WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 202: Musical Chairs

──────

After settling matters with Ak Byeongbi and Ak Jupyeong, my plan to spend the remaining day of rest leisurely was ruined when my old senior brother stopped me.

“Do you know what this is?”

My old senior brother brought out the fine liquor he had hidden in the Academy Head’s office and tempted me with it. I had no choice but to drink with him on the spot.

“Gulp... I’m not usually this weak with alcohol. This fine liquor really is strong. Ahem.”

I didn’t know how I’d made it back to the dormitory last night, but when I opened my eyes, unbearable thirst and a pounding headache hit me. I couldn’t get back to sleep.

As I drank the honey water the Head Attendant had prepared and told her about the previous night, she sighed as if I were hopeless.

“Even the finest liquor becomes poison if you mix it like that.”

“...Did I say I mixed my drinks?”

“You listed every drink you had after saying your old senior brother had served them to you.”

“...”

Just how much had I drunk yesterday?

“I heard martial artists can drive out their drunkenness...”

Her cold gaze stabbed into me like a dagger.

“Why didn’t you do that?”

Still, I refused to be intimidated.

“...It would’ve been a waste.”

That was right. It would’ve been a waste.

I didn’t drink often, but I couldn’t pass up a chance to drink fine liquor.

How could I waste the genuine intoxication of fine liquor, savored through such a rare opportunity, by expelling it with internal energy?

The Head Attendant shook her head at my shameless expression.

“Wash your face first.”

“Understood...”

Splash.

The basin she brought contained water cold enough to jolt me awake.

This wasn’t like her...

“...Don’t you usually prepare lukewarm water?”

Without meeting my gaze, the Head Attendant replied, “The morning water wasn’t heated, so cold water is all there is. Please make do with it.”

“...”

The Head Attendant, who had assisted me flawlessly until now, had failed to heat water?

Was it just my imagination that her gaze felt colder than the water in the basin?

It sounded like an absurd excuse, but the atmosphere was somehow so grim that I couldn’t press the matter. I simply washed my face with cold water.

“Ugh...”

After splashing my face with water cold enough to ache in my bones, I regained some clarity.

Soon afterward, the Head Attendant came in carrying a tray full of food.

“Breakfast. Please eat before it gets cold.”

My stomach was so unsettled that it was difficult to eat anything.

I was about to tell her to take it away when she held out a bowl.

“It’s hot chicken broth. Settle your stomach with this.”

“...”

The savory scent rising from the chicken broth made me swallow hard.

As I drank the broth, my stomach settled, and the other dishes began to stir my appetite as well. I ate a little of everything.

The Head Attendant stood beside me, moving the dishes I enjoyed closer.

“I trust you won’t drink so heavily next time.”

Her tone was clearly cool, yet concern seeped through it.

She scolded me, but I could feel her consideration.

It was almost like being treated by a mother dealing with her reckless child.

Feeling that concern, I simply nodded.

“I’ll be careful.”

After finishing the meal, I put on the fresh clothes an attendant had brought.

Yesterday’s fight with the Ak Clan had cost me dearly in more ways than one.

The more I thought about it, the more annoyed I became.

‘I should get compensation for my clothes too.’

With that firm resolve, I headed for the training ground with the Head Attendant.

“Ha...”

The situation was worse than I had expected.

Not only had the marble flooring across the training ground been destroyed, but so had the small hills surrounding it and even the wall separating the top student dormitory from the main building.

Even the Head Attendant struggled to speak.

“...This is the first time something like this has happened since the Academy was founded.”

“...”

“To turn the Martial Arts Academy’s most historic place into this...”

Was I imagining the moisture gathering around her eyes?

“...Do you resent me, perhaps?”

“...”

At my question, the Head Attendant sharply turned her head away.

No, Ak Byeongbi was the one at fault. Why was I the one getting scolded?

“Ahem... Well, this is a good chance to renovate it, isn’t it?”

The Head Attendant’s gaze became even sharper at my optimistic response.

“Renovate it? It’ll cost no small amount, so the Academy won’t easily approve it.”

Avoiding her frightening gaze, I casually waved a hand through the air.

“Ah, you needn’t worry about that. The Ak Clan agreed to compensate us for everything.”

“...”

Was I the kind of person who would just take it lying down?

At my confident attitude, the Head Attendant’s expression softened slightly.

“Someone from the Ak Clan will probably come this afternoon. Tell them about every damaged part. They’ll repair it all, so don’t hold back in your demands.”

“That’s fortunate.”

After nodding, I swept my gaze across the training ground floor.

This wouldn’t do.

“Hmm... First, please tell them to restore the training ground floor with Azure Steel Stone, just as it used to be.”

Confusion appeared on the Head Attendant’s face.

“Azure Steel Stone? The training ground floor was originally marble...”

I immediately shook my head.

“Ahem. It seems you haven’t visited the training ground often, Head Attendant.”

“Pardon...?”

“The training ground floor was definitely laid with Azure Steel Stone.”

“...”

That expression clearly said, What nonsense are you talking about?

I looked her directly in the eyes.

“I’m serious.”

In the end, the Head Attendant let out a small sigh.

“I’ll convey that.”

“Oh, right!”

“What else...?”

“Didn’t you say before that the servants’ quarters were rather small?”

“Pardon?”

I looked toward the servants’ quarters attached to one side of the residence.

The residence had originally been built as an annex, so the servants’ quarters had only been put up temporarily. They were narrow and old.

I searched my mind for anything else I could squeeze out of them.

“Hmm, now that I think about it, the bath I use seems rather small too. You also said the kitchen was too small for several people to move around and use, right?”

The Head Attendant only blinked without answering.

It couldn’t be helped.

I swung my hand and blew away the roof of the servants’ building attached to the residence.

Crash.

There. No roof now.

“W-what are you doing...?”

“Oh no! The roof is gone! What should we do...? I seem to remember those Ak Clan bastards stomping all over the roof yesterday.”

“...”

I held my chin and pretended to ponder deeply.

“It’s clearly their fault anyway, so wouldn’t it be better to build a new one while we have the chance? Please tell the person the Ak Clan sends.”

The Head Attendant showed a hint of unease.

“...Will they truly do everything we ask?”

It was a reasonable concern.

But I had an incredible weapon.

“Ah! If they don’t listen, tell them this.”

“...?”

“Ak Jupyeong.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s a name that makes the impossible possible.”

I would squeeze every last thing out of them. Heh heh.

After telling the Head Attendant everything that needed to be rebuilt, I headed straight for the Academy Representative’s office.

No, I tried to.

“Hm?”

Something caught my eye, crumpled in one corner of the ruined training ground.

It lay motionless like a corpse, making my brow furrow deeply.

‘No one died in yesterday’s fight.’

As I approached the doll-like figure, I began to hear an ominous mutter.

“Ak Clan... I’ll kill them. Jin Sowoon... I won’t let you get away with this. You left me behind.”

“...”

“Ak Clan... I’ll kill them. Jin Sowoon... I won’t let you get away with this. You left me behind.”

A familiar voice continued as if chanting a sutra.

Hah.

Why was this guy lying here like that?

“Ak Clan... I’ll kill them. Jin Sowoon... I won’t let you get away with this. You left me behind.”

Perhaps hearing my footsteps, the doll-like figure lying on the ground, unable to move at all, could only move his eyes.

Soon, his bloodshot eyes fixed on me.

“...What are you doing here?”

The doll was none other than Yayul Geuk.

He struggled desperately despite being unable to move.

“What am I doing? Someone left me here...!!!”

“Did the Ak Clan martial artists not release you?”

“Are you insane? Is that even a question...?!”

Yayul Geuk, whose paralysis acupoint was still sealed, had spent the entire night on the training ground cursing the Ak Clan.

I had forgotten about him.

No wonder it had felt like I was forgetting something.

“Tsk... Anyway, the Ak Clan struck your paralysis acupoint and left you behind. You know that, right?”

I tried to soothe him in my own way, but...

Pop!

Yayul Geuk’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“Jin Sowoon! Don’t you remember? You passed by here last night while singing!!!”

Me?

When?

“I... I called out to you like that! You looked at me and just left!”

“...”

Something in Yayul Geuk’s tearful voice made memories of last night begin to return.

Soon, the scene from yesterday formed vividly in my mind.

Right, I had definitely laughed at Yayul Geuk lying pitifully on the training ground floor...

[How much evil is there in the martial world~♩]

[I shall protect all under heaven with a single sword~♪♩]

...Then I vividly remembered myself singing as I walked away.

‘Ah, damn it. Why did I just pass by?’

Even I had to admit that was a little hurtful.

“Still, the song was worth listening to, wasn’t it?”

“Fuck, is that even something to say?!”

As Yayul Geuk growled like a wounded wildcat, I seriously considered whether it was right to release his paralysis acupoint now.

#

“I won’t touch Ak Jupyeong anymore.”

Thinking I would ease some of Yayul Geuk’s resentment, I told him everything that had happened with the Ak Clan.

Yet it seemed to provoke him instead.

“I’m disappointed that you made such a filthy deal!”

Yayul Geuk, who had been sulking, was now glaring at me with vicious eyes.

“Do you think I’ll do nothing just because you made that deal?”

“Of course not.”

“Huh?”

“Nor should you.”

Crouching before him, I continued explaining.

“What I promised was only that ‘I’ would no longer touch him.”

“S-so?”

“So what do you mean, so?”

I patted his shoulder twice.

“It means I never promised that you wouldn’t touch him in the first place.”

“...!”

Yayul Geuk’s expression turned strange.

I didn’t know whether he was pleased or angry.

“Anyway, don’t go too far. You saw it yesterday, didn’t you? The Ak Clan people immediately mobilized and tried to drag me to the Inspectorate.”

“...F-fuck! I’m not afraid of something like that! Once I complete the Flowing Cloud Divine Art...!”

“Yes, yes. You’re not afraid. Still, if the Inspectorate tries to arrest you, come to me. I’ll stop them, at least.”

Yayul Geuk didn’t answer.

What was that? Did that bastard look a little moved?

After rolling his eyes for a long time, Yayul Geuk finally spoke.

“...W-why?”

“What?”

“W-why are you helping me?!”

I snickered and ruffled his hair.

“When have I not helped you?”

“...!”

His expression became even stranger.

Seeing him make such a foolish face, I thought he might resemble Yayul Jae a little.

“Anyway, if you want to complete the Flowing Cloud Divine Art quickly and take revenge on Ak Jupyeong, you don’t have time to dwell on petty grudges, right?”

“...”

Yayul Geuk rolled his eyes, then looked at me with a slightly gentler gaze.

“...Are you telling me to forget that you ignored me yesterday and walked past while singing?”

This brat really caught on quickly.

Feeling as if Yayul Geuk and I had understood each other for the first time, I exclaimed, “So you can understand what people say after all!”

“...”

Yet Yayul Geuk was still looking at me with cold eyes.

#

That sneaky brat attacked me the moment I released his paralysis acupoint, despite our agreement.

I had no choice but to strike his sleep acupoint and put him to sleep.

I had only tapped it lightly, but seeing him immediately fall asleep, it seemed he hadn’t slept a wink all night after having his paralysis acupoint sealed.

‘He’s stubborn... He should’ve slept, yet he spent the whole night cursing.’

He would probably sleep through the entire day.

‘Still, he’s not the type to care much about missing class.’

With that, I headed to the Academy Representative’s office.

“Representative Jin.”

I ran into Jang Woojae on the way.

Namgung Seonhwa, Seong Moran, Eunho, and Hong Saryeon joined us soon afterward.

“Why do you look half-dead?”

Eunho, whose complexion looked terrible, sighed and answered.

“I listened to Nam Hwaseong lament until dawn.”

“Lament?”

“That he isn’t a spy.”

At Eunho’s words, everyone chuckled.

Only Eunho couldn’t relax his expression.

“Eldest Senior Brother, must you keep teasing Nam Hwaseong by calling him a spy? I’m afraid he’ll keep holding me back from now on.”

“Tsk. If he keeps bothering you, just kick him away.”

Eunho scratched his head at my violent suggestion.

“Do you think I can handle Nam Hwaseong alone? Besides, I don’t think he’s such a bad person.”

When did these two become so close?

When we reached the building housing the Representative Officer Corps, Nam Hwaseong was waiting at the entrance.

“Spy! You’re out early.”

“...”

Regardless of Nam Hwaseong and Eunho’s crumpled expressions, I was about to enter the building.

“Hm?”

A group of Academy students had gathered by the roadside.

The moment they saw me, they began coming toward us.

“Representative!”

The Academy students clasped their fists in salute upon seeing me.

Looking over their faces, I saw that some were members of the Orthodox Society.

Some were Jang Woojae’s friends.

There were even members of the One Hundred Eight Peaks.

It was a strange combination.

What was this group supposed to be?

When I returned their salute with a puzzled expression, the person who had called out to me smiled.

“Were you surprised by our sudden visit?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say I was surprised.”

“Actually, we wanted to arrange a separate gathering and apologize for our discourtesy so far.”

I tilted my head.

“Haven’t we often acted as though we didn’t acknowledge you as the Academy Representative?”

As he scratched his head in embarrassment, the others each cleared their throats or blushed.

Now that I looked again, I recognized the kind of people they were.

Some were disciples of lay martial sects.

Others were disciples of weak sects who had come to the Academy.

They were people constantly forced to gauge the reactions of those around them.

“Everyone had their circumstances. I understand.”

It had always been that way.

Those without power couldn’t act as they wished and were swept along by circumstances.

That had been me in my previous life as well.

Because I had no choice. Because I believed I had no choice.

But if these weak people found the courage to take even one step forward, they could become the ones who stirred the winds of change.

That was why their courage made me glad.

Even after my reassurance, they couldn’t easily raise their heads.

“We’ll make amends for our past behavior for a long time to come.”

The Academy student lowered his voice and continued.

“...More than that, we came because something strange happened.”

“Something strange?”

He nodded with a serious expression.

“Yes. Someone claiming to be a new Representative Officer Corps said they were holding an event and told us to attend.”

“A new Representative Officer Corps?”

The Academy Representative was standing right here, so what did they mean by a new Representative Officer Corps?

Then...

“The first academic schedule of the second semester has been finalized!”

“The candidate list for the second academic schedule, the Invitation of Distinguished Figures, is out.”

“I’ll go to the Mantong Office to secure approval for the budget proposal.”

Noisy voices began to rise from one side.

We looked at those working as though they were the Martial Arts Academy delegation.

“No, what is this...?”

“Who on earth are they?”

Seeing the emblem embroidered on their clothes, Jang Woojae let out a groan.

“It’s the White Path Society...”

“The White Path Society?”

Why were those bastards suddenly causing trouble?

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried