Lemonade Artisan
"Hmm. It isn't raining outside... yet I can't tell where this water is coming from."
Jong Jinwon studied the puddle collecting on the carriage floor with unusual intensity.
At the seriousness on his face, a dry laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
That guy's not normal either, huh?
"Ah, no... I, um—!"
Startled by his absurd enthusiasm, she flapped her hands in panic.
"Miss Namgung, have you figured something out? There wasn't any water when we got in, was there? ...Could it be the work of the unrighteous bastards?"
He swept his gaze over the surroundings, sharp eyes probing the situation.
Every time Jong Jinwon rummaged furiously through the carriage, her expression changed by the second and her whole body trembled.
"......"
Was this some kind of bullying?
I'll have to take notes.
"C-Chief Jong, p-please, d-don't mind it."
"No. I'll handle it myself, so trust me and leave it to me."
Just a little while ago, she had been acting like the sky wasn't high enough for her to kick through, but now she sat primly with a meek little posture.
The corners of my mouth lifted into a smile.
Teaching manners wasn't that hard.
Just look at how anxious she was.
"W-wait. P-please stop...."
Fortunately, or unfortunately, she was wearing black light armor, so unless you looked closely, it didn't really show.
"Could it be... oil? Is he planning to use fire attacks? Then does that mean our location has already been exposed...? No! That's impossible!!"
I didn't know how far his imagination had run, but he scowled fiercely, his face stiff with outrage.
Dangerous guy.
He dipped a finger into the puddle on the floor and brought it toward his mouth...
Just before he could, I raised a hand to stop him.
"Wait. I don't think that's a good idea."
...and I stopped him.
What had Jong Jinwon done wrong, anyway?
It was because of that idiot piss-pants...
"Cheon, why are you stopping me? If I can sacrifice this body and identify the suspicious water, then—"
I pushed away his face, which had come in way too close, and shook my head.
"I know what it is, so stop."
"Eh? You know what it is? Then what is this?"
"Well..."
I let my words trail off ambiguously and turned to look at the Namgung girl.
As our eyes met, her face went white as paper, and her hands and feet began to tremble violently.
"......"
Gulp—
I could hear her swallow.
What should I do?
Part of me wanted to smack her hard, but because Master Raeji had warned me ahead of time, I'd deal with it after we got back.
For now, this would have to be enough.
As the saying went, bear the character for patience three times and even murder can be avoided.
"The flask broke, and the water leaked out."
*
I sat on a rock toward the back with my chin in my hand, watching the others come down from the remaining carriages.
Total count, including me: thirteen.
Thirteen sacks of baggage...
To be honest, Jong Jinwon was worried too.
History was full of cases ruined by allies screwing up, wasn't it?
The only thing I could trust was myself.
Jinwon, who had gotten out of the carriage late, walked to the center and said, "I know you all have come a long way. As I said before departure, our task is to support the strike unit of the Martial Alliance."
"We understand, Lord Jong!"
The morale-filled members answered in booming voices.
And no wonder. The reward was probably enormous.
"Good. From here on, I'll explain the operation. First..."
While Jong Jinwon explained the mission, the girl, who had changed clothes in the brush, came out and looked around uncertainly.
If she had that kind of personality, wasn't she probably looking for me?
I raised a hand and gave her a casual wave.
"Over here."
The moment she spotted me—
"Y-you filthy demon-path bastard!! You evil fiend!"
—she glared wide-eyed and shouted, her face twisted with venom.
I had only greeted her, and this was the thanks I got?
And after I had just saved her dignity earlier, too. Talk about biting the hand that fed you.
"Hah..."
"H-how could you do something like that to me!!! Have you lost your mind?!"
She stormed over in a flash, her eyes sharp as knives, glaring at me with a poisonous expression.
I'd already gone easy on her, and yet she still didn't know her place and was getting angry.
This was hopeless.
People said that if you lived properly, you'd get plenty of chances to meet like-minded souls.
Then why were the only people around me all like this?
I pinched my nose and said, "Ugh, what a stench. Miss Namgung, what's the matter? ...Though come to think of it, don't I smell something foul coming from somewhere?"
"Y-you...!!!"
Her face turned bright red.
She must have remembered the disgrace she'd shown in the carriage.
"I don't know what you're talking about when you say 'something like that.'"
"Y-you don't know? You made me act all s-strange!!"
"What power would I possibly have to make Miss Namgung act strange?"
"You're going to deny it to the end? Are you making fun of me?"
"I'm merely speaking the truth."
She clenched her teeth with all her strength, trembling all over.
Oh?
Was she about to hit me?
"Miss, I don't know what misunderstanding you're laboring under—"
And then the prediction became reality.
"You piece of trash! Then die!!!!"
With a swish, she drew her sword and lunged for the center of my forehead.
No, she tried to.
In that instant, I seized the wrist holding the blade and the back of her neck.
"K-kek... kek..."
"You trying to mess with me right now?"
Looking down at her as I said it, her momentum collapsed, and she started shaking all over, avoiding my eyes.
"......"
"Can't hear you. I said, are you messing with me?"
At the low, unfamiliar tone, she flinched hard.
"Th-that... k-kek! N-no, I—"
Was this girl completely insane?
I was starting to wonder what kind of place the Namgung family actually was.
If it hadn't been me, that would've been a fatal wound without question.
I tightened my grip a little more and frowned as I pressed her harder.
"W-wait... k-kek! Kkek! S-sorry... k-khuh!"
She seemed to be choking, squeaking like a cornered fox as she struggled with those thin hands to pry my arm away.
Futile effort, of course.
Then, all at once, a faint warmth seeped into my pants.
"......!"
I squeezed my eyes shut.
No.
Seriously.
Fuck.
The question hit me.
She'd already pissed herself so thoroughly earlier, and she hadn't even drunk any water—so how in the hell was there this much urine?
I loosened my hand a little from her throat.
"Kek, keh, kkhuh..."
She gasped in air greedily, as if she didn't have enough of it.
I wanted a cigarette badly, but not having one only made me angrier.
I lowered my voice and called to her.
"Hey."
"Hik...!"
When our eyes met, she swallowed hard.
Her cheeks were flushed red, and her face was full of fear.
I sensed movement behind me.
So this is far enough.
It didn't matter.
By now, the hierarchy must already be etched into her head.
"Kek, kkhuh... Haa. Haa..."
Once I let go of her throat, she collapsed to the ground and dragged in ragged breaths, steadying herself.
Just as expected, Jong Jinwon came over with his men.
"So you were both here. We should be leaving soon."
He looked back and forth between us dumbly, then froze.
"No! There's suspicious water here too...!!"
He spotted the small puddle on the ground.
"......"
Then he asked, with a serious expression, "Miss Namgung? Did you spill water again?"
*
*
*
Inside a restaurant furnished with luxuriously refined furniture and decorated with flowers said to bloom in the far northern regions, the table was covered with every delicacy under heaven and sea.
The man seated at the head of the table emptied his bowl and opened his mouth.
"So, how has life at the academy been lately? Are you doing well? I was surprised when you suddenly came back."
He wore martial robes embroidered in silk thread over blue fabric.
"...Yes. Father, nothing's happened."
He was the head of the Han family.
"Lord husband, Seola is our child. There's no need to ask such a thing."
"That's right. You're intelligent; of course you'll do well."
"......"
Han Seola was more uneasy than ever.
W-what do I do?
Seeing her parents' smiling faces warmed some corner of her heart, but at the same time, she was terrified.
She had wanted her parents' expectations and recognition so badly that she was afraid beyond reason of disappointing them.
Afraid she'd be looked down on again, just like before.
So she couldn't say it.
How could she tell them she had come back to the main house because she was scared of the squad members?
But since she couldn't show it, she only moved her hands mechanically.
"Still, it's a relief. Our clever daughter didn't join the Yeolcheon squad. A disciple of the Yeolpa Sword! If you graduate like this, your road to success is practically open."
"From what I can tell, the Jin family side has been unstable too, Seola. I was worried that man wasn't capable enough to do his job."
The clan head laughed heartily, and her mother smiled along with him. In a good mood, the clan head gulped down his wine.
"......"
She couldn't say a word.
"It wasn't because our Han family lacked ability that we failed to enter the Martial Alliance all this time. It was all because of those damned connections."
"......"
"Isn't it ridiculous? To have this much ability and still be looked down on for lacking roots! The martial world is still rotten to the core...."
The clan head poured out his words like a torrent of muddy water.
"......"
She listened in silence.
Because she knew what her father had always wanted.
...She didn't even know where the food was going.
"If you get the chance, bring people from the Yeolcheon squad over later. I'll throw a grand banquet."
My stomach soured just thinking about how I'd be treated in the squad later...
"...Yes, Father."
The answer had already been decided.
*
Clack, clack—
"Lady Seola, while you're staying here, I will—"
"Later. I'm tired, so I'm going to rest."
She had returned to the main house after a long time, but it wasn't as happy as she'd imagined.
Because she had to leave again soon.
"Haa..."
A sigh slipped out.
If I had known this would happen, I should never have come back.
All it had done was make her heart more tangled and restless.
In the end, she couldn't bring herself to speak.
She couldn't bear to betray her parents' expectations.
"Haa..."
Another sigh came naturally.
When she looked around the room with her mind in disarray, a small bracelet on the desk caught her eye.
"This is..."
A faded ornament, dulled by dust.
She brushed the dust away with her hand and took the bracelet into her palm.
Suddenly, a man's face flashed through her mind.
If Sojin had been strong... that would've been really nice....
Han Seola remembered him clashing with Namgung Jin.
He seemed to have started training in martial arts late, but still... there had been hope.
And yet, there was still regret.
Sojin...
*
"We should be almost there now. Let's take a short rest before we continue."
At Jong Jinwon's shout, the men began moving, and I waved a hand and called her over.
She must have been watching me the whole time, because she walked over with a meek little posture, unlike before.
"W-what is it?"
There wasn't even a trace of her earlier arrogance.
Good.
This was the proper reaction.
"But what's your name?"
Master Raeji had probably put the three of us together so we'd build some camaraderie, but there was no way I could share a seat with a woman like this.
"N-Namgung Hye..."
"A bit short, isn't it?"
"I'm Namgung Hye..."
Her name didn't really matter.
Whether it was Namgung Hye or Namgung Jin, I didn't care.
What mattered was making the hierarchy clear.
She avoided my eyes and fidgeted with both hands, staring at the ground.
"You know why I called you, don't you?"
"Th-that is..."
Telling me to sit at the same table as a beast that couldn't even control her bladder.
Ridiculous.
Namgung Hye hesitated, then lowered her head and stamped her feet nervously.
"Do you know? Or don't you? Answer me."
Namgung Hye, who had been as listless as a puppy with its tail between its legs, answered in a tiny voice.
"...So, as I thought. That's it, isn't it...? But there are so many people here.... Are you going to do it outside...?"
Her cheeks turned red as apples.