Sama Ak swung his sword, and I waited silently until he finished.

He panted heavily, his breath ragged, and I added a comment.

"Is this supposed to be the Sama Family's swordsmanship?"

"Yeah, it’s Sama Ilgeom."

"......"

The Sama Family.

Thanks to the legendary Sama Gon, also known as the Ghost Shadow, the family was renowned for its mastery of knowledge and martial arts.

But it seemed the latter reputation might need to be reconsidered. The swordsmanship displayed by the current family head was far from anything resembling "mastery."

"......"

"I can see your expression even under the mask."

Sama Ak leaned on his sword.

"Yeah, you saw it. My Sama Ilgeom is pathetic."

"Pathetic might be putting it mildly."

"Then what would you call it?"

"It lacks cohesion. From the name 'Ilgeom' (One Sword), it seems the form is supposed to flow as a single, unified motion, but..."

The beginning of Sama Ilgeom was clean, but its end was a chaotic mess.

"Did you lose the martial art's manual?"

"Not entirely blind, are you? Like a mutt sniffing out a scent. But this isn't just about a missing manual."

Sama Ak brushed his hair back with a sigh.

"The disappearance of the family manual is a well-known tale. It vanished shortly after my grandfather Sama Gon disappeared. But I had seen my grandfather's sword techniques before he was gone. I remember them vividly. Losing the manual doesn’t mean I can't replicate the martial art."

"......"

"The reason my movements fall apart at the end is simple. My body is too weak. Hey, mutt. This is where you come in. I’ll set aside some time from now on. During the nights when I have free moments, you’re going to help me refine my posture and build my stamina."

"What do you mean by refining your posture—?"

"Sama Ilgeom. I don't expect you to complete it. Instead, I want you to correct my stance. My body isn’t suited for this. Even when I tried to imitate my grandfather’s movements, they didn’t fit me. As someone from the Blood Demon Division, you must have grown up scraping the bottom of the barrel, right? You’re probably better at understanding the body than some genius martial artist."

Sama Ak took a deep breath.

"If you can’t help with one thing, at least be useful for this. Samshipho. Refusal is not an option."

"......"

Sama Ilgeom.

I visualized the technique I’d just seen. Its intricate opening moves replayed in my mind as I tried to piece together the rest.

...It doesn’t connect. It really doesn’t connect.

I couldn’t complete the missing portions, but I could help correct Sama Ak’s stance.

"But Family Head, there are several problems."

"What are they?"

"You lack stamina, energy, and your body itself is in poor condition."

"And?"

"We’d need to fix all of that, but there’s simply not enough time."

"Just teach me what’s necessary. That will suffice. I’ll make up for the rest myself later. I just..."

For the first time, Sama Ak let out a bitter laugh.

"I just need a sword to leave behind for the Sama Family. My mind is sharp enough to put what I learn into writing. Whoever succeeds me may be as frail as I am. This is to prepare for that possibility."

"You care about the Sama Family."

"That’s what being the family head means, you idiot. Why else would I take on this troublesome position if not for some sense of duty?"

Sama Ak pointed his sword at me.

"Will you do it, or not?"

"Didn’t you say refusal wasn’t an option?"

I stood up.

"Looks like I don’t have a choice."

"Exactly. There is no choice."

Sama Ak tilted his head slightly.

"Do your job, bodyguard Samshipho."

"Training isn’t typically within a bodyguard’s responsibilities, but..."

I unsheathed my own sword.

"Since everyone else in the Sama Family is so busy, I suppose I’ll have to handle two roles."

Sama Ak chuckled faintly.

"Such a smooth-talker."

***

 

Samaak was teaching. But soon, he faced a problem.

Samaak's body was in terrible condition. He had no natural talent for learning martial arts in the first place.

If I were the culprit, I’d say he had no talent for the sword at all. And it didn’t seem like he even liked it.

"Sama Ilgeum? I'm learning it out of duty. I never liked this kind of cruel thing."

"A sword is beautiful..."

"What beauty is there? It's absurd to talk about beauty in an act that kills people. I can’t understand the people of the martial world."

His stamina was so poor that even teaching him one move was a struggle. Even when I pointed out his posture, he had no skill in moving his body, so Samaak couldn’t follow through.

"Is this it?"

"Just a little more... like this..."

"No, what, explain it so I can understand! Don’t just show it with your body!"

"I said lower your waist!"

"Don’t raise your voice!"

The sword Samaak wielded was weak. He couldn’t even cut a single twig.

"...Was the Sama Ilgeum this poor a martial art in our family?"

"It’s because the one wielding it is incompetent, so the martial art becomes like this."

"Your words have thorns."

"Let’s practice before something worse happens."

"You filthy bastard, threatening me."

I wasn’t very experienced at teaching.

And Samaak couldn’t keep up, despite my efforts.

But we had something in common. No matter how high the wall, we didn’t give up easily.

Samaak, drenched in sweat and panting, screamed in muscle pain the next day.

But even limping, he continued toward the stone tablet place.

"Sama Ilgeum must be passed down. Even if not by me, then through my descendants. The greatness of the Sama family cannot end in my generation."

"...Why go that far?"

"Responsibility. The person who should take responsibility for what my grandfather left behind could only be me. You don’t know how that feels, do you?"

"I’ve had to bear the house alone before."

"So you’re not completely hopeless, huh?"

Samaak’s sword still wasn’t much better on the second day. Even though his whole body screamed, he gritted his teeth and swung his sword.

"The Sama family is everything to me."

"Why go that far..."

"The greatness of the Sama family has been passed down through the generations. The name 'Sama family' itself is like a great spirit. A treasure passed down through the generations. One of the most prestigious families even in the Demonic Sect."

Samaak’s sword was still similar on the third day. But he didn’t put it down.

"Those who carry the bloodline must bear the responsibility."

"If simply carrying the bloodline means bearing the responsibility, isn’t that unfair?"

"Has the world ever been fair? This is how we live."

"You don’t seem like someone who would submit to such logic."

"...What do you know?"

Samaak swung the sword down.

For the first time, he split a twig.

"I don’t know anything. Master. But I can speak of what I’ve seen."

"......."

"I only asked because it seemed there was a reason behind it. If you don’t want to answer, it’s fine."

Samaak’s shoulder shook. He looked down at the cut twig.

His crooked mouth moved.

"...My father passed away early. I don’t even know what his face looked like. My mother also passed away early. They were one soul and crossed the line on the same day. It was an accident. For me, my family was just my younger sister and my grandfather."

"......."

"My grandfather nearly led the Sama family alone. He was someone I could learn a lot from. I grew up watching his back. Ghost Shadow Sama Gon. My grandfather taught me many things. How to hold chopsticks. How to be polite. How to read books. How to talk to people..."

"It seems you didn’t quite learn how to talk to people."

"Do you want to die?"

Samaak chuckled.

"Yeah, bastard. Other than that, I learned a lot. My grandfather was my idol. I wanted to be like him. But I couldn’t. I had no talent for martial arts. Fortunately, my mind was sharp enough to learn how to manage the family. My grandfather always said something. Do you know what that was?"

"I don’t know."

"'Every member of the Sama family is my family,' he said that many times. My grandfather treated the employees around him warmly, just like that. There was always laughter. I... probably liked that sight. Watching the members of the Sama family living peacefully within the Sama family walls."

"......."

"Even if you talk about responsibility, it’s fine. I decided to protect this place. So, no matter what happens, I’ll protect it. For the name 'Sama family' to last long, I’d even drink poison. If the walls come down, the sheep inside will be devoured by wolves. I don’t want to see that. That’s the whole story."

I reflected on Samaak’s words. I looked down at the sword he was holding.

What weight could be in that sword, lifted by those thin, frail hands?

For a moment, I felt like I caught a glimpse of what kind of person he was. I kept quiet.

I simply showed him the sword again.

"Let’s try it this way, Master."

"...Hmph."

Samaak turned his head awkwardly.

Out of curiosity, I asked him one more question.

"By the way... did you learn that habit from your grandfather?"

"It’s necessary to speak like this to those shameless bastards so they know to crawl back. Those who were targeting the Sama family because I was young and couldn’t learn martial arts—there were annoyingly many of them. If you speak nicely to those bastards, they actually climb up."

"That way of speaking is too familiar to be intentional..."

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Samaak swung his sword down.

He grunted as he pulled the sword out of the tree.

He sighed.

"One week... It’s too much."

"But hasn’t it improved?"

"By an ant’s nose."

"I have a question, Master."

"Why do you have so many questions?"

"Why me?"

"......."

Samaak put his sword back into its sheath.

"You’re an outsider."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"Everyone in the Sama family knows. I’m an utterly weakling. It’s impossible not to know. But seeing it in front of them is a whole different thing. You fool."

"......."

"It’s about reputation. What would happen if the head of the Sama family looks ridiculous while swinging a sword? What if someone who’s not a member of the Sama family sees that?"

"......."

"If the master shows a weak side, loyalty can disappear."

"I don’t think that’s all."

"You sharp bastard."

Samaak scratched his head.

"Yeah. Right now, Juyeong. Even the bodyguard I trust the most wouldn’t laugh at me. But how would I feel?"

"Eh?"

"Can you show something you can’t do in front of others? How about my shame?"

"Isn’t that shameful to me?"

"I don’t care enough about a dog that’s leaving to worry about it."

"...Pfft."

"Don’t split it?!"

The last day as a bodyguard approached.

Samaak, who would normally ask me to teach him the sword as usual, brought up something else.

"Sit down. Bastard."

"What is this?"

"It’s wine. I used to drink it alone, so there’s only one cup. It’s almost gone, so just have one drink."

Samaak poured the wine into the glass. After calculating how much was left, he brought the bottle to his lips.

"Sometimes, you need to drink things like this."

He sniffed it. There was no luxurious scent.

Just the average alcohol. The kind of cheap wine you could find anywhere.

"I thought someone like the head of the family would drink something better."

"Being able to drink it is what matters. I’m not particular about the price. You materialistic bastard."

"Why give this to me..."

"You were pretty useful, even as a bastard. Not completely useless. Well, the Sama Ilgeum is still the same, but now you can at least stick the sword in the tree."

Samaak clicked his tongue.

"...Thanks to you, I corrected my posture. So I’m giving it to you. Take it gratefully."

I saw the shame hidden in his grumbling.

I smiled slightly.

"Give it to me in money."

"I don’t have money."

"Didn’t you say there was leftover money?"

"As the head of the family, sometimes I lie. By the way, how old are you? Why do you keep challenging me?"

"Now... I’m twenty-five."

"I’m a year older. Don’t try anything."

"Do you call me 'older brother'?"

"Shut up."

He drank the glass. The aftertaste was a bit bitter.

But even so, the long-awaited alcohol was rather sweet.

It wasn’t nearly enough to get drunk, but because there was so little, I could enjoy the lingering taste.

"Yeah. Hey. Bastard. Your time is up. What did you see?"

"......."

"Did you catch any evidence? Evidence that I’m collaborating?"

I silently stared at him. The moment had come to make a decision.

Do I trust him?

Or do I trust the more certain evidence from the Heavenly Demon Sect?

In the silence, I fiddled with the sword. The choice was mine.

Which path would I take? Jeokun.

The

easy, comfortable path?

Or the difficult, hard one?

"......"

In the flickering light, I opened my mouth.

"Master. Did you know that some goods meant to go to the main temple were missing from the warehouse?"

"...What?"

I decided to trust my judgment.

"Things are happening here that the master doesn’t know about. So, I’ll ask again. Master, did you really... steal the tribute that was supposed to go to the main temple?"

"......."

Samaak’s expression hardened. He sprang to his feet.

I took the lantern and followed him.

We arrived in front of the storage room. Samaak unlocked the door.

"Master? Why at this time...?"

"Move."

He pulled out the key with trembling hands. He opened every empty box.

"What is this...?"

"30th Warrior!"

The familiar voice of the 29th Warrior settled in the storage room.

"We need to move immediately! Right now!"