Chapter 46

Chapter 46

About two months ago.

“This won’t do.”

Sitting in a room at the inn she’d secured as lodging, Gayeom, the Young Workshop Head of Hwangryongjang, bit her lip as she recalled what she had seen, furrowing her brow.

“I thought it was nonsense.”

The words Hwangryongjangju had said one day after suddenly returning from an outing: ‘I’ve found your match.’

At first, she thought it was the usual empty talk. And for good reason—the person she knew as Hwangryongjangju wasn’t particularly trustworthy when it came to important matters.

Hwangryongjangju was an old man stricter than anyone about tailoring techniques. That was an undeniable fact. However.

Gayeom knew. She knew how impulsive he was. What kind of outrageous acts he committed depending on his mood at the time.

Things like putting silk up for sale at the black market, Heuksi, were commonplace. Sometimes he’d pay five gold ingots for a meal simply because he liked the waiter, and other times he’d see a scoundrel causing trouble at a tavern and cut off the entire funding source of the merchant company that scoundrel’s father ran.

Since he was someone with such extreme likes and dislikes, she thought this time might be similar.

It was a misconception, though.

“…It wounds my pride, but if I continue like this, I’ll be inadequate.”

Though the other party supposedly hadn’t seen her, they had shown outstanding performance from their first encounter. Then it would be right for her to respond with a matching first impression as well.

Even if it wasn’t to the point of clinging and begging them to make a deal, she should at least be on equal footing. So she would open a fabric shop for a while, hone her tailoring skills a bit more, then go visit them. In any case, the other party had also received Hwangryongjangju’s promise, so if she didn’t keep coming, wouldn’t they at least send a letter?

It was her own skill. In about a month, she would at least gain quite a reputation in this area, so it should be fine.

…Yes. That’s what she had been thinking.

“…So until now?”

“Not a single word of contact. From that person. It seems they don’t need someone like me at all.”

Glug glug glug.

Gayeom, grinding her teeth, poured Nyeohong into her wine cup and drank it down, furrowing her brow. Oh Ryeong, who had at some point stuck right next to her, was lifting the wine bottle.

“Aw, that’s where the Sect Master was wrong! Have another cup, Big Sister!”

“…I haven’t even told you my age yet. By any chance, how old are you…”

“Aw, whoever buys the drinks is the big sister! Aigoo, my arm’s falling off! Hurry!”

At Oh Ryeong’s fuss, Gayeom quickly brought over her wine cup and let out a sigh, hiding her complexion reddened by the alcohol. And at that sight, Seonwoo Gang smiled bitterly.

“At first, I thought she was a Sado Alliance spy. Since she suddenly appeared and asked about the Sect Master.”

It couldn’t be helped.

Wasn’t it said there’s no goodwill without a price? If there was someone who suddenly offered to pay for drinks while asking to hear stories about the not-very-famous Uicheonmun Sect Master, even Gayeom herself would have thought that way.

Gayeom shook her head and smiled bitterly.

“…It’s not that we have no connection, but Hwangryongjang is fundamentally affiliated with the Imperial Palace. We’re neither on the Murim Alliance’s side nor Sado Alliance’s side. And I’m not even on the Imperial Palace’s side.”

“Is that so? Aren’t you affiliated with Hwangryongjang? I believe you said you were the Young Workshop Head.”

“Not all Young Workshop Heads can become Workshop Heads.”

At Gayeom’s words as she swept back her golden hair, Seonwoo Gang guessed the underlying meaning and offered an apology with a flustered expression.

“Ah… I apologize.”

“It’s fine. I have no attachment to the Workshop Head position anyway. More importantly.”

Gayeom, who had paused for a moment, seemed to hesitate slightly before her lips moved. And the question that immediately followed.

“…Didn’t the Uicheonmun Sect Master say anything about me?”

“Pardon?”

“Of course, you wouldn’t talk about such things during training, but Uicheonmun is small in scale, right? Since there would be many occasions to see each other face-to-face, I wondered if perhaps the topic came up…”

At Gayeom’s appearance as she twisted her fingers while speaking, Seonwoo Gang made a flustered expression and carefully traced through his memories before smiling bitterly and shaking his head. And.

“He’s probably forgotten.”

The moment Seonwoo Gang’s answer reached her.

“…Pardon?”

Gayeom’s face froze coldly.

“…Please say that one more time. What did you say? Who forgot whom?”

At Gayeom’s expression that had turned ice-cold in an instant, Seonwoo Gang waved his hands in alarm and continued with an explanation.

“It wouldn’t have been intentional. Though we’re also training hard, these days the Sect Master… he’s so buried in work it makes you wonder if he’s human.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. If you think about it, it’s natural. Right now, isn’t the Sect Master the only person at Uicheonmun who can teach martial arts?”

There were sixteen Muryeon Hall trainees. Even without setting aside special time like for Seonwoo Gang, just group training alone easily exceeded six shichen. Was that the end of it?

It wasn’t only the Muryeon Hall trainees being trained. Since the main work couldn’t be neglected during the training exchange, Baek Riyun had to personally oversee Seohwa and Wangpal’s training as well, and he even had to handle trivial matters himself like meal plans and buying ingredients. And did he neglect his own training?

‘As if.’

He had never failed to see Baek Riyun focusing his mind with his sword raised every time he came out at dawn for training. Even if it seemed like he was handling his schedule leisurely, the reality probably wasn’t like that.

Seonwoo Gang briefly recalled the memory, then shook his head to dispel his thoughts and carefully spoke.

“…Please don’t be too angry, Young Lady Gayeom. It certainly wasn’t intentional.”

“Where would you find someone who intentionally forgets people? But…”

Gayeom let out a deep sigh, tilted her wine cup, and nodded her head. The voice that flowed out immediately after.

“Yes. If he’s that busy, it can’t be helped. The Uicheonmun Sect Master is also human. In the current situation, he can’t help but be under pressure.”

“Pardon? Pressure? Perhaps for us, but why would the Sect Master be under pressure…”

“What are you talking about?”

As Seonwoo Gang blinked vacantly at Gayeom’s sudden story and asked back, Gayeom continued while tilting her wine cup.

“Surely the parties involved couldn’t be unaware when it’s this noisy, right? The current situation between the Murim Alliance and Sado Alliance.”

“Aren’t they in conflict?”

“To be precise, it’s a temporary lull. Right now, all conflicts between the Murim Alliance and Sado Alliance have stopped. The Murim Alliance Leader and Sado Alliance Leader decided to make a bet.”

“…A bet?”

“Yes. A bet.”

Gayeom let out a small sigh thinking of the shameless Sado Alliance Leader’s face, then gauged the Muryeon Hall trainees’ expressions and spoke.

“Seeing everyone’s expressions, it seems you don’t know. I wonder if I shouldn’t be saying unnecessary things…”

“…It’s fine. Please tell us.”

“If you say so… The content of the bet is simple. Determining the victor at the inter-academy competition between the two great academies within the Murim Alliance, which will be held in a month and a half. It’s on the pretext of competing in each other’s discernment.”

“What in the world does that mean? An inter-academy competition—it’s not even a match that the Sado Alliance Leader can observe in the first place.”

“Normally he couldn’t. But the conditions he put up are just that groundbreaking.”

“What conditions?”

A coldly frozen voice.

Looking at Seonwoo Gang’s appearance that seemed to reveal even anger at a glance, Gayeom set down her wine cup on the table with a thud and said.

“If he loses, the condition is to suspend all of Sado Alliance’s attacks and expansion for one year. Even if he wins, he’s saying he’ll only ask for one small favor.”

“…”

“But that’s not what’s truly important.”

Gayeom, who had been hesitating whether to speak or not, made a frustrated expression at the sunken atmosphere and filled and downed her wine cup. And the voice that flowed out.

“…It’s all of you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Two weeks ago, the Murim Alliance publicly announced. That in that ‘bet,’ they would raise their hand for Mujeong Hall. That if Mujeong Hall wins, it’s the Murim Alliance’s victory.”

“Wait, that means…”

“You know, don’t you?”

After finishing her words, Gayeom quietly closed her eyes, shook her head, and let out a sigh.

“The entire Murim Alliance is hoping for your defeat. No, they probably aren’t even thinking you’ll win. Because—”

Gayeom, who had been watching the sunlight captured in the filled wine cup rippling, bowed her head and continued bitterly as if delivering bad news.

“Right now, you are Sado Alliance’s ‘pawns.'”

* * *

Uicheonmun reception room.

“What will you do?”

As I was leisurely lifting my teacup, I turned my gaze at the words that suddenly jabbed at my side. Iryang’s appearance, staring intently at me before I knew it.

“About this matter. The Muryeon Hall trainees—what will you do?”

“We’ll have to win.”

“I understand the Murim Alliance is putting pressure on you.”

“That’s not wrong, but.”

I chuckled and cast my gaze at the crumpled letter placed beside the table. A letter that came over in the name of the Murim Alliance’s First Military Advisor.

“It had uninteresting content, so I crumpled it up.”

Was it a letter that arrived about two weeks ago?

The content was nothing special. Muryeon Hall must not win. The Murim Alliance side would show convenience, so stop the training. That sort of content.

Pathetic content and a pathetic proposal. Even if it had been sent directly by the Alliance Leader rather than the First Military Advisor, it would have been a letter I’d crumple up.

“Pressure will come from the Murim Alliance level. The competition could become blatantly favorable to their side, and they could impose disadvantages on Uicheonmun. Right now, taking a step back would be…”

“Merchant Company Leader Iryang.”

“Yes?”

I stared silently at Iryang who was asking back, then opened my mouth. Iryang, who was doing his best to persuade me in an uncharacteristic way.

“What do you think chivalry is?”

“…”

At my sudden question, Iryang maintained silence for a moment before presenting an answer.

“It’s helping people. In any way.”

“Helping people in any way… Then if you trampled four people for the happiness of six people, could that be called chivalry?”

“…”

“That’s how it is.”

Though it’s said that chivalry means not turning a blind eye to injustice before your eyes, the world doesn’t work with such a simple structure. Usually, protecting something is synonymous with giving up something.

Viewed from that perspective, the Murim Alliance’s decision wasn’t wrong. Compared to guaranteeing the Orthodox Martial World’s peace for one year, trampling on the already tattered pride of sixteen Muryeon Hall trainees probably wasn’t such a big deal.

However.

“I think that chivalry is ultimately about not yielding.”

If you compromise once and compromise twice, you’ll continue to compromise. Because there’s no choice, because it’s hard to do, because it becomes a loss that way.

If you compromise while attaching such reasons, what remains in your hands at the end is nothing but something as small as dust. Then can you call such a thing righteousness?

“Before calculating practical benefits, you must consider spirit. As long as the spirit doesn’t crumble, even if the Murim Alliance falls, the Orthodox Martial World won’t fall. But if they’re blinded by profit like this and make the Muryeon Hall trainees into scapegoats, it will be like this next time too. Even then, could you say the Orthodox Martial World remains?”

“…”

“You must protect everything from the start. If you can’t protect everything, you should at least make the effort to protect.”

Why do martial artists fight? What is the reason for punishing evildoers?

It’s not because evildoers must be punished. That’s nothing more than the logic of power. It’s nothing more than venting one’s anger, where righteousness and chivalry cannot be found at all. But the reason the Orthodox Martial World’s masters seek out and punish evildoers and demon heads is just one thing.

To obtain a better future.

“If I abandon my duty here, the Muryeon Hall trainees will be cast out by the Murim Alliance and cast out by me as well. Then who will guarantee those children’s future?”

“They might give up themselves. Because they could become enemies of the Murim Alliance.”

“That could be. Or it might not be. I’m merely opening up a choice.”

It’s ultimately the trainees who make the choice.

Thinking that, I slowly rose to my feet. It seemed like the Murim Alliance would take some sort of measure, so I had to prepare for it, didn’t I?

“It seems I’ll be quite a bit busier for a while. It will be directly going against the Murim Alliance, but will you help me? Merchant Company Leader Iryang.”

“Is that an invitation to go to hell together? The numbers don’t add up.”

At Iryang’s chuckling question, I shook my head and smiled back at him as well.

“Your jokes run deep for a merchant. It’s not a matter of loss for either of us, is it?”

“…Since when did you know?”

“What are you talking about when you had no intention of hiding it?”

At my smile, Iryang smiled bitterly, shook his head, and opened his mouth to say something.

“It seems after this ends, I’ll have to visit you as Iryang rather than as ‘Merchant Company Leader’…”

And the moment Iryang began to speak.

Kwaaa-aang—!!!

“Uicheonmun Sect Master! Merchant Company Leader! This is terrible!”

At the content shouted by Iryang’s subordinate, Gayeom, as she rushed in urgently, my fingers stiffened.

“It’s a mobilization order…! All martial artists belonging to the Murim Alliance and Sado Alliance are gathering!”

“A mobilization order? Is an all-out war breaking out?”

“That is…”

Gayeom, who had paused for a moment, clenched her fist tightly and gritted her teeth. And the words that immediately followed.

“Baekgwiyahaeng is coming toward Dongting Lake!”