A short while later.
We dragged the half–dead man back, pulling him along the ground.
Thud.
Then we tossed him down in front of Bing Hae-rin, who had run over in shock.
“Who is this person?”
“He’s the one behind the attempt to starve out North Sea Ice Palace.”
“What?”
At my words, Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin repeated herself.
“You mean he’s the one who backed that fake Elixir the man called Cho Seok, the one we’re escorting right now, told us about?”
“Seems that way. We just happened to spot him snooping around and grabbed him.”
“Whew.”
At that, Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin regained her composure and said,
“First, I should thank you. But why is he in such a mess?”
At her question, Brother Jin-ho scratched the back of his neck.
“Ah, sorry. We hit him a bit too much and he ended up like that. They’re the ones who dared make my mother–in–law, my wife’s grandmother, and my wife’s aunts suffer. How was I supposed to hold back?”
“…I do understand. But still, it’s impressive. After beating him this badly, he’s still alive.”
At that, Brother Jin-ho rubbed his nose and said,
“It’s thanks to Seo-ho’s advice.”
I gave a bitter smile.
That advice wasn’t meant for something like this though…
“Bring the one called Cho Seok.”
At her words, the disciples dragged Cho Seok over.
He looked badly beaten, clearly having suffered quite a bit.
“Is this the man you told us about?”
At Bing Hae-rin’s question, Cho Seok stared intently at the man lying on the ground.
It seemed the face was so ruined from the beating that he couldn’t recognize him at a glance.
But thankfully, he must have found enough familiar features, because he kept nodding his head.
“Y–yes, that’s him! That’s him! There’s no mistake! He’s the one who egged me on and backed me!”
“I see.”
Bing Hae-rin’s voice sounded calm, but she couldn’t completely hide her anger.
“You could’ve at least left me a share before you beat him, don’t you think?”
“Sorry.”
She clicked her tongue and spoke to the disciples.
“Treat him properly. He must not die before he faces North Sea Ice Palace’s punishment.”
“Understood.”
.
.
.
Night had grown deep.
I sat in front of the campfire, watching Palgap poke at the flames.
“Palgap.”
“Did you call for me, Young Master?”
“Have you been learning a lot from Escort Guard Jin Yu lately?”
At my question, Palgap giggled and said,
“I’ve been getting praised a lot these days.”
I already knew that. Escort Guard Jin Yu had praised Palgap to me as well.
“Haven’t I gotten a lot better at serving you lately, Young Master?”
“Hmm, have you?”
Come to think of it, Palgap really had become ghost–like.
Always by my side yet not there, and not there yet somehow right beside me.
I snorted a laugh.
He was actually happy that his skill at serving me had improved, even while learning the King of Assassins’ techniques.
Palgap was just Palgap.
Smiling in satisfaction, I pulled the Dark Blood Dagger from my robe.
This would be perfect for Palgap.
The auction manager from the Phantom Market had given it to me before, asking me to keep quiet as payment.
“Here, take this.”
“Huh? Why a dagger all of a sudden?”
“It’s a present. They said even if it holds killing intent, that killing intent won’t leak out.”
“Is that so?”
For Palgap, who could hide his presence perfectly whenever he felt like it, it was the ideal weapon.
The moment I received it, I had already decided I would give it to him.
“Use it well.”
“Thank you. As expected, Young Master, you’re the best lord anyone could serve.”
“You only just realized that?”
“I already knew. But this looks incredibly expensive.”
“Yeah. It is.”
“Then why aren’t you using it yourself, Young Master…?”
“Because that dagger will shine much brighter in your hands.”
Besides, I already had two – one my brothers gave me and one my grandfather had.
A few days later, a familiar building came into view.
It was the Ice Palace Inn, the guest inn of North Sea Ice Palace.
As we approached, the twin waiter brothers came out to greet us.
“Welcome.”
“Welcome to the Ice Palace Inn.”
They stared in amazement at the food supplies we had brought.
“Is all that food?”
“Wow! That’s incredible.”
Those brothers still got along so well.
At their words, I grinned and nodded.
“We heard you were short on food, so we hurried over. Please take care of the others for us.”
We had to hurry inside North Sea Ice Palace.
Among our group, only Lady Seohyang and I could enter the palace itself.
I was the owner of the Silver Mist Sword, and Lady Seohyang was a woman.
The only reason Brother Jin-ho had been allowed inside last time was because Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin got caught up in my scheme, explained the situation to the Palace Lord, and got permission.
We couldn’t keep bending the rules too often, especially when we might need that favor again later.
“Have a good trip in there. Give them my regards.”
“Got it.”
Brother Jin-ho saw me off with a regretful look.
Watching us, Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin asked,
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Jin-ho isn’t going in?”
At that, Brother Jin-ho pointed at himself and asked,
“I can go in too?”
“Of course. Didn’t I tell you before? Young Merchant Eun Seo-ho is this palace’s benefactor, and his family will be treated as benefactors as well.”
Ah, right, the Palace Lord had said that.
“A benefactor of North Sea Ice Palace may enter regardless of gender.”
As she said that, Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin handed over a necklace.
“Wear this around your neck.”
“Thank you.”
Brother Jin-ho quickly hung the necklace around his neck.
He was ridiculously happy.
We stepped through the Gate of Mist, and a moment later arrived before North Sea Ice Palace.
Those white roof tiles looked mysterious no matter how many times I saw them.
When I’d asked before if they had been painted white, I was told they were completely made of ice, and the whiteness came from frost forming on them.
Roof tiles made of ice…
As expected of North Sea Ice Palace.
I immediately headed off with Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin to pay my respects to the Palace Lord.
“Palace Lord.”
Before Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin could even fully announce herself, the Palace Lord’s voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
“Yes.”
We entered and gave the proper greeting to the Palace Lord.
“Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin has returned after completing the mission.”
“Young Merchant Eun Seo-ho greets the Palace Lord of North Sea Ice Palace.”
Honestly, I wanted to coolly introduce myself as the Young Palace Lord of Snow Wind Palace, but Brother Jin-ho was standing right next to me.
It was still a secret from him.
“Young Merchant Eun Jin-ho greets the Palace Lord of North Sea Ice Palace.”
Lastly, I introduced Lady Seohyang.
“She’s the deputy I newly hired for this trip.”
“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Gwak Seohyang.”
“I see.”
The Palace Lord of North Sea Ice Palace looked at Lady Seohyang for a moment, then nodded.
For some reason, her expression seemed to brighten a bit.
Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin spoke up.
“First, there’s something I must report. We have captured those who tried to harm our palace this time.”
At those words, the Palace Lord’s eyes widened and she rose to her feet.
“Is that really true?”
“Yes.”
Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin glanced at me and said,
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho’s help was crucial.”
She explained everything from start to finish. Since Brother Jin-ho was there, she left out anything related to the Phantom Market, just like I had asked.
“…and that’s what happened.”
“I see! I don’t even know how to thank you. Bringing food was already more than enough, yet you even captured the culprits!”
I clasped my fists and said,
“It was only natural for us to do.”
I continued,
“The food we brought this time is rice, wheat, and dried vegetables.”
Because of the climate, fresh vegetables are extremely rare at North Sea Ice Palace, but you need greens on the table to stay healthy.
So they mainly obtain and eat dried vegetables and greens.
Given the season, most of what I brought this time was dried radish greens.
At my words, the Palace Lord laughed and said,
“Thanks to you, our palace’s crisis has been resolved much sooner.”
It was a bit early to be that happy, though.
I went on.
“However, forgive me for bringing this up, but I’m sure you know the empire is suffering greatly from the famine these days.”
“I do.”
“In that situation, acquiring a large amount of food and transporting it was quite difficult. I lost count of how many times we had to fight Forest bandits on the way.”
At my words, Brother Jin-ho nodded.
“And as you know, I’m a merchant. Merchants move for profit.”
“In other words, this isn’t free?”
“You could say that.”
“My gratitude’s suddenly starting to cool.”
“Even if you say that, it can’t be helped. That’s just how the world works, isn’t it? It’s a world where saying ‘thank you’ is necessary, but ‘thank you’ alone doesn’t fill anyone’s stomach.”
At that, the Palace Lord burst into laughter.
“You’re absolutely right. Very well. I like your honesty.”
She thought for a moment, then said,
“We’ll give you the twenty–five thousand silver taels we earned thanks to you this time, and add some Elixirs on top of that.”
“Thank you. I wish endless prosperity upon North Sea Ice Palace. Then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Do so.”
We withdrew from the Palace Lord’s hall. As we stepped outside, I asked Lady Seohyang,
“Did you write all that down?”
“Yes.”
As expected of Lady Seohyang.
Hearing that, Brother Jin-ho spoke in a dissatisfied tone.
“Seo-ho, isn’t this a bit much? This is where your sister–in–law’s mother and grandmother live…”
“I know. That’s why I took I sold it for cheap.”
“Huh? You call that cheap?”
“Of course. If your wife’s family wasn’t here, I’d have charged two or three times more. What, do you think I couldn’t?”
At my question, Brother Jin-ho immediately backed down.
“N–no… thanks.”
.
.
.
For dinner, we were served warm porridge.
It was a soft special meal prepared for the disciples who had been starving.
I didn’t turn it down either.
When everyone else was eating porridge, I couldn’t very well eat something different by myself.
Later, when I stepped out of my quarters and was taking a short walk,
Huh? This Qi…
I turned my head and saw a white–haired beauty.
“I pay my respects to the Palace Lord.”
“Fancy meeting you here.”
She spoke as if it were a coincidence, but the way she walked straight toward me made it clear she had something to say.
“Have you eaten?”
“I ate my fill for the first time in a while. Let me thank you again.”
“There’s no need to be so grateful. As I said, it wasn’t free.”
“That’s true.”
She continued,
“First, congratulations on your achievement.”
As expected, the Palace Lord had noticed my current realm. Well, she’s someone at a realm so far above mine it’s dizzying.
There’s no way she wouldn’t notice.
Since I was alone right now, this was a good chance to greet her properly again.
I clasped my fists and bowed my head.
“Allow me to greet you properly. Young Palace Lord Eun Seo-ho of Snow Wind Palace greets the Palace Lord of North Sea Ice Palace, master of Extreme Ice.”
At my greeting, the Palace Lord smiled and said,
“So Snow Wind Palace has finally appointed a Young Palace Lord.”
“It’s all thanks to my master’s decision.”
At my words, the Palace Lord shook her head.
“You’re working too hard to praise that child. There’s no way that soft–hearted kid made the decision. If a decision was made, it was by you, not by that child.”
Ah, she knows her far too well.
I laughed awkwardly.
“Congratulations on becoming the Young Palace Lord.”
“Thank you.”
“There’s a tradition: whenever Snow Wind Palace formally appoints a Young Palace Lord, the Palace Lord of North Sea Ice Palace gives them a gift. Is there anything you want?”
At her question, I shook my head.
“Even if there’s something I want, it might not be what I actually need. If the wise Palace Lord chooses something for me, I’ll be grateful to receive it.”
At that, the Palace Lord let out a small laugh.
“You really are quite different from that child.”
By “that child,” she was obviously talking about my master.
“I enjoyed our talk today. Ah, but aren’t you going to go there?”
“…?”
When I tilted my head in confusion, the Palace Lord explained,
“The place where the people of Snow Wind Palace are enshrined.”
Ah!
As the newly appointed Young Palace Lord, it was a place I was obviously supposed to visit, but I had forgotten.
“Thank you for reminding me.”
I immediately headed west. That was where the remains of those from Snow Wind Palace who had died in battle were kept.
I had been there before, so it wasn’t hard to find.
Soon, a structure modeled after Snow Wind Palace itself came into view.
I approached and respectfully clasped my fists.
“We meet again like this. I’ve come to tell you that I’ve been appointed the Young Palace Lord of Snow Wind Palace.”
Then I calmly continued,
“Honestly, I can’t promise I’ll do a good job. I don’t even really know what doing a good job looks like. But I can promise that I’ll work hard and give it everything I have.”
“…”
There was no answer. Of course there wasn’t.
The dead don’t speak.
But that was fine.
I wasn’t speaking to get a reply; I was voicing my own resolve.
“I’ll make sure the disciples are treated properly. And I’ll make sure they never go hungry again.”
Whoosh.
A gust of wind blew past. But for some reason, the sound of the wind reached my ears as something else.
As a voice saying, You’ve been through a lot.
I let out a soft laugh.
Then I clasped my fists again and said,
“Anyway, don’t worry too much. A proper Young Palace Lord has been appointed now. So… phew.”
I let out a sigh and said what I had really wanted to say.
“Snow Wind Palace has not been wiped out yet.”
Yeah,
Snow Wind Palace had not been destroyed.
It was still alive and moving, and the fact that it had protected North Sea Ice Palace so splendidly this time was proof of that.
Then a sudden question crossed my mind.
Had the Palace Lord really come to find me earlier just to congratulate me on my breakthrough?
It felt like there was something more she had wanted to say…
–TL Notes–
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