14 – Such Thoughts – 4
There are things needed to make herbal medicine.
Of course, there’s a way to use items from the Eastern Upper Store, but there were also items not handled by the Upper Store at the moment.
And, naturally, going to the big city just to get ingredients for herbal medicine is not necessary.
When we say big city, it means a crowded place.
In other words, there might be people with talents worthy of becoming disciples.
I should discreetly scout for the next disciple; otherwise, it will be tiring later on.
If things don’t work out, I can try persuading Laila to become a disciple, but let’s leave that as Plan B.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
It’s natural that Laila doesn’t catch my eye since I saw a kid with talents similar to Sowol.
After patting Sowol’s head, I turned around.
“We’re planning to leave tomorrow, so get ready.”
I have things to prepare as well.
“Miss!”
That’s when it happened.
Laila, who had been carrying the luggage earlier, approached. A girl around Sowol’s age came forward with a bright expression, bowing to her with a courteous demeanor, unlike others.
“Welcome back. Nothing unusual happened during your absence, right?”
“Yeah. You’ve worked hard during your travels, I presume?”
“I’ve learned a lot. But…”
Laila’s gaze landed on me. There was caution, and a question. The two emotions mixed in her gaze looked quite sharp.
“This is my master. Please greet him.”
“Ah, I see. I’m Laila. Nice to meet you. I’ve been with the young lady since I was little.”
“Childhood friend, so to speak?”
“To call it a friend… might be a bit difficult. Anyway, she’s the young lady.”
“Don’t say that. You’re my only friend.”
“Young lady…”
Facing Laila’s delighted expression, Sowol smiled slyly.
Warm indeed.
“We haven’t met in a while, and it seems like there’s a lot to catch up on. I’ll excuse myself for now. Anyway, see you tomorrow.”
After bidding farewell to Sowol and Laila, he headed towards his dwelling.
Arriving at the dwelling in the garden, he was meditating alone when he heard footsteps. These footsteps belonged to…
“You’ve come.”
“You knew it was me?”
It was Sojungyang.
Approaching with a somewhat uneasy expression, he asked as if it were a curious matter, though it wasn’t particularly extraordinary.
It’s not that impressive to distinguish people by footsteps once you’re at a certain level.
“I thought you might be busy dealing with those who went upstairs… Why have you come?”
“All matters related to socializing have been taken care of.”
“Yes, for now. It was Franz Hall.”
“I see…”
“Is there something on your mind?”
A while ago, Franz came to find me. He went to the commercial area managed by the Eastern Upper Council, causing a ruckus about paying rent… Since Franz has disappeared, I’m not sure if I can relax now.
Well, it’s too early to relax in my opinion.
If socializing completely loses interest in the Eastern Upper Council, I don’t know, but the ways of the world are things we don’t know.
“Just in case, keep guards around you at all times.”
“Hmm… should I?”
“And I’ll ask my friend to take care of it. In my absence, my friend will stay in the Eastern Upper Council.”
“Your friend…?”
“Senior Priest Serin from the church. With her around, unnecessary forces won’t dare to touch the Eastern Upper Council and the Lord.”
He plans to let Senior Priest Serin and the holy knights she brings stay in the Eastern Upper Council.
Then, the gap during my absence should be somewhat filled.
“Well, we’ll be welcoming an esteemed person. Understood. But where are you going?”
“I need to visit the city of Loberin for a while. Sowol plans to come with me, so you don’t need to worry about the teaching part.”
“I see. I trust you’ll handle that part well on your own.”
Sojungyang’s unconditional trust was pleasing.
There are parents who dictate this and that when it comes to teaching, you know.
If there were no unnecessary interference, I could cultivate Sowol as I wish, and I would be satisfied.
“Hmm. But, sir. If it’s not too much trouble, may I make one request?”
“What is it?”
“Could you provide training for the warriors at the upper level? Of course, we’ll take care of any related costs or additional compensation.”
It seemed that socializing had intervened, and the fact that the Franz, brought forward by that socializing, had set his sights on the eastern upper level was troubling.
Otherwise, there would have been no need for me to entrust the training of warriors to myself.
“Training the warriors is also an important task. If it’s in the spare time after teaching Sowol, I don’t mind.”
“If you agree, I would be grateful!”
My permission seemed to please Precious Yang, and his expression brightened.
From my perspective, there was nothing wrong with it.
If the skills of the warriors at the eastern upper level improved, it would increase the pool of capable individuals for a potential assassination attempt by Precious Yang in the future.
After exchanging a few more small talk, Precious Yang left, expressing continuous gratitude towards me.
Watching him move away, I sat down and closed my eyes.
Well then, should I take a break too?
***
Childhood friends you meet after a long time always have a lot to talk about. Especially for Sowol, who has few friends.
“How was this journey?”
“Ugh. Don’t even mention it. The weather was hot. There were many monsters. And on top of that, we encountered thieves during the journey. It was terrible.”
Smiling wryly at the complaining Laila, Sowol chuckled.
Even though she said that, whenever there was a journey, she always participated without fail. She was indeed a child who couldn’t be honest.
“By the way, how is the master this time?”
“Huh? Um…”
How is Ihyeon?
Sowol, who was thinking for a moment, let out a small sigh.
Lately, whenever he thought about Ihyeon, he couldn’t help but feel this way. Even though it would be enough to evaluate objectively as in the old days, why did he have these different thoughts?
“Oh, really? Oh, really?”
Was it because of Sowol’s reaction? Laila’s eyes sparkled as if she had discovered something amusing. Hurriedly, Sowol shouted.
“It’s not like that!”
A slightly blushing face.
Trying to erase the expression with a determined look, Sowol spoke in a teasing voice.
“Just a great master.”
“You don’t seem to think he’s just a great master… Well, never mind. Miss, something seems to have changed quite a bit.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m properly learning swordsmanship now.”
“Oh? Is that so? That must be nice. You seemed so eager to learn martial arts.”
“Yeah. And my master said I have talent for it.”
So Wol’s face bore a proud expression as she spoke.
It was good to be acknowledged by Yi Hyeon.
Watching So Wol’s excitement, Laila offered a gentle smile.
“I’m glad you’re satisfied, Miss.”
From Laila’s perspective, if So Wol was content, it was a good thing.
The masters who had taught So Wol so far had acknowledged her talent but didn’t appreciate her sharp personality and lack of diligence in her studies, so they left, dismissing her.
However, listening to So Wol chatter away, Yi Hyeon seemed entirely different from those people.
He cared not for formalities, only wishing to nurture her talent.
That might be why So Wol was drawn more to him.
“He seems like a good person… Maybe I should talk to him sometime…?”
So Wol was not only her mistress but also like a younger sibling. Because she was such an important person, Laila wished for things to go well for her.
That’s why she gently embraced So Wol, who was enthusiastically discussing what she had learned so far.
“That’s great. Really.”
“Yeah…”
It had been a while since Laila felt this warmth.
Leaning slightly into her warmth, So Wol paused for a moment before speaking to Laila.
“Oh, and I’ll be going to the city with my master tomorrow.”
“The city? You mean Loberin City?”
“Yeah. He said there’s something to get there.”
“That’s good. We have to go to Loberin City tomorrow as well.”
“Oh? Why?”
“We need to send the goods we brought from the east to the Logan Trading Company in Loberin City.”
So Wol hadn’t heard about this.
Does that mean the trip with Yi Hyeon is now in vain?
Seeing a shadow on So Wol’s expression, Laila chuckled lightly.
“Oh my. Are you disappointed that you can’t travel with the master?”
“W-What?! No, not at all! It’s just that, you know, we just came back from the previous journey and immediately have to set out again, so I was worried about that!”
Despite the hurried explanation, Laila’s expression remained unchanged.
Seemingly amused, like a cat finding something to tease, she looked at Sowol with mischievous eyes and let out a teasing snicker.
“Hehe, interesting~. By the way, the master we met earlier seems to be quite charming…”
“…Why?”
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“Oh, no reason. It’s just that I’m at an age where I should start looking for a partner. If there’s a good husband material, I should try my best to win him over…”
“What?! But the age difference between me and him is not that much!”
“It doesn’t hurt to be prepared in advance.”
“…Hmph! Whatever!”
When Sowol turned her head sharply and retorted, Laila chuckled and pulled her into a hug from behind.
“Hehe. Don’t worry, there won’t be such a situation~.”