Age
“Huh!?”
It was a hair color you could hardly mistake, even by accident.
Hair as white as a fresh blanket of snow.
And when the figure turned at the sound of my voice, those sea-blue eyes came into view.
“Miss Baek!”
Baek Jin-ah spotted me, cried out, and her eyes widened as a bright smile bloomed across her face. Then she hurried over and bowed respectfully to Gyuksun.
Gyuksun watched her with the same curious expression I was wearing.
“Weren’t you going back…? Why are you in the Murim Alliance!?”
“Fortunately, I was able to stay!”
“Really!? That’s great!”
At my words, Baek Jin-ah smiled so sweetly it was almost dangerous. Good grief. How could a smile be that lovely? And why was she smiling at me like that? That couldn’t be explained by simple gladness alone.
As I was thinking that, another familiar face appeared from over there.
A bobbed haircut, green martial robes. At a glance she looked like a rather cute little kid, but she was not someone you could treat like one.
“Miss Dang!?”
“Waaah!?”
Dang Yeong-young spotted me and came sprinting over before throwing herself right at me.
I couldn’t exactly dodge it, so I caught her, though it was a little awkward. Even Dang Yeong-young, after hugging me like that, seemed to realize how embarrassed she was and quietly slipped back out of my arms.
“Why are you here again? Did you sneak out again!?”
“N-no! This time I came with proper permission!”
Suddenly, she was speaking very politely. It felt oddly stiff. This wasn’t like her at all.
Then Dang Yeong-young turned to Gyuksun, who was standing beside me, and bowed deeply before speaking in a respectful voice.
“Last time, I was far too rude. I wanted to apologize properly if I ever saw you again. I’m truly sorry.”
At that, Gyuksun’s brows twitched slightly. Then he let out a snort of amusement, gave me a sidelong glance, and answered, “Hmph. So you know it now.”
That was rather unexpected.
Dang Yeong-young, suddenly full of manners, and Gyuksun accepting it so easily.
Well, Gyuksun had his reasons after what we’d talked about, but Dang Yeong-young was a surprise.
She wasn’t the sort to clean up her attitude so easily. Had something happened after she returned to the Jegal Clan Manor?
“But how did you two end up together? Ah! Did you meet after going to the Jegal Clan Manor and come here together?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“That’s right.”
“I see. But… you didn’t have any trouble on the way here? There must have been quite a commotion because of Ripple Wave Sword Monster.”
“Ah, that. It actually was a little troublesome because of him. And Ripple Wave Sword Monster is dead.”
“What? Dead? Ripple Wave Sword Monster?”
At that, Gyuksun seemed to grow curious too and stared intently at Baek Jin-ah.
“It’s a long story, and I don’t think we should be standing here talking about it. Senior. Would you come inside?”
At Baek Jin-ah’s words, Gyuksun nodded, and we followed her.
The lodging the Alliance had provided us was quite nice, probably because we were guests of the Ice Palace.
We sat there together — me, Gyuksun, Baek Jin-ah, and Dang Yeong-young.
Soon, tea with a rich floral scent was brought out, and we drank it while listening to Baek Jin-ah’s story.
How she’d fled while being chased by those after Ripple Wave Sword Monster. How she’d met Seomhwa Sword Cheon Hyeong-jin. How Ripple Wave Sword Monster Song Mu-yeol had died. How they’d come to the Murim Alliance together.
It was a relief, honestly. One wrong turn, and both Baek Jin-ah and Dang Yeong-young could have ended up in serious danger.
Since I’d been poisoned by that mysterious powder once myself, stories like theirs sounded even more terrifying.
I didn’t think those two were lacking in martial skill, but even so, they weren’t strong enough to escape every threat.
Honestly, the more I learned about this Murim, the uglier it became.
Just how strong would I have to become before I could roam around without fear or worry?
Would I have to reach Gyuksun’s level?
“So. Where did Seomhwa Sword go?”
While I was thinking that, Gyuksun asked, and Baek Jin-ah replied politely, “Seomhwa Sword Great Hero returned to Mount Hua after bringing Ripple Wave Sword to the Alliance.”
“He returned to Mount Hua?”
“I don’t know the details, but as far as I know, the hero declined another request from the Alliance and left right away.”
“Hmm… yes, I suppose that makes sense.”
“Is it possible to refuse a request from the Alliance?”
When I asked, Gyuksun answered with an expression of calm indifference.
“Hadn’t he already fulfilled the request to bring back Ripple Wave Sword? If he’s done that much, surely they can’t keep asking him for favors right away. The Alliance isn’t without shame.”
Ah. I think I get it. It’s kind of like an assignment quota.
But another request? They’d already had Ripple Wave Sword delivered, and they still had something else they wanted?
Anyway, all throughout the conversation, Baek Jin-ah and Dang Yeong-young blatantly watched me and smiled with all the joy of girls with a secret.
Seriously. Why were they like that? I still didn’t understand those two.
If they’d been men, I could at least have made sense of it, because then there’d be a clear reason.
But they were women, weren’t they? I knew Dang Yeong-young was a face-obsessed fool, but even that reason was absurd when I thought about it.
And Baek Jin-ah… I had no idea why she was so fixated on me in the first place.
As I was mulling that over, Baek Jin-ah turned to Gyuksun and spoke respectfully.
“Senior.”
“Speak.”
“You’ll be traveling with Miss Harin, won’t you?”
“Indeed.”
“Then… may I go with you as well?”
“M-me too!”
At Baek Jin-ah’s words, Dang Yeong-young hurriedly jumped in from the side.
Gyuksun looked at the two of them for a long moment, then said, “Ask this child.”
He handed the decision over to me.
And the two of them stared at me with eyes full of longing.
“Sure. Let’s do that.”
Since Gyuksun had given permission, there was no reason for me to refuse.
Immediately, the two of them looked visibly pleased, and then, realizing they’d shown too much, they belatedly tried to act calm.
“But, Miss Harin. Why did you come to the Murim Alliance? Are you just stopping by before going somewhere else?”
“Ah, that.”
I told them about the Alliance’s library.
After hearing that, Baek Jin-ah nodded. Her face turned thoughtful, and then she asked me again.
“Miss Harin.”
“You don’t need to call me ‘miss’ every time. Just call me Harin.”
When I said that, Baek Jin-ah’s expression brightened, and Dang Yeong-young, sitting beside her, quickly blurted out, “Oh! C-can I be casual too!? But… how old are you, Miss Baek!?”
At that, I paused to think.
My age? What should I say?
Before I came here, I was twenty-five.
But this body definitely didn’t look twenty-five, no matter how you sliced it.
Of course, there were cases like Gyuksun, so appearances and real age didn’t have to match. If I said twenty-five, they probably wouldn’t find it strange.
So I simply thought back to the setting I’d given this character when I made her.
Twenty. Younger was better, right?
No. Should I make it even younger? Ah, no, that wouldn’t work. If I made myself younger, I’d have to call Dang Yeong-young older sister.
Besides, if I was under twenty, she’d start speaking informally. So I’d have to say twenty-one.
“Ah, right. You said Miss Harin has no memory, didn’t you?”
“That’s true, but… I remember my age. I’m twenty-one.”
Then Baek Jin-ah answered with a gentle smile, “I’m twenty-two. So you may call me older sister.”
“Can I call you that too!?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you! Older sister!”
At Baek Jin-ah’s words, Dang Yeong-young replied with a beaming, innocent smile.
Looks like that face-obsessed girl was really enjoying this situation. She seemed absurdly happy.
Well, Baek Jin-ah and I really did look like twins apart from our hairstyles.
And Gyuksun was also a woman who could be called stunningly beautiful.
So maybe Dang Yeong-young’s sudden docility wasn’t all that mysterious after all.
Good grief… what a transparent girl.
“Then, Harin. Can I speak casually too?”
“Of course… older sister.”
The word older sister didn’t come out easily, but I’d already called myself a girl, hadn’t I?
So I supposed I should at least go this far. It would be odd to make such a big deal of something like this anyway.
In any case, once I said it, Baek Jin-ah’s expression grew even brighter.
Those sorts of feelings are so easy to read. I still didn’t know why she was doing it, though.
Gyuksun felt a strange emotion as he watched the three girls in front of him chattering and laughing over their ages.
If this had been the old Gyuksun, the whole situation would have been nonsense.
How dare they flaunt their youth in front of him? Had these girls lost their minds?
He would have exploded in anger, no doubt about it.
But this wasn’t the old Gyuksun.
And even he found himself curious why he wasn’t getting angry like he used to.
Was it because Harin was a child worth investing in? Because, even if it wasn’t official, she was more or less a disciple?
In any case, thanks to that change in Gyuksun, the three of them remained safe.
Harin, Jin-ah, and Yeong-young probably had no idea.
They were pulling feathers out in front of a tiger’s mouth.
And doing it while the water was boiling and the spices were already prepared.
If Byeokunja had seen this scene, he might have actually felt fear instead.
He would never know what his troublesome sijeol might have done.
He probably would have tried desperately to steer the conversation away the moment age came up.
“Harin. I’ve got something I’m curious about.”
Baek Jin-ah was still a little awkward, but she deliberately spoke casually.
I smiled to myself at her effort, though I didn’t show it, and answered, “Yes. Go ahead.”
“When I left last time, there was something you said, wasn’t there? That there was something you had to do. Something you absolutely had to do. Something you might not even finish in a whole lifetime.”
“Ah… yes. I did say that.”
“Could I… ask what it is?”
It was a serious question. And at that question, Gyuksun and Yeong-young also looked curious.
So I hesitated for a moment. Should I really tell them my goal?
But the hesitation didn’t last long.
It wasn’t exactly something to hide, and it wasn’t strange either, was it?
So I spoke honestly.
“I have to bring down the Evil Cult Leader.”