Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Temporary Bodyguard
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I leaped down from the tree branch.
Sima Ak.
I'd tailed him to learn more about the man. But something wasn't quite right-nothing like what I'd expected.
Unlike his arrogant, insolent first impression, the tip of the sword he'd swung trembled.
Like a tree branch on the verge of snapping.
"...You fucking mutt, finally sniffing around inside someone else's house. Have you lost your damn mind?"
"Maybe I have. I can't quite tell right from wrong anymore."
Ten paces apart.
The shadows cast by the two of us didn't even touch. I placed my hand on my sword.
"Patriarch Sima. I have some questions."
"Put some respect in it-'sir.' Who the hell do you think you are, just some Blood Demon Squad grunt..."
"Isn't it a bit late for a stroll?"
"Not the time for a mutt like you to be tagging along, that's for sure."
I could see him gauging the distance between us.
"I mean you no harm."
"How the hell am I supposed to trust you?"
"Can't trust each other? That's mutual, isn't it?"
"You've got some bite to your words."
"Claws too, Patriarch Sima. Best watch you don't get scratched."
Sima Ak's eyebrow twitched. Silently, I stepped up beside him.
A tall stele. Massive in size. Etched densely upon it were the names of those bearing the Sima surname.
And among them, a name I knew.
"...Sima Gon."
The missing master of the Sima Clan.
Ghost Shadow Sima Gon.
"Scared? Because it's a familiar name? Ghost Shadow Sima Gon-my grandfather."
"I've done nothing wrong, so nothing to fear."
"This is a place only the Sima Patriarch may enter. Just stepping in is a crime."
"A death sentence, then?"
"One that'd cost you your head."
"But tonight, there's no one here to drag me away."
I turned my head.
"Patriarch. Why no escort?"
"......"
"Your actions don't make sense, Patriarch."
"-Ha. Can't find evidence, so now you're grasping at straws?"
"You seem to take good care of the Sima Clan folks."
In the few days I'd stayed here, I'd met several people.
Asked them all the same thing.
About the Sima Patriarch. What they thought of him.
"Heartwarming tales nonstop."
That gave me a sense of what to do.
"Blind fools babbling nonsense. I'm a muddled tyrant of a patriarch."
"What meaning's in empty self-flagellation?"
"Plenty of meaning. Blood Demon Squad grunt. Everything has meaning. Does a whip ever fall without reason?"
Sima Ak laughed arrogantly.
"Q&A time's over. Here to take me down? Then draw your sword. Do your worst."
"Not here to kill you."
"Then why tail me?"
"Like I said-had questions, so I followed."
"Not words from a Blood Demon Squad dog. Not from a mutt who just obeys orders."
"They give me the dog's role, but when I bark? That's up to me."
I turned to look at him.
I voiced what I'd been dying to ask.
"Patriarch Sima. Let me ask you."
Sima Ak scowled.
"Spit it out. No beating around the bush."
"From watching these past few days, you seem hounded by duties day and night."
"Creepy bastard. And?"
"Don't you need a handyman?"
"...What?"
I took my hand off my sword.
"Don't you need a guard who knows his way around a blade? Looks like all your clan's warriors are tied up, so I offered to fill in. Just for half a month, mind you."
"......."
Sima Ak's expression shifted.
To one screaming, 'What the hell is this lunatic?'
...
I told her what happened with Number 20.
Her face twisted in an instant.
"You madman! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Unraveling this nagging suspicion."
"Are you insane?! What?! Sima Clan Patriarch's bodyguard?! Spouting that madness right to his face... He wouldn't accept that crap anyway!"
"He did."
"What?!"
That split-second change in Sima Ak's face.
Pure malice, like he was out to screw me over. No doubt about it.
Still, I accepted. Simple reason.
Couldn't just let this unease fester.
"Number 20. While I'm playing temporary bodyguard to Sima Ak, could you look into the Heavenly Evil Sect for me?"
"...You suspect them now?"
"Everything fell into place perfectly the moment we arrived-like it was all set up. Even got the right evidence at the perfect time from the Heavenly Evil Sect."
"......."
"Too neat for coincidence. Wrapping up and leaving's fine, but..."
I toyed with my sword.
"Leaves a bitter aftertaste, doesn't it, Number 20?"
"No... then why offer to bodyguard him?"
"Thought it'd help me figure out what kind of man he is."
"...What are you, some wandering hero? Why go so hard?"
"Just doing the job right. If the Sima rebellion turns out fake later, it could bite us. Better handle it properly for the future, right?"
"...Can't argue with that... Ugh..."
Number 20 paced the room. After agonizing, she turned to me.
"You know the deadline's a month, right?"
"Yes."
"Half a month from now. Exactly that. If nothing turns up after, we report what we saw. Got it?"
"Yes."
"Ugh... Leave the Heavenly Evil Sect to me. I'll dig. Quietly."
"Thanks, Number 20. For playing along."
"Whatever. As long as it's solved in time. I felt something off too... Nothing major changed overall, just dragged out a bit."
Number 20 laid down the law.
"Don't whine later. Remember-a messenger pigeon a month from now. Number 30."
"Yes."
Number 20 left. Come morning the next day, I sought out Sima Ak right away.
He looked up from the documents he'd been buried in since dawn.
A sticky smile. Malice promising a lesson.
The face of Chu Ui-kyung standing before him stiffened.
"Patriarch. He's an outsider."
"Outsider, sure. But with guaranteed status-Blood Demon Squad. Not utterly untrustworthy."
"We're still under investigation..."
"Nothing to hide, no need to worry. Chu Ui-kyung, get back to your duties. Call if anything's off."
"...If I'm not close, I might miss the timing."
"Only one warrior in the main house? Hardly. You handle things apart plenty anyway. I'm fine. Go. Unless he's suicidal, he won't lay a hand on me."
Chu Ui-kyung sighed. Bowed lightly and brushed past me.
A chilling glare passed. A silent warning: cause trouble, and you're done.
Sima Ak twirled his brush between fingers.
"Right. Mutt for half a month. My bodyguard. What's your name?"
"Number 30."
"Fake name. Whatever. Bodyguard's job is simple."
Sima Ak jerked his chin.
"Horse stance in the corner. Where I can see you."
"......."
Open harassment.
Didn't matter anyway. I just wanted to see what kind of man he was.
I held the horse stance as ordered. For hours, wordless, I stared steadily at him.
Sweat poured like rain. Even Sima Ak, flipping documents nonstop, finally shook his head in fatigue.
"Tough mutt."
"That's a dog for you."
"...What'd you learn?"
"You sit heavy, Patriarch."
"......."
Sima Ak snorted dismissively.
The next day, Sima Ak didn't order the horse stance again. Instead, he set aside documents and headed out to the Accounts Pavilion.
This time, pure ignoring. Eyes met, but no words.
The Accounts Pavilion Master startled at the sight of me.
"Patriarch. That's..."
"Ignore him. Might as well not exist."
"...Understood."
Business proceeded. Sima Ak issued dry instructions. Checked ledgers, tallied numbers, reviewed plans.
Merchant house movements. Fund uses. Warriors' welfare, servants' pay.
Sima Ak calculated fast. Sharp mind. No hesitation in his words.
The Accounts Pavilion Master nodded as if it were natural.
"As you command, Patriarch."
"Might be right. If certain, send a separate report. I'll review and reply."
"Thank you."
He didn't dismiss a subordinate's opinion lightly. If it had merit, he'd listen.
Passing servants bowed deeply to Sima Ak without fail. Sometimes he'd gruffly ask after them.
"Baek Jong-seo. How's the back?"
"All better, thanks to you, sir."
"Don't groan around me if it hurts-rest up. Ruins my mood."
The pouch he slipped him jingled with coin. Words rough, but intent kind.
The old servant Baek Jong-seo refused the pouch.
"I've received plenty already, sir."
"If plenty, your back'd be fixed. Shut up and take it. I've got money to burn."
"...Sir."
"Take it and scram."
Sima Ak, who hadn't looked back in three days, glanced at me awkwardly as he walked ahead.
"See what you wanted?"
"Not yet."
"Bad eyes. That lump on your head just for show?"
"Maybe."
Sima Ak rarely left Sima Clan buildings. More accurately, he couldn't.
Work piled up the moment he stepped away. Clan short-staffed, so he handled most himself.
"Hey. Mutt."
"Yes."
Sima Ak, face nearly buried in desk, spoke after six days.
"Stop staring. Help."
"Allowed?"
"Got eyes? You can sort basic numbers. Organize in order. Make it readable."
Hand him sorted documents, he'd always add:
"You. Ever sorted papers before?"
"No."
"Fucking idiots. Look-do it like this..."
Grumbling, but teaching. Tough characters? He'd annotate with brush so I could read.
"Some bodyguard. Useless."
"Not a clerk's job."
"Don't know civil and martial both? Can't survive on one skill. You'll starve on the streets someday."
Sima Ak didn't sleep.
Dark circles always. Sipping some mystery tea nonstop.
"What's that?"
"Try it."
I did. Bitter from tongue to throat-hacked and coughed.
"Poison?"
"Buy poison to drink? Idiot. Wake-up tea."
"...Better sleep than drink that."
"Who works then? You, who can't even sort papers?"
On the seventh day, he called my fake name properly amid his usual sharp barbs.
"Mutt."
"Yes."
"-Why the hell you watching me? Spying? Waiting for a slip-up?"
Sounded genuine, so I answered true.
"Seeing what kind of man you are, Patriarch."
"Yeah? What kind am I? Look like someone colluding with the orthodox sects?"
Thought of a metaphor, but recalled the insults-gave up.
"Nasty temper."
"That's it?"
"Foul mouth too."
"And?"
"And..."
Still don't know.
That was right.
"Can't judge a man's heart in seven days."
"But half a month, you can?"
"Better than seven."
"No clue what's in that head of yours."
Late night, Sima Ak stood. Grabbed the iron sword nearby.
"Hey, mutt. You dared peek at my sword before."
"Call that a sword...?"
"Shut up and follow."
"What for?"
"Finally found a use for you. Should've used you sooner-dog shit's medicine too."
Sima Ak led me back under that stele from before.
Drew his sword, turned to me.
"Behold-the Sima Clan's sword."