Becoming an Adult, You Know. (2)
The next day.
“Ugh…….”
Before his eyes were even fully open, Namgung Dowi groaned and clutched his head.
“My head…….”
It felt as though a bell were ringing inside his skull.
Just how much did I drink?
As time passed, fragments of memory slowly came back to him.
He had finished off all the alcohol that had been there in no time at all, and then Cheong Myeong had suddenly jumped to his feet, disappeared somewhere, and come back with his arms loaded down with bottles.
“If we’re going to die, we’re going to die after drinking. Hey, drink. Drink!”
“A-all of this?”
“Why? You can’t handle it? Tsk. This is why bookish little prudes are such a pain.”
“I-I can drink! Why wouldn’t I be able to?”
“……That’s how it was.”
Liquor had already gone to their heads. One sip for you, one sip for me. One bottle for you, one bottle for me…….
We were insane.
They had actually finished all of it. All of it.
Good heavens, even if it had been water, it would have been an impossible amount to drink. And they had emptied the whole thing.
“Ughhhhh. My head…….”
He’d experienced hangovers before, sure, but the headache now pounding through him shattered every notion he had ever had of a hangover.
As he clutched his head and moaned, Namgung Dowi suddenly had a very obvious, very fundamental question.
What the hell was that liquor made from?
What kind of ingredients went into a drink that could leave a person feeling like his head was being smashed with a hammer?
And what sort of person was Cheong Myeong, anyway, to go out of his way to find something like that?
“Urgh…….”
Groaning with his hands still wrapped around his head, he forced his eyes open.
Ah, too bright.
He shielded his face on reflex and frowned. The sunlight was so harsh he couldn’t even open his eyes properly…….
H-hold on. Too bright?
His eyes flew open again. Brilliant morning light was pouring through the window. Staring blankly at it, Namgung Dowi was struck by a jolt of panic and shot upright.
“S-shit! I’m doomed!”
If the sun was already this high, it meant it was far past morning. He had made such a big show of berating the household retainers yesterday—what would everyone think if he was late for training on the very next morning?
Flustered, Namgung Dowi quickly circulated his inner energy to drive out the alcohol.
“My clothes! My clothes!”
He searched frantically here and there, but he couldn’t figure out where he had thrown his outer robe. He couldn’t even remember how he had gotten back to his room in the first place, so how was he supposed to remember the fate of his clothes?
“Damn it!”
After rummaging through everything in a wild panic, he finally found the clothes beneath the blankets. He hurriedly threw them on, straightened his robes and collar at lightning speed, and rushed out the door.
No, he tried to rush out.
Flinch.
Before opening the door, he stopped without meaning to.
…….
Why hadn’t anyone woken him?
They were supposed to train early in the morning. If they had already set out for training, wouldn’t they naturally have come to get Namgung Dowi?
Then could it be…….
Still gripping the doorknob, Namgung Dowi hesitated.
What should he do if none of Namgung’s swordsmen had come out for training? They had had that conversation just yesterday, but would they really have carried on with training on their own without Namgung Dowi there?
A long sigh escaped him.
He knew it. No matter what sight he found waiting for him, he mustn’t be disappointed.
Wanting people to act exactly as he hoped was nothing more than greed. If that were easy, there would be no such thing as failed leaders, would there?
Don’t be impatient.
As Cheong Myeong said, it was hard for everyone. It would be strange if it weren’t. So he could take it slowly. There were people telling him he was doing well. In time, the retainers would come to understand his sincerity too.
Having made up his mind, Namgung Dowi threw the door open at once.
Then he saw the scene spread out before him, and his eyes went wide.
“E-everyone…….”
The swordsmen of the Namgung Clan were lined up in formation in front of his room. Every single one of them.
“N-no. Why……?”
He could barely string his words together. As he stared dumbly at the row of people, Namgung Dan stepped forward.
“Did you sleep well?”
“……Dan.”
The one who spoke for them bowed his head toward Namgung Dowi. The gesture was respectful without being excessive.
“W-what are you all doing here right now?”
“We were naturally waiting for the young patriarch.”
“For me?”
Namgung Dowi’s face stiffened slightly. Seeing that, Namgung Dan smiled faintly.
“Honestly, I did think about going ahead and starting training first…….”
“…….”
“But it seemed pointless.”
“……What do you mean, pointless?”
“Whether training makes us stronger or not, if you are not with us, young patriarch, then it has no meaning.”
Namgung Dowi clenched his fist before he even realized it.
“Young patriarch. We are the Namgung Clan.”
“…….”
“And the Namgung Clan follows only the patriarch’s words. If the patriarch commands it, we would leap into the fires of hell without hesitation.”
“Namgung Dan…….”
“Yesterday, we were too much. It was just…… no. I won’t make excuses. I’m sorry.”
“We’re sorry, young patriarch!”
“We’re sorry!”
Everyone bowed their heads toward Namgung Dowi.
“……The moment you spoke of Plum Blossom Island, I realized something again. That you have continued to think hard about the best way to lead Namgung.”
“…….”
“We should have thought about that first.”
“No, that’s not it.”
Namgung Dowi shook his head.
“It was my mistake. What I think is best may not be what you think is best. We should have talked enough, explained it properly, and thought it through together…… I just assumed that if I moved ahead, everyone would simply follow. That was arrogance.”
“It wasn’t, young patriarch.”
“So let me ask you once more, right here.”
Namgung Dowi bowed deeply to everyone.
“I know I’m lacking, but I still believe this is the best way for the Namgung Clan. So please, everyone, trust me and follow me.”
When he raised his head, he looked at all of them. His gaze was clearer and sharper than ever before.
“I’ll keep striving, and striving again, to become a patriarch you can be proud of.”
Everyone nodded vigorously.
“Of course, young patriarch!”
“We trust you!”
Overcome, Namgung Dowi closed his eyes for a moment.
“……Thank you.”
Only now did he understand. Their thoughts and methods might differ, but what they sought was the same.
Wasn’t that what family was?
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Namgung Dowi nodded.
This might not be enough. There might still be many more conversations ahead.
But Namgung Dowi would not hesitate to persuade them.
There was never only one way to lead people. He didn’t need to become Namgung Hwang. He only needed to preserve the spirit Namgung Hwang had taught him.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Namgung Dowi stepped forward and led the swordsmen of the Namgung Clan onward.
With steps brimming with confidence.
“Ughhhhh…….”
“I-I’m gonna die…….”
“Kill me……. Just kill me…….”
“Should I really kill you?”
“N-no, please…….”
Looking down at the people lying face-down with rocks on their backs, Cheong Myeong’s eyes gleamed darkly.
“But seriously, the more I think about it, the more absurd this gets. Are you screwing with me? Skipping training as a group?”
“…….”
“And the young patriarch came along too? I was even thinking of going easy on him since he’d been decent to me for once, and then this?”
“…….”
Namgung Dowi’s face, already twisted with pain, was now tinged with injustice.
No, this is because of you!
Who was the one who had forced all that liquor down his throat? After drinking that and then waking up at dawn like a normal person, was he even human?
“What? You’ll live and die together? Is that what you said?”
“…….”
“You little bastards! Anyone who said that is already dead! You’re the kind of fools who’d band together to live and die together even if a wave of qi came flying in from across the river!”
“N-no…….”
“What a fine job you’ve done. A really fine job. The young patriarch of the Namgung Clan can’t even fight off a little liquor and collapses into sleep, and the ones who are supposed to wake him just stand around waiting for it to happen.”
“…….”
“If Namgung Hwang were here to see this, he’d have dropped Emperor’s Sword Form right on your heads, you bastards!”
“…….”
How should he put it? Up until just a moment ago, he had been feeling incredibly moved…….
But after hearing Cheong Myeong, it did seem like he had a point. If the former patriarch had seen this mess, he really would have smashed all of them to pieces.
Maybe that was why.
“……What?”
“Nothing.”
Namgung Dowi got the strange feeling that the looks from the retainers were a little different from before. Was it just his imagination?
“You people don’t seem to understand what I’m saying.”
“…….”
“Miss one day of training, and you end up losing ten. There are dozens of excuses you can use to skip practice in a single day. The moment you start saying them like they’re perfectly natural, you’re done as a martial artist!”
“…….”
“Rain or snow, wind or fire! Even if those demonic bastards come storming in! You do the training you’re supposed to do! That’s the basic rule! A bastard who drinks himself senseless and skips training doesn’t even deserve to hold a sword!”
At that moment, Namgung Dan lifted a trembling hand.
“What?”
“A-ask…… may I ask a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Th-that…… hngh…… ngh!”
Thud!
The moment Namgung Dan opened his mouth, his other arm gave out and began to shake. A moment later, he pitched forward.
Cheong Myeong, looking like he had seen every ridiculous thing in the world, trudged over and kicked away the rock that had been pinning Namgung Dan down.
“Hah! I thought you were about to die.”
“W-what was your question?”
“Ah, yes!”
Namgung Dan shot back upright, his face stiff with discipline.
“Mount Hua Divine Dragon! This is absolutely not an act of defiance! Nor is it a complaint.”
“Cut the nonsense.”
“Yes!”
Namgung Dan swallowed hard and spoke.
“If we do this training, can we really become stronger?”
“What?”
When Cheong Myeong glared at him, he hurriedly waved both hands.
“I told you! I’m not complaining!”
“……Go on.”
“Yes!”
Namgung Dan nodded vigorously and continued.
“Of course, we know that the Mount Hua Divine Dragon is a master capable of suppressing the Black Dragon King. But our foundation is, after all, the Namgung Clan.”
“So?”
“Though he died in an untimely passing, we believe the former patriarch was a master in no way inferior to the Mount Hua Divine Dragon—no, perhaps even greater.”
Cheong Myeong’s mouth twitched slightly.
But the Namgung swordsmen only thought he was offended; they had no idea he was desperately holding back laughter.
“So?”
“The training we’re doing now is so different from what we learned in Namgung. Isn’t the best way to master a family’s martial arts known best by that very family? So we’re not sure whether it’s truly right for us to be doing such excessive training that the patriarch himself never ordered.”
“So, to sum it up…….”
Cheong Myeong lightly flicked a finger.
“You don’t believe training like this will make you stronger?”
“……More precisely, we mean that if you could give us some more definite, convincing reason, we’d be able to work even harder.”
“You sure do twist your words into a nasty knot.”
“……I apologize.”
Namgung Dan cursed inwardly.
If you were going to say that, then maybe you should’ve left him alone instead of standing there twitching your fist like you were deciding whether to punch someone!
“Young patriarch, I’d like to ask as well.”
At that moment, Namgung Dowi set down the rock he had been carrying and cupped his fists toward Cheong Myeong.
“These are not people who have witnessed everything I have. Forcing them to follow blindly might only do harm. Please.”
Cheong Myeong stared at Namgung Dowi for a long moment, then asked, “You really want to check?”
“……Pardon?”
“Doesn’t seem like such a good idea to me either…… but it’s not a bad thing for me.”
“…….”
“Follow me. I’ll prove it to you.”
Cheong Myeong said with a smirk.
“Chicks have to start by knowing they’re chicks, right? Come on, little chicks. I’ll show you a few who at least look like chickens now.”
Tilting their heads, the Namgung swordsmen followed after him.