The White Heaven Sword Lord, Moyong Tae.
He was a man who had once vied for the seat of Sword King against the current Heavenly Sword King, Namgung Jin.
Of course, he hadn't been the only one contending for that position.
But that the martial artist named Moyong Tae was truly an extraordinary figure was simply a fact.
These days, he was regarded as the weakest among the patriarchs of the Four Great Families.
That was likely due to matters concerning Moyong Huia, as well as the fact that he focused his energy on the merchant chambers rather than his martial family's standing.
A man who was more a family head than a martial artist, and more a father than even that.
That was the White Heaven Sword Lord I knew.
Up to here, everything was fine.
Even if the White Heaven Sword Lord was concentrating on something other than the path of a martial artist.
What did that have to do with me?
The problem right now was:
Why was this man here? That was it.
Creeeak.
The hand of the White Heaven Sword Lord gripping my shoulder gradually tightened.
"…"
When I furtively glanced up, his gaze was utterly murderous.
If he had truly reached the realm of the Sword Heart, wouldn't my neck have already been severed right then and there?
'This is bad…'
What should I call this situation? I fell into thought for a moment, but—
The answer was already out.
'What situation? It's a fucked situation, that's what.'
I didn't think there was a cleaner answer than that.
"My… lord?"
Moyong Huia, who had been staring ahead with startled eyes, looked at the White Heaven Sword Lord and spoke.
At that, he shifted his glare from me to Moyong Huia.
And those eyes changed in an instant.
The moment the White Heaven Sword Lord laid eyes on Moyong Huia, his gaze transformed from one that had surely killed me a hundred times over in his mind into the gentlest, most tender eyes in the world.
"Have you been well?"
"H-How are you here…"
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
Though Moyong Huia was brimming with confusion, the White Heaven Sword Lord was preoccupied with checking her over regardless.
"Have you eaten? No, you wouldn't skip your meals, not after I told you not to."
"…"
Creak.
Even during this exchange, his hand squeezed harder.
This was starting to hurt.
Moyong Huia asked, looking at him.
"…Ah, there are still seven days and nights until the assembly. Why have you come now?"
"How could a father stay away when he doesn't know how his daughter is faring?"
His words struck me with a peculiar freshness.
An ordinary father might say such things, but given the position the White Heaven Sword Lord held, it was no easy feat.
As if realizing something from his words, Moyong Huia's eyes widened.
"Then, surely you didn't come alone?"
"The Elders and the Sword Corps will likely be slightly delayed."
In other words, he had come alone. A man who was the patriarch of a great family, without his guards or attendants.
No wonder this so-called patriarch of a renowned family had seemed so strange.
'Does this mean he threw away all face and dignity to come here?'
In many ways, he was an incredible man.
Moyong Huia seemed the most shocked by this; I could see her eyebrows knitting together.
"How could you do this…! There are people's eyes, and the family's face to consider…!"
When Moyong Huia spoke somewhat reproachfully, the White Heaven Sword Lord answered with a strange expression.
"That so-called face is not more important than one's child."
When he said that so casually, Moyong Huia flinched and fell silent.
Ah, so she's weak to that sort of thing.
Seeing her like that, the White Heaven Sword Lord chuckled.
"Moreover."
He turned his gaze back to me.
"When my precious daughter may have been ensnared by some good-for-nothing bastard… of what worth is such face?"
"…"
Sweat trickled down.
This man had definitely figured it out. Who I was.
Or rather, it would be stranger if he hadn't.
The conversation we'd had just moments ago flashed through my mind.
"-He has a fiancée yet seduces other women."
"-They say he broke off his engagement to meet my daughter."
"-And as it turns out, they say there are even more women besides my daughter."
"…"
When I'd heard that, I'd thought, 'What a crazy bastard.'
Turns out it was me.
It was me.
'…So it was me.'
The murderous words the White Heaven Sword Lord had spat swept through my mind.
Hadn't he said he'd crush my arms and legs?
I even recalled agreeing that it would be for the best if it turned out that way.
'Hmm…'
Having recalled all that, I nodded and thought.
I really am a crazy bastard.
I've gone and dug my own grave nice and proper, haven't I?
'Are the memories flooding back right now my life flashing before my eyes?'
That could be it.
Why the hell was my life flashing before my eyes now, when it hadn't even happened when I died in my previous life?
"And so. Young hero, I have yet to hear your answer to my question."
"Th-that…"
"What is the young hero's name?"
His eyes already held certainty. Was he asking again for confirmation and the killing blow?
What a thorough personality.
What should I do? It seemed I wouldn't get past this without answering.
'…Should I sell out Gu Jeolyeop?'
The name that immediately came to mind was Gu Jeolyeop.
It was the name I always threw under the bus in moments like this. I'd done it with Namgung Bia and Dang Soyeol too.
It was a good name to use in a pinch, but…
'He doesn't seem like the type to believe that.'
Gu Jeolyeop's name was starting to gain some recognition, making it hard to keep using him.
In the end, it seemed I had no choice but to reveal my name.
"…I am."
I did wonder what I'd do if he drew his sword for real after hearing my name.
The killing intent pricking at my back was no lie.
This wasn't a matter of winning or losing. The White Heaven Sword Lord was Moyong Huia's father.
Him pointing a sword at me was the problem.
I didn't want to fight if I could help it.
I stifled the sigh threatening to burst out, swallowed once, and opened my mouth.
"I pay my respects to the Patriarch of the Moyong Family… I am of the Gu—"
"Dad."
Just as I was about to say my name, Moyong Huia ran over and wrapped her arms around the White Heaven Sword Lord's arm.
Hold on… why did the way she addressed him change like that in the middle of it? Dad?
"D-Don't do this here… Let's find lodgings first. You must be very tired?"
"Daughter. I'm sorry, but I still have words for this rotten bastard…"
The White Heaven Sword Lord's fingertip pointed at me. I clearly heard his address change from "young hero" to "rotten bastard."
This was seriously dangerous…
"Eeeeng!"
…Huh?
My eyes grew as wide as lanterns at the nasal whine piercing my ears.
Did I hear wrong? It definitely seemed to come from Moyong Huia's direction.
As if to prove the voice I heard wasn't fake, Moyong Huia spat out words in rapid succession.
"Aieeeeng… Daddy… Huia wants something to eat…! Can't we just go now?"
Pfft.
I saw water spray from Paeng Ahui's mouth as she watched with interest.
Were those goosebumps on my arms and neck? They definitely were.
What was that honeyed voice?
'…'
I was at a total loss.
It was surprising enough that 'that' Moyong Huia even had such a voice in her.
I had no idea why her way of speaking was so cloying.
Was I still seeing my life flashing before my eyes? No, I'd gone past that into full-blown hallucinations.
If not, it was an incomprehensible state.
With Moyong Huia wriggling her body as she spoke, the atmosphere instantly cooled.
To think an atmosphere that seemed ready to explode could suddenly drop so coldly—it was simply astonishing.
When I sneaked a look at Moyong Huia, I saw her ears burning so red they looked ready to burst.
She seemed quite mortified, even though she was the one doing it.
'I bet. If I did that to my father, I'd have bitten my tongue and died on the spot.'
On top of that, I understood what she was trying to do.
But no matter what, I didn't think someone like the White Heaven Sword Lord would simply let it go just because she threw a tantrum.
"Haha. Is that so? If our daughter wants something to eat, then that comes first."
Or so I thought.
Where had the sharp man who seemed ready to tear me apart gone? All that remained was a grinning, blissful doting fool.
Having confirmed his reaction, Moyong Huia quickly tried to pull the White Heaven Sword Lord's arm and lead him out.
As if he didn't mind, the White Heaven Sword Lord's feet began to shuffle along.
Just as the two of them left the inn with heavy footsteps, a voice reached my ears.
"See you later."
It was a voice transmission from the White Heaven Sword Lord. The resolve to absolutely not give up was firm.
For some reason, his words sounded to me like 'wash your neck and wait.'
'Just my imagination, right?'
'…Like hell it's my imagination.'
How could it be my imagination? From what I saw, Moyong Huia had used everything she had to save me.
If not…
'Eeeeng' this and 'aeeeng' that…
There was no way that cold, rational Moyong Huia would have just blurted that out.
She must have made a considerable resolve to do it.
What now? For the moment, Moyong Huia had led the White Heaven Sword Lord away, but he would definitely return.
Should I just run?
'Like running is even an option.'
Where would I run? I had to attend the assembly in seven days myself.
As I was fretting over what to do, the conversation of the group spectating from the table reached me.
"…Hey, Soyeol."
"Hm?"
Dang Soyeol answered Paeng Ahui. It seemed the earlier situation had been quite a shock, as Dang Soyeol still hadn't recovered.
Seeing him like that, Paeng Ahui asked with a rather serious expression.
"…Later, in front of Lady Moyong…"
"Yeah."
"If I tease her by calling her Lady Eeeeng… will I get scolded?"
At Paeng Ahui's words, the atmosphere grew even colder.
Would she get scolded…?
'She's going to die before I do, isn't she?'
It was obvious.
If Paeng Ahui acted like that in front of Moyong Huia, she would be ground to dust right then and there.
Not to mention, "Lady Eeeeng"… the sound of it was just too…
Pfft.
At the sound, my head whipped around.
Someone had burst out laughing while everyone else had been barely holding back.
The strange thing was, when I looked back, no one showed any change in expression.
But within the group, I could tell the others were looking at one particular person with strange eyes.
The one pretending not to notice and turning away was Namgung Bia.
******************
Several days had passed since facing that tempest at the inn.
I had spent those nights in a state of extreme tension.
I had been half-expecting an assassin.
Ridiculous as it sounded, the look in the White Heaven Sword Lord's eyes at the time had made it seem more than plausible.
But those worries were laughably unfounded, as no such thing happened.
Since the day he left the inn with Moyong Huia, the White Heaven Sword Lord hadn't shown himself for several days.
The same went for Moyong Huia.
Probably…
'Is Moyong Huia holding him back?'
'Using that eeeeng and aeeeng…?'
'If so, that must be quite an effort.'
Thinking of it, my head nodded on its own. I also felt a rare sense of gratitude toward Moyong Huia.
However, when I thought about it carefully…
'Actually, maybe Moyong Huia uses that tone at home.'
It had been on my mind.
The way she had naturally blurted it out somehow looked familiar.
It was a delusion—wondering if perhaps she spoke in that tone and voice at her own home.
'There's no way.'
I erased the thought immediately.
As if that proud Moyong Huia would ever do such a thing.
"Are you done with your musings?"
"…Yes."
As I was catching my breath, someone addressed me.
It was Paejon. He would appear occasionally like this when I was training.
I didn't know what he did normally.
I was currently throwing punches in the cave, as I always did.
Paejon examined my condition this way and that, chuckled, and asked.
"Is it manageable?"
"No. I'm dying."
Manageable, my ass.
Just today, I'd nearly passed out from the pain over five times.
Even so, Paejon only smiled as if pleased.
"…I'm only throwing punches. Is this really alright?"
It was a fundamental doubt.
I had long since realized how incredible the Heart Technique of Tuapacheonmu was.
The fact that I could still feel myself growing stronger meant an absurd level of efficiency.
But I still couldn't understand why he had told me to dig a cave for this.
What was the intention?
Paejon looked at me with strange eyes at my question.
"Those words mean you still don't understand what's so great about what you're doing."
"Huh?"
"Didn't you say it yourself? That it was painful."
"That's just a feeling…"
"Do you think an ordinary person could endure that pain and keep throwing punches?"
"…"
"I was certain from the first day. You are meant to be my disciple."
Setting aside having learned the Heart Technique, he seemed to be referring to how I had kept punching the cave from the first day he told me to.
"Just because of that?"
"One day is possible. Two would be difficult, and beyond that, an ordinary mind could not endure it."
It was something I could understand.
The Heart Technique of Tuapacheonmu.
The pain that Tuapacheongong inflicted was beyond imagination.
Still, if I could endure that pain, I could become stronger without limit.
It was only pain.
It was better than the helplessness of being unable to do anything and the self-loathing I felt at my wretchedness.
When I made an expression showing I still didn't quite understand, Paejon only grinned.
"That twisted nature of yours worries me, yet from a teacher's perspective, it is quite reassuring."
"Calling me warped… that's too much…"
"It means I have high expectations. Finish it quickly. Only then can I finally teach you the method of Ilgwon."
Hearing that, I felt utterly hollow.
"All this work, and what I learn is how to throw a single punch?"
"Indeed. That hardship is for the sake of that."
Absurd. Even as I thought that, I kept throwing punches.
"Ahyah!"
In the midst of repeatedly extending my fists, at Paejon's call, I stopped and turned my head.
"Isn't it about time you went?"
"…"
At his words, I frowned.
I had been playing dumb, wondering if I could just forget about it and bail.
Paejon had called me out on it directly.
"…I have to go."
In the end, I let out a deep sigh and put on the outer robe I'd thrown into a corner of the cave.
The reason was simple.
Today was the day the Righteous Faction Assembly was held.
Attendance had been semi-forcibly demanded of me.
The White Heaven Sword Lord I saw last time would probably be there.
Not only that.
All the patriarchs of the Four Great Families, including the White Heaven Sword Lord Moyong Tae, would attend.
Recalling that, I swallowed dryly.
Because no matter how I looked at it, the situation seemed bound to turn into an absolute mess.
I looked at Paejon and asked.
"Are you going as well, Elder?"
Given that Elder was a blood relative of the Biga, I had wondered if he might go too, but—
Paejon smiled brightly and said to me.
"Why would I?"
"…"
It was the most infuriating expression in the world.