Honestly, the mood really got to me.
It’s been over a year since I wandered this world as a cold, hungry barbarian with no one to rely on.
In such a world, when someone declares they’ll protect me, it seems an unexpected sense of relief arises in my heart.
“Quietly follow me. If you scream, it’ll be boring.”
Yoon Dae-hyeop pressured me with his menacing face.
Should I scream and make things boring for him? Kieeeek! If I let out a scream resembling the symbol of the Celestial Demon, people will notice.
Of course, if I did that, who knows what Yoon Dae-hyeop, who’s grabbing my shoulder right now, might do. Even if I back down, I have no idea when he might show up again.
At that time, I would need to be prepared. Repaying the resentment pent up in my chest is often more malicious than a mere fight caused by trivial matters.
It would be fine if he appeared while the Heavenly Killing Star was around, but if he shows up without them, I might see something worse than just following him now.
“May I ask what the matter is?”
“You would know without asking, wouldn’t you?”
Yoon Dae-hyeop tightened his grip on my shoulder. Ouch! If I get dragged away like this, it’ll be Cheon Sal-pa Season 2. I quickly searched for the Heavenly Killing Star to ask for help.
Where’d they go? They said they would be my bodyguards.
“Don’t scream to ask for help. If this becomes a big deal, you’ll be the only one who suffers.”
His words were laced with a subtle murderous intent.
“Understood.”
Is something happening to the Heavenly Killing Star?
“The matchmaker is going with Yoon Dae-hyeop.”
“Is it because he just got robbed?”
“Who knows if he’s planning something nasty?”
“Come on. But the Sword and Spear Sect is a righteous faction, right?”
I heard whispers from a few people secretly observing this situation, but no one was actively trying to stop it.
For now, I accepted the situation and followed Yoon Dae-hyeop.
Where Yoon something-or-other led me was an alley that looked deserted.
“I won’t beat around the bush. I have my pride too. If you hand over all today’s earnings, I’ll overlook your rudeness.”
Yoon Dae-hyeop said with his arms crossed.
I expected him to draw his sword right away, but surprisingly, he didn’t.
Maybe I just had the worst impression of this jerk. Among those who tried to rob me, this wasn’t so bad.
So he’s pretending to be a righteous guy, huh?
From his actions, he definitely doesn’t fit the “great hero” title, but considering he appears to be mindful of those around him—he probably cares about his reputation.
Of course, he’s still a shameless thug trying to rob me.
Normally, I would have had to obediently hand over my money, but right now, it was a situation where I could be a little bold.
“No! Yoon Dae-hyeop, that money is my earnings for today. Are you trying to rob me like the Black Knife would?”
Aren’t you a righteous person? I’m just a civilian. Is it okay for a righteous person to rob a civilian?
“I know you have some grudge against me for playing such tricks today. If it was just a request for more money, I would’ve thought of it as the whining of a lowly barbarian. But how dare you make me an object of ridicule?”
Oof. That sounds scary.
It seems being treated like a fool on stage was quite humiliating for him.
“What do you mean ‘object of ridicule’? Your sword dance was really impressive. I was surprised, and the audience was amazed, and you liked it, right?”
“That was because my swordsmanship was excellent, and the fact you made me a laughingstock doesn’t change.”
Wow, how shameless of him.
“If you didn’t want to be ridiculed, you should have just walked away.”
I looked at Yoon Dae-hyeop with a dumbfounded expression.
“Hah! What are you saying? Are you saying it’s my fault now?”
Yoon something-or-other seemed to find my attitude ridiculous as he chuckled softly.
“Yoon Dae-hyeop. Since you’re good at swordsmanship, let me use that as a metaphor. If an opponent attacking you uses the same tactic twice, and they try to use that tactic a third time, would you fall for it?”
Once something has happened, it may not happen again. But if it has happened twice, it can happen a third time. That’s common sense in a contest.
“Twice is enough to be familiar with it. The third time wouldn’t work.”
Though sometimes, there are those who fall for it the third time.
“What if there’s a martial artist who falls for the same tactic a third and fourth time?”
“Hmph! Such a pathetic martial artist has no reason to live in the Martial Arts World.”
Imagining such a pathetic martial artist, Yoon something-or-other shook his head, scoffing.
“To a matchmaker, the donation technique is a matter of life and death for a martial artist. I risk my life every day to perform the donation technique for the audience. If there’s someone who keeps falling for the same trap even without effort, naturally, I’d keep going back to that person, right?”
That pathetic martial artist is you, you foolish brat.
“So it’s my fault for continuously falling for it? Is that it?”
Yoon something-or-other frowned as he grasped the main point of my words.
“The matchmaker’s story isn’t free. I’m merely charging a fair price for what’s due. If I were to return the money out of fear, who would ever pay for the matchmaker’s stories again?”
‘We lend our swords if you pay a fair price.’
‘My sword belongs to our sect. If I sold my sword for free, who would pay for our sect’s sword?’
Yeah. That’s what I heard that day. The more I recalled it, the angrier I got.
I threw that right back at Yoon Dae-hyeop.
“Hahahaha! No way! Are you seriously trying to return the words I said that day! Now that I see it, did I really earn a huge grudge from a barbarian like you?”
Yoon something-or-other laughed uproariously until the alley echoed with it. But his eyes were not laughing.
“Listen here, you barbarian.”
Once he laughed, he quickly turned serious and lowered his voice.
“Yes?”
It’s hard to breathe. Is this the murderous intent of a martial artist?
“Am I a joke to you?”
Yoon something-or-other took a step closer to me. It was just one step, but the pressure felt as if I were standing in front of the King of Hell’s judgment.
His hands had loosened their grasp but were now poised at his waist. He seemed ready to pull his weapon at any moment.
“Yoon Dae-hyeop, you said you wouldn’t wield your sword against the common people since you’re a righteous faction. But now you’re about to swing your sword at me, a civilian?”
Just like when discussing who will drive during summer vacation with friends, excluding those who don’t have a driver’s license, a righteous person should not swing their sword against common folks.
That’s the very least standard.
Plus, I’m not even a martial artist.
In this damn martial arts world, the weakness I have can now be used as a strength.
“Why are the common folks called common? Because they’re like grass that quietly sits back when trampled upon. Have you ever seen grass seek revenge?”
“I’ve never seen it.”
Even the idiom ‘To tie grass to repay kindness’ has a specific person to bind it.
“The moment a common person seeks revenge against martial artists, they are no longer common. They’ve entered the world of martial artists. And you just took revenge on me today. Are you still going to call yourself a simple commoner?”
I was momentarily at a loss for words against his logic. It wasn’t because his reasoning was absurd.
It was actually a perfect argument.
When does the protagonist of a martial arts story, who loses their parents to a martial artist, become a martial artist themselves? Is it when they’ve learned martial arts or when they step out into the world? None of those.
The moment they decide to take revenge against a martial artist, even without a handful of inner strength, they have become a martial artist.
I claimed to be a commoner, but to Yoon Dae-hyeop, I appeared as a martial artist wielding the blade of revenge against him.
“Yoon Dae-hyeop. Just as you pretended not to see my misfortune that day, I simply did my job today.”
I made a serious expression, speaking to Yoon Dae-hyeop.
Of course, it was true that I messed with him today out of revenge. But if Yoon Dae-hyeop thinks what I did was vengeance, then he has to acknowledge one thing, just like me.
What he did that day was an injustice a righteous person should never have done. If he acknowledges that, then it’s fair to say that I avenged myself on him.
But you claimed that day’s actions were justified. Then my actions today must be justified as a matchmaker.
“Interesting logic. Fine! It’s possible that what I did that day was justified and that what you did today was justified too. So by your argument, it wouldn’t be revenge.”
“Then…”
“But listen here. If you want to argue like that, at least have some strength behind your words. Do you think I’m easy just because I’ve been listening? You think making me a laughingstock will make me forgive you?”
In the end, it comes down to strength. No matter how sharp a tongue is, it can be cut down with a sword.
Since logic isn’t working, let’s just switch gears to ‘I was unhappy’.
Yoon Dae-hyeop grasped the hilt of the sword that was sheathed.
Is he really going to draw it?
“Yoon Dae-hyeop, it’s just that your mood is bad; until now, we’ve both done nothing but our duty, so there are no grudges between us. If you felt bad, I apologize. However, if you pull out that sword, then today, I will truly have a grudge.”
I offered an apology as a final warning.
A proud apology from a weaker person.
Be satisfied with this much.
“Hah! Just because you say you’re not a commoner, do you think you’ve truly become a martial artist? How dare you lecture me without knowing your place!”
In the end, he doesn’t accept the ultimatum.
Yoon Dae-hyeop’s grip on the sword tightened. The moment he draws the sword, the neck I inquired about this morning will be cursing me for talking about clichés.
But nothing like that happens.
It absolutely cannot happen.
“Stop.”
Actually, So-hee was behind Yoon Dae-hyeop from the very beginning.
