The Incompetent Hero and Mount Heaven (2)
After the intense sex with Baekho, I slipped back to the Tang Clan without anyone noticing. Or so I thought. The moment we returned, Seollin—who should have been busy sorting out the clan’s internal affairs—was right there waiting to greet us.
“What? Weren’t you supposed to be swamped fixing the Tang Clan’s mess?”
“Seollan helped me with that, so it’s fine. More importantly, where did you two go with Lady Baekho?”
Sharp as ever, Seollin had already clocked that Baekho and I had both been missing and fixed her eyes on me.
Hmm…
I couldn’t exactly admit we’d gone off for a round of sex, so I decided to brush it off.
“Nothing special. Baekho just said she wanted to talk about something in private.”
“Talk? Something that needed a private conversation?”
“Yeah. Family matters aren’t the kind of thing you discuss just anywhere, right?”
“Family matters?”
Seollin looked at Baekho. The White Tiger’s cheeks colored faintly as she nodded.
“It concerned Baekryeon.”
“Baekryeon… I see.”
“Y-yes. Well then, I shall take my leave.”
“Take care.”
Baekho fled the scene in a hurry. Seollin watched her go with a long, measuring stare before turning back to me.
“So?”
“So what?”
“You slept with Lady Baekho, didn’t you?”
“…”
How the hell did she know?
I looked at her, a little startled. Seollin regarded me through half-lidded eyes and let out a sigh.
“After I got this body, my senses became ridiculously sharp. Just now, Lady Baekho reeked of you. And you reeked of her. That’s not the kind of scent you pick up from a casual chat.”
“Scent, huh… Guess I’ll have to be more careful about that from now on.”
Well, of course there’d be a scent. I’d finished inside her once and about four times in her ass, and on top of that her juices had soaked me thoroughly every time she came. I hadn’t given it much thought before, but if someone else caught the smell later it could get awkward. Better stay mindful.
“So, you pervert. Not content with Baekryeon and me, now you’re putting your hands on Lady Baekho too? Aren’t you going a little too far?”
“There’s a legitimate reason for it. Of course… I won’t pretend I didn’t enjoy myself.”
And for the record, you only joined in because watching me and Baekryeon got you curious. I didn’t make the first move, you brat.
Seollin stared at me for a long moment, then whipped her head away and pouted.
“Just what kind of amazing reason made you sleep with Lady Baekho?”
“You already know. Her body is loaded with a vicious amount of aphrodisiac poison. There are times she can barely endure it herself. I simply helped her work it out of her system.”
Seollin had been the first to tell me about that poison. She had no grounds to argue, and she knew it. She didn’t press further—just radiated pure dissatisfaction.
“What’s got you so sulky?”
“I’m not sulky.”
“You’re practically dripping with ‘I hate this’ energy.”
Instead of answering, she turned her whole body away from me.
“How are you going to explain this to Baekryeon?”
“Hmm…”
Do I even need to explain?
“I’ll figure out how to tell her later.”
“…You’re heading for Cheonsan next, right?”
“That’s right. You already heard.”
I’d come to Yeom Kingdom for two reasons: to get my hands on the Geogeonhwan, and to take down the Demon King’s fragment Tenma. The Geogeonhwan was already in my system and my constitution was fixed. Next up was Tenma—and that meant going to the place where he waited: Cheonsan.
“No point dragging our feet. Especially since Tenma hasn’t fully revived yet. Timing couldn’t be better.”
“…I don’t think I can go right away.”
“I get it. You’ve still got the Tang Clan to put in order. And now that you’re about to become clan head, you can’t just wander off whenever you feel like it.”
“…”
Seollin looked up at the sky for a moment, then met my eyes again.
“Hey. That promise from before—is it still good?”
“Before?”
“Yeah. When Fukhaedaeseong came after me. You said you’d protect me.”
“Of course it’s still good.”
I gently ruffled her hair.
“As long as you’re within reach of my sword, nothing’s going to happen to you.”
“Mm… Once I get the Tang Clan sorted out, I’ll head for Cheonsan too. See you then.”
“Yeah.”
With Seollin and Seollan seeing us off, we left Sichuan and set out for Cheonsan. As we walked with the Tang Clan at our backs, Baekryeon kept glancing over her shoulder at the receding gates.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well… the time I spent traveling with Seollin was not exactly short. I find myself feeling a touch of regret.”
From the moment we first arrived at the Sichuan Tang Clan until we left, Seollin had been with us. It had been long enough for real attachment to form.
“Her position when we left the clan and her position now are completely different. Can’t be helped.”
“Mm… Losing family is a sorrowful thing. I am simply glad Seollin is steeling herself and trying to overcome it.”
“…”
At Baekryeon’s offhand remark, Baekho’s body gave a small flinch.
Just when is this woman going to tell Baekryeon, “I’m your mother”?
“But is it really all right for us to take our time like this?”
“Is there some reason we need to hurry?”
“Well… not exactly. I just thought that if the Demon King’s fragment hasn’t fully revived, striking first would be the safer move.”
Lucy’s question was reasonable enough that Baekryeon also turned to look at me.
“Come to think of it, it is unusual for Doryeong not to be rushing somewhere.”
“Anyone listening would think I spend every waking moment sprinting from place to place.”
“…Did you not?”
Fair point. The first thing I’d done after meeting Baekryeon was race to save the Prün Kingdom—Leon’s homeland—from the Black Dawn Society’s attack, and she’d nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Then I’d heard about the Geogeonhwan and headed for Yeom Kingdom. Got scammed into the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament, picked up a lead on the Geogeonhwan, and bolted for the Tang Clan. After snagging the superior Taeyanghwan, I’d sprinted toward the Moyong family just to shake Seollin off. Then it was off to Jo to deal with Red Oni, only to run into Baekho and dash all the way to Jo’s capital to save her. After Dan Seolpung’s death and the news that the Tang Clan looked suspicious, I’d rushed back again…
“Hmm…”
I hadn’t always been in a hurry, but the times I had been were… numerous.
“Anyway, I’ve decided we’re taking it easy, so we’re taking it easy.”
“Well… if the Hero says so…”
Lucy shrugged.
The real reason for the leisurely pace was simple. According to the Holy Sword Makina, the only beings who could even match me were a fully revived Demon King, Je-cheon-dae-seong, or Pyung-cheon-dae-seong. Whether I crawled or sprinted, the outcome would be the same. No need to rush. Besides, Baekho still wasn’t in great shape. A little recuperation on the road wouldn’t hurt.
“By the way, Baekho. I’ve been curious about something.”
“? What is it?”
“I’ve already met Hyeonmu and Juzaku. If there are Four Sacred Beasts, there should be a Cheongryong too, right? What’s she up to?”
Juzaku had been sitting at the bottom of Yeomhyeongok, Hyeonmu wandered all over the place, and Baekho had been stuck on Baekdu. Cheongryong’s whereabouts were a complete blank.
Baekho gave a wry smile.
“Cheongryong, is it…? She is probably stretched out on some drifting cloud, sleeping the day away.”
“Sleeping…?”
“Indeed. She is a creature who loves her leisure.”
Loves her leisure, huh… Then I probably won’t have to deal with her.
Our first evening after leaving the Tang Clan. Normally Seollin would have handled dinner, but with her gone, Baekryeon took over for the first time in a while. As always, her cooking was solidly Korean-style.
“Thanks for the meal~”
The moment food hit the table, Lucy beamed and dug in first.
“Honestly. Even if moving around in daylight is fine for me now, this much activity still wears a vampire out, you know.”
“Then don’t follow us.”
“Baekryeon-ssi, please scold the Hero for always being so cold to me.”
“Hahaha…”
Seollin was gone, but Lucy was still here, so the empty seat didn’t feel quite so large. We were eating in good spirits when Lucy suddenly clapped her hands as if she’d just remembered something important.
“Oh, right, Hero. Do you know the current state of the central continent of Filgurea?”
“How would I? I’ve been stuck in Yeom Kingdom and Jo this whole time.”
“Then let me give you the short version. That way you’ll already know what to do after you take care of Tenma.”
“All right, let’s hear it.”
What Lucy described was a complete dumpster fire. Orcs pouring in, the Black Dawn Society expanding out in the open, and the remaining heroes on the central continent failing to do their jobs… Hopeless. Or maybe my presence had spurred the enemy into moving faster.
“Ah, and I heard your former party members showed up at the Holy City looking for you.”
“Those guys?”
“Yes. They want to know your location.”
“…”
Tiris was still in the Prün Kingdom, so it wouldn’t be her. That left Philia, Noren, and Marie. Marie had already sided with Ragna, so it was probably Philia and Noren.
“Did you tell them where I am?”
“No. I just said you were preparing to face the Demon King.”
“Good.”
No reason to tip them off.
“The orc problem is serious, but the Black Dawn Society—being directly tied to the Demon King’s forces—is even worse. Once you’ve finished with Tenma, you’ll probably need to…”
“Got it. Next stop is the Black Dawn Society.”
“Okay~ I’ll pass that along then~”