I smooth out my frown and steady my breathing.

I flick a glance back to check on the Poison King. He had stepped into the archive and was looking around.

All eyes were pinned on the room.

What’s in there? As outside light seeped in, the room’s state slowly came into view.

‘...It’s full of bookcases?’

Inside were bookcases. Not empty either, but with books slotted here and there.

They weren’t packed tight, yet there were a fair number of volumes.

What are those? What’s written in those books that they’re kept in the archive?

It piqued my interest, but I don’t bother focusing on it.

That’s not what matters right now.

‘...What is it?’

I tore my gaze from the books and looked at Yoo Cheongil.

He’s the problem at the moment.

‘What is that face.’

A faint smile. A flushed, expectant look.

And those shining blue eyes.

All of it serves up bad omens for me. That was the face Yoo Cheongil wore right when some ridiculous incident was about to blow.

‘...I don’t like this.’

Something’s going to pop. With uneasy eyes I looked not at Yoo Cheongil this time but at Do Hyeong.

‘No anomaly yet.’

The guardian spirit showed no change. If something was about to happen, that side should move first.

‘...So normally I should’ve been reassured.’

That’s why I bothered bringing Do Hyeong.

If trouble looked imminent, the guardian spirit would react first; I planned to respond off that.

‘Strangely, I can’t trust it.’

Why?

Rather than trust a mountain-spirit-rank guardian spirit—

‘...that old ghost worries me more.’

The vicious old man drifting around me right now scared me more.

‘Hmph.’

What do I do.

My eyes went to the mechanism engineer and the formation master I’d clocked earlier.

The way they traded hand signals still rankled.

‘Something’s there.’

There’s definitely something brewing.

‘Does the Poison King know?’

Is this something arranged with the Clan Head?

And also—

‘What are the odds it hits our side?’

Whether or not whatever they’re plotting is in league with the Poison King—

In the end only one thing matters.

Does it harm me or not.

That’s the important part.

‘So why is that man so giddy in this situation?’

There’s no way Yoo Cheongil doesn’t know, and yet that expression in the middle of this—honestly, I can’t make sense of it.

Also—

‘What if it’s unrelated to the Poison King?’

What if what’s about to happen is something the Poison King doesn’t know about?

‘...I’d rather not imagine it.’

No matter which branch I follow, the result is chilling.

Meaning: a string of things I’d rather not get tangled in.

‘Tch.’

Well.

Every group has problems. Why would this place be any different?

‘In that case—’

First priority is to negotiate with the Poison King and secure a safe position.

Thinking that, I started toward him—

[Stop.]

Yoo Cheongil barred me.

Hearing that, I narrowed my eyes.

Well, look at that.

‘This old man.’

He knows exactly how this is unfolding.

I could be sure of it.

So I asked him with my eyes as I met his gaze.

What is it. Explain, now.

If he wouldn’t—

‘I go straight to the Poison King.’

I’ll tell him what I see. I looked at him with that meaning.

[Tch.]

Yoo Cheongil clicked his tongue despite himself.

[You’re pointlessly quick on the uptake, as ever.]

A look that said he didn’t like it and yet expected it.

That stare was deeply annoying, but unlike me, Yoo Cheongil kept talking.

[It’s something good for you. Stay put.]

Something good for me? And I’m supposed to just trust that.

I scowled in disbelief, and Yoo Cheongil pointed somewhere.

At the Poison Sovereign above Tang Yeran.

[If it were something that endangered the Tang Clan, that one would already be up in arms. Since it’s not, wait.]

If it were a big hit to the clan itself, the Poison Sovereign would have pushed back.

Since it isn’t, behave.

He even added—

[You won’t lose anything and you’ll only gain.]

Boasting that there’s only profit for me.

I weighed it after hearing that. As always, the man gives me ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) a firm answer.

What I’m worried about now—

He tells me whether it hurts me or not.

He even flags any problem that might fall on the Tang Clan.

‘...What a rotten old man.’

He reads the other side’s mind so precisely he can talk this easy.

‘From his size you’d think he’s just a brute.’

Not just physically strong—he’s good at handling people.

‘Is that why they called him the World’s Greatest?’

Every time I see him, a chill slips in on its own.

What does it feel like when the one with power also uses his head well?

‘Of course, even so—’

He’s still dead all the same.

I turned my head.

I didn’t approach the Poison King any further.

It isn’t simply because I trust Yoo Cheongil.

‘This feeling.’ 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

I myself am sensing something.

That the old man is waiting for something.

I don’t know why he’s waiting, but what I’m sure of—

‘...It benefits me.’

At the very least, the old man wants me to grow stronger.

The way he makes it happen is incomprehensible and infuriating, but—

‘At least every end has benefited me.’

He wants me to gain something.

Why?

Is it solely for his own ends?

I do have doubts there, but—

‘Whatever it is—’

There’s something I can get out of that old man.

Just as I know Yoo Cheongil is using me,

I’m using Yoo Cheongil.

Thinking of that, I simply stopped for a moment.

****

After that, I took a look through the archive.

Like I said, it was full of books.

I couldn’t see what they were. At a glance it looked like loads of the Tang Clan’s martial manuals.

Only two people here could even look at them.

‘The Poison King and the Poison Blossom.’

Only Tang Gyeongak, the Clan Head, and Tang Yeran, his direct bloodline. Among them, the Poison King was, as if possessed, busy riffling through book after book.

The reason is obvious.

‘He thinks Myriad-Flowers Rain is there?’

He believes that amid those many volumes there will be something on Myriad-Flowers Rain, and he was tearing through the books like a madman.

While the Poison King was absorbed in the texts—

“...Um...”

Someone spoke to me. Tang Yeran.

“Yes.”

“Young Master Bang... why are you here...?”

“Ah.”

Her words finally made me recall the situation.

Come to think of it, we don’t know why the other is here.

“I’m carrying out a commission from the Clan Head... Lady Tang, why are you here?”

“...I...”

Tang Yeran snuck a look at her father, then told me:

“This is a place Grandfather showed me. He told me to come spend time here whenever things were hard.”

“...You mean that place crammed with secret texts?”

“Yes.”

At her words I looked toward the book room. I don’t know what martial arts are in there, but if the Poison King went so far as to build an archive and store them, they must be extraordinary.

‘Or they might not be martial arts at all.’

It could be important material related to the Tang Clan.

Either way, that’s unrelated to me, so I move on.

‘If they are martial arts...’

I recalled what Yoo Cheongil had said back then.

‘It would explain her being stronger than the Poison Dragon.’

I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, but Yoo Cheongil told me:

The Poison Blossom Tang Yeran is stronger than the current one of the Seven, the Poison Dragon.

If that was true, wouldn’t this be the reason?

Tang Yeran, who came and went from the Poison Sovereign’s archive, grew strong off that fortuitous encounter.

Just as that suspicion rose—

“I never actually read the books inside.”

Her words cracked the suspicion.

“You didn’t? Why not?”

“Pardon?”

At my question Tang Yeran answered like I’d asked something obvious.

“They’re not my books.”

“...”

I was at a loss for words.

Painfully correct. So pure an answer I couldn’t even react.

Is that really true...?

‘...From her face, it is, isn’t it?’

Not a speck of deceit in her eyes.

It was truly a face that didn’t understand.

They’re not my books, so why would I read them?

I mean, fair point...

[Boy, unlike you, she’s a diligent, innocent girl.]

Never missing the chance, Yoo Cheongil butted in. He never skips this stuff.

“...I see...”

Pretending to accept it with difficulty, I nodded, and Tang Yeran smiled faintly and spoke to me.

“And... that... the sword you mentioned... I’ll make it for you.”

“A sword? A sword... Ah. Ahh.”

Out of nowhere she brought up a sword, and I wondered what she meant.

Then I remembered I’d asked her to make me one.

Back then I tossed it out lightly in case it led to something good later.

“Ah, yes. I’m looking forward to it.”

Tang Yeran’s eyes tightened as if she truly meant to make it.

“...Yes. I’ll do it for sure.”

“...Y... yes.”

No need to make a vow.

She looked like she was steeling herself.

Well, whatever...

‘If she makes me something good, that’s good for me.’

I didn’t bother thinking too deep.

But—

“By... any chance.”

“Yes?”

“Have... you...”

“Have...?”

“...eaten?”

“...Yes. I have.”

How should I put it.

“What did you eat.”

“...Not sure? I ate whatever they prepared, so I don’t really know.”

“Ah, ahh. I see. Th-then what about dinner...”

I can’t quite label it. But something—

Something...

‘Something’s off.’

Tang Yeran looked oddly off.

Normally, even if she asked questions, they were only about armament. This time it wasn’t that—she was asking me something very strange.

On top of that—

‘Why is she so clumsy?’

The way she asked was peculiar.

She couldn’t meet my eyes; her head tilted slightly away.

Maybe I’m imagining it, but the neck and ears looked faintly red, and her cheeks were flushed.

Excitement overlaid with an obvious tension.

It was like...

‘So smitten she’s losing her head...’

I closed my mouth mid-thought.

‘...Hm?’

I narrowed my eyes and spoke to her directly.

“Lady Tang.”

“Your favorite flower is... ah— yes. Yes?”

“Do you perhaps like me?”

“...”

At that, Tang Yeran froze.

And the reddened face went white in an instant.

Oh. That—

‘That’s not good.’

That’s not the reaction I need.

“...Don’t tell me, really—”

Just as I blurted in surprise—

KWAANG—!!!

A huge sound cracked the air. I snapped my head; it came from the room the Poison King had entered.

Thud-thud.

Dust fell, shaken by the impact. I checked what happened.

Looked like the Poison King had slammed his fist into the wall.

“...Huuuu...”

Books strewn. The room a mess.

And amid it, the Poison King letting out a sigh.

Watching that, my body trembled.

‘...Wow.’

My skin prickled. Just looking, I could tell his emotions were surging.

Apparently—

‘Not there either?’

Looks like he still hadn’t found what he was after.

Seeing that, the Tang people hurried toward him.

“Clan Head. Are you all right...?!”

As they moved, I narrowed my eyes.

One of them was the same man who’d sent hand signals earlier.