Chapter 18
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“Yes! I don’t have it!”
“Hey, you! Why not even pretend to hesitate!”
“Hehe. It’s great to be with my master, but being here with my brothers is wonderful too. May I keep staying with my brothers and Maru here from now on?”
Teraden secretly wished Blanser would come back with him, but his hopes were in vain. “Haha… I want to be with those kids too. Yeah, got it. Whatever. It’s fine.”
“Haha! Thank you, Master!”
Blanser, unaware of the pain in his master’s voice, leaped around with glee, pouring out his joy. Teraden’s disappointment at his student’s refusal was still fresh, but that ache vanished in an instant. He casually tossed off a joke. “Hey, listen. I saw you just now beat the face off one of the kids. That was too harsh, wasn’t it?”
“It was just like sparring with you, Master. I didn’t expect this to happen to me.”
‘H-Huh? Did I really underestimate him this whole time?’
Only now did Crow’s Duck begin to grasp the reality. “…From now on, go easy on them. After scouting the kids here, I realized half of them are no match for you at all.”
“Understood, Master!”
“Ah, there’s one more thing. There’s one kid here around your level—Amirque’s son. With him, you might be even or stronger.”
“Stronger than me?”
Blanser’s spirit shifted at the prospect. “Yeah. So, set aside the Arirang kids. When sparring, don’t go all out. Got it?”
Blanser nodded vigorously, steam puffing from his nose, but the command to hold back had long since flown out of his head. All he could think about was the rival who might match or surpass him. “Finally, one last thing. Don’t ever let anyone know you’re my son. Understood?”
“Of course. No one will suspect a thing.”
Once again Blanser nodded with pride, but… would he really? Anyone glancing at their pancake-like faces would easily guess their relationship. Most of the National Academy probably already knew. The two, who never dreamed the other had guessed, kept winking and boasting about their acting skills. “Hey, where did he go? Blanser! Where’d you disappear to? Come on, we have to eat dinner!”
Teraden’s irritated voice echoed from far away, frantically searching for Blanser. “Master, I have to eat dinner with my brothers, so I’ll be off. See you! Brothers!”
Hearing the voice calling his name, Blanser bid his master farewell and hurried out. “Eh? Dinner? Yeah….”
Crow’s Duck watched Blanser’s retreating back until he vanished from sight, then finally turned and left the National Academy. * * *
Around the time Crow’s Duck left the National Academy, somewhere in the empire. On a barren, rugged road lined with countless jagged rock hills rising like toothpicks, two men sat atop one of the hills. The man wearing a deep-brimmed hat stared calmly at the dozens of followers led by Lan. But something about him felt familiar. After thinking it over, he realized it was the mysterious man who had crossed paths with Lan near Arirang clan territory before. “It’s that kid again.”
The man gazing at Lan slowly opened his mouth. “That kid appeared before us a while ago at an Arirang clan village. He called me a dangerous, unknowable threat and attacked.”
“Um….”
The man who had imagined no such answer was left speechless. “Speaking of which, you were one of the Seven Pillars too, weren’t you? Called the Sword Immortal, I believe.”
The Sword Immortal, one of the Seven Pillars, drew the sword at his waist, set it aside, and lay prostrate behind the man. To one who wielded a sword, it was far more than a tool—it was an extension of his very body. It would have been impossible without absolute trust in the man before him. Or without such confidence in his own skill. “It’s just an over-the-top nickname some hotheads slapped on. That kid would probably go wild if he heard it. About the actions of Seven Weeks just now.”
The man who had imagined someone going berserk at the mention of Seven Weeks let out a light chuckle, a faint smile on his face. “By the way, do you know where those guys are heading right now?”
“Yes. They said they would protect us at the princess conference that just ended. By the Grand Duke of Jindo.”
“Jindo? If it’s Jindo…”
Faint lines appeared between the man’s brows. ‘If that’s the case, I’ll gauge your ability with my own hands.’ “The descendant of that talkative fellow. It should be interesting. The matter is settled, so I’ll be on my way.”
With his business done, the Sword Immortal straightened up, sheathed his sword, and vanished like smoke. The man continued watching Lan and the Arirang clan unnoticed by anyone. * * *
The days at the National Academy passed quickly. Winter, when everything wrapped itself in thick clothes and fell into long slumber, and “Release (Gaebang). It is the first stage of manifesting Ineung, often expressed as opening a gate. To achieve Release, a drastic change in emotions is sometimes necessary. For example, wanting to protect someone, wanting to lend strength to someone, or wanting to harm someone. Finally, the Ineung you will gain is influenced by the emotions at the time of your first Release and your lineage. Remember this.”
After finally awakening from winter and stretching in the spring season of new beginnings, “According to records, nearly a thousand years ago, when the monsters known as Yokai appeared, humanity stood on the brink of extinction. At that time, Arirang—the ancestor of the Arirang clan—and the , along with countless heroes, defeated the Yokai and brought peace back to the world. We must remember that the prosperous life we enjoy today is possible only because of them.”
Summer’s peak was already approaching, the scorching sun blazing overhead. * * *
The usually bustling interior of the National Academy had nearly emptied during vacation. With two and a half months of rest, most students had returned home. Since we had no specific place to go, we decided to stay here and continue training. “Fuu.” “Vacation? Two and a half months from now?”
Juvern, holding a wooden sword, asked with wide rabbit eyes. “Yes. So, this time I’d like to ask you for a spar, Mr. Juvern.” “Vacation, huh? All right. But wouldn’t it be better to ask Lord instead?”
That wasn’t an option. No matter how I adjusted my strength, sparring with Lan would be over in two exchanges—two exchanges? Forget two. One move and he’d be swept away like fallen leaves. “If I spar with Mr. Lan, I don’t think our bodies could handle it, so I came to you, Mr. Juvern.”
“My words were correct, Haru. I’ll do it. Right now?”
“Yes, please, Mr. Juvern. Then we’ll prepare a strategy. Teraden, Blanser, gather over here.”
The three of us gathered in a circle to discuss how to outmaneuver Juvern. “Mr. Juvern doesn’t have any other Ineung besides Black Wave, right?”
Teraden asked. I nodded in confirmation. “Probably. First, I think it’s best to figure out how to deal with that wooden sword. I’ll handle drawing attention. After that, either smash it or steal it, then create an opening somehow. Let’s keep looking for chances.”
“Great! Let’s do it!”
“Leave it to me, brothers!”
After quickly agreeing, we surrounded Juvern on three sides and swallowed our spit, targeting his weaknesses. From what Lan had told me, Juvern’s strength was a bit short of an ordinary baron. A baron who could wield absolute power like a king in a minor city with fewer than forty people. “Gulp.”
At first I thought the three of us could handle even someone like Juvern, but facing him up close made his aura far more formidable. The pressure from sparring with National Academy peers was nothing compared to this. “First, please enter. I’ll let you go first.”
After exchanging glances and nodding, Teraden, unable to hold back any longer, charged first. Blanser followed suit, and the spar began. “Bwoog!” “Uwk!” “Your stomach is too obvious, Teraden.”
Noticing my words, Teraden focused only on the wooden sword and got his intention read, getting hit in the face and flying away. “Tch! Careful. That wooden sword. It’s insanely sturdy.”
Taking note of Teraden’s warning, I cooperated with Blanser to flank Juvern from both sides. “Whoosh!” “Kuk!”
Juvern’s heavy wooden sword slashed through the air with a terrifying sound. Getting hit by that would break my bones. Whoosh! Whoowhoong! Juvern’s consecutive fierce attacks. Dodging all of them barely, he let out a breath. “Hoo, Haru. Your movements are better than I thought… Ung!”
Before Juvern could finish speaking, Blanser’s fist struck from the side. “Mr. Juvern, it seems you’re too focused only on Haru brother. Your opponent isn’t just Haru brother.”
Proud of landing a hit, Blanser’s chest swelled, but Juvern fixed the reversed grip of his sword to the ground, blocking Blanser’s full-force punch without budging an inch. It had clearly connected. “Well, even if the three of us combine, I don’t think it will make much difference to me.”
“Brothers! Now!”
Seeing his attack was useless, Blanser grabbed Juvern’s wooden sword handle and began wrestling for it. Following Blanser’s lead, I charged at Juvern with Teraden, but “Huuup!” “Eh…?”
Juvern grabbed the wooden sword Blanser was holding and lifted him completely with the sword, then swung it down. “Kwaang!” “Uuk!” “Aah! This stupidly tough guy!”
Thanks to that, the three of us ended up rolling together on the floor like a lump of dough, happily. “Puu, it’s hopeless like this. Let’s be more serious.”
“Understood, brothers.”
“Hah!”
Teraden, the first to rise, brushed dirt from his palm and stepped back. Blanser followed. After exchanging glances and nodding, the two of us, with grim faces, charged ahead with me and simultaneously opened our gates. ““Release (Gaebang).””