Chapter 141. The Kidnapped Princess (1)
Seeing Segyung rampaging wildly, Yuri felt a pang of guilt.
‘…I was stupid.’
Could anyone possibly be this stupid?
Or was it because meeting only once every few months had dulled his senses?
‘I should have known better than to trust that old man’s words so blindly.’
This was entirely his own fault.
Yuri sighed and walked forward.
In contrast, Arin, Poppy, and Theresia quickly stepped back.
“Good luck.”
“Yuri, you got this! You can do it.”
“I’m hungry!”
The three of them retreated swiftly, cheering ‘only’ from a safe distance.
Watching their antics, Yuri approached Segyung with a slightly sour expression.
Seeing Yuri approach, Segyung grew even more agitated.
“Oh, there you are, you brat. I knew something felt off, so you’re that guy’s disciple?”
“Not a disciple.”
“Not a disciple, my ass! Your actions are a carbon copy of that bastard’s!”
“Apologize.”
“…What?”
“For saying I’m the same as that old man. That’s a personal insult. Apologize to me now.”
“…….”
For the first time, Segyung, who had been ranting wildly, went quiet.
His face read, ‘What kind of nutcase is this?’
Realizing that he’d fallen into Yuri’s trap, Segyung quickly regained his senses and pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket.
Segyung waved the paper, reigniting the flames of anger that had briefly died down.
“Childhood friend? Friiiend? Who decided that? Did that damn bastard say so? That we’re friends?”
Segyung’s face turned bright red, truly furious.
Yuri, seeing the lecture application form fluttering in Segyung’s hand, shrugged his shoulders.
“Yeah, that damn old man said so.”
“Friends, my ass!”
“He also said you had a nickname, ‘Free Booze.’”
“Free Booze!”
“…?”
“That damn guy would raid my liquor stash and say that! ‘Free Booze,’ ‘Thanks for the free drink!’”
“Hmm…”
Segyung and Johan were indeed friends.
But only as a pair of horrible friends.
With the dynamic largely being Segyung on the receiving end of torment.
‘…Ha, that old man, how much did he bully him that he’s still losing his mind over things that happened so long ago?’
Decades-old memories, no less.
‘Well, it’s true that the perpetrator forgets, but the victim never does.’
Perhaps Segyung hadn’t always been crazy.
Maybe he’d just snapped from enduring Johan’s relentless torment.
‘Maybe that’s closer to the truth?’
As Yuri was lost in such idle thoughts, a spark of realization flickered in his eyes.
‘Oh, wait? So they… don’t get along?’
To the extent that it felt like they were sworn enemies?
Yuri’s lips curled up instantly.
“Hey, Old Man Free Booze.”
“What, Old Man Free Booze? You little bastard…!”
“Want to take revenge?”
Just as Segyung was about to throw another fit over being called ‘Old Man Free Booze,’ he hesitated at Yuri’s sudden proposal.
“…What?”
Yuri extended his hand toward the puzzled Segyung with a very serious expression.
Earlier, Segyung’s eyes had been filled with madness, but now, it was Yuri’s eyes that gleamed with an almost manic intensity.
“Don’t you want to take bloody revenge on that damn old man?”
Sorry, old man.
But for my vision, you’ll have to go.
“Hm… surprisingly quiet?”
“Yeah, I thought they’d be fighting like mad the moment they met.”
“I’m hungry.”
The three of them had not only put at least a 100-meter distance between themselves and Yuri and Segyung, but they were also hiding behind a tree, peeking out to observe the pair.
Seeing Yuri and Segyung having an unexpectedly calm conversation, they tilted their heads in confusion.
Then, simultaneously, they fell silent.
And once again, they murmured in unison.
“…This feels ominous.”
“Yeah, it’s unsettling.”
“I’m hungry…”
In their experience, if Yuri was being quiet, it either meant he was planning something mischievous or that he’d already caused trouble.
Was it because of the crazed look in Yuri’s eyes?
Or was it because of the phrase ‘bloody revenge’?
Segyung surprisingly calmed down and asked Yuri a question.
“Revenge? What do you mean by that?”
“What do you think it means?”
“Aren’t you Johan’s disciple? Are you saying you’ll go against your master?”
“I already told you, I’m not his disciple.”
“You’re serious?”
“Yeah. I do learn a few things from that old man, but I’m not his disciple.”
“This punk, are you playing word games with me? What else could you be if not a disciple?”
“Old Man Free Booze, if I learn a few things from you, does that make me your disciple?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“See, I’m not his disciple.”
“…….”
For a moment, Segyung was at a loss for words.
Just exchanging lessons didn’t necessarily make one a disciple, as Yuri had pointed out.
What mattered was what kind of lessons were exchanged.
Segyung glared fiercely at him.
“You must have learned Cloud Step and Thunder Wing from him, right? Are you seriously telling me that foul-tempered Johan would teach the two ultimate techniques of the Redner family to someone who’s not his disciple?”
“So what if those are the only techniques of the Redner family?”
“Those two are the entirety of the Redner family’s legacy!”
“Really?”
“Yes, really!”
“Well, let’s just say it is, then.”
“Yeah, well thought….”
Segyung, who had been nodding with satisfaction, suddenly flinched.
‘Why am I… passionately speaking on behalf of the Redner family?’
The more he exchanged words, the more he felt like he was getting strangely drawn in. Was this just his imagination?
Segyung fiercely shook his head to clear his mind.
“You little brat, what’s with this nonsense! Stop spouting bullshit!”
“Nonsense? That’s how you dismiss my sincerity? That’s a bit disappointing.”
Yuri shrugged, his eyes narrowing.
“Seems like you’ve suffered a lot at the hands of Old Man Johan, huh?”
“Suffered a lot? Do you think it’s just a lot? Indomitable Sword? Great Challenger? The world is being fooled by that delinquent bastard!”
“I agree. I think so too. That’s why I’m offering you a chance for revenge… So, aren’t you curious?”
“…….”
Segyung remained silent.
However, noticing the flicker of uncertainty in Segyung’s eyes, Yuri took a subtle step closer and whispered quietly.
“Johan visits me often.”
Segyung’s eyes widened slightly at the whisper.
“…Here, at the Cradle?”
“Yeah, he comes and goes like it’s his own place. Honestly, how else would I know about Old Man Free Booze? It’s all stories that old man told me during his visits.”
“Hmph……”
A small groan escaped Segyung’s lips.
‘Well, if it’s him…’
Johan had been treating the forbidden Bone Clan’s territory like his own backyard for decades.
Someone like that could easily treat the Cradle the same way.
Segyung had to admit that much.
The moment he nodded in agreement.
“There was a pitiful orphan boy named Yuri Holland, struggling to survive in the distant northern lands…”
Yuri’s soft voice flowed into Segyung’s ears.
“That boy was living a fragile, unfortunate life, bound by an illness that could take him at any moment.”
Yuri’s voice, which had been soft, weakened further and became faint.
Matching the tone, sorrow filled Yuri’s eyes.
“While barely making it through each day… one day, a spiteful old man named Johan appeared before him. That old man made the boy an offer. ‘I will cure your illness, but you must become my test subject!’ …he said.”
Yuri’s eyes grew moist, as if tears could spill at any moment.
Knowing that the story Yuri was telling was about himself, Segyung found himself engrossed in the voice that reached his ears.
“The boy had no choice. He desperately wanted to live. So, he ended up making a deal with that devilish old man. He asked to be saved in exchange for becoming a test subject. Thus… the horrific experiments began.”
Training that was more akin to torture that prevented building any stamina.
Random beatings for entertainment.
Verbal abuse.
And that damned Bung Bung.
That blasted Bung Bung.
Bung Bung that would come back to life no matter how many times you killed it!
And so on.
Yuri added a bit… well, a lot of embellishments to what had happened to him.
By the time Yuri finished his story, Johan had become the ultimate villain.
After spinning a whole epic, Yuri gazed wistfully up at the sky.
“Thanks to numerous experiments, the boy managed to survive… but the problem was that the experiments, akin to torture, had twisted his personality. It’s no surprise… enduring such cruel experiments would drive anyone mad.”
“Ahem, y-yeah, that’s probably true.”
Segyung nodded, showing that he understood completely.
If Johan’s personality was still the same as he remembered, then he was more than capable of doing what Yuri had described.
Yuri’s outstanding performance, his emotional voice, and the heart-wrenching tale all combined to make Segyung instinctively feel sorry for Yuri.
Segyung was startled by his own softening heart and tried to cover it up with a scoff.
“Pfft… so, what do you want me to do about it?”
“…I’ve been on the receiving end all this time. Don’t you think it’s time to strike back?”
“…?”
“If I stay here, that old man will definitely come again. Let’s use that opportunity to exact bloody revenge.”
“Are you saying we should kill Johan?”
“Oh, not that far. Besides, do you think we could kill that old man even if we tried? We’d have to be ready to kill him just to leave a scratch.”
“Then what exactly do you want?”
“My goal is to build a fortress here that no one can breach. One that won’t leave anyone unscathed if they dare intrude… not even Johan Redner!”
“Pfft, you talk about bloody revenge and all that, but in the end, you just want to set a trap and mess with Johan?”
“Well, something like that.”
Though Segyung pinpointed and mocked the core of Yuri’s elaborate and grandiose words, Yuri didn’t bother denying it.
Instead, he asked with a smile.
“So, do you hate it?”
Segyung responded with a slight smile of his own.
“Well… I don’t dislike it.”
It had been decades since he last saw Johan.
But the memories of the past hadn’t faded.
If he could take revenge, he wanted to.
However, even if Johan’s abilities were only half of what the rumors said, no matter how hard Segyung worked to build traps, it wouldn’t be enough to handle him.
That’s why he found Yuri’s proposal tempting.
‘It might be difficult alone, but if that guy who knows the Redner family’s martial techniques helps…’
Watching Segyung’s eyes dart as he did mental calculations, Yuri seized the moment to dive straight into the main point.
“So, Old Man Free Booze, why don’t you teach me the techniques you know?”
Segyung’s eyes narrowed at that.
“So that was your goal all along.”
“Well, it’s a win-win. Old Man Free Booze gets a chance to settle old grudges, and I get the chance to learn new skills.”
“But in the end, you’re getting your revenge too, so I’m the only one losing out?”
“My revenge? I don’t hold any grudges.”
“Hah? After everything you’ve been through, you don’t hold a grudge?”
“I went through a lot because of Old Man Johan, but I survived, right? That’s enough for me.”
Yuri shrugged, and Segyung, probing his intentions, asked.
“So, what you want to learn from me is related to trap mechanics?”
Yuri’s eyes flashed at those words.
His gaze showed the myriad of thoughts running through his mind.
Yuri quickly finished his calculations and casually, almost tauntingly, said.
“Well, I originally intended to learn just about trap mechanics… but despite having the Walker name, Old Man Free Booze’s metallurgy skills are apparently quite lacking, huh?”
“My… metallurgy skills are lacking? Is that what Johan said?”
“Yep. So instead, I’m thinking of learning something Old Man Free Booze is actually good at. Like… alchemy, for instance?”
As soon as Yuri finished, Segyung scoffed.
“Hah? You want me to teach you my secrets? About alchemy, no less?”
“Yeah.”
“Arrogant, aren’t you?”
“…….”
“Fine, I’ll admit that my metallurgy skills might not match up to the Walker’s reputation. But, even so…”
Segyung glared at Yuri with cold eyes.
“They aren’t skills to be judged by someone who hasn’t even held a hammer. I guarantee that no matter how hard you try, you won’t master even half of what I can teach you about metallurgy!”
No sooner had Segyung finished speaking than Yuri promptly replied, as if he’d been waiting.
“Is that so? Then… how about a bet?”