“Are you in there?”

A thin, lovely voice reached me.

It was Cheon Hyein.

“You’re in there, aren’t you.”

She was calling for me.

For a moment, I wondered if I had somehow mistaken it, but that did not seem likely.

The only person Cheon Hyein would use a voice like that on is me.

Thinking about how the woman who acted perfectly normal everywhere else always spoke to me with all the coldness in the world—

She must have come here knowing it was me.

That was why her voice sounded like that.

Still.

Why did she come looking for me?

How had she found this place and come here?

That was the only part that puzzled me.

“If you don’t answer, I’m just going to open it.”

“What is it...?”

At her utterly unreasonable manner, I answered in a hurry.

“I have something to say.”

“...Then say it?”

“I was going to say it while looking at your face. May I come in?”

Why did she insist on seeing my face?

Looking at Cheon Hyein, who wanted to come in, I answered.

“I don’t think that will work.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m naked right now.”

“...What?”

At my answer, Cheon Hyein’s voice turned flustered.

So this really was the cleanest hit?

“I normally sleep naked. So I’m naked right now.”

“...You didn’t do that when we camped.”

Ah.

Right.

I have slept with Cheon Hyein before.

When we traveled by night, there had been plenty of times we had no choice but to gather together and sleep.

Thinking of that, of course she would find it strange.

“That was outside. This is a comfortable room, so I do as I please here.”

“That’s actually a pretty filthy habit.”

“Filthy? It’s the opposite. It’s neat and clean.”

“I do not want to imagine it. Stop talking. And get dressed already.”

“...No, why? I want to sleep more.”

“I said I have something to tell you while looking at your face, so get dressed already.”

“No....”

She was firmly saying she did not want to see it, yet she was trying this hard to come in.

Why?

And besides—

“...How did you know I was here?”

That was not information I had told anyone.

How had she known and come here?

When I asked in puzzlement—

“There are plenty of ways to find out.”

A truly shameless answer came back.

...Why is she acting so confident?

Plenty of ways to find out, my ass.

Anyone hearing that would think she had planted people around me.

Damn it. Is it because Yucheon Gil isn’t here?

I had not sensed anyone watching me.

Just as I was recalling that—

—O Heaven. There is no one watching you.

The Freak Demon spoke to me by voice transmission.

...No one is watching?

I frowned at his words.

Considering the Freak Demon’s level, if he said there was no one nearby, that was believable.

Unless he failed to detect them.

And if that were the case, it meant a martial artist stronger than even him was stationed around me.

That can’t be it.

If it were someone above him, it would probably be the Sword Emperor or the Tyrant.

And those two were not the kind of people who would move for Cheon Hyein’s sake.

“You couldn’t have planted eyes around here. Where did you get the information?”

“......”

When I declared with certainty that there was no one around me, Cheon Hyein went silent for a moment.

“That’s a confident voice...?”

“I have plenty of ways to know things too.”

I threw her own words right back at her.

From beyond the door, I heard a sharp huff.

“...Fine. Then I can come in now, right?”

“I told you I’m naked.”

“Then put on clothes. I’ll count to five and come in.”

“No—!”

Five, my ass.

How was I supposed to get dressed in five seconds?

“One... Two.”

Cheon Hyein really did start counting slowly.

Her tone made it sound like she did not care whether I was naked or not.

“Three.”

“...I told you to wait.”

The counting continued, and just as I wondered what to do—

—O Heaven.

The Freak Demon spoke to me.

—Shall I take care of it?

His voice made it clear he found Cheon Hyein extremely displeasing.

The Freak Demon was serious.

He was asking whether he should kill Cheon Hyein right here.

...As if I’d do that.

My relationship with Cheon Hyein was far from good, but not to the point of killing her.

—Stay still.

I stopped the Freak Demon first.

—...Understood.

When I heard that answer—

“Five.”

Cheon Hyein finished counting.

Bang.

She opened the door just like that.

“What in the world are you doing that you won’t show your face—”

Cheon Hyein, who had started speaking in annoyance, froze when she saw my face.

“...Huh?”

“......”

I had not wanted to show this reborn appearance to anyone, and I had not expected it to happen like this.

Though according to the Moon Immortal Sword, everyone would see it in a few days anyway.

“No... Wait....”

Cheon Hyein stiffened as she stared at me.

She looked genuinely shocked.

Seeing that reaction, I smiled awkwardly.

“There was a reason—”

“Why did you get so handsome...?”

“Pardon?”

“Ah.”

The instant the words left her mouth, Cheon Hyein covered it with her hand.

Then—

“...No... I mean....”

Her face turned red like a ruby.

*****

The effects of rebirth had not ended with my body growing larger.

My skin had become endlessly clear.

On a face stripped of every blemish, even my features themselves had subtly changed.

But that subtlety had a bigger impact than I had expected.

...I did get more handsome.

Maybe to the point where I could stand shoulder to shoulder with Father.

Because the face line that had once looked somewhat young and feminine now held masculinity.

Personally, I liked my face now better.

Objectively, anyone would have thought the same.

And apparently Cheon Hyein did too.

“I did get more handsome.”

When I said it with a shrug, the fireball in front of me bit her lip.

“Could you please shut up?”

“That’s a very polite way to say something nasty.”

She kept fanning her face with her hand, as if she knew she had said something she should not have.

It was the first time I had seen her face that red.

“Why are you so embarrassed? It’s the truth.”

“...I had already thought this before, but setting everything else aside, you really are shameless about that part.”

Cheon Hyein spoke as if she found me absurd.

But what was I supposed to do when it was true?

It’s not like I know much about martial arts or anything.

But when it came to looks alone, I was fairly confident.

To the point that—

if things went badly, I had even planned to seduce a wealthy merchant’s daughter and live a luxurious life.

I did have one or two strategies that involved cashing in on my face.

Though that part had been ruined by some daughter from the Mo Yong Family.

“Shameless? I’m just excellent at self-awareness.”

“......”

Cheon Hyein said nothing more.

The face that had gone bright red returned to normal.

“...Forget what I said. I spoke wrongly.”

“That’s a strange way to phrase a request.... Fine.”

It felt like I should not tease her any further.

Her eyes were far too ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) vicious.

“...So, what happened?”

Cheon Hyein asked, looking me up and down.

She seemed to be willing to let the face go, but not the changed body.

“Well. I had a bit of a fortuitous encounter.”

“...A fortuitous encounter?”

At those words, she frowned.

Then—

“Don’t tell me you went through rebirth?”

Just from hearing that much, she seemed to understand the situation at once.

“...Yes. Well....”

It was not something I could hide, so I answered honestly.

“No... That... how did you even...?”

Rebirth was not some stray dog’s name.

At the fact that I was talking about it so casually, Cheon Hyein stumbled over her words.

Watching her, I lightly scratched my head.

“It just sort of happened?”

“...That is not something you can dismiss with a simple phrase like that.”

“That’s true. But.”

What was I supposed to do about it?

“It just happened.”

I had gone through rebirth.

What exactly was Cheon Hyein supposed to say to that?

“Ha....”

At my bold attitude, she once again lost her words.

“...You really are an impossible person to understand.”

“I hear that sometimes. That’s a compliment, right?”

“One part of it is.”

“The other nine parts are an insult...?”

Unbelievable.

“...Never mind that. Why did you come looking for me?”

“......”

Cheon Hyein stared fixedly at me.

Was it because I was trying to pass over the fact that I had undergone rebirth too casually?

Dissatisfaction settled in her eyes, but—

What would change even if she heard more?

Nothing would change just because she listened to the details.

Right now, what I was more curious about was why Cheon Hyein had come here.

“...I see.”

Instead of answering, Cheon Hyein nodded.

“So that is why your residence was changed. It looks like the Sect Leader knows about this too. Right?”

“...Oh.”

Before I could say anything, she had already pieced together the circumstances from the signs.

She really was smart.

“You catch on fast.”

“Weren’t you half-deliberately leaving information out where I could piece it together?”

“Half and half?”

She already knew that my residence had changed.

And now that she had seen I had gone through rebirth, I had figured someone like Cheon Hyein would notice quickly.

“What did the Sect Leader say?”

“He didn’t say much. Just told me to stay hidden for a few days.”

“A few days...?”

At the word few days, Cheon Hyein’s eyes narrowed.

“Is he planning to reveal you in time for the Azure Wolf Festival...?”

“The Azure Wolf Festival?”

It was my first time hearing the term.

“...How ridiculous. So in the end, it feels like he already decided on the answer.”

The more Cheon Hyein spoke, the more her face twisted.

“What is the Azure Wolf Festival?”

When I asked, she looked at me with an oddly hostile gaze.

“It is a festival the Azure Moon Sect holds every three years. You’ve never heard of it?”

“...No.”

Who would have explained something like that to me?

I became part of the Lesser Moon Unit the moment I entered the sect, so there was no chance for me to hear about things like that anywhere.

Maybe it would have been different if I had lived among the disciples.

But from the start, I entered the Lesser Moon Unit and acted there, and that place was fiercely individualistic.

Other than Dohyeong and Cheon Hyein, I had not really associated with anyone.

So of course I had no way of knowing.

“I’m asking because I don’t know. So what is it?”

“......”

Cheon Hyein fell silent at my words, then continued with a sigh.

“...The Azure Wolf Festival is a festival the Azure Moon Sect holds once every three years.”

“Oh....”

They did something like that here?

This did not seem like the kind of place that would have any interest in such things.

“What kind of festival is it?”

“It is a martial tournament where the possessors of Moon Eye within the sect fight one another.”

“...Hm?”

A martial tournament among Moon Eye possessors?

At that, I briefly narrowed my brow.

“...All of them?”

“Not all. The Sect Leader and the elder-level figures are excluded.”

All the possessors of Moon Eye aside from the Moon Immortal Sword.

They fought each other?

“The problem is... this time, there is one more major thing attached to the Azure Wolf Festival.”

“And by major thing?”

“I thought you would have heard this much at least. You do know that the contest for Young Sect Leader is about to begin, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

I had heard that.

I had already been irritated by it.

“They decided to hold that contest for Young Sect Leader together with the Azure Wolf Festival.”

“...The Azure Wolf Festival and the contest?”

“Yes. And... that means it starts in a few days. It looks like the Sect Leader intends to bring you out in front of everyone at that time.”

“Ah.”

At those words, I understood why Cheon Hyein was dissatisfied.

Bringing me before everyone at that time meant—

he wanted to show that level of presence.

It meant he was trying to make all eyes gather on me.

Though I did not know why.

“It seems to me the Sect Leader wants to make you the Young Sect Leader.”

“...Come on.”

The Moon Immortal Sword?

That man did not seem like the type who would bother making a choice like that.

But Cheon Hyein’s eyes were already filled with certainty.

“...Ha.”

All kinds of emotions were soaked into that deep sigh.

Looking at Cheon Hyein, I changed the subject.

“Forget that. So why did you come looking for me?”

“...Ah.”

The reason she had come.

When I brought up the point to Cheon Hyein, who had forgotten it, she reacted belatedly.

“Originally, I had come to ask you something, but now that I’ve seen your condition, I’m not sure asking you is the right thing.”

“Just say it first.”

I needed to hear it first.

So I sharpened my hearing.

And when I did—

“...You know the Silver Moon Sword has returned, right? I heard you had some friction with him.”

“Yes. Well....”

Yu Yul, the Silver Moon Sword.

The epithet of the Moon Immortal Sword’s disciple came from her lips.

Just as I was wondering why Yu Yul was suddenly being brought up here—

“What do you think?”

“Pardon?”

What did I think?

About what?

When I asked back, unable to understand—

“...I think he’s suspicious.”

“Suspicious? In what way?”

At my question, Cheon Hyein looked at me with serious eyes and said,

“The Silver Moon Sword... I think he’s a spy for the Palace Ghost.”

Hm?

An utterly unexpected epithet suddenly appeared.