Perhaps finding the heavy atmosphere awkward, Noh Goonsang glanced at the empty table and smiled sheepishly. "Oh dear! I was so distracted that I didn't even offer you a cup of tea. Please wait a mont."
"That's not necessary." Baek Suryong stopped Noh Goonsang before he could brew tea, then rose from his seat. "I'll be on my way now."
"You just got here. Are you leaving already?"
"Aren't you very busy, Principal? Thank you so much for your ti. I won't forget your advice." Baek Suryong clasped his hands together in gratitude, his expression and deanor conveying his imnse respect for Noh Goonsang.
"Haha, what are you talking about? That wasn't advice, just an old man's nagging."
Baek Suryong was deeply moved. Even though Noh Goonsang knew the truth, he didn't ask him anything. He didn't question him about how he learned the Blood Demon's martial arts, nor did he doubt or threaten him. He simply offered him sincere advice.
Only soone who trusted him completely could do that.
Honestly, though, he couldn't understand why Noh Goonsang placed so much trust in him. Still, he could clearly feel his genuine goodwill.
Baek Suryong said solemnly, "Until you retire, Principal, I will repay your trust by doing my absolute best..."
"Stop right there! If you work any harder than you already do, your grandfather will kill ." Shaking his head, Noh Goonsang chuckled. "And don't treat like I've already retired. I haven't chosen a successor yet, and I'll be principal until the Heavenly Martial Festival this year."
"Of course. As your retirent gift, Principal, I'll secure a victory for us at the Heavenly Martial Festival."
"Now, that's a retirent gift I'd truly cherish."
The two n looked at each other and smiled.
Afterward, Noh Goonsang returned to his piled-up work, and Baek Suryong turned and left his office.
[I knew it before, but the Azure Dragon Academy Principal is a good person,] the Divine Azure Dragon Sword remarked, her voice unusually bright. She too had been worried about Baek Suryong, so it ca as a relief that things had gone well.
[Are you close to the Principal?]
[I t him often at the annual conferences of the Five Great Academies. He always had a smile on his face, but sohow, I got the feeling that he was a person who had given up on everything...]
The Divine Azure Dragon Sword compared the Noh Goonsang she had t before to the man he was now. It was painfully obvious that he was no longer the sa old man who would just laugh "hoho" without trying to change anything.
[When I arrived at the Azure Dragon Academy with you, I thought he seed different, but now it's no exaggeration to say he's a completely different person.]
The Divine Azure Dragon Sword speculated that Noh Goonsang had spent the last few days in deep contemplation, reaching so kind of enlightennt.
[His qi is surprisingly clear and stable now, like a monk who has achieved enlightennt after ditating for a long ti.]
[I also felt the change in the Principal's qi. How much stronger do you think he is now...?]
Baek Suryong glanced back at the Principal's office. He suddenly had a premonition that while Azure Dragon Academy Principal Noh Goonsang would step down at the end of the year, the era of Martial Artist Noh Goonsang might be just beginning.
[As expected, you truly are a being with a heaven defying destiny.]
[What are you talking about all of a sudden?]
[You change the destinies of everyone around you. If that isn't heaven-defying power, what is?]
"If this is what defying heaven leads to, then I welco it anyti," Baek Suryong chuckled and tapped the sword poml with his finger. He thought it was a serious comnt, but it turned out to be the Divine Azure Dragon Sword's idea of a joke.
He crossed the grand training ground and headed for his own office. While the students only needed to do so training until classes resud, the instructors actually had more work to do than before.
First, they had to readjust the class schedules to accommodate the temporary shutdown. Second, they had to check and arrange repairs for facilities damaged or teaching supplies lost during the fight with the assassins.
Besides that, he also had his duties as the Heavenly Martial Festival's Organizing Committee Chairman. All that piled up paperwork was sitting on his desk like an insurmountable mountain.
Before that, though, there was one more person he needed to talk to.
"Knowing that guy's personality, he probably won't ask anything... but he definitely noticed sothing."
The Divine Azure Dragon Sword agreed. [He felt the aura of the Heaven Defying Divine Art from up close, even closer than your father, so of course he would have noticed sothing.]
Baek Muheun pretty much already knew that he had learned the Heaven Defying Divine Art. His discussion with Noh Goonsang also went smoothly, rendering his previous concerns unnecessary.
The only problem now was the third person. What would the Young Lord of the Namgung Clan, who had lost so many family mbers to the Blood Cult, think of him?
"...Whatever, I'll find out when I see him."
Several minutes later, Baek Suryong confidently strolled into Namgung Su's office like it was his own. "Hey! I'm here."
"......" Namgung Su shot Baek Suryong a displeased glance before imdiately turning his eyes back to the docunts he was reading.
It wasn't until Baek Suryong plopped down in the chair opposite him, pulled out so docunts from his pocket, and began working seriously that a deep furrow ford between his brows.
"...Why my office of all places?"
"It's the cleanest and most spacious one."
"Have you not considered that your presence alone soils its cleanliness?"
"Nope, not at all."
CRUMPLE...
Namgung Su crumpled the docunt in his hand and glared at Baek Suryong with his eerily glittering, bright golden eyes. Any other instructor would have been scared stiff and apologized profusely, but Baek Suryong compounded the offense by taking out more docunts and cluttering the desk.
"What? You think I like being here?" Baek Suryong complained. Normally, even he wouldn't be so bold as to barge into Namgung Su's office and act like this, but now, he had a legitimate reason. "If you hate it so much, then why did you destroy my office?"
"......"
"Have you forgotten? You dropped a lightning bolt on my office and smashed it to pieces! The desk, the chair, and everything else are broken, so I can't work there even if I want to. Where am I supposed to work now?"
"About that..."
"I'm the victim here. Are you seriously trying to kick , the poor officeless person, out?"
"......" Namgung Su really wanted to argue back. He wanted to say that there was no avoiding so property damage in the process of eliminating the assassins who had infiltrated the Azure Dragon Academy. He wanted to tell Baek Suryong that his office being among the damaged buildings was purely a coincidence.
In the end, however, he simply asked, "...Why can't you work at the White Dragon Manor?"
"My efficiency drops when I work from ho. A man like you should know that, shouldn't you?" Baek Suryong replied, not taking his eyes off his work.
"......" Namgung Su gave up. It was impossible to kick Baek Suryong out of the office by arguing further.
The two n sat on opposite sides of the desk, each absorbed in their own work. For a while, the only sounds in the quiet office were the rustling of paper and the scratching of brushes.
Every so often, though, soone broke the silence.
"Namgung Su. Where are the Vermilion Phoenix Academy files for last year's Heavenly Martial Festival?"
"Second drawer from the top, on the right."
"...It's not there."
"I ant my right, not yours."
They would then fall silent for a while, engrossed in their respective tasks again.
"Baek Suryong. Where are the materials you collected during your mock battle classes?"
"Oh, those? Soone dropped a lightning bolt on my office, and it all burned up."
"......"
"Just kidding. Check the wooden box over there. It should be sowhere around the middle."
"That was not funny."
"Says the man who tells the least funny jokes in the entire Azure Dragon Academy."
"I don't joke."
Once again, they returned to their work.
"How are your students doing these days?"
"They seem a little shaken up, so I'm having them rest for now."
"Is it a situation that requires counseling? I know a skilled counselor in that field."
"It's not that serious. Besides, is there anyone better than when it cos to counseling and therapy?"
"Your thods are... Never mind."
The two instructors worked and conversed only when necessary. Afterwards, they returned to their own tasks. This cycle repeated itself over and over again. As the two biggest workaholics at the Azure Dragon Academy, both instructors demonstrated formidable levels of concentration.
Before they knew it, the sun set and night fell. During that ti, they never once looked at each other while working. This remained true even when they occasionally spoke.
"Whew!"
Baek Suryong stretched, having more or less finished the most urgent work. Across from him, Namgung Su's nose was still buried in docunts, his expression and posture unchanged since they began working.
"Namgung Su."
"Yes?"
"Aren't you curious?"
"Just state your business without beating around the bush," Namgung Su grumbled absentmindedly, still focused on his work.
Baek Suryong hesitated briefly, then blurted out, "I'm talking about the thing I told you not to look at. Aren't you curious what it was?"
For a mont, Namgung Su's hand paused in the act of turning a page. How could he not be curious?
Not only did the Heaven Defying Divine Art have the most dominating energy of any martial art in the world, it was also the antithesis of the orthodox sects' martial arts. Of all people, he had felt that aura more keenly than anyone, as Baek Suryong had been right behind him.
[Hey! If he does ask, what will you say?]
[Well...] Baek Suryong hesitated.
His past self wouldn't have worried about sothing like this. He had been taught that revealing a weakness was the sa as begging to be killed. Even if he were found out, he would have deceived and tricked his opponent with lies, or at the very least tried to find a weakness of theirs in return.
He was still confident he could do such things well, because he had done it to Skykiller not long ago. For so reason though, he didn't want to do that now.
"Martial arts are just martial arts."
Noh Goonsang had told him, the man who was about to tell a big lie, that martial arts were simply martial arts.
If Namgung Su asks... I'll probably...
"I don't care," Namgung Su remarked nonchalantly as he turned a page.
"...You don't care?"
Namgung Su let out a small sigh, put down his docunts, and t Baek Suryong's gaze. It was the first ti they were looking at each other since they started working a few hours ago. "To be precise, it doesn't matter whether I care or not. Whatever secret you're hiding, I promised I wouldn't pry, and I will keep that promise."
"......"
"I don't understand why you're suddenly bringing this up. Our discussion about this ended when I accepted your request," Namgung Su complained, clicking his tongue irritably.
Does he truly not care? Isn't he curious? Feeling awkward, Baek Suryong scratched his cheek. "If you ask again later, I'm not going to tell you, you know."
"Does it look like I have that much free ti?"
Frowning, Namgung Su went back to reviewing his paperwork, but he couldn't concentrate. Soone was staring at him intently.
He looked up again, only to see Baek Suryong grinning at him. "What is it now?" he snapped irritably.
"If you're done, let's head ho together. I'll buy you a drink..."
"There's no such thing as work that can be finished," Namgung Su declared with more conviction than ever before.
"You're one hell of a workaholic, you know that?"
Shaking his head, Baek Suryong stood up and packed a few docunts he needed to finish at ho into his bag. Suddenly, though, he discovered a letter buried in the pile of paperwork.
"What's this?"
He picked it up. The letter was addressed to him. It had arrived a few days ago, but he had been so busy with the Azure Dragon Festival and everything else that he had pushed it aside and forgotten about it.
"There's no sender written on it."
He had received anonymous love letters before, so he thought nothing of it and broke the letter's seal. After all, he always made a point of reading all his letters before throwing them away, regardless of whether he thought they were trivial or not.
"...Huh?"
As he went through the contents, however, his face, which had originally appeared bored, began to brighten.
"You can read that when you get ho," Namgung Su groaned, glaring at Baek Suryong.
Of course, Baek Suryong ignored him and read the letter right then and there, smiling the entire ti.
"Haha..."
At the end of the letter, the sender's na was written in powerful, sweeping handwriting.
From Gongson Su, student of the Azure Dragon Hero and first-generation graduate of the White Dragon Manor.
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