Hall Of Exchange (6)

The signal announcing the Demon God’s Month was the moon turning red.

The bluish moonlight in the night sky gradually turned red. The New Year’s night that began this way was immersed in silence.

“Success… it is?”

I had evacuated all the humans in the domain to the Lord’s Castle and securely locked the gates, watching to see what might happen, just in case.

However, no sign of Beastkin transformation appeared in any of the Beastkin who were encamped in the Lord’s Official Residence courtyard.

After watching for about an hour, I shouted down from the outer wall toward the Lord’s Official Residence courtyard.

“Everyone!! Are you alright!! Are you doing well!!”

The shout echoed clearly in the quiet night sky, and from the area where the Beastkin were, cheers erupted, confirming that the Magic Power Suppressor had worked.

Afterward, I opened the outer gate and went out to approach the Beastkin. I saw all of them hugging each other, shedding tears of emotion, and rejoicing.

Just when I thought I was fortunate to witness this, the Beastkin all rushed toward me and gave me a celebratory toss. Every time I was tossed high into the air and fell, my heart pounded with such fear that the Beastkin were unaware I felt more terror than joy.

After the Beastkin calmed down, I sent them back to their respective homes and passed along the order for those who had evacuated their children to go find them and reassure them. Standing in the empty space after everyone had left, I felt an inexplicable sense of pride and blankly stared at the spot where they had been.

“Are you pleased?”

I nodded at Beni’s question and said,

“I thought it would be possible, but actually succeeding makes my heart feel full somehow.”

“I am very happy too.”

Beastkin were beings who had lived through a history of persecution.

They said this curse didn’t exist when they followed the Demon God, but when one considered the Demon God who placed a curse on the race that abandoned him—or, in his mind, literally betrayed him—he could only be considered a wicked god.

I had also gained quite a lot thanks to the Demon God, but separate from that, the perception that the Demon God was evil began to firmly take hold.

It might be a prejudice, but at least one thing was certain: He was a god who inconvenienced me…

What I realized while preparing for this matter was that if the Beastkin population were to grow, I would need at least a month to comfortably prepare the medicine, and that for that period, I had to stay here no matter what.

I was slightly displeased by this, but since there was no immediate solution, I simply tried to ease my regret.

“Please tell everyone to go home and rest, and Beni, you go rest too. I need to look around a bit more.”

“Where are you going, my Lord?”

“I have to go check on those with strong magic power, don’t I?”

The Sain Tribe, in particular, were not leaving their territory today. Each of them had evacuated using the methods they had always employed. As for the other Beastkin, since I confirmed the medicine had worked, I planned to rest after just checking on how the Beastkin with strong magic power fared.

Moving my steps, I headed toward the forest behind the Lord’s Castle and looked up at the red moon.

‘Is there some other cause for this?’

Simply, only during the Demon God’s Month did the moonlight turn red like this. I briefly considered the possibility that it might be a natural phenomenon, but since nothing related came to mind in my Pharmacy aptitude, I gave up. Just then, I saw Wijel standing in the center of the clearing with his arms crossed, facing a torch stand.

He, too, was maintaining a normal appearance, which suggested he hadn’t undergone Beastkin transformation. Just in case, I used my Construction aptitude to imagine defensive measures to protect myself before asking,

“Wijel, are you alright?”

His head slowly turned at my question. And the gaze he met mine with seemed gentle. He smiled at me and said,

“I had no doubt, but to actually experience it, I find it unbelievable.”

Wijel spoke as he approached me. Feeling relieved, I also closed the distance and walked toward him. And at my comment that it was cold, we arrived back at the torch stand, where I warmed myself by the flames and asked,

“How do you think the other Beastkin are doing?”

“If they are fine, they will come outside.”

I was curious to see how they were, and just then, I saw them emerge, one by one, squeezing their bodies out of small holes. I was curious to know what kind of arrangements they had made inside those burrows, but the amusing thing was that all the Beastkin who came out were looking up at the red moon with expressions of disbelief.

Wijel also looked up at the moon, following my gaze, and said,

“We have always lived without ever being able to look at the sight of the Red Moon known as the Demon God’s Month. But today, I can see it directly, and it is unbelievable. I suppose the same is true for them?”

“Well… I suppose so. If Wijel feels that way… surely there aren’t Beastkin who live for 300 years?”

“300 years, you say. There are some who live that long along the coast. They’re probably deep underwater by now.”

“…Are there Beastkin in the sea? Like, fish-human hybrids?”

It was a question I asked out of disbelief, but Wijel simply chuckled. It was a moment when I resolved that I would definitely go see them later if such beings existed.

But it was then.

All the Beastkin approached this side. They formed a circle around me and, starting with Wijel, unexpectedly knelt on one knee before me and spoke,

“For the sin of doubting the Divine Messenger, a crime not even death can fully atone for, we swear to live our lives obeying the words of the Divine Messenger until this life is over.”

“We swear!!”

I wondered what kind of antic this was.

“Please don’t joke around with me.”

“This is no joke, Divine Messenger. We were doubting you. But it has been proven, and even if you scold and punish us a hundred or a thousand times for our doubts regarding your true and profound intentions, we will all accept it sweetly and live a life of atonement.”

I wondered what kind of situation this was. But since Beastkin often performed incomprehensible actions, I said I understood. Unsatisfied with my answer, Wijel spoke again.

“Will you accept our oath?”

“In other words… you’ll listen to me better from now on, right?”

“Th-that is true, but… a little bit…”

“Then I accept it. Let’s get along well.”

There was no answer I could give other than ‘Oh, sure’ when already obedient kids declared, ‘I’m going to listen even better from now on!’

Wijel didn’t seem to realize this. However, I understood from the next day that this day’s happening was not a simple matter.

When I woke up in the morning and opened the terrace window of the Lord’s Official Residence with a pleasant feeling!

“Did you wake up!!”

I was first taken aback by the booming greetings of the Beastkin, and the second surprising experience was that the Beastkin, who were usually focused on their work, would kneel on one knee and show courtesy whenever I entered the workshop.

I specifically had to talk about this and enforce a rule to omit greetings during work, giving the reason that they were working. But perhaps because of this one previous experience?

I felt awkward, as if I had returned to that time.

Moreover, even guys like Gamung and others who usually spoke to me informally now addressed me with the utmost respect, which was simply dumbfounding.

“Change is good, but…”

Demina, who was listening to me, asked,

“Since we swore allegiance to the Lord, wouldn’t it be better if you regarded it as showing respect?”

Demina also bowed her head and avoided eye contact when she met mine. I even forcibly tried to approach her and make eye contact, but she would completely avoid me, kneeling down as if burying her face in the floor, so I had to issue a separate command for her not to avoid my eyes.

Now, she listens to that command and meets my gaze when I look at her, but the trembling in her pupils was unavoidable.

I wondered if a single morning could change their attitude so drastically. But I learned the reason later.

The fear that the Demon God’s Month inflicted upon the Beastkin was immense.

It was common for the Beastkin to lose their children and loved ones during the Demon God’s Month, and it was routine for neighbors and distant relatives to simply disappear somewhere and never return. Thus, the gratitude and thankfulness the Beastkin felt were inexpressible in words.

I learned this later through Demina, which was truly ironic.

‘In the case of the Magic Power Suppressor, even if I don’t manufacture it, I can make the half-day version…’

I had experimented with the recipe using ingredients from the Forest of the Demon Dragon. I had Beni manufacture it and had Hare take it, and I confirmed that her magic power was completely suppressed for exactly six hours.

Despite this, the Beastkin had lived a sorrowful life under the yoke of persecution.

‘Simply put, it means that I was probably the only one who knew the recipe…’

No, someone might have already known it. However, since the cost-effectiveness was exceptionally high compared to general medicine, made up of only extremely expensive ingredients, and since I confirmed that it didn’t work unless the herbs were from the Forest of the Demon Dragon, I thought that even if someone knew it, it might have been shelved.

“It’s regrettable, but I’ll have to improve it and find a better method, won’t I?”

“What are you talking about, my Lord?”

Beni, who had overheard my muttering in the workshop again today, asked. So, I told Beni to get back to work and worried about the future.

This could be seen as the Empire having found a way to use the Beastkin.

It was unlikely that the Beastkin would obey their commands just because they told my domain’s citizens to, but the Empire still had the right to demand things from me.

While I could ignore this by paying several times the required amount in taxes, I couldn’t maintain the stance of ignoring them indefinitely, so I thought I should prepare for the future.

There was no reason to be at odds with the Imperial Family. The Princess still trusted me deeply, and the apothecary named after my castle, which she managed, could not operate without the herbs sent from here.

Furthermore, the Princess had made a proposal to me this time.

‘Did she propose a liquor business…?’

The ‘liquor business’ she referred to was not selling alcohol accompanied by women, but literally asking for a professional supply of brewed alcohol.

The main items were Invigorator Liquor and Vitality Liquor. The Invigorator Liquor was, as the name implied, a liquor that spoke for itself, and through various improvements, it was being brewed into a sweet and fragrant liquor, with the bitter and astringent taste having been fixed.

In addition, Vitality Liquor was an aged liquor mainly containing medicinal ingredients good for fatigue recovery and was the most popular liquor within the domain.

‘I remember Hirna taking both the Invigorator Liquor and the Vitality Liquor to test them last time…’

I realized the danger of that liquor when I saw the haggard Debik the next day, but I didn’t want to try it myself.

But Princess Riana spent a whole week in my domain, trying to persuade me, arguing that keeping such liquor confined only to the Ingrad Domain was a waste.

In the end, I agreed to start the liquor business as she wished… but the problem was the requested quantity.

“Do herbs grow well in the Forest of the Demon Dragon even in winter?”

“Ah, you were curious about that? Yes, herbs grow in the Forest of the Demon Dragon even when it snows. Isn’t that unusual?”

I had no idea what kind of creature this Demon Dragon was that allowed plants to grow wild even in the middle of a snowy winter.

It was a moment when I thought I wanted to see it at least once someday.