Chapter 181 : Chapter 181

Chapter 181 : The Calm Before the Storm (3)

I watched over the children’s training at the Gullok training ground for a long time.

Honestly, I don’t know how much help it was. It wasn’t as if I had any experience teaching anyone.

Still, I could clearly feel that the sprouts of Gullok liked the time spent training with me.

“How should I hold the sword?”

“Seems like you already know well? You just need to wrap it lightly centering on the thumb and index finger like you are doing. Don’t put too much strength, and don’t lock your wrist either.”

“Why shouldn’t I lock my wrist? Then I feel like I’ll lose the sword?”

“You have to move your wrist flexibly to swing the sword smoothly. If you become stronger than now, you won’t lose the sword. So you have to eat well and sleep well.”

The children who were nervous at first soon chatted and asked questions, and even matched wooden swords with me.

I explained my own know-how to the children, including how to sense Mana.

Of course, not everyone succeeded in handling Mana. Still, if they keep trying, someday they will be able to handle Mana.

Because I was also just a weak child before I did Heart Predation.

‘Still, so that you guys don’t have to have the goal of conquering Myeolji……. I will definitely make this expedition a success.’

I thought while looking at the bright smiles of the children.

Even if they don’t go to Myeolji, the training to forge their bodies will never be in vain.

I hoped the current training would be helpful when they achieve what they want someday.

But sweating with the goal of conquering Myeolji was enough with my generation.

“Then listen well to the instructor and train hard in the future too!”

“Can we become like Polarin if we work hard too? The instructor said we could become like Polarin if we worked hard.”

I saw the child’s eyes looking at me with sparkle.

Did that child have talent?

No, maybe that’s not important.

“Yes, you will be able to become a greater person than me.”

I patted the child’s head and looked at the instructor.

“You are working hard. I hope you teach them well in the future too.”

“Th…… That is. Polarin.”

“Yes, do you have anything to say?”

“I reflected a lot after Polarin left. I don’t just shout at the children anymore. Earlier the situation was…….”

“Haha, I wondered what it was. Because that is the instructor’s way. I know well that you are working hard.”

The instructor had been teaching the children with heart and soul since I was young, and even now.

I don’t consider his way to be necessarily right, but the instructor is also doing his best to teach the children of the autonomous region.

“I will also try hard so that the children don’t have to risk their lives fighting demons anymore. Instead, please be a little gentle.”

“Ah, of course…….”

The instructor bowed to me. I also bowed towards him.

At this point, it was awkward to call it an ill-fated relationship.

“I will be staying in Gullok for a while, so I will see you again.”

“Yes, take care!”

Since I visited the place of memories, now it is time to go home.

***

“Wow, what is this…….”

Gullok had changed completely from when I lived there.

I heard stories that the village was developing, but I didn’t know it would be to this extent.

Instead of the barrier that was just a shabby wooden fence, a high fortress wall went up.

Magic cannons were even up on the castle, so it seemed like ordinary forces wouldn’t dare to covet the castle.

‘Who would invade here…….’

The surprising corner wasn’t just the castle wall.

The roads of Gullok that were just dirt roads were paved neatly, and now not a single shabby-looking house remained.

It was a surprising change considering they were all collapsing houses before.

Even the village chief’s house, which was the best house, was a wooden building with gaps here and there, but now everywhere I looked was full of modern buildings.

Various magic circles engraved on the outer walls of modern buildings would provide various living conveniences including heating and cooling.

“This is what…… It’s Imperial Capital level.”

No, is it better than the Imperial Capital?

If the Imperial Capital was a city built up with history and tradition, Gullok was a city built up with modern magic engineering and money.

While I was dumbfounded and looking around, a warm touch came onto my shoulder.

“Polarin, you’ve come after a long time.”

“Hello Village Chief, it really has been a long time.”

The village chief pointed at the village smiling benevolently.

“Changed a lot, right? It’s all thanks to you.”

“I see, really…… it changed a lot.”

“Everyone in Gullok is thankful to you. The Fremont Consortium came and completely overturned the entire village.”

I heard Ims would take care of it, but to think it was this much.

I was just surprised every time by the scale of her spending money.

“Let’s walk a bit.”

“Let’s do that.”

The village chief looked around every corner of the village and explained how the village developed.

He was an elderly village chief, but his eyes were twinkling like a boy while speaking.

Then we arrived at the village square where I had spread [Wings of Ainsitel] and landed the other day.

It was awkward back then because I arrived when they were just building a statue, but this place also changed neatly.

Since even a fountain was created.

“Uh? It seems the statue changed?”

“Haha, that’s right. We moved the statue we were making to the front of your house. Certainly, the statues made by experts with expensive money were better.”

Statues of me and Tayon were set up on both sides of the fountain.

It was me wearing a Divine Crown on the head and holding up a sword, and Tayon standing imposingly with a Crow mask on his head.

Standing in front of the statue that carved me evoked quite a strange feeling.

It was certain that it was a quite well-made statue.

It resembled me very much, and was carved coolly and well.

However, on the other hand, it was true that I felt awkward, so my gaze stayed longer on Tayon’s statue than my statue.

Naturally, longing for Tayon rose strongly.

The village chief also stood by my side and looked alternately at me and Tayon’s statue and smiled contentedly.

“Cool, right?”

“It is. Still, to me, the statue the Gullok people made for me is more meaningful.”

“Thank you for saying that. I was worried about how to deal with the old statue, but Gerd took it asking if he couldn’t put it in front of his house at least.”

“Father did?”

“Yeah, Gerd is busy wiping that statue every day.”

Puhaha,

Laughter flowed out because I imagined Gerd doing that for some reason.

I have to go meet Father right away.

“That’s like Father. I should go see him quickly.”

“Okay, he will be happy if he sees you.”

“Yes, then I will see you again.”

I moved my steps toward the direction where the house was.

It was a Gullok that changed quite a bit, but the location of the house I lived in was remembered clearly.

The village chief’s voice was heard from behind my back.

“Polarin, I am really proud of you.”

“Thank you!”

Leaving the village chief’s sincere voice behind, I moved my steps busily.

I started to run toward the house.

Gullok people who discovered me greeted me one by one, but I didn’t stop standing and responded shortly to their greetings and continued to run home.

When I arrived in front of the house, I saw Gerd’s back. Like the village chief said, he was wiping the statue sincerely.

I stood about one step behind and watched Gerd’s care, but Gerd didn’t notice at all.

How hard he wiped it, the statue shone twinkling.

“If you wipe it that hard, maybe it will become a person and pop out.”

“Haha, maybe so.”

Gerd stopped abruptly while answering with a laugh.

“Uh? Polarin?”

Gerd recognized my voice belatedly, threw away the rag, and hugged me tightly.

“It’s been a long time, Father.”

“Yes, really, really it’s been a long time. You suffered a lot.”

Gerd’s affectionate voice rang in my ear.

“I missed you.”

“Yes, I really missed you too.”

Gerd’s face wasn’t visible because we were hugging tightly, but for some reason it seemed like tears were welling up.

Because moisture was smearing little by little in his voice.

“Ay, I invited you several times but you didn’t come.”

“When? Ah, the coronation? Famous people in the continent would all be there, so I wondered if I might ruin the atmosphere for no reason…….”

“No one will think that about Father.”

He is Gerd who screamed until his throat tore so that I, who was on the same mountain, wouldn’t get swept away even in the situation facing Shaber.

He was clearly a proud man of the Adjak family.

“You suffered a lot coming all the way here. Let’s go in quickly.”

“I came comfortably riding a portal, what.”

Seeing Gerd who didn’t show his face to the end and opened the door hurriedly and went in, I smiled slightly.

To give him time to wipe his tears, I picked up the rag that had fallen on the ground and entered the house slowly.

“Our house changed a lot too?”

“Right? I said I didn’t need it because I live alone, but they insisted like this…….”

“Haha still it’s good if you live in a good place.”

“This is too excessive. Our house will be better than the village chief’s. You must suffer outside every day.”

“I am also always eating well and living well. Enjoy comfortably, Father.”

Certainly the house was good.

I had opportunities to visit the houses of several nobles in the meantime.

It wasn’t in the form of a magnificent castle like their houses, but high-class furniture placed everywhere in the house made me feel like I came to a latest-style house.

And my face was printed as magic photos and hung in frames everywhere in the house.

My brightly smiling appearance, the appearance when holding the Coronation Ceremony of the King of the Inoe, and even photos that I didn’t know when they were taken.

“Why did you hang so many photos?”

“I can’t give up on this. Because until now I didn’t have a single photo of you so making the statue was also difficult.”

“It couldn’t be helped.”

The reason Gerd didn’t hang photos was simple.

Rather than disliking photos, just because the house was poor.

There wasn’t a single magic photo that could be commonly seen in this world.

However there was one more surprising thing. The house, the furniture in the house all changed, but the dining table was familiar.

“Is the dining table the same?”

“I was a bit stubborn about the dining table too. Since I said it is a dining table with many memories of sitting with you and talking with you here, they couldn’t take it away.”

“Haha, right. I talked a lot with Father here.”

I sat at the old dining table like before and looked at Gerd.

I was sitting at this dining table when I received a wooden sword as a gift from Gerd on my birthday, and after coming back from taking first place in the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, we talked a lot about what to do in the future with Gerd here.

“I still sit here in the evening and think of you. I ruminate on the stories we shared before, and sometimes I regret that we should have talked more.”

“I also often recall the times I sat here and talked with Father after training ended.”

Gerd laughed, Heoheo.

And stroking the wood grain of the old dining table with his fingertips, he asked me.

“So will you tell me what happened in the meantime?”