“Sir. War has started,” Jackson reported in a calm voice as he entered the room. He didn’t seem to be bothered by the war.
“Hmm? Are you ill? You should eat well.”
Joonbum asked Jackson if he was doing okay since he looked down and tired. His eyes were filled with rage.
‘It’s because of you!’
Jackson barely managed to stop himself from shouting out loud. Joonbum knew this. He grinned and handed him a cup of coffee.
“How about coffee and a cigar?”
“Thank you, sir.”
Jackson sat down immediately. His recent hobbies were cigars and hot coffee. He originally had a habit of collecting various kinds of tea, as the gifts he received from merchants were usually tea. But he never accepted more than he could manage, which saved him from being corrupted.
“It has a good scent. Is this something new?”
“No, it’s the same coffee. But different roasts result in different tastes. It usually takes a bit of a time to appreciate the difference, but you’re fast at this.”
Joonbum complimented Jackson. It seemed complimenting his coffee tasting ability made him feel satisfied. He then lit up the thick cigar and puffed on it.
“It fits well with this cigar. I love this combination.”
Jackson looked happy and Joonbum also joined in by drinking his cup of coffee.
‘But I’ve changed a lot. Am I a superhuman now? Jumping to and from that kind of distance.’
He still couldn’t understand how he had done that. It was about thirty feet away, which was further than the record of a professional athlete. He was also in a full suit of armor at that time.
‘I guess the training paid off too.’
He was talking about the meditation he started a while ago. It helped him pass time quickly and it also improved his reflexes. He was now able to catch an arrow shot at him. He had become so confident that he did not fear anything.
The two drank and puffed without talking; they simply enjoyed the luxury and the silence. After a while, a deep sounding bell rang from outside.
“It’s time.”
Joonbum grinned. It was the bell signaling six o’clock. A clock was provided to some people in town as a sort of public service and made people aware of the exact time. After providing clocks to various places, he then made a bell to ring once every two hours. It rang at six in the morning to eight in the evening for a total of eight times. That was enough for people to be aware of the time.
After that, merchants became desperate to get their hands on the clocks.
‘If only I knew that this cheap desk clock would be more expensive than gold.’
The clocks that he brought over to this world by paying two thousand won each were now worth more than dozens of gold coins. It had no frills and only worked to show time. But the clock with antique decorations that Joonbum had bought was about ten thousand won. All the clocks he brought could run on solar energy.
The world was still in chaos because of the war and the monsters, but merchants still came to the village in search of such clocks as they had been requested by the nobles.
“The merchants desperately want the clocks.”
“Again?”
Jackson puffed out a smog and nodded. He then reluctantly took a last sip of the coffee while Joonbum organized his thoughts.
“War doesn’t seem to bother them, alright.”
Joonbum spoke and Jackson answered, “That’s merchants. They will not hesitate to sell their family if it makes money.”
Joonbum laughed bitterly. Jackson despised merchants.
“We should double the price.”
“Again?”
“Yes, sir. They will still buy it. News of this is spreading. They will complain, but they will still buy it anyway. It’s a must-have item now.”
“Are you sure?” Joonbum questioned, but Jackson nodded as he smiled and replied, “Of course. If they find out that we have a limited supply, they will line up to buy it at a higher price. A machine that tells the exact time is very valuable. I think it holds more value than that Marauder of yours.”
Joonbum nodded. Jackson was intelligent enough to recognize the importance of time.
“Okay, you can handle the clocks. Back to the war, is it the empire?”
“Yes, sir. The only country that is doing well despite the monster invasion is our Torian Kingdom and the empire. All the others are in distress. I heard the Royal Benzen Family fled the country and other countries are worried about a rebellion. Even the lords are cowering in fear of the possible revolt. But the real problem is the coming winter. No country is prepared and the lands are barren because of all the animals and monsters. It will be the worst winter ever.”
“How bad will it be?”
“I suspect that half the population will die.”
“Hmm.”
It was an unimaginable number, but Jackson was not the type to exaggerate.
“The elderly and young will be left to starve to death. Then it will be the women, then men… only the strongest will survive. People will take up arms to raid the storages of the merchants and nobles. They will be the only ones to have food during hard times.”
Jackson sighed as he spoke. Joonbum closed his eyes.
‘Should I help?’
He had the heart to help, but it was out of his control. A one step in the wrong direction might mean catastrophic damage to the village.
‘It’s not just a few people. It’s out of my hands.’
He had to be careful to protect the village predominantly occupied by the Ainos.
‘I have been accepted as part of this society, but I’m still an outsider. I should be careful.’
However, Jackson didn’t seem to understand.
‘What’s bothering him?’
He frowned as he watched Joonbum, but he soon realized what Joonbum was thinking.
“Don’t tell me that you want to help all those refugees… do you?”
“No, of course not. No… what’s with that look?”
Joonbum looked at Jackson. He seemed to be expecting something more from his glare.
“I just thought that you always come up with something extraordinary, so I was expecting something.”
He seemed as if he was asking Joonbum why wasn’t he doing something new like he always did until now. He was questioning his limitations.
Joonbum thought of something in his mind.
‘Corn. Potato and sweet potatoes… and there’s winter-raised barley.’
Those could be grown during the winter.
‘I should look into it.’
There would be problems, but building a greenhouse was also an option. He began formulating a plan.
