Chapter – 28
Because he wanted it that way.
After finishing a meal that was very much to my liking, I put down the utensils and spoke up in a somewhat awkward atmosphere.
As if I were just saying anything to dispel the embarrassment flooding in from the wordless mood, carefully managing my expression.
I lowered the visible ‘me’, so that the other person would perceive it that way.
“You mentioned you are a merchant, Mr. Ren. What kind of goods do you mainly trade?”
It was a question far removed from my interest and purpose.
It wasn’t a question I was particularly curious about either.
Because I already knew.
But I had to ask.
The man responded as if delighted by my words.
“Ah, me? Well, although I’m a merchant, I’m more of a person who manages information itself rather than physical goods. Things like market trends or prices for items. Handling rumors or finding people. So, I can also do investigative work. I also have a small merchant company, you see.”
“Information.”
“If you wish, I can tell you a few useful pieces. Since you’re my benefactor.”
“There’s no need to call me a benefactor. Ah, I’m just a novice who just started traveling. There are many places I want to go and many things I want to do. May I ask if there have been any notable incidents?”
“Of course.”
I exuded the vibe of a humble, naive beginner traveler.
Ren seemed to rather like me like that, as he looked quite excited.
Or perhaps he just had a talkative personality.
“What should I tell you? Even though you said ‘travel’, what you desire is more of an ‘adventure’, isn’t it?”
“I suppose you could say that. Visiting various places is fun too, but I ultimately desire fame.”
Fame. As I mentioned something I didn’t really want, a bitter smile rose up and I let out a soft laugh.
Ren, interpreting my laugh in his own way, went ‘Hmm’ and continued.
“I’m quite sensitive to the rumors on the continent, so I know a few things that might be helpful. Hmm. What would be good?”
He crossed his arms and tapped the opposite forearm with a finger of his other hand.
It was a habit of his.
I counted inwardly.
One. Two. Three.
After exactly three breaths like that, he began to speak.
“Ah, the elves have been unusually quiet lately.”
“Elves?”
“The masters of the forest residing in the Sookyung Forest. It’s a story anyone in the know is aware of. Lately, beyond just reduced interaction, it’s become hard to even see a hair of them, so some people think they might disappear from the continent without a trace, like fairies, before long. They wouldn’t suddenly do that for no reason, so there must be some underlying story. If you don’t have a specific destination in mind, heading to the Sookyung Forest might not be a bad idea. Of course, you’d have to accept the risks.”
Hearing ‘elves’ reminded me of the Forest Chancellor election episode.
If nothing special happens, my involvement in that would also become a great force in preventing the destruction.
But I shook my head inwardly.
Compared to other incidents, there was still some time to spare for that one.
It was also really, really far away.
As if reading my lukewarm reaction, Ren continued his story.
“You don’t seem very interested. Well, there are many other special matters. Another thing I can mention is that the Logiana Theocracy is quite noisy.”
After saying that much, he lowered his voice, cupped his right hand like a shell near his mouth, and whispered.
His appearance was like a spy trying to divulge top-secret information, so I ended up laughing a little.
“This is something I’m only telling you, sir. I hear the Saintess’s daughter went missing this time.”
Oho, isn’t this quite an interesting story?
Saintess’s daughter.
Needless to say, it refers to Eileen.
The one who was with me just a while ago.
And ‘missing’, you say.
I consciously moved my expression to convey curiosity.
“The Saintess’s daughter?”
“You know, the Saintess who died ten years ago. Because of that, a war almost broke out, so you must know. That Saintess had a daughter. What was her name…? Anyway, that daughter went missing or was thought to be kidnapped, but it turns out she actually ran away, but not quite. She was caught and brought back in less than a month, though. They say she was found at the far southeastern edge of the continent. How did she get so far? The Church, really. They say the Saintess’s power isn’t the hereditary kind, so why are they being so protective?”
“Is she safe?”
“‘Is she safe?’ What an interesting expression. Well, they have the Dawn Knight Order. But since she stopped all public activities after that, we joke among ourselves that they probably locked her up somewhere. What did she find so unpleasant about the warm-backed, pillow-side-gleaming Papal Office that she ran away?”
“…….”
“Because of that incident, the Papal Office was in disarray, so I poked around a bit, and sure enough, something came out. They’re replacing the people around the Saintess’s daughter and reorganizing the Dawn Knight Order, they say. How about it? If you go to the Papal Office now, you might even become a Dawn Knight, sir?”
‘Will you come to save me?’
Her words from the last moment we were together echoed in my ears as if resonating.
“…It doesn’t particularly appeal to me.”
A little later.
But definitely.
I recall the answer I gave.
It wasn’t time yet.
“Indeed, making a living under the Church seems a bit unappealing, right?”
Ren shook his head.
Among all the pretense he showed me, I could tell that was the only genuine part.
I remembered that he was a character who disliked the Church.
“How about this? I have information that the Nisesform Kingdom is buying large quantities of weapons and armor lately. People around me made quite a profit from it, so it was painful. But thinking about it carefully later, it seemed a bit strange. There’s no opponent nearby to wage war against, so why are they buying weapons? It’s obvious, isn’t it? I suspect it will lead to a civil war. Actually, over there, the Royalist faction and the Noble faction are at each other’s throats. You never know? If you side with one and become a war hero, you might secure a solid position.”
“Hmm. That also seems…”
“Well, you do seem rather distant from war, sir. What would you do going to a place like that? It’s too dangerous, isn’t it?”
I wondered what kind of impression he associated with war in his mind.
I was curious how he would have spoken if I were more rugged and had a few long scars on my face.
But he would have probably said, with feigned innocence, that there’s no need to take such risks and that my choice was correct.
Did he want to accommodate me that much?
“In the north. That is, beyond the Talandy Mountain Range, there’s a rumor that a strange aurora was observed in the polar region. More than an aurora, they call it a halo of light. They say that near that halo, even experienced hunters or mountaineers lose their way and wander. Honestly, this is just a baseless rumor, so I can’t recommend it, but if you love adventure, uncovering its cause…”
“I dislike cold places.”
“My, my. You are cautious.”
He said that and then repeatedly furrowed and unfurrowed his brow as if struggling to remember something.
That, too, was an act.
It was absolutely not a mistake or a misreading.
I could tell.
Because it was behavior that absolutely did not suit him.
What could it be? What kind of preamble is he building up the atmosphere so much to deliver?
I became quite curious about that.
“Ah, I’ve remembered something that might interest you, sir. It’s about the Etilheda Kingdom. The Sword Saint of Pungrimhwasan has taken a disciple, they say.”
As expected, this was another interesting story.
I responded as naturally as possible.
Stiffening my body in the seated chair.
“The Sword Saint, you say?”
“Yes. Ah, as expected, you react immediately. You use a sword too, Mr. Woohyun? Just in case, let me mention, it’s not the Association members. They say he has a real disciple learning the sword directly. The Sword Saint, that is. They say the Sword Saint stopped teaching anyone after the Etilheda Kingdom’s civil war. That was almost thirty years ago. I found it hard to believe too, so I looked into it carefully, and it was true. So, many swordsmen are heading to Pungrimhwasan. Hoping that maybe they too can receive a lesson from the Sword Saint. How about you, Mr. Woohyun?”
“Ah, I’ll pass. It seems like I’d just end up making a futile trip.”
At that moment, I tracked his eyes.
Hazel-colored pupils, a coexistence of light brown and green that changed hue depending on the angle, were staring straight at me.
If left alone, it felt like he would dig just with his gaze.
It was a sign that I would be uncovered.
I didn’t miss the slight change in expression that followed.
Because I had sharpened my nerves to a keen edge, I was barely able to detect that small movement.
If one were to express the expression that appeared on his face in writing,
it would be something like, ‘Well, look at that?’
I tilted my half-doubting heart into complete belief.
If he knew that the Sword Saint had taken a disciple, he would also know of my existence.
Furthermore, that the person sitting before him—that is, I—was that Sword Saint’s disciple.
So, he had subtly probed me.
In the original work, he recognized Kang Juhyuk as the Sword Saint’s disciple just by looking at his face, so it made no sense for him not to know me now.
I dismissed any question about how someone in his profession, who gathers various information and sells intelligence, could fail to remember a single montage he had seen in passing, banishing it to a far corner of my thoughts.
If he were to say that,
it would definitely be a lie.
“But still, sir. Wouldn’t someone of your caliber have a chance? You’re young, and from what I saw earlier, your skills seem exceptional. He’s the Sword Saint, after all?”
The man spoke nonchalantly without changing his expression.
If I hadn’t known about him, I would have naturally been fooled into thinking, ‘Ah, he doesn’t know I’m the protagonist of that story.’
Therefore, this was a lie.
‘Just a picture I saw once.’
‘His face is nothing special,’
‘So I must have forgotten.’
‘Couldn’t that happen?’
Some might ask that.
But such stories don’t hold water.
Because I know that he never forgets,
from the color of a scene he glimpsed,
the resonance of a story he heard once,
the texture of an object he briefly brushed past,
the taste of food he ate a little,
the faint scent of something he barely caught,
each and every trivial detail,
from his memory.
Lama Ren.
For him, a person with total recall ability, the concept of forgetting does not exist.
He is experienced and therefore suspicious.
He is skilled at hiding his true intentions and uncovering the other person’s inner thoughts.
At this moment, I became convinced that he already knew I was the Sword Saint’s disciple.
Then the question ‘Why?’ remains.
Why? Why is he hiding himself, and hiding the fact that he knows me?
