Chapter 66: Let's Fight
Choose the person you think is the most absurd from the options below. [3 points]
The answer is number five.
Are these people genuinely insane?
She had been running a motel for twenty years, yet a situation this chaotic was a first in her life.
No matter how many tis she replayed it in her head, she simply could not make sense of what had been said.
It almost made her wonder whether she was dreaming.
Regardless, the silver-haired woman continued to express her intentions without flinching.
"Why aren't you answering? I said let's have a bout already, co on!"
No matter how handso the man was, was she really the type to say sothing like that so openly in front of other people?
In a motel lobby, of all places.
The handso man in question—the one called Mu-yeong—pressed a hand to his forehead.
"You're not…… Bing Ye-hwa, are you?"
"Oh, you do rember. So you haven't been completely ignoring after all."
"When soone sends you strange things every single day, it would be stranger not to know who they are."
"Strange? That's a bit harsh."
Bing Ye-hwa made a wounded expression.
The faces of everyone listening turned serious as well.
She'd been sending strange things every day?
Unable to stay still any longer, Yu Ye-rin tugged on Mu-yeong's arm.
"Mu-yeong. Who on earth is that woman? She shows up out of nowhere and wants a bout……."
"There's a viewer with terrible taste nad Bing Ye-hwa. A vicious stalker."
"Bing Ye-hwa? Wait, if her na is Bing Ye-hwa, then could she be—?"
"Do you know her?"
"She's incredibly famous! That's Bing Ye-hwa—the treasured only daughter of the fearso Master of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, and the undisputed second-in-command within the palace itself by sheer ability!"
The motel owner applauded internally.
Ah, so that's the person I've only heard about in rumours.
The motel owner was soone slow to adapt to the world's rapid changes, but the renown of the Northern Sea Ice Palace was sothing she knew well.
That a woman said to be of nation-toppling beauty resided there.
So what happens now?
Her curiosity surged wildly at the soap-opera-level developnts unfolding before her.
She was willing to watch—as long as they didn't start fighting with energy.
But that thought was shattered the mont the middle-aged man raised his hand.
"Excuse …… how about we go to a room first and talk there? There are too many ears in this place to keep going like this……."
The innkeeper clicked her tongue.
She was curious about the relationship between the four people in front of her, but her curiosity ended exactly there.
Anything beyond this was private—a Pandora's box.
The innkeeper calmly handed over the keycards for Rooms 705 and 704 and distributed one pouch of disposables to each person.
It was a night ripe with imagination as to how those might be used.
.
.
.
.
Inside the cramped elevator.
Mu-yeong studied the two uninvited guests who had barged in without warning.
Bing Ye-hwa he could accept—but who was this man?
He had no mory of the man, and from the look of it, Yu Ye-rin had never seen him before either.
No matter how I look at him, they don't seem to be in a romantic relationship…… Could he be a bodyguard?
Thinking of it that way, the puzzle pieces clicked into place.
There was no way soone of Bing Ye-hwa's standing—the daughter of the Master of the Northern Sea Ice Palace—would travel alone.
Mu-yeong quietly assessed the man's level.
At minimum, Peak Realm or above.
The marks of gruelling training, and the ease with which he concealed his energy.
That ant Bing Ye-hwa was above even that.
She had been called the second-in-command of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, after all.
In that case, who would win if she and the current Yu Ye-rin were to face each other?
He couldn't readily say.
—7th floor.
The elevator doors opened right on cue.
Mu-yeong and Yu Ye-rin stepped out first.
Bing Ye-hwa followed imdiately behind.
Yu-baek, trailing them at a slight distance, sank into deep contemplation.
This is completely screwed, isn't it?
Even for soone who had survived every manner of ordeal life had thrown at him, a solution failed to present itself in a mont like this.
The truth was, Yu-baek had already laid out a plan.
He would let the enthusiastic Bing Ye-hwa sleep for the night, then take her sightseeing around Seoul's famous spots.
He figured that would naturally make her drop the nonsense about a sparring match.
But the plan had gone sideways from the very start.
No, more importantly—why are these two appearing here of all places!?
Mu-yeong and Yu Ye-rin, on a motel date.
A beautiful pair arriving at night—there was obviously only one reason for that.
That much, he could process sohow.
Granting every possible benefit of the doubt, he could even accept running into Bing Ye-hwa as an unfortunate coincidence.
But.
Why are all three of them walking into the sa room!?
If the Master of the Northern Sea Ice Palace were to hear of this—what would happen?
Even if nothing had happened, would that fiercely devoted father who doted on his daughter just let it go?
Absolutely not.
He would fly to Seoul in a single bound, obviously.
The Ice Duke—rated as one of the Five Pinnacle Masters, or just barely beneath them—in a state of blind, furious rage?
That would be a catastrophe. An utter catastrophe.
Brrr.
Yu-baek shuddered involuntarily and steeled his resolve.
There are no eternal secrets anyway.
Then there was only one thing to do.
Stay on standby nearby and step in when things turned critical.
Glancing at the three of them one last ti, Yu-baek quietly slipped back.
Damn it, overti again tonight.
If he'd known it would co to this, he'd have at least brought a snack.
.
.
.
.
Creeeak.
Using the keycard the owner had given them, Mu-yeong and Yu Ye-rin entered Room 704.
Bing Ye-hwa followed inside as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and began to take off her shoes.
"……Why are you coming in?"
"Is there a problem?"
There were so many that it was hard to list them one by one.
Shaking his head, Mu-yeong sent Yu Ye-rin a Transmitted Voice.
—This one clings like a leech and won't let go. It seems like we'll have to put up with her for today at least.
—I'm fine with it. I was going to spend the whole month focused on training anyway, so one day doesn't really matter……
—I'll make sure to pay for the next motel room.
—Alright, then I'll go get changed first!
Yu Ye-rin picked up her bag containing her Martial Robe and went into the bathroom.
Bing Ye-hwa watched her go, then asked:
"So what were the two of you planning to do here, in this big place?"
"We ca to train."
"To train? Perfect. I'll join in."
"Sorry, but I don't have ti to play with you."
"Play? It seems like what I'm saying still sounds like a joke to you……."
Her expression hardened.
At the sa ti, a chill began to radiate from her entire body.
The surroundings beca blanketed in white mist, as though a smokescreen had been deployed.
"I haven't been joking since the very first email I sent."
"Sa here. Every minute and second counts right now, so I don't have ti for sparring."
Mu-yeong swung his arm sharply.
A fierce gust of wind erupted.
The white mist was swept entirely out through the window, and Bing Ye-hwa's eyes went wide.
"But I'll promise you one thing."
"What?"
"A Sparring Tournant is being held in Monster World one month from now. If you don't get in my way until then, I'll gladly face you at that ti."
"Hmm……. One month, huh……."
She folded her arms.
Her eyes rolled around in thought, and she slowly released her energy.
"Fine. I'll wait."
"Good that you understood quickly. Then go back to the Northern Sea Ice Palace and wait there."
"I can't. If I go back, I'm as good as dead. I might never be allowed outside the palace again."
"Why?"
"My father might have under twenty-four-hour surveillance. I only barely managed to slip away this ti, actually. I planned my escape ticulously—even booking every last flight ticket that didn't exist just to make it look thorough."
This wasn't an ordinary leech. This was a barnacle.
A vein snapped to the surface on Mu-yeong's forehead.
Still, there had been more progress in the conversation than at the very start, so he bit his tongue and endured.
"So what's your plan now?"
"I want to train with you. I won't get in the way."
"There's a chance we'll have to spend the whole month holed up in a motel or a training hall."
"That's fine. I've done Closed-Door Training for up to six months before."
Co to think of it, she had been called the second-in-command of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, hadn't she?
Given the confidence she showed, it wasn't likely to be a lie.
She might actually make a good sparring partner for Yu Ye-rin.
Thinking about it, it wasn't such a bad situation for Mu-yeong either.
Ice White Heart Art—considered the supre pinnacle among Ice Techniques.
This was a fine opportunity to observe it up close.
Honestly, he had even found himself wondering when else he might ever get to see it.
"Alright. I'll allow it."
"Oh, really? You know what they say—a man's word is worth a thousand gold."
"As long as you don't get in the way."
"That much is easy. Make sure you keep your promise too."
Bing Ye-hwa smiled softly and walked toward the desk.
She opened the pouch of disposables the motel owner had given her and dumped everything out onto the surface.
"Seoul really is different. They even hand these out."
"……Do you actually know what those are used for?"
"Here to train, aren't we? Then naturally these would be things that help with training."
That line sounded awfully familiar.
Mu-yeong felt a sense of déjà vu, but for now he watched quietly.
"Shampoo? Body wash? Ahhh, so they gave these for washing off sweat. Sa with the toothbrush and toothpaste……."
Bing Ye-hwa began sorting the items with practiced ease.
Mu-yeong tilted his head watching her.
"Have you been to a motel before?"
"No? This is my first ti."
"Then. Never mind."
"Hmm……. The feminine wash is probably also for washing sothing, right? But what's this—why did they give ten of these?"
She pulled out the square-packaged items.
She flipped them back and forth a few tis, then, before he could stop her, tore open the outer wrapper without a second thought.
"Ugh, what is this? It feels weird."
Bing Ye-hwa wrinkled her brow at the feel of the condom.
She rubbed the lubricant on the outside around with her fingers, then suddenly shoved two fingers straight in.
Then, applying force, she tried to push her entire hand inside.
Huh?
Only then did Mu-yeong realise.
What the strangeness he'd been sensing all along actually was.
She never once asked why we'd co to a motel to train in the first place.
Which ant Bing Ye-hwa didn't know what kind of place a motel was to begin with.
And it followed that she would have absolutely no idea a condom was a male contraceptive.
"This is like a glove, but it's stiffer than I expected—it's not going in very well. Is there a bigger size?"
Bing Ye-hwa held out her hand, now encased in rubber.
Her hands were considerably smaller than Mu-yeong's, which was the only reason it had been possible at all.
……So this is what Yu Ye-rin had felt.
As Mu-yeong stared at her with an incredulous look, she began pulling one onto the other hand as well.
"Still, this is actually nice—no chance of losing grip on a sword with these on. I think I could get used to it."
Bing Ye-hwa was rambling on with that absurd comntary when the bathroom door swung open.
Yu Ye-rin stepped out in her Martial Robe and froze on the spot.
She stood there with her mouth hanging open, and Mu-yeong said to her quietly:
"It turned out like this."
"Ah."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Bing Ye-hwa's clear voice broke through the stillness.
"Snow Ice Sword."
Ice swords began to materialise on both of her hands, which were still sheathed in the condoms.
Clear and transparent and pristine.
Swords so beautiful that even Mu-yeong was struck with admiration.
"With these on, at least my hands won't get cold. Maybe I should tell Father and suggest they introduce them in the palace."
Bing Ye-hwa swung her arms back and forth, uttering sothing terrifying.
If the truth continued to be concealed, sothing catastrophic was going to unfold.
Mu-yeong stepped up to take responsibility.
"Those are condoms."
"What's that?"
"You don't know what a condom is?"
"Father never taught ."
At her guileless answer, Mu-yeong and Yu Ye-rin froze solid.
"Ha ha……."
In the end, it took twenty minutes to make her understand.
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