410 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

The Best in the World’s Childhood Friend - Chapter 411: Northern Rabbit - Web Novel Archive Immediately after the unexpected appearance of the White Lotus Sword had put me in quite the predicament. Somehow, I tried to manage… No, rather than that, I couldn't handle it at all. I just chased out those who were looking at me with strange eyes and decided to have a private conversation with the White Lotus Sword. But having that conversation right there was impossible, as the White Lotus Sword was crying out intensely. ‘This is driving me mad.’ Who would have thought that a woman, who seemed to be well into her middle age, would suddenly scream and wail like that? Even just recalling it sent shivers down my spine. I could only hope and pray that no bizarre rumors would spread. But considering Woo Hyuk’s vile mouth, it wouldn’t be long before strange stories circulated. That little bastard. Even in my past life, he had a tendency to spread ridiculous rumors about Seolbong and me, which caused quite the commotion for several days. Seolbong was so furious that she nearly froze the entire Dragon Temple, and it was So Geomseong who had to intervene. Anyway, if that scoundrel had witnessed this, I should have gone and shut his mouth before it was too late. But it wasn't something I could do right now. Given the circumstances... “Sigh…” Even just looking at the scene before me made me sigh. Caught in the endless loop of what to do. For now, I decided to speak. …But what should I say? “Um…” Twitch. As I struggled to find the right words, I noticed a nervous twitch from the person in front of me. Seeing that, I had to sigh once more. Ha— Upon hearing my sigh, the person seemed to misunderstand, looking at me with a rather pitiful expression and asked, “…Should I raise my hands higher?” Despite her cool and composed appearance, the woman, with a rather timid voice, was kneeling with her hands raised high. The sight resembled someone undergoing punishment. The problem was… “…No, please just put them down.” The issue was that she was doing it of her own volition and not because I asked her to. To make matters worse, this was a woman well over twice my age, probably with credentials in the martial world that far exceeded my own. Yet, here she was in front of me in such a state. I didn’t even know how to perceive this. Amidst this unreal situation, I spoke to the woman being "punished," the White Lotus Sword, Mo Yong-Biyeon. “Why are you doing this, really…?” “Should I raise them higher…?” “Please, senior…! Just lower your arms.” I begged as if pleading, and only then did the White Lotus Sword cautiously lower her arms. Even just watching that filled me with an overwhelming sense of dizziness. Why on earth was this person doing this to me? The very thought of it threatened to give me a headache. Suppressing the rising irritation, I carefully asked the White Lotus Sword, who was slowly getting back on her feet. “What is your intention in doing this to me?” “Hmm…?” “Why are you behaving this way?” No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand. Her sudden appearance and grabbing hold of my pant leg. And now, the sudden kneeling and raising of hands. I couldn’t grasp the character of the White Lotus Sword. Her personality was new to me, which made it all the more difficult. Who was this person? In the midst of my contemplation, the White Lotus Sword awkwardly smiled and said, “Because I was wrong. I have to ask for forgiveness.” Hearing that, I had to take a peculiar look at her. While her words made sense, they struck me as oddly refreshing. In a world where the words of the strong become law. Given she was the White Lotus Sword, she could very well dismiss it with nonchalance, yet here she was, saying such things so sincerely. It was refreshing. However, even so…. “…But suddenly kneeling down in front of a junior by several decades...” Kneeling down in front of a junior by several decades was something unimaginable by my standards. Considering that, I wondered if it might be quite a clever tactic to disarm my anger? Though I wasn’t sure. I was already too entangled in the White Lotus Sword’s atmosphere to think straight. Seeing me staring at her with a blank expression, she continued. “Will you forgive me?” “...” I was at a loss for words upon hearing this. Forgive her? Forget forgiveness; why was she doing this to me? Suppressing the overwhelming urge to sigh, I responded to the White Lotus Sword, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. “Senior. If there’s someone you should apologize to, shouldn’t it be to someone other than me?” Truth be told, the White Lotus Sword had done nothing significantly wrong to me. She hadn’t fought me, and even though my arm was slightly sore from blocking her attack, it wasn’t exactly her fault since I intercepted it myself. If she needed to apologize, it should be to those involved in the spar. Thinking that, I mentioned it, to which the White Lotus Sword smiled brightly, as if to say not to worry, and responded, “I already apologized to the kids.” “You did?” “Yes!” I couldn't believe what I was hearing. “…Don’t tell me, you did it the same way you did with me?” Did that mean she kneeled and raised her hands in front of them, too? With an unsettling thought in mind, I hastily asked, and she waved her hands in a dismissive gesture and said, “No, not like that.” Relief washed over me, albeit slightly. Surely even the strange White Lotus Sword wouldn’t resort to such methods with everyone. “I didn’t kneel, but I begged them with my hands clasped tightly!” “...” “And they said it was okay.” With someone like the White Lotus Sword clasping her hands and begging, who wouldn’t say it’s okay? In the end, I couldn’t help but cover my forehead with my hand. …Should I consider that a relief? I truly didn’t know anymore. “Oh, I also told the Tang clan’s head to be careful and that I’d really be angry if he dared to act out again.” Had she spoken with Poison King too? I couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly at her words. ‘If he acts out, I'll take him down...’ The choice of words left me flabbergasted. Even if Poison King was furious, he would never articulate it so bluntly. Still, I got the gist of her meaning. When a martial artist of Baekryeongeom’s caliber behaves this way, it naturally causes issues with the escort duty itself. They must have meant that if she’s not going to contribute and only cause trouble, she should step aside. Amidst this, I couldn’t help but admire Dokwang’s patience. 'If it were me, I wouldn’t have issued a warning—I’d have just removed her.' No matter how skilled a martial artist Baekryeongeom is, if someone uncontrollable and prone to causing incidents is involved, I would’ve already eliminated them because of yesterday’s events. Even more so when Dong-Yeol, Dokwang’s daughter, was involved in the melee. For it to be resolved with just a warning… My perception of Dokwang slightly altered as I turned to Baekryeongeom and asked, "Why are you really doing this?" It was the question I most wanted to ask from the beginning. Baekryeongeom, hearing my question, replied with an awkward smile like before. “As I said, I was in the wrong…” “It doesn’t seem like something requiring such drastic action.” I wasn’t going to let it go that easily. "Is there something you want from me?" "…" It would be strange if she acted like this without wanting anything from me. When I asked what her true intentions were, Baekryeongeom’s expression shifted subtly. It seemed she indeed had something she desired. 'What could it be?' What exactly does she want from me? I thought about it, but couldn’t figure it out. There was nothing in my relationship with Baekryeongeom that could suggest such a thing. Which only made it more frustrating. "If you have something you want from me, maybe it’s better to just say it rather than act like this…." "You said to stop the escort…." “…Huh?” Her words about stopping the escort made my head tilt in confusion. Escort? 'Escort...' Reflecting on it for a moment reminded me of the previous conversation. What I had said about stopping the escort if she would behave like this and not listen to my words. So does that mean... 'No way, is she doing this because I told her to stop escorting?' It was meant to ease things between us. But now, she was here apologizing because it bothered her. 'Why on earth?' I couldn’t understand. Baekryeongeom had come to escort on Mi Lady’s request. If a martial artist like her took on an escort role despite the hassle, and if I offered to tell Mi Lady that her services weren't needed, shouldn’t she actually appreciate it? Yet here she was pleading because I told her to stop escorting…. 'What is it?' Could there be another agenda behind her role as my escort? Contemplating various possibilities, I stole a glance at Baekryeongeom with a perplexed expression, and she cautiously spoke to me. "I'm sorry. Could you let me continue the escort?" "..." "I promise I won’t cause any more trouble. I usually control myself well, but I guess I got too excited because it had been a while since I last sparred." "Baekryeongeom." "Yes?" "Why are you so obsessed with being my escort?" "Well… because Mi Lady requested it…." She skirted the question, indicating that she wasn’t willing to reveal the real reason. 'Hiding her intentions while insisting on continuing the escort due to a request, it seems.' What am I supposed to do here? Should I just let it be? It left me feeling uneasy. After all, it meant keeping someone with other intentions by my side. As I pondered over it, a thought suddenly occurred to me. "Alright. You may continue." Baekryeongeom’s face lit up with those words. Was it really something to be that happy about? It was simply permission to continue escorting. But. "There’s a condition." I had a certain condition to impose. I noticed a slight change in Baekryeongeom's eyes as I mentioned a condition. Perhaps she didn’t expect me to have conditions, and the atmosphere around her seemed to cool considerably. Despite that being slightly concerning, It was something I somewhat hoped for. "Condition?" "Yes." The condition was straightforward. The first was: "Please do not act on your own unless you have my approval." "…" It was about ensuring nothing like this happened again, partly deterrence, partly hope that my words would hold. The message was clear: Do not undertake actions without my permission. This should be a reasonable enough request for an escort. However, considering she was a senior martial artist by quite a degree, it was something that could easily rub the wrong way. And that was not all. There was another condition. "Additionally, I have a favor to ask." “…A favor?” "Yes." Her eyes narrowed sharply at the notion of acceding to a favor on top of not acting without permission. And with good reason. If I’d been in her shoes, I’d have been irritated enough to walk away, meaning her reaction was perfectly understandable. And, in truth, this was along the lines of what I hoped for. At this extent, complying would indeed hurt her pride, making it more likely for her to refuse or even become upset. Even a usually straightforward person like Baekryeongeom, after hearing all this, rejecting it outright or getting angry wouldn’t be unexpected… "Is that enough?" "…Eh?" Her cheerful face caught me off guard. “So, if we do that, I get to continue being your escort, right?” Dumbfounded by her beaming face, I had to find my voice again. "But… Senior, did you really listen to all the conditions?" "Of course, I did. You said to ask before doing anything and grant you a favor." "But why would you…" Why would she be so happy about that? It was an unforeseen reaction. …Why on earth was she pleased? Baekryeongeom, watching my bewilderment, tilted her head and asked. "Don’t you believe me?" "…" I nodded slightly in acknowledgment of my disbelief. It wasn’t something I could take at face value easily. Agreeing to everything like this was beyond my understanding. Upon sensing my skepticism, Baekryeongeom’s eyes twinkled mischievously before she clasped her hands, as if hitting upon a notion, and suggested, “If you don’t believe me, how about placing a restriction?” An even more outrageous suggestion had emerged. “…What did you just say?” Restrictions aren’t something to be determined lightly; how could a martial artist propose it so casually? Just as I began to stare incredulously at Baekryeongeom, I was momentarily at a loss for words. "Then you'll believe me, right? Where do I place the restriction? On your stomach? Chest? I'll undress right now!" "No, there's no need for restrictions—Ack! Don't undress! What are you doing!" I hurriedly stopped Baekryeongeom, who was about to bare her stomach, thinking to myself. This was clearly my mistake. I should have realized it from the first moment we met. Baekryeongeom was far crazier than I anticipated. ****************** As time went by, about a month into our journey to Sichuan, the situation was such that we were taking longer because the path hadn’t been straightforward. The expected arrival date had been pushed back slightly, but it didn’t matter much. The time, after all, was lost due to unexpected events. And since I was using that time for training, I didn’t see it as a major issue. Of course, the conditions for training were less than ideal, so it was like experiencing hell. Moving via carriage left my body exhausted from fatigue. At night, the Poison King nearly did me in, while by day, I was called by Paejon for physical training, where I was worked over thoroughly, over and over. It wasn't an ideal situation. It got to the point where Wi Seol-Ah was so worried about me that she forcefully tried to get me to rest. The funny thing is that seeing Wi Seol-Ah like that only made me feel like I couldn’t rest. Was it the duel with Baekryeongeom that caused this? Wi Seol-Ah and Namgung Bi-Ah were often sparring to pass the time, and having noticed lately that they were engrossed in training just as much as I was, I couldn’t bring myself to relax. It’s strange. ‘I thought I was trying to make them rest, but they’re pushing themselves harder.…’ I was trying to ensure they wouldn’t suffer as they did in the past life, so I’ve been pushing myself hard. As I worked diligently, those around me started to endure hardships as well. What’s going on here…? Am I having a negative influence on them? If a martial artist is pushing themselves, isn’t that a positive influence, not a negative one? Anyway, something strange was going on. In any case, it was on one of those exhausting training days that it happened. As we stealthily approached the boundaries of Sichuan. In the middle of resting after having been beaten thoroughly, Paejon spoke to me. "Young one." "Huff… huff… Yes?" I was drenched in sweat, panting heavily, when Paejon conveyed something that appeared interesting. "The bat mentioned something, you see." The "bat" Paejon was referring to was the Dark King. Calling the king of assassins a bat… truly, it wasn’t as if this old man was entirely sane either. Paejon furrowed his eyebrows as he caught my expression. "By the look in your eyes, you’re thinking some remarks about me inside." "…No, not at all." His intuition was annoyingly sharp. Although Paejon seemed to doubt my reply, he didn’t pursue it further. The main point seemed to be more important. "Anyhow, the 'bat' said there were some strange characters nearby." "Strange characters?" "Yes. They resembled bandits, he mentioned. In this day and age, bandits... tsk tsk." "…!" At Paejon's words, my eyes widened. Bandits, he said?