The Heavenly Demon Attends the Company Dinner (1)
Baek Hwaryeong was a person utterly devoid of patience. Upon returning to Mount Hua and spotting Baru fast asleep, she let out a squeal about how adorable the fox was and immediately asked me if she could hold her.
Having some understanding of the longing she carried, I told her it would be fine as long as she asked for Baru’s permission. After all, how much must this child have held back her desire to stroke an animal’s fur? The moment Baek Hwaryeong heard my answer, she shook the sleeping Baru awake and asked without hesitation.
“May I stroke you?”
Baru, eyes still heavy with sleep, looked at Baek Hwaryeong’s face in a daze and, apparently mistaking her for me, answered in a tiny voice.
“Since when have you ever asked for permission? Do as you—”
Baru suddenly stopped mid-sentence, sensing something was off, and hurriedly tried to sit up. But it was already too late. The Heavenly Demon’s hands had already reached out and wrapped around her.
No matter how swift a beast Baru was, escaping the grasp of one of the greatest martial artists in the Murim was no easy feat. And so, Baru was forcibly turned into Baek Hwaryeong’s personal doll.
“Min-ga! What are you doing just standing there?! Help me!”
“No.”
“Why?! Was our bond always this shallow?!”
“That’s actually what I want to say. Even if I look exactly like Baek Hwaryeong, how could you mistake her for me?”
“You’re sulking over that?! You narrow-minded human!”
Baru thrashed and shouted at me, but I had no intention of helping her. It wasn’t that I was actually upset. Since Baek Hwaryeong and I were identical in appearance, it was only natural for her to get confused. How could I blame her for that?
The real reason I wasn’t helping Baru was simply to let Baek Hwaryeong enjoy a happy moment. When she stayed at my Divine Cult, finding even small joys was difficult. There was no need to burden her with that same experience. Giving her good memories like this was only right.
Of course, it seemed Baru was accumulating quite a few unpleasant experiences in the process, but what of it? Both good and bad things become memories eventually. Besides, didn’t you enjoy being petted, Baru? In any case, Baek Hwaryeong’s hands are no different from mine, so just quietly accept your fate.
“Min-ga! You scoundrel! Just you wait!”
Still, I should probably think of a way to soothe Baru’s anger later. I’ll have to ask Harin or Seol-ah where to find some delicious food—somewhere outside the righteous sects’ territory, of course.
Since Baru is both a divine spirit and a beast, she has a rather simple nature in many ways. If I feed her something tasty, she’ll grumble but eventually let it go. At least that’s how it’s been until now.
Baek Hwaryeong’s happy time came to an end when Han Seo-woo, whom I had called over, arrived at Mount Hua.
“Disciple! Look at this fox! There’s a child who doesn’t fear me at all!”
“Uh… she doesn’t look scared, but she seems pretty upset, Master.”
Han Seo-woo looked back and forth between Baek Hwaryeong’s beaming face and Baru’s sulky expression before turning his gaze toward me. It was obvious he was asking what on earth was going on. Ignoring that look would probably lead to an amusing scene, but Baru’s emotions seemed to be shifting from irritation to outright hatred, so it was probably time to stop.
When I pulled Baru out of Baek Hwaryeong’s arms, the latter stared at her with clear regret.
“Aah. My brown fox.”
“Save it for next time. If you earn any more of her resentment, she won’t even meet you again.”
“She already hates me though?!”
“Ugh. Fine. Then I’ll come again next time.”
“There is no next time! You think I’d let you hold me again?!”
At the word “next time,” Han Seo-woo’s expression stiffened slightly. But what could he do? He could only blame himself for having me as his master.
After Baek Hwaryeong left, visibly reluctant, Baru slipped from my hands, spun once in the air, and took on her human form.
“Min-ga. Just what is your relationship with that Heavenly Demon?”
“What is our relationship… huh.”
It was an ambiguous question. Baek Hwaryeong probably thought of me as another version of herself, but I knew the truth. We were the same yet different beings. If I had to explain it, our relationship was that of a soul who had stolen a body and the one whose body was stolen. But saying that out loud sounded far too eerie.
“Think of us as something like siblings.”
“Siblings? Not sisters?”
“Ah, yes. In terms of titles, that would be correct.”
After all, biologically speaking, both of us were female.
“Haa. In any case, I really hope that girl never comes back.”
This was purely speculation on my part, but it seemed her wish would not come true. The look in Baek Hwaryeong’s eyes was not that of someone who would ever give up.
Even as they descended from Mount Hua, Master kept looking back at the Hwasan Sect buildings with lingering attachment. The lively animal that had shown such vitality even when she approached seemed to have left a deep impression on her.
Seeing his master like this—something he rarely witnessed—Han Seo-woo made up his mind. If she ever brought it up again, he would bring her back to Mount Hua. If he could see his master smile with genuine joy, any hardship would be worth it.
“Master. Were you satisfied today?”
“Yes. It was one of the most interesting days I’ve had in years.”
“Did you spar with Min-ga?”
“Indeed.”
As expected. Master always took interest in talented and strong individuals. And since someone like Hwaryeong possessed talent that seemed almost misplaced in this world, it was only natural she’d caught her eye. She must have gone through quite a lot being hounded by Master. I wonder if she’ll complain about it later. Maybe I should send her a chicken gift card or something.
“This seat lost.”
“…Pardon?”
When Han Seo-woo asked again, unable to believe what he’d heard, Baek Hwaryeong let out a low chuckle.
“Must you keep reminding your master of the shame of her defeat?”
“Is it… really true?”
“Do you think I would lie about losing?”
“No, of course not.”
Han Seo-woo knew better than anyone that his master would never lie when it came to martial arts. Especially not about victory or defeat. Which meant Hwaryeong had truly defeated his master.
As far as Han Seo-woo knew, his master was an absolute powerhouse whom no one in the Murim could challenge. And yet a modern person had handed her a loss. Just what kind of person was Hwaryeong? She really must have been born in the wrong era. If she had been born in the Murim, that talent would have let her conquer the world.
While he was thinking that, Baek Hwaryeong suddenly held out her palm in front of him. Having spent more than a year or two with her, Han Seo-woo instantly understood the gesture and quickly pulled out a long pipe and some tobacco leaves from his pocket.
Soon, the smoke from Baek Hwaryeong’s pipe drifted through the quiet forest of Mount Hua.
“It was an entertaining day. A new heaven has appeared for me to shatter, and something adorable has appeared for me to dote on.”
After muttering to herself, Baek Hwaryeong turned her gaze toward Han Seo-woo and continued.
“Disciple. If you ever find it difficult to come to this world and need advice, contact Min-ga. The guidance she gives will be more accurate than anyone else’s.”
“Understood.”
By the time the two had completely descended the stairs of Mount Hua, the morning sun hung high in the sky. Han Seo-woo, who had been fiddling with the game’s functions to return to the Divine Cult, suddenly remembered something he had forgotten amid the barrage of shocking sights and statements.
“Ah, right. Master. I forgot to mention it earlier, but the Cult Leader came to your office.”
“That bastard?”
At those words, Baek Hwaryeong frowned and openly displayed her annoyance.
“What for?”
“He said since you weren’t reading the scrolls, he would report directly.”
“…Hmph.”
Instead of answering right away, Baek Hwaryeong simply puffed on her pipe for a moment before speaking in a languid voice.
“Disciple. Would you like to deal with that Cult Leader fellow in my stead?”
“How could that possibly work, Master?”
Everything related to me inside the game was tied to Hwaryong Muin, but the real me had something else to take care of right now. It was time to whip Enry’s team members into shape—turning those who were more beast than human back into proper people.
Among them, I focused on lifting up those at the bottom. To create change in a short period of time, it was better to look downward rather than upward. Those at the top had already awakened much of their talent. While they might still have shortcomings, their growth speed could never match those below them.
If you tried to forcibly change someone who already possessed their own established temperament, it could cause mental confusion and actually make them weaker than before. Therefore, for those at the top, it was better not to meddle too much and simply guide their mental state.
On the other hand, those at the bottom were blank slates. They had painted some of their own “paper,” but the painted area was so small that there was far more space left to fill. For people like them, simply hammering in the fundamentals could lead to rapid growth.
That was why I focused solely on grabbing hold of those at the bottom and instilling the basics in them.
“Hwaryeong-nim, we absolutely have to meet in real life.”
“That’s right! You have to come to the after-party. If you don’t show up, we’re going to assume you’re a net camera!”
Thanks to that, the resentment in the eyes of those I had been training grew thicker with each passing day. Bae Min-hwang and Nabi-rin in particular. As for Na-hee, since she was a mage, there wasn’t much I could teach her directly. Bunny and Enry spent more time with Dalbit than with me, so it was only natural that those two held the deepest grudges.
Still, even while angry, they hadn’t lost their reason. After being thoroughly worked over for so long, the two had concluded that they could never defeat me inside the VR world. That was why they were doing their absolute best to drag me into reality by any means necessary.
They probably didn’t know. Compared to the real me, the version of me inside VR was actually the lesser one. The me who had rampaged through the Murim and the me who had chosen seclusion after a long journey could not possibly be the same.
Therefore, even if they met me in reality, nothing would change. Could they possibly defeat this seat through brute force? Or perhaps, having reached the state of being immune to all poisons, they thought they could beat me in a drinking contest when I could no longer get drunk no matter how much I drank?
Either way, it was an impossible story. I knew this, yet I deliberately didn’t mention it. The desire for revenge, if directed in the right way, could become a powerful driving force for growth. As their instructor, why would I rob them of their motivation?
“If you all achieve good results, I will consider stepping outside.”
“Really?!”
“I recorded that! I’m going to upload it to MyTube and preserve it forever, so don’t even think about running away!”
…Hmm. It seems I may have fueled their motivation a bit too much.