I came for Healing, but a Gate Appeared

This Is Supposed To Be a Farm?

On the riverbank, where clear and cool streams flowed down from the foot of Mount Jiri, and beside the riverside thicket, Ian lay motionless for some time.

He needed a moment to grasp the situation and adjust.

'Haaa, what a shoddy character I am. Just how slipshod was Parito when he made that dimensional travel portal for things to end up like this?'

The first thought that came to his mind was to complain to Parito. Parito was the Praerian engineer who had created the very dimensional travel portal Ian had gone through.

Ian wasn't well-versed in engineering spells. That was why he'd paid a hefty sum to purchase a dimensional travel portal.

Parito had bragged so much, claiming it was made with a new kind of magic.

'What a mess. Where has my body gone, and why have I possessed the weak body of a human from Earth...?'

He grumbled to himself, but at the same time, he couldn't help but be amazed and intrigued.

Right now, the transition process was still in full swing within Ian's body and mind.

Although it wasn't as overwhelming as the sensation of passing through a dimension, a significant sensation still swept through his entire body.

Not only that, but a heavy vibration continued to hum through his mind.

The memories of the human from Earth, whose body Ian now occupied—no, to be precise, the human's brain—were flooding into his mind like a rising tide.

They were the memories of a young man who'd lived thirty years—a span barely long enough to count as a proper life.

Tired of city life and people, he had dreamed of a peaceful rural life and had moved to the countryside.

'What's this? ... Rural life? Farming?'

I came out traveling, finally taking a break from the farm, and now I'm being told I have to farm again?

A sigh escaped him.

He had come on vacation, only to arrive in a human body—whose owner turned out to be none other than an aspiring farmer.

'Still, regardless, I've arrived in an unfamiliar dimension and an unfamiliar body. It's thrilling, honestly. Farming? Well, what's so hard about that? It's nothing.'

Ian decided to think positively.

Come to think of it, that unfortunate youth didn't even manage to achieve his dream before dying.

Tsk tsk.

How pitiful.

Since he ended up taking over the young man's body unintentionally, maybe he'd have to hold a memorial service for him later.

In any case, he figured he should enjoy rural life on the young man's behalf—fulfill the dreams left unachieved.

Besides, it would have been difficult to live here in the appearance of a Praerian anyway.

'Alright. I'll try being human. What could be more stimulating than this? Hoho.'

He'd heard rumors about humans. They said that sometimes, humans would cross dimensions.

Of course, none had ever survived to return.

No, people of the Praeri Continent didn't use humans for food.

The food situation wasn't so dire there that they had to eat strange lifeforms.

Humans generally died on their own—by illness, from loneliness, or by dying of fright upon seeing massive creatures.

Such was the frailty of the human species.

'It's fine, it's fine. This body is what it is, but my soul is that of a Praerian. I can't help but be strong. Even if there are some limitations, I'll overcome them all in no time.'

He was a Praerian who understood the laws of nature and could wield magic, and among them, he'd reached the highest level.

He was the master of a great farm and a lord—he was Ian.

There was nothing to worry about.

Ian remained that optimistic.

'Besides, this is a vacation.'

After all, don't people find it hard to get angry about things at vacation spots?

That was how Ian felt now. Though, truthfully, he'd always had an understanding and positive disposition.

'Let's see...'

Gradually, the vibration in his head subsided and blood began circulating properly through his body.

The noisy sensations were now gone.

Ian tried moving his fingers and toes. They worked just fine.

He wasn't dizzy, and a surge of vitality filled his body.

He tilted his head slightly to check his physique; the blood that had been flowing earlier had long since dried up.

Just as he was about to get up, he heard rustling atop the hill above the thicket.

When Ian half-twisted his body and looked up, he saw a dark figure sliding down the hill.

"Aigoo, you're alive. And you're conscious, too. Thank goodness. What a relief. Are you alright? Can you move?"

The man who approached him sighed deeply before speaking.

"Me? I'm fine, why?"

Ian asked, slightly wary. This was the first human he'd met since arriving on Earth.

He couldn't help but be cautious, though it seemed unwise to act too hostile.

'Did this guy figure out I'm a visitor from another dimension? Is he a member of the dimension management agency or something?'

Ian studied the man rapidly. He seemed older than this body and looked a bit more robust, with a darker complexion.

"Not hurt? You look unharmed?"

The man examined Ian, eyes wide with surprise. He then noticed the dried bloodstains and looked even more shocked.

"It's already all healed?"

"No broken bones? You tumbled all the way down this hill, you know...?"

The man kept staring, astonished, as he asked.

It was then that Ian realized who the man was and why he was acting this way—the memories of the young man surfaced.

"Aha! So you were the one who hit me with the truck, chief?"

Ian spoke in a cheerful tone without thinking.

Here on Earth, there was no such thing as a dimension management agency, and the man hadn't realized Ian was from another dimension.

The man was the chief of the village where the young man had lived—none other than the very person who'd hit him with the truck.

That was why he'd come down the hill to check, albeit after hesitating for quite a while.

"Oh, right... That's true. I let my guard down on a familiar road and—well... I'm sorry."

The chief mumbled and scratched his head before continuing, watching Ian's reaction.

"You should go to a hospital, shouldn't you? I'll help you up, come on, give it a try. If it's too much, I'll call 119."

Ian was still lying at an angle in the thicket, having been inspecting his body when the chief showed up.

Pushing aside the chief's attempt to help, Ian sprang to his feet.

His body was perfectly fine. Inspection complete.

Contrary to what one would expect of a person who had just gotten into a traffic accident and rolled down a hill, he was in excellent shape.

It must be that Ian's vitality had transferred over with him during the dimensional transition. In any case, he was fine.

"I'm alright."

"Really alright? Can you walk?"

"Of course."

Seeing Ian suddenly spring up and start heading up the hill, the chief was flabbergasted.

The already dried bloodstains had shocked him, but seeing Ian move all his limbs so-nimbly left him even more astonished.

"You seem really fine? Goodness gracious, that's amazing. Youth is wonderful, really."

Muttering to himself, the chief began to follow Ian up the hill.

His heart had plummeted when he realized the person he'd hit with the truck was the young man who had moved to the village.

He'd thought for sure he was bound for prison—especially since he'd had a drink before driving, there would be no easy way out.

But the victim was just fine.

Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that sickly young man would come out unscathed from a traffic accident.

Even for someone strong, getting hit by a truck and tumbling down a hill wouldn't leave them unharmed.

'Thank heavens. Fate must have intervened. Maybe it's thanks to all the good I've done in my life.'

Only now did the chief finally breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

After all, what greater relief could there be than for a traffic accident victim to rise unharmed?

"Still, you should probably get checked at a hospital, right?"

When they reached the road at the top of the hill, the chief asked.

"Hospital? Why? I'm perfectly fine. No need."

"Are you really sure you don't have to go?"

"I'm fine. I should go home."

Hearing Ian's answer, the chief heaved another deep sigh of relief.

"I'll take you home, then. Hop in. On second thought... Maybe you don't even want to look at this truck."

He motioned to the truck and then quickly withdrew his gesture.

"Please give me a ride."

But Ian climbed into the truck without a second thought, as if nothing had happened.

Ordinarily, after being hit by a car, just the sight of that car would be enough to turn a person's stomach.

But the aspiring farmer didn't seem to mind at all.

The chief was incredulous. It was odd. The young man hadn't seemed this bold before...

In fact, he seemed much more energetic than usual, which gave the chief a faint chill up his spine for no real reason.

'Could it be... he hurt his head in the accident? No, that can't be.'

He shook his head and started the truck.

'Oh...! So, this is Mount Jiri. The young man must have been taken in by these very views and moved here.'

As they drove, Ian admired the scenery through the window. He was finally getting a real look at Earth.

Though it was late at night and dark, it was still impressive.

Mountains were everywhere, layered one upon another. It was truly deep countryside.

Back where Ian had lived, there were no mountains. Only endless plains stretched in every direction. Everything in sight was flat.

Of course, mountains did exist in that world, or so he'd heard—supposedly, if you went to the edge of the continent, you could find them.

But to Ian, who'd rarely left his farm, mountains were just rumors or legends.

"Mountains are really beautiful."

He murmured without realizing it.

The chief glanced at Ian out of the corner of his eye as he drove. An uneasy feeling crept in.

'Was he really hit on the head? He seems so different from before...'

He wondered if he should have insisted on taking him to a hospital. What if something happened later?

Physically, the young man seemed truly fine. Even the wounds that had once bled were now completely healed.

It felt as if the mountain spirit of Mount Jiri had intervened.

Strangely enough, his entire aura had changed, too.

Where he'd previously seemed a bit gloomy, now he seemed to shine. He looked lively, open, and bold.

But the chief tried his best to shrug off that sense of strangeness.

He needed things to be fine. Redirecting his guilty conscience, he thought:
'I'll treat him well from now on. Yes, I will. He's a young man who moved to the village. Of course, I'll treat him well. But... what was his name again?'

Now that things had reached this point, he found it awkward to ask for the young man's name, so he just focused on his driving.

"Thank you for the ride. Take care."

When they arrived at the house, Ian cheerfully greeted the chief and hopped out of the truck.

The chief hurriedly drove off.

"So, this is my house. My land. Let's take a look?"

Ian looked around the house and land that the young man had bought with all of his father's inheritance and his own severance pay—his domain, as the young man called it.

"Hold on... So this is?"

Reflecting on the memories in his head and comparing them, Ian tried to estimate the size of the house and land.

He couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Huh? Ahahahahahaha!"

He laughed and laughed, even clutching his stomach and rolling on the ground.

"This is it? This is a farm?"

The house was acceptable enough—an old three-room building, large enough for one to live in without discomfort.

Praerians weren't ones to care all that much about grand buildings, after all.

But as for the farm "fields," the land amounted to barely a handful.

Next to the house was a patch of land just the size of a palm, and he had thought it was a yard—but that was the "field".

"A hundred pyeong? They say a hundred pyeong is generous? Oh, my stomach! Hahahaha!"

Ian laughed until tears rolled from his eyes.

Compared to Ian's farm on Praeri—this bit of land wouldn't amount to a speck under a chicken's claw.

The thought that he'd actually worried himself about farming a spot this tiny was just too funny—it made tears and snot run down his face.

"One finger snap and it'll be done. Ah, poor young man. Hahahaha!"

When Ian laughed loudly in the middle of the night, a dog started barking somewhere.

"Even the dog is laughing. The dog is laughing, too! Hahaha!"

Soon, more distant dogs joined in. Woof, woof, woof! Their barking echoed boisterously through the mountain night.

Ian felt as though the dogs were laughing together with him. It was his first time experiencing empathy on Earth.

If the chief had seen Ian at that moment, he'd surely have worried that he'd injured his head in the accident—but fortunately, Ian's laughter was drowned out by the dogs' barks.