As she caught our gaze, she chuckled softly and strolled leisurely.
Then she alternated her glances between Hongryeon and Chaejin, letting out a light snort.
“I’m planning to participate in the upcoming martial arts competition.”
Cheonhwa Palace?
Sure, the Ice Crystal Sword is nice and all, but it’s not exactly a weapon good enough to warrant Cheonhwa Palace’s participation.
So, what could be the reason for her leaving Cheonhwa Palace?
Thinking about it, the answer came easily.
I’m the host and sponsor of this martial arts competition.
Given that we have the backing of Hongseong, it was only natural for Hongseong to participate in the competition.
So, what happens if Cheonhwa Palace participates and proudly wins that martial arts competition?
It’s clear that the surrounding reputation and fame would tilt in favor of Cheonhwa Palace.
And of course, there’s also the thought of evaluating the current abilities of Hongseong as a prelude to that.
Since there are no qualification rules, it wouldn’t be odd for Cheonhwa Palace to participate.
“Is there a rule that says we can’t participate?”
“No, there isn’t.”
“Then that’s settled. Ah, has the construction for sponsorship finished?”
“Not yet, it’s still ongoing.”
“Then we’ll have to stay here. Please prepare the best room in this inn.”
Joo Yeryeong spoke calmly while glancing at Hongryeon and Chaejin. Her look over her mask was quite provocative.
You’re participating, but what about you? That gaze was full of meaning, and Hongryeon let out a snort.
“Can I participate too?”
“I don’t mind.”
It’s not like there will only be one martial arts competition anyway. No qualification rules whatsoever.
“With Hongseong, I’m sure you’ll breeze through the preliminaries.”
“Oh? There are preliminaries?”
“Surprisingly, there are many people interested in this martial arts competition, so it seems there will indeed be preliminaries.”
Thanks to the Murim Alliance promoting the martial arts competition, there ended up being an unexpectedly high number of applicants.
Thus, there’s no shortage of guests at the inn.
Look at that, since morning…
“Is breakfast ready?”
“Of course.”
Despite their gruff faces, the martial artists showed up with impeccable manners.
Anyway, since guests are coming in, we’d better start getting to work.
Not every martial artist is swimming in money. Especially for those wandering around, scraping by day by day, every penny counts.
It’s not like those folks can stay at the inn.
But if we just leave them to their own devices, they might leave without spending a dime, so I have to come up with something.
So I prepared to lease some idle farmland to the Murim Alliance and set up temporary accommodations there.
Naturally, the residents of Seomhwa Village put in their effort for that construction.
“It’s been nice not having much to do lately!”
“Get to work already!”
Even though it’s just a temporary structure, we couldn’t throw it together carelessly. Thankfully, there were workers from the wall construction project in Seomhwa Village, and enough leftover materials, so building the temporary structures wasn’t hard.
While I was watching them move busily, a man approached me.
“Thank you, Innkeeper.”
He was a martial artist sent by the Murim Alliance to support this martial arts competition, a well-known master from the righteous faction, Yeongryupil Yoon-gak, who was famous for his fairness.
I was granted permission to borrow the land.
“They’re providing the land for a bargain…”
“Haha. The Murim Alliance has done many things for Seomhwa Village, so it’s only natural we help with that.”
Of course, I didn’t bear all the preparation costs myself.
I covered one-third, the Murim Alliance covered one-third, and the county office handled the last third.
The reason the Murim Alliance was footing some of the bill was simple.
If there’s someone talented among the participants, they want to accept them as a warrior of the Murim Alliance.
The same goes for the county office.
If someone is bold enough to participate in the martial arts competition, that means they aren’t afraid of a fight.
For a soldier, that kind of determination is invaluable, so they gladly offered their support.
And as for me, I could benefit from the strengthening of both the Murim Alliance and the county office of Seomhwa Village, plus since participating in the martial arts competition itself was my goal, I needed to offer my support.
“Since you’re providing ingredients for meals at such low prices…”
I’m not just planting rice on my land in Seomhwa Village.
I grow vegetables and fruits for the inn as well, so I can provide some extra produce.
I decided to let the Murim Alliance buy the livestock and pigs raised by the villagers at low prices to provide meals for them.
“Since I suggested this event, it’s only right that I cover the costs. Don’t think too much about it.”
“Hahaha. Thank you very much.”
We discussed a few other things.
Originally, the application for participants was to be handled at my inn, but to avoid interfering with inn business, the Murim Alliance said they would set up a registration booth next to my inn.
It was a show of their willingness to handle any unnecessary disputes.
For me, that was convenient, so I’m grateful.
With our discussion wrapped up, I turned to Hongryeon and Chaejin, who had been waiting behind me.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
“But who’s going to participate from the Murim Alliance this time?”
At Hongryeon’s question, Yungak shrugged his shoulders.
“Yunjae from the Dokanryong of the Law Enforcement Department said she would come.”
“…Huh? Why? Isn’t the Law Enforcement Department really busy right now?”
Yungak shook his head at her confusion.
“What can I say if she wants to come? I think she’ll arrive in a few days.”
It seemed Yungak wasn’t particularly thrilled about it either.
As for her reason for coming… I looked at Hongryeon.
At my gaze, she let out a bitter smile and sighed.
“Sigh. I guess because I’m so strong, there are a lot of jealous people around.”
“…Why are you looking at me?”
Chaejin, standing next to me, replied sullenly. Hongryeon, taken aback, clicked her tongue briefly at her.
“What is it?!”
“Nothing. Let’s go.”
When we returned to the inn, I could see it was quite bustling.
What’s going on? Did a group of guests arrive?
While I was puzzled, Chaejin shouted beside me.
“Hey? Why are you all here?”
“Ah! Miss.”
The ones calling Chaejin “Miss” were only the people from Moonjeong.
I spotted a woman in deep blue hair. A member of the Moonlight Squad.
“Oh~ It’s been a while~!”
A cheerful voice chimed in. Standing there was a beauty who resembled Chaejin but looked younger, with a fox-like smile on her face—Chaeran.
The beautiful woman with a smile, Chaeran, stood there.
“Hmm? When did you arrive?”
“I just got here.”
“What the heck. Why are you here?”
As Chaejin asked with a hint of indifference, Chaeran took a step back in surprise.
“My goodness. How can you say that to your sister? Did you not want to see me?”
“Not really?”
“Such disappointment… A huge disappointment!”
With a face that didn’t seem disappointed at all, Chaeran smiled at me.
“Are you here to participate in the martial arts competition?”
“Oh. Not exactly. It looked fun, but actually, I’m here to investigate something. Uh, it feels a bit awkward to say it here. By the way, it’s been a while since we met; aren’t you going to offer me a cup of tea?”
With one eye blinking, she spoke playfully, causing Hongryeon and Chaejin to shoot her sharp glares. Under that intense gaze, Chaeran began to sweat.
“Ah, I was just joking.”
“Don’t be too harsh. Come on, let’s go upstairs. I can definitely offer you tea.”
After telling Jeomsoi to prepare rooms for the Moonlight Corps, I led her up to my office.
As we entered the office, Chaeran giggled at the connecting corridor leading to both rooms.
“Wow. You did this…”
“I don’t know if you’ve heard the rumors, but…”
“I did hear. I heard that you were attacked by the sarpa recently. And that the sword hunters were also after you.”
“Uh, yes.”
“Sigh. That’s why I told you to come to Cheongho. There are plenty of rooms at Moonjeong.”
After her brief comment, Chaejin nodded, while Hongryeon glared at her.
If this goes on, it’ll really turn into a fight.
“So? What kind of investigation?”
“I got information that the legendary hero, Hwakyang, existed, and that he left behind his weapon, the Hwachem Spear. So I’m investigating to obtain it… I managed to find a clue.”
The Hwachem Spear, huh.
Even in Heavenly Bright Moon, it’s considered a pretty powerful weapon, and to obtain it, one needs to overcome several hidden realms and related events.
“Do you know something? Everyone only knows that the Innkeeper is knowledgeable about evil monsters, but you actually understand the hidden realms quite well, right?”
“I only know what I know. Hmm… Are you perhaps talking about the Nakyeonsan area?”
Chaeran flinched and shivered.
“Wow. A ghost… Did you know about it?”
I nodded and pulled some books and a map from the shelf.
“I’ve taken an interest in it, so I did some investigation myself. According to the records in these books, the place where Hwakyang fought the Three-Headed Evil Dragon is the Hwaseong Canyon, located southeast of Nakyeonsan. Also, in the Cheonhoeyangrok’s Jihwaso Jeong, it states, ‘Where seven flames lingered, fire did not cease for seven days. Those who remember the battle there must replicate the seven flames.'”
“Yeah. I know that.”
“And according to another work by the author of Cheonhoeyangrok, Gwanghui Yadam, in the era when Hwakyang was active, fire meant weapons. There’s probably a symbol resembling seven weapons there. Based on the study of magic, seven is incomplete, but eight is complete. This refers to the Eight Trigrams. So if we want to find the hidden realm of Hwakyang there, we need to awaken the seven weapons while simultaneously creating the final weapon… Why do you see it that way?”
“I’m perfect, you know. This signifies the Eight Trigrams. So, in order to find the secret realm of the Radiant Light from there, you need to awaken seven weapons simultaneously and create the final weapon… Why do you look at me like that?”
I asked the three women who were staring blankly at me.
Both Chaijin and Hongryeon were blushing and gaping at me, while Chaeran widened her eyes and then clapped.
“Wow. You really know everything!”
“That’s too much praise. I merely know what I know.”
“And just where does that knowledge end…? Anyway, thanks for the info. Actually, I didn’t come here to ask that.”
“Anyway, if you’re going to challenge that secret realm, you’ll need strong people.”
“That’s why I brought the Moonlight Squad.”
“No. Take Hongryeon and Chaijin and get one more support from Hongseong.”
“Huh? I can understand Chaijin, but why me? I have to protect you!”
“Exactly. It’d be better to send her…”
Although the two were clearly reluctant, I shook my head.
“As far as I know, the secret realm of Radiant Light in Nakyeonsan is quite difficult and dangerous. I’m not undermining the Moonlight Squad, but I wonder if they alone will be enough.”
“Ugh…”
“According to the Upper Origin Manual, masters from Jinwonsa gathered to challenge the first secret realm of Radiant Light, and even they couldn’t break through and eventually gave up. Considering their strength, it would be better if Hongryeon, Chaijin, and one person from Hongseong went together.”
I pulled a book from my drawer. This was one of the books I had to read for strategy on the secret realm of Radiant Light in Heavenly Bright Moon.
Of course, I could have just watched a strategy cut on the internet.
As I opened the rather old book and showed a passage, the two groaned with serious expressions.
“Can’t we just let more Moonlight Squad members in?”
“As far as I know, the maximum number of people allowed in at once is four. I’m not entirely sure, so if it’s possible, let the Moonlight Squad go in together.”
It had only allowed four in Heavenly Bright Moon, but I wasn’t sure if it would be the same here, so that’s all I could say.
“But the rewards are worth the risks. One of the most notable blessings you can receive after passing the trials in the secret realm of Radiant Light is an increase in internal energy.”
Considering how challenging it is to raise internal energy, going there would definitely be beneficial.
“Hmm… If the Innkeeper says so… I’d like to bring Sayoon. Is that okay?”
It seemed she was contemplating participating in the tournament. I nodded at Hongryeon’s words.
Of course, that’s fine.
“Rest for a day before you go. I’ll also do more research and write down anything that can help.”
I should prepare a strategy guide.
After all, I wasn’t about to watch them get hurt.
“Wow… to go this far… By the way, is there anything among the rewards you desire? You know so much.”
“Not particularly.”
Actually, I did have something I wanted. But still, I shouldn’t unduly pressure them or get too attached to rewards.
What’s important is that they—and Sayoon—grow stronger.
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