Dark Fallen Angel Sword
I pressed my fingers hard against my temples, trying to soothe the throbbing in my head.
The moment I saw that mortifying title, memories of the dark history I had long since buried came flooding back like a tidal wave.
“Why do you have that, de-shaa?”
So flustered I couldn’t even hide it, I blurted out that ridiculous speech pattern in front of someone else for the very first time.
The woman who heard me only puffed herself up with what looked, absurdly, like pride.
“I knew it. I thought you were no ordinary person.”
What the hell. Why are you deciding that for yourself?
Just take things as they are, and stop inventing your own interpretations!
I screamed inwardly and clutched my aching head, forcing my thoughts into order.
All right, calm down.
The woman standing before me was in possession of my cringey past.
Just look at the title. Dark Fallen Angel Sword, for crying out loud.
I couldn’t remember the contents, but this was probably another one of those books I’d written back when my chuunibyou had been at its absolute peak.
Could I talk this veiled woman into handing it back politely?
Probably not.
From the way she’d just gone on about comrades or whatever, she seemed just as far gone as that self-proclaimed Heavenly Demon.
I gathered my thoughts and faced her properly.
She was looking at me with unmistakable delight, even through the veil.
First things first: confirm the facts.
“...Let’s introduce ourselves properly. My name is Song Hyeon.”
Basic manners in conversation.
As I took the first step toward getting to know each other, the woman unexpectedly looked taken aback and fumbled over her words.
“Ah... I’m... called Cheonga...”
Why was she acting like that?
I just stared at her, and she started twisting a lock of hair around her finger, squirming in place.
She must have something to hide.
“Ah. I-I don’t have a surname. Really! It’s a pretty common name, right?”
She babbled excuses as if I’d said something, fidgeting like her feet were on fire.
There was definitely something going on.
Commoners without surnames were everywhere in the Central Plains.
And yet she’d gone out of her way to stress that she didn’t have one, all while sounding anxious?
That meant her surname was something she absolutely could not reveal.
On top of that, she was roaming the Central Plains with her face hidden behind a veil...
I didn’t need to think long.
She was the daughter of some great house, someone any martial artist would recognize just by hearing her name.
“That’s a pretty name.”
Separate from the suspicion blooming in my head, I smiled faintly and answered in a way that would put her at ease.
Just as I intended, she placed a hand over her chest and let out a small sigh of relief.
So she really was trying to hide it?
What a careless person.
Then again, with that sort of vacant, gullible air about her, of course she’d believe me when I said I was collecting secret manuals and promptly show me the one she had.
I narrowed my eyes, watching her awkwardly turn her gaze away to stare into the distance.
Cheonga.
A name that could fit any one of the six great martial families.
...Though, come to think of it, Punggonga doesn’t sound quite right.
Still, judging from her clumsy behavior, the Hebei Peng Clan — famous for being straightforward and stubborn — seemed the best match. The irony was almost funny.
At the very least, she wasn’t likely to be the child of some family renowned for scheming and cleverness.
Please, don’t shatter the image I have of great martial families.
“How did you get that manual?”
I asked, putting on the most innocent expression I could muster.
Cheonga, who had been smiling awkwardly, suddenly leaned forward with an excited look as if she’d been waiting for that question.
“Ahh. It was a meeting ordained by fate.”
She began spilling out her story as though she were intoxicated by some glorious dream.
It was a tiresome tale.
While training the inherited martial art of her family, she’d hit a wall and despaired; then, by chance, she’d obtained a book, awakened to a new world, and set out into the martial world to walk the true path of chivalry.
The way she spoke, eyes sparkling, was exactly like an otaku losing all restraint the second someone mentioned a favorite subject.
Inherited martial art, my ass. Is this woman trying to hide it or not?
What kind of commoner family with no surname had a hereditary martial art passed down for generations?
She must have been a sheltered young miss, completely ignorant of the world, with flowers blooming in her head instead of common sense.
What do I do...
Standing before Cheonga, who had already drifted into her own little world and kept mumbling away, I sank into deep thought.
Could I travel with this person?
Our goals were similar, and yet fundamentally opposed.
My goal was to erase these dark-history manuals from the world. Her goal, for reasons unknown, was to collect them.
Outwardly, I’d claimed I was also here to gather them, so naturally she thought I was a comrade and wanted to stick with me.
But more than anything, her hidden surname bothered me.
At a glance, it looked like she’d run away from home without permission.
What reason would the daughter of a prestigious clan have to disguise her face with a veil and refuse to reveal her family name?
It smelled dangerous.
“And that’s how I ended up meeting Song-ssi!”
Cheonga slammed the table with an exuberant voice and leaned her face toward me.
“Haha. I see. Amazing.”
Overwhelming.
I gave a half-hearted response, and she nodded in satisfaction, apparently pleased with her own long-winded life story.
What an impossible woman.
“Then may I ask what kind of manual Song-ssi has?”
Here it came.
I quietly studied her eyes through the veil.
After all, her goal and mine were both connected to dark history.
She might have been acting all careless on purpose, waiting for me to let my guard down before I showed her my manual so she could snatch it and run like lightning.
That was why I couldn’t relax around her and had to keep my guard up.
From the way she talked, she didn’t seem like a bad person, if a clumsy one... but what if all of that was an act?
What if she was pretending?
While I hesitated, she tilted her head.
“Song-ssi...? Could it be... you’ve deceived me?”
In an instant, her eyes flashed, and the cheerful expression she’d worn up until now went ice-cold.
These martial-arts sword freaks.
The second things don’t go their way, they get all murderous.
Honestly, they were unbearable.
If I insisted on not showing it, that was a problem. If I did show it, that was a problem too.
This was exactly why you should never get tangled up with sword-wielders.
Ordinarily, it would be right not to expose one’s weaknesses so recklessly.
But she’d shown hers first, so it was only fair that I show mine too. That was the cursed logic of the martial world.
If you didn’t respect that damn give-and-take in the martial world, you’d be branded a despicable coward before you knew it.
Helplessly, I undid my bundle and pulled out the book.
When Cheonga saw the handwriting on the cover, the corners of her mouth curved into a smile again.
“Wolhameiingyeong, huh? Even the name is extraordinary. You really are my comrade, Song-ssi.”
Watching her pleased little self, I smiled awkwardly.
Extraordinary... well, it was, wasn’t it.
If she knew the truth about the TS button, it would be all the more so.
Fortunately, contrary to my worries, she finished her inspection and didn’t even glance at the book again.
She really must have only wanted to verify it.
“So what do we do now?”
I asked her as I repacked the book.
What matters isn’t what you already have, but what you don’t.
Cheonga nodded at my words.
“Exactly. I got a little carried away meeting a comrade on the path of darkness. But the important thing is the famous manual everyone’s talking about.”
“Yes...”
What the hell is the path of darkness, you chuunibyou freak.
The horrifying words came and went, and I forced myself to ignore them.
Cheonga fell silent, looked around, and lowered her voice.
“We’re drawing attention.”
Well, of course we were. A peerlessly beautiful woman like me and a mysterious veiled lady sitting together would draw attention no matter what.
Besides, Cheonga’s clothes were thin and clinging, leaving her feminine figure on full display. It would have been impossible not to stare.
It was hard to believe she hadn’t intended to dress that way.
“There must be people who resent us, the righteous darkness. Let’s go somewhere else first. We can talk while we walk.”
Apparently unaware of that fact, Cheonga suggested we move and got up abruptly, looking offended.
I stared blankly at her back as she walked out of the tavern.
What did she just say?
Righteous darkness?
Were righteousness and darkness even compatible words?
I didn’t exactly relish traveling with someone who acted entirely on impulse.
But even if we were going to part ways later, I still needed to get information first.
With a sigh, I paid for the meal and followed after her.
Wait. Come to think of it, that woman had really planned to eat and run, hadn’t she?
Was that why she’d hurried out so fast?
How infuriating.
In that case, I’d better make her pay me back with interest.
Just as I was about to step outside after her, a sudden crash rang out, and something came hurtling in after smashing through the door.
Kwa-gwa-gwang—
“Kihyut!?”
I quickly twisted aside.
What had been thrown was a person.
As I looked at the body rolling across the floor, I recognized one of the men who’d been pestering me earlier.
From the direction he’d come, a figure in black approached and addressed the fallen man.
“Speak. Where is the manual?”
“Ugh... I-I don’t know. I only heard the rumor.”
The flower of the martial world: a tavern brawl event.
This was my first time seeing one in real life.
I could only feel sorry for the innkeeper’s face, which had already started to look like it was rotting away.
While everyone’s attention was fixed on the two of them, I quietly slipped away from my seat and headed outside.
Cheonga, who had already been waiting outside, stood with her arms crossed, tapping a finger against her arm as if thinking about something.
“I’m here.”
“Hm? Ah, yes. What shall we do now?”
“What do you mean? We do what we came to do.”
She nodded after hearing my answer, then turned and headed back toward the tavern.
“Hey?”
“As expected, our minds are in sync. There’s only one thing we should do. We can’t just let something like this slide.”
What? Why was the conversation going that way?
I could only stare blankly as she drew her sword.
Cheonga strode up to the man in black and shouted with complete conviction, “Despicable villain. You can’t go around tormenting ordinary people like that. If you need something, pay a fair price and take it properly.”
“...And who the hell are you?”
The man in black, already irritated to the point of madness, let go of the choking man and turned toward Cheonga.
“As for me, I am Cheonga of Dark Fallen Angel Sword, the darkness of justice. I shall bring the verdict of justice down upon the villain.”
Watching Cheonga fix her grip on her sword and spit out that jaw-dropping line, I pinched the bridge of my nose.
The sight brought a long-buried memory surging back with brutal clarity.
Dark Fallen Angel Sword.
It was the magical-girl delusion novel I’d written back when I was afflicted with severe chuunibyou.