Chapter: 258
When was it?
It must have been around the time when I was rolling around on the front lines for a long time.
It was night.
It was the night shift, the most boring time of the day.
– Fireworks.
I was blankly staring at the moon when I heard a voice next to me and turned my head.
– I told you not to call me that, you crazy bastard.
– So what? I said that friends all call each other by nicknames.
– Fuck… What the hell is a nickname like Fireworks?
– Oh? So you don’t mind me calling you my friend now?
– Go away.
I clutched my pounding head at the young man’s words.
Any conversation with this kid didn’t go as planned.
The shaman’s sleeping dragon.
This crazy guy is called the top of the Oryongsambong.
Always looking lazy and laid-back.
Yet, when the time came, he showed some ridiculous things as if his talent was not a lie.
I had a feeling that his true character was downright insane.
– Anyway, isn’t that the fireworks?
– What?
– How to survive among beasts.
– … What?
Suddenly, I thought, what the hell are you talking about?
Beast? What kind of beast all of a sudden?
– Beast? What, are you talking about a monster?
– It could be a monster. It could be a human too.
– You said beast, so what the hell are you talking about as a human?
At my words, the corners of Jamryong’s mouth lifted.
His face was dirty, with his hair all messed up and dusty.
Maybe it was because he was charming that his smile seemed like it would really captivate the girls.
Those guys with pretty faces should all die anyway.
– Is our Fireworks still pure?
– What the heck is this kid?
– Humans sometimes become beasts. You’ve seen it many times, right?
My face naturally frowned at the sleeping dragon’s words.
Sometimes this crazy guy’s eyes become so cold they’re creepy.
This was especially true now.
Is it because he looks quite cold when he stays still?
It was quite awkward to look at him when he opened his eyes like that, which were always smiling.
– I told you to open your eyes carefully, didn’t I? You’re going to destroy it?
– Fireworks, isn’t this the situation where you can judge whether someone is good or bad by looking at them?
– Shut up, kid.
– Your temper is still dirty.
Just have a little conversation with this kid, and I feel like I’m going to lose my mind.
Seolbong. Why did this crazy girl have to pair me up with this guy of all people?
Of course, I should ask such questions.
‘You’re so ridiculously weak, I paired you with a sleeping dragon.’
I knew I would only hear answers that would make me feel dirty, so I just had to endure it.
The sleeping dragon laughs and grins, as if he finds something so funny.
– What are you splitting?
– After all, talking to you is the most fun.
– It’s not me, so please keep your mouth shut.
– Ugh?
– … Please, you crazy bastard.
When I tell him to keep his mouth shut, he closes his mouth and starts talking again.
It was truly an unimaginable adventure.
– Isn’t this it?
– Ah… My head hurts.
Doesn’t time pass quickly?
If this continued, I might get sick and die.
– Okay, anyway, listen carefully.
– What do you keep telling me to listen to?
– I’m talking about how to survive.
– You won’t listen to me if it’s the same nonsense you said last time?
What was it?
Didn’t I tell you to calm down and hold back your anger for only three times?
It was a story that I ignored because I didn’t understand why I had to put up with the other person’s nonsense.
– No, that’s a little different.
– What is it?
– That’s the easiest way to survive.
At the sound of the sleeping dragon spitting words one after another, my ears perked up without me realizing it.
I wondered what he was trying to say by concentrating so hard.
How to survive? Is there some special secret that the sleeping dragon has?
To my horror, the sleeping dragon smiled and gave me the answer.
– Don’t put yourself in a dangerous situation.
– …
– … What’s with that expression?
– I’m an idiot for expecting even a moment from you.
– Hey, this is really important.
– It must be important, you little punk.
What’s the difference between that and saying that if you just practice hard, you can become the best in the world someday?
Do you think I put myself in a dangerous situation because I want to?
– That’s right. It’s not like you let go because you want to.
– … Did I just spit it out?
– Fireworks, it all shows in your expression.
– This is fucking bullshit.
– That makes it more fun.
Was my expression that funny?
The sleeping dragon laughed loudly.
Why is he finding amusement in looking at my face?
Should I just punch him in the face?
– But, you tend to go even though you know.
– What?
– There is a tendency to go in even when you know it will be dangerous.
– …
I can’t deny this.
There were a few times when I went in knowing that I would be screwed if I did as the sleeping dragon said.
– What does that have to do with this?
The sleeping dragon makes a strange expression at my question.
He looked like he was pondering something.
– Yeah, Fireworks, you misunderstood when I spoke to you indirectly.
– What are you saying…?
– Don’t just blindly rush in, think before you act. You’ll die if you do… Oh, I said it indirectly because I thought you’d react like that! Put out the lights! You’ll wake up all the kids.
– Who is calling whom ignorant?
– That’s what they say. If you think it’s dangerous, think again before you go in. It’s better not to attempt something you can’t handle.
– Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.
– … That’s the most unreliable thing in the world.
In the end, the conversation concluded with me getting angry at the sleeping dragon’s ramblings.
It ended with a burst of flames.
The sleeping dragon often uttered unknown words.
How do you know when I’m angry and tell me to hold back before I explode?
Every time I tried to throw away my life, a ghost would appear and stop me.
It was to the point where I thought he could read my mind.
The advice he occasionally spouted, like a piece of junk, didn’t really register in my ears.
Of course.
Later on, I realized that those words were helpful in their own way.
I hadn’t known it then.
After all, humans are animals that learn only after experiencing something themselves.
If I had known it was going to be a dangerous situation.
It means that I should not necessarily create that situation.
It’s such a simple and obvious truth.
Why couldn’t I do that?
Yeah, if I knew I was good at it from the start.
“… Could you move aside a bit? I get a little hot when people are crowded together.”
“… No.”
It wouldn’t have ended up like this.
Thud- Degururu.
I missed one of the dumplings because of the tangled gestures that were bothering me.
Finally, I picked up one of the dumplings again and yelled at the cats on both sides.
“Ah! Step away! I want to eat something!”
Only after shouting did it finally become quiet.
It was only then that the time came.
I looked at the women on either side of me and thought about the mess that had been made.
Let me think about my mistakes.
The first is that I brought these two out to the present to escape the situation.
The important thing here is not that I came out to the present.
It was that I brought ‘two’ out.
If you were going to come out, you should have brought only one person with you.
The problem was that I dragged both of them out right away.
The second is.
The thing is, these two people are on worse terms than you might think.
The reason I came all the way to Hyeon was that I wanted to get out for a bit and avoid my father’s gaze.
I came here because I heard that Murong Hee-ah was cooking at the building the Murong Family had set up in Hyeon.
Since it was a place directly managed by the Moyong family, I was curious about how it would feel.
It was nice to see.
The building was in much better condition than I expected.
The ornaments and clothing they were selling were all of excellent quality.
Thanks to that, the guests were famous, being either the owners of notable restaurants.
Otherwise, most of them were daughters of promising sects or families.
It would be correct to say that they were at the level of asking for money.
‘It’s even more so because it’s a monopoly.’
The ornaments were said to be personally embroidered and hand-made by the craftsmen of the Tang Clan.
I never thought those proud craftsmen of the Tang family could make ornaments.
‘I thought they only made weapons.’
Including decorations that go into clothing.
What catches the eye is how the jewels are mixed to create something that women love to adorn themselves with.
Even the quality was high.
They set it up so that visitors could easily see it.
‘If you leave it like that, won’t someone steal it?’
It was set up so comfortably that I even thought that way.
Of course, what crazy person would think of stealing from a Murong family building?
So far, so good.
It was quite something to see.
Even though it was a place that Moyong Hee-ah was responsible for and managed, she didn’t really feel anything.
Namgung Bi-ah seemed to be quite interested.
Eventually, we went to the guest house following Mo Yong-hee’s introduction.
This place is also said to be one of the locations managed by the Murong family.
Not much time has passed.
Are you telling me they’ve already made a guest room?
‘How could this have been done when I was at the frontlines for a year?’
I don’t think Murong Hee-ah managed all of this alone.
If her abilities had played a part, then she was definitely an impressive individual when it came to this kind of thing.
That said.
The issue started around the time we began eating.
“Your Highness, please try this.”
“… I am eating?”
“This is the dish that the chef is confident in making these days.”
“I told you I was eating?”
It’s good that you keep offering food this way.
“This….”
“… I said I was eating….”
It was quite burdensome because it was being pushed from both sides.
My stomach isn’t infinite either.
But if one side offers and the other refuses, that too becomes a problem.
“Your Highness, this is also delicious.”
As I barely managed to chew and swallow one, Moyong Hee-ah presented something else.
I don’t know what it was, but it looked a little red.
I let out a small sigh and tried to eat.
Snap!
Namgung Bi-ah snatched the food that Moyong Hee-ah was offering and ate it herself.
Moyong Hee-ah looked dumbfounded for a moment, as if she was at a loss for words at the sudden turn of events.
But she soon recovered.
She looked at Namgung Bi-ah with slightly raised eyebrows.
“… Sword Dancer…”
In Moyong Hee-ah’s icy voice,
Namgung Bi-ah was chewing her food.
It seemed that the amount of food was somewhat large for Namgung Bi-ah, who had a relatively small mouth.
Gulp.
Having barely swallowed, Namgung Bi-ah gestured to Moyong Hee-ah.
“… This person can’t eat spicy food.”
“Ah…!”
At Namgung Bi-ah’s words, Moyong Hee-ah made a face as if she had been struck.
It was the kind of face that suggested she had no idea.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but be quite surprised by Namgung Bi-ah’s words.
‘How do you know that?’
I wondered how she knew I’m weak to spicy food.
‘Ah.’
Around the time I attended the previous party convention,
When I had a meal with other later indices, including Namgung Bi-ah.
I remembered that Namgung Bi-ah had handed me water because I couldn’t handle spicy food well.
I suppose she remembered that.
‘You’re remembering everything.’
It looks like she also ate something that seemed spicy.
The problem was.
“… Ugh.”
Namgung Bi-ah also doesn’t really like spicy food.
Seeing her snow-white skin turn red from eating something spicy,
I couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
“Why would you do something like that?”
“… Ugh….”
It was spicier than I thought; she couldn’t control her arms and flailed around slightly.
It seemed a bit odd for the normally quiet Namgung Bi-ah.
That difference was so stark that I couldn’t stop laughing.
Slurp.
Unable to stand by and watch, I filled a glass with water and handed it to Namgung Bi-ah.
Namgung Bi-ah hurriedly drank the water.
What does that look like?
Because it looked completely different from how I had seen myself in Sacheon.
It felt different.
“… Phew, I’m going to regret this.”
Next to her, Moyong Hee-ah had a regretful expression, as if she had inadvertently lost.
What did she lose?
“As expected, it’s not easy to see… the Sword Dancer.”
“Hee-ah.”
Namgung Bi-ah, who barely managed to shake off the spiciness, called out to Moyong Hee-ah.
This might be the first time.
That is, Namgung Bi-ah called Moyong Hee-ah by her name.
“Now… what did you say?”
“… I.”
Moyong Hee-ah seemed like she wanted to ask again, thinking she misheard.
Namgung Bi-ah cut her off by pointing at herself with her finger.
“Fiance….”
“…!”
At Namgung Bi-ah’s casual remark, Moyong Hee-ah’s eyes widened.
It was almost as if she was saying, I’m the fiance, and you’re not.
Could it be because even Namgung Bi-ah, who is saying this, is smiling faintly?
I saw Moyong Hee-ah clench her fists, perhaps because she looked annoyed.
I wondered what she was doing, not even eating earlier.
Thanks to that, I found myself stuck in the middle, watching this unfold.
“… I feel like I’m going to be sick.”
I had no idea where the rice was heading.
I barely managed to shove some rice down and went outside.
Outside, it was night, the sun had set and the moon had risen.
But.
‘It’s changed a lot.’
Just last year, the nights in Shanxi were rather quiet.
Maybe it was the passing of a year, but it looked a bit different.
The street vendors’ lights were aglow.
There were more people than before.
It’s impossible for this to have changed just because time has passed.
Perhaps it’s because the Moyong family’s store is now properly established.
I wonder how can one store’s establishment lead to such a difference?
It made me realize the commercial value of the Moyong family name.
I guess I aired out the place a bit.
I could just stroll around outside and then return to the Sega.
‘… I can’t go on watching this Cold War any longer.’
The women following behind at a distance are still there.
The atmosphere suggested that it would be better to duke it out rather than this.
It seemed they didn’t get along at all because they were polar opposites.
But I can’t force it, either…
‘Oh, right.’
While pondering, I remembered a truth I had forgotten.
I hadn’t yet asked what Murong Hee-ah would do when I go to Anhui.
My father said that the discussion was already concluded.
‘… I was so overwhelmed by the atmosphere that I forgot to ask.’
It was a mistake.
I should have asked while we were eating earlier.
‘Should I ask now?’
I turned around and looked at Murong Hee-ah.
“Hmm?”
When I turned back, Murong Hee-ah, who was following me, was looking somewhere.
So let’s shift our gaze.
It was just an ordinary street vendor.
‘What’s going on?’
I approached Murong Hee-ah and asked her something.
“You know.”
“Yes?”
Murong Hee-ah looked surprised for a moment, as if she didn’t expect me to come up to her first.
“If you go to Anhui this time, what have you decided to do?”
“Yes?”
“According to my father, the conversation is already done.”
“Haven’t you heard?”
“He told me to listen to it myself.”
Just tell me!
I had no idea why he insisted I hear it directly.
When I said this, Murong Hee-ah’s eyes lit up briefly.
She smiled slightly.
It was the expression one makes when one is plotting something strange.
“…What are you thinking about?”
“Are you curious?”
“What?”
“I was just wondering if you were curious.”
“A little?”
In response to my answer, Murong Hee-ah pointed somewhere with her fingertips as if she had been waiting for it.
Curiosity piqued, I followed her gaze.
It was the street vendor that Murong Hee-ah had been looking at earlier.
“Please buy me one of those.”
“Huh?”
“If you buy it… I’ll tell you.”
Her finger was pointing to a small necklace on a street vendor’s shelf.
When I looked closer, I found it to be a cheap item that was no better than a fake.
“What is that?”
“I just… want it.”
Murong Hee-ah slightly avoided eye contact as she spoke to me.
It seemed like it was a meaningless action from my perspective.
The price wasn’t particularly significant in the first place.
I didn’t really hesitate.
I quickly paid for it and handed it over to Murong Hee-ah.
“… Ah.”
Receiving the necklace, Murong Hee-ah let out a small gasp of admiration.
The necklace I gave her might not be pretty.
Draped in more precious garments,
It was unlikely that Murong Hee-ah, who must have an overflow of jewelry, would find delight in such trinkets.
“Thank you. I will treasure it.”
Still,
The voice that came from Murong Hee-ah carried warmth.
What’s this cheap necklace to her?
“If you wanted it so badly, you should have bought it.”
“… If I buy it, it doesn’t really have any meaning.”
As she said that, Murong Hee-ah smiled brightly.
‘Hmm.’
It seems like it’s the first time I’ve seen her smile so brightly…
Crackling.
“…!”
In that moment, I felt a spark in my back.
But I didn’t want to look back.
It was evident who this energy was emanating from.
“… Ha.”
A small sigh escaped.
Only then did I realize that I just made a huge blunder.
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