Chapter 42

The moment I mentioned the Small Moon Unit, the Moonlit Sword’s eyes narrowed.

A chill ran up my spine. Maybe it was my imagination, but the room felt colder.

I wanted to rub my arms, but held it in.

We hadn’t even started talking yet.

“The Small Moon Unit... I didn’t expect your interest to be there.”

“How could I not be interested. That’s why I’m asking.”

This wasn’t just anything; it was the sect’s elite corps. Merely belonging to the Blue Moon Sect changed how the world looked at you, and this was the very top— the Small Moon Unit.

Not just anyone even got a glance.

As far as I knew, the Small Moon Unit...

“They were treated as honored guests at ordinary branches.”

If I took the Anhui Branch I’d worked at as example, when someone appeared with the Small Moon Unit seal, even the Branch Leader came out to greet them.

Of course, I only saw the Small Moon Unit for the first time after coming to the sect proper, so I can’t say for sure—only that’s what I’d heard.

The Blue Moon Sect, a sect directly aligned with the Martial Alliance.

For such a sect’s elites, the weight meant just that.

The Moonlit Sword asked:

“Then—what do you intend to do once you have your answer?”

“Well... that depends on the answer.”

I pretended to think a moment, then said:

“If it sounds possible, I’ll try.”

“......”

It was a bold line. If I can, I will. At that, the Moonlit Sword simply looked at me.

I’d felt it before—his gaze was heavy. Even without doing anything, just meeting his eyes made my body want to lock up.

The peculiar presence leaders carry showed starkly.

“Unlike someone else.”

[...that’s the look you use when you badmouth me.]

“If it displeases you, you needn’t say anything.”

[The way you ignore me says I’m right, doesn’t it?]

I edged back a hair, and only then did the Moonlit Sword open his mouth.

“No. That wasn’t the intent—only caution.”

“Caution?”

“I’ve seen that Young Master Bang inherits that one’s progress, and that you are an excellent person.”

[Excellent my ass—what’s excellent about this sly brat—]

“But I wonder if it isn’t still somewhat dangerous to measure you against the Small Moon Unit.”

[How dare he compare the one I’m raising to the Small Moon Unit. Still wet behind the ears!]

“......”

Pick one—curse me or cover me.

And calling me “still wet behind the ears” in front of the Sect Master? A dozen retorts rose, but I swallowed them.

“To your eyes, Sect Master, I still look lacking?”

“Not lacking—rather, I would have you regard the significance the Small Moon Unit bears as weighty.”

For all the flat tone, I felt the pride in it.

[That part’s true.]

The old man could sit this one out.

“Weighty significance... and therefore, for me to enter is still... premature?”

“I would prefer you take it kindly.”

“Hm.”

[Heh-heh-heh.]

Yoo Cheongil laughed. I flinched. That look he wore when he laughed—it meant he didn’t like something.

[I like the pride. I don’t like the arrogance.]

I glanced at him. Then immediately turned my head.

“Ugh, that face is scary.”

The rictus split his mouth exactly the way it did when he had a scheme.

It was filthy scary, but this time, it was fine.

Because from the look of it, this time it would help me.

[Do as you wish.]

Permission—not that he asked. Ridiculous as it was, hearing that eased me.

“Then, Sect Master. I have a proposal.”

“A proposal?”

“Yes.”

Smiling, I said:

“Care to make a wager with me?”

“...A wager?”

A flicker of interest crossed the Sect Master’s face.

“Whatever the test is, I very much want to enter the Small Moon Unit.”

Truthfully, not “very much,” but I wanted the words spicier.

“Yet the feeling you give, Sect Master, is that I absolutely shouldn’t be able to... so let’s wager on that.”

“...A wager, you say...”

“Yes. A wager.”

“Every time I see you, I feel it.”

His gaze shifted, slightly.

“You are a peculiar person, Young Master Bang.”

“That’s odd. There’s no one more ordinary than me.”

[Nonsense.]

He only ever butted in at times like this.

“Haha.”

Even the Sect Master laughed. Did he think I was joking? I was serious.

“Impossible. No one else has stood this boldly before me. Much less, no one has been so arrogant as to wager with the Small Moon Unit before him.”

Slice.

“...!”

I swallowed. I felt something cut. What was cut? Where?

[Steady. Nothing was cut.]

“......”

At Yoo Cheongil’s words, I steadied the churn in my gut.

If nothing was cut, then it was purely in my head?

“No—that was a warning.”

I had stepped over the line; the Sect Master’s warning told me to keep my conduct straight.

If I stepped a little further, I felt like I’d lose everything.

The old me would have backed off here. I’d have cooled my head and sought another way.

“Put like that, I suppose I am peculiar.”

I didn’t back off.

Because—

“Do as you wish.”

Because of that single line from Yoo Cheongil.

“However, I think that applies to you as well, Sect Master.”

“...Hm?”

At my words, the Moonlit Sword creased his brow.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, isn’t it so?”

Smiling sunnily, I added:

“If someone begs to this degree, you might think, ‘He must have a card,’ and take a closer look. Instead, you weigh only the value of the Small Moon Unit and refuse to look at what’s right here.”

I scrubbed the smile off my face.

“Tell me—who is arrogant, right now?”

“...!”

[Oh!]

Yoo Cheongil let out a low exclamation.

Whooosh—!

A gale roared through the room.

“Wow... nuts.”

At the wind I felt, I swallowed a secret mouthful. Wind surged off the Moonlit Sword’s very body.

How was that even possible? Could all masters do this? Curiosity tickled me, but this wasn’t the time.

I didn’t look away either. Our blue eyes met and held for a long while.

At last, the late wind ebbed.

“Young Master Bang.”

“Yes.”

“The only reason I let that remark pass is because I consider you that one’s successor.”

“I know.”

I was exploiting that to cheek him—how could I not know.

“It also means there is a limit.”

I felt a different emotion shade those blue eyes.

“I admit your remark went too far.”

Feeling it, I stepped back one step.

“However, I find no fault with the remark itself. Nor do I regret it.”

Even so, I kept what I needed to keep.

“......”

A crease finally marked the Moonlit Sword’s brow.

How would he react? I watched closely.

Hoo— The wind that had been rising dropped away.

“Then let me ask... what do you intend to stake?”

This time, the Moonlit Sword took a step back. Seeing that, I grinned.

“Full Moon. I’ll stake it.”

[H-hey? You lunatic. Why, on your own—]

“Full Moon?”

“Yes. If I cannot enter the Small Moon Unit, I’ll transfer ownership of Full Moon.”

“...Hm.”

To be honest, Cheon Eujin had found it and given it to me, so using it like this was a bit off.

Still—who cared. It was mine now.

[Strictly speaking, it’s mine, not yo—]

The dead can sit this one out.

“You called it a wager; you must want something in return.”

“I do.”

Of course I did. Only—

“If you grant me a single favor, that will be enough.”

“A favor...?”

“Yes.”

“What favor?”

“I haven’t thought of it yet. I’ll use it when it comes to me.”

“......”

For a moment, the Moonlit Sword looked at me as if it were absurd. It was a bit of a shabby wager.

“If you dislike it, you can decline.”

If you’re scared, drop dead.

“Hah...”

Perhaps catching my intent, the Moonlit Sword chuckled low. Then he spoke, quiet:

“...Commander of the Small Moon Unit.”

“Yes.”

‘...Good lord.’

The voice came from right beside me. A man had dropped to one knee at my side before I knew it.

The Commander of the Small Moon Unit.

He was the sect’s most famed martial after the Moonlit Sword.

Of course he bore Moon Eyes.

“Can you prepare a test now?”

“If you desire it, I can prepare it at once.”

“Then prepare it.”

“As you command.”

“And.”

He issued the order to the Commander, but his eyes stayed on me.

“Since this is very much a wager, witnesses are best in number. What say you?”

Witnesses, is it.

“I don’t mind.”

“Commander.”

“As you command.”

The Commander spoke—and vanished. I still didn’t catch him leaving. Silence fell.

I stood there, faintly awkward.

“Will you not regret this?”

The Moonlit Sword asked. Regret...

“I’ll be fine.”

“A reply full of confidence.”

I didn’t bother to answer that part. It was true.

I had a certain old hand in this domain.

****

Past noon, I followed the lead to a place.

I heard it called the Small Moon Hall.

What was it? It turned out to be a training ground of sorts.

Only—

“It wasn’t like the others.”

The feel was quite different from the places I saw sect members training during my walks.

Size was one thing, but—

“Majestic.”

The aura was entirely different.

More pristine, and far more sacred.

[The Small Moon Hall is the testing ground used for generations when selecting the Small Moon Unit.]

I nodded at Yoo Cheongil’s explanation.

“So not a training ground—an exam hall.”

No wonder the name felt so literal.

Though for that, it seemed too big.

At this size, using it as a training ground would be more efficient...

[Things like this are precisely where people heap the ceremonial trappings.]

The old man had a point.

Especially when it came to great sects and renowned houses—some parts must be kept.

Wasting money on useless things—

That was my view; from the group’s perspective...

“They value tradition.”

You could see it that way.

As I stood quietly—

Creak—!

The entrance opened again and people poured in.

“Wow.”

At the head was the Commander I’d just met.

A line of figures filed in behind.

“All Small Moon Unit.”

Everyone entering was Small Moon Unit.

“It shows in the uniform... hm?”

As I scanned them one by one, a face I shouldn’t see was mixed in.

Cheon Hyein—smiling sweetly at me.

“That crazy woman was Small Moon Unit too...?”

She’d worn ordinary sect robes before, so I’d assumed she was simply a Second Disciple.

Now I saw she was Small Moon Unit.

“Ha.”

The Moon Dancer was impressive, all right. Her value hit me anew.

“Excluding the eight on assignment and the five absent for treatment, all members are present.”

At the Commander’s words, the Moonlit Sword nodded.

“To your places.”

At the order, they moved like one. Where to? A little over thirty stood in a single line, facing each other.

At one end stood the Sect Master; at the other, me.

The air was heavy. I rolled my eyes, taking in the surroundings.

Even Cheon Hyein, who’d come in smiling, stood impassive now.

“With the Small Moon Unit assembled, from this moment—”

Ssssss—

At the sensation, I narrowed my eyes.

“The air is terrifying.”

A pressure I couldn’t name rolled off the Moonlit Sword.

“As Sect Master of the Blue Moon Sect, I will confirm for myself whether you have the right to become the moon.”

I swallowed at the words.

The tone changing was one thing, but—

“...It’s a bit much.”

At this rate, I thought my breathing might hitch; I wondered what to do—

[Turn the internal art.]

“......”

At Yoo Cheongil’s words, I immediately worked the Blue Moon Heart Art.

And—

Whoo—!!

“Huh?”

The energy spun far stronger than usual—

Fwaaah—!!

And the spinning energy poured through my body and out.

“What—?”

“That is—!”

Voices burst around me at once.

“......”

Blue energy rippled around me. At a glance, it looked like stars drifting.

Gorgeous—and beautiful.

“What now.”

This hadn’t happened before. It was a sudden change.

Moreover—

“Moonlight...?”

“How is it not enough that he has Moon Eyes—at that age, even moonlight...!”

From the Small Moon Unit’s reaction, I’d clearly shown something out of the ordinary.

“...Heh.”

Even the Moonlit Sword let a breath slip, as if that proved it.

“A sign that you’re ready? As a display, it’s aggressive.”

No, that’s not what this is...

“What did that damned old man do this time.”

Breathing was certainly easier, but from their faces, it looked like I’d done something I shouldn’t.

I stared ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ at Yoo Cheongil, dumbfounded.

[Kekekekeke.]

Of course the vile spirit was laughing.

From the look of it, he’d known this would happen.

Truly maddening.

“Anyway.”

Leaving that aside—

“What’s the test?”

What did I have to do to enter the Small Moon Unit?

“The old man said not to worry.”

Would it really be as he said? While I looked to the Moonlit Sword with that doubt—

“From this moment, by tradition, we begin the Blue Moon Rite.”

“...Huh? Blue Moon Rite?”

A strange word right from the name.

Rite? If it was a rite...

“Do Hyeong of the Small Moon Unit—prepare for a duel.”

“...Disciple Do Hyeong, as commanded.”

“Oh... hell.”

At the Moonlit Sword’s words, a youth at the far end stepped forward.

A familiar face. The very Small Moon Unit man who’d guided me just before.

Which meant—

“Oh, no way.”

A prickle of dread rose.

“No wonder the entire unit assembled. Is this...?”

A thought flashed through my head—

[This is the traditional method of selecting the Small Moon Unit.]

Right on cue, Yoo Cheongil spoke.

[You face the youngest of the Small Moon Unit and receive the Sect Master’s recognition.]

“......”

[Easy, right? I told you it’d be easy.]

“Like hell it is. Easy, my ass.”

At his brazen line, I bit my tongue.

Easy? Sure.

It was the world’s simplest, most brainless method.

“The name is Blue Moon, but why is everything so violent.”

Something felt off.

“A duel with the youngest?”

I looked at Do Hyeong. So he was the youngest?

“So not Cheon Hyein.”

He was quite young for a Second Disciple, but if you counted, Cheon Hyein was younger.

Well, Cheon Hyein had probably been Second Disciple from the moment she entered... entirely possible.

“Not good.”

I frowned as I watched Do Hyeong.

Really not good. The duel itself was awkward, but—

“I really don’t want to fight that one.”

A duel with Do Hyeong was worse. Ah— more precisely, it wasn’t that I disliked fighting Do Hyeong.

“...I don’t want to make enemies with the one behind him.”

The “presence” behind Do Hyeong bothered me more.

“Tch.”

And there was no way to avoid the duel. I figured I just had to accept it—and then—

Thud—!!

At the loud sound, all eyes turned, Do Hyeong’s included.

I looked to see who—it was someone dropping to one knee out of nowhere.

“Hm?”

A face I knew.

Of course—

“...Second Disciple Seom Seonggyeong. I have something to say.”

One of the ones who’d secretly watched me the day in the dining hall.

“What is it?”

The Moonlit Sword asked, blunt.

“...Disciple Seom Seonggyeong. I wish to take this chance to experience the previous Sect Master’s sword personally.”

“You—!”

It wasn’t the Moonlit Sword who shouted at Seom Seonggyeong’s words, but the Commander.

“How dare you—! Do you not know what place this is!”

To wish to experience the previous Sect Master’s sword—

In other words, he wanted to face me. And of all times, now.

“In this sacred place, a wretch like you—!”

“Enough.”

The Moonlit Sword stopped the Commander, who had fire in his face.

“...Hmm.”

Interest glinted in his expression.

And before him, I—

“That damned woman.”

—I was twisting my face at Cheon Hyein.