2. When the Blind Ju Cheong-ah First Met Ian
Back when the blind Ju Cheong-ah first met Ian, she thought to herself: This guy acts all guarded, but there's something kind of sloppy about him... ...like a bit of a pushover, maybe. But it didn't matter. She was the one in a hurry right now. Whoever it was... 'Gotta secure an adventurer's registration fast.'
Falsely accused for some reason and fleeing pursuit from Yuldo, Ju Cheong-ah had crossed mountains and hacked through forests to reach the kingdom. She quickly realized her first priority was establishing a new identity.
To that end, she leveraged her two advantages. First, being a blind woman who could draw sympathy from others. Second, even with bandages wrapped tightly around her eyes, her natural beauty was stunning. The pity that made people want to help a disabled person. The attention from those eager to catch the eye of a beauty. Using these, she easily gathered all sorts of information.
Among what she learned, the fastest, simplest way to get a guaranteed new identity was to join the Adventurer's Guild.
So Ju Cheong-ah headed to the Adventurer's Guild. But there, her supposed advantages became a hindrance.
Anyone could register as an adventurer, but that wasn't the end of it. They had to prove themselves by completing a guild-assigned task under the supervision of other adventurers—the so-called adventurer exam.
Of course, Ju Cheong-ah was extremely confident in her skills. And why not? She was...
The direct disciple of the Sword saintess, said to be the strongest in Yuldo, the massive eastern empire. On top of that, she possessed the astonishing talent even the Sword saintess had acknowledged.
She figured she'd pass the exam in one go and become an adventurer. But that was a huge miscalculation.
"Fuck, what blind woman wants to be an adventurer?"
The guild's adventurers refused to supervise her exam, citing her blindness as the reason. Ju Cheong-ah was taken aback. At first, she thought, Just proctor the damn exam—what's the big deal? But she soon learned why.
The guild used the excuse of limited manpower to have existing adventurers proctor exams, but to prevent any potential corruption or irregularities, those proctors had to party with the examinee for a set period afterward.
That's why they refused. Because she was blind. They didn't want to proctor her exam and then be forced to take her into their party.
Ju Cheong-ah was dumbfounded. Just let me take the exam—my skills will prove themselves. If a blind woman can pull her weight, let her join. If not, fail her and she's out.
But unfortunately, the adventurers refused even to proctor her exam because she was blind. They worried the guild might give her an easy task, letting her pass anyway.
In the end, day one, day two, day three passed in vain. Realizing she might waste away like this, Ju Cheong-ah took drastic measures.
"...Karen."
"Yes?"
"I'll raise the adventurer exam commission fee. Fifteen silver coins. That should get people lining up, right?"
"Uh... Y-yes, got it. Um, Miss Cheong-ah."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Sh-should we set any qualifications? Or just anyone...?"
Karen's voice trembled slightly, hinting at something meaningful, but Ju Cheong-ah decided not to dwell on it.
"Yes, anyone. I just want to become an adventurer quickly."
"Understood!"
Whatever, she probably just got flustered over some crazy woman willing to blow fifteen silvers on an adventurer exam.
The next day, in the morning, Ju Cheong-ah was introduced to Ian by Karen. To reiterate, her first impression of him was, yeah. 'An easy mark to use.' Nothing more, nothing less.
Right up until the moment she was sent flying by an ogre's club.
Ugh... it hurts. She'd let her guard down.
To think I'd get done in by some mere Bigmouth Oni...
Clearing the goblins had been fine. Then the Bigmouth Oni—no, ogre—showed up, but that was okay too. Her master, the Sword saintess, had hunted them back when her skills were still lacking. With talent and ability far surpassing her master's from those days, there was no way she'd lose.
She'd grown too complacent. Her head spun, throbbing pain everywhere, the bandages over her eyes damp—probably from her skull cracking open on that club swing, blood flowing. Every joint in her body ached; this was no ordinary situation. She could barely twitch a finger, alarms blaring in her mind.
...Dangerous. She might die. She didn't want to die...
Negative thoughts flooded in, her eyes stinging with tears.
I still have so much to do...
Clear her name. Things she wanted to do. To die like a dog like this. If it'd been a fair defeat by superior skill, fine. But to end up this pathetic from a careless ambush...
Then a man's face flashed in her mind. The one who'd been with her just moments ago.
Right, Ian was...
...What good was he? A scrub who couldn't even handle one goblin. He'd run even from goblins—against an ogre? Good thing he hadn't ditched her earlier. ...Ian must've run, right?
Recalling what she'd heard about him, melancholy washed over her again, making her feel utterly pathetic—right then.
Body pain alleviated.
— Alleviated pain partially transferred to the Conductor.
Body wounds healed.
— Healed wounds partially borne by the Conductor.
Mental stress relieved.
Physical impairment detected. By the Conductor's divine authority, one of his senses is shared.
— Partially sharing the Conductor's vision.
— Dependency and affinity toward the Conductor increased.
Strange blue rectangular boxes and text appeared before her blind eyes. At the same time, one eye throbbed sharply. The bandage over that eye loosened, and her pitch-black vision blazed to life.
"Ah...?"
What she saw was light. Color. The world. Light shining, colors vivid, filling her one eye. This, what... The beautiful sight she'd never seen before. Even if it was just an artificial goblin village in a barren forest—it didn't matter. The overwhelming emotion of seeing for the first time in her life was enough. Even her body, which she couldn't move a finger before, felt vastly improved.
What on earth was happening? Without deep thought, she intuited it was tied to that blue transparent window that had popped up.
"What the hell is..."
As she tried to think, another blue window-like alert flashed before her eyes, now in deep red as a warning.
Your Conductor is in danger. Rescue him quickly.
Your Conductor is in danger. Rescue him quickly.
Your Conductor is in danger. Rescue him quickly.
Your Conductor is in danger. Rescue him quickly.
Conductor? Rescue who...? She forced herself up and looked. There was the ogre that had sent her flying. And in front of it...
Black hair, black eyes. She'd never seen a human face before, so she couldn't tell if he was handsome or not.
"Ian...?"
So that's what he looked like...
While she pondered, the ogre swung its club at Ian's head.
-GRRROOAAAR...!!
Your Conductor is in danger. Rescue him NOW!
Only then did Ju Cheong-ah understand. The Conductor was Ian. The one who had given her light, color, the world... was him.
Her mind burned hot. Blood trickled down, staining her eyes red.
The club swinging toward Ian.
"How dare you..."
Touch him?
Ju Cheong-ah ignited her inner energy and kicked off the ground. Mana whirled fiercely inside her, surging through her body and taking form.
Silver light like a full moon on a frosty night sky. Channeling the activated energy into her sword, the techniques she'd swung thousands of times a day flowed naturally.
Illusion
Her blurring footsteps vanish. The sword's edge fades into transparency, as if gone.
In an instant, her body teleports behind the ogre.
The slash splits into hundreds in a blink, shredding the ogre's body.
The victim doesn't realize until it's too late. Thus, the illusion.
But if substance exists, how can it be mere illusion?
The ogre swinging its club at Ian didn't notice its arm—still gripping the weapon—sever into three pieces. It just felt a vague emptiness.
"Gruk...?"
Dazed, it turned its head. Only then did it realize its arm was gone. Pain crashed in the moment of awareness. The ogre roared in agony.
"GRRROOAAARRGH?!?"
Clutching its stump, it staggered back. Ju Cheong-ah took three steps backward. Red lines etched across the ogre's body. That was its end.
Flesh and blood rained down in chunks. Ju Cheong-ah was drenched, but she didn't care. Because...
"Ha, haha..."
Locking eyes with Ian—wide-eyed, flashing that sheepish grin of someone who'd barely survived—it was, well...
"Phew... You startled me, jumping in like that."
Cute? No, not quite. Just, somehow.
"A mountain of a brute pulling a sneaky ambush."
Looking at him, her heart pounded. This was definitely...
"You okay, Ian?"
Gratitude toward the one who'd given her light and color for the first time.
The next morning, as usual, Ju Cheong-ah woke early. She saw her naked self, embraced by the sleeping man Ian, and the faint bloodstain on the sheets below her lower abdomen. She muttered:
"...Damn, alcohol's my enemy."
Ju Cheong-ah, age 24. From the moment she could walk, she'd devoted her life to the sword, cherishing her purity—only to lose it drunk.