Chapter 17
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: I Hope They Get Along
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The first thing that greeted Ha Yuseong upon his return to the Crouching Dragon Unit was, as expected, a livelier atmosphere than before.
‘It's nice having one more person around.’
"I told you not to speak so informally, didn't I?"
"I don't listen to those weaker than me. Ah, you again? Hmph!"
"You! You just laughed! Didn't you!"
"I wasn't laughing. I was scoffing."
"I'm your senior, and you're my junior!"
"So what?"
"Get outside! Let's settle this!"
Seeing this truly heartwarming display between senior and junior, Ha Yuseong smiled brightly and greeted them.
"Good morning!"
Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo answered while glaring at each other.
"Senior! Your junior, Hae Myo, offers his greetings!"
"Brother. I'm going to go discipline my junior."
Glancing at the two huffing and puffing as they left, Ha Yuseong looked with amusement at the Unit Leader, who was still sound asleep despite the commotion, before heading outside himself.
A good fight is too good to miss!
***
After joining Ha Yuseong—or more precisely, after the incident at the inn—Namgung Yuya had been changing little by little.
He stopped oversleeping every day and began training from dawn, a habit he continued even after their mission was over.
He now turned his gaze away from the inferiority he felt toward those ahead of him and focused solely on his own development.
The first step is always the most important.
‘As a senior, I can't let my junior walk all over me!’
Before, even though he was the senior, he would never have challenged Hae Myo, a rising star of the next generation. But Namgung Yuya had resolved to live differently now, and he didn't want to remain a senior who was disrespected by his junior.
The same was true for Hae Myo. Senior or not, he couldn't bring himself to treat Namgung Yuya, who was weaker than him, with respect.
The martial world is a world where strength speaks.
"Let's settle who's on top today!"
"Just what I wanted!"
As expected, the fight that ensued ended quickly with Hae Myo's victory.
‘Damn. He's strong as hell.’
Perhaps this was an inevitable outcome.
Hae Myo had trained every day since he was a child. Namgung Yuya, on the other hand, had only recently begun to train properly.
The passage of time and the fruits of labor come to everyone equally.
Besides, Hae Myo's martial talent was by no means ordinary.
"So! Who's the senior now?"
Hae Myo asked with a shrug, looking down at Namgung Yuya.
Namgung Yuya lowered his eyes, digging his fingers into the innocent sand.
Just then, Ha Yuseong stepped in.
"Alright! That's enough sparring. Time to head out for our mission."
Ha Yuseong extended a hand to Namgung Yuya, who was sitting on the ground. Awkwardly, Namgung Yuya took his hand and stood up.
Then, Ha Yuseong said a word to Hae Myo, who was still glaring at Namgung Yuya.
"A junior should greet his senior, right?"
Hae Myo stared at Ha Yuseong with a dumbfounded expression.
His face seemed to ask, 'Why should I have to greet a guy like this?'
To that, Ha Yuseong replied with a bright smile.
"You should greet him, right?"
Hae Myo instinctively recalled the final moments of their match yesterday.
Remembering the terror of that moment, a cold sweat trickled down his back.
Hae Myo bowed deeply, his waist bent at a right angle.
"Thank you for the guidance in our spar, Senior. Next time, I would be honored to request another match, preferably where no one is around."
This time, Ha Yuseong poked the scowling Namgung Yuya in the ribs. At that, Namgung Yuya, who had been keeping his mouth tightly shut, slowly opened it.
"Right. Junior!"
Hae Myo replied.
"Yes! Senior!"
And so, their relationship was settled, for the time being, into an awkward state where they both addressed each other formally.
***
Hae Myo was assigned to Ha Yuseong and Namgung Yuya's team.
Until the inn mission was over, Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo didn't exchange a single word, and Ha Yuseong didn't try to force them to talk. He knew that time would resolve the squabbles of the young.
Still, he didn't just leave them be.
Namgung Yuya was currently explaining various things to Ha Yuseong.
"The Murim Alliance basically operates with three-person teams for missions. The number of members increases depending on the mission's difficulty."
Ha Yuseong nodded emphatically and asked to his side.
"I see! Junior! How are the difficulty levels divided?"
At this, Hae Myo glanced at Namgung Yuya and answered.
"They are broadly divided into Grade 3, Grade 2, and Grade 1 missions. Above that are Special Grade missions, and then there are Unofficial missions."
Ha Yuseong once again nodded emphatically and turned back to Namgung Yuya to ask.
"I see! Brother Namgung! What are these Unofficial missions?"
It was painfully obvious that Ha Yuseong was deliberately asking them questions in turn.
Both Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo noticed Ha Yuseong's intention. Neither of them could bring themselves to tell him to please just shut up and walk.
No! They had already tried to subtly hint at it once.
-If you don't want to talk, would you rather do horse stance training with me for the entire mission?
Faced with Ha Yuseong's low, serious voice, the two were left speechless.
Though it had been a short time, they both knew.
This man named Ha Yuseong might seem sloppy on the surface, but once he decided to do something, he really did it.
In fact, Ha Yuseong was currently sitting in the air without a chair.
Namgung Yuya clicked his tongue in amazement at the sight and answered.
"Unofficial missions are, as the name suggests, unofficial tasks performed outside the regular system."
"Unofficial tasks?"
Now, they answered in turn without Ha Yuseong even having to gesture.
"They are requests made unofficially by individuals or groups, rather than missions that come down through the Murim Alliance's official channels."
"Yes. There are broadly two types of unofficial missions: those that designate a specific person, and those open to anyone. You can find the requests for these missions posted at the Murim Alliance's Window 10."
Ha Yuseong's eyes lit up as he spoke.
"Ooh! That sounds interesting! Let's go check it out!"
For the first time, the two were of one mind.
‘But we're done for the day?’
‘It's quitting time?’
"What are you doing?"
Ha Yuseong was grinning at the two of them standing there blankly.
"Hurry up!"
The two frowned in unison.
***
Kids always fight while they're growing up.
It's only after you get older and set in your ways that fights lead to grudges and lifelong avoidance.
When you're young, you can trade blows and then become even closer after a simple apology. That's how it is with boys.
Ha Yuseong smiled warmly as he watched the two of them, looking at each other with identical expressions.
‘My efforts are finally paying off!’
With just a little more prodding, it seemed like they were on the verge of making up.
This is what you call wisdom from experience. Yep!
Weren't they both listening to him well, even though they acted like they hated it?
They were secretly enjoying it.
Those two must be curious about the unofficial missions too.
To think the Murim Alliance had something like that!
How could you just pass it by without looking!
The fact that Ha Yuseong was more interested in the unofficial missions than in improving the boys' relationship was something he himself hadn't realized.
In any case, Window 10 was now in sight.
As they went deeper inside, they found an actual window counter, and they could sense a person's presence within.
And in front of it, countless mission requests packed the wall.
"Are all of these unofficial missions?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
The two answered in unison.
Seeing that they were now even in sync with their thoughts, Ha Yuseong smiled warmly and began to look at the mission requests.
Countless mission requests filled his vision.
They were of a kind he had never seen before.
[I've left everything in this world behind]
-Wealth, fame, power! Do you want my treasures? If you want them, I'll give them to you! Go find them!
[Please punish the cheating bastard]
-While I was away on a long-term mission, that bastard cheated on me with another woman. I'm so wronged I can't sleep. I don't care who does it. I'll give 100 silver taels to whoever crushes one of that bastard's balls.
"Hoo!"
Such direct and passionately motivated missions!
It wasn't that the missions so far had been boring, but these were a refreshing change from the cookie-cutter tasks.
And here I thought the Murim Alliance only took on righteous, high-minded missions. As expected!
"People are the same everywhere!"
Just then, Ha Yuseong's gaze fell on one particular mission request.
[My Child Has Changed]
-My child used to be kind, cute, and the most lovable child in the world, someone who would bring a smile to your face just by looking at them. But after my wife passed away early, I was so overwhelmed by grief that I neglected to care for my child. As the years went by, my child no longer looks at me. I know it's late, but I want to mend our relationship.
It was a common story.
Letting sorrow and anger get the better of you, causing you to lose sight of what's more important.
Ha Yuseong had experienced something similar in the past.
What Ha Yuseong had lost was his health.
In his quest to become stronger.
He didn't spare his body.
As a result, his body broke down, and he suffered in his later years.
Well, thanks to his Rebirth, he was doing fine now.
From among the countless requests, Ha Yuseong chose the one titled [My Child Has Changed].
There was no grand reason for his choice. He simply figured that if it were him, he would hate his father but also miss him more than anyone.
"You're choosing that one?"
Namgung Yuya showed a hint of displeasure that Ha Yuseong had chosen a mission with no reward when there were plenty of others that paid well.
Hae Myo felt the same way.
To this, Ha Yuseong replied.
"A child should be with their father."
At those words, Namgung Yuya, who had never really spent time with his own father, flinched.
It reminded him of a wish he had cherished as a child.
And Hae Myo, who had grown up as an orphan in the Huashan Sect, was also at a loss for words.
Subconsciously, they both knew.
They knew how much those words meant to a 'child'.
When they were children.
It was what they had wanted most.
However, the two of them didn't know.
Who had posted this mission.
Ha Yuseong submitted the mission request.
From the darkness within the window, where nothing could be seen, a voice spoke.
"Will you be taking this mission?"
Ha Yuseong replied.
"Yes."
"Please sign your affiliation and name on the request form."
Ha Yuseong wrote 'Crouching Dragon Unit' and his name beneath it, but before submitting it again, he asked.
"By the way, can you tell me who the child mentioned in the request is?"
The answer came from within the window.
"Anonymity is a fundamental rule for unofficial missions. I cannot reveal the names involved, but information related to the mission will be sent to the Crouching Dragon Unit shortly."
"Ah, I see."
As he replied, Ha Yuseong thought.
*It doesn't matter. I can just ask the child's name when I meet them.*
***
The man inside Window 10 was now bowing with utmost respect before a giant of a man.
The man before him took a piece of paper and was reading it.
"I see."
The man's reply was tinged with a deep-seated weariness. The paper in his hand burned away into a handful of ash.
"So this request was still up."
It was both a thought to himself and a question to the man prostrating before him.
To this, Yaun—who served as the keeper of Window 10 when off-duty and the Vice-Captain of the Heavenly Sword Unit, directly under the Alliance Leader, when on-duty—replied.
"Yes."
"I had forgotten about it."
His calm voice no longer held any trace of emotion.
"You may leave."
"Sir!"
There was only one person in the Murim Alliance whom Yaun served. And there was only one being who could command Yaun.
The Heavenly Sword Emperor, Neung Cheonhwi.
Also known as the Leader of the Murim Alliance.
In the empty space after Yaun had left.
He rose from his seat.
At that moment, a colossal presence spread throughout the Murim Alliance.
Unlike his earlier impassive voice, his expression was now filled with regret.