Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Departure
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“…There’s no way a mere detachment leader would secretly possess something like this. The fortress lord must have prepared it.”
Hwaryeon spoke with conviction, and her master nodded in agreement.
“We can’t know how he obtained this vicious item, but its purpose is clear. He intends to use it as a pretext to purge those who defy him.”
The merchant leader, his face grave, picked up where the master left off.
“Bringing it here means he planned to frame us as spies for the Demonic Cult as well.”
With that, the room fell silent.
Everyone was confused and at a loss, unable to speak.
- Bam!
Hwaryeon shot to her feet.
All eyes turned to her.
“We can’t just sit idly by.”
“Young Fortress Lord? What do you…?”
“Tyrant Heaven Fortress is the organization my father devoted his life to building. To control powerful martial artists and monitor the Demonic Cult’s movements.”
Hwaryeon looked at everyone.
Her gaze finally settled on me.
“In other words, it was created to maintain peace. I absolutely cannot tolerate someone using Tyrant Heaven Fortress for their own selfish gains.”
“…Young Fortress Lord. I understand your feelings, but we have no means to oppose Tyrant Heaven Fortress. What exactly do you plan to do?”
Hwaryeon answered the merchant leader’s question resolutely.
“If we don’t have one, we’ll create it. A means to stop Tyrant Heaven Fortress.”
“How? Most of our vassal clans have already been wiped out, and we need to flee this village as soon as possible.”
The master stepped in to remind them of reality.
But Hwaryeon’s resolve didn’t waver.
“There are still those who remain. Those who hate Tyrant Heaven Fortress and feel frustrated with the current regime.”
“Y-Young Fortress Lord…! You don’t mean…?”
Realizing her intent, the master rose from his seat in shock.
Hwaryeon nodded, confirming his guess.
“Yes. The Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families. We’ll borrow their power.”
Her words stunned everyone in the room, including me.
To think she’d suggest relying on those fifteen factions.
The merchant leader immediately objected.
“That’s absurd! They despise the fortress lord just as much as he dominated them. They’d never help us.”
“We have a common enemy. So at least those from Wu and Yue, sharing the same boat, will cooperate.”
Wu Yue Tong Zhou.
The idea that even bitter enemies will work together if their interests align.
Right now, Hwaryeon was saying she’d ally with the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families to fight the ‘enemy’ known as Tyrant Heaven Fortress.
The master, who surely understood this, asked cautiously.
“…Are you sure? Even if it’s fallen into the Handsome Leader’s grasp, Tyrant Heaven Fortress was still built by your father…”
“If Father saw what Tyrant Heaven Fortress has become, he wouldn’t stop me.”
With that, Hwaryeon glared at the Blood Burst Technique manual on the table with disgust.
“A Tyrant Heaven Fortress that uses such vile methods to oppress the innocent would be better off gone.”
“Young Fortress Lord…”
Hwaryeon looked at the assembled group, now seated again.
“I know what you want to say. It’s reckless, rash, and dangerous. But I won’t run or hide anymore.”
Her eyes were unyieldingly firm.
The gaze of someone who had made a life-altering resolve.
“If I ignore this just to save my own skin, I could never face Father after death. I’d rather die than let that happen.”
“Mm…”
“I won’t demand you follow me. Leave if you wish. I’ll do it alone if I must.”
Silence enveloped the room once more after Hwaryeon finished.
But it didn’t last long.
- Thud!
Seol was the first.
“I’ll follow you, miss. I can’t tolerate a Tyrant Heaven Fortress that resorts to this!”
Her eyes blazing, Seol turned to her master.
“You’ll join us too, right, Master?”
“…This girl.”
The master stared at Seol with an exasperated expression for a moment before standing.
“Well, where could I go now? I don’t want to be the pathetic master who turns away while my two disciples tread a thorny path.”
The merchant leader rose next.
“From the day the fortress lord saved my life, I vowed to dedicate it to his family. That oath won’t change until death. I’ll follow you to the end, Young Fortress Lord. No—my lord.”
“…Thank you.”
Hwaryeon murmured her thanks.
Her nose wrinkled slightly, as if holding back emotion.
Her usually impassive face made it stand out.
No, that wasn’t it.
My senses were heightened, taking in every detail of the room more intensely.
I pressed a hand to my wildly thumping chest.
- Thump thump
A corrupt giant faction, and people resolved to stop it.
The beginning of a grand epic, no less.
Caught in the whirlwind of emotion inside me, I struggled to keep my expression neutral.
As I tensed my facial muscles, Hwaryeon’s voice called out.
“Young Hero Goon.”
“Y-Yeah?”
I looked up to find everyone’s eyes on me.
Th-this atmosphere…?
“Me too?”
“I know you have no reason to join us. But I ask anyway. Will you stand with us?”
A request utterly sincere, utterly grave.
And one that set my heart ablaze.
I wanted to accept immediately and say let’s go together.
The adventure from the wuxia novels that had been my sole joy in my past life’s hospital bed was unfolding before me.
How could I refuse this?
Of course, I’d say yes to joining…
“Da…!”
…I couldn’t.
“…Sorry, can you give me a moment?”
“…….”
The mood chilled.
They’d all hoped I’d accept—Hwaryeon, the master, the merchant leader all looked at me with regret.
From their reactions, it seemed like I’d flat-out refused.
No, I hadn’t refused yet…
Seol’s disappointment was plain on her face.
Sorry, Seol. But I have circumstances I can’t ignore…!
“…May I ask why?”
“Well… There’s a trial I must undergo before I can leave the village.”
“…A trial?”
Hwaryeon tilted her head, not understanding.
Sighing deeply as I gazed at her refined face.
If I announced I was venturing into the jianghu, it’d echo like a lion’s roar through the house.
*
“Nooo!!”
“…Ow, my ears.”
My prediction was spot on.
After returning from the martial hall, at the family dinner.
The moment I mentioned venturing into the jianghu after the meal, a lion’s roar exploded right beside me.
Whoa… Even with my internal energy protecting me, it pierced through.
Did she really learn the Lion’s Roar or what?
Clutching my ears, I tried to ignore my big sister’s fierce glare from the seat next to me.
She turned her gaze to our parents.
“No. Venturing into the jianghu? After what happened just a week ago? Absolutely not. No way.”
My big sister vehemently opposed it.
Our parents didn’t seem thrilled either.
Especially Father.
“I agree with your sister. Thinking about how close our family came to annihilation because of those martial artists…”
Father shook his head, unable to continue.
But Mother’s reaction was different.
“My son.”
“…Yes, Mother.”
“May I ask? Why do you want to go out into the jianghu?”
Father and my big sister both looked at Mother.
“M-Mother?”
“Dear?”
Mother ignored them and looked only at me.
Her words sparked a ray of hope, so I recalled my prepared speech.
Something like, we don’t know when Tyrant Heaven Fortress might attack again, so strike first.
Or, I can’t just watch the people from the martial hall, who trained with me for ten years, head into danger.
I’d even prepared some dramatic lines.
But as I opened my mouth to speak, my eyes met Mother’s.
Her clear gaze, as if peering into my soul, made my rehearsed words vanish.
In the end, only my unadorned true feelings emerged.
“…I’ve always wanted to travel. To see the wider world. I don’t want to be confined to Goon River County my whole life.”
It sounded like a childish whim.
But it was my honest heart, without a shred of falsehood.
My honest heart, yet woefully insufficient to convince my family.
See? Father and big sister look utterly baffled.
“…I see. Understood.”
Mother said nothing more.
And so, dinner ended like that.
As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I spotted a pair of clear eyes watching me from beyond the wall.
“…Hwaryeon?”
“…….”
Even at my call, Hwaryeon just stared silently.
What? How long has she been there?
N-No way?
“…You heard?”
That lion’s roar? Please say no.
But Hwaryeon nodded up and down.
…Any rat holes around?