Jegal Clan Manor
"Aigoo! We can’t do that! If you take even that, how are we supposed to feed ourselves right now?!"
"Hah? That’s absurd. Then you should’ve paid on time, shouldn’t you!? Who said you could skip payment!?"
"What kind of law is that!? The interest was clearly three percent! How does it double in just one year!?"
"What are you even saying? Are you showing off because you can’t read? Look! It says so right here! Say one more word of nonsense and I’ll beat some sense into you!"
"Aigoo! This is ridiculous! This is fraud!"
"No! You little—! That’s enough. You want to do this the hard way!?"
And with that, the man in black martial garb kicked the farmer-looking man straight in the body.
The farmer rolled across the ground, tumbling end over end from the blow. A woman who seemed to be his wife and several children rushed toward him, only to be met by the sight of three more men in black martial garb, chuckling cruelly as they watched.
Paeng Jeon-ho stood a little way off, silently observing the scene. After a moment, he simply started striding toward them.
"Jeon-ho! You’re going to help? Of course! Our Jeon-ho can’t stand injustice!"
Moyong Jua said with a bright grin and hurried after him.
I followed right behind as well, since this was far from the first time Paeng Jeon-ho had done something like this.
"Excuse me, but might I have a word?"
The black-clad men turned at the sudden appearance of Paeng Jeon-ho, then slowly raised their gazes.
He was a whole head taller than them, with a colossal greatsword strapped to his back.
"W-what the hell are you?"
"I hear there may be something wrong with what you’re claiming. The state has set interest at no more than three point six percent. Yet just now, it sounded as though you were demanding twice that."
"Hah! This has nothing to do with you, mister! So just be on your way!"
Perhaps unnerved by Paeng Jeon-ho’s size and his deep, steady voice, the man had already started to lose his nerve.
But Paeng Jeon-ho wasn’t the sort to back down. If he had been, he never would have stepped in at all.
"What you are doing is illegal."
At that, the four men quickly exchanged glances.
Honestly, if you’re going to be that blatant about it, why not just shout, "We’re going to attack you now!"?
"How arrogant!"
And with that, all four men drew their blades at once and charged Paeng Jeon-ho.
But after making it that obvious, they weren’t going to get any sympathy.
Paeng Jeon-ho’s fist crashed into one man’s face with a resounding thud, and in the same motion he grabbed another by the collar.
Meanwhile, Moyong Jua had already drawn her sword and was pressing its tip to another man’s throat in the blink of an eye.
I, too, lightly fed one of the men Ice Soul Divine Palm.
The guy who took my palm strike let out a strangled yelp, rolled several times across the ground, and then collapsed flat on his back.
No, really? He went down from that? How weak are you? I barely touched him!
Paeng Jeon-ho and Moyong Jua both looked at me like I had gone too far, and although I felt a little wronged, I took one look at the situation and decided to stop trying to explain myself.
In moments like this, the best thing to do was act like I had no idea what was going on.
"You there. Come with us. You’ll lead the way. Take us to the moneylender."
Paeng Jeon-ho said this as he shoved the man he’d grabbed by the collar forward. The poor bastard stumbled, lost his footing, and landed hard on his backside.
Then, with a look of helpless confusion, he had no choice but to go ahead and lead the way.
So we followed him to a manor.
It was a rather splendid estate, but Paeng Jeon-ho merely gave it a once-over without the slightest reaction before turning to the man and asking,
"Is this it?"
"Y-yes, sir."
Without another word, Paeng Jeon-ho kicked the gate open and walked right in.
The people inside the manor were so startled by the sudden intrusion that they jumped in place, and immediately afterward they began reaching for their weapons.
What followed was, well, a bit of rough body-language between men.
Paeng Jeon-ho took down about half the men in the manor without even drawing his greatsword, while Moyong Jua and I helped with the rest.
And in the end, Paeng Jeon-ho stood before the manor’s owner, drew his greatsword, and stabbed it into the fairly luxurious-looking stone floor with a heavy thunk.
"The interest set by the state shall not exceed three point six percent."
He sounded like a robot. Paeng Jeon-ho had simply repeated what he’d said earlier, word for word.
But somehow, that was enough to settle everything.
The farmer had the accounts recalculated on the spot, and a new document was drawn up.
What’s more, among the onlookers who had gradually gathered as we made our way here, there turned out to be several others who had also been victimized by this usurer, and they stepped forward one by one.
In the end, the uproar did not subside until the sun was beginning to set.
The manor’s owner was still wearing an aggrieved expression, but the moment Paeng Jeon-ho cast him a quiet glance, even that disappeared.
Seriously, after making that much money through illegal usury, how could he still look wronged?
Wasn’t he lucky just to have kept his life? He’d nearly been beaten half to death by the enraged townsfolk earlier, and Paeng Jeon-ho had saved him from that, too.
With the matter finally settled, we left the manor and, before the sun had fully gone down, headed once again for an inn connected to the Murim Alliance.
"Hehe. Sorry as always, Miss Baek."
"It’s all right. Don’t worry about it."
At my answer, Moyong Jua smiled again, all bright and happy.
To be honest, at first I hadn’t understood Paeng Jeon-ho and Moyong Jua at all.
Paeng Jeon-ho would step in without hesitation whenever he saw something unjust, and Moyong Jua had no intention of stopping him.
Of course, what they were doing was the right thing.
But even so, it was still troublesome, time-consuming work that brought no reward at all.
Worse, if things went wrong, it could easily turn into a bigger mess. Those were the kinds of situations they kept throwing themselves into.
And yet, they never shied away from it. They never pretended not to see. They simply acted. Without complaint. Without grumbling. Quietly, steadfastly.
It wasn’t until I’d watched them do it a few times that I finally understood what righteousness and chivalry truly meant.
To practice righteousness and chivalry required no conditions. No reason was necessary.
Only one thing mattered: one’s own conviction.
The state of mind to respond the same way, no matter how many times the same situation came around.
Because of that, I completely understood them now.
It didn’t matter that it took time.
It wasn’t some flimsy game of justice played by spoiled young heirs from a prestigious clan, either.
On the contrary, the fact that they acted with such consistency every single time was admirable.
Anyway, that was how we continued on toward the Jegal Clan Manor.
And the closer we got to the manor, the less often Paeng Jeon-ho had to step in.
It was like a road that had been worn smooth by all the people traveling on it.
The road we’d come by had seen little traffic, so it had been full of holes and half-collapsed in places.
That was why Paeng Jeon-ho had been filling in the gaps and clearing the way all along.
But not anymore. Other people had already taken care of it, so now it looked perfectly fine.
At last, we arrived at the Jegal Clan Manor in Yangyang.
It was an enormous city, and on the outskirts of it stood the Jegal Clan’s great gate.
When I saw the elegant calligraphy on the plaque above the entrance reading Jegal Clan Manor, it suddenly felt a little more real.
That meant Paeng Jeon-ho and Moyong Jua, who had come here with me, had also been born and raised in families like this one.
Paeng Jeon-ho knocked on the gate, and when someone finally came out and recognized the two of them, they bowed respectfully and led us inside.
As I took in the orderly yet majestic interior, I couldn’t help but be impressed.
Wow. So it wasn’t just spacious.
So this was what a true prestigious clan looked like. Amazing.
"Jeon-ho! Jua!"
Then, from where we were being guided, a woman appeared and called out warmly to the two of them.
She wore white robes with a scholarly air that differed slightly from martial attire.
"Seyeong!"
Moyong Jua grabbed Jegal Seyeong’s hands and bounced in place, clearly delighted to see her.
She really must have missed her. She was hopping around like a child.
"But Jua, who is this?"
"Ah. Right. Let me introduce you all. This is Miss Baek. Due to certain circumstances, I can’t reveal my sect or my name. And this is Jegal Seyeong. She’s the granddaughter of the head of the Jegal Clan."
"Welcome to the Jegal Clan Manor, Miss Baek."
"It’s nice to meet you, Miss Jegal."
Jegal Seyeong’s expression was welcoming enough, but I could also see a faint thread of suspicion hidden beneath it.
Was this because she was from the Jegal Clan? Did she already know something?
Well, this was the Jegal Clan, famed for its brilliant minds. It would be strange if my clumsy act kept working forever.
I suppose I’d better prepare myself mentally.
"Since you’re here, let’s go greet Grandfather."
"Yes. We should pay our respects to the clan head. I also have a letter to deliver."
So we followed Jegal Seyeong toward the place where the clan head was staying.
"Grandfather. Paeng Jeon-ho and Moyong Jua have come to pay their respects."
"Come in."
When we went inside, we were greeted by a man who looked far too young to be called a grandfather.
He appeared to be in his forties at most, with a short beard that gave him the unmistakable air of a scholar.
And then there was the fan in his hand. I knew that one, too.
Wasn’t it called a Baeuiseon? The feather fan said to have belonged to Zhuge Liang himself. A refined-looking fan made from feathers.
"Paeng Jeon-ho offers his respects to the clan head."
"Clan Head! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you."
The brief greetings were exchanged, and Paeng Jeon-ho and Moyong Jua each took out letters from their robes and respectfully presented them to the Jegal clan head.
But even while he unfolded and read them, the clan head kept glancing at me from time to time. His gaze was unusual, almost piercing.
"Very well. Thank you. Then you two may step outside for a moment. I have something to discuss with this child."
Hearing that, I felt like the moment I’d been waiting for had finally arrived.
So I gathered my courage and spoke to the clan head.
"That won’t be necessary, Clan Head. I’d like for Paeng-gongzi and Miss Moyong to hear this as well. Miss Jegal, too."
At my words, the clan head looked intrigued, then smiled faintly and said,
"Even if what I’m about to say is that you are not a member of the North Sea Ice Palace?"
Paeng Jeon-ho and Moyong Jua both startled at that.
Jegal Seyeong, on the other hand, didn’t seem especially surprised, as if she had expected this.
"Yes. That’s why I said I’d like you to stay."
"M-Miss Baek? Really? You weren’t from the Ice Palace?"
"No, Miss Moyong. I’ve never once said I came from the Ice Palace."
Paeng Jeon-ho and Moyong Jua both searched through their memories, and then their expressions shifted to something like, Wait, now that you mention it?
Then they looked confused all over again.
Well, that made sense. They had seen me use Ice Soul Divine Palm.
"You seem to have quite the story behind you. Very well, then, tell me. How is it that a child who never came from the North Sea Ice Palace has learned Ice Soul Divine Art?"
The Jegal clan head said as much, and I listened quietly while choosing my words carefully.