The Family Assembly of the Sword Family
For Seo-ah, a creature of the night, mornings were always like poison. Perhaps it was a lingering habit from her previous life as a freelancer. In that life, her routine had been to wake up at noon, lounge about, and begin her work only when midnight struck. In this life, she had hoped that such a lifestyle would be impossible and thus corrected, but... as she learned martial arts and spent her nights practicing qi circulation, her old habits began to resurface.
Of course, thanks to the increased stamina from her training, she no longer suffered the catastrophe of sleeping until noon. Even so, six in the morning was far too early for the current Seo-ah.
“Young Miss Seo-ah. You must wake up.”
“J-just… a little longer…”
“That will not do. If you do not prepare quickly, you will be late.”
In the end, Seo-ah had to be dragged from her slumber by the uninvited guest—the cold-faced maid, Seol-ha. As she rubbed her eyes and blinked them open, she saw So-so standing there with a look of injustice on her face. ‘If it were just So-so, I could have slept for another quarter of an hour…’ Seo-ah swallowed her regret as she was hoisted up by Seol-ha and forced into the bath. Fortunately, Seol-ha did not follow her into the tub like last time. To be precise, she had tried to, but she was stopped by Seo-ah, whose soul was now intact and not suppressed by the marrow-washing body cleansing.
The reason Seo-ah was being tossed about so early in the morning was simple. Today, at the family assembly (Gahoe) held at noon, she would be introduced to the senior members of the Sword Family as the disciple of the Sword Saint for the first time.
Once she had cleansed her body, Seo-ah was seated before a full-length bronze mirror. Inside the mirror sat a beautiful young girl—someone who looked even more unfamiliar now that her face had changed. She hadn’t had the luxury of staring closely at mirrors lately, so she found a strange, new pleasure in watching Seol-ha dress her up. For about… two gak (roughly 30 minutes), that is.
“How is this?”
“Isn’t something too flashy a bit…”
“Is that so? So-so, bring the third box I mentioned yesterday.”
“W-wait a moment!”
“What is the matter?”
“Isn’t the makeup a bit too heavy…”
“Hmm… I don’t think it’s that heavy. Very well.”
“Um… but, when will this end? I think this is enough…”
Seo-ah looked at her reflection, which appeared both modest and noble.
“We haven’t even begun.”
“What?”
Seo-ah’s heart sank. Seol-ha’s cold voice sounded as if it were delivering a death sentence. She had already been sitting in this suffocating torture chair for two hours, staring at her own face until her eyes felt like they would pierce through. For Seo-ah, who had expected it to take at most half an hour, it was a bolt from the blue. She looked at Seol-ha with a pleading expression, begging her to stop, but…
“That will not do. This is your first official engagement as the disciple of the Sword Saint. You must be prepared in every way.”
Seo-ah despaired. She caught sight of So-so, who was snickering while looking at her distressed expression in the mirror. A dark, murky feeling began to rise from the depths of Seo-ah’s heart. I can’t be the only one suffering.
“Earlier… that third box. Why don’t we take another look? I think it might be okay.”
“I think that’s a good idea. So-so, bring the third box back.”
“A-again? Um… that… Young Miss Seo-ah seems satisfied, so perhaps we should stop…”
Of course, while Seo-ah’s words were ignored, there was no way So-so’s words would be heard either.
“Is that even a question?”
“But as Young Miss Seo-ah said, we really should take another look at the third box. I, So-so, will hurry and fetch it.”
Seo-ah watched So-so rush out the door and swallowed a mocking laugh. ‘That’s what you get for not having a kind heart.’ To think she would find joy in someone else’s misfortune. She deserved divine retribution. Of course, Seo-ah didn’t care in the slightest that she herself was finding joy in So-so’s misfortune. This was divine retribution, after all.
Seo-ah was finally released from the clutches of the demon king, Seol-ha, just as the noon hour for the assembly approached. Her master, the Sword Saint, had come to rescue her from the demon king’s grasp, complaining that she was still preparing. Seo-ah leaped from her seat to greet her master with intense enthusiasm.
“It’s over! It’s over! Let’s go to the main hall quickly! Ah! I’m so excited!”
The Sword Saint looked at Seo-ah, who was acting so proactively, with a strange expression, but he didn’t pry. ‘There was a reason So-so was afraid of her…’
Before leaving the room, Seo-ah shuddered, remembering Seol-ha licking her lips with a look of regret. Of course, the reason was completely different from why So-so was afraid, but that didn’t matter. Seeing Seo-ah’s reaction, the Sword Saint seemed to think she was nervous.
“Are you nervous?”
“Hmm… I don’t really know yet?”
“Is that so? Hmm… then that is fine. There is no need to be overly nervous. Do you understand?”
Seo-ah nodded appropriately. The Sword Saint seemed to think she was just making excuses, but Seo-ah truly wasn’t feeling much tension. As they entered the path toward the main hall where the assembly would be held, she realized why the Sword Saint had been so worried when the gazes of the massive crowd turned solely toward her.
Amidst the bustling noise, she could clearly feel the countless voices and gazes directed at her. It was a completely different feeling from what she had felt in front of the Sword Family’s gate last time. Back then, the gazes had been bewildered and flustered… but these gazes were closer to an appraisal.
— Is that her? The disciple of the Sword Saint.
— I heard she was a former maid? If so, she couldn’t have been learning martial arts for long. Has she already entered the realm of connected strikes…?
— It’s absurd. The Young Sect Leader of the Fast Sword Sect followed the Sword Saint so loyally, yet he brings an outsider into the family—not a child of the clan, but a lowly maid at that.
Curiosity, surprise, jealousy, and more. Being appraised by so many people was never a pleasant feeling. It was enough to make her body, which usually didn’t care about the gazes of others, shrink back. It was never easy to receive the gazes and emotions of so many people. Especially for Seo-ah, who was experiencing this for the first time.
Seeing Seo-ah stiffen at the unfamiliar attention, the Sword Saint sent a transmission.
At those words, Seo-ah felt her heart settle. She straightened her slightly hunched body with confidence and followed behind the Sword Saint.
Seo-ah and the Sword Saint arrived in front of the main hall, enduring the gazes of the crowd. The two guards protecting the door bowed their heads the moment they saw the Sword Saint and immediately opened the doors.
“The Sword Saint and his disciple are entering!!”
With the booming shout of the guards, Seo-ah and the Sword Saint stepped inside. Everyone in the hall, except for the highest seat and the one right next to it, was already seated. The gazes of countless elders, sect leaders, and their successors were fixed on her. She and the Sword Saint walked toward the seat next to the highest one, which seemed to be the Family Head’s seat.
As she sat down, a middle-aged man with a sharp impression sitting right next to the Sword Saint spoke up.
“Father, you have arrived.”
“Hmm… yes. Have you been well?”
“Actually, I’ve had a bit of trouble. I was bickering with the Academy Head of the Gyomaguan, haha. Of course, it’s my fault for raising my child poorly… Ah! I’m glad to see your complexion has improved, Father. I suppose it’s because you’ve taken on a disciple?”
Contrary to his sharp impression, the middle-aged man seemed to be a man of… very, very many words. He laughed heartily and looked at her, sitting next to the Sword Saint. The Sword Saint introduced him.
“Hmm… greet him. This is my second son.”
Seo-ah immediately bowed her head.
“Hello.”
As Seo-ah greeted him politely, the middle-aged man leaned in and poured out words like a machine gun.
“Nice to meet you. I am Jin Un, the Sect Leader of the Tyrant Sword Sect. You have no idea how worried I was that Father hadn’t taken a disciple until now. It’s a relief that a talent like you has come to Father’s side. Of course… it would have been better if a talent from the Tyrant Sword Sect had inherited Father’s martial arts, but that couldn’t be helped, could it? It’s my fault for not raising my son well. Ah, do you happen to know Jin Geuk? He’s my son, but he caused an incident recently and couldn’t be here…”
Seo-ah just smiled awkwardly and nodded. When the name Jin Geuk came up, she almost failed to control her expression, but… she managed to maintain a smiling face. Jin Un continued to pour out words without stopping, and the Sword Saint frowned and cut him off.
“Stop it. Who did you take after to be so talkative…”
“Ah… ahem. I was a bit talkative. My apologies. Regardless, it’s nice to meet you. I am Jin Un.”
Seo-ah accepted Jin Un’s greeting once more. Ten seconds passed, and just as Jin Un, unable to stand the silence, was about to open his mouth again to torment Seo-ah, a voice rang out.
The doors opened, and a middle-aged man who looked exactly like Jin Un stepped inside. The Family Head moved to the highest seat and sat down. Then, everyone except the Sword Saint stood up as if they had been waiting and performed a pogwon (fist-and-palm salute) toward the Family Head.
““We greet the Family Head!””
The booming shout echoed, and the Family Head waved his hand as if to say it was enough. Everyone sat back down. Then, the Family Head opened his mouth.
“Welcome. As you all likely already know… the reason I have called you all here today is to celebrate a joyous occasion. The Supreme Elder of our family and a member of the Ten Great Sages, the Sword Saint, has finally taken a disciple.”
No sooner had the Family Head finished speaking than everyone’s gaze in the hall turned toward her. Seo-ah swallowed hard.
— *Clap. Clap. Clap.*
The Family Head clapped his hands alone and continued.
“I imagine there are many who are dissatisfied with this decision… would anyone like to speak their mind?”
As soon as those words ended, a dozen people stood up from their seats. The family assembly of the Sword Family had begun.