I became a childhood friend of the middle boss. - chapter 16

Episode 16

The main family of the Shin-Geom family, the highest floor of the main building, was a space created for the head of the family.

“Hmm.”

The head of the family, Do Ye-ik, was there.

Even at the pinnacle of all warriors, he never neglected his training. On the day of the banquet, he continued his practice as usual.

After swinging his sword vigorously, he washed his sweatdrenched body.

And then…

“Refreshing.”

With a wet towel draped over his head and only a towel around his waist, Do Ye-ik entered the sauna room.

Hoo.

He spent that time in the heat, not controlling his mana, something an ordinary person would find unbearable.

Even though sweat flowed endlessly, his breathing showed no signs of disturbance.

In that state…

“It seems everyone has gathered.”

Without expanding his sensing network, Do Ye-ik extended his physical senses to grasp the presence of his direct descendants in the main building.

For someone like him, who could handle mana and had trained in swordsmanship since childhood, sensing their presence was not a difficult task.

Soon, he withdrew his senses.

“Since it seems everyone is here, I should start getting ready.”

The banquet would begin soon.

With his busy children visiting, it was unacceptable for the head of the family to be late for the family’s annual event.

Just then, the chief secretary arrived.

“Head, the banquet will begin shortly.”

“Yes, I know. I’ll be out soon.”

The chief secretary relayed the message from outside the door.

Do Ye-ik grabbed the towel on his head and stood up.

As he opened the door, the heat and steam trapped in the sauna room escaped.

“I’ll help you get ready.”

“Thank you.”

Ignoring the heat, the secretary, wearing fogged-up glasses, gestured to the attendants behind him.

The attendants approached Do Ye-ik and began to assist him.

Do Ye-ik accepted the clothes they offered and put them on.

While doing so, he asked the secretary.

“With everyone gathered, has there been any trouble?”

“There haven’t been any special issues that would require your attention, Head.”

“Is that so?”

“However…”

The secretary hesitated for a moment.

Do Ye-ik silently urged him to continue.

Finally, the secretary spoke again.

“Your two sons had a noticeable argument.”

“An argument? Is it nothing serious? So, who fought with whom?”

“Do Beom-jun, the sub-leader, and Do Sang-jun, the branch director.”

“Sang-jun?”

“Yes, Head.”

“Hmm…”

His fifth son, Do Sang-jun.

He was a disappointing child who had married an ordinary woman without any talent, despite carrying the blood of a prestigious family.

Hearing Sang-jun’s name, Do Ye-ik couldn’t help but feel surprised.

Sang-jun had been living modestly, knowing his place after marrying against the family’s wishes.

The fact that he had an argument piqued his interest.

“It seems the two of them got into a dispute again over their previous conflict.”

“That matter.”

Do Ye-ik understand immediately.

As the head of the family, it was impossible for him not to know about the disputes within the clan.

He recalled the recent clash between Do Beomjun and Do Sangjun regarding their children.

“Even the one who tried to live quietly is showing such behavior when it comes to his children. So, what happened?”

“Well…”

Even if Sang-jun revealed this, he couldn’t match Beom-jun’s influence.

Do Ye-ik anticipated the answer but was surprised when the secretary’s response differed from his expectations.

“Coincidentally, Do Seung-woo and Do Gyeon-woo engaged in a spar, which led the parties involved to resolve their issues.”

“…”

“Sub-leader Do Beom-jun organized it, gathering everyone present to watch the spar between the two young masters.”

“How did that happen?”

This was a completely unexpected turn of events.

Do Ye-ik clicked his tongue.

“Sang-jun is going to be thoroughly embarrassed.”

Given the flow of events, it seemed that Beom-jun and Do Seung-woo had plotted to humiliate Sang-jun and Do Gyeon-woo.

Sang-jun had fallen into a trap.

Do Ye-ik decided to set aside his curiosity about the likely outcome.

If the secretary hadn’t spoken up immediately.

“However, it seems that Do Gyeon-woo was the one who proposed the spar first.”

“What?”

“Do Gyeon-woo suggested the spar directly to Do Seung-woo.”

“…”

“He asked him out of the blue…”

Hearing the secretary’s words, Do Ye-ik couldn’t believe his ears.

“That kid… did that?”

“Yes, it’s certain.”

Rabbit, Do Gyeon-woo.

Once called a genius in the family, he had been looked down upon due to his timid and fearful nature.

Do Ye-ik found it hard to believe that he had proposed a spar to Do Seung-woo.

“What is he thinking?”

Do Ye-ik fell into thought.

His thoughts quickly turned into curiosity.

“Will I be able to see it if I go now?”

“You’ll probably arrive after it’s already over.”

“Then I should go see the result.”

He could guess the outcome.

However, he couldn’t help but be curious about what had prompted Do Gyeon-woo to challenge Do Seung-woo.

Soon, Do Ye-ik moved to leave.

At the moment of attack, any being reveals a gap.

That is the moment of hunting.

I aimed for that moment…

“Goodbye, it was nothing special.”

I caught Do Seung-woo off guard.

The second form of the Suwang-ryu defensive technique requires one to defend with equal or greater force than the opponent’s attack, so if you don’t properly gauge your opponent’s skills, it can’t be used effectively.

However, I was able to compensate for this flaw thanks to the instinctive evasion.

The instinctive evasion adjusted the distribution of my strength.

[Skill level has increased.]

[Instinct Control Lv. 1 and 2]

The level of instinctive control had risen.

As the notification popped up, I dismissed it with my hand and looked down at Do Seung-woo.

He was lying on the ground, facing away from me.

In a way, he looked stuck.

“I didn’t intend to end it like this…”

Seeing Do Seung-woo sprawl out, I felt a twinge of regret.

“I considered pretending it was a mistake and cutting off an arm, but…”

No matter what, I couldn’t do that.

It was beyond my capacity.

Even if the Shin-Geom family emphasized competition, they were not a clan that would cause internal strife or disregard human life to that extent.

“So instead, I thought I’d drag it out and toy with him, but damn.”

I mismanaged my strength.

It happened at the moment I lost my temper.

“Can I ask for a rematch? Should I suggest it when he wakes up?”

Do Seung-woo’s triumphant face overlapped with that of the guy who used to torment me in the past.

Seeing that face made me angry.

Without realizing it, I tightened my grip on the sword.

The result was this.

“Is he not getting up?”

I poked him with my toes.

He didn’t move at all.

Suddenly, I felt a pang of fear.

“He isn’t dead, is he?”

Although I had hit him with the back of my sword, I couldn’t let my guard down.

If I hit him wrong, he could really die.

Moreover, this was my first time knocking someone out with the back of my sword.

That alone was enough to scare me.

“Hey, wake up. Hurry up.”

I tapped his body with my sword.

Even then, he didn’t regain consciousness, so I slapped his cheeks a few times.

“Hey, stop pretending to be dead.”

Slap!

“Get up, hurry.”

Slap!

“Don’t make me a murderer.”

Slap!

“Seung-woo? Can you wake up?”

Slap!

“Ugh…”

Oh, there’s a reaction.

As Do Seung-woo’s cheeks turned red, he furrowed his brow.

Only then could I finally relax.

I realized that if I had just confirmed he was breathing, this would have all been unnecessary.

I had briefly lost my composure and forgotten the obvious.

At that moment…

“Huh?”

As I half-lifted him by the nape of his neck, I noticed something flowing from his lower body.

It was urine.

It was clear he had wet himself, as his lower half was soaked, and a puddle was spreading on the ground.

The training ground’s floor wasn’t dirt, so the light yellow color stood out clearly.

“Oh, he peed…”

Oh no, I spoke too loudly.

I quickly glanced at the reactions of the people watching the spar.

“…”

They were all gaping.

It was Do Seung-woo who had fainted, slapped, and wet himself, yet they looked as if they had been the ones hit.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at them.

‘Looks like everyone saw.’

Well, with a puddle this big, it was impossible not to notice.

I didn’t need to announce it; they had already seen everything.

“Ugh, gross.”

I stepped back.

Before I knew it, Do Seung-woo’s urine had spread to my feet.

‘…I can’t ask for a rematch now.’

Anyway, I had confirmed his survival.

I released my grip on his nape and decided to return to Ye-eun.

Just then…

“Haha! Maybe the spar is already over, and there’s nothing left to see?”

“…”

“Regardless of who won or lost, let’s encourage both as adults.”

Suddenly, the training room door burst open, and adults flooded in.

Among them were my father and mother.

‘What’s going on?’

I watched them approach and tilted my head in confusion.

“Seung-woo, you did well. Gyeon-woo, don’t hold onto losing…”

As they got closer to the training ground and took in the sight of me and Do Seung-woo…

“S-Seung-woo!”

“…!”

The leading figure, my third uncle, widened his eyes and let out a shocked exclamation.

His face contorted in distress.

‘Ah, so that’s what it was.’

I quickly understood the situation and released my grip on Seung-woo’s nape.

He collapsed again.

After that, things turned chaotic.

“What on earth did you do to make the kid like this!?”

“…”

Do Seung-woo’s father, Do Beom-jun.

The usually arrogant third uncle turned red and began to rage.

He was trying to pin the blame on me to cover up the situation.

He accused me of using cowardly tactics to invalidate the spar.

“Hyung, what are you doing to that kid right now!? Are you crazy!? You were the one who said not to care about the outcome of the spar! Don’t you remember!?”

“Get away! Do Sang-jun!”

Naturally, my father stood in the way to prevent my third uncle from threatening or approaching me.

It was only natural that a struggle ensued.

“Calm down already!?”

“Are you not moving aside!?”

“Everyone here says the spar was conducted fairly!”

“Ugh…! Are you telling me to believe the words of those kids!? What do they know!?”

Although they weren’t using their fists, the two began to shove and pull each other, eventually rolling on the ground.

‘…This is a complete mess.’

I could only watch the scene unfold.

There was no way for me to get involved in the fight between the fathers.

Meanwhile…

Fights broke out in other places too.

“Fine, let’s say the spar was fair! But what about hitting the kid after it’s over!? Can’t you see his cheeks are swollen!? That kid is a total bully!”

“What? What did you say? Hyung, say that again. Did you just call my son a bully!?”

“Don’t hit my mom!”

My mother and Do Seung-woo’s mother.

Even the mothers got into a fight.

Both of them glared at each other, unwilling to back down.

When one mother grabbed the other’s hair, Ye-eun joined in.

‘My mom is really scary…’

It was strange to see my mother, who usually bowed her head and acted submissively, showing such a fierce expression.

That said…

“Hey! Do Beom-jun! Is being the older brother all that matters!?”

“What did you say, you punk!?”

“Yeah! I called you a bully! Where do you think that kid came from, acting all tough…?”

“How about your son? He’s been a brat since the beginning! Every time I see him, I want to hit him! It’s fine, Gyeon-woo! You did well!”

It was utter chaos.

Complete chaos.

It was hard to tell whether this was a prestigious swordsmanship family or a swordsmanship market.

‘How do I stop this situation?’

It seemed like the family members had no intention of calming things down.

In fact, they seemed to be enjoying the situation.

I sighed.

Just then…

“What are you all doing!?”

A loud voice erupted, filling the training ground.

The voice, imbued with mana, carried a power that seemed to intimidate everyone.

“…”

After the noise subsided, everyone fell silent.

They all turned their heads toward the source of the sound as if they had made a silent agreement.

I did the same.

“What a disgrace.”

“…”

A tall old man was walking toward us.

The head of the Shin-Geom family, my grandfather.

‘What is grandfather doing here?’

I wasn’t the only one thinking that; everyone present was likely thinking the same thing.

However, it seemed grandfather had no intention of answering our questions.

As he approached us, he immediately frowned.

“This is a complete disgrace. How can you all act like this and still call yourselves members of a prestigious family? Watching you all makes me embarrassed.”