Translator: Wan ED/PR: Solarin
61. Rival (3)
“You’re asking about the topic You Yourself hate talking about? Did You plan to extract only the necessary information, and then shut Your mouth?”
“Yes, that’s what I thought, ma’am, but that’s a pity.”
The two heads of the 12 Zodiac Alliance didn’t plan to move at all.
Thanks to that, I was in a very tough spot.
There weren’t that many movement routes secured through Mun Saeron’s ‘Focus Coverage’ and the information Jeon Mu-yeong obtained.
And the two were also standing on the route like they were aiming for this one.
‘I want to pass them by, but how?’
As Jeon Mu-yeong’s ‘Time Without Traces’ was a Gwangrim that even Hwang Jiho couldn’t see through, I could pass by the two if I used that ability.
But I didn’t want to waste the available time of the Gwangrim’s usage and superpower wave in the enemy territory.
‘Should I just openly pass by them?’
Strictly speaking, those two weren’t hostile targets.
If they get involved in the current situation, they would just be annoying beings, but nothing big would happen because we ran into each other.
It was a guess with Seodol’s personality and what he talks about, but he revealed an intention of giving me a blessing, and we individually exchanged contacts.
Naturally, if excluding running into Heuk-ma in Hongcheon, I didn’t have direct involvement with her.
But even so, as Heuk-ma made an alliance with the Ho tribe, she wouldn’t touch a student from Eungwang School.
Moreover, I was a person close to Maeng Hyodon who was Heuk-ma’s benefactor, so she wouldn’t think of harming me.
‘Even so, I’m not really into stepping in front of them.’
While I hesitated, the war of nerves between Heuk-ma and Seodol continued.
The content was mainly Seodol saying something insides-scratching first, and Heuk-ma not getting fished by it, and punched back.
“Shame I didn’t play into Cunning’s jokes, huh? But I’m very happy to make You sad.”
“In fact, I’m not that sad. I’m actually curious for what reason You came here ma’am, but I’m more curious about something other than that.”
“I’m happy to decrease chances of getting involved in the matters You’re curious about. Ah, I’m busy, so I’m going.”
“I think You should wait. I want to figure out the reason You came here.”
“You mean I should wait for that reason of all things? I hate it.”
Seodol, who said he wasn’t sad, grabbed Heuk-ma who said she hated it, and started to laid down the guessed reasons.
Showing no signs of being wary of their surroundings, the two heads used Korean like nothing.
Seodol kept on using polite tone, while Heuk-ma threw him a stare full of contempt every time Seodol used a polite word.
“To figure out the location of this place, You have to have exchanges with Demons on a daily basis, or extensive information gathering methods, or wide connections. However, You don’t meet any of the three criteria.”
“You’re right about me not having exchanges with Demons, but the remaining two are under question. What is Your basis?”
“After the Clash of Different Worlds, didn’t You neglect connection management because You were busy with the Demons’ attacks? Do You mean to say that You, who had no power to spare because You were busy fighting back against Demons, was gathering information in Britain?”
Heuk-ma stared at Seodol with a face like she wanted to throw him to the border between death and life, but Seodol didn’t pay much mind to it.
“Well, you seem to have power to spare now. Enough that the head can leave. The Demons’ attack probably continue, so there would be an important reason in addition to having time to spare, wouldn’t there be? Because as their influence over the Korean Peninsula is gradually growing, there is no way they would leave Your kin, who had an overlapping name, alone.”
Seodol observed Heuk-ma’s face, covered with a mask with hair of a black horse, as he spoke.
It was a persistent gaze, like he was searching for energy of other Jin people.
“Did You perhaps join hands with another Jin tribe? Then who is it? It probably would be a Jin tribe that doesn’t have a good relationship with Demons, right?”
Seodol’s guess was correct.
It wasn’t widely known, but Heuk-ma made an alliance with Hwang Jiho.
Among the outsiders who weren’t members of Ma tribe or Ho tribe, I was probably the only one who knew this fact.
‘Heuk-ma’s ability to move must be mostly thanks to the alliance with the Ho tribe. I guess the Ho dispatched by Hwang Jiho is doing their duty.’
Seodol didn’t figure out that the partner of the alliance was the Ho tribe, but his guesses were successfully approaching the truth.
On the other side, although Seodol pierced the crux of the matter, Heuk-ma showed no signs of being flustered.
“Cunning, it seems You’ve forgotten an important thing when spouting all this nonsense. I said that I’m not planning to tell You why I came here.”
“Yes, that’s why I’m currently guessing.”
“You have too much interest in matters of others. You have so much time to laze around?”
“In fact, I’m not lazing around that much. And there is a target I have more interest in than you in here.”
He didn’t have particular interest, but he held back Heuk-ma and was making all this noise?
“Okay? If You’re going to argue, then I think it’s better to speak frankly.”
“That’s not an argument? But if you’re like this, I’ll say the reason You came here. A higher being gave You a revelation, right?”
It seemed that Seodol and I drew similar conclusions.
When I first saw Heuk-ma here, I also thought that it was an interference from a higher being.
“I thought of two candidates.”
I only thought of one, the goddess of horses Epona, but it seemed like Seodol was different.
Seodol explained his reasoning.
“First, Tuatha dé Danann’s Morrígan. The goddess of war called Morrígan was the origin of the word ‘mare’, and doesn’t the meanings of that word include female horse? That relates to You.”
There were connections between Morrígan and horses, but she was more widely known as a crow goddess.
As right now the contractor sent by the Crow Demon King was here, if Morrígan wanted to interfere in this auction, she would get in touch with Sillentium.
It seemed that Seodol picked Morrígan as a candidate because he didn’t know about Sillentium’s interference.
“The second is Epona. Considering the myths left by the goddesses and their personalities, Morrígan had a higher chance, but based on the kind of treasure, Epona would also interfere.”
Hearing Seodol’s words, Heuk-ma fell into quiet thoughts.
It seemed that until now Heuk-ma didn’t consider Seodol as a proper opponent, but now the thought of leaving him alone disappeared.
“Cunning-ssi, then I’ll also try to make a guess.”
“You’re going to guess something about me? I don’t particularly like that.”
“Then I must do that. Cunning, the target of Your curiosity in this place probably means the uninvited guest of this party.”
As if strength entered Seodol’s hand, the tip of a rat mask he was holding crumpled a little.
The mask was rat color.
It was a murky color that didn’t match very much with the pure white costume Seodol was wearing.
“There are two uninvited guests, but the target of Your interest must be the one wearing a swan mask, Phantom Thief Neon, who sent a flashy notice letter. Merlin’s disciples’ clothes aren’t very neat and You value outer-appearance. That’s why You sent clothes You have personally designed to the people You like.”
Now that I think about it, the only people, who Seodol showed interest towards were people, who paid attention to their appearance.
Hong Gyubin, who even if suffering from overtime, didn’t have one wrinkle on his coats.
Kwon Jane, who easily showed off the dresses prepared by the Eternal Lake team members.
Hwang Jiho, who always display a sense of season in interior design and fashion.
All of them were people with neat appearances and clothes.
Compared to them or to the Phantom Thief Neon, Gu Seulbi weren’t paying much attention to her clothes.
“That’s true. Ah, I also really think the suit You’re wearing is very fine. I don’t like dark colors, but I believe that it’s a color worthy of the black horse, bringing out Your characteristics very well. So?”
Seems like he was acting like this towards Heuk-ma in the first place, because she was paying attention to her appearance.
She was praised by Seodol, but Heuk-ma didn’t seem even a bit happy.
It seemed she just felt bad that she was being evaluated by Seodol.
“And speaking of a swan, there is a higher being that comes to mind.”
“Aren’t there over two digits of higher beings connected to swans in the Eastern and Western cultures?”
“Thinking about this auction, I can think of but one. Didn’t the Swan Mask received a revelation from Midir?”
The god appeared in the Celtic myths, Midir.
There was a story that he infiltrated a castle in a form of a swan to find his lover.
There were theories that at the end of the long ordeals and adventure, he and his lover change into swans and reunite, but there were also theories that they couldn’t reunite in the end.
It wasn’t strange to associate Midir with swans, but I recalled something else.
Midir was known as a genius at fidchell. As a game very similar to chess, fidchell was called ‘Celtic chess’.
Midir was famous as a higher being that, in the myth, played chess with his lover on the line and won.
I remember from my days as a chess player reading stories related to chess, while cooling down my head, and seeing that name.
‘… It was a god I knew since I was young, but to hear his name in such a place!’
Phantom Thief Neon and Midir.
Thinking of putting those two names on the same line, it felt somehow awkward.
But it hung on my mind, when I abruptly recalled the swan mask and the cufflinks with chess board pattern he was wearing.
Moreover, as it was a comment made by Heuk-ma, who came here after receiving a revelation from Epona, I decided it was worthy of believing in.
In PMH, the Phantom Thief Neon didn’t get involved with a higher being, but the Phantom Thief Neon of this world may have a connection with Midir.
“You’re slow to reply. It seems my guess is right.”
“It’s not because of Your words exactly.” [1]
Seodol’s tone changed.
At some point, Seodol was wearing a rat mask again, and was holding a gray bead in his hands.
‘It’s Seodol’s weapon, which he used to break Hwang Jiho’s barrier in China…!’
I recalled the scene of the shining golden barrier losing its light and scattering like dust upon the rat-color bead touching its surface.
Did he taking it out now meant he planned to fight Heuk-ma here?
When I worried whether I should stop him or use this opportunity to escape, Seodol moved first.
Paaat!
The rat-colored bead in Seodol’s hands, rose into air.
The bead split into a dozen, and rushed at the shadows flying towards Seodol and Heuk-ma.
At a glance, the rat-color traces appeared to be swallowed by much darker and bigger shadows, but following the beads movements, the shadows lost their form and crumpled.
“I’m in the middle of a conversation with the member of the alliance, how dare you butt in?!”
Seodol glared at the shadows with narrowed eyes.
Perhaps the power maintained with a superpower wave, which was covering their appearances, was lost, as the shadows disappeared and the corpses shattered in pieces of Enemies were revealed.
Perhaps she knew about the approaching Enemies, Heuk-ma showed no surprise on her face.
“Why are such things wandering around? I thought the only familiars were those gloves.”
“Perhaps it’s related to this space?” [2]
Seodol stretched his hand, which didn’t hold a bead, and raised it to the wall.
The hand touching the wall was loaded with a superpower wave.
Perhaps to first figure out the identity of this space, she got a feel of the wall, and exclaimed first.
“I felt that this space had been gradually twisting since a moment ago, but the entire character of this space changed…!”
“Yes, it’s amazing. Where did Fomori Demons obtained such technique?”
Seodol was at some point speaking polite tone again.
“There is no room for doubts. This place right now became an otherworld. And right now it became Fomori Demon’s ‘Garden’!”
*~*~*
[1] “It’s not because of Your words exactly.” — he changed to a casual tone, but still uses polite ‘You’ towards Heuk-ma.
[2] “Perhaps it’s related to this space?” — Seodol’s sentence, he is using polite tone again.
Translator’s note: I’ll leave you folks to scream at Jo Uisin for leaving himself out in we all know what, and instead will point out that if you take the content of this chapter and its title into consideration, you could also arrive at the conclusion that Seo tribe and Ma tribe are rivals in who will make alliance with the Ho tribe against Demons. And that’s very funny too.
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