“What?”
I went to find Mo Yong Yeongsun and told her.
“I mean the merchant caravan work with the escort agency this time. I’m going too.”
“......What is that supposed to mean?”
Mo Yong Yeongsun asked back, her eyes saying she did not understand. There was no way she actually failed to understand. As smart as she was, she could not possibly miss something this simple.
She was only asking again because it was strange.
“I told you. I’m participating in the trade run.”
“......Why are you sticking your nose into that?”
“Because I want to make money......?”
“......You expect me to accept that as an answer?”
“It is an answer. Though I guess it won’t work.”
“Then why ask when you know that?”
“Ah, I’m not asking. This is a notice.”
“What?”
A notice? It was a ridiculous thing to say.
Just as Mo Yong Yeongsun’s expression began to crumple, I looked at her and said,
“I already got permission from the White King.”
“......What is that supposed to......!”
“But I heard Lady Mo Yong was in charge, so I came to notify you.”
“Family Head gave you permission?”
“Yes.”
I had gotten permission.
Damn it. I had burned the favor I had been saving for this. There was no other answer.
What else was I supposed to do?
I could not explain the reason. I could not say anything else either. But I had to participate in the escort run...... so this was the simplest method I could choose.
“So I’ll be in your care.”
“......What is the real reason?”
“Come on...... If I could tell you, do you think I’d be doing this?”
“Why are you being so shameless?”
I had already done it, so I might as well be shameless about it. What else was I supposed to do?
“Anyway, I’ll see you later.”
“This is genuinely absurd...... You’re really joining the escort run? Do you even know what this is?”
“No. But I have to go.”
“Ha.”
Mo Yong Yeongsun let out a hollow laugh.
“......You aren’t planning to harm the escort run, are you?”
“What harm would I cause? It’s not like that.”
“......Haa.”
Mo Yong Yeongsun sighed.
“I don’t know how you got permission from Family Head, but if he truly allowed it, then I suppose there’s nothing I can do. However, I sincerely hope you aren’t thinking of causing trouble. If something like that happens—”
“I’ll leave midway. You can just refuse to accept me.”
“......Yes. Please do that.”
After she finished speaking, Mo Yong Yeongsun focused on the letter in front of her. It meant she had work to do, so I should leave quickly.
Seeing that, I shrugged and stepped out.
Just as I was about to close the door behind me.
“Make sure you eat. Don’t skip meals again just because you’re working.”
I left those words behind and went out.
*****
Click.
After the door closed, Mo Yong Yeongsun set down the letter in her hand.
“.......”
Make sure you eat.
Those words stayed quietly behind. The thoughts that had been tangled in her head until just now were easily sorted out.
“So annoying.”
He truly was a wicked person. If he was not going to let her close, then he should not say things like that either.
And in the middle of all that, he uselessly remembered that she did not eat when she worked.
He had a good memory too. She truly hated him.
Rustle. As though trying to forget, she kept looking through the letters. As the room filled only with the sound of papers turning.
“.......”
Mo Yong Yeongsun finally set down the letter she was holding.
“......Ha, he really is annoying.”
When the frustration in her chest surged up, she spoke toward the door.
“Bring me something to eat. Anything simple.”
—Y-yes...... understood.
The attendant’s voice flinched for an instant as he answered. It was because this was not something she usually asked for.
Listening to the attendant leave, Mo Yong Yeongsun leaned back in her chair.
An escort run.
She had no idea why he was trying to follow along.
What was his objective? He was not someone who moved without purpose.
She found that strange, but—
......Who cares.
She decided not to think that far. Trying to understand him had no end. It was obvious she would only sink alone into a bottomless pit.
Mo Yong Yeongsun shook her head and seized another letter.
And so the day of the escort run arrived.
*****
The day of the Mo Yong Family and Jincheong Escort Agency’s cooperation.
Carriages stood in a long line at the point where they would leave the county town. The escort guards were straightening themselves, and others were organizing the carriages, pushing goods inside.
At that moment.
“I’ll be in your care.”
I slipped in among them.
“What’s this? A new recruit?”
“Ah, yes. I was sent as support from the Mo Yong Family.”
“From the Mo Yong Family? A brat this young?”
The escort guards looked me over and frowned.
“Looks like he’d go flying if you tapped him.”
“I doubt he can even carry goods properly.”
“I heard the Mo Yong Family was sending martial artists as support. Is this all?”
Complaints started spilling out. It seemed they were saying that just from looking at my appearance.
That was because my current state looked completely ordinary.
A human-skin mask. I was wearing one.
It’s amazing every time I see it.
It was not merely passable. It was a disguise close to perfect. The makeup was so good that it would not be strange to call it my face.
And—
Over there too.
The people standing beside me. There were three of them, and I was inwardly amazed as I looked at them.
Which one of those is the branch chief?
The branch chief was among the three. She had appeared here in disguise, and I had joined the escort run together with them. But I could not tell which of them was the branch chief.
To begin with, she had disguised herself as a man despite being a woman, and it did not show at all.
She really is impressive.
The human-skin mask I was wearing had been prepared by her too. After dressing me up as someone perfectly ordinary, she said she would also come in disguise.
And now she had transformed that perfectly.
“We will be in your care.”
The three of them greeted the escort guards. Even their way of speaking was not awkward. How were they producing those heavy voices?
None of the three sounded even remotely soft or feminine.
“Well. Just don’t get in the way.”
Escort guards were famous for hazing outsiders. Their reaction was not worth caring about.
“Escort guards, the preparations are complete.”
“They are?”
“Yes. Before departure, Lady Mo Yong said she has something to say......”
“Oops, then we’d better go.”
At the words that Mo Yong Yeongsun, the person in charge of the escort run, was calling for them, the escort guard moved in a hurry.
Watching that, I looked around.
The item.
It must be hidden somewhere in one of the carriages. Considering how many carriages they were using.
Is it that important?
That could be the case. Or it might not be.
If it were truly important, the White King would have moved.
Preparing an escort run like this by entrusting it to an escort agency was a risky thing.
It might make sense if they were trying to avoid people’s eyes entirely.
But it is still a dangerous choice.
Even the Hao Clan had found out and made a move.
Then there are two possibilities here.
Either the Hao Clan gave me false information.
Or the Mo Yong Family has another objective.
It was one of the two.
The latter is more likely.
I excluded the possibility that the Hao Clan had lied. They had no reason to do that. Especially considering the branch chief, that was even more true.
Of course, this was not certain either. There were still things that bothered me too much to eliminate it completely.
Click. As I fiddled with the Divine Sword at my waist—
“We should go. It is almost time to prepare.”
A Hao Clan martial artist came over and spoke to me.
It was someone I had never seen before. The others were the same.
“Are you not planning to tell me which one of the three it is?”
At my question, the martial artist said,
“Yes. The branch chief said she hopes you will guess correctly.”
“What a ridiculous thing to do.”
What kind of useless playacting was this? She could just tell me and let things proceed smoothly. Did I really have to worry about which one was the branch chief in the middle of doing work?
Her personality really is awful.
She was someone I did not want to get entangled with. I meant that sincerely.
*****
“I speak as the representative of the Mo Yong Family. Please take good care of this matter.”
“Do not worry......! We will risk our lives to see it done.”
At Mo Yong Yeongsun’s words, the man answered with a wide, foolish grin. The reactions of the martial artists behind him were similar.
“They call her the greatest beauty in Liaoning, and they weren’t lying.”
“......I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman that beautiful in my life.”
“She isn’t just beautiful. I heard she’s highly capable too.”
Everyone was busy staring at Mo Yong Yeongsun as though enchanted by her almost excessive beauty. It was only natural. Mo Yong Yeongsun really was absurdly beautiful.
There was a reason she diligently wore a face veil. Her face caused no end of irritating situations.
I watched from a distance.
The escort run is three days.
Even while everyone else was bewitched by Mo Yong Yeongsun, I was busy thinking through the plan.
It was not a very long period. Even counting the round trip, it was short.
What are they transporting?
They said it was jewelry prepared by the Mo Yong merchant caravan, but there was no way that was all.
If it were, there would be no reason for the Hao Clan to step in. There would also be no reason for Green Forest bandits to make a move.
Then what was it? What were they transporting that made them go this far?
Just as I was wondering that—
“All right, prepare to depart!”
An escort guard shouted.
Mo Yong Yeongsun had already entered her carriage. At that call, I prepared as well.
Whatever it is.
I hoped nothing happened, but with my damned luck, that seemed impossible.
......Just let it blow up moderately.
I only hoped the accident would not be too large.
*****
Sssss.
In the dark forest, a man whose entire body was covered in a mask and black cloth knelt.
“They say the escort run is about to begin.”
At that report, the figure sitting inside the cave raised his head.
A chilling sensation brushed through the air.
“You said the Mo Yong Family is moving?”
“That is correct.”
“And the White King is not moving.”
“Yes. The White King has business elsewhere and will not move.”
“That is quite a shame.”
Primal Origin Blade spoke with regret.
“I thought I might finally get to see the White King. If he is not moving, then there is no need for me to go out of my way to act.”
The Family Head of the Mo Yong Family and one of the Five Kings Under Heaven. He had been excited because he thought he might be able to clash with a master known as the White King.
Unfortunately, it seemed that would not happen.
“I had hoped, just in case.”
If he killed the White King like that, then perhaps he would even be able to meet the former Mo Yong Family Head, who was said to have retired into seclusion.
He had held such expectations. Unfortunately, it seemed impossible.
“Or no—would this be solved if I simply stormed the Mo Yong Family right now?”
“......Th-that is.”
“I jest.”
Primal Origin Blade laughed as he spoke. It was half a jest. Though the other half was not.
In any case, because of the Palace Lord’s orders, he could not do such a thing.
“The Green Forest bandits?”
“They are awaiting your command.”
“Then tell them to unfold the formation.”
“I will have them prepare at once.”
They would leave the matter to the Green Forest bandits. That had been the original plan. It was something they had entrusted to those bastards as a test.
Meanwhile, at the very moment he had begun to grow faintly curious about the one who had supposedly killed his subordinates—
“Mm.”
Primal Origin Blade suddenly tilted his head.
“Wait—”
“Yes?”
At Primal Origin Blade’s words, the subordinate froze.
“This will be fine. I happen to have time.”
“What do you mean......?”
“Tell the Green Forest bandits.”
Grin. Primal Origin Blade smiled.
“I will be handling this matter personally.”
“......!”
At those words, the surroundings stirred.
It seemed an unexpected variable had arisen.
The very kind of variable Bang Seongyeon would hate most.
