Chapter 4: I’m not asking for your opinion right now.

I trudged into the village.

Jinwan Village.

As one of the larger villages in the area, it was a lively place.

At this size, it could easily be considered a town.

Now that I was here, what I had to do was clear.

‘Should I look for it right away…?’

I turned into an alley, and

I heard a familiar woman’s voice whispering in my ear.

“So, Sojin-doryeong? You’re alive…!”

A woman with brown hair down to her shoulders, wearing decent clothes, approached.

She looked startled, her eyes and mouth wide open.

She was one of the street kids I had taken in,
Sumi.

Judging by her condition, she must have been doing well at a high-end inn.

“Sumi, how have you been?”

“Ah… that’s right.”

I greeted her warmly, but Sumi couldn’t look me in the eye, only staring at the ground.

An unexpected silence followed,

and Sumi continued to dig at the ground with her feet.

I wondered what she was thinking.

I had a good idea, but I didn’t ask.

In time, she would find the answer herself.

Soon enough, she opened her mouth.

“Sojin-nim… leave this village right now…! Other kids may be fine, but I… I…”

After some hesitation, the words she said were more satisfying than I expected.

I knew better than anyone that the martial world was a place where you could lose your life at any moment,
but people like her were also living here.

“Thank you, Sumi.”

“Huh?”

She didn’t expect to hear a thank you,
so she looked up with her eyes wide open.

“No… someone like me doesn’t deserve your thanks…”

She hesitated, stamping her feet anxiously.

She was obviously nervous.

I didn’t say anything, but I had a good idea.

Sure enough, someone walked in behind Sumi.

A woman with black hair looked at me with surprised eyes.

“So, Sojin-nim? How…?”

“Chiri, how have you been?”

I greeted her warmly, but Chiri didn’t say anything.

Was she too embarrassed to respond?

After a while of silence, Chiri finally smiled and walked toward me.

“Sojin-nim! I’m so glad you’re okay. I can’t tell you how worried I was!”

She had a bright smile on her face, the kind commonly used in business.

And I wasn’t inexperienced enough to not recognize that.

However, I still smiled, showing a friendly expression.

“Chiri, I missed you too. It’s a relief to see you’re healthy.”

“All thanks to you, Sojin-nim. How about a drink to celebrate our reunion?”

“Sounds good, Chiri. Let’s go right now.”

“Really? Wow, you have incredible drive!”

Chiri naturally crossed her arms.

“Wait a moment, Sojin-nim…”

Just as the two of us were about to leave the alley, Sumi stopped me.

She looked at me with worried eyes.

“Sumi, let’s go together.”

“Huh? Ah… well, I…”

“No, no. Sumi has been busy at the inn, so she needs to hurry. Right, Sumi?”

Chiri interrupted the hesitant Sumi.

This wasn’t a good habit.

“I… I…”

Sumi hesitated, glancing at Chiri, her fingers fidgeting.

At this point, she had at least made an effort.

“It’s okay.”

“Huh?”

“It’s okay, Sumi. We’ll see each other next time.”

“Let’s go quickly, Sojin-nim!”

I slowly waved my hand as I walked out of the alley.

Until the very end, Sumi looked at me with worried eyes.

I followed Chiri into the dimly lit inn.

It was old and poorly lit in places.

“Welcome!”

“The building is really old.”

“Sojin-nim, the best places are always like this.”

“It has a nostalgic vibe. I bet the alcohol here tastes great?”

“Hehe… exactly, right?”

If they were thinking of running a business, they wouldn’t have built a place like this.

It was obviously a hideout.

Although it was the smallest inn in the village, the hall had several people.

Of course, they weren’t the most trustworthy folks, though.

Chiri said she urgently needed to go to the restroom and stepped out for a moment.

As I stepped further inside, I felt the eyes of the loud, rowdy people around me.

‘How annoying.’

It was probably not me they were staring at, but the sword on my waist.

I took a seat at a nearby table and called over the waiter.

“Could I have two bowls of noodles and one cup of green tea?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Just a moment.”

“Excuse me, do you have any other orders?”

I took out the silver coin that the merchants had given me.

“Keep this.”

“A silver coin… could it be…?”

I nodded silently.

As soon as I finished speaking, the waiter dashed into the kitchen.

I wasn’t sure if it was because he was naturally fast, or if he sensed something.

As soon as the waiter disappeared, a group of rough-looking men surrounded me.

They looked like the type who could easily handle themselves in a fight.

“Hehehe…”

“Hey, I haven’t seen your face around here before. Did you just arrive today?”

The leader, a burly man, shoved his dirty face toward me.

He also made a show of flaunting his sword.

“Get lost. I won’t say it twice.”

There’s no need to speak politely to scum like this.

They’ll only look down on you.

My attitude toward the waiter was completely different from the one I was now showing to this guy, which made him flinch and take a step back.

Realizing he had unknowingly stepped back, his face turned red with embarrassment.

“I was trying to talk to you nicely, but it seems that’s not going to work!”

“Heh, I don’t know what you’re relying on, but you sure have a lot of nerve! Are you some sort of martial arts master?”

“Hehehe… you’re dead now. Don’t you see the sword?”

“Got your courage out of nowhere, huh?”

I could hear mocking laughter from the people around.

“Let’s see if you snap out of it once I break something! I’ll grant your wish!”

A sigh escaped me.

They say you don’t even mess with dogs while eating…

There was no need to draw my sword.

People like this could be dealt with using basic martial arts techniques.

Thud!

The burly man who had thrown a punch crashed into the wall.

With a sickening sound, he lost consciousness on the spot.

‘I can’t push too hard yet.’

“What, what just happened?! That punch!!”

“Is this guy crazy? Call the others!! Hurry up!”

“Take him down!!”

Swish-

Swish-

The remaining five men unsheathed their swords in unison.

Not only them, but about ten thugs I didn’t even notice before appeared, swords drawn, surrounding me.

Creak.

Click.

At that moment, Chiri locked the inn’s door.

She flashed a smirk as the corners of her mouth curled up.

Her movements were exactly what I had expected, and I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

“Are you laughing? How can you laugh at a time like this?”

“Do you really think you can handle all these people?”

“Hehehe… Are you starting to get it now?”

“This guy’s too scared to even speak.”

“You idiot… you’ve made a mistake.”

They were relying solely on their numbers, trying to break me down.

“Are we all here?”

“What?”

There is no such thing as ‘many against one’ in this world.

“I asked if everyone’s here.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Hey, can’t you even assess the situation…?”

Screech!

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

One sword isn’t as strong as two swords, just as one fist isn’t as strong as two fists.

“Kill him!”

“Chop off his arms and legs!!”

Of course, that only applies when the levels match.

Creak!

Wham!!!

For crazy bastards like them, a beating is too mild.

“Have you ever seen anyone lose while being ganged up on in an inn?”

Slurp!

Gulp.

Slurp!! Ah!

A sound of swallowing came from somewhere.

Of course, the owner of the sound wasn’t him.

“Since no one has come to stop this chaos, it looks like making a scene doesn’t really matter, huh?”

The location itself was eerily secluded.

I looked down at the floor while eating my noodles.

Chiri was lying flat on the ground, only wearing her panties.

She was hungry, swallowing her saliva, but kept her head down, trembling all over like a trembling aspen tree.

Seeing her act this way without being asked, I guess she’s probably done a lot of wrong things recently?

“Chiri, the noodles are going to get cold. Come sit down.”

“N-no… How can someone like me eat with you, Sojin-nim?”

Chiri kept her forehead pressed to the floor, trembling.

“Chiri.”

“Y-yes?”

“Lift your head.”

As she lifted her head, she instinctively covered her chest with her hands.

I suddenly got angry.

“Who told you to take your hands off the floor?”

“H-hiiik… S-sorry!”

Chiri hurriedly placed her hands back on the floor and raised her body.

Now, that’s the proper posture.

“Do you happen to know where Menma is?”

I needed to find the woman who had claimed she would be raped by me as soon as possible.

“Menma? That… uh…”

Seeing the doubt appear in Chiri’s eyes, I was certain.

She doesn’t know.

Then I’ll have to ask the others.

“Jinta, Guryang, Anru, Majin, bring those four here.”

The street kids who stabbed me in the back.

They definitely know.

“I know you’ve gotten stronger, Sojin-nim, but… those guys have…”

I dropped the chopsticks with a loud clink.

The noodles were more delicious than I expected.

“Hiiik..!”

She moved with every little action I made.

This is fun.

“Chiri, cheer up. Why are you so tense? You were fine when you locked the door earlier, but now you’re acting different?”

Chiri rolled her eyes and sweat poured down her face.

I could hear her thinking.

“Well… it was a mistake…”

A mistake?

Is there really anyone who locks a door by mistake?

Of course, this is a time when I should show some leniency.

She’s still useful for now.

“It’s okay. In life, sometimes you have to stick a knife in someone’s back. Right?”

“Hiiik! Ugh, sob… I’m so sorry. Sojin-nim, please, spare my life…”

“Do you think I’m a crazy bastard who kills people randomly?”

Tears filled Chiri’s eyes.

She pointed around with her fingers.

There were people lying around, some with blood on their heads, some with bodies twisted in odd angles…

There were plenty of broken people, but none of them were dead.

Of course, I had controlled my strength.

In a fight involving many people in an inn, there’s an unwritten rule that there are no fatalities.

True martial arts is mysterious like that.

She shook her head frantically.

“No…”

“And.”

I paused for a moment to catch my breath.

“I’m not asking for your opinion right now. Go tell them I’ve arrived.”