Chapter 73
Translator: uly
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Invitation - 3
Dahyeong County.
A county about three to four days' journey from Chilgok County. Unlike Chilgok County, a commercially developed hub connecting to Anhui Province, it is not a county with a large transient population.
For someone to come looking for me all the way there.
Having lived as a storyteller in Chilgok County for several months, has word of me spread even to Dahyeong County?
Following the man who claimed to be a servant from the Seong Family Manor in Dahyeong County, So-hee and I entered the guest room of the inn where the man was staying.
"I see you have company."
Inside the room, burly men who gave off an aura of knowing how to handle a sword were waiting.
Reminds me of the time I went for a secondhand item trade, and the other party brought along a few friends who looked like thugs.
If I had come alone, I would have been a bit nervous.
I subtly glanced at So-hee. So-hee also showed a slightly wary gaze, but she didn't seem particularly tense. Reassuring, Heavenly Killer Star.
"They're just people who came to guard me. Have a seat here."
The man who had introduced himself as a servant from the Seong Family Manor, after sitting in a chair, gestured for me to sit in the chair opposite the table.
"You came all the way to Dahyeong County just to invite someone like me?"
"Of course. The Manor Head's first birthday since becoming the head, and we were pondering what kind of performer to bring when we heard rumors about you. They said they hadn't seen anyone tell stories better than that Joseon storyteller lately, everyone who went to Chilgok County had nothing but praise."
He came over several days just to invite one person like me.
Am I building a reputation even through my storyteller life? I feel a bit touched, thinking my hard life so far hasn't been in vain.
A birthday feast. Of course, but in this world, there aren't that many forms of entertainment.
Feasts are rare events where one can enjoy those few forms of entertainment.
Wealthy family heads don't just provide delicious food to guests on feast days; they also provide various forms of entertainment to show off their generosity and wealth.
Performers who live hand-to-mouth yearn to be invited to such grand feasts, performing on the streets to make their skills known far and wide.
Once invited to a grand feast, they receive large sums of money they normally couldn't touch, are treated generously in various ways, and then provide entertainment to the feast-day visitors.
"That seems like an undeserved reputation. I only have enough skill to scrape by."
"No need for false modesty. I just listened to your story. It was the tale of a brave man. I was quite impressed."
"Haha. Thank you."
It feels good to be praised, but it somehow feels like he's laying it on too thick.
"So? Will you come with us to Dahyeong County?"
He's asking for my intention right away. Did he think I'd just accept because I thanked him?
Of course, there's no reason to refuse. But accepting right away is amateurish.
An invitation to the Seong Family Manor Head's birthday feast in Dahyeong County. If he came all the way here just to get me, it's worth trying to drive a hard bargain.
"I recently started a new performance in Chilgok County, and the audience response has been very good. But to ignore those audience expectations and go to Dahyeong County..."
I intentionally trailed off, creating room for negotiation.
"Hoh. It seems you have many patrons in Chilgok County and earn well."
The man took a step back in attitude, seeing me sizing him up.
"Just enough to occasionally dip in rosé sauce instead of barely making ends meet."
Though it's mainly So-hee who gets dipped, not me. Lately, she sometimes leaves a little after eating almost all of it.
"Rosé sauce! You must be earning quite a bit! I didn't intend to invite you carelessly either. Will this much suffice as an advance?"
The man handed over a small pouch.
Not a plump pouch, but a small one. Planning to be stingy with the advance, huh? I opened the pouch to see its contents.
"Huh?"
The color is a bit strange.
"I'll give you 1 gold as an advance."
I stared blankly at the brilliantly shining coin inside the pouch.
Wow. So this currency really exists.
"1 gold as an advance. When the feast ends, I'll give you 2 more gold. How about it?"
He's offering a full 3 gold just to invite a storyteller?
Calm down. Steady your trembling heart. Maintain a poker face.
'It's an excessively large sum.'
The money is so large it's suspicious.
I've never even seen a 1 gold coin, and he's offering three of them.
I barely managed to calm my reason, which was about to be paralyzed by the overly large sum.
Objectively speaking, I'm not a storyteller with that level of fame. Is the Seong Family Manor rich enough to spend 3 gold on a barbarian storyteller?
It's possible. But something feels off.
'It smells like a scam.'
It smells like a scammer trying to hide a dark ulterior motive with a tempting reward.
Just like luring struggling self-employed people with promises of low-interest loans only to swindle their money, a reward tempting enough to paralyze reason deceives naive people like me.
The intuition that saved my life several times in crises accelerates. Let's think about the suspicious points now, in my heart.
Does it make sense to come over several days just to invite one person?
Is 3 gold appropriate for the price of a barbarian storyteller's tale?
The man in front looks like a martial artist, so why did he call himself a servant?
Plus, the naturally condescending attitude that comes out instinctively. Even the martial artists' gazes toward the man seem like they're looking at a superior, unusual for servants.
For some reason, I feel a strange sense of incongruity.
'An invitation from the Seong Family Manor... Something comes to mind. Ah! Could it be?'
A story I heard long ago suddenly came to mind.
"By any chance, is there a specific story I need to tell when I go? Or can I tell any story I want?"
"The story of Young Master Ha Moo-rin you told today was so interesting. I really want you to tell the story of Young Master Ha Moo-rin at the feast house."
So that's what it was.
The puzzle pieces fit together in my heart.
"I will decline the Seong Family Manor's invitation."
With a serious face, I declined the Seong Family Manor's invitation.
"Why? Isn't 3 gold an enormous sum? The Seong Family Manor has never spent 3 gold on a single performer for a feast day even once."
Right.
For money spent on a storyteller, it would certainly be a large sum.
I put the gold coin I had taken out back into the pouch, slowly placed it on the table, and opened my mouth.
"It's a very large sum for a storyteller's tale, but it falls far short for a storyteller's life."
I looked at the man with a knowing look, raising one corner of my mouth.
"... You knew?"
The man in front hardened his expression rapidly and spoke in a stiff tone.
As expected.
"You are not a servant sent by the Manor Head's errand. What is your relationship with the late Manor Head Seong Jo-ru?"
"... I am the son of this Seong Se-hwi's father."
I thought so.
The story that came to mind was one I heard when I first arrived in Chilgok County.
Seong Jo-ru and Seong Ji-ru of the Seong Family Manor.
The incident that became the reason I told the story of Young Master Ha Moo-rin in Chilgok County.
Originally, the position of Manor Head should have gone to the son of the deceased Seong Jo-ru, but due to the schemes of his uncle and his stepmother who had an affair with that uncle, the man in front could not inherit the Manor Head position, and it became his uncle's.
"The plan of provocation. You were thinking of having me tell the story of Young Master Ha Moo-rin on the feast day to slander your uncle, saying he killed your father, or something like that."
Insisting on showing Young Master Ha Moo-rin on the feast day could only mean this.
"Slander?! It's a well-known fact that those bastards killed my father!"
The man slammed the table fiercely, venting his anger.
This bastard has some nerve. Who's the one who should be slamming the table?
"But you have no evidence, which is why you tried to use me, right?"
"... Correct. If he gets angry watching the performance, I planned to seize on that to have my forces rise up."
The man reluctantly nodded.
"But before that, this Kang would not have remained unharmed."
There's no way the angry Seong Family Manor Head would have left me alone.
Of course, seeing that, the Heavenly Killer Star wouldn't have left the Seong Family Manor Head alone either, but still.
"... I would have done my best to protect you."
As if hit where it hurts, the man closed his eyes and spoke.
"I'm sure you would have. I'll be going now. And briefly, since my neck was on the line in Seong Se-hwi's scales, I'll take this money."
I picked up the pouch containing 1 gold as if collecting payment for my life, sending an angry gaze.
You. If you refuse this, it's ninja extermination.
"The money doesn't matter. I'm sorry for not explaining in detail. But my father died unjustly. For justice, won't you help me?"
"Coming with ill intent, cunningly tempting, and in the end crying out for justice. The whole world will laugh. So-hee, let's go!"
I called So-hee in Joseon language, then stood up abruptly and went with her toward the door.
"I'm sorry! If you change your mind, come again. I will receive you respectfully as a guest of my Seong Family Manor!"
The man spoke pitifully to us as we opened the door to leave.
Not going, you bastard.
I'm going to earn money safely here telling the story of Young Master Romeo and Miss Joo.
I almost sold my life for 3 gold.
-----
A day had passed since the incident with meeting the people from the Seong Family Manor.
Lying on the bed, I stared blankly at the intricate details of the brilliant gold coin.
"With this money, I could try writing a book."
I think I can now try writing the book I had been putting off, always thinking it wasn't the right time yet.
Of course, writing a book requires a lot of money.
Not just a lot, but for someone like me, it's at the level of throwing money into the sky.
When I first wrote "The Tale of the Wind and Cloud Chivalrous Hero," I somehow completed it with very poor quality paper, ink that was indistinguishable from muddy water, and a brush with most of its bristles gone, but the result was cold.
It wasn't a popular genre to begin with, and no one looked at a book in such poor condition.
Even without the ridiculous logic that books must be sold at fixed prices because they use paper mixed with stone powder like in modern times, here too one must write a book using sufficiently good quality paper and ink.
And one volume isn't enough either.
Since there might be no response from one bookstore, I need to write at least ten or so books and supply them to multiple bookstores.
And writing all those books required money.
"Time was also a problem."
Of course, writing new material also requires time. Going through numerous plot revisions and edits to produce one volume. That alone requires a significant amount of time.
And writing one volume isn't the end either.
To transcribe ten or so books by hand, that itself requires a lot of time.
Even transferring data from documents written decades ago to Excel requires a lot of time, let alone manually transcribing everything by hand.
In other words, for someone like me with nothing, to write a novel book, I need money to buy good quality paper, brush, and ink, time to write and transcribe the book, and money to live during that period.
"If I release a new work and it flops, I lose all the money and time."
If it fails, I lose all the money and time.
The funny thing is, even if the book succeeds, it's not like I can earn a lot of money.
Of course, if successful, I can gain fame. But unless it becomes a huge hit and I sign an expensive contract for the next work, with just ten or so volumes, I'd barely break even at best.
If I were a fantasy noble or a young master of a family, I'd live without such worries, writing and if I fail, just enjoying a slow life or something.
For me, barely making a living through storyteller work and investing leftover time in martial arts training, book writing was quite an adventure in my current situation.
Bitter.
Here or in reality, the challenges of those who have nothing require betting everything. A challenge that, for some, if they fall, becomes a funny failure story to tell around. But for others, if that challenge fails, they might never get up again.
"With just this money, I can try."
I looked at the unexpected golden luck. With just this money, even if I fail, I can get up again.
They say when the tide comes in, you should start the engine. For now, focusing on Young Master Romeo and Miss Joo is right.
The time will come when people decrease, like at the end of the Ha Moo-rin performance.
When that time comes, let's stop storytelling and start writing.
"By the way, why isn't So-hee coming?"
She said she'd go out for a bit after eating, but she's been away for quite a while.
After the Cheongsa Faction incident, So-hee's attitude toward me has become oddly rounded. If simple guilt isn't the cause, then a place for me must have formed in her heart.
Teaching me martial arts, providing a house, placing delivery orders herself.
'Isn't this actually a kept man?'
I'm not providing the pillar, so I'm not a kept man, but I feel a pang of conscience.
I wonder what she thinks of me now.
Not to the level of acknowledging me as an oppa, but maybe to the level of having grown fond of me from living together.
What does she think of me?
"I'm back."
So-hee opened the door and came in.
"Welcome back."
Would you like to eat first? Bathe first? Or... I can't make that kind of joke, so I greeted So-hee with a smiling face as usual.
"......"
So-hee, however, showed no reaction to my greeting and continued to stare at me intently.
"So-hee?"
Does she have something to say? She seems to have something to say, fidgeting and hesitating, her lips moving slightly.
So-hee kept looking at me and then finally opened her mouth.
"Yun-ho."
"Hmm?"
"Become my husband."