“You didn’t have to go this far...”
“I insisted on covering the cost of your treatment. Truly.”
“Right, you'd better accept it. Medicine isn’t cheap these days.”
Sinclair had taken a minor wound while rescuing these guys. It was barely a scratch compared to the bruises he usually sported, but apparently, they didn’t see it that way. So, where exactly were we now?
“You live pretty well here, Seongcheol?”
“Huh? Really? And I’m not Seongcheol, I’m Ji-hyeon...”
“Sorry, Sangcheol.”
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?!”
We were crashing at the apartment of that Caust boy for the time being.
“You really fight well, you know?”
“Ah... that’s because I’m training to be a Resolver candidate... haha...”
“I see... With skill like that, even the Association would be interested!”
The Association? What was that—just a bigger office? Some kind of corporation, like those larger mercenary groups such as Blacksteel?
Hmm. If the Sword Sect doesn’t pay off, maybe I really should try becoming a Resolver.
“By the way... why did you become a Magpie and do such dangerous work? Was it because of your talent?”
“Why? What the hell is a 'Magpie' that everyone keeps calling me that?”
They’d called me that at the market stall, Moejang had told me to pull my cap down over my head, and those thugs earlier had been curious about my head, too.
“You really don’t know?”
“No. I’m an orphan. Nobody ever taught me that sort of thing.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that!”
“It’s fine. It’s not something I chose or abandoned. Unless I did abandon it and just feel guilty, I suppose.”
“...You’re a freak.”
“They always say that. Anyway, I’ll apologize on their behalf.”
So what? Being an orphan isn’t a crime. Abandonment isn’t a sin!
“Anyway, what exactly is a Magpie?”
“You know the first two tribes that founded Danguk were the Feline and the Ursus, right?”
“Yeah. I learned that from... well, from that instructor-like guy.”
Faust’s enthusiasm for teaching had seemed interesting to him, so he’d taught me a lot. I knew the basics vaguely anyway—it paralleled Korean myth.
“They founded the nation under the red catalpa tree—hence the name Danguk. Got that?”
“Yeah.”
“As the country expanded, various races gradually migrated here. The first wave was the Liberi—and among them, the Magpies.”
“Oh? Really? That wasn’t in the lesson.”
“And since they stayed close to the dynasty for so long, Magpies naturally occupy many high state offices. Right?”
“Wait, hold on—so I might actually be a total silver spoon?”
It turned out that Magpies weren’t just a high-ranking class, but a race seen as symbols of fortune—a kind of mascot woven into the fabric of society. I might have literally been born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
“Fine. Whoever dumped me in that alley... when I find them, I’ll cut them in half.”
At the very least, they could have sent me to a shelter instead of tossing me into a back alley. What kind of manners are those?
“That kid... is he okay?”
“He’s like that sometimes. Don’t worry. He’s weird, sure, but he's not a bad person.”
“Oh. Speaking of which, I almost forgot to say thanks again for the help.”
“Now? I’ll call it even with the cost of the medicine.”
His wound treatment was finished, and the only question remaining was where to find our target...
“Hey, if you’re really grateful, let me borrow your TV.”
The broadcast looked just like the familiar nine-o’clock news, even though it was broad daylight.
“Next, in major news: the court announced its intention to launch a full-scale suppression against the residual Sword Sect forces that crossed into the south and plundered the populace—”
“Nope, that’s not it...”
Residual Sword Sect forces moving south... that can’t be us, right?
“This is outrageous! It’s all false charges!”
“Hey you! Watch what you say!”
“False charges? What false charges?”
“You really know nothing. Right now, the court is firmly in the hands of the Right State Councillors—it’s totally their world.”
“I see... but what does that have to do with false charges?”
“When power was almost usurped, the first thing they did was purge the Sword Sect. They don’t want sharp blades at their side.”
I see. So we’re not bounty hunters... but it still felt off. They said “suppression,” not just expulsion.
“Regardless, I believe the honorable Sword Sect will return!”
Poor Sua is so naive. We aren't exactly paragons of virtue.
Of course, as Moejang said, swinging a sword for others might be our fundamental creed, but the sword we swing still points at someone. Slaying one person to protect our own—can that really be called justice? Probably not. And given the people above me, like Lee Sang and Faust, who already carry reputations as “killers,” it’s laughable to talk about justice. The Sword Sect forces that headed south had started crossing the line as soon as their livelihoods ran out.
“Swords that have lost their cause—what justice can they possibly uphold...”
“What?! What do you mean by that?”
Ah. I’d spoken too plainly.
“Sua, calm down a bit...”
“That’s exactly my point! Charges are charges, and from what they’re doing now, how are they any different from ruffians?”
Honestly, I don’t know. How many like Commander Meursault still strive to preserve the Sword Sect’s true nature, and how many are merely opportunistic sectarians? No matter how pure a drop of water is, once it touches mud, it ceases to be pure. Right now, we’re just droplets trapped in the mire.
“Y-yeah. You two, please...”
“What do you know! Even with some strength, you’re still the same!”
Sua’s face flushed red, and she dashed outside.
“Hm... I didn’t expect her to bolt.”
“I heard Sua’s family had been part of the Sword Sect up to her grandfather. He died before they were treated like this.”
“So that’s why she reacted so strongly?”
“Probably... she was proud that her grandfather was in the Sword Sect.”
That was a slip. I didn’t see that coming.
“I never guessed her grandfather was the commander—”
“Huh? Commander?”
“No, I mean... well...”
Beep beep beep—trrring!
“Ji-hyeon, Sua ran out. Did something happen?”
Middle-aged voices—likely her parents.
“Oh? Those shoes are unfamiliar...”
“You’re it, Sinclair. I choose you!”
“Whoa! Wait!!... Ah, hello?”
“Greet them properly.”
“...Who are you?”
Hm... chemical thieves? The Sword Sect aspirants on the news? Team Rocket? How should we introduce ourselves?
“My goodness, dear! They must be Ji-hyeon’s friends!”
“My word, I never thought my son would bring friends home!”
......
“P-please don’t look at me like I’m some pitiful creature...”
“...No, that’s not it...”
A dork rescuing the Sword Sect. Truly.
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