Instead of answering, I just let out a light laugh. Wol Young then immediately continued the conversation.

“I heard that you entered the sect last spring.”

I don’t know who told him about when I joined, but it’s not a secret anyway.

“That’s right.”

“But you don’t seem to be very old yet. Even if it’s two years from now, age shouldn’t be an issue for taking the entrance exam, right?”

“You have good eyes. I’m thirteen this year, so I’ll be fifteen by then.”

At my answer, Wol Young was silent for a moment, as if thinking or choosing his words. After some time passed, he asked in a careful tone.

“…Then may I ask how you came to be connected?”

So this is the main point.

I could tell right away. It wasn’t different from what I had briefly guessed earlier.

‘It seems he’s wanted to ask this since we first met last time.’

That was on the second day after I came to Hwasan.

With this personality, he would have quickly realized that his own entry wouldn’t be easy even in that short time.

If he had heard about me from the master on the way here, he might have thought my case could be of practical help to him.

‘I’m having such a hard time entering, but you seem to have more options than me and entered at this time, so could you tell me how you got in… He wants to ask this but is afraid of offending me, so he’s pretending to be weak and asking indirectly.’

I thought he was trying hard.

And apart from that, I also felt a clear sense of having grasped the other person’s intentions.

“I…”

Telling my story wasn’t particularly difficult. After all, the experience of having my family massacred belongs to ‘Ha Heun’, not me, and I don’t even have images of it in my memories.

Moreover, if I recall the memories from the original work, even ‘Ha Heun’ wasn’t treated very well at home. That child probably wouldn’t have much lingering attachment to the Baek family from when living as ‘Baek Yeoeun’.

But I shouldn’t show too much indifference.

I slowly continued speaking.

“…One day, my family was annihilated by mysterious forces. No one in the family survived, only I remained alive. I was lucky enough to escape successfully, and at that time, I happened to meet the master passing by and clung to him desperately. Thanks to the master not being able to turn away from me, I am here now.”

As I finished speaking and slowly looked to the side, I saw Wol Young’s eyes shaking as he turned his head slightly to look down at me. This time he seemed truly flustered.

I found myself staring blankly at that sight. He apologized in a voice that couldn’t hide his confusion.

“I, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked such a thing…”

“It’s alright. It’s in the past now. Anyway, that’s all there is to it. It probably wasn’t a very helpful story.”

I turned my head back to look straight ahead and laughed deflated.

“However, the fact that I received protection in that way last year makes it especially difficult for you to enter as a disciple. It’s not been long since the commotion and complaints stemming from me have settled down, so it’s not a good time to take in another disciple out of season.”

After a moment of silence, Wol Young let out a small sigh.

“…Commotion and complaints? Was there some problem? I’ve only heard praise for you during the few days I’ve been staying at Hwasan.”

He seemed quite apologetic to me inwardly, perhaps not having expected the story to be this dark, even though he had asked out of curiosity.

Everything from his tone to the content was noticeably softer than before, which was evidence.

“I heard you memorized the Six Harmonies Sword after seeing it just once.”

I don’t know who’s going around saying such things. I shrugged my shoulders.

“It hasn’t been long since I formally picked up a sword, and until I did, no one had any expectations of me. Anyone could see I wasn’t cut out for martial arts.”

“…I see.”

“And no matter how well I can wield a sword, it doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t enter Hwasan through the formal procedures. All the senior and junior disciples now became disciples of Hwasan after taking the entrance exam, but I received protection just because the master rescued and brought me here.”

I exhaled softly and added.

“It’s quite possible for a master to pick up a disciple from outside, but it’s also quite possible for a disciple who entered that way to be somewhat of an outsider within the sect.”

“Is that so…”

I had spoken without any particular intention, but when I looked to the side, Wol Young suddenly had a thoughtful expression.

I was a bit curious about what he was thinking, but we were almost at the guest quarters anyway. Since it was time to part, I decided not to ask.

“I think you’ll know the way from here, so I’ll accompany you only this far.”

“…Ah.”

Wol Young’s eyes widened as he checked the scenery ahead. It seems he hadn’t realized we were almost there. He soon turned to me and bowed his head.

“Thank you, young sect leader. I’m only sorry for asking unnecessary things at such a late hour.”

“Not at all. It’s fine, so rest well.”

With that final greeting, I turned my back on the prospective disciple.

As I retraced my steps, I briefly reflected on this chance encounter during the walk.

Come to think of it, I didn’t really need to go out of my way to worry about Wol Young’s situation. Now that my head has cooled down, I can’t help but laugh at how much unnecessary effort I was putting in before going for the walk.

It was amusing.

‘Was I unknowingly feeling some sort of guilt?’

For closing the book on his tragedy, calling it a third-rate story, or something like that…

Anyway, it’s fine now.

We only exchanged a few words, but even just that was enough to put my mind at ease. Besides, it seems I’ve somewhat made up for the ruined first impression.

Not bad for the result of a chance encounter.

The next day, it was free time late in the evening.

I ended up hearing new information from Senior Liu ‘again’. I really don’t know where he always hears these things from.

“Sister, you know that boy who came to the mountain gate with the fourth senior brother recently? I heard he’s going to take something like an entrance exam alone.”

Moreover, this was really the first time I’d heard about this, and the content was quite fresh.

I opened my eyes wide and was silent for a moment, then finally asked, unable to hide my puzzlement.

“…He’s taking the entrance exam alone? How did that happen? How?”

“Well, you see.”

Senior Liu began to unfold quite a detailed story.

“I heard the sect leader called that boy again to talk. Apparently, he’s smart and has a good physique, so it seemed a waste to just have him do odd jobs. On top of that, the boy was firm in his desire to enter Hwasan no matter what.”

“Hmm.”

“So after some deliberation, the sect leader decided to let him take the entrance exam alone this time, and if he passes, he’ll be allowed to enter as a second-generation disciple.”

I organized these stories in my head. So in summary, it was this:

‘His talent is too good to waste, but it’s difficult to make another exception, so let’s at least go through the formalities.’

Here, the exception refers to me.

But doesn’t this make my situation a bit ambiguous? I blinked a few times.

‘Whether Wol Young passes or not, either way it’s going to be a problem for me.’

Of course, it was clear that I couldn’t comment on the protection I received, as it was the sect’s decision. That’s been an unchanging fact since my entry.

But as always, human hearts don’t move according to reason…

It feels like throwing a spark back into the controversy stemming from my entry, which had just settled down. I suddenly recalled the conversation we had the day before.

‘I did mention formal procedures yesterday.’

But I didn’t expect it to actually turn out like this. The sect leader’s decision?

“…Um, sister.”

At that moment, Senior Liu hesitated a bit before speaking again. Cutting off my ongoing thoughts, I turned to look at him. He had a slightly embarrassed expression and lowered his voice to speak.

“Don’t worry too much… I know it might bother you that someone of a similar age has a different entry method. Well, how should I put it, you’ve already been recognized as a disciple of Hwasan by the sect, so… Right?”

At those words, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Although we’ve long since reconciled, the fact that he once had complaints about me for that very reason hasn’t disappeared.

He seemed to know this too, which made his own words feel somewhat self-contradictory.

“Ah, I know. It’s okay, senior brother.”

Unable to bear the awkwardness, Senior Liu hung his head low and muttered a response.

“Alright…”

“I won’t laugh. I understand what you’re saying. Thank you.”

“Uh…”

To comfort him, I took out a piece of candy I had in my pocket and placed it in his hand.

He received the candy in bewilderment, looking at me with slightly dumbfounded eyes, then seemingly giving up, he stuffed the candy into his mouth and chewed.

As I quietly watched him, a sudden thought occurred to me, making me pause.

‘Although the entry method is different, letting him take the entrance exam alone is actually a special exception in itself when you look at it separately.’

The timing isn’t much different from mine, it just seems less like special treatment because the difficulty is higher compared to my case.

…Wait, then couldn’t I take that more difficult entrance exam too?

Of course, since I’ve learned martial arts, the exam might not be difficult for me now. But does that matter? If I just take it together with him, in others’ perception, it would seem like I’m voluntarily going through the trouble, right?

I felt like that might dispel the negative feelings about the ‘special treatment’ I received earlier.

“Hey, senior brother.”

“Yes?”

“What if I take that entrance exam together?”

I don’t know what kind of exam it will be, but for some reason, I didn’t think I would fail.