34 No War

Home, after a long time away.

It was a tiny studio apartment, small enough to call a one-room box, but being back in my own place still felt comfortable.

I wasn't the type to lose sleep just because I slept outside, but it still couldn't compare to the satisfaction of sleeping in my own bedding.

I thought I could sleep soundly now that there was no night watch, without waking up until work—

- One! Two!

"One! Two! One! Two!"

The noise from next door made me rethink why my dream was to live in an apartment.

A true neighbor lived next door, one who gave me motivation to wake up at dawn and move into a good apartment.

"Ah, shit……."

I checked the time on the phone beside me.

[05:22]

"Ah, fuck off."

Five o'clock wasn't even considered morning these days. It was basically dawn.

"One! Two! One! Two!"

Having to wake up to the old lady next door doing calisthenics at this hour.

Honestly, wasn't this the very definition of practical motivation to work hard and make money?

- Now, to the left and right! One! Two! One! Two!

"One! Two! One! Two!"

"……."

Unfortunately, my bedding was right next to the wall. If you know, you know: in summer, pressed right up against a wall, the chill from it makes it nice and cool.

- All right! Keep it up! Just a little more!

"Mm! Easy! One! Two! One! Two!"

- If you do stretching and simple exercise this early in the morning, you can live much healthier and longer.

"What exactly is that old lady trying to live for, doing this?"

As soon as I muttered that in disbelief, the noise cut off. Remembering that elf ears had pretty good hearing, I immediately pulled the blanket over me and closed my eyes as if I were asleep.

It was still 5 a.m.

I still had a full four hours until work, so I could sleep a little more—

Bam, bam, bam!

"I heard everything just now! I'll only hit you three times, so get out here!"

'Shit.'

She heard that.

Must be nice that elves don't need hearing aids even when they turn into old ladies.

Bam, bam, bam!

"I said get out here! You're mocking me when I'm working hard from early morning?!"

I really was going to earn a ton of money and move to a good apartment.

Somewhere well soundproofed, with no problems from neighbor noise, and where the old lady next door wouldn't come knocking at 5 a.m.

Renea knocked on the door a few more times, then finally seemed to tire herself out and went back to her room.

'Gone?'

Just when I thought it was over.

"Eek?! There's water pooled on the floor! I'm getting wet!?"

There was a sound from the veranda.

Our veranda, that is.

"What is it?!"

I immediately threw off the blanket and sat up, only to see Renea coming into the living room from the veranda.

"How did you get over here?"

"I'm an elf, am I not! I've spent my whole life climbing trees; getting over to the next-door veranda is nothing!"

If she'd been climbing trees for 1,900 years, I guess that made sense.

"Are you insane? That doesn't mean you can just hop into someone else's house. I'm calling the police right now."

Even if a 1,900-year-old old lady had come over because of dementia, this wasn't something to laugh off. Yesterday she did Santa Claus cosplay, and now it seemed she'd learned to hop fences too.

"Heh, heh-heh—! I came to eat breakfast together!"

"At five in the morning, what the hell…."

What made it worse was that she didn't seem to be joking; she was actually holding cup ramen in both hands.

"Hm? Hm? Let's eat together! While the boss was on a business trip to the 5th floor, I was stuck eating cup ramen alone in my room, all by myself!"

"……."

The image of Renea eating ramen alone in her room, all forlorn, brought on a strange sense of solidarity.

I'd eaten ramen alone in this room while watching YouTube countless times too.

"Sigh, the electric kettle's over there."

"Hooray!"

In the end, I gave in.

I ended up eating cup ramen first thing in the morning, but it was still food from an elf grandma.

'Saved on food expenses.'

I remembered the side dishes the gukbap shop auntie had given me yesterday, but decided not to bring them up.

When you can cut food expenses even a little, you should.

Renea filled the kettle with water and sat on the floor, setting up the cup ramen.

"Can I eat the udon ramen too?"

"Both of these are mine, so what are you talking about?"

"……."

"Bring your own ramen."

I just wanted her to go away.

* * *

An early-morning arrival at Meracle.

I was smoking in the smoking area in front of the building when I ran right into Kim Yang coming to work.

"Good morning."

"G-good morning, boss."

A simple morning greeting.

That made it feel like I had really come back.

The business trip had only been five days, but it had been every bit that much hard labor.

"This is peace—"

Tap-tap-tap-tap!

The sound of someone hurriedly running down the stairs.

Before I could even turn to check, Kim Yang's headbutt had already slammed into my waist.

"P-pasey—!"

"Urk?!"

I really almost fell to the floor if I hadn't caught myself. Even though Kim Yang's headbutt looked like nothing, those horns hurt more than you'd think.

"What the hell was that all of a sudden? A mutiny?"

Was this some scheme to swallow Meracle whole?

"W-what is this?"

What Kim Yang held out was none other than a money pouch. The one I'd received from Shinseondowon.

"...it's your allowance."

"I-I don't need it! H-hey, there. Don't you dare go!"

"It's not like I went because I wanted to!"

Seriously unfair.

"B-boss. Why! Won't you listen? Idiot?"

"Why don't you have any respect for your boss?"

"R-respect? Wh-what does that mean?"

"Ah! I told you to study words. Respect. Meaning... looking up to someone, faithfully following their words, not talking back, and—"

"S-slave?"

"No, that's not it."

How was I supposed to explain that?

"I-I will not become a slave!"

Just as Kim Yang was about to headbutt me again, a thickset man came into the smoking area.

With an apron on and rubber boots, he looked every bit the owner of a restaurant.

It was the gukbap shop auntie's son.

"Oh, hello."

"Hello. Did you eat the side dishes I gave you yesterday?"

"Ah, I ate them with ramen today—"

As we started talking, Kim Yang quietly moved behind me and just bowed their head.

Putting a hand in the pocket and taking out the phone to look it over was the complete opposite of how they'd been bickering with me over silly little things just moments before.

"……."

In the end, Kim Yang looked at the phone, said nothing, and went up the stairs into Meracle.

The gukbap shop owner's son smoked with me while sneaking glances at Kim Yang, and only after Kim Yang went inside did he speak.

"Wow, just as expected. Kim Yang's presence is seriously no joke. How do you work with someone like that?"

"Huh? What's wrong with Kim Yang?"

She's a little playful, sure, but she works hard.

"They're totally chic. Cool. Even when you ask them something, they hardly answer. They just bow their head."

"……누가요?"

"Huh? Kim Yang, of course."

"Kim Yang's chic? Is dancing on social media and stuff what counts as chic?"

"You don't know girl crush? They're hugely popular, especially with women."

That was a little different from the Kim Yang I knew.

In the end, I couldn't agree with him, so I smoked awkwardly, and the gukbap shop owner's son changed the subject.

"By the way, did you hear about the knife fight at Sora Café yesterday?"

"……At Sora Café?"

The bread there was good, so I often sent Kim Yang to go buy some for me.

"From what I heard, it was some kind of jealous lovers' fight. A man and woman from the outer floors were waving knives around, smashing tables, breaking windows. It was no joke."

"Tch, causing trouble on someone else's floor."

"Exactly. Seeing things like that, it must be hard for you, Juseon. No, I mean, your actual job is dealing with people like that."

"Hoo."

He blew out cigarette smoke and smiled with a certain sense of pride.

"But Meracle's customer management is thorough too. We don't match people in a way that makes them start fights like that."

"Oh, an expert."

"Right, a pro. As they say, it takes two hands to clap. It's because two inconsiderate idiots were put together. I would never arrange a match like that."

"Wow, if a good woman comes in later, give me a heads-up. These days my mom keeps nagging me to get married—"

I suddenly remembered the aunt who said her son thought well of Kim Yang, but I didn't mention it.

He might want to hide it himself.

Anyway, after finishing my conversation with the gukbap shop owner's son and returning to Meracle, exactly one hour later.

"Mr. Kim Juseon?"

The police showed up at the company.

"B-boss! Ru-run! Destroy the records!"

The moment the police showed up, Kim Yang frantically tried to destroy the documents first. That actually made the police tense up and draw a Taser.

"Stay still! Don't touch the documents, and put your hands up!"

"Hold on, detective, you've got the wrong idea. Hey, Kim Yang! Why are you making such a fuss and scaring the detective like that!"

"Huh? I-It does this in dramas."

It's not like I was doing anything illegal.

After taking a bit of time for both sides to calm down, the conversation continued.

Naturally, I thought it would be some additional investigation related to Aul—

"At 5 p.m. yesterday evening, there was a stabbing incident at a nearby Sora Café."

The officer brought up something I hadn't expected at all.

"The two suspects were arrested at the scene. They were transferred to our jurisdiction for questioning, and both suspects had one thing in common, so we came here."

"Something in common?"

"Yes. When we looked into how the two met, they said they'd been matched through this place."

"……."

"B-boss. Run?"

This was starting to feel bad.

As both Kim Yang and I stiffened, the officer added,

"Ah, we're not here to say you've done anything wrong. This is just an investigation and a request for cooperation according to procedure."

"Right? It's not like I did anything wrong just by matchmaking."

Them fighting was their own fault.

"Now then, let me ask you a few questions. Do you know Jessica from the 6th floor and Namgung Yeon from the 5th floor?"

"They fought?"

Didn't they want arranged-marriage partners, so I connected them with families that matched each of their needs?

They didn't want love or dating or anything like that; it was literally just a meeting for the family's benefit, so I thought they'd get married without any trouble.

"W-why?"

"That's exactly why we're asking for your cooperation. Mr. Namgung Yeon paid bail and immediately went back to the 5th floor."

"……And Jessica?"

"She's still at the police station. And—she keeps waiting for Meracle's boss, Mr. Kim Juseon."

* * *

A beautiful wooden building where brown timber and tranquil patterns blended together.

Above the pair of main gates.

A large signboard that seemed to have aged with time hung there.

In graceful black ink, 南宮 (Namgung) was written there.

Even in the old martial world, this was the place that came to mind when one thought of swords. The Namgung Clan, the most eminent of the great houses.

Right now, at the Namgung Clan's main residence, the clan head, chief protector, elders, chief steward, and more.

All the clan's most prominent figures had gathered.

After hearing about the young master, Namgung Yeon, their faces turned red with anger as they shouted.

"Clan Head! This is a vile act trampling our Namgung dignity!"

"Hah, huhh—! I've been in the martial world for half a century, and this is the first time I've ever suffered such humiliation!"

"Indeed, the saying that we cannot live under the same sky as the city rabble was right after all!"

"The treasured sword bestowed by the Sword Empress through the generations—! Those shameless bastards—!"

"……."

Even amid this, the clan head, Namgung Pachun, sat quietly in the seat of honor, looking only at his eldest son.

"Young master, Namgung Yeon."

His voice sank heavily.

It felt as if his shoulders were being pressed down by a downward sword strike.

"Yes, Clan Head."

"The loss of the Seowol Sword. Can you bear that responsibility?"

At the clan head's question, Namgung Yeon immediately raised his head and shouted as if he'd been waiting for it.

"I will personally lead our warriors up to the 6th floor and bring back the heads of those who disgraced the Namgung name."

At his son's answer, Namgung Pachun gestured for him to go outside.

No more words were needed; it was time to prove it with action.

Amid the encouragement and support of the others, Namgung Yeon came out to the training yard and immediately began gathering people.

"It seems the situation isn't very good, huh?"

A woman's voice that seemed to enchant people. Namgung Hwaryeong, his older sister, approached in a calm training robe.

A tragic woman who, despite overpowering him in skill, could not become clan head because she was a woman.

Though well past marriageable age, she had yet to meet the fate meant for her and still remained in the clan.

"It's not just that it's bad. I trusted the place you introduced and stepped inside, but this is what happened. I'll definitely hold Meracle accountable too."

"Don't lay a hand on Meracle."

Namgung Hwaryeong's warning was icy.

Namgung Yeon swallowed unconsciously and nodded.

"Ah, yes, understood."

Seeing the warriors being summoned, Hwaryeong clicked her tongue and walked away. There were many men in the clan, but none she had any interest in.

'At this rate, could she even go through with a wedding?'

Watching Hwaryeong's departing back, Namgung Yeon shook his head.

A martial-duel marriage, huh.

Namgung Yeon couldn't picture Namgung Hwaryeong being defeated by a man and being sent off to marry.