Winter Travels - 6
First thing the next morning, we headed straight for the Murim Alliance. We made our way to the Inspection Department, found Chu Yeong, and explained the situation.
She listened to our story, pondered for a moment, then gave a nod.
"Right. Well, I suppose using this opportunity to put the Law Enforcement Department in our debt isn't a bad thing. But are you sure you're fine with not seeing it through to the end yourself?"
"Yes. It's no trouble at all."
At Hong Ryeon's crisp answer, Chu Yeong nodded again.
"Then I had best convene a meeting at once. Hong Ryeon, you'll attend as well."
"Huh? Me too?"
"Of course. And Chae Jin—you as well."
"Eek. Why me?"
"We need eyes from the other departments on this, and there'll be a report to give on how the matter was handled."
Chae Jin wasn't Chu Yeong's direct subordinate, but Chu Yeong was a senior figure of the murim and held a high post within the Alliance itself, so while Chae Jin pulled a sour face, she couldn't refuse.
With the two of them off to the meeting, Chu Yeong smiled and turned to me, Hyeon Hwi, Sa Yun, and Chae Ryeon.
"You four needn't attend, so take your time. Feel free to look around the Alliance a while longer, if you like..."
"I'd been wanting to look around Mugakseong anyway, so this works out perfectly. We can just wander about while our sisters are in the meeting, right?"
Chae Ryeon beamed and took my arm.
"Are you coming with us too, Innkeeper?"
"I was thinking it'd be better to come along, since we're here. Today was meant to be a day of rest, but..."
"Ahaha, don't you worry about us!"
"That's right. Just go and enjoy yourselves. The meeting's only for a day, so we can always come back tomorrow."
"Hmm. In that case, I won't refuse."
I decided to accept their kindness. Once Chu Yeong had gone off with the two of them, I looked to Hyeon Hwi.
"And what will you do, Lady Hyeon?"
"Well... I don't have anything in particular to do, so I'll come along."
"Then I'll be your guide!"
Chae Ryeon raised her hand with a grin, and Sa Yun gave her a light round of applause.
"Can we really look forward to it?"
"Of course. Well then—shall we be off?"
We skipped the parts of the Alliance grounds we'd briefly toured yesterday; what Chae Ryeon led us to instead was the market district of Mugakseong.
"If you've come to Mugakseong, you absolutely must see the Armory before you leave."
The Armory, hm. In Celestial Moon, this place sold equipment a full tier better than anywhere else, so anyone looking to buy weapons from shops usually made the trip to Mugakseong to do it.
Of course, once enough time had passed, people either commissioned pieces from master artisans or scoured secret realms for rare arms instead.
"Ooh... this sword is lovely. What do you think?"
Chae Ryeon had picked out a sword. Well balanced and ornately decorated, it was just the sort of blade a swordswoman would put to good use. Sa Yun turned it over this way and that, then smiled.
"I'm fine, really. There's no sword as good as this one—and none as precious to me."
"Wow, now I'm jealous. Who gave it to you?"
"Ehehe... someone very precious to me gave it to me."
Watching Sa Yun hug the sword to her chest in delight, Chae Ryeon turned her eyes toward me and Hyeon Hwi. I simply shrugged; Hyeon Hwi gave only a small shake of her head.
"I see. Well, forget the sword, then—how about this?"
This time Chae Ryeon had chosen a dagger. The sort that could be thrown in a pinch and would prove useful in all manner of ways on the road, it looked to be of quite fine quality.
"I'll buy it for you—as a keepsake."
"Oh, you really don't have to."
"I'd rather you didn't refuse."
Grinning, she paid for the daggers, keeping one of the pair for herself and setting the other atop Sa Yun's hand, then beamed from ear to ear.
"Now then, shall we try somewhere else?"
Smiling brightly, Chae Ryeon carried on with her tour.
As we strolled the market streets, Sa Yun suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"What is it?"
"Um... that."
She was looking at an ornament—jade, it seemed, strung with red tassels. She gazed at it for a long moment, then glanced my way.
"That. Don't you think it would suit you, Innkeeper?"
"Hm. It does look nice, doesn't it?"
When Chae Ryeon chimed in as well, Sa Yun walked over to the stall.
"Excuse me."
"Oh! Welcome, welcome."
A middle-aged woman who appeared to be the shopkeeper greeted them with a smile, and Sa Yun pointed to the ornament.
"Ah, the Dark Red Ornament. Hehe. You have a discerning eye, young heroine."
The woman took the ornament down from the wall and showed it to Sa Yun. I drifted over for a closer look myself—the patterns carved into the jade and the crimson tassels were quite elaborate, clearly the work of a skilled artisan.
"Is this worn on a waist cord?"
"Yes, you hang it right there. This jade is called Cheonsan Jade—they say good fortune in business follows whoever carries it. And the thread is Wangjin Silk, woven with wishes for health and long life..."
What a smooth talker. Sa Yun had seemed smitten at first sight, and by the time the owner finished her pitch, she had apparently made up her mind to buy, for she asked the price.
"How much is it?"
"Just twenty silver liang."
Twenty silver liang. Considering the money Sa Yun had to her name, it was a steep price, yet without a moment's hesitation she fumbled her coin purse out of her clothes and counted twenty silver pieces into the woman's hand. The shopkeeper smiled.
"Shall I wrap it up for you?"
"No need."
Clutching the Dark Red Ornament, she came over to me. Looking up into my face, she held it out with both hands.
"Um... Innkeeper? Will you accept it?"
"Isn't it too expensive?"
"It's fine! I've only ever been on the receiving end with you!"
Even with an allowance from Hong Ryeon and whatever silver she'd earned sparring with Seekers, her funds couldn't have been plentiful—yet here she was, giving away a full twenty silver liang as a gift.
I considered refusing, but Sa Yun's eyes were shining with the hope that I wouldn't. There was no refusing this. So I smiled at her and accepted the Dark Red Ornament.
"Thank you. I shall treasure it."
"Hehe... Okay!"
She looked absolutely delighted that I'd taken it so readily. Only after watching me fasten the ornament to my belt did she seem finally at ease, walking along with a bright smile.
"Lady Chae Ryeon! Let's go somewhere else!"
"Sure thing."
Mugakseong had no shortage of sights to see—even spots I'd merely passed by in Celestial Moon.
We were wandering the busy street, taking in this and that, when Chae Ryeon stopped in her tracks. She too seemed to have found something of interest, staring fixedly at one shopfront, and Sa Yun tilted her head.
"What is it?"
"Huh? Oh—n-nothing."
Startled, Chae Ryeon whipped her head away.
"Come on, let's go."
As she hurried on ahead, I glanced at the shop Chae Ryeon had been studying.
"A Friendship Plaque, hm."
"What's that?"
"A token exchanged between friends."
In Celestial Moon, it was a plaque you received upon registering someone as a friend. It had no special power to speak of—just a single jade plaque split in half, each half engraved with the other person's name.
Sa Yun gazed at the shop for a moment, then turned to me.
"Innkeeper, one moment..."
With that she scurried off toward it. She exchanged a few words with the proprietor and came back holding a small envelope, and I asked with a smile,
"For Lady Chae?"
"...Ehehe..."
Apparently embarrassed, Sa Yun didn't answer—she just flushed red and scratched at her head.
Friends, hm. Friends are a good thing. I smiled at her.
"Still, aren't you spending an awful lot? My gift, the Friendship Plaque... Won't you need money in Cheongho, too?"
"Oh, it's fine!"
Well. By my calculations, it looked very much not fine, but Sa Yun stood tall and proud.
If she truly did run short, I could always quietly slip her some coin through Hong Ryeon or Hyeon Hwi.
With our tour of the streets at an end, we returned to the inn. Hong Ryeon and Chae Jin had yet to come back, it seemed.
"Let's keep the meal simple."
Perhaps because it was a little past the lunch hour, the inn was nearly empty. Settling into a corner of the quiet dining hall, I said with a smile,
"Lunch is on me. Order whatever you like."
"I'll pay!"
Sa Yun cried out, but I shook my head.
"You've just given me a gift—I can't very well keep eating for free. You can treat me next time. Now, order whatever you're hungry for."
"Um... then, noodles, please."
"The same for me."
"I'll have noodles as well."
"Four bowls of noodles, then, plus dumplings and silkie chicken."
Sa Yun seemed to have ordered nothing but noodles with my wallet in mind, but if we were going to eat, we might as well eat properly.
Having added dumplings and a meat dish to the order, I smiled at the flustered girl.
"We'll have something even better for dinner."
"Ugh... I was planning to treat everyone this time..."
"You can get the next one."
"...Okay."
Sa Yun gave a sheepish grin, and I smiled back at her, thinking that right now her head must be spinning, tallying her remaining silver against the cost of her gifts. In that case, it was better to slip her a little quiet help like this.
"By the way, are you planning to take the Murim Alliance's rank examination? Since we're here, why not give it a try?"
"Hm..."
At my words, Chae Ryeon added with a smile,
"It's not as if you lack confidence in your skills, and there's plenty to gain one way or another, so I'd say it's worth a shot?"
She was right. Passing the Alliance's rank examination earned you a reward befitting each grade.
"Ah, I know that much. Gap Grade gets a sword worth fifty silver liang, doesn't it?"
"Fifty liang?!"
"Even Eul Grade is thirty, and... Byeong Grade was ten, wasn't it?"
With Hyeon Hwi piling on after me, Sa Yun's eyes went wide.
Chae Ryeon nodded at her with her trademark foxlike smile.
"I hear those who already own a good sword can take the money in its place. I didn't need one either, so I just took the cash."
Sa Yun ducked her head low. When I caught her murmuring "fifty silver liang" under her breath, I barely held back the laughter threatening to burst out of me.
Then again, knowing Sa Yun's personality, she'd be planning gifts for Hongseong Gate, things for Yohwan and the others, and on top of all that something for her 'Uncle'—so the fuller her purse, the better.
"...When can I take it?"
"Anytime you like. Shall we go try after lunch, then?"
At Hyeon Hwi's words, Sa Yun nodded hard.
Relieved, she broke into a beaming smile and set about slurping down the noodles as they arrived. I stole a glance at Hyeon Hwi; she ate with her usual blank expression, then gave the faintest shake of her head.
I looked away from her to Chae Ryeon, seated beside Sa Yun.
Unlike Hyeon Hwi, the moment her eyes met mine she winked and smiled.
So they'd both noticed how thin Sa Yun's purse had grown and spoken up on purpose, hadn't they?
I smiled at her, and Chae Ryeon smiled back, raising a finger to her lips. A silent plea to keep it between us—and I nodded.