The Gift - 1
The room was unfamiliar, the bed unfamiliar, yet Chae Ryeon didn't find it the least bit uncomfortable.
After all, a warrior must, above all else, be able to sleep soundly wherever she finds herself.
Which was why, even the morning after drinking herself under the table, she could always rise at her usual hour.
"Mmmngh..."
Hair that had spilled loose in the night hastily tied back, Chae Ryeon staggered up from the bed. Changing into her Moon Lotus Pavilion uniform felt like far too much trouble, so she'd simply thrown on something comfortable, and now she yawned hugely and pushed open the window.
Was it because the late-summer heat had finally begun to break? The morning air was cool, and it put her in a wonderful mood.
In Cheongho, where Moon Lotus Pavilion stood, every morning arrived wrapped in mist off the water, thick with humidity. But this village sat at the foot of Mount Hongseong, a sacred mountain, and its mornings were nothing but crisp and cool.
Thinking of how long it had been since she'd greeted such a refreshing morning, she stretched like a cat twisting itself awake, then shuffled groggily down to the first floor of the inn.
Here and there across the inn's main hall, laborers were eating breakfast.
And in one of the empty seats sat a familiar face.
"Sis."
"...Why are you up so early?"
"Huh? It's my usual wake-up time, isn't it?"
Chae Ryeon walked over naturally and sat down across from her. Chae Jin stared at her fixedly, and Chae Ryeon tilted her head.
"What?"
"No, it's just... the other Moonlight Squad members are over there, so shouldn't you—"
"Hm? Will you be keeping Lady Chae company this morning, then?"
A man emerged just then carrying a few simple dishes. It was Yu Wol, who until moments ago had been going through his Five Animal Frolics. Chae Ryeon's eyes darted between the simple breakfast in his hands and Chae Jin's face — and she shot to her feet.
Unbelievable. To think someone of my caliber would make such a blunder!
"No, I'll be eating with the squad. Say... what is that, anyway?"
"Those are called Seomhwa steamed buns. The Moon Lotus Pavilion guests will be served a different meal—"
"Oh! I'll have that, please."
Having thus ordered the steamed buns, Chae Ryeon made for a corner. A few Moonlight Squad members came down and seated themselves near her with greetings, but she paid them about as much mind as the furniture, her eyes flicking constantly toward Chae Jin.
Yu Wol, waiting on customers, clearing plates, shuttling in and out of the kitchen, looked in naturally on Chae Jin whenever she sat alone.
And each time, Chae Jin would smile warmly at him, strike up a conversation, and burst out laughing over some trivial little thing.
'Good heavens above. What is that expression? If there were a mirror handy, I'd love to hold it up to her face.'
To think the day would come when she'd catch her sister wearing a look like that.
She'd known it already, of course — but the longer she watched, the more entertaining and wondrous the sight became.
And so Chae Ryeon smirked to herself and kept sneaking glances at her sister.
Honestly, if not this, what else was worth watching?
Then, once breakfast was over and Chae Jin's lesson in Chae Family Tai Chi Chuan with Yu Wol had wrapped up, Chae Ryeon led her resting sister outside.
"Ugh. What."
Even after they reached the tea garden in the village, Chae Ryeon said nothing, only stared at her for the longest time, until Chae Jin's brow creased.
At which Chae Ryeon flashed a grin.
"Sis. What happened with that hairpin yesterday?"
"Huh? That? Well..."
"Did you show it to the innkeeper?"
"Huh? Y-yeah. He said it suited me. Hey — thanks for that."
Chae Jin mumbled it, cheeks coloring, and Chae Ryeon smiled, deeply content. The gift had been worth giving.
"Glad it went well. Although... from what I saw earlier, the two of you looked pretty good together..."
"R-really?"
This was Chae Jin?!
Watching her sister light up visibly at a single remark, Chae Ryeon smiled to herself.
Yu Wol didn't appear to be seeing anyone, and aside from her sister there didn't seem to be any other romantic entanglements brewing — so with just a little help from her, things were bound to go smoothly.
Brimming with confidence, Chae Ryeon left the tea garden with Chae Jin and headed back to the inn.
"...Huh?"
In the inn's back yard, she found Yu Wol deep in conversation with Hong Ryeon.
"Oh my? When did you get here?"
"...Didn't you just leave?"
"Heehee. An escort has to get back quickly, no?"
Chae Jin, who had been right beside her a moment ago, closed the distance in an instant, inserted herself into the conversation, and began to smile.
On the surface, she seemed to be cultivating a warm and cheerful atmosphere. But Chae Ryeon, who knew her sister better than anyone, caught it.
The fact that Chae Jin was grinding her teeth behind that smile.
Of course she knew Hong Ryeon was more than a match for Chae Jin. But before and now — the way she carried herself toward her seemed somehow different.
Before, it had been the bearing of a martial artist squaring off against an opponent she had to overcome. Now, it was closer to the way one watches a predator closing in on its own prey.
Granted, it was subtle enough that no one short of someone like her would have noticed — but Chae Ryeon had watched Chae Jin her whole life, and she could read the difference at a glance.
So Chae Ryeon stood there a moment, glancing back and forth between her sister, Hong Ryeon, and Yu Wol, head cocked — until a thought flashed through her mind and a shiver ran down her spine.
Wait. Hold on.
No way.
"...Whoa."
Don't tell me he made both the eldest disciple of Hongseong Sect and the eldest disciple of Moon Lotus Pavilion fall for him?
Chae Ryeon couldn't contain the admiration welling up inside her.
And then—
...This is not going to be easy.
She could feel it in her bones: her sister's campaign on the romantic front would be anything but a cakewalk.
Looks like I'll be staying here a while longer.
The late-summer heat that had seemed like it would never end finally broke, and cool air took its place.
It had been about ten days since Chae Ryeon and the Moonlight Squad had come to stay at my inn. The lingering summer heat had faded, the air grew crisper by the day, and the grain in the fields had begun to ripen gold.
Everyone around me was in high spirits. I, however, couldn't afford to simply rejoice. And no wonder — every ounce of my attention was consumed with keeping watch on the state of the world.
There was a mountain of work to do. But it wasn't as though I could simply not do it.
I sorted through the stack of documents and drained the drink Yo Hwan had brought me. Then I breathed in the scent of the sachet sent from Hongseong Sect to rouse my mind, and turned my eyes back to the papers.
"Master Yu. Have you a moment?"
"Of course."
It was Gi Noya and Wi Yeol. As they entered, I looked up at them with a smile, and they settled into their seats with easy, unhurried expressions.
"We've just come back from patrolling with the soldiers. Bandits have been multiplying of late."
"Is that so?"
"So I led the men out and swept the lot of them up. Heh heh. No need to shower me with praise. I am, after all, a soldier living off the Empire's grain."
"Listen to him. Bags a few lowlifes and suddenly he's a hero."
"Why, you little—!"
I laughed at the pair of them squabbling yet again. They played the part of ordinary diners lingering over meals at my inn, but they were Cheon Il-hwa's men all the same — officers of the imperial military.
Perhaps that was why, together with the Magistrate, they'd been lending their strength to patrols and rounding up bandits in the area.
"Thank you. Truly."
"Ahem. I wasn't fishing for gratitude. More to the point — might I impose on Yo Hwan for a special meal today?"
He asked it offhandedly, toying with the papers in his hands. I nodded. He'd seemed quite taken with the medicinal cuisine and medicinal liquor. If that was all he desired, he could have it as often as he pleased.
For retaining masters the caliber of Gi Noya and Wi Yeol, that much was a bargain.
"Heh heh. Then we won't keep you."
After they left, I returned my focus to the documents. I was working through calculations — this year's projected harvest, what we'd need to set aside to see the village through the winter — when came a knock at the door.
"Come in."
"You look buried. Have this while you work."
Was that why Yo Hwan's green juice had been appearing more often these days? I smiled at Chae Jin, who had carried it up for me.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. Say... how long will you be this busy?"
"Well... if we can get through what's coming without incident, I imagine things will quiet down for a while."
Once Part One concluded, there would be a winter event doubling as a New Year celebration, and right up until Part Two began, nothing that could truly be called a threat.
Of course, that was the storyline of Cheonsang Myeongwol — and with the destruction of Hongseong Sect already averted, events had long since veered off script. There was no telling how things would unfold now. But surely there was no harm in choosing to think positively.
At my words, she looked up at me — then slowly raised a hand.
"What is it?"
"Aren't you pushing yourself too hard lately?"
Her hand had come to rest against my forehead. A soft hand, cool to the touch. Meeting the worry pooled in her black eyes, I smiled.
"I'm quite all right. I've been brewing tonics with the herbs Hongseong Sect sent, and I do feel somewhat restored."
"Does that stuff actually work?"
"As it happens, the Cheonghoe Merchant Guild contacted me not long ago. Apparently it's selling so briskly in Gaebong that people there say you can't get your hands on it at any price. You think medicine like that doesn't work?"
And to think of who had grown those herbs. That alone was enough to fill me with vigor.
"Still. If anything ever gets to be too much, you tell me. Anytime."
"I'm always grateful to you. If it truly wears on me, I'll lean on you — so don't you worry."
I flashed a grin, and only then did Chae Jin take her leave, smiling in satisfaction.
I returned to my seat.
Enemy or no enemy, harvest season was bearing down on us, and the work stood piled like a mountain.
I was still buried in the documents when—
Tap, tap.
A sound at the window.
I leaned over to look, and there were two familiar faces.
A beauty whose red hair suited her perfectly, and a girl with familiar ash-grey locks.
Hong Ryeon and Sa Yun.
I smiled at the pair waving at me and headed downstairs.
"So it's you two on patrol today. It's been a while, Sa Yun."
"Yes! It really has! We haven't seen each other since last time, have we?"
Apparently there had been another of the Sword Saint's special lessons. A shame — but what could anyone do?
Still, she seemed to grow stronger by the day, and that put my mind at ease.
"They say there have been a lot of bandits lately, so... Um... Innkeeper? Are you free tomorrow?"
I smiled and nodded at Sa Yun's question.
Spare time — did anyone ever truly have it to spare?
The work could wait a day or two without the world ending.
And if it really came to it, I could always put in a late night.
"That's wonderful!!"
Hong Ryeon beamed and held out a sheet of paper. I took it, puzzled.
"What's this?"
"The renovations on the Hongseong Sect buildings are finally finished. So we wanted to invite you, Innkeeper — at the very least, to share a meal with us..."
"An invitation?"
"Please don't turn us down. We prepared so much just for you, Innkeeper. Don't think of it as a burden — just come as though you're dropping by for a visit!"
I smiled at the two women, their faces bright with expectation.
Ah. A trip to Hongseong Sect — how could I possibly refuse?
It would be rest enough for me.