Journey to Yunnan with the Escort Agency - 3
"Hahahaha!"
"Wahahahaha!"
In essence, the food of this Murim Cheonha world changed according to how many extra steps went into the cooking and how liberally the spices were thrown in.
I had gambling skills—why wouldn't I have cooking skills too?
When the cooks at an inn served tasteless dishes, sometimes it really was a lack of talent, but at an establishment of this size that almost never happened. Most of the time they simply skipped steps in the cooking order and refused to add the expensive spices.
Chinese cuisine in particular put every dish through a process of stir-frying, boiling, or deep-frying in a wok, so simplifying the cooking sequence was synonymous with higher turnover.
Stir-frying the meat, mushrooms, and vegetables separately naturally made the dish taste better, but dumping them all in at once meant the cooking speed was three times faster.
And if you then dumped expensive spices in by the handful, there was simply no way it could taste bad.
With delicious food spread out like this, of course the liquor could not be left out.
I truly could not help but admire him.
I had thought he was just a sucker, but the word "wastrel" fit this guy perfectly.
Drinking during an escort mission was, of course, out of the question. We were only passengers so it hardly mattered to us, but Ha Seon-su was practically a representative of the escort itself. The man who looked like the actual leader of the group wore a thoroughly displeased expression.
Few martial artists disliked alcohol. Even a constitution that handled liquor poorly was usually compensated to some degree by qi circulation once a person reached the second-rate or first-rate level. You could drink a great deal without easily losing consciousness and maintain that pleasantly tipsy state for a long time, so most martial artists came to enjoy drinking.
The fact that you could drive out a hangover with a round of qi circulation unless you had drunk yourself half to death also played a part.
Thus martial artists enjoyed their drink, performed a light circulation of energy, and even if they slept late they could rise perfectly fine at dawn and swing their swords again. Of course if you got so dead drunk you could not even circulate energy, there was no hope.
At any rate, so long as the drinking did not go overboard, the escorts themselves could drink plenty without affecting the mission.
So why did they not drink during an escort run?
Because it determined the agency's reputation. Honestly, how could any trust sprout toward people who sat around drinking and bantering back and forth in the middle of an escort job?
Watching Ha Seon-su, surrounded by escorts who kept strict discipline and principles, pour liquor straight down his throat with hearty abandon as if he could not even see their gazes—really.
"Kyaaaaaah."
A thick, genuine admiration rose from my dantian; no acting required.
How could a person be like that when lights were lit all around and everyone was glaring?
Ha Seon-su grinned and looked at Heukmyo.
Heukmyo was simply working her chopsticks diligently, picking up nothing but food. Ever since the talk about Tang Do-gyeong she had not spoken a single word, concentrating solely on eating.
"It seems Young Lady Geum does not particularly enjoy drinking."
"My younger sister does not particularly enjoy alcohol."
I cut him off cleanly and refilled Ha Seon-su's empty cup. I had never learned any mind-reading technique, yet from his expression I could feel him thinking, looking at Heukmyo, She's unconsciously showing goodwill but is too shy so she's just picking at the food!
Of course Heukmyo had truly lost all interest in him and was simply craving the food. Come to think of it, she rather liked eating. She never missed three meals a day and still always had something like puffed snacks hanging from her mouth.
From time to time Ha Seon-su tried to speak to her, but Heukmyo simply concentrated on the work of sending food to her stomach, and I handled him moderately.
His martial realm was... somewhere between third-rate and second-rate? It was clear he could not properly circulate qi. No man who wanted to look good in front of a woman would want to get completely wasted.
Yet because he still wanted to act bold, he kept pouring the strong Bamboo Leaf Green straight into his stomach, so of course he reached a half-unconscious state in no time.
"I am Chief Escort Leader Ga Gil-yeom. Since the young master is drunk, may we take him away?"
"Oh, of course. I was just beginning to worry that the young master was overdrinking."
"Hic, kugh~ Let gooo~ you bastards~ Where am I~ drunk~ kugh. That..."
In an instant two escorts seized Ha Seon-su by both arms and dragged him out.
Chief Escort Leader Ga Gil-yeom looked at me with an unkind gaze, but he said nothing and turned away. We were only passengers and Ha Seon-su had been the one to approach us, so he had nothing to complain about.
"Seoul-ah, now we should slowly head up to the guest rooms as well."
"Nom. Shall we."
Heukmyo took one last solid bite and the two of us went up to our room. She flopped onto the bed and declared her satisfaction.
"Ahh~ thanks to that sucker we got a full meal."
"Hey now, not 'sucker'—you should call him Great Hero Ha Seon-su."
"Right. Thanks to Great Hero Ha Seon-su~"
It was an ordinary twin room. I settled onto my own bed and asked,
"But is it really going to be okay? From tomorrow on, Ha Seon-su's advances are going to be no joke."
"Hmm~ Why. Is big brother going to block him with your whole body?"
When Heukmyo spoke in that teasing tone, I honestly found myself short of words.
"Well, we're companions, so if you're in trouble I should help. If you've already decided to fleece him while taking that into account, I'll just match that. There are plenty of ways to get to Yunnan anyway. If you want to overturn the whole board, just overturn it."
How should I put it. This was a plan with a very high chance of making Heukmyo uncomfortable. She was the one who had proposed fleecing Ha Seon-su, but I felt this part needed to be made clear.
Using the escort agency was only one means among many of reaching Yunnan. There was no need to bind ourselves to it and endure unpleasantness or annoyance.
"If we leave right now, we can just freeload one meal and slip away."
"Senior."
"What."
"I understand what you're thinking when you say that. But isn't that a little unfair?"
Unfair?
"If you really look at it. I just stayed still and even covered my face. I actually want to wear stylish, flashy clothes, yet I have to go around in these plain, baggy things."
Heukmyo's complaints were things I had never expected at all.
"I'm a woman too—I want to wear palace dresses embroidered with gorgeous flower patterns or stylish martial uniforms. Because of wastrels like that Ha Seon-su I can't dress up freely, always have to wear this crap, and even when my head sweats I have to keep the hat pressed down."
She must have had a lot piled up inside; she grumbled in a heated tone.
"If someone's wearing a face veil, they should take a hint and leave, yet they somehow try to get one look at the face and make people tired. Why do I have to be the one who avoids them? I did my absolute best to cover up, yet those dung-fly types come and bother me."
"So since I can't exactly reveal my true martial arts and thrash him, let's at least extort a huge amount of money."
"Hmm..."
Heukmyo looked at the now-silent Ho Cheon-an and thought.
Ha Seon-su was harassing her. That was simply and clearly Ha Seon-su's fault.
Heukmyo had covered her face with a veil and hat, dressed plainly, and clearly expressed refusal, yet Ha Seon-su had kept forcing answers and had even committed the rudeness of joining their table at the inn without a word. If he was going to keep harassing to this degree, he deserved to pay the price.
Yet Heukmyo had no intention whatsoever of leaving this escort run. The one at fault was Ha Seon-su. And she was a legitimate passenger of the Southern Escort Agency. If she had suffered, she should repay it twofold—why should she choose the option of running away?
She could not thrash him freely, so she would shake down the pockets of the harassing Ha Seon-su thoroughly, mess with him, and arrive in Yunnan following the escort as originally planned.
That was what Heukmyo wanted and the method of dealing with Ha Seon-su that she had decided upon.
But will Senior accept that?
Heukmyo placed the men she had experienced until now into Ho Cheon-an's current position and imagined.
They had chosen the escort because it was the most suitable means of going to Yunnan—if they simply left the escort, what else was there but walking? Even if they somehow managed to obtain horses or a carriage, they had already concluded that the escort was best, so anything else would only be second-best.
Yet the imaginary man would kick aside the best option, choose the second-best, and declare that this was the right thing. How could he simply watch a man harassing Heukmyo in a place like that? That had been wrong, he would passionately insist.
Even if she said it was fine, even if she explained that she thought this way and was acting this way, he would simply force his own thoughts and call it consideration, goodwill, and heart.
Wrapping paper for packaging his own desires.
That was the consideration, the goodwill, and the heart Heukmyo had experienced until now. Acts of doing whatever one wanted while saying it was for her sake.
Hmm, but I don't want to fight with Senior. If Senior says no, I'll just run.
Heukmyo had a prior record of once throwing Ho Cheon-an's situation into chaos. When she had tried to grant Tang Do-gyeong enlightenment, she had put Ho Cheon-an to sleep. So perhaps this once she could go along even if Ho Cheon-an acted stubborn.
If Senior insists strongly... I'll have to accept it.
Therefore Heukmyo decided that even if Ho Cheon-an said, "Let's proceed with the Yunnan trip by other means after all," she would simply nod.
"Sorry."
"Hmm, yes. Well, it can't be helped. I'll sleep a bit..."
"I didn't know you were thinking that way."
The mouth of Heukmyo, who had been about to say "sleep a bit then sneak out in the dead of night avoiding the escorts' eyes," closed.
"Senior?"
"Yeah, you're right. Honestly, what did you do wrong? The bastard Ha Seon-su harassing a woman wearing a face veil is the one at fault. I said unnecessary things."
"...Ah."
"We really can't thrash him, so there's no method left except fleecing his money. Yeah, then let's shake him down to the very soul."
"Senior is—"
Heukmyo opened her mouth without realizing it.
"Senior, weren't you about to say we should run away to avoid Ha Seon-su?"
"I was going to... but the one who felt unpleasantness from Ha Seon-su is you, and you decided to repay him that way. I was just bothered because it seemed like you might be enduring it out of consideration for me."
Consideration. Consideration. To Heukmyo's ears that word "consideration" sounded utterly alien.
"Senior... didn't you not want to do it that way?"
"What are you talking about? Did you hear me earlier? I said I was bothered because it seemed you were holding back because of me. Do whatever you want."
"Speak properly. If you say even now that we should leave the Southern Escort Agency, I will."
"Why are you like this again? You said you wanted to properly educate Ha Seon-su, right? Then let's do that."
"So if Senior wants..."
Heukmyo raised her voice without even knowing what she was saying.
Because she was confused.
Ho Cheon-an sat up abruptly as if frustrated.
"Hey, just say it clearly. Are you going to fleece all of Ha Seon-su's money or not?"
"What does Senior want to do?"
"No, what..."
Ho Cheon-an let out a sigh. Why on earth was Heukmyo acting like this? Looking at that appearance of Ho Cheon-an, Heukmyo made no reply. Or rather, she could not.
She herself did not know what she wanted to say.
"Senior... aren't you displeased that Ha Seon-su is next to me?"
"Ma— damn it, of course if a wastrel like that is next to you the mood is bad."
"But..."
"No, from earlier what's with all the 'but's! You said you wanted to do it that way! That the wastrel guy approaching was unpleasant so fleecing him thoroughly would make you feel better—didn't you say that?"
Ho Cheon-an drove the wedge into the confused Heukmyo.
"It's your matter, so of course I should match it. Isn't that natural? If I can't even do this much, we can't travel together."
"...Is it natural."
"Yeah. Heukmyo. The comrade request is a request, but now we've decided to travel together privately as well, haven't we? So we have conversations like this, learn each other's thoughts, and when things like this come up we match and go along."
At Ho Cheon-an's words, Heukmyo realized something.
Have I... ever been close to a person like this before?
She had thought she wanted to have fun experiences while sticking with Ho Cheon-an. That was why she had decided to stick with him, but had there actually ever been a person she had been this close to? She had simply lived a life of batting away those who tried to forcibly attach themselves for her entire life.
Yet she had decided of her own will to approach a person.
With no purpose at all, simply because it had been purely enjoyable, she had approached Ho Cheon-an.
Only in this moment did Heukmyo realize the meaning of the action she had taken.
That she, who had known only relationships of pushing others away, must adapt to a new relationship. The relationship Ho Cheon-an called natural. The relationship that so easily handed over the real consideration she had never once received in her life. Yet it was a relationship about which Heukmyo knew nothing.
The moment she thought that, Heukmyo's mind tangled in an instant. Like a ball of thread randomly snarled, her complicated mind made her squeeze her eyes tightly shut.
"I'm sleeping!"
"...What?"
"I said I'm sleeping! Don't talk to me!"
"No, what..."
Heukmyo pulled the blanket over her head and turned over. She heard the sound of Ho Cheon-an grumbling and lying back down on the bed, but she ignored it.
Because she no longer knew what attitude she should take toward Ho Cheon-an.
Listening to Ho Cheon-an snoring away peacefully, Heukmyo tossed and turned all night long.