This guy.
Or should I say, this girl?
Anyway. I don’t know all that much about this person.
Jegal Jihee.
That was the name of this one I knew.
The woman bearing the Jegal surname.
Had conspicuous freckles on her face.
And an impression marked by small, narrowed eyes.
In truth, more important than her appearance was.
The fact that she was someone bearing the Jegal surname.
The Jegal Clan, once known as one of the Five Great Families and a pillar of the Central Plains.
Was one day exterminated—not by anyone else, but by the Murim Alliance.
The reason recorded by the Murim Alliance for the destruction of the Jegal Clan was.
That they were the beginning of rebellion and a bloodshed.
If one asked what kind of rebellion and bloodshed the renowned Jegal Clan had been preparing.
The answer could be found by considering the other name by which they were called.
‘Descendants of the Blood Demon.’
People called the Jegal Clan the descendants of the Blood Demon.
Although the Blood Demon had left behind no blood relatives or descendants according to the records.
There was a reason the Jegal Clan was called his descendants.
They had pursued the Blood Demon’s achievements.
And based on the path he had followed.
The Jegal Clan had secretly plotted a rebellion.
It was said that the Murim Alliance discovered this and swiftly suppressed them, bringing about the destruction of the Jegal Clan.
They had pursued the Blood Demon’s legacy….
Honestly, I couldn’t understand it.
How could a family that had once been a renowned clan of the orthodox faction.
Have made such a choice?
I hadn’t been interested in it to begin with, much less understood it.
Regardless.
Because of that, the true bloodline of the Jegal Clan was sentenced to beheading.
And by the present day, most of those bearing the Jegal surname were descendants of collateral relatives who had barely survived.
Even they either lived while hiding their surname.
Or spent their lives having forgotten it altogether.
Among all the people with the Jegal surname I knew.
There were only Jegal Hyeok and Jegal Jihee.
Of course.
If Jegal Hyeok truly was the Divine Doctor’s grandson.
Then there was a chance the Divine Doctor also bore the Jegal surname.
But that wasn’t particularly important, so I had never thought deeply about it.
What mattered was.
What position she would hold in the future.
Jegal Jihee.
The words she proclaimed to the world upon her appearance were.
That she would clear the Jegal Clan of its false accusations and reclaim its reputation and lost honor.
Wasn’t it laughable?
That a descendant of a clan said to have dreamed of rebellion and tried to unleash a bloodbath.
Would claim she would restore their reputation and honor.
According to her claims.
The records stating that the Jegal Clan had used the Blood Demon’s power and legacy to plot a rebellion were false.
But there was no chance the Murim Alliance would acknowledge that.
To acknowledge it would mean.
That the Murim Alliance was admitting the incident had been caused by its own mistake.
There was no way those bastards would do that.
In fact, even if, as Jegal Jihee claimed.
There truly had been no wrongdoing or mistake on their part.
The current Murim Alliance would never admit it.
Those bastards were obvious.
The one who came to Jegal Jihee’s side in the meantime.
Was none other than Jang Seonyeon, the Meteor Sword.
He hadn’t stepped forward and said that Jegal Jihee was right.
He had merely suggested that they place their faith in her abilities and power.
After all, she had shown her intention to prove her strength.
And help the Jegal Clan rise once more.
Whether the Meteor Sword’s influence had worked.
Or whether the upper ranks of the Murim Alliance had accepted it, I didn’t know.
But the Murim Alliance accepted Jegal Jihee.
And the position they granted her.
Was none other than that of a strategist.
Of course, that didn’t mean she was good at being one.
Unfortunately.
That was the age of bloodshed.
The opponent of the woman appointed as the Murim Alliance’s strategist.
Was Jegal Hyeok.
The brain of the Demonic Cult.
The genius known as the Heavenly Demon’s mind.
There was a famous story throughout the Central Plains about how, when he had been surrounded by three Peak-level martial artists.
He had evaded their pursuit in the body of an ordinary person without a trace of internal energy.
Using the terrain and the situation.
And in the end, killed all three of them with his own hands.
Against such an opponent, Jegal Jihee.
Was not a particularly outstanding strategist.
They said that to face Jegal Hyeok.
You needed someone at least on the level of Murong Huia.
But Murong Huia was already dead by then.
So she wasn’t a suitable example.
And yet.
Although Jegal Jihee’s abilities as a strategist were lacking.
That didn’t mean her strength was of no use.
Moreover.
By the end, she even accomplished one great feat.
Jegal Hyeok’s death.
It was something accomplished by Jegal Jihee’s own hand.
And from that point onward, the course of the war being waged against the Demonic Cult.
Had gradually begun to change.
“What the hell are you?”
But still.
Could this really be that Jegal Jihee?
If she was truly the Jegal Jihee I was looking for.
‘Why does she look like this?’
Why did she look like that?
No matter how I looked at her, her appearance was not that of a woman.
‘Is she disguised as a man?’
I couldn’t be sure.
Even if the lines of her body were delicate.
There weren’t enough curves to call it a woman’s body outright.
‘What are the chances that the future Jegal Jihee is disguised as a woman?’
That seemed more likely. Though I wondered why she would engage in such a perverted act.
Her current appearance was certainly strange enough for it.
‘The description.’
She had freckles, and narrowed eyes.
She looked largely the same as the person I knew.
Squeeze—
“Ugh…!”
She was probably just under or just over twenty.
Her voice was a thin, clear one.
But there was definitely a masculine quality to it.
“Hey.”
“I-I’m sorry…!”
“What’s your name?”
“Cough… cough….”
Perhaps I was gripping her too tightly.
She seemed unable to speak, so I eased my strength slightly.
“Haa…!”
“Your name.”
“Ji, Jiseon.”
“Include your surname.”
“...”
When I told her to include her surname, she couldn’t answer.
I had no intention of waiting.
“I’ll give you three seconds. If you don’t answer, I’ll start by breaking your arm.”
Squeeze—
“Ugh.”
“O-one…”
“You said three seconds, so why are you starting at two? I’ll answer!”
Only after hearing her desperate reply did I loosen my grip.
“Speak.”
“Cheol, Cheol Jiseon.”
The surname Cheol.
‘A lie.’
Judging by the fact that her given name was Jiseon, I couldn’t say whether that part was true or not.
But at least the surname was likely a lie.
I’d assumed she was naturally using an alias.
“What business do you have with me?”
I had to find out what I could.
“Th-that… I needed a belt….”
It seemed that after finding me collapsed from exhaustion.
She had intended to quietly steal it.
“Hmm….”
Judging by her level.
She was probably around the Second-Rate realm. Her movements and the energy I felt from her suggested as much.
How had someone like this even passed?
‘This might not be everything she has.’
Hiding one’s strength was perfectly possible.
It was exactly what I was doing at that moment.
Of course, everyone had seen through it….
Damn it.
“Hey.”
“P-please let me off just this once…! I won’t even come near you while you’re sleeping from now on…!”
She was quite a pathetic figure.
Could someone like this really be Jegal Jihee?
It might have been an act, so I couldn’t act rashly.
“You have an older sister?”
“Huh…?”
“Or maybe a younger sister.”
“...”
I had to ask what needed asking.
At my words, his expression changed.
How should I put it? Rather than looking like he had been found out.
He looked closer to being disgusted.
What was that expression?
“Why… are you asking that…?”
“One…”
“I-I don’t have one!”
Only after hearing that did I release the hand gripping him.
“Cough… cough….”
At last, he collapsed onto the ground and began hacking dryly.
Watching him, I thought.
‘That’s a lie too.’
There had been a subtle difference when he blurted out that he didn’t have one.
Judging by the disruption in his breathing and the feeling of his energy.
That answer had been a lie.
I didn’t know whether he truly had a sister, and I didn’t care.
What mattered was.
‘This guy is hiding something.’
That was enough.
If he had a secret, then whether this guy was Jegal Jihee or not.
It meant the likelihood that he was connected to her had increased.
‘The time of her entering the sect should definitely be now.’
She had said she was a contemporary of Jang Seonyeon.
So it should be now.
Had something gone wrong?
It was possible.
I didn’t remember the exact timing.
And this was the point when the butterfly effect caused by my reckless actions had spread in ridiculous ways.
This, too, might have changed.
‘But I still don’t know.’
I examined the guy lying facedown.
No matter how I looked at him, he was so weak and feeble that I wondered how he had made it to the third test.
‘Should I turn him into a demonic human?’
The moment I thought it, my dantian stirred.
As if it had been waiting for this.
Honestly, that would have been the easiest way.
But I had to forcibly suppress the demonic qi as it writhed.
‘…Not yet.’
Still, it was right to hold back for now.
Besides, I had suffered internal injuries and bruises, making it difficult to corrupt someone at the moment.
If I went that far.
I might have to lie dead for several days.
Then.
What other method was there?
‘There is one. How could there not be?’
There was one very simple method left.
“Friend.”
“Y-yes…? Frien—yes?”
I called out as kindly as I could and met his gaze.
I even deliberately dropped to one knee.
When I met his eyes and smiled brightly.
His body began to tremble.
This was different from my original plan.
And I didn’t know what kind of person this guy was.
But then.
I only had to find out.
“Should we become friends?”
I could keep him close and learn more about him, couldn’t I?
I had already intended to approach him when I saw him.
And since a clue of sorts had come walking to me on its own.
There was no way I could let it slip away.
The problem was that, when I said we should become good friends.
He suddenly began to cry.
“…Sniff… sob….”
He groaned as though trying to hold back his tears.
But once his crying had burst forth, it seemed unable to stop.
‘…No, why the hell is he suddenly crying?’
All I’d done was suggest that we become friends.
Why was he crying so miserably?
It was making me feel bad.
I spoke to the crying Cheol Jiseon.
“Hey, are you crying?”
“N-no… I’m not… sob….”
“You really are crying, you bastard. You don’t want to be friends with me?”
“Yes. No, I mean, I do! I want to…!”
“Good. That’s how it should be. Let’s get along, all right?”
“Y-yes… yes.”
“Let’s be friends, okay? You owe me one thing, too.”
“If… if you say so.”
Using his attempt to steal the belt earlier as leverage.
The self-proclaimed Cheol Jiseon tremblingly took the belt from inside his robes.
“I-I’ll give you this….”
“Come on, friend.”
I grabbed the belt he was offering and forcibly shoved it back into his robes.
“Friends don’t take things like this from each other. Do I look like the kind of person who just takes things from people?”
“...”
“Answer me.”
“N-no, you don’t!”
At the obedient answer.
I nodded with satisfaction.
How should I put it?
It felt like I had obtained one good friend…. No, one good person.
What luck.
Very good luck indeed.