Chapter 24

I thought he would have at least five flower decorations. No way that he didn’t receive any from Young Miss?

As expected, there was no correlation between the number received and affection.

Only then did the enemy king’s expression become more comfortable. On the other hand, the Poison king drooped his shoulders as if he were disappointed.

The Enemy King, who glanced at the Poison king, smiled brightly and stated in an official voice,

“Sect Master, the Murim Alliance has sent us an official letter.”

“What did it say?”

Cheonma slouched in his chair. Cheonma’s expression was still languid, as if the provocation of the Murim Alliance was nothing.

Cheonma has been in a very good mood lately. He had taught the kid the North Sea Ice Palace’s precious Baekhwasin arts so he coudn’t help but be happy. The child was so fast at learning magic that her speed was scary.

On top of that, she was motivated. Since she was a genius and put in effort as well, she was a delight to teach.

A brilliant disciple would make a master dance with joy. Additionally, she was his daughter so he was even happier.

But it was weird to see that expression today as well. The elders quickly exchanged looks. Either way he wouldn’t be that angry if he heard this news.

“The Moorim Alliance has asked for cooperation, saying it will send a team to investigate the destruction of the North Sea Ice Palace.”

“I don’t know the reason why they are doing this. They know perfectly well that we did it.”

“They will take this opportunity to check the atmosphere of this sect. Our sect and the Murim alliance had suspended ties for a long time.”

Even though they had brutally eliminated a sect, the public reputation of the sect was surprisingly not bad.

Though their reputation hadn’t lowered, they had also removed the Black Wolf sect.

The North Sea Ice Palace had no relations with the Murim alliance while the Black Wolf sect were a group of assassins active in the Central region.

The five major sects who were grinding their teeth at the existence of the assassin group couldn’t help but be happy at its destruction.

If the environment of the sect has changed, it was smart to take advantage of that until it disappeared.

After all, the investigation team’s purpose was likely to to spy.

Cheonma lifted his red lips and laughed. Some elders blushed at his soporific smile.

“It’s time to open the door.”

“……are you really complying? We didn’t expect that sect master would give permission. Their true motive is to check your level of reaction.”

Cheonma tapped his knee with his long fingers and said something out of the blue.

“It’s for the child.”

The faces of the elders became curious. Why was he bringing up the child all of a sudden?

The quick-witted Shaman King asked calmly.

“Are you trying to get her into contact with a sect figure?”

“Yes?”

The Poison King’s eyes widened.

“On the outside, the Murim alliance will say they are here to bring justice, but secretly the alliance is filled with nasty men! What will you do if one of those nasty men does something to the Young Miss?”

“I’m also against this too. It hasn’t been just once or twice that we were back-stabbed by them.”

“He’s correct! 300 years ago, there was a big crisis in the Central region, so we sent our disciples out to unite together and not discriminate between factions, but they used them all as meat shields! That’s what our ancestors said! Don’t even talk to those people who cry out for justice! They’re very dirty!”

Cheonma smirked at the shouting elders.

“Is my daughter gullible enough to be deceived by such men?”

“That… that’s absolutely not true. But we don’t have to allow her to meet those factions.”

“Then you want me to lock her up in the sect forever?”

The elders couldn’t bring themselves to say so, so they shut up. Cheonma continued.

“There won’t be any danger with me around, what are you so afraid of?”

Cheonma never kept his child away from his side after the incident. The child was safest when she was next to him.

So it was also a good idea for her to gain a lot of experience during this time. However, it was a different story to have a child meet with the other factions.

Though she was a genius, she was also a child.

There was no way that a young child could tell who was a scammer and who wasn’t.  The elders didn’t want the child to be hurt anymore. She had already suffered a lot, so they wanted her to live by looking at only good and pretty things.

The Shaman King, who had remained silent until then, quietly stepped out.

“I’m all for it. Though it is a good opportunity for her to broaden her perspective,  it’s also a good opportunity to show that the purpose of our sect is not evil.”

The Poison King intervened with a suspicious look.

“Well, is that really necessary though?”

“We don’t need it, but Young Miss needs it. The Central region has long seen this sect as evil. Though we had no interaction with them, we also didn’t have the power to actively change our reputation.”

“I’d like to make sure Young Miss not only isn’t ostracized for her birth but also is respected.”

It was obvious how being the daughter of the sect master would affect the child. She would encounter prejudice from the very start. She would be treated as an extraordinary villainess.

Elders who had only pursued power quickly fell into their own thoughts.

They were used to being looked at with fear and disgust. It didn’t matter to them if they were treated as a villain who was to be killed.

But they couldn’t let the child be treated like that. She was such a precious existence to them.

“If we take this opportunity to open our sect, their perception of us will naturally change. If the perception changes and the number of enemies decrease, the lady will be safe.”

“That’s what I think. One, it is up to them to accept, there is no need to compromise. Remember, this sect doesn’t compromise with anyone.”

“Honor!”

Cheonma rose from his seat.

“Let them know that we will accept the investigation team. The gate will be opened a month before the child’s sixth birthday.”

The child’s birthday! The light in the eyes of the elders changed at once.

There were only a few months left until the important birthday of the child, which couldn’t be compared to the unimportant investigation team.

Though before they didn’t have a chance to celebrate her birthday due to various circumstances. This time they were able to celebrate the child’s birthday properly.

‘I need to give her the very best present’

The Enemy king, who had been exchanging glances with the elders, opened his mouth while glancing at the Cheonma leaving the conference room.

“Huh… now I understand why you were so happy today.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Look at that.”

The Poison king opened his mouth when he saw where the Enemy king was pointing.

“I was wondering why you raised your head like that…”

Countless flowers were hung on the decoration that held up Cheonma’s hair, which must have been made by the child.

***

Currently, the sect was building additional palaces and was also repairing the damaged inner palace. Originally, it was prohibited to stay within a radius of 100m of the sect master’s palace. It became a designated rule after many people were killed by the sect master who was consumed by evil magic.  Maybe that’s why there were few people where I stayed.

In any case, the rest of the elders lived scattered across the 100,000 Mountain and cultivated unless something big happened to the sect.

But after going through the North Sea Ice Palace, Cheonma called in the elders. The reason was that when there was a crisis, they could not respond quickly if they were scattered. The palace under construction was a place to accommodate them.

“Hello, misters. Did you eat?”

The disciples who were mobilized to build the palace smiled brightly at me.

“Oh my, the genius girl is here! We already ate. Did you “nom nom” already, miss?

The disciples called me a genius girl when they saw me walking about.

“I ate earlier.”

“I bought a little snackie from the village to give it to you. I heard this is the newest fad. It’s fried with honey, and the kids are crazy about it.”

I became embarrassed when the disciples said “snackie” and “nom nom”.

“Here you go. Don’t eat too much or your teeth will rot. Make sure you brush your teeth before you go to bed.”

“Ahaha, of course.”

I was about to turn around with my hands full of honey chips.

The Enemy king strode from there and suddenly raised his voice.

“Child, what did your grandfather say? If you fall while running like that, your legs will break!”

“Grandpa, are my legs made out of wheat that I’ll break them when I fall?”

“That’s what it looks like! Stop talking back and get on my back! Quickly!”

The disciples peeked this way and continued to do their job casually. Yesterday it was the Poison king, and today it’s the Enemy king. This was their reaction. At first, the elders trembled when they appeared alternately, but now they seemed calm because similar things were repeated every day.

No, I’m not a newborn, and also am a martial arts learner, so why are they like this? The elders must have thought I’d fall even if I took 100 steps.

I lowered my voice out of shame.

“…I’ll be okay even if I walk.”