The First Friend My Age
The adults took their leave, and all at once it was just Ha-ryeon and me, stranded together. I hadn't spoken to a single child of this world since being reborn into it.
Ugh... what do I do? I'm so nervous I can't even think.
"Hey. What were you doing earlier?"
Ha-ryeon spoke up while I was still fretting.
"Huh? Earlier I was picking up branches..."
"Branches? What for?"
"I don't want to say."
If I explain, she's definitely going to tease me.
"Come ooOn, tell me."
"Then promise you won't make fun of me."
"Fine. I promise."
"I've been designing something. A Passing Formation. I needed the branches to test it."
I squeezed my eyes shut. Ha-ryeon, though, reacted nothing like I'd expected.
"Ooh, that's amazing! You came up with a formation yourself? Tell me more!"
Her eyes filled with interest and began to sparkle.
"Huh? Well... the warrior over on this side faces the enemy, the one who was with me earlier throws them off, and I throw the branch."
At that, Ha-ryeon began studying Tomusa with a piercing stare.
"Hmm... if you ask me, this warrior is incredibly strong. Strong enough to deal with an ordinary opponent all by herself."
She'd hit the mark. In truth, the Passing Formation was almost entirely unnecessary. I'd only devised it to exploit an opening, should the worst come to pass.
"Or else it means you're hiding something extraordinary."
"Ahaha... What could a boy possibly have that's so special?"
I played the innocent, as if I hadn't the faintest idea what she meant.
"Hmm... I'll let it go. A woman who digs into a man's secrets is a woman without charm. A true woman lets him reveal them on his own."
Had I not been the one being wooed, it would have sounded rather impressive.
"Then show me that garden again. I only got halfway through looking, thanks to you."
"All right. Let's go."
And so, at Ha-ryeon's request, we headed for the garden.
"It's incredible no matter how many times I see it. I've never seen a garden this magnificent."
"It's just a slightly large garden."
"You've never been outside the clan estate, have you? This isn't large in any ordinary sense!"
She pressed on, her voice bright with excitement.
"Ha. I'll have to invite you to my house someday. Someone needs to broaden those narrow horizons of yours."
"If you invite me, I'll gladly come."
"Good. That's a promise."
She was the first child my own age I'd ever dealt with, and I'd been tense over it—though perhaps there had been no need to be quite so nervous.
"Have you learned martial arts?"
The question came out of nowhere.
"Huh? How did you know?"
"Your gait. It isn't like someone who's never trained. There are no openings in it."
She could tell I'd learned martial arts from my walking alone. As expected of the Sword King's daughter.
"Yeah. It's only been about a month."
"A month? A month? Liar. You can't develop a stance like that in a month."
She pressed me, plainly unwilling to believe it.
"But it's true."
Ha-ryeon shot me a suspicious glare.
"Fine. I'll believe you. You don't seem like the type to lie."
A moment later, though, she was smiling brightly.
"Still, I can't believe there's a lake inside the garden. Mind if I try that boat?"
"Go ahead. It doesn't really matter."
"Yes! This is gonna be fun."
Beaming, Ha-ryeon made for the little boat moored at one side of the lake, and I climbed in after her. She cast off before the guards could even board.
"Huh? What about the escort?"
"Oh, it's fine. We're inside the garden. What could happen?"
The girls of this world, it seemed, were troublemakers—just like the boys of my previous life.
And so we left the guards calling after us and drifted steadily toward the middle of the lake.
"There are ornamental fish living in here. They're pretty."
"There didn't used to be any. They say the fish showed up after I was born."
"Why?"
"I don't really know the details. I think someone gave them as a gift."
"Huh, really? That someone must be awfully rich."
Thunk.
We'd been talking for a while when the boat bumped against the artificial island at the lake's center.
"What is this place for?"
"This is where my sisters used to serve their punishments."
"Punishments? Here?"
"Yeah. I think they were made to live out here for days at a time."
I'd never actually met my sisters, but I'd heard about it from Mother once, so it was probably true.
"The blood of the White Tiger really does run different."
"The blood of the White Tiger?"
"You didn't know? Out in the world, they call the Zhejiang Yu Clan the bloodline of the White Tiger. Part of it is that your clan's retired patriarch, True Person Yu, bears the epithet Zhejiang White Tiger. The other part is the name your sister, Lady Yu Ja-baek, is making for herself right now."
"You know about my sisters? Tell me more!"
No one in the clan ever spoke of them, so I'd never known a thing. And now a chance to hear had simply walked up to me.
"Have you not been able to hear about your sisters?"
"No. Not properly. Nobody in the clan ever brings them up."
"That's probably because of the position the Zhejiang Yu Clan is in. You've put down roots in Hangzhou, driving the prosperity of its markets and its chief industries, and you've never given up the advantages of a port city either. A clan that has to deal with so many different parties can't place itself with the Orthodox, the Unorthodox, or the Demonic."
So that was the situation our family was in. I'd only vaguely guessed we were a neutral power.
"That's why Lady Yu Ja-baek's activities in the Martial Alliance are treated as her decision alone, not the clan's official stance. It's the only way to keep from being dragged into a struggle between factions."
"Have you ever seen my second sister?"
"Mm. Now and then."
"Is she doing well?"
"Yes. She's perfectly well, no trouble at all."
She was a sister I'd never so much as met, and still, hearing she was all right set my heart at ease.
"Do you know anything about my eldest sister? Rin?"
"That, I don't know either. There are only rumors, and plenty of them. That she's working to bring in new specialty goods from Haedong and Dongyeong. That she's visiting the major sects, solidifying her standing as heir. Things like that."
"I see... I hope she's safe."
"I'm sure she is. There's a saying: even a tiger knows how to dote on its own cub. The Zhejiang Yu Clan would hardly be any different."
"Yeah. I'm sure that's true."
The comfort Ha-ryeon offered settled something in me, quietly, before I quite noticed.
"I have to say, though, I'm jealous. Talking about other women right in front of me."
"They're my sisters. Why would you be jealous of that?"
"Even so, a woman hates hearing about other women. She wants you looking only at her."
Ha-ryeon folded her arms and turned her head aside.
"Save lines like that for a lover someday."
"Who knows? Maybe someday you'll be my lover."
"Not a chance. I don't feel that way in the slightest."
What I'd meant to say was, We'll see about that later. Ack—the words had come out completely backward.
Ahem...!
Ha-ryeon flushed and cleared her throat. I'd refused her in a single stroke, and she was embarrassed.
"W-well, you never know. The adults might be discussing a match between us right now."
"Oh, come on. There's no way..."
Wait. If Namgung Hwi-gyeom meant to fold Zhejiang into the Orthodox sphere, she might very well be talking over a marriage between the two of us. And Mother might decide it was better to marry me off to her own dear friend.
"Finally grasping the situation?"
The moment my expression turned grave, Ha-ryeon smiled with easy confidence.
"A political marriage? I don't want that."
"Hmph. Then I suppose I'll just have to win you over myself. I like you, you know."
An outrageous declaration, out of nowhere.
"Yeah, I don't think I'm falling for it."
If we're talking about my type, Tomusa or Myoryeong would be more...
"Tch! Enough talk! I'll show you with action!"
She slid one arm behind my back and caught my legs with the other. A princess carry. Then she kicked off from the middle of the lake, leaping for the shore—only she didn't even make it halfway, and we plunged into the water.
Splash.
I could swim. Ha-ryeon began to sink. An adult would have been fine, but it was a little deep for a child, and I made up my mind to save her.
Glug...
She thrashed, then the strength went out of her and she hung limp. I hauled her up quickly enough that it never turned truly dangerous.
Pah!
The guards must have dived in the moment they saw us go under. The instant we broke the surface, they were there to receive us.
"Thank you, Tomusa, Myoryeong."
"Not at all."
"It's only what we ought to do."
And so we made it safely back to dry land.
"My lady, open your eyes!"
Even after we'd come ashore, Ha-ryeon wouldn't wake, and her guard cried out.
"I can handle it. Please lay Ha-ryeon down."
Her guard obediently laid her flat, and I gave her CPR. Ha-ryeon woke, coughing up water.
Cough, cough.
"A v-virtuous man...?"
The moment she came to, she looked at me and started talking nonsense. A virtuous man? With no celestial maiden in sight, was that the best she could manage?
At any rate, I slapped the still-dazed girl across the cheek.
"Hey. Quit the nonsense and snap out of it."
"Huh...? Where is this?"
"My family's garden."
Smack!
Only after taking the blow on the other cheek did Ha-ryeon truly come around.
"Ah—! Are you okay?!"
"Worry about yourself. I'm fine."
"U-uh..."
Only then did her face go scarlet—whether from shame at what she'd done, or because I'd hit her.
"Th-thank you for saving me..."
"Yeah. So long as you know. Tomusa, let's get changed first."
I said it while wringing out my soaked clothes.
"Yes. This way to your room, young master."
"We should go change as well, my lady."
"R-right... we should..."
And with that, a noisy afternoon came to an end.
Thump... thump...