CHAPTER 62: DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR NOONA?

Dan Yuseong’s POV

"...Who’s Han Soyeon?"

I didn’t know why she’d brought it up, but her mention of Han Soyeon seemed significant, so I asked. The name was completely unfamiliar, though a faint chill ran through me at its sound, gone as quickly as it came. Since her disciple was likely from Hwasan, I added, "I’ve never been there and don’t know anyone from the sect—"

"You’ve never been to Hwasan...?"

Her expression twisted with deeper confusion.

Is she mistaking me for someone else?

I hadn’t told her my name, but perhaps I’d mumbled it while unconscious. A hazy memory of her tending to me as I lay collapsed flickered in my mind—it was possible.

No, more importantly, I messed up. What do I do?

Her intent had been to save me, and I’d... well, enjoyed it, unintentionally or not. Calling it rape now felt wrong, especially since I’d practically seduced her myself.

She’s a good person...

Beautiful, kind, strong, and of high status—she wasn’t just top-tier; she was among the rare few in the Central Plains you could count on one hand. But I had to return to my master within two years. Settling down here wasn’t an option. As a modern Earthling, my first experience mattered, but I didn’t think it warranted binding my entire life to her.

Let’s call it a minor mishap...

I resolved to talk it out. She likely didn’t harbor deep feelings for me either. We’d built some rapport traveling together, but it wasn’t love. I was grateful she’d offered her body to heal me, but she probably had her own reasons. Burdening each other with the weight of a "first experience" would benefit neither of us. Surely she wouldn’t demand lifelong responsibility from someone she didn’t love. It’d be more like her raising me than me taking responsibility for her.

The age gap is wild, too.

...She wouldn’t actually demand it, right?

Steeling myself, I looked at her. She didn’t look well—her hand covered her mouth, her body trembling. No matter how I spun it, she was far from okay.

"Um... you don’t look well. Are you okay?"

"Ah..."

She lowered her hand, revealing a pale, ashen face. I didn’t know what had shaken her, but she needed to calm down.

"Up we go..."

I gently pulled her head to my chest, patting her back softly.

"What’s this...?"

"You seemed upset, so I thought this might help you relax."

This was how my master comforted me when I was overwhelmed by homesickness for Earth. His overly large chest was a bit cumbersome, but the steady thump of his heartbeat always soothed me. As a man without breasts, I might not offer the same comfort, but perhaps my heartbeat would be clearer.

"Feeling calmer now?"

"...Yes..."

"I guess I said my name in my sleep? Since you knew it."

"..."

I thought I heard her swallow hard.

"It seems you’ve mistaken me for someone else. I don’t know this Han Soyeon, Sword Empress."

"...Ah..."

"By the way, what happened with the person you were looking for? Did it not work out? If you found them but had to rush to save me because I was kidnapped..."

"N-no... It was my mistake, so don’t worry about it..."

"It’s hard to call this a relief, huh?"

My foresight had failed again. Lately, my predictions had been decent, but to falter here, of all places.

"That’s a shame. My predictions aren’t always perfect... Sorry for getting your hopes up."

"Uh, huh? Y-yeah... Even predictions can miss sometimes..."

"It’s nice talking to a martial artist who gets it. Some clients really let me have it when I’m wrong."

"R-reading the heavens isn’t easy, after all..."

Sensing the moment was right, I gently released her. Her face was flushed, perhaps from the room’s warmth.

"Are you calm now?"

"...Yes. Thank you."

"Let’s get up then. This seems like a clinic, and we shouldn’t overstay—it’d be rude."

I stood, adjusted my clothes, and prepared to leave.

"W-wait..."

The Sword Empress grabbed me as I rose, her expression urgent.

"Is there something you want to say?"

She bit her lip, hesitating for a long moment before speaking.

"...No. It was a misunderstanding."

Her response was surprisingly anticlimactic. I’d expected something serious, but it was a relief.

"Did you finish the treatment safely...?"

"Thanks to your help. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have known how to treat him—your help saved him."

"No need to thank me... Saving people is a doctor’s job. It’s only natural..."

The Sword Empress was speaking with a young woman who appeared to be the doctor. She must have suggested that awkward yet effective treatment, so I expressed my gratitude sincerely.

"Thanks to you, I survived. I’ll repay this kindness somehow."

"There’s a way you could repay me now..."

"Huh?"

"Oh, no, never mind! I haven’t slept all night, so I blurted something silly... Haha..."

The doctor waved her hands, her tired face shadowed by dark circles, as if she’d been up all night working.

"Did another patient come in overnight?"

"Hahaha... Something like that..."

"Anyway, you look exhausted, so we’ll head out. I’ve got some emergency funds..."

I stepped out, reaching into my Hermit’s Cloak to rummage through my money pouch.

"N-no, it’s fine! You don’t need to pay! I didn’t even do much!"

The doctor panicked, waving her hands frantically.

"But you taught us the treatment method, so we should at least offer something..."

"...Would anything be okay?"

"...Well, ’anything’ might be a bit much..."

"Haha, just kidding!"

She kept starting sentences and stopping, her condition visibly poor. Her breathing was ragged, her face slightly flushed. I wondered if she’d caught my cold.

"Since I didn’t do much anyway, there’s no need for payment... Just go back and rest well."

"You really don’t need any compensation..."

"I really don’t, so please just go!"

In the end, we were practically ushered out of the clinic.

"...She must’ve been really tired."

"...Seems so."

"Then we’ll need to find someone to ask where we are..."

According to the Sword Empress, after the vampire incident and the lightning strike, we’d ended up in an unknown forest.

Was it a teleportation circle or something?

In the Sword Empress’s Central Plains common sense, it was unthinkable, but as an Earthling, it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar. Even if I’d never seen one, martial arts were similar—I hadn’t encountered those on Earth either.

"Well, asking what region this is shouldn’t be too hard. No need to bother the doctor about it."

"...I suppose."

"It’s not a big deal."

I approached a passing old man and struck up a conversation.

"Greetings, elder. We got lost wandering in the forest. Could you tell us what region this is?"

"...I’ll say this upfront: I don’t have any money."

"Oh, no, elder, we’re not those kinds of people. If you just tell us where we are, we’ll leave quietly—please don’t be wary."

Though he eyed me suspiciously, he seemed to realize it wasn’t a big deal and answered.

"...This is Guangdong. How much wandering did you do to lose track of an entire region?"

"..."

Guangdong. The southernmost edge of the martial world.