Chapter: 813
Degurururur-thud!
It felt like a small marble had rolled and dropped inside me.
Mrs. Mi doesn’t hate us.
That statement felt strange to me.
Is that really true?
Mrs. Mi resents and hates me. I had lived my life with that conviction.
It’s something that is impossible to understand otherwise.
‘How could it be any different?’
There are far more reasons to dislike than to like.
There are also more reasons to push away than to accept.
So I was left baffled.
“You don’t hate me? How can you be so sure?”
How can Gu Ryeong-hwa be so confident about Mrs. Mi’s feelings? Not understanding this, I ask her.
With a somewhat bizarre expression, Gu Ryeong-hwa spoke to me.
“Brother. You really don’t know?”
“What?”
“How can you not know…? I really pity you sisters….”
“Stop being vague and speak clearly.”
“It seems like you’re the only one who doesn’t get it, though.”
Gu Ryeong-hwa frowns deeply. She appears to want to explain more but tries to continue.
“…Never mind.”
“What?”
“I won’t tell you.”
“Hey, don’t just stop talking like that!”
“You said you were coming to see me, but you didn’t show up, right? You said you were going to go meet Youngpung Sajil? You even said you would tell him, yet you didn’t come… Who’s calling whom inconsiderate now?”
“…”
I lost my words once again.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve become better at this arguing thing. Ugh.
Stuck in silence, Gu Ryeong-hwa suddenly let out a small sigh.
“Alright… Anyway. What are you going to do from now on, Oppa? Are you really going to return to Shanxi?”
“…”
“…You’re going somewhere else, aren’t you?”
Seeing that gloomy expression popping up, I scrambled to respond.
“I’ve got some work to take care of. It’s not that I don’t want to go… It’s just that I really have… something to do.”
“You don’t need to make excuses. I know you’re busy.”
As she spoke, Gu Ryeong-hwa turned her head to look straight ahead.
“You’re trying to catch that celestial horse, right?”
“…”
At her next words, my body froze for a moment.
She unexpectedly mentioned ‘celestial horse.’
“I know too. You… are now in an important position to people. You’re busy trying to catch those guys from the Demonic Cult.”
With no words left to say, I held my breath.
“They say you’re called a hero? Honestly, I wonder if your face can even manage to portray a hero.”
Even while speaking incredulously, the corners of her mouth slightly lifted.
“Still, there’s a little bit of pride in it.”
“…”
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s really just a minuscule amount. Just because everyone keeps telling me how amazing you are… that’s how it came to be. Got it?”
Seeing my odd expression, I couldn’t help but deny it, wondering if I was misunderstood.
What kind of face am I making that would elicit such a reaction?
Whatever it is, it’s surely a misunderstanding.
The expression I was making wasn’t due to embarrassment or astonishment.
“So it’s okay. Really.”
This is the shame I feel towards myself.
In a situation I orchestrated, the praise directed at me is not truly mine.
But.
“Brother? What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing. Just a little uneasy.”
At hearing this, I found myself enjoying Gu Ryeong-hwa’s words.
It made me feel sick to the point of wanting to throw up.
As time passed, it was the next morning.
Dressed lightly, I arrived at my destination.
After finishing up my talk with Gu Ryeong-hwa, I spoke a little longer with Il Jang-ro, then headed straight to Madam Mi.
To be precise, I was supposed to see Mo Yong-hee, but she still seemed upset and wouldn’t meet with me.
So I conveyed it to Madam Mi instead.
She maintained a calm demeanor, even after hearing I was heading to Sacheon.
But.
“Are you planning on leaving the child here?”
“Pardon?”
“That child.”
“Oh.”
It seemed that she was indeed referring to Ddoldol, and so I had to ponder for a moment.
Was she implying to take him with me instead of leaving him behind since he would be a hassle to manage?
Thinking that way, I replied to Madam Mi.
“I think you might find it bothersome to keep him around, so I’ll take him back—”
“I never said it was bothersome, not once.”
I felt a hint of seriousness in her tone. Surely a misunderstanding, right?
“…Oh, is that so? But still, I guess I should take him.”
“The Murim Alliance must be incredibly busy now. Taking care of a child too would be hard. I’ll handle that part.”
“…”
If you’re going to decide on your own, then why even ask?
I truly wanted to ask that but held back because the outcome wasn’t bad.
It would definitely be easier to have Ddoldol with me, but it would also be an unnecessary task.
With the large number of people involved, we wouldn’t be able to utilize him anyway.
Currently, it was fine to leave him behind.
If there’s anything I’m worried about, it would be what kind of trouble he could get into if I just left him behind…
“I think he looks like he’s enjoying it, so it should be fine, right?”
Ddoldol seemed to be pretending to be an innocent child, living well and eating well.
I heard he was allegedly wandering around somewhere with Madam Mi every day.
“What on earth could he be doing?”
I wondered what on earth he was up to.
It didn’t seem like he was doing anything particularly important. Probably just dressing him up and buying him food.
“…hmm.”
It’s one of those things I couldn’t understand, but for now, I decided to leave it be.
As long as he’s doing okay, that’s all that matters.
Nodding to myself with that thought.
“The real issue isn’t that…”
I stroked my chin, recalling Mrs. Mi’s father, the former head of Baekhwadan.
“I ought to have met him again.”
The previous head of Baekhwadan.
Not to mention, a person claimed to be a direct descendant of the Gu family.
I had questions for him should I meet him.
“There wasn’t any.”
I had planned to look for that old man last night to see Madam Mi, but it turned out he was nowhere to be found.
Where on earth has he gone? Did he really just disappear?
Perhaps Madam Mi didn’t want us to meet and hid him away.
No, that seems very plausible.
“Why is that?”
Why does Madam Mi despise her father so much, and why is the old man she despises a member of the Gu family?
The questions ran deep.
Il Jang-ro said it’s nothing serious, so it’s alright.
“I’m curious.”
Even pretending not to, I couldn’t help but be curious.
I wanted to find out as much as possible. To do that,
“I’ve got to wrap things up quickly and come back.”
I planned to go and return as soon as possible. If that was feasible.
“Before the season ends.”
Before fall officially arrives.
I was determined to finish this matter somehow.
Thus resolving, I turned around.
Behind me, a group of under twenty stood nervously.
“Ready?”
“…All personnel are prepared.”
In response to my brief question, Dang So-yeol gave an immediate answer.
His reply was so quick that it seemed prepared in advance.
It was so adorable that I wanted to pat his head, but I restrained myself.
There were too many eyes on us.
“Really? Then let’s slowly—”
I intended to report to Mukyeon for our departure.
“Hmm?”
I sensed a presence approaching from somewhere.
As I turned my gaze, it wasn’t long before I spotted several figures approaching from afar.
It wasn’t a small group. Moreover, their outfits felt eerily familiar.
Everyone’s eyes widened, as if it’s not just me but everyone else too.
“What, Ilcheonggeom…?”
“Isn’t that the Blue Dragon?”
At the forefront of the approaching group.
There was a well-groomed middle-aged man.
Ilcheonggeom, known as the strongest Blue Dragon Lord, transcending all others present, excluding the current sword master.
He was personally walking towards us, with subordinates trailing behind him.
Others reacted upon seeing him.
It’s not surprising that the Blue Dragons appeared.
It had already been relayed that this operation would be cooperating with the Blue Dragons, hence their appearance wasn’t odd.
“Why is Ilcheonggeom here in person?”
The fact that none other than the Blue Dragon himself appeared was a different matter altogether.
“Did you come to see me off?”
“Do we really need the Blue Dragon here? Are the two of you that close?”
“I heard that instead of being close, there was some friction…?”
As rumors floated around, the chatter started to grow louder.
Noticing Ilcheonggeom’s arrival, I took a step forward.
“Senior Ilcheonggeom.”
“Nice to see you.”
As he spoke, Ilcheonggeom extended his hand.
Without hesitation, I took his hand.
I smiled while feeling the grip he offered.
“…I appreciated the help you offered, but I didn’t expect you to come here personally.”
“Haha. When I heard that Seongryongdae was participating for the first time, I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. I’m glad I could help like this.”
Squish.
He applied a slight pressure to my hand.
It wasn’t enough to feel like a vice grip, just an appropriate strength.
“However, I’m a bit worried that His Majesty the Holy Dragon might feel burdened.”
“That’s not the case. I’ve been hearing a lot about your recent reputation. Knowing you’re assisting is reassuring.”
“That’s a relief.”
The exchange of words was infinitely warm.
Because of that, those behind us could no longer hide their surprise.
“As expected, it seems they were closer than I thought.”
“Well, why would the world-class Ilcheonggeom cause friction…?”
Observing the situation, my thoughts began to wander.
My ears felt itchy but I disregarded it.
In truth, the situation wasn’t that warm.
As soon as the puppy arrives, it starts scratching.
I analyzed Ilcheonggeom’s words within the laughter.
– “Upon hearing that Seongryongdae was participating for the first time, I couldn’t just sit back.”
I came here because I was worried it could flop off the bat.
It felt like the crowd was a ragtag bunch, and it kept me up at night.
– “I wonder if Lord Seongryong Daeju feels burdened. That slightly worries me.”
Wouldn’t it be better if I participated in the first run? Even if it’s burdensome, if you want to succeed, deal with it.
Even with slightly altered interpretations, the meaning was clear.
Who knows how many daggers were hidden behind those words?
Frustrated from the start, I said something.
– “I’ve heard many things about your recent reputation. I feel heartened by your willingness to help.”
The reputation of Ilcheonggeom, mentioned here.
Ilcheonggeom hadn’t had a tremendously high mission completion rate recently, and his failures were well known.
Having mentioned this in the situation, it couldn’t surely carry a positive connotation.
“Haha.”
“Ha ha ha.”
Squish.
We chuckled but began to reinforce our grip.
It crossed the line of normal pressure and edged into that of a challenge.
Feeling that, I slightly adjusted my posture.
Swish…
And then, as expected, he pretended to lose his grip.
Holding back the corners of my mouth from rising, I let go of his hand in surprise.
Thud-!
The grip released, and a light breeze whooshed by.
The wind slightly ruffled my hair.
At the same time.
“Jeongryongdaeju.”
“Yes?”
Ilcheonggeom spoke to me.
“If there are any concerns, just drop them.”
He was smiling.
“Our Blue Dragon will wholeheartedly support Seongryongdae. We’ll definitely complete the mission.”
Feeling the underlying bitterness in those confident words.
Normally that would be bothersome, but this time I was fortunate enough to find humor in it.
“Worry? Why would I worry?”
I had no worries whatsoever.
That’s understandable because I trusted this Ilcheonggeom.
We surely held the same objective.
“I trust you, Senior.”
He would do whatever is required of him.
“Then let’s give it our best efforts together.”
He’s the kind of person I can count on to act as I wish.
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