When I Returned to Farming, National-level Big Juniors Flock - Chapter 68



Only Krnovel

68. Relics storage

“…It’s quiet.”

After Oh Hyun-seong suddenly left for Seoul.

Yun Seol-ha muttered as she was left alone in the spacious house.

Although she was a little uneasy about his absence, she felt that she had become much more stable.

‘I can’t hold my senior back forever.’

Oh Hyun-seong told her that she could stay as long as she wanted, and he also knew that it wasn’t just empty words.

But I wasn’t shameless enough to accept it right away.

Not only did he save my life, but he also brought my spirit back to the surface after it had collapsed beyond my control.

Even though I hadn’t heard or seen it directly, I knew that he had been handling various things behind the scenes because of this incident.

“Whether then or now… my dependence on my seniors remains unchanged.”

Yun Seol-ha shook her head with a bitter smile.

She has never been the type of person to rely on anyone since she was little.

I didn’t need anyone to lean on mentally, and there were even times when I felt sorry for those who depended on others.

But after becoming a member of the special forces, for the first time she felt that she couldn’t survive on her own.

In an extreme environment where you must risk your life while facing monsters and awakened enemies.

Even the strongest person would have been unable to fully survive in such a situation.

At that time, the one who became her strong mental support was Oh Hyeon-seong.

It’s not just her.

Probably all the members at that time were like that.

Even in front of the mighty gate, even on the hellish front lines, whenever I was tired or afraid, I ended up only looking at Oh Hyeon-seong’s back.

No matter how endless it seemed and how wounded he was, he was always moving forward, and the men followed him, watching his back.

Wheeee.

“…”

Yun Seol-ha closed her eyes tightly and listened to the sound of the wind.

I used to hear voices whenever I was in silence, but not anymore.

Even when she wasn’t suffering from psychosis, she hated silence and habitually kept the TV on in the living room.

But that’s not the case anymore.

Now I could fully enjoy this silence.

Above all, the silence here was far removed from the cold silence of the city.

A tranquil and peaceful place that warms the heart.

Her sharp sensitivity, which had been sharpened as she was pushed to the edge of a cliff, was gradually becoming dull here.

Buzz buzz buzz!

“Hehehe.”

As I came outside, I saw spirits running around.

As always, looking lively.

But today, the clear sky behind it and the scenery below looked impressive.

“It’s like… a painting.”

Yun Seol-ha brought a stand from inside the room and unfolded it.

After settling down, she began to draw the landscape using the tools that Oh Hyeon-seong had given her.

Despite the ample time given, I turned away from it because I felt like I was obsessing over the past that I had missed, but impulsively I picked up the pen.

‘I told you to be honest with yourself.’

She remembered what Oh Hyeon-seong had said.

I didn’t understand why he suddenly said that, but now I think I understand.

She wanted to fill in the emotions she was feeling right now, and she started drawing without hesitation.

Of course, the picture was a mess.

Because I had let go of it for so long, I couldn’t even hold the lead properly.

‘but…’

It was fun.

Enough to make a hollow laugh flow out at his crooked lines.

As she began to hum, the spirits surrounding her also began to sing along with her, clumsily keeping in tune with her.

Just then, someone knocked on the front door.

There was no way Oh Hyeon-seong would have returned already, so Yun Seol-ha tilted her head and opened the door.

But when she saw the man standing at the door, she was startled.

“Uh, uh…?”

The person standing in front of her is Choi Jeong-il.

Yun Seol-ha froze in place for a while at the completely unexpected meeting.

But what surprised me the most was Choi Jeong-il who came to visit.

****

A welcome face that always comes when the weather gets chilly.

It’s a bungeoppang stall on the street.

Oh Hyeon-seong, standing in front of him, stared intently at the goldfish-shaped bread that was ripening nicely.

“… Young man, would you like to buy more?”

“No. I’ll just watch for a moment.”

“Oh, really?”

Hwaak.

At that moment, Han Su-yeon, who had appeared while walking through the tent, suddenly came in.

She looked back and forth between the Bungeoppang Man and Oh Hyeon-seong, who were continuing their strange standoff, and opened her mouth.

“Senior, what are you doing here?”

“You came.”

Oh Hyun-seong, who was still fixating on her, turned his gaze towards her after about ten seconds.

The two came out holding a bag of bungeoppang.

“Should I give you one?”

“No, I’m fine.”

He took a big bite of the bungeoppang as Han Su-yeon shook her head.

Oh Hyun-seong, who ate his entire head.

But he couldn’t even chew it a few times before he started gagging and stumbled over the flower bed.

Knock knock! Knock knock!

“Ugh… Ugh… That’s horrible.”

“Senior, you’ve become a lot weaker over the years.”

Han Soo-yeon burst out laughing.

“You must have lost your sense of reality because you only eat delicious food. You can’t even get away with fancy restaurants, so how can you get away with street food?”

For a palate accustomed to spirit crops, factory-made synthetic foods were too harsh.

Since obtaining the original seeds from North Korea, Oh Hyeon-seong’s Spirit Field boasts the best taste compared to the normal ingredients eaten in the past.

So, it is impossible to properly eat similar foods these days.

“Hmm, even so, was it to this extent?”

“We live so hard.”

Thanks to Oh Hyun-seong, she used to receive delicious ingredients including potatoes, but she couldn’t live off of just home-cooked meals while working.

Han Soo-yeon’s position was also one that required considerable workload, and she often had to attend various banquets.

Every time, I had a hard time shoving food in.

“But why did you buy bungeoppang out of nowhere?”

“I was doing a preliminary survey. I wanted to try it myself.”

The recipe for bungeoppang itself is simple.

However, the taste varied greatly from store to store.

From differences in ingredients such as dough and red beans to subtle differences in baking time and heat power, the differences were greater than expected.

I can taste this flavor, but I wonder if it’s possible to tell if it’s well-made or not, but the baking itself is just right.

“I asked him and he said he had been in business for a long time. He had been doing it before the materials were affected by the turbidity, so I thought it would be a good reference.”

From the first time I saw him, I thought he had a lot of experience.

Of course, rather than just searching on YouTube, it was more helpful to do the research myself when I had the chance.

Now, the only way to do the rest is to try and create it yourself.

“…Why are you so serious about bungeoppang?”

“I just suddenly wanted to eat it.”

People are always like that.

You don’t know how precious something is when you have it, but you realize how precious it is after it’s gone.

The same goes for bungeoppang.

It was just a piece of bungeoppang that cost a few hundred won, nothing special, but there are rich people today who would pay hundreds of millions of won to eat that bungeoppang from the past.

“So, why did you suddenly come to Seoul?”

Han Su-yeon, who had stopped dead in her tracks, suddenly asked in a cold tone.

“You’re not here to cause trouble again, are you?”

“… Haha. No way.”

Oh Hyun-seong let out an awkward laugh.

It’s obvious why she does that.

You promised to stay quiet last time, but then you rushed into the middle of a chaos.

“Suddenly a terrorist incident broke out, and the French government started making a fuss about handing over their relics, and the security service suddenly sent back a national-level hunter on a private plane.”

Han Su-yeon touched her throbbing hair.

Oh Hyun-seong had also heard related news not long ago.

‘I couldn’t have not known. There was such a fuss in France.’

Recently, French media leaked that Amir had lost a national treasure.

Information leaked from within France, not from a Korean source.

It is not known exactly what the artifact was or how it was lost, but the reaction was explosive.

Naturally, this drew the ire of the entire nation, and protests erupted in protest as people began to wonder if this was a country of revolution.

The immense attention and support that hunters receive can, on the other hand, also result in a great deal of criticism.

Because of this, Amir was almost treated as a traitor.

In fact, if you lose a national treasure, it is not a problem with the handling, but rather an act that is no different from a true treasonous act.

But that didn’t seem to be important to Han Su-yeon.

“If you were still active, that would be fine, but why did you go that far after listening to me? You’ve already retired, so why are you still so tense?”

“Even if I retire, I can’t stay away from my old colleagues…”

“…”

“Well, I’m sorry for lying to you.”

In cases like this, the longer the conversation went on, the more difficult it became, so Oh Hyeon-seong bowed first and went in.

Then she tried hard to swallow the nagging that she was about to throw out.

It’s easier to ask for forgiveness after you’ve done something than to ask for permission in the first place.

And if the results are good, it would be even better.

“… Seolha?”

“It’s much better. At least a lot better than before.”

“That’s fortunate.”

At those words, Han Su-yeon’s eyes softened.

“Good job, senpai, maybe you figured out the best answer. I hate that you lied to me though.”

“Ahem.”

“But is it okay to leave Seol-ha alone?”

“You don’t have to worry.”

Yun Seol-ha-da, who resisted Amir’s mental attacks without losing her sense of reason.

There will be no sudden, arbitrary action.

Over the past few days, her condition has become much more stable, and most importantly, someone has been sent to look after her.

“Now let’s get to the main point.”

“Okay, follow me.”

Han Su-yeon nodded at Oh Hyeon-seong’s words.

As we followed her lead and crossed the road, a large facility that looked somewhat out of place compared to the surrounding scenery appeared.

The facility, with its high walls and iron bars, was the reason they had come to meet in this area.

“There, stop. Stop.”

“This is Deputy Director Han Su-yeon of the Disaster Management Agency.”

She stood in front of the main gate and took out the certificate from her bosom and held it out.

Then the man’s overbearing gaze softened somewhat.

But he still didn’t take his eyes off of him with caution.

“You are the Vice President. You are on the list of visitors, but please go through the identity verification process first.”

Following the man’s guidance, they entered.

It was surrounded on all sides by fierce iron bars, and guards with loaded guns stood in tall guard posts.

Of course, the real power is the hunters who wield swords.

It’s not like the facility is being guarded by a moderate amount of security, but rather, it’s like at least top-tier 9th-grade forces are stationed here and there.

They were all selected by selecting those with picky special constitutions, assuming a ‘big fight’ rather than a monster battle.

After turning in their weapons, they undergo a rigorous identity verification process.

After going through the double and triple verification process, Oh Hyeon-seong passed the search party and felt magic flowing through his body as he walked down the hallway.

He scanned himself with his detection ability from beyond the wall.

“It seems like it’s gotten a lot worse than before. Even though I went with you, it’s like this.”

“Of course. Earlier this year, a shapeshifter stole dozens of first-class artifacts from Mexico, causing a scene.”

The relics repository was a place with tighter security than any other facility.

It was operated under strict state control, and only a very small number of people, not to mention outsiders, were allowed inside, even within the government.

Even the president of this country cannot take a single step without prior coordination.

“More than anything, there was an incident here too.”

Clank!

The thick door opened and they finally stepped inside.

To Korea’s largest relics repository.

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