Had she ever been this flustered in her life?
Cha Iran could say with certainty.
This was the first time she had ever been so flustered that her face burned, so hot she could feel the heat herself.
When her face flushed crimson, the Sword King felt apologetic. He had known full well that Geom Mugeuk would tease her, yet he had played along with him.
—You must wait here without moving. You can’t come out halfway.
—What prank are you trying to pull now!
He had let himself be dragged along as if he had no choice, but inwardly, he had been curious. Did she truly like him? Geom Mugeuk had repeated it several times and made such a fuss about it that it did not seem like mere nonsense.
And seeing her reaction now, he realized that she really did like him. It was unexpected. All they had done was exchange greetings and a bit of light conversation now and then. She had liked him?
“It has been a while.”
At the Sword King’s greeting, Cha Iran forced herself to steady her heart and calm down.
“It has been a while.”
An unmistakable tremor could be heard in her voice. Even as she greeted him, only one thought filled her mind.
‘How much of what I said earlier did he hear? Surely he didn’t hear everything?’
She had shouted so loudly about finding her love. Please say you didn’t hear it! This was all the Young Cult Leader’s scheme. If it had been anyone but the Sword King, she would have grabbed him by the collar and shaken him back and forth.
“I never thought I would see you here.”
“Nor did I.”
“How did this happen?”
At Cha Iran’s question, the Sword King could not answer. How could he briefly explain the circumstances that had brought him all the way to the main headquarters of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?
Instead of the Sword King, who hesitated to answer, Geom Mugeuk spoke for him.
“He came to our cult because I said you wanted to see him.”
Thinking that he was teasing her rather than Ak Gunhak, she snapped.
“Please stop making fun of me already!”
He had brought Ak Gunhak here and still kept playing dumb. And now he was trying to carry the joke to the very end.
Yet it seemed it was not entirely a joke. The Sword King cut in and spoke calmly.
“Coming to see you was one of the reasons I came to the Divine Cult.”
At those words, her heart, which had just settled, began to pound again. Her heart was telling her that she did indeed like him.
Of course, the Sword King did not reveal any private feelings.
“You and I are the only ones who survived, so I thought we ought to meet at least once.”
At those words, Cha Iran realized that of the Dark Palace Lord’s twelve subordinates, only Ak Gunhak and she had survived.
“In the end, they all died.”
Her gaze turned back to Geom Mugeuk. Back when they had been carrying out various operations in the Dark Palace, the Demonic Cult’s Young Cult Leader had not even been on their radar.
Yet he had gradually become the center of every incident, and in the end, everyone except her and the Sword King had been swept away by his hand. She had truly never imagined that all of them would fall not to the Cult Leader, but to the Young Cult Leader.
‘You truly are someone who knows no impossibility.’
On top of that, he had kept his promise. The promise to save her love. He had brought him out from the terrifying grasp of the Dark Palace Lord and made him stand before her.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
The Sword King shook his head.
“I am fine. Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m perfectly fine.”
Once she began speaking with the Sword King, the trembling in her heart actually subsided.
She asked cautiously.
“By any chance, did you hear what I said earlier?”
The Sword King nodded. Since things had come to this anyway, she could not keep blushing in embarrassment forever.
“It was just a joke I often played with the Young Cult Leader here, so please don’t mind it.”
Then Geom Mugeuk cut in.
“Won’t you regret that?”
Geom Mugeuk knew. If this fluttering moment ended just like this today, it would not be easy to create such an atmosphere again. Because her face would never turn this red again.
“I’m asking if you won’t regret it later. I should have told him how I felt back then. Since our relationship was going to end like this anyway, why did I hide my feelings so much? It was only a matter of being embarrassed once. No, in truth, being unable to convey your feelings is what’s embarrassing.”
Cha Iran could not refute him. Because she felt certain she might indeed come to regret it that way.
“Why are you trying so hard to bring us together?”
“Because both of you are good people.”
At that moment, the Sword King cut in.
“That is a lie. He is doing this because he enjoys seeing us flustered. So he can keep teasing us.”
“Brother Ak! That is a misunderstanding.”
“What misunderstanding!”
Cha Iran asked Geom Mugeuk.
“You said I was a good person, right? Tell me three good things about me.”
“……”
“I knew it.”
Cha Iran stood side by side with the Sword King and formed a united front.
“So we were dragged all the way here for the Young Cult Leader’s momentary amusement and pleasure.”
“If we do not keep our wits about us, we will be played by the Young Cult Leader’s schemes again.”
Geom Mugeuk said with an incredulous look.
“I did mean to bring you two together, but not like this.”
The three of them smiled at the same time. After exchanging such banter, the mood relaxed, and the awkwardness and embarrassment disappeared as well.
Cha Iran’s gaze turned to the Sword King.
“The truth is, I survived because of you. You saved my life.”
At her words, the Sword King asked in surprise.
“What do you mean?”
Cha Iran’s gaze turned to Geom Mugeuk.
“The Young Cult Leader found out that I liked you, and so he did not kill me.”
“!”
The Sword King looked at Geom Mugeuk in astonishment.
“Is that true?”
“Brother Ak might like her too, no? No matter how much of an enemy she was, how could I kill someone Brother Ak might like?”
At those words, the Sword King shook his head as if he were impossible to deal with. It must surely have been a situation where lives were on the line.
“Even in the midst of all that, the Young Cult Leader kept trying to let you leave freely somehow. To be honest, I could not understand it. If he liked you that much, he should have held on to you, so why was he trying to let you go? In truth, I still don’t understand it even now.”
Geom Mugeuk said to her.
“Now you will be able to understand. Because the operation has changed. Back then, the operation was to restore this man’s freedom, but now we will carry out an operation to tie him tightly to our side.”
At those words, Cha Iran’s heart trembled slightly. If she could stay with him, there would be nothing more she could ask for.
“Are you holding a strategy meeting while the target can hear everything?”
“Would he be someone we could fool even if we tried? From now on, our operation is to break that man’s wings and cling to his trouser legs. I will grab his left leg, so you grab his right. We pour in both friendship and affection. If that still doesn’t work, once Lord Blade Demon and the Sword Venerable return, we will even pull on that horsetail hair of his.”
To say such things openly in front of the Sword King? To tell her to cling to a man’s leg? Yet she did not feel displeased at all. The Sword King was smiling as well. Truly, in this murim, this was something only Geom Mugeuk could do.
“Fortunately, our Brother Ak will be staying at the cult for the time being. So what I said earlier about teaching martial arts was not a joke either.”
He would not teach her his exclusive martial arts, but even if he only taught basic swordsmanship, it would make her far stronger than if she learned some ordinary secret manual.
“Will you truly teach swordsmanship to me and my subordinates?”
At Cha Iran’s cautious question, Ak Gunhak smiled and answered.
“If you do not mind having me as a martial arts instructor.”
* * *
Ian was training alone in martial arts.
Her sword flowed smoothly like water, then erupted violently like lava. No matter the situation, her eyes never left the tip of her blade.
Right now, she was fighting an imaginary enemy, and after achieving great mastery in the Flying Heaven Sword Art, she had begun practicing imaginary combat in earnest.
The more she grew, the stronger the enemy in her imagination became. She exerted the fullest imagination she was capable of.
That was why this current battle could not possibly be a graceful one.
Dodging the enemy’s attacks, dodging again, even rolling across the ground to avoid them—at a glance, the sight might have seemed comical.
But Ian was serious. She did not employ a sloppy imagination.
She knew that if she trained her imagination incorrectly, it could instead become harmful.
If her body grew accustomed to attacks she could block comfortably, then in real combat, she would fail to block an enemy’s attack.
After sweeping through the training ground in such a bout, she took a deep breath and raised her blade forward. The enemy in her imagination had not yet fallen and was still staring at her.
Then a welcome voice came from behind her.
“Isn’t this too unfair?”
The instant she heard those words, Ian’s expression brightened radiantly.
“You’re already this beautiful, and if you train hard on top of that, you’re too perfect, aren’t you?”
“Young Master!”
When she turned around, Geom Mugeuk was standing there. After quietly gazing at him, she smiled brightly and said,
“Young Master! Congratulations on your body transformation!”
Geom Mugeuk looked surprised.
“Who did you hear that from? Did you meet Father?”
“No, I could tell just by looking.”
Ian had immediately noticed the change in Geom Mugeuk. She had served as his guard since childhood. She perceived changes in his body even more accurately than Geom Mugeuk himself.
“You’ve changed this much. How could I not notice?”
The change was great enough for her to recognize at once that he had undergone body transformation.
“You’re not very surprised.”
“You’re right. Why am I not surprised?”
Ian widened her eyes and tilted her head.
“I suppose I just thought it would be natural for you to undergo body transformation, Young Master. You’re the kind of person who seems like you could step out for a moment, come back, and say, ‘I just saved murim from destruction.’”
As Ian smiled softly, Geom Mugeuk suddenly pulled her into his arms. In the past, he had given her piggyback rides, and she had run to him and hugged him, but lately such things had become rare.
“I missed you, Ian.”
Because he held her tighter than usual, Ian also hugged Geom Mugeuk with all her strength. It must be very hard for you, Young Master.
“Ah, this embrace feels so unfamiliar. Your chest is broader, and you’ve grown taller too. It feels like I’m cheating on you.”
At Ian’s joke, Geom Mugeuk laughed. Yes, there was a fluttering feeling and a comfort that only Ian could give him.
“I heard my body gives off a pleasant scent now?”
“This scent is very nice too, but I think I liked the scent your body originally had better, Young Master.”
“You are probably the only person who would say the original scent is better than the scent of a transformed body.”
“But it’s true.”
Then Ian flinched in surprise and quickly pulled away from Geom Mugeuk’s arms.
“Ah! I smell like sweat.”
She had briefly forgotten that she had just finished training in martial arts.
“Since you brought it up, let me ask. Are you always training in martial arts whenever I come? You should be using the martial arts you worked so hard to learn to beat up some bastard you don’t like, or drinking and making a drunken scene, or suddenly going off on a trip somewhere. I told you to live faithfully to your desires!”
“Wanting to become stronger than anyone else. That is my greatest desire.”
“Then what is your second desire? Your third desire!”
“My next desires are desires I can only fulfill once the first one has been achieved.”
“So I’m asking what they are!”
But Ian never did tell Geom Mugeuk in the end. She smiled and changed the subject.
“Now then, since the Young Cult Leader has returned, I will summon the Ghost Shadow Unit.”
Geom Mugeuk nodded and answered.
“Good. As it happens, there is someone I want to introduce.”
* * *
Sipchilgyo was wearing Cha Iran’s blue palace gown.
Cha Iran’s eye for what colors suited her was precise. She was incomparably more beautiful than when she wore martial attire.
Sipchilgyo took a deep breath, then walked into the Valley of Villains.
She had come near this place before, but she had never once entered inside.
There were no warriors guarding the entrance, but there were gazes looking down at her. Faceless Ones were sitting on the tree branches on both sides of the entrance. Some were crouching, and some were seated comfortably.
Passing by those who watched the entrance, she continued walking inward. She was truly more nervous than when carrying out an assassination mission.
She hoped she might happen to meet the crescent-moon Faceless One while walking like this, but that was out of the question.
Far more Faceless Ones were moving about than when they had previously carried out an operation together. Back then, only the elites had come, but now all of them were here. There were so many masked people that she felt dizzy.
In the end, she gave up searching directly and spoke to a passing Faceless One.
“May I ask you a favor?”
The Faceless One stared at her, then nodded.
“I’m looking for someone. I would like to meet the person with a crescent moon drawn on his mask.”
Then the Faceless One answered.
“Wait here.”
He leaped away. At times, they felt truly bizarre, yet at times like this, the Faceless Ones seemed more normal than anyone.
A short while later, a Faceless One appeared there. It was the crescent-moon Faceless One.
As if he had not expected her to come all the way here, the two eyes behind his mask were filled with surprise.
Sipchilgyo was truly nervous, but since she had already mustered the courage to come this far, she pushed through to the end.
“I know it’s rude to come so suddenly like this… but I wanted to see you. Since you didn’t come to see me, I came to see you myself.”
There were still many gazes watching from around them. But she was not embarrassed.
Then unexpected words flowed from the crescent-moon Faceless One’s mouth.
“I did go to see you. Today as well.”
The moment she heard those words, Sipchilgyo was startled. Soon, she understood. This man had been among those watching earlier. He truly had removed his mask and come to see her.
Sipchilgyo was deeply moved. The words “today as well” meant he had come on other days too. That emotion led to another surge of courage.
“Please show me your home.”
The crescent-moon Faceless One nodded.
The two walked into the Valley of Villains.
At the same time, one of the Faceless Ones who had been watching them used his lightness skill and shot inward like an arrow. He was the one who had heard the crescent-moon Faceless One’s voice transmission.
—Hurry and go clean the house first!