Chapter 67
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Snow Ginseng Farewell
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"I-I'll be going now."
Though she still wore a dazed expression, Namgung Yu decided to leave a bit hastily as soon as early morning rolled around.
It would probably cause her a lot of headaches if anyone found out she'd slipped out of her dorm last night.
And this was the only time when hardly anyone would be wandering around.
Is she going to be okay? She seems a little wobbly.
I shook my head at the thought.
Why am I worrying about her?
Namgung Yu could easily beat most people even in that state.
As I watched her turn and walk away, I activated Emotion Sense.
How should I put this?
She's become an all-rounder.
I'd noticed it last time too, but it seemed like women without prior experience had fetishes that shifted more easily.
"Gaga... does that refer to me?"
The word "Gaga," which had now become my nickname, was prominently etched into her fetish list.
With her destructive and possessive urges gone from her fetishes, maybe her obsession with Pung Un had improved a bit?
"..."
Honestly, it was too soon to feel relieved.
They'd only vanished from her fetishes, after all.
[Hidden Quest Cleared.]
[Acquired Cooking Skill.]
[Cooking LV.1 Acquired.]
It had been a while since I'd cleared a hidden quest.
"Cooking, huh..."
I'd vaguely heard that guys who could cook were popular.
On the other hand, it was a bit of a shame.
If I'd had this skill back in the zombie world, it would've been even better.
Well, we did live pretty comfortably for a zombie apocalypse, though.
Before eating breakfast, I tidied up the dorm first.
Cleaning the room that Namgung Yu and I had trashed wasn't easy.
But with plenty of time, I slowly put things back one by one until it looked normal again.
As I went to close the window I'd opened for ventilation as the final step, Jeong Seon opened the door and came in.
She must have come to invite me to breakfast together.
"They said to have breakfast together?"
"Who?"
"Cheonmu Academy."
It was unexpected.
Right after their defeat, and with one of their students even attacking me, I figured it'd be awkward for them, yet here they were inviting us to eat together.
Come to think of it, on our first day at Cheonmu Academy, they'd invited us to dine with them too.
Even though they probably hadn't wanted to back then either. Maybe it was some kind of academy tradition or promise among themselves.
"...Sure, why not."
They were the ones who'd be uncomfortable anyway.
I didn't particularly want to see Cheonmu Academy's students, but I was curious about Namgung Yu, so I decided to join them for the meal.
Perfect timing, since I'd just finished cleaning.
I headed to the dining hall with light steps.
Everyone except us had already arrived, leaving three seats empty.
Mine, Jeong Seon's who came to fetch me, and the guy who'd attacked me.
My seat was between Namgung Yu and Seol Yeong.
It felt like a suffocating arrangement somehow.
The expressions of Cheonmu Academy's students—excluding Namgung Yu—weren't great.
Whether from the shock of defeat or their comrade's shocking incident, none of them could even lift their heads when I walked in.
And once we were all gathered, a man entered alongside Instructor Cheol-ung.
He was Cheonmu Academy's instructor.
"I'm sorry. This is all my fault for failing to educate them properly."
"..."
"I never imagined that guy would do something like that."
Cheonmu Academy's instructor bowed deeply, confessing his sin and reflecting on it.
...At least on the surface.
I just stared at him, listening to his brazen excuse.
It was a perfect scapegoat play.
But he couldn't fool me or Instructor Cheol-ung.
"That doesn't match what I heard."
"...What do you mean?"
"He said you ordered him to do it all."
"...Are you believing that kid?"
At Instructor Cheol-ung's words, Cheonmu Academy's instructor's face darkened.
But Instructor Cheol-ung didn't care.
"I don't believe either of you... And neither will the Murim Alliance."
"..."
As Instructor Cheol-ung smirked and mentioned the Murim Alliance, a hint of anxiety flickered across Cheonmu Academy's instructor's face.
"We'll be off then. Enjoy your meal."
Like he was escorting a prisoner, Instructor Cheol-ung led Cheonmu Academy's instructor out of the dining hall ahead of him.
In this heavy atmosphere, even I couldn't eat properly this time.
For different reasons than Cheonmu Academy's students, though.
"...Eating might make me nauseous, huh?"
Because we'd have to ride that dreadful carriage again soon after.
Boarding it with a full stomach sounded like a nightmare no matter how I thought about it.
"H-Here's the dongpo pork."
Perhaps due to the heavy mood, a guy served the food with trembling hands.
"Mm..."
Was it because of the intense workout all night?
The greasy, steaming hot dongpo pork looked absolutely delicious.
Even the few quiet students slowly picked up their chopsticks at the aroma and sight.
As I watched them and debated whether to eat too, two pieces of meat landed on my plate.
One from Namgung Yu on my left, the other from Seol Yeong on my right.
"..."
"..."
"..."
None of us—me, Namgung Yu, or Seol Yeong—said a word.
But our gazes exchanged more meaning than a hundred words could convey.
When our eyes met in midair, I could almost hear the crackling clash.
"Gaga, eat up."
"...Eat."
"..."
What was this?
They were pieces offered in kindness, yet they terrified me like nothing else.
It felt like I couldn't eat just one first, so I picked up both and brought them to my mouth at the same time.
Delicious, but two pieces were too much.
I felt a bit oily.
"Both at once..."
"..."
Receiving disappointed looks from both sides made me feel like I'd choke before even boarding the carriage.
"Gaga...?"
Then a small voice came from beside Seol Yeong.
Pung Un was there, wearing a shocked expression.
Pung Un looked at Namgung Yu with that same face.
Namgung Yu looked perfectly composed.
"Ah, Lady Pung Un is here too."
"..."
Her distant form of address made Pung Un's eyes shake violently.
It was the distance she'd longed for, yet her expression somehow soured.
Pung Un hesitated before slowly asking Namgung Yu.
"What happened between you and Seonghan...?"
"Mm... No, nothing much."
With that, Namgung Yu gave a small smile.
Her subtle smile indirectly hinted that something had happened.
Still, it was a relief.
Last time during her argument with Pung Un, she'd spilled everything about holding hands and hugging, which had me worried.
This time, she was at least hiding it on the surface.
Progress, I suppose?
Pung Un glanced at me, then hurriedly looked away.
She probably still felt too embarrassed after yesterday's talk to face me.
We finished our meal in that strange atmosphere, and before leaving, I followed Namgung Yu into an alley one last time.
"Here."
It was an elegant pouch.
I carefully opened it to find pristine white snow ginseng inside.
Not a speck of dirt on it, looking just like flawless white porcelain.
Even at first sight, I was certain this was snow ginseng.
"...Thanks."
"No need to thank me. It was a promise."
Then Namgung Yu slowly slipped into my arms.
"Oppa told me. About Seol Yeong's Nine Yin Severed Meridians and how you're trying to cure it."
"..."
"And that you might lose all your internal energy if things go wrong."
So Namgung Hyeok had told her that much.
Well, less "told" and more like she'd hounded him for it, probably.
I looked down at Namgung Yu in my arms.
She wrapped her arms around me and whispered softly.
"Don't worry. Even if it fails and you lose all your internal energy, come to me."
"...Reliable."
No joke, she really was.
In a way, among all the women I'd met so far, Namgung Yu was the most capable.
I chuckled and nodded.
As the moment of parting arrived, she pulled me into a tight hug regretfully.
Very tight.
Even I felt a bit of pain.
"See you later."
"Yeah."
But she eventually let go.
I headed to where the carriages were, snow ginseng in hand.
"What is this?"
"A carriage."
As I stared in bewilderment, Instructor Cheol-ung explained.
I could see that much.
That it was a carriage.
But if this was a carriage, what had we ridden here?
A cart?
It was that luxurious.
"It's one of the things Cheonmu Academy provided as an apology for the incident."
The terminology was different too.
The two horses pulling the carriage were... impressive.
So sturdy. Massive builds, muscular, like they had their own workout routines.
The interior had cushions too, so unless it shook violently, my butt shouldn't hurt.
And there were two such carriages.
"Wow, getting attacked was worth it."
Seol Yeong poked my side at that.
Stoic-faced, but I got why.
Don't even joke about that.
From my perspective, though, the attack was as dreadful as the days ahead riding in a carriage.
The carriages: one for me, Jeong Seon, and Seol Yeong.
The other for Pung Un, Cheol-ung, and Namgung Hyeok.
No big reason for the grouping. Since Jeong Seon and I shared a room, we rode together.
Seol Yeong boarded ours, so she was assigned to it naturally.
"Then, we'll depart."
With the coachman's polite words, the massive carriage began to move.