The Incompetent Hero and the Sichuan Tang Clan (4)

"Lady Seollin. Breakfast is ready."

Morning light had broken over the camp. Having passed the night without further attack, the Tang Clan survivors looked considerably better than they had the day before. Among them was the maid who attended Seollin — one of the few who had somehow lived through the massacre.

As she always did, she came to fetch her mistress for the morning meal and stopped before the tent Seollin was using.

"…Lady Seollin?"

On any other morning she would have heard her mistress's sleep-thick voice, heavy with fatigue and reluctance. Today there was nothing at all.

Did the raid leave her too unsettled to sleep?

Worry overrode caution. She knew perfectly well that her mistress hated anyone barging in uninvited — and she stepped inside anyway.

What she found was an empty tent. The scream tore out of her before she could stop it.

"How in the world did this happen…"

Dan Seollyun stared blankly into Seollin's vacant tent. There had been no attack in the night. The sentries swore they had seen no one suspicious. So how?

For a single instant — just one — the masked man flickered through Seollyun's mind. He crushed the thought at once.

I'm overthinking it.

What reason would that man have to abduct Seollin? True, Seollyun still had no idea why someone affiliated with Yeom Kingdom would suddenly head for Sichuan — but if the man had come here to take her, there were far simpler and cleaner ways to do it than this.

"…What's going on?"

"Ah — Ilryong."

Perhaps he had sensed the early-morning commotion. Jang Cheon-woo, who had been staying a short distance from the Tang Clan's camp, pushed through the crowd and walked toward them.

"W-well, you see…"

"The Tang Clan's young lady has gone missing?"

"That's right. But… do you know something about this?"

The ease with which the man grasped the situation made that earlier, excessive suspicion stir again in Seollyun's gut.

Surely not…?

No. Even if he had, it made no sense. If he had kidnapped her, why come back here?

"I do know something. Your young lady announced she had marked them with Thousand-Li Fragrance for pursuit, then took one of my companions and left."

"!"

The words clicked into place. The outstanding Eastern swordswoman who had been traveling with him — Lady Baekryeon — was nowhere to be seen either. And if Ilryong was telling the truth, it meant Seollin herself had devised this reckless plan: break away first and give chase.

This was a situation that could just as easily be laid at their feet as a failure of duty.

"Y-you didn't stop them?"

"I couldn't. The two of them spoke privately, out of my sight, and left."

The two of them…!

Hearing that, Seollyun felt the world tilt.

"Even if they had discussed it in front of me," Ilryong added, "I wouldn't have stopped them."

"Th-then why?! Isn't Lady Baekryeon your companion?"

"Before she is a companion, she is a martial artist. If someone starts dictating her path for her, that person isn't a comrade — they're a nursemaid."

That… was hard to argue with.

"More importantly… I can't leave this place."

"Can't leave? What do you mean by—"

"Didn't you yourselves say you couldn't stand against them on your own?"

"!"

They had. He had asked whether ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they still had the strength to respond if another raid came, and Seollyun — shamefully — had admitted they did not.

Surely not for something that small…?

"As you said, Baekryeon is my companion. I know her strength. She can at least keep herself alive. You people are different. If I left to stop those bastards and you were attacked in the meantime — even if I brought your Tang Clan princess back safely — what would be the point?"

"But—! Then—!"

Seollyun almost demanded to know what would become of Dan Seollin, then closed his mouth.

The man had made a choice. Protect a single Tang Clan member who happened to be a princess — or protect the many Tang Clan retainers, including Seollyun himself, the young master. Between the two, he had chosen the latter. There was nothing more Seollyun could ask of him.

"As young master of the Tang Clan, and as Seollin's elder brother… may I make one request of you?"

"…What is it?"

"…Save Seollin."

"And what will the rest of you do?"

At the question, Seollyun looked around. The Tang Clan warriors and retainers who had been listening to the entire exchange met his eyes and nodded, resolve hardening on every face.

"We will survive. No matter what."

"…"

"It shames me beyond measure to incur yet another great debt to Lady Baekryeon and to you. But… even if I must swallow that shame, I ask you. Save my little sister."

"It may be needless meddling," Ilryong said. "Dan Seollin was already a real threat to them. With Baekryeon added, the two of them might track down a force already half-destroyed and finish it completely."

Seollyun shook his head. Of course — that would be the ideal outcome. The enemy had already been driven to the brink of annihilation by Lady Baekryeon once. If she and Seollin successfully pursued them, wiped them out, and returned, this whole affair could be dismissed as a mere disturbance.

But…

"They planned their strike against us with meticulous care. They sealed our strengths and forced our weaknesses into the open. I believe men like that would have prepared something for the possibility that things did not go as planned."

"…A fair inference."

"So I ask you. If nothing has gone wrong, all the better. But if something has… As the man responsible for every Tang Clan retainer who set out for this Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, as young master of the Tang Clan, and as one girl's elder brother — I will have no face left to show my father… our Clan Head."

"Enough. I understand."

Ilryong raised a hand to cut him off, then turned away.

"I hope you meet her safely."

In that same instant, his form vanished.

"…So his true skill really wasn't everything he'd shown us."

The man who had been speaking with him moments before had used a movement art with no preparatory motion at all — and Seollyun had not even been able to track the disappearance.

"Damn it! Croak!"

Seomgae trembled from head to toe, grinding his teeth. Even ash dumped into a finished pot of rice shouldn't have been scattered this thoroughly. And the one who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had ruined them was a beastman carrying the blood of the White Tiger, of all things!!

"The plan to subdue the Tang Clan and expand the Beastman Alliance's territory with Sichuan as the hub…! Croak!…"

If this operation had succeeded cleanly, he would have risen from a low-ranking agent to something resembling real cadre rank…!

Glug, glug, glug.

"Aah~ Still, maybe you should just be grateful your head's still attached, Seomgae."

A man with hair black enough to feel ominous was drinking straight from the bottle, watching him with eyes slightly glazed by drink. The sight only made Seomgae's fury burn hotter.

"In the first place! The reason I had to run was entirely your fault!! Croak! If you had only joined us on time~!! Croak!"

"Ahaha~ I was suffering from a hangover, you see~… Hic."

He belched, and the reek of harsh liquor flooded the room. That easygoing attitude made Seomgae's blood pressure climb so high he discovered a new truth: a beastman really could die of pure rage.

"Besides~… don't worry, Seomgae. Your plan hasn't failed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yet…"

"Hasn't failed?! I lost more than half my men, failed to capture the Tang Clan's young master, and failed to seize the Clan Head's daughter! Croak!"

"Hmm? Didn't you bring that along on purpose??"

The man tilted his head and asked it back. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠For a moment Seomgae wondered whether the drink had finally driven him mad — but he did not say so out loud. The man was, at the very least, a beastman who could be called cadre.

"You… came back wearing Thousand-Li Fragrance. Someone marked you so they could track you… didn't they?"

"Th-Thousand-Li Fragrance? Who the hell would—!"

The words died as Seomgae realized exactly who had smeared it on him.

The White Tiger beastman? No. She had been strong, but she had shown no sign of using anything that specialized.

The Tang Clan warriors? Their attacks had never even touched him.

"Heh heh heh… Dan Seollin… that bitch. Croak."

"Seomgae… your mood seems to have improved. Shall we have a celebratory drink?"

"Not yet… Keh-heh…"

"Is that so?… A pity."

Looking genuinely disappointed, he smacked his lips and tipped his bottle to his mouth again.

"Huh?… Empty. Hey. Someone bring another bottle… Ah, well. Looks like I won't be drinking after all."

He rose from his seat. Seomgae's eyes flew wide.

"You're finally moving, Lord Ogam!! Croak!"

"Honorifics again, at a time like this?… You really are an amusing friend, Seomgae."

Rattle.

"Lord Seomgae! W-we're under attack!! Dan Seollin and the White Tiger beastman have tracked us and are striking!!"

"Excellent! Lord Ogam! Quickly, those arrogant little bi—?"

He turned to urge the black-haired man who had just stood up — leaving the subordinate who had brought the expected report of attack behind him — only to find that the man was already gone. In his place, a single black bird feather rested on the seat.

"Before we strike them, there is something we should agree upon."

"What?"

"Like it or not, we will be working together for a time. You understand that much, do you not?"

"I understand. Just get to the point."

Baekryeon nodded at Seollin's curt reply.

"I have heard you are skilled with hidden weapons and poison. That means you can engage from a greater distance than I can."

"Obviously."

"What I propose is this: far and near. We combine our strengths and fight as one."

"Hmph. All that buildup for that?"

Far and near. In other words: Seollin would attack from range with hidden weapons and poison, while Baekryeon closed to melee, engaging the enemy directly and shielding the one fighting from afar. A two-person unit built on complementary strengths.

Seollin grasped the meaning without difficulty and drew the hidden weapons she had prepared in advance.

"Break through. I'm wiping every last one of them out."

"We leave one alive. We need information."

Baekryeon's hair turned white. Snake-like scales rose along the edges of Seollin's eyes.

And then, almost as one, without either waiting for the other, the two of them charged the abandoned mountain house where the toad beastmen had gathered.

"! W-we're under attack!!"

They tried to fight back. Their attacks never reached Seollin, and they could not break through Baekryeon.

"Come out!! You damn toad bastard!!!"

Seollin had no intention of leaving Seomgae — the one who had so thoroughly humiliated her — alive.

"Come out!! Tell me everything you know about Red Oni!!!"

Baekryeon had no intention of letting Seomgae — who knew about Red Oni — slip away.

For goals that were similar and yet not the same, the two of them joined forces and began cutting the enemy down one by one.

"Seollin! The Thousand-Li Fragrance!"

"It's still here! He's definitely somewhere in this place — hiding inside that ruin!!"

"Understood! Then I will break through!!"

Baekryeon shifted her stance. Her whole body coiled tight, like a tiger gathering power in the instant before it lunges — storing force for the leap.

Then she released it all at once and shot toward the abandoned house.

BOOM!!!

She carved a path by cutting down every enemy in her line of flight—

"Truly now. What vigor… for a White Tiger."

"!"

CLANG!!

A black-haired man stopped Baekryeon's blade — a sword no one else had been able to block — with a single, unnaturally black dark blade.

"You…"

"I am hardly important enough to bother giving a name… but call me Ogam, if you like."

Whoosh.

Black wings unfurled from his back.

And with that, Baekryeon lost sight of him completely.