Seo Wu and Jin Yu quickly caught Eun Seo-ho after Gwak Myeong-hyeon’s fist knocked him unconscious.
Yet no one got angry, and no one drew a sword.
“Thank you.”
If anything, they were grateful.
Gwak Myeong-hyeon clicked his tongue as he looked at Eun Seo-ho, who had gone completely limp.
“Tsk, tsk. Why would you push yourself this far and make everyone worry about you?”
Of course, there was no way Eun Seo-ho could hear him.
Seo Wu smiled bitterly and said,
“I have wanted to do something like this for a while now, but as you know, his realm is higher than mine, and also…”
“An Escort Guard cannot lay a hand on his lord.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Meanwhile, Palgap came over and lifted Eun Seo-ho into his arms.
“Then I will lay him down on the bed, sir.”
“Please do. He will probably sleep soundly for about three days.”
That was why he had asked Eun Seo-ho about his schedule.
Then he said to Seo Wu,
“By the way, you are quite impressive.”
“Pardon?”
“It does not seem like it has been long since you entered the Peak Realm, yet you are already standing before a wall.”
“…”
Seo Wu flinched.
He had not expected the man to see through his situation so accurately, and so easily.
“In truth, standing before a wall is something worth celebrating.”
“Worth celebrating?”
He could not help asking.
After all, from what he had seen of Gwak Myeong-hyeon, the man was not the type to mock someone.
“To stand before a wall means you know there is another realm beyond it. Compared to those who do not even know where the wall is, you have already gone far ahead.”
“…I see.”
“But do not become too impatient. The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you received is not something you can obtain again so easily. Think back on what your purpose truly is.”
After blankly staring into the air for a moment, Seo Wu cupped his fist toward him.
“Thank you for your valuable guidance.”
“It was nothing… Of course I would say that. Our future will only be bright if my precious disciple remains safe.”
He looked toward the room where Palgap had carried Eun Seo-ho and continued,
“If he ever tries to overdo it like this again, tell me at once. I will put him to sleep properly.”
“I will not hesitate.”
At Seo Wu’s words, Gwak Myeong-hyeon nodded. Then, as if nothing had happened at all, he left the annex.
I opened my eyes.
“Uh…”
I was lying in my bed.
Huh? When did I get into bed? I don’t remember lying down at all.
On top of that, I wasn’t wearing my outdoor clothes.
Did Palgap change me?
As I blinked and tried to clear my head, the whole situation began returning to me piece by piece.
Master told me to call him once I was done with my urgent work, so I sent Geumryeong.
Then Master came to the annex and…
Ah…
I lifted my shirt and checked my stomach.
There wasn’t even a bruise.
In truth, there were sleeping drugs, and there were also ways to press a sleep point if they wanted to make me sleep.
However, Master had chosen such a violent method because my Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art had reached the Profound Realm, and those methods would no longer work on me.
Still, I hadn’t even been able to react to Master’s speed.
In other words, whenever we trained normally, Master had been going easy on me.
Whew. I still have a long way to go.
Just then, the door opened and Palgap came in.
“Oh? You are awake, Young Master?”
Looking at Palgap’s bright, smiling face, I let out a sigh.
“So, who asked him to do it?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“I mean forcing me to sleep.”
“Who in the world would ask for such a thing, sir?”
“…”
Then Master must have decided it himself when he came to see me at dawn.
“Ah! He also said that from now on, if you try to overdo it again, we should ask him anytime, sir.”
“Eh?!”
I recoiled without even realizing it.
But…
Wasn’t Geumryeong a Spirit Beast that protected me? Then shouldn’t it have been able to block Master’s fist?
“Geumryeong, come out.”
“Kui?”
Geumryeong poked its head out from inside my sleeve.
“Why didn’t you stop Master when he swung his fist at me?”
“Kui! Kui!”
“There was no killing intent?”
“Kui!”
“You knew he wasn’t trying to harm me, so you stayed still?”
“Kui-kui!”
“You are a smart beast who knows what is best for its master?”
Damn it. They were all in on it.
But I couldn’t really say anything.
Even I knew I had been pushing myself too hard lately.
In other words, I had brought this on myself.
“Kui! Kui!”
Geumryeong patted my knee and Kui-ed at me.
It was asking for payment for running the errand of bringing Master here.
“Fine. I’ll give it to you, so wait a moment.”
As I climbed out of bed, I staggered a little.
“Just how long was I lying down? My body feels stiff.”
“Today is the third day, sir.”
“Hah…”
I said I had around three days, and he really did force me to sleep soundly for three whole days.
Somehow, I felt like I could understand the sailors who had been put to sleep by the Emperor’s order, even if only a little.
With Palgap’s help, I washed my face, got dressed, and left my residence.
“You are awake, Young Master?”
Escort Guard Lee Pil and Escort Guard Myeong Jong cupped their fists to me.
“Yes. Thanks to everyone, I rested extremely well.”
They laughed at my words.
Just then, something tapped the bridge of my nose. When I opened my hand, I saw that snow was falling.
Right, it was already the middle of the Twelfth Month.
Snow, huh…
“Ah! Where is Deputy Gwak?”
“She is currently handling work in the office.”
“I see.”
I nodded and headed to the office.
My office was in the Silver Dragon Pavilion, the same building as Father’s office.
It had originally been the Silver Dragon Hall, but once the Emperor’s attention began focusing on it, we quickly changed the name to Silver Dragon Pavilion.
When I arrived at the Silver Dragon Pavilion and entered the office, Lady Seohyang greeted me.
“You are here.”
“Yes. You should take breaks while working.”
“I knew the Deputy Merchant Lord would start working the moment he woke up. So would it not be the Deputy’s duty to make sure everything is ready for you to begin at any time?”
“I was wrong.”
At my words, she laughed softly.
“Still, perhaps because you slept soundly for three days, your complexion looks much better.”
“Does it?”
“Yes. You look far healthier.”
I ended up chuckling.
“It happens to be lunchtime. Would you like to step out for a bit?”
“Shall we?”
Together with Lady Seohyang, I walked through the falling snow toward my annex.
She smiled as she looked up at the snow descending from the sky. I did not know why the apricot blossom fragrance coming from her felt even stronger than usual.
“Do you still like snow these days?”
“Yes. It is truly mysterious and beautiful.”
“Didn’t you see more than enough of it when you went to the North Sea Ice Palace?”
“Of course I did. But I still like snow.”
Then she truly did like it.
When you truly liked something, that feeling did not change even after experiencing it until you were sick of it.
“You miss your family, don’t you?”
Instead of answering my question, she quietly looked at me.
“I will make sure you return to your family’s arms.”
“Yes. I believe you.”
Why did her words, saying that she believed me, feel so reassuring?
When I got the chance, I would have to invite the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Guizhou and his wife. I should show them that the Young Lady was living in good health.
.
.
.
The next day.
I met Gong Mil for the first time in a while.
Now a dignified young man, he was still practically glued to his laboratory, but at least his complexion looked quite good.
“You look healthy.”
“Sigh, that is because Brother Hyeong-jin and Brother Il-song drag me out every morning to run laps around the training ground… It is impossible not to get healthier.”
At those words, I laughed.
Those guys had done something truly important.
“More importantly, are you all right?”
“What do you mean?”
“I heard you collapsed from overwork. Everyone in the Merchant Group has been terribly worried about you.”
Hm? Collapsed from overwork? Me?
No, that wasn’t right… I had just been knocked unconscious after getting hit by Master.
Why did the rumor spread like that?
Come to think of it, the Merchant Group people had been looking at me a little strangely. So that was why.
But correcting the rumor and explaining everything would be awkward, so I just smiled sheepishly and changed the subject.
“By the way, what are you making? It looks like an ornament.”
“Ah, I’m going to give this to Little Rae. There have been a lot of guys bothering Little Rae lately.”
Then he explained the object he was making.
“If she twists this part of the ornament, the powder inside will shoot out and keep the other person from opening their eyes.”
“Oh! So it’s for Gong Rae’s safety!”
“That’s right.”
Just then, someone’s voice came from behind us.
“Ah! Deputy Merchant Lord!”
I turned toward the voice and saw a beautiful young girl standing there.
“Gong Rae?”
“Yes!”
In the time I hadn’t seen her, she had grown so much that I could hardly recognize her. I said to Gong Mil,
“I understand now why you are so worried.”
“Right? Still, thanks to you, Deputy Merchant Lord, no one dares treat her carelessly, so that is a relief.”
Gong Rae asked with a worried expression,
“Are you all right? I heard you collapsed from overwork.”
That is a misunderstanding…
“Please take care of yourself.”
“Yeah, I will.”
After briefly chatting with the Gong siblings, I headed to my next destination and asked Palgap,
“About the rumor that I collapsed from overwork. Why did you explain it like that?”
“Then how else should I have explained it, sir?”
“There were other excuses. For example…”
I could not continue. Now that I thought about it, no other explanation would make it reasonable for me to have been lying in bed for three whole days.
Damn it.
Palgap added an explanation.
“If Escort Chief Gwak had not done that, you really would have collapsed from overwork, sir.”
“I’m sorry.”
This time, I had nothing to say.
I quickly lowered my tail.
The next place I headed to was the residence where Captain Yong and his family were staying.
“What brings you here?”
“How have you been?”
At my question, Captain Yong Eung-wan answered with a smile.
“Very well, of course.”
“And is everyone else doing all right?”
“Yes.”
Just then, Captain Yong’s family came out from inside. Then, in clumsy but clear imperial speech, they said,
“Hello.”
“Please come inside and have some tea.”
“I would be happy to.”
I entered the house. In the Eunhae Merchant Group, the position of captain was nearly at the level of a Senior Supervisor.
Perhaps because Father had paid particular attention to that, the house was quite nice and even had a Reception Room.
There, we drank tea while making various small talk.
“By the way, what about your elder brother?”
“He is currently with the Eunpoong Division. He said he wanted to work as an escort guard.”
“I see.”
Come to think of it, Captain Yong’s elder brother was also a warrior and had been a combat slave, so the Eunpoong Division would be the best place to make use of his talent.
If he spent time with the Escort Guards there, he would probably learn the imperial language quickly as well.
“In truth, there is something I would like to ask of your mother, Captain.”
“What is it?”
“Please teach me and my companions the Great Yue Kingdom’s language.”
“The Great Yue Kingdom’s language?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“Someday, my companions and I will have to go to the Great Yue Kingdom ourselves. When that time comes, I do not want to rely only on interpreters.”
I continued with a smile.
“Even if I use an interpreter, there is still a difference between being able to speak the Great Yue Kingdom’s language myself and not being able to, isn’t there?”
“That is true. Understood. I will ask my mother.”
He spoke to his mother in the Great Yue Kingdom’s language, and she smiled, nodded, and replied.
“She says she would be glad to do it. She is happy that she can repay even a little of your kindness.”
“What are you talking about? Of course I will pay her.”
“Pardon?”
“That is proper work as well, so of course I should pay her. The kindness your mother is thinking of can be repaid by you, Captain Yong.”
“Hahaha, I suppose so.”
He nodded and then said,
“By the way, is your body all right? I heard you collapsed from overwork.”
That is a misunderstanding.
“Of course. I am perfectly fine. Hahaha.”
That day, I had to hear people ask if I was all right all day long. And that was not all.
I also had to receive armfuls of medicinal herbs said to be good for recovering from fatigue.
Evening came.
I headed to the lodging beside my annex. The Yungang Man Clan’s Clan Lord and Young Lord were staying there.
It did not look very large from the outside, but the inside was a different story.
The facilities were so clean and well made that they could put most high-class inns to shame.
As it happened, they were out in the courtyard.
“Is your body all right? I heard you collapsed from overwork…”
I was hearing this again.
It is a misunderstanding. It really is a misunderstanding.
“I’m fine. More importantly, are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Then let us go.”
I went with them to the open space within the Eunhae Merchant Group.
That was because today, they were scheduled to demonstrate archery before Father.
While we were waiting in the open space for a moment, Father and External Chief Administrator Go Il-pyeong approached.
“We greet the Merchant Lord.”
“No need to be so formal.”
In response to their greeting, Father waved his hand and said,
“Then let us skip the pleasantries and see your skill.”
“Understood.”
Behind him, External Chief Administrator Go Il-pyeong said,
“We prepared the targets in advance. Can you see the red targets over there?”
Wow, they really set them up far away. That meant they intended to examine his skill strictly.
“I can see them.”
“Please shoot your arrows at those targets.”
Young Lord Man took his stance and shot his bow.
Wait, it didn’t look like there was only one arrow.
Bang!
It seemed like he had fired casually, but the result was astonishing.
A full five arrows struck five separate targets.
And they had not simply hit the targets. They had even shattered them.
“…”
Silence settled over everyone present, and after a brief moment, Father let out a hearty laugh.
“Impressive. Now I understand why you borrowed their strength.”
“Hahaha.”
Of course. I brought them here for a reason.
After all, he was called the Archer God.
Both of them praised Young Lord Man with deeply satisfied expressions.
“Truly remarkable!”
“To think your archery is this extraordinary! You will be a tremendous help!”
“Please lend that strength to the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“Of course.”
With this, the first step toward creating the Eunhae Merchant Group’s archer unit had been taken.
It was then.
Someone came running urgently from afar. Hm? Wasn’t that one of Father’s guards?
He should be off duty right now, so what happened?
When he arrived, panting for breath, Father asked him,
“What is it?”
“A messenger just arrived from the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group. But… it seems something has happened.”
–TL Notes–
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