The fervor of the Little Dragon Tournament grew even hotter.
Once the main round began, all the small sparring stages in the Murim Alliance’s outer compound were dismantled, and a large arena was set up at the center.
Around the arena, tiered seating was arranged so that countless people could sit. It had been made so that thousands could watch the matches at the same time.
The martial tournament in which the first-place winners of the thirty-two groups would compete for victory was to begin in earnest today.
If one made it into the final eight, entry into one of the Murim Alliance’s elite organizations was guaranteed. Even if not, those who had advanced to the main round would be given a chance to join the Alliance if they caught the eye of its experts. That was why this main round was truly important to everyone.
Of course, Seo Daeryong was burning for a different reason.
Something was awakening in his heart as a martial artist. Until now, Seo Daeryong had merely been someone who had learned martial arts, but through this tournament, he was being reborn as a true warrior.
Even seeing the heroes packed tightly all around him, Seo Daeryong was not intimidated in the slightest.
He was looking only at the opponent he would fight. I said nothing. Everything I needed to say to him, I had already said through training. All I could do was hope that Seo Daeryong had realized something from that training. I trusted Seo Daeryong’s intelligence.
“Zhaotang of the Zhangping Sword Family of Fujian Province!”
At the referee’s shout, infused with inner force, cheers erupted.
Zhaotang slowly climbed onto the arena. His expression and his steps carried ease and confidence. He was a skilled fighter for whom it would not be strange at all to say that his goal in this tournament was to win.
“Seo Ryong of the Seodo Sect of Gansu Province!”
Cheers erupted again. If anything, the cheers directed at Seo Daeryong were even louder than those for Zhaotang. Zhaotang had been a famous rising talent from the start, but Seo Daeryong was a new expert from an unknown sect who had caused a sensation and advanced to the main round. As much as people wished to cheer for the strong, they also longed to see an unexpected upset from a new master.
Listening to the cheers, Seo Daeryong turned to look at me below the arena.
He sent me a sound transmission.
—I’ll go up there and make last night’s dream a dog dream before I come back down.
What words were needed in a situation like this?
Instead of cheering him on with words, I gave him a firm nod with a look that said I believed in him.
At the referee’s signal, the match between the two began.
Zhaotang was a martial artist who had learned swordsmanship properly from childhood until now.
His attacks were sharp, and his defense was solid. His defense in particular was nearly perfect; like an impregnable fortress, it did not budge against any attack.
I knew very well what kind of frustration Seo Daeryong must be feeling. The fortunate thing for Seo Daeryong was that it was a frustration he had experienced more than enough before climbing onto this arena.
‘Don’t get drawn in!’
Most people could not endure that frustration and attacked recklessly, only to be counterattacked. The essence of Zhaotang’s swordsmanship lay in counters.
If he could instead make his opponent feel frustrated, he would surely be able to find an opening. But I had not given Seo Daeryong that answer. I wanted him to find it on his own.
Sword and saber struck sparks.
Those watching held their breath. The techniques exchanged were far too high-level to be called a clash between rising talents.
Seo Daeryong fought aggressively, but he never rushed. He was painting his own grand picture. The title of that picture was Patience. He had found the answer himself.
Hundreds of exchanges passed like that, and at last, when he succeeded in making his opponent impatient, the picture was complete. He had made it seem that if the match continued like this and was decided by the referee, the more aggressive Seo Daeryong would likely have the advantage.
The impatience he had created in reverse revealed the tiniest of openings, and Seo Daeryong did not miss that moment.
Puaaak!
Seo Daeryong’s saber cut deeply into Zhaotang’s arm. Blood sprayed, and Zhaotang dropped the sword he had been holding.
Though Zhaotang tried to continue fighting despite his serious injury, the referee stepped in and declared Seo Daeryong the victor.
Cheers burst out for both men. Win or lose, it had been a splendid match worthy of the main round.
After coming down from the arena, Seo Daeryong could not stand properly and collapsed into a sitting position.
Many people were watching him, but he paid them no mind. Rather, perhaps the sight of him sitting there on the ground in a daze made him seem all the more human; everyone who passed by cupped their fists and showed their respect, and some even applauded from afar.
I said nothing. It was not so much because of the people watching, but because I was letting Seo Daeryong savor this moment fully on his own.
Among those congratulating him was the woman who had cheered for Seo Daeryong before.
“Congratulations on your victory!”
Seeing her smile brightly, Seo Daeryong sprang to his feet.
“Thank you.”
The woman left with a smile, and Seo Daeryong sat down beside me again.
“Until just a moment ago, you looked like you were dying, but now you look ready to fight another match.”
After confirming that the woman had gone far away, Seo Daeryong shook his head and flopped back down.
“No, I couldn’t do it even if it killed me. That was truly exhausting. My next opponent will be even stronger, won’t he?”
“Probably. Why? Do you want to give up?”
“Yes, please send me home!”
“What are you going to say at our drinking gatherings? That you came back because, at the last moment, you were too scared and too tired? Well, Lord Jang and Ian are so kind that they’ll comfort you. They’ll tell you that you did well enough. But deep down, they’ll think this: if it were me, I would have challenged it to the end. Every time they see you, if it were me, I would have gone to the end…”
“Stop.”
I grinned and held out my hand. Seo Daeryong gripped my hand tightly and stood up.
“Thank you. If you hadn’t been my sparring partner, Pavilion Master, I never would have won.”
“He wasn’t someone you could beat just because someone practiced with you. You did well.”
“This is really enough to drive a man insane. When I beat that bastard and cheers erupted from every direction, it felt so good I thought I’d go mad.”
“If you truly go mad, you become a madman. If you go just mad enough, no one will be able to handle you. Go mad in moderation.”
After chatting about this and that, we returned to the inn, where an unexpected person was waiting for me.
Jin Haryeong was eating noodles at the inn.
Seo Daeryong and I stopped briefly at the entrance. Seo Daeryong spoke worriedly.
“I hope noodles are the only thing that young lady likes.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Why are you pretending not to know? A woman of such noble status came here again just to eat noodles?”
“She probably came today to be treated.”
“What treatment?”
“Her pride was wounded.”
“You wounded it on purpose, didn’t you?”
I could not deny that question. At the very least, I was doing my best to grow closer to her.
“This is all because of the Cheonmyeong Society.”
“The problem is that young lady doesn’t know that.”
Seo Daeryong went straight up to the guest room, and I walked toward her.
* * *
Jin Haryeong looked at Geom Mugeuk’s hand as he walked toward her. She thought it looked smoother and whiter than the hand that had reached out to her when she was hanging from a cliff in her dream.
Geom Mugeuk came to her table and greeted her.
“Your match is in three days, isn’t it? Our young master’s was today.”
Truly, she had to acknowledge this attendant’s ability to be sociable. They had only met a couple of times, yet he spoke to her as comfortably as if they had known each other for ages.
“May I sit for a moment?”
She nodded.
“Today, please make sure to pay for your noodles before you leave, miss.”
“What do you mean?”
“The first day we met, and the second time as well, you left just like that, so I paid for the wine and food.”
For a moment, she was flustered. Now that she thought about it, the second time had definitely been like that. She had been so angry that she had sprung up and stormed out. Had she done that the first time too?
Had she ever, in her entire life, failed to pay someone what she owed? It had clearly been a mistake. Her face flushed faintly. This man kept making people flustered like this.
Is that why you appeared in my dream? To tell me to pay you back?
She had intended to seize the initiative from the very beginning, but instead, she had been put on the back foot.
“How much was it? I forgot.”
“No. Please buy me noodles and wine twice from now on.”
Was he using that as an excuse to see her again? She began to think that this seemingly naive fellow might actually be a womanizer.
‘It won’t be easy. Do you think there were only one or two men like you?’
If one lined up all the men who wanted to marry her and change their lives, then with a bit of exaggeration, they could encircle the walls of the Murim Alliance. Listening to and watching the process by which they coveted her background and appearance was enough to make her develop a loathing for men she had never even had before.
“Let’s settle it all today. Order whatever dishes you want, not just noodles.”
“No, I don’t want to today.”
To think an attendant would refuse so firmly! Feeling as though she truly had become a maid, she ordered wine.
“I need a drink.”
She ordered wine. Only after drinking two cups in succession did she speak of what had happened that day.
“To be honest, I was angry that day. Just as I was about to introduce you honestly to my friend as an attendant, you said first that you were my junior martial brother. So I felt as though I had deceived my friend, and I became angry.”
What would change by saying this?
Even knowing that, it was because of her damned personality, which insisted on saying what needed to be said.
She met Geom Mugeuk’s gaze.
They were eyes that truly did not suit an attendant. Calm and deep, yet impossible to fathom—those eyes resembled those of her late father, and also those of her grandfather, the Alliance Leader.
With those eyes, Geom Mugeuk asked calmly.
“Why do you keep worrying about that matter?”
At that moment, she said inwardly, I really hate this personality of mine too.
“Because I don’t want to be misunderstood.”
“Because you might look like someone who looks down on attendants?”
“Yes. Because I am not that kind of person.”
“So what if you’re misunderstood a little?”
“I don’t like it.”
“Have you never considered that such feelings might make you look down on the other person even more?”
For a moment, she bristled.
“What do you mean by that?”
“An attendant is a person too. We think the same way our masters do; we merely refrain from speaking. If someone looks down on attendants from the start, then from our side as well, we can simply think, Ah, that’s the kind of person they are, and disregard them.”
“Then are you saying my consideration is worse than those people who look down on attendants?”
“That is not what I mean, but let me ask you one thing. Is that consideration for the other person? Or is it for yourself, miss?”
“!”
In that instant, Jin Haryeong flinched.
“Ah, it is fine even if it is consideration for yourself. But in that case, you must not let it show. If we notice it, then we have to become just as serious about it. Ah, so eating at the same table with us and having a conversation with us is something she has to agonize over that much. She has to try that hard not to hurt us. She is worrying about it that much. We end up thinking thoughts we never needed to think. All so that your heart can feel at ease, miss.”
Jin Haryeong could not say a word. Her face had flushed red. It was something she had truly never once considered, so she did not know what to say.
She felt wronged and furious. No doubt only after returning home would she regret, thinking, I should have answered like this back then, and kick at her blankets.
Was that why he appeared in my dream?
That thought led to self-reproach again.
‘Ah! I really am selfish.’
Even in this moment, she was only worrying about herself. Her pride, wounded because an attendant had appeared in her dream, was being desperately bandaged with the excuse that this attendant was the sort of person who said things she had never expected.
“You are far too insolent for an attendant. You should consider it an honor to dine at the same table as me.”
After saying this coldly, she added,
“Like that?”
“Yes. How nice is that? If I were of your status, miss, I would think that way too. Most of the people eating here would do the same. So you should do that as well. Do not think too deeply. If you do, you will wound yourself.”
After staring at the man for a moment, she sprang to her feet.
“No! Who are you to lecture me? You’re just a green young attendant!”
As if to show she would do exactly as she had just learned, she spoke her mind without restraint.
“I acknowledge it. And it suits you well. Take this opportunity to remove your mask and live comfortably.”
“Shut up! You attendant bastard!”
She shouted in anger and left the place just like that.
Soon after, as if he had been waiting, Seo Daeryong scurried over and sat across from him. It seemed he had been secretly watching from the end of the stairs leading to the second floor.
Sipping the wine she had left behind, Seo Daeryong said,
“A fated love always ends in tragedy.”
How could Geom Mugeuk not know that he was saying it out of concern for him? Still, it was not an atmosphere that called for seriousness, so Geom Mugeuk teased him lightly.
“When has love ever come about so easily? Even when people are in the same organization, it doesn’t work out well. You know that better than anyone, don’t you?”
It was because Seo Daeryong had once eaten a meal with a junior from the Yellow Springs Pavilion whom he liked, and nothing had progressed afterward.
“Must you always poke where it hurts? I have young ladies cheering for me too, you know!”
Looking at Seo Daeryong pouting, Geom Mugeuk smiled.
Daeryong, a fated love is something one cannot have even if one wants it. The moment I begin to love, the fate named Hwa Mugi will surely say this: How dare you play at love when I exist? As long as that fate is approaching me, love is nothing more than a luxury to me, just like the tune that drunkard over there is singing. That is why, right now, I do not even have the time to feel my own heart, not even its beating.
“Investigator Seo, let’s go train in martial arts.”
“Yes! For loser monkeys like us, training is the only path to survival!”
“What do you mean, us?”
And when they stood up, he realized it.
Jin Haryeong had left without paying again today.