An Unexpected Visitor
The first round of the preliminaries came to an end.
And the rumors spread like wildfire.
Un-ryong was defeated by the Young Sword Saint.
He couldn't land a single blow throughout the duel and was utterly defeated.
The matches of the Sword Peak and the other young geniuses drew attention, of course.
But in the end, none of them could match the sheer buzz surrounding my duel.
"No, seriously. The Young Sword Saint..."
"The sword-qi he unleashed back then was so beautiful..."
"I saw it with my own eyes. It was like a blazing lantern."
"He truly takes after the Sword Saint in his youth..."
Whether in the taverns or on the streets, people talked of nothing else.
Listening to it all was enough to give me a headache.
Ugh.
Everywhere I went, it was all about me.
Even though multiple duels were held in a single day, this was the only topic on anyone's lips.
What was worse...
By the end, even the duel between the Black Great Saber and the Thunder Dragon was completely forgotten.
The Black Great Saber and the Thunder Dragon, both members of the Seven Great Talents, had indeed fought, but their match had ended in a single strike, wrapping up in the blink of an eye.
The reaction to it was simple.
Well, they're the Thunder Dragon and the Black Great Saber, so of course it went down like that. That sort of feeling.
Because of that, the first round of the main tournament was filled with nothing but chatter about my duel with Un-ryong.
I was sick to death of it.
"Doesn't it feel good?"
A voice drifted over from my side. Sitting next to me was Cheon Hye-in, delicately eating a bowl of somyeon.
I looked at her with a sullen expression and asked,
"...What does?"
"Being the center of attention. It's not a bad feeling, is it?"
"Does it look that way to you?"
"Well, there's really nothing bad about it."
"From where I'm standing, it's nothing but trouble."
As always, I hated being the center of attention. It was just exhausting.
Suppressing a sigh, I spoke.
"Lady Cheon, your match is tomorrow, right?"
"That's right."
Cheon Hye-in replied with a listless expression. At first, she had at least tried to wear a mask, but now she didn't even bother.
She had been like this ever since the day I beat her to a bloody pulp during our duel.
The second round of the main tournament is tomorrow...
Everyone who hadn't fought today was scheduled to duel tomorrow.
Although the numbers had been pared down, there were still quite a few participants left.
Perhaps because of that...
"Young Master Cheon. Are you alright...?"
"Huh? Ah, yes... I'm fine."
Cheon Ui-jin, whose match was tomorrow, looked visibly tense.
Do-hyeong, who was also fighting tomorrow, remained stoic.
Dongnyong didn't show much of a reaction either. He just looked completely uninterested.
Well, Do-hyeong was always like that, so that was expected.
As for Dongnyong...
Is it because this isn't his first time participating?
He probably had some prior experience with the Yongbong Association.
Hmm.
Does this mean I can rest a bit tomorrow? A small spark of hope flared up inside me.
Since I had already finished my match today, there was no reason for me to move around tomorrow.
I should organize the things I need to do, then.
Nodding to myself, I swallowed my food.
Just then.
"Did you hear about that?"
Voices drifted over from nearby again. Just as I was about to ignore it, thinking it was about me once more...
"They say an incredibly handsome man has appeared in the county."
An entirely unexpected topic popped up.
A handsome man...?
"Ah, I heard. They said he was so handsome he practically glowed. Is it really true?"
"I only caught a passing glimpse... but his looks were honestly unreal."
"Come on, how handsome can a man really be? You're exaggerating."
"I'm telling you, it's not just that! The moment you lay eyes on him, you can't help but gasp..."
I couldn't believe they were gossiping so excitedly about some guy's looks.
I wondered what kind of masterpiece they had seen to react like that.
While it was mildly intriguing, I didn't feel any real excitement.
The reason was simple.
I'm used to it.
It was a sight I was all too familiar with.
Because the people around me possessed such extraordinary faces, I had seen this exact reaction play out to the point of nausea.
Just walking down the street made them look like walking natural disasters.
Whether it was my father or my brother, simply walking down the street was enough to draw everyone's eyes.
[Is he really that handsome?]
I smirked at Yoo Chun-gil's voice.
...Well, he is handsome.
I had to give credit where credit was due. He might be a rotten father, but he was undeniably good-looking.
He was so handsome that I used to think he'd never starve to death as long as he had his face.
If there was one thing I was grateful to that man for, it was his genetics.
Unlike my past life, I had been born with a blessed face.
In that sense, while those kinds of reactions were common back in Yoryeong...
To think there's someone causing that kind of stir even here.
Hearing about it all the way in Henan felt a bit different.
Who could it be?
Curious.
I was briefly curious, but I quickly brushed it off.
I had too many other things on my mind to waste time thinking about that.
Clack.
I set down my chopsticks.
...Seriously, what was that about?
At the same time, I recalled what had happened earlier today.
What was the Sword Queen's intention?
The words the Sword Queen had spoken to me this afternoon.
"Will you get engaged to me?"
Just thinking about that absurd proposal made me shake my head.
Faced with such unexpected nonsense, I had rejected her on the spot.
I wasn't crazy. Why on earth would I get engaged to the Sword Queen?
When I spoke without a shred of hesitation, the Sword Queen's eyes widened slightly.
"Is that so? I understand."
With those words, she had vanished without a trace.
...What was that? Didn't she say she had another favor to ask?
Setting the engagement aside, I was pretty sure she said she had another request.
It was baffling that she had just left like that.
Don't tell me the engagement proposal was her main point all along?
...Why would the Sword Queen want to get engaged to me?
There had to be some underlying reason, but an engagement was completely out of the question.
Seriously, what is going on?
Every woman I had crossed paths with lately had something strange about her.
Was what my grandmother said in my past life actually true?
The part about how no normal woman would ever get involved with me.
...Damn it.
That would be a bit problematic.
I wanted to deny it, but the things happening to me were all too bizarre.
"Sigh..."
A sigh escaped my lips. Dealing with the tournament was stressful enough, and now I had to deal with this.
The rejuvenated Sword Queen asking me to get engaged?
Wow. What a sensational title.
It sounded like a title that would sell like hotcakes if written as a novel.
Bloody hell.
I scratched my head.
I felt like things were getting tangled in the weirdest way possible.
In times like this, there was only one choice.
Ah, whatever.
I'd just ignore it and fill my stomach first.
With that thought, I was focusing on my food when...
"Pardon me, I hate to interrupt your meal."
Someone approached and spoke to me.
At the same time, a damp, musty odor drifted past my nose.
What is this stench?
"Ugh."
Cheon Hye-in recoiled with a look of pure disgust, creating some distance.
I turned my head in confusion, and a disheveled head of hair and a filthy appearance caught my eye.
This face...
"...The Fighting Beggar Dog?"
It was the Fighting Beggar Dog of the Beggar Alliance, one of the Seven Great Talents.
What was this guy doing here all of a sudden?
He approached me with an incredibly exhausted expression and suddenly pulled something from his chest pocket.
It was a grubby letter.
"I'm here to deliver this."
"...A delivery?"
A delivery for me? From the Fighting Beggar Dog?
I stared at him, wondering what kind of situation this was.
"Ah, I'm busy enough begging as it is. What a goddamn... dog's life. Well, I guess begging is a dog's life, literally. Haha."
"...?"
The Fighting Beggar Dog started laughing to himself after spouting that nonsense.
Ah, right.
This bastard is one of the Seven Great Talents too.
I had briefly forgotten that none of the Seven Great Talents were sane.
"What? Not funny?"
Seeing that I wasn't laughing, the Fighting Beggar Dog asked.
"...Was that supposed to be a joke?"
"Well, do you think I'm some crazy bastard talking to myself?"
"..."
This guy is definitely crazy.
I was absolutely sure of it.
But putting that aside...
"...So, you're telling me the Fighting Beggar Dog came all this way just to deliver a letter?"
It made no sense that one of the Seven Great Talents was acting as a mere messenger for me.
Even if the Beggar Alliance was closely aligned with the Martial Alliance and thus didn't participate in the Yongbong Association...
...the Fighting Beggar Dog was still a highly renowned figure within the Beggar Alliance.
He was someone who might very well become the next Sect Leader.
And such a guy was running errands? At my questioning look, he put on a resentful expression.
"Do you think I wanted to do this? My damn master ordered me to, so what choice do I have? When he says jump, I jump."
His master...?
If it was the Fighting Beggar Dog's master...
"...Are you saying... this is an errand from Ta-bong?"
Sect Leader Ta-bong of the Beggar Alliance.
He was the current leader of the Beggar Alliance, one of the Nine Sects and One Gang, and one of the absolute masters of the Murim.
Was the Fighting Beggar Dog really here on the orders of such a legendary figure?
"Why would the Sect Leader...?"
"How should I know? I was planning to just lie on the ground and beg today. But that beggar of an old man... well, he is a beggar, literally. Hahaha!"
"..."
Deciding to ignore his maddening wordplay,
I took the letter first. It was incredibly filthy, and I really didn't want to touch it, but I forced myself to take it.
Through the layers of grime on the envelope, the emblem of the Beggar Alliance was clearly visible.
I gently opened it.
Who is it from?
Who would send me a letter?
Since it came through the Beggar Alliance Leader, I wondered if it was from Ta-bong himself, but...
Huh?
The sender wasn't Ta-bong.
Rather, it was someone I knew all too well.
Third brother, it is your eldest brother. I hope you are doing well.
"What is this guy doing?"
To my shock, the sender of the letter was my eldest brother.
The eldest son and the young patriarch of the Bang family.
The promising scoundrel of Yoryeong, who inherited not just our father's face but his exact personality.
He sent me a letter?
I never in a million years expected my brother, rather than my father, to send me a letter.
And on top of that...
...Ta-bong personally sent someone to deliver it?
The fact that Ta-bong had entrusted this letter to the Fighting Beggar Dog to deliver was even more shocking.
What on earth was going on?
It was just one incomprehensible situation after another.
I am doing well. I hope you are too.
Ah, have you met our second brother? You probably have. If you see him, tell him to drop by home sometime.
The preamble was short. He was different from our father in that regard.
Which was a relief.
How did he know? Just like in the past, my brother was incredibly sharp.
He was so quick-witted that he could instantly tell if a woman liked him and would use it to his advantage.
Right.
This guy was just as much of a scumbag.
Men who took advantage of their good looks to the absolute extreme.
That was my father and my brother.
Anyway, so what?
Why did he send this letter in the first place?
As I stared at the letter with lingering questions, I read the final line.
Be careful out there.
"...Huh?"
The letter ended abruptly.
What?
"Is that it...?"
I checked the back to see if there was anything else written, but it was blank.
"What is this?"
Is this really the end?
It just ends with telling me to be careful?
"...What..."
What kind of ridiculous situation was this?
I was dumbfounded.
He used the leader of the Beggar Alliance just to send a letter telling me to be careful?
What kind of connection does my brother even have with him?
What could the Bang family, with their meager power, possibly do?
First Jegal Jin, and now this. It was truly a bizarre family.
What am I supposed to be careful of?
What on earth did I need to watch out for?
Asking how I was doing and then suddenly telling me to be careful... it felt like a chunk of the message was missing.
As I stared blankly at the letter, unable to make heads or tails of it...
"Young Sword Saint."
Another voice called out to me.
Is today some kind of special day?
I was exhausted, so why did people keep looking for me?
I let out a sigh and looked at the speaker.
"Oh."
It was another familiar face.
Someone I had seen recently.
"...Commander?"
He was the man who had introduced himself as a commander of the main Alliance.
And the reason he had sought me out back then was definitely...
"The Strategist is looking for you."
"..."
It was that.
And it was the same this time.
Ah, damn it.
...Seriously, what is wrong with today?
It felt like a day of incredibly rotten luck.
I visited the main Alliance headquarters in the dead of night. I had just been there during the day for my duel.
I never expected to return at this hour.
And this time, it wasn't just any place in the headquarters.
Jegal Jin's quarters...
I had been invited to Jegal Jin's private residence inside the headquarters.
Honestly, they called it an invitation, but it was practically forced.
Since I didn't have the right to refuse.
If you can't say no, it's coercion, plain and simple.
I walked forward with a tense expression.
"Go on in."
At the commander's word, I slowly stepped forward.
It was a large and tidy residence.
I carefully crossed the wooden veranda and approached the door.
And then...
"...Are you inside?"
I spoke in a barely audible whisper.
I lowered my voice, hoping he wouldn't hear me, but...
- Come in.
Unfortunately, the old man had incredibly sharp ears.
Son of a bitch.
I bit my lip and opened the door.
"I... heard you called for..."
I tried to lock eyes with Jegal Jin immediately, but...
...there was another guest sitting inside besides him.
The moment I saw the other guest sitting there, my entire body froze.
It was only natural.
"Oh."
He was someone who absolutely should not be in this place.
Especially not in Jegal Jin's private quarters.
"Ahaha."
An ridiculously handsome man.
A man who was undoubtedly the most handsome person I had ever known.
"It's been a while!"
That man smiled at me, and...
"...Wait..."
I swallowed a curse as I stared at him and asked,
"...Father, what are you doing here?"
A man so devastatingly handsome that anyone, regardless of age, would gasp in admiration.
It was none other than my father.