Chapter 37: Borrowing the Moon’s Wisdom

“Siwoo-ya!”

“Yeah? Is Siwoo here?”

As Siwoo entered, the children who had been dozing off in their seats woke up.

No-Rani and Naru, barely able to open their eyes, hurriedly ran over to Siwoo.

Siwoo quickly hugged the two children.

“I missed you.”

“We both did!”

“That’s right.”

The three children greeted each other as if they were reuniting after ages.

“…You saw each other just two days ago. And you probably met again in the Spirit Realm.”

“It’s different from that. Do you know how long two days is?”

“Super boring.”

“Uncle, you don’t understand how we feel.”

They really are in perfect sync.

Smiling, I opened the cupboard and took out the tea ingredients.

The teas I brew often are stored separately like this in the cupboard.

Since Siwoo is here, I’m thinking of making her some Rain Drop.

As I moved my hands busily, I asked Siwoo,

“You said it would take three days, but you came early?”

“Yes! My power got stronger, so I finished super fast!”

Siwoo made a tiny show of her muscles.

Of course, she didn’t really have muscles, but I understood what she was trying to say.

“Did you really get that much stronger?”

“Yes. I was able to do things I couldn’t before.”

“What kinds of things?”

“Umm… There are things like that. Hehe.”

Siwoo only laughed, not going into detail.

She must have been up to some mischievous things.

“Alright, I get it. Here’s a welcoming Rain Drop for your return.”

“Wow! I’ll enjoy it. I really wanted to drink this.”

Siwoo observed the Rain Drop happily and took a sip.

She enjoyed it so much, it made making it worthwhile.

“Boss, your tea-making skills seem to have improved, haven’t they?”

“Really? I think it’s the same as usual.”

“It’s a little different. It tastes better now.”

“Siwoo unni is right. Uncle, I think you got better at making tea.”

“Right! Uncle, your tea is getting tastier!”

Hearing the children say that made me happy.

Even if it was just lip service.

“Thank you. But I still have a long way to go. I need to study more.”

“Ah, it’s because of Yuae, right?”

“Siwoo, you know Yuae too?”

“Of course. There’s no one among spirits who doesn’t know Yuae unni. She’s one of the oldest spirits. And strong, too.”

Siwoo stroked the heads of the two children next to her as she spoke.

“Actually, I met Yuae unni while I was in the Spirit Realm.”

“Really? How nice!”

“Siwoo, is it okay for you to meet Yuae?”

“Yes. I’m not affected by the moon. I think it’s the same for Naru, too.”

Naru nodded firmly at this.

“Not all spirits are affected. Only some are.”

“And one of them is No-Rani, right?”

“Yes. Maybe No-Rani is affected the most.”

“Sigh, I want to see Yuae too. I’m going to visit her today!”

With a determined look, No-Rani jumped to her feet.

Naru stopped No-Rani, who was about to dash off to the Spirit Realm.

“No. If you see Yuae unni now, you’ll collapse.”

“I don’t care! I want to see her!”

“I said no!”

“Sigh, Naru, you’re mean!”

No-Rani pouted and stabbed Naru’s heart with her words.

Naru was hurt again, and No-Rani used the chance to dash off to the Spirit Realm.

Comforting the downcast Naru was up to Siwoo.

“Naru, are you okay?”

“Yeah… I’m just worried about No-Rani…”

“She’s stubborn, but she knows.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Understanding with your head and hearing it are two different things. Here, Naru, have some Green Dawn.”

I made some Green Dawn for the sullen Naru.

Naru took a weak sip, then slumped her head onto the table.

“Sigh. I was just worried about No-Rani…”

“I know, I know.”

“I don’t like No-Rani either. Hmph. Hmph.”

Even if they talk like that, once No-Rani comes and apologizes first, things will be fine again.

It’s like they’re close sisters.

So I’m not worried about that—but something else does concern me.

“By the way, what if No-Rani really does meet Yuae?”

If No-Rani meets Yuae, she’ll get sick. What if she really finds her now?

It worries me.

“That’s alright.”

“It’s alright?”

“Yuae unni is super strong. Even if No-Rani tries her hardest to find her, if Yuae unni doesn’t want to meet, she won’t be able to.”

Siwoo spoke confidently.

Seems Yuae’s power is even greater than I thought.

“Boss, since No-Rani’s not here, let me ask—did you agree to Yuae unni’s request?”

“Did Yuae say something?”

“No. But I could tell she was excited. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen Yuae unni that happy since I was born.”

This is my first time meeting Yuae, but it’s not so for the children.

So they probably guessed just by her change in demeanor.

“Thanks to you, the Spirit Realm was buzzing. If Yuae unni is that happy, it means someone appeared who can make her Dream come true.”

“Hmm. If I exaggerate, Uncle, you’re the Dream person.”

Naru wiped away the tears in her eyes as she said this.

She seems to have finally calmed her emotions.

“To fulfill Yuae’s Dream, I need to study even harder.”

Now’s not the time to complain about how hard studying is.

As we talked about this, I suddenly remembered the jewel Yuae had given me.

“Right, kids. Do you know how to use this?”

When I took out the jewel box and placed it in front of them, the two children’s eyes widened.

Naru’s tears disappeared in an instant, showing just how surprised she was.

“This.”

“Looks like a Moon Fragment. Right, Siwoo unni?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“This is a piece of Yuae unni’s power. Didn’t she explain anything?”

“She told me to ask you two? And said I’d naturally figure it out.”

Yuae just vaguely said, ‘You’ll know how to use it.’

“That sounds like Yuae unni.”

“Uncle, Yuae unni’s power comes from the moon. So why not try making tea with the fragment? The moon’s power might become imbued in it.”

Infused with the moon’s power, huh.

I understand how to use it, but there’s still not enough information.

What is the moon’s power?

What effects would tea made with it have?

It all comes back to the same answer.

“Looks like I’ll need Grandfather’s knowledge.”

Time to borrow Grandfather’s wisdom.

***

At lunchtime, I left the tea house in Siwoo’s care and headed for Grandfather’s Study.

I could’ve come in the evening, but for some reason I felt especially impatient today.

The Study unfolded its vast space the moment I entered, just like before.

“If there’s any information, it’ll be here.”

Stories about the moon, or about Yuae.

If there’s a place where everything is organized, this is it.

The problem is—where are the books related to all that?

For now, I moved forward, picking out books at random from the shelves.

Unfortunately, most of them were written in languages I didn’t know, so I couldn’t even read them.

Characters similar yet different from hieroglyphs… perhaps an ancient language.

“What on earth did Grandfather do for a living?”

Where was he born, what environment did he grow up in, what experiences did he have?

Thinking of this and that, I kept moving forward, when suddenly one bookshelf caught my eye.

“Feels the same as last time.”

Just like when I found Grandfather’s diary, it was as if this shelf had come to find me.

As I approached the shelf, which seemed to give off a subtle glow, the writing on the spines became clear.

“Earth’s Satellite, About the Moon, Moon Legends, Eclipse Gate… All books about the moon.”

Some contained scientific information, others were filled with legends.

A few even had content like the creation myths of the moon.

The shelf was lined with any book containing information about the moon, regardless of genre.

“How fascinating.”

I took the topmost book and began reading.

After finishing one, I moved on to the next, then another, continuing down the line.

Some of it I already knew, but much of it was new.

As I organized all that information, I restructured my understanding and concepts of the moon in my mind.

The process was quite challenging.

“There’s more to these stories than I thought.”

Especially organizing all the stories was quite difficult.

The moon hanging in the sky is the closest celestial body visible all over the world.

Naturally, there are hundreds, thousands of stories about it.

Organizing these similar yet different, different yet similar tales took a lot of time.

Still, I gained something from it.

“So that’s how it is.”

Now I was starting to get the hang of it.

At the same time, I could roughly envision how to incorporate the Moon Fragment into tea.

Once I got this far, devising a recipe became much easier.

As long as I get to the destination, it doesn’t matter which route I take.

And now I realized how to steer the handle to get there.

“Use Jasmine Tea as the base, chill some Ukura Leaf and add it in.”

Leaning against the shelf, I quickly began reviewing the recipe.

After considering the properties of the ingredients and how to use them,

“I found it.”

I had come up with a tea.

Of course, it was just an idea for now.

Whether it was feasible had to be checked.

No matter how much I calculated in my head, if the final product turned out differently, it would all be for nothing.

The real problem lay elsewhere.

“I can’t grant Yuae’s request.”

I’d finished devising a tea that could fulfill Yuae’s wish.

But I can’t grant Yuae’s request. More precisely, I shouldn’t.

Because this is—

“Absolutely not.”

Yuae’s request is to reduce her own power to achieve Balance.

But that’s nearly impossible.

For a human, it would be like living with only one lung.

You can live with one lung, sure, but life afterward would be hard and exhausting.

“Yuae couldn’t not have known this.”

She must have asked me for this knowing full well.

“Now I understand why Grandfather refused this proposal.”

He must have known from the start.

After all, we’re talking about Grandfather.

That’s why he refused under the pretext of needing delicate work.

Of course, it might not have just been an excuse.

It does, in fact, require careful and delicate handling.

The important thing is that granting this request itself is dangerous.

“Isn’t there a better way?”

I’m already fated with Yuae as a spirit.

Even if it’s for all the spirits, sacrificing Yuae is unthinkable.

So the thing I need to solve is the fundamental issue—the contents Yuae told me before making her request.

“Balance, huh.”

I stepped away from the shelf and started walking again.

This time, unlike before, I walked without a clear answer.

After some time, another book caught my eye.

I pulled it out and found it quite interesting.

It was a legend about the sun and the moon.

Not sure if it actually exists on Earth.

In the story, there were three moons.

“The moon shines only because the sun exists. It can do nothing by itself.”

A rather cruel line.

But scientifically, it’s not wrong.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind.

“Could this work?”

There’s no guarantee this is the right answer.

But it’s closer to the solution than the tea I’d devised earlier to grant Yuae’s wish.

I immediately closed the book and turned around.

Had I found all the information I needed?

The Study had shrunk before I realized it, and the door was right in front of me.

“What a mysterious house.”

As mysterious as the tea house itself, this Study and home.

I’m just grateful I’m always helped by such a house.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I can help Yuae.”

I tapped the door lightly and left, heading back to the tea house.

When I returned to , Siwoo greeted me with a smile.

“Boss, did everything go well?”

“Yeah. It went well.”

Not perfect, but I’d gotten as close as I could to the right answer.

“Later, could you bring No-Rani? There’s something I want to talk about.”

If this method succeeds, everyone will be happy.