Even the Sword God Needs Paternity Leave

Chapter 13: Fully Filled

"Let's have a drink at least."

Zhu Hochong spoke up.

"I'll refrain from alcohol. Actually, I had a son the day before yesterday."

"Is that so! Congratulations indeed!"

Zhu Hochong patted my shoulder.

"I only thought of you as a young hero, but you were the father of a child. Does it feel real?"

Before my regression, how had it been at this time...

"That's right. Even while facing Taebok, I couldn't believe that moment. Have I really become a father? Like this? That's how it was."

Of course, during the pregnancy period, I had prepared for childbirth and imagined being together with the baby.

Nevertheless, when the baby suddenly entered my life, I couldn't believe it.

"But my hands were changing the baby's diapers."

Believe it or not, the baby enters your life. Life starts flowing not centered on myself or the couple, but on the baby.

As time passes, you slowly come to feel it.

That now, Taebok's and my lives are inseparable.

"You occasionally have the habit of speaking as if about old times."

I just smiled faintly.

"It's a newly formed habit."

Because the past ten years haven't disappeared from my mind.

Thanks to those ten years, in this life I'm feeling the reality the moment I met Taebok.

Furthermore, there's one more reason it feels real.

"It feels too real. I submitted a leave of absence to the Murim Alliance. Now that I won't receive a monthly salary, I need to earn money."

Zhu Hochong burst into loud laughter.

"So that's why you asked for money earlier? You were serious?"

"I didn't mix in even a penny's worth of joking."

Zhu Hochong turned his head.

"Waiter!"

"Yes!"

"You know the unused warehouse behind the inn? Go and bring the box wrapped in yellow cloth."

"The back courtyard is unused. We can't get there at all from the inn side. Also, I heard fighting sounds earlier so I'm scared."

"Don't worry about the fighting sounds. It's all over. I even cleaned up the corpses."

Zhu Hochong pressed a key into the waiter's hand.

"Pardon? Corpses?"

The waiter stood there for a moment. To understand the words he had heard.

"I'll give you one tael of silver."

"Yes! Even if there are ghosts instead of corpses, I'll go and come back."

Understanding wasn't important.

The waiter who went down as if flying returned as if flying as well.

Zhu Hochong unwrapped the cloth.

"I only have pocket money, so just take this. I need to use some too, so I'll give you more later."

Opening the lid of the box, it was filled with silver.

"Hiik!"

The waiter's eyes widened like lanterns. The box he had carried was filled with silver. Money he would never touch in his lifetime.

"Should have run off with it, right? But if you had, you wouldn't have lasted long before getting caught."

Zhu Hochong picked out two taels from the silver and gave them.

"But if you listen to this Zhu Hochong's words, you can obtain more than you think. Remember that."

"Oh my, thank you!"

Did he not know Zhu Hochong was a wanted criminal? Or did it not matter?

The waiter kept bowing. Zhu Hochong waved his hand and sent him back.

This time he looked at me.

"First, since you caught me, the reward money."

"Haha."

He took out one hundred taels and placed them on the table.

"I'll add a bit more."

He said "a bit" but added another full hundred taels.

Now it was two hundred taels.

I couldn't help but widen my eyes.

"You're giving me double?"

"Now, and this is a childbirth celebration."

He added two hundred taels to the two hundred taels, making it four hundred taels.

And then.

"Now, let's make it come out clean."

He added one hundred taels more to make it five hundred taels.

Drrrk, he pushed the silver toward me.

Five hundred taels.

With two taels of silver, a commoner lives frugally for a year. How does one live with five hundred taels...

I didn't really know since I had never lived like that.

Swift Wind interjected from the side.

"Won't you be struggling since you have no money from hiding?"

However, Zhu Hochong laughed heartily.

"If the first thing I spend on is compensation for the Ink Sword Hero, there's nothing to hesitate about."

While saying that, he looked at me.

"I saved my life thanks to you. Thinking about that, even this is too little. When I'm reinstated, Golden Cloud Trading of Luoyang will help you anytime."

Support on the scale of a trading company was reassuring just from the words alone.

Though I had no intention of owing debts, it was also true that one side of my heart became comfortable.

I also held the five hundred taels in my hand.

It was heavy. I hadn't had many experiences with money being heavy.

Watching me like this, Swift Wind chuckled.

"Well now, the Ink Sword Hero changes too after having a child."

While Zhu Hochong gave me silver, Swift Wind just concentrated on enjoying the food.

"Swift Wind, shall I give you some too?"

"That joke again? It's not funny."

"Hahaha. Take the money and quit being a beggar."

"Hmph, why would I quit this good beggar work."

Swift Wind had little interest in money.

It seemed Zhu Hochong had been joking with Swift Wind about giving him money.

"Just keep your promise."

"Promise. Of course I'll keep it. I'm also from refugee origins."

I understood the earlier joke, but I couldn't understand the talk of a promise.

"What promise? Can you tell me?"

Zhu Hochong waved his hand.

"It's nothing special. Just to resume the work I was doing for settling refugees. I talked about it in the warehouse, right? Both I and Swift Wind are from refugee origins."

Swift Wind clicked his tongue once.

"Why, you even talked about such things."

"I did it to drag out time until you arrived. But still, this damn Luoyang branch leader didn't arrive until the assassins came."

"Mmm. This is really delicious."

Swift Wind buried his head in the duck dish. Slurp, slurp, only bones came out of his mouth again this time too.

Then he glanced at me.

"This Swift Wind will also roll up his sleeves for your sake. If not for you, I would have nearly failed to protect Captain Zhu who trusted and entrusted his life to me. If you need anything, be sure to find me."

I had never heard of Swift Wind failing at other tasks.

This would have been the biggest mistake of his life, but it had been smoothed over by my appearance.

He too seemed to want to repay the favor. Swift Wind's help was the same as help from the Luoyang branch.

"I won't refuse."

"Huh?"

Setting humility aside.

If I was going to do various things in the future, Luoyang had to be safe. Also, I wanted to use information from both the Rogues' Guild and the Beggar's Gang.

Zhu Hochong scolded Swift Wind.

"Look here, the actual Ink Sword Hero's personality is different from what you said?"

"Huh, strange. Has the person changed? You, are you really the Ink Sword Hero?"

I looked at those two people.

One was the leader of Luoyang's largest trading company, and one was the branch leader of the Beggar's Gang.

Yet both said they were from refugee origins.

They were people who had lost their place to live, but hadn't lost life itself.

Rather, they had lived life more fiercely to reach today.

"I'm also from refugee origins."

The words came out suddenly.

Zhu Hochong's wine cup and Swift Wind's chopsticks both stopped dead.

"I was saved and raised by my master's hand. Following his orders, I descended the mountain and lived according to his teachings, and so a small name arose in the jianghu."

I didn't really know why I bothered to say it.

Just because the two revealed their origins didn't mean I needed to reveal mine too. But somehow I wanted to do so.

Zhu Hochong quietly poured alcohol into a new cup.

"Just receive one cup."

I received the cup.

Zhu Hochong also poured alcohol into Swift Wind's cup.

And he opened his mouth as if to say something.

"It's good to meet you."

He just said this.

"It's good to meet you."

Five hundred taels, Golden Cloud Trading's support, the Beggar's Gang Luoyang branch's support—sufficiently rewarding.

This one cup of alcohol was also truly delicious.

***

The gathering afterward wasn't long.

Captain Zhu's subordinate came and took him away.

The subordinate's eyes were even reddened.

"You can go outside now."

Captain Zhu asked one thing at a time.

"The previous magistrate?"

"We've started escorting him under arrest."

"My charges?"

"Your innocence has been declared."

"Escort?"

"We've arranged it."

"The bastards?"

"Pardon?"

Captain Zhu smiled slyly.

"I'm talking about the bastards who slandered me. The trading company leaders."

At his words, the subordinate smiled along.

"They must be trembling. They say each is holed up in their own trading company."

Captain Zhu nodded.

"Let's go."

That's how Captain Zhu left, and Swift Wind also returned to the Beggar's Gang.

I walked the streets of Luoyang alone again.

I had gained much from one outing.

Looking up at the sky, the sun had only just passed its zenith.

I should go home and see Taebok.

"..."

Slowly moving my steps into the commercial district, I saw an opera troupe.

Would Taebok like opera? When young, would puppet shows be better?

When Luoyang's commercial district revives, there will be many things to see and enjoy. In that sense too, I came to support Captain Zhu.

"..."

Since it was a commercial district, people passed by.

When the commercial district revives, people will increase more. Then naturally the number and quality of physicians and academies will rise too.

"..."

My thoughts extended to the environment for raising a child.

The thoughts I organized this morning.

An environment that would be okay even if I went out.

Soon, an environment good for raising a child.

Safe, abundant, and healthy.

'Luoyang's public safety... Hmm.'

Let's think slowly.

First, I should see Jayeong's and Taebok's faces.

"Wife, I'm home."

I entered the house.

"Honey, you're back? Huh?"

"What do you mean 'huh'? What's wrong?"

Jayeong looked at me with round eyes.

"You look like you're in a good mood."

"Do I?"

Am I in a good mood right now?

Suddenly feeling it, I really was in a good mood.

"That's right. I'm in a good mood right now."

On an autumn day, inside the warm house are Jayeong and Taebok.

"Very good indeed."

And.

"Open the box."

I had a box to give to Jayeong.

"What is this? Did you buy something for Taebok?"

"Don't be surprised."

"What did you buy?"

Jayeong opened the lid of the wooden box with a clack.

Then she stared at it for a long time.

I was worried she might have fainted with her eyes open.

Jayeong finally let out a word.

"...My money?"

"Wife's money."

"Kyaa."

Jayeong's face bloomed.

It bloomed as wide as five hundred taels.

I had heard somewhere that the foundation of beauty was moisture.

That wasn't it. It was completely wrong.

The foundation of beauty was joy.

I too felt a satisfied heart well up while watching her.

Containing that heart, I said just one thing.

"Spend it."

.

.

I thought that was the end.

"Captain Zhu sent this?"

Late evening, when I went out because someone called from outside, a group of people was standing there.

The middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader bowed his head.

"Yes, he told me to deliver gifts."

"Gifts?"

"He says he's sending some baby items."

Jayeong and I glanced behind them.

"Some?"

"Hehehe."

Jayeong counted the number of boxes. At a rough estimate, there seemed to be at least ten.

"Baby clothes, toys, blankets, etc.—things you'll need to use in the future. He says to contact him anytime if it's insufficient."

Opening one box, the fabric was softer than what we had been using...

"Silk?"

It was truly an unexpected gift.

"Then we'll bring them inside."

Without time to say anything, the gifts filled the house. Elder Jeong who came out from next door also widened her eyes.

"Unless it's a great clan, it's difficult to use such good items. Baby's father, did you meet some noble person somewhere?"

A noble person—I had done it without such thoughts.

"He was a noble person. I didn't know, but it seems he'll become one in the future."

Truly reassuring.

Not only eating and wearing problems, but the house was filled with items.

How should I say it—the emptiness and void that Buddhism and Taoism speak of had been banished outside the house.

"Excuse me, are you there?"

Who is it again?

While people were unloading items, someone came.

"Mm."

Outside the gate stood one physician.

"Ink Sword Hero? This is a letter from my master."

A letter sent by the Divine Physician.

It contained the method to resolve Taebok's Fifty-Day Illness.

Right, coincidentally I no longer had to worry about money.

Now it was time to go obtain the medicine.