“Why do you say such things?”

“It’s annoying when you pick at every single word I say!”

At Na Rin’s blunt answer, Dokgo Cheon immediately protested.

“But in Somyeong Palace, the moment you show a gap, rumors spread and you become a target of attack. That’s why I’m saying you need to be cautious in every move.”

Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

It was the sound of Na Rin clicking her tongue.

“Father really doesn’t get it.”

Whether Dokgo Cheon was startled by Na Rin’s bold reply or not, she continued with what she had to say.

“If people are really determined to find fault, you know what? Breathing, walking, smiling, even the way you choose clothes, anything can become a point of criticism.”

“……”

“It’s not about not showing gaps, it’s much more important to not be looked down upon! Do you understand?”

Dokgo Cheon stroked his chin, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke.

“That… might be true.”

Ding!

[*You have succeeded in truly impressing the martial arts master, increasing your stats. Eloquence +1]

‘Yes! Eloquence!’

Na Rin clenched her fist slightly behind Dokgo Cheon’s back, savoring the joy of her increased eloquence. It felt even more precious because it was a stat that didn’t increase easily.

Dokgo Cheon said,

“Alright. I won’t be so strict with etiquette anymore.”

“Hehe. Yes!”

“Still, there’s a big difference between knowing and not knowing. Even if you can’t apply it to everything, learn diligently.”

Ugh.

“Yeeees.”

Na Rin let out a long sigh.

A new cultivation technique, child transformation, and now she had to learn etiquette too.

‘I must be the busiest child in the entire sect.’

Dokgo Cheon, thinking Na Rin sighed because she disliked etiquette, changed the topic back to the original one.

“About the public opinion issue I mentioned earlier.”

“Oh? Oh, yes. We were talking about that.”

The public opinion issue Dokgo Cheon mentioned was as follows.

Na Rin, who properly impressed the commoners with the New Year’s Ceremony and the Tribute Ceremony, naturally became the center of attention.

At this point, the article praising Dokgo Na Rin in the Heavenly Demon Gazette received attention again, and as a result, the number of people supporting Na Rin increased.

“Especially, the part that got the most passionate response was that you were born in the Central Plains and returned to the cult after going through all sorts of hardships as an orphan.”

“That’s unexpected.”

If it were me, I would have thought retrieving the Asura Sword would be more important.

To the puzzled Na Rin, Dokgo Cheon elaborated.

“They must have been drawn to the fresh story.”

“Ah.”

That certainly makes sense.

To the commoners, the Heavenly Demon bloodline is literally someone living above the clouds.

Just as it’s not surprising to hear that immortals or fairies used magical powers and made it rain, if you’re born into the Heavenly Demon bloodline, it’s natural to expect great accomplishments.

‘On the other hand, a story about a noble birth struggling and starving would be unheard of.’

As a result, a great deal of sympathy arose for the pitiful Demon Empress.

“A fairy tale book called ‘Demon Empress Na Rin – A Million Li Record That Can’t Be Read Without Tears’ based on your story has also been published.”

Even so, it wouldn’t actually be a million li.

Na Rin scratched her head with mixed feelings.

It’s not that she never wished for someone to acknowledge her hardships, but she didn’t want it to be acknowledged so extensively like this.

Dokgo Cheon continued.

“That’s why many people are paying attention to your whereabouts. Everyone wants you to receive treatment befitting the adversity you have overcome. Petitions are coming in asking to provide the Demon Empress with a good house, good clothes, and good meals.”

“So that’s why you’re building the house?”

Dokgo Cheon nodded.

‘Public opinion is truly incredible.’

Na Rin decided she should give some kind of reward to the Heavenly Demon Gazette and the fairy tale book author. Since the words they wrote down gifted me a new house, wouldn’t it be right to share some beans with them?

“For now, that’s the justification.”

I feel like I heard a meaningful word just now.

“The original purpose is to create an underground passage. It will be a tunnel connecting your sleeping quarters with mine.”

“You’re going to connect our sleeping quarters?”

Na Rin was startled and jumped up, causing the chair to fall backwards, but there was no loud thud. The Myeong Palace maids, now accustomed to Na Rin’s sudden actions, caught the chair before it hit the floor.

Dokgo Cheon, rather puzzled by Na Rin’s surprised reaction, said,

“To others’ eyes, you entered Somyeong Palace, so there’s no problem. And you can still have your night watch duties as before, so I thought it was a good idea.”

“A good idea…?”

Na Rin shook her head as if dumbfounded.

I should have realized it when they built another underground palace.

‘Do cult members like civil engineering?’

At least the person in charge of this construction doesn’t seem to like it very much.

“It seems like it will take a really long time.”

“Even if it’s fast, I think it will take at least half a year.”

It was simply amazing that they could build one palace hall plus a 2 li (0.8 km) underground passage in just six months.

To the astonished Na Rin, Dokgo Cheon said,

“Once you have your own place in the future, you will also need servants to help with housekeeping. Surround yourself with trustworthy people, and if you have any difficulties, ask Gong Son Wu.”

“Understood!”

As if he had finished what he had to say, Dokgo Cheon nodded and said to the maid standing next to him,

“The food has gone cold. Bring out new dishes.”

“Understood.”

A moment later, instead of the Dragon Dumplings she had accidentally burst open earlier, Na Rin was able to eat new Dragon Dumplings with piping hot meat juices sloshing around inside the dumpling skins.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Yawn.”

The next morning, Na Rin, who was training at Dongcheon Palace, yawned languidly.

Then, ‘tap!’ Gong Son Wu’s fan hit Na Rin on the top of her head.

“Ouch! Why do you hit my head every chance you get?”

“I thought you forgot there was a head on your shoulders. It doesn’t seem like you use it at all.”

Na Rin scrunched her face and pouted her lips.

Frustratingly, it was impossible for Na Rin’s eloquence to win against Gong Son Wu in an argument.

“I couldn’t sleep last night, that’s why.”

“Why, did you have a dream about leeks chasing you?”

“What?! No!”

Na Rin was startled by Gong Son Wu’s words and took a step back in a hurry.

‘How did master know I hate leeks?’

It was top-secret information that she never mentioned in front of others, fearing it would be seen as a weakness!

“If you wanted to hide it that much, you should have played dumb even if you were caught. Reacting like this is like voluntarily confirming its truth.”

“…How did you know?”

“I saw you peeling off the spring rolls one by one to remove the leeks and eat them.”

I got caught red-handed.

Gong Son Wu continued,

“Picky eating is not good either, but what’s worse is that you mixed the removed leeks into the cattle feed. Raw leeks might be fine, but cooked leeks can be harmful to livestock, so you shouldn’t do that in the future.”

“Yes, master…”

This time, Na Rin was in the wrong.

How fortunate that she looks like a young child on the outside. If it was revealed that a full-grown adult couldn’t eat leeks, it would have been mortifyingly embarrassing.

“Anyway, why couldn’t you sleep?”

“Oh, about that.”

Na Rin briefly conveyed to Gong Son Wu the conversation she had with Dokgo Cheon yesterday. That they were planning to build Na Rin’s own place in Somyeong Palace, and that she needed to recruit servants to help with housekeeping.

“So I tried to write letters asking them to come as servants, but no matter how much I thought about it, there were only a few suitable people.”

“That’s unexpected. I thought you would know many faces since you’ve been poking around here and there.”

“Well, I do know many, but…”

The majority of Na Rin’s acquaintances were high-ranking officials, so they couldn’t become servants to help with housekeeping. It’s not like she could ask the Elders or the Sun and Moon Priestesses to help with cleaning, right?

Na Rin asked,

“Usually, how many servants do you need to manage one palace hall?”

Then Gong Son Wu shrugged and answered,

“Well, that varies depending on the size of the palace and also depending on the people working. Of course, the more the better.”

As expected.

When Na Rin showed a troubled expression, Gong Son Wu said,

“Gathering servants is not an easy task. If worse comes to worst, I’ll lend you some maids from Dongcheon Palace, so don’t worry too much.”

The offer is appreciated, but I can’t make my own people that way.

Na Rin shook her head.

“The maids of Dongcheon Palace are there because they want to work in a leisurely and relaxed place like Dongcheon Palace. If you tell them to work in a place like Somyeong Palace where the energy battles are intense and there’s a lot of work to do, they’ll all run away.”

“Dongcheon Palace is leisurely and relaxed?”

“Honestly, there’s a big difference compared to the maids of the Myeong Palace. They even let the laundry pile up for a week and do it all at once.”

“I-Is that so?”

Gong Son Wu made a puzzled expression as if he had never thought about it before. It was the same feeling he had when talking about the training of the Blue Dragon squad members, but compared to Na Rin, wasn’t he too soft in many ways?

“Come to think of it, today is the day.”

“What day?”

“The archery competition you requested some time ago. I thought it would be nice to hold it as entertainment after the weather got a bit warmer, so I had postponed it.”

Right. There was something like that too.

“Can I watch?”

“Are you going to skip training altogether today?”

Bam! Another chestnut fist fell on Na Rin’s head.

Na Rin glared at Gong Son Wu with a rebellious expression that seemed to say ‘Ugh’ and spoke.

“We can do it later! You stingy!”

“How dare you call your master who is like the heavens stingy. You stingy brat!”

“What kind of heaven strikes thunder and lightning every single day? You have a nasty personality!”

“You little brat, if I really had a nasty personality, why would I have mentioned the archery competition?”

Whoosh!

Na Rin’s eyes sparkled.

“To show me?”

“I’m not going to show you.”

“Ah! Master~!”

“A naughty disciple who doesn’t eat leeks and calls her master stingy doesn’t deserve to watch the archery competition.”

Why is he bringing up the leek story again?

Na Rin danced around in front of Gong Son Wu, who had turned away from her, like a puppy who needed to pee, and finally broke her pride.

“Sob. This disciple was wrong.”

“Are you going to misbehave again?”

“No.”

“Will you eat leeks too?”

“No.”

“Alright, then the archery competition… huh? What did you just say?”

“Thank you, master!”

Na Rin ran away quickly from Gong Son Wu’s side, even using lightness skill. Even if he beat her to death, she couldn’t eat leeks.

Thanks to running away so diligently, she was able to arrive at the training ground where the archery competition was in full swing without being late.

“Wow!”

Was it because it was an event held at Dongcheon Palace after a long time?

Na Rin couldn’t help but be surprised by the scale of the archery competition that exceeded her expectations.

The venue, which was quite elaborately decorated, was crowded with spectators gathered like clouds and gamblers betting money on the winners and losers of the contestants.

‘Is elder sister Hwa Ryeon’s turn already over?’

As she craned her neck and looked around, she saw a familiar figure crouching and concentrating on something beyond the four targets.

Hwa Ryeon was picking up arrows shot by other Blue Dragon members.

“What the heck. Why is she doing that?”

In the first place, the archery competition was planned to give Hwa Ryeon confidence. But the person in question is just picking up arrows, does this even make sense?