The girl with a white snowflake-like appearance settled at the round table.
Her fluffy, puffed-up white bobbed hair and white eyes that looked like they could freeze you just by looking at them.
She was wearing a flowing white robe that was probably twice her height.
I seriously doubted it wouldn’t trip her up while walking.
[What the?]
[???]
[Wow, so cute!]
[That’s adorable!]
[Small.]
[Look at that delicate face lol.]
[Am I Unbaek?]
[Opposite???]
[What did they just say?]
Upon the sudden appearance, Lord Jooam frowned and stared at the girl.
“Unbaek. How dare you stand up there so rudely?”
“I disagree. I have no intention of agreeing with your verdict in the slightest.”
“Get down this instant! How rude of you…!”
“Shut up.”
“What?”
Lord Jooam glared fiercely at the girl.
The energy of Lord Jooam, reaching stage 4 of the display case, rippled around the girl, yet she barely flinched, showing little concern.
It makes sense, as the girl was at stage 3 of the display case.
On par with Nok Woo-rim before his level dropped.
The girl looked down at Nok Woo-rim, who was gripping her collar, but soon turned her gaze back to Jooam.
“What on earth are you doing? Are the ties with Lord Nok Mu just a joke?”
“You, being late to the meeting, have no right to speak. Moreover, judgments must be fair. Ties with Lord Nok Mu cannot be influenced in any way.”
“Ha! You sure put up a front. I seem to remember you babbling on about ‘ties’ last time.”
“That wasn’t even when you were present; why are you babbling nonsense now?”
“I basically witnessed everything regarding the Archlord.”
[OMG]
[Sounds so sharp]
[Unbaek is so cute lol!]
[What’s their deal?]
[Why is he arguing when he showed up late?]
[Hmm…]
[Hmm, Lily]
[That seems true though]
[Old man was a bit harsh lol]
The two Archlords growled at each other.
A tense situation where neither could give in.
As Nok Woo-rim gasped for breath and gripped Unbaek’s collar tighter, only then did his gaze drop down.
“U-Unbaek…”
“Nok Woo-rim.”
“Thank you…”
“Are you really hurt?”
“Huh, what?”
Plop.
Unbaek slightly squatted down to meet Nok Woo-rim’s eyes.
I squatted down slightly and met Nok Woo-rim’s gaze.
His face was filled with a look of disappointment.
“Why are you acting like such a reckless brat when you’re not even a ‘kid’ like me? Can’t you tell right from wrong? Did something happen with the Origin Spirit?”
“No. It’s just that…”
“Why do you keep causing trouble while others clean up after you? Isn’t it about time to graduate from such reckless behavior? Unless you’re a total idiot, this just doesn’t make sense.”
“Um…”
“Don’t say anything. It just annoys me.”
Unbaek raised a fist with a dissatisfied expression.
A small, pure white fist like a snowflake.
The fist struck Nok Woo-rim on the head, and when she shivered, he gave her another hit, clearly displeased.
Nok Woo-rim’s head dented in the shape of Unbaek’s fist.
[Hahahahahaha]
[Hahahaha]
[He looks different from what he acts like]
[Just listen to the way he talks]
[His insults are on point, haha]
[He looks like he can only say nice things though;;]
[For real, lol]
[My Unbaek is not like this!!]
[He swears so deliciously]
[Has it even been that long since he debuted to already be this salty?]
[Why is Lily just watching?]
“Honestly, if it weren’t for the previous Lord Hyangju’s request, I couldn’t care less if I were to lose my lifespan or if the Origin Spirit got separated.”
“…Baengnyeong?”
“Don’t mention names carelessly. Do you want another hit?”
“……”
“With this, there’s no more business with the Lord of Green Mist. Originally, it wasn’t even a promise that needed to be kept…”
Tsk.
Unbaek clicked his tongue and, seemingly displeased, struck Nok Woo-rim one more time.
Nok Woo-rim’s face met the round table, and perhaps she had no strength left to resist, she fainted right there.
Unbaek turned to me.
“Sorry for making you wait, new Lord Jeokmuhyang.”
“It’s fine.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It was kinda fun to watch.”
For a moment, it felt strangely entertaining as if I were watching a meeting of the Angel Guild.
I almost pulled out some popcorn but decided against it.
The expression on Unbaek’s face, which had been filled with apology, suddenly blanked for a moment before returning to his original expression.
[Hahahahahaha]
[Just look at that face]
[Ah, so you found it fun]
[Looks like they have some kind of relationship]
[Oh Lily]
“Are you the Lord of White Mist?”
“That’s right. I am Unbaek, Lord of White Mist.”
“What’s your relationship with the Lord of Green Mist?”
The evaluations of Unbaek were drastically fewer compared to other lords.
And it made sense, considering Unbaek had only recently been promoted to lord within the past 500 years—truly a ‘newcomer.’
The one with the least amount of information was none other than Unbaek, and the little that was known was that he possessed talents that surprised even renowned ascetics.
“Once upon a time, there was the Lord Baekmuhyang Unbaek, and the only information available about him was that he had talents that would surprise even the most renowned ascetics.
Moreover, as Nok Woo-rim and Lord Jooam mentioned earlier, Unbaek had no greed.
He reached such a level not by exploiting others but solely through his own talents.
‘I didn’t think Lord of Green Mist would have a special relationship with him.’
Unbaek sighed and replied flatly.
“Nothing special. I owed a debt to Lord of Green Mist, and today I finally repaid it. Originally, I wasn’t even required to repay it…”
“What is your relationship with Lord of Green Mist?”
“Well—”
“It’s his mother.”
Unbaek’s gaze whipped around in shock.
At the end of his line of sight was Lord Jooam, chuckling away.
Jooam waved his hand as if to say, ‘Why so serious?’
“Unbaek is the child of Lady Baengnyeong, the Lord of White Mist. Normally, the position of Archlord doesn’t get passed down to children, but exceptions do exist.”
“……”
“Of course, we weren’t particularly close, but… when it came time for death, he seemed to want to pass everything on to his child. I suppose that’s the instinct of living beings.”
“Jooam.”
“In that regard, children are the same. Despite hating their mother so much, they still fulfill her last wish.”
“Don’t make hasty conclusions. I might just slap you.”
“Ha ha. Now I’m afraid to say more.”
Jooam continued to laugh, and just as the meeting room was getting colder around Unbaek…
“So.”
Crisp…!
With a single touch from me, the meeting room returned to its normal temperature.
“Are you opposing this at the request of Lord Baekmuhyang?”
“That’s part of it, but even aside from that, I would oppose it.”
“What’s the reason?”
“Firstly, it’s true that Nok Woo-rim made a mistake. Naturally, he tried to kill a fellow Archlord without regard, so he must bear the consequences.”
Unbaek’s small hand lifted up Nok Woo-rim.
Nok Woo-rim, who was hanging limply, unconscious.
His body and soul were in a sorry state, to say the least.
“Lord of Green Mist Nok Woo-rim has descended two ranks and has suffered considerable humiliation as an Archlord. With that, I believe he’s already paid a significant price.”
“Hmm… that’s true.”
He has indeed suffered quite a bit.
Regardless of anything else, falling from rank three to rank one is a serious loss for an ascetic.
[That’s true.]
[He got seriously hit, lol.]
[Unbaek’s sharp, isn’t he?]
[Good at talking!]
[That old man seems a bit annoying.]
“Looks like this is gonna be a wild ride.”
“Seriously?”
“The old man’s crazy talk is something else…”
“Can’t we just off everyone?”
“I definitely need to snag that lifespan.”
“How cute.”
“And the second thing. The compensation must be paid by Lord Heukmuhyang as well.”
“…Huh?”
At Unbaek’s statement, Jooam shot straight up.
Jooam was exuding incredible energy, but Unbaek didn’t stop speaking.
“Even though I wasn’t physically present, I was able to hear and see everything here due to my techniques. Lord Heukmuhyang isn’t that different from Lord Jeokmuhyang. There was just a difference in degree, but they both intended to cause trouble.”
“Huh! That’s ridiculous. Just because you fantasize doesn’t make it true, you little brat.”
“You called it a fantasy?”
“Yeah. While my words may have been a bit excessive, I swear I had no intention of harming Lord Jeokmuhyang!”
“You may not have the intention to harm. That judgment will be left to Lord Jeokmuhyang.”
“Mm.”
Lord Heukmuhyang’s purpose wasn’t to harm me, but to have Lord Jeokmu and me reap as many benefits as possible.
However, in terms of having the same aim, Nok Woo-rim and Jooam weren’t really different.
I nodded in agreement with Unbaek’s intention, and maybe it was because of the techniques, but Jooam’s expression darkened.
He no longer had that cheerful laugh.
“…You little brat. You didn’t stir up trouble too?”
“That’s true.”
“Yet you’re spewing this nonsense? Truly ignorant—”
“Who said no one would take responsibility?”
Unbaek firmly slammed her hand on the round table.
Though it was a small gesture, the impact she created was anything but small.
“I believe this. ‘The price of punishment for Lord Nokmu has already been substantially paid. However, the harmed Lord Jeokmuhyang should be compensated as well. Therefore, the already agreed-upon lifespan of 150,000 will be split; 50,000 for Lord Nokmu, 80,000 for Lord Heukmuhyang, and 20,000 for White Mist. In total, the three will share it.'”
“???”
“What say you?”
Unbaek bowed her head towards me.
Her round head was easily visible.
As for my thoughts…
“That sounds totally fine!”
It was actually pretty good.
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