Chapter 6: Who is this woman?
“Hic… sob… sob… Master… Master…”
Hyangbi clung to me, unable to stop her tears.
With the appearance of a Westerner—blonde hair and red eyes—she had faced a lifetime of discrimination, making her one of the few people I held dear in this world.
Seven years ago,
I found her by chance in a market, unsold and despised simply for her foreign appearance. Scraping together every coin I had, I bought her.
Coming from the modern world, I had no reason to harbor prejudice against her kind,
But more than that, seeing her—a girl around Dohwa’s age—in such a pitiful state tugged at my heart.
Through that chance encounter,
Hyangbi became my attendant and, in essence, like a younger sister in this world, always by my side.
However, no matter how much Hyangbi looked up to me or how much I cared for her, I had no choice but to leave her behind in the end.
Though it pained me to abandon someone I’d grown as close to as a real sister,
Unlike Hyangbi, who had reached her mid-teens and become a first-rate martial artist capable of surviving on her own,
My ten-year-old sister Dohwa still needed my help.
Back then, I believed that after the battle with the Heavenly Demon, I’d return to the modern world to be with Dohwa,
So despite Hyangbi’s desperate pleas, I parted ways with her.
And now,
With my plans derailed and stuck in this world with Dohwa,
I decided to return to this place—one of my former strongholds—to catch my breath.
In the process, I unexpectedly reunited with Hyangbi.
‘Well… honestly, deep down, I was hoping for this. Since I’ve decided to stay in this world, there’s no reason to abandon Hyangbi.’
Thus, reuniting with a girl I thought I’d never see again—a reunion both heartwarming and slightly unexpected—
I naturally stroked her hair as I always had.
“Sorry… for making you worry. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“…Master…”
At my words filled with apology, Hyangbi hugged me even tighter.
At that moment.
“…Oppa? Who’s this woman?”
“Huh?”
“Ah…”
Dohwa’s slightly stiff voice cut through as she watched us embrace.
Realizing I hadn’t introduced them, I let go of Hyangbi.
Hyangbi, with a hint of reluctance, stepped back and looked at Dohwa with a slightly cold expression.
*
“So… this unnie is your subordinate?”
“Not exactly a subordinate… more like a younger sister. That relationship is over now.”
“What are you saying, Master? As I’ve said before, I swore to serve you forever, both in the past and going forward. Even if you ended our contract, my body and heart belong to you eternally. Please take back those words.”
Though I tried to clarify that our master-servant relationship had ended, Hyangbi clearly had no intention of accepting that.
Given the seven years we’d spent together—nearly half her life from her perspective—it seemed she still felt resistant to moving beyond that bond.
‘Well… she’s still in her mid-teens, so she’s young…’
Deciding that if she felt this way, there was no need to force a change right away, I chose to think about it more leisurely later.
Meanwhile, after her own matter was settled, Hyangbi looked at Dohwa, who was sticking close to my side, and spoke in her usual calm yet slightly wary tone.
“Then, this young lady Dohwa is your real sister… is that correct?”
“Yeah, that’s right. She was sealed away because of the Heavenly Demon in the past, but with his death, I was able to find her. She’s still ten years old, as she was when she was sealed.”
No matter how much I trusted Hyangbi, explaining the modern world or transmigration would only confuse her and complicate things,
So I gave her the story Dohwa and I had prepared beforehand.
“I’m truly glad. That you defeated the Heavenly Demon safely, Master… Honestly, I thought you had died during the subjugation all this time.”
Hyangbi spoke with a smile full of genuine relief.
I gave a wry smile in return and responded.
“Well… honestly, I thought the same for a while. I got lucky in many ways. I went in expecting to die but came back with all my limbs intact.”
I spoke as if I’d miraculously survived a deadly ordeal.
But in truth, this was a complete fabrication to keep the story consistent.
I’m sorry to Hyangbi, but the reason I’d said those things before leaving wasn’t because I expected defeat—it was because I planned to return home after the Heavenly Demon’s subjugation.
Jumping recklessly into a fight with no chance of winning wasn’t my style. I always moved with thorough planning and preparation.
That was why, despite the righteous sects’ constant antagonism, I’d never once tasted defeat and claimed victory, including in this Heavenly Demon subjugation.
During the battles with the Heavenly Demon—or rather, his merciless slaughter—I observed carefully from a distance, gauging his combat ability and strength.
Based on that, I succeeded in preparing everything needed to defeat him.
Thanks to the talent granted by my transmigration to this world, I relentlessly trained to gain power equal to the Heavenly Demon’s,
Developing and mastering martial arts perfectly suited to me in the process.
After all that hardship, having gained strength nearly equal to the Heavenly Demon’s,
I endured the irritation of pandering to the annoying righteous sect martial artists who disliked me, eventually joining the Martial Alliance’s Heavenly Demon subjugation effort.
Though I suffered greatly from their insufferable arrogance, it was a price I could bear for a perfect victory and a return home.
As a result, I managed to beat the five martial artists of the Martial Alliance into submission, setting up a one-on-one fight with the Heavenly Demon, who had used only a third of his power.
And, as expected, I achieved a perfect victory.
However,
While I dealt with the Central Plains’ greatest calamity, the Heavenly Demon, without much trouble,
The unexpected events that followed left me in a rather awkward position.
“But still… that was so unlike you, Master. To say those things to the Martial Alliance’s big shots.”
“Sigh… Yeah. I still don’t know why I did that. My judgment was a bit clouded right after the fight with the Heavenly Demon.”
Unlike my earlier fib, Hyangbi’s words about my actual mistake drew a bitter tone from me.
‘F*ck… If I’d known it’d turn out like this, I should’ve just kept pandering to those b*stards until the end.’
Right before teleporting to meet the Supreme Emperor,
Thinking I’d never see those jerks again, I unleashed a torrent of curses fueled by all my pent-up resentment.
I had intended to swallow my anger and let it pass, but their sudden pretense of friendliness after everything was over was too disgusting to bear.
Of course, compared to their constant antagonism, my outburst was mild, but given their petty nature, who knew how they’d retaliate?
Even with the power of the greatest under the heavens, getting entangled in troublesome matters was something I wanted to avoid.
Especially now, with not just Hyangbi but also my little sister Dohwa by my side, I needed to be cautious of the Martial Alliance’s actions and lay low for a while.
“So, what are your plans now, Master?”
“Hmm…”
At Hyangbi’s question, I began to think seriously.
This place had enough food and some hidden funds for emergencies, but we couldn’t live in the mountains forever.
More importantly, this location had been exposed during my time as a martial artist, so there was always a risk of the Martial Alliance showing up.
‘Of course, having seen my power, they probably won’t act too recklessly, but you never know with people…’
Crucially, keeping my young sister cooped up in the mountains wasn’t good for her upbringing.
Since we were staying in this world, I wanted Dohwa to interact with people, make friends, and live a normal, happy life.
With that in mind, I began carefully considering possible destinations.
Not as the greatest under the heavens,
But a quiet place where we could settle.
And finding such a place wasn’t as difficult as I thought.
‘That person should be trustworthy. They owe me a favor, after all.’