Chapter 5: The Kingdom Times (2)
Translator: Pai_
"Dad! Don't drink too much! And be back before lights-out!"
Mun Geum showed no reaction whatsoever to his daughter's call.
He simply shuffled away in a zombie-walk, plodding off to who knows where.
His entire fortune had evaporated overnight, so it seemed his sanity had graciously seen itself out along with it. Money and sanity were, after all, the best of friends; they tended to arrive together and leave together.
Si-ah let out one heavy sigh after another.
"Ugh, I seriously don't know what's gotten into him......"
"What's that, little sister? You're saying you're so worried about Father that you can't sit still? Well, it can't be helped. There, there. Your dear older brother will follow Father and bring him back at a suitable time."
"......"
Cheerfully ignoring Si-ah as she gaped at him in disbelief, Su-ho set off after his father.
Why hide it? It was precisely in anticipation of his father disappearing like this that the man Mun Su-ho had not strayed a single step from the vicinity of the gate all day long.
Naturally, he remembered the articles from the Prophecy Newspaper.
『Mun Geum-ssi of the South Gate Gatekeeper Clan, Falls in Waterway Accident! Suicide Suspected!』
『Father Mun Geum ssi Remains Missing and Undiscovered. Grandfather's Condition Worsens Upon Hearing News of Disappearance.』
According to the Prophecy Newspaper, Mun Geum-ssi was scheduled to become a man who never returned today, remaining undiscovered even by tomorrow.
And the method for triggering a Correction of False Report on these future articles to farm Subscription Points was simple. All Su-ho had to do was tail his father everywhere he went.
Sure enough, after walking for quite some time, Mun Geum began lingering in a deserted area.
The Royal Capital of this uncivilized kingdom was a canal city that put Venice to shame, with waterways large and small spread throughout the entire city. The spot where Mun Geum had stopped was beside one such Canal.
A faint glimmer of awareness returned to Mun Geum's face. It wasn't a particularly good kind of awareness. Jump? Or not. Jump or not, jump, or not.......
"Hey, mister! Out of the way!"
"Ack!"
Just then, a large figure burst out of an alley and barreled right into Mun Geum. Already standing at the very edge of the Canal and staring down into the water, Mun Geum had no chance of bracing himself, and in he went with a splash.
"Gah-blub! Blub, pfft, gah!"
"Oh dear. Sorry, mister!"
And with that, the large figure was gone in a flash.
Mun Geum hadn't even taken off his armor after getting off duty. The gatekeeper armor, designed as much for show as for function, was heavier than it looked.
Hence the flailing. But Mun Geum's thrashing was purely instinctual, not especially desperate. Come to think of it, hmm. Hadn't he just been standing here debating whether or not to go in?
Maybe this was for the better.
For those on the verge of making that final decision, the absence of someone to push them was just as agonizing as the absence of someone to hold them back. It was a bit clumsy and accidental, sure, but wasn't being shoved in like this a stroke of luck, in its own way?
"It hurts......"
Mun Geum stopped kicking. Water had gotten into his eyes, and he couldn't tell whether he wanted to open them or keep them shut.
Splash!
At that very moment, he heard the sound of water.
A clean dive.
Su-ho swam over with practiced ease and pulled his father out. If Mun Geum had been kicking violently, the rescuer would have been in danger too, but as it happened, every last ounce of strength had drained from Mun Geum's body. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
"Father. That was dangerous."
"Keh, blugh....... Cough, cough!"
"Good grief. What would you have done if your filial son hadn't happened to be passing by? And if you're going to jump, at least take the armor off first. That stuff's incredibly expensive."
"Cough....... S-Su-ho?"
"Yep. It's me, Father. Su-ho."
Faced with his youngest son's carefree attitude and peculiar brand of audacity, so utterly unchanged from the usual, Mun Geum felt tears suddenly well up for some reason.
"H-how did you know to come here......"
"Well, a filial son like me comes equipped with a special sense for detecting when a parent is in danger."
For the record, Su-ho had never once in his life remembered his father's birthday or any other family occasion. Blaming it on being ostracized as an Illegitimate Child would have been a stretch, given that the calendar in his head was mostly blank to begin with.
But right now, Su-ho's expression was deadly serious.
"That's exactly the difference between me and a rascal of a sister like Si-ah."
"......You're actually a year younger than Si-ah, youngest son......."
"Oh."
Even Su-ho had forgotten that one.
"You knew?"
"Your mother told me, right before she passed......"
"Wow, figures. Lips really do get loosest right before the end, huh. You absolutely must not go around revealing secrets, Father. If you do, I die, you die, Si-ah dies too. Now, get up. Hold onto me."
Mun Geum accepted the support and got shakily to his feet.
But his legs, good lord. Even a newborn goat wouldn't have been trembling this badly. His fingertips had gone white as a sheet.
Mun Geum had been terrified. He had simply been so exhausted that he'd grown too tired even to be afraid.
Su-ho spent hours calming his father down.
'Well, his older sons died. Can't blame him.'
Originally, Mun Geum had two more sons. The eldest, who would crack a wry smile every time Su-ho, the Illegitimate Child, had the nerve to call him "big brother". The second son, who'd scowl coldly and mutter, "Lunatic".
But both sons had been killed in the last war.
That was why their grandfather Mun Cheol had taken to his bed and still couldn't get up. The relatives were shaken. A single note of funeral rhythm had lodged itself permanently in Si-ah's heart.
For Mun Geum, as the head of the family, it wasn't merely the agony of a bereaved parent that descended upon him. The pillars meant to uphold the family's future had collapsed overnight.
His last hope had been the Bear-Light Stone investment. If he could make a killing there, he could somehow buy time until Si-ah, who had suddenly become the heir, grew a bit more. In other words.......
『Bear-Light Stone value plummets by 90%!』
And that, too, had gone up in flames.
He'd already lost his wife long ago. His eldest and second sons had died sudden, violent deaths, and on top of all that, his own father (Su-ho's grandfather) had collapsed onto his sickbed. More than half the family's assets had been blown away.
If bad luck were an art form, this would have been a masterpiece.
That was why Su-ho could generously understand his father's sanity checking out.
"Sheesh. You should have at least thought of Si-ah."
Once Mun Geum seemed to have more or less pulled himself together, Su-ho said quietly, patting his father's shoulder.
"From your perspective, you lost your sons, but for Si-ah, it's her brothers and then her father, one after another. You really want to do that to her?"
"I'm sorry...... I'm so sorry for everything......."
"What happened tonight stays between us men."
"Son......."
Mun Geum felt so sorry toward his son he could die.
The boy always seemed to do nothing but read newspapers, completely indifferent to the people around him, and yet the moment a life-or-death crisis struck, he'd been the first to come running to save his father.
Wasn't this irrefutable proof that his son had been watching the people around him with more love and care than anyone all along?
However, Mun Geum-ssi's admiration was more than a little premature. In truth, it was hard to consider this matter proven at all.
'Did it go through?'
Glance, glance.
One hand patting his father's shoulder, Su-ho's two eyes were busy scanning the newspaper spread open below.
'That should've been enough to move Father to tears and make him give up on jumping, right?'
Sure enough.
Corrections had begun appearing in the Prophecy Newspaper.
【Correction of False Report!】
「Prophecy Newspaper, October 16th edition, page 1.」
「Regarding the report that 'Father Mun Geum-ssi, missing and yet to be found'. We extend our sincere apologies to our subscribers.」
「Upon further investigation, it has been confirmed that Father Mun Geum-ssi was safely rescued and returned home. We hereby issue this correction.」
On the flyer, the letters squirmed and wriggled as well.
【You have contributed to a report correction.】
【A gift is being delivered as a token of gratitude!】
【You saved the life of Mun Geum, a key source for the Family Newsletter: Subscription Points +80】
【You averted a threat to the entire bloodline, who are key sources for the Family Newsletter: Subscription Points +30】
【Current Subscription Points: 170】
Mm, Su-ho nodded with satisfaction.
'Knew it. Saving Father was the right call.'
'Sincerity moves heaven. It's because my filial devotion touched the heavens that fortune like this comes my way.'
Above all, he had a pressing, urgent reason to earn Subscription Points in a hurry today, even if it meant rushing. An intensely personal reason.
His eyes scanned the advertisement section.
[Consumable] 10-Year Future Scoop, Single-Use Pass
(100 Points) (Limited Sale) (No Resale)
* Incredible discount! A product originally priced at 1,000,000 points, at THIS price?!
* Our paper normally provides articles on a day-by-day basis only. Today, as a special exception, you are being offered the chance to experience an "extra edition from 10 years in the future."
* We present you with a one-time taste of the Kingdom Newsletter tier, far superior to the Family Newsletter. Sample the Prophecy Newspaper's outstanding reporting capabilities for yourself!
* Limited-time product. Available for ONE day only. Enjoy this new-subscriber-exclusive offer that will never come again!
A limited-sale item. Priced at 100 points.
Explicitly stated to be on sale for today and today only!
'Finally, I can buy it.'
Just imagining it made his heart swell.
A chance to peek at a scoop from ten years in the future? And a first-time limited edition, at that? Unbelievable. If he let this pass, could he really call himself a Newspaper Otaku? Mm, no. No, he could not.
Su-ho's gaze toward his father turned involuntarily tender.
Without Mun Geum's Canal plunge, how on earth would he have scraped together 100 points? He would have been helplessly watching the first-time limited item slip away, losing the chance forever and carrying that regret for the rest of his life.
It was only because his father had gotten caught up in this half-voluntary, half-accidental incident today that Su-ho could urgently make up the Subscription Points in time. If possible, Su-ho hoped Mun Geum would continue to serve as a walking incident generator going forward.
And why stop at Father? His sister, his aunt, his uncle... he fervently wished for every single member of the household to get caught up in as many incidents as possible. That was the only way to keep the Subscription Points rolling in.
"I've never said this before, so here goes. I love you, Father. I'll say it often from now on."
"My s-son......."
Mun Geum blubbered through the tears of a middle-aged man.
There had never been such a filial son in all the world.