First Mission
I climbed down from the carriage at a leisurely pace.
"Go on, have a drink or two before you leave."
"Goodness, sir... You saved me from those bandits and even gave me money. That’s really not necessary."
"No, it isn’t."
I pressed a few coins into the coachman’s hand as he kept refusing them.
"Sir, you’re a true hero of the martial world!"
He would always return things with interest.
Whether it was a kindness or a grudge, it made no difference.
I couldn’t tell if he was trembling from fear or genuinely trying to repay a debt, but paying what was owed was only proper.
I trudged inside.
It was a small village sitting on the border of Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi.
It’d be nice if things stayed quiet... but there’s no way that’ll happen.
Even from the letter his granddaughter had sent, I could guess what sort of person she was.
I reviewed the mission once more in my head.
*
If my teacher had gone so far as to say this, it had to be an urgent mission.
"Then can you tell me what you need me to do?"
I should at least do enough to earn my keep.
He seemed pleased with the way I carried myself, and a satisfied smile spread across his face.
It was a simple gesture, but small things like that were what built trust.
Master Raeji gave a small nod and sat down.
"Bring me my friend’s granddaughter."
He handed over a map marked with the various martial factions, along with a sheet of paper covered in hurried notes.
A search mission?
That thought flickered through my mind, but I quickly shook it away.
What my teacher needed was someone who could move at once and keep their mouth shut.
There were plenty of skilled people around.
If it were only a search, there’d be no reason to ask me.
"Understood."
"I’m glad you’re quick on the uptake. The letter arrived just yesterday."
I skimmed the paper he’d given me.
A power struggle between the Green Forest and the bandits... and she’s going to rescue commoners before coming back...?
As expected, this was something that needed immediate action.
"I’ll head out right away."
"Good. I told her to return as soon as she finished that Non-Question mission, but my friend’s granddaughter is far too headstrong. Of course, the fact that she wants to save people is exactly the mindset a righteous disciple should have... but at her level, it’s far too dangerous. You need to bring her back now."
Honestly, if she was skilled enough to be assigned a Non-Question mission, then I probably wouldn’t be much help even if I went.
I was already in no position to handle an expert.
But—
"Master, what do you mean I’m not skilled enough? You said she was the one who handled the Non-Question mission."
Master Raeji had said something strange.
A Non-Question mission was only given to vetted martial artists, so the words not skilled enough didn’t fit at all.
Had a Green Forest king shown up or something?
"It was called a Non-Question mission in name only. It was just a simple letter delivery. Don’t worry about that."
What?
Raeji sounded calm, but I didn’t miss the strange inconsistency.
"Master... does a Non-Question mission even include 'letter delivery'? What about the escort bureau? Isn’t that odd?"
His pupils shot wide open.
Spilling information in a place like this. The man was surprisingly clumsy.
Anyone would find that suspicious.
Now I understood why he’d wanted me to do it.
He clearly didn’t want anyone else to know.
I had caught him in the act of manipulating the records, disguising a simple letter delivery as a Non-Question mission.
"Ahem."
After that brief cough, my teacher spoke in a low voice.
"Sojin, you don’t need to concern yourself with something so minor..."
His voice had the same tone an adult might use to soothe a child.
"There’s no way a master as upright and incorruptible as Master Raeji would single out just one student for special treatment..."
"...Cough."
Raeji suddenly shut his mouth and fell silent.
I might be able to squeeze a few more spirit pills out of this.
"Master, this foolish disciple doesn’t understand. A letter-delivery mission... could it be some kind of favor from your friend?"
It was a trick to funnel achievements to his own blood relative.
Still, wasn’t making it a Non-Question mission a bit too shameless?
From what the master had said, that granddaughter sounded like her skills weren’t nearly enough, either...
"..."
Look at this.
Even at the Jeongdo Academy, where they were supposed to be raising the future pillars of the righteous sects, this kind of corruption was taking place.
So where exactly was martial world justice supposed to exist?
The world of the Blood Cult and the demonic sects—
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
"Heh... Sojin, it seems you don’t understand. This is just a sort of custom everyone does once in a while."
"..."
"All the other teachers do it too, at least once. There’s nothing strange about it."
"The closest branch of the Martial Alliance from here is the Mount Hua branch, isn’t it?"
"W-wait... Cheon Sojin!! How dare you threaten your heavenly master?!"
His face went pale in an instant, and Raeji tried to assert his authority with a harsh warning.
That didn’t make me blink.
"Why would I do that? I was just thinking of filing a letter-delivery mission with the Martial Alliance as well. I’m sure Master will handle it properly for me?"
"..."
This should be enough.
There was no point pushing him too hard.
As much as he’d tried to use me like a slave, he wasn’t a bad man.
If he took a favor, though... would that make him bad after all?
"Master, don’t worry. We’re already in this together, aren’t we? If you’ll just do me this tiny favor, I’ll neither see nor hear a thing."
After a moment’s hesitation, Raeji finally let out a long sigh and surrendered.
"Haa... Fine. Speak."
"It’s nothing much, really..."
*
*
*
The gist of it was simple: find the granddaughter somehow and bring her back.
"Innkeeper, has a blonde woman stayed here?"
I went straight into the inn, but because this was a small village, the place was practically empty.
"Hmm... I’ve been so tired lately that my memory feels all foggy and fuzzy. Heh heh."
The innkeeper’s sly eyes swept up and down over me.
It was the kind of obvious lie that made me want to yawn, but I could understand it.
Business was clearly terrible.
I wasn’t short on money, either.
Clink—
I scooped a handful of coins from my pouch and set them on the table.
For information, it was not just enough, but perhaps even a little generous.
The moment he saw the coins, the innkeeper’s whole body trembled and his eyes went wide.
"I think I remember... maybe if you add a little more, the memory’ll come back... what a shame."
"Innkeeper, isn’t this already more than enough for information? Let’s part on good terms."
"..."
"Innkeeper?"
"...You brat, what do you mean by that? You think I’m doing this for money? It’s your attitude that’s the problem—your attitude! You’ve insulted me, so hand over everything you’ve got and get out!!"
The innkeeper brandished a club from beneath the table and threatened me with it.
I could sense movement in the back as well, so this clearly wasn’t the first time.
These bastards...?
They were obviously looking down on me as nothing more than a sheltered young master.
I sighed inwardly.
There was nothing to be done about people who couldn’t seize the chance even when it was handed to them.
Those enslaved by greed could never escape heaven’s judgment.
If they preferred talking with their fists, then so be it.
I’d give them exactly what they wanted.
Customized conversation wasn’t much of a challenge.
I slowly rolled up my sleeves.
Had they perhaps heard of the Green Forest?
It referred to the Seventy-Two Green Forest Strongholds, a band of self-proclaimed rulers of the mountains, lords of the hills, and so on.
In short, a bunch of lunatics.
Who would acknowledge a pack of self-proclaimed mountain lords getting robbed every other day like common punching bags?
Of course, if you thought about it for even a little...
"Huh? The chair’s going down. Sit up straight, will you?"
"K-k-k... my leg hurts, so I really can’t anymore..."
"I-I can’t take any more either."
"Me too..."
The one whining most pathetically was, of course, the innkeeper.
"Which leg hurts?"
"M-my left leg, hero..."
CRACK!!
I struck his left arm hard.
"K-KKAAAHHH!! Why are you doing this to me!!"
"What hurts now?"
"M-my left arm, of course, isn’t it? K-khk..."
He was in so much pain his eyes were starting to tear up.
"Your leg doesn’t hurt anymore now, does it?"
"Ah... y-yes, that’s right. Not at all, actually."
A divine doctor wasn’t far away.
I was the divine doctor.
The kind of man who cured the sick with a single touch.
That was me.
"If anyone else hurts, say so."
"..."
"V-violence is something only barbarians do. L-let’s solve this with words."
Wasn’t this the same bastard who’d been threatening me with a club a moment ago?
I was almost impressed by the innkeeper’s shamelessness.
"Quiet down and let’s go."
"..."
Where had I left off?
Ah, right.
It was something anyone could figure out if they thought about it for a moment.
If all the members of the Seventy-Two Green Forest Strongholds were truly experts, then the Central Plains wouldn’t be under the Martial Alliance—it would be under some Green Forest Alliance instead.
The Seventy-Two Strongholds were a grand title; in truth, only the Eighteen Green Forest Strongholds were real members of the Green Forest.
The rest were just riffraff borrowing the name.
The power struggle between the Green Forest and the existing bandits...
That was a perfect opportunity.
"That way?"
"Y-yes, that’s right. That’s the Green Forest stronghold."
"Keep acting exactly like I told you to. If you want to die, I won’t stop you."
"..."
Gulp—
The men only swallowed hard in silence.
I’d heard the granddaughter had set out for the stronghold that morning with great confidence, but judging by how clean the place looked, she’d clearly been captured.
They wouldn’t kill a woman easily.
Though she did give off the smell of a total failure...
After changing into ordinary commoner clothes and tossing aside the chairs, we reached the entrance to the stronghold, where the bandits drew their swords and came out to meet us.
"Vice-stronghold master, some strange bastards are here!"
"What is it? Who the hell are you!!"
"We’re messengers from the lower village. We’ve come with a matter to discuss with the great Green Forest chief. This is just a small token of our sincerity."
At my absurdly polite salute, the men exchanged a look and then broke into a nasty grin.
"You look familiar... weren’t you the innkeeper?"
"That’s right, sir."
"You’re not idiots, then. Let them in!"
"Thank you!"
Swords, sabers, and all sorts of weapons lay scattered across the floor, and at the center of the stronghold sat the chief, ruling over the place like a king.
Is that him? He’s stronger than I expected.
I walked slowly toward the chief.
Sharp energy, scars crisscrossing his body in several places.
Rather than a bandit, a true martial artist sat there.
Beating him head-on would be difficult.
If the chief had turned out to be a crude weakling, I’d have cut his throat on the spot, but...
Looks like I’ll have to switch to an ambush.
##