Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 196 - Loyalty (2)

Chapter 196 – Loyalty (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“Ahem. If you become the Society Leader’s disciple, won’t you need a close confidant who can become your right arm?”

‘!?’ At those words from Seop Chun, Third Guard Captain of the main hall, Mok Gyeong-un could not hide his puzzlement. All through their trip north, he had been watching him out of the corner of his eye, and Mok Gyeong-un had been on guard, wondering whether it was because he had received a secret order from the Society Leader or the Vice Society Leader. But at this sudden question, he was left speechless for a moment.

-This sentient being bastard is quite an interesting one.

-Interesting?

-I kept wondering why he was glancing over all through these three days, and all he had to say was this. Puhahahahat. Blue Spirit, who had been warning him just moments ago, burst out laughing. In one sense, it really was something to laugh at. But Mok Gyeong-un did not take those words at face value.

-It could also be a trap.

-A trap?

-Yes.

-Hmmm. Why do you think so?

-It could be a trick to plant a spy at my side.

-A spy…? Well, that could be possible. Blue Spirit suddenly found herself agreeing. Because of the secret mission, this was someone whose face he had first properly seen only this time, and yet he had suddenly expressed a desire to enter under him. There was certainly plenty of room for suspicion. And he was not just anyone, but a Guard Captain who protected the Society Leader. At this, Mok Gyeong-un opened his mouth without showing anything on his face.

“I do not understand what you mean.”

“Ahem. You really do not know what I mean? I said it this plainly.”

“This plainly… What exactly do you mean?” At Mok Gyeong-un’s feigned ignorance, Seop Chun scratched his head and then said in a disappointed tone,

“I thought our hearts might connect a bit, but now I am starting to feel let down.”

“What do you mean?”

“No, if you say it like that, what happens to my position after openly saying I want to go under you?” In the end, Seop Chun openly declared his intentions. At those words, Mok Gyeong-un set down the rabbits he had hunted on the ground and said,

“You want to go under me?”

“That is right.”

“Why?”

“Why? Did I not just say it? If this mission is completed successfully, you are going to be chosen as the Society Leader’s fourth disciple.”

“And?”

“And so I asked whether you would not need a confidant at your side.”

“Well.” At Mok Gyeong-un’s unenthusiastic answer, Seop Chun could not hide his discomfort. For three whole days he had agonized over how to make his intentions known, and had only now barely found a chance when Mong Mu-yak had stepped away. He had not imagined that the response would be not just lukewarm, but cold. At this, Seop Chun let his disappointment show and said,

“Could it be that you do not particularly like me?”

“No, it is not that.” Of all the people Mok Gyeong-un had seen so far, he was someone fairly straightforward and seemed to have little greed. He showed no particular pretense in the way he dealt with people either.

“Then why say ‘well’? I am about to feel hurt here.”

“Liking someone and trusting them are separate issues.”

“Trust?”

“Yes.”

“Then are you saying I do not seem very trustworthy?”

“Do I look like I should trust you?”

“No, why not? I may look like this, but once I give someone my loyalty, I keep it without fail. If I think of someone as my own person, I take care of him properly and follow him.”

-Thump, thump! Seop Chun thumped his own chest as he showed his confidence. At this, without the slightest change in expression, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“Words alone can say anything.”

“I am not just talking. If you really accept me, then as your right arm I am prepared to repay that trust, no, to devote my loyalty.”

“Is that so?”

“I am telling you it is.”

“Then why is it that you want to come under me?” At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Seop Chun met his gaze directly. In truth, Seop Chun too had expected that if he asked to be taken in by someone he had only known for a few days, he would of course be met with suspicion. So he decided it would be better to reveal his honest feelings rather than decorate them with hollow words.

“It is a gamble.”

“A gamble?”

“That is right.”

“That is… a rather fresh answer.” Mok Gyeong-un let out a short laugh. He had wondered what earnest reason or justification Seop Chun would bring up, but he had never expected him to say it was a gamble.

“…I am sorry to say this, but wanting to go under you is purely a gamble for me.”

“A gamble… Well, I suppose it could be.”

“Yes. To be honest, even if you become the Society Leader’s fourth disciple, that will only be a beginning for you.”

“……”

“Great Young Master as well as the other disciples have already secured a great deal of support and are running toward becoming the successor.”

“And?”

“What do you mean, and? If you become his disciple, then you are in the most disadvantageous position. Your support base is only around your existing school line, the Shadow Sect, and because you originally came from the righteous path as a hostage, it will be hard for you to gather support.” Seop Chun was speaking his opinion so directly that it came close to striking to the very point. Of course, as far as appearances went, his opinion was accurate. Mok Gyeong-un smiled lightly and said,

“I see.”

“Do not take it too badly. I think that if I am going to become a close confidant, then this much blunt speech is necessary.”

“Blunt speech…”

“There is a saying that medicine good for the body is bitter.”

“Is that so? So your conclusion is that because I am in a disadvantageous position, you are gambling.”

“Ahem. That is more or less it.”

“Then why go through that inconvenience? Just enter under one of the other disciples. Do not gamble for no reason.” At Mok Gyeong-un’s attitude, which made his intent to refuse clear in one stroke, Seop Chun said in fluster,

“No, no. If I were going to do that, I would have done it long ago.”

“It is not too late yet. If there is a disciple you like…”

“There is none.”

“Pardon?”

“I said there is none. No disciple I like.” At those words, Mok Gyeong-un asked in puzzlement,

“Why do you say there is no one you like?”

“It is just that they are all somewhat…”

“What do you mean by saying they are all somewhat so?” At that question, Seop Chun let out a sigh, drew a breath, and then answered,

“This is only something I would say among ourselves, but as for Second Young Master Jang Neung-ak, among the disciples his martial talent is the poorest, and I dislike how scheming he is.”

“And?”

“Young Lady Wi So-yeon, the youngest, has decent martial talent and seems desperate in everything she does, but should I say that she looks like she is being swayed by the people under her?”

‘Oh?’ For a main-hall guard captain, he was reading things more accurately than expected. At this, Mok Gyeong-un asked,

“And Great Young Master?”

“…He is ambiguous.”

“Ambiguous?”

“That his lack of human feeling might be fitting for one walking the path of the hegemon, I can accept. But… there are simply too many talented people around him, and it feels like there would be no place for me there.”

“There would still be some place for you.”

“I do not want to be satisfied with merely entering under him like just another ordinary follower.”

“……”

“Beside most of the disciples, there are already rising talents from distinguished martial clans within this Society attending them.” At those words, Mok Gyeong-un asked in puzzlement,

“You are one of the Five Tigers yourself, are you not?” The Five Tigers was a title granted only to the greatest rising talents. Since he held such a title and was Third Guard Captain of the main hall, anyone ought to have no choice but to employ him. That was what one would think, yet

“No. Because I have no backing, there is a limit.”

“Backing?”

“I am from a small or mid-sized martial clan, unlike them, so I have limits. Even if I entered beneath those people who already have close confidants, the ceiling of how high I could rise is blocked.”

“You are very honest.”

“Of course. Even if I go under someone, my goal is still to be acknowledged and succeed within that place.” When his words ended, Blue Spirit’s voice rang in Mok Gyeong-un’s ear.

-He is one I like.

-You like him?

-He has pure desires like honor and success. And fundamentally, he is very honest about his own feelings. The more someone is like that, the more readily he will throw away his life for a master who recognizes his worth.

-So you judge him favorably.

-That is how he looks to this seat. What about you?

-I do not dislike him.

But I still do not know yet.

-Are you suspicious?

-Yes.

The timing is poor.

If this had not been during a secret mission, or if he were not a main-hall guard captain protecting the Society Leader, then by now I would have found him interesting.

Because a piece that wishes on its own to devote loyalty is rare.

-So what will you do?

Just leave him be?

Or keep him at a distance?

-I think I will go through a suitable verification process.

-Verification?

What kind?

-If I can only confirm that he is not a man of the Society Leader or the Vice Society Leader, that will be enough.

-Confirm?

While she was wondering what he meant, Mok Gyeong-un said to Seop Chun,

“So, because I appear to have no support base yet and many empty places around me, you want to be with me.”

At those words, Seop Chun scratched his head by habit and said,

“Empty places…

Yes, I cannot deny that it is partly so, but it is not only that.”

“If not only that, then what?”

“Should I say it is just a feeling?”

“A feeling?”

“Yes.

I am unexpectedly good at seeing people, and you are absolutely not someone who is meant to remain under another.”

“……”

Mok Gyeong-un only smiled faintly without a word.

It was a sign of affirmation.

Seeing that side of him, the corner of Seop Chun’s mouth twitched.

Just as he thought, this fellow had this sort of side.

Those who have limits or lack confidence in themselves can do no more than hide their true nature, but this fellow did not.

He saw this very thing as the quality of a leader who walked the path of the hegemon.

“That is why I wanted to gamble on you.

If even you can astonish the Society Leader, who is one of the Six Heavens, then I feel as though you might even be able to defeat that monstrous Great Young Master.”

“You think very highly of me.”

“It is not that I think highly of you, but that it may truly become reality, no?

Ah.

I am not just flattering you.

I say it because I really think it could happen.”

“Then I am grateful for that.”

Because he seemed to have softened somewhat compared with before, Seop Chun asked with hope filling him,

“Ahem.

Then can you accept me as your right arm?”

“That seems difficult.”

At those words, Seop Chun said in a deflated voice,

“Wow…

If I talk as though I would tear out my liver and gall for you like this, then should you not at least say you will think about it?”

“As I said, words can do anything.”

“No.

Then would you only believe me if I disemboweled myself right here?”

“That much is unnecessary.

I have simply told you the truth.”

“The truth?”

“Yes.”

At that, Seop Chun asked in puzzlement,

“What does that mean?”

“I already have people who are my right arm and left arm.”

At this, Seop Chun frowned.

What was this supposed to mean now?

That he already had close confidants who were like his right and left arms?

“…Are they confidants the Shadow Sect attached to you?”

“No.”

“Then did you have some fellows from Corpse Blood Valley, from the same group as you, who showed interest in you?”

“Ah.

I suppose there are those as well.”

“…Hey!”

“Yes?”

“No matter what, I am one of the Five Tigers, one of the top five younger talents in the Heaven and Earth Society.

Is it not a bit much to compare me with those kids who are still green?”

Seop Chun said it in a disappointed tone.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un let out a short laugh and answered,

“Both of them are stronger than you.”

“What…

No, who exactly is stronger than me?”

Growing frustrated, Seop Chun asked in disbelief.

At that, Mok Gyeong-un shrugged and said,

“I cannot tell you that.

You are not my person yet.”

“You are not doing this on purpose, are you?”

“On purpose?”

“I really can work hard, you know.

I am confident I could support you like mad so you can become the greatest.

Should not someone like that get the right-arm position?”

Seop Chun sincerely wanted to become the closest of Mok Gyeong-un’s close confidants.

That was why he was gambling on him already, even though he had neither power nor support.

“You are still far from enough for that.”

“Agh, how frustrating.

Then if you tell me to crawl like a dog, I will crawl, and if you tell me to lick the soles of your feet, shall I do that too?”

“Of course you should.”

“What?”

Seop Chun stared at Mok Gyeong-un with a dumbfounded look.

Did this bastard think the right arm was some sort of slave?

He was so absurdly taken aback that a hollow laugh almost escaped him, but then

“If you want to become my right arm, should you not at least be able to do this much?”

“There were even conditions?

Ha.

Fine.

Tell me.

I will show you that I am prepared for that much.”

“You must be able to serve me both while alive and after death, and depending on the need, you must sometimes be able to become a woman as well.”

“……”

Seop Chun narrowed his eyes and stared fixedly at Mok Gyeong-un.

Was this man playing word games with him?

At this point, it was no different from telling him to give up on the right-arm position.

“…That is a joke, right?”

“Does it look like a joke?”

“Ha.”

Seop Chun let out a deep sigh.

Then he clasped both hands and said in an earnest voice,

“If you are saying things I cannot make sense of to this extent, then it seems there is already someone marked out for the right-arm close confidant position, so then at least make me the left arm.

It has to be at least that much if I am to feel motivated to serve you.”

“I had not distinguished things that way, but since you ask, perhaps there is also someone who is like a left arm.”

“Ha…!

Then just how impressive is the person set to be your left arm too?”

“Should I say that he has been waiting for me across several generations?”

To be precise, he had been waiting for Blue Spirit.

But loyalty spanning generations to that extent was something that could be trusted.

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Seop Chun even let out a snort in disbelief.

As far as he knew, this fellow had only just been brought in as a hostage from the righteous path a little over a month ago, so where would one ever find someone who had sworn loyalty to him over several generations?

“…Do you hate me that much?”

“No.

I do like you.”

“If you like me, then why are you refusing to accept me as a close confidant while making these ridiculous jokes?”

“Why would I have any reason to joke?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s serious tone, Seop Chun knitted his brows.

He could not understand this fellow’s inner thoughts at all.

He even began to wonder whether he had done something pointless by gambling on him.

Then Mok Gyeong-un said,

“If you prove just one thing, then I do not know about right arm or left arm, but I may be able to take you in as one of my people.”

“No, no.

It has to be the right-arm position at least.

Out of sheer stubbornness, I want that place.”

“I already told you that is impossible.”

“Is that not too much?

At this point I would say I have earned it.”

“It is already decided.”

Seop Chun was losing more and more steam.

“Ha…

This is really too much.”

At this, Mok Gyeong-un smiled faintly and said,

“If you want the right-arm position that badly, then work hard over the generations.

If you are lucky, perhaps in your descendants’ time someone may appear who can become my right arm.”

At those words, Seop Chun’s voice rose in anger.

“Damn it.

I will just give up.

What descendants?

What meaning is there if I myself cannot become the right arm?”

“Do not fixate on such things.”

“What do you mean, fixate?

If I am gambling on you, then you could at least give me that much of a place.”

“It is not gambling.

It is lining up properly.”

“What?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s arrogant choice of words, Seop Chun’s gaze changed.

Lining up properly?

Then did that mean this fellow truly had ambition to aim for the successor’s position?

Just as a strange excitement began rising in him because he felt he had glimpsed, even a little, those inner thoughts that had remained unclear, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“So, do you intend to prove it?”

“……”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Seop Chun inwardly calmed himself.

Yes.

Who would accept at face value someone asking to be made his right arm after only three days of acquaintance?

What mattered right now was to have this fellow acknowledge his ability and his loyalty.

If he kept showing that, then his thoughts might change.

He talked as though there was something there, but within the Heaven and Earth Society, just how many people could there really be who would support this fellow?

In the end, he would have no choice but to acknowledge him.

“Fine.

I will do it.

Whatever it is, say it.”

“Ah.

It seems he is coming over there right now.”

“Hm?”

A familiar presence could be felt not far away as the brush rustled.

It seemed Mong Mu-yak had returned with dry firewood.

But what did he mean by saying it was timely?

As Seop Chun wondered, Mok Gyeong-un raised the corner of his mouth in a savage smile and said in a meaningful voice,

“Kill Mong Mu-yak.”

‘!!!!!!!’