Seventh Platoon Of The Thirteenth Flying Dragon Unit

The dinner gathering was held in a clearing in the middle of the forest.

By the time the Sword Saint and I arrived, the other platoon members had already nearly finished all the preparations.

Round tables made by cutting apart enormous trees and round stools made from smaller logs had been arranged throughout the clearing.

At the center, a large bonfire had been lit, and a medium-sized wild boar, several rabbits, pheasants, and fish were roasting on spits while giving off a delicious aroma.

Just then, Bi Sayoung, who had been placing rice bowls and spoons on a wooden table, spotted me approaching and shouted.

“Hey, you bastard! Why didn’t you come sooner?! You’re even younger than me, yet you’re already slacking off! Ah, Sword Saint, sir! Welcome!”

Seeing Bi Sayoung snap irritably at me before bending at a perfect right angle to greet the Sword Saint made me chuckle.

I swept my gaze over the table setting and spoke to him.

“Why are you shouting as though you did so much work? From the looks of it, all you did was move some bowls and spoons. Those tables made from the large trees clearly look like Lady Cheong-yeon’s work, and the stools were made by…”

Lady Cheon Jueun, who had been roasting meat with Bae Jonggwan, adorably raised her hand and shouted.

“Me! I made them!”

I smiled and praised her.

“You made them well, Lady Cheon. The stools are very cute.”

Lady Cheon beamed, poked her cheek with her index finger, and asked cutely.

“Like me?”

Caught off guard by her sudden display of charm, I stammered for a moment before finally managing to answer.

“Th-That is so. They are cute like you, my lady. Ahem, ahem.”

“Wh-What do you mean, ‘That is so’?! There was far too long a pause in the middle!”

“Lady Cheon, you are a hundred times cuter than those stools!”

I decided to pretend I had not heard Lady Cheon’s protest or Jonggwan’s confession that followed it.

Then I spoke to Bi Sayoung again.

“Anyway, Maeng-un said he would prepare the alcohol, and that wild boar clearly does not look like your work. I doubt you caught the rabbits or fish either. Who did all that?”

Apparently struck right where it hurt, he stammered as he answered.

“Y-You can tell that? You’re like a ghost. Lady Ya Un-hyang caught the boar, rabbits, and fish. But I caught those pheasants, all right?! I threw flying knives at them!”

“Oh my, did you? You worked so hard. There, there. Did you really?”

“You bastard?! Are you mocking me right now?! You did absolutely nothing to help!”

I gave the furious Bi Sayoung a crooked smile and answered confidently.

“Hmph. I did nothing to help? I brought the Sword Saint himself.”

“Y-You…!”

Bi Sayoung was about to shout something, but after glancing at the Sword Saint, he ground his teeth and reluctantly nodded.

“I-Is that so? Y-You did something important.”

After thoroughly mocking his servility, I suddenly asked again.

“But Lady Ya Un-hyang hunts too? For some reason, she seems like the sort who would find that terribly bothersome.”

“Ah, she apparently took Jonggwan out to hunt, then made him carry everything back. According to Jonggwan, her steel-whip technique was no joke. He said the whip moved like a black dragon, coiling around animals and dragging them in, or piercing them like a spear.”

“Oh, really?”

She was said to be a renowned female expert of the unorthodox path, and it seemed her skill was indeed extraordinary.

I nodded and looked around.

Then I asked again.

“But the captain and Lady Cheong-yeon still aren’t here?”

“Ah, the captain is circulating his qi after consuming an elixir. It seems to be taking a while because he took a large amount at once.”

“Ah, really?”

Come to think of it, the captain still had not consumed his elixir even after breaking through his wall.

We had gone searching for the Iron Fiend as soon as we returned, then immediately headed to Na Manor, so naturally he had not had the time.

Earlier, he had seemed to meditate after sparring with the Sword Saint, and it appeared he had gone directly to consume the elixir afterward.

I suspected it was because of the Sword Saint’s advice to engage in many full-strength spars.

“Then what about Lady Cheong-yeon?”

“Lady Hae came earlier, made the tables, and then went back to the Fourth Platoon. She said she would return in time.”

“Hmm.”

I still have not spoken with Lady Cheong-yeon since returning.

Forget speaking with her, she had been staying with the Fourth Platoon the whole time, so I had not even had a chance to encounter her.

Even if we were in different platoons, it was almost baffling that we could fail to cross paths so completely despite belonging to the same Thirteenth Unit.

It was fortunate that she seemed to be adapting well to the Fourth Platoon, but I could not help feeling disappointed.

In this life, she had been my closest friend, someone who had joined the Flying Dragon Unit with me and had always remained by my side.

I continued to regret not speaking with her before going to Na Manor.

A little while later, when the food was nearly ready, the captain and Lady Cheong-yeon joined us.

At last, we were able to begin the dinner gathering.

“To the boundless advancement and victory of the Seventh Platoon of the Thirteenth Flying Dragon Unit!”

“To victory!”

At the Sword Saint’s toast, everyone clinked their cups together.

“Wow! This boar meat melts in my mouth! Jonggwan! Lady Cheon! Your skill is remarkable!”

“Ahem! I put a great deal of care into it!”

“Ahh, even the alcohol tastes like honey! This is incredible!”

“Ah, that alcohol actually has honey in it. That is probably why it tastes like honey.”

“Ah, i-is that so?”

The dinner gathering was enjoyable.

Rather than celebrating someone’s departure from the Seventh Platoon, we ate, laughed, and chatted as though we were simply sharing a cheerful meal among family.

As though nothing would change, and as though we would continue gathering like this forever.

After filling our stomachs to some extent, we enlivened the mood by displaying our individual talents.

“No drinking gathering should be without music.”

After speaking in her languid voice, Lady Ya Un-hyang surprised us by demonstrating unexpected skill with the seven-stringed zither.

Lady Cheon, apparently excited, jumped forward.

“Then I’ll sing!”

She began singing cutely while holding a ring-pommel great saber from Haedong and performing a saber dance.

“L-Lady Cheon! You look like a celestial maiden!”

Bae Jonggwan appeared almost completely entranced by Lady Cheon’s dancing and singing.

I went next.

Perhaps because I was tipsy and among people who felt like family, I felt no embarrassment at all.

“Then I shall show you a transformation technique!”

“Huh? A transformation technique?!”

“Young Master Seonu, can you use sorcery too?!”

What I confidently stepped forward to demonstrate as a transformation technique was the way I reduced my skeletal frame using the Bone-Shrinking Art.

I had shown Bi Sayoung and Bae Jonggwan before, but it was the first time the others had seen it, so they all widened their eyes in fascination.

“Now, I shall transform into a dwarf!”

After shouting that, I first reduced my height.

Crack-crack-crack!

“Wooooow! He really became smaller! Young Master Seonu! That’s amazing!”

“Hahahaha! As expected, my martial neph—has many talents!”

Since the response seemed favorable, I immediately moved on to the next stage.

“Now, this time, I shall transform into a child!”

Crack-crack-crack!

This time, I reduced even my overall build until I had the physique of a young child.

The platoon members burst into laughter.

“Puhahahaha! What kind of child has muscles that thick?!”

“Aaagh! The muscles are one thing, but having only your face look old on such a small body is disgusting!”

“Wahahahaha! This is truly hilarious!”

The one who brought the finale to my transformation performance was the Sword Saint, who had become thoroughly excited.

“Now! Since I have witnessed such a rare spectacle, I cannot remain idle! I shall also show you a secret talent I have long kept hidden!”

“Ooooooh! Sword Saint, sir!”

We erupted into cheers.

Off to one side, Lady Cheong-yeon lowered her head in embarrassment, but the Sword Saint did not seem to notice.

“Hiyah!”

With a comical shout, the Sword Saint pointed one finger toward the sky.

We were all so startled that our eyes nearly popped out.

The Sword Saint’s sword, which had been lying on the table, suddenly flew in the direction his finger indicated.

“Ugh!”

“N-No way?!”

At first, we could hardly believe it, but when the sword that had flown into the sky began darting around like a bird in accordance with the Sword Saint’s finger, we could only cry out in shock.

“Wooooow!”

“I-Is that Sword Control?!”

“That was actually! Truly! Possible in real life?!”

“My heavens!”

The surprises did not end there.

When we burst into cheers, the Sword Saint must have been pleased, because he leaped lightly into the air and landed atop the flying sword.

Then he rode the sword and flew here and there through the sky.

It was Sword Flight, something we had only ever heard of in legends.

We erupted into fervent cheers.

“Wooooooow! Sword Saint, sir!”

“You’re the best, sir!”

“That’s incredible! The greatest!”

The Sword Saint descended to the ground around the time our cheers died down.

“It consumes far too much internal energy, so I cannot show it for long. Was it somewhat impressive?”

“It was incredible, sir!”

“I thought you were an immortal!”

It had been far beyond merely impressive.

It was the most astonishing sight I had witnessed in my entire life.

Afterward, once everyone had become somewhat drunk, they split into small groups of two or three and began conversing.

I wanted to speak with Lady Cheong-yeon and looked in her direction, but Lady Cheon Jueun and Lady Ya Un-hyang had joined her, and the three women were talking together, so I could not intrude.

“Hmm.”

I felt rather bitter.

The thought occurred to me that perhaps I would not manage to speak with her today either.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘Perhaps the distance between people can grow in a single instant like this.’

It felt bitter and hollow that even speaking with her had become this difficult.

She was someone I had once thought I might end up with instead of Lady Na.

I was only human, so it was not as though I had never felt something beyond friendship for Lady Cheong-yeon, who had always remained by my side and understood me better than anyone.

At least, that was before I discovered that she was the Sword Saint’s daughter and possessed beauty that could be called the greatest under Heaven.

A hollow laugh escaped me.

‘Afterward, I felt so pathetic for ever entertaining such thoughts about such a perfect woman, even briefly.’

Of course, the greatest reason had been Lady Na, but in any case, after that I had cast aside all selfish feelings and tried to become a good friend to her.

However, seeing how difficult it had now become to even approach her, it seemed my efforts had been insufficient.

It was then.

Captain Seol Pung suddenly approached me and raised his cup.

“Jin, you worked hard under an inadequate captain. I cannot count how much help you have given us until now, and I can hardly believe that you will belong to another platoon starting tomorrow.”

I grinned and answered.

“Another platoon? I will always be a member of the Seventh Platoon. I will keep coming by for dawn training and evening sparring, so do not even think of sending me away. And if it had not been for you, Captain Seol Pung, I would still be a pig rather than a person. If there was anything I did well, it was all thanks to you.”

There was not the slightest falsehood in those heartfelt words.

My parents may have been the ones who brought me into the world, but it was entirely thanks to the captain that I had been made into a martial artist.

It was truly a debt of gratitude I could never fully repay even over an entire lifetime.

“And Captain, are you perhaps considering whether to use ‘that’ in front of the Sword Saint?”

At my question, the captain hesitated briefly before nodding.

“As expected, I cannot deceive your eyes. That is correct. The Sword Saint is certainly trustworthy, but I am still wondering whether I should let him see me use ‘that.’”

‘That’ referred to the Red Eyes martial art used by Captain Seol Pung.

It was a martial art that allowed him to wield strength one or two levels above his own for roughly a quarter of an hour.

If the captain was to engage in a full-strength battle as the Sword Saint had advised, he absolutely had to use it.

A match without it would be no different from the captain concealing his true ability.

The problem was that using it carried the risk of exposing the captain’s identity.

I was especially certain that the Sword Saint would notice.

Ever since listening to the Sword Saint while standing beside the captain earlier, I had suspected the captain would be troubled by that issue.

And my prediction had been correct.

“Captain, this is merely my opinion, but if breaking through your wall truly requires you to fight at full strength as the Sword Saint said, then I believe this may be the best opportunity.”

“…Now, you mean?”

“Yes. I believe it would be extremely difficult both to meet an opponent strong enough to force you to use it and to find someone among such opponents whom you could still trust. This may even be your final opportunity.”

“Hmm…”

“So although you may not like it, I think it might be better to take a risk this once.”

After hearing my words, the captain fell into deep thought.

It would not be an easy choice, but I felt I already knew what decision he would make.

Hae Cheong-yeon shifted only the eyes hidden beneath her hair and looked at Seonu Jin, who was having some kind of serious conversation with Captain Seol Pung.

‘Having my hair down is useful at times like this.’

Seeing Seonu Jin again after so long was, frustratingly enough, wonderful.

She had wondered whether her heart might settle if he was out of sight, but it had not helped in the slightest.

Over the past several days, Hae Cheong-yeon had suffered from deep self-loathing.

She felt utterly pathetic and ashamed that she had impulsively transferred to the Fourth Platoon because she had become angry when Seonu Jin went to rescue Na Seoyu.

It had been a decision made purely under the sway of emotion, to the point that she questioned whether she had truly been herself.

However, after calming down, Hae Cheong-yeon decided that perhaps it had been for the best.

She thought putting some distance between herself and Seonu Jin might help restore her self-esteem and rational judgment.

‘And yet…’

The sense that she had returned to her old self over the past few days vanished the moment she saw his face, leaving her confused once again.

He was still far too attractive.

The sight of him demonstrating the Bone-Shrinking Art before everyone had been cute, while the serious expression he wore now was handsome.

Whenever she let her concentration slip even slightly, she found her gaze drawn toward him once more.

She simply could not look away.

It was surely her own heart and body, yet they refused to obey her as though she had been Soul-Seized by a member of the Blood Cult.

She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

‘Get a grip, Hae Cheong-yeon. Regain your composure.’

She forced herself to make a rational judgment.

The fact that Seonu Jin could speak with Captain Seol Pung like that now surely meant that he had not yet confessed to Na Seoyu.

Had he confessed, there was no way the relationship between the two men could have remained so natural.

Thus, Seonu Jin was probably still looking only at her, unaware of Na Seoyu’s feelings for Seol Pung, and remaining beside him would surely lead only to repeated wounds to her pride.

Therefore, keeping her distance from him for now seemed the wiser decision.

For the sake of seeking another opportunity in the future, and above all, for the sake of protecting her true self.

Having reached her conclusion, Hae Cheong-yeon rose from her seat.

“I haven’t had alcohol in a long time, so I’m very tired. I’ll leave first.”

The platoon members all looked at her in surprise.

“Ah, Lady Hae, are you leaving already?”

“Unnie, are you very tired? I wanted to talk more…”

“Sorry. I think I overdid it a little.”

Everyone looked disappointed, but when she answered firmly, they could not stop her any longer.

Then Sword Saint Hae Unbaek, who had been happily conversing with Bi Sayoung and Bae Jonggwan, rose with an expression that barely overcame his own regret.

“You must be very tired. This father shall escort you.”

As Hae Cheong-yeon left the dinner gathering, she took one last look at Seonu Jin sitting among the platoon members.

She looked at the disappointment in his eyes as he watched her, just like all the others.

The thought that his disappointment was nothing more than regret that a comrade was leaving early wounded her heart once again.