Myeong Palace’s Main Hall.

The place where the Magongnyeo appointment ceremony, today’s second event, was being held following the Jewang Hall where the New Year’s ceremony took place.

Na Rin was waiting for the appointment ceremony after changing into new clothes.

“It’s heavy.”

“A person with level 4 internal energy is exaggerating.”

Na Rin glared at Gong Son Wu and the Ilwol Shinyeo who prepared this outfit with a sullen expression.

“It’s so fluttery!”

“All expensive clothes are like that. The main character of the day can’t look shabby, right? In general, the heavier the crown, the more precious it is.”

Na Rin pouted her lips at the attitude of Ilwol Shinyeo, who said everything she wanted to say just by adding ‘yo’ at the end.

No matter how much she thought about it, it seemed like revenge for calling for a high salary.

‘There’s no evidence.’

Na Rin’s second outfit prepared by Ilwol Shinyeo was very uncomfortable, but it was flashy enough to be considered one of the top five in the Forbidden City.

It felt like her body was stuck inside a sculpture made of jewels, silk, and gold.

“If you take off the clothes, it looks like it will stand on its own.”

“Hehe. It might be.”

It wasn’t a joke to laugh at.

But even if she expressed dissatisfaction, the clothes couldn’t be changed now. Where could she find clothes this flashy and comfortable? And within an hour at that.

“I hinted to the sect leader to arrange a time for you to greet the Magongja and Magongnyeo after the appointment ceremony. Did you decide on the questions to ask?”

“I decided on a few.”

Na Rin struggled to go get the notebook she had taken out on the dressing table. The hem of her skirt dragged on the floor, and the shoes with high heels and long fronts were cumbersome.

It was only because it was Na Rin that she could maintain balance and walk. If it were an ordinary child, they would have sat down and cried without being able to take a single step.

“Go slowly. Your personality is always so hasty.”

“First, I’m going to introduce myself like this. Elder brother, or elder sister. Are you in good health these days? I’m the cute and clever youngest sibling Na Rin who is not at all threatening and will definitely be beneficial to get close to.”

“……”

Even if using newly learned expressions was understandable, the self-introduction afterwards was too much of a spectacle.

Na Rin finished the introduction proudly and spoke with a triumphant expression.

“What did you do last night? Do you have people around you who can prove it?”

Smack.

It was the sound of Gong Son Wu hitting his own forehead, not knowing where to point out first.

“Is it that great?”

“It’s absurd! Who would like it if you ask like that? And the self-introduction is terrible too! What were you thinking when you decided that?”

Then Na Rin answered confidently as if she had been waiting for that question.

“I thought if it were me, I wouldn’t like a threatening younger sibling, and I would like a beneficial younger sibling. Being cute and clever is a bonus.”

“Pfft!”

Ilwol Shinyeo, who was watching, couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.

“I’m sorry. It was so typical of Magongnyeo Na Rin that I couldn’t help but laugh.”

“Tsk. It’s like watching a fire across the river.”

“Don’t be like that. I’ll lend a hand too.”

Ilwol Shinyeo borrowed Na Rin’s notebook for a moment, wrote a few characters with a brush, and returned it to Na Rin.

Na Rin alternately looked at the notebook and Ilwol Shinyeo with a doubtful expression and asked.

“What does this mean?”

“It has the same meaning as what you wrote, Magongnyeo Na Rin.”

“It looks completely different though.”

“The more different, the better.”

Na Rin pouted her lips at Gong Son Wu and read the notebook contents out loud.

“To the respected elder siblings, this unworthy younger sibling Na Rin offers a belated greeting. I stand before you with difficulty, pleading for your fraternal guidance.”

“Hmm. Excellent.”

“It seems too subservient though?”

“The greeting you wrote was too presumptuous. Think from the other perspective. A Magongnyeo from the Central Plains suddenly appears, finds the Asura Sword, and even becomes the New Year’s ceremony priestess before the appointment ceremony. No matter how much you tell them not to feel threatened, would those children feel at ease?”

Hearing that, it made sense.

From Na Rin’s point of view, it was just a coincidentally picked up sword that turned out to be the Asura Sword, and becoming a priestess wasn’t something she was eager to do.

‘For now, I need to alleviate their wariness.’

Okay. Got it.

Na Rin decided to pretend to be very weak.

“How should I ask the questions?”

“Knock knock~!”

Someone made a ‘knock knock’ sound with their mouth.

When Na Rin turned around, Yeo Bijo was standing there.

“What are you doing?”

“I can’t enter a lady’s room without a sound, so I made a sound.”

Yeo Bijo closed one eye and winked.

At this, Gong Son Wu suddenly felt his stomach turn.

Yeo Bijo discovered Ilwol Shinyeo in the room and elegantly bowed to her with a joyful eye smile.

“I greet the watcher of the sun and moon.”

Then Ilwol Shinyeo also hurriedly bowed and said.

“I greet the lame of two worlds.”

Seeing them treating each other with respect, the two seemed to be of the same rank.

Na Rin was about to ask about the strange nicknames Ilwol Shinyeo and Yeo Bijo called each other, but decided not to.

‘Nicknames often become embarrassing when you explain their meaning.’

In her previous life, Na Rin had also sweated profusely when her colleague from Shaolin Temple in the search party, Muwon, asked, “By the way, donor, what does Hyeolmaehwa (Bloodstained Plum Blossom) mean?”

“Hyeolmaehwa is, well, usually when you fight, blood gets on you. And my sword technique is the Plum Blossom Sword, so combining those two… Damn it! Who told you to be curious about that! You’re gonna ask such a damn question with an innocent face? You wanna die?”

“Ah, I’m sorry, donor! Ahhh! Bodhisattva Guanyin!”

‘Huh? I think it wasn’t me who sweated profusely.’

Oh well. Whoever it was, they sweated. The point is, it’s not a good question to ask. Na Rin decided to ask Yeo Bijo a different question.

“What brings you here, priest?”

“Well, I came to help the precious Magongnyeo.”

“The New Year’s ceremony is over, so what are you meddling in again.”

Gong Son Wu snapped back as if he disliked Yeo Bijo’s appearance itself.

“Your job ended at Jewang Hall. Ja Ryong’s false charge is still there, but Na Rin’s suspicion has been cleared, so there’s no risk of being identified as an accomplice.”

At Gong Son Wu’s words, Yeo Bijo smiled faintly and answered in a subtle tone.

“The Cheonma seems to think differently.”

“The sect leader?”

“Yes. He ordered me to help the Magongnyeo in every way possible, explicitly and implicitly.”

“If that’s a lie, Dongcheon Palace will be your grave.”

“It’s truly an honor for you to take care of my burial site, but unfortunately, it’s true. I heard it clearly with my own ears that the Magongnyeo said she ‘needs a clever and capable person’.”

Gong Son Wu and Na Rin’s eyes widened at the same time.

A clever and capable person.

‘I definitely said I needed one, but…’

There was a time when Na Rin had requested support personnel from the sect leader because it was difficult to deal with the copycat attached to the Mago Shinbo newspaper, which had written an article expressing concern about Na Rin’s appearance.

But for that to be a priest?

“That meant I needed a schemer, a copycat, a strategist to do dirty work!”

“Na Rin. Don’t say such things so boldly.”

Yeo Bijo laughed as if he had been hiding it all this time to see their surprised reactions.

“Oh my, don’t be disappointed. I quite enjoy playing tricks more than I look. If the Magongnyeo commands it, this Yeo Mo’s fingertips can be stained as black as possible.”

Na Rin looked Yeo Bijo up and down as if she didn’t trust him at all, then clicked her tongue.

“If you’re no good, I’ll fire you.”

“Pardon? …Ah, yes, of course!”

Yeo Bijo smiled and thought that the young owner was not to be taken lightly.

On the other hand, Gong Son Wu sat in the corner chair, staring at the ground and sighing deeply.

“Can I resist killing that perverted bastard? The Devil is testing me…”

Even in a situation where both his job and life were threatened, Yeo Bijo remained calm, cleared his throat, and smiled brightly.

“Now, let’s hurry and review the questions. I brought a few sentences.”

Na Rin unrolled the scroll Yeo Bijo handed her and frowned.

“Greeting, introduction, simple Q&A, in-depth Q&A…?”

“You need to change them according to the situation, so memorize them all.”

“All of this?”

“It should be easy for the brilliant Magongnyeo, right?”

It’s not easy.

Currently, Na Rin’s intelligence was 181.

Compared to other children her age, it was remarkably superior, but it was far from enough for serious studying. In other words, it was at the level of ‘an ordinary adult whose brain hasn’t hardened yet’.

‘If I try to memorize it all half-heartedly, I’ll definitely make mistakes.’

Coldly judging her own limitations, Na Rin shifted her gaze downward to the sentences below. No matter how the process goes, it’s fine as long as she asks the necessary questions at the end, right?

‘Okay. I’ll just memorize this one thing thoroughly!’

Na Rin’s eyes lit up, fixing her gaze on one noticeable question.

“It’s a piece of cake.”

Myeong Palace’s Main Hall.

It was Na Rin’s second time coming to this place.

The first time was when she explained the bizarre incident known as the ‘Cheongseongpa Monster Incident’. Na Rin, who was not even a grand disciple of Dongcheon Palace, let alone a Magongnyeo, had stood on the podium as an ordinary believer.

‘The feeling is different.’

It’s just that the seasons have changed a few times.

Na Rin, who was an uninvited guest at the time, walks as the main character of the main hall today.

Somehow it felt strange.

“Are you all ready?”

Looking back, Gong Son Wu was standing there in a uniform she hadn’t seen in a long time.

A light blue silk robe, the symbolic color of Dongcheon Palace, with a golden belt. A black collar and heroic headband embroidered with golden dragon patterns.

‘Clothes make the man.’

It was hard to imagine a Mago person who would bare their chest and swing a sword around, picking fights in all directions every single day.

Gong Son Wu smiled at Na Rin, who was staring at him intently, and spoke smoothly.

“This uncle is suddenly very handsome, isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

Gong Son Wu looked a little surprised at Na Rin’s answer, then made an embarrassed expression and cleared his throat. Na Rin grinned at this and added.

“But not as much as the sect leader.”

“It’s a difference in taste.”

What is he saying? When Na Rin looked at him in disbelief, Gong Son Wu grinned as if it was the reaction he wanted. They were a master and disciple who resembled each other.

“Speaking of which, from today, you really have to call him father. Each of those titles can undermine your own standing.”

“Is that so?”

“What if someone takes the opportunity to spread words like, ‘Magongnyeo Na Rin is so apologetic and grateful to the Supreme that she can’t even call him father and considers herself an ordinary believer. Isn’t she admirable?'”

Even when giving an example, how can he come up with such a plausible and annoying one?

Na Rin sighed as if she knew and answered.

“…Later, if I call him father, they’ll say nonsense like my gratitude has disappeared or that I’ve changed as a person. After a few years, it will turn into words like, ‘You’re not a legitimate Magongnyeo, right? You know that too, so you can’t call him father!'”

“You know it well.”

Well. Because she had experience.

Na Rin recalled the things she had experienced in her past life and made an unpleasant expression.

There was no need to bring up experts like Hyeon Un of Mount Hwa Sect or Cheong Heo of the shaman sect.

There were countless people who spouted false rumors to tarnish Na Rin’s reputation, to restrict Na Rin’s actions.

Or simply out of malice towards the weak.

‘When can I escape from these things and live comfortably?’

No matter how much she thought about it, it seemed like a distant matter.

“Na Rin.”

Then Gong Son Wu spoke in a serious voice.

“Catching the real culprit who stole the Asura Sword is important, and clearing Ja Ryong’s false charge is also something that must be done. But before that, I hope you don’t forget that today is a very important day for you.”

“……”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Gong Son Wu avoided Na Rin’s gaze as if he had no face to show and continued speaking while looking straight ahead at nothing.

“Someday, there will be things to tell you. How you ended up drifting to the Central Plains. What happened to your mother and father. Until then…”

Gong Son Wu turned his body to face Na Rin directly and continued.

“I will take that place instead. As a master, and also as an uncle.”

A tingling sensation arose in her chest.