Sometime Soon - 3
Strike while the iron is hot, as they say—so I had a messenger deliver an invitation to Hongseong Sect that very day.
My justification was airtight, too. They had come to my aid during the last sparring tournament. The Sword Saint could insist she'd hardly lifted a finger herself, but from where I stood, help was help. Framed as a token of gratitude, surely even she would not refuse.
With the invitation on its way, I stepped outside.
"Where are you off to?"
"I thought I'd go check on the farmland for a bit. Care to join me?"
Chae Jin, who had been chatting with Yohwan in the backyard, came over smiling at that and nodded at my words.
"I will."
"Mm. Yohwan—we'll be off, then."
I returned the wave she gave us, and the two of us set out.
"Lady Chae."
"Yes?"
"Do you still want to fight Hong Ryeon?"
It was a worry I couldn't leave unspoken—not when the air between those two turned distinctly sharp whenever they crossed paths.
At my concerned question, Chae Jin merely shrugged.
"I can't say I don't. Not that I have any intention of crossing blades with her."
"Is that so? That's a relief."
"And whose request was that, hmm?"
With a mischievous, supremely confident grin, she sidled a step closer to me.
We returned from the farmland, and I was back at my work when a servant came in—the same one I'd dispatched to Hongseong Sect earlier. In his hands was a single letter. I took it and unrolled it: a reply, penned by the Sword Saint herself.
"Hmm..."
The words were layered thick with polite humility, but the gist was plain enough—she was coming. Just as Hong Ryeon had predicted, it seemed the invitation went down easier for not being for the Sword Saint alone. Impressive, truly. No wonder she was the disciple who had stood at the Sword Saint's side the longest.
Better still, the disciples accompanying her this time were Hong Ryeon and Sa Yun. All the better—one more chance to feed them medicinal cuisine was one more chance earned. I nodded, rose from my seat, and headed downstairs.
"Yohwan! Yohwan!"
"What's got you hollering like that?"
Yohwan, seated in the backyard trimming scallions with the waitresses, tilted her head in puzzlement. I explained the situation, and she crossed her arms, deliberated gravely for a long moment, then nodded.
"Mm. Understood. I'll handle the banquet preparations myself. Though medicinal cuisine calls for ingredients. Mind if I use some?"
At Yohwan's declaration that she would cook medicinal cuisine properly this time, the waitresses visibly tensed. Small wonder—they still remembered exactly how mercilessly she had driven them the last time around.
But this was no ordinary guest. This was a banquet for the Sword Saint, and everything had to be prepared to the utmost.
"Of course."
"Mm. Wang-il! Go fetch the maehwan root and the cheonilgak, and..."
"Yes, yes, right away!!"
Determined to stage a proper banquet, Yohwan sprang into motion even though hours remained. Well then—time for me to see to my own work.
"Why is everyone rushing about?"
On my way up to attend to business, I ran straight into Chae Jin. Baffled by the sudden bustle of Yohwan and the waitresses, she listened to my explanation and smiled.
"So the Sword Saint is coming... Hmm. Will the three of them be dining together?"
"I imagine so."
"And you, Innkeeper?"
"Well. I'll sit in for a little while, at least."
"Then you can eat with me. How about it—dinner together later?"
"Gladly."
Evening came. The Sword Saint was to arrive with Hong Ryeon and Sa Yun around the time the dinner rush began to thin—after the busiest hours, in other words. Hearing that they were deliberately coming late out of consideration for me and Yohwan, Yohwan clicked her tongue.
"Never took someone of the Sword Saint's stature for the considerate type."
"Same here. Anyway, is everything ready? It's just about time..."
I surveyed the inn. Unlike the peak of the dinner rush, only a few tables had guests, and those were merely nursing their drinks. The stage was set for Yohwan to devote herself to the cooking at full power.
"Hello there~!"
A bright, energetic voice. Yohwan and I turned, and there they stood: a woman with long indigo hair, dressed not in the Sect Leader's regalia but in her trademark worn Hongseong training garb; a red-haired woman who had long since become as familiar to me as anyone could be; and a girl with ash-grey hair.
The one greeting me was none other than Sa Yun. I waved back at her—she had grown so much brighter lately—then offered a fist-and-palm salute to the Sword Saint, who studied me with that unreadable expression of hers.
"Thank you for accepting my invitation."
"And thank you for extending it."
"Please, come inside."
I shot Hong Ryeon a subtle glance, and she quietly slipped to the rear. Once the Sword Saint and Sa Yun had gone inside, I turned to Hong Ryeon.
"Thank you for talking the Sword Saint into coming."
"Ahaha... I'm not sure 'talking her into it' is quite the phrase."
"Hm?"
Hadn't it been thanks to Hong Ryeon and Sa Yun's persuading that the Sword Saint—practically a shut-in—had come out at all?
"I just asked if she'd like to come, and after a moment's thought, Master said she would. There was no persuading involved."
If that was all it took, she could have shown up the last time I invited her. Hong Ryeon flashed a sly smile and lightly caught the hem of my sleeve.
"Anyway, why don't you eat with us? Don't you have plenty you'd like to ask Master? Why else would you have invited her separately like this?"
"True enough, but I'd rather not intrude on a master and her disciples' cozy evening. I'll eat out here tonight—you all enjoy."
"Aw, come on. Don't be like that."
"The Innkeeper has a prior engagement with me tonight."
It was Chae Jin who appeared just then. She delivered the line with a beaming smile, and Hong Ryeon beamed right back.
"Oh my. Did he, now?"
"Yep. So, Hong Ryeon—why not enjoy that cozy master-disciple time, just like the Innkeeper says?"
"Hmmm..."
Smiling until the corners of her eyes crinkled, Hong Ryeon nodded. Then she gave my sleeve a light tug and winked.
"Next time, you're eating with me, right?"
"It's a promise. There are things we need to discuss anyway."
If only for the sake of the final battle of Part One looming ahead, Hong Ryeon and I needed to coordinate. I'd been planning to suggest a meal together for exactly that reason, so this saved me the trouble.
Only after hearing my answer did Hong Ryeon release my sleeve and head inside, while Chae Jin watched her go with the faintest crease between her brows.
"Well then. Shall we eat?"
"Let's."
Chae Jin and I ate, trading idle chatter about this and that. She offered to share a drink, but I had work waiting and declined; she pouted. Nothing to be done about it. In the end, Chae Jin drank alone, and when she began to sway on her feet, I steadied her and walked her to her room.
Apparently, a master bearing the epithet Moonlight Blade being felled by drink was a source of no small embarrassment. Chae Jin's fair skin had flushed a deep red. Pointing it out would only bruise a master's pride, so I simply laid her on the bed, tucked the blanket over her, and slipped out.
The banquet sounded like it was still in full swing... I'd best wait a while longer. Taking my pipe, I made for the backyard.
The medicinal herbs spread across the yard, and tucked in the corner, the little dragonflies Sa Yun had crafted. Burning tobacco while gazing absently at all these things connected to Hongseong Sect calmed my heart and let my thoughts fall into order.
"What are you doing out here?"
I nearly jumped out of my skin. They say true masters move like smoke—you can't sense so much as a breath of their approach.
The Sword Saint had appeared at my side before I knew it, her question drifting up as she gazed at the night sky. When I hurriedly moved to stub out my tobacco, she shook her head.
"It's quite all right."
"Still—"
"Truly, it's fine. The scent is a familiar one to me."
"Hm?"
Someone around the Sword Saint who smoked? To my knowledge, no such person existed in Hongseong Sect.
She offered an awkward smile under my stare.
"My late master used to smoke it."
"Ah. I see."
Her late master... Had I just gone and stirred old grief?
A heavy stillness settled over the backyard.
"May I sit with you a while?"
"Of course."
There was plenty of room on the long bench. The Sword Saint took the far end, across from me. Her lips parted and closed as if searching for the right words; she hesitated, glanced at me, then back up at the sky—and only after this strange little pantomime did she finally speak.
"...Thank you."
"For what, may I ask?"
"For everything you do for Hongseong Sect."
"All of that serves my own interests too, you know."
"And yet it remains true that Hongseong Sect is the one receiving the help."
"...Well, yes, but."
That was, in fact, the whole purpose. The Sword Saint bowed her head with a rueful smile.
"Truth be told, all of those duties should have fallen to me as Sect Leader."
She wasn't wrong. Running the sect was, after all, the Sect Leader's responsibility. It was only because she was so hopelessly bad at it that Hong Ryeon and Ryu Hyeon had taken the work upon themselves.
"I heard as much from Hong Ryeon and Lady Ryu—that you did try to handle it yourself."
It was simply that the results had been disastrous, and the work passed to those two. The mention seemed to embarrass her considerably; the Sword Saint subtly averted her eyes and turned her gaze to the sky.
"What can I say? Each of us is given our own talents. When I attempt work that lies beyond mine, mistakes multiply, and the pile only grows. Before my disciples, I can scarcely hold my head up."
"And yet your disciples respect and follow you devotedly, do they not?"
Otherwise, none of them would have so willingly shouldered that arduous duty of upholding the spirit of Hongseong.
At my words, the Sword Saint huffed out a breath, her face positively glowing with pride.
"Mm. Truly miraculous disciples, for a master as hopelessly lacking as I am."
"Haha. Indeed they are."
The conversation lapsed. With nothing pressing to say, I drew slowly on my pipe, and the Sword Saint, for her part, simply watched the sky. How long did that silence hold?
It was the Sword Saint's voice that broke it.
"I hear you've raised a guard post in Seomhwa Village, brought in a talisman master, and engaged a chef to prepare medicinal cuisine."
"I think there may be some misunderstanding. I didn't build the guard post, nor did I hire the talisman master."
"And yet the ground the guard post stands upon is your land, and I'm told it was you who brought the talisman master here."
"Haha. Well, when you put it that way, I suppose it must be."
"Do you intend to develop Seomhwa Village?"
She had seen straight through me. For now it was only the guard post, the talismans, and the medicinal cuisine—but in time, I meant to keep building Seomhwa Village into a true stronghold.
"It's where I live, after all. The stronger this place grows, the stronger we become."
"We..."
"Hongseong Sect, and me."
Perhaps my answer pleased her, for the Sword Saint let out a low laugh. And yet, somehow, that laughter seemed laced with sorrow and longing.
"Do you know? You remind me so terribly of someone I once knew."
"...?"
"That person was the same. Wanted to make Hongseong Sect strong. Was always searching for the means... and insisted that Seomhwa Village had to flourish for it."
"Sounds like a remarkable person. Who were they?"
For an instant, the light in the Sword Saint's eyes dimmed.
"My master. Master wished for my senior sister and me to make Hongseong Sect strong together... and..."
Before I could recover from my start at the deep bitterness pooled in those eyes, the Sword Saint smiled brightly and rose from her seat.
"The meal was truly superb. I will repay this debt, I promise you."
"I hardly extended the invitation expecting payment. These are uneasy times. Think of it as a bribe of sorts—offered in the hope that Hongseong Sect will step forward, should the worst come to pass..."
"Hahaha! And what manner of man confesses his bribery so boldly?"
The Sword Saint threw her head back and laughed.
"And yet... should you ever find yourself fighting to protect something, and you have need of me, then my strength—meager though it may be—shall be added to yours. Only say the word."
With that calm declaration, the Sword Saint ambled back inside, and I clenched my fist.
She had promised: even if calamity came, the Sword Saint herself would take the field.
With that, who needed an army of ten thousand?