Chapter 107: New Vice-Captain of Flying Dragon Thirteen Squad's Third Team-1
Chapter 107: New Vice-Captain of Flying Dragon Thirteen Squad's Third Team-1
The next day, I casually tossed out a greeting to the squad members.
"I'm off!"
And sure enough, light-hearted replies came back.
"Yeah, see you at training later."
"Jin, don't be late for external training."
"Seonu Gongja, you're leaving now? You have to bring back presents when you return!"
"...That's a bit much."
I was about to move to the Third Squad's quarters now.
Though you could call it moving, my luggage consisted of nothing more than a single sword and a backpack holding a few sets of clothes, so I looked like someone simply out for a light stroll.
But my mood was anything but light.
After all, in my two previous lives, my quarters on the frontline had always been the Seventh Squad.
So for the first time across two lives, I was transferring somewhere else.
I felt deeply unsettled.
Still, I was grateful that the squad members treated it like no big deal and spoke so lightly.
It made my mood feel a bit lighter, thanks to them.
A feeling as if I were just heading out on a short trip and would soon return here?
With that thought, I chuckled to myself and stepped outside, when I suddenly discovered an unexpected person standing there.
"Lady Dang?"
Third Squad Leader Dang Yeoeun, she was standing outside the Seventh Squad quarters.
She had apparently been waiting for me.
I had sensed someone's presence outside, but I never imagined it would be Lady Dang.
As I stared at her with surprised eyes, she gave a shy smile and spoke to me.
"I came to see if there was anything I could help with. But...."
She looked at my luggage and made an embarrassed face.
One small backpack and a single sword.
There was no way there was anything to help with.
Seeing her embarrassed expression, I spoke quickly.
"Still, thank you for coming, Lady Dang."
"Ah, no. Of course...."
Having said that much, we stood there for a moment, rolling our eyes around, unable to find words.
Then I barely managed to speak.
"Well, shall we go then?"
"Ah, sh-shall we?"
And we walked again in silence.
It was incredibly awkward.
I felt like I had to say something, but my mind had gone completely blank, and no words came to mind.
I swallowed hard and thought.
'This is strange. I've been able to talk just fine in front of Na So-jeo lately, so why am I like this again?'
At that moment, Lady Dang carefully opened her mouth first.
"Um, I'm sorry."
"Yes? For what?"
Had she done something she needed to apologize to me for?
As I looked at her with a puzzled expression, she bowed her head deeply, unable to even meet my eyes, and said.
"For requesting you as the Third Squad's vice-leader on my own without asking Seonu Gongja's opinion...."
"Ah."
Only after hearing that did I understand what she meant.
Indeed, it had been an extremely abrupt turn of events.
When I nodded as if I understood, she hastily continued.
"Back then, Squad Leader Je Won-yeong suddenly blurted out that Seonu Gongja and Lady Hae Cheong-yeon were peak-level, so I was forced to make a sudden request as well. Because talk started going around that a peak-level master could just be sent to another Flying Dragon unit as a squad leader.... Right after that, I meant to talk to Seonu Gongja immediately, but we were sent on a search right away, and when I came back, Seonu Gongja was gone, so...."
After listening to her incoherent rambling without even meeting my eyes, I could now fully understand what had happened back then.
And that it had been an unavoidable situation.
A thought suddenly struck me that she was cute, all curled up and apologizing to me like this.
To think everyone knew her only as a cold and haughty woman.
The fact that I alone knew this side of her felt strangely pleasant.
I smiled softly and answered.
"Don't be sorry. I know very well that you had no room to seek my consent. And... come to think of it, wasn't it Lady Dang who prevented me from possibly being sent to another Flying Dragon unit? Shouldn't I be the one thanking you?"
Only after I said that did she give me a bashful smile with a slightly more relieved expression.
She had apparently been carrying that in her heart all this time.
She was truly a cute and beautiful person.
Once her heart felt a bit unburdened, she brought up another topic.
"By the way, I heard you dealt with the Iron Demons at the Na family estate this time?"
"Ah, that? Yes, I encountered two of them."
"What?! Two at once?! How did you manage that?"
"At that time, I...."
After that, we were able to converse comfortably and walk all the way to the Third Squad.
And when we arrived at the Third Squad, we could see all the Third Squad members standing in front of their quarters, waiting for us.
Seven men and two women, nine in total—they were apparently going to hold a welcome ceremony of sorts.
With a deliberately calm expression, I walked up in front of them alongside Lady Dang.
Then, among the two women, I caught sight of Song Yeong-yeong, the young lady who had been chasing after me since before, cutely waving her hand.
'Hm, at least one person is welcoming me.'
Then I scanned the others and thought.
'Though the rest seem anything but.'
They all had come out for the welcome ceremony, but the only person with an expression of genuine welcome was Song Yeong-yeong alone.
The rest excluding her, especially the men, were radiating an extremely hostile atmosphere.
They were all glaring at me with burning eyes, as if they wanted to devour me.
Then Lady Dang, with an expression completely different from when she talked with me earlier—one wafting with coldness—introduced me.
"As you've already heard, from today, Seonwoo Jin Gongja, formerly a member of the Seventh Squad, will be joining us as our squad's vice-leader. I hope you will all welcome him."
At that, even with their burning eyes, the Third Squad members began to clap.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
It was an extremely perfunctory applause.
But I was devoting more attention to Lady Dang standing beside me than to their eyes and applause.
Right now, she was radiating frost with a cold expression, like a statue of a beauty made of ice.
Her change in expression was so drastic it was hard to believe she was the same person from moments ago; this was what you'd call a transformation.
It was amazing.
At that moment, Lady Dang looked at me and said.
"Vice-Squad Leader Seonwoo Jin, please say a few words to the squad members."
I chuckled at her cold voice and spoke lightly for now.
"From now on, I am Seonwoo Jin, the Vice-Squad Leader of the Third Squad. I am still lacking in many ways. So, squad members...."
At that moment, I heard someone mutter.
"Well, it's a relief you're lacking."
It was the man standing at the far left.
At that loud voice, clearly meant for me to hear, I paused my speech for a moment and stared at him, when another man continued.
"Relief, my ass. It's a pretense. If he really knew he was lacking, you think he'd dare come here?"
I now looked at them with a dumbfounded face.
But it wasn't just a problem with those two.
Only two had spoken, but the rest of the men were also snickering as if finding their words amusing.
"Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped me.
I hadn't expected a warm welcome, but wasn't this territorial hostility a bit beyond imagination?
So, unable to hold back, I was about to step forward.
Suddenly, Lady Dang explosively emitted her momentum.
Hwaaak!
With a cold expression and voice as if everything around her would freeze solid, she questioned them.
"Kang Gongja, Mok Gongja. What do you think you're doing right now?"
At that, the Third Squad members immediately wiped the laughter off their faces and returned to a rigid posture under her powerful momentum.
The two who had first sneered at me were no exception.
But Lady Dang did not seem intent on stopping there.
She shouted again with a frosty voice.
"Kang So-cheol! Mok Gyeong-jin! Can't you hear me?!"
At her sharp cry, the two stiffened rigidly and hastily answered.
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
"Yes! W-we were just...!"
But Lady Dang didn't listen to their excuses and continued approaching, raising her voice.
"Seonu Gongja was originally a talent who might have gone to be a squad leader in another Flying Dragon unit! It was only because I asked him that he barely agreed to come as our squad's vice-leader! And you dare show such rudeness from the very first meeting?! Do you intend to make a fool of me in front of the new Vice-Squad Leader?!"
At her cold momentum and words, the two men's faces drained pale.
They hastily shouted.
"N-no, ma'am! We didn't mean it that way!"
"That's right! We absolutely did not intend that!"
Then she glared at them for a moment before asking again in a lowered voice.
"You didn't intend it that way. Then what were you thinking? What were you thinking when you committed such a shamefully stupid act?"
Her lowered voice and the return to polite speech.
But combined with her cold momentum, it felt as piercing as a winter wind.
Since even I, watching from the side, felt it that strongly, it went without saying for the two directly receiving her momentum.
Their bodies trembled once, and they answered loudly.
"We apologize, Squad Leader!"
"We will ensure this never happens again, Squad Leader!"
But Lady Dang shook her head and told them.
"You should apologize not to me, but to the person concerned, shouldn't you? Isn't that right?"
At that, the two gritted their teeth hard and immediately apologized to me.
"We're sorry, Vice-Squad Leader!"
"Please forgive our rudeness!"
I whistled inwardly in admiration.
'Whew! Impressive.'
It was an incredible display of momentum and control.
The woman who had smiled bashfully at me just moments ago was now entirely beyond recall.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
'With her like that, even if I went around telling people she's actually a deeply wounded and very shy woman, no one would believe me. She's a completely different person, isn't she?'
That was when it happened.
Someone was flying in swiftly from the direction of the forest.
I sensed the presence first and looked that way; a moment later, a man running atop the tree branches came into view.
Recognizing his face, I muttered.
"Squad Leader Je Won-yeong?"
It was Je Won-yeong, the Jeomchang Sword Tiger and new leader of the Fourth Squad.
He landed beside us with a hearty laugh.
"Hahaha! What's this? A swearing-in ceremony for Seonwoo Jin's vice-leader position?"
After exchanging greetings and clasping my hand, he relayed a message to Lady Dang, who still wore a cold expression.
"You look even colder than usual. Since I feel I shouldn't spoil the mood, I'll be quick. The Vice-Commander asked Lady Dang to come to headquarters. It seemed an urgent letter had arrived from your main house."
At that, a flicker of interest shone in Lady Dang's eyes.
"From the main house? What about?"
When one spoke of Lady Dang's main house, it was the Sichuan Dang Clan.
"I don't know the details either. I was merely asked to relay the message. Anyway, I have clearly delivered it."
With those words, Je Won-yeong gave me a grin and then launched himself back into the air, disappearing.
Whenever I saw him, he always seemed like such a cheerful person.
It suddenly occurred to me that when this man grew old, he might turn out like the Sword Saint Elder.
When I glanced at Lady Dang, she was lost in thought with a serious face.
It seemed correspondence from the Tang Family wasn't a common occurrence.
I smiled and told her.
"Lady Dang, please go and come back. I think this much introduction is sufficient."
"But...."
"I'm fine. It seems urgent, so please go quickly."
When I urged her again, Lady Dang eventually let out a sigh and spoke one last time to the squad members.
"Let me reiterate: anyone who insults the Vice-Squad Leader is the same as insulting me. I hope nothing like this ever happens again."
"Yes! Understood, Squad Leader!"
With those final words, Lady Dang launched herself into the air, flying towards the Thirteen Squads' headquarters.
And after she had gotten sufficiently far away, I grinned and spoke to the squad members.
"Now then, shall we have some real men's time?"
At that, the male squad members who had been about to disperse looked at me with expressions that said "what nonsense is this?"
"What?"
I smiled brightly at them and said.
"We're martial artists, aren't we? So what's the point of boringly exchanging only words as a greeting? It's so tedious I feel like I'm about to yawn. Don't you feel the same? Or... are you too scared to do it, is that why you can't?"
At my provocation, the squad members' eyes began to glint fiercely.
The one who had sneered at me first ground his teeth and spoke.
"You're spouting words you'll regret."
I chuckled and shot back.
"Ah, you're going to regret it? Well, I suppose stomping on the squad members too hard on the very first day would be a bit much, wouldn't it? Especially on cowards who are too afraid to fight despite being martial artists, so they can't even step forward."
At that, the male squad members now began to approach me with completely infuriated eyes.
"You bastard!"
"I'll make you regret those words!"
"I'll make you realize why you were in the Seventh Squad and why we are the Third Squad!"
It was exactly the reaction I had hoped for, a most desirable one.
With a satisfied smile, I crooked my finger at them.
"I'm looking forward to that."
In my last life, Squad Leader Seolpung had tried his utmost to embrace all the members of the Seventh Squad.
So he had endured a great deal.
But back then, the squad leader had failed.
It was because a bastard less than human named Ju Tae-gyeong had been in our squad.
You have to treat humans with human decency, but the squad leader hadn't known back then that doing so with a subhuman bastard was useless.
In the end, when Na So-jeo died, the squad leader could no longer hold back and crushed Ju Tae-gyeong with force.
And then an astonishing thing happened.
The bastard who had been brutally beaten by the squad leader turned into an extremely docile lamb in an instant, and from then on, he showed a fully cooperative attitude towards the squad leader.
It was nothing short of utterly preposterous.
For a guy who had picked fights over every little thing and obstructed the squad leader to be crushed once by force and then instantly act like a completely different person....
That incident back then had remained a deeply disheartening memory not only for the squad leader but for me as well.
'If that bastard had been like that from the start, Na So-jeo would have....'
Anyway, the conclusion I reached back then was this.
Violence should of course be avoided, but depending on the situation, flexibility was necessary.
At times, rather than dialogue, a clear establishment of hierarchy was needed.
Especially for bastards who didn't know how fearsome the world was.
I grinned fiercely and said to the Third Squad members.
"Come at me. But you'd better be prepared for pain."