Chapter 82

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 82

Chapter Title: Seonwoo's Tale (3)

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'……What the hell is a guardian, anyway.'

Watching their reactions, Ban realized anew that he knew next to nothing about the Seonwoo Clan. Why they were searching so desperately for a guardian, what had happened to the previous one, and just what exactly a guardian was supposed to protect.

But now wasn't the time to ask questions. Ban hurried after Yujin, moving his feet briskly. Crossing through clan members kneeling on the ground, some even shedding tears, was more burdensome than he'd imagined, but Yujin spoke up in a voice slightly heightened with excitement.

'Uncle probably has no idea what this means to us.'

'Then why don't you tell me.'

'Well…… It's hard to explain in a moment like this. You mean so many things to us, Uncle.'

'Is that good news for me?'

'……Who knows. It might not be entirely welcome. But one thing I can say for sure.'

Yujin looked at Ban with calm eyes.

'We'll always be on your side.'

The words sounded almost resolute. Instead of replying, Ban fiddled with the dagger in his bosom. He couldn't be certain, but if being a guardian was anything like the shadows he'd glimpsed…… he could roughly guess what the Seonwoo Clan thought of them.

'They must be damn reliable.'

The kind of person he wouldn't want to face even in his dreams as an enemy. No, someone he didn't want to face at all. Just standing opposite one set his instincts as a swordsman screaming. Run! Surrender! This isn't an opponent you can fight!

Before his thoughts could wander further, their footsteps stopped. Ban looked around the fairly large but unpretentious building they'd entered. He asked in a hesitant voice.

'……Is this a library?'

'What? No. It's the Chief Librarian's office!'

'A office with this many books?'

There were books piled everywhere, more than most libraries could boast. Yujin gazed at them with a distant look in his eyes.

'They say Kalsmori Library had over a hundred ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠times more books than this. Every book that ever existed in human ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠history was there, so that makes sense. ……Someday, we'll bring it back to being a library. And I'll read every single book there.'

'If it's a hundred times more than this, you won't finish in one short lifetime.'

'Ugh, then I'll be reborn and read them all!'

Yujin clenched his fist with a determined expression. Ban chuckled and turned his head, then noticed something peculiar. Hundreds of wooden plaques. Yujin nodded as if reading his gaze.

'Ah, those are called the Sunwoo Plaques.'

'……Sunwoo Plaques?'

'Everyone in the Seonwoo Clan gets one when they're born. They write down the one thing they want to leave behind in life, just enough to fit on that plaque.'

'You have one too, then?'

'Of course! But I can't show you. It's a secret until death.'

'Hmm……'

He thought it was an intriguing tradition. Ban slowly read the inscriptions on the plaques one by one.

'Dawn.'

'The world is just the size of this plaque.'

'Unjust.'

'Brush.'

'Arrogance has left me. Sometimes I miss it.'

'Seon-ye.'

All sorts of words were there. Some had just names, others lovers' names. Some seemed like profound quotes, others mere single words, and one even had a curse scrawled on it.

'……I thought they'd leave behind more profound words.'

'Everyone thinks that when they're young. They prepare long, fancy phrases. But…… how should I put it. The older they get, the shorter the words on the plaque.'

'Shouldn't the longer you live, the more you have to leave behind?'

'My father said this.'

Yujin held up a finger.

'The more you want to leave behind, the less you actually do.'

'……I don't quite get it.'

The more you want to leave, the less you do. So does that mean you should want less? He didn't know. In the end, Ban was one of those young ones too. If he had to leave one phrase for his life, he'd want to pack as much as possible into it.

'Sword…… What if I just left that?'

Still felt like something was missing. Too clichéd.

That was when Yujin quietly spoke up, as Ban pondered.

'These Sunwoo Plaques here are just a fraction. They're from the clan elders who died here after the Northern Region fell. Someday, we'll move them all to Kalsmori Library. If I could see that…… I'd give my whole life for it.'

'.......'

Ban didn't reply. Whenever he saw people devoting their lives not to themselves but to the group they belonged to, his chest always tightened somehow. Maybe it was because he was fundamentally selfish. He wanted his life to be for himself. Even now, after receiving the Seonwoo Clan's welcome, that hadn't changed.

'Could you give me one of those plaques?'

'Ah, of course! Uncle needs one! I'll get you one right away. I already wrote on mine, so I can't give you that……'

'Yeah. Thanks.'

Ban sank into thought for a moment. If the old him, the monkey-like fool before meeting Ropo, had gotten one of these plaques, what would he have carved?

'World's Strongest.'

Predictable. Ban giggled at his own simplicity. And that was when it came—a soft, low voice.

'I thought you might be angry at the sudden invitation, but hearing your laughter puts my mind at ease.'

'Ah, Father!'

'You did well, Yujin. It must have been a long journey.'

'Father.'

Ban repeated Yujin's word. Considering he was Yujin's uncle, then the man before him was……

'Are we brothers?'

'Cousins, but close enough. I'm Juwon of the Seonwoo Clan. Pleased to meet you, Ban. My young brother.'

'……I'd like to show proper respect, but I don't know the customs. Eastern style, Northern style, Central style—none seem right.'

'Just being here is enough. Shall we sit? It seems we have much to discuss.'

He had the air of a scholar. Around forty, perhaps. He embodied exactly the image people had of the Seonwoo Clan: calm, serene, with deep wisdom in his eyes.

But that wasn't all.

'……May I ask one thing? Clan Head.'

'Clan Head isn't wrong, but I prefer Chief Librarian. There's hardly anything left to protect now…… Ah, yes. Calling me brother would be even better.'

'Chief Librarian. What are you reading?'

Tension he couldn't hide laced Ban's voice.

'Whatever it is, it doesn't seem peaceful.'

'……Haha, I thought I hid it well, but it showed that much? My discipline is lacking.'

From the moment Ban first faced Juwon, he'd sensed the presence of a definite 'powerhouse.' Swordsman, martial artist, or something entirely different—Ban couldn't be sure. But one thing was clear: Juwon was at least as strong as him, if not stronger.

'Those who read the sword become guardians…… Then, what are the Chief Librarian's conditions?'

'I don't know.'

'I read "books." From trivial ones to the Seonwoo Clan's volumes containing lifetimes of fruition.'

Ban let out an involuntary chuckle. He'd often felt his own ability to read swords ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was absurdly unfair, but Juwon's power was on another level entirely.

'……Is there a book on guardians among them?'

'Unfortunately not here. But I've read it before. ……Yes, that works. We can't stay awkward as cousins, so visit me often. I'll recite what I remember of it.'

'One thing in advance.'

Ban said quietly.

'If your kindness comes from expectations you have of me, there's no need to be so gracious. Coming here doesn't mean I'll spend the rest of my life for my blood kin. Blood ties brought me this far, and that's where they end. So……'

'Then I'll have to work harder to earn your goodwill. Just as you said, I do have expectations of you. But that's not all. Believe it or not, I genuinely wanted to see my family. My cousin.'

'……I'll believe you.'

'It was a long journey. You must be tired. Rest for today. The guardian's story…… I'll tell you in time. Ah, and…… if it's not too rude.'

Juwon cautiously opened his arms. Ban didn't pull away, and soon Juwon embraced him slowly with a relieved expression, patting his back.

'I'm sorry. For it taking so long to find you.'

He hadn't wanted to think it,

but that embrace was surprisingly warm.

§

Staying at the Seonwoo Clan's residence, Ban could be certain of one thing: he was loved. Children swarmed him, acting cute like puppies, and elders smiled warmly at his sight.

But Ban didn't entirely welcome that love. They clearly had expectations. Some children even said things like, 'Brother, you're really going north to find the library, right?'

'Everyone seems to be mistaken about something. I'm not that strong.'

Of course, compared to his age, he was undoubtedly stronger than anyone could compare. He felt like he wouldn't be so one-sidedly overwhelmed by Lucas now.

Yujin smiled.

'I know. But you'll get stronger.'

'Strong enough to take on the North alone? No way. Even cutting the sky and moon wouldn't do it. Well, maybe possible. In a few decades.'

'Don't feel burdened. No one expects something that absurd. Honestly, just having ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you here is enough for me. Being a guardian brings peace of mind just by existing.'

'I didn't come here to be a totem pole. Once I get what I came for, I'll leave. Can't stay tied to one place.'

'Then no choice. We'll have to let you go.'

'……You won't try to hold me?'

'I'll beg with words, but how do you hold a heart that's already gone? We'll just hope you like us. Though some think you'll naturally love us.'

'I don't dislike you.'

It was just that, clinging to blood ties alone now felt…… like it bruised his pride somehow.

Knowing it was childish pride, Ban was still powerless against it. That pride stood out even before Juwon. An opponent not weaker physically or mentally. It had been quite a while since Ropo that he'd met one like this.

'How strong are guardians, originally?'

'Beyond what I could presume to say.'

'……You can read their books. And still, you can't even gauge them?'

'I can steal their lives through reading, but I don't try to make them my own. If strength was my goal, I wouldn't have become a "book" reader. The Seonwoo Clan's power comes from guardians. Your desire to read swords, the other guardians' desires—they're walls I can't surmount.'

As Juwon spoke, Ban quietly gripped Yuri and the Short Tachi. Yujin was consistently strong bare-handed, with a spear, or with a sword. He wasn't sure about wielding Ropo's sword, but purely with swordsmanship, Yujin was a tough matchup. Once more, Ban bowed his upper body and spoke.

'To me, you're the wall now, Chief Librarian.'

'Brother is fine.'

'……And one thing I forgot to ask. What happened to the previous guardian?'

Ban had his dagger. He'd never had a proper conversation with its owner, but he couldn't imagine a man of that caliber dying easily. Then Juwon gave a somber smile.

'Back when the North was intact, we made a grave mistake with him. We decried the vulgarity of power and even questioned the guardian's existence. Isn't it ultimately violence?…… And our shallowness handed the North to death.'

Juwon lowered his voice.

'The guardian was enraged. At us, at the world. And he refused to be our sword any longer. I don't know where he went. Perhaps living with the dead in the North, or maybe as a shadow we can't see, right beside us.'

'Can't blame him.'

'……So, we won't repeat mistakes. I intend to give the guardian all the honor and glory due. It will all be yours.'

'You're always trying to sweeten my sword—lick it and it cuts, ignore it and it's a waste.'

'Seeing you say that, it seems I'm steadily winning your favor.'

'On that note, a question.'

Ban glanced around subtly.

'I know the Seonwoo Clan has many books.'

He lifted the corner of his mouth.

'What about swords?'