Chapter 110
Chapter 110
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Negotiation
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Clop clop clop...
"Hoo..."
Even as I rode in the carriage, my worries about my current situation showed no sign of ending, and sighs kept escaping my lips.
If it were something that could be resolved just by thinking a day or two more, it would've been settled during the past week. Would I have suffered like this otherwise?
The wall that was the Sword Empress was just that insurmountable.
So inevitably, the sighs kept coming, but they apparently didn't sit well with the person sitting across from me.
"Why do you keep sighing like the ground's caving in? It's draining the energy out of anyone watching."
Yeo Sochen furrowed her brows and spoke up.
"Ah, sorry if it bothered you. I'll keep it inside from now on."
"No, just tell me what's causing it. You look like you'll just keep groaning to yourself, so let's hear it and get it off your chest. Who knows? Maybe I can even counsel you."
Watching Yeo Sochen cross her arms with a prim expression, I recalled the description of her that the Sword Empress had once shared.
[She's got a foul mouth and can't be honest about her own feelings. She can't just say she likes something good; she hems and haws strangely and ends up snapping for no reason.]
And Earth had a single word for that.
Tsundere.
'...Her way of expressing it is a bit much, but she's not a bad person.'
"What're you staring at? Keep your eyes to yourself."
'Though it'd be nice if her mouth weren't quite so foul.'
Anyway, her behavior was utterly unbelievable for a Daoist priestess.
If only she had a calm, mature, and gentle personality like the Sword Empress...
"Haa..."
"Again, another sigh."
"Aaaah... seriously..."
But wasn't I suffering like this precisely because of the Sword Empress's personality?
Because of that uncompromising righteous nature when it came to evil.
"From the look on your face, I can guess what you're agonizing over without even asking. Woman trouble, right?"
"...Obviously it shows."
"How could it not? I know the mess you're in anyway. Of course it's that."
"Haa..."
Still, it was a relief that it was Yeo Sochen, who already knew my situation. If it were anyone else, I probably couldn't even breathe right now.
"So, want some counseling? Or will you keep stewing alone?"
And in that moment, Yeo Sochen extended her hand.
With her wealth of life experience(?) and friendship with the Sword Empress, she might know sides of the Sword Empress's personality that I didn't. Plus, as a fellow woman, there could be some common ground.
"...Help me out."
I sincerely asked for her assistance.
"Hmph. About time."
Yeo Sochen crossed her legs with a triumphant look.
"Dang Ayoung's situation seems somewhat manageable... The problem's the Sword Empress, right? How to convince that woman... If you bring it up carelessly and she finds out, your head rolls right then. That's what you're thinking. Obvious without asking."
I'd half-expected it, but she even knew about Dang Ayoung.
Her information-gathering skills were always impressive.
Probably leveraging her status as the Saintess of the Heaven, Earth, and Divine Names.
"Yeah... The Sword Empress I know wouldn't just let it slide easily..."
"Hmm... So that's why she tried Yin-Yang Union to heal you back then? It was her first time, too..."
"...It was my first time as well."
"...Uh... Yeah. Sure. Yours too."
'What?'
Something felt off.
It sounded like she was reluctantly acknowledging it as my first time, like brushing it off.
"Is there some issue?"
"No, none. Whatever."
"???"
"Let's move on. So you both shared your first experiences then... But you told the Sword Empress to pretend it never happened. Said it wouldn't be good for either of you as an excuse."
"Ugh..."
Even now, it felt like total trash talk.
No matter that I hadn't intended it, saying that to someone who'd sacrificed for my life...
The kind Sword Empress had let it pass, but anyone else would've slapped me silly—and I'd have deserved it.
I'd even braced for the slap.
I really would've died if she'd hit me.
"...But then you went and messed up with Dang Ayoung. If the Sword Empress finds out, she'll brand you a lecher and lop off your head... Right?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"Why deny it? You are a lecher. Own it proudly. Admit you're trash who forgot the grace of having your life saved and slept with another woman."
"If I admit it, I'll die?!"
"Then who slept with Dang Ayoung?"
"Aaaah..."
I truly felt sorry to Dang Ayoung, but that day was the worst mistake of my life.
No matter the drinks or whatever, I never should've done that...
"But what's done is done; can't undo it..."
"Classic trash mindset."
"But it's true..."
The brief uplift in mood plummeted back to rock bottom.
"Help me a bit... You said you'd counsel."
"I said counseling, not solving it for you."
"This between us?"
"What 'us'?"
Her dismissive attitude heated my temper.
I'd been avoiding petty bickering since we both looked young and it'd seem childish, but screw it.
"You stole my lips too! Ruthlessly! Clinging tight and ravaging with your tongue!"
"Pfft!"
I brought up the incident we'd both tacitly avoided.
Yeo Sochen clearly hadn't seen it coming.
"Th-That wasn't me! It was the Heaven, Earth, and Divine Names using my body!"
"Whoever did it, it was with your body! And why would they do that? Borrow someone else's body to steal kisses from a guy who hasn't even grown up? That's the Heaven, Earth, and Divine Names?!"
"Not grown up? You know your body and mind are that of an adult well over thirty?!"
"That's the point?!"
"If we don't nail this down right, the world could end in a whole other way!"
I had no idea why that mattered, but fine.
"Anyway, don't act like strangers now. The Sword Empress doesn't know we kissed that day. Things go south, we both die? Unlike with Dang Ayoung, I'm the victim here!"
"Ugh..."
That was true.
Even if it was just lips, this conservative world wouldn't brush it off lightly.
Not that many would seriously listen if a guy whined about a woman ravaging his lips.
But the other party was no ordinary woman—she was the Sword Empress.
"Even if you're her old comrade, she won't let it slide!"
"Kgh..."
I might not escape scrutiny either, but I had a card to put Yeo Sochen in a bind too.
I wasn't the only one who could be cornered.
"B-But I apologized! Last time, you said no need to take responsibility! And now you pull this?!"
"Th-That..."
An unexpected counter from Yeo Sochen.
"I messed up and offered to take responsibility as payback! You refused, saying you didn't need it, and now this?! Total gold-digger move!"
"A-A kiss doesn't mean marriage! By that logic, grab any woman on the street, kiss her, and say you're responsible—problem solved?!"
"...That might actually work."
"What?"
"N-Nothing."
I thought if anyone saw Yeo Sochen and me arguing, it'd look pretty cute.
We were both short and youthful-looking, so to strangers, it'd seem like kids squabbling.
Though the conversation was anything but childish.
"Anyway. You offered to help, so help properly. If we both keep quiet, the Sword Empress never finds out."
"...Saying it like that makes me feel like your mistress."
"The Sword Empress and I aren't even lovers."
Even as I said it, the situation felt utterly absurd.
The Sword Empress and I had coupled, but held no relation.
In that state, I'd half-engaged myself to Dang Ayoung.
And with Yeo Sochen, we'd shared some physical intimacy, small as it was.
'...No grounds to deny being called a lecher.'
Strictly speaking, I was the victim with Yeo Sochen, but results-wise, I had no defense.
Quantity aside, quality-wise, I might outdo some lechers.
Two righteous heroes and the top later-generation talent, Phoenix...
If I died and went to hell, the lechers might even salute me.
Such a bleak thought crossed my mind.
"...Fine. I'll help. If you really get your head chopped off by the Sword Empress, it'd trouble me too."
"...But would she really?"
"I'd say fifty-fifty. She's cut off her own aching finger before."
"She did something like that?"
"...Yes. She did."
Yeo Sochen gave me a strange look, but I couldn't read its meaning.
"What do we do? Grab the Sword Empress's weakness and blackmail her? Holding leverage is negotiation basics."
'Wow, some Daoist.'
"That's harsh for someone trying to help."
"You can read minds too?!"
"No, it's all over your face."
Rubbing my head at her jab, I pondered her words.
'The Sword Empress's weakness...'
As I mulled a more peaceful approach,
"Weakness doesn't have to be much. Like what she did to your neck right away..."
"...My neck?"
Yeo Sochen suddenly spouted nonsense.
So when I questioned her in confusion,
"...Ah. Not that."
"?"
"Nothing. Just a mix-up."
She waved it off like it was no big deal.
I didn't quite get it,
but for some reason, my neck started to sting faintly.