Silver Moon Sword came over with a bright smile on his face.

I frowned as I looked at him.

...Why?

Why the hell was he part of this group?

I honestly couldn’t understand it.

“...No.”

“Good morning.”

Before I could even say anything, Yu Yul greeted me first.

“Ah. Unit leader, you’re here too. Good morning.”

He even went over and greeted the Lesser Moon Unit leader, who was busy with the carriage.

“Right.”

The Lesser Moon Unit leader gave a nod. Seeing that, Yu Yul immediately turned to the Tyrant beside him.

“Senior Muk, good morning to you too.”

“Oh, right. Good to see you.”

After going around greeting everyone, Yu Yul finally came back over to me.

“How about you, junior? Shall we finish exchanging greetings too?”

“...I’ll pass.”

“You’re prickly today too. Well, that happens.”

With bandages wrapped around one arm and across his chest, he patted my shoulder with his remaining hand.

“Still, let’s get along on the way there.”

“...”

My head was already starting to hurt.

Why is he really here?

I had to travel all the way to the Murim Alliance with this bastard? That alone was enough to give me a headache.

God.

What was Moon Immortal Sword thinking?

I couldn’t understand why he would deliberately make me travel with Yu Yul. He knew perfectly well that Yu Yul and I were on bad terms.

“Tch.”

I clicked my tongue. Yu Yul just kept grinning as he went around greeting people.

Then—

“Young Master Bang.”

Cheon Uijin appeared. Wearing a regretful expression, he walked over to me.

“Ah, Young Master Cheon.”

“I heard you’re leaving for headquarters today.”

“Yes. It ended up happening rather suddenly.”

“...What a shame. I really wanted to go with you again this time. I suppose the Sect Leader decided I still wasn’t qualified enough.”

“...I don’t think that’s it.”

Moon Immortal Sword knew full well that putting Cheon Uijin and Dohyeong in the party would sit better with me, and yet he had chosen not to do it.

That meant there was probably some other reason.

“Where’s Senior Dohyeong?”

“He went to train. He told me to pass along that you should have a safe trip.”

“Hm...”

Training from the morning on.

That did sound exactly like him.

“I see. Ah, right.”

Then there was one more person missing.

“Where’s Lady Cheon?”

I hadn’t seen Cheon Hyein since she took the sword, so I asked where she had gone.

“...Ah.”

Cheon Uijin answered with a slightly strange expression.

“My sister... well.”

“What is it?”

“She suddenly left for Sichuan.”

“...What?”

Sichuan? Why there, all of a sudden?

“She said she’d been given a mission... that she had to go to the Tang Family, so she left at dawn in a hurry.”

“...To the Tang Family?”

Did Cheon Hyein have any reason to be sent to the Tang Family on some mission?

It struck me as odd.

Ah. Maybe.

Suddenly the sword I had found for her came to mind.

The blade with the dulled edge and rust, too damaged to display its proper strength.

Was she going there to have it repaired?

That could be it.

This was the Tang Family, after all.

If there was one reason to head there, repairing a treasured weapon would fit perfectly.

But if that was given to her...

As a mission, that meant Moon Immortal Sword had authorized it.

...That man.

He really permitted it?

Even as a solo assignment?

The whole situation was impossible to read.

“...Hss.”

For now, I let it go. There were more important things to worry about.

“We’re all ready.”

“...Ah. Right.”

The Sword Emperor came over and spoke to me.

There were too many eyes around us. It startled me for a second, but I forced myself to endure it and climbed into the carriage.

One person after another got in.

And when everything was finally prepared—

“We’re departing.”

Neighhh!

The horses cried out, and the carriage began to move.

I ran a hand through my hair as I looked out the open window.

...Now then.

Could this trip pass quietly for once?

As though mocking that pathetic little hope of mine, the carriage—packed full of discomfort—reached the Murim Alliance far too quickly.

*****

A few days later, after moving out from the Azure Moon Sect with the group, we arrived at the Alliance.

The distance hadn’t been that great to begin with, so we got there exactly when expected.

“...Identity confirmed. You may enter.”

The gatekeeper in front of us reacted while trying—and failing—to hide his shock.

There was no way he wouldn’t be shocked.

Every single person I had brought with me was absurd.

The Lesser Moon Unit leader, an absolute master.

The Tyrant, one of the Five Kings Under Heaven.

Those two alone were more than enough to draw every eye.

If they knew the Sword Emperor was inside too, they’d really lose their minds.

And was it only the Sword Emperor?

Freak Demon was here too, and he’d be shocking in a very different way.

The carriage rolled into the Murim Alliance.

As soon as we were guided inside and arrived, the first place I headed was naturally the room where Thousand-Mile Divine Eye was waiting.

“So. You’re here. Why are you so la—”

He stopped mid-sentence as he looked at me.

Just as I was wondering why he reacted like that—

“...What is this? What happened to you?”

“Ah. Right.”

Seeing his expression, I understood the situation.

Of course.

I’d gone through rebirth.

Thousand-Mile Divine Eye looked thoroughly shocked by how much I had changed.

“I obtained the arrangement my master left behind, and it caused... some changes.”

I kept the explanation simple.

There was no simpler way to put it than that.

“‘Some’ changes...?”

“...A little more than some?”

“Hah.”

At my joke, Thousand-Mile Divine Eye laughed.

Naturally, it wasn’t because it was funny. It was closer to an incredulous scoff.

Then—

“It’s been a while.”

Someone came in behind me.

It was the Tyrant.

“...Muk Yeokseong.”

Thousand-Mile Divine Eye’s face twisted as soon as he saw him.

“Have you been well?”

“I truly didn’t think you would come.”

This time, Thousand-Mile Divine Eye sounded genuinely surprised.

He had already been told about the Tyrant by letter.

“Did this brat actually talk his way into it?”

“What an ugly thing to say. We only made a deal because each of us needed something.”

“A deal...?”

“That’s right. A deal. Isn’t that so?”

The Tyrant turned to me with a grin.

I gave a short nod.

“...As you asked, I found someone to take my place.”

“...”

Thousand-Mile Divine Eye stared at me.

“So you really did pull it off.”

“...I know you handed this to me expecting I wouldn’t.”

“No.”

He shook his head as he spoke.

“I thought it was fifty-fifty.”

“Fifty-fifty?”

“Yes. If I had to split the odds between whether you could do it or not, it was fifty-fifty. Though I invested a little more on the side of you failing.”

“That’s a lot higher than I expected. Any reason?”

“Well. I just thought that might be how it would go.”

“...”

What an absurdly simple answer.

Rustle.

Thousand-Mile Divine Eye set down the letter he had been holding.

“A promise is a promise, so I’ll exclude you from the matters concerning Alliance Leader candidacy.”

“...Whew.”

I let out a breath. I had managed to get rid of at least one thing.

“However, I cannot exclude your attendance at the negotiations as a representative. You already know that, don’t you?”

“...Yes.”

If anything, that was the part I wanted least of all.

Still, this much probably couldn’t be helped.

“For now, I think I have things to discuss with this friend here... so you go see the Alliance Leader.”

“...The Alliance Leader?”

“Yes. He left word that if you came, you were to be sent straight to him.”

“Understood.”

With that, I left the room, leaving the Tyrant behind.

My destination was the Alliance Leader’s office, where Divine Spear would be.

“Excuse me.”

After being shown the way, I announced myself and stepped inside.

The moment I entered, I saw Divine Spear’s massive frame.

“You’ve come.”

“Have you been well?”

My eyes moved over his body.

The evil qi that used to cling to him—at least the obvious part of it—was gone now.

Had he fully recovered? 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

That, I couldn’t say.

But at the very least, the danger I could see seemed to have disappeared.

“I heard. You persuaded the Tyrant.”

“Yes. I somehow managed it.”

“Impressive.”

“Thank you.”

After only a few brief exchanges, silence fell.

That wasn’t surprising. This old man wasn’t much of a talker either.

As he stared at me, Divine Spear spoke.

“Do you have no intention of becoming Alliance Leader?”

“I do not.”

My answer came out hard.

“...I have neither the room for it nor the qualifications. °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° You know that, don’t you?”

“No room, and no qualifications...”

Divine Spear looked at me with those expressionless eyes.

The look on his face made it seem like he was asking whether I truly believed that.

“Then does the Alliance Leader think I do have the qualifications?”

As if.

I can’t do it.

I had nothing.

I was young, my strength was still lacking, and the reputation I stood on was thin.

If I were truly pushed up as a candidate like this, all I’d get was ridicule.

“I don’t have the time or the breadth to endure that kind of mockery.”

There was too much I had to do.

I kept wishing I had nothing to do, but there was too much, and too much of it was urgent. This wasn’t the time to indulge in some laughable ambition like that.

“I see.”

At my words, Divine Spear nodded.

“...Yes. I trust the Tyrant will handle things well in my place.”

The old man himself didn’t look like he had the slightest intention of actually becoming Alliance Leader either.

Still, if he stood as a candidate, he had more than enough standing and qualifications.

One of the Five Kings Under Heaven is more than enough.

More than that, he was a figure who had run wild alongside the beings beyond heaven during the war.

He was one of the Five Kings Under Heaven in name, but in practice, he might as well have counted as one of the beings beyond heaven.

“However.”

I paused, then continued to Divine Spear.

“...May I ask you one thing?”

“Speak.”

“I don’t know how it came to this, but why did you bring up talks with the Demonic Cult?”

The negotiations with the Demonic Cult that were supposedly going to take place soon.

The phrase itself was absurd.

Negotiations?

Is there any reason to talk to those things?

They were the ones who had turned Henan into a wasteland and nearly killed Divine Spear.

And not only that—they used that unknowable power.

Heretics.

The bastards tied to the people who had practically turned my previous life into hell.

Grinding my teeth inwardly, I went on.

And in a situation like this, you’re holding negotiations?

I had to ask why Divine Spear, who could be called the greatest victim here, had made that choice.

“Are you really fine with that, Alliance Leader?”

I wondered for a moment if he was simply that broad-minded.

“No.”

A faint killing intent bled into Divine Spear’s voice.

That presence made goosebumps rise across my skin before I could stop it.

“If I could, I would pierce those bastards’ heads this very instant.”

The voice wrapped in killing intent was unmistakably sincere.

“...Then why?”

Why hold negotiations when even preparing for war would hardly be enough?

When I asked that—

“I must uphold a promise.”

Divine Spear crushed down his emotions as he spoke.

“A promise?”

“Yes. A promise.”

Sssss.

The teacup resting on the table trembled delicately.

The pressure in the room dropped under the weight of his qi.

In the thickened air, Divine Spear moved his lips.

“That was the promise I made with the Heavenly Demon.”

“...What?”

I reacted first to Divine Spear’s words—

and then, a beat later—

“Hm?”

—the owner of the voice lodged in the Divine Sword reacted too.

As if he were hearing it for the first time.