Chapter 33: The Tea That Needed Permission

When the day broke, No-Rani, Naru, Siwoo, and I stepped into [Yangjibareun Tea House].

As soon as we entered, Udi jingled and welcomed us.

“How have you been?”

Tok.

“Yeah, I missed you too.”

After receiving Udi’s welcome and quickly tidying up the tea house, Siwoo came up to me.

“Boss, I think I should get going now.”

“Right, if you leave now, you’ll be back in three days, right?”

“That’s right.”

Three days.

It’s long if you think about it, but it’s also short if it passes quickly.

“Don’t overdo it and take it easy. It’s fine if you’re a bit late, so don’t rush and get hurt.”

“Boss, really. Won’t you miss me?”

“Of course I will. But what matters is you not getting hurt. You know what I mean?”

“Yes, I know.”

Siwoo smiled brightly, then headed straight for the Spirit Realm.

I don’t know what Siwoo does or how she does it in the Spirit Realm, but I just hope she doesn’t overdo it.

“Feels empty without Siwoo.”

You don’t notice when someone’s around, but you sure do when they’re gone.

That saying fit perfectly.

I hoped Siwoo would come back safe and soon, then looked at Naru beside me.

“So cute.”

Today, Naru’s outfit was different from usual.

She even wore an apron and had a triangular scarf tied around her head.

Standing on a little stool, she was thoroughly prepared to help me.

“Naru, you really don’t have to go to all that trouble.”

“No, you’re anxious, aren’t you?”

“Not anxious, exactly. Just a little worried?”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“It’s a bit different.”

It’s similar, but not quite the same.

Naru shrugged her shoulders.

“If anything happens, I’ll help! After all, the source of Udi’s power comes from me.”

“With our Naru here, I feel reassured.”

Last dawn.

Naru listened to my worries and gave me just one piece of advice.

To use Udi.

“Udi.”

Tok.

“Will you help me?”

Udi flew over and wrapped softly around my hand, landing gently.

As I felt Udi’s rough surface, I checked the recipe in my head.

There are three unfinished recipes.

Of those, only one can use Udi.

“Wait just a moment.”

I went to the storage and selected the ingredients needed for the recipe.

“Lumia Leaf, Silkeras Stigma, Peppermint Leaf.”

After moving the main ingredients, I gathered the other sub-ingredients too.

I’d just finished gathering the ingredients, but the table was already full.

“I’ll take it slow.”

From now on, this is crucial.

Even a slight miscalculation in measuring will result in deadly poison.

Drink it, and your tongue curls, your skin melts away.

“That can’t happen.”

I carefully took a teaspoon and measured each ingredient.

There could be no margin for error, not even a gram.

“Let’s focus.”

Step by step, I followed the Map I’d drawn in my mind.

To reach the treasure at the end of the Map.

How much time passed?

As I made my way, the treasure was right in front of me.

The problem is, there’s a cliff between here and there.

“Phew.”

“Are you done?”

“I’m not sure if I can say it’s done.”

I held up the completed Tea Bag.

All the necessary ingredients were in there.

As far as the recipe goes, it’s perfect.

But the most important thing is missing.

“If I drink this, I’ll be in big trouble.”

“It’ll be fine, uncle. You trust me, right?”

“I trust you, Naru.”

“And you trust Udi, too.”

“Then.”

Tok! Tok!

Udi tapped the table confidently.

With that confidence, I couldn’t hesitate any longer.

If I hesitated now, I’d only be saying I trusted Udi in words.

“All right, let’s brew it.”

Water temperature: 78 degrees.

I put the Tea Bag in the Teapot and poured in the heated Onsu.

A gentle steam began to rise, and the ingredients in the Tea Bag started blending and infusing together.

Some components would cancel each other out, some would blend and become stronger.

“If all goes well, the toxicity will disappear completely, leaving behind a special strengthening effect. To make that happen—”

The tea that comes out should be a reddish color, close to pink.

I crossed my arms and watched the tea.

…Regrettably, the tea was now a dark, almost greenish color.

Which meant it was a failure.

“It’s too early to give up.”

Arguably, the most important step was missing.

I picked up the Teapot and held my breath.

The subtle warmth I usually felt from my hand was missing.

“Udi, I’m going to pour.”

Mmm!

I poured the tea, and Udi answered with a vibration.

The tea, even darker than before, was poured into Udi.

Before long, Udi, filled with tea, began to vibrate on its own.

The stronger the vibration, the more nervous I felt for some reason.

But my nervousness only lasted a moment.

“Huh?”

The color of the tea poured from Udi started to change little by little.

It became a deep red, close to pink.

“My goodness.”

When Udi finally stopped trembling, the tea was exactly the color I’d pictured in my mind.

“How is this…”

“Udi is a cup made from the Divine Tree.”

Naru looked at Udi with pride.

“In the Spirit Realm, there are many special trees not found in the human world. There’s the Lightning Tree, the Unquenchable Fire Tree, and the World-supporting Tree. Of them, the Divine Tree’s power is ‘Purification’.”

“Amazing.”

I’d known the power of spirits was special, but experiencing it in person was something else.

As I marveled, Naru spoke.

“But uncle, only you can do this.”

“Isn’t Udi special?”

With Udi, and the recipe, couldn’t anyone brew the tea?

Naru shook her head.

“Even with the tea we drink, only you can make it. Even if you use Udi, that doesn’t change.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Using the Divine Tree doesn’t guarantee results. You need nature’s permission. Of all humans, only you can do it, uncle. Only you can draw out its power.”

I looked down at my hand, but it still didn’t feel real.

Still, I couldn’t imagine asking someone else to brew it.

These teas, if done wrong, could become poison.

Tok.

Udi settled in front of my hand.

The finished tea shimmered inside Udi.

All that was left was to try it.

“I’m a little scared.”

I knew it worked, but I couldn’t help worrying about what if.

Still.

Sip.

The moment I took a sip, a sweet flavor spread across my tongue.

After the sweetness faded, various floral aromas filled my nose.

As the tea went down my throat, a gentle warmth spread through my whole body.

And then.

“Phew.”

I looked down at my hand.

It might’ve been my imagination, but it felt like a green light wrapped around it.

If I touched a plant with this hand…

I immediately went to one of the tea house’s plants.

It always flourished thanks to magic.

I carefully stroked the leaves.

“Wow.”

“Is it different?”

“It is.”

The plant had been healthy just moments ago, but now it seemed even more full of life.

It felt truly alive.

Amazing.

“Did you get the result you wanted?”

“Yeah. It’s exactly the tea I wanted.”

The missing piece of the recipe was solved thanks to Udi.

Meeting Udi was a happy accident.

No, maybe it was fate.

“If that’s the case, meeting Naru and No-Rani was just as much fate.”

Looking at the two children in the tea house, I couldn’t help but smile.

“No-Rani, Naru, is there anything you want to eat?”

“Yong. No snacks, monseo!”

“You said you wouldn’t joke. I’ll make you something special.”

“Then, cookies!”

“Me too! I want cookies.”

“All right, just wait a moment.”

I set aside the tea I’d brewed with Udi for later, and started making cookies for the two children.

As I baked batch after batch of Cheese Cookies and Choco Cookies, the two kids began drooling.

“All right, cookies are done.”

“Why—”

“Can we eat them now?”

“Try just one each and wait, okay?”

I gave the two warm cookies each, then went into the storage room.

This morning, when I opened the doors of [Yangjibareun Tea House], I had hoped for something.

“As expected, here it is.”

I grabbed a Picnic Bag made of Lattan and a mat, then returned to the kitchen.

There, I neatly wrapped the cookies I’d just baked, and packed them one by one into the Picnic Bag.

I also quickly made some special honey water, and packed “Green Dawn” and the New Masterpiece into thermoses.

Lastly, I prepared the Lunch Sandwiches for us to eat there.

“Oh, I should bring Udi, too.”

Udi was always 100% fond of me, but if I left him behind again, he might sulk.

He’s practically family now, so I have to take care of him.

I put Udi in the Picnic Bag as well, then spoke to the children.

“Kids, shall we go out and play today?”

“Yay!”

“Really?!”

“Of course. Really.”

If this were an ordinary tea house or cafe, you’d never close in the middle of business.

Trying to run a place like that with this mindset would be a disaster.

But this is a Village.

A place that lives on affection and community.

“I already told everyone we’d be opening late today. The elders will probably come later.”

Yesterday, Gihyeon dropped by, so just in case, I laid some groundwork.

He left early, but it turned out to be helpful.

“Yay! We’re going out to play!”

“Where are we going?”

“Right. Where are we going?”

“There’s only one place to go.”

As I opened the tea house door and stepped outside, I said,

“Today, we’re going to the Watermelon Field.”

“To Hyeon Ung’s place?”

“Wow! Watermelon! Watermelon!”

“That’s right.”

You might call it sneaky, but I was planning to take the two kids to the Watermelon Field and have them spread some spirit energy around.

Just letting the two have fun there would surely improve the quality of the watermelons.

“Let’s go.”

I picked up the Picnic Bag in one hand and took No-Rani’s hand.

No-Rani, with her other hand, held Naru’s hand tightly and started singing.

“We’re going out~ We’re going out! Where are we going! To! The! Watermelons!”

It had been a while since I’d heard one of No-Rani’s original songs.

“No-Rani, are you excited?”

“Yup! Super excited!”

“That’s good.”

No-Rani grinned from ear to ear, making up new songs as she went.

By about the tenth song, we had arrived at the Watermelon Field.

***

“Working hard, I see.”

“Huh, what’s this? The tea house owner and two cute little ones.”

“Changseong, what are you doing here?”

“Just taking a break. And I have something for you.”

“Something to give?”

Hyeonseo and Hyeon Ung looked at each other with puzzled faces.

Look at those eyes, full of suspicion.

Anyone would think I’m here to snatch something.

“No-Rani, Naru, go have fun. Here, cookies.”

“Wow! Cookies!”

“Can we eat them all?”

“Of course. As much as you like.”

“Hooray!”

The two kids, their hands full of cookies, ran off toward the Watermelon Field.

There were adults scattered here and there, and nothing dangerous in the field, so it was fine for them to run and play.

“Rather, as they play, the kids’ spirit energy will be scattered around.”

Whether it’s the soil or the crops.

It will definitely help.

“So, what do you have for us?”

“Not a bill for accommodation, is it?”

“If I give you a bill, you’d pay?”

“Nope.”

“I thought so.”

I didn’t really expect to get anything, it was just a joke.

But there’s something more important.

“Here, take this.”

I poured what I’d made with Udi’s help into cups and handed them over.

Hyeonseo accepted her cup and immediately sniffed it.

“Mmm, smells good. That’s the scent.”

“That acacia honey scent.”

“Yeah, that’s right. You made this for us?”

“It’s a new tea I made. I want you to test its effects.”

“We’re your guinea pigs?”

“Test subject 1 and 2.”

The two chuckled and each took a sip.

If they drank what I offered without hesitation, it meant they trusted me that much.

“I wouldn’t give you something I couldn’t drink myself.”

After drinking, Hyeonseo nodded approvingly.

“Tastes good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, my body feels a bit warmer. Is it better than Red Peppermint Tea?”

“In a way.”

The effect is fundamentally different, though.

That tea boosts stamina and work efficiency.

Still, both help with work.

“So, what’s the name of this tea?”

“I haven’t decided yet. Or do you want to name it?”

If I named it, I’d probably come up with something weird.

So I handed over the baton.

“Drinking it gives me a burst of energy, so how about ‘Pal-Pal Tea’?”

“Lame. Since it smells like flowers and honey, how about ‘Flower Honey Tea’?”

…Trusting those two with the naming was a mistake.