A Family Reunion
I stared blankly at Cheon Hye-in.
Had I misheard her? I tapped my ear a few times before asking again.
"Who... who did you say is coming?"
"I told you. The Alliance's chief strategist is coming."
"..."
It seemed my ears hadn't deceived me. I swallowed hard at her next words.
...The head of the Jegal Clan... No, Lord Jegal is coming?
Jegal Jin, the Thousand-Li True Eye.
He was the current head of the Jegal Clan, the chief strategist of the Murim Alliance, and a war hero—or rather, a god of war.
He was an old man hailed as the greatest figure in the history of the Jegal Clan, having achieved feats in the Great War between Orthodox and Demonic Sects that eclipsed even those of Yoo Chun-gil.
And also...
...My maternal grandfather.
From what I had heard, he was my grandfather on my mother's side.
It was a fact I had only recently learned, but surprisingly, it was true.
[Oh? That rascal Jin is coming?]
Yoo Chun-gil looked delighted at the news of Jegal Jin's arrival. Unlike my anxious self, his face was bright with excitement.
[He certainly has a long life. I thought he'd kick the bucket at any moment, yet he managed to outlive me. You truly never know how the world will turn out. Isn't that right? Hahaha!]
"..."
His boisterous laughter didn't even register. My tangled thoughts were already giving me a headache.
Why is the chief strategist showing up to give an explanation during the preliminaries?
First, the Alliance Leader himself showed up on the opening day of the banquet.
And now, the chief strategist was appearing just to explain the rules of the preliminaries, not even the main tournament.
As far as I knew, these were events that practically never happened.
Don't tell me...
A terrible thought crossed my mind.
Did he arrange this whole thing just to see me?
Surely not, right?
I prayed that wasn't the case.
Ever since I found out Jegal Jin was my grandfather, one question had lingered.
...Does he even know I exist in the first place?
Did he even know of my existence? That was the mystery.
...He must. He definitely does.
I was certain he knew. This was the Jegal Clan, after all. Furthermore...
If even the Dang Clan knows, how could the Jegal Clan not?
There was absolutely no way they were unaware of what even the Dang Clan and the Poison King knew.
Though perhaps not on the level of the Beggar Alliance or the Hao Sect, I had heard plenty about the reputation and prowess of the Jegal Clan's intelligence network.
Honestly, it's more surprising that my father kept his mouth shut and didn't try to exploit this.
There was no way my father didn't know. For a man so dedicated to his schemes, it was a miracle he hadn't tried to leverage this connection.
Or maybe he knew better than to stretch his legs where he couldn't lie down.
He probably knew that opening his mouth to the Jegal Clan would cost him his life.
He must have realized they were a force he couldn't afford to touch.
However...
...Then, was the recommendation letter for the Murim Alliance from them?
Thinking back to the recommendation letter that got me into the Alliance, the gears finally clicked into place.
One day, my father had suddenly shoved a recommendation letter into my hands and told me to join the Alliance.
At the time, I had wondered how on earth he had managed to get his hands on it.
If the Jegal Clan pulled some strings, it makes perfect sense.
If he had begged the Jegal Clan for it, it was entirely possible.
In fact, there was no other explanation.
This confirms it.
It was a certainty. If I had entered the Alliance through the Jegal Clan's recommendation, then without a doubt...
In that case...
Jegal Jin knows I exist.
The old man who was my grandfather definitely knew of my existence.
Realizing this made my stomach churn.
Ah, is this going to be okay?
Meeting my grandfather. It wasn't just simple nervousness.
The problem is that it's highly unlikely to be a peaceful encounter.
I didn't really care about meeting him.
My family was already a complete mess, so what was so surprising about my grandfather being from the Jegal Clan—
Well, actually, that is pretty surprising.
But putting that aside... the real issue was whether this would drag me into some annoying situation.
It's not like he's going to treat me like a beloved grandson.
A scoundrel who seduced his daughter and ran off.
And the grandson who resembled that very scoundrel.
It wouldn't be strange at all if our relationship was filled with one-sided hostility and contempt.
...Tsk.
This isn't good.
No matter how I look at it, it feels like he's coming here specifically for me.
Or am I overthinking it?
I hoped I was.
No, I'm definitely right.
Even if I thought about it a hundred times, he was coming for me.
"...Young Master Bang? Are you alright?"
"Huh? Ah, yes. I'm fine. Perfectly fine."
"Your face is pale. Are you feeling unwell?"
"No. I've never felt better."
I lightly wiped away a bead of sweat.
As I tried to compose myself and hold back a sigh, Cheon Hye-in narrowed her eyes. She clearly didn't believe me.
I was about to say something else to convince her when—
"Young heroes! It is time to prepare!"
A voice echoed from the entrance. A member of the Alliance staff was calling for everyone to get ready.
At those words, the crowd began to move.
People who would normally move in a disorganized clutter quickly fell into order.
It was no wonder. The Thousand-Li True Eye himself.
The fact that the second-in-command of the Alliance was appearing in person had a powerful effect.
We blended into the crowd as they began to stream out.
I walked alongside the group, trying to calm my racing heart.
Nothing bad will happen.
I could only hope.
We entered the main headquarters. Having been here before, it felt relatively familiar.
The only difference was that we weren't heading to the arena where the preliminaries had taken place, but to a spacious banquet hall.
It was the same place we had gathered on the first day.
The reason it felt so much larger now was probably due to the absence of those who had been eliminated during the preliminaries.
Nearly seventy percent of the participants had been cut, so it was only natural for the hall to feel empty.
However, my seating arrangement hadn't changed much.
This, too, was expected. None of the Seven Great Talents had been eliminated, and my table was the one reserved for them.
"I'm dying of sleepiness."
"Brother Paeng, it seems you didn't sleep well."
"No, I slept for over ten hours. I'm sleepy precisely because I slept too much! Hahaha!"
"Aha! Of course!"
As usual, the only ones making noise were the Black Broadsword and the Thunder Dragon.
Leaving the chatterboxes to their endless banter, I looked toward the stage with tired eyes.
Sigh.
[Are you nervous?]
Yoo Chun-gil asked.
Without looking at him, I gave a slight nod.
[You worry about the strangest things. Do you really think that rascal Jin would kill you?]
I frowned at his words.
Can I really be sure he won't?
Especially with the situation regarding the Trustworthy Spear, and how these old fogeys were entangled in so many schemes.
Of course, if he wanted to kill me, he would have done it long ago, so that's probably not it.
But just the thought of facing him was exhausting.
Ah, I really shouldn't have come.
If I had known I'd have to deal with this, I would have skipped the Yongbong Association entirely.
I should have found a way to wiggle out of it, no matter what. I deeply regretted not doing so.
"Whew."
I let out a soft sigh. The water in front of me had long since been drained.
I opened my closed eyes and glanced forward.
Just then, my eyes met someone else's.
Hmm?
It was the Sword Phoenix sitting across from me. She was staring at me intently.
I thought it was just a passing glance, but she didn't look away. She was definitely staring on purpose.
"..."
"..."
After a long, silent staring contest...
"Do you have something to say to me?"
Unable to bear the silence, I finally asked.
"..."
At my question, the Sword Phoenix remained silent for a moment before shaking her head.
Then, she simply leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
What was that about?
Seriously, what is her deal?
She was another headache. Why did she keep acting so strangely around me?
I thought she held a grudge against me, but that doesn't seem to be it either.
Since our first meeting had been so rocky, I assumed there was some issue, but apparently not.
So what was she playing at?
What were her intentions?
Anyway, all of these Seven Great Talents are weird.
Every single one of them was bizarre.
Maybe it was because they were too talented in martial arts, but it felt like they were all missing a screw.
"Are they not going to feed us this time? I'm starting to get hungry."
"Indeed. It's rather stingy of them not to offer any food."
I sat there listening to the nonsense of the Black Broadsword and the Thunder Dragon for a while longer.
*Click.*
A faint sound echoed. The moment it registered, the noisy banquet hall fell dead silent.
...Like bloody ghosts.
Their senses were so sharp that they reacted instantly to the slightest noise.
Despite acting like fools sometimes, their reaction speed proved they were indeed the future of the Central Plains.
*Step.*
Footsteps approached.
Every eye in the room turned toward the source.
And a moment later...
"The Chief Strategist is entering."
At the announcement, everyone who had been seated stood up in unison.
The young martial artists rose as one, and the owner of the footsteps finally revealed himself.
It was an old man dressed in black silk, draped in a robe that marked him as a high-ranking official of the Alliance.
He stood just under seven feet tall.
Average for a martial artist, but tall for an ordinary man.
He possessed sharp facial features and carried himself with impeccable, rigid posture.
His beard was neatly trimmed, his hair tied up beneath an official cap.
As he walked, his gaze swept over the crowd.
*Flinch.*
It was just like when the Trustworthy Spear had appeared. The young martial artists shivered under the old man's gaze.
I felt my own shoulders tense up under that piercing stare.
He was the second-in-command of the Murim Alliance.
The Thousand-Li True Eye, Jegal Jin.
But there was one strange thing.
...I heard he doesn't have any inner qi?
Jegal Jin was not a martial artist. Or rather, he was one, but he was said to be nowhere near the level of a master.
Yet, what is this overwhelming presence?
His eyes were terrifyingly sharp.
Just looking at him made it clear how a man who wasn't a top-tier master had come to be hailed as a hero of the Great War.
His frame was thin, looking as though it might snap at a light touch.
Yet every instinct screamed that this old man was not to be trifled with.
And that old man was...
...My maternal grandfather.
The family of the mother whose face I had never even seen.
A truth I had only uncovered this year.
Jegal Jin walked calmly to the stage and took his place.
I watched him with trembling eyes, when—
Huh?
Suddenly, the figure standing beside him caught my attention.
Wait...
It was a familiar face.
Of course it was. I had met her just yesterday, and she was the very person who had told me to meet her today.
...Sister?
The eldest daughter of the Bang family, Bang Seo-jin.
My older sister was standing right next to Jegal Jin.
What the hell? Why is she standing there?
With an expressionless face, Bang Seo-jin stood beside Jegal Jin.
Her hand rested on the hilt of the sword at her waist as she looked down at me.
A moment after our eyes met...
She smirked.
Bang Seo-jin gave me a knowing grin.
"Ha."
I let out a dry laugh.
What on earth was she doing?
As I stared at her in utter disbelief...
[Boy.]
Yoo Chun-gil spoke to me.
[I do not think now is the time to be having a staring contest with your sister. Look to her side.]
Following his advice, I shifted my gaze.
"...!"
My entire body froze.
Jegal Jin.
My grandfather was glaring at me. His eyes were chillingly cold.
[Did I not tell you? The fellow looks just like dried tree bark. What do you think? Am I not spot on?]
"..."
Even in this tense moment, the clueless ghost's self-satisfied chatter buzzed in my ears.
But I couldn't afford to pay attention to him.
I swallowed hard, my eyes darting around.
Judging by his gaze, he definitely knew who I was.
Though his stare was intimidating, a tiny sliver of hope remained.
I hoped that, since I was his grandson, he might look upon me with at least a shred of warmth.
But at that exact moment—
"So, it is you."
A voice echoed in my mind. It was a sound transmission, likely from Jegal Jin.
I heard he wasn't that strong, but he can use sound transmission?
Just as that thought crossed my mind—
"The child of that wretched Bang bastard."
Ah, damn it.
With his next words, the tiny sliver of hope I had harbored shattered into pieces.