Chapter 44

Chapter 44 — Red Leg (2)

G-Good heavens! Is this even possible? That slave... he's not being pushed back by Hyung at all...?

Hong Mun and every other member of the caravan watched the fight in stunned silence.

The masked fighter smiled and spoke to Donggu.

Now that they had already exchanged blows, there was no longer any need for pretense.

"You must have been the one who dealt with the men in Yeongsan."

"That's right."

"Why?"

"They drew their swords first."

"So I hit them."

The masked fighter froze.

"...They were the ones who drew their weapons first?"

"That's right."

"...I see."

The masked man stared at Donggu for a moment before shaking his head.

You can tell after exchanging fists with someone.

His will is straight and solid. He's not the sort to lie about something like this.

It's much easier to believe that fool Gwidol drew his sword first.

Haah, that idiot.

If his subordinates had been the ones to draw their weapons first, then this was not a situation where he should seek revenge.

It was one where he ought to apologize.

Haha. What a mess.

Still... my blood's already boiling.

The masked fighter realized his mistake and thought for a moment.

But right now, he wanted to finish the fight.

"It seems I misunderstood."

"...Still, I'd like to see this match through to the end."

"That's exactly what I want."

The masked fighter glanced at Donggu's left arm and smiled faintly.

"...It won't take long."

Throughout the fight, Donggu's left arm had been moving ever so slightly awkwardly.

No ordinary person would have noticed.

But the masked fighter easily caught the subtle difference.

He injured it blocking my kick.

"Hup!"

The masked fighter shot forward.

To everyone else, it looked as though he had simply vanished.

"H-He disappeared!"

"...No! He's below!"

Whoosh!

As dust kicked up beneath his footwork, the masked fighter slipped into Donggu's blind spot.

"Keeping your left arm raised awkwardly was your mistake."

"You were trying to hide the injury, weren't you?"

"...!"

Then he launched a kick toward Donggu's jaw.

BOOOOOOM!

A deep groan came from within the obscured field of vision.

"...Kgh!"

Did Donggu lose? Damn it. He better not be seriously hurt...!

As the dust settled, Donggu came into view, staggering slightly.

"Is it over?!"

But...

The groan had not come from Donggu.

Splurt!

"...Kgh."

The masked fighter dropped to one knee and coughed up blood.

The caravan members immediately erupted in fury and drew their swords.

"Y-You bastard! How dare you!"

"What kind of underhanded trick did you use?!"

"...Enough!"

"Do you intend to disgrace yourselves?"

"...!"

The masked fighter barked sharply, then turned to Donggu with respect.

"That was a good fight."

"You weren't bad either."

At the moment the masked fighter had launched his kick, Donggu had smiled.

"I'll give you my left arm."

"......!"

In that split second, the masked fighter realized Donggu had only been pretending to be injured in order to lure him in.

Donggu blocked the kick with his left arm...

Then drove his right fist into the masked fighter's abdomen.

BOOOOM!

The masked fighter coughed up more blood and spoke.

"We'll exchange all your coins."

"W-We can't do that!"

Hong Mun immediately protested.

The exchange itself wasn't the problem.

He simply couldn't bear to watch his leader admit defeat.

"Although you allowed one clean hit, his injury is considerable as well!"

"If you'd continued fighting to the end, you surely would've won!"

"..."

Hong Mun's argument wasn't entirely baseless.

Donggu had used cleverness to land a decisive strike.

But in return, his left arm had taken a serious hit.

The masked fighter answered coldly.

"Hong Mun."

"...Y-Yes!"

"Don't argue with me."

"...I obey!"

Only after the fight ended, when Hong Gil began chuckling to himself, did Hong Mun finally show his resentment.

"Leader... no, Hyung!"

"Why did you do that?!"

"Why are you making such a fuss?"

Hong Mun remembered the moment Hong Gil had apologized to Doyul.

"I owe you an apology."

"I was discourteous."

"My name is Hong Gil."

"...H-Hong Giiiiil!"

"Why did you bow your head to him?!"

"You are our sun, Hyung!"

"The sun that bows to no one!"

"The brightest sun of all!"

Dun!

Hong Mun normally served as Hong Gil's strategist and treated the Bandit King, leader of all eight provinces, like royalty.

But in his frustration, his old way of speaking slipped out.

Hong Gil did not rebuke him.

He only smiled.

"I merely wanted to exchange blows with someone strong."

"The other side did nothing wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"The men in Yeongsan drew their swords first."

"They were the ones who disobeyed my orders."

"But...!"

"Hong Mun."

"That man was my equal."

"If our people got beaten, it was only because they rushed at someone far beyond their level like moths into a storm."

"If a man charges into a typhoon and dies, can he blame the typhoon?"

"..."

Hong Mun finally lowered his head.

Hong Gil continued slowly.

"And as for bowing my head..."

"I'll bow as many times as necessary for my family."

"...What?"

"What do you think would've happened if that monster had returned to Yeongsan seeking revenge?"

"......!"

"Though he didn't seem like the sort who would."

Only then did Hong Mun understand the greater meaning behind Hong Gil's actions.

...He values his foolish family more than his own pride.

The entire incident had begun because the bandits had disobeyed orders and attempted to plunder travelers.

Yet Hong Gil had still chosen to protect them.

"...A-Ahem! Even so, if you had truly shown your full strength, you would've crushed that man too!"

"Thank you for saying that."

"Still..."

"Why did you reveal your real name to that scholar?"

"If I'm going to give a proper apology, I should show at least that much sincerity."

Hong Gil's apology had not been for starting the fight.

It had been an apology for the trouble caused by his foolish subordinates.

"...I understand your intentions, Hyung, but I'm worried your generosity may cause trouble."

"Your name is not widely known."

"Most people only know the title Honggak."

"But if you keep revealing your name like this, it is only a matter of time before word spreads!"

"...Hong Mun."

"Yes?"

Hong Gil recalled his final exchange with Doyul.

"That man already knew who I was."

"W-What do you mean?"

"Thank you for understanding."

"Not at all. From the beginning, didn't we agree not to make an issue of this?"

"And..."

"...?"

"I'll see you again in Daegu soon."

Hong Gil smirked.

I thought I had read his moves.

Turns out he had read mine from beginning to end.

The leader of all eight provinces, Hong Gil, thought of the two remarkable men he had encountered in Eonyang.

Then he dropped onto the ground and laughed.

Flop!

"L-Leader!"

"I want them."

"But... I can't steal them yet."

"Do you mean the man you fought?"

"Him too."

"There are two, not one."

"...Who's the other?"

"That's for me to know."

Hong Gil rose from the ground, brushed off the dust, and spoke calmly.

"That was fun."

"Now let's go."

"Yes!"

Then Hong Gil's voice turned as cold as a freshly sharpened blade.

"We're going to save our family..."

"And protect our home."

"Donggu, are you okay?"

"What are you asking about?"

"Your left arm."

"Didn't you hurt it just now?"

"Ah."

Donggu answered casually.

"It'll be fine after I sleep."

"What?"

Doyul stared at him in disbelief.

Donggu looked even more confused.

"Pain normally goes away after you sleep."

"Didn't you know that?"

"Uh... right."

There had been a sound like a cannonball exploding when Donggu blocked Hong Gil's attack.

But if Doyul started questioning things like that, there would be no end to it.

So he gave up almost immediately.

"...Fine."

"It doesn't hurt, right?"

"I'm perfectly fine."

Donggu genuinely didn't look injured, so Doyul relaxed.

"You worked hard."

"Thanks to you, we exchanged all the coins for silver and got rid of a major problem."

"It was nothing."

"I enjoyed myself too."

"That guy was strong."

A sudden curiosity came over Doyul.

This is more than I expected.

Donggu fought the strongest character in the setting on equal terms.

No... maybe he even had the advantage.

After the battle, Hong Gil had revealed his own name, making the identity of both the fighter and the caravan clear.

"Donggu."

"If you'd fought all the way to the end, what do you think would've happened?"

"I don't know."

"Hm?"

"We were both holding back."

"Neither of us used weapons."

"So I can't say who would've won."

Donggu's answer was strange.

"You both held back?"

"But you're completely fine while he took real damage."

"He'll be fine too after a nap."

Considering Donggu's absurd recovery, it wasn't impossible that Hong Gil was the same.

"...What weapon are you talking about?"

"You know how to use one?"

Donggu looked at him as though the answer were obvious.

"Of course?"

Doyul had no idea why that was supposed to be obvious.

Still, he continued.

"...What weapon do you use?"

"Obviously..."

"Huh?"

Donggu stopped.

Ahead of them stood one cow...

And one small masked figure.

"...Yeoni?"

Flinch!

Yeoni startled and quickly hid behind Bangul.

"Mooooooo!"

Bangul cried as though unfairly accused of something.

Donggu nodded.

"Mm. That makes sense."

"Bangul was protecting her, so it's fine."

"Moooo."

How are you two communicating?

While Doyul rubbed his aching head, Kang Bokman returned from wherever he had gone.

"Scholar!"

"Why are you still here in the market instead of taking her back to the government office?"

Kang Bokman scratched his head awkwardly.

"Well... Yeoni suddenly climbed down from Bangul's back."

"..."

The situation had begun like this.

Following Doyul's orders, Kang Bokman had been taking Yeoni back to the government office with Bangul.

Then Yeoni suddenly stopped in front of a street stall and refused to move.

"Haha. Yeoni, do you want that?"

"Moooo."

Yeoni had been unable to take her eyes off one of the toys.

Feeling sorry for her, Kang Bokman asked her to watch Bangul for a moment while he went to get some money.

"Shouldn't Bangul be watching Yeoni instead?"

"How is Yeoni supposed to protect Bangul?"

"What? Scholar, what are you talking about?"

"How could delicate little Bangul possibly protect Yeoni?"

"...Never mind."

"What toy did Yeoni want?"

Yeoni shifted awkwardly, embarrassed and apologetic, while sneaking glances toward something.

"Oh, you've finally decided to buy it?"

At the stallkeeper's words, Doyul approached.

"Excuse me, Elder."

"Which item was this child interested in?"

The merchant pointed toward a spinning top.

"This one."

"It's a high-quality piece."

"Seems our little customer has a good eye. She couldn't stop staring at it."

A spinning top?

I didn't know Yeoni liked things like that.

Doyul found it slightly strange.

Then he noticed the other goods at the stall.

...Wait.

There were wooden soldiers.

Toy bows.

Wooden swords.

They all had one thing in common.

They were toys usually given to boys.

Doyul gently asked,

"Yeoni."

"Do you want to buy this spinning top for your younger sibling?"

"...!"

Yeoni looked startled.

Then she hid farther behind Bangul and gave a tiny nod.

"...I see."

Doyul's heart ached.

She's never asked for anything for herself.

And the first thing she wants is a present for her sibling.

A gift for her younger sibling was fine.

But Doyul wanted to buy something for Yeoni too.

And then...

"I met an incredible guy just now."

"But Bangul is stronger."

"Moo?"

...Come to think of it.

They've all worked so hard for me, and I've never really bought them anything.

Doyul pulled out a silver coin.

"Elder."

"I'll take every toy on this stall."

"A-All of them?"

Doyul glanced to the side.

The neighboring stall had gonggi stones, hairpins, and other things a young girl might enjoy.

"Oh."

"I'll take those too."

"Scholar, do you need anything else?"

"Just say the word. I'll bring everything out!"

The merchant's attitude became dramatically friendlier the instant Doyul started spending freely.

Doyul turned around.

Yeoni looked completely lost.

The rest of his companions were staring with wide eyes.

"Y-You're buying all of that?"

"M-Moo?"

"S-Scholar...?"

"...You think I'm stopping with just this?"

Doyul smiled.

All right.

Let's finally spend some of this money properly.