Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 26
>Chapter Title: This Guy (1)
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Master kept his promise.
In other words, after that awkward meeting with Eldest Senior Brother, he dragged his busy self over and personally performed Pushing Palaces and Passing Meridians along with True Qi Guidance for me.
Was it because the cult's top expert had done Pushing Palaces and Passing Meridians and True Qi Guidance himself?
My body recovered swiftly without any lingering effects from the injury, and in just a few days, I was able to leave the infirmary.
That short time had been enough for Wind Rock Hall to be fully repaired.
And even after returning to Wind Rock Hall, Master kept his promise once more.
In other words.
"Huff. Huff."
"Tch. How do you expect to strike an enemy's opening when you're this slow?"
He was working me like a dog.
I'd felt it during the last mission, but this guy had no idea what "moderation" meant.
Of course, becoming the leader of this insane organization probably couldn't be done with half-hearted effort.
For Master, a life of grueling effort was simply a given.
'Let me rest, for fuck's sake!!'
I was just the type who wanted to hit the bare minimum to enroll in the Demonic Path Academy and call it a day.
That said, Master didn't keep me pinned down for all twelve hours of the day.
He was busy as the cult leader, after all.
Roughly three hours a day?
But three hours meant six straight hours of training, leaving no part of my body unscathed.
In any case, after enduring about ten days of this hellish special training with Master.
"Hmm. This should be enough to set the framework. Starting tomorrow, we'll go back to one hour a day as before."
Master finally declared my release.
And my daily routine returned to normal.
Mornings were spent in history lessons with Jin Ha-yeon.
"Please turn to the next chapter, Young Master."
Naturally, there was no way the cracks in my bones from just ten days ago had fully healed.
I'd suggested resting until the injury mended since it was so severe, but she wouldn't hear of it.
—As your maidservant, how could I rest easy after failing to protect you?
So, she felt better only if we kept up lessons even with my arm broken?
Mixing fanaticism with psychopathy really made a difference.
Psychopaths supposedly put their own safety first, but for Jin Ha-yeon, the cult came first. She never abandoned her assigned duties, no matter how battered her own body was.
But with my arm unusable, she couldn't attend to the rest of my needs during lessons.
Thus, another maidservant who would serve me while she recovered naturally came and went from Wind Rock Hall.
As morning studies wrapped up.
A knock echoed at Wind Rock Hall's entrance.
"Come in."
No sooner had I given permission than the door opened, and in walked the maidservant who'd been assisting Jin Ha-yeon lately.
About six feet tall (180cm), he looked like a college kid who'd been a bit of a delinquent in high school—sharp-featured and around that age.
'Who's this? That guy?'
Naturally, none of the maidservants who'd come and gone from Wind Rock Hall before looked like that.
No, a male maidservant? What kind of nonsense was this?
Fortunately, he cleared up my confusion.
"Greetings, Young Master Il-mok. I'm Gu Yang-mun of the White Turtle Squad."
But questions lingered.
"And what brings a warrior from the White Turtle Squad here?"
I had no connection to the guy. I'd never laid eyes on him before, and no ties to the White Turtle Squad either.
At my question, he hemmed and hawed for a moment before glancing at Jin Ha-yeon beside me.
"Truth be told, I had business with Ha-yeon. But I heard she's been staying in Wind Rock Hall without stepping out, so I came here."
At that, I turned to Jin Ha-yeon with a puzzled look. She replied with her usual emotionless face.
"He's a classmate from the Demonic Path Academy, Young Master."
"Hmm."
Did they have that "love your country, love your classmates" culture here like in the Korean military?
"You two must've been pretty close at the Demonic Path Academy?"
"Yes."
"It's just classmates, nothing more."
My question drew opposite responses from the pair.
And at Jin Ha-yeon's line-drawing reply, the young man who'd introduced himself as Gu Yang-mun flushed red and shouted.
"Just classmates!? Have you already forgotten competing for top honors!?"
Ho.
They'd vied for first place among the cult's top prodigies, no less.
"So, between you two, who graduated top of the Demonic Path Academy?"
At my question, Jin Ha-yeon shot Gu Yang-mun a cold glare, while he rubbed under his nose with his index finger, looking proud yet sheepish in a weird mix.
'Here to brag?'
Hiding my bafflement, I asked.
"So, what did you want to say to Miss Jin?"
At my words, Gu Yang-mun suddenly fidgeted, glancing between me and Jin Ha-yeon.
'Something he can't say in front of me?'
As that thought crossed my mind, he averted his eyes from her and spoke.
"Ahem. I heard the story. You got injured stopping Big Senior Brother's rampage. Should've trained harder, huh."
"...Are you saying I'm incompetent?"
The top graduate's words drew a icy retort from the runner-up.
"Not incompetent, I just don't get why you're wasting your talent playing maidservant. Remember? We promised at the Academy—we'd do great things for the Divine Cult together."
"This is how I do great things. By staying closest to the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons and his disciples. Build up my skills and experience a bit more, and I could become the Sovereign's shadow in the future. What greater honor for a cultist?"
I'd harbored one question while spending time with Jin Ha-yeon.
Why was she, a Demonic Path Academy graduate supposedly among the cult's elite, just doing maidservant work? Especially as a runner-up, as I'd learned today.
Her answer cleared it up.
'Hmm. She aims to be like that guy always by Master's side?'
Back when Master kidnapped me, the man who'd handled the Martial Alliance assassins.
Come to think of it, that guy wandered the martial world alone with Master, so he'd handled all the odd jobs.
To serve as the Heavenly Demon's personal guard, one probably needed to juggle maidservant duties with warrior protection.
But Gu Yang-mun didn't seem convinced.
"Ex, excuse! You're just running away because you lack confidence for higher positions, ditching our promise!"
Watching him yell with a flushed face like a ticking bomb, a thought struck me.
'What do you call this again...?'
Ah, right! Tsundere.
At a glance, it looked like anger-flushed cheeks, but a closer look screamed it.
The way he'd look away the instant their eyes met, dying of happiness inside.
But tsundere or not.
'An elementary schooler?'
It was the kind of thing kids did—picking on the girl you like.
No, even elementary kids these days didn't do that, from what I'd heard.
'As expected of an old-timer.'
Whether I thought that or not.
"Are you insulting the work of serving the Sovereign's disciple right now?"
"Not insulting! It's the truth! Have you even trained properly since becoming a maidservant? No real combat experience! You used to be on my level, but now you wouldn't stand a chance!"
The two kept bickering fiercely.
'Perfect timing.'
They looked just like college kids in a lovers' spat—adorable to my mid-thirties dad eyes.
One-sided love was the only issue.
"And what's so great about maidservant work? It's impressive who you serve, but the job itself? Nothing special!"
"You prepared to stand by that?"
"Stand by it? What for?"
"If you're so sure, why not try it yourself?"
"Hmph. Think I can't? With your arm busted, I'll fill in as Young Master Il-mok's maidservant till you heal!"
Gu Yang-mun's face twitched as he shouted.
It might look like anger at first, but I could see it.
'He's thrilled to death. Ecstatic.'
He could barely hide his grin at the excuse to stick by Jin Ha-yeon all day.
Perhaps to steady his expression, he rummaged in his sleeve and pulled out a small, expensive-looking jar of herbs, offering it to her.
"It's to help you heal faster! N-no misunderstanding! I'm busy with White Turtle Squad duties, so I can't serve long-term—pure necessity!"
What a clown.
* * *
Not long after, the maidservant who'd actually been serving me in Jin Ha-yeon's place arrived.
"I'll serve the Young Master, so go back."
Before I could say a word, Gu Yang-mun shooed her away.
A guy tending to me felt off, but.
Gu Yang-mun's skills weren't half bad.
Maybe because after graduating the Academy, he'd been the runt of the White Turtle Squad's martial unit.
"It's not too hot, is it, Young Master? I'm pretty good at fanning, you know. Haha."
"Haha! Knew you'd say that, so I brought water ahead of time, Young Master!"
Like an army private, he was quick on the uptake, fetching whatever I needed.
"Hmm. And why are you here, exactly?"
Even Master, visiting in the afternoon, questioned the setup.
"Until the White Turtle Squad's next mission, I figured I'd help out my classmate Ha-yeon."
Master bought his smooth answer—except around Jin Ha-yeon.
"Hahaha. So heartwarming to see classmates this close."
"H-heartwarming? N-no, you're too kind! Ahahaha!"
He lost it only when Jin Ha-yeon came up.
And Jin Ha-yeon, the object of his unrequited pining.
...
Just stared coldly, like a wicked mother-in-law waiting for her daughter-in-law to slip.
'He takes that treatment and loves it—definitely not all there.'
Then again, how many normals were in this cult?
Feeling sorry for his one-way crush, I decided to keep him as temp maidservant and watch.
Not because it was hilarious or anything.
"Haha! I do Pushing Palaces and Passing Meridians for White Turtle Squad seniors all the time—I'm a pro at acupressure, Young Master!"
He was surprisingly competent, so that helped.
Thus, getting served by Gu Yang-mun in Jin Ha-yeon's stead, sparring with Third Senior Brother or Gu Yang-mun when they dropped by for martial arts practice.
Taking Master's lessons or morning classes from Jin Ha-yeon—days passed like this.
Then I noticed something odd.
'Seon-a hasn't come?'
The brat who'd visit daily hadn't shown her face in half a month already.