I Have A Damn Family Again - Chapter 201

Chapter 201: Those Who Rage (1)

Harnie stood before me, hands on her hips, glaring down.

Her eyes were sharp, like daggers, sending shivers down my spine. Beads of cold sweat trickled down my back.

“Car. Sein. What time is it?”

“…It’s 2 PM.”

“Then what should you be doing?”

I stifled a groan and forced myself to answer.

“Lunch… Yes. Eating.”

“That’s right. Shall we go eat, then?”

I reluctantly got up, and Harnie, still glaring, linked her arm through mine, pulling me along.

I could easily shake her off, but… because of my past transgressions, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

‘Sigh… Why did that have to happen?’

Idiot. A sigh escaped my lips.

Even now, just thinking about it made me want to sigh.

‘The moment I saw that status window, I knew something was wrong.’

If I recall correctly, I had just met Harnie outside after leaving Flora’s birthday party. I was thinking about how to get away from her when… that window appeared.

▶ Due to certain conditions, ??? has relapsed! ◀

▶ Status Ailment: Accumulated Fatigue Level 4 has been applied. ◀

▶ Status Ailment: Sleep Deprivation Level 4 has been applied. ◀

▶ Status Ailment: Exhaustion Level 5 has been ap─ ◀

▶ Status Ailment: Hypothermia Level 5 has been ap─ ◀

…

…

▶ Due to various status ailments, you are losing consciousness. ◀

▶ Resistance is futile. You will be forced to sleep. You may die if exposed to danger. ◀

A sudden onslaught of status ailments, triggered by some unknown factor, overwhelmed me, and I collapsed.

I didn't regain consciousness until the next day.

When I opened my eyes, I saw something large and familiar… no, something I could have mistaken for the ceiling, looming before me.

Without thinking, I lifted my upper body…

-Squish.

“What is this?”

What I thought was the ceiling turned out to be something warm, soft, and… springy. I instinctively reached out to touch it again.

Intrigued by the strange texture, I poked it a few more times, and…

That was a huge mistake.

“Ca-Carsein…?”

“Uh.”

As I was poking the soft, yielding surface, the real ceiling suddenly appeared, bathed in bright light. Harnie, crouched over me, stared at me with wide, panicked eyes.

It was a strangely familiar scene.

My gaze, looking up at her. Her gaze, looking down at me.

My head, resting on her lap.

The large, soft mass I had mistaken for the ceiling, now revealed to be… well, let’s just say I finally understood what I had been touching.

It was then that I realized I had made a terrible mistake.

And what happened next… was predictable.

“…”

“Um… that is… I didn’t do that on purpose! I thought it was the ceiling because it was dark, and…”

-Slap!

Yep. That’s right.

Another bright red handprint bloomed on my cheek.

And that’s why I’m in this predicament.

Because of my huge mistake, I was now firmly under my fiancée's control.

…Sigh.

‘I think this happened before, too.’

I scratched my head, trying to recall the incident, and the memory of Jieun slapping me surfaced.

-M-Min-hyeok, you…

-Huh? Hey, Seo Jieun! I didn’t do that on purpose! Really, I swear!

Yep. A bright red handprint had appeared on my cheek back then, too.

…The funny thing is, it was the same situation. I had thought her chest was the ceiling because I was lying face down. And when I woke up, I had instinctively reached out…

Twice. I had made the same mistake twice.

‘Wait. That’s not the only similarity, is it?’

This whole situation felt eerily similar to what had happened with Jieun.

-How can you be okay with that? It’s not okay at all! And yet, you have that expression on your face…

Just like Harnie, Jieun had said the same thing, holding my face in her hands.

If it hurts, you have to say it hurts.

If you’re struggling, you have to express it.

You can’t just pretend to be okay.

And if I recall correctly, although I feel incredibly guilty about it now, Jieun had once carried me back to her apartment and put me to bed after I collapsed.

And…

“…”

“What are you thinking about? Don’t even think about skipping lunch. You remember what happened when you collapsed, don’t you?”

…Just like then, Harnie was now watching over me, making sure I took care of myself.

I have no memory of what happened after I collapsed.

Only she knows what happened, what went wrong. Just like Jieun.

Harnie said she had struggled to carry me here. Jieun had also been startled when I collapsed, and since I wouldn't wake up, she had carried me back to her apartment.

There were too many similarities between Jieun and Harnie. It was unsettling.

A thought crossed my mind, a ridiculous, almost absurd idea, but…

“Harnie, do you know what the national anthem is?”

“Huh?”

Yep. That reaction confirmed it.

‘Right. That’s impossible. Harnie is clearly from this world.’

She was probably just living her own life, oblivious to my past.

“Car. Sein.”

Harnie narrowed her eyes at me, sensing my distraction. I was going to get an earful if I didn't snap out of it.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go eat.”

***

-Clatter. Clatter.

It was lunchtime, a time usually filled with the familiar sounds of cutlery against plates. But today, there was another sound, a different kind of clatter.

-Tok.

A single pea was placed on my plate.

“…”

“A-Ahem. You collapsed, so you should eat more nutritious food, shouldn’t you?”

Right. It wasn't unreasonable for her to assume I had nutritional deficiencies after collapsing like that.

So, I should eat more. I should focus on nutritious food. That made sense.

But…

‘This is just picky eating, isn’t it?’

And yet, she was using it as an excuse to take care of me, to give me this single pea.

“Why are you suddenly smiling? Is there something on my face?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

Cute.

I had noticed this before, but Harnie had this quirk.

She seemed meticulous, but she often overlooked minor details, acted without thinking.

I would let it slide this time.

‘It’s time to move.’

▶ Episode VIII. The Third Agent is in progress. ◀

▶ Travel to the Western Empire and meet with Count Lilpet at his estate. ◀

Flora’s birthday had overshadowed it, but I had to meet with Count Lilpet and recruit him as an Agent to proceed with the next episode.

“Lunch is over. Let’s go.”

“You’re leaving already? Why don’t you rest a little longer and have some dessert?”

Harnie narrowed her eyes, trying to extend my break.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not going back to work.”

“What?”

“My next plan involves explaining to the villagers exactly what’s wrong with their farming methods. That means I need to use an entire field, not just a few flowerpots.”

“…You’re planning on hiring workers from outside the territory. The villagers still don’t trust you, so they won’t cooperate.”

“That’s right.”

As expected of a smart woman, she quickly grasped my intentions.

“But the villagers will strongly object… Are you sure about this? They won’t be happy about outsiders working on their land.”

“I have a few cards up my sleeve. The Shatrain villagers have been secretly trading with outside territories.”

“They’re defying the lord’s orders. You’re going to use that against them.”

“Yes. If I point out that they’ve been buying more fertilizer and importing food, they won’t have anything to say.”

There was one more thing, but…

There was no need to mention it now.

“Anyway, I’m going out for a bit.”

Lunch was over. It seemed like the perfect time to leave.

But…

“Wait a minute.”

Harnie stood up abruptly and grabbed my arm, linking her arm through mine.

“If that’s the case, I’m coming with you. What if you suddenly collapse again while walking? Hmph.”

“…No, that was just a coincidence—”

“Coincidence?”

Harnie’s voice trailed off, her tone changing.

Her gaze sharpened, her eyes like lightning.

“You collapsed. And you’re calling it a coincidence? Do you really think it was a coincidence?”

“Of course it was…”

Harnie placed her index finger on my lips, silencing me.

“Camilla told me everything! You haven’t been eating properly!”

…Oh.

Camilla, you betrayed me.

“You’ve been barely eating, just snacking on jerky! And you haven’t been sleeping properly, just lying down and working! Camilla even sent me a letter about it!”

And you’re still calling it a coincidence?

You collapsed because you were pushing yourself too hard, ignoring your health.

And so, I had to endure another round of Harnie’s nagging.

And her conclusion?

“Absolutely not. I’m not letting you go alone.”

She wouldn't allow me to go unless she came with me.

I explained that it would be problematic for her to visit the Western Empire, since she was an Imperial noble. But that only made things worse.

“There’s no one in the West who doesn’t know about the Plesia Trading Company.”

The Plesia Trading Company had been trading with Pollux for a long time.

Once I realized that Harnie was probably the most welcomed Imperial in the West, I knew there was no escaping this.

And even if that weren't the case…

“Don’t tell me you want to leave your fiancée behind and go alone, making our relationship even more suspicious? Especially with the Theresia Marquisate watching us so closely! You’re going to leave me all alone?”

…She had come up with every possible excuse.

There was no way out. I had to take her with me.

“…Alright. Let’s go together.”

Harnie’s sharp gaze finally softened.

“But we can’t leave right now.”

“What?”

▶ Mana used for auditory enhancement. ◀

-Click, click, click.

“It seems like we have an unexpected appointment.”

As Harnie tilted her head in confusion, the villagers arrived.

“We can’t wait any longer!”

“You call yourself a lord?!”

▶ Villager dissatisfaction level has reached 80%. ◀

▶ This event must be addressed, even if you leave. ◀

▶ The Clue and Proof event will be triggered automatically. ◀

***

I had expected this.

Flora’s birthday was the main event of Week 3, but I was still in the middle of the symposium.

I had raised the villagers' dissatisfaction level by issuing the lockdown order, so it was only a matter of time before they confronted me.

And…

“I hope you enjoyed yourself at the birthday party.”

“We’re toiling away in the sun, working day and night to save this land! But you’re a noble, so it’s fine for you to just play around?!”

“And you’re restricting our farming methods! This is going to put us in the red again! How are we supposed to survive?!”

As expected, they brought up the birthday party.

You were playing around while our territory was falling apart.

How are you going to fix this, and what was the point of those restrictions?

A barrage of questions was hurled at me.

In the form of a Clue and Proof event.

And the main question:

“Show us some proof that your farming methods are better! Explain the difference between your methods and ours!”

▶ The topic for the proof has been determined. ◀

[ You must provide evidence that justifies replacing the existing farming methods with your own. ]

This was it.

‘There’s only one way to overcome this.’

I had to succeed in the Clue and Proof event presented by the system.

This trigger would activate approximately three days after Flora’s birthday.

I had to explain to them, directly, what was wrong with their farming methods, what problems they were causing.

Three days.

It seemed like a tight deadline, but it was actually even shorter.

Taking into account travel time, sleep, trading, and lectures, I would have less than half that time.

Because of this tight deadline, I had failed this event countless times in the game, resulting in the loss of my lordship and a bad ending.

But this time, I was prepared.

■ Inventory ■

◆ Data Scroll ver. 1

[ A magic scroll that stores data. When used, it unfolds and can be used to create charts and graphs. ]

▶ Using item! ◀

“Data Scroll…?”

“It has the names of all the fields written on it.”

“It looks like it’s divided into sections by number.”

A large chart and graph, like an Excel spreadsheet, appeared, neatly organized.

The villagers weren’t surprised. They were familiar with Data Scrolls.

But…

“What… What is this?”

“pH…?”

Right. This was unfamiliar to them.

This kind of knowledge hadn’t even been conceived of in this era.

“This is the indicator that separates the healthy fields I manage, from the fields you mismanaged.”

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