The Incompetent Hero and Red Oni
"Your Majesty!!"
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"You hardly expect a man to walk out of that hellish dungeon unscathed, do you? My life is in no danger, so spare yourselves the fretting."
What greeted us as we emerged from Yeomhyeongok were the Emperor of Yeom's two bodyguards, along with Baekryeon and Dan Seollin.
The moment they confirmed we had come out of Yeomhyeongok, the bodyguards, Baekryeon, and Seollin all came running in a single bound. The bodyguards, of course, fretted over the Emperor first — but thanks to the various elixirs from the treasure vault inside Yeomhyeongok, every wound he had taken within the dungeon had already healed clean. There was nothing left for them to worry over.
"Doryeong. Are you unhurt?"
"Your clothes look a little scorched. What on earth happened in there?"
"A lot, if you want the long version. Nothing much, if you want the short one."
At Seollin's words I glanced down at what I was wearing. The clothes had cost me a fair sum, so Juzaku's flames hadn't burned them to ash — but they clearly hadn't been able to shrug off the heat either. Scorch marks freckled the fabric here and there.
Time to ditch these and buy something new.
"But who is that woman behind you? Unless my eyes deceive me, she came out of Yeomhyeongok with you."
"Yeah. I wanted to ask that too. There's something about her… hard to approach? Scary just to look at? That kind of feeling."
"Is that so…"
Interesting. Baekryeon sensed nothing at all, yet Seollin alone was reacting this sharply.
Was Seollin's sensitivity to presence simply higher than Baekryeon's? Or was it that Baekryeon, carrying the blood of Baekho — equal in rank to Juzaku — was simply less affected by the pressure Juzaku radiated?
Either way, it didn't matter.
"She's Juzaku."
"?"
"What did you just say…?"
"I said Juzaku."
Seollin took the hit hardest. Baekryeon didn't show it on her face, but she was clearly stunned as well.
Juzaku, for her part, paid none of it any mind. She approached the Emperor with a gait steeped in elegance and nobility.
"Emperor of Yeom. Are these the ones who guard you?"
"Who are you?"
"Do not approach His Majesty without identifying yourself."
"?"
The bodyguards, who had heard nothing about Juzaku, stepped between her and the Emperor. The Emperor looked at them as if they had lost their minds.
"What is this."
"Exactly as they said."
"State your identity."
"…"
Juzaku's brow furrowed with open displeasure as she looked at the Emperor. He only laughed lightly and waved the bodyguards back.
"It's fine. Stand down."
"But…"
"Her identity is beyond question. She is someone of great importance — one who lent her power to the first Emperor of Yeom."
"?"
The first Emperor of Yeom had been dead for over a thousand years. Claiming someone had helped a man that long gone was hardly an explanation that would land.
The Emperor knew that perfectly well, of course. He was just being deliberately vague to mess with his bodyguards a little…
Might as well join in.
"He's right. Even if both of you jumped her at once, you wouldn't win — so don't waste your energy."
"…"
They looked thoroughly scratched by that, but what could they do? They were the weak ones.
Juzaku, meanwhile, seemed so offended that mere humans had dared ignore her that her expression was anything but pleasant. She fixed the two bodyguards who had barred her path with a hard stare.
"You asked who I am."
"We did, but…"
"I am Juzaku."
"?"
Both of their faces went blank. They clearly couldn't tell whether she was serious.
I glanced at the Emperor. He gave a short snort of laughter and nodded.
"This lady is one of the Four Sacred Beasts. Juzaku."
"!!"
Only then did the bodyguards go deathly pale and scramble back. I was still enjoying the show when Baekryeon asked me,
"Doryeong. Did you by any chance fight Lady Juzaku?"
"Hm? What makes you think that?"
"No matter how I turn it over, I cannot imagine a trap dangerous enough to scorch your clothes like that… If your clothes burned, it is only reasonable to conclude you fought someone of that caliber. When you fought the Demon King of Corruption before, his attacks left your clothes in tatters as well. And if we are speaking of someone with power on that level… the only one who comes to mind is Lady Juzaku, who emerged from Yeomhyeongok with you."
A genuinely sharp read. I had nothing to hide, so I gave a light nod.
"Yeah. She hit first, so I hit back. And I won."
Worth saying twice, because it mattered. I won.
Granted, from what I'd overheard on the way up after the Emperor and Juzaku finished talking about the covenant — Juzaku currently had a portion of her power sealed by Hyeonmu because of her contract with the first Emperor of Yeom. But she'd still had power to spare. Even without the seal, I would have been the one who won.
"Are you insane?! Why would you fight one of the Four Sacred Beasts?!"
"I told you. She threw the first punch."
"A-are you hurt?!"
"Obviously not. I already told you — even if that Demon King of Corruption comes after you, as long as you're within reach of my sword, I can protect you."
I shrugged as I said it. Seollin's face flushed and she looked away.
"Your Majesty."
"Ah, it is you. What is it? Did you fail to find what you sought in the treasure vault?"
"No, nothing like that… I wanted to ask about what comes next. You said you would go to war with the Beastman Alliance, and that to that end you first needed the clue from Yeomhyeongok to complete the Great Flame Heaven Technique."
With Juzaku here, the Great Flame Heaven Technique would be completed. So the question was what came after.
After finishing the technique and declaring war on the Beastman Alliance — what then?
The Emperor seemed to understand. He gave a slight nod and answered.
"A regular state council is scheduled soon. There I intend to make the war with the Beastman Alliance fully official. After that, we will need the cooperation of each martial sect and noble house. Once that is secured, we strengthen our forces and concentrate the troops at Cheonsan."
"How long do you expect that to take?"
"Why do you ask? Do you need to leave?"
"Yes."
Before the real fighting with them began, there was something I had to settle.
I glanced at Baekryeon, then turned my eyes back to the Emperor.
"I have unfinished business. I believe we need to head for Jo."
"Jo, you say? But at present Jo is…"
"I know. Which is why I need Your Majesty's help. Please assist us in entering Jo."
"…I owe you a great many debts. And I will need your strength in the war against the Beastman Alliance… Very well. But understand this in advance: Jo currently has a national isolation decree in effect. Even I cannot guarantee they will let you in."
That was enough for now.
I'd try the legal route first. If that failed, we'd just punch our way through. Still — with Baekryeon among us, and a certificate written in the Emperor's own hand, we ought to be able to get in somehow.
When I finished speaking with the Emperor and came back, Baekryeon — who had overheard the whole exchange — was staring at me in shock.
"Doryeong. Why do you mean to go to Jo? Surely not…"
"…Yeah. That 'surely not.'"
Baekryeon trembled from head to toe. Then, as if she could scarcely believe it, she looked at me and said,
"That man… that man is in Jo?"
"That I don't know. We'll have to track the trail carefully, won't we?"
"What's going on? Don't tell me…"
Seollin had heard enough of Baekryeon's story to frown hard as she looked at me.
"That's right. It's about time we settled this. Let's go find Red Oni. He's already cooperating with the Beastman Alliance — that alone makes him one of the targets we need to deal with."
It had been so long since the possession that the details were hazy, but one thing was certain: the original hero Leon and Baekryeon had encountered Red Oni in a village on Chui Hill in Jo. That, however, had been after the Yeom Kingdom had already fallen — after the Emperor here declared war on the Beastman Alliance, only to be destroyed in turn by the power of the Heavenly Demon.
I had no confidence Red Oni was there right now…
But Baekho would almost certainly be.
"Where we're going is Baekdu — Chui Hill."
The Emperor of Yeom handled things with remarkable speed. Whether it was simply because all he needed to do was write a single letter, I couldn't say — but thanks to him, we were now en route to Jo as a kind of envoy, carrying his words to the king of Jo.
"…"
"Baekryeon, are you okay?"
"Ah… f-forgive me, Seollin. What were you saying?"
"No, it's nothing like that…"
The closer we drew to Jo, the worse Baekryeon's condition became. The fact that her sworn enemy had been so near all this time without her realizing it seemed to have hit her hard; she kept drifting into a daze. Seollin watched her with open worry more than once.
I couldn't keep leaving Baekryeon like that either.
What should I do…
After long deliberation I reached a conclusion, scooped Baekryeon up, and laid her down on the bedding.
"???"
"!"
Baekryeon startled and stared up at me, completely lost. At the same time Seollin jumped and half-covered her face with her hands — though she was still peeking through her fingers, which was very much like her.
"D-Doryeong?"
"I know what you're feeling right now, but get a grip."
"Ah… forgive me."
"This won't do. Baekryeon, you need a little punishment."
"P-punishment…?"
I brushed her bangs aside. Only then did Baekryeon realize what I intended, and her face went scarlet.
"D-Doryeong…?"
"I'll loosen you up good and proper once. Then you can pull yourself together, yeah?"