DKM 9

Seolhwa, looking at Myoryeong with an incomprehensible expression, approached me.

“Myoha.”

“Yeah?”

“Should I try holding a weapon too?”

“…….”

Why are there so many pretty kids here? Having been struck by another bolt of attraction, I squeezed my eyes shut.

“You’re pretty even without one.”

Blushing as if embarrassed by my words, Seolhwa gathered his courage and spoke.

“……Myoha is pretty too.”

“I am?”

“Yeah.”

Seolhwa reached out and lightly poked my cheek.

“Small and squishy.”

I’ve thought several times that my face is definitely that of a hamster. Myoryeong even told me I’m really cute, especially when I’m spacing out. I grinned and pushed myself up.

“Thanks.”

“You’re really pretty.”

You’re the pretty one, you brat. I vigorously rubbed Seolhwa’s cheeks with both hands. Just then, Myoryeong shouted.

“Stop playing around and come out! Time to eat!”

“Okay, Myoryeong! Ah, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat, Seolhwa.”

“Okay.”

I headed outside with Seolhwa tucked under my arm. As we sat before the warm food, the delicious scent hit my nose.

“Everyone, eat plenty.”

“Yeah, you too.”

I was so relieved that today passed peacefully. If we leave this dangerous neighborhood and go to Hebei, we’ll be able to live more safely, right? Just as I was about to take a sip of water with a relieved heart—

Thump, thump.

Someone knocked on the door. We froze on the spot. Who is it? There isn’t a single person who would visit at this hour. As if we had made a pact, we kept our mouths shut and stared at the door.

Thump, thump.

Since we didn’t say anything, the person knocked once more. Myoryeong gathered his courage and asked.

“Who is it?”

“I apologize for the late hour. I am looking for someone; would it BEGIN: visit our site -->visit our sitebe alright to speak for a moment?”

It was a clear, refined voice, like jade beads rolling on a tray. Because the voice was so out of place in this situation, it was even scarier. I hugged Myoryeong and Seolhwa tighter.

“Who are you looking for?”

“I would prefer to tell you that while looking at your face. Please open the door.”

“……I’m sorry. The world is so treacherous these days that I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Oh my, is there perhaps no adult in this house?”

We’re screwed. Myoryeong looked at me.

“What do we do?”

“……I honestly want to just hold out and not open it.”

I was afraid that if we didn’t open it, that person would just break the door down. The door didn’t have any special locking mechanism; it was basically just a large wooden board. Let’s just open it for now. It’ll be better than the door being smashed. The moment I tried to open the door, Seolhwa urgently pulled me back.

“Whoa!”

As we landed on our butts, the door collapsed and slammed onto the floor. If Seolhwa hadn’t pulled me, I definitely would have been crushed by the door. Rather than being flustered by the broken door, I felt aggrieved. How can someone be so impatient? If they had just waited a little longer, we would have opened it ourselves……! I was about to vent my frustration when I froze.

People dressed in white and black clothes were filling the yard. This is bad; we’re outmatched in both size and numbers. I shut my mouth tight again, and the woman standing at the door fixed her gaze on us and spoke.

“Found them. I knew this was the right house.”

“I had a good feeling about this.”

Step, step. A man with long black hair walked leisurely out from among the crowd. A face as white as wax shone beneath a bamboo hat. The moment Seolhwa hugged me tighter, the man knelt on one knee. Then, he reached out and tugged on a few strands of Seolhwa’s snow-white hair. Seolhwa’s expression immediately turned fierce. Slap, Seolhwa quickly brushed the man’s hand away. The man looked at Seolhwa with slightly surprised eyes, then curled the corners of his mouth.

“……Not just the face, but the personality is exactly the same.”

The man stood up again. Then, performing a cupped-fist salute, he spoke very politely.

“I have come to escort you, Young Palace Master.”

Young Palace Master? My mouth fell open instinctively.

“What did you just…….”

Just when I thought I was starting to understand the martial arts world, a term I’d never heard before appeared. Young Palace Master—what on earth is that? Myoryeong, also seemingly overwhelmed, rushed over to my side. Fortunately, the man didn’t try to stop us. Great, let’s huddle together as fellow martial arts ignoramuses. The moment I hugged Myoryeong, I locked eyes with Seolhwa. Seolhwa shouted fiercely.

“I am not the Young Palace Master!”

I mean, what is a Young Palace Master? Don’t keep it to yourself; tell me too. I feel like I need to know what it is to properly follow this conversation. I gathered my courage and called out to Seolhwa.

“Um, Seolhwa.”

Seolhwa’s body flinched. He shook his head violently and spoke.

“No. It wasn’t that I was trying to hide it on purpose.”

“No, I’m not blaming you for that, but…….”

“Believe me. I never intended to deceive you guys.”

“…….”

As I lost my words, a frustrated Myoryeong cut in.

“What is a Young Palace Master?”

“Huh?”

“We need to know what a Young Palace Master is so we can actually follow the conversation. First, explain what the Young Palace Master that those people are talking about is.”

As expected of Myoryeong. I learned that in times like this, it’s best to just say exactly what needs to be said. Seolhwa, who had been making vague excuses, widened his eyes. The people standing in the yard all stared at us. Yes, we are the villains here. Sorry for being martial arts ignoramuses. While we were bowing our heads like sinners, the man spoke.

“It refers to the successor of the North Sea Ice Palace. The master of the North Sea Ice Palace is called the Palace Master.”

“Ah.”

If I think of it as a shortening of the ‘Master’ of the North Sea Ice ‘Palace,’ I can remember it for a long time. I nodded to show I roughly understood.

“I assume you know what the North Sea Ice Palace is?”

“……Yes, I know what the North Sea Ice Palace is.”

I’m so glad I asked Soseo last time. The [visit our siteclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">stolen content]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[Read on Read BL Novels]atmosphere almost got even colder. Then, Myoryeong whispered in my ear.

“Hey, the North Sea Ice Palace is that one. The one you said was easy to memorize because it sounded like the Archduke of the North.”

“……Soseo taught me what the North Sea Ice Palace was last time.”

“No, what you said was so intense that now whenever I think of the North Sea Ice Palace, I think of the Archduke of the North first.”

“……Actually, I get confused sometimes too.”

The North Sea Ice Palace is a power that is as renowned outside the central plains as the Nine Great Sects and One Union or the five great families. So the reason the North Sea Ice Palace was mentioned at the beginning of 『Tales of the Martial Arts World』 was because Seolhwa was the successor of the North Sea Ice Palace. A long-standing mystery was finally solved. Ah, what a relief. Feeling refreshed, we resolutely grabbed Seolhwa’s shoulders.

“Let’s talk again. We’re ready.”

“Don’t hold back for our sake; say everything you want to say. We know what the North Sea Ice Palace and the Young Palace Master are now.”

“…….”

I had only learned something that is naturally expected of someone possessed into a martial arts novel, but I was brimming with confidence. Seolhwa asked.

“……Um, are you guys okay?”

“Huh? With what?”

“It’s practically the same as me deceiving you.”

“Ah, it’s fine. You don’t have to worry about that. You must have had your reasons.”

“Yeah, there’s a saying that to deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your allies.”

Having seen so many protagonists with secrets of birth, we had long since become accustomed to such situations. Seolhwa looked confused by our overly calm reaction. Then, the man burst into a chuckle.

“You’ve been staying with some interesting people, Young Palace Master.”

Seolhwa’s face immediately turned cold. He clenched his fists.

“……Don’t call me that.”

“Why is that? I am simply calling the Young Palace Master, ‘Young Palace Master.’”

“I have no intention of going with you in the first place.”

“Then do you intend to live here for the rest of your life?”

The man openly mocked Seolhwa.

“With those looks?”

Seolhwa, who had been rejected everywhere because of his striking appearance, bit his lip. Grabbing a handful of his snow-white hair, which brought to mind a blizzard, Seolhwa spoke.

“……I can just hide this.”

The man countered smoothly.

“The entire North Sea is desperately searching for you; do you think such a clumsy disguise would work?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I would like to tell you in detail if it were up to me, but this isn’t the place. I will explain the details on the way back to the North Sea.”

“……My mother told me. That the North Sea is a truly lonely and terrible place. Read on Read BL NovelsThat there is nowhere worse than there.”

Seolhwa stepped back, blocking us.

“It’s a place I tried to escape from, even to the point of becoming the spouse of that terrible man. For the sake of my late mother, I will absolutely never return there.”

“Young Palace Master, I am speaking sincerely for your own sake.”

The man met Seolhwa’s eyes again and spoke.

“Did I not tell you? The entire North Sea is searching for you. Among them are people far more violent and barbaric than I could ever be. If he finds you, not only you, but your friends here will be in danger. Can you handle that?”

“…….”

“Young Palace Master. I hope you make a wise decision. We have no time. You cannot imagine how much of a price we paid to come here.”

“……Why are you really doing this to me?”

Looking up at the man with hollow eyes, Seolhwa’s eyes gradually turned red. The man’s face immediately distorted, but Seolhwa, not noticing, continued.

“After leaving me neglected for so long, why now…… I’ve only just barely…….”

At that moment, the man roughly grabbed my and Myoryeong’s shoulders. Seolhwa’s mouth shut automatically. The man gripped our shoulders tightly.

“Is it perhaps because you don’t want to part with these people?”

What is this guy? Why is he suddenly taking it out on us? I struggled in surprise, but the man didn’t budge. Instead, while holding our shoulders, he stepped closer to Seolhwa.

“Tell me quickly. You don’t want to go to the North Sea because of these people, right?”

“……I, I am.”

“You should have just said so. Then we wouldn’t have had to bicker in a place like this.”

Then, the man released his grip on our shoulders. We tried to slip away, but the man was faster this time. He pressed down firmly on our heads with his palms, forcing us to sit on the floor. Then he spoke.

“Let’s take these people to the North Sea as well.”