Childhood Friend of the Zenith

"What the hell are you?

"I asked as I looked at Gubong, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"…"The bastard didn’t answer my question.

I frowned as I looked at him.

His face was very swollen.

His eye socket was swollen and bloodshot.

There was no need to mention who had done it.

That wasn’t what concerned me.

‘He’s already walking around?

’Gubong had already recovered enough to walk.

That’s what caught my attention.

‘I didn’t exactly hold back, though.

’Of course, I hadn’t killed him—I was careful about that—but I hadn’t gone easy on him either.

I had been venting my anger and hit him with punches full of emotion, as if to crush him.

‘His recovery speed is definitely fast.

’Seeing him standing there now, I couldn’t help but laugh dryly.

"So, what?

Want to go at it again now that you’re up?

"I tilted my head slightly as I spoke.

"There won’t be a second time.

Next time, I’ll really kill you.

Got it?

"I had spared him once; there wouldn’t be a second time.

When I spoke with genuine menace, Gubong’s shoulders flinched.

He swallowed dryly and then stammered.

"…I-I didn’t come here to fight.

"He quickly added an explanation.

Not here to fight?

Then why?

"…The Grandmaster ordered me to guide the honored guests.

" "What?

"At those words, I frowned even harder.

‘Guide?

’Now that I thought about it, the old man had mentioned something about assigning a guide.

So, Gubong was the one he sent?

"That senile old man has completely lost it.

"I couldn’t believe it.

Of all people, why Gubong?

The guy who bore a grudge against me and then got beaten up for it?

And now he was supposed to guide me?

The old man really wasn’t in his right mind.

At my words, Gubong flinched slightly.

I looked at him and asked, "What?

Are you mad because I insulted the Grandmaster again?

" "…"I mocked him, and he bit his lip.

Then, unexpectedly—"I’m sorry.

"He suddenly bowed his head and apologized.

I stared at him with a blank expression.

"What are you doing?

"What was this guy’s deal?

Why was he suddenly acting like this?

"…I let my emotions take over and wronged you.

I sincerely apologize.

" "Hm.

"He bowed so deeply that I could see the top of his head.

I tilted my head slightly as I watched him.

Was he simply apologizing because he’d come to his senses?

‘Shin Noya must have done something.

’Life wasn’t that simple.

It was obvious Shin Noya had intervened.

That must have been why Gubong was being sent as a guide.

‘Still, it doesn’t seem like he’s entirely insincere.

’"Tsk.

"I clicked my tongue and sighed briefly.

"It doesn’t matter.

I’m the one who beat you up, anyway.

"If anyone had wronged anyone, I had been worse to him.

Gubong hadn’t done much to deserve it.

I didn’t really care about his apology.

I’d already let go of my grudge when I beat him up.

"So, just remember one thing.

"This was a simple warning.

"As I said earlier, there won’t be a second time.

"I laced my words with killing intent, and Gubong’s shoulders trembled violently.

"…I’ll keep that in mind….

"After hearing his response, I withdrew the killing intent.

Snorting, I stepped closer to him.

"So, what exactly are you guiding me for?

"When I asked what I was supposed to be guided on, Gubong’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"What do you mean…?

" "You said you’re here to guide me.

What exactly are you guiding me on?

" "Wait, did you not get any explanation?

" "Nope.

They just threw me out the door.

" "…"Gubong looked flustered.

I could tell just by looking at his face.

‘No explanation and just sent me off, huh?

That expression says it all.

’See?

Shin Noya really was out of his goddamn mind.

"You understand what’s going on, right?

" "…" "Explain as we go.

It’s not like I can turn back now, anyway.

"Since going back wasn’t an option, I decided to move forward and figure it out as we went.

******I walked alongside Gubong and Cheonma.

What stood out was that despite a perfectly good path being available, we were deliberately taking a mountain trail instead.

The terrain was rough, but with my level of stamina, it wasn’t particularly difficult.

Crunch.

I cleared away the branches in front of me as we climbed.

Meanwhile, Gubong kept talking without pause.

"We’re currently on our way to collect supplies, which we do once every full moon.

" "Supplies?

" "Yes.

" "You’ve got farmland here, don’t you?

Why do you need to go out for supplies?

" "While most of what we need can be produced internally, certain items like seasonings and specific goods are hard to come by.

" "Fair enough.

That makes sense.

"Considering we were surrounded by mountains, it wasn’t surprising that some things couldn’t be sourced locally.

"But why are there only three of us doing this?

"If the purpose was to collect supplies, wasn’t this essentially a trading mission?

Why only three people?

I couldn’t understand it.

And on top of that, we were going empty-handed.

Shouldn’t we at least have a cart or something to carry everything back?

"You don’t need to worry about that.

While we call it a supply run, the actual purpose is escort duty.

" "Escort duty?

" "Yes.

We’re tasked with protecting the disciples who will be bringing the supplies back.

" "…Ah, I see.

"I rubbed my forehead and spoke.

"So, after shoving me out without warning, the task you’re giving me is to protect some kids carrying food.

That’s it?

" "…That’s correct.

" "They’ve completely lost their minds.

"I thought they’d have something more impressive in mind when they kicked me out like that.

But this was it?

Protecting people bringing food?

It was absurd.

"That First Disciple, Seol Yeong or whatever her name is, said the Second Disciples were all out of the sect.

Are they all out doing this kind of thing?

"At my question, Gubong’s expression darkened slightly.

"Not all of them.

Only a portion of the disciples are assigned to this task.

The others are handling more important duties.

" "Hm.

"So not everyone was out collecting food.

That was a small relief, at least.

But as we continued, a thought crossed my mind.

‘Fine, getting kicked out I can accept.

Even being told to guard food carriers, sure.

’No matter what Shin Noya’s intentions were, I trusted he wouldn’t assign me something that would harm me.

The problem was—"Where exactly are you getting these supplies from?

"If they couldn’t be produced internally and had to be sourced externally, where were they coming from?

As I pondered whether there might be some other village nearby, Gubong finally answered.

"Yahwol Palace.

" "Yahwol Palace?

" "A nation to the north.

"Hearing that, I let out a surprised sound.

So, it really exists?

‘Well… now that I think about it, it’s ridiculous to imagine the entire land here being solely occupied by Shin Noya’s Mount Hua Sect.

’I’d never given it much thought before.

I’d been so preoccupied with other things that it hadn’t even crossed my mind.

‘Right, of course there could be other places out there.

’It was an obvious conclusion, in hindsight.

If anything, it was Shin Noya’s decision to establish the Mount Hua Sect here in the The Myriad Realms that seemed strange.

‘Sure, let’s say he founded it.

But what’s the deal with the people gathered there?

’A sect filled with all kinds of creatures.

The barrier surrounding it and the friction with the so-called leader of the The Myriad Realms.

What exactly had Shin Noya been doing here all this time?

And what position was he in?

Those questions suddenly nagged at me.

But in the end—‘We’re heading to another faction now.

’A nation in the The Myriad Realms that wasn’t the Mount Hua Sect.

"Go see it for yourself.

"That thought intertwined with Shin Noya’s words in my head.

And while the situation itself was separate—To say I wasn’t curious would be a lie.

***********We walked for another half day after that.

Literally just walked.

No running, no martial footwork—just walking.

Frustrated, I asked why we weren’t running, and Gubong answered.

"It’s a rule set by the Grandmaster to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.

"So it was a rule established by Shin Noya himself.

Walking all the way to another location as a rule?

I found it strange, but I didn’t question it further.

Now that I thought about it, Noya had walked when he took us to Mount Hua Sect as well.

There must’ve been a reason.

Sure, there had to be a reason.

Otherwise—Squeeze.

—I wouldn’t be able to make sense of this damn ear.

Feeling the sensation on my head, I scowled and looked at Cheonma.

"…Hey.

" "Yeah?

" "Who told you it was okay to touch me?

" "Got caught.

" "Got caught?

You blatantly touched me, and now you’re saying that?

"Unbelievable.

We were walking along, and she had casually reached out to touch me like I wouldn’t notice?

"Cut it out.

" "Since I’ve been caught, can’t I touch it just a little longer?

" "Get lost.

" "Alright.

"Cheonma withdrew her hand reluctantly and fell back.

What the hell is her deal?

"Haah.

"It was beyond annoying.

My tail and ears were constantly on her mind.

And I had to endure this for three days?

I wanted to rip them off immediately.

Actually, should I just do it now?

Would it hurt if I tried to force them off?

Even if it did, maybe that’d be better.

I was seriously considering it when—"We’ve arrived," Gubong said from up ahead.

I stopped my hand and looked straight ahead.

We were still on a mountain trail surrounded by foliage, but beyond it, I could see something.

"…Hah.

"I let out a dry laugh the moment I saw it.

When I saw the Mount Hua Sect that Noya had built, I thought, ‘It’s pretty big.

’ But now, seeing this, even that thought didn’t come to mind.

‘This is insane.

’It was massive.

Compared to Mount Hua, this was on an entirely different scale.

‘If I had to compare it, it’s like Hanam Province.

’Its sheer size and grandeur were so immense that it felt like it could only be compared to an entire region.

It was, quite literally, a nation of its own.

That was the impression it left.

As I was silently marveling at it—"Honored guest, I must remind you once again.

Please, remember this," Gubong said, sounding concerned.

Annoyed, I replied, "Yeah, yeah, keep my mouth shut.

Don’t worry.

I’ll stay quiet.

"I wasn’t supposed to open my mouth unnecessarily.

It was something Gubong had repeated to the point of exhaustion on the way here.

"How many times are you going to say it?

Look, I even changed into the proper clothes.

"I had taken off my usual attire and changed into the uniform of the Mount Hua Sect.

Cheonma had done the same.

Apparently, wearing these was necessary to gain entry.

Changing clothes wasn’t a big deal, so I didn’t mind.

I was already following all the instructions quietly.

"…You must be extra cautious," Gubong said, still looking uneasy.

"I said I got it.

" "Truly…" "If you say it again, I’ll hit you.

" "…"Growling in irritation, I watched as Gubong finally shut his mouth.

Even then, his eyes were full of unease.

Seeing that, I clenched my fist, and Gubong turned his head and started walking again.

After a little while, we arrived at a massive city gate, with countless people coming and going through it.

At first glance, it didn’t look all that different from the interior of Mount Hua Sect.

There were plenty of beast-people like Gubong and Seol Yeong.

The difference, though, was—‘They’re all beast-people.

’In Mount Hua, there had been all sorts of creatures besides beast-people.

Here, it was only beast-people as far as I could see.

I followed Gubong as we approached the gate.

Gubong walked up to the guards standing at the entrance.

They were beast-people holding spears.

As Gubong approached, the guards reacted, gripping their spears tightly and looking at him.

"I’ve come to request entry," Gubong said.

"Who are you?

" "Mount Hua Sect.

" "Mount Hua?

"At the mention of Mount Hua, the guards’ expressions changed.

Seeing that, I frowned slightly.

Their expressions irritated me.

"What’s your purpose?

" "To procure supplies.

" "How many in your group?

" "Three.

"At Gubong’s response, the guard looked over at us.

He scrutinized Cheonma and me from head to toe.

For the record, Cheonma had her head completely covered with the hood of a cloak Gubong had given her.

The guard checked my ears and Cheonma’s swaying tail before turning back to Gubong.

"Permit.

"At the request, Gubong pulled something from his sleeve and handed it over.

The guard examined it closely before nodding.

"Enter.

" "Thank you.

"Gubong gave a polite bow and stepped inside.

Thankfully, it seemed there wouldn’t be any trouble.

As I followed behind, stepping through the gate—"Pfft.

"A sudden laugh reached my ears.

At the same time, I heard one of the guards speak as I passed.

"Idiots.

"The words were clearly directed at me.

What the hell is with these bastards?

‘Should I beat them up?

’I clenched my fists.