WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 125: Year One After Regression (1)

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The Sebeom Valley festival grew livelier by the hour.

"The Second Sebeom Valley Janggi King Tournament has reached its climax!

The challenger who conquered the tournament and earned the right to challenge, silent-film narrator Myo Gang!

The first Janggi King, Han Bada!

What will become of the Janggi King title!?"

Han Bada and Myo Gang faced off across the janggi board.

Myo Gang had initially joined in to indulge the sajang's younger brother, but before long, he began playing in earnest. And after giving it his all, he was thoroughly crushed.

"......It's checkmate."

The replication genius clutched his forehead.

His hyung, Han San, had taken the title he held, along with two permits, and now he could not even come close to the Janggi King title held by his hyung's nine-year-old brother.

As bitter as the loser felt, the winner was overflowing with joy.

"Big brother! I won!"

"Of course you did! My little brother was bound to win!"

The Han brothers embraced and rolled around the yard.

"You two! Look over here at your big sister!"

"Look this way too. This [seeing] isn't simple observation......"

Ayame, properly invited this time, captured the scene alongside her uncle. Click, flash!

There was still plenty to enjoy after the Janggi King Tournament ended.

"Starting a Korean wrestling match!"

"Sign-ups for the chicken-fight tournament are here!"

"The greatest rock-paper-scissors tournament under heaven!"

Korean wrestling, chicken fights, rock-paper-scissors, even a singing contest. Sebeom Valley was revelry itself, with merriment reigning everywhere one looked.

Han San came face-to-face with Gomchi as the sun began to set amid that cheerful commotion.

Gomchi jumped in surprise.

"What? You're bringing Sajang San's little young master to Mogok!?"

"Yes. I think it'll be good."

"Good, my foot! No! You're sending him somewhere full of all these little beggar brats! Sajang San! That's a bit... you know!"

Han San fell into thought.

It wasn't because Gomchi had persuaded him. Another thought had occurred to him.

'This July. There was that prophecy related to the [tribulation] called the Great Flood of the Gapsul Year, saying that my family must not leave Sebeom Valley. That was why I gave up on moving away with my parents in the first place......'

Hm?

Wait.

'No.'

Bada had survived the Great Flood of the Gap-sul Year in his previous life.

And what had Old Woman Wangdae said this time?

[ Leave only your younger brother behind. ]

That meant......

'Isn't Bada excluded from the targets of the [tribulation]?'

In other words.

His parents might not be able to leave, but Bada should be fine leaving Sebeom Valley.

As Han San nodded to himself, Gomchi seemed to think his words had worked and continued pressing the point.

"He'll feel hurt, very hurt. If you do that, your little brother will feel hurt, Sajang San."

Han San smiled. Gomchi's concern for him and Bada wasn't unpleasant.

"Why would he feel hurt? There are lots of kids, and everything they teach is useful."

Han San had planned the curriculum himself. It was the simple belief of an old man that learning those things would help.

Gomchi still shook his head vigorously.

"No, I mean, usefulness aside! Well, the sajang's younger brother shouldn't be in a place like this. He should go to a nice school, wear nice clothes, have good teachers and all that......"

"You're making a fuss. Just a year ago, my brother and I were ignorant slash-and-burn settlers without even a household register. We couldn't dream of learning English or Japanese. Our rise in status has been fast, hasn't it?"

"B-but things are different now! Wouldn't the little young master feel hurt? Thinking, 'My big brother dumped me in an orphanage'......"

"Hm."

That did make sense.

Saying he had put his own younger brother in an orphanage certainly sounded strange.

It couldn't be neatly wrapped up as a heartwarming story like, [The food at our restaurant is safe enough for my own family to eat.]

Still, the reason was obvious.

"It only sounds that way because it's called an orphanage. We'll separate the orphanage where the children sleep from the academy with classrooms. From now on, we'll call the orphanage a dormitory."

"Ah, no......"

"How about Han-ga Academy?"

Han's Myriad Commerce, the sprawling company that had reached into distribution, food service, charity, entertainment, and anything else it could get its hands on, was now entering the private-school business.

Once Han San made a decision, he didn't delay acting on it.

"Bada, do you remember when we talked about school last time?"

"Yeah!"

"Want to go with me when my leave ends?"

"Yeah! Yeah! I really want to!"

After settling the matter with his younger brother, Han San immediately went to Ham Ssang-sim and Han Man-seok and bowed deeply.

"Please wait just a little longer. Only until July has passed.

After that, we'll keep a house in town too. Whenever we miss it, we'll come back to Sebeom Valley. Let's live going back and forth like that."

Ham Ssang-sim smiled and waved her hand.

"Oh, that's enough. You've got your own plans, San. Your mother and father will just follow whatever you decide......"

"Hm."

Han Man-seok nodded as well.

With his family's approval, it was time to speak with the people from Mogok.

There was no need to go all the way to Mogok for that.

Han San had invited Ayame and Tsuchikaku to the Sebeom Valley festival. Of course he had invited the Mogok School teachers and children as well.

Han San went straight to Namgung Eok and the others.

"I'm changing the orphanage into a dormitory and the educational facility into a properly accredited school. My younger brother will attend too. Please take good care of him from now on."

Everyone was stunned.

"Chairman! Are you serious!?"

"This...... No, what should we even call this? Even when something begins with the best intentions, people's feelings usually aren't so clear-cut."

Namgung Eok was also taken aback.

"Goodness. Young man, you truly......"

Even he, who believed he had lived through seventy years full of hardship, seemed to encounter nothing but surprises after meeting this young man.

"Will this really be all right? Forget what people might say. Look at the practical problem. Aren't our children a little rough around the edges?"

"I know. I'll make sure there are no gaps in his protection."

The curriculum was one thing, and it was also true that children who needed to begin with humanization kept coming in at regular intervals.

Han San didn't mix the two issues together. He had to prepare for what needed preparation.

On one hand, Han San asked the adults to keep Bada safe.

"Uncle Gomchi. Please keep an eye on my younger brother's safety with the men you trust. I'll make sure you receive a separate special allowance."

"Oh, Sajang San, you don't even need to say it! We'll make absolutely sure our young master doesn't lose so much as a hair."

On the other hand.

"Su-jeong."

As he had before, Han San bent his knees to meet Han Su-jeong at eye level and spoke in a serious tone.

"You said you were sorry to me before, right? I'm really fine. But if you want to do something for me, even a little, there's something I really want to ask of you."

The fastest and best way to pull someone out of guilt was to give that person a role through which they could truly make amends.

"That's Han Bada, my younger brother. Please take good care of him."

Han Su-jeong, who had been playing yutnori with the children at the Sebeom Valley festival, blinked and looked back and forth between Han Bada and Han San.

Before long, Han Su-jeong nodded. Her clear eyes were filled with resolve.

"Okay, leave it to me. I'll protect him even if I have to throw myself in front of danger."

"Hm."

Han San accepted the little girl's resolve without demurring or trying to dissuade her.

"I'm counting on you."

Han San then went to Ayame and bowed his head.

"Could you help us file the necessary administrative applications as soon as you return after the festival, Miss? I'm truly sorry to keep asking you to handle company matters when you're a reporter......"

"That's nothing new, San! Ask me whenever you need."

Ayame accepted with a smile.

Then she tilted her head slightly and added,

"From now on, try to say [I'd be grateful if you could] instead of [I'm sorry to ask you this]. I'll do the same."

Han San beamed. Even Sawada wouldn't have been able to find fault with that smile.

"Yes, Miss."

The internal procedures for launching Han-ga Academy were completed before the Sebeom Valley festival had even ended.

The external procedures were over in no time as well.

While Ayame went around the government offices after the festival, Han San asked Sawada to handle the security procedures.

"Commander! You know that orphanage I was running? I'm planning to expand it and change it like this......"

"Hm."

Sawada had just returned from a business trip to Gyeongseong, where he had successfully built up a certain amount of 【standing】. Perhaps because he was in a good mood, he went to the Chuncheon military police headquarters and submitted the report without raising any objections.

The Chuncheon military police commander nodded at once.

"Fine. That young Han San has caught the governor's eye too. We should help him save face."

"You're absolutely right, Battalion Commander. I think so too."

The operations chief chimed in from beside him.

The operations chief then called Sawada aside, cleared his throat several times, and asked,

"Hey, Sawada. More importantly, when you went to Gyeongseong and swept up those Baekbaekgyo followers, did you hear...... anything?"

Sawada blinked his one eye.

"What do you mean?"

The operations chief cheered inwardly and nodded.

"Hm. It's nothing. If you didn't hear anything, that's good. Like the people on this peninsula say, no news is good news. I really hope it stays that way. Don't you?"

Sawada tilted his head but didn't ask further.

He asked something else.

"By the way, is Corporal Ishihara on leave? I didn't see him in the situation room."

This was very important to Sawada.

He had gone all the way to Gyeongseong, performed brilliantly, and returned. If Corporal Ishihara, that insolent bastard, wasn't around, who would he brag to?

'Even Lord Nobunaga, a man destined to rule the realm, made sure to show off to those around him whenever he won a war!'

The operations chief watched the samurai Sawada, who couldn't maintain either integrity or dignity on his own, with a hand on his forehead.

Half of that gesture was because of Sawada, and the other half because of Corporal Ishihara.

"He's busy with self-cultivation these days."

"Self-cultivation......?"

"Yeah. He's been visiting temples and churches, going alone to scenic mountains to meditate and all that. It's not like he got possessed while hunting ghosts or something......

Keep your head on straight."

Sawada was dumbfounded.

'The best way to cultivate himself would be to show up quietly before me and let me give him plenty to envy.'

Sawada, who had spent much of his life giving others things to envy, thought that, but he didn't ask the operations chief to pass the message along.

"I understand. Then I'll be going."

"Sure, sure. ......If you hear anything else about Baekbaekgyo, let me know right away!"

"? Yes."

With the Chuncheon military police commander offering no opposition and the operations chief preoccupied with self-preservation, the administrative procedures for Han’s Mogok Orphanage passed without difficulty.

Mogok School became a school again. Its name and role changed greatly, though.

The building where education took place came to be called [Han-ga Academy], while the orphanage lodging where the children stayed began to be called a [dormitory].

Arrangements were made for Bada, whom Han San had brought with him, to stay in the same dormitory as Han Su-jeong and the children Han San had personally chosen.

"Bada. You'll use this dormitory."

"Okay, big brother! This dormitory? What's its name?"

"Its name...... Well. Let's call it Tiger Dormitory for now."

Putting aside his bad feelings toward the Mountain Lord, a tiger was still the king of beasts.

What? The king of beasts was a lion?

Hm...... To the eyes of a seventy-four-year-old max-level hunter, lions and tigers were both just Gigantamax cats.

Anyway.

'Should I set up several dormitories and have them compete to be the top of their grade?'

A remarkably fresh idea suddenly flashed through the regressor's mind.

Han San had regressed before seeing the nineties, so it was a one-hundred-percent original idea. For some reason, though, it was the sort of idea that would have made the future fantasy literary world of the British Empire bristle.

Footnotes:

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