episode_0068

I had someone remove the ox horn and immediately sent an invitation to Hongseongmun.

The justification was sufficient.

Helped me during the last meeting.

Geomseong said he did very little, but I think he received help from my perspective.

If it were repayment for that, the Sword Saint would not refuse it.

After sending the invitation to the Sword Saint, I went out immediately.

“Where are you going?”

“I want to take a quick look at the farmland. Would you like to go with me?”

Chae-jin, who was talking about something with Yo-hwan in the backyard, came up to me smiling, and she nodded at what I said.

” Let’s go.”

“Hmm. Yohwan. Then I will go.”

I waved hello to her and we went straight outside.

“Chae Sojeo.”

“Yes?”

“Do you still want to fight with Hongryeon?”

I have some concerns, so I can’t help but ask. I can’t say that there isn’t an atmosphere that gets a little sharper every time the two meet…

When I asked with concern, Chaejin shrugged her shoulders.

“I can’t say no. Of course, I have no intention of fighting with a sword.”

“Is that so? Thank you for that.”

“Someone please.”

Smirking and smiling playfully and confidently, she slightly approached me.

After returning from checking the farmland, I was working and a servant came in.

He was the servant sent to Hongseongmun earlier. What he was holding in his hand was a letter.

When I received it and opened it, I saw that it was a reply sent directly by Geomseong.

“Hmm…”

Although there is something written about humility, it comes.

Certainly, as Hongryeon said, she did not call the Sword Saint alone, so she accepted it.

Hey. I am not the student who has been with Sword Saint for the longest time.

The disciples who came this time were Hongryeon and Sayun.

It went better. I need to feed her herbal medicine at least once more.

I nodded and immediately got up and went downstairs.

“Yohwan! Yohwan!”

“Why do you call me that?”

Yohwan, who was sitting in the backyard trimming green onions with his friends, tilted his head in confusion.

I explained the situation to her and she nodded, crossing her arms and thinking seriously.

“Hmm. okay. Let me prepare the banquet. However, to make medicinal dishes, you need ingredients. Can I use it?”

The Jeomsoys were nervous when Yohwan said that he would make a proper herbal dish. That’s because you know how badly she mistreated the Jeomsoy when she made herbal medicine last time.

However, since you are inviting a swordsman and not just anyone else, you will need to prepare as much as possible.

“Of course.”

“Hmm. King day! Go with Mae Hwan-geun and Cheon Il-gak…”

“Yes, yes!!”

Perhaps because he wanted to prepare a proper banquet, Yohwan moved quickly even though there was still time left.

Well then, I guess I should do my job too.

“Why are you so busy?”

As I was going up to take care of work, I ran into Chaejin. She, who was puzzled by Yohwan and Jeomsoi’s movements, smiled when she heard my story.

“If the Sword Saint comes… Hmm. Are those three having dinner together?”

“Probably so.”

“What about the guest?”

“Well. Would you like to sit down for a moment?”

“Then you can eat with me. How about eating together later?”

“Let’s do that.”

It was evening.

Geomseong brings Hongryeon and Sayun when the dinner business is a bit quieter.

In other words, I heard that it was after the busy period.

When I heard that he was coming late on purpose for Yohwan and me, Yohwan stuck his tongue out.

“I didn’t know that someone of Geomseong’s level would care so much.”

“That’s right. By the way, are you ready? I think it’s about time…”

I looked around the guest room. Unlike during busy times, there are customers at some tables, but they are just there to drink.

Yohwan was now able to focus on cooking with all his might.

“Hello~!”

It was a lively voice. Yohwan and I looked in that direction, and there stood a woman with dark blue long hair who was not wearing Hongseongmun’s uniform, but rather the characteristic old Hongseongmun uniform, a woman with red hair that I had become accustomed to by now, and a girl with gray hair. .

The person who greeted me was none other than Sayun.

I waved at her, who had become a little brighter recently, and then gave a hug to the swordsman who was staring at me with a grave expression.

“Thank you for accepting the invitation.”

“Thank you for inviting me.”

“I will take you inside.”

I glanced at Hongryeon, and she slowly fell back. When Geomseong and Sayun went inside, I spoke to Hongryeon.

“Thank you for persuading Geomseong.”

“Ahaha… I don’t know if I should call this persuasion or what.”

“Hmm?”

Wasn’t it because of Hongryeon and Sayun’s persuasion that the swordsman, who was no different from a hikikomori, came out like this?

“I just said let’s go, and Master just thought for a moment and said let’s go together. It’s just persuasion and nothing else.”

If that’s the case, it comes up a bit when I sing it before. Hongryeon grinned and gently grabbed the hem of my clothes.

“Anyway, how about eating together? Aren’t there a lot of things you want to ask Master? What if they invited me separately like this?”

“That’s true, but I don’t want to disturb the intimate meeting between priests. Today I will eat outside, so enjoy it.”

“A. Don’t do that.”

“Today, the guest has a prior engagement with me.”

The one who came out at that time was Chaejin. When she spoke with a bright smile, Hongryeon smiled brightly as well.

“Oh my. Did you do that?”

“Yes. So, Hongryeon. As the head of the house said, how about having a close relationship between priests?”

“Hmmmm…”

Hongryeon, who was smiling even with the corners of her eyes curled, nodded. Then he gently grabs the hem of my clothes and blinks one eye.

“Are you going to eat with me next time?”

“That’s right. Anyway, I have some things to say.”

For the final battle of Part 1 in the future, we must link up with Hongryeon.

Because of that, I tried to ask her to have a meal later, and it worked out well.

Only after hearing what I said, Hongryeon let go of her clothes and went inside, and Chaejin frowned slightly and watched her go in.

“Now. Let’s eat too.”

“Yes.”

I ate while chatting with Chaejin about various things.

She suggested we have a drink together, but she declined because she had work to do, and she looked sullen.

But I still can’t help it. In the end, Chaejin stumbled after drinking alone, so I helped her up and took her to her room.

It seems that Go Soo, whose nickname is Wolgwangdo, was quite embarrassed that he was drunk.

Chaejin’s white skin was turning red.

I felt like pointing that out would hurt Gosoo’s pride, so I just laid him down on the bed, covered him with a blanket, and left the room.

Looks like there are still more banquets to be held… I guess I’ll have to wait a little longer.

I took the pipe from my room and headed to the backyard.

Medicinal herbs scattered around the backyard, and the beds Sayun made in the corner.

As I looked at things related to Hong Seong-moon and burned the candle, I was able to calm down and organize my thoughts.

“What are you doing?”

It’s a surprise.

They say that the movements of the masters are like acting, so you can’t even feel the signs of popularity.

Geomseong suddenly appeared next to him and asked while gazing at the night sky. As I quickly tried to put out the cigarette, she shook her head.

“It’s okay.”

“Still.”

“It’s really okay. Because it’s a familiar scent to me.”

“Hmm?”

Is there anyone around Geomseong who burns tobacco? As far as I know, it wasn’t at Hongseongmun?

She smiled awkwardly at my gaze.

“My late teacher smoked it.”

“Ah. I see.”

If it’s my deceased teacher… was this a pointless thing to say?

A heavy air settled in the backyard.

“Can I sit down for a moment?”

“Of course.”

There were plenty of places to sit on the long chairs.

Geomsung, who was sitting on the other end from me, moved his lips as if he was thinking about what to say, then paused for a moment. Look at me.

And only after doing something incomprehensible, such as looking at the sky again, did he open his mouth.

“…Thank you.”

“What are you saying?”

“Everything you do for Hong Seong-moon.”

“Isn’t that something I want to do too?”

“But it is also true that Hong Seong-moon is helped by that.”

“…That’s right, but.”

Actually, that’s the goal. Geomseong lowered his head with a bitter smile.

“Actually, all of those things should have been handled by Jang Moon-in.”

It’s not wrong. The management of the clan was also the role of the scholar-in-chief.

It’s just that she wasn’t good at it, so Hongryeon and Ryuhyun took charge of it.

“I heard it from Hongryeon and Ryu Soje. The Sword Saint also tried to do it himself.”

It’s just that the results were bad so I passed on to those two.

He must have been quite embarrassed when I mentioned that.

Geomseong quietly averted his gaze and turned his eyes to the sky.

“What should I do? Each person has their own talents. If you try to do something that is not suitable for your talent, you will make frequent mistakes and end up doing more work. To the disciples, they couldn’t even raise their heads.”

“Still, Hong Seong-moon’s disciples respect and follow their teacher, don’t they?”

Otherwise, there would be no way among the disciples to obediently do the difficult task of following Hongseong’s spirit.

At my words, Geomseong snorted with a triumphant look on his face.

“Hmm. They are truly miraculous disciples to me, who is truly lacking.”

“Haha. That’s right.”

There was a pause.

Since I didn’t have anything else to say, I sucked on the tobacco, and Geomseong just stared at the sky without saying anything.

How long did the silence last like that?

It was the voice of the Sword Saint that broke it.

“I heard that they built a sword room in Seomhwachon, brought in an amuletist, and hired a cook to make medicinal dishes.”

“I think you are misunderstanding something, but I did not create the sword room and I did not hire the talisman.”

“But I heard that the land where Geombang is located is your land, and it was you who brought the talisman.”

“Haha. Well, that would be it.”

“Do you plan to develop an island village?”

I saw it correctly. Right now, it’s just about sword fighting, amulets, and herbal cooking, but as time goes by, we’ll continue to work on making Seomhwachon a base.

“Anyway, this is where I live. Only when this place grows will we become stronger.”

“Us…”

“Hong Seong-moon and I.”

Did he like my answer? Geomseong let out a low laugh. But somehow, that smile seems to contain sadness and longing.

“Do you know that? You are so similar to someone I used to know.”

“…..?”

“He said the same thing. I want to make Hong Seong-moon stronger. And I always found a way… To do that, I had to develop the island village.”

“That’s a great person. Who are you?”

For a moment, Geomseong’s eyes became cloudy.

“My teacher. Master wanted me and the Ambassador to strengthen Hongseongmun together… and…”

While I was surprised by the deep bitterness in those deep eyes, Geomseong smiled and stood up.

“The food was really good. I will definitely pay this price.”

“I did not invite you to receive money. The current situation is a bit unstable. It’s like a bribe given in hopes that Hongseongmun will come forward in case of an emergency…”

“Hahaha! Who would give a bribe so boldly?”

Geomseong laughed out loud and then stood up.

“Still… if you want to protect something, please let me know so I can add whatever strength I need if necessary.”

Geomseong, who spoke calmly, went inside without a trace, and I clenched my fist.

He promised that even if an emergency occurs, Geomseong will participate in the war.

There is no such thing as a thousand soldiers or a thousand demons.