A mixture of firm resolve and supreme confidence played across Michelangelo’s face.

Opportunities to lay hands on a masterpiece like this are rare! I must seize this!

Yes! To work on such a magnum opus, a man must be of my caliber! No! It is impossible for anyone but me!

Observing Michelangelo’s expression, the official cleared his throat before continuing. “Ahem! His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus, who is overseeing this endeavor, has stipulated that the following conditions must be strictly observed.”

The conditions the official laid out were as follows:

• The materials used for the restoration must be identical to those originally used. For example, where granite was used, granite must be used as a replacement; where marble was used, marble must be used.
• The use of materials such as cement and steel reinforcement is forbidden.
• The structure from the time of its original construction must not be altered.

“Hmm…”

Hearing the conditions Hyang had set, Michelangelo’s expression grew intensely serious. Based on my earlier inspection, the place is made almost entirely of granite…

After a long moment of deliberation, Michelangelo asked the official, “Will I have command of the Empire’s stonemasons?”

“Whatever you require, you will receive our unstinting support.”

“…”

At those words, Michelangelo fell silent again, lost in thought, before finally speaking. “I will take responsibility for this project. I shall return to Seoul, gather my belongings, and come back.”

“I will report it as such.”

Hyang, as the project’s director, reviewed the report from Gyeongju and relayed it to Hyeon. After meticulously examining the document, Hyeon paused before affixing the royal seal and turned to Hyang with a question.

“It is not that I doubt the endeavors you undertake, Your Majesty, but will this man, Michelangelo, truly succeed? Is he not far too young for such a task?”

“He is certainly a young age,” Hyang conceded, nodding at Hyeon’s point. The Michelangelo who had just accepted this monumental responsibility was only in his early twenties. Yet, Hyang seemed unconcerned.

“While it is true that it is a historic site passed down since the ancient Silla period, is it not a place mostly visited by Buddhist faithful? There should be no major issues.”

Seokguram Grotto had begun to fall into decline after the center of power shifted away from Gyeongju. The policy of Revere Confucianism and Suppress Buddhism, which had been in place since the founding of the Joseon Dynasty, had led to significant damage. Although local patrons and officials had made intermittent repairs over the years, their efforts had merely prevented further deterioration.

This situation provided Hyang with the perfect excuse to placate the auditors and the stubbornly traditional Confucian scholars. ‘Although it is a Buddhist structure, it is a building that has stood for over seven hundred years. It is our duty to manage it well and pass it down to our descendants. However, as it is a Buddhist building, we cannot pour excessive resources into it. Therefore, we will employ these competent European artisans to see to its repair.’

In short, the logic was simple: ‘You would all raise a fuss if I hired A-list artisans to restore a Buddhist facility, wouldn’t you? So I hired B-list ones instead. No problem, right?’

And Michelangelo, who could be described as not just young but practically a boy, was the perfect candidate for this role.

The only problem is that the ‘content’ isn’t B-list; it’s S-list.

Perhaps due to a butterfly effect of Hyang’s creation, Michelangelo had blossomed as an artist far earlier than expected. Consequently, his famous rivalry with Da Vinci had also begun nearly a decade sooner than it had in Hyang’s original history.

Despite Hyang’s reassurance, Hyeon’s concerns were not entirely erased. “Viewed in that light, it seems fine, but considering the subsequent projects, I am deeply worried. The ‘Bulguksa Temple Restoration,’ the ‘Mireuksa Temple Site Restoration,’ the ‘Cheongam-ri and Jeongneung Temple Site Restorations’… Considering the national policy we have inherited from Joseon, these are bound to generate significant controversy. The cost is also an issue.”

“Think of them not as Buddhist facilities, but as the legacy left to us by our ancestors. If you examine the old texts, you will find that people from the Central Plains and even Japan made special journeys to see them, marveling at their beauty. Should we not properly preserve such a legacy to pass on to our descendants?”

“But the hardliners are so obstinate. There will surely be dissent.”

Seeing that Hyeon was still unable to shake his worries, Hyang offered a short piece of advice. “When that time comes, answer them with this: “When the family (home) is harmonious, all affairs prosper.”

“Pardon? Hmm…” Hyeon mulled over Hyang’s words, and his face slowly brightened. “Ah! Of course!”

“Furthermore,” Hyang added, “we are still strictly enforcing the monk certification system and the monastic examinations. It is not as though we have abandoned our national policy. And… wouldn’t a temple on the plains, where many people tread, be more reassuring than a temple hidden deep in the mountains? Ah, but don’t think too deeply on that last part. It’s just some nonsense I thought of after hearing some nonsense in the market.”

Hyeon replied with a strained smile, “I am of the same mind, Your Majesty.”

***

Though revering Confucianism and suppressing Buddhism was the national policy, many people still held faith in Buddhism, especially women of all social strata. Monks were even permitted to enter Gyeongbok and Sugang Palaces to deliver sermons. Because of this, a cynical and deeply rooted question often made the rounds in the city markets.

‘How is it that a wife who could not conceive for years suddenly becomes pregnant after offering one hundred days of prayer at a temple? Why are prayers offered at a temple so much more effective than prayers offered at home?’

And just as Hyang had alluded, becoming a Buddhist monk in the Empire was an arduous process. First, one had to pass the state-administered monastic examination, the Seunggwa. Only those who passed could receive an official certificate, the docheop, and be recognized as a legal monk. Moreover, many of the benefits traditionally afforded to monks and temples had been eliminated. The temples of the few sects that had survived Sejong’s great consolidation were now permanently staffed by officials from the National Tax Service. Their job was to audit all donations and alms received by the temple and levy taxes.

‘Donations are still income!’

It wasn’t just donations. The state also taxed the produce from any agricultural land it leased to the temples. If a temple chose to subcontract that land to tenant farmers, it had to follow secular law and draw up a legal contract in the presence of an official. Any income generated from other economic activities, such as cultivating medicinal herbs or papermaking, was also promptly taxed. This meticulous administration was not limited to the temple as an institution; individual monks were subject to the same scrutiny. Even after passing the exam and receiving their certificate, they had to pass a review every three years. Furthermore, just like the secular citizens of the Empire, they were obligated to perform military service.

Of course, it was not all pressure. ‘They are citizens of the Empire and faithfully pay their taxes, so they must receive the full protection of the law. Furthermore, if they perform a great service, it must be recognized and rewarded.’

Following this decision by Sejong, temples and the monks who resided in them were brought under the protection of the law. The long-standing practice of local nobles raiding nearby temples and causing mayhem, which had persisted since the founding of Joseon, was now forbidden. Not only that, if a temple engaged in economic activities using the labor of its monks, it was required to pay them a wage—albeit at the legally mandated minimum.

Naturally, the government then taxed the monks on that income. Temples and monks who engaged in charity, such as aiding disaster victims or the poor, were investigated and rewarded by the state for their efforts. As a result of these policies, the number of people choosing to join the Buddhist clergy had drastically decreased compared to the Goryeo and early Joseon periods.

‘Life in a mountain temple is just as hard as life in the secular world, so why bother leaving home?’

***

Thanks to Hyang’s vigorous advocacy and Michelangelo’s own enthusiastic will, Michelangelo was appointed as the head of the Seokguram restoration with little controversy.

“But why have those fellows come?”

As he was gathering his apprentices and workers to begin, Michelangelo noticed his fellow artists gathered nearby and voiced his confusion. A eunuch, sent down from the capital on Hyang’s behalf, explained the situation.

“Those painters will be documenting every aspect of your work in pictures. The officials next to them will record the entire process in writing. When all the work is finished, those records and drawings will be compiled into a book. That way, even the descendants of the distant future will know exactly how you worked here.”

“Haha! What a weight on my shoulders this is!” Michelangelo laughed heartily at the eunuch’s explanation. My name will be recorded in a book! Then I absolutely cannot do a shoddy job! “Alright! Then today’s task will be to begin with more detailed measurements.”

“Before that, you must first shape this.”

“Pardon?”

Halted by the eunuch, Michelangelo turned with a slightly annoyed expression in the direction the eunuch was pointing. “Hmm? I don’t recall seeing that rock before.”

Where the eunuch indicated, a massive, solid block of granite now sat. Seeing Michelangelo’s tilted head, the eunuch relayed Hyang’s words. “It is a task bestowed by the Emperor Emeritus. You are to sculpt that rock and create a nameplate. On that plaque will be engraved the name of every single person who participates in this project. From the Emperor Emeritus at the very top, down to the last apprentice stonemason, every name will be carved in both Latin and Jeong-eum. However! For now, you will only create the plaque. The names will be carved only after all the work is completed!”

As the eunuch finished relaying Hyang’s message, Michelangelo’s face grew grave. This is a test and a warning! He is testing how well I can handle granite, not just marble, and how magnificently I can design it! And it is a warning that if I do not perform, I can be dismissed at any moment!

“By when must it be finished?”

“The sooner the better, would it not? The truly important work is the grotto itself.”

At the eunuch’s words, Michelangelo took a piece of charcoal from his bag and strode toward the granite block. “I will begin immediately.”

I will pass this test magnificently!

Meanwhile, the eunuch and the officials watching from behind looked at each other and spoke in low voices. “He is truly a talent chosen by the Emperor Emeritus. He understood the hidden meaning after just a few words.”

“Indeed. There is much work ahead, and my expectations are high.”

When they had first heard Hyang’s message, the eunuch and the officials had come to a conclusion similar to Michelangelo’s. They were thus pleased by his reaction. However, the reason Hyang had sent such a message was entirely different.

I remember reading somewhere that Michelangelo carved his name on his famous Pietà. Hmmm… knowing his personality, he’s the kind of man who would try to pull the same stunt on the main Buddha statue in Seokguram. If that’s the case…

It was a preemptive strike, born from a worry that Michelangelo might try to perform some artistic antic on the sacred grotto itself.

If his name is already engraved in massive letters right at the entrance, he won’t try any crazy stunts!

The order had been given for this rather simple reason, but those who heard it, accustomed to the grand scale of Hyang’s usual endeavors, had interpreted it as something far deeper.