episode_0094

*****

After I announced my participation in the exchange exhibition, I never opened my mouth. This is because Jang Min, who had been persistently talking to me, lost interest as soon as he received confirmation of participation.

It’s a bit awkward to stand like a folding screen without saying a word. Can’t you just send it to me? I thought so, but surprisingly the conversation ended quickly. It seems that there was no intention to decide every detail here.

While Changhyuk was greeting Jang Min, Junseok’s eyes turned to me. As someone who felt prickly, I had no choice but to avoid that gaze. From Jun-seok’s perspective, I was hiding my identity as the enemy’s daughter.

Well, in reality, it’s hiding an even more profound identity.

“… Practice starts tomorrow. Because for the time being, only you will be teaching. Don’t miss out and come out.”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

However, what was actually said was a simple message. Well, even if I say something, I probably won’t say it now that Changhyuk is around.

Suddenly, Junseok’s hand rose. It didn’t go up that much, but due to the height difference, it was about as high as my head.

Are you trying to hit me with one?

“… … .”

I was shocked as I was preparing for a sweet night, but Junseok lowered his open palm again. What on earth did you want to do?

In the end, Jun-seok left the room with Jang-min after the conversation without saying or doing anything.

“Can I go out too?”

“Wait a moment. Let’s talk for a bit.”

Tap, tap, tap. Every time Changhyuk knocks on the table, a magic formula is created. As the macroized modern magic covered the entire room, the presence outside the room instantly became faint. Probably the same applies when sensing the inside from the outside.

“That’s it. You can speak comfortably now.”

“Thank you. Ah, I think I will buy it.”

Although I’ve become quite accustomed to acting as an ARMY, it’s hard to hold back the itching feeling when Changhyuk is in front of me. You know why. That feeling that keeps bursting out in laughter when you do a clumsy act that doesn’t even work?

If Changhyuk asks, ‘What are you doing?’ I am confident that if I say just one word, I will burst into laughter. It’s going to be a catastrophe, so I’m trying desperately to hold on.

“Why were you scared?”

“Huh? What are you scared of?”

“When Junseok tried to pet me earlier.”

That was meant to be petted? After listening to it, I didn’t think I could say for sure that there was no room to see it that way.

“I thought you were going to hit me. From his point of view, his student was lying.”

“Only with honey chestnuts?”

“What’s important about that? That’s enough, let’s talk about what we have to say.”

If I think about it calmly, it was definitely a bit embarrassing. I’m not a kid who cowers for fear of being scolded.

It was a blatant change of topic, but fortunately Changhyuk didn’t fall for that part.

“What are you talking about? This means that you will soon officially become Kwon Seong’s daughter. Congratulations on your daughter.”

“Is this responsibility without pleasure or something else?”

“It doesn’t matter anyway. Where is the responsibility of the dead person?”

I don’t know right now, but I think things will get more complicated once I return to my original body. At that time, Ami Kim will disappear, and I will suddenly become a widower who lost his daughter.

“I can’t help it. In the first place, you are self-employed.”

“Are you self-employed?”

“I heard you cried a lot after watching the video of your funeral? Even if you say, ‘I have nothing to do with Kwon Seong,’ the kids will probably believe you”

“Ugh… .”

Now that I think about it, something like that happened. But that is force majeure. It’s like proof that the efforts I’ve made so far haven’t been in vain.

It is impossible not to be shaken by seeing something like that. In fact, I still look at it from time to time whenever I think of it.

Funerals weren’t the only problem. Besides that, there are many factors that could make me doubt my background. First, martial arts. Like Potential, you cannot use this skill overnight.

If someone as skilled in martial arts as me suddenly appeared, I would have been suspicious. I restrained myself in front of Jun-seok, but other than that, I wasn’t desperately trying to hide my martial arts skills.

It is said that there was plenty of information to be found, such as the fact that I was the younger sister of my partner, Sia, and the insurance money.

“It worked out better. There were limits to hiding your identity from Junseok anyway. If we say that he is Kwon-seong’s child, Jun-seok will understand.”

“I heard earlier that there was a person named Jang Min who was related by blood or something. You’re not planning on saying he’s your biological son, are you?”

“What do you think? It’s like a genetic test. You can just say it changed because of Lee Hyung-gye’s potential.”

“Who on earth are you planning to say you married? .”

Currently, Ami’s age according to family register is 17 years old, and Ha-min’s age according to family register is 37 years old. In other words, Ha-min had an accident at the age of 20 and gave birth to a child, but neither his wife nor his children were registered in the family register.

No matter how much I don’t care about the opinions of others, I don’t want to end up as trash. These days, I’m a bit worried about the evaluation of those around me.

“Well. How about Sia?”

“Are you crazy!?”

Sia’s age is 28 now? 29? 17 years ago, I was around 11 years old. If you add the label of pedophile to the label of trash, the achievements I have built will quickly fade.

In the first place, if something unusual had happened to 11-year-old Sia, it would have naturally been noticed. It’s an assumption that can’t be established from the beginning!

“Don’t stop a normal girl from getting married, but think about it properly.”

“But let’s say there are other women with potential—… . Sorry, let’s pretend this never happened.”

“Hey!”

Did you really have to stop at that point?

Anyway, for that reason, I was decided to be an adopted son who was not related by blood to Seong Kwon. It’s a misunderstanding on the part of China. It’ll be okay as long as they provide corrective information.

“Of course, it won’t change just because you went from being a biological child to being adopted. China’s purpose will be more focused on the fact that you are Kwon Seong’s successor rather than the fact that you are Kwon Seong’s child.”

“I know.”

It is a martial art that I have been practicing for nearly 20 years. Now I know very well that it is close to impossible to change.

It will be more convenient in the future to reveal it in this way rather than struggling to hide it for no reason in the future.

“… Let me just say this first. Don’t think that I will always win.”

“What, you’re not confident?”

“No, that’s not it.”

If you think normally, you can’t lose. Rather than simply a matter of level, it is because my martial arts itself is different from ordinary martial arts.

All of China’s famous schools have a long history. Their strong military power and tradition were important factors that enabled China to overcome the period of great turmoil.

However, long history is not necessarily a good thing. Magical power existed in this world even before the period of great chaos, but the amount was extremely small.

Therefore, the martial arts of the sect are a mixture of parts that are premised on magical power, or to put it in Chinese terms, internal skills, and parts that do not. Of course, there was plenty of fighting to do even before the great chaos.

On the other hand, my martial arts skills were established by my teacher as appropriate for the current environment, and I have honed them in practice. The secondary martial arts that are completed by combining the talent cheats given by God can destroy most Chinese martial arts that have a lot of redundancy.

In other words, my opinion is that it is difficult for a student who inherited that type of martial arts to win with a Chinese martial arts of the same skill level. Even though they knew that, they continued to challenge it.

“Is it possible that the old people there are stubborn?”

“It may not be there at all, but you don’t have to consider it.”

If they lose to Kwon Seong and his disciple one after another, their reputation will be in vain. It is true that these people have an old-fashioned temperament that values face, but that does not mean they are so incompetent that they ignore their own shortcomings.

If you really are acting unreasonably without realizing it, just blow it away and you’re done.

“You mean they sent it because they thought there was a good chance of defeating you?”

“To be exact, it’s not me, but it’s my martial arts skills.”

If there is no such improvement, it will ultimately be a repeat of the time when I received the title of Kwon Seong. Talent, effort, martial arts. He must have chosen to take on the challenge because he was confident that everything was better than Kwon Sung’s successor, Kim A-mi.

“So, it would be a good idea to think about what it would be like if I lost. Don’t you think there’s more to it than Kwon Seong’s reputation and other vague things?”

Not all people from the Old Daemun faction are closed-minded people. There may be people who hate Kwon Seong for defeating all of their leaders, but there are also quite a few who are convinced that there is nothing they can do since Kwon Seong is not in a low position.

To such a person, other things would seem more attractive than an ambiguous title like Kwon Seong.

“Well. At best, if you lose, the Chinese hero industry will go wild? But that’s the company’s problem, not ours, so there’s no need to worry about it.”

“We must work hard to protect our own industries. Anything else?”

“No, really none. They say that in return for this exchange war, they will recognize the northern front’s movement north, but what kind of recognition can they give when it’s not even their land anymore? It’s just condescending. There really is nothing wrong, so fight in peace.”

The fights we’ve had so far have been so burdensome that it almost feels like they’re in vain. What can you expect from a new hero who has just entered hero school?

“Besides, honor is important enough. There are people who ran away to China to protect their master’s honor.”

“I was young back then~.”

“I’m still a bright 17-year-old.”

Don’t suddenly go to China this time. Instead of answering Changhyuk, who said that, I stuck out my tongue.

***

By the time I left the principal’s office, lunch time was already over. Everyone will be at the training ground, so it will probably be half empty. I need to pack a few things and quickly move towards the training ground.

Was thinking like that a foreshadowing? Surprisingly, there was someone left in the class.

“What are you doing when you’re not gone? Is it really okay?”

“It’s not like that. The teachers said they had work today, so it was changed to self-training.”

“Anyway, self-training is a thing.”

“Well, I have something to talk about.”

What on earth is this thing that two people have to talk about while skipping class? Anxiety creeps up again. Anyway, I won’t talk too much at this time.

“Is this something that will take a long time? If not, I think you can do it as you go.”

“Yes, then.”

Fortunately, Hwa-in easily agreed to the idea of talking while moving. For now, I’m relieved that it won’t end up in a strange atmosphere. … It’s a bit tiring to worry about this all the time.

But if that happens, what is there to talk about? The only things that come to mind right now are things related to Hwa-in’s potential and what happened with So Baek-hyang this morning.

As for potential, So Baek-hyang would be more likely since we had a chance to talk on the way to Seoul. However, it would be difficult for Hwa-in to feel antipathy towards So Baek-hyang any more than this.

I decided to strike first before Hwain opened his mouth.

“It’s okay, I don’t really care. Rather, in today’s world, such upright kindness is rare, so please take care of it.”

“… ? What are you talking about?”

I guess not. Ugh, this is embarrassing.

My face gets hot with shame. It’s probably quite red. It seems like he’s been making mistakes quite often these days, so be careful.

“It’s okay if you don’t know. So, what were you trying to say?”

“Are you… .”

Hwain’s conversation was briefly interrupted by people approaching from the other side. Someone looked and saw that there were five boys and girls, including So Baek-hyang. Are those guys from China?

That side also noticed this side and was approaching. No, I think it was my goal from the beginning.

“I came because I wanted to see what kind of person his successor is.”

Among the five, the boy in the center, closer to the young man, came forward and spoke. His body size is similar to that of Hwain, but like a military man, his eyes are sharp and his eyes are narrow. The body is also quite well-trained.

It certainly seems like he has the skills to be selected as a representative.

“Only in this way is it certain that our side will win.”

“Is this a sudden provocation?”

“Rather, it was us who were provoked. It’s like making fun of a man. Why are old people in my country obsessed with these things?”

“What does Hellele mean? .”

By the way, my face was red right now. For some reason, So Baek-hyang was next to me, glaring at me with a smiling face.

“… You must be mistaken. This was some bad timing.”

“How do you feel? After all, he is the child of Gwonseong. Even if your behavior is vulgar, you have to do it.”

“What is it, you guys. Why did you suddenly come and start a fight?”

Just as I was about to make an odd excuse, Hwa-in joined the conversation from the side. The face of the guy who was laughing provocatively became slightly distorted.

“I don’t want to hear about Pillar West.”

“Just a friend. You can’t just sit by and watch your friend get criticized.”

For some reason, I feel like Hwain next to me is more upset than me at being provoked. As I looked at that, my fever cooled down a little.

He probably came to challenge me before the exchange, but Hwa-in joined in from the side, making the picture a little strange. He must have realized that too, as he was talking to Hwa-in, and his expression was getting worse by the minute.

I guess he realized that if he left it like this, the story would go downhill. There must have been something he didn’t like about Hwa-in suddenly joining in.

The boy’s expression suddenly hardened and he slowly stretched out one hand forward.

“It is not right for an outsider who does not know the situation to interfere. If you intervene without knowing how to do it, you could get hurt?”

Although nothing is visible to the naked eye, magical power secretly fluctuates around the hand. It is definitely a move that contains the magic of radish.

If left as is, Hwain may get injured. I couldn’t just watch that happen, so I stretched out my hand to respond.

“Pfft!?”

“Uh, what?”

I was embarrassed because I didn’t know where to put my hands, which had nowhere to go.

“Who gets hurt?”

The boy’s outstretched hand was being held by Hwain. That was all it was, and it was a truly clean defense that stopped the flow of magic power.

I, watching from the side, was surprised, but the person involved must have been surprised. It was as if he had not expected this situation at all.

“This, that… !”

It seems like he is trying to move his magic power somehow, but the boy’s magic power does not budge. This is because the painter is holding tightly to the point where magical power flows.

To get out of this, you have to use a method like Geumnasu to respond in earnest, but then it becomes a real fight.

A boy who is confused because he cannot do this or that. Among the boy’s companions who were just watching, a girl dressed in flashy clothes burst into laughter.

“Ah, so funny! They said they showed off and got a reverse tour~.”

“City, be noisy! I was just a little distracted!”

“Not letting your guard down is a skill~? I guess they don’t teach that in the fortune-telling school?”

“Ugh!”

Seeing the two people starting to bicker, the giant sighed. So Baek-hyang is busy staring at Hwa-in with bright eyes. It was so crazy. It was so crazy.

Aside from the gloomy-looking boy who shows no reaction, there is no trace of the serious atmosphere from just moments ago. The guy who held Hwain’s hand now says, ‘So I said I didn’t want to do this…’ .’ He even mumbles.

“There was a lot of rudeness on our part. If it is okay, I would be grateful if the Lord would let go of his anger and let go.”

“Ah, yes.”

When Geohan bowed his head deeply, Hwain let go of his hand. If the other side shows a polite attitude by saying that you can’t spit on a smiling face, then this side should respond accordingly.

“Are you going to start an argument first and then just leave?”

“Do you want to stop it?”

“… Sheesh. Guys like snakes.”

In the end, it would be unreasonable for either side or this side to make a big fuss here. The reason he attacked Hwain was probably to show off my skills on the assumption that I would respond.

Hwa-in responded well and embarrassed the other side, so there was nothing bad on this side either.

“Then, the next time I see you will be the decisive battle. Until then, please take good care of yourself.”

“Oh, wait a minute! There you!”

“What is it?”

“You must come to the exchange match. Understand? At that time, I didn’t let my guard down and did it properly──”

“Yes, saying more would only be ugly, so let’s stop there.”

“Oh, okay, stop pulling! Hey, definitely!”

As the girl in fancy clothes led the boy, Geohan put his hands together with one hand and followed behind with the rest of the group.

On the way, I felt eyes on me and saw a gloomy boy looking at me who hadn’t said a word. It wasn’t even a glance, but a direct stare, so I tried to find out what it meant by potential.

“Let’s go.”

Before that, the giant called him and turned his head forward again.

The sullen boy didn’t see me again until they were gone down the hallway.

… Why did I only care about that gaze?

“Let’s go too.”

“Uh, yes.”

I called Hwain, who was dazed, and we walked back to the training ground. Hwa-in must have a lot to think about, too.

“What does it mean to be Kwon Seong’s successor?”

This is the first thing I ask. I briefly wondered if I could answer, but since it was spread as a rumor anyway, I guess it wouldn’t matter. If you have to, you can just ask them to keep it a secret.

“I am Kwon Seong’s son. Although we are not related by blood.”

“Then, what martial arts sword do you use?”

“It’s all Kwon Seong’s legacy.”

Hiding one’s identity completely and hiding one’s identity only halfway. A thought briefly crossed my mind as to which lie was worse. The conclusion was ‘both are bad’.

Hwain was not as surprised as he thought. It seems that the part I was talking about as Kwon Seong’s descendant really turned out to be a rumor. The fact that I didn’t even notice was probably because the kids around me were paying a lot of attention.

“Then what about those kids? What is an exchange war?”

“Well, the story takes a slightly different turn. Do you know how Kwon Seong earned the title of Kwon Seong?”

Hwain’s head nodded immediately. Well, there’s no way Hwain, a hero fanatic, wouldn’t know. It’s a long time ago, but at the time, this was being promoted on a national level.

“It’s not well known, but Kwon Seong also had a teacher.”

Master was not strong. To be honest, even when I first met him as a boy, I was stronger than him.

However, that person was extraordinarily intelligent. In novels, the Zhuge family is usually said to be very intelligent, and even this world in the novel was no exception.

He identified the deterioration of Chinese martial arts over time and attempted to reduce the unnecessary elements. However, the Gupa Ilbang naturally did not want to admit that their martial arts skills were flawed, so the master fled to Korea.

And there I found myself receiving a talent cheat from God.

“There was such a person? But now… .”

“He passed away. Oh, this has nothing to do with China. Because he died fighting Genesis.”

He creates a theory and I verify it. Just as I learned a lot from him, he must have learned a lot from me. Although we called him Master because of his age, we were both teacher and student to each other.

The problem arose when, according to his will, he attempted to deliver the results of his life’s research, martial arts, to the Chinese martial arts community. His martial arts skills were summarized in a somewhat romantic form called ‘big level’.

It was torn to pieces in front of the many people in the old room.

With the disparagement of being a third-rate martial artist.

“… … .”

“It’s something that can’t be helped. During the great chaos, China was desperate to reform its old-file-one-room system. What a new skill in that situation. It’s like throwing a bomb.”

It is true that his martial arts were poison to China at the time. That’s why colleagues like Changhyuk, who were well-versed in politics, were opposed to sending military officers.

Okay, let’s say it couldn’t be helped. But didn’t they have the feeling that the master they kicked out couldn’t have created something superior to their martial arts skills? Was there really a need to tear it apart and denigrate it as a third-rate martial artist?

At the time, I couldn’t stand it.

“Then it was completely China’s fault.”

“Because that’s not the case either.”

This title Kwonseong comes from China. It contains fear and respect for a boy who was not even young enough to defeat the pinnacle of Chinese martial arts one after another. In fact, it could be seen as an acknowledgment of the master’s military merit.

It would have been nice if it had ended there. Our government took excessive political advantage of the fact that I defeated China and received the title of Kwon Seong.

In fact, even if you are a long-time scholar, the period of training using magical power after the Great Chaos is not much different from mine. Since I had been traveling around all battlefields right after the great chaos, it was natural that my skills were higher than those of the leaders of the organization.

However, looking at the world, it only appears that Noh Kang-ho, who trained martial arts for decades, was defeated by a young boy. Our country dug into that part mercilessly.

Thanks to this, Korea’s competitiveness in awakened talent has increased significantly, and in China, confusion has worsened for a while due to the departure of power.

From our perspective, Kwon Seong may be a good hero who brought national interest to Gukbbong.

“If you look at it from the other side, it would be no different from a villain who insulted those who admitted defeat and brought chaos to Chinese society. Especially in the case of children from a clan, a relative or teacher may have suffered direct damage.”

Looking at So Baek-hyang’s hostility, I think it’s probably the latter case. Not only because he mentioned the name of the clan, but also because he seemed to have quite a grudge against me considering that China hates me.

“So, at their request, I decided to participate in this exchange war with China. Do you think you can go out too? I’m not sure about that. Okay, anyway, this is the end of the explanation. Do you have any more questions?”

“… No.”

Hwain said he had no questions, but he seemed to be in deeper thought. Was there anything in the story you were talking about that you had to worry about so much?

Except for the things I couldn’t say because of the point of view, I told him pretty much everything. aha! I’m a little surprised because I thought the explanation was so clear that I couldn’t help but cry.

“Ah, that’s right. Come to think of it, didn’t you say earlier that you had something to talk about in class?”

“I’ll ask that next time. We’re all here.”

I slowed my pace as much as possible to talk about this and that, but before I knew it, I had arrived in front of the large training ground. Since we’ve already talked about it, I wanted to answer all at once, but Hwa-in refused, saying it was enough for now.

Sheesh. Next time you ask, don’t answer. I guess I raised him too much.

Coincidentally, Hwain’s level has also risen. I entered the training ground with Hwain, promising that today’s special training would be several times harder than usual.

*****