My Precious Student (1)
"See you after the break, Mister!"
"Yeah, sure. Good job on your exams."
A third-year student I occasionally saw passing by waved and greeted me. Ah, is the first semester over already?
The Mutual Righteousness Academy operated on a system similar to a modern university, where summer break began immediately after final exams. Consequently, students who had finished their tests were packing up mountain-sized bundles of luggage and heading back to their hometowns.
Some might wonder if it wasn't dangerous for so many students to travel back home all at once, but that was exactly where escort agencies and merchant guilds came in.
For dongdo whose homes were far away, who belonged to smaller sects that couldn't afford travel expenses, or who didn't have parents coming to pick them up, the academy provided escorts. They traveled under the protection of escort agencies and merchant guilds contracted directly by the academy.
Of course, this didn't apply to those from the Nine Great Sects and One Union or the Five Great Noble Clans. Unless someone had a death wish and wanted to end up like the Pansu Sect—who had been utterly pulverized after trying to kidnap Dang Go-hye—no one would dare lay a finger on them.
In any case, with the exam period winding down, the students were gradually emptying out of the academy. This meant the number of patrons visiting the Oe-bandang, the Outer Dining Hall, was also dwindling.
Thanks to that, my personal free time had increased significantly... but there was one person determined to disrupt that peace.
Walking slowly from a distance was a figure who looked as if they were radiating the overwhelming, physical pressure of Haki straight out of a pirate manga.
"Aha! Chief Chef! You were waiting for this maiden to arrive!"
"You always have a habit of phrasing things in the strangest ways."
"Ahahaha! I hear that quite often!"
Letting out a booming, hearty laugh, Yang Seoran raised her hand high in greeting.
I had no idea why she was so curious about every little thing a guy like me did, but since she insisted on studying my culinary ways, I had no choice. To keep my promise, I had told her to drop by today, once all her exams were officially over.
"How has Yeongji been doing lately?"
"Last week, she actually came to ask me about the exam questions! How precious! I gave her such thorough guidance that she's practically guaranteed an 'Excellent' grade!"
"I figured you'd say something like, 'My dear junior! Study that on your own!' But I guess I was wrong."
"That would be far too cold-hearted! As a fellow officer of the Dongdo Association, it is my duty to help her!"
Yang Seoran might have been a clear-eyed madwoman, but her actions and speech were those of a textbook righteous heroine. If she could just tone down her booming voice and uncontrollable madness, she would be an incredibly popular heroine.
"Chief Chef! You must not look at this maiden with such eyes! I must remain a pure and devoted practitioner walking the path of the sword...!"
"Oh, come on! People are going to get the wrong idea if they hear you."
"Ahahahahaha! Your reactions are always a delight to watch, Chief Chef!"
Sure, go ahead and treat me like a toy. Anyway, the moment Yang Seoran stepped into the kitchen, the kitchen ladies and servants froze in unison.
The atmosphere was entirely different from when Seonwoo Seol visited. When Seol dropped by, it felt like, 'What is such a noble person doing in a humble place like this?' But right now, it felt like a high-stakes game of Red Light, Green Light played with loaded guns. One wrong move, and you were dead.
"As expected of your kitchen! Even the servants are so disciplined and orderly!"
They're not disciplined, they're terrified, Madam President. But pointing that out would only prompt a response like, "Ahahaha! It must be because my majestic presence is simply too overwhelming!" So I decided to let it slide.
"What is your schedule for today!"
"Aside from preparing meals for the students still remaining at the academy, I don't have much to do. Do you want to watch me plan next month's menu?"
"Mmm! That sounds rather tedious! Do you not do things like prepping ingredients using sword qi?"
"If I did that every day, I'd drop dead. I only show off those skills on special occasions."
I wasn't some legendary cooking master who could whip up flashy, technique-heavy dishes every single day... or so I thought, until a certain idea crossed my mind.
"Come to think of it, do you think dagger techniques could be applied to cooking?"
"Oh! Are you asking this maiden about merging martial arts with culinary arts? How embarrassing, yet what an honor!"
Watching Yang Seoran twist her body in mock bashfulness made me lose all speech. I seriously wanted to smack her on the back of the head.
"Hey, I'm being serious here."
"Hmm... If we're talking about cooking, we'd have to exclude throwing techniques! If we limit it to close-quarters dagger play, a few styles do come to mind! However, they would require significant modification!"
"I figured there must have been some martial artist in the past who focused on cooking... but maybe it's because dagger arts are such a niche discipline."
"It is indeed a niche field! After all, rather than fighting with an awkwardly short dagger, wouldn't it make more sense to use hand-to-hand combat or proper swordsmanship?"
That was true. Daggers had always been treated as secondary weapons. There was little reason for a martial art centered entirely around daggers to flourish.
"This maiden doesn't know much about daggers either, as they've never caught my interest! But I should ask my master! She knows absolutely everything there is to know about blades!"
"Wouldn't I have to travel all the way to the Sword Pavilion for that?"
At my question, Yang Seoran flinched, then clasped her hands behind her back and slowly turned away. I had never seen her act like this before.
"I really shouldn't be telling you this...!"
"You just shouted it at the top of your lungs. If it's a secret, at least lower your voice."
"I cannot do that!"
Is she just trying to stay in character or what? Sighing, I led her to a quieter spot before asking again.
"So, what is it?"
"I heard that the Head of the Eastern Pavilion has decided to retire! Thus, starting next semester, the position will be vacant!"
"Pardon? What does that have to do with the Sword Pavilion?"
"You must not repeat this to anyone! My master... is highly likely to temporarily take over that position!"
Setting aside her cupped hands—which suggested she was whispering, despite her booming voice—the news itself was extraordinary.
"The Sword Queen should be running the Sword Pavilion. Why on earth would she come here to manage the Eastern Pavilion?"
"She repeatedly declined, but she finally relented after the Headmaster's earnest and desperate pleas! After all, nothing looks more pitiful than a vacant pavilion head seat!"
The position of a pavilion head wasn't just about managing students; it represented the prestige of both the pavilion and the academy itself. It was basically a way of boasting, 'We can recruit masters of this caliber. Impressive, right?'
To those who desperately rubbed their hands together hoping to forge a connection with such an absolute master, it was bound to look incredible.
Furthermore, given how much martial artists loved boasting about reputation, the moment an academy brought in a high-tier master, the respect they commanded shifted entirely.
It was like that line from a foreign novel: if you want to convince adults that a house is beautiful, don't describe its lovely garden or elegant windows; just tell them its price and square footage.
Rather than saying, "She knows every sword style in existence and is highly proficient in the Red Butterfly Sword Play," saying, "She is the Lord of the Sword Pavilion of the Bota Sect, an absolute master known as the Sword Queen," carried infinitely more weight in the Murim.
"So the Sword Queen herself is coming here."
"Yes! She will arrive at the start of the second semester, so you must keep this a secret!"
Seeing how no rumors had spread among the staff yet, this was definitely classified information. I nodded, promising to keep quiet, and focused back on my morning duties.
While I was preparing lunch with the kitchen ladies, three people—who never failed to show up—walked into the Oe-bandang.
I had summoned two of them, while the third had likely tagged along out of sheer boredom.
They were Man Hanseok and Gongson Yeongji, who had swapped their casual wear for comfortable training robes, and Seonwoo Seol, who looked entirely at leisure.
"Hanseok, don't you need to buy new training robes? Why are they so baggy on you?"
"I've been losing weight so rapidly that I hesitated to buy new ones... but I was actually planning to go out and get some this week."
"Right. Let's go out together sometime soon. Yeongji, is the shoulder seam of your robe torn?"
"Ah, that... it got torn during a spar the other day..."
The shoulder of Gongson Yeongji's training robe was ripped wide open. There was no way a first-year had already engaged in a spar intense enough to do this; someone else had clearly torn it.
Why can't you just tell me about these things? The words rose to the tip of my tongue, but I held them back, worried it would sound like a scolding to a child who was already so withdrawn. Instead, I took a different approach.
"If you had told me earlier, I could have sewn it up with a needle and thread. Actually, asking the kitchen ladies to mend it right now might be better. Hanseok, go ask them if they can stitch up Yeongji's clothes."
"Yes, sir. I'll be right back."
While the two went inside the Oe-bandang, Seonwoo Seol, who had been waiting with her arms crossed, shot me a sidelong glance.
She looked at me with a slightly displeased expression, then instantly brightened up as she greeted Yang Seoran behind me. What gives? Why the sudden glare at me?
"Oh? Seoran, what are you doing here?"
"What about you, sister? What brings you here!"
Standing by the entrance of the Oe-bandang, Seonwoo Seol clasped hands with Yang Seoran, and the two began hopping up and down. I wondered if they shouldn't be so friendly, considering the Sword Pavilion belonged to the Orthodox faction, but neither Seonwoo Seol nor Yang Seoran seemed like the type to care about such political divides. Both were remarkably easygoing. Perhaps this was the very spirit behind the founding of the Mutual Righteousness Academy.
In any case, the two exchanged light pleasantries about how they had been doing lately. Then, Seonwoo Seol narrowed her eyes, looking back and forth between Yang Seoran and me.
"It's nice to see you, but Seoran... did you dump your work on Young Master Namgung and run away again?"
"W-what are you talking about! I take the initiative in all my duties!"
"I can smell it."
"What smell! I bathe every single day!"
"No, not that kind of smell... The stench of a lie is practically wafting off you."
"..."
Yang Seoran flinched at Seonwoo Seol's words. Wait, did she really ditch her work to come here? Seeing her reaction, Seonwoo Seol narrowed her eyes, knowing she had caught her red-handed.
"There should be documents the Dongdo Association needs to submit before the break, right? And I happen to know the president has to write them personally."
"Aww, sisterrr!"
As Yang Seoran whined, Man Hanseok and Gongson Yeongji, who had just returned, stood there with their mouths agape. They looked as if they had witnessed something they shouldn't have. To be fair, it was probably their first time seeing the fierce and boisterous Yang Seoran act so childishly. Their reaction was entirely understandable.
"No. Go back and do your work. Even if Young Master Namgung is a workaholic, this is crossing the line."
"...You're so cruel!"
"Hurry up."
When Seonwoo Seol cut her off with absolute authority, Yang Seoran's shoulders slumped, and her face fell. To shatter Yang Seoran's ironclad mentality with just a few words... was Seonwoo Seol a god?
As Seonwoo Seol crossed her arms, exerting silent pressure, Yang Seoran grabbed my hand with a deeply regretful expression.
"I, Yang Seoran, wish to imprint every single movement of the Chief Chef into my eyes until dusk! Alas, the shackles binding this maiden leave me no choice!"
"Your duties aren't shackles."
"Even you say such things, Chief Chef...! They are indeed chains that bind my freedom!"
Yang Seoran shook her head vigorously, raised her hand high, and declared:
"Then, I shall see you once my duties are complete!"
Once Yang Seoran had vanished, Seonwoo Seol glanced at me and asked in a sharp, stinging tone:
"You seem to have quite a few women around you lately, don't you?"
"There have always been women around me. What are you talking about?"
"There were?"
"The kitchen ladies?"
"Do you view them as women?"
"Well, biologically speaking, yes."
"Hmph, unbelievable."
Seonwoo Seol snorted, then muttered something under her breath as she watched Yang Seoran's retreating figure. I couldn't catch a single word.
"By the way, why did you tell those two juniors to wear their training robes?"
"I wanted Hanseok in his training robes to see if he's controlling his power properly. As for Yeongji, I don't know how she performs her martial arts, so I wanted to take a look. I'd like to observe the Gongson Clan's swordsmanship firsthand."
"The Sanwol Geombeop?"
The region north of Liaoning was the land of the so-called barbarians—the nomadic tribes. While the people of the Central Plains favored swords and spears, the nomads primarily used axes. The problem was that high-quality iron ore was virtually nonexistent in the barren steppes. Naturally, their weapons were made of crude iron, making them prone to shattering or chipping under heavy impact. To counter this, the Gongson Clan had developed a swordsmanship style that utilized heavy, massive greatswords designed to shatter those axes in a single blow.
"But it's hard to believe that a slender, delicate girl like her wields such a heavy greatsword."
"Who knows? Despite her fragile appearance, she might wield an incredibly ferocious sword style."
A fragile girl suddenly undergoing a complete personality shift to execute a heavy, brutal sword style? I couldn't picture it.
Soon, Gongson Yeongji—her training robe neatly mended—and Man Hanseok reappeared. Gathering at the Great Martial Arts Arena in front of the Oe-bandang, I handed Yeongji a wooden sword and asked:
"Yeongji, what sword style do you know?"
"I... the Sanwol Geombeop..."
Just as expected. I nodded and gently requested:
"Let's see you perform it, then."
Griping the wooden sword with a hesitant expression, Gongson Yeongji took a shallow breath and assumed her starting stance. While she didn't undergo a dramatic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde transformation as I had half-jokingly imagined, her demeanor grew remarkably serious the moment she began her forms.
"Hah!" Whoosh! With a sharp cry, Yeongji's wooden sword sliced through the air. At a glance, the movement seemed incredibly slow, but if she were holding a heavy greatsword, the story would be entirely different. If she were handed a real blade, it would be terrifyingly fierce.
However, I noticed a flaw in Gongson Yeongji's swordsmanship. It didn't seem to stem from her young age; it was an entirely different issue.
"Her trajectory is good, but the tip of her sword is shaking too much. Every time she stops, the blade trembles."
Seonwoo Seol seemed to share my thoughts, replying with a tinge of regret. It wasn't a simple matter of physical strength, nor was it a lack of internal energy. Yeongji had completed the academy's physical training, so her foundational strength was solid.
"What do you think the problem is?"
"For a wooden sword—not even a real steel blade—to shake this much, it means she's still harboring deep anxiety."
"So the issue lies with her shin?"
"If we analyze it deeply, there are probably multiple factors, but if we had to choose one of the three components of jeong-gi-shin, that would be it."
In this world, they used the concept of jeong-gi-shin. Jeong represented the physical body, while shin referred to the mind or spirit. Finally, gi was the energy that influenced both body and mind, while simultaneously being affected by them.
Because her spirit was suffering, hesitation crept into her physical movements, and her qi was affected in turn, falling into an unstable state.
With the troubles of her clan weighing heavily on her mind, she wouldn't gain weight no matter how much she ate. In this state, pouring all kinds of spiritual elixirs into her wouldn't solve the issue. In fact, it would only make her more susceptible to qi deviation. It would be better to approach this from a different angle.
"Is it because she hasn't adapted to the academy yet?"
"No, in this case, rather than adaptation..."
We need to eliminate her anxiety first. And to do that... it might actually be better to use *that* method. Perhaps a smirk had slipped onto my face while I was thinking, because Seonwoo Seol looked at me with a smile and asked:
"Looking at your face, Chief Chef, it seems you've thought of something. How are you going to train her?"
"I think this requires something other than training."
"Something other than training?"
"Having Yeongji join the Dongdo Association was more of a temporary refuge. We need to help her truly integrate into the academy."
With those words, I turned to Seonwoo Seol and asked:
"Do you have time tomorrow?"
"...Why?"
"I'm planning to go out for a bit, and I was wondering if you'd like to come along."
Since Yeongji probably hadn't had a proper chance to go out, I wanted to let her get some fresh air. Hearing my proposal, Seonwoo Seol stared at me for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle.
"Why are you laughing?"
"I was just thinking about how well you take care of others."
"Isn't that just basic decency?"
"And yet, you seem to be completely oblivious at times."
"What is that supposed to mean? Where do I lack awareness?"
"Let's just leave it at that, then."
Seonwoo Seol's words carried a mysterious, hidden meaning. What on earth did she mean by that?