“Why don’t you like it?”
The Demon Venerables, who had been fighting so fiercely just moments ago, united as one.
The first to answer was the Drunken Demon.
“I can’t stand being shut up inside a fence and all that. Just thinking about a fence makes me feel suffocated.”
The one who took up his words was the Ilhwa Sword Venerable.
“You say I should accept anyone? That would be difficult. Even when going for a simple stroll, one must be of the same mind.”
I could tell who she had in mind when she said that.
Next, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon spoke.
“Did you not hear what I said? People’s hearts are different from my own!”
The last reason was given by the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon.
“Why must killing be forbidden?”
It was a joke about my words that they could fight and hate one another within my fence, as long as they did not kill.
Everyone’s reasons were a mix of jest and sincerity, but the surprising thing was that all four of them had entirely different reasons.
The Drunken Demon mocked me, imitating what I had said earlier.
“Did you see the Second Young Master putting on airs earlier? ‘This is the decision of the man who will become your Heavenly Demon in the future.’ The Cult Leader should have seen that.”
I waved my hands exaggeratedly.
“Please don’t say such dangerous things. Now then, since we’ve gathered like this, let’s have a drink today.”
The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon, who had been outside the window, came inside as well. This was the first time the Demon Venerables who had formed connections with me had gathered in one place like this.
It was truly a historic day, and that applied not only to me but also to the tavern owner.
Jo Chunbae, who brought over the wine and food, was the very picture of emotion.
“Are you that happy?”
“How could I not be? I must be the first tavern owner ever to experience something like this. I could die with no regrets.”
“This may only be the beginning. Who knows who will gather here to drink in the future?”
“Even now, I feel as if my heart is about to burst……”
Jo Chunbae bowed at the waist to the Demon Venerables.
“It is an honor to have you here. I will serve you with all my heart.”
After greeting them like that, he withdrew. On the stairs leading down to the first floor, he turned back to look this way for a moment, as if trying somehow to commit this glorious moment to memory.
“Now then, allow me to pour each of you a cup.”
The Drunken Demon poured wine for everyone.
Since the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon did not drink because of his mask anyway, he merely accepted the wine.
When the Blood Heaven Blade Demon received his wine, he set it aside and poured himself a drink into a new cup.
As if to show the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, the Ilhwa Sword Venerable drank the wine the Drunken Demon had poured for her.
They were the sort of people who created taut tension even with the simple act of pouring a cup of wine.
Once a round of drinks had gone around, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon asked me,
“But why did you call me?”
He naturally assumed I had been the one to call him.
“Lord Smiling Demon, I was not the one who called you.”
“Then who called me?”
“The Drunken Demon did.”
The Drunken Demon looked at the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon and spoke politely.
“I called you because there is something I wanted to inform you of.”
Whatever they thought of each other inwardly, they were exceedingly courteous to one another.
“He said the Second Young Master values that senior Blade Demon over there more than us, so I called you to come and hear it for yourself.”
As the Drunken Demon poured wine into his cup, he said,
“We are nothing but side branches. The center of the Second Young Master’s heart is Senior Blood Heaven Blade Demon over there.”
“You may be a side branch, Drunken Demon, but I am not.”
“Is that truly so?”
As if he would confirm it himself, the Drunken Demon asked me,
“Second Young Master, if you had to choose only one between Lord Smiling Demon and Senior Blade Demon, whom would you choose?”
“Lord Smiling Demon.”
The Drunken Demon blinked, then asked again.
“That is not what you said earlier. Did you not say that even if the person himself were in front of you, you could say Senior Blade Demon was better?”
“I did? When?”
I opened my eyes wide and flatly denied it.
“How could you say such a thing, seeing the bond between Lord Smiling Demon and me? Lord Smiling Demon, do not be deceived. Right now, the rolling stone is scheming to dislodge the stone already embedded.”
At my words, the Drunken Demon instead laughed loudly as if amused and drank. Setting down his wine cup, he said,
“Do not look down on a rolling stone. I do not believe the length of time matters between people. There are people one cannot forget for a lifetime even after seeing them only once.”
I stared at him for a moment, then suddenly asked,
“Drunken Demon, did you truly have someone like that?”
The Drunken Demon’s hand, which had been about to bring the wine to his lips, stopped in midair.
“What do you mean?”
“I was wondering if such a person really exists. I cannot imagine someone you meet only once yet never forget for the rest of your life. Do all of you have someone like that?”
After meeting the eyes of each of the four Demon Venerables in turn, I continued.
“Even if you were close enough to die for one another, if enough years pass without seeing each other, you find you’ve become like strangers. Even when you think you’ve grown fairly close, if there is a gap, it becomes awkward, as though you have to start all over again from the beginning. That is how it is for me. Ah! I admit it if it is someone as beautiful as our Sword Venerable. Seeing someone like her and being unable to forget is understandable.”
The Drunken Demon emptied another cup of wine.
“It feels strange to hear someone as young as you say such things.”
“There you go, looking down on me again. You looked down on young stories, and you looked down on a young drunkard too.”
The Drunken Demon gazed at me with a peculiar look in his eyes. Since I remembered everything he had said like this, my words might have displeased him, yet at the same time, they must have made him feel good as well.
“Very well. I keep forgetting. That our Second Young Master’s youth is vastly different from ordinary youth.”
“Of course. Please do not forget that I am an old man in a young body.”
When I lifted my cup, the Drunken Demon toasted me.
With the Demon Venerables gathered, the atmosphere had become more rigid than at first, but even so, drinking with him was somehow enjoyable. He had the skill to lead the conversation so that it did not break off and to stir the pleasure of a drinking party.
“Now then, let me say it again. I choose the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon.”
As if to toast him, I raised my cup and drank alone.
The two eyes inside the eyeholes of his mask were smiling happily. Seeing that smile after so long put me in a good mood as well.
It is good to see you again.
Perhaps because of the bloody battle against Baek Manggi, I had developed an indescribable sense of camaraderie with the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon. This was an emotion separate from matters such as whether he was a Demon Venerable or I was a successor.
At that moment, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon sent me a voice transmission.
—Yes, you are doing well. Take care of the others first.
—Does your pride not hurt?
—Why would my pride be hurt over something like this? Just remember one thing. You must never trust the Extreme Evil one or the Drunken Demon.
The more I came to know them, the more I understood Father’s difficulties. Four of them were already this hard, yet he had to lead eight, and on top of that, handle the countless matters a Cult Leader must deal with. Father, it must truly have been difficult.
The atmosphere at the drinking table was good.
Since everyone had goodwill toward me, none of them went out of their way to reveal their prickliness or tempers here. Thankfully, all of them were holding themselves back well. To think I would have such an ordinary yet pleasant gathering with the Demon Venerables!
As expected, the one drinking the most was the Drunken Demon.
As if to show me, the Drunken Demon made sure to pick up some food after every three cups of wine he drank.
Our eyes met once then, and I nodded with a smile.
The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon watched that with a subtle look in his eyes.
I knew. Though not all the emotions contained in that gaze were jealousy, a part of it certainly was.
The one who had first pestered me to become friends was the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon. And now, the Drunken Demon was pestering me from that same position to become sworn brothers.
Two people who seemed similar, yet were completely different.
Would the day ever come when I could be together with the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon without his mask and the Drunken Demon when he was sober?
The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon had said that smelling the Drunken Demon’s alcohol made him feel unpleasant.
But in this place, he did not show that in the slightest. If he had not told me beforehand, I would never have known he was thinking such a thing. Only the courtesy between Demon Venerables passed back and forth between them.
“I heard that you left the cult with the Second Young Master and returned.”
“I did.”
“Then you must have learned a great deal about the Second Young Master.”
The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon glanced at me and said,
“The Second Young Master is someone far removed from you or me.”
“Very far?”
“Very far.”
After telling me that I was a villain like him, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon was giving the Drunken Demon different information.
“If anyone, it is the Blade Demon who is the closest to the Second Young Master.”
At the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon’s words, the Drunken Demon showed an unexpected reaction.
“Senior Blade Demon? Not our Sword Venerable?”
Then the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon looked at the Ilhwa Sword Venerable and said something none of us had expected.
“Is the Sword Venerable not the same as us? If you were friends, you would have known.”
For an instant, silence fell.
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable’s expression stiffened slightly.
What had the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon seen in the Ilhwa Sword Venerable to say such a thing? Among the Eight Demon Venerables, the Ilhwa Sword Venerable was known as the one least like a Demon Venerable.
At that moment, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon burst out.
“What nonsense are you spouting! The Sword Venerable is entirely different from the likes of you.”
In the end, the one who stepped forward for her in such a situation was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“What right does someone who goes around with a mask slapped over his face have to judge anyone? She is far better than you.”
After holding himself back several times throughout the drinking party, he had finally exploded.
Even at his fierce reaction, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon did not get angry and merely smiled. That sight made the Blood Heaven Blade Demon even angrier, and he gave off the air that he might swing the Heaven-Destroying Great Saber at any moment.
Then the Ilhwa Sword Venerable spoke in a low, cold voice.
“Do you think I will like it if you step forward like that?”
How could the Blood Heaven Blade Demon have stepped forward without knowing she would react this way? The Blood Heaven Blade Demon simply drank the wine before him in quick succession.
Then the Ilhwa Sword Venerable said something unexpected.
“But…… those words may be right.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon looked down at his empty cup and said,
“Yes, they may be.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon had not stepped forward blindly just to defend her.
“We may be more hypocritical and wicked than what is behind that mask. That is true.”
At the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s honest words, the Ilhwa Sword Venerable’s eyes trembled slightly.
“What is so great about us that we can say this person is this way and that person is that way? Still, at least in front of those people, do not let yourself be seen through. I am telling you not to be toyed with by mask-wearing and drunkard bastards!”
At that, the Drunken Demon murmured,
“Why are you dragging me into this when I was staying still?”
“You are the same! You sinister bastard! You hypocritical bastard! You may fool everyone else, but you cannot fool my eyes. You two bastards! Get away from the Second Young Master at once!”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon had been unable to hold back and poured out everything in his heart. Though rigid and strict, he was a man with deep schemes, but because it concerned me and the Sword Venerable, his emotions had become inflamed.
On the other hand, seeing the two of them smiling cheerfully even after being cursed at and sipping their wine, I thought they truly looked like a pair of villains.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon rose from his seat and expressed his apology to me.
“Second Young Master, I am sorry for ruining the mood. At least today, I had no intention of being the first to leave.”
“No, sir, you are not leaving first.”
“What do you mean?”
“Today’s drinking party ends here.”
I looked at the remaining three Demon Venerables and said,
“Let us stop here for today.”
The Drunken Demon emptied his last cup and said,
“Are you hammering down the embedded stone so it will not come loose?”
“Of course. What sort of drinking could I do when my elder is leaving in anger? Elder Blade Demon is my wing. If my wing flies away, I go with it.”
I made it clear that an embedded stone could not be dislodged so easily. It was my way of showing gratitude to him for coming all the way to this drinking party for my sake.
—Thank you, sir.
Perhaps his heart was moved by my voice transmission, for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon turned his head and looked out the window.
The Drunken Demon smiled and said,
“I will give up on being your wing, so become brothers with me.”
At that, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon said,
“And friends with me.”
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable did not stay out of it either. Though her mood had sunk, she could not have missed this moment.
“I am already a special friend.”
Everyone looked at her with puzzled expressions, but she merely looked pleased by herself and did not boast that we were sparring friends.
“Now then, I will say one final thing.”
I once again emitted the bearing I had shown earlier. Releasing an aura full of dignity and grace, I spoke to them.
“As the future Heavenly Demon who will lead you all, I say this. As I stated earlier, within my fence, you may fight as much as you please. Hate, envy, fight, and…… Ah! Truly, this is too much!”
The Demon Venerables had flung themselves away and left the place. And they had not simply left; each of them had used their own lightness skill and vanished in an instant.
“At least listen to the end before you go! Lord Blade Demon! Even you, sir!”
But they had already disappeared.
Smiling, I sat back down. The seats were empty, but it still felt as though their heat remained.
When I looked down at the first floor, Jo Chunbae was holding the bank draft the Drunken Demon had tossed him against his chest, gazing wistfully in the direction where the Demon Venerables had disappeared.
“Owner, have a drink with me.”
“Gladly, Pavilion Master.”
Jo Chunbae came up and poured wine into my cup. I also poured wine into his.
We emptied our cups together. Dealing with the Demon Venerables had consumed a great deal of mental strength, but drinking like this with Jo Chunbae put my heart at ease.
Jo Chunbae glanced at my expression and asked carefully,
“Are you tired?”
“Do I look tired?”
“I was thinking how exhausting it must be to deal with those Demon Venerables.”
“Yes, it is tiring.”
When I answered honestly, Jo Chunbae grinned. The wrinkles on his face, carved by the hardships and sorrows of life while dealing with all kinds of customers, looked especially fine today.
“When I am having a hard time, do you know what my wife whispers in my ear while hugging me?”
“What does she say?”
“‘You weakling.’”
I burst into loud laughter. I knew well just how much that affectionate couple loved each other. I also knew well that sometimes, a joke like that could give more strength than heartfelt consolation.
Jo Chunbae said playfully,
“Shall I do it for you once?”
“No, I do not think you need to. The person who will do it has arrived.”
“Pardon? Who?”
In that instant, Jo Chunbae felt an overwhelming presence behind his back. Every hair on his body stood on end, and it must have been a feeling on an entirely different level from when he had been with the Demon Venerables. Jo Chunbae carefully turned around.
“Good heavens!”
Jo Chunbae was startled out of his wits and prostrated himself flat on the floor.
Father, having come upstairs at some point, was standing behind him.
Father sat down before me and said,
“You weakling.”
Smiling, I said to Jo Chunbae,
“Owner, close the shop and prepare another drinking table here!”