Chapter 123
Seoul’s District 10.
A high-class guesthouse packed so tightly with people that there was no room to set one’s foot down.
In a corner of the restaurant, in a small space arranged for sharing simple refreshnts, a boisterous laugh burst out.
“Puhaahahaha!”
The man clutching his stomach as he laughed was Cheok Gyeongjun.
One of the sixteen who possessed tournant tokens.
He brought up the answer I had given at the banquet earlier, his voice brimming with excitent.
“Kuh, keh! Who in the world could say sothing like that to Father-in-law?”
He was laughing while openly facing , but I did not feel offended.
It was an invigorating, good-natured laugh, and in the first place, Cheok Gyeongjun had a kindly impression.
“You idiot, seriously! Have so decency! What are you doing in front of the juniors?”
“But it is hilarious just thinking about it! In the very heart of District 10, where the Gong Clan rules, you boldly declare you are going to win? Is that even possible? Keh-heh!”
Among the martial artists of District 10, humility was considered a virtue one naturally had to possess.
If any of the other participants had answered, they would have nad either Gong Minwu or Gong Seunga, who was seated beside Cheok Gyeongjun now.
“Oh, honestly, this fool. I will apologize on his behalf. He is a bit slow in the head. Or perhaps it is that he is too honest. His heart is good, so please do not misunderstand him.”
The one diating the situation was Gong Seunga, the eldest daughter of Gong Seungung, the third of the Gong Clan.
She also held a tournant token, and she was a formidable martial artist considered a favorite to win alongside Gong Minwu.
Just as Cheok Gyeongjun called Gong Seungung his father-in-law, the two were engaged.
After graduating from Hero Prep the year before last, they began dating in earnest, and early this year they exchanged engagent rings.
“I am fine. It is not as though he said sothing untrue.”
At my response, Cheok Gyeongjun snickered again, and Gong Seunga joined in.
“So you are confident? According to the bracket, you and I et in the semifinals, you know.”
“Is that how it will be?”
“Heehee. I hope we et there. A spear strike is sharper than a sword strike.”
In truth, I predicted my own victory not because I was confident.
Rather, I wanted to see how the Gong Clan’s three brothers would react to my statent.
Because they were the most likely candidates to have sent the tournant token.
But I could not find any reaction that clearly pointed to a specific one.
…Could it have been soone else?
Cheok Gyeongjun folded his arms and nodded once or twice.
“Hm, hm. In any case, it seems I have gained one more rival. I will accept the challenge with humility.”
“So your goal is to win as well.”
“Of course. There is a rumor that whoever wins this tournant becos the Gong Clan’s official heir.”
Official heir, aning the one who would inherit the headship after Gong Seungryong.
If it matched the original story, that person would also be taught the secret martial art passed down only within the Gong Clan.
Of course, that applied only to mbers of the clan.
If Cheok Gyeongjun married Gong Seunga, he would fortunately count as family.
If an outsider won, they would likely be given an appropriate reward and sent on their way.
“My goal is to win and beco a husband who does not fall short for Seunga. To stand proudly on the training ground and be acknowledged by everyone.”
A fervent declaration: prove his worth and marry the woman he loved.
Anyone would have found it embarrassingly sweet.
Yet Gong Seunga blushed, covering her lips with her teacup.
Birds of a feather.
“More importantly, now that I have t a rival with whom I can share my passion, I cannot simply sit still. Here, take it. It is a pill Father-in-law prepared for , because he adores terribly.”
Cheok Gyeongjun took out a pill the size of a ping-pong ball from a silk-wrapped pouch, split it in half, and held it out to .
“Is it all right to give this to ?”
“It is fine. Father-in-law has been giving one every week since this spring. I planned to take it during my match with Minwu this week, but the effect is so strong that half is enough.”
I glanced at Gong Seunga.
Normally, a dicine a father-in-law gave a prospective son-in-law was… that sort of dicine.
But contrary to my expectation, Gong Seunga added that if there was a chance later, she would prepare more for as well.
…So it was not that sort of dicine.
Cheok Gyeongjun tore off a small strip of silk and handed it to , and I wrapped the pill with it, pretending to tuck it into my clothing as I moved it into my inventory.
“Thank you. I hope I can face you in the final.”
“Hm? Saying you will face him ans you plan to defeat and climb up.”
“Well, you two see each other every day, so is it not all right if I am greedy for just one day?”
“I am sorry, but that will not do. We are a couple who never tires of seeing each other every day.”
They truly suited each other.
So well, in fact, that even I, the original author, felt pleased.
“Have we spoken only about ourselves?”
Gong Seunga shifted her gaze toward the seat beside .
Toward Do Minyeong, who had been there from the beginning.
“Ah, n-no. It is not that.”
Do Minyeong had her lips pressed into a thin line, not even touching the refreshnts.
She looked distinctly tense.
And it made sense.
The people of District 10 were, in particular, the ones who had rejected her.
Now they revered her under the na of the Sword Saint’s direct descendant, but to District 10, which worshiped martial arts, Do Minyeong remained an object of both adoration and resentnt.
She understood that atmosphere well.
That was why facing two people tied to the Gong Clan would be uncomfortable for her.
She was likely sitting here only because I, soone she could tolerate, was present.
“I know you must feel uncomfortable with us. But I hope you will know this much. We both believed that the adults’ condemnation was wrong.”
“……”
Gong Seunga was not lying.
Cheok Gyeongjun’s family was not powerful enough to ostracize anyone, and Gong Seunga, unlike most of the Gong Clan, was an enlightened sort.
More than anything, six years ago, when Do Minyeong awakened, both of them were sweating and striving to enter Hero Prep.
aning they spent more days in the 4th Scholastic District than in District 10 where Do Minyeong had stayed.
“You do not have to say that. Right now, it is only… that the clothes are uncomfortable.”
An obvious lie.
Yet Gong Seunga answered with an unadorned smile.
“Then I should move directly to the main point. The reason we arranged this eting with you, Direct Descendant, is…”
When Gong Seunga looked at Cheok Gyeongjun, he continued.
“We would like you to give the congratulatory address at our wedding. Ah, of course, we will pay you an honorarium!”
An unexpected request.
For a while, Do Minyeong avoided their gazes without saying a word.
Whether refusing or accepting, she should have expressed sothing…
It seed she was afraid of standing before people.
If it was a wedding of the Gong Clan, every prominent family of District 10 would gather.
Of course, she would sit at the highest seats during the martial tournant as well, but quietly observing and giving a formal address were entirely different matters.
I watched Do Minyeong’s expression for a mont, then spoke.
“She will do it.”
Do Minyeong glared at and shouted.
“Hey, when did I ever—!”
“Then you will not do it?”
“Th-that is not it, but…”
I looked back at the two in front of and repeated myself.
“She says she will. You should pay a generous honorarium. This is not the sort of courage one can summon easily.”
Under the table, Do Minyeong pinched my thigh.
But only for a mont. Then she gripped the fabric of my trousers and tugged it downward.
Even then, she did not let go.
It seed she did not truly intend to refuse.
At last, she spoke carefully.
“...Would I be acceptable?”
“To us, you are far more than we deserve.”
“If that is so…”
She nodded.
“I will try.”
***
Do Minyeong and I left the guesthouse and returned to the Gong Clan’s manor.
We arrived before the lodging with its antique outer grounds, when Do Minyeong suddenly spun and faced .
“Do you not have sothing you want to say to ?”
She had been silent the entire ti since we left, so why ask this now?
Ah. Was this what it was?
I let my gaze fall to her outfit and spoke.
“It suits you well. People say clothes make the person, but for you… it is more like the clothes were worn by you. Even I think it is beautiful on you.”
I had described her in a way that earned a flood of insults from readers, so of course it suited her.
As I finished, I checked her expression.
But sothing seed off.
She wrinkled her nose and looked at as though I were strange.
“Haa… Not that.”
“Then what?”
“I ant you should confess who gave you the tournant token.”
“Ah…”
It was sothing worth being curious about.
She knew how exclusionary the martial artists of District 10 could be.
I had even wondered if Do Minyeong herself had sent it.
But if it was not her, then who…
“I am asking just in case, but the Special Affairs Division did not dispatch you on an investigation, did it? Like, the murderer is hiding among the tourists, or sothing.”
“Yes. That is why I am guarding you.”
“What did you say?”
“In Seoul, what could be more valuable than a direct descendant’s head? If a murderer wanted to target soone, you are perfect—outside Hero Prep. And Demonic Beings who grind their teeth at the Sword Saint would pay properly.”
Do Minyeong’s expression quickly turned scornful.
“So nothing is going on. And you do not even know who sent the token.”
“On what basis?”
“It is my intuition as your Investigation Division colleague. If anything had happened, you would have moved alone. You hate getting help. Honestly, you are like a voluntary loner.”
“……”
Why did that feel like getting stabbed in the ribs?
“In any case, if nothing is going on, then fine.”
Do Minyeong said, “Fine,” but instead of entering the lodging, she remained rooted in place.
Then she began watching cautiously, and as expected, she hesitated before speaking again.
“I-I just thought of sothing.”
“What is it?”
“I heard there is a fireworks festival on the last night, so… w-would you like to go see it together?”
Now that she ntioned it, there was such a setting.
At night, everyone wore hanbok and held an event to honor the spirits of the Great Rift heroes.
In the early days, they used lantern light, but now they set off fireworks to attract tourists.
A festival that honored the dead with literal bursts of fla.
I had been planning to rent a hanbok because people said it was worth seeing…
I answered with a crooked smile.
“Well, I will think about it.”
***
Behind the Gong Clan’s manor.
On the small training ground there, Gong Minwu was sweating.
‘Can I defeat Ji Seokhyeon…?’
The sky was already dark.
Normally, moonlight could not be seen in Seoul, but tonight it was unusually pitch-black.
Whoong—.
Sweeeng!
The spearhead road freely across the training ground.
After cutting down dozens of imagined opponents, the spearhead stopped, aid beyond the training ground.
As though proving how fierce the movents had been, the spearhead trembled continuously…
“You are still stubborn.”
Gong Minwu’s spear was aid at the tip of Gong Seungho’s chin, though no one knew how long he had been watching.
The problem was that Gong Minwu did not withdraw the spear from that posture.
“I told you again and again. Give up on succeeding my brother.”
“If sothing blocks my path, I will cut it down.”
The Gong Clan mber who won this martial tournant would succeed Gong Seungryong and beco the official heir.
Gong Seungho was certain Gong Minwu would win.
Although Gong Seunga was ntioned as well, Gong Seungho understood more deeply than anyone what Gong Minwu possessed.
Because he had long watched him, regarding him as a thorn in his side.
That was why he believed he could not stop him, and why he had warned Gong Minwu repeatedly, as he did today.
‘If that brat wins, the prestige I have built for this clan will collapse.’
Because Gong Minwu was the child of a concubine.
Above him were two older brothers born of the legal wife’s line, but unfortunately, they fell far behind Gong Minwu’s talent.
Thus, the best outco Gong Seungho envisioned was that Gong Minwu’s nephew would inherit Gong Seungryong’s secret techniques.
“Then cut your own throat. Do not stain the clan with filthy blood.”
“……”
They were cruel words, but they had to be spoken as a mber of the clan.
He and Gong Seungung.
And all other blood relatives.
Just as they all followed Gong Seungryong, in awakened society, a clan had to be flawless and perfect.
If it was not…
‘Then I will have no choice but to use another thod.’
At last, the spearhead swung once in a threatening arc, then was withdrawn.
“The weather is hot. Return to your quarters, soak your feet in cold water, and sleep.”
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