The Road to the Gyomaguan
An old man was wandering through a cave. The walls were densely packed with mysterious characters, and the atmosphere they exuded made the already bizarre and gloomy air of the cave feel even more oppressive.
By the time he reached the end of the cave, a faint glimmer of light began to appear in the distance. What emerged from the end of the cave was a very humble room. The old man approached the bed and looked at the person lying there. Then, shockingly, the person sat up and spoke to the old man.
"Come... a little closer."
The old man took a step forward as instructed.
"Emissary, did you call for me?"
The Gwang-myeong-jwa-sa (Left Emissary of Light). One person below, ten thousand above. It was a position at the very pinnacle of the cult's power, serving only the Divine Maiden and standing alongside the Right Emissary who served the Cult Leader. Ten years ago, following the cult's civil war, both the positions of Cult Leader and Divine Maiden had become vacant. Furthermore, with the Right Emissary having returned to the embrace of the gods last year, the Gwang-myeong-jwa-sa, who had declared his retirement, was the highest authority in the current Divine Cult. He was the very person lying on the bed.
The Left Emissary spoke in the brightest voice the old man had heard in all the years since the Divine Maiden's death.
"I have... received a revelation."
"Is that so? That is a joyous occasion."
You will finally be able to rest comfortably soon. The old man swallowed the rest of his words.
"It seems the new Divine Maiden... has finished her preparations to communicate with heaven and earth... and become the Moon..."
"..."
"Please, bring the Divine Maiden... before this old man..."
"I understand."
"Take this... take this."
The Left Emissary reached into his robes and handed the old man a night-luminescent pearl that had lost its glow.
"When you get close to the Divine Maiden... it will shine."
"Where must I go?"
"The Gyomaguan... on the last day of the graduation ceremony..."
"I understand."
The old man turned his back and left the cave, cradling the pearl he had received in his arms.
'With the Left Emissary leaving soon... a bloody wind will blow.'
He could feel it in his bones that it wouldn't be long before many of the cult's martial artists would draw their swords against each other, aiming for the seats of the Cult Leader and the Divine Maiden. The old man thought of a young girl who had received a secret manual from him not long ago.
'She needs to at least know how to protect her own body.'
After all, that was the only way to survive the chaotic times ahead.
"There they are, the two of them slacking off in secret!"
Seo-ah, who had just woken up, clutched her hazy mind and stared blankly at Dan-ryang. What? Slacking off? Me? She wondered if she had overslept, so she looked out the window, but the darkness was still shallow, and the sun hadn't even fully risen; it was far too early to be the Jin-si (the hour of the dragon).
And then, in an instant, the image of Dan-ryang, who had been unusually sensitive yesterday evening, flashed through Seo-ah's mind.
— Are you saying I'm lying right now?
— Then are you saying the Head Maid is lying?!
— I'm going to tell everyone that you didn't believe the Head Maid. I'm going to tell them!
"You... don't tell me..."
It was the moment Seo-ah was about to say something.
— Bang!
A senior maid, Deok-sam, kicked the door open and stomped into the room.
"Seo-ah! Shin So-so! Don't tell me you've been sleeping until this hour?!"
"But yesterday, you said the work schedule changed from the Myo-si to the Jin-si..."
"Do you think that makes sense?! Who would say such a thing! Do you know how tight the schedule is right now!"
"Dan-ryang said yesterday evening that the Head Maid said so."
Deok-sam asked Dan-ryang in a voice much softer than the one she used for me.
"Dan-ryang... is that true?"
"It's a lie! I even tried to wake Seo-ah up, but she got angry at me and told me to be quiet..."
Dan-ryang spun an absurd lie. The problem was that I had no way to prove her wrong, and it seemed Deok-sam had already made up her mind.
"She says it's not true! Not only are you slacking off, but you dare to sell out your friend with a lie?!"
"That's not it..."
"Then are you saying Dan-ryang is lying right now?!"
Seo-ah felt a throbbing headache. Hearing the exact same words she had heard from Dan-ryang yesterday made her feel like an idiot.
"It's true. So-so was right next to me at the time, too."
"How can I believe that! You and So-so were both infidels from the Central Plains!"
Again. Always with the "infidel" this, "outsider" that. They said bullying existed in every group, but it had already been a year. Wasn't this too much? Seo-ah swallowed her burning anger.
"This is why you outsiders don't even know the grace of being saved by the Central Plains..."
Beyond Deok-sam, who was muttering that, I could see Dan-ryang covering her mouth and laughing. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do right now, so I just watched her.
"I'm going to report this to the Head Maid, so keep that in mind! Get out there and help load the luggage onto the carriage!"
"I'm supposed to do the laundry..."
"Dan-ryang did all of that because you woke up late!"
"..."
Seo-ah felt as if the world was turning dark. Laundry required a lot of stamina, but it wasn't as hard as moving heavy luggage. Especially not for someone like me, who wasn't born with great physical strength. Dan-ryang surely knew that fact as well.
'She really is going all the way to the end.'
Seo-ah woke So-so, who was sleeping soundly even in this mess. As soon as So-so woke up, she realized the atmosphere was unusual, and with a puzzled expression, she followed me out the door.
So-so, dragged out without knowing why, began to help me load the luggage onto the carriage. Whenever we had a moment of respite, I told her the whole story of why we were moving luggage instead of doing laundry. After hearing everything, So-so stomped her feet and said,
"I can't believe that happened! Dan-ryang is so annoying!"
It was the moment Seo-ah was about to respond to So-so.
"Hey! Can you help over here for a second?"
"Yes!"
"And over here when you're done!"
"Coming!"
"It's amazing. How does such a small body produce such strength?"
"Ha... haha. I'm just in good condition today... ahem, no, I'm just full of energy."
"Condi... what? No, never mind. Go help that kid over there who can't lift the luggage."
"Yes!"
Seo-ah was busy running around moving luggage, making the saying "having two bodies wouldn't be enough" feel like an understatement. She was so busy that words from her past life were slipping out. Anyway, the reason Seo-ah, who was born with weak strength, could move luggage so busily was simple. It was because a tiny bit of internal energy was diligently circulating through her meridians. Of course, with her current internal energy, she couldn't produce superhuman strength, but she could manage the strength of an average adult male. With a shortage of hands and only weak maids around, Seo-ah was quite a high-value worker. After making a round and moving luggage diligently, Seo-ah returned to her original area. So-so looked at Seo-ah as if she weren't used to it and asked,
"Are you really the same Seo-ah who was groaning while doing laundry yesterday?"
"Well... I suppose."
"But how does a person change like this in just one day?"
"I'm just in good condition today."
"No, no matter how good your condition is..."
The long luggage-moving task, which seemed like it would never end, finally reached its final stages. As their hands became a bit freer, So-so and Seo-ah chatted happily. Until a strange voice was heard.
"Are you Seo-ah?"
So-so turned her head toward where the strange voice came from. The owner of the voice was the Head Maid, whom they rarely even saw. Seo-ah jumped up from her seat and bowed politely.
"The protector of the cult, the Head Maid..."
"Stop. The formalities are unnecessary. I just came by briefly because I have something to ask."
"If it is something I can answer... anything."
"Did you learn martial arts by any chance?"
Seo-ah felt her mind go blank for a moment. Fortunately, the hesitation didn't last long.
"No. I have not learned martial arts."
The reason she lied was simple. If she said she had learned martial arts, it was obvious they would ask where. It would inevitably reveal the relationship between No-ya and herself. There was no need to cause trouble by bothering No-ya, who might end up taking her as a disciple. Fortunately, perhaps because her internal energy was so weak, the Head Maid did not doubt her words.
"Really...? Well, it seems so. You seem to have more strength than you look, so I asked. Anyway, you were working hard... is there anything you wish for?"
"I only did what I had to do, so how could I..."
"I told you, the formalities are unnecessary."
"Then, my friend and I mistook the time and were late for work today. If you could perhaps... regarding the punishment..."
"I suppose that did happen. Let's consider it as if it never happened. You seem to have done the work of three people by yourself."
"Thank you!"
The Head Maid nodded and left the spot. So-so, who had been watching all of this from the side, blinked her eyes several times as if she couldn't believe it. Then, she spoke in a voice mixed with confusion and resentment.
"No, why did you say we mistook the time! You should have told her about Dan-ryang's lie, and what about that unlucky Deok-sam who painted us as liars?!"
"Calm down. I did it because I had a plan."
So-so crossed her arms and looked at Seo-ah as if to say, "Let's hear it."
"Suppose I did as you said. Let's say Deok-sam and Dan-ryang were severely scolded. What would happen then?"
"We would feel relieved!"
"That's true. But after that?"
"Huh? After that?"
"Dan-ryang is a peer, so that's one thing. But Senior Deok-sam is different. Ah, I see. I was the one who framed them as liars. 'Guys, I'm sorry.' Should I do that?"
"..."
"That woman who already looked down on us as outsiders? Do you think she'll believe she was deceived by Dan-ryang's lie? Or would she rather believe that the vicious outsiders seduced the Head Maid with lies to harm her?"
"..."
"We have to keep living with the seniors, so... we have to be careful not to create unnecessary conflict."
"Sigh... I see."
So-so was convinced, but she didn't seem to have lost her anger yet. I comforted So-so and watched Dan-ryang in the distance, who seemed to have grasped the situation and was trembling. It was a small thing, but it felt like I had gotten one over on her, and my mood improved significantly. At the same time, the voice of a martial artist from the Law Enforcement Hall rang out.
"We are departing now! Everyone, get on the carriage!"
The road to the Gyomaguan was rough. One might think, "What could be so rough about riding in a carriage?" but that would be a wrong assumption. Unlike the modern era, the roads were not paved and were bumpy, and there was no way they would use a luxurious carriage to 'transport' mere maids. We, who were added as extra cargo, had our lower backs abused from early morning until night in the cramped, rattling carriage.
"Alright! Everyone get off here!"
When we could no longer see what was ahead, we found a suitable space and decided to stay the night. And so, the night deepened.
— Rustle, rustle.
'Hmm... what's going on?'
So-so rubbed her eyes at the uncomfortable sleeping spot and the sound coming from right next to her, and sat up. Seo-ah was trying to go outside the tent.
"Where are you going...?"
"Just... to relieve myself."
"Hmm... really? Okay... I understand..."
Seo-ah went outside the tent, and So-so went back to sleep. However, not long after, the sound was heard again.
— Rustle, rustle.
As So-so sat up again, she saw the large-bodied Dan-ryang hurriedly leaving the tent.
'Don't tell me...?!'
An ominous imagination flashed through So-so's mind. The image of Dan-ryang crushing the fragile Seo-ah with that massive body. Although Seo-ah's appearance while moving luggage this morning could never be called fragile, that was the image she had consistently imprinted on So-so, so So-so hurriedly got up and followed Dan-ryang. Fortunately, the traces of Dan-ryang's large body breaking through the bushes remained, and So-so was able to follow them easily. And just as she had feared, a fight... was taking place. So-so rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was dreaming. A fight had indeed broken out, but what So-so saw was Dan-ryang, who had been slapped by Seo-ah, floating in the air.
'Is that... even possible?'