Banquet (2)
Banquet (2)
On a secluded corner of the main family estate stood a building called the Flame Fire Hall.
It was a facility used for large gatherings, typically reserved for the clan's annual Regular Gathering, which happened maybe once a year at most.
Footsteps rarely reached the Flame Fire Hall outside of those occasions.
It was a banquet facility, but not one that hosted banquets every single day.
Consequently, even the servants only visited for basic maintenance, so aside from the security detail, it was a place with little foot traffic.
Today, however, the Flame Fire Hall was brimming with the presence of a crowd.
Hong Yeon-hwa lifted her head and looked up.
The orange glow of luminous stones set in the lanterns hanging from the ceiling illuminated her surroundings.
She blinked slowly, then lowered her gaze.
The warmly toned floor and walls gleamed softly with an orange hue, as if answering the lanterns' light.
Decorations placed and carved throughout the hall harmonized with the light, creating a warmly unified atmosphere.
Even to Hong Yeon-hwa, who lacked an artistic eye, the interior was clearly the result of meticulous design.
Beneath the lanterns, which blazed far brighter than usual, the hall was packed with people dressed in their finest.
Not so densely packed that there was nowhere to step, but even turning her head this way and that, at least one or two figures always slipped into view.
The common thread was that their hair and eyes were predominantly shades of red.
They were branch members of the Calamity Flame Family, or important guests from affiliated powers.
It was a familiar sight for Hong Yeon-hwa. She had been chosen as heir soon after manifesting the Calamity Flame in early childhood.
From then on, she had attended the annual Regular Gathering in her position as the heir alongside her father... the Family Head.
"Haa..."
It was familiar, but not exactly a sight she enjoyed.
Hong Yeon-hwa liked banquets themselves.
She liked meeting and having fun with people she knew, eating good food, and enjoying the cold, sweet liquor.
But she didn't like the conversations where complex interests tangled together, forcing everyone to wag their tongues so cautiously.
Heaving a sigh, Hong Yeon-hwa rubbed the back of her neck and looked down at her outfit with half-lidded eyes.
A plain crimson martial uniform and a jet-black belt wrapped around her waist.
An outer robe embroidered with brilliant patterns, set in contrast to the uniform's simplicity...
This was the clan's traditional attire, or more precisely, the Fire Rat Cloth worn by its heir.
Its materials fell into two main categories.
The fur-hide of the 5th-Rank Monster Fire Rat, and the leaves of the fireproof Bujin Tree in which the Fire Rat dwells.
The Fire Rat itself was not a particularly powerful monster, but its fur-hide had excellent responsiveness, and the individual population was small, making its byproducts highly valuable.
The Bujin Tree that housed such Fire Rats was also a rare material.
The Fire Rat Cloth was a premium item made by adding dozens of other assorted ingredients to those two.
She idly fingered the sleeve.
The texture wasn't bad. It wasn't rough or stiff; the sensation as it wrapped around her hand was soft.
Its defensive power wasn't bad, either. Given the materials and the fact that the Tanhwaju had personally crafted it, it was of a level that could scoff at most ordinary armor.
But it was still less comfortable than casual wear.
Hong Yeon-hwa rubbed the sleeve repeatedly and shook her head.
'Uncomfortable.'
If she had her way, she'd have changed into something comfortable.
"No."
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than Choi Ji-yeon's restraining voice flew at her from the side.
"This time, especially no."
"I know. You didn't have to tell me."
Hong Yeon-hwa pursed her lips slightly and turned her head.
Even so, she straightened her posture reasonably well.
As it had been before, but even more this time, Hong Yeon-hwa had to hold her place at this Regular Gathering.
Ordinarily, it was the Family Head's role to lead the Regular Gathering.
Though the Chonggwalju could assist at his side, it was customary for the Family Head to preside.
The current Family Head was in the African Demon Realm.
To determine the cause of the anomalous phenomena occurring there, he had led his combat units across the frontline and into the depths of the Demon Realm.
That was early this year. The Family Head had yet to return.
Periodic news of his well-being was delivered, but he could not attend this Regular Gathering.
Thus, those leading the current Gathering were Chonggwalju Choi Ji-yeon, acting as the Family Head's proxy, and the heir, Hong Yeon-hwa.
"Oh."
Having reached that point in her thoughts, Hong Yeon-hwa let out a small exclamation.
She shifted her gaze.
The center of the spacious Flame Fire Hall.
A single sword was driven upside-down into a small, raised dais.
Its shape was not what one would think of as a normal sword.
The blade was transparent, its interior as clear as glass. It looked so fragile that it seemed it would shatter with a single tap.
But everyone here knew.
That was no feeble sword.
Rather, everyone knew it was a sword of indestructibility, one that would barely take a scratch even if someone struck it or beat against it with all their might.
The Beacon Fire Sword.
The armament used by Ancestor Hong Yeon; the method of its creation had never been lost and was passed down to this day.
Though called an armament, its grade might as well be considered that of an Artifact.
In the current era, there were two Beacon Fire Swords.
One was the ancestor's Beacon Fire Sword embedded in that dais, and the other was the Beacon Fire Sword owned by the current Family Head.
The Beacon Fire Sword was crafted by the Tanhwaju of each generation and then bestowed upon the Family Head.
Hong Yeon-hwa's own Beacon Fire Sword had not yet been forged.
It would be made later. She simply expected that the current Tanhwaju, Hwa Byeok-un, who was still going strong, would be the one to fashion it.
"So, am I supposed to draw the Beacon Fire Sword?"
"Of course you have to draw it..."
Near the end of the Regular Gathering, there was a tradition where the Family Head would step onto the dais, breathe Calamity Flame into the ancestor's Beacon Fire Sword, and signal the banquet's close.
With the Family Head absent now, that role naturally fell to Hong Yeon-hwa.
How troublesome.
Controlling her expression, which was on the verge of crumpling, Hong Yeon-hwa, together with Choi Ji-yeon, greeted those who approached to pay their respects.
The reasons for holding the Regular Gathering were many.
Scattered blood relatives of the Calamity Flame would gather to share information on the state of affairs, those who had grown distant would reconnect, and those already close would deepen their bonds.
It was also a day to proclaim the continued strength of the main house at the center of the Calamity Flame power, and to identify any vermin trying to climb above their station.
No matter how much of a fiery filial daughter she was, she wasn't such a rotten brat that she would heap more burden onto Choi Ji-yeon, who already had to lead the Gathering without the Family Head.
Seeing Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been nagged but was nevertheless maintaining her decorum and acting properly, Choi Ji-yeon breathed a sigh of relief.
Thus time passed, and when a brief moment of respite arrived.
Choi Ji-yeon quietly asked.
"Did you tell him?"
Hong Yeon-hwa's body, which had been standing rigidly straight, flinched. No context was given, but she understood immediately.
"...I'm going to tell him today."
Her closed lips opened hesitantly. Visibly, she was drenched in tension and unease.
"Good grief."
Choi Ji-yeon's expression turned wry.
She was her own daughter, but she could be such a coward in the strangest ways.
"We've already settled on the story, but we decided to put Ha-yul in as a descendant of someone who was disowned about a hundred years ago."
"Got it... Ha-yul?"
Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been nodding, halted.
This time, it was Hong Yeon-hwa's expression that turned wry.
When she looked back in disbelief, Choi Ji-yeon merely shrugged her shoulders.
"Ha-yul asked me to address him comfortably, so I straightened out the way we refer to each other. Why?"
"Ah... no. It's just strange to see you calling him that so easily, Mom."
"What's strange about it? I'm a person too, you know."
Choi Ji-yeon shook her head as if she were saying something ridiculous.
Over the past few days, she had talked a fair bit with Lee Ha-yul, who was staying at the main estate.
After all, she couldn't just insert him into the family registry without a word to him.
In the process, she had grasped Lee Ha-yul's character a bit more deeply, and they had simply become reasonably close.
Choi Ji-yeon wasn't the only one Lee Ha-yul had grown close to.
Over the past few days, Lee Ha-yul had been diligently active.
- His attitude of trying to do things himself first, before asking for help, was pleasing.
He headed to the workshop early in the morning, learned metalsmithing from Tanhwaju Hwa Byeok-un and others, and built camaraderie through conversation.
- He learns so fast I've practically already been overtaken. We sparred three times, and I couldn't even graze him in any of them.
He received instruction from Jeonghwaju Hong Jin-hyeok, got acquainted with the combatants he met there, and built goodwill through friendly spars and the like.
- You could just see it in his conduct, he's a genuinely good person.
He treated every servant he encountered with utmost politeness and courtesy as he moved about, steadily accumulating favorable impressions.
- So polite and scrupulously courteous, not what you'd expect from a kid these days.
Not only that, but the Council of Elders, whom he had met and spoken with several times regarding the family registry, seemed to think well of him too...
'......'
Having reached that point in her thoughts, Choi Ji-yeon wore a peculiar expression.
How to put it... His actions overall seemed as though he was deliberately accumulating Affection.
The blacksmith, the combatants, the servants, the Council of Elders...
The Lee Ha-yul that Choi Ji-yeon had assessed wasn't the type for that, but... at any rate, that was how his actions appeared.
- Clunk
It was then.
The closed door opened and a single figure stepped inside.
The people who had been in deep conversation, those searching for a seat to rest, those eating to sate their hunger.
Without exception, everyone's gaze snapped toward one direction.
So did Hong Yeon-hwa's.
She knew there was a guest at this Regular Gathering, and she knew who that guest was.
And so she also knew the identity of the person now opening the door and entering.
Her heart pounded.
Feeling her heartbeat overflow with anticipation, she turned her head.
"......"
She saw red.
The attire was similar.
A Fire Rat Cloth made from the Fire Rat's fur-hide and Bujin Tree leaves. It fluttered somewhat more than Hong Yeon-hwa's.
The elegantly shaped Fire Rat Cloth was bound by a black belt, over which a brilliant outer robe was draped.
Though the size fit properly, the wearer's frame was so petite that an air of daintiness wafted around him.
The Fire Rat Cloth's elegance and the outer robe's splendor contrasted one another, but they shared the commonality of a crimson hue.
Thanks to that, the snowy white skin, a stark contrast to the reds, stood out strikingly.
In particular, his delicate, finely-spaced features were emphasized, drawing the eye.
The peacefully closed eyes and dark eyelashes exuded an elegant grace, while the moist, firmly pressed lips elicited a mysterious urge to challenge within Hong Yeon-hwa.
The surroundings, which had been filled with a low hum of conversation until just a moment ago, fell into silence.
Even the musicians performing stopped their hands.
No one spoke. It was as if their gazes were being physically yanked by the collar, forcibly drawn in.
"...?"
Perhaps finding that strange.
Lee Ha-yul tilted his head ever so slightly.
That unbearably adorable sight was perfectly captured in Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes.
"......"
Hong Yeon-hwa's mouth fell open in a daze.
- Fwoosh...
The desire she had been suppressing surged upward.
* * *
[Unique Ability ｢All-Rounder｣ is growing.]