Episode 16
Full marks
A couple of glasses of wine won’t cut it.
Only today did I finally understand who this word was meant for.
“… Are you really okay, sis?”
“Huh? Are you okay?”
“… … .”
You don’t look okay at all?
Heh heh heh.
Dang Gyu-jin’s cheeks were very red.
It seemed like he was enjoying his first drink in a long time.
By that time, I’d probably be drunk and pass out.
The problem was that I had been pouring alcohol into my mouth like that ever since I had my first glass.
I don’t know how many liquor bottles there are already piled up in the back.
Danggon is like that too. Are all people with the surname Dang such heavy drinkers?
“So that guy is smiling and hanging out with the other girls, and he’s so ugly, he’s so ugly-”
I originally liked drinking parties, but I don’t really like drinking itself, so I mostly just listen to stories.
Most of what Dang Gyu-jin talks about is life in Cheongseongpa.
The smile never left his lips as he spoke.
There seemed to be a warmth there that was completely different from the suffocating Kowloon District.
Perhaps the reason Dang Gyu-jin had such an upright personality despite his unique talent as Cheongmyeon-gwimyeon-geun was not simply because of the teachings of Cheonji Ilgi-mun, but because of the unique atmosphere of Cheongseong-pa.
Thanks to that, I was able to completely trace the genealogy of the Cheongseongpa disciples whom I had never met before.
“Is that so?”
“That’s right! Are you annoyed when you hear that too?”
“Well, I’m not someone who has experienced that, so it’s hard for me to say-”
“but?”
“I think I know one thing.”
“Huh? What?”
“Sister, do you like someone called Daesahyeong?”
“Are you crazy!?”
Dang Gyu-jin suddenly got up from his seat with a red face and started swearing at me.
You get elated and depressed by what that person, the Ambassador, says, and when you hang out with other siblings, you somehow feel a burning sensation inside you?
If that’s not romantic feelings, then what is?
“Huh? As far as I know, the leader of the cult has never been in a relationship before? But how can he be so good at giving relationship advice-“
“Isn’t it true that the less you know about a field, the more you are familiar with the theory?”
“Oh, indeed! Is this the same reason why the Young Master, who had never learned martial arts before, became so skilled once he started learning them?”
“As expected, you are a wise man who has reached the heavens-“
These seem to be my thing, right?
“Or else.”
I smiled as I downed my glass.
Dang Gyu-jin’s face was now so red that it was on the verge of bursting.
“…Stop talking nonsense! You might get stabbed in the neck while you sleep.”
If I heard from my sister that I got stabbed in the neck while drunk, wouldn’t she think I was an idiot?
I nodded in understanding, but I couldn’t help but smile at the thought that something fun was about to happen.
“… Something seems fishy.”
Dang Gyu-jin opened his eyes wide.
“No way. I am innocent. The embodiment of purity, innocence, and integrity, Dang Yun-hwi. Don’t you know?”
“No. It’s still suspicious.”
“Ahem! By the way, when is that ambassador coming?”
“Why are you curious about that?”
“just?”
“Swish! This is really killing me!”
It is said that around the time when Dang Gyu-jin descends, Cheongseongpa also sends its great disciple, who will become the next leader, to Amjeon to greet him.
I packaged this playfully, but it’s actually a bit serious.
I think that maybe the Cheongseongpa is trying to figure out the true intentions of the dark side by using Dang Gyu-jin as an excuse.
From their perspective, they would be shocked if the Dark Lord suddenly announced that he was creating a special task force.
At this point, isn’t it possible that they might use the new religion as an excuse to unify the Sacheon martial arts world and even expand their influence to the entire western martial arts world?
Given Amzon’s current reputation and ambition, it was certainly possible.
However, Dang Gyu-jin seemed to be unaware of the confrontation or negotiation between the huge forces flowing under the surface.
“This is definitely something we need to keep an eye on during our visit to the dark zone.”
“There are times when you can use it to your advantage-“
Although I still don’t have a clear picture, I feel like I’m starting to see, little by little, how the current martial arts world is going.
“Anyway, if you keep talking nonsense, you’ll die. Just die.”
“Yes, yes. I will be careful. But asking you to teach me is not a joke. You are like family to us, right? So, as a younger sibling, it is only natural that I should greet you.”
Dang Gyu-jin had a very uncomfortable expression on his face, but he had no choice but to answer because the reason was what it was.
“I received a letter saying that you are almost there.”
“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“… It’s suspicious.”
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I quietly changed the subject.
“Anyway, by then the palace will be bustling. Many of the blood relatives who have been living outside will gather… We’ll have to prepare ceremonies for the dark lord, and we’ll have to welcome guests from all over. Oh my! In times like these, I think it would be best to just stay in the White House.”
“Right? Besides that, don’t you have anything else fun to do? Since you’re in this world, wouldn’t things like dating be part of your daily life?”
“No, that kind of thing. Who would like someone who was born illegitimate and was treated like a cripple?”
“Why do you think there isn’t one? Besides, you have a fiancé.”
“… was there?”
“Huh? You didn’t know?”
“This is my first time hearing about this.”
Wait a minute. I think I’ve seen this somewhere.
I kicked out my fiancé, who I had a prenatal engagement with, because I didn’t like him, but then I found out that my ex-fiancé was an absolute master who was playing hide-and-seek… I really wanted to try this, but can I really do it?
Considering that there hasn’t been any contact for a while, it seems like he deliberately disappeared after hearing some bad rumors.
“Who are you, my fiancé?”
“Oh my. Father really didn’t tell you. Are you curious?”
“Actually… no. I’m not really interested.”
“Yeah. I knew it.”
How can you marry someone you’ve never met? What’s more, that person is engaged to ‘Dang Yun-hui’ and has nothing to do with me.
I thought that if we just treated each other like we do now, it would just fade away on its own.
They’ll want that too.
“Or maybe I’m the one-”
“I don’t.”
“You haven’t said anything yet?”
“Aren’t you going to ask if I wanted to be introduced to someone?”
“That’s true, but-”
“Even water has its ups and downs. If you get married first, I will follow you.”
“I don’t think about that at all?”
“Then I don’t have any either.”
“Mr. Woo. Anyway, don’t lose a word.”
* * *
The more drinking buddies you have, the better.
It was a few hours later that my original drinking buddy showed up.
“I’m sorry I’m late, Confucius. Those old friends kept holding me back, so I was late because I had to keep them apart.”
“Hey, uncle Dang-gon!?”
Dang Gyu-jin seemed to have suddenly come to his senses after being drunk to the point of almost passing out.
Danggon smiled faintly.
“It’s nice to see you here again, Your Highness. I should have greeted you separately after seeing you at the search party earlier, but I was late. I apologize.”
“No! I should have gone to say hello first!”
Dang Gyu-jin was restless and quickly sent a message to me.
“Your drinking buddy is really your uncle?”
When asked if I could invite my drinking buddy, the person who used to cheerfully say that her friend could be her friend too and that she would teach me drinking culture as an older sister was nowhere to be found.
『You boasted that you would teach your drinking buddy the art of drinking, right? Hehehe! I look forward to it.』
“Speak your mind! Why didn’t you call me uncle Dang-gon earlier!”
“Because you didn’t ask?”
“You’re really-“
Dang Gyu-jin now glared at me as if he was going to devour me, then quickly pulled back the chair next to me.
“Please sit here, Uncle!”
“Hmm! Thank you, you didn’t have to go this far.”
Danggon sat down and looked at the food piled high on the table.
“You ordered a lot today too. You didn’t put it in front of me, did you?”
“Oh, is that okay?”
“You had some fighting today. Did you get a head injury?”
These days, you can’t even bring down harsh words from your mouth.
I poured a lot of bamboo leaf tea into Danggon’s glass.
Dang Gyu-jin looked back and forth between me and Dang-gon with a face like he had seen a ghost.
“you-“
“yes?”
“Why are you talking so rudely to Uncle Dang-gon!?”
『Um… How did it come to this?』
“it’s crazy?!”
In fact, I don’t know how shocked I was when Dang Gyu-jin called Dang-gon ‘uncle’.
Even though I’ve been calling him Musabu for the past ten days, I’ve been treating him like a flat-footed person.
Danggon didn’t pay much attention to this either.
『Do you know who your uncle Dang-gon is? He may not have made a resolution with my father, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he’s a sworn brother! He saved my father from danger during the Cheongseong Blood Rebellion, and was even given the title of ‘Knight’ by the head of the household!』
According to Dang Gyu-jin’s explanation, Dang-gon seemed to have a much greater position in the Gu-ryong branch than I had expected.
It’s just that I didn’t specifically put it forward.
If you put your mind to it, you could easily sew the footnotes of most books.
So, I took the lottery ticket from Danggon with all my heart and sincerity.
“Your Majesty.”
“…Why are you doing this, all of a sudden?”
Suddenly, he had an expression on his face like he had seen something really strange.
“I didn’t know the relationship between you and your uncle, and I have been rude. I apologize. Please accept my apology.”
“… … Please stop, the alcohol is starting to taste bad. What are you doing with all this good alcohol and food in front of you?”
Danggon suddenly turned his head to the opposite side.
“Did you see it?”
『… That’s ridiculous!』
This kind of relationship already existed between me and Dang-gon.
Even if we try to be polite now, we’ll just end up getting on each other’s nerves.
“Did you have a nice chat with your friends from Gwangpungdae?”
“… Have you seen it?”
Why are you so surprised?
Like someone who got caught playing a prank they shouldn’t have.
“Oh. You were in the audience with Dangtae and Dangjin Gakju? Isn’t it stranger that you didn’t recognize me when you were standing there so blatantly?”
You said you were late because you were meeting friends. I thought those friends might be these friends.
“Huh! You must have been so busy fighting that you were out of your mind. When did that happen? Anyway, you have a keen eye for detail.”
Windmill.
As a member of the Guryong branch family, especially as a successor, Dang Gyu-jin quietly observed our expressions at the words that he could not help but be concerned about.
Danggon scratched his cheek and then held out a glass of alcohol.
“It’s a bit difficult to talk sober, would you like a drink?”
“As much as you want.”
Torrr-
Danggon emptied his glass in one go as soon as it was full.
“Ugh! This is the taste I’m looking for.”
“You were evaluating me?”
“… For now. Yes, well.”
“How was it?”
“What do you think it would have been like?”
“Perfect.”
“Really, one confidence!”
“Then no?”
“That’s right! That’s why it’s even more annoying! Anyway, how can a person not have humility, humility?”
“I think that might be my charm.”
“That’s why I didn’t want to tell you this when I was sober!”
Danggon grumbled and put down his glass.
widely!
“I hope you will continue to show us your good side in the future.”
“Really? Okay.”
“… Aren’t there any other questions you want to ask?”
Danggon glanced at me in an unusual way.
“Hmm? Do you have any more questions?”
“No, there are things like that. What do they think of Confucius, has their perspective changed, what other people’s evaluations are, etc.”
“No. That’s enough. You saw potential in me, right?”
If you had simply shown talent and been boastful or waved a rattle right in front of me, I would have been disappointed.
Because such opportunists were out of the question for me.
They are not the only ones judging me. I am also assessing the level and capabilities of the old Gwangpungdae.
“Well, that’s true, but-”
“Then what do you think, Master Musa? Do you still think I’m as lacking as I was ten days ago?”
“… … .”
Danggon furrowed his brows, unable to answer hastily.
That’s what he wanted to say, but it seemed like he was afraid that I would see him acting like a know-it-all again.
“Hehehehe! I got the answer! Then I said that’s enough!”
“…Can’t you do something about that smile?”
“This is my charm!”
“Charm is a piece of shit!”
Dang-gon was grumbling but smiling faintly, already full of goodwill towards me.
Actually, it would be nice to be able to hold the whirlwind in your hand, and it wouldn’t be a problem if you didn’t hold it.
The most important thing here was how the people of Gwangpungdae would treat me in the future.
Today’s incident effectively eliminated Dang Yu-chang from the line of succession, and Dang Gyu-jin and I now stand shoulder to shoulder.
Namgung Sanyoung will now plot to oust me in some way.
When a full-scale confrontation breaks out, will they be able to take my side?
But looking at Danggon’s reaction, it seemed like he would do that anyway.
If not, at least they will try to remain neutral.
The old Gwangpungdae is the pillar of the Kowloon branch.
I perfectly displayed Gwangpung Dance, the identity of Gwangpungdae, and even proved my skills.
By winning their favor, you have established a solid foundation that cannot be obtained even for a thousand pieces of gold.
Well, now the table is finally set the way I wanted it to be.
Okay, now.
I wonder what kind of cards they will pull out?
The reincarnation demon temple
