NOVPUBIt was around sunset when there were only four of us left in the annex.
Hyang Rok was excited to test out the experimental materials he obtained from a major transaction, more so than reflecting on the events from the mythic era.
"Don’t forget to take the elixir on time!" he said before leaving without any lingering thoughts, and Ahn Dain left to spend time with her parents.
As a result, Hwang Jiho, Baekho-gun, myself, and Unsa remained.
‘Would it be better to leave? No, there's a greater chance that the mythic era and the dark force are connected. As an outsider who isn't tied to the aristocrats, I need to listen and gather clues.’
I hesitated until Hwang Jiho spoke.
"You’re here."
That was the signal that two more tigers had arrived at the annex.
However, in this room with Unsa, I couldn’t sense any presence.
At the moment, this room in the annex was protected by a sturdy barrier, meant to keep Unsa safe.
It was hard for anyone outside, except for Hwang Jiho, who cast the barrier, to feel any presence.
Hwang Jiho explained to Unsa.
"I’ve called Jeokho. You’ll be able to see him soon."
In fact, besides Jeokho, there was one more tiger, but Hwang Jiho didn’t mention that.
Jeokho had briefly left his assistant role to Kim Shin Rok and stopped by Eungwang-go.
Then, using Jeonyeon from the dormitory, he and Eunho came to the Tiger Manor.
However, Eunho made it clear that he wouldn’t reveal himself to Unsa just yet.
‘Eunho decided not to inform anyone that he had woken up.’
Considering how Pungbaek and Usa made their choices, it was understandable for Eunho to be cautious of Unsa.
Just as Hyang Rok and Ahn Dain left the annex, I stayed with Hwang Jiho to see them off briefly outside the room.
At that point, Hwang Jiho revealed through his clone that the news of Unsa waking up had been shared with Jeokho and Eunho.
Jeokho was excited to meet Unsa right away, but the problem lay with Eunho.
After hearing that Unsa had woken up, Eunho wanted to confirm exactly what Unsa had said.
—Did Unsa still call Pungbaek and Usa his friends?
Unsa clearly recognized the betrayal of Pungbaek and Usa.
Moreover, in the replay of Seong Guk-eon, the two had even directly handled Unsa's furnace.
Judging by their skill in managing it, they had likely drawn power from Unsa in the past.
Yet, Unsa still referred to them as his friends.
Eunho, having confirmed that, responded:
—Then it’s best I don’t reveal that I’ve woken up. Otherwise, my information might leak to the enemy.
—Do you still suspect Unsa after knowing what he went through?
Hwang Jiho asked, but Eunho’s response was firm.
—There’s no guarantee that what the enemy implanted in Unsa was just sagi (evil energy). They could have planted beliefs or ideas that changed his mind. Pungbaek and Usa defected quickly, but Unsa may take longer to change.
Hwang Jiho couldn’t refute Eunho’s words.
Even though they were both heads of aristocratic families, the difference between Hwang Jiho and Eunho was clear.
Hwang Jiho treated Unsa as a close friend right away, but Eunho did not.
If someone asked me which one made the more leader-like decision, I would choose Eunho.
Although his approach was cold, it was wiser to act like him for the safety of the aristocrats.
Even so, I didn’t think Eunho lacked affection.
‘Even though Eunho says this, unlike Pungbaek and Usa, he still uses respectful terms for Unsa, which shows he’s leaving room for trust.’
It was evident from the fact that Eunho had come here despite his cautious attitude.
Had he been completely suspicious of Unsa, Eunho wouldn’t have come, fearing that information would leak.
It would have been far safer to receive news of Unsa's words from a distance.
With Eunho hiding the fact that he had woken up and concealing his identity as Cheon Eunha, if he was really being cautious, he wouldn’t have come at all.
But Eunho came straight to Tiger Manor when he heard that Unsa had woken up.
‘If he hears the story from Unsa and decides he’s innocent, he must have come here to see Unsa’s face.’
Unlike Eunho, who was deep in thought, some were expressing their joy without hesitation.
Jeokho was one of them.
"Unsa, I’m here! I think you should stay lying down, but isn’t Baekho forcing you to sit up?"
As soon as Jeokho opened the door, he went straight to Unsa.
Jeokho muttered while looking at Baekho-gun, who was helping Unsa sit up, saying that Unsa should be lying down since he had sinned.
I wanted to defend Baekho-gun, who was silent, but since this was a reunion between the tigers, I decided to stay silent.
When Unsa saw Jeokho, he opened his eyes wide and greeted him.
"Jeokho..."
"I should’ve been by your side when you woke up, but I had a lot of chores. I’m glad that Baekho, who was free, and Hwang-ho, who left his clone behind in the mansion, were here."
Jeokho casually teased the tigers, and since everything he said was based on truth, it was impossible to refute him.
But when Unsa woke up, besides the idle tigers, there was no mention of me, Ahn Dain, or Hyang Rok.
It seemed Jeokho had some unresolved feelings with those tigers.
Unsa, with his long hair still showing signs of recovery, spoke with a voice filled with both longing and surprise.
"You still speak so politely. Even after thousands of years, I can’t get used to it."
Is that considered polite?
Thinking of the words Jeokho tends to blurt out when excited, it seemed rather polite.
Baekho-gun and Hwang Jiho seemed to agree, nodding their heads slightly.
Could it be that those two were still not used to Jeokho's way of speaking?
It seemed the old way of speaking had left a deep impression on them.
"Unsa, all the guests have arrived. Please, tell us what happened."
The tigers were waiting for Unsa to speak as they looked at him.
Eunho might have been outside the room, but he would still listen to everything Unsa had to say.
Unsa began to speak of events from the distant past.
In the era when the voice of the Heavenly God echoed throughout the peninsula.
Before the sacred tigers became mythological beings and even before their true names were known.
The aristocrats and the tigers joined forces to resist foreign invaders and prayed to the Heavenly God, seeking strength.
To gain strength, they had to undergo trials.
The chosen ones for these trials were picked from both the aristocrats and the tigers.
The chosen ones were Jeokho and Eungnyeo.
"Do you think Jeokho can survive 100 days eating only mugwort and garlic, with no sunlight?"
"Whether Jeokho survives depends on the tiger tribe. If the tiger tribe stays by his side, he’ll probably be stubborn."
"Yeah, Jeokho’s the type who wouldn’t give up easily. He wouldn’t want to lose."
Pungbaek and Usa laughed as they spoke.
Though they appeared as adults much taller than Unsa, they sounded like children when they spoke like that.
Since they arrived on Earth as gods' chosen administrators, they had always carried themselves nobly. But in moments like these, when it was just Pungbaek, Usa, and Unsa, they would show their true natures.
Unsa, offering tea from a cherished teapot, spoke.
"They won’t need to endure 100 days. The god requested mercy for the two chosen, and the Heavenly God was moved by that."
Pungbaek and Usa’s laughter stopped.
Instead of reaching for the teapot, they looked at Unsa in confusion.
It seemed they didn’t know about the request made to the Heavenly God.
Unsa explained what happened between the Heavenly God and the god.
"It seems you haven’t heard yet. The Heavenly God agreed to show mercy and reduced the trial duration. I believe the period will be halved. There were those who sang about this process, so you’ll hear it soon."
In this land, many sang about the god.
This event was a perfect topic for a song.
Unsa felt immense joy thinking that the land, once stagnated by foreign invasions, would soon be filled with songs about the god.
He looked forward to listening to the songs with his old friends.
But their reactions were different from what Unsa expected.
"...The Heavenly God is willing to listen?"
"...The god is willing to reduce the time by more than half just because of the god’s words?"
Pungbaek and Usa were silent for a while before expressing their frustration.
They didn’t seem to be thrilled, so Unsa gently changed the topic, but the image of their reactions remained etched in his mind.
It wasn’t just surprise. They seemed angry about the Heavenly God’s favoritism toward the god.
‘Why did Pungbaek and Usa react like that?’
If the Heavenly God granted mercy and helped the two of them leave for the battlefield earlier, it would have been only right to be happy.
Just like Unsa and the others who rejoiced at the songs.
But Unsa swallowed the bad thoughts rising in his mind.
Pungbaek and Usa appeared to cheer up in front of others, praising the god and the Heavenly God’s actions, and hoping Jeokho would return soon.
Seeing that, Unsa’s concerns lightened.
‘If they were too surprised, it might have come off as anger.’
There was another reason Unsa had stopped worrying about Pungbaek and Usa.
That reason was Jeokho.
Because the Heavenly God had shown mercy and reduced the trial period, Jeokho had come out of the cave early.
Baekho decided to test Jeokho’s strength and brought out his large sword, while Hwang-ho, with no thought of letting Jeokho go hungry, brought out a roasted chunk of meat wrapped in large leaves.
Cheongho, while looking at the two of them with pity, had also come to see Jeokho’s face, accompanied by the god.
In front of the cave, Jeokho, whose face looked strangely bright, opened his mouth.
"I’ve completed the trial. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you all."
The tigers, and even the aristocrats, lost their words.
Most of them had experienced Jeokho’s sharp tongue.
As soon as Jeokho came out, Unsa thought that he would say something like, "Why are you all gathered here? Is there something to watch? If you’re done watching, go fight the invaders."
Hwang-ho’s chunk of meat wrapped in a large leaf dropped with a thud.
Hwang-ho didn’t even think to pick it up and instead stared at Jeokho suspiciously.
"...Jeokho?"
If Jeokho had spoken like that on any normal day, Hwang-ho wouldn’t have been able to hold back his laugh, but since it was right after his trial, he seemed more worried.
It seemed like he suspected something was wrong with Jeokho or that the contents had changed.
Before Jeokho could explain himself, Eunho smiled brightly and said.
"Wungnyeo is wearing the red cloth around her body. Congratulations."
Hearing that, Wungnyeo didn’t reply but wrapped one of Jeokho’s arms with the red cloth.
Jeokho’s cheeks turned as red as the cloth.
Only then did Hwang-ho burst out laughing, and Baekho chuckled lightly.
Cheongho was shocked at first but quickly clapped to congratulate them.
For a while, the tigers were busy teasing Jeokho for his refined and polite manner of speaking.
But the joyful time didn’t last long.
"The invaders have come close. They are targeting the god. We’ll select someone to stay by the god’s side, aside from Cheongho and his disciples."
The head of the aristocrats, Eunho, spoke softly and calmly as usual, but the situation was far from peaceful.
Because they had to maintain the front lines, it wasn’t possible to place many soldiers by the god’s side.
The invaders, elusive and targeting the god, had already claimed the lives of many of Cheongho’s disciples.
Anyone who stayed by the god’s side was practically offering their life.
At that moment, there were those who volunteered without hesitation.
"Pungbaek and Usa, thank you."
The first ones to volunteer to stay by the god’s side were Pungbaek and Usa.
Unsa’s heart raced.
The discomfort he had felt about his old friends had been gradually consuming him.
After much thought, Unsa spoke to Eunho.
"I’ll volunteer too."
