Today, Cheonma didn’t show up.
Well, that’s because since morning, Oh Myeong-seong and Gumi Mil are coming, and Juggan, the lord of the Juggan faction, is preparing to meet them.
Oh Myeong-seong is surely sneaking in, following Gumi Mil, who knows this place well, but it’s amazing that it has all been leaked.
Moreover, there’s one curious thing.
If it’s Cheonma, he would probably eliminate them before they arrive, but he just let them come.
If we speculate from Cheonma’s memories of his male days, it means something else now—what’s going on in his mind, I wonder?
Cheonma is the one who killed Gumi Mil’s father.
It’s odd there’s no clash.
If they meet, it wouldn’t be strange if something happens.
A big incident is about to happen in Cheonma Church.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Cheonma Church has been quiet until then. There have been plenty of movements even within Cheonma Church.
Gapjae.
He revealed all his skills and demanded a higher position. But he didn’t just demand blindly; he said he would wait for a fight to redo the rankings, just like Cheonma did last time, and diligently did his own work.
Meanwhile, Byeongil is thoroughly crushing his faction, Sanseokdang, with violence.
Sanseokdang is a faction related to mining.
It’s mainly a place dealing with criminals, of course, by Cheonma Church’s standards.
They insert bugs into the heads of people to disrupt their intelligence and then mine silver in the mines.
The main executives here did not recognize Byeongil and refused to share the wealth coming from there. In short, it was a silent protest saying they wouldn’t acknowledge him as the lord of Sanseokdang.
However, the thing was, Byeongil was a believer of Cheonma Church. He had enough skill to even hold the position of a Law Guardian.
Byeongil approached the rebellious executives and asked about their obedience, killing those who refused to submit.
Originally, each faction is supposed to be independent and interfere with one another, so it was not a problem. But the issue was that Byeongil killed too many.
Among them were those dispatched from other factions who controlled bugs, and with their deaths, the bugs inside the criminals went berserk, killing more than half of those working in the mines.
In other words, productivity dropped, and the people borrowed from other factions died too.
Yes. A big problem arose. So Byeongil is on the verge of being politically ousted within Cheonma Church.
That’s Byeongil’s situation right now.
And as I wished for people, the Law Guardian of Cheonggung faction is thinking of moving forward. On the surface, he seems loyal to the lord of Cheonggung, but secretly, he’s looking for another path.
The place he’s contacting is Jigwandang.
As Gapjae did, he’s aiming to connect with Jigwandang.
And there’s a reason for that. It’s because Jigwandang produces a tonic that makes one stronger just by eating it.
Of course, it includes technology from Woljedang.
Yes, that’s right. The technology flowing from Daegon. But that doesn’t mean the lord of Jigwandang is an isolationist or a Hematoma Mystic Art practitioner.
This side is closer to being an elder. A master who has been with Cheonma Church for a long time.
The lord of Jigwandang means he manages the tonic that makes one stronger within Cheonma Church.
So it seems like someone trying to rise up or something happens would want to meet him.
However, Cheonggung’s Law Guardian isn’t trying to rise within Cheonma Church. He’s seeking a mission to go outside.
Because Cheonggung’s Law Guardian, Jungjae-woo, realized that the bug inside him disappeared as the harvesting period approached and is considering leaving Cheonma Church.
Everyone has their own issues.
Meanwhile, Inshimwon, the lord of Woljedang faction, is similar to Byeongil. He’s also going around killing his subordinates. But his reason differs from Byeongil’s.
He’s dealing with those who have mutated too far and are on the brink of becoming monsters.
He told them to run, but it seems like they decided to stay in Cheonma Church. They might not have seen Daegon die, but after seeing Cheonma return, maybe they know who won?
If it’s his choice, it should be respected.
After all, I’m not in a position to tell him otherwise…
But I want to compliment him.
Why?
Because most of the people he killed were the ones who used specific skills when I was summoned.
Though not all information is gathered, if shared well, there’s a possibility to interpret the summoning method.
Delving into memories is similar to piecing a puzzle; the more pieces, the clearer it becomes where to find what. If I put in the effort, I might extract the necessary skills.
Anyway.
Overall, Cheonma Church is in a very chaotic situation.
In that situation, Oh Myeong-seong and Gumi Mil. These two are meeting with Cheonma.
What kind of incident will occur?
“What are you doing in front of the fire on such a hot day?”
While sitting blankly and staring at the fire near the stove, Soo-oh approached me, not hiding her boredom.
After waiting for Cheonma and receiving a little note he sent, she had some free time to play, but it seems she got tired of having nothing to do.
However, Soo-oh, who usually clung to me, stood a few steps away and strangely observed my expression. It seems she’s trying to read my mood?
Ah, now that I think about it, yesterday was a bit strange.
I didn’t expect that a mere beast turned monster would mock me.
Yeah.
When you die, there’s no need to be cold. Unlike me, who can’t die.
“Wait a moment, I’m thinking about what to do next.”
“What to do? What?”
I got up from my seat and took Soo-oh to the porch.
Right now, Cheonma is heading alone to meet Oh Myeong-seong and Gumi Mil.
They’ll meet at the edge of the forest.
I can tell what’s happening from Cheonma’s perspective, so I have no plans to go to that spot. So, I’ll prepare dinner with Soo-oh, clean up, and then go to sleep.
I looked up at the sky.
The sky is darker than usual right now. It’s close to evening, and clouds are filling up as if it’s going to rain soon.
I hope it’s not a sign that something is about to happen.
Ah, right.
I have something to tell Soo-oh in advance. If Cheonma knows too, it would be troublesome if she later asks why I didn’t say anything. And excluding her wouldn’t be nice, right?
I sat Soo-oh in front of me.
“What’s wrong?”
Soo-oh looks anxious. I told her about what the future holds.
“Soo-oh, we’ll leave here in 4 years.”
“Eh?”
Soo-oh’s eyes widened.
“Where are we going?”
Soo-oh hurriedly came closer, grabbing the hem of my clothes. Is it that surprising?
“Outside of Cheonma Church.”
If possible, a place with many people.
A place where I can produce the harvesting period.
Soo-oh looked at my expression and then glanced around.
“Isn’t this enough?”
“Living here is sufficient. But I have something I want to do, so I’ll leave.”
Soo-oh crossed her arms.
“Yeah, but isn’t it really scary for just the two of us to go out without Munsabu-nim? I learned it’s dangerous for just girls to roam around.”
Given the state of the world, there are many immoral people.
Oh Myeong-seong has caught people called aberrants at times.
It’s hard to separate sexual desire from a man as well.
But Soo-oh has a misunderstanding.
“Soo-oh, I’m going out alone.”
Soo-oh’s eyes grew incredibly wide.
“No, why? Why would you do that? What suddenly happened? Did I do something wrong?”
Whoa, Soo-oh is using honorifics! She looks like she’s about to cry as she looks up at me, with a face like an abandoned puppy.
“No, you did nothing wrong. You’re growing well like this, so how could you have done anything wrong?”
“Then why are you leaving alone?”
Even if she asks why I’m leaving alone, she’s still a child for four more years, and it’s a bit risky to take her to dangerous places.
“You’ll still be young in four years. Even if I leave, Cheonma will take care of you. So after some time passes and you grow up, then you can do what you want. Instead of being alone in this remote area.”
Soo-oh came closer with a face as if she were about to cry.
And then, hesitantly, she carefully grabbed the end of my clothes. She had been rushing over without any hesitation until now.
“Can’t you not go?”
Soo-oh’s voice trembles. Where did I fail to deliver the message? This isn’t even a sad story.
“It doesn’t mean we’ll leave right away. Soo-oh, we have a long time ahead, four years. That’s a long time. We’ve only lived a year so far, right? We need to repeat the time we’ve spent together four more times. Rather, maybe when that time comes, Soo-oh will tell me to leave first?”
Soo-oh shakes her head side to side.
Tears are falling like raindrops.
Hmm.
Did I rush it too much? No, at this age, was it too late to shed tears over parting ways with a friend?
I remember girls matured a little faster.
Or maybe it’s because she only has two people to interact with.
Lack of social skills; what do I do now?
There’s nothing I can do.
I have to give her a little strength to survive, even with her somewhat lacking social skills.
Fortunately, it’s a situation where she can grow stronger now. Because after Cheonma and the two meet, nothing happened. With Cheonma around, Soo-oh will grow stronger as well.
Right now.
After meeting with Oh Myeong-seong, Cheonma surprisingly invited them to Cheonma Church.
When Gumi Mil asked what Cheonma’s intentions were, he replied that he was no longer interested in the position of Cheonma.
And then they return to Cheonma Church together.
After hearing Oh Myeong-seong ask Cheonma about his condition while they walk, I suddenly realized something.
Whether it’s the white skin and purple hair that is the problem, or those who can figure out my identity with parts of me are causing a stir, they pinpoint and call it Madou.
Soo-oh gets caught up in that too.
If we go out, there will be many things to resolve. I’m thinking about how to explain this. A faded memory suddenly pulled out a word.
Hug.
I thought of the word that means to embrace, and just as I remembered, I grabbed Soo-oh’s arms and pulled her into my embrace. Unlike last year when she was scrawny, Choseol has grown into a properly well-fed woman. So even though it’s hot to hug, it shouldn’t be uncomfortable.
“Think of it as a time to stand alone, not parting.”
“Why? Can’t we just go together?”
Oh, she’s back to using informal speech.
That’s nice.
“I hope Soo-oh grows a little more.”
If possible.
Why is it? It’s all warmth even, and even if Soo-oh dies, I would just think of it as gaining warmth and forget about it.
“Learn from Cheonma, and if possible, from others to grow stronger. Become someone who can do whatever you want, really, really, really strong.”
Some call it an outsider,
some call it a demon,
and some call it a monster.
And this girl was called a human. Just that much.
Accept just that much of a wish.
“Then this world will be yours. To express it in the world’s terms…”
Yes. There’s an easy expression. The word that flickered in faded memories the moment I heard Soo-oh’s name was tossed out. Just right, that word fits perfectly.
“Let’s say?”
Soo-oh lifts her face from my embrace and asks. Her face is partially blocked by my chest, but I don’t see a sad expression anymore. It’s nice to shift thoughts to another direction, hugging.
“This world we live in is called Gangho. So, just as you see me as a person, I will speak as a person too.”
And I held Soo-oh’s cheeks and said this.
“Gangho of Soo-oh.”
Implying that she should become a free human capable of doing whatever she wants in this world.
Dozens of memories flickering where a man used to laugh out loud.
