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**

Smaak swung the sword. I quietly waited until it was over.

With his ragged breath, I casually interjected, “Is this the sword of the Sma Clan?”

“Yes. It’s the Sma One Sword.”

“…….”

The Sma Clan.

Thanks to the fame of the hero Sma Gon, that name was well-known as a ‘prestigious family that skillfully handles both knowledge and martial arts.’

However, I thought the latter should probably be omitted. The sword of the current head was far from what could be described as ‘skillful.’

“……”

“Even under the mask, I can see your expression.”

Smaak leaned against his sword.

“Yes. It’s as you see. My Sma One Sword is terrible.”

“…It doesn’t seem just terrible.”

“Then what is it?”

“The beginning and end don’t connect. From the term ‘One Sword,’ I assume the fundamental technique aims to complete one whole…”

The beginning of the Sma One Sword was clean, but the end was messy.

“Did you possibly lose the principles of the martial arts?”

“Well, at least you have some sight. You can even smell well, like a dog. But this isn’t just a matter of losing the martial arts principles.”

Smaak brushed back his flowing hair.

“It’s a well-known story that the secret techniques in the main family have disappeared. Just a few days after my grandfather went missing, they vanished along with him. But I have learned about the sword from my grandfather. I still remember that scene. Remembering the martial arts without the secret techniques is simple for me.”

“…….”

“The reason the end is messy is simple: my body is weak. Hey, you. Dog. What you’re here for is this. I will free up some time in the future. I will have some extra time every night. Use that to help me adjust my posture and build my stamina.”

“Adjust your posture? What do you mean by that…”

“Sma One Sword. I don’t believe you’ll complete it. Instead, I’m saying to correct how I wield the sword. I am clumsy with my body. Even if I try to imitate my grandfather’s swordplay, it doesn’t fit my posture. If you are a dog from the Blood Demon family, isn’t that the bottom line? You should understand my body better than any martial genius.”

Smaak exhaled deeply.

“If you can’t help, at least be of some assistance. Thirty! I will refuse any rejection.”

“…….”

Sma One Sword.

I pictured the sword I had seen in my mind. I envisioned its intricate beginning and pondered the next part.

…It doesn’t connect. Indeed, it still doesn’t connect.

I couldn’t link that back part. But I could at least correct Smaak’s posture.

“But head, there are several problems.”

“What is it?”

“Low stamina, low energy, and a terribly weak body.”

“So?”

“It all needs to be revamped, but it seems time will be lacking…”

“Just teach me the necessary parts. That will be enough. I will figure out the rest later. I just…”

Smaak smiled bitterly for the first time.

“I just need a sword to leave for the Sma Clan. Just as my head is exceptional, I can transfer what I feel into a book. I should at least teach the one to succeed me the lost secret techniques. Just in case the one who takes my place is weak like me, that’s all.”

“You care for Sma Clan.”

“That’s what being the head means, you foolish pup. If I didn’t have any affection for it, why would I bother with such a troublesome position in the first place?”

Smaak pointed the tip of the sword at me.

“Will you do it or not?”

“…Didn’t you say you wouldn’t take a refusal?”

I stood up.

“It seems there’s no choice.”

“…Yes. There’s no choice.”

Smaak nodded.

“Fulfill your duty. Bodyguard Thirty.”

“Training isn’t the duty of a bodyguard…”

I drew my sword.

“Since everyone in the Sma Clan is busy, shouldn’t I handle two roles?”

Smaak chuckled.

“You speak smoothly, don’t you.”

…

I taught Smaak. But soon faced a problem.

Smaak’s body was terrible. He had no talent for understanding martial arts from the start.

If I were the culprit, he had no talent for the sword. And he didn’t seem to like swords either.

“The Sma One Sword? I’m learning it out of obligation. I never liked this cruel thing.”

“A sword is beautiful…”

“What beauty are you talking about? Bringing up beauty in the act of killing people is just comical. I can’t understand the breed of warriors.”

His stamina was so poor that even teaching one thing was difficult. Even when I pointed out his posture, he lacked the skill to move his body, so Smaak couldn’t follow.

“Is it like this?”

“Just a bit more, like this…”

“No, explain it clearly! Don’t just show me with your body!”

“I’m telling you to lower your waist!”

“Don’t raise your voice!”

The sword swung by Smaak was weak, not even able to snap a twig.

“…Was the main family’s Sma One Sword this poor in martial arts?”

“The one wielding it is poor, so the martial art becomes like this.”

“There are thorns in your words.”

“Let’s just follow along before something worse comes.”

“You’re threatening me, you dog.”

Teaching wasn’t something I had done much of before.

And Smaak couldn’t keep up even after being taught.

But there was one common ground between us. No matter how high the wall, we wouldn’t easily give up.

Smaak, drenched in sweat and barely breathing, cried out the next day with muscle ache.

But limping, he headed back to where the monument stood.

“The Sma One Sword must continue. Even if not by me, by my descendants. The greatness of the Sma Clan must not end with my generation.”

“…Why to that extent?”

“It’s responsibility. I’m the only one who can take responsibility for what my grandfather left behind. You dog. Do you know what this feeling is like?”

“I have had times when I had to bear the house all by myself.”

“You’re not entirely hopeless as a dog.”

Smaak’s sword was similar on the second day as well. Even while screaming with all his strength, he gritted his teeth and swung the sword.

“The Sma Clan is everything to me.”

“Why to that extent…”

“The greatness of the Sma Clan has been passed down through generations. The name Sma Clan is akin to a great spirit. A treasure that has been passed across generations. A prestigious family renowned even among demon cults.”

Smaak’s sword was similar on the third day as well. But he still did not let go of the sword.

“Those who share my blood must bear this responsibility.”

“If responsibility lies in merely sharing blood, isn’t that unfair?”

“Has the world ever been fair? This is how we live.”

“You don’t seem like someone who would just succumb to such reasoning.”

“…What do you know?”

Smaak swung his sword down.

He split a twig for the first time.

“I know nothing. Head. But I can speak out what I’ve seen.”

“…….”

“I was just curious if there was a reason for it. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Smaak shrugged his shoulders. He looked down at the severed twig.

His crooked lips moved.

“…My father passed away early. I don’t even know his face. My mother also left early. They were one body and passed on the same day. It was an accident. For me, family was just my younger sister and my grandfather.”

“…….”

“My grandfather led the Sma Clan almost all by himself. He was someone I learned a lot from. The hero Sma Gon. My grandfather taught me many things. How to hold chopsticks. How to conduct myself. How to read. How to converse with people…”

“It seems you didn’t master how to converse with people properly.”

“Do you want to die?”

Smaak chuckled.

“Yes, you dog. Other than that, I learned a lot. My grandfather was my idol. I wanted to become like him. But I couldn’t. I have no talent for martial arts. Thankfully, I could learn how to manage the clan with my somewhat sharp mind. Do you know what my grandfather often said?”

“I don’t.”

“‘Every member of the Sma Clan is my family,’ he would say many times. He treated the employees around him warmly as if to prove that saying. There was always laughter. I… I probably liked that sight. Seeing the members of the Sma Clan living comfortably within the walls of the Sma Clan.”

“…….”

“Despite the talk of responsibility and whatnot, it’s all good. This is the place I’ve decided to protect. So I will protect it no matter what. If it means the name Sma Clan will continue, I would even drink poison. Once the fence disappears, the lambs inside will be eaten by the wolves. I don’t want to see that happen. That’s all there is to it.”

I mulled over Smaak’s words. I looked down at the sword he was holding.

What weight could possibly be within that skinny hand?

For a brief moment, I felt as if I had glimpsed what kind of person he was. I held my tongue.

I merely showed him the sword again.

“Try it like this, head.”

“…Hmph.”

Smaak turned his head, feeling a bit awkward.

I was curious and asked one more thing.

“By the way… did you learn that way of speaking from your grandfather too?”

“With shameless bastards, you have to say this much to get them to tuck their tails. After all, many were sick of hunting for the Sma Clan just because I didn’t have that much talent in martial arts. If you speak nicely to those bastards, they’d just climb on top of you.”

“As intentional speech, it seems too friendly…”

“Shut up!”

Smaak swung his sword down.

Panting, he pulled the sword out from the tree.

“It’s really tough to improve within a week.”

“Yet, hasn’t it improved?”

“A tad?”

“I have something to ask you, head.”

“Why do you have so many questions?”

“Why me?”

“…….”

Smaak placed the sword into the sheath.

“Because you’re an outsider.”

“What does that matter?”

“Members of the Sma Clan all know. That I’m an utterly pathetic weakling. There’s no way they don’t know. But seeing that with their own eyes is an entirely different matter. Fool.”

“…….”

“It ties back to reputation. What would happen if the head of the Sma Clan flails around with a sword clumsily? What if someone other than a member of the Sma Clan saw that?”

“…….”

“If a master shows a weak side, the existing loyalty might vanish.”

“That doesn’t seem to be all of it.”

“Sharp as a tack.”

Smaak scratched his head.

“Yes. Especially Chu Yi-gyeong. Even my most trusted bodyguard wouldn’t laugh at me. But how do I feel?”

“Eh?”

“Can you confidently show what you can’t do in front of others? What about my embarrassment?”

“It’s not embarrassing to me.”

“I’m not so careful as to worry about a dog leaving.”

“…Pfft.”

“Why are you splitting hairs?!”

The last day as a bodyguard was approaching.

Smaak, who would ask to teach him the sword like any other day, brought up something different.

“Sit next to me, dog.”

“What’s this?”

“Is your eye just for decoration? It’s alcohol. It’s what I enjoyed alone, and I only have one cup. Since there’s hardly any left, drink just one cup.”

Smaak poured alcohol into the cup. He calculated the remaining amount and brought the bottle to his lips.

“Sometimes, you need to drink something like this.”

I sniffed it. There was no rich aroma.

Just average wine. Cheap alcohol you could find anywhere.

“I thought a head would drink something better than this.”

“Being able to drink is what matters. I won’t fuss over the value. You’re such a shallow dog.”

“Why are you giving this to me…”

“You’re not entirely useless as a dog. You’re not completely hopeless either. Well, the Sma One Sword remains unchanged, but now you can lodge the sword in a tree at least.”

Smaak clicked his tongue.

“…Thanks to you, my posture has been corrected. So I’m giving it. Accept it with gratitude.”

I glimpsed the embarrassment hidden behind the grumbling.

I couldn’t help but smile lightly.

“Just give me money, will you?”

“I don’t have any.”

“Weren’t you saying you had some left?”

“There are times when even a head tells a lie. But by the way, how old are you? Why do you keep challenging me?”

“Now… I’m twenty-five.”

“I’m one year older. Don’t challenge me.”

“Should I call you brother then?”

“Don’t get carried away.”

I swallowed the drink. The aftertaste was somewhat bitter.

But still, after a long time, the alcohol felt pretty sweet.

It was far too little to get drunk. But perhaps because it was little, I could enjoy the aftertaste more.

“Yes. Hey, you dog. Your set time is over. What did you see?”

“…….”

“Did you catch any evidence? Evidence that I am colluding?”

I stared at him blankly. The moment to decide had come.

Do I trust him?

Or do I trust the more solid evidence of Cheonakmun?

In silence, I fiddled with the sword. What I choose lies in my hands.

Which path to take? Jeok-un.

The comfortable and easy road?

Or the hard and difficult path?

“……”

In the wavering light, I opened my closed lips.

“Head, did you know that some goods meant to go to the main school disappeared from the warehouse?”

“…What?”

I decided to trust my judgment.

“Something you don’t know is happening here. So let me ask again. Did you really… not divert the tribute meant for the main school?”

“…….”

Smaak’s expression hardened. He sprang to his feet.

I grabbed the lantern and followed behind him.

We arrived at the warehouse. Smaak nervously fumbled for the key. He opened every empty box.

“What is this…?”

“Thirty!”

The voice of Twenty-Nine landed in the warehouse after a long time.

**“We need to move immediately! Right now!”**

 

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