The Story of Becoming a Married Man in Another World

045 Why is Santa here!

A horse is different from a car. It’s a living animal. Of course, I knew that, but I didn’t really know. A horse needs to eat, poop, and rest. It eats a lot more than I thought, and it poops while walking. Big, round ones.

“….”

Juhwan turned his eyes away. He saw a mountain in the distance. The mountains in Korea are close to triangles, but what he saw now was more like a series of large hills. Gentle.

“Dad, why are you looking somewhere else?”

“….”

Dorothy’s eyes are sparkling. The horse is pooping while walking right in front of her, but she doesn’t seem to care at all.

“Juhwan, you’re really strange.”

Lizzy laughed softly. It seems that Juhwan’s clumsiness with a living horse is strange to her.

Juhwan squinted and looked at Lizzy.

She looked much more lively than when she lived in the mountains. Since leaving the village, she was like a small bird flapping its wings. Even though the same scenery kept passing by, she found it new and marveled at it every time.

The village or the cabin in the mountains wasn’t much different from this road they were passing now. Nature just stretched from one end of the view to the other. But what was so new and enjoyable?

Not only Lizzy but also Dorothy was excited.

The two of them kept chattering about how there was a bird over there, a tree over there, and snow here.

Suddenly, Lizzy looked at him. She smiled brightly. Breathing warm breath into the cold air, Lizzy said.

“I’m so happy. Except for when I was sold here, this is the first time I’ve left the village.”

—

—

I see. These two people have been living in the same place all this time. Even if it’s a scenery they see every day, the world reflected in their eyes now is like a picnic path they’ve never seen before.

Leaving the house that had just begun to find stability, a life where they can’t predict even an inch ahead begins. I was worried they might find it unsettling, but a corner of my heart felt grateful. If the two of them have something to be happy and look forward to in their current situation, that’s fortunate.

Juhwan spread his arms and hugged Lizzy’s shoulders. Dorothy, who was in the middle, wriggled and laughed. Oz and the Toto doll, sitting on the child’s lap, looked slightly squished.

I’ll make you happy. Let’s be happy. With that thought in mind, he hugged them both tightly at once.

And with this opportunity, Juhwan realized that he wasn’t as good with animals as he thought.

In the village, there wasn’t much need to move the carriage for long, so he didn’t know, but Lizzy was actually better at handling horses than Juhwan. Maybe it’s because of her soft voice. Horses are said to be very timid.

Lizzy and Juhwan took turns driving the carriage, but eventually, Lizzy’s time holding the reins gradually increased. Lizzy, secretly smiling with joy, was cute.

Juhwan wanted to reduce her workload so she wouldn’t be tired, but it seemed her feelings were a bit different. She seemed happy when her tasks increased.

Juhwan watched Lizzy holding the reins and then looked up at the sky.

He inferred the words and situations he had heard from the villagers and constantly turned the language of this world in his mind. Once he learned the basic sentence structures and frequently used words, there were hardly any words he couldn’t understand in daily life.

Suddenly, he laughed. He had worked really hard. So hard that his brain felt like it was burning to ashes. If he told his past self that he would study a language so madly, he would never believe it. Now, it seemed he could easily learn the language of any country or world. He felt like a genius.

After running for a while, Lizzy stopped the carriage. She looked a bit flustered.

“…Oh.”

“Lizzy, what’s wrong?”

At Juhwan’s question, Lizzy looked around and answered with a tearful face.

“I think…we’re lost. It seems like we should have arrived a long time ago.”

“Mom! Really? We’re in big trouble!”

Dorothy shouted with wide eyes.

They were heading towards a city that was said to be half a day’s distance from the village.

It was said to be a small town rather than a city, but there were several regular carriages and shops, and it seemed quite large.

Their destination was a branch of the guild there.

Lizzy had told them what an adventurer from the village had said, that if a wizard caught the eye of a noble, it could cause problems. There were even cases of forced confinement. Before that happened, it was better to register as an adventurer with the guild, as nobles couldn’t easily interfere with guild members. So, it was best to register immediately.

So, Lizzy, the only one in the family who knew the way, took the lead, but the roads in this world weren’t asphalt. Sometimes they would get cut off or split, and sometimes the wheel tracks would disappear. They must have taken a wrong turn somewhere in the middle.

Lizzy and Dorothy’s faces turned white, looking as if the world had ended.

No, no, it’s okay. Even if we took a wrong turn, it’s not like we’re stuck in a swamp or can’t ever return.

I must have been smiling without realizing it. Lizzy and Dorothy spoke in unison.

“That’s too much.”

“Dad, it’s a big deal! We’re lost. We’re lost!”

To the two people whose eyes were brimming with tears, Juhwan still smiled and said.

—

—

“It’s okay. There’s no rush. Take your time. No one is watching. There’s no one to command or torment us. Our hearts, we can do as we please.”

We can travel as if we’re on a journey. If we take the wrong path, we can turn back. If we don’t reach a village by nightfall, we can spend the night by a campfire.

When he said that, Liz blinked as if slightly surprised. For someone who had lived her life bound by constraints, Joo-hwan’s words seemed quite unexpected.

They decided to spend the night there.

The sky was already starting to turn red with the sunset. Even if they checked the road while returning, it would soon be night. They couldn’t drive the carriage without knowing the way in the dark, so they would have to stay somewhere along the road. It seemed better to relax and relieve their fatigue.

Even if it wasn’t a mountain, this world was mostly fields, wastelands, and trees. Near the village, at least, if you went a little way out where there were no people, you could find firewood.

Joo-hwan wandered around and cut down two small trees. The young trees were thin enough to fit perfectly in his grip. Still, they would be enough to keep the fire going for one night.

Tuk-tuk, Joo-hwan cut and gathered the wood and lit a fire. His magic was convenient for such times. There was no need to laboriously kindle a spark. Moreover, even green wood caught fire quickly. From the rapidly blazing campfire, wisps of gray smoke swirled and danced up into the sky.

They parked the carriage close to the campfire and placed a pot on a hearth made of gathered stones. Liz had brought it.

Plop-plop, meat and salt went into the pot, and a bit of flour was added. Occasionally, Liz stirred it with a large ladle. As it bubbled and the aroma spread, everyone’s stomachs growled in unison.

Dorothy sat glued to the campfire, staring only at the pot. She was so hungry that drool was dripping from her mouth.

After eating dinner around the fire, they dug a shallow pit behind the carriage. It was a toilet.

Joo-hwan could go far away and relieve himself anywhere, but Liz couldn’t do that.

However, she didn’t go to the toilet even once until nightfall. Only Dorothy went a few times.

It seemed Liz held it in for a while after that. When she finally became really desperate, she spoke to Joo-hwan with a face that looked like she was about to cry.

“Please, just go a little farther away.”

Hmm, she could have said so earlier. Joo-hwan moved to a place where he couldn’t hear her. Of course, it was still within sight of the two.

After that, the whole family sat around the campfire.

Dorothy sat on Joo-hwan’s lap, dozing off, and Oz lay sprawled on top of her. The rabbit doll Toto had somehow fallen to the ground and ended up on Liz’s lap.

Joo-hwan and Liz sat side by side, sharing a single blanket over their shoulders. They were happy. Just having their bodies slightly touching filled their hearts with warmth.

Suddenly, Liz murmured.

“I’m happy.”

From beyond the darkened space, the cry of a night bird could be heard. And from a very distant place, a wolf howled long, as if searching for someone.

For some reason, the eyes of Gus, which he had seen last, came to mind. It would have been nice if he hadn’t been an enemy. Though it was a short time, he liked him. He was in his heart. He had thought Gus was somewhat similar to his late grandfather.

Joo-hwan tilted his head. He gently placed his lips on Liz’s hair, which was at a lower height. And he whispered softly.

“I’m happy too.”

Liz quietly leaned her head against his arm.

The eyes of Gus, whose light was gradually fading, stared at him quietly in his mind.

*

They arrived at the intended village around noon the next day.

—

—

Dorothy, who was sitting in the middle of the carriage seat, suddenly stood up when she saw the village’s outer wall.

“It’s a wall!”

“Dorothy, you need to sit down!”

Lizzy, flustered, grabbed the child’s arm.

But it was understandable for the child to be excited. Unlike the flimsy wooden walls of the previous village, this village was surrounded by a sturdy stone wall. The wall was quite high, suggesting that there was a nearby source of stone.

Beyond the village, a gently rising forest could be seen. It seemed that part of the village touched the forest.

The large gate at the entrance was made of thick wood reinforced with iron. It had no particular decorations but looked sturdy.

There was a gatekeeper standing at the gate. His attire was no different from that of a commoner. He didn’t seem to be a regular soldier, but he had a sword at his waist.

From the start, this village was different from the previous one, where no one stood at the entrance.

Dorothy, seeing such a large village for the first time, was excited and fidgeted.

“Look! The wall is incredibly high. Oz! Can you jump over it? Dorothy can do it. Dorothy is brave.”

For some reason, Dorothy was competing with Oz to jump over the wall. Even so, she was speaking for Oz as well.

Juhwan’s heart also fluttered a bit. It felt like he had truly encountered a fantasy. The fact that he had become a wizard was now sinking in. My goodness, I’m in a fantasy world, he thought.

Just then, three men who looked like adventurers were entering the gate.

When they showed something hanging around their necks, the gatekeeper nodded. The adventurers, chattering noisily, walked into the village in a group.

Juhwan moved to the edge of the carriage seat and looked at Lizzy. Until a moment ago, Juhwan had been driving the carriage. But it would be better for Lizzy to do it once they entered the village. It would be a disaster if he clumsily drove the carriage and collided with a passerby.

When Juhwan handed over the reins, Lizzy received them with a slightly stiff face. She seemed nervous in the unfamiliar place.

The carriage slowly approached the gate. When Juhwan reached the gatekeeper, he jumped down. The gatekeeper looked Juhwan and the carriage up and down.

“Is this your first time in this village?”

“Yes, it’s our first time.”

“Do you have anything to ##?”

Not understanding what he meant, Juhwan looked at Lizzy in the carriage seat, and she explained in a small voice. It seemed they wanted proof of identity.

When Juhwan, flustered, shook his head to indicate he didn’t have any, the gatekeeper asked to see the back of his hand.

When Juhwan extended his hand, the gatekeeper nodded and checked Lizzy and Dorothy’s hands as well.

‘Ah, I see. They’re checking for slave brands.’

Lizzy had said that slave brands could never be erased.

If they checked in every village and city like this, slaves wouldn’t be able to go anywhere.

Realizing how dangerous his situation had been when he first came to this world, Juhwan felt a chill in his heart.

He began to doubt whether Santa really wanted to grant his wish. Meeting Lizzy and Dorothy was a coincidence, and it seemed like he had just been sent to any random place.

The gatekeeper, looking slightly suspicious, opened his mouth again.

—

—

“If you haven’t paid the ### yet, you should hurry and pay it or join the guild. If you get caught when ### comes, it’ll be a headache. Our village has many passing merchants, so ## ### comes occasionally.”

Lizzy explained what the gatekeeper had said. Listening quietly, it was about the poll tax. This village is the largest in the vicinity, so there are many people and merchants coming and going. Therefore, it seems that the tax inspectors sent by the lord come frequently.

“Got it. Thank you.”

Juhwan asked the gatekeeper for the direction to the guild and got on the carriage. As Lizzy drove the carriage, she explained about the poll tax.

Not only in this village, but everyone living in the territory must pay the poll tax annually once they turn 16.

In remote places like the village they had lived in before, the village chief collected it in advance and paid it when the inspector came.

When traveling to nearby villages, there is no need to carry a special certificate, but when traveling to distant places, they sometimes receive a certificate written by the village chief.

There is no specific format, but it includes the village of residence, the issuer, whether the poll tax has been paid, age, and appearance.

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However, very few people receive such a certificate. Within the same territory, even if caught by a tax inspector, it can be proven with time, and they rarely catch people.

“The gatekeeper’s words seem to be because Juhwan’s face looks a bit unfamiliar.”

Lizzy tilted her head and looked at his face quietly. Being Asian, his facial features were quite different. Was that why they were concerned?

As the carriage entered the village, the number of buildings gradually increased. It was definitely different from the previous village. There were quite a few people.

Dorothy stretched her neck out from the coachman’s seat and looked at the ground.

“Mom, Dad! There are stones on the ground. It’s a stone floor! Amazing! It’s awesome!”

The center of the village was beautifully paved with small stones.

It seemed very fascinating to Dorothy. Her bottom was half floating in the air as she looked down at the ground.

A child’s head is large compared to their body. If not careful, she might fall due to the weight of her head.

Juhwan extended an arm to support the middle of the child’s belly and chest.

But children never stay still. This time, she lifted her head and stood up on the seat.

Her body swayed back and forth on the shaking coachman’s seat. If he hadn’t been holding her, she would have fallen ten times already. Really, the future is worrisome. It seems like a big problem if you take your eyes off her.

Dorothy’s eyes suddenly widened. She opened her eyes wide and pointed ahead with her finger.

“Dad! There’s a red grandpa over there.”

Yes, yes, grandpa is red. Juhwan chuckled at the child’s words and turned his head. Did she see a drunkard with a red face?

Juhwan’s face stiffened as he looked at where the child’s finger was pointing. What the child mentioned was not a person. It was a sign attached to a two-story building.

The sign read “Adventurer’s Guild.”

And next to it was a large drawing of an old man with a red outfit and a white beard.

—