Chapter 71
“You may have noticed, but all Haetae are reincarnated. They’re originally from Earth.”
“Ohhhh. But why is that?”
“We don’t know either!”
“….”
I was at a loss for words. But Gongjun just shrugged as if to say, “What can you do if we really don’t know?” It was somehow irritating.
“Also, there’s a reason why your memories from your past life are blurry.”
Come to think of it, Gongjun and Ma Heera both clearly remembered their previous names from their past lives.
Why am I the only one who can’t remember? Gongjun explained the reason.
“It seems that certain information is deliberately restricted to prevent identity confusion. Even Heera and I couldn’t recall our past-life names when we were kids.”
“So, that means…?”
“When you become an adult—ta-da! You’ll remember everything!”
I was surprised by this unexpected fact.
I hadn’t expected that I could regain the past-life version of myself that had always been hazy and vague.
But then Ma Heera sighed.
“Recovering your past-life memories isn’t always purely good.”
“Why not?”
Heera didn’t answer me directly. She just said that I’d understand when the time came.
Before I could ponder her words deeply, Gongjun spoke.
“Until now, you probably haven’t told anyone around you that you’re reincarnated.”
“That’s right! How did you know?”
“It’s just the way we’re made.”
Gongjun explained that Haetae are instinctively restricted from revealing their identities to anyone who isn’t another Haetae. It’s so natural that most people don’t even notice.
“See? You didn’t know either, right?”
“Yes. I had no idea.”
Thinking back, it was strange.
I loved my mother and father, trusted my grandmother, and fully understood my family’s dedication to hiding my true identity.
And my fiancé?
Whenever I saw Hwirok, smiling like a breeze under an endless blue sky, I could be completely honest with him.
Yet I had never revealed that I was a reincarnated being.
On the contrary, I hid it.
I had thought so naturally, “This is something I shouldn’t say!”
But Gongjun said there’s no need to worry too much.
“You’ve lived fine all this time, haven’t you?”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, that was true.
Gongjun laughed heartily, sipping bamboo leaf tea, as if to say, See?
A flood of interesting information followed.
“It seems that the time someone dies in their past life and the time they’re reborn as a Haetae don’t necessarily match.”
For example, suppose two people died around the 1900s and were both reincarnated as Haetae.
They wouldn’t be born at the same time; there would be a time gap.
A few decades at minimum.
Sometimes even a whole generation apart.
So it’s difficult to meet Haetae who lived around the same period in their past life or came from the same country.
“We suspect it’s deliberate.”
Heera explained while pushing me a snack.
“Think about it. Even if only the time or country overlaps from Earth, wouldn’t you become deeply attached to each other? You’d cling to past-life memories more. To prevent that, they seem to stagger the birth times and places.”
I nodded while munching on the slice she had offered.
“Once reborn, we have to live our current lives properly, right?”
“That’s a well-spoken thought.”
After a quick snack, Gongjun moved on to the next topic.
“So, how does a Haetae grow?”
“By doing good deeds!”
“Correct. And once the body is fully grown? What happens when we do good deeds?”
“Uh, do we accumulate power?”
“Exactly.”
A Haetae can only grow physically by performing good deeds.
Their destiny as divine beasts is to benefit and protect people safely.
This power, also called seoneop, is crucial to a Haetae.
Because of this, the conditions for being born as a Haetae are strict. According to accumulated records, all close relatives of the parents must also be righteous people.
Thus, Haetae are mostly born into modest families, because righteous people tend to share their possessions with others.
Conversely, it’s harder for wealthy or powerful families to meet this condition…
“Seems like your family has a sense of integrity.”
Our parents and relatives had achieved exactly that.
“The head of the household probably set the example first. Impressive.”
I could only laugh at Heera’s praise.
Grandmother was indeed upright, but having all close relatives virtuous probably came from purging anyone unworthy.
I could only recall my grandmother’s fierce, goblin-like face scolding our family and laugh.
Anyway.
A Haetae born among righteous people uses the power accumulated from good deeds for physical growth while young and stores the rest after fully grown.
“So, the longer they live, the stronger they get.”
I instinctively looked at Heera. She raised an elegant eyebrow and smiled.
“Old ginger is always spicy, isn’t it?”
There was wisdom in her words.
“And when a Haetae reaches adulthood!”
Gongjun shouted excitedly.
Huh? Other than recalling all past-life memories, was there something else?
Judging by Gongjun’s reaction, it seemed enormous.
Could it be… like a magical girl transformation in past-life memories?
If so, I want to turn into a big dog! Like my mom and dad! Like grandmother—a huge, strong dog!
“You can use a new technique called Rain of Purification!”
“Transformation?”
“Transformation?”
Both Haetae stared at me.
But I ignored them, clenching both fists.
“I want to grow bigger!”
Moments later, the two Haetae burst out laughing.
And I realized a sad truth: it wouldn’t make me bigger. There was no transformation skill.
Seeing me sulk, Gongjun wiped away tears and said,
“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to tease. I wanted to be a fire truck when I was little, too. Big and cool. Heera, what did you want to be?”
“A museum.”
“Whew, that’s pretty cool too.”
“Though I abandoned it after learning the collection was filled with looted items from different countries.”
Heera’s sharp comment left Gongjun and me silent.
“Ahem. Anyway, you can’t transform, but we have something similar.”
“Do we grow bigger?”
“Stop obsessing about growing.”
Gongjun, laughing like he couldn’t be stopped, brought out a mask.
“Haetae?”
It was a mask of a Haetae that doesn’t exist in this world, only in past life.
Blue, with round eyes, yet majestic.
The mask wasn’t that big. When worn, it only revealed the lower jaw.
Gongjun put it on and grinned.
“Ta-da!”
“Huh?”
The mask, previously calm and elegant, changed. The eyeholes became opaque, and blue clouds swirled around Gongjun, enveloping his body.
His figure was obscured; only the outline was visible.
The only clear part was the lower jaw, which, without the cute round eyes, didn’t look like Gongjun.
“As you can see, it’s easy to hide your identity.”
The voice changed too!
Deep, resounding, and majestic.
“There are several masks like this.”
Even if many Haetae are born in Heulguk, there are eight or nine; adding an extra for emergencies makes ten in total.
Gongjun didn’t stop there and demonstrated anthropomorphization.
I expected to see a panda-like outline while sitting, but it wasn’t like that at all.
The inside shimmered mysteriously, so even a bear’s form wasn’t clear.
“See? This is almost like a transformation.”
Gongjun returned to human form and removed the mask.
“This one’s for you, my lady!”
“Wow!”
I had obtained the transformation mask!
Excitedly trying it on, I realized it was heavily enchanted. This was more than a magical tool—it was a treasure.
“It even has protective spells, so it could save your life at least once under normal circumstances.”
“Oh, I need to be careful. I can handle simple repairs, but complex or broken ones are beyond my skill right now.”
“Do I have to take care of this as the full-moon bookstore owner?”
Gongjun nodded and scratched the back of his neck.
“I should have refused when they said it would be passed down… But no, I accepted because they promised prime land.”
“You little! You accepted just because they offered good land.”
“Well, Heera, a Haetae has to have a means to survive.”
“If you receive something, put in more effort! Learn the technique quickly!”
Good, good! I cheered as Heera scolded Gongjun energetically.
Back to the main topic.
I finally learned what Rain of Purification is.
When a Haetae becomes an adult, they can use this ultimate secret technique.
In past-life game terms, it’s like unlocking a previously sealed skill, and it’s incredible.
“All attacks with malice are completely nullified.”
“All of them?”
“Yes. Every attack within the range!”
I gaped at the absurdly powerful effect.
“Wouldn’t that mean no one could die in war?”
“No, no, not exactly.”
Gongjun quickly corrected me.
“In war, some attacks aren’t truly malicious—they’re out of surprise, urgency, or being pushed. Those can’t be nullified. Right, Heera?”
“Right. In fact, there are records of this skill causing even greater chaos on the battlefield.”
It was a tricky technique.
“Mainly, it’s used for putting out fires.”
“Since it’s rain, it can extinguish flames!”
“Yes. When you’re an adult, try it once. It puts out fires better than ordinary rain and is great for ending droughts.”
Tricky skill? Scratch that—it was extremely useful.
Typically, multiple shamans are needed to summon rain, but a Haetae can do it alone.
“The range depends on the Haetae’s power.”
“How much exactly?”
“For me, about the size of a mountain. After using it, I need two days to recover. Heera?”
“If we’re counting based on a mountain fire, you could probably handle three.”
Not enough to cover an entire region, but still a practical skill.
I looked forward to the day I would become an adult.
Hwirok.
Once we hold our ceremony, there won’t be any drought worries!
I smiled, thinking about my tiger waiting outside.
