“The Vice-Leader of the Demonic Cult has arrived.”
So Seung-ji spoke to the group. The room buzzed with murmurs for a moment.
“Is that ‘Ak Mujin’ over there?”
A burly, large man sitting across from the entrance spoke. At the name ‘Ak Mujin,’ Jin Geum-ryeon glanced at Ak Mujin. Ak Mujin said nothing.
“‘The’ Ak Mujin? Hmm…. That’s strange. I can’t sense any Inner Force at all.”
A gaunt man sitting to his left openly scanned Ak Mujin up and down. Ak Mujin felt as if he were naked and up for auction. The gaze was unpleasant, but he wasn’t in a position to say anything, so he chose to remain silent.
Jin Geum-ryeon likely felt the same way, as he still remembered well how the major orthodox sects had treated him.
He smiled, looked around the room, and turned to So Seung-ji.
“Are these five brothers all the Martial Alliance has dispatched?”
At those words, So Seung-ji smiled awkwardly at Jin Geum-ryeon.
“…That’s how it is.”
“Are you dissatisfied with that?”
The gaunt man retorted bluntly to Jin Geum-ryeon’s question. Jin Geum-ryeon raised an eyebrow at the curt reply but soon responded politely.
“No. I was merely asking for confirmation.”
“Haha, confirmation? What are you trying to confirm?”
The large man chuckled and crossed his arms, pressing further.
“We came here, squeezing time out of our schedules, only to be kept waiting here for two days, and now this is all the manpower there is. I’m not in a good mood.”
Even a round-faced young lady sitting across from the gaunt man chimed in. For some reason, they didn’t seem to have a particularly good impression of Jin Geum-ryeon.
Jin Geum-ryeon was taken aback by the unexpected reaction and stared blankly at them. Among the group who had been watching them all along, a man with a kind face who had been silent all the while stepped between them and Jin Geum-ryeon.
“Please calm down. Why are you all so agitated? They’re probably just worried that there won’t be enough manpower to escort the Vice-Leader.”
At those words, the large man coughed awkwardly and looked at the people sitting next to him. They, too, looked away, feigning ignorance.
“That’s right. It might be a bit much for us to handle such a dangerous figure as the Vice-Leader. But seeing as Ryeon brought him here alone, I don’t think escorting him to the Martial Alliance will be too difficult.”
So Seung-ji mediated with a good-natured smile.
“Let’s start with introductions. Namgung, please go first.”
He said, stepping back and gesturing towards the man who had stepped forward. The man stood up and spoke.
“I am Namgung Eui of the Namgung Clan. I volunteered to escort the prisoner. Of course, everyone here has also volunteered.”
Ak Mujin, who had been listening silently, widened his eyes.
Namgung Eui of the Namgung Clan?
The son of Namgung Mun, who had betrayed Namgung Cheon. Now the heir to the Namgung Clan, a character who appeared in the latter half of the story.
Ak Mujin’s mind became somewhat complicated. Namgung Eui was, in fact, a cousin of Jin Geum-ryeon by blood. If Jin Geum-ryeon had not been a bastard of the Namgung Clan but a direct descendant, the current heir would have been Jin Geum-ryeon, not Namgung Eui.
His first appearance was enough to capture the hearts of many women who liked friendly relationships. Although not as much as the main couple, Geum-ryeon X Mae-yeong, Ak Mujin… no, Ahn Do-hyun, remembered that there were many women who liked the relationship between Jin Geum-ryeon and Namgung Eui.
Until now, Ahn Do-hyun had thought that this Doujinshi world he had transmigrated into was likely dealing with the story of Geum-ryeon X Mae-yeong. Therefore, the appearance of Namgung Eui was very unexpected, and he needed to reconsider that thought.
The man who introduced himself as Namgung Eui first bowed politely to Jin Geum-ryeon. Ak Mujin glanced at Jin Geum-ryeon, who, still unaware of this complicated relationship, readily returned the greeting to the friendly Namgung Eui.
Only then did the large man unfold his arms, bow, and speak to Jin Geum-ryeon.
“I am Peng Ju-hyeok of the Peng Clan of Hebei.”
“Seol San-hae, fourth disciple of the Gongdong Sect.”
“I am Ryu Su-cheong, seventh disciple of Jongnam.”
The remaining three also stood up and introduced themselves in turn. Each time, Jin Geum-ryeon bowed slightly in return.
“By the way, is that person really the Vice-Leader of the Demonic Cult?”
The gaunt man, Ryu Su-cheong, blurted out. He stared intently at Ak Mujin before taking a step towards him. Immediately, everyone except him tensed and reached for their weapons.
“Young Hero Ryu, don’t approach him recklessly! He is the Vice-Leader of the Demonic Cult!”
So Seung-ji warned, wary.
Then, Jin Geum-ryeon, who had been watching Ryu Su-cheong, spoke to him.
“Don’t worry. After I inflicted a fatal wound, his Qi and Blood became twisted, so he can’t use his former strength.”
As soon as those words were spoken, Ryu Su-cheong, Peng Ju-hyeok, and Seol San-hae simultaneously snickered. Even Namgung Eui’s expression changed subtly.
“Are you asking us to believe that?”
Seol San-hae asked sarcastically, sitting down. Jin Geum-ryeon closed his eyes tightly as if he had expected this, then opened them and looked at her with his usual friendly smile.
“Then are you saying I falsely reported to the Martial Alliance?”
“Hmm….”
Seol San-hae was silent. But Ak Mujin could clearly see what she was thinking.
Because he was the author.
Because he had personally placed Jin Geum-ryeon in the midst of these pathetic and cowardly orthodox rabble!
Ak Mujin glanced at Jin Geum-ryeon’s face, but there was no noticeable change in expression. However, judging by the way he was standing with his weight on one leg, Ak Mujin could tell that he was annoyed by the situation.
Even as an awkward atmosphere flowed, Ryu Su-cheong stared at Ak Mujin’s face for a while longer before returning to his seat.
“By the way, if that’s the case, why did you request a dispatch from the Martial Alliance?”
This time, Ryu Su-cheong asked Jin Geum-ryeon.
Jin Geum-ryeon patiently replied.
“What I’m worried about is that the Demonic Cult might send people to retrieve him. If that happens, we might lose him to them.”
Only then did the room quiet down. So Seung-ji sighed lightly.
“As long as my swordsmanship is here, that won’t happen.”
It was Peng Ju-hyeok who broke the silence. He confidently puffed out his chest and said.
Ak Mujin, who had been watching this entire situation, felt dizzy. He had sighed so many times since entering this room that the ground would have sunk by now.
“Then let’s rest at the inn tonight and depart tomorrow morning.”
As things seemed to have settled down somewhat, So Seung-ji spoke to wrap things up. Then someone added.
“Let’s depart in the afternoon. We need to buy supplies for the journey.”
“It doesn’t take long to get to the Martial Alliance from here.”
Jin Geum-ryeon said calmly to Ryu Su-cheong.
“I just ran out of Candied fruit. I can’t travel without Candied fruit. I have anemia.”
The sight of Ryu Su-cheong acting out without any real reason was enough to make Ak Mujin angry. Jin Geum-ryeon chuckled dryly, then finally nodded and led Ak Mujin out of the room.
“If you don’t all gather by tomorrow morning, I’ll just go alone.”
With those words, the door closed.
***
Ak Mujin went down to the first floor with Jin Geum-ryeon. The people who had been bustling about before going up to the second floor had almost all left, leaving only one or two drunkards.
Jin Geum-ryeon silently walked to the counter and requested a room from the clerk. Ak Mujin, who had been silently watching this, looked around a bit as Jin Geum-ryeon was about to move with the clerk’s guidance, and then took a step in the opposite direction.
Jin Geum-ryeon watched Ak Mujin move and hurriedly pulled on the rope binding his hands. Ak Mujin, who had come close to Jin Geum-ryeon because of that, widened his eyes.
“Where are you going?”
“…The stables.”
Today, he didn’t want to unnecessarily provoke Jin Geum-ryeon’s mood any further. So Ak Mujin was planning to go into the stables himself and sleep there.
Not only that, but Ak Mujin still hadn’t recovered from the shock of ‘that night.’ When he looked at Jin Geum-ryeon, he could feel his breath, and his neck would naturally heat up, so he didn’t even want to think about ‘sleeping together.’
Jin Geum-ryeon was silent for a while. Then, his face seemed to twist strangely, and he finally burst out laughing.
“Puhaha, hahahahaha!”
“…”
“Haha, they say even a beast understands a person’s heart if you raise it for a long time, have you become a beast?”
Ak Mujin and the clerk stared blankly at Jin Geum-ryeon, who was laughing like a madman.
“We don’t have many days left together, what does it matter if we get a little closer?”
After saying that, Jin Geum-ryeon led Ak Mujin and asked the clerk to guide them to a guest room.
‘We don’t have many days left together.’
Ak Mujin felt very strange.
He had been thinking of escaping from him all the time he had been with him, but when he imagined spending a day without him, it was, literally… very… strange.