The Black Market Incident (1)

It was an afternoon after lunch, just when, as always, I had finished external-arts training with Bi Sayoung and Bae Jonggwan.

While I was bare-chested, splashing water over my body, a young lady suddenly walked up to me.

She was a rather cute young lady, her face flushed bright red.

“Um….”

Hoo, again?

I grinned and asked her,

“Do you have business with me, young lady?”

At that, her face turned even redder as she held out a handkerchief to me.

“Please… wipe your sweat with this….”

It was a pretty handkerchief embroidered with the name ‘Song Yeong-yeong.’

From behind, Bi Sayoung, who had been watching with a displeased look, muttered loud enough for all to hear.

“But the one really drenched in sweat is Jonggwan here.”

It must not have reached her ears.

Or perhaps she didn’t want to hear it.

With trembling hands, she kept holding out the handkerchief.

I couldn’t bring myself to ignore her hand, so I had no choice but to accept it.

“I’ll use it gratefully, Lady Yeong-yeong.”

Her expression brightened all at once, and then—“Kyaa! He said my name!”—she squealed and ran off.

Watching her retreating back for a moment, I wiped my sweat with the handkerchief and murmured,

“What a sinful fellow I am. It’s only a pity I cannot accept her heart. Hoo.”

Just then, Bi Sayoung smacked the back of my head with a crisp whack.

SMAAACK!

“Don’t just grin and say crap like that, you punk!”

Maybe because I’ve trained in external arts, it didn’t even hurt much.

I grinned and teased him.

“Jealous again? You should be used to it by now, no?”

“Hmph! I’m used to the situation, all right. It’s just that how quickly you got used to it isn’t!”

To the guy venting pent-up frustration, I smiled and held out the handkerchief I’d just received.

“C’mon, loosen up. Why don’t you wipe your sweat with this?”

“You little—! No thanks!”

Then Bae Jonggwan, standing beside us, spoke as if he found it curious.

“Come to think of it, it’s strange. It’s the fourth day already, right? And all different ladies, too. Jin slimmed down and got ridiculously handsome a good while ago, so why only now?”

Bi Sayoung answered in an annoyed tone.

“That’s obviously because of the duel with Ju Taegyeong. Before, even if he was handsome, he was that weirdo who only trained in external arts; but after he toppled Ju Taegyeong, he must look like a beautiful young lord with both appearance and skill. No matter how handsome, if your martial arts are weak, you’re a fool on the Front, right? This front line.”

At that, Bae Jonggwan said, wounded,

“‘Only external arts,’ you say. Sayoung, is that really what you thought of me?”

“No, not me! I mean that’s what the other ladies thought!”

“Ahhh, the other ladies.”

Nodding as if convinced, Bae Jonggwan suddenly asked again,

“Then if my martial arts get stronger, will I be popular like Jin?”

At his childlike, innocent question, Bi Sayoung glanced back and forth between our faces and couldn’t bring himself to answer.

Then he scolded instead,

“Jonggwan, you! Don’t tell me you want to be popular with ladies other than Lady Cheon?! If Lady Cheon finds out, she’ll be so disappointed!”

Flustered, Bae Jonggwan hastily shook his head.

“No, no. Of course not! Never thought that! I was just asking!”

“Right? I knew you wouldn’t.”

Watching the two, I smiled faintly.

A beautiful young lord….

Honestly, it felt awkward.

In my last life, I had never once received the attention of women or formed a deep relationship.

While Lady Na was alive, I was nothing but a pig busy just trying to survive; after Lady Na died, I was too busy tempering myself, and the situation on the Front was too urgent for any such relationship.

And now I was becoming popular with women.

A hollow laugh slipped out.

It felt terribly awkward and embarrassing.

But, somehow, it didn’t feel bad.

“Are you all done training?!”

A bright, clear voice suddenly rang out.

When I turned my head, the three ladies of our squad were walking toward us, having finished their own training.

Among the three, my gaze naturally settled on the one in the middle, Lady Na Seoyu.

My heart suddenly began to pound.

In my past life, so long as Lady Na lived, I had only ever been someone to be cared for.

I could barely manage my own body—someone who couldn’t even dream of proudly expressing his heart to her.

But after she died, I changed.

I became a completely different person from before.

Of course, she couldn’t see it….

And at last, now, I could finally have a little confidence in myself.

Maybe that’s why I sometimes asked myself:

‘If it were now, could things turn out a little differently than back then?’

Questions like that.

Not long ago, after much deliberation, I yielded to her one of the elixirs I had originally planned to take.

My internal energy now was almost at One Jia (first full meridian cycle).

With only a few more years’ worth of inner power, I could completely fill One Jia.

So before reaching the pinnacle, it was a bit wasteful to take an elixir right away.

Sure, saving it for later wasn’t a bad choice, but then I’d feel sorry toward Bi Sayoung, who had yielded me half his elixir.

So after wrestling with it, I decided to give one of the two my father had given me to Lady Na Seoyu.

Of course, the kindhearted lady was startled and declined.

But when she kept refusing, saying she absolutely couldn’t accept it, I told her this:

‘My lady, I could give this to Jonggwan or Lady Cheon to raise our squad’s average skill. But through this last incident, I realized our squad needs at least one more pinnacle expert besides the captain. As you’ve heard, the captain was in truly dire straits. So I judged that Lady Cheong-yeon, Lady Na, or I must quickly reach the pinnacle to aid him. That’s why I’m giving it to Lady Na, so please don’t refuse.’

After a moment’s thought, Lady Na accepted and took the elixir, thanking me over and over.

Watching her take the elixir I’d given, I felt a deep sense of pride.

As if she had accepted my heart.

Of course, even with my lack of experience with women, I wasn’t stupid enough to think it meant that.

But I did nurture a small hope.

A tiny hope that perhaps a little of my heart had reached her….

Approaching with a bright face, Lady Na suddenly noticed the handkerchief in my hand and asked with a laugh,

“Did you get another handkerchief? Who was it this time?”

“Ah, th-this—”

I started and froze.

You idiot, showing this in front of her.

As I floundered for an excuse, Bi Sayoung answered first in a surly tone,

“Today it was Lady Song Yeong-yeong from Third Platoon.”

Lady Na’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Lady Song Yeong-yeong? Oh my, I’ve heard she’s quite popular with the men.”

When she said that, I couldn’t help but feel a spark of hope.

Maybe she’d show a little jealousy?

But she soon beamed and congratulated me.

“Wow, Young Master Seonu really has become a star, hasn’t he? I’m proud of you! So this is how a mother feels watching her successful son? I’m truly pleased!”

…Apparently, I was her son.

Then the elixir I gave her….

Did I become a filial son?

As I sagged a little in despair, Lady Cheong-yeon lightly tapped my shoulder.

Maybe she knew something; either way, it comforted me.

Completely oblivious to my mood, Lady Na suddenly brightened as something came to mind.

“Oh, it’s been decided for sure that we’ll receive our new squadmate after the Martial Blood Conference. They said it’s burdensome to take a recruit right before the conference, so in three weeks we’ll have a new family member.”

At her words, we all nodded with bright faces.

“Oh, that’s great!”

“What’s great is only if we get decent ones.”

“Come on, as if another Ju Taegyeong would get in? I’m sure it’ll be someone good.”

Hearing her, I rifled through memories of my past life.

Hmm, if it’s someone who joined after the Martial Blood Conference, was it that guy? He was in another squad, so I didn’t know details, but I recall he seemed awfully polite and energetic.

If my past-life memory is right, he certainly wasn’t another Ju Taegyeong.

Having been defeated and forced to call me big brother, Ju Taegyeong behaved true to his “Diancang Sword Viper” epithet.

Rather than serve me as his elder, he begged Captain Ma Yugyeom of Platoon Four to transfer over there.

Rumor had it he even shed tears as he pleaded.

Thanks to that, we saw the rare sight of that proud Ma Yugyeom humbly asking Captain Seol Pung for a favor.

And since Ma Yugyeom had asked for just Ju Taegyeong alone, we threw in the rest of his flunkies as a bundle.

That was because I argued that squadmates whose trust had collapsed were better off gone.

In any case, that left our Platoon Seven badly understrength.

Compared to other squads that averaged ten members, we had only seven.

But I didn’t mind at all.

‘Because with seven, we’ve grown stronger than before!’

There’s no need to say a tight-knit seven was better than a divided ten.

Moreover, after taking the elixir, Lady Na Seoyu had risen a stage, so excluding the captain, we now had three upper first-rate martial artists or above.

So our combat power was not lacking—in fact, it was better than before.

There was one regret, though.

If only we had more elixirs, we could have raised the rest of the squad’s level too.

It was a moment when I sorely missed Elder Seok Gyeongdal’s knowledge of making elixirs with poisons.

‘He was far too valuable to pass away, not only for elixir-making but for information to fight the Blood Cult….’

The day we killed Ji Gwang-ok, we never saw Dakam again.

As Elder Seok Gyeongdal had asked, Dakam and the younger ones completely disappeared, and the younger brother named Rakun, who’d been Soul-Seized, had already been killed by Ji Gwang-ok.

There wasn’t a trace left in the hut. It seemed Dakam had taken all of Elder Seok Gyeongdal’s materials.

Of course, I had managed to learn a fair bit about poisonous herbs and antidotes, but there was still much to regret.

Just then—

Someone suddenly swooped down like a flying bird and landed beside us.

It was Captain Seol Pung, who had attended the officers’ meeting.

“Captain!”

“Did it go well?”

“Anything special?”

Captain Seol Pung gave a wry smile and looked apologetic.

“I have one good piece of news and one bad piece of news. Which first?”

Lady Cheon Jueun raised her hand first, adorably.

“The bad news! If we hear the good news later, we’ll be twice as happy!”

Captain Seol Pung chuckled and told us,

“We’ve been assigned another cleanup area by the Deputy Commander. He wants the access road cleared.”

Everyone grimaced and shouted.

“What?! We did that just a few days ago!”

“We even shaved the trees at right angles!”

“I said as much, but the Deputy Commander said tidying and cleaning are things you do every single day.”

All we could do at that was let out hollow laughs.

Clean every day?

Bi Sayoung exploded.

“What kind of crap is that?! If it’s so important, why didn’t we do it even once for over ten years, and only now every day?! With the possibility of the Great Righteous–Blood War breaking out again, he wants us doing cleanup? Is he insane?!”

It was harsh, but everyone nodded at his anger.

Deputy Commander Heon Yeongbo truly seemed to be staking his fate on this summit between the Martial Alliance and the Blood Demon Cult.

But recalling the conference from my last life, I clicked my tongue and shook my head.

Back then, Heon Yeongbo also prepared desperately for the Martial Blood Conference, but he gained nothing in the end.

Even afterward, he still remained with the Thirteenth Unit as Deputy Commander.

Pitiful, yet somehow pitiable.

The Martial Blood Conference—where the Alliance Lord and the Blood Demon met and spoke—ended limply with meaningless chatter, contrary to all the tension over whether the Second Great Righteous–Blood War might break out.

‘Truly, it was so pointless I couldn’t even tell why they met at all.’

Thanks to that, I, who had been on edge in my past life, sighed in relief that nothing happened—but the important things started after that.

Thinking back on those days, I swallowed without meaning to.

‘It really felt like we were cursed.’

It began with Assistant Leader Mae Yeogyeong of Platoon Four being found murdered by a Spider Ghost, her vital blood drained.

And near the Thirteenth Unit’s headquarters, at that.

We issued an emergency alert and hunted for the Spider Ghost, but never found a trace.

Around then, Captain Ma Yugyeom of Platoon Four—who had been dating Lady Mae Yeogyeong—began to go off the rails.

Arrogant as he was, he had been an excellent martial artist and a capable captain—but he started to fall apart.

Even those who disliked him pitied him, saying it must all be because of Lady Mae Yeogyeong’s death.

To make matters worse, Vice-Captain Myeong Sahyeon of Platoon Three—who had chatted with us that day—was Soul-Seized by the Blood Cult, and Captain Tang Yeo-eun of Platoon Three was forced to kill him. That, too, happened then.

As incidents piled up, the mood in the Thirteenth Unit sank to rock bottom.

Thinking back, I wonder if later events also stemmed from this period.

Like how Tang Yeo-eun suddenly became Ma Yugyeom’s woman one day, and later—when the Front collapsed—how Ma Yugyeom, who claimed to be the Diancang Sect’s successor, turned to the Blood Cult and shocked everyone.

‘Mm… if so…?’

A chill ran down my nape.

I had a strange feeling there was some unknown thread connecting all this.

But I had no idea how to prepare for it.

Even if I wanted to, back then Platoon Seven had been on leave during that period, so I knew nothing about those things, and we had no ties with them—there was no way to prepare.

As I wrestled with it, Lady Cheon Jueun called out again,

“Captain! Then what’s the good news?!”

Smiling faintly, Captain Seol Pung replied,

“Our leave has been moved up to next week. So starting next week, we can head out.”

At the unexpected words, everyone’s eyes went wide, and then they burst into cheers.

“Kyaaa! Leave?! Really?!”

“Whoaaa! That’s awesome!”

“Wah-hah-hah! Wonderful news, Captain!”

But I stood there dazed, blank-faced.

Moved up to next week?

That didn’t happen in my last life.

Flustered, I asked the captain,

“E-excuse me, how did that happen?”

He smiled and explained,

“Captain Ma Yugyeom of Platoon Four yielded the slot. He said Platoon Seven is short on numbers, so it’d be better to take leave before receiving a recruit. Seems he feels indebted over matters concerning Ju Taegyeong.”

“Ah, so that’s it….”

Huh. A future I didn’t know.

It was unsettling and even a little worrying.

But after thinking a moment, I realized this wasn’t bad at all.

Back then, during that string of incidents, we’d gone on leave and couldn’t respond to anything.

Of course, I had neither the ability nor the mind to respond then.

But now was different.

As I was now, I could watch from nearby and perhaps introduce a different variable.

No—I must.

Another memory surfaced.

Wait.

Around this time, didn’t something interesting happen in Guizhou Province?

In my last life, I only learned about it after going on leave, but this time, if we played it right….

The corners of my mouth curled up on their own.

I asked the captain at once,

“Captain! What will you do during this leave?!”

“Hmm? I don’t really have anywhere to go, so I was thinking of staying to train.”

As expected.

I leapt and objected to his words.

“That won’t do, Captain!”

Startled by my intensity, he blinked.

“E-eh? Why not?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself, Captain?! Rest is also part of training!”

“Well, yes, but I don’t have any particular place to—”

“Let’s go to Guizhou Province!”

“Hm?”

“We’ll go to Guizhou Province, and I’ll host you properly!”

Watching Captain Seol Pung blink in confusion, I smiled with satisfaction.

If I could just take the captain along, this leave could become very rewarding days indeed.