling stood out clearly.

Happiness.

Pure joy.

“Thank you… so much.”

“Haha. That’s good.”

Even though that had happened two days ago, my excitement still must have been showing.

Looking at Lea, whose eyes sparkled with curiosity, I smiled.

“I’m going to visit the capital next week.”

“Can I come too?”

“If your parents give you permission, I’ll take you.”

“Yay!”

I felt a little sorry for getting her hopes up.

There was almost no chance her parents would allow it.

Oligo had a rather unusual custom.

Children under the age of twelve were not allowed to leave the village.

And Lea was only nine.

Instead of explaining all that, I simply patted her excited little head a couple of times.

* * *

A few days later, I finally set out on my journey, accompanied by the farewells of several villagers.

Standing beside Uncle Pell, who looked as though he had mixed feelings about seeing me off, Lea waved both hands wildly while crying so hard that tears and snot ran down her face.