"What was that?"
"The Instructor said so, did he not? That if you wish to settle a matter of right and wrong, you duel."
"Y-you little......."
"And if that is not your intention, let go. Your breath stinks."
"......."
When the boy, collar gripped, did not resist but looked up at him with a languid expression and spoke, Jaegal Mun-ho's face flushed crimson.
That had been the point of saying it.
In fact he had been feeling the children's looks for a good while.
Unfriendly looks, of course.
They were loaded with disregard and contempt.
Children of that age cannot hide their feelings as a rule, so he had meant not to mind, but it kept nagging at him.
How to put it?
Something like a kind he had felt a very long time ago, so long he could hardly remember it?
Thanks to which he was experiencing nostalgia.
Several hundred children thrown in with nothing but a single dagger pressed into their bare hands, for the sake of training.......
He was the one who had survived in there.
Those were good times.
It could not be done that way in the Jaegal Clan, but if he wanted to be left in peace there was a need to stamp down the young ones.
"What are you doing? Were you all talk?"
Act, you wretch.
Am I not waiting here with such great expectations?
How long do you mean to stand there with your eyelids trembling, nothing but angry?
"Very well, then! If that is what you want, I shall oblige!"
"......."
At those words the corners of Jaegal Mun-hyeon's mouth split wide and lifted.
A good choice.
That is how you ought to come at me.
Letting go of the collar, Jaegal Mun-ho fell back and opened the distance.
At the untimely commotion the gazes inside the Heavenly Star Pavilion gathered, and the children swarmed in.
Naturally the gaze of Yu Gang-hu, who had been sitting near the pavilion, gathered too.
Two children facing each other.
Since the Heavenly Star Pavilion's training grounds were used by different levels in different spaces, only lower-class trainees were around them.
Five bearing the Jaegal name.
And children of the collateral lines bearing other surnames.
'That fellow's first duel, is it.......'
What drew Yu Gang-hu's interest was Jaegal Mun-hyeon alone.
Having begun training at the Heavenly Star Pavilion at the young age of seven, he had finished the basics of the Heavenly Mystery Maze Step in a single day and come to stand on equal footing with fellows who had trained for years.
Enough not to be pushed back even by the level of the Jaegal Mun-ho facing him.
An astonishing thing.
That a fellow who had only just begun should be at a level similar to one who had trained two years.
By rights it was a situation in which he ought to demand the reason and put a stop to it, but unable to restrain his curiosity he wanted to watch a while.
"What are you doing? Not coming at me? Shall I go first?"
Irritated at the sight of Jaegal Mun-ho, who only glared and showed no intention of moving, Jaegal Mun-hyeon asked.
"This is a duel in name; we can hardly do it just like that, can we?"
"......."
"Let us make a wager."
"A wager?"
At those words Jaegal Mun-hyeon sighed.
Here was a fellow who had learned a great many bad habits.
They say there is no cure for a man who falls into gambling.
"The loser becomes the winner's underling."
"Hmm."
"Well? If you are afraid, go and fetch the water even now."
At that, Jaegal Mun-hyeon let out a short laugh.
As one would expect of children, he had apparently taken a sudden fancy to playing alley boss.
But what a fine idea it is.
He offers to become my underling himself, so there is no reason to refuse.
"All right, let us do that."
"You are my junior, so I shall yield you the first strike."
"Hm?"
"Considering the gap in skill between us, it is only proper."
At the sight of Jaegal Mun-ho swaggering to the full with an eye on the watching crowd, a sigh came.
Have you even seen what my skill is?
Children or grown men, this is the trouble with the orthodox lot.
The Taoists hold that to strike first and subdue is not their Way, and shun it.
Useless ceremony.
Croak and it is over; what is this about yielding?
Honestly, those without skill always talk a fine line.
Still, since the honorable elder cousin was yielding the first strike, there was no reason to refuse.
And on the faces of the children around them there was not the smallest tension.
Then again, seven years old against twelve.
Not one of them would expect him to win. At this age a year or two makes a clear difference in strength.
Generally speaking, that is.
CLICK.
THUD! THUD THUD THUD!
The iron rings unfastened one after another from his wrists and ankles.
"Huh?"
Everyone seemed startled.
Because the sound alone told them the weight.
Since no one had imagined he was wearing such things on his body.
Not the children, nor even Yu Gang-hu.
And Jaegal Mun-ho too seemed to feel that something had gone wrong.
But it was too early to be startled.
"The first strike is mine, yes?"
"You? W-wait......."
Before the words were out, Jaegal Mun-hyeon grinned and put his first foot forward.
"Oh!"
The children too.
"Wh-what is that?"
And Yu Gang-hu, watching from a distance, shot to his feet.
The Heavenly Mystery Maze Step, Heavenly Qi Flash.
A method of expelling qi all at once to close distance swiftly.
And the level of it was far too fine.
He slid as though the ground were a sheet of ice and came right up before Jaegal Mun-ho in a single stroke.
But could the astonishment of the watchers match Jaegal Mun-ho's?
He could not even react.
He stood stupidly frozen with the expression of a man who had seen a ghost.
Until Jaegal Mun-hyeon's fist traced a great arc and buried itself deep in his belly.
THWAAACK—!
Perhaps thanks to his diligent strength training while wearing the iron rings about, the power was respectable.
Jaegal Mun-ho's body folded forward.
"Gaah! W-wait......."
Wait, indeed?
You said you would be my underling, did you not?
Then as your master I must carve into your heart the kind of fear you can never escape even when you are grown.
That is how one keeps a man from dreaming vain dreams like betrayal.
SNATCH!
Jaegal Mun-hyeon seized Jaegal Mun-ho's hair.
He hauled it down and at the same moment his rising knee detonated against Jaegal Mun-ho's face.
CRUNCH—!
The impact snapped the head up and Jaegal Mun-ho's body stretched out straight.
But the hair was still in his grip.
THWACK! THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK!
The punching was merry and Jaegal Mun-ho danced.
Moving left and moving right, according to the direction of the swinging fist.
The fellow knew how to take a beating, at least.
'Oof, that clears the chest right out.'
How long had it been?
At the Myriad Books Pavilion it had been nothing but venom.
But now the Jaegal's martial arts had seeped into his body and every motion was natural.
A duel is a fine thing.
They say you may beat a man to your heart's content and no one will say a word.
When he let go of the hair for a moment while savoring the pleasure, Jaegal Mun-ho's body began to slide down.
'Ah, no!'
That will not do.
Carving fear of me into his bones had a long way to go yet. And after so long without the feel of it in his hands, why end this already?
THWACK—!
Struck on the jaw by the rising foot, Jaegal Mun-ho had to get back up whether he willed it or not.
And then the beating resumed.
It was like standing a doll up and circling it front and back and side to side while training fist and foot techniques.
There were no cheers for a victor already decided.
Every one of them stared with mouths gaping in horror, and a few shook with faces thoroughly sickened.
"St-stop!"
Yu Gang-hu could watch no longer.
He had thought them similar, but was this not a gap far too wide?
But as though he had gone deaf, Jaegal Mun-hyeon ignored the order to stop and kept swinging his fists.
"You wretch! Did I not say to stop!"
In the end Yu Gang-hu stepped in, pulled Jaegal Mun-hyeon away, and examined Jaegal Mun-ho, who lay trembling like a trampled insect.
"Uhhh......."
He had not died, but he had been beaten to the edge of it.
His face was swollen fat. Enough that his own parents would not have known him.
Still, do not worry.
Only fear had been planted; no internal injuries had been dealt.
"You wretch! What is the meaning of this!"
"......What of it?"
"What was that?"
"The one who told me to settle matters of right and wrong by duel was you, Instructor. You also said a martial artist persuades by strength. And since I did not request it, he did, it can hardly be said I broke the order of rank either."
"......."
A duel?
Not a one-sided beating?
It was dumbfounding beyond measure.
A seven-year-old had taken a twelve-year-old...... not merely beaten him but reduced him to pulp, and his breathing had not even roughened.
And it was his own fault for not stopping it, so he could not blame Jaegal Mun-hyeon. Only, his hand had been far too cruel.
"......You were already past Mun-ho's level of skill. And yet!"
"Should I have gone easy, then?"
"What was that?"
"Outwardly I was in the far more disadvantageous position, was I not? My training period was shorter and my frame is smaller."
"......."
"Above all, it is strange that you scold me and not Jaegal Mun-ho. It seems the Heavenly Star Pavilion rules you spoke of are applied differently according to the outcome, do they not?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"The first rule: within the Heavenly Star Pavilion one does not put forward one's inborn bloodline or family. Which is to say that regardless of high or low birth, everyone is merely a trainee alike. Correct?"
"Th-that is......."
"Then surely one ought to fetch the water one means to drink oneself?"
"......."
"While the children of the direct line rest, the trainees of the collateral lines diligently fetch water even during the rest period and tidy the training ground once training ends...... Surely the rule is not merely stated and then left unattended?"
At the words laid out point by point, Yu Gang-hu could not answer.
Because there was not one thing wrong in them.
"I kept the rules and acted as I was taught, so I trust it will not be held a problem, Instructor."
"......."
"If you have nothing further to say, may I go now? By the look of it Mun-ho needs to be sent to the infirmary quickly."
At Jaegal Mun-hyeon's words Yu Gang-hu nodded without speaking.
"Thank you for your work today as well."
Having bobbed a bow, Jaegal Mun-hyeon looked at the children, who were still gathered, and said,
"If any of you should want a duel, say so. I shall take you on as underlings any time. Understood?"
"......."
A duel? Why would they.......
And taking them on as underlings out of nowhere.
What sort of nonsense was that?
But at Jaegal Mun-hyeon's words the children quietly lowered their blinking eyes.
Reverence?
No need for any such thing.
It is said in the Demonic Cult that true majesty arises from overwhelming strength.
***
That night.
"A d-duel?"
"That is correct."
Yu Gang-hu came to see Jaegal Do-yun, who had returned from his post.
A home visit, in effect.
That Jaegal Mun-hyeon had been made to kneel beside them was entirely to be expected.
'This damned bastard...... after telling me a duel was perfectly fine.'
Only, he had been unable to say a word in the face of the boy's own boldness, and had now come to the parents to tattle, so there was no helping the anger.
"What do you mean by that? There is not a scratch on Mun-hyeon."
"It was one-sided."
"O-one-sided? Our Mun-hyeon is a mere seven years old. And he has not been attending the Heavenly Star Pavilion long......."
"One-sided even so. His duel opponent was carried to the infirmary."
"What did you say?"
Jaegal Do-yun's eyes went round and he looked back and forth between his son and Yu Gang-hu.
Having been through it once already, worry struck him all at once.
"And, wh-who was the opponent?"
"Mun-ho."
"Wh-what did you say?"
Father was startled to an excessive degree.
Why?
He had just tilted his head, when.
"Does the Clan Head know?"
"Yes."
At those words Jaegal Mun-hyeon's face twisted sharply.
Why does the Clan Head come into it here?
Jaegal Mun-ho was not the Clan Head's son.
The Clan Head, widowed long ago, had no children.
And yet.......
"Mun-hyeon."
"Yes."
"Why did you do it?"
"Pardon?"
"How could you do that to Mun-ho......."
It was strange.
The attitude of the father who had always taken his side had changed.
"Haa. Yes. You would not have known."
"......?"
"Mun-ho is......."
Jaegal Mun-hyeon, who had been listening with a sullen expression at the sense that his father had somehow grown distant, soon screwed up his face.
Jaegal Mun-ho.
He was the posthumous child of the second uncle, who had departed this life long ago.
A son who had lost his father before he was even born.
'Ah, so that fellow is.......'
Something So-hye had once said came back to him.
That before him, he had been the one to show the finest talent.
That had evidently been Jaegal Mun-ho.
And it was said that, pitiable circumstances aside, the Clan Head had meant to take him as an adopted son and appoint him Young Master for his outstanding talent.
A fellow in a sorry position.
'Damn it, did I know? And he was the one who picked the quarrel.'
Either way, right and wrong do not change.
If anything, with a character like that, is it not all the more reason to teach him by beating him even if one feels sorry for him?
......and on the other side of that thought.
'Surely he will not fail to be adopted because he was beaten by me?'
He felt needlessly sorry.
He had seen plenty of it in the Demonic Cult.
Fellows whose characters formed strangely because of brutal training...... perhaps, like them, the child had been bent a little by the circumstances he was placed in. I should have gone softer on him.
It was while he was coming to understand the heart of a father who would not take his side.
"I explained to the Clan Head myself, so that there would be no misunderstanding. Since it occurred during a duel, it should be no great problem. If anything, on hearing my explanation he marveled at how outstanding Mun-hyeon's talent is."
"Did he now?"
Jaegal Do-yun looked somewhat relieved, but his mood did not seem much improved.
"Hall Leader."
"Speak."
"If it is acceptable to you, might I take charge of raising Mun-hyeon myself?"
"Hm? Take charge of raising him? Surely you do not mean?"
"Yes. I thought I might become his personal martial master."
"What?"
"I can say without hesitation that I have never seen talent like that. I have already given the Pavilion Master my resignation. Please grant me permission to teach him."
These were words he had never anticipated.
Hey, I am in the middle of feeling wretchedly sorry here, and you come barreling in like this?
A master?
Unless this fellow has gone mad!
One of them is already more nuisance than I can bear, so why must you do this too!
But he could not get a word out.
Because Jaegal Mun-ho's position was so very pitiable.