Chapter 130
The True Korean Republic, which controls the entire Korean Peninsula, was formed when North Korea and South Korea merged amid the chaos of the Gremlin disaster.
It seems an actual war broke out rather than things merely getting swept up in the chaos, but no accurate records remain. Officially, the record says North Korea attacked first, South Korea pushed it back, and then counterinvaded, but the truth is unknown. It was an age of chaos, after all.
Like most countries, the True Korean Republic was battered by the Gremlin disaster, its industries annihilated and the country plunged into a long dark age.
It recovered after establishing itself as a trade hub between China and Japan.
Historically, Japan was the first to build up its economic strength around the magic-wand industry, followed by China, which launched the Gremlin industry.
That left the True Korean Republic between China, which exported Gremlins to Japan, and Japan, which exported magic wands to China.
Sino-Japanese trade ships generally took routes that avoided the waters inhabited by ferocious marine monsters, making the route through the True Korean Republic the cheapest, fastest, and most reliable option.
In ancient times, cities flourished along Roman roads, wealth spread along the Silk Road, and post towns bustled during the Edo period. Even in the magic era, that fundamental principle remains unchanged.
By serving as an intermediary for trade between Japan and China, the True Korean Republic successfully rode the wave of both nations' economic growth and has been developing rapidly in recent years.
Above all, people, goods, and money poured into the port of Busan, the gateway to the peninsula, creating a booming atmosphere.
We disembarked, completed the immigration procedures, and entered the bustling port city.
What incredible energy.
"Don't get separated."
"With our hands clasped this tightly?"
Hiyori shrugged and began weaving through the crowd with practiced steps.
The roads were broad and straight, with tall brick buildings standing in rows. Street trees grew along them as well, but they quietly extended their branches into the road, shoved discarded trash into gaps between their trunks, and chewed noisily. They were probably tree monsters of some sort.
Unlike in Japan, pouch sparrows were nowhere to be seen. Instead, pouch swallows flew busily overhead in formations.
The smell of spices was strong too. Spicy aromas drifted from the restaurants all the way to the streets, and I felt nostalgic when I saw a bunch of burly young men wolfing down kimchi and fried chicken at a stand-up food stall. A lot had changed, but the old, stereotypical image of Korea remained as well.
When the country changes, so do the scenery, smells, and atmosphere.
Words like "Kenchana~" and "Nancharayo~" flew around alongside all sorts of incomprehensible chatter, and I was keenly reminded that we had come to a foreign country.
As I looked around like a total tourist, Hiyori, who was pulling me along by the hand, tilted her head in puzzlement.
"You seem fine. What happened to your fear of people?"
"That's why I keep telling you that traveling is fine. It's not being surrounded by people that's a problem; it's being the focus of people's attention."
"Hmm...?"
Apparently, my explanation hadn't gotten through, because Hiyori gave an ambiguous nod.
You don't get it. If merely being surrounded by people made me cough blood, I couldn't have gone to school! I have a college degree, you know?
Whenever someone's gaze fell on me, their attention was diverted toward me, or they spoke to me—in short, whenever other people directed their attention at me—my stress shot straight up. No matter how many people surrounded me, as long as I remained one of the faceless masses whom nobody cared about, someone whose presence or absence made no difference, I only felt mildly tired.
Hiyori, who had apparently been an extrovert by nature, would never understand these gloomy, subtle distinctions.
The port district of Busan was packed with people and overflowing with noise, so the two travelers from Japan attracted almost no attention.
Even the Blue Witch, who drew everyone's attention when she walked down the street in Japan, was just another person once she crossed the border. I don't know a single famous person from the True Korean Republic either, so we were equally ignorant of celebrities from each other's countries.
Hiyori had a beautiful face, so she attracted occasional curious glances, but I was no different from a potato placed beside a bouquet of flowers.
I was less than a mere accessory. Nobody paid me any attention at all. What a relief.
"Hiyori, Hiyori. What's that?"
"Hmm? Which one?"
"That stall with the yellow sign. You know, the one where someone is sitting with Gremlins lined up and doing something?"
When I pointed toward the hooded person mumbling something to the customers, my tour guide answered without hesitation.
"Oh, that's fortune-telling. The sign says 'magic-stone fortune-telling' in Korean."
"Oh? Like clairvoyance magic?"
"No, it's no different from fortune-telling in the pre-magic era. They just use a Gremlin instead of a crystal ball to create the right atmosphere. In reality, it's just life counseling."
"That's a scam!"
"Don't get so worked up. Things like that are good for the soul. Nobody really believes in magic-stone fortune-telling... almost nobody, anyway."
According to Hiyori, fortune-telling was not very popular in Japan because there was an actual clan of future seers, but it was fairly popular in other countries. Compared to the pre-magic era, fortune-telling seemed much more convincing and realistic.
They say chemistry began with alchemy, so perhaps the day would come when questionable fields of study and dubious technologies became real.
"Then what about that? What's that? The one with the red horizontal sign."
"A pharmacy, I suppose. It seems to carry herbal medicine and magic potions. ...Come on, let's get to the inn. It's getting dark."
"Why did you go quiet for a moment? Is there something there?"
"...There are prohibited goods in the display window."
"Seriously?"
Th-They're openly selling prohibited goods like that!? This place is way too lawless!
When I gaped at it, Hiyori explained, despite clearly not wanting to.
Japan and the True Korean Republic have different pharmaceutical laws.
Medicine prohibited in Japan could be perfectly legal in the True Korean Republic.
Apparently, goods that were illegal by Japanese standards were displayed openly here.
Hmm, sounds interesting. So they have rare magic potions here that I'd never get to see in Japan, right?
"Let's take a look!"
"I knew you'd say that. Don't touch the merchandise carelessly, all right? Some shops will accuse you of dirtying or damaging something and pressure you into buying it."
Hiyori sighed, but she still led me into the shop.
The shop was filled with the pungent smell of herbal medicine. A clerk who looked blatantly unmotivated sat at the back counter reading a newspaper. The clerk glanced at us when we entered and mechanically tossed out a completely insincere greeting in Korean—something like welcome—before immediately returning their gaze to the newspaper.
Customer service: a perfect score. What a great shop. I was getting excited.
The only other customer was an elderly gentleman, and he was so absorbed in examining the medicine shelves that he paid us no attention at all. This was perfect.
"Oh, they have Tenchikuro tea too. Should we buy some...? Oori, don't go near that shelf."
"Why?"
"That's the adult section. It's too early for you, Oori."
"Don't underestimate me. I'm over a hundred years old."
I protested by poking Hiyori in the side with Reficle's pommel, and she laughed as though it tickled.
The shelves lining the walls of the cramped shop were packed tightly with medicine bottles containing dried roots, leaves, mushrooms, scales, nuts, and other ingredients.
It was fascinating just to look at them, but unfortunately, most of the labels were written in Hangul, so I couldn't read them.
"Oh, this is written in kanji. Fire-Loving Insect...?"
"Fire-Loving Insect is a parasitic creature from China. It parasitizes the scales of fire-type monsters or the gaps between their teeth, stealing their heat as it grows. It's effective against burns. I think it can also be used as a fever reducer."
"I see."
The price tag on the bottle filled with red insects resembling scarabs was higher than those on the other bottles. Even if I couldn't read Hangul, I could read the numbers. Hooray for Arabic numerals.
"This one is readable too. D... Draxir? I can read it, but I have no idea what it is. Hiyori, what about this?"
"It's prohibited. Draxir is a coined term combining dragon blood and elixir."
"It's an elixir made from dragon's blood. Drinking it grants powerful physical enhancement and magic resistance."
"See those white crystals floating in the liquid? Before taking it, you heat it to dissolve the crystals. When it cools, some of the ingredients precipitate out like this."
"Huh. Cool elixir."
"Drinking it can cause magic sickness. It's banned in Japan."
"A magic potion with a backlash is kind of cool..."
"What's cool about that? We're not buying it."
As I enjoyed browsing and chatting with Hiyori, I suddenly realized that the gentleman was standing beside me. He was the elderly gentleman who had been in the shop before us. Wearing his hat at a rakish angle and draping an elegant beige coat over his shoulders, he gave off more of a British than a Korean air. He was also carrying a staff-shaped magic wand.
The elderly gentleman had a paper bag with dried herbs poking out of it tucked under his arm, and he was looking back and forth between Reficle at my waist and Hiyori's Kyanos with great interest.
"A fine wand. Most interesting."
The old gentleman's eyes were drawn to the wands, but my eyes were drawn to his hands.
Oh. Interesting.
Those were a craftsman's hands. And a first-rate craftsman's, at that.
His gnarled fingers, covered in wrinkles and age spots, were slender and delicate, yet they possessed a solid strength.
He wasn't on my level, but he had to be a craftsman of considerable renown.
"Primitive, yet highly original. And finely honed besides."
"Wait. What language have you been speaking all this time?"
When I leaned forward to ask the old gentleman who he was, Hiyori stepped in front of me, pushed me back behind her, and glared at the gentleman with a stern expression.
Following Hiyori's words, I realized it too.
The hubbub coming from outside the shop was in Korean.
We were speaking Japanese.
What language was this old gentleman speaking?
I hadn't noticed because, although the words were completely unfamiliar to my ears, their meaning sank perfectly into my mind.
He was speaking an unknown language, yet I understood what he was saying.
Could this be translation magic...!?
This was unknown magic that humanity had yet to discover.
"Who are you? A mage? A demon?"
Hiyori's tone sharpened as she interrogated him, her wariness obvious. The elderly gentleman, who seemed like no ordinary man, removed his hat, gave an elegant bow, and answered.
"Pardon me. I am Hatobato, a dollmaker. I wish to ask where I might find the magic-wand craftsman who polished this wand."