The Celebration (2)
“What exactly is the reason behind such words?”
It was a statement I hadn’t even faintly anticipated. Shouldn’t this sort of situation normally involve slowly building up talk of duty and justification before subtly tearing someone down? It was the kind of thing that would happen eventually, but this wasn’t it. For now, I kept my composure. When I asked so directly and boldly for the reason, the man called Ilhwi answered with overwhelming confidence.
“Because the situation is one that cannot help but invite suspicion.”
What could possibly be so suspicious? The flow of conversation was beyond what an ordinary person’s thinking could follow. Of course, I didn’t consider myself normal either, but even for me this was quite difficult to keep up with.
“Do you perhaps represent a specific sect or clan?”
“No?”
Why was he suddenly bringing that up? The headache-inducing nonsense was starting to feel genuinely unpleasant. In the Heavenly Demon Cult, everything ended if you smashed it with power, but this political scheming was truly difficult. Suppressing my irritation, I answered him. As if he had expected it, the man—whatever his name was—gave a triumphant smile and spoke.
“You may or may not know, but most of the people here represent a sect or a prestigious family.”
At those words, I quietly pointed to a few people sitting beside me. They were wanderers who seemed to have some connection with the Namgung Clan. Yet he ignored them as if he hadn’t seen them and continued.
“But you are an individual. Moreover, you are young and without any background.”
“Though no one has said it aloud, everyone here is suspicious of you.”
The man raised his voice to its fullest and spread both arms wide. They say the ignorant are needlessly brave—now everyone’s attention was focused this way. I didn’t understand where he drew his confidence from, but he began shouting in an even louder voice.
“I have been watching you. Just now, you secretly received something, read it, and hurriedly hid it!”
“Though I may be insignificant, I will speak on behalf of the righteous path. Could it be that you came here through some filthy scheme—yes, through collusion with the heretical path?”
“...Hey. Is your intelligence also third-class?”
I had tried to maintain polite speech, but I simply couldn’t anymore. The logic was absurd. There were so many holes in his words that even I could see them; I seriously began worrying where to even start my rebuttal.
“Shall we point out one thing first?”
A few words should be fine. “Just now, you insulted the honor of the Namgung Clan right to their faces.”
“What do you mean by that?”
His tone dripped with genuine confusion. I began kindly explaining to this child whose head was clearly slower than mine.
“While there may be people here who do not belong to any sect or clan, there is no one who did not receive an invitation from the Namgung Clan Head.”
“I too received an invitation bearing the Namgung Clan Head’s personal seal, and I attended today’s gathering, deeply moved by the honor.”
“You just said you suspect me of being part of the heretical path. In other words, you have essentially declared that not only I, but also the Namgung Clan and the Clan Head who invited me, have eyes no better than knotholes. Can you handle even that much?”
Whether his face was naturally dull or whether he was so stunned that he couldn’t understand, he just stammered incoherently. I couldn’t tell which.
“Also, you said you saw me receive a letter? Since you have such good eyes, you must know—the person who just delivered the letter to me was a member of the Changgung Sword Squad. You wouldn’t claim ignorance about them after coming to the Namgung Clan, would you? You have insulted not only the Namgung Clan’s honor but their sword as well.”
Can you handle that? I deliberately raised my voice so everyone present could hear.
“Furthermore, you claimed to represent the righteous path here. Yet after making such a careless statement, you have dragged the entire Namgung Clan through the mud. That is no different from tarnishing the righteous path of not only the Nine Great Sects—such as Mount Hua, Zhongnan, Moyong, and the Tang Clan—but also the Five Great Clans gathered here.”
“Now then, who is the real lackey of the heretical path? Is it me—an individual with no power who has nevertheless protected the name of the righteous path? Or is it you, who tried to incite division within the righteous faction through the filthy schemes you mentioned earlier?”
The man’s face had turned beet red. He couldn’t say a word and just kept stammering.
“Hey. And let me say one more thing.”
“Is this your house? I’m not the Heavenly Demon or anything—why do you care who the Namgung Clan invites? Is that invitation letter you mentioned higher than the Namgung Clan itself?”
At this point, I had already said everything I needed to say, and the man no longer uttered a single word. My insides felt a little better, but the uncomfortable part was that people around me had begun whispering about me. I had deliberately chosen a corner seat, yet they were making it annoying.
“Th-this person who doesn’t even know basic etiquette…!! To humiliate a senior as lofty as the heavens!”
“If you knew etiquette, you wouldn’t have picked a fight with me.”
Who was lecturing whom? Really. I turned my back and stood up. I didn’t want to deal with him anymore, and since I had already eaten, I decided to simply leave my seat and kill time in a quiet corner.
“I shall personally teach etiquette to one as ignorant as you! Draw your sword!”
This bastard. He really was like an onion—peel after peel, there was no end. I was starting to suspect whether he was truly a demonic practitioner or not. Surprisingly, there was no trace of him having learned any demonic arts. So even the righteous path had people this simple-minded who tried to settle everything with brute force. This was pure admiration. How could someone who had just swallowed every kind of disgrace turn around and challenge me again? Did he not realize that bullying a child would tarnish his own sect?
By now, even the head table was watching this place. Not only Namgung Seha, but also the Clan Head and the ones who appeared to be the first and third children. I watched their reactions carefully. Almost simultaneously, the three of them nodded. One was Namgung Seha. Another was the eldest son beside her, Namgung Jinhak. The last was Namgung Hyeok himself.
There was no need to read the room any further. I bowed respectfully to them and spoke.
“I apologize for causing a disturbance at this precious gathering you have prepared. May I borrow the training grounds for a moment?”
“...I do not wish for blades to clash on a day like today, but neither do I wish for this grudge to fester.”
Clan Head. Thank you. There was a time when I had thought that.
“However, you may not use the training grounds. It is reserved for the warriors of our main house, so we cannot easily lend it to outsiders.”
“Instead, there is space in front of our main gate. Resolve it there and return. Originally we do not permit drawing swords before the main gate, but such exceptional cases have occurred several times due to situations like this, so do not worry about it.”
A duel in front of the main gate. At first glance, it seemed like an exceptional allowance. And in reality, it was. But there was a problem. Everyone would be able to see. If I went toward the wall from here and simply lifted my head, they could watch. The situation had already escalated, and I could tell that even those from the Nine Great Sects were secretly curious about how this would end. I had originally planned to beat him in the training grounds, but now I would have to adjust. I couldn’t decide.
Don’t hold back. That’s what our daughter asked me to tell you.
A middle-aged man’s voice rang inside my head. It was a transmission. From the content, it seemed Namgung Hyeok was relaying Seha’s words, and he had noticed it like a ghost and delivered the message. Without anyone saying anything further, I prepared to head to the main gate.
I tried to draw my sword to remove the cumbersome scabbard, but my waist felt empty. Had I left it in the room? There was no choice. I would have to cause a small stir as well. I raised my hand above my head and shouted.
“As you all have just heard, I intend to have a brief duel. Unfortunately, I do not have a sword with me at the moment. I humbly ask to borrow one, even if it is discourteous.”
“Even someone as young as I knows how difficult it is to entrust one’s sword to an unfamiliar martial artist. Nevertheless, I dare to make this request.”
“How amusing.”
Along with those words from one corner, a sword flew toward me. Even though I caught the hilt, its weight was almost imperceptible. It felt similar to Mukrin, the sword I had used in my previous life. To me, it was the finest blade. I turned toward the direction the sword had come from, offered a fist salute, and expressed my gratitude. Then I turned my body toward Ilhwi—or whatever his name was—and said,
“Hey. Let’s go.”
When we took our stances in front of the main gate, his posture showed that he had at least learned the basics of being a martial artist. But that was all. There were no traces of effort or hard work. I wondered why his sect had sent someone with such poor senses and mediocre skill.
“I’ll yield the first move.”
He suddenly pretended to be magnanimous. After all the crazy things he had done until now. Still, there was no reason to refuse.
“Then, here I come.”
As always, I swung my sword lightly once. The man blocked it with a triumphant expression. As if he had something to be proud of, he shouted loudly.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
“Is that all?”
Of course, my sword did not stop. I gracefully disrupted his blocking blade and moved again. Slowly, I began to press him. It wasn’t difficult at all. He wasn’t as troublesome an opponent as Namgung Seha had been during our previous duel, and since the sword was much lighter than before, executing my sword arts was easier. He desperately tried to block, but once caught in the flow, it was impossible for his sword to stop mine. With every one or two swings, his clothes were cut and stained red.
“Want to continue?”
I asked out of goodwill. My sword was starting to move so fast that it was getting hard to control.
“Nonsense! It’s not over yet!”
Anyone could see it was over. Unable to accept that he was being pushed back, the man grew excited and swung his sword even more fiercely. If I let this continue, I might actually kill him, so I moved to finish it quickly.
“It’s over now.”
Instead of his body, I targeted his sword. Once, twice, several times—I swung until a cracking sound came from his blade.
“Do you admit defeat?”
With a final heavy strike, his sword shattered into pieces and scattered across the ground. The man’s hand trembled as if he couldn’t believe it. I gave him the same triumphant smile he had worn earlier and said,
“You know what? My sword was cruel, but at least it aimed upward. Yours stabs not only upward but downward as well. Don’t you think that’s pathetic?”
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to hear his answer. But the duel was already over, so I flicked the blood from the blade and walked back through the main gate.