An Unexpected Friendship Proposal
Dokgo Rin stared with clouded eyes at the blonde girl energetically conversing with Chilbok right before her. Namgung Ruby. It was a name from her memories. Among the Ten Great Masters of the World—represented by the Three Kings, Three Venerables, Three Absolutes, and One Demon—she was the sole woman to inherit the title of Sword King from Namgung Min. Her mother hailed from the Western Regions, giving her golden hair and crimson eyes that set her apart from typical central plains folk, yet her overwhelming swordsmanship rendered those traits utterly flawless.
Before her regression, Dokgo Rin had heard countless rumors about the Sword King Namgung Ruby, but never having met her in person, this was the first time she realized the girl possessed such a vibrant personality.
With my current condition, my odds of winning would be around seventy percent. She wouldn't lose in a proper fight, but securing victory without sustaining any damage would prove difficult. And that realization was astonishing to Dokgo Rin, who carried every memory from her previous life intact. After all, this was a mere twelve-year-old girl who already matched the skills of someone who had once stepped into the Transcendent realm.
Of course, her present self only possessed those past memories and had been training in martial arts for less than a year. Even accounting for that, the girl's talent was nothing short of remarkable.
"By the way, Miss Rin, you're incredible! We're practically the same age, but I've never seen anyone with such fluid movements before!"
"What?"
Suddenly, Namgung Ruby turned to her with a face brimming with curiosity. Dokgo Rin, who had been observing her with probing eyes just moments ago, let out a dazed response at the girl's unexpected friendliness.
Paying no mind to that, Namgung Ruby—her expression radiating pure joy like an affectionate puppy—grabbed her hand and declared, "If it's all right with you, won't you become my friend?!"
For the record, Dokgo Rin had always been weak to people with such clingy, affectionate personalities.
Suddenly asking Dokgo Rin to become her friend like that. No matter how coldly Dokgo Rin usually treated everyone except me, this was apparently the first time someone had approached her so boldly. She stared at Namgung Ruby with a completely stunned expression. Their personalities were polar opposites.
But she quickly regained her composure, swatting away Namgung Ruby's hand as she snapped, "Why should I become friends with you?"
Namgung Ruby's face crumpled like a puppy left out in the rain. "You don't want to?"
"...No! It's not that I don't want to, but there are still proper steps to these things!"
Her heart must have softened, because Dokgo Rin immediately contradicted herself. Watching her get so smoothly swept up in Namgung Ruby's pace was strangely refreshing. As I observed their exchange with keen interest, Namgung Ruby suddenly swiveled her target toward me.
"Then, since I can't have the real thing, how about becoming friends with Mr. Chilbok instead?"
"You compared a person to a substitute chicken so naturally."
"I really wanted to be friends with Miss Rin, but she said no, so what can I do?"
...This girl was rude as easily as breathing. I let out a small sigh and asked, "More importantly, why are you so obsessed with making friends? Is there a reason?"
Namgung Ruby scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Even if I look like this now, I was really weak as a child and spent all my time bedridden, so I never had any friends my age. That's why my current goal is to make a hundred friends."
"...Uh, good luck with that."
"So will you be my friend?"
"I'll have to politely decline."
"Why?!"
"Because if I become friends with you, I doubt our young lady would just let it slide."
When I said that and pointed to Dokgo Rin beside me, Namgung Ruby looked at her again. Having finally regained her composure, Dokgo Rin had returned to her usual cold expression as she told the other girl, "I'm sorry, but the spot beside Chilbok is mine. I can't simply hand it over to some woman who just rolled in from who knows where."
"She says so."
When I waved my hand, Namgung Ruby cried out, "That's too much!" with a heartbroken expression.
Anyway, because we'd been caught by Namgung Ruby and wasted time, I suggested to Dokgo Rin that we head back. She seemed equally unwilling to continue speaking with someone who was practically her natural enemy, so she readily agreed. As we moved to leave first, Namgung Ruby shouted with a look of firm determination.
"Next time we meet, I'll definitely make both of you my friends!"
As she stood there on the stairs ambitiously declaring her goal, Dokgo Rin glanced back and muttered, "They say fools like high places. Looks like it's true."
I couldn't help but smile bitterly at that. After all, I couldn't exactly deny that Namgung Ruby was a bit of a fool.
"Young lady! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"
When we returned to our original spot, Sister Gyeong-a showed us her first truly furious expression. Yet Dokgo Rin remained perfectly calm as she replied, "I just went to look around a bit. Since it's the Murim Alliance Leader's residence, I figured there would be plenty of interesting things."
"Young lady! I'm seriously angry right now, you know?!"
"Now, now, that's enough. Both of them came back safely, didn't they?"
Before the two women could truly start fighting, Dokgo Seok naturally stepped in to mediate.
"Young master! This time I really can't hold back!"
But Sister Gyeong-a showed no signs of stopping, while the one actually being scolded—Dokgo Rin—seemed completely uninterested in her words.
"And you too, Chilbok! Even if the young lady wants to go somewhere, you should have stopped her first!"
The blame suddenly flew my way. I shrank my shoulders, about to offer Sister Gyeong-a an honest apology, when Dokgo Rin spoke up.
"Chilbok, don't."
"Huh?"
"If a servant like you apologizes, it becomes as if I, the master, am the one apologizing."
She had a point. As I stood there awkwardly looking back and forth between Sister Gyeong-a and Dokgo Rin, Dokgo Seok let out a small sigh.
"Rin. This time, it seems you should be the one to apologize."
"Don't order me around, brother."
"Gyeong-a got angry because she was worried about you. When she couldn't see you and Chilbok earlier, she kept crying and saying it was all her responsibility. Do you know how much she blamed herself?"
"Young master!"
"I can tolerate you being rude to me, your family, since you're at that rebellious age. But I really hope you'll apologize to Gyeong-a at least."
"......"
When Dokgo Seok gently but firmly admonished her like that, even the stubborn Dokgo Rin seemed to soften. After a brief hesitation, she murmured in a small voice, "I'm sorry."
Sister Gyeong-a's eyes widened, then she quickly said it was fine and forgave her.
It felt like a storm had just passed. The atmosphere between Sister Gyeong-a and Dokgo Rin had grown incredibly awkward. They'd never been particularly close to begin with, but now they seemed completely distant. Still, the fact that Sister Gyeong-a continued to take care of everything that needed tending to made the difference in their mental ages clear. This kind of awkwardness would probably fade with time.
Since we'd been here for quite a while now, the area around the hall hosting the sixtieth birthday banquet had grown quite crowded. Besides the people from the Wudang, Mount Hua, and Shaolin sects we'd seen at the entrance, it looked like famous martial artists from the Nine Great Schools—Kunlun, Hainan, Jeomchang, Zhongnan, and others—had all gathered in force.
"Even though it's supposed to be a feast, they seem pretty cliquey among themselves," I muttered as I looked around.
Dokgo Seok chuckled softly. "After all, the Murim Alliance is just another interest group. Being part of the righteous path doesn't mean everyone gets along. Take Mount Hua and Zhongnan, for example. They're both based in Shaanxi, so competing with each other is basically their daily routine."
After hearing his explanation and observing the two sects again, I could clearly sense the bad blood between them. Even accidental eye contact had them practically growling at each other.
"Well, there's no need to get too deep into it, so it's best if you just mind your own business. Martial artists tend to be sensitive about other people's gazes."
"Got it."
I obediently took Dokgo Seok's advice and stopped observing the people around us. I had no desire to draw unnecessary hostility.
Just then, a murmur rippled through the crowd gathered in the hall.
"The star of the show has arrived."
As Dokgo Seok said this and fluttered his fan, a servant's booming voice rang out as if on cue.
"The Murim Alliance Leader is entering!"
Finally!
Wiji Cheon—the protagonist of this birthday celebration and the final boss of the original story. I was finally about to see that sly old fox in the flesh. Clutching my pounding heart, I turned toward where everyone's attention had converged. In the distance, a middle-aged man of imposing build was slowly walking forward. He had stubborn eyes, a broad forehead, a dignified beard, and thick eyebrows that looked as if drawn in a single stroke. He was the very picture of a hero, as if stepped straight out of a painting. The man approaching before my eyes was undoubtedly that damned Wiji Cheon, the Murim Alliance Leader.