episode_0095

After leaving the command tent.

Baek-ryeon wore a very cheerful expression.

“You look happy?”

“Yes! I feel very refreshed thanks to what you said, Master.”

“That’s a relief.”

Baek-ryeon nodded, smiling at my words.

I lightly stroked Baek-ryeon’s head, then turned my gaze to Baek-ho.

“Baek-ho, are you alright?”

“Hmm? About what?”

“I was wondering if you were okay just coming out like this without saying anything, since you met Jujak after a long time.”

“Ah… Is that what you mean?”

As if understanding what I meant, Baek-ho nodded slightly.

“I’m fine. Of course, it’s not like I don’t have a sense of camaraderie as a fellow guardian deity, and it’s true that I was happy to see Jujak’s familiar face after a long time. But that’s it. Our principle is to interfere as little as possible with each other’s work, unless what we’re doing involves excessive intervention in the lower world.”

“Excessive intervention, huh…”

The reason Jujak lost his power was because of a promise he made with Hyunmu.

Breaking the promise between the guardian deities, and lending power to humans instead…

“Come to think of it, why did Baek-ho decide to help humans?”

“The reason, you ask?… Hmm… It’s been a while, so I don’t remember very well… But one thing is certain, I was impressed by something about humans, so I gave my blood to them…, I think.”

“Is that so?”

If you say you don’t remember, there’s nothing I can do.

It’s not really important anyway, and I only asked out of simple curiosity.

“Oh my, it’s a pleasure to see you. It seems we’ve been meeting quite often lately. Haha.”

“Advisor Yang. I’m sure we left the sect before you, so how did you arrive first?”

“Well, you went through the Tang Clan to get here, and I went straight to Heavenly Mountain, so it’s only natural. Besides, you stayed at the Tang Clan for a few days to deal with the aftermath, didn’t you?”

“That’s… true.”

Well, and we didn’t rush when heading from the Tang Clan to Heavenly Mountain. It’s somewhat understandable that they arrived first.

“Advisor Yang, I was too surprised by the news of Dang Seol-pung’s death to ask you then, but there’s something I want to ask you.”

“If it’s something I can answer, I’ll be happy to answer it. Then, shall we talk there while I guide you to the tent you’ll be using? There are bound to be many listeners here, after all.”

That’s true.

This is a command tent, but there are definitely many people walking around.

Especially since rumors about me have probably spread like wildfire due to the Murim warriors of Kunlun who brought me here.

“Alright. Lead the way.”

“Understood. The ladies with you, please follow me as well.”

“Wow~ I was called out to a stiff meeting as soon as I arrived here, I was so tired~ It was like attending a theology class~”

Lucy was the most enthusiastic about the prospect of going to lodgings where she could rest.

I thought she was quietly following along for once, but seeing her act so freely so quickly, I thought, ‘She held it in well.’

“Well, even though we came leisurely, it doesn’t mean we haven’t accumulated fatigue.”

“I want to groom my fur for a while too.”

“Alright. Please follow me.”

Everyone seemed to agree about resting, so we followed Advisor Yang to the tent where we would be staying.

“Ah, right. There’s one thing I wanted to mention.”

“What is it?”

Advisor Yang opened his mouth as if he had remembered something.

“You are currently at war with the Beastmen Alliance, aren’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“That being the case, it’s not good to be too stingy with resources, but it’s also not a good choice to deliberately waste resources that can be saved.”

“That’s… true, isn’t it?”

What on earth is he trying to say, taking his time like this?

“Just say whatever you want to say quickly.”

“Haha. What I want to say is this.”

Advisor Yang stopped walking.

The place where he stopped was a tent with the symbol of the Yeom Family engraved on it.

“Since there’s only one tent, I’m sorry, but it seems you’ll have to use the same tent, is that alright?”

“I don’t mind…”

I turned my gaze to Baek-ryeon and the others.

“Yes, I don’t mind either, as long as I’m using it with you, Master.”

“I’m fine with it, so don’t worry about me.”

“Me too~ I actually like it even more… Hehehe.”

It seems like there’s a traitor at the end, but I’ll just lightly ignore it…

“They say it’s alright.”

“I’m glad. Ah, right. In addition, please keep any displays of affection quiet. It’s a bit unsettling to be needlessly stimulated, after all.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Advisor Yang mischievously said, bringing one finger to his lips.

Naturally, Baek-ryeon and Baek-ho were embarrassed by Advisor Yang’s words. They can’t help but moan every time they have sex with me. If I’m going to be careful, I need to be most careful of these two.

“Then, come in.”

“Alright.”

I followed Yang into the tent.

The tent was cleaner than I expected. And it was quite spacious inside compared to how it looked on the outside, so it was a sufficient place for four people to sleep.

Advisor Yang took a seat on the chair prepared there, and I took a seat on the opposite chair.

In the meantime, the ladies settled down on the makeshift bedding, waiting for my conversation with Advisor Yang.

“So, what did you want to ask?”

“Dang Seol-pung and I suspected that there was a traitor in the Tang Clan. And we suspected that the traitor was Dang Seol-ryun. In other words, Dang Seol-pung suspected that Dang Seol-ryun was a traitor. But why did he take Dang Seol-ryun to the national conference?”

Right. I should have realized something was strange.

At the time, I was so shocked by the news of Dang Seol-pung’s death and the news that Dang Seol-ryun had taken control of the Tang Clan and was trying to attack the Yeom Kingdom in cooperation with the Beastmen Alliance that I didn’t think deeply about it and immediately headed to the Tang Clan, but after the Tang Clan’s problem was resolved, I thought about it carefully and something was strange.

Dang Seol-pung…

At least as far as I knew, Dang Seol-pung was not the kind of person to keep a foolish person like that by his side in such a dangerous situation.

Why did such a person take Dang Seol-ryun to the national conference, and how did he end up being killed by Dang Seol-ryun?

‘…I can roughly guess how he died. Dang Seol-ryun must have dealt the final blow to Dang Seol-pung, who was exhausted after fighting Bokhae Daeseong.’

Bokhae Daeseong said he didn’t finish him off himself, so that must be the case. He had no reason to lie, and he didn’t seem to be lying either.

“Indeed, is that what you wanted to talk about?”

Yang also nodded, as if he understood my question to some extent.

“Yes. There were people from the Hao Clan present when I told that story. You, I heard you’re the captain of the Jaryong Unit… You can get information from the Hao Clan, right? You knew he was a traitor, so why did you let Dang Seol-ryun wander around on his own?”

“To be precise, we only had suspicions that he was a traitor, we had no actual evidence.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“No. Suspicion and evidence make a significant difference.”

Yang shrugged his shoulders and said.

“First of all… The reason we left him alone was because of what Dang Seol-pung said.”

“Because of Dang Seol-pung?”

“Yes. First, he said he wanted to avoid being suspected. So he told our Jaryong not to attach any clumsy surveillance.”

“…”

To not attach surveillance simply to avoid suspicion…

However, Yang didn’t seem to be lying.

“I can’t dare to know what he was thinking, but… if I were to guess, maybe… he hoped he wasn’t a traitor.”

“?”

“Regardless, Dang Seol-ryun is currently a traitor, but he is the biological son of the former head of the Tang Clan, Dang Seol-pung. So I wonder if he hoped he wasn’t a traitor. He may not seem like it, but he’s a very affectionate person.”

He wanted to believe in him because he was his biological son…

I think, ‘Is that really the case?’ but I’m not sure it’s not. Parents abandoning their children are not uncommon anywhere in the world.

“Especially since Dang Seol-pung hasn’t taken a new wife since his first wife, Yeon-hui. I think he couldn’t easily shake off his affection for his first wife and the three children he had with her.”

“Wife…”

Come to think of it… I went to the Tang Clan twice…

Moreover, even though I stayed at the Tang Clan for a long time, I’ve never seen or heard anything about Dang Seol-pung’s wife. Why didn’t I know? If he has children, he must have been married, and if he was married, that means he has a spouse. Even so, I didn’t notice…

“Dang Seol-pung must have sincerely loved his wife, Yeon-hui, right?”

“That’s right. Originally, he was quite cold and rational. After meeting and marrying Yeon-hui, he became more easygoing.”

“…Is that what you call easygoing?”

A sincerely loved one and three children born from that love.

One child had the talent of a genius that surpassed his own, but he wanted a peaceful life rather than to develop that talent, so he accepted his wishes and let his child do as he wanted.

One child wanted a life of freely training in martial arts rather than the power of the head of the family, so he accepted his wishes and let his child do as he wanted.

And one child…

“…Tsk. Okay, I get it. I shouldn’t dig too deeply into other people’s family affairs. Then, this is something else. I heard that the Beastmen Alliance has launched small-scale skirmishes several times, as if testing the waters?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then I want to ask you. How do you think the military’s movements will be in the future?”

“Hmm… Is that what you mean? If my prediction is correct…”

Yang pondered for a while, then raised the corners of his lips and said.

“I think they will try to carry out a swift and decisive victory.”