The white snowfield on the roadside has disappeared, giving way to yellow flowers blooming on the exposed yellow soil.

Ding dong!

In other words, spring has arrived.

As the seasons change, so do the followers of the Cheonma Church, little by little.

Byeongil has entered a period of seclusion training, claiming he will complete the Cheonma Gunrimbo, and Gapjae has started showing off his power to others.

This means they’ve begun preparing for change.

The ordinary person I had given strength to was taken somewhere in the Cheonma Church, where they were vivisected alive and subsequently died. The same applies to the ordinary person who was taken by the Cheongung leader.

From their perspective, one day they were suddenly kidnapped and subjected to brutal experiments, making it hard to understand what had happened.

But I know.

I heard the conversation between the Cheongung leader and his henchmen.

They mentioned that those I had empowered were being contacted by others to find out how they had changed. And this was happening in a mysterious place that had minimal interaction with the outside — the Woljedang.

It’s a place where those who want to lick the light gather.

Of course, there’s no command from the Cheonma.

It’s a strangely independent organization. Guseongyong, the previous church leader, visited the Woljedang frequently, but that doesn’t mean he knew much about it.

Oh ho. How intriguing.

The ability to easily make someone disappear while living is rather impressive.

It’s so discreet that it won’t be reported to the Cheonma. Is it permissible to have such an independent organization?

If that’s the case, this information may be useful.

Looks like I’ll have to frequent the village from now on. Then the likelihood of someone ambushing me will increase, right? If I can extend the harvesting period, I’d be very pleased.

I intentionally avoided going to the village until now.

It’s not that I lacked anything, but it was also to avoid suspicion from the Cheonma.

But now, I think it’s alright to be cautious.

At the very least, the Cheonma has developed a fondness for Soo-oh.

Considering I occupy a part of that fondness, it’s highly likely he has somewhat relaxed his guards around me.

Hehehe.

It seems the time has come for me to step out of my routine.

*

A few days later.

When the Cheonma came to visit, I grabbed him and asked, “Can I go to the village?”

He looked at me as if questioning why I was asking him that.

Huh? I thought he’d have forbidden it, but I guess not?

If it was something I could do from the start, then this question is strange. To brush aside my words here, I must be a little bolder.

“Give me money. We trade with currency, right?”

My audacity seemed to work, as the Cheonma crossed his arms. People tend to cross their arms when they’re defensive. The Cheonma replied in a huff.

“But you need to work to earn that money.”

Are you implying I should earn it instead of expecting free money? My question instantly turned into a mere trivial desire. Oh, how delightful.

Let’s test the waters here. What does he think about me creating a harvesting period?

“Well, just give me the items you purchase.”

After saying that, I focused on the Cheonma’s expression to gauge what he was thinking.

I could see a mix of discomfort and curiosity, and then a look of understanding appeared. He waved his hand dismissively.

Waved his hand?

“Do as you like.”

So this means I can create a harvesting period. It seems the Cheonma was initially cautious about it, but now that he himself has become a harvesting period, has he relaxed?

It’s too much to say he’s decided to ignore the records left by Eunjai when he was able to see right through my true nature.

Did he think I wasn’t a threat after seeing my humanity?

If that’s the case.

“I’ll be back shortly.”

At my words, the Cheonma waved his hand as if to say I should do what I want and walked over to Soo-oh.

It’s training time now, so both of them are busy. During this time, I often sneak out to exercise, so Soo-oh won’t follow me this time.

I head toward the village.

When there are many people, changes happen. Of course, that’s not the only reason.

I don’t really know what the village is like, do I? I should go check it out before Soo-oh does. Even if it’s a bad place, I wouldn’t think of forbidding her, but as an adult, wouldn’t it be wise to give her a warning?

Of course, this too will end within two years, but until then, I need to nurture her responsibly, right?

The unfortunate thing is that Soo-oh doesn’t seem to think she’s being taken care of.

There’s a 5-year age gap. Plus, since her might surpasses mine, she views me as her equal.

Well, that’s not so strange. When raising someone, what matters most is experience and ability, not age.

Just like the man in my faded memories who understands martial arts, power is the most important thing in this world. Therefore, if we evaluate this simply, it’s actually I who should be learning from Soo-oh.

I’m weaker, after all.

The difference in build is at least two heads, and it’s unfair to lose in strength, but what can we do? The world is inherently unfair.

Thinking this, I walk through a place with low grass and sporadic rocks.

I’m positioned to the north of the Cheonma Church Main Hall, and the village lies to the west of the main hall. So to get to the village, I’ll need to take a counter-clockwise path around the main hall.

Since I’m just walking straight across instead of going up or down the hill, it won’t drain my stamina.

With light steps, I arrive at the village.

There’s a building that looks like it came straight out of an old Chinese film. The last time I came here, it was filled with white cloth, but now it’s not.

As soon as I step inside, all eyes are fixed on me.

Is this the effect of the publicity from the harvesting period? Or are they looking at me because I’m an outsider?

Ignoring the stares pouring down from all directions, I proceed deeper into the village.

I head toward the merchant area. It’s common sense to go to the market if you want to buy something.

Well, of course, in an advanced world, you can buy things from home.

But this isn’t such a world.

However, there’s a problem. I don’t know the location of the market. So I intended to randomly grab anyone passing by and ask.

But I failed miserably.

Not that I failed to engage someone in conversation. At some point, people surrounded me.

They’re looking at me with curious eyes, but there’s also a strange emotion blended in.

Where have I seen this before? I know I’ve seen it often.

“What’s going on?”

But no words come back.

As they slowly tightened their formation, they advanced towards me.

For a moment, I thought about fleeing, but quickly discarded the notion.

I don’t have the strength to escape in a crowd like this. And if I can, I’d like to know how they react.

If it’s collective violence, even better.

People with malicious intent can be devoured.

So I wait patiently.

They approach and grab hold of me, but their movements are unusually smooth.

What’s going on?

Some of them removed their clothes and draped it over me, as if trying to conceal my appearance.

Among the mass of bodies, I memorized the path as we walked.

After quite a while, we entered an alley, passed a few buildings, and then moved from alley to alley.

Just as I began to think they were trying to throw me off someone’s trail,

I reached the western edge.

This area had old, dilapidated buildings.

The closer you get to the main hall, it appears the wealthier people are. As you move east, the buildings become more refined and stylish.

This place is more like a shantytown.

The first man who led me bowed before me. Not just bowed his head, but prostrated himself.

“Celestial Maiden, you must flee from here.”

Ah.

Right. That expression.

So it was an intention of goodwill.

“What’s going on?”

At my question, those bowing began to stammer out their reasons.

The Harvesting Period had been chattering about me before one day disappearing.

And those who spoke about me got beaten nearly to death or have been killed.

Those looking for me had also vanished.

“This place is scary. You should leave and never come back. Truly, it’s genuinely dangerous.”

So.

They warned me.

Yes. Unfortunately, they risked their safety to protect me.

Or they might be trying to lure me to safety.

I had something to ask them.

“You might put yourselves in danger after saying that. Why are you acting like this?”

I inquired, attempting to unveil what they were concealing in their expressions. However, all I saw was innocent smiles.

“Isn’t it only right to treat someone who comes from the heavens well?”

That’s just how it is, I suppose.

Unfortunately, I’m not from the heavens; I came straight from the underground, and they will have to face consequences.

Goodwill doesn’t always return as goodwill. Ignorance is a sin. People often say that good things come back to those who are good, but the reality is quite different.

Look.

So that’s how you met me, right?

I’ll give them high marks for their execution skills. If they bear the spirit of resisting injustice, I believe a hidden cruelty lies within their readiness to do anything for that.

Goodwill can sometimes be more brutal than malice.

“I live in a house standing alone near the cliff, north of the Cheonma Church Main Hall. If something bad happens, please come find me. I happen to know the Cheonma.”

Yes.

If the happenings in the village are disconnected from the Cheonma, then I’ll bridge the gap.

If irrational violence oppresses you, then I’ll provide strength.

Just one thing.

I only need to gain warmth.

So, if possible, I hope to meet with the Woljedang as enemies, fight each other, kill each other, and ultimately gain their memories.

After finishing with the village folks and expressing my deep gratitude for their goodwill, I turned back home, circling along the forest’s edge.

While walking too close to the forest, a leopard-like creature leapt from a tree and attacked me on the way back. So I got bitten on the neck, but it wasn’t too much of a problem.

Having been attacked, I stole its warmth.

Instantly, tentacles sprouted from the beast’s left, a shell formed on its right, and metal shards grew from its tail, turning it into a grotesque monster.

And the monster screamed before fleeing back into the forest.

Upon reviewing the creature’s memories, I found that no one had attacked with malicious intent, so there was really nothing to worry about.

But the existence of such a dangerous creature in the forest makes me think I’ll need to tell Soo-oh to refrain from going into the woods.

“Soo-oh. Where did you go alone to come back at this time?”

When I got back home, the Cheonma was already gone, and Soo-oh was sitting alone on the porch, crossing her arms and glaring at me as she spoke.

The sky has turned beyond deep blue to something closer to black. It’s still early spring, so the days are short. I looked at Soo-oh and answered obediently.

“I went to the village, and it was dangerous, so I came back.”

“Dangerous?”

At my answer, Soo-oh’s eyes widened in surprise as she rushed over to me, looking me up and down.

“You look fine.”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

I was about to explain everything I had experienced to her, but I swallowed my words. Instead, I said this.

“That’s something you shouldn’t know yet. At least when you’ve grown as tall as I am.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever grow as tall as you!”

Soo-oh is quite tall for a girl.

“Then you’ll never know!”

“Don’t beat around the bush! Tell me!”

I pushed Soo-oh away as she clung to me and headed toward the kitchen.

“Let’s just eat.”

Soo-oh protested, but in the end, she couldn’t resist the allure of food. As I set the table, she begrudgingly drew near, picking up her spoon.

It’s tough not to feed a growing child.

While I wiped the grains of rice stuck to Soo-oh’s mouth, I glanced towards the village.

I hope something happens.