episode_0136

I kept thinking as I walked through the streets of Japantown.

Refugees who migrated here.

They must be serious about attracting tourists.

It’s amazing that the local Japanese scene has been captured so accurately.

I poured all my craftsmanship into surviving in Korea.

“Sister, look at that!”

“It’s a mask play. It’s amazing… I’ve only seen it in animations…”

Fusion-style Japanese music flowing out of the streets.

And people marching, banging on percussion instruments, wearing all kinds of masks.

The unusual sight attracts the attention of tourists.

In the Japanese village, our appearance wearing Korean-style clothes stands out.

Thanks to this, even Japanese people, including tourists, occasionally glance at us.

But we simply enjoyed the atmosphere of the Japanese village to the point where we didn’t even feel those gazes.

People wearing fox masks, cat masks, strange man masks, etc.

They would jump out from behind and surprise the audience, and sometimes they would dance along with them.

Especially when he stood in front of us, that time seemed particularly long.

A woman wearing a fox mask stands before me.

There is something strange about the atmosphere given off by the woman in the black kimono.

It gives the impression of being a mystical being, not a human being.

She stopped in front of me, knelt down, and looked straight at me.

“Why, why are you doing that…?”

My words stutter involuntarily at the explicit gaze.

This is my first time experiencing something like this, so I don’t know how to react…

Soon the woman raised her finger.

And he pointed alternately at his fox ears and my fox ears.

“Fox…?”

Black eyes sparkle behind the mask.

I stared into those eyes for a moment as if I was possessed.

Meanwhile, she put something like a small talisman in my hand.

The moment she noticed the talisman in her hand, the woman leisurely disappeared into the crowd of masked performers.

“What’s wrong, Siho?”

As I was looking at the traces of her disappearance, my older sister tapped me on the shoulder.

I shook my head, barely coming to my senses at that sensation.

“No…just…”

I touched the talisman I received.

The talisman had the Chinese character for ‘fruit’ engraved on it.

It seems as if a strange fragrance is coming out, as if magic has been applied.

I liked that Chinese character so I put it in my jacket pocket.

And I walked down the street leisurely, following my older sister.

Before we know it, we have reached the center of Japan Village.

The highlight of the festival, a samurai swordsmanship show, was taking place there.

“Now, today’s main character is! A-class hunter in Korea and a true Japanese samurai! We will have Suda-san’s sword technique!”

A man wearing a yukata shouts in a loud voice.

At that sound, we all stopped walking and watched the show.

A man dressed in black samurai clothing stands in the center of the square.

In front of him was a pillar made up of twenty bamboo sticks.

At first glance, it looks very sturdy and solid.

It feels like looking at the front legs of a mastodon, a seventh-grade elephant-shaped monster.

Heavy bamboo thickness.

I can’t even imagine cutting that with a sword.

He confidently explains his swordsmanship before briefly showing off his skills.

“Our Japanese swordsmanship is superior to that of any other nation. Even now that the gates are open, we have survived through our traditional swordsmanship.”

Nyan tightly clasps both hands together and watches his preparations intently.

Since ancient times, flashy sword techniques like swordsmanship have been a man’s dream!

“I’m sorry to Koreans, but today I will show you that our Japanese swordsmanship is superior to Joseon’s.”

When she heard that, her sister’s brow furrowed.

Because to her, who is a Korean flame inspector, that statement is nothing short of provocation.

Well, I think my country would feel bad if a foreigner suddenly said that his swordsmanship was superior to ours.

Still… we’re just here to watch the show, so we’ll have to endure it…

“Let’s just watch for now, Sister. A swordsmanship… Isn’t it an amazing sight?”

My older sister nodded indifferently to my request.

If Anna had been the enemy, it would have been a big problem, but she is my older sister after all.

Oh, that’s fortunate…

“Okay, let’s go!”

MC’s grand shout.

After that shout, the square in the Japanese village was plunged into silence.

Finally, the samurai took a deep breath.

And at that moment of breathlessness…

The sword was drawn.

A shrill, spine-chilling sound echoes through the once quiet square.

In a split second, a sharp blade flashes like lightning.

At the end of that glow, a diagonal crack appeared in the bamboo pole.

and…

A heavy bamboo tree that seemed unbreakable ended up splitting in half.

It was so thick that when the bamboo fell to the ground, a cloud of dust rose up.

The dust scatters all over the square.

“Thank you.”

Suda clasps his hands together and bows politely.

The audience was momentarily dumbfounded by the flashy swordsmanship show.

“If you enjoyed our Suda San’s footwork, please give us a round of applause!”

Only then does the audience begin to applaud in unison.

Among them, the voices of the Japanese were particularly loud.

“There are very few people in this world who can use the ability to draw swords! You have had an uncommon experience!”

“—!”

The MC, who thinks this is the moment, promotes the power of the sword and encourages sponsorship.

Many people put money directly into the tax office.

Even as the donations poured in, the applause continued.

“Wow, this is really amazing. Isn’t it?”

I looked up at my sister with an excited voice.

But unlike me mentioned above, my older sister was very calm.

My sister seems lost in thought.

As if analyzing Suda’s techniques.

Finally, she woke up from her monologue and muttered to herself.

“Isn’t that swordsmanship…”

“It’s not swordsmanship?”

My older sister sometimes tends to analyze and study to refine herself.

But, even at a festival like this… I guess I’m just like the main dealer.

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen my sister’s skills since she was trained by Anna.

Since you were trained by a ranker, you must be at least an A-class hunter by now, right?

Sister, you’ve grown a step further…

Thinking about it like that makes me feel a bit uneasy.

Thanks to that, my hand naturally reaches for the talisman that the mysterious woman gave me.

He held tightly to the talisman inside his robe.

Fruit… I wonder if I can develop my abilities again someday and be of help…

“That’s probably a completely different skill. It’s probably not even a real samurai.”

She rests her hand on her chin, lost in thought, and soon comes to her senses.

Because the older sister’s voice, which had grown louder, reached the samurai’s ears.

A man with a fierce face, as expected of a warrior, looks at his older sister.

The gazes of the beautiful hanbok-clad Yeong-ae and the samurai man met.

“Hey, Miss. What did you just say?”

“You don’t seem like a test class.”

My older sister answered calmly.

There was determination and stubbornness in her eyes.

“Oh, sis… It doesn’t matter if it was a test or not. It was a cool magic trick.”

“Magic…! Hey there, little fox. This isn’t just magic. It’s a sword-drawing technique that’s been passed down through generations!”

The man’s gaze is instead focused on me.

Her eyebrows are shaved off, and black eyeliner is applied to her eyes.

I swallowed deeply at the sight of that terrifying Japanese makeup and make-up.

However, the older sister did not back down and stood up to Musa firmly.

“Don’t yell at my brother.”

“No, sis… I misspoke. I’m sorry…”

“It’s magic. To be exact, it’s an ability.”

At those words, the samurai confidently crossed his arms.

And then he asked again, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Really? Then how are you going to prove it? That my technique is not a swordsmanship technique.”

The man walked calmly towards the pile of chopped bamboo.

And then he kicked the cleanly cut section with his foot and rolled it towards his older sister.

The audience also takes a puzzled attitude at his confident appearance.

In particular, the locals openly criticized the Koreans for disrespecting Japanese swordsmanship.

“What is that woman…”

“You’re wearing a hanbok. You can’t acknowledge the swordsmanship of a great samurai.”

“Oh my… The inferiority complex of Koreans never goes away.”

My fox ears also fall down helplessly at the negative comments from many people.

I carefully grabbed my sister’s sleeve.

“Sister… Let’s go. If we keep going like this, we’ll get hit by a rock.”

“No, I was just going to go, but seeing the way those people are talking, I can’t do it.”

Her golden eyes sparkle.

Soon, Yeongae of Joseon grabbed the sleeve of her skirt and confidently walked towards the samurai.

“If you only show me the cross-section of the bamboo, of course I wouldn’t know. Whether it was cut with a sword or with some other ability.”

The samurai also looks a bit nervous at her confident attitude, as if she has something to believe in.

He instead shot Jisoo a slap in the face.

“So how are you going to prove it?”

In response to Musa’s firm question, Jisoo confidently pointed to his scabbard.

“That sword. Pull it out.”

“That, sword…? Why is that?”

“Looking at the bamboo, it looks like it was cut not too long ago.”

At her words, the crowd all looked at the cut bamboo.

Indeed, the cross-section of the vein was soaked with moisture.

“If you cut with a sword, there should be bamboo moisture and flesh attached to the blade.”

Jisoo shouted as if speaking to the crowd.

And then he immediately grabbed his scabbard.

“So if you really cut the sword with a swordsmanship technique, there would be a mark left on the blade, right?”

Some of the crowd nod their heads at the plausible words.

However, the Japanese locals shook their heads with an uncomfortable expression, as if they still could not understand.

“Well, if you don’t want to be mistaken for a magician, then quickly pick it.”

“…”

The samurai kept his mouth shut as if he was being interrogated.

And then, as if he had no choice, he slowly pulled out the sword with slightly trembling hands.

It was finally revealed.

A clean blade without even a single bit of foreign matter attached to it.

“Look.”

My sister rubbed her fingers against the sharp blade.

And show everyone the rubbed fingerprints.

“There is no moisture at all. The knife never even touched the bamboo in the first place.”

The crowd erupts in commotion at the sight of a blade without a single piece of bamboo attached.

The Japanese who had been teasing my older sister a moment ago also coughed in vain at her insult and avoided eye contact.

“My… My swordsmanship is more precise and faster than anyone else’s. That’s why those liquids and particles can’t reach me!”

The samurai stumbled and snatched the sword away.

And he snapped at his older sister strongly, as if scolding her.

“And what do you know, a girl like you? Are you just swinging your sword around and talking?”

His shaking fingers point to his sister’s relaxed face.

But Youngae just smiles at him.

“That’s right! What does a Joseon woman know about swords!”

Japanese people shout in broken Korean as if cheering on the samurai.

The MC also looks embarrassed in the heated atmosphere.

“I don’t know about swords?”

My older sister chuckled at those words.

And then I looked down at my skirt, which was almost touching the floor.

Soon she raised her head again.

Unlike at the beginning of the festival, her expression is solemn.

Just like a Joseon Dynasty prosecutor.

“Then, I’ll try cutting down the bamboo with that sword.”

The older sister asks the samurai for a sword.

Then, the Japanese prosecutor bursts into laughter at her boast that she will cut down 20 bamboos with her body.

“In my life… I’ve never seen such a bold girl before. Well, let’s give it a try.”

He confidently handed the sword to her.

A katana that looks extremely heavy at first glance.

She held the sword lightly in one hand as if to show off.

Unable to lift it, he skillfully rotates the sword and grabs it.

At that sight, the crowd all cheered, saying, “Oh!”

“Vice President, it’s much lighter than your sword. It’s definitely not suitable for cutting bamboo.”

She walks confidently to the center of the square, reciting like an expert.

Before she knew it, the show’s organizers had prepared a new bundle of bamboo for her.

But even when I look with my own eyes, the bamboo seems to have become thicker and stronger than before.

Even I now frown at their vile tricks.

Sister….

Jisoo put down her sword for a moment.

And she tied up her neat hair and gathered up her voluminous skirt and pinned it to her waist.

Thanks to this, the underwear worn inside is clearly visible.

The crowd of men coughed in vain at the sight.

but…

My older sister, who was born a prosecutor, didn’t care at all.

I just wanted to punish that arrogant fraud who disrespected Korean swordsmanship.

Soon her golden eyes flash.

Only then did the square, which had been seething with the crowd’s condemnation, become quiet again.

To see the swordsmanship of that delicate and elegant Joseon princess.