-Splash! Splash!
It was just the moment Mi-rang began preparing dinner.
She was rinsing rice and vegetables in the stream flowing beside the kitchen when Gungbong’s grumbling voice came from behind her.
“What? Vegetables again?”
When she turned her head, Gungbong was pouting, staring at the buchu chives in Mi-rang’s hands.
After eating only stir-fried vegetables or vegetable soup for several meals in a row, she seemed unhappy.
“Mi-rang, if we eat vegetables again for dinner, that makes vegetable stir-fry for three meals already. Let’s eat something else. Can’t we have meat?”
“Meat?”
“Yeah. Meat. Come on, this isn’t a monastery—why are we eating grass every meal?”
“Then... should we eat some pickled or dried fish? Ah, we also have huatui (traditional ham).”
“No! Fresh meat. I’ll go to the mountain and catch a deer. There are animals here too. And the meat you grill is tasty, you know? The marinated kind you roasted before.”
“Um... about that...”
“Why?”
At Gungbong’s pitiful whining, Mi-rang looked at her with an awkward expression.
If they were talking about marinated meat, that meant palace-style marinated, grilled venison.
Preparing it wasn’t hard—there was another problem.
Before ascension, they had released carp and other fish into the lake, and on the plains they had placed sheep, goats, cows, deer, roe deer, and boars.
But it wasn’t like the numbers were high.
Compared to the vast land, there were few people and few animals.
Because of that, the order So-ryong had given was: until the numbers increased, no one was to catch animals or fish to eat.
Until the beasts and fish he’d placed inside Dokmul-hyang produced offspring and multiplied, they were to endure as much as possible.
That was why Mi-rang had suggested dried fish and huatui—but eating fresh meat? That shocked her.
It seemed Gungbong, who had joined later, hadn’t heard what So-ryong had said.
Mi-rang, struggling a little, decided to explain what So-ryong had said.
“That’s something Master So-ryong caught and put in personally, and Master forbade us from eating them until the numbers increase.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“But why?”
“Because Master So-ryong said all the animals here were caught by him, and their numbers are small. He told us not to eat them until they increase.”
“Animals multiply quickly—wouldn’t one be okay?”
“No. Master said deer only give birth once a year, to one fawn.”
“What!?”
Gungbong’s expression said she had never imagined such a thing.
Looking completely deflated, Gungbong said,
“Then let’s just eat huatui...”
“All right. Please wait a moment.”
Thinking that today she should cook huatui rice, Mi-rang heard another question from Gungbong.
“But why did you lend Hyang a rice bowl?”
“A rice bowl?”
“Yeah. Hyang returned a rice bowl she borrowed earlier, didn’t she? I was heading to the kitchen, and Hyang went inside holding a rice bowl and then came back out.”
Mi-rang had never lent Young Lady Hyang a rice bowl.
For a moment she wondered if Hyang was playing some kind of trick with the bowls.
Then a thought crossed her mind.
That strange feeling she’d had these past few days.
The feeling that one bowl always disappeared whenever she served rice—that the cause might be Young Lady Hyang.
She had kept telling herself it was just her imagination, but apparently it wasn’t.
“Ah, the rice bowl. She said she was running an errand for the wives.”
“I see. I wondered why someone who doesn’t even eat rice brought a rice bowl. Okay then, see you in a bit.”
“Yes, Young Lady Gungbong.”
Mi-rang was certain Hyang had taken the rice, but for now she said it was an errand for the wives.
Maybe it really had been her imagination, and maybe Hyang had just taken an empty bowl.
Since it involved the young lady, she couldn’t assume anything until she confirmed it herself.
That was proper respect toward the ones she served.
But if Hyang really was taking rice, she needed to find out why.
Since Hyang didn’t eat rice, if she ate something unnecessary and got sick, it would be serious.
After Gungbong left, Mi-rang returned to the kitchen and began cooking rice with huatui, beans, and a few vegetables.
And when one shigyeong later the rice was ready, she braced herself.
If Young Lady Hyang had taken the rice, it would be now.
She scooped the first bowl and placed it on the tray by the window, then scooped another and placed it there, repeating the process.
When she scooped the fourth and reached the moment of scooping the fifth—
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a red head rise halfway above the windowsill outside.
Two red eyes peeked in, watched Mi-rang closely, and then a pair of hands carefully lifted the bowl and whisked it away.
As expected, just as Gungbong had said—it was Young Lady Hyang.
It seemed she had no choice but to follow her, but she was wondering how to do that when—
Gungbong appeared again.
“Mi-rang!”
Huatui rice was like stir-fried rice—she only needed to set out pickled vegetables, and she had just placed them onto the tray.
Gungbong had come at just the right time to collect the rice.
Mi-rang welcomed her happily, thinking this was perfect timing.
“Young Lady Gungbong, the rice is ready right now!”
“Really? I came at the perfect time! Mm. Smells good.”
Gungbong stepped inside, checked the tray, and picked it up.
“Please be careful. You almost spilled it last time.”
“I know.”
Thanks to martial arts training, Gungbong recovered easily now, but on the first day things had almost gone terribly wrong.
She had tripped over a tree root while carrying the tray and nearly toppled over.
Thankfully Mi-rang had leaped forward and caught the dishes before they spilled.
After warning her, Mi-rang walked a few steps away from the kitchen toward a large tree—then suddenly stopped.
“Young Lady Gungbong, I need to visit the latrine for a moment.”
“Oh, all right. Don’t worry, go ahead.”
“Yes, it might take a little longer, so please just hold it for now.”
“Your stomach hurts, huh? Okay.”
Watching Gungbong walk off carrying the tray, Mi-rang hid behind the tree and watched the kitchen.
Then she saw Young Lady Hyang step out from behind the kitchen, carefully carrying the rice bowl, and walking away to one side.
Mi-rang quickly followed her.
-Scrrt-scrrt. 『Lalala.』
For some reason, Hyang was happily bouncing along with the rice bowl.
She hopped over a cut tree stump, passed through a low shrub forest, and finally reached a large lake.
This was the area of habitation inside Master So-ryong’s mind-space.
The heart of Dokmul-hyang.
And she had arrived at the massive lake that bordered Dokmul-hyang.
The huge lake that was Heukjeom’s inner world.
‘Why did she come here?’
While watching from a distance, Mi-rang wondered this.
Then Young Lady Hyang cheerfully called out to Geumdo, who floated on the water near the shore.
-Scrrr 『Geumdo!』
-Blub-blub.
Geumdo approached and let Hyang climb onto his back.
Carrying Hyang, he lightly backed away along with the boat he supported.
If she was to learn why Hyang took the rice, she needed to get on the boat—but Geumdo was moving away, making that impossible.
Mi-rang wondered what to do.
Suddenly someone clamped a hand over her mouth.
It had been incredibly fast.
“Mmph!”
Startled, Mi-rang froze for a moment—then a voice whispered into her ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) ear.
-Scrrr. 『Quiet, Mi-rang. You’ll get caught.』
-Scrrt. 『It’s us, so be quiet.』
When Mi-rang turned her head at the familiar voices, she saw a mature young lady with sea-blue hair, a girl with hair black as ebony, and another dressed in bright, ornate clothes—all smiling.
They were Jeokwol, Cho, and Bini.
Surprised, Mi-rang whispered,
“H-how are you here?”
The two girls smiled slyly and answered.
-Scrrt. 『Hyang keeps disappearing in secret, right?』
-Scrrrrr. 『Seeing how Hyang keeps disappearing, she must definitely be doing something strange on her own. She always causes trouble quietly, remember?』
And then Jeokwol added from behind them:
-Hiss. 『I just came because these two asked me for help.』
Apparently Mi-rang wasn’t the only one who sensed something strange.
Cho asked,
-Scrrt. 『Mi-rang followed her because you thought something was off too, right?』
“I kept losing bowls of rice...”
-Scrt? 『Rice?』
“Yes, rice. One bowl disappeared every mealtime.”
-Scrrr. 『What could that be?』
Cho and Bini exchanged looks.
Neither understood why Hyang would take rice and board the boat.
Then Jeokwol unfurled her large butterfly wings behind her.
-Hiss. 『Well, we’ll know if we go.』
When Jeokwol spread large butterfly wings like Zihwa, Bini asked in surprise:
-Scrrt. 『Sister, you can make wings?』
-Hissss. 『Zihwa taught me.』
-Scrrrrr. 『I’m jealous. I want wings too.』
-Hiss. 『Ask Zihwa. That sister knows everything.』
-Scrrr. 『Really? Then I’ll ask her.』
Bini, jealous of someone who could manifest wings in human form, quickly refocused, and the four of them turned toward the boat.
-Scrr. 『Oh right. This isn’t the time. Let’s get to the boat.』
A moment later.
Mi-rang was being carried by Jeokwol while Cho and Bini clung to Jeokwol’s legs, and they quietly descended onto the boat that Geumdo was carrying.
Hyang was nowhere to be seen on the deck.
Now a group of four, they tiptoed toward the cabin.
Carefully.
Following Hyang’s traces, they arrived at the innermost cabin.
[Huh? Isn’t this...?]
[-Scrrt. 『This is Auntie’s room, right?』]
They had arrived at the room belonging to Auntie Sister Seol.
Bini widened her eyes in surprise and whispered:
[-Scrrr! 『No way!?』]
[-Scrrt. 『What? What is it?』]
[What is it, Young Lady?]
As everyone stared at her, surprised, Bini pointed toward the room.
[-Scrrt. 『Is Hyang maybe offering a memorial ceremony to her aunt?』]
[-Scrrr 『A ceremony?』]
[-Scrrt-scrrt. 『Yeah. Mother Hwa-eun said memorial rites are offered to someone you miss.』]
[-Scrt? 『Oh right! She did say that!』]
Startled, Mi-rang hurried to explain.
[No, young ladies, memorial rites are for the dead.]
Here in Dokmul-hyang, their human forms made them seem human, but times like this reminded her they weren’t.
[-Scrrrrrt 『Really? Hehe. Didn’t know that.』]
And then—
A voice came from inside the room.
“Ah, it’s delicious!”
-Scrrr 『Auntie, is it yummy?』
“Yes. It tastes even better because my sweet Hyang brought it.”
How could they ever forget that voice?
A voice so familiar.
Cho, Hyang, and Mi-rang all flung the cabin door open at once.
-Bang!
Trying to squeeze through the narrow doorway together, the three fell in a tangled heap.
In front of them, with rice stuck to her lips after finishing her meal, was Sister Seol, staring at them with wide eyes.
And beside her, Hyang, wearing the expression of someone who knew she was doomed.
-Scrrt. 『Uh... sisters... B-Bini...』
“Uh... hi, girls...”
At the commotion inside the cabin, Geumdo’s voice sounded from outside.
-Blub-blub-blub.
He seemed to be saying:
“We’re doomed. Hyang said she would take responsibility, so she’d better handle it herself.”
