The Protagonist’s Daddy Long Legs – Chapter 56

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“By the way, what’s that?”

Among the luggage Hongryeon had brought was a bundle. When I pointed it out, she smiled brightly, as if her earlier ferocity had been a lie.

“Ah. This. It’s nothing. A gift.”

I unfolded the bundle and found a set of clothes inside. It was a rather nice robe. It was sturdy, as if made from the fabric I had given her, and although it had no special decorations, it looked quite good, perhaps because of the use of different fabrics.

I knew she was skilled with her hands, but I didn’t know she was this good.

“You must have gone through a lot of trouble making this.”

“Hmph. This is nothing. The kids were the ones who had a hard time.”

“Hmm?”

“I made this clothes myself, but while I was doing that, the kids helped me with my other tasks. They’re good kids.”

Hongryeon cast a warm gaze towards Sayun. It was the exact opposite of the gaze she had given Chae-jin earlier. Perhaps because of that gaze, Sayun shrank her shoulders in embarrassment.

“It’s, it’s also a gift for you, Innkeeper. And I learned a lot too. I really wanted to try making clothes.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. My master and other senior disciples too, and later when I have a junior disciple, I want to make training clothes for them too. And… for you, Innkeeper. He, hehe.”

The word she swallowed at the end was probably ‘Uncle’, right? I smiled contentedly and nodded.

“Learn a lot.”

“Yes!”

“Ah. And you must be hungry.”

I handed them the Seomhwa Wraps I had made earlier. Since Yohan joined the inn, I had entrusted the morning business to her as well.

She had tasted the Seomhwa Wraps I made and said they were not bad but needed some improvement, so she added a few things, and thanks to that, the Seomhwa Wraps became even tastier.

“This is delicious.”

“Didn’t you hear? An old man named Yohan, who used to work as an imperial chef, is now working at my inn.”

“How did you manage to hire an imperial chef?”

I sat in the driver’s seat and flicked the reins. The horse started moving. How did I hire him?

“My eloquence isn’t that great, so I don’t know if it will be interesting. Well, let me tell you the story.”

Listening to the sound of them munching on the Seomhwa Wraps, I told them about what happened in Cheongho. Since we had to travel all day today, I hoped it would be a good topic of conversation.

The speed of travel wasn’t very fast. We had started with some leeway, and this trip was also for Sayun’s sake. It would be good for her to see the scenery along the road, and it would also be good to rest at appropriate places.

“Let’s take a short break here.”

There was a campsite near the stream. Perhaps other travelers had made it. There was a pile of stones and a place where a fire had been made.

When I stopped the horse, Hongryeon, who was riding in the cart, grabbed my shoulder.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“This is nothing.”

“Hmm. I feel bad.”

I didn’t really need her to feel that way. I shook my head casually, and Hongryeon smiled wryly.

“Then I’ll make lunch.”

“I already packed it. We just need to heat it up.”

I had asked Yohan to prepare it. I pointed to one of the bags, and Hongryeon opened it and chuckled. Inside the bamboo basket were well-made rice balls and a steamer with a meat stir-fry dish.

“You came thoroughly prepared.”

“Since we’re going, it’s better to be well-prepared, isn’t it? And I told you, I’ll take care of expenses like travel costs.”

It was a business trip for me, but for Sayun, it was probably like her first outing. So I had to make sure she enjoyed it as much as possible.

Of course, monsters might appear along the way, but there was nothing to be done about that. We would just have to think of it as field training.

“Alright. First, we need to heat up the food… Let’s eat the rice balls first. Sayun, you come too.”

“Ah! Yes!”

We lit a fire and placed a pot on it. We fetched water from the stream and put the steamer on top. It would warm up quickly with a little heat.

“Enjoy your meal!”

Only after I took a bite of the pickled radish did Sa-yoon take a bite of the rice ball she held in both hands. And.

“Wow! Wow! Th, this… this…”

She was at a loss for words, flustered. Over a mere rice ball…

“…This is amazing. It’s not just plain rice?”

“Hmm?”

I also took a bite of a rice ball. I wasn’t sure what she had done, but the rice had an incredible savory taste.

“Is this the skill of an imperial chef… Can I learn from her later too?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem… but do you have time?”

“Hehe. I should learn if I want to feed the kids.”

Hongryeon looked at the rice ball with interest. As we each finished one or two rice balls, I brought the warmed-up meat stir-fry, and not only me but also Hongryeon and Sayun expressed our admiration for the taste, finishing the meal on a pleasant note.

“We’ll do the dishes.”

After the meal, I was about to do the dishes, but Hongryeon and Sayun strongly objected. In the end, I was pushed aside, and while they did the dishes, I brewed some tea.

“I’ll enjoy this.”

“Thank you!”

It was a bit hot, but the weather was nice. A clear blue sky without a single cloud. It was a truly beautiful and peaceful day, perfect for sitting on a warm rock and sipping tea.

Birds were chirping, and flowers were blooming. On a day like this.

-Screech!!

“…All those monsters should be burning in hell.”

Talk about bad timing. I could see a monster flying over there. A creature with a human face, sharp teeth, and only a head floating around. It was a Biduman.

It would have been funny if it were a skeleton, at least. Anyway, there were three of them.

Seeing them frantically flying towards us with their saw-like teeth exposed, I sighed. I thought it was a nice day for a reason.

“Sayun.”

There was no way Hongryeon hadn’t noticed what I had seen. She spoke calmly, and Sayun put down her teacup and smiled.

“I’ll take care of them, so don’t worry too much.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Of course. I’m also.”

-Swish.

“A warrior of the Hongseong Clan.”

The sword that had been sleeping in its sheath revealed itself. A longsword. A reward that could be obtained from the hidden realm found in the underground cave of the Hongseong Clan.

The so-called ‘Pretty’ sword that emitted light as the user grew and the sword’s proficiency increased. The sight of Sayun drawing it was not just that of a kind girl I had met here, but.

“Here I go.”

Of a dignified warrior.

Bidumen themselves were not very strong monsters. They could fly freely in the sky, but their only means of attack was rushing and biting with their teeth.

They were easy monsters to deal with even in the Celestial Moon Order, so dealing with Bidumen didn’t seem difficult for Sayun.

-Slash!!

When one Biduman swooped down to attack Sayun, her body moved smoothly. She dodged by sliding across the ground and struck down with her sword. At the same time, the Biduman’s wing-like ear was cut off and fell to the ground, and Sayun lunged towards it.

Thud. The Biduman, heavily damaged by the blow, rolled on the ground, and as if taking advantage of that, the other two Bidumen attacked.

“Don’t worry. Sayun has great talent.”

That’s true.

Even in the Celestial Moon Order, she had mastered the latter part of the Hongseong Divine Arts on her own without any guidance.

Moreover, according to Sa-yoon’s letter, she had already made the sword emit light.

It’s not easy to increase the proficiency of the ‘Pretty’ sword. It requires truly painstaking effort.

It hadn’t been long since Sayun obtained that sword.

She wasn’t just practicing martial arts like the other disciples of the Moonlight Pavilion.

She also had other tasks to help maintain the Hongseong Clan and assist the other senior disciples.

And yet, she made the sword emit light?

It showed how diligently and intensely she had been training.

“Sometimes when I come out at night, Sa-yoon is practicing alone. When I asked her why she’s so dedicated, she said she doesn’t know how to do anything else, but there are many people she wants to repay.”

As if looking at a praiseworthy younger sibling, Hongryeon watched Sayun with a contented expression.

“And to do that, she said she needs to master her martial arts diligently.”

“That’s not wrong.”

“Yeah. So it makes me a bit sad.”

Hongryeon spoke bitterly and looked at me.

“Thanks to you, Sayun has found other joys… but it still seems like it’s not enough.”

“Well, she seems to have a lot on her mind right now, so wouldn’t it get better once things are sorted out?”

“I hope so? Sigh.”

She let out a small sigh and sipped her tea. Just then, Sayun took down the second Biduman and was stretching her leg towards the third.

It would be over soon.

Sayun, having easily defeated the Bidumen, returned without showing any signs of exhaustion.

She was strong.

Stronger than I had thought.

“You did well.”

“No! This is nothing.”

“Still, actual combat must have been difficult.”

“Hehe. Compared to sparring with my master, this is really nothing.”

Well, you can’t compare it to the Sword Saint.

Even though it was just an event scene, it was said that a Taoist of the same level as the Sword Saint had single-handedly made one of the Four Fiends flee…

Anyway, we dealt with the monsters without any major problems, and we got back on the cart and continued our journey.

As we traveled, we took short breaks here and there, and as the sun began to set, we could see a high mountain with a beautiful landscape at the end of the road.

That was Changun Mountain.

It was the place where Changun’gwan, which enshrines the Eight Immortals of Taoism, was located.

“Is that Palseon Village?”

“That’s right.”

As Hongryeon said, there was a village at the foot of Changun Mountain. It was a fairly large village along the river, and it was called Palseon (Eight Immortals) Village, named after the Eight Immortals.

Seeing the village, which was often mentioned in the forums and where many people stayed for the recurring event of defending Changun’gwan in the Celestial Moon Order, brought a wry smile to my face.

I had been here many times before in my past.

With those thoughts in mind, I looked at the bustling village. As it was a famous place frequently visited by martial artists and merchants, the village itself had clearly developed quite a bit.

As if to prove it, Palseon Village was brightly lit even though darkness was falling, as if it were daytime.

“Where are we staying?”

“Well. I’m thinking of going to Chwi Inn. I heard it’s quiet and the food is delicious.”

“Oh~. Where did you hear that?”

“I heard about it when I went to Yangwi Fortress before. Here we go.”

How long had we been driving the cart? When the cart stopped in front of a moderately large inn, a waiter came out from inside.

“Welcome! How many people?”

“Three. Two rooms, please.”

“Yes!!”

We left the horse and cart and came down with our luggage. When we entered the inn, there were a few martial artists sitting inside, but they just glanced at us indifferently and said nothing.

It was a place frequented by martial artists, and since it was a famous spot, it seemed that seeing martial artists was nothing unusual.

After getting our rooms, I sat down at a table and asked the two of them.

“Is there anything you would like to eat?”

“Noodles?”

“Me too.”

“As you know, Palseon Village is a famous spot, and martial artists from all over the continent visit here. As such, goods from all over the continent gather here. They also aim to promote their local products through those who visit.”

“Yes. I heard that.”

“That’s why the night market has many interesting things, lots of food, and many attractions. Let’s eat simply here and then go to the night market to fill our stomachs with snacks while we look around.”

At my suggestion, Hongryeon looked at Sayun. Perhaps because I mentioned that various goods from all over the continent could be seen at the night market, she blinked her eyes and then flinched.

“Um. But Innkeeper… You’ve been driving the cart all day…”

“That’s nothing. I told you before, didn’t I? Don’t think too much about it. Right now, all you have to do is decide whether to go or not.”

Sayun closed her eyes tightly. And after a moment of thought, she spoke carefully with a slightly flushed face.

“I want to go…”

“Good. Then are you coming with us?”

Hongryeon smiled as if it were obvious.

“Of course, I’m always up for it.”

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