1101 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

"The World's Best Martial Artist's Childhood Friend: Chapter 1101" The horse whinnied. Clatter—! Thud—! With the sound of the horse, the cramped space shook. The only sounds filling the inside were the rolling of the wheels and the faint sound of breathing. That was all that could be heard inside the silent carriage. '...I'm going to be sick, seriously.' Motion sickness wasn't the issue. I had long passed the stage where it would bother me. 'To think I'd have to be packed in with these guys.' The sensation of shoulders bumping into each other every time the carriage moved—that was the problem. In this narrow, confined carriage with three men cramped together, even a slight movement made us bump into each other. It's been like this for several days already. Rattle—! The carriage shook once more, making my body lean to the side and bump into the person on my left. The guy frowned and spoke to me. "Stop touching me. It's annoying, so don't bump into me." At his words, I furrowed my brow. "Do you really think I want to be touching you? If you hate it so much, then why don't you back off?" "What did you say?" The guy on my left—Geomryong—reacted angrily to my words. "How am I supposed to back off any more in here?" "Exactly my point. How do you expect us not to touch? Don't you have eyes?" I had already stopped using honorifics with Geomryong. I wanted to maintain courtesy as I was acquainted with Namgung Jin who was known as the Sword King, but Geomryong in his younger years was too much like my father, Namgung Cheonjun. "This brat...!" "What. Got a problem? If you do, then come over here." I was tempted to hit him once more because of his annoying behavior. Why was he being so obnoxious? I was already on edge, and I considered putting him in his place for good this time. As I ground my teeth and reached out, Do-yun intervened, trying to diffuse the situation. "Now, now... Let's calm down. If we damage the carriage again, we don't know how Mi Hyo-ran will react." "......" "......" Both Geomryong and I halted upon hearing Do-yun's words. The mere mention of Mi Hyo-ran's name had the effect of turning us to stone. Just yesterday, I had tried to lightly subdue Geomryong who was getting on my nerves. Inadvertently using too much strength, I had caused damage to the carriage. And that time... 'It was truly terrifying.' Mi Hyo-ran had been furious at the sight of the damaged carriage. Her anger was something to behold. '...So this is what Mi Bu In was like when she was younger.' She was usually composed and dignified, but witnessing her wrath was a first for me. Such was her fury that Geomryong and I couldn't utter a word, standing there with our heads bowed. Initially, I couldn't understand why Mi Hyo-ran was involved in the mission with the Blue Dragon Unit. 'Well, she's here as a backer.' It seemed the Baekhwa Corporation had taken upon itself the task of providing support to the Blue Dragon Unit. For that reason, Mi Hyo-ran had come along as the person in charge. Knowing this, I couldn't raise any objections. Especially since the commander allowed it, who was I to speak against it? 'Sigh.' Hence, this was the predicament we found ourselves in. Mi Hyo-ran and So-yi, along with my Father, were traveling in the large carriage ahead. Meanwhile, the three of us men were crammed into the carriage compartment carrying the luggage. '...It's pitiful.' This felt like blatant discrimination. I had experienced discrimination in my past life, but at least not in this one... until now. 'It's been a while since I felt this way.' I'd missed it, damn it. I held back a sigh. Should I just run or fly there? It would certainly be faster. 'But I have to stay here.' Given the circumstances, I opted not to. I had decided it was better to stick close to Do-yun. Both Father and the current situation suggested it would be wiser to stay together. 'Tch.' Even if it was stifling, what could I do? To gain something, I had to endure at least this much. 'This guy is the problem.' The guy next to me—Geomryong. This irritating guy was the problem. I truly wanted to crush him, but... 'Damn it.' Thoughts of a certain woman kept me from doing so. If anything happened to this person, it might cause trouble for her later on. 'If only he hadn't come along.' I had no intention of sticking with Namgung Jin, but the mission had turned out this way, leaving me no choice. Namgung Jin's involvement was necessary for this mission. The reason being... 'The mission's destination...' It was none other than Namgung Manor. * * * On the fourth day of the journey, the carriage stopped as night fell. Just as the sun set and the moon began to rise, we decided to camp by a nearby valley. Chi-ik. Watching the food grilling over the fire, I stretched my body. The air was silent. Even as we sat ready for a meal, the atmosphere remained still and quiet. Every day had been like that. We rarely spoke to one another. Father did not utter a single word. Occasionally, So-yi or Mi Hyo-ran would engage Father in conversation. During this, I could sense Namgung Jin stealing glances at Mi Hyo-ran. 'So it's real, huh.' That guy. He truly seemed to have feelings for Mi Bu In. If he was making it this obvious, it must be true. And then, 'Would Mi Bu In really not notice?' With her sharp intuition, I doubted that Mi Bu In was unaware of Namgung Jin's overt admiration. From what I could see, it seemed like she was intentionally ignoring it. 'The Sword King has feelings for Mi Bu In...' Was this exclusive to this world? Or had it been the same in my previous world as well? It was hard to say, so I couldn't judge. 'Hmm.' I simply watched Mi Bu In and Father sitting together from time to time. It was a scene that felt both familiar and distant. Mi Bu In stuck closely to Father, tending to things around him that needed no tending. Fretting about stains on his clothes, asking if there was enough food. She spoke and acted attentively. It was unmistakably... 'That's what it is.' Just like Namgung Jin felt for Mi Bu In, it seemed she had feelings for Father. She displayed it so plainly, and as a result, Namgung Jin's expression grew more sullen by the minute. 'Hmph.' It wasn't pleasant to watch. The entire situation was unwelcome. So, after observing for a while, I stood up. "I'll excuse myself first." "Have you finished eating?" As I stood up, So-yi looked over and asked. "Yeah. I'll just go ahead and prepare for the night watch." This time, it was Father who looked at me. He then added a warning. "Don't wander too far." It was something of a cautionary reminder. Knowing the situation with Geomjun, it was clear he intended to keep an eye on me. I nodded briefly and replied. "…Understood." With those words, I left the gathering. * * * I didn't stray far from the dining area. Instead, I headed toward the section of the carriage where the supplies were kept. ‘There are still a few days left before we reach the Namgung Manor.’ Our journey to Anhui still had several days remaining. Moreover— ‘Why are we going?’ I only knew that our destination was the Namgung Manor. I had no idea why the Blue Dragon Unit, including ourselves, needed to head there. ‘It doesn’t seem like a dangerous mission.’ Given Mi Bu In's presence, it couldn’t be a perilous mission. Surely, they wouldn’t bring a support officer along on something dangerous. ‘Then what could it be?’ I couldn't figure it out. I mulled it over, glancing around, but there were no clues. No one had informed me of anything. ‘...I suppose it’s nothing major.’ I hadn’t expected that we’d be dispatched immediately upon arriving in Henan—and to the Namgung Manor, no less. ‘I’ve visited twice.’ Once in this life and once in my previous life. I went there for my engagement to Nam Goong Bi A, and the other time was in my past life. ‘Hmm…’ Recalling the time of the engagement, I scratched my cheek awkwardly. Nam Goong Bi A crossed my mind suddenly. I wondered how she was doing. It had been a while since I last saw her, and thoughts of her would surface from time to time. Perhaps it was because I was traveling with Namgung Jin, and our destination was the Namgung Manor. That’s why I was thinking of her. ‘...’ I shook my head, dismissing the thought as it wouldn’t do me any good to dwell on it. Before I knew it, I had arrived at the carriage I intended to visit. 'This was supposed to be the carriage with the supplies.' The place where we had been traveling for days. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. It reminded me of something. When was it? ‘It was perhaps when I was heading to the Tang family.’ During the Tang Military Conference. Was it then? There was a time when Wi Seol A had sneaked into a carriage like this. It was the same sort of carriage back then too. With a sense of nostalgia, I glanced over the carriage. It wasn’t particularly spacious, nor was it overly cramped. How did she even think of hiding in a place like this? Furthermore— ‘Wasn’t she eating something?’ Since it was a carriage carrying supplies, Wi Seol A had hidden inside, eating to her heart's content back then. I remember the noise she made startled me back then too. Crunch, munch. ‘Right, those sounds...’ Hmm? My face scrunched up at the sounds coming from the carriage. Sounds? ‘…What is this?’ What on earth was that noise? I expanded my senses, but didn’t detect any presence inside the carriage. Chew. Chew, chew. …So then, what is this? I quickly approached and pulled back the curtain covering the wagon. And there— "Hmph… oooh… huh?" "…" I locked eyes with someone busily eating inside the carriage. "Aah!" The woman inside gasped in surprise and then spoke. “I’ve been caught? I didn’t want this to happen…?” "…" As I looked at her, my mouth fell open in shock. ‘Mother…?’ She was someone I recognized.