Fixing the Danjeon (4)
The day after Iris and I were spotted leaving together and returning, rumors raced through the duchy like wildfire.
“Have you heard…? They say the renowned Sword Master Iris had a secret midnight rendezvous with our second young master…!”
“Oh my… With that worthless rogue of a young master? Iris always wears such a cold expression—I never imagined she had those kinds of tastes. How utterly fascinating…!”
Every time I passed by, the maids’ whispers followed me. …Sigh. I should have insisted on going for that walk alone. I knew something like this could happen, yet I’d let my guard down and dragged Iris into the mess.
The maids, bored with their daily routines, loved to embellish whatever they witnessed into the juiciest gossip possible. Thanks to them, Iris and I became the sole topic of conversation for the entire day.
After enduring that exhausting ordeal, I headed to the training grounds for Iris’s swordsmanship lesson as usual.
“…I’m sorry, Iris. This is all because I suggested leaving the duchy.”
“It doesn’t matter. Please don’t concern yourself with it. After all, I was the one who chose to accompany you.”
Iris stood in the training yard with moonlight at her back, speaking as though the matter were trivial. But this wasn’t trivial at all. Iris was a nationally recognized Sword Master. For her reputation to be tarnished like this must have been a heavy blow. A secret rendezvous with the fat, good-for-nothing young master… People might even brand her as a Sword Master blinded by ambition.
“…No. I’ll take full responsibility for dispelling these malicious rumors. If they grow any larger, it will surely upset you as well, Iris.”
“I’m not particularly bothered.”
I let out a sigh and gripped my wooden sword. The lesson was about to begin, yet my mind kept drifting back to the day’s events, making concentration impossible.
I need to shake this off.
I cleared my thoughts and settled into stance, determined to focus on the lesson. That was when Iris spoke.
“If the false accusations worry you so much, there is a quick way to resolve them.”
“What is it?”
“We simply make the rumor true.”
Iris gave me a playful, mischievous smile.
…She didn’t seem to grasp how serious the situation was. To crack such meaningless jokes at a time like this.
“…That joke is in poor taste.”
“It was only teasing. Do you dislike it that much? Even I can feel hurt, you know.”
“It’s not that…. If you become entangled with someone like me—known as the fat, worthless young master—people will call you a Sword Master blinded by ambition. That’s what concerns me.”
“Hmm…?”
Iris raised a single eyebrow. She fell into thought, tapping her finger absently between her chin and lips while still holding the wooden sword in one hand. She tilted her head this way and that, clearly puzzled, before asking me directly.
“Young Master, are you truly a good-for-nothing?”
“Pardon?”
Her abrupt question left me momentarily speechless.
“I may have been in the past… but I don’t believe I am anymore.”
“I see.”
What was she getting at? As I tried to decipher her intent, Iris continued.
“You are still quite overweight, Young Master.”
“…….”
Was she mocking me? Reading my thoughts, she quickly added, “I’m not teasing. You are fat right now. But aren’t you currently on a diet?”
“…Yes, I am.”
“Exactly. One day you will shed all that weight. Moreover, whatever you might have been like before, the person I’ve observed these past thirty days is diligent and steadfast. At first I suspected you were merely acting to counter the rumors, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
Her sudden praise left me flustered. I covered my burning face with one hand and mumbled, “You’re overpraising me…”
“I merely spoke the truth as I see it. The reason I said all this is because even if you are currently labeled as fat and worthless, someday those misunderstandings will be completely cleared away.”
Iris clasped her hands behind her back, gazing at the moon as she went on.
“You are gradually becoming someone admirable, Young Master. In time, the rumors will shift. People will speak of how you put in tremendous effort to lose all that weight and now wield swordsmanship so refined it’s unrecognizable from before.”
Bathed in moonlight, Iris kept her back to me but turned her head just enough to offer a gentle smile. Then she spoke the words that made my heart stir.
“Whether now or later, by then I will surely be known as a Sword Master with a keen eye for talent. When you consider that, the current gossip about me is nothing at all.”
…Honestly, I was moved. Lately I had only received looks filled with prejudice and contempt. Even though I understood I was carrying the burden of the original Sian’s foolish actions, the wounds from those experiences still cut deep. In that sense, Iris—who saw me without any preconceptions—was an incredibly precious person.
Her smile seemed to shine like the moon itself. In the darkness surrounding me, she was the only light, and her presence brought me profound comfort.
Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. How could she have such confidence after knowing me for only a month?
Not wanting to show weakness, I turned my face away and said as casually as I could, “…What if I end up reverting to my old ways? What then?”
“Then I suppose it would mean I misjudged you. Though I do pride myself on my ability to read people.”
“…I’ll make certain that never happens.”
“Hehe. I’ll look forward to it.”
Iris settled into stance with her wooden sword as though nothing had occurred.
“Has your worry been resolved now, Young Master?”
“Yes. It’s completely gone.”
In a situation where I should have been the one offering comfort, I had instead been the one consoled. …For the sake of her honor, I needed to grow stronger as quickly as possible.
I steadied my stance and regained my focus.
“Then let us begin our final spar before the new semester.”
“Please take care of me.”
The moment the words left our lips, we charged at each other in silent, ferocious bursts of speed.
After Iris’s final swordsmanship lesson concluded, I set out the next morning for the Gryphon’s Forest. I traveled with one of the duchy’s coachmen and six escort knights.
The journey would take a full day by carriage. I had packed ample provisions along with the herbs I’d gathered previously. As insurance against danger, I also brought the steel longsword that had been stored in the young master’s room.
This is my first time wielding a real blade…
In one day’s time, I would be hunting a monster. Unlike the game, this was reality. To protect myself, I would have to rely completely on the steel longsword in my hand.
Inside the swaying carriage, I opened the window and gazed outside. Endless meadows and open fields stretched in every direction. The sight made me truly feel that I had finally left the safe confines of the village where I’d been confined for the past month.
From here on, bandits or monsters could appear at any moment. Even though the six escort knights were skilled, I couldn’t afford to lower my guard. The game world I knew as Ariel was full of sudden, unpredictable events.
About twenty hours later, we reached the village near the Gryphon’s Forest without major incident—aside from one run-in with a disorganized band of bandits. The knights drove them off, and when low-tier monsters appeared, I fought alongside them. The knights had strongly objected to my participation, but I insisted on gaining real combat experience. There was no point in traveling all this way just to hide in safety.
Without further trouble, we arrived at Taipan, the village beside the Gryphon’s Forest.
One of the escort knights asked me, “Are you truly certain you’ll be fine traveling alone without guards?”
Going alone was necessary. From this point I would leave the village and enter the Gryphon’s Forest. They would never allow it if they knew the danger, so I had to slip away unnoticed. Besides, the blood of a Great Eagle had to be used immediately after the kill. Asking them to hunt it for me would be pointless.
“I’ll be fine. I’d like to enjoy a little freedom and explore the town while I’m here.”
“Then… please be careful. We’ll meet again at the plaza around sunset. You must take every precaution.”
“I know. If anything happens to me, the responsibility would fall on all of you, right? Don’t worry at all.”
“Understood.”
After that, I turned and melted into the crowd of villagers, concealing myself within Taipan. I felt guilty about sneaking off to do something dangerous right under the knights’ noses, but there was no helping it. I had to repair my Danjeon—and quickly.
…For the sake of the promise I’d made to Iris as well.
…
Trees with deep, tangled roots filled the forest. The farther I ventured inward, the more the warmth of human presence faded.
I pushed aside thin branches and vision-obstructing leaves as I walked deeper into the woods.
A little farther and I’ll reach the outskirts of the Gryphon’s Forest.
The forest was humid, crawling with insects—an environment perfectly suited for plants and animals. Located near the coastal village of Taipan, this woodland was an ideal habitat for Great Eagles and other bird-type monsters.
I tightened my grip on the steel longsword. From now on, my body was mine to protect. This was monster territory. No escort knights. The only thing I could rely on was my blade.
After pushing another twenty minutes deeper, I discovered traces of life: three-toed footprints that clearly belonged to a bird species. They were unmistakably the marks of a Great Eagle living at the edge of the Gryphon’s Forest.
So far, everything matches what I remember from the game.
I had to stay alert from here. If I became too focused on tracking the Great Eagle and wandered too deep, I might encounter a high-tier Gryphon. The odds were low, but I still needed to remain vigilant. I wasn’t nearly strong enough to face a Gryphon yet. If I ran into one by chance… I could lose my life. This wasn’t a game. It was reality—a reality where death was permanent.
That’s exactly why I gathered the Gangryeon Herb…
If something went wrong, I would immediately pluck and consume the herb to strengthen my body, then flee with everything I had. That was the contingency I had prepared.
I continued forward, keeping my body hidden behind clusters of leaves. Then—
“…Kiiiek!”
Three bird-type monsters with jet-black feathers, piercing sharp eyes, and bodies slightly smaller than tigers were pecking at the carcass of a deer on the ground.
Found them.
Their movements were so vivid they seemed to have leaped straight out of a monitor. These were genuine Great Eagles.
I can’t act rashly. Three at once is too much.
I knew exactly how slow and clumsy my current body was.
…I would target the chick in the very center.
To wait for the right moment, I held my breath and remained perfectly still, concealed behind the thick bush leaves.
Several minutes passed. I felt a line of sweat, born from extreme tension, slowly trickle down my neck.
“Kiiieek!”
Having finished their meal with apparent satisfaction, the three Great Eagles flapped their wings. The chick in the center separated from the group and began waddling toward the opposite side of the forest.
Now…!
I followed it slowly, keeping my body hidden among the leaves, circling around from the opposite direction to track my prey.