The Descendant (2)
“Uh, um.”
The words stuck in my throat.
I was so thrown off I couldn’t even force out a proper sentence.
Yu Seollin.
As I’d said more than once, she was the one person in the Central Plains martial world I absolutely did not want anything to do with.
So why was she here? Why, of all places, was she crouched outside my room…?
Why?
The first thing that flashed through my mind was a simple question.
Why was Yu Seollin here?
No matter how I thought about it, there was no good reason.
Yu Seollin was the librarian of the Murim Alliance Library.
She was the sort of person who could spend an entire year outside the archive so rarely you could count the occasions on your fingers.
Someone like that… came looking for me?
Impossible.
Even in the original Cheongyeoljeon, she only ever left the library after a very long string of affection events, once the relationship had advanced to the point where the game literally called the two of them close friends.
But what was our relationship now?
Forget close friends—we weren’t even at the level where “acquaintances” felt comfortable.
And yet here she was.
“It’s been a while,” she said.
Her voice was cool and low.
That snapped me fully awake.
“Y-yes. It’s been a while.”
I forced my face into something resembling calm.
I had no idea what sort of fate awaited anyone who showed discomfort in front of Yu Seollin, and I wasn’t eager to find out.
“So… what brings you here…?”
I asked carefully.
Inside, I wanted to shout, Get out of my room right now!
But power was what gave your voice weight, and right now I had none of that.
So I wasn’t in any position to make a scene.
“Ah, well.”
Yu Seollin hesitated for a moment and moved her lips slightly, as if searching for the right words.
What on earth was she going to say that required so much delay?
My mouth went dry before I realized it, and tension began creeping up my spine.
“I’d like to ask something of Lord Paeng.”
“...Ask?”
That was completely unexpected.
Yu Seollin wanted a favor from me? Could that even make sense?
“It’s a simple matter.”
She took one step closer.
“W-wait a second.”
Instinctively, I lifted a hand to stop her.
Of all people, I knew better than anyone how dangerous it was to let this woman narrow the distance between us.
I’d wager there wasn’t a single person in the Central Plains who knew her better than I did.
“First, how did you even find out where I was?”
“I asked, and they told me.”
“Who? No—where?”
“The Byeokun Merchant Group.”
Her answer was utterly matter-of-fact.
Her quiet green eyes fixed on me as if wondering whether there was some problem with that.
Those idiots are serious…
They just told her because she asked?
Still, if I thought about it, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
She was from the Murim Alliance, and on the surface she was nothing more than a polite, quiet beauty.
Who would ever suspect her?
But I knew better.
What matters is what’s inside.
And deep inside that calm shell slept a murderous wretch who would drown the Central Plains in blood if the right trigger were pulled.
It was only because the chance to expose that side of her had never come up.
Of course, proving that fact was impossible—attempting it would get me killed.
“Even so, we’re not close enough for you to come looking for me in the middle of the night.”
I shelved my bewilderment for the moment and focused on getting this monster out from in front of my door.
I needed to drive her out of my territory somehow.
“Yes, that’s true.”
Yu Seollin nodded readily, surprisingly obediently.
“Right? A person who isn’t close to me showing up in the middle of the night is… a little much.”
I just came out and said it.
“That’s true. I’m sorry.”
She bowed her head again, just as readily.
But apologizing didn’t mean she was leaving.
She was still staring at me without blinking, showing no sign at all of turning back.
Then again, if she’d planned on leaving, she wouldn’t have come in the middle of the night to begin with.
Guess there’s no helping it.
Even if I sent her away now, I knew all too well that Yu Seollin wasn’t the sort of woman who gave up easily.
Then maybe the safest choice was to hear her out and politely refuse afterward.
Anyway, I already had a rough idea of what she wanted to ask.
My basis for that was my experience clearing the Heavenly Massacre Star route over and over again.
I still had the broad shape of that story burned clearly into my head.
“It isn’t a difficult request.”
“Hoo.”
Yu Seollin said it softly.
I let out a short breath.
“I’ll hear you out first.”
* * *
My room wasn’t the right place for a conversation like this.
A young man and a young woman alone in a room—one of them the Murim Alliance’s famous beauty librarian, the other a notorious good-for-nothing?
It would have been strange if no rumors started.
So I suggested we move to the inn’s common hall, where there were plenty of people around.
“Why? You said being with me makes you uncomfortable, didn’t you? Wouldn’t it be better for both of us to deal with the matter quickly and part ways?”
Yu Seollin tilted her head and asked with disarming innocence.
Was she naïve? No, it was more that she simply didn’t think much about such things.
“...Just follow me.”
When I pressed a little harder, she nodded without another word and came along.
A short while later, in a corner of the inn.
“So. What do you want?”
“As I said before, it isn’t difficult. I’d simply like your help with a small investigation.”
Yu Seollin spoke slowly.
“An investigation?”
I tipped my head.
“So what exactly are you investigating?”
“Yes. I’m looking for someone.”
“Someone…?”
The moment I heard that, my body went rigid.
What I’d assumed Yu Seollin wanted was only one thing.
To find the letter her father had left behind.
It was a straightforward task she could have handled alone, and there were dozens of ways to refuse it.
But a person?
“Not a letter?”
“Pardon?”
At my question, Yu Seollin furrowed her brows, genuinely unable to understand what I meant.
“What do you mean?”
Her reaction made it clear.
What came next was not the story I had gone through dozens of times in Cheongyeoljeon.
It wasn’t on the path I knew.
Which meant my one and only advantage—my game knowledge—was suddenly useless.
I need to back out.
My instincts were screaming at me to get out of there immediately.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t really….”
My body moved before my brain did.
But—
Thud!
Yu Seollin’s hand caught my sleeve.
It looked like a light grip from the outside, but I couldn’t shake her off so easily.
No, as a martial artist myself, I could tell just from the force in her fingertips that she had no intention of letting go.
“C-could you let go of me…?”
“If you promise not to run, I’ll let you go.”
“...”
She was firm.
She really wasn’t easy to deal with.
“At least… let me ask something first. Isn’t there someone else besides me?”
“No. It has to be Lord Paeng.”
Yu Seollin shook her head without hesitation.
Her green eyes glinted with an unwavering resolve.
She had absolutely no intention of letting me off the hook.
“W-why do you need me? If you’re trying to find a missing person, the Murim Alliance has plenty of far stronger people than me.”
I tugged lightly at my sleeve, trying to persuade her.
I couldn’t get away by force, so I had to shake her loose with words.
And the Murim Alliance was crawling with masters who couldn’t even be compared to me.
Looking for a person?
There were monsters there who’d probably solve it with a snort, so why insist on me?
“No, only Sir Paeng can do this.”
Her tone was absolute.
She didn’t seem to have any intention of bending her will.
What the hell is the reason?
There was no logic to it.
I didn’t understand it at all.
To her, I was just some distant, awkward acquaintance from one brief moment in time.
“Lady Yu, it looks like you’ve mistaken me for some kind of expert, but let me be clear: I’m not a master. I’m just a cripple whose dantian was shattered.”
Since I’d once given her a lecture about movement techniques, she might have mistaken me for someone strong, so I drew a firm line on purpose.
It was best to correct misunderstandings early.
“I know.”
Yu Seollin nodded quietly.
Her eyes still told me the same thing.
And yet, it still has to be you.
“No, why!”
My voice cracked before I could stop it.
The frustration weighed on my chest like a boulder, and it was driving me insane.
“I already told you—I’m a cripple who can’t use martial arts, and I’m a wastrel who was abandoned by the Paeng Clan!”
This was ridiculous.
Here I was, getting worked up just to prove I was trash.
How did this make any sense?
“No. I know public opinion and the real Sir Paeng are different.”
“No, the man himself is saying it’s the same!”
Her voice was flat, emotionless.
And yet what spilled out of it was boundless trust.
If someone else had said it, this might have been touching.
The problem was that the one saying it with endless confidence was Yu Seollin.
So instead of being moved, I was overwhelmed by confusion.
Just what was she thinking to hold me in such high regard?
It was almost frightening.
“Sir Paeng can do it.”
Yu Seollin reinforced the words once more, her voice carrying a little more weight this time.
* * *
To cut to the conclusion, I accepted Yu Seollin’s request.
I’d thrashed around trying to wriggle free, but in the end her grip never loosened.
That left me with only one option.
Accept.
The one consolation is that I don’t have to stick with Yu Seollin the whole time.
Her request was simpler than I’d expected.
She wanted me to support the martial artist investigating the disappearance case tomorrow.
Why the hell are you assigning the support role to me…?
No matter how hard I thought about it, it made no sense.
Still, what could I do?
If this was truly all it was, I supposed I should be satisfied.
“If you help, I’ll pay you in silver taels.”
Silver taels, just for standing nearby.
How generous.
Honestly, if the person asking hadn’t been Yu Seollin, I would have accepted on the spot without even looking back.
But… what does this mean?
As I’d said, this wasn’t part of the story I knew.
So was I now on the Heavenly Massacre Star route?
Or had I stepped completely off the rails into something else?
Since this was the first time I’d ever faced a situation like this, my questions wouldn’t fade easily.
And it was far too hard to draw a conclusion.
While I was still turning the matter over in my head, we’d already reached the meeting place.
“You’re late!”
An unfamiliar shout shattered the morning stillness.
The sharp voice made me lift my head on reflex, but the surroundings remained quiet.
“Who are you looking at? I’m talking to you!”
This time it came even louder.
I slowly turned toward the direction of the voice.
A young martial artist with all the polish of a raw recruit and all the confidence of one was scowling and pointing at me.
“Me?”
The street was nearly empty; there wasn’t a soul around.
That didn’t mean I had any reason to be spoken to like that by a stranger.
So, uncertain, I pointed at the tip of my own nose and asked cautiously, “Me?”
“Yes, you, brat!”
The answer came back even louder.
I was momentarily at a loss for words at the way he practically screamed himself hoarse.
This had come out of nowhere, so all I could do was stand there blankly.
And then—
Ding!
Ding!
[Yes, you, brat!]
[Ask politely: are you the one who called me?]
[Ignore it (10): ......]
[Snark back (15): And here I thought you were still too young to have even dried the blood on your head....]