The Owner Of The Night Market

The table was filled with every kind of dish, like a king’s royal spread.
And in the seat of highest honor sat a beauty in red robes, one lovely enough to topple a nation.

“You must be hungry. Come, sit down quickly.”

His eyes were drawn to every part of her, from her voice to the tips of her fingers.
Ro-un couldn’t stop his gaze from following her movements of its own accord.
He felt as though he had become a butterfly lured toward a flower.
Seeing Ro-un and In-woo stare at the woman in red as though bewitched, Baek Ho-yeon stepped forward.

“What do you think you’re doing?”
“You’re still no fun as always, Ho-yeon.”
“And you’re still underhanded.”
“Huhu.”

When she flicked her sleeve, Ro-un was finally freed from the thick scent that seemed capable of numbing his sense of smell.
It seemed that some unknown fragrance had also played a part in unsettling his mind.
Feeling displeased at the faint haze lingering in his head, Ro-un forced himself to use a skill.

“[Purification]”

Once he used [Purification], which could even clear mental status effects, the last trace of haze was washed away completely.

‘That woman used her power so subtly we didn’t even realize it. She can cast a charm spell far stronger than the ones those foxes used to bring us here.’

If not for Baek Ho-yeon, he would never have noticed anything strange at all.
A chill ran down Ro-un’s spine.
He felt fear at the power of that being.
After using [Purification] on In-woo as well, Ro-un raised his guard to the utmost and tightened the arm holding her.
Seeing Ro-un on guard, the woman, pure yet alluring, spoke in a sorrowful voice.

“I did not mean to discomfort you. I only meant to let you set your worries down for a moment.”
“Yeah, right.”

At Baek Ho-yeon’s words, the beauty’s eyes turned sharp.
The suffocating allure wrapped around her vanished in an instant.

“Are you going to keep ruining the mood like that when we’ve met again after so long?”
“Think about who it was you tried that on.”
“Hmph.”

The woman in red turned her head away petulantly.
It was a coquettish gesture no man should have been able to resist.
But they weren’t weak enough to fall for the same trick twice.

Lee Ro-un, <Master of Miracles>.
Baek In-woo, future Great Shamaness of the Tiger Clan.
Baek Ho-yeon, Divine Beast White Tiger.

Knowing full well that charm would not work so easily now that all three were thoroughly wary of her, she waved her sleeve and cleared the air before speaking.

“My apologies for the late introduction. This humble maiden is, undeservedly, Gu So-ye, the one who runs this night market.”
“Saint. Don’t talk to her anymore. She’s a fox.”
“Baek Ho-yeon!”

Gu So-ye cried out sharply.
The look she shot Baek Ho-yeon for revealing her identity without permission was fierce.

“Why? Considering what you just did, revealing your identity is hardly a big deal.”
“I wanted to reveal it a little more dramatically!”
“You’re seriously…”

Faced with such a ridiculous reason, even Baek Ho-yeon was left speechless!
Seeing that rare sight, Ro-un’s opinion of Gu So-ye rose slightly.
Though thanks to his first impression of her, she was still in the negative overall.

“And just how old are you to be calling yourself a maiden?”
“Oh my. Do you still not understand a woman’s heart?”
“I do. How old do you think my daughter is? And what about you, do you understand a man’s heart all that well?”
“Of course.”
“For someone who’s never even married, you sure talk big.”

Ah. It looked like Baek Ho-yeon had struck a nerve.
Gu So-ye’s hair floated in the air as though defying gravity.
Though there was no wind, her sleeves whipped about violently.
She was clearly furious, but Baek Ho-yeon only snorted.

“Stop acting.”
“Ah, honestly!”

Gu So-ye’s demeanor returned at once to the prim, delicate look from before.

‘That was acting too?’

A different kind of pressure from the charm spell had raised goosebumps on his arms. If even that had been an act, what was her true self actually like?
How many times had this nine-tailed fox changed her face since showing herself?
It was hard for Ro-un to tell whether her behavior was real or fake, yet Baek Ho-yeon seemed to read her perfectly.
Was it because the two had known each other for a long time?
Whatever the reason, Ro-un understood that this woman, beautiful as a painting, was a being who had lived through ages equal to Baek Ho-yeon’s.

Grrrrowl.

In-woo’s stomach let out another loud rumble.
Everyone’s gaze landed on In-woo as she ducked her bright red face.

“Instead of keeping the kids standing there like offerings, let’s eat first.”
“Oh my, listen to me. I was so delighted by guests visiting after so long that I forgot myself. Come, sit.”

So-ye extended a graceful hand and invited the two over.
Baek Ho-yeon strode over and sat opposite So-ye, while Ro-un, carrying In-woo, sat diagonally across.
Only then, with her overwhelming presence no longer dominating his attention, did the spread of dishes come back into view.
The moment Ro-un sat down at the table, the two ancient beings both spoke.

“Child, you’re far too thin. Children should eat well and grow well.”
“Saint. Eat this.”
“Thank you.”

Instead of the two of them, who were each only looking after him, Ro-un picked up the braised ribs they had pushed toward him and placed them on top of In-woo’s rice bowl.
Steam rose from the white rice in the brass bowl with its yellow sheen, and In-woo’s eyes filled with joy at the ribs placed on top.

“Thank you, Saint! Saint, you must eat a lot too!”
“I will.”

Even as he said that, Ro-un only began eating once he had seen In-woo chewing her food properly and the other two start reaching for the side dishes as well.
Picking grains of rice off In-woo’s cheek and diligently placing on her spoon the foods she seemed to want, Ro-un only noticed the stare fixed on his face by the time her meal was ending.

‘Damn. I focused too much on feeding the princess.’

It seemed he had let his guard down too much in a place with strangers present.
Ro-un instantly hid the flustered look that had crossed his face.
So-ye laughed behind her sleeve.

“Hohoho. Saint, you are truly a kind person. It is lovely to see a still-young human taking care of one even younger, but the Saint must eat plenty too.”

A child?
Even if he was still a minor, he would soon be a proper adult.
From the perspective of those two, there probably was no human on this earth who did not look young.
Ro-un soothed the heavy feeling in his chest, like indigestion, with a cool cup of omija tea.

“That was a good meal.”

Ro-un’s gaze shifted sideways.
At some point Baek Ho-yeon had piled his bowls into a tower and was patting his stomach.
Even after eating like that, his stomach was still solid.
Ro-un looked at Baek Ho-yeon’s stomach with faint disgust.

“I can’t eat anymoooore.”

Ro-un carefully rubbed In-woo’s round little stomach.
Her soft, full belly pressed warmly against his palm.
When he wrapped his hand in Holy Power and rubbed her stomach gently, In-woo burst into peals of laughter as if it tickled.

“That was a gooood meal. Princess. Saint. Shall we go look around the market again?”
“Ah! That’s right. I must buy a gift for the Saint!”

As if she had only just remembered, In-woo grabbed Ro-un’s hand and sprang up.

“One moment, little Princess. I will prepare the gift on your behalf, so might you grant me a little more time?”
“Uh, mm.”

At So-ye’s polite request, In-woo looked toward Ho-yeon for guidance.
Since So-ye was a being of equal standing to her father, In-woo didn’t know how to respond to such a polite request.

“Why are you trying to upset a child who’s just eaten? You’re giving me goosebumps.”
“Oh my. This humble maiden has no idea what you mean.”
“I don’t know what your business is, but just say it to me. I’m the children’s guardian.”
“Huhuhu. The one I wish to speak with is the Saint.”

Me?
Ro-un’s gaze turned toward the woman in red.
So-ye smiled like a crescent moon and looked steadily at Ro-un.

“There is something our side would like to request of you.”

Reflexively pointing at himself, Ro-un asked,

“Me?”
“Yes. The one we wish to hire is the Saint.”

Me, really?
Faced with such an unexpected turn, Ro-un blinked.

In-woo, who had been grumbling that she was too full while letting Ro-un tend to her stomach, soon fell into a steady rhythm of breathing.
Baek Ho-yeon lifted up In-woo, who had eaten well and fallen asleep.

“So. You’re saying you want to hire our Saint?”

Since when exactly did I become your Saint?
At that title, Ro-un turned toward Baek Ho-yeon.

“As these guests came here only to sightsee, how about I assign attendants to them and ask them to step out for a while?”
“What nonsense. You just want to stick some foxes on them to keep watch.”

So the ones who came to fetch us were foxes.
Then this being was likely someone similar to Baek Ho-yeon, but rooted in foxes instead.

“I’m his guardian. That means I have the right to hear the contents of the request too.”

A crack seemed to form in the beauty’s elegant brow.
The beauty, wearing a plainly reluctant expression, ignored Baek Ho-yeon and looked at Ro-un pleadingly instead.

“I’ll pay the request fee in advance.”
“In advance?”

Gu So-ye drew a hand from her sleeve and extended it out gracefully.
Her elegant fingers were outstretched, palm facing upward toward Ro-un.

“The egg you have on you. Take it out.”

Ro-un hesitated slightly, then took the egg out.
The spirit egg that had once been contaminated had grown larger and cleaner in color than when he first found it in <Melting Forest>.

“If you don’t mind, may I examine that egg?”
“Yes. That’s fine.”

Since Baek Ho-yeon said nothing, whatever she intended to do likely would not harm him.
Ro-un obediently rose with the egg in hand and passed it over to her.
Gu So-ye, her nails painted red, extended her delicate hand and received the egg.

Thump!

He heard the sound of a heart beating.
As if resonating, the egg stood upright in So-ye’s hand and sent out an unknown pulse.
At the sound of life yearning for life, Ro-un stared blankly at the spirit egg.

“The egg has opened its eyes. This egg has already finished preparing to be born. Once one final condition is met, it should hatch very soon.”
“Really?”
“Yes. There is one thing it needs, but that is something the Saint can provide.”

That egg was one Ro-un had obtained because he himself needed it.
Having already resolved to give Holy Power, blood, or whatever else might be required, Ro-un answered with a set expression.

“What would I need to give it?”
“Please don’t worry too much. The Saint’s consent is already enough.”

My consent is enough?
When she extended her hand, some unknown current stirred around him and was drawn into her palm.
A firefly-like light, white and yellow at once, gathered above Gu So-ye’s palm, then sank into the egg at a gesture from her hand.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A pulsing heartbeat rang out.
It was the rough sound of a life declaring that it was here.
Ro-un felt as though he had become connected to the egg.
As he kept staring at the egg standing upright in Gu So-ye’s palm, unable to look away, So-ye’s voice reached his ears.

“It is done. Everything needed for its birth has now been prepared, so this egg will awaken soon.”
“Ah… thank you.”

Ro-un received the egg with both hands.
Warmth could be felt through his palms.
What sort of spirit would be born from this?
Feeling that the egg’s pulse beat in the same rhythm as his own heart, Ro-un gently wrapped both hands around it and carefully put it away.

“But what exactly did you just take from me?”
“I received the earnest wish to protect you.”

An earnest wish to protect me?
That made it sound as though she had taken it not from him, but from someone else.
At those words with no clear subject, Ro-un looked at her in puzzlement, but she merely closed her lips with a smile, as though she had no intention of saying more.
In any case, Baek Ho-yeon and Gu So-ye alike proved that beings who had lived a very long time all shared the same trait of being impossible to read.
Suppressing the questions rising in him, Ro-un carefully tucked the egg into his clothes and turned back to her.

“So what is it you want to hire me for?”
“It’s nothing much. In two days, you need only come somewhere with me.”
“And what exactly would I need to do?”
“There may be something for you to do, or there may not. If there is, it will likely be the same sort of thing the Saint has done before.”
“So there must be someone who wants to ask me for treatment.”

Gu So-ye smiled softly.
Just as I thought.
Thinking that she wanted someone’s ‘health checkup,’ Ro-un quietly nodded.
Just as with Princess In-woo, there were apparently times when they too needed his power, so this time as well he would just go and treat someone.
Would this make it the second time he had treated a nonhuman being, after the princess?

“You’re finished saying what you had to say to the Saint, right?”
“Why do you keep interrupting? What if I had more to say?”
“Saint. Go get some air with the princess.”
“Ho-yeon, are you going to keep doing this?”
“Yes, yes. It’s fine. Go on.”
“…Then I’ll go.”
“Saint, I’ve prepared some attendants outside. If you need anything, have them handle it.”

So she meant those attendants who were probably foxes.
After thanking Gu So-ye, Ro-un stepped out of the hall, which was as vast as a great hall.
Before the door shut, Gu So-ye’s voice struck his ears.

“Saint. There are many beings who do not like the way your steps have changed. You must also know how to wear a mask and behave as you once did.”
“…Thank you for the advice.”

Slide.

As when he had entered, the papered sliding door shut on its own.
The door closed, dividing the boundary between inside and out, between the two beings still within and those without.

“‘You must also know how to wear a mask and behave as you once did.’ Right. “I knew those pigs and dogs wouldn’t like the way I am now.”

How much had he learned while performing health checkups, and before that, while going in and out of passages to satisfy their desires?
People with dirty secrets always ate the hunting dog once the hunt was over.

“They can’t just devour me, because it would be troublesome if I suddenly disappeared. So are they planning to fasten my leash on again instead?”

As he anticipated the next moves of those sheep, Ro-un walked farther from the building where So-ye remained.
Walking through the quietly arranged garden and past the artificial pond, Ro-un sorted out his thoughts.
Beautiful attendants carrying blue lanterns followed behind to light the way, but Ro-un, lost deep in thought until In-woo awoke, didn’t even notice them.

After In-woo led Ro-un away, Baek Ho-yeon remained behind alone with Gu So-ye and shared tea and sweets with her.

“So. What’s all this about all of a sudden?”
“Oh my. Look at you, pretending not to know again.”
“Pretending not to know? I’m saying this because I genuinely don’t know.”

Gu So-ye smiled seductively as she traced the rim of her teacup with her slender white fingers.

“Surely you don’t think this Heavenly Fox would truly fail to notice when the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger have both begun to move?”
“Who knows?”

Ho-yeon lifted his teacup to hide his mouth.
Even so, he could not hide the gleam in his curved eyes.
At the scheming light in Baek Ho-yeon’s eyes, Gu So-ye tapped the tea table in irritation with her well-manicured red nails.

“So what is it? Why are you suddenly both interested in a single human? And I mean both you and Yong Chang-jin, Baek Ho-yeon.”
“We’ve merely taken an interest in one human who happened to catch our eye.”
“Oh my, oh my.”

So-ye widened her eyes and covered her mouth with her sleeve.
What a scheming tiger he was.

“Can’t you just say it plainly?”
“And what exactly would make me trust you?”
“Hmph. What do you take me for? Do you really think I wouldn’t know just because you try to hide it so carefully? I am Gu So-ye. The Heavenly Fox chosen by the heavens, and the owner of the underworld ‘Night Market,’ Gu So-ye.”

Gu So-ye fixed Baek Ho-yeon with a clear gaze full of confidence in her own power.

“You think I, the owner of the ‘Night Market,’ where all the information in this world gathers, couldn’t find out about one mere human?”

All kinds of rumors gathered in the underworld ‘Night Market.’
To sift truth from rumor and extract real information from it, that was the true nature of this place.
Baek Ho-yeon answered with the corners of his mouth raised.

“Oh my! If you’re truly that impressive, then I suppose you have no need for me. I’ll be off.”
“You!”

Gu So-ye jolted half out of her seat.

‘Could someone like you, who can’t rest until you’ve rushed out barefoot to verify even common street gossip, really bear to let me go when I’m right in front of you?’

Gu So-ye had always been helpless before gossip.
After descending into the human world by heaven’s command and receiving every sort of treasured treatment, she had heard rumors, that breeding ground of every lurid tale under the sky, and had fallen hopelessly in love with them.
Though she had wound up acting as an information broker along the way, at her core she was simply a very old fox who loved sensational gossip.

“Just tell me this one thing. Is it true that you and Yong Chang-jin are fighting over adopting the Saint? Or is the real truth that it’s not adoption at all, but a love triangle with the Saint between you two? Which one is true?”

No matter what, isn’t that taking things way too far?
Baek Ho-yeon felt just a little afraid as Gu So-ye leaned forward, eyes gleaming brightly.