Chapter 576

I had no idea what had happened between Peng Dojun and Heavenly Sword.

All I knew was that something had happened, and that even Peng Dojun had been simmering with irritation for days on end.

I had no clue why he was acting like such a lunatic. Tang Cheonil had even snapped at him to stop moping around already.

It concerned me a little.

I was curious what could have happened to make someone like Peng Dojun turn out that way.

I was also curious why, even after ending up like this, he had not gone looking for Heavenly Sword and was merely swallowing down his anger instead.

But I did not try to find out. That would have been a hassle.

So I left it alone. There were already more things than I could count that I needed to investigate. I did not have the spare time to worry about that bastard too.

Was that why?

“Come out. I’ll beat you senseless.”

Could Peng Dojun causing this scene somehow be my fault for not paying attention?

The thought flashed through my mind for a moment.

Whatever. Not my problem.

That was all it was.

As I had said, I did not have enough time to get involved over there.

“...”

Heavenly Sword looked at Peng Dojun, who had appeared before him.

“Did you stop understanding plain language after that day? Hm. I thought you were violent, but intelligent.”

“You’re the one who can’t understand plain language.”

BOOM.

Peng Dojun pulled out his heavy blade and drove it into the ground.

“You’re asking again because you can’t understand something as simple as me asking for a fight. Draw your sword, idiot. I’ll beat you with everything I’ve got.”

“...”

At that, Heavenly Sword turned his gaze.

Toward me.

What was that? Why was he looking at me?

I did not avoid his eyes and simply stared back.

His gaze seemed to carry some meaning, but I could not sense anything from it.

Was I supposed to give him some kind of answer?

As we silently held each other’s gaze—

“What should we do?”

Heavenly Sword asked the instructor.

The instructor tilted his head.

“If someone of lower rank wishes to challenge someone higher, he ought to put something on the line. Hey, trainee. What will you wager?”

Was there a rule like that?

It seemed that if someone wanted to challenge a higher-ranked number, he had to stake something.

I had read through the rules well enough, but I had never seen anything like that.

It had not been written down.

Either they never told us, or it’s some kind of unspoken rule.

Judging from the other trainees’ reactions, it seemed that such a rule did exist.

“What do you want?”

“I’ll accept it if you offer something that interests me.”

“Something that interests you...”

Peng Dojun considered it briefly.

Then he grinned.

“If you win, I’ll give you one of my arms.”

“...Hm?”

What the hell is that lunatic saying?

An arm.

The surrounding area stirred at those words.

It was too sudden and too extreme.

One arm for a single spar?

Was he seriously insane?

As I stared at him in disbelief—

“Fine.”

Heavenly Sword smiled.

“One of your arms. I’ll take it.”

He looked pleased.

Was this actually happening?

...This is driving me insane.

Just as a spar with Peng Dojun’s arm at stake was about to begin—

“You idiots are talking nonsense.”

BOOM... WOOOOONG.

The instructor rose to his feet.

“Physical mutilation is no different from a duel to the death. Killing during training is forbidden in the Cult. That is the newly established discipline. Do you intend to violate it?”

“It was this friend who proposed it first. And it is not something that would happen during the spar, but afterward. Would that still be a problem?”

Heavenly Sword spoke again, but the instructor merely smirked.

“What a ridiculous argument, Heavenly Sword. No matter how much justification you try to give it, the discipline does not change. If you dislike it, you already know the answer, don’t you?”

“You mean I should become the Heavenly Demon and change it?”

“You understand quickly.”

“That does sound like the right answer.”

Heavenly Sword shrugged.

“That is what he says. What do you think?”

“Something other than an arm... I cannot offer my head, either. What a dilemma.”

He looked as though he might offer his head if he were allowed.

That madman seemed to become stranger the more time passed.

“You can do this instead.”

Heavenly Sword addressed Peng Dojun.

“Forget the arm. Grant me one favor.”

“A favor?”

“Yes. A favor. I am not asking you to do absolutely anything. Hear me out after this is over, and grant it if you find it acceptable.”

“...Hm.”

Peng Dojun nodded at Heavenly Sword’s words.

He looked as though he was considering it, but his eyes had already made the decision.

“Fine. Let’s do that.”

As he answered with a smile, the air seemed to tremble.

The two of them began walking toward the sparring ground.

“The strange ones are fighting each other right from the start. The rest of you, find opponents and fight as you see fit. Or do not. I do not care.”

The instructor sounded indifferent.

A few trainees seemed to search for sparring partners after hearing him, but most eyes remained fixed on Peng Dojun and Heavenly Sword.

A Heavenly Demon candidate.

One of the handful of younger-generation prodigies in the current Demonic Cult considered most suited to become the Heavenly Demon.

Even with the Young Cult Leader already in place, Heavenly Sword had still become a candidate. That position naturally drew everyone’s attention.

And even aside from that, his opponent was Peng Dojun.

The orthodox faction’s younger-generation prodigy against a Demonic Cult Heavenly Demon candidate.

Everyone’s interest was focused on their spar.

I was no different.

I was worried about what kind of madness Peng Dojun might pull, when—

“Hey.”

“...Hm?”

Someone approached me and spoke.

“Why don’t you spar with me?”

A faint floral fragrance drifted over.

It was neither cloying nor unpleasant. It was just enough.

The kind of scent that made it obvious its owner had released it on purpose.

Hyo Yeonri.

The woman said to possess a romantic calamity stood before me.

“With me?”

But she wanted to spar with me?

It was an extremely unexpected proposal.

“Yes. With me.”

“...You mean, Lady Hyo wants to spar with me?”

“Why are you asking twice?”

“Because it is surprising.”

How could it not be?

Of all people, I had not expected this woman to ask me for a spar.

That was the feeling I got.

She was not an idiot, nor was she the sort of person under someone else’s spell.

But why me?

She had nothing to gain from sparring with me, so why bother?

Just as I failed to understand it at all—

“Are you more competitive than you look?”

“Not particularly. But there can be people you want to fight, can’t there? I am a martial artist too.”

That was true enough.

But still.

The Hyo Yeonri I had seen did not seem like that sort of person.

Perhaps I was wrong because °• N ?? v ?? l i g h t •° I had never paid much attention to her, but my judgment was usually not mistaken.

That means she has some other reason.

She clearly had another purpose beyond simply wanting to fight.

But what was it?

I looked at Hyo Yeonri.

Her eyes were half-lidded, her breathing steady. And judging by the slight sway of her movements—

She is still trying to charm me, even now.

Whether it was a habit or something else, her particular seductiveness was painfully obvious.

It was not just her movements, either.

The energy of her soul is irritating.

Romantic calamity was connected to karma that originated in the soul.

Naturally, it was not something that simply appeared for no reason. Sometimes, it could interfere with other people’s souls as well.

It affected more than appearances. It could touch the soul itself and lead it into corruption.

That was why people said getting tangled up with a romantic calamity was dangerous.

Still.

This level of romantic calamity did not so much as make me flinch.

I had seen something far worse at close range.

There had once been a woman who could control the minds of the opposite sex merely by breathing, who could make herself the center of a man’s life with nothing but a glance.

In other words, a bitch.

There had been a woman so vile that even I, someone who almost never cursed, had called her a bitch.

What had happened to her?

She died.

She met a truly godawful end.

That was the price of being born with a romantic calamity and exploiting it.

Yet this woman, whose karma did not even seem to be half as severe, thought she could try something on me?

It was laughable.

“Fine.”

So I decided to test the waters.

“If we spar, what will you offer me?”

What would Hyo Yeonri stake on this spar?

As though answering my question at once, Hyo Yeonri spoke.

“My body.”

“What?”

“I’ll give you my body. What do you think?”

The atmosphere changed instantly at the sweetly breathed words.

Not because her own presence changed.

Everyone around us had turned to look this way.

The Demonic Cultists, who had been controlling their emotions reasonably well until then, released killing intent all at once.

It was enough to make me laugh in disbelief.

Their jealousy is no joke.

Killing intent laced with jealousy.

Their desire to put me in the ground was obvious.

Crazy bastards.

It seemed they had all been focused on Hyo Yeonri.

They reacted to her words in an instant.

This was exactly why romantic calamity was troublesome.

“I am not interested.”

“Oh my. Why not? I have a really nice figure.”

“...Whether it is good or bad, I am not interested. Even if I got your body, there would be nothing in it for me.”

“...Are you perhaps impotent, Young Master?”

“That is an unbelievably rude thing to say. No.”

Who was she calling impotent?

“Then... do you prefer men...?”

“May I hit you?”

“I am not really the type who enjoys getting hit... though if we are doing that, I prefer the opposite side.”

“Enough jokes. Get to the point.”

“Ahaha. That did not work either.”

Hyo Yeonri smiled charmingly.

Then—

“How about I get you out from under the Office of Justice’s scrutiny...?”

“...”

She finally revealed what she had been hiding.

The Office of Justice.

My eyes twitched faintly at the words.

Well, well.

They were the people who had come that morning, saying they intended to investigate the incident at Seoman Inn.

And Hyo Yeonri said she would get me out from under their watch?

How strange.

And—

It is not as though I need it.

I had already thought of a way to escape their attention.

Even so—

“Fine.”

I accepted Hyo Yeonri’s offer.

Because I was curious.

How exactly did she intend to get me out from under the Office of Justice’s scrutiny?

And more importantly—

How is she connected to them?

I wanted to know exactly how a woman like Hyo Yeonri was involved with them.

“Let’s spar.”

“Good. I look forward to it.”

With a soft rustle, Hyo Yeonri walked toward the sparring ground.

Just before I followed her—

Hm?

I felt someone watching me.

Yu Yeon.

For some reason, she was staring at me.

With a distinctly suspicious look in her eyes.