The news that Seongwang would become one of the Martial Alliance’s squad leaders had suddenly reached Henan.
Since the official announcement had even been made through the Beggars’ Sect, it was a highly credible piece of news.
Perhaps they had worked quite hard at spreading it, for before a day had passed, it had reached every corner of Henan, and all sorts of talk was already flying about it.
—Seongwang is becoming a squad leader…?
—A king-level martial artist serving as a squad leader? I have never heard of such a thing.
The seven kings. The Six Seats—no, now the Seven Seats.
Since the Martial Alliance was founded, there had never been a king-level martial artist who entered as a squad leader.
There had been kings who rose to become Alliance Leaders, but none who had taken on the position of squad leader. Naturally, there was much talk about it, but—
—What does it matter? Wasn’t the late Blade King originally attending the Martial Tournament to become the Divine Dragon Squad Leader?
Mentioning the Blade King’s participation in the Martial Tournament allowed them to calm down somewhat.
Considering that the qualification to become the Divine Dragon Squad Leader had been included among the prizes for winning the Divine Dragon Martial Tournament, it meant that had the Blade King won, the position would have gone to him.
In that regard, Seongwang becoming a squad leader was not entirely strange. However—
—Even so, Seongwang is no longer someone who has merely passed the age of twenty.
Seongwang had only just become an adult.
Regardless of what he had accomplished in Henan, some pointed out that he was simply too young.
But—
—What does age have to do with it? If it is Seongwang, shouldn’t we feel relieved instead?
—Seongwang is sacrificing himself for the sake of the ruined Alliance, and you’re worrying about his age at a time like this?
Those who were already furious trampled such objections into the ground in an instant.
Public sentiment toward the Alliance was extremely poor at present.
To be precise, it might hold out for now, but it would collapse before long.
In such a situation—
—If it’s Seongwang, I can rest easy.
—At least he’s someone we can trust.
—The fact that he chose the Martial Alliance bothers me, but if it’s Seongwang….
When word spread that the hero who had saved Henan had chosen the Alliance, the angry public mood was gradually settling.
The people’s fury toward the Alliance remained, but they had gained a reason to hold it back for a while.
All of that had been caused simply by Seongwang joining the Alliance.
When people found something to say, the unity that had held them together naturally began to loosen.
The anger that had surged toward the Alliance was shaken little by little by this news.
And on top of that—
—Have you heard that news as well?
There was another piece of news as significant as Seongwang’s. Because of it, the confusion only deepened.
—I hear the Divine Dragon Squad will be revived this time too.
—The Divine Dragon Squad…?
The Divine Dragon Squad.
Not only had each of its members been an exceptional powerhouse, the squad leader who led the Divine Dragon Squad of any given era would often go on to become one of the most notable figures in history.
It was the Martial Alliance’s representative sword unit, a unit said to be directly under the Alliance Leader, and it possessed an immense amount of influence.
At present, the Azure Dragon Squad was said to be carrying out its duties in its place. But when one considered the influence the Divine Dragon Squad had once possessed, people said the two could not even be compared.
That symbolic squad had announced its resurrection, and countless rumors were already circulating about it.
However—
—No, they said they would choose its members through the Martial Tournament.
—I heard the winner was supposed to take the position of squad leader…. What happens now?
Everyone had already foreseen that the Divine Dragon Squad would be revived through the Divine Dragon Martial Tournament.
Thus, when they heard the news, their first reaction was bewilderment.
The Martial Tournament had already been suspended because of the attack, and no winner had been determined.
No, the problem had begun when they first announced that the Divine Dragon Squad Leader would be chosen through the Martial Tournament.
Anyone who knew even a little about the Divine Dragon Squad would have questioned it.
That was because the Divine Dragon Squad had one unusual characteristic.
People might know the identities of its members, but they did not know the identity of its squad leader.
That was the Divine Dragon Squad’s defining feature.
In other words, after becoming squad leader, one was required to wear a mask and conceal one’s identity for the entirety of one’s service.
Of course—
‘That’s just pretending not to see the obvious.’
A martial artist’s techniques inevitably revealed their individual characteristics, and the higher the realm required to become the Divine Dragon Squad Leader, the smaller the pool of candidates became.
Because of that, even when people learned the leader’s identity, there was an unspoken custom of remaining silent, separate from the fact that the leader never revealed it himself.
Take the Sword Venerable, for example, the Eleventh Divine Dragon Squad Leader.
Before he became known as the Alliance Leader and the Sword Venerable—
When he served as the Divine Dragon Squad Leader, he wore a golden fox mask and fulfilled the duties of the position.
The Moon-Thread Sword was such a distinctive martial art that most people were said to have known the Sword Venerable was the Divine Dragon Squad Leader.
And the same had been true of most of the leaders throughout history. If there was anyone who had managed to keep their identity hidden….
‘The last Divine Dragon Squad Leader.’
The Sixteenth Squad Leader, who had held the position before the Divine Dragon Squad disappeared.
Nothing whatsoever was known about him.
Normally, the leader would reveal his identity when stepping down from the position.
But in the final case, the Divine Dragon Squad had been disbanded, and it seemed they had seen no reason to go out of their way to reveal the leader’s identity.
That had been nearly twenty years ago.
Given that history, there must have been considerable talk when they announced that, along with the rebirth of the Divine Dragon Squad, its leader and members would be selected through the Martial Tournament.
If the winner became the squad leader, did that mean the leader would no longer conceal his identity?
Had one of the Divine Dragon Squad’s defining characteristics disappeared?
All sorts of opinions had been exchanged, and then, with the Martial Tournament suspended, they had suddenly announced the Divine Dragon Squad’s resurrection.
While people were still divided over what would happen to that particular tradition—
“…Sigh.”
As evening gradually approached,
the sly one from the Moyong family let out a shallow sigh upon hearing the news.
Watching her, I swallowed dryly.
It was a habit she displayed whenever she was displeased or holding back her anger.
I had to be especially careful here.
Just then—
“In any case….”
The sly one from the Moyong family, Moyong Huia, began to speak.
“Divine Dragon Squad or not. In the end, you’re going to become its squad leader. Is that what you’re saying?”
“That… seems to be the case.”
“‘Seems to be’? I heard you already stamped the contract.”
“I just…. More or less agreed to it verbally….”
“Then you didn’t stamp it?”
“…Not a stamp. A fingerprint, technically.”
“…”
“Sorry.”
I apologized immediately beneath her piercing glare.
It seemed none of my excuses were getting through.
“You call that an explanation?”
“Technically, it is. If I say that, you’re going to get angry, aren’t you? Sorry.”
Moyong Huia casually picked up the water bottle beside her, so I caught her hand and repeatedly apologized.
“Are you going to let go?”
“If I do, you’re going to crack it over my head.”
“It wouldn’t crack your head. At your level, you wouldn’t even get a scratch. Just take it.”
“Not getting injured doesn’t mean it won’t hurt….”
“Then I’ll hit you so it hurts. If it won’t hurt, why would I hit you? I’m so frustrated I could die if I don’t do at least this, so just let me hit you.”
“Calm down. Let’s resolve this through conversation. Violence is bad.”
“You know how unlike you that sounds, right?”
I knew that very well.
But right now, I had to say something like that.
“…No, I’m telling you, the conditions were really good. They even added more.”
I said this without releasing her arm.
Upon hearing my words, Moyong Huia’s grip loosened slightly.
Her expression did not soften in the slightest as she continued.
“Of course they were good. If they weren’t, you wouldn’t have accepted them.”
“Right, so I just….”
“But did you forget that you promised to tell me first whenever something happened?”
“…”
The instant she pointed that out, my mouth clamped shut. I had indeed made such a promise.
Whenever something important came up—especially when it involved a contract or a transaction—she had asked me to consult her at least once.
I had nodded at Moyong Huia’s request.
I had no intention of doing anything foolish, and even with smart people like Cheol Ji-seon and Zhuge Hyeok around, Moyong Huia was far better suited to matters like this. Telling her discreetly would certainly have been helpful.
Of course, it had also been a method I chose so that I could carry out suspicious business behind her back.
Besides—
“…You looked busy.”
“…”
That was also because I was concerned about Moyong Huia, whose workload had increased tremendously of late.
In fact, she had been buried in letters all day long.
She had already had plenty to do, but the attack had doubled her workload. And even before Madam Mi had brought up supporting the refugees, Moyong Huia had already sought them out and begun preparing aid.
I could not even imagine how much work she had.
Was she eating properly? Was she sleeping at all? She was pushing that slender body of hers to its absolute limit, and burdening her with something as pointless as this on top of it would have been too much.
“That’s why I left you alone. Besides, it looked like everything had worked out, so I figured—just calm down a little….”
“Do you know who I’m busy because of?”
“Hm?”
Just as I was earnestly trying to explain the situation, her chilling voice stopped me in my tracks.
Was I imagining it?
The temperature around Moyong Huia seemed to be dropping, and it even looked as though snow was falling.
That was impossible. We were under an intact roof.
Then what was that?
“I’m busy because of you…!”
“Wait…!”
“I’ve been cutting down on my sleep and working myself to the bone just so I could get a little praise from you. And what? You couldn’t tell me because I looked busy!? You call that an explanation?!”
“Calm down! Just calm down…!”
“To hell with calming down! Are you even human!? Even if you traded your common sense for your martial arts, you shouldn’t be this bad!”
I wasn’t really human anymore, though.
Strangely enough, that thought crossed my mind the moment I heard her words.
Perhaps because of that,
I lost my grip on her arm.
Freed from the pressure, the water bottle shot high into the air.
This was fucked.
I decided I might as well take the hit and narrowed my eyes slightly.
“…Damn it….”
Perhaps she could not bring herself to hit me, for Moyong Huia merely held the water bottle while her face turned red.
“Huh?”
Then Moyong Huia’s eyes grew red, and moisture gathered within them.
Her eyes began to glisten.
I had never seen her like that before, and my eyes widened.
Was she crying?
Moyong Huia, of all people, was crying…?
It was a sight I had never witnessed, either in my previous life or this one.
The moment I saw it, I was so flustered that my body stiffened.
Then—
Moyong Huia lowered the water bottle in her hand and abruptly turned her back to me.
“…Forget it. I have so much of that damn work to do, so I’ll be leaving.”
“…Huh…?”
Moyong Huia walked out just like that, leaving me staring at her back without being able to say a word.
Uh, this seemed like it was going to become a very serious problem.
I turned my creaking eyes to the side.
A countless number of gazes were waiting for me.
The women’s gazes in particular were especially fierce.
We had gathered to eat together for the first time in a while.
Since there was something I wanted to say about the squad leader position, I had brought it up while we were all together. I had not expected Moyong Huia to explode like that after hearing it.
“…”
A heavy silence descended.
As the uncomfortable quiet continued—
“…I’m sorry to say this, but.”
The first to speak was Wi Seol-ah, who had already emptied three bowls of rice.
“You were in the wrong this time, Young Master.”
“…”
Namgung Bi-ah and Dang Soyeol nodded at Wi Seol-ah’s words.
Only then did I realize that I was more thoroughly fucked than I had ever been before.
******************
After finishing the meal, I immediately set out.
I wanted to go find Moyong Huia, but I had a prior appointment and could not do so.
“Did you have a fight?”
The words greeted me as soon as I entered the meeting place.
“…How did you know?”
“Judging by your answer, I suppose you really did fight.”
“No. It wasn’t exactly a fight….”
I had been the one who was beaten unilaterally, more than anything.
I had not even managed to get a word in while she struck me repeatedly, and then the person who had done the hitting had run out in tears.
“In any case, how did you know?”
When I asked in a flustered voice, Madam Mi, the head of the Hundred Flower Merchant Guild and the owner of this room, looked at me.
“The branch manager’s expression resembles someone so closely that it was impossible not to know.”
“Who?”
“There is someone. A foolish, terribly stupid woman.”
Madam Mi smiled faintly as she spoke.
That was surprising, but there was something I had to say.
“Then they don’t resemble her very much.”
“…?”
“She isn’t stupid. She’s actually quite intelligent.”
“…”
The idea that Moyong Huia was stupid was something I could not tolerate.
Thus, I retorted, and Madam Mi’s smile deepened slightly.
“In that regard, you are twice as good as your father.”
“…Why bring up my father all of a sudden?”
Why was my father suddenly being dragged into this?
Rustle.
After finishing her sentence, Madam Mi began examining the letters one by one again.
There were even more letters than last time.
“I heard the news. You’re going to become a squad leader?”
The words came while she was looking through the letters. I swallowed hard.
“…Yes.”
Was I going to get an earful here too? Tension was slowly creeping up on me, but—
“You’re the youngest Daeju, aren’t you?”
Madam Mi asked a rather unexpected question.
“…Pardon? Ah, yes.”
“They say you’re Seongwang.”
“And the youngest king, too.”
“Yes. That’s what I’ve heard.”
“Do you know what ‘youngest’ means?”
“I—I do.”
“It means you rose to that position at the youngest age.”
“Yes. I know.”
Hadn’t I clearly said I knew? Why did she keep explaining?
“It means you’re so talented and outstanding that, despite your young age, you can defeat all the seniors above you.”
“That is… I know…”
“The youngest king and the youngest Daeju… It’s an incredible achievement. Truly incredible. Ahem. It is.”
What was that? Had she just laughed?
Madam Mi, who had been about to smile, suddenly lowered the corners of her mouth as though trying to suppress her laughter.
What was this? What kind of situation was I in right now? Moyong Huia’s tears earlier had been strange enough, but this situation was even more incomprehensible.
“Ah, do you have a copy of the contract with you?”
“I do.”
Of course. I had received it right there the moment it was handed to me.
When I asked for paper and a brush, Mukyeon took them out from within his robes. Judging by the way he acted, it seemed he had no intention of giving them to me if I hadn’t asked.
What a crafty old man. You really couldn’t let your guard down around him.
“I would like you to show it to me later. Would that be all right?”
“…If you wish, I can have someone bring it to you.”
“Good.”
Madam Mi nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer.
Was that the end of the conversation?
‘She isn’t going to ask why I did it? Or whether it was really necessary?’
The conversation had been much more monotonous than I’d expected.
Had she called me here just for this? I had come in a state of extreme tension simply because Madam Mi had summoned me.
“…”
“…”
No more words followed. It seemed the conversation really was over.
I was about to cautiously offer my farewell and leave when—
“…And.”
Madam Mi hesitated before speaking.
Her voice made me stiffen instead of leaving.
“Yes?”
“That…”
“Yes.”
“That, um…”
“…?”
She must have called me because she had something to say, but Madam Mi was hesitating, unable to get the words out easily.
Had she forgotten what she wanted to say? That couldn’t be. There was no way the Madam Mi of all people would forget something like that.
Then why was she acting this way? Just as I was beginning to wonder—
“…You did… well.”
Madam Mi said those words to me.
“…Uh…”
Upon hearing them, my mind went blank for a moment.
“…Thank you.”
I barely managed to answer. I had to struggle because I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
It was nothing more than a simple compliment, yet something about it felt strangely awkward.
“…All right, you may go now.”
“…Yes. Then, I’ll see you next time.”
After hesitating, I offered my farewell and stepped outside the room.
“…”
Immediately after Goyangcheon left—
Madam Mi, now alone, looked over the letter again.
Rustle.
Rustle.
After the sound of her fingers stroking the letter had continued for quite some time—
“They say he’s the youngest.”
Madam Mi suddenly spoke.
The room appeared to be empty, but someone was certainly listening.
“Yes.”
The reply came from the ceiling.
“Seongwang… The Alliance may have meddled in the matter, but he has not only taken the position—he has even become the youngest Daeju.”
“I heard that as well.”
“…Isn’t he truly remarkable? He’s incredible. I’m so proud of him.”
“…”
“I think I should have the branch master send him something. He’ll need some money on hand if he’s going to work as a Daeju now, so perhaps we should start with what we have at the branch…”
“You could have said that while the young master was still here.”
“…”
Madam Mi had been speaking cheerfully, seemingly excited, but she fell silent at her guard’s words.
Her eyes trembled. Seeing an opening in his master’s composure, the guard added:
“If he had heard you, the young master would have been happy too.”
That was surely the case.
The guard wanted to say as much to his mistress, but—
“That won’t do.”
Madam Mi spoke to him in a subdued voice, unlike before.
“I’m still afraid.”
“Of what, if I may ask?”
For a woman who had nothing to fear in all the world—
A woman who, despite never having learned martial arts, seemed unlikely to lose to anyone—those were remarkably weak words.
“Don’t you think it would seem as though I were burdening that child? So, not yet.”
“…”
It wouldn’t. Tell him now.
The guard wanted to say that, but he had to hold back.
Anything more would be crossing the line.
Knowing that, the guard decided to bring up another matter first.
“Then, will you not tell him about that either?”
“What are you talking about?”
“That…”
Madam Mi looked as though she truly did not know what he meant. Seeing this, the guard spoke in a voice tinged with disbelief.
“The fact that the First Elder of the Gu Family is coming to Henan with the former Corps Leader.”
That was the main reason she had originally intended to call Goyangcheon and speak with him.
Since she had not brought it up, the guard had asked why. But the instant those words left his mouth—
“…Corps Leader?”
“…”
The guard could see it.
A crack had appeared in the expression of the Hundred Flowers Corps Leader herself.
Faced with this unbelievable situation, the guard cautiously asked:
“…Could it be that you had forgotten?”
“…”
Indeed.
Madam Mi had been so excited that she had forgotten what she needed to say—
A mistake among the few she had made in her life.