While the conversation was dragging on for a while,

I had to step out of the residence with a rather uncomfortable expression.

Of course.

After being summoned here, just when I hoped to have a chat, it felt like I had just taken a dump and the moment got cut short.

‘What is this?’

So, what’s the conclusion?

Why did that old geezer, the first clan leader, call for me? And why did he ask about the Gu Clan of all things?

What’s the point of it for that old man?

I was curious about all of that, but now I couldn’t find out anything.

‘…Hmm.’

Lady Mi suddenly barged in, and thus the cold war began. As a result, not only was I summoned, but I also didn’t get to hear proper answers before being kicked out.

What a sad situation where I can’t even complain.

‘…Should I eavesdrop on this?’

Feeling wronged about being thrown out, I contemplated writing a bet to eavesdrop on the room.

‘Tsk.’

I quickly dismissed the thought. The fact that Lady Mi made her entrance during the conversation means they were likely aware I was listening even with the energy barrier in place.

It must have been the power of a treasure, and conversely, if I wanted to eavesdrop, they probably had means to notice it too.

‘If it’s related to eavesdropping, it must be the Cheonghaeseok.’

There are a few treasures that come to mind, but the most likely candidate is the Cheonghaeseok. It may not be highly versatile, but it’s easy to conceal and if the distance is right, clarity isn’t bad.

However.

‘It’s an easy-to-detect treasure, so I don’t use it much.’

Normally, I would utilize Qi Perception to sense treasures like that first.

Never did I think Lady Mi would hide such a treasure in her residence.

That might be why I couldn’t detect it.

‘Did she foresee that I wouldn’t find it and hid it accordingly?’

Did she think I wouldn’t notice and hid it in advance?

That might be the case. Lady Mi could have likely made such an assumption.

‘…’

At this point, realizing it is a bit late.

‘Regardless, the barrier’s already in place.’

As soon as I recovered the bet, I realized there was a different energy barrier set up in the room.

‘The barrier level is Transformation Realm.’

Based on the density and sturdiness around it, it seemed to be at the Transformation Realm level.

I could break through it if I wanted, but—

‘That’s somewhat like gambling.’

With my current state, the chances of being detected were high.

And furthermore…

‘That old man’s reaction was strange from the beginning.’

The invitation from the first clan leader was peculiar.

His reaction was way too odd. What the heck was he hoping to achieve by calling me?

‘Is he thinking of making me the clan leader?’

Did he even ask if I knew what a clan leader of the Gu Clan was?

Did that old man really call me to question that?

I started to have doubts.

‘Something…’

It doesn’t seem to end there. If that was truly his intention, he wouldn’t have used such a setting for it.

Which means…

‘He must have had another intention.’

It wasn’t merely for the purpose of asking me something.

He likely wanted to see me for some other reason, but I don’t think that’s the main reason.

To be precise, it seemed he was trying to gain something by using me.

What was he trying to gain?

‘Lady Mi?’

The moment I tried to bring up the Gu Clan, Lady Mi barged in out of nowhere.

From my perspective, it seems that was the situation the old man aimed for.

‘Hmm.’

What is it?

What on earth is going on with that old man? And why would Lady Mi react so intensely?

Lost in those thoughts,

“Hee hee hee!”

“Hey, is it fun?”

“Yep!”

I turned my head at the familiar sound.

Outside the residence, Gu Huibi was waving her hands with a big smile on her face.

Surprisingly, Tolly was happily bouncing in the air beside her.

“…What the heck is that?”

Every time she waved her hand, Tolly’s height fluctuated. It looked like she was using the Void Manipulation.

‘Using Void Manipulation to entertain a child?’

I wondered what kind of crazy martial artist would do that, and to my surprise, it was Gu Huibi.

She seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself while playing with Tolly.

Even Tolly appeared to be having fun… but.

‘That guy, though.’

It was utterly ridiculous to me.

‘What kind of joy could a being like him find in this?’

Tolly, capable of flight without using Void Manipulation, was pretending to be entertained for Gu Huibi’s amusement.

It couldn’t get any more absurd than this.

“What are you doing?”

I approached while trying to maintain my expression.

“Oh? You’re here.”

“…”

I frowned and reached out my hand.

I grabbed Tolly by the scruff of his neck and yanked him down.

“What’s going on?”

Holding Tolly up, I asked Gu Huibi.

She responded with an awkward expression.

“Well, I thought the child looked a bit bored…”

“And so you decided to use Void Manipulation to play with him? Are you crazy, sis?”

“If I have the ability, I could use it, right? It’s not like it wears me out or anything.”

Not wearing out, my foot.

Just how illogical and cost-inefficient is using that Void?

I could understand using it momentarily, but maintaining a child in mid-air is completely unreasonable.

Knowing that, I stared at Gu Huibi with a somewhat pitiful expression.

“So, who is this?”

“…”

I had to stiffen at Gu Huibi’s question.

“Younger sibling.”

“…”

What should I say?

I pondered for a moment.

Right… what should I introduce him as? Just as I thought of that.

“…There’s, uhm, Father’s son.”

I decided to go with the answer I had used last time.

Since Lady Mi had more or less given her silent approval, it should be fine, right?

“Oh, I see. Father’s son… huh?”

Gu Huibi, who seemed to understand, suddenly stiffened.

“…Younger sibling. What did you just say?”

“What’s there to ask? You heard me loud and clear.”

“No, it doesn’t make sense, so I’m just saying—”

“Then, wouldn’t he be my son?”

“…”

Gu Huibi’s face contorted strangely.

It seemed her expression was more like, “Isn’t it likely the other way around?”

Even though it looked the same to me, the chances were indeed more in favor of her.

“…That can’t be true. Do you know how old I am?”

“Then, it would be plausible if he were Father’s… no, Clan Leader’s son?”

“That could happen in life.”

“What kind of life would lead to that answer—”

“I’m a bast*rd.”

“…”

Gu Huibi’s mouth shut tight.

“No, it’s just… why the sudden confession…”

Her expression seemed to crumple a bit.

It made me feel a little sorry for her, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Isn’t that possible for him too… that’s what I meant.”

“…That’s.”

“Forget that now. Where did he go?”

“Hmm?”

“Where has ‘he’ gone?” Gu Huibi looked puzzled by my question.

She seemed unsure of who I was referring to.

“That one, you know, him.”

“Who are you talking about… ah.”

Finally, Gu Huibi seemed to grasp the answer.

“Do you mean Yeon-i?”

Yeon-i. That was Gu Huibi’s title for the Heavenly Demon.

“…Oh. That one.”

She had been goofing around with Tolly earlier, but now she was nowhere to be found.

That was the question I asked, though.

“Yeon-i went home.”

“She went home?”

I nodded at Gu Huibi’s answer.

She suddenly left?

“Didn’t you try to stop her…?”

“She said she was going home, so why would I stop her? Plus, she left before I even had a chance to catch her.”

“…”

She was crying and hugging Tolly, so I thought she’d have more to it, yet she just vanished.

I felt a bit let down.

That discomfort was rising again.

At that moment.

“Oh, by the way. Younger sibling, you’ve been amazing lately, right?”

Gu Huibi asked me about my recent circumstances.

“I heard you’re absolutely amazing. Must be happy, huh?”

“…Happy? Pfft.”

“I knew our younger sibling would do well!”

As she subtly tried to pat my back, I immediately pulled away.

“Is this person nuts?”

“Oh? Is the sister trying to give you a compliment, and you’re running away?”

“Keep the compliments at a distance, please.”

“Too boring for you.”

As she laughed, I decided to bring up another question.

“Sis.”

“Hmm?”

“This is just out of the blue, but.”

“What?”

“Why didn’t you come?”

“…”

The laughter vanished from Gu Huibi’s face upon hearing my words.

Although it was a somewhat abstract question, she seemed to know what I was referring to.

Why didn’t she come?

This was a question regarding the ambush and demon beast incident that took place last time in Hanam.

There were a ton of martial artists there, but

way more who weren’t visible, and among those, Gu Huibi was included.

That’s right, Gu Huibi hadn’t shown up during the incident even though she was in Hanam.

“To be honest, I hoped you wouldn’t come, sis.”

Even if something went down, I wished Gu Huibi wouldn’t be there. But.

“I figured you wouldn’t likely stay away, though.”

Gu Huibi wouldn’t just stand back during such calamities.

Her character made that impossible. She wouldn’t ignore an event unfolding in front of her.

“Yet you didn’t show up. What was going on?”

I wasn’t blaming her for not showing up.

I had no right to blame her for that.

Like I said before, this was merely curiosity.

Gu Huibi took a brief moment of silence. Time passed by.

She didn’t seem to not want to answer, so I waited.

Then, a little later.

“…Come to think of it.”

Gu Huibi said to me.

“Why on earth did I do that?”

“…What?”

“They told me not to go.”

“Who did?”

“Yeon-i.”

My eyes naturally narrowed.

‘The Heavenly Demon told her not to go?’

Did the Heavenly Demon really stop Gu Huibi during the incident?

Why on earth?

Moreover.

‘Just because the Heavenly Demon told her not to go, she didn’t?’

Even if the Heavenly Demon stopped her, it surprised me that Gu Huibi actually listened.

I wanted to ask why, but

“…”

I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

Gu Huibi’s expression was so unfamiliar.

It seemed like she was deeply gloomy and asked me not to pry.

Therefore, I ended up not asking.

“Alright.”

As long as nothing bad happened, that’s all that matters.

With that thought, I nodded.

In the somewhat awkward atmosphere,

I decided to ask Gu Huibi something else.

“By the way, sis.”

“Hmm…?”

“That child’s name.”

“Name?”

“Oh, why on earth do you call him Yeon?”

“Ah.”

How does the Heavenly Demon end up being called Yeon?

It was something I had been curious about for a while but hadn’t asked.

Why does he have that name?

I asked that question to her.

“Because of destiny.”

She began to explain.

“…Destiny?”

“Yup. It represents a sudden bond we formed. So he’s called Yeon.”

“…”

“What a pretty name, right? Even I think I named him well. Though he doesn’t really like it.”

She said, isn’t it a lovely name, smiling.

Yes, it is a pretty name.

It seemed like a name that didn’t quite match the Heavenly Demon, yet it was a truly lovely name.

Could that be why?

“Younger sibling?”

“Hmm?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Is there something off?”

“What do you mean?”

“No, it just seems like your face is unusual. Did you eat something bad?”

“…”

Listening to her, I touched my face.

Just as Gu Huibi said, something seemed odd.

Naturally, it wasn’t because I hadn’t eaten.

‘Something.’

It felt like there was absolutely something wrong.

‘…Yeon.’

Destiny.

I felt a strange sense of discomfort when I heard Gu Huibi refer to the Heavenly Demon in such a way.

How should I describe it….

‘Uncomfortable.’

It felt like calling him that didn’t fit the name.

That strange and bloated discomfort.

The feelings I was experiencing right now were just like that.

What followed was outside the door.

When I entered, it didn’t feel like this, but now it felt like I was carrying a heavy burden.

Gu Huibi said she had something to discuss with Lady Mi, and

I left Tolly behind since I didn’t need to drag him along.

Since the two of them seemed to click well, I thought they’d play just fine.

With that judgment, I stepped outside.

“Oh, you’re here.”

“Elder Lee?”

Elder Lee was waiting outside the door.

Seeing him, my eyes widened. Now that I think about it, he had come with us, but Elder Lee hadn’t entered.

What’s a big guy like him doing standing there like a statue?

“Why aren’t you coming in?”

“I figured it might be noisy inside.”

“…”

What remarkable insight!

“Plus, looking at your face, seems like the noble’s decision was right. Hee hee. You must have gone through something tough in there.”

“…It was you who dragged me in, Elder Lee.”

“Ha ha ha.”

Is he trying to brush it off with laughter?

It was honestly ridiculous.

Whether it was that laugh or not, I felt my irritation rising.

“Who the hell is that?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“The first clan leader! What on earth is he going on about the clan leader this and Gu Clan that?”

“That old geezer said that to you?”

“Yeah.”

I poured my feelings into the words, and Elder Lee suddenly broke into laughter.

“What a sly old man.”

To be precise, it was more of a scoffing laugh.

“He claimed he would step in rationally, yet his tricks were no different than usual.”

“…What the hell?”

“Enough! Don’t sulk just because you went through that! A large vessel holds large matters!”

Whoosh—!

I turned my head. A hand zipped over my head.

Elder Lee was attempting to mess up my hair again, so I made a run for it.

“Ha ha. Look at this kid!”

“Please don’t! I’m really tired…”

Normally, I would humor him, but now I genuinely felt mentally drained.

Not to mention, my head was a complete mess.

“Tired? That’s all from lack of training.”

“Training isn’t a cure-all…”

“Oh, really? Then how about you have a good spar with this old man to relieve some of that fatigue?”

“…”

A much more bothersome proposition popped up.

Training was one thing, but sparring?

Normally, I wouldn’t want to do that, but to think about doing that with Elder Lee right now was completely impossible.

I’m mentally exhausted, and my body feels strange.

Therefore, I was going to decline, but.

“…Alright. Right now, I don’t have the confidence to control my strength—”

As I was about to say that, I widened my eyes.

Simultaneously, I pressed my hand against my mouth.

‘Not having the confidence to control my strength’—that’s a blatant verbal blunder.

It was a dismissive attitude toward my opponent.

I had just blurted that out to Elder Lee.

I wondered if he had heard me. I sneakily peeked at Elder Lee.

“Ha ha.”

‘…Oh no.’

Apparently, he heard me loud and clear.

The evidence was clear as Elder Lee was smiling with his eyes, but the vessels on his forehead were visibly bulging. He seemed rather displeased, and the heat was radiating from him.

Seeing that, I quickly added an excuse.

“Uh, Elder Lee, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just tired and made a verbal slip…”

“Yangcheon.”

“…Yes?”

I blurted that out and lowered my body.

Bang—!

A shockwave erupted in the air.

Elder Lee swung his fist, creating a pressure wave.

If I hadn’t dodged, I would have taken it right to the face.

“Elder…?”

“I’m sorry for not being able to pay attention to my grandchild lately because I’ve been busy…”

Whoosh—! Thud

“Ah, it’s all my fault.”

“…!”

A huge hand reached out, grabbing me by the collar.

“So, let’s enjoy a heartfelt conversation today, using that fault as a bridge.”

“…Elder Lee. No matter how I look, this doesn’t seem like a conversation—”

Before I could finish, a pressure wave struck again.

The scenery around me changed, and I felt the pressure mounting.

Elder Lee yanked me up, throwing me with great force.

Kuwuuk—!

With the grip of a powerful hand, my body soared.

I bit down, gathering my energy.

Flame Burst—! Flames erupted around me, releasing heat.

Thanks to that explosive rebound, I could finally stop my momentum.

Crack—!!!

My feet skidded against the ground, leaving a distinct mark behind.

Just as I managed to slow down,

Ssss—!

“…!”

Suddenly, I heard the sound of steam hissing. Hearing that instantly made me turn my body to evade.

Boom—!!!

With an immense impact, the ground exploded, sending debris flying.

I strained to widen the distance, checking the epicenter.

The floor that was intact moments ago had become a crater, utterly wrecked.

From within, someone began to rise.

Hsss—!

A body releasing steam.

Elder Lee, who had smashed the floor with a single punch, was slowly retracting his fist.

“Wonderful.”

I clicked my tongue as I watched, feeling troubled.

‘…This is a bit troublesome.’

Looking at his expression, it seemed he was genuinely furious.