Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: An Unlikely Companion
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There are stages to a person's maturation.
When young, it's normal to rely on your parents and even be spoiled.
You get scolded for misbehaving and are taught the right path.
Then, as you get older and your mind matures, you start to think about yourself.
Am I truly an important being in this world?
What do I like? What do I truly desire?
It's a time of self-exploration, of stepping out from behind the fence of your parents to move forward on your own.
After passing through many more stages, a person becomes fully mature and passes their role on to the next generation.
But what happens if you grow old without properly experiencing one of these stages?
The unfulfilled self of that age remains within your heart.
If you couldn't rely on your parents, a spoiled child remains in your heart.
If you couldn't pour out your passion in your youth, a youth burning with fervor remains in your heart.
If you couldn't start a family, a father longing for a home remains in your heart.
They don't disappear; they all remain just as they were.
The option to simply skip a stage of life does not exist.
You have to act childish like a kid, and when you're full of vigor, you have to laugh and play with your friends to your heart's content.
Even if it means going back to a time unbefitting your age, you must complete the stages you were meant to go through in the past.
Only then can you become fully mature.
And that holds true even for someone as cruel and heartless as the Sword Demon.
***
Arriving at an inn on the outskirts of the village, Unmyeong gazed at the girl sleeping soundly beside him.
"I got caught up with you and did something pointless."
[We'll see about that. If you're so displeased, why not just toss her back outside?]
"You truly are a wicked demonic sword. Not a shred of human compassion."
[That's because I was never human.]
Though he acted displeased on the surface, it didn't feel so bad.
Looking at the girl he had saved with his own hands, he even began to wonder if he had done something at least a little meaningful.
Just then, Sohwal entered the room.
"It seems there's no pursuit for now. They likely don't even know we're here."
"I see. That's a relief."
"By the way, Sword Demon. That girl is..."
Sohwal looked at Unmyeong with a slightly questioning expression.
"I brought her along because I needed a guide. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Ah, no, sir. It's just that I was worried it might interfere with our mission..."
"That won't happen, so don't worry. If it comes to it, we can just leave her behind."
While Unmyeong and Sohwal were talking, the girl stirred and slowly regained consciousness.
"Ugh, ugh..."
As if her stomach hurt from the harsh blow, the girl curled up slightly and placed a hand on her abdomen.
Seeing this, Unmyeong spoke.
"Don't move recklessly. If you want to recover quickly, you should rest for a few days. That is, if the situation allows."
"Ah, mister, you're..."
As the girl spoke, looking at Unmyeong, he removed his bamboo hat, revealing his face, and answered firmly.
"And that 'mister' title. Don't use it. I'm still young."
He was now thirty-three.
In truth, at that age in this era, he was considered quite old and certainly old enough to be called 'mister', but thanks to his long and consistent martial arts training, his physical age was comparable to someone in their twenties.
The girl, not knowing the reason, narrowed her eyes and studied Unmyeong's face.
And when her eyes met his, she blushed without realizing it.
Unmyeong's appearance was neat, and his facial features were fine, more than enough to stir a woman's heart.
"Oh, uh, I'm sorry. What should I call you then?"
"Hm, just call me 'Young Master Un'."
"Ah, yes, I will. Young Master Un. Thank you so much for saving me."
The girl bowed her head and expressed her gratitude.
"If you hadn't stepped in, Young Master Un, I would have been dead."
Unmyeong, unaccustomed to receiving such thanks, turned his head slightly and asked nonchalantly.
"Right. What's your name?"
"It's Yuhwa."
"Yuhwa. Your parents gave you a fine name."
"...My parents didn't give me my name. The mistress of the brothel gave it to me."
He had meant it as a compliment, but Unmyeong couldn't hide his surprise at the completely unexpected answer.
"Ahem, hm. Right. Anyway, how did you end up in that situation with those men?"
"At the brothel, they said I was old enough and tried to make me serve men. So I tried to run away, but I got caught, and that's what happened."
"Old enough? You still look very young to me."
"There are always strange old men who only like little girls."
"How dreadful."
Though it was a story that could be embarrassing to tell, Yuhwa showed no sign of it.
"In any case, that was a brave thing to do. You must have been terrified."
"Because being passively left to a cruel fate is even more terrifying."
"Oh?"
Unmyeong was pleased with Yuhwa's firm resolve.
Most people simply accept their fate and live in compliance with it.
Defying it and forging one's own path is far too arduous and dangerous.
Hadn't this very girl just faced a near-death crisis in the process of rejecting the life of a courtesan and carving her own path?
"If I hadn't been there, you would have died today."
"But in the end, you saved me, Young Master Un. You proved that my choice wasn't wrong. Thank you again."
Hearing Yuhwa's bold words, Unmyeong let out a small chuckle.
He hadn't expected anything from the girl, but he quite liked her attitude.
"Alright. In any case, you've escaped the immediate danger, but what will you do now? If you stay in this village, you'll eventually be caught."
When Unmyeong asked, Yuhwa opened her mouth, her eyes filled with firm resolve.
"Young Master Un! Please take me with you! Though I may be weak now, I will definitely become someone you need!"
"Ha! What a funny thing to say."
Naturally, Unmyeong was on an important mission and had no intention of accepting her proposal.
Sohwal, who was listening nearby, also seemed displeased by Yuhwa's request, her face twisting slightly.
However, it was not proper to interrupt her superior's conversation, so she remained silent.
"Do you even know who I am?"
"A martial artist... aren't you?"
"Not all martial artists are the same."
"Then... are you from the Unorthodox Faction?"
At Yuhwa's answer, Unmyeong chuckled.
"The Unorthodox Faction, you say. Yes, that's more or less close."
To be precise, Unmyeong was of the Demonic Path.
The Unorthodox and Demonic Paths might sound similar at first, but they are generally distinguished by the purpose for which they wield their power.
The Unorthodox Faction acts purely based on self-interest.
Thus, an 'Unorthodox Sect' is usually an organization of many martial artists united for some profit or monetary goal.
But the Demonic Path acts to protect a 'twisted conviction'.
The 'Heavenly Demon Cult', the 'Blood Cult', and so on. Most are related to 'Cults', which in turn relates to belief.
Such as 'the strong reign supreme', where the will of the weak is utterly ignored, or destructive ideals that entail immense sacrifice and suffering.
Convictions that ordinary people could never comprehend.
However, martial artists of the Demonic Path are rarely seen.
This is because most of them hide their affiliation and identity while active, or they remain secluded in their strongholds and rarely venture out.
That was why Yuhwa, seeing the handsome and relatively reasonable Unmyeong, did not think of the Demonic Path, of crazed slaughterers.
"I am not as clean as you think. Do you still wish to follow me?"
"..."
Yuhwa fell silent for a moment and lowered her head.
"I will be worse than anything you can imagine."
A moment later, Yuhwa answered with a resolute gaze and voice.
"Yes. The path my benefactor walks, I wish to follow it too!"
"It seems you don't quite understand what I'm saying."
Unmyeong mixed the demonic energy and killing intent within his body, drew out a moderate amount, and released it toward the girl.
The air instantly changed, and Yuhwa's body and expression froze.
"Haaargh?!"
"Following me could lead directly to your death. If you're running to me because you're afraid of the life laid out for you, you'd better think again."
The room filled with a dreadful killing intent and demonic energy. Yuhwa, who had never learned martial arts, felt as if her body was being crushed, and even breathing became difficult.
A moment later, when Unmyeong retracted his aura, Yuhwa immediately slumped over, panting heavily.
"Gasp...! Gasp...!"
"Do you still intend to follow me? Even though you'll have to endure killing intent like that countless times?"
He had been a bit harsh, but Unmyeong thought this was necessary to shake Yuhwa off.
The martial world was too heartless and barbaric a place to enter with ordinary resolve.
A moment later, Yuhwa looked at Unmyeong with trembling eyes before finally lowering her head.
"It seems you've made up your mind."
Unmyeong picked up the Soul-Severing Sword and opened the door.
"It is the path you've chosen, so you must forge it yourself."
Suddenly, Unmyeong recalled the words his mother had spoken to him when he was young.
"Never trust others. Life is something you must endure alone, in solitude and loneliness."
Leaving those words behind, he and Sohwal stepped out of the room.
As the sound of their footsteps faded, only the faint sound of Yuhwa's small, trembling breaths could be heard in the room.
And even that was soon drowned out and vanished amidst the sounds of nature—the chirping of insects and the flow of water—coming from outside the window under the dark night sky.