Where the Dog Barks
In front of the great hall, a vast space large enough to hold a thousand people.
"So you want us to wait around until we know when Jin Sojin will show up?"
The moment I reached for the door, a sharp woman’s voice drifted out from inside.
"B-but if we just wait until today…"
Then came a weak, hesitant voice answering the sharper one.
"Wait for what? How long are you going to keep pretending to be nice? You were going to abandon him just the same anyway… weren’t you?"
"Pretending to be nice? I’m only… I mean, and I’m not abandoning him—"
"Ah… was that too blunt? Then how about this? You were planning to ignore him completely… right?"
"……"
"…That’s enough."
A soft, low voice cut between them and stopped the argument.
"For even Shin Juha to say that much, I suppose we really should stop."
"No… I…"
I’d heard enough.
There wasn’t any useful information in it anyway, and I’d already figured out the situation. No point waiting any longer.
Bang!
I kicked the door open, and the gazes of hundreds waiting inside the hall turned toward me at once.
I raised a hand and gave them a casual little wave.
"Isn’t that Jin Sojin?"
"Now’s really not the time to worry about that, is it?"
"No… I guess not."
All around the hall, people were busy recruiting and replacing members for their squads.
"Namgung Jin! Don’t you dare lay a hand on our member!"
"Well, instead of accusing me blindly, why don’t you take a look at the situation first? The young lady said she’d come to my side first. Isn’t that right?"
"Y-yes… I’ll join Young Master Namgung Jin’s Namgung squad…."
"What…?!"
After that, the eyes of those two hundred people quickly lost interest and returned to whatever they’d been doing, but a few still stared at me, stunned.
"So everyone’s gathered here."
Every one of them was a face I knew.
Not that I was happy to see any of them.
"Jin Sojin… I heard you were missing, but you were really alive. That’s a relief."
A beautiful woman with purple hair and black training clothes spoke to me in a surprisingly calm voice.
"Yeah, something like that."
Then she walked toward me, showing off the curves of her body as she moved.
Dang Soyeong, the daughter of the famed Sichuan Tang family from Sichuan. She was the firepower specialist of the Jincheon squad, using poison and hidden weapons to unleash lethal martial arts.
"……Hmph."
Beside her stood a woman with orange hair, saying nothing.
Shin Juha of the Shin family, whose main martial arts were fist and kick techniques.
I waved, but she, too, gave no answer.
"Sojin… you’re safe? I was worried. Really… I’m so glad the false accusation was cleared. I believed in you! I knew you didn’t do it."
How rich, acting like we were close now after being the one to kick me out in the first place.
Did she think she might still be able to reclaim the position of the Jin family heir?
Then she really was nothing but a bat.
Her skin was white as snow, her hair a clear blue. Han Seola, the daughter of the Han family, and my childhood friend, was the last of them.
"Where’s Jihee?"
"Ah… Jihee is…."
Just by looking at the hesitation on her face, I already knew the answer.
"She left the Jincheon squad. I’m sure that level of punishment means nothing to Jihee…."
As expected.
Guyang Jihee, my former fiancée.
I was a little sorry I couldn’t see her right now, but that didn’t matter. I’d be seeing her plenty while I was staying here anyway.
I took a letter from inside my robe and, pretending to know nothing, asked, "So what’s this about?"
Even after I’d pulled out the letter, none of them opened their mouths.
What do we do?
They hadn’t expected Jin Sojin to actually show up.
Still, before that, they’d at least had a little guilt.
But we can’t help it.
Even after seeing Jin Sojin in person, their resolve didn’t change.
Because Jin Sojin was the weakest martial artist of the bottom rank….
"What are you waiting for? Speak up already."
A man was grinning as he strolled over to me with a shameless, vulgar smile.
Even if he wasn’t as handsome as I was, his looks were still decent enough.
Namgung Jin, the young master of the Namgung family, who’d been arguing on the side of the hall just moments earlier.
"……"
"Uh, well. The thing is…."
"Sojin, don’t misunderstand, just listen to us…."
They fumbled and stumbled over their words, unable to say anything properly.
They couldn’t even manage where to look, staring only at the floor and the empty air.
How irritating.
"If you’ve got nothing to say, then don’t."
"…Huh? Wait, Sojin, hold on—!"
"Where do you think you’re going? I’m talking to you!!"
Behind me, a flustered voice rang out at my unexpected move.
I went straight over to the instructor waiting in the hall.
His name was… I couldn’t remember.
Didn’t matter.
"Instructor, greetings."
"Oh? Jin Sojin, is that you? ...I heard the false accusation against you was lifted. That’s a relief. But what brings you here?"
"I’d like to dissolve the Jincheon squad."
"What?"
From behind me, a chorus of voices burst out in mixed shock.
The instructor, too, wore an odd expression, clearly taken aback.
"Sojin… are you serious? You know that under Jeongdo Academy’s rules, once a squad is disbanded, it can’t be restored."
"I know."
"You have both achievement and merit. I don’t know what you’re thinking now, but… in time, it can bear fruit. Acting alone is something only those confident in their strength can do. As I see it, you, Sojin, are still lacking… perhaps you should think it over again."
"I have no intention of changing my mind. Please take care of it now."
In the martial world, strength was everything.
The only thing you could truly rely on was your own ability.
But the truth was, this wasn’t really about me.
I couldn’t say anything that might leave room for them to talk about coming back later.
Of course, I had no intention of taking them back anyway, but it was best to make things clear.
The nature of someone who stabbed you in the back once didn’t change.
In other words, betrayal was practically in their bones.
People didn’t change that easily.
The instructor hesitated for a long time, then let out a sigh and nodded.
"Sojin, it seems you’ve made up your mind. If that’s what you want… then disbanding the squad is within the authority of the squad leader. I’ll handle it according to procedure. The Jincheon squad members are Jin Sojin, Dang Soyeong, Shin Juha, and Han Seola. Four in total. Wait here a moment."
The instructor soon called over his direct disciples and went into the inner room to start handling the paperwork.
"S-Sojin… what are you talking about? Have you lost your mind? Without the Jincheon squad’s achievements, you’d struggle even to become an intermediate martial artist."
"What are you thinking, dissolving the Jincheon squad? I thought you were at least a man with some sense…."
"……?"
When I turned my head, I found my former squad members and the other squad leaders had gathered around without me noticing.
Different emotions churned on their faces.
Regret, surprise, shock, guilt—all of it.
"You heard me. You can all go wherever you want."
It was a flat, lazy reply, tossed out as if it were nothing.
At the answer they’d never expected, all of them widened their eyes and mouths.
"Ah…."
"……"
Behind them, Namgung Jin burst out laughing and clutched his stomach.
"Kekeke… what is this? You knew? Hah, I thought you were just some stuffy bookworm, but I guess the blood of the Jin family can’t be hidden. A self-destruct move isn’t bad, I suppose…."
Their faces were full of confusion.
This wasn’t the reaction they’d been expecting from me.
If I were the gentle, weak heir of the Jin family they imagined, if I were someone who valued affection and righteousness, then I’d be begging them to stay or crying and clinging to them, doing anything I could to hold on.
Did they think I was insane?
"Sojin… it’s just that…."
"……"
"We really didn’t expect you to know."
As if I wouldn’t know.
One look at their eyes was enough.
"Kekeke… so you’re acting all composed? What a righteous hero. So tell me, how do you feel right now?"
"……"
The bastard came closer, sending me a slimy look.
He was the type who picked fights over every little thing, never letting a grudge go.
"...That’s a truly disgusting hobby. Mocking someone you’ve already given up on? Hardly the behavior of a noble family scion."
"Exactly. Who does he think he is, anyway?"
The men who appeared behind Namgung Jin were Kwon Jeonggyeom, disciple of one of the Ten Great Experts of the world, the Heat-Overwhelming Sword Master, and Sunwoo Jeong, the future plum blossom swordsman of the Huashan Sect.
"Honestly, I was insulted just being compared to this weakling in the first place. This bastard is useless for anything except being born into the Jin family. ‘Young masters of the eight great families’—just lumping me together with trash like him pisses me off."
"To get so heated over something like that… you really lack dignity."
"It’s not just dignity, either. He’s got no skill to speak of!"
They were the squad leaders of the Yeolcheon squad and the Hwachon squad.
"...You two aren’t exactly in a position to talk, are you?"
"That’s obvious. When recruiting talent, there’s no need to be picky about methods."
"Isn’t it a problem right there—that someone without the ability to do the job is the one serving as squad leader?"
Just wait.
This wasn’t the time yet.
Even if I crushed them on a cheap stage like this, I wouldn’t be able to deal any lasting damage.
The martial contest—that would be my chance.
"Hey, can’t you hear me, you piece of trash?"
Still, none of that mattered right now.
"Where’s this dog barking from?"
"W-What? You bastard, who do you think you’re talking to!"
Insulted by the very person he’d been ignoring, the bastard’s face twisted in fury as he charged at me.
Falling for a provocation this cheap… he really was an idiot.
Namgung Jin threw a punch straight for my face.
As the fist came rocketing in, I moved diagonally forward at the same time and slammed a hard kick into his unguarded leg.
Thwack.
Crash!
"P-puhahaha! Namgung Jin just got taken down by that useless young master?"
"I’m embarrassed just watching this."
"W-wait…? How did Sojin do that?"
In full view of hundreds of people, Namgung Jin sprawled in a humiliating heap, then scrambled up at once and drew his sword.
His face had turned crimson with shame.
Srrrk—
The sharpened blade flashed coldly.
"Y-you…! You bastard!"
What, did he think pulling out a sword would change anything?