For the time being, I had the Mistress of Cheonhwaru hide in a safe house used by the upper echelon of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. It was operated under such a secretive and ingenious system that there was no need to worry about her safety.
After saying farewell to Extreme Evil Soma, she did not forget to ask after Ian.
“Please take good care of your guard.”
Seeing her emphasize it again, it seemed certain that what she had said about Ian before had not merely been empty praise.
“My guard should be the one taking care of me.”
At my joke, the Mistress of Cheonhwaru smiled. I could feel that my connection with her was only beginning now.
After parting with her, the carriage we rode in began racing off somewhere once again.
“Lord Soma, they may launch another surprise attack. Please be careful.”
“You should be careful, Second Young Master.”
“Would there be any reason for me to be attacked?”
“The person they could kill to make me furious is gone now, so perhaps they’ll try killing you next.”
“If I die, will you be furious?”
“Out of consideration for the Cult Leader, I suppose I would have to pretend to be. It would actually be a good thing. No matter what I did afterward, the Cult Leader would forgive me.”
He spoke as if joking, but he was lava that could erupt at any moment. And those bastards were trying their best to make that lava explode.
I leaned out the window of the moving carriage. Beyond the trees rushing past, I could see a sheer cliff in the distance. That was a place I had climbed before, too. Back when I had searched for materials for the Great Art, there had been nowhere in the Central Plains I had not gone.
Back then, when I imagined my life after regression, I thought I would mostly be training in martial arts at the practice grounds, yet here I was passing through this place again like this. Life after regression seemed even busier.
As I let the wind hit me and thought back on my previous life, I suddenly looked toward the driver’s seat.
“You two haven’t said a word to each other, have you? Why not talk a little?”
Then her sound transmission flew in.
—Please don’t. I’m already uncomfortable enough as it is.
—So? Are you just going to stay uncomfortable forever?
—It’s more comfortable to just go in silence.
That was when Cheongmyeon abruptly asked Ian,
“How is guard duty?”
His question surprised me, and it surprised Ian as well. Of course, it was probably not because he was curious about Ian, but because he was being courteous to me.
“As you can see, he is not exactly an easy person to serve.”
Cheongmyeon gave a slight nod, as if he understood.
This time, Ian asked,
“How about you, Cheongmyeon?”
“I like it.”
If they had been even a little closer, Ian would have said, “If you answer like that, what does that make me?”
But the awkward conversation ended there.
Good. If it had begun like this, that was enough. Now that the channel had been opened, perhaps one day I would see the two of them chatting away together.
I pulled my body back inside the carriage.
“Is it proper for a grown man to be so meddlesome?”
He knew how I would answer if he said something like that, yet he went on again about being a grown man.
“It is not because I am meddlesome. It is a matter of personality. I simply cannot stand seeing something frustrating.”
“Is your attempt to remove my mask also because of that frustration?”
“Perhaps that is part of it.”
“Second Young Master. That is all meddling.”
After speaking curtly, Extreme Evil Soma turned his head toward the window. Soma, even when I meddle this much, you are still the one who remains an impregnable fortress.
I chuckled and looked out the opposite window. The cliff I had climbed before my regression was growing distant.
After running and running like that, the carriage arrived at a marketplace crowded with people.
The merchants doing business nearby flinched in surprise when three masked martial artists stepped down from the carriage.
Cheongmyeon walked in front, and we followed behind him.
“Second Young Master, do you have a lot of money?”
“I do. Why do you ask?”
“If you have a lot, I was thinking of making you squander it all at the gambling den.”
“If you provoke the sleeping God of Gambling, the gambling den may go bankrupt.”
Extreme Evil Soma laughed as if the idea was ridiculous.
Beyond a small door at the end of the alley was an entirely new world.
The gambling den was large and extravagant. Without exaggeration, it was ten times bigger than I had expected. It was far too large, larger than the main cult’s grand training ground, and it was packed with so many people I could not even count them.
Hundreds of tables were crowded with gamblers, and slender beauties in revealing clothes moved among them carrying bottles of liquor.
Everyone was so absorbed in gambling that no one paid any attention to us in our masks. They had no interest in who came in or went out.
“It is far larger than I imagined.”
“Shall I tell you something even more surprising? This place earns more than Cheonhwaru.”
He had said Cheonhwaru earned more than the merchant guild, and now he was saying that this gambling den earned even more than Cheonhwaru.
“The Evil Dao Alliance wants to establish a gambling den in this region by any means and split the profits, while the Martial Alliance wants to get rid of this place altogether. Those orthodox bastards curse us, saying we ruin people by dragging them into gambling, but the truth is they just hate that money is flowing to us. Now then, what do you think after coming to this gambling den?”
“Seeing them obsessed with gambling in broad daylight makes me want to beat them all senseless until they come to their senses.”
“Then from now on, only grass will be served at your table.”
“It is each person’s own life, so I should not interfere, should I?”
That was the bad part about those lives. They did not ruin only themselves.
Borrowing money, stealing, deceiving. After tormenting their families and everyone around them like that, they endured until the very end before finally collapsing. That was how they ended.
When Extreme Evil Soma made an unannounced visit, the managers came running out in a panic. At the fact that Extreme Evil Soma had come in person, they trembled like aspen leaves.
As we walked toward their office, there was one spot where an unusually large crowd had gathered.
When Extreme Evil Soma stopped, a manager quickly reported,
“That man is the son of a local notable. He occasionally wagers large sums like that. It seems his luck has turned today, because we have been losing continuously.”
Sure enough, I could tell from the expression of the gambler facing him that he had been completely overwhelmed.
“I’ll wager everything on high.”
The man bet all the money placed before him.
The amount at stake was so large that the dealer’s expression completely stiffened.
“No need to see how it turns out.”
At Extreme Evil Soma’s words, the manager hurriedly said,
“I will replace the dealer.”
“Wait.”
Stopping him, Extreme Evil Soma looked at me.
“Would you like to try?”
“Are you planning to cut off my arm if I lose money?”
“What happened to that confidence about bankrupting the gambling den?”
“Very well. But just one round.”
I went to that seat in place of the dealer. When I, wearing a mask, stepped forward, everyone flinched in surprise, but replacing the dealer was the gambling den’s right.
I rapidly shook the cup containing seven dice.
At my skillful hand movements, an interested gleam appeared in Extreme Evil Soma’s eyes.
Tak.
I set the dice cup down. When the dice dancing inside came to a stop, I lifted the cup.
The sum of the dice barely fell on the low side.
A sigh burst from the man’s mouth. It was the moment his run of luck ended. The dealer who had been losing to him let out a sigh of relief.
I immediately left the seat and walked over to Extreme Evil Soma.
“Fortunately, I was lucky.”
“Was it luck?”
“What else could it be, if not luck?”
“Or perhaps the sleeping God of Gambling awakened.”
“It was not, so put the God of Gambling back to sleep.”
But with an inscrutable smile, I only made him even more curious.
Once again, guided by the manager, we left through a passage in a corner of the gambling den.
There were several rooms along the corridor, seemingly the rooms where the martial artists guarding this gambling den waited and resided.
After passing through that area and entering through a secret door, we arrived at the manager’s office.
The manager brought over the ledgers and handed them to Cheongmyeon, then explained the gambling den to Extreme Evil Soma. He reported roughly how many people came each day, how much they earned, and in what manner they were attracting new customers.
Of course, they reported to the main cult every month, but when Extreme Evil Soma came like this, they explained and reported directly.
I silently watched the scene, and even as Extreme Evil Soma listened to the report, he observed my reaction.
To be honest, what sentiment could this process possibly stir in me?
Even so, I did not show that I was bored. I tried to understand his life. I made that effort visible. I am watching your world with this much interest.
Quite a long time passed in reports and ledger reviews. He had said we were going to cut off arms, but the gambling den was running smoothly without any problems.
Extreme Evil Soma offered the managers a few words of encouragement.
Of everything that happened today, this was the key part. As he had done with the merchant guild leaders earlier, Extreme Evil Soma personally encouraged the managers. He made them aware that the most frightening person was watching them. This seemingly insignificant act was the core that kept his businesses from wavering.
At least when it came to work, Extreme Evil Soma did it better than anyone else. Would Blood Heaven Blade Demon or Ilhwa Sword Venerable have this sort of meticulousness and diligence? I thought probably not.
Together with Extreme Evil Soma, I left that place and walked across the gambling den. Behind us came Ian and Cheongmyeon, and behind them came the managers.
Just as we were crossing that place filled with noise and heat and walking toward the entrance—
Shiiiik! Puk! Peoeok!
Starting with the sound of a blade cutting through the air, the sound of flesh being torn and a heavy thud rang out almost simultaneously.
Two men were standing on either side of us.
The dagger of the man on the right had been aimed at Extreme Evil Soma’s neck. But before the dagger could touch his throat, half of the man’s face had already been blown away by Extreme Evil Soma’s palm strike.
My sword was embedded in the heart of the man who had charged in from the left.
The two men’s combined attack had been truly exquisite.
The man on the left had been a man turning around with a cheer, claiming he had won money, and the other had been a man running over from the opposite side to congratulate him. They were assassins targeting us. They had launched their surprise attack while aiming for the instant their paths crossed ours.
The gazes of the surrounding gamblers all turned toward us at once.
But soon their gazes returned to where they had been. Though two corpses had appeared right beside them, not a single person left the gambling den. Instead, they urged the dealer to hurry up and roll the dice. I found them more frightening than the assassins.
“Are you all right, young master?”
At Ian’s worried question, I praised her.
“Your skills really have improved a great deal.”
Earlier, when the assassin had attacked me, her sword had nearly been drawn all the way. In the past she would not have been able to react, but now she had almost drawn her sword.
“If they had attacked me, I would have died.”
“That is not true. The fact that you nearly drew your sword even from behind means that if you had been in my place, you would have cut your opponent down. Your skills have risen to that level.”
Ian wore an expression that said she still could not quite believe it.
After speaking briefly with Cheongmyeon, Extreme Evil Soma walked over to me.
“I did not think they would target even you, Second Young Master.”
“They probably did not know it was me. I was wearing a mask. They likely thought I was one of your subordinates guarding you, Lord Soma.”
Even if they had known about me, they might still have given the order. The mastermind behind this incident truly wanted the main cult and the Evil Dao Alliance to go to war. In their reckless operation, would the bloodline of the Heavenly Demon be an exception?
“They have changed their operation.”
“How?”
“They intend to move the main cult by killing you, Lord Soma. It does not matter even if they fail. The enraged Lord Soma will eventually carry out a slaughter. It seems the one behind this is determined to use your departure from the cult in any way possible to achieve their goal.”
I could feel Extreme Evil Soma’s lava beginning to boil even more fiercely.
The bastards behind this were clever. If he had not come out with me, that lava would already have exploded in one way or another. What they had failed to take into account was my existence.
Then Ian carefully asked,
“If war breaks out like this, will they not be unable to remain safe either?”
I shook my head.
“That would be the case if it became a war of mutual annihilation. But realistically, that sort of war will not break out. Even if war erupts, it will end after a certain degree of sacrifice. The defeated side will pay enormous compensation and conclude a ceasefire. To them, war is also a business.”
“They are madmen.”
“They are extremely selfish bastards. They are people who do not care even if thousands are sacrificed, as long as they can seize power.”
I spoke to Extreme Evil Soma again.
“The fact that they are going this far means they do not have much time either. It means the situation within the Evil Dao Alliance is urgent.”
At my words, Geukak Soma spoke, radiating killing intent.
“They certainly don't have much time left.”
It was the will of Geukak Soma to slaughter them all. He had already declared that the masterminds would die, and this only made that certainty absolute.
What I needed to do was guide him to eliminate only those behind this incident, without touching the other martial artists of the Sado Maeng.
If that came to pass, Bisain, the successor, and the Sado Maeng itself would be grateful to us instead.
Just then, one of Geukak Soma's subordinates came, delivered an urgent missive, and left.
Cheongmyeon, having confirmed its contents, reported quickly with a tense gaze.
“It's urgent intelligence from Tongcheon Gak. They say your name has appeared in the Salsaengbu.”
The Salsaengbu was a mysterious organization shrouded in secrecy, a type of intermediary that connected assassins and clients. It made money by taking a cut of the commission, and rumors abounded that its profits were astronomical—such was the endless resentment in the world.
“The commission is one million nyang. It is said that Heuksal has accepted this contract. Those who attacked earlier were likely assassins belonging to Heuksal as well.”
“So they accepted this knowing it was me? Even if they succeed in killing me, it will eventually come to light, and they'll be annihilated by the main sect, won't they?”
I knew why Heuksal had taken this commission.
The leader of Heuksal had joined hands with the mastermind behind this incident. He intended to use this opportunity to quit the assassination trade and disband the organization. He didn't mind sacrificing every single one of his subordinates.
He had been promised not only the enormous sum of one million nyang, but also a new identity that would place him in a key position within the Sado Maeng.
“Given that the assassination has already begun, Heuksal's assassins must be spread throughout Guiju by now.”
Despite Cheongmyeon's report, Geukak Soma seemed delighted.
“What shall we do? Didn't our Second Young Master say he despises seas of blood?”
“I can swim through a sea of assassins' blood with a smile on my face. Let us go out.”
There was no pressing need to take Ian with me, but I spoke to her.
“You're coming with me, aren't you?”
“I was planning to wait here and gamble for a while.”
“That won't do, Guard.”
“Then it can't be helped.”
A glint of joy flashed at the corners of her eyes. I knew it. I knew how badly she wanted to come along. She simply hadn't been able to bring herself to speak first, afraid she might become a burden.
I had no intention of raising her in a greenhouse. Nothing made a martial artist grow more than real combat.
And the reason I could confidently take her out wasn't simply because I would be with her.
It was because the hilt of her sword had been worn smooth by grueling training. Because of the calluses on her palms.
Perhaps afraid that I might worry, Ian spoke in an impassive tone.
“Please, don't worry about me. After all, a heart is meant to beat on its own, isn't it?”