The Value of an Apology
“What’s your answer?”
After wandering around and making sure no one was watching, Namgung Hye finally came over to me.
She kept sneaking nervous glances around like a dog afraid it had done something wrong, then answered in a voice so small it was barely above a whisper.
“…I-is that it? …But there are a lot of people here…. Are we doing it outside…?”
Her cheeks turned as red as apples.
“……”
What the hell was she talking about?
I hadn’t said anything else to her. I’d only called her over so she could apologize properly and listen while we handled the mission.
What did she mean, outside?
I had no idea what sort of nonsense she was imagining, but one thing was obvious: she was wildly off the mark.
She covered her mouth with a fist and whispered in a tiny voice, “I, I’ve never done it before, so… p-please be gentle with me.”
“……”
She bowed her head politely and knelt right in front of me.
I stared down at Namgung Hye, who was greeting me while kneeling there like a proper little lady.
Has she lost her mind?
Could a daughter of a prestigious righteous clan really kneel this easily?
A martial artist’s pride was worth a thousand gold pieces…. I watched her closely for a while, wondering if she was hiding some scheme, but I couldn’t spot anything unusual.
“L-look over there.”
“Why’s the squad leader doing that?”
“What the hell is going on?”
A few of the squad members had started staring this way.
Of course they were surprised. They couldn’t have heard the conversation we’d had, but they could definitely see the posture she’d taken.
I folded my arms and looked steadily at Namgung Hye.
“……”
Even after feeling my gaze, she only trembled all over and didn’t move a muscle.
What was she thinking?
I had no way of knowing the thoughts of a beast who couldn’t even hold in her own piss, but...
So that’s how you want to play it?
I could guess a few things.
This was a kind of protest, as if to say, I’m already doing this much... so please forgive me.
We were in the middle of a mission, and with the other squad members watching, she was probably planning to apologize by lowering herself as much as possible.
But if she thought I was the kind of person who’d let it slide for something like that, she still didn’t understand the situation.
“……”
She didn’t even have the basics down.
A sincere apology usually came with elixirs or a treasured sword, after all. How could she not know something that simple?
Even if she didn’t have the elixir right now, she could always get one back later when we returned to the academy. The promise mattered more than anything.
“Hurry up and come here.”
“W-what? Why is the squad leader...”
The squad members were still talking behind her, but Namgung Hye didn’t even twitch. She just kept her head bowed silently.
For some reason, I could feel a little of her sincerity there.
...Maybe this really was an act of submission.
That thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head immediately.
Even so, she’s a daughter of a noble house. There’s no way she’d break just because of a few threats.
The former seemed more likely. If not, then whatever.
I quietly hooked two fingers under her chin and lifted her bowed face.
“Do you even know what I’m about to make you do?”
Her cheeks flushed scarlet with embarrassment, but she didn’t avoid my hand. She only lowered her eyes.
“…Anything is fine.”
It was a quiet voice, but I heard her clearly.
That’s right.
Anything, huh?
Once this was over, we’d hardly ever see each other again.
I might as well squeeze out everything I could.
Become the fertilizer for my growth.
“Is that so....”
At Namgung Hye’s answer, a smile naturally tugged at the corners of my mouth.
*
“Do you even know what I’m about to make you do?”
His voice was heavy with pressure.
“…Anything is fine.”
He smiled at the corners of his mouth and looked at me with burning eyes.
My heart was already pounding like mad.
What was he thinking....
Still, he really is handsome.
Looking up at Cheon Sojin, that thought slipped through her mind.
When she’d believed he was weaker than her, she hadn’t even really noticed his looks, but before she knew it, she was staring at him.
His flawless white skin, the clean lines of his face, his straight nose, and those eyes like starlight had seized her heart.
And his height, too—he was tall enough that there was nearly a head’s difference between them, which she liked very much.
Besides, however much he’d been cast out, he was still a blood descendant of the Jin Family.
Until now, she’d thought he was a weak man. That had been a mistake.
He’s not so bad.
Gulp—
Namgung Hye swallowed dryly and waited for his next words.
W-what in the world is he going to make me do? What happens to me now?
Her heart was pounding wildly.
When Cheon Sojin looked at her, when he grabbed her throat, that strange tingling that had run through her body still hadn’t gone away.
Ugh...
The moment had lasted only an instant, but to her it had felt like eternity.
Honestly, she’d meant it as a way to ask what he wanted because she was afraid of making him angry, but...
...she might have gone too far.
Could he possibly be thinking of violating me...? Like in those spring picture books?!
Her whole body started trembling again, and she instinctively tightened her lower abdomen.
Three times is too many.
Absolutely not.
Never!!
“Is that so....”
And just as Cheon Sojin opened his mouth,
“Cheon So-hyeop, what do you think you’re doing? Forcing a fellow academy student into something this humiliating!”
An interruption came.
A face I knew all too well.
It was Jong Jinwon.
Aaaagh, what terrible timing!!!!
*
At the Second Training Ground of Jeongdo Academy,
“At this rate, what on earth is she even good for?”
“Miss Jo, that’s just how those pointless little nobility brats are!”
The members of Hwacheon Squad were training hard.
They wore sneering smiles as they mocked me.
“M-mute bitch.”
“……”
That day, after I refused Sun Woojeong’s proposal, the bullying from Jo Mijeong and the others only got worse.
For a while they’d probably been watching the squad leader’s mood and holding back, but now they didn’t need to anymore.
I had no one on my side in Hwacheon Squad.
At first it had hurt terribly, but now I was just numb.
She threatened me in a low voice. “Not answering? Should we try that again, like last time?”
Jo Mijeong glared at me with fierce eyes that seemed to spit fire.
“…Yes.”
“Aha ha ha ha! Miss Mijeong, did you hear that?”
“She folds the second you push her, so why was she acting all high and mighty?”
“Seriously, it’s hilarious.”
My fists tightened.
No. I have to endure it.
It was painful, but I had no choice.
If I got kicked out here, I’d have nowhere to go....
“Ah! Right! Come to think of it, the mission payment came in!”
She clapped her hands sharply and looked around at the squad members.
“Already?”
“Of course. That’s thanks to Hwacheon Squad’s fast work. The squad leader returned to the faction for a while, and I’m the one delivering it instead.”
Jo Mijeong smiled brightly and handed each of the squad members a heavy pouch.
Jingle—
“I’m going to buy a few elixirs this time.”
“Elixirs are good. I’m buying training clothes. Look at this—my clothes are all torn up.”
“How did you even keep wearing that?”
The squad members accepted their pay and broke into happy smiles, the mood suddenly warm and cheerful.
But even in that gentle atmosphere, there was one person who couldn’t smile.
“M-m-my money...?”
Taking the empty pouch, Shin Juha’s voice trembled so badly it was shocking.
“That’s your payment.”
Jo Mijeong covered her mouth with one hand and sneered.
Her eyes curved in amusement, and that only made anger surge hotter inside me.
Just hold it in a little longer.
“D-don’t mess with me. Give me my money.”
Jo Mijeong frowned as if she genuinely didn’t understand.
“What are you talking about? Did you forget? You sucked dry all the inner cores from the spirit beasts.”
“......Ah.”
With no one to help her, Shin Juha had agreed to keep it secret from her family and repay the losses every time she finished a mission.
Still, she wasn’t without something to say.
“T-that was supposed to be paid back little by little....”
“Yeah, but I figured you’d be too lazy to deal with it, Juha. So I sent it ahead of time.”
“......What?”
For a moment, she thought she’d misheard.
Who the hell made you decide that on your own...?!
“Ah, don’t thank me. It was nothing.”
Her hands and feet started trembling.
“As expected of Miss Mijeong! Even helping out such a useless girl with your own hands. I’m so moved!”
“How incredible, to have such a generous heart...”
Even if I’d received far more payment than this,
it wouldn’t mean a damn thing if it never actually made it into my hands.
No one here was going to help me.
And in the end...
my patience hit its limit.
“Honestly, talking to a beggar is exhausting. And on top of that, she’s so persistent....”
Thwack!
A clear impact rang out, a flash of white light burst through the air, and Jo Mijeong went flying.
...I did it.
Shin Family’s White Dragon My-Punch had struck home.
*
At the end of the road, the destination village, Liao Village, came into view.
“That’s the village where the strike squad is staying.”
What kind of village was perched up there?
At least the good news was that all we had to do was keep following the road uphill.
Namgung Hye was in front of me, Jong Jinwon behind, and we were moving in formation.
She kept pretending to look back, turning her head over and over again.
“……”
To be honest, Namgung Hye was nothing more than baggage.
The Namgung Family had little to offer beyond the Southern Jade Iron Sword.
And even that could be obtained through Namgung Jin,
transferred through proper channels, so there was no problem there.
They do have a master called Namgung Sword King in that family, though....
I didn’t even need the teachings of the Five Tiger Daoist, so what would Namgung Sword King matter?
Besides, once enough time passed and the Blood Cult rose again, Namgung Sword King would lose his life in a joint assault by Saehapssangma and the Blood Scale Guard.
In other words, the future awaiting the Namgung Family was nothing but annihilation.
There’s no need to build a deep relationship with a family like that.
I might get dragged into their mess for no reason.
Tick—
The moment I heard that strange sound, I quickly raised a hand and said, “You there. Come out, you bastard hiding over there.”
We came to a stop, and Jong Jinwon shouted from behind, “Cheon So-hyeop. W-what is it?”
I didn’t answer. I only rested my hand on the hilt of my sword and waited for a while.
Then, from the path beside a tree, a man in Martial Alliance training clothes slowly stepped out.
“Amazing. How did you know?”
The man spoke first, voicing admiration and surprise as soon as he appeared.
...He was, in his own way, a sharp and well-honed martial artist.
Still, the moment I saw the unique ornament on his sword, I knew who he was.
So the Martial Alliance really does have a strike squad....
##
