The Beggar Young Master of the Namgung Clan

It had been twenty years since he had started living the life of a beggar.

Jong Seo-eon was feeling a sense of crisis that he had never experienced before.

"Burp..."

His stomach was bloated.

Even though he had reached a point where he couldn't properly taste the food, Jong Seo-eon continued to chew the food in his mouth.

'I-I can't take it anymore...'

If he had his way, he wanted to spit out all the food in his mouth right now.

But wasn't all this food prepared by Namgung Il for him?

Even just to be polite, Jong Seo-eon was struggling to not leave any food behind as much as he could.

'Just this... if I just eat this, it's over.'

Jong Seo-eon muttered to himself as he looked down at the plate in his hand.

Except for this, the plates on the table were already empty.

The last plate.

Jong Seo-eon forced himself to swallow the food in his mouth and then lifted his spoon.

"..."

There was still half of the food left on the plate.

Seeing that, Jong Seo-eon couldn't bring himself to move his spoon, and his stomach, as if it were screaming that it was already at its limit, had been sending dangerous signals for a while now.

'Please hold on, my stomach!'

Jong Seo-eon shouted in his heart and buried his face in the plate.

And in an instant, the food on the plate disappeared into Jong Seo-eon's mouth.

A moment later, Jong Seo-eon put down the empty plate, showing his bloated stomach.

"I-I ate well..."

His stomach was so bloated that it was not even easy to speak.

But with this, he could say that he had shown his courtesy to Namgung Il.

It is a luxury for a beggar to leave food.

Jong Seo-eon was barely able to keep his master's teaching.

"What are you talking about?"

Just then, Namgung Il asked from the side, as if he were puzzled.

"You've only eaten about half."

"...Pardon?"

"Don't worry and eat as much as you want. I'll order more if it's not enough."

It was one of the scariest things he had heard this year.

'Don't tell me...'

Jong Seo-eon looked at the table next to him with a pale face.

Plates piled up there as much as on the table he was sitting at.

The scariest and most eerie thing was... no one was sitting in the chair there.

'N-no way!'

In fact, Jong Seo-eon had known about the existence of the food next to him early on.

But he had tried his best to deny it and had been focusing only on the food in front of him.

Hearing Namgung Il's words, Jong Seo-eon barely opened his mouth with an awkward laugh.

"Haha... the food will get cold like that. Where on earth did the customers next to us go?"

"They're here."

"..."

"You can just go and sit next to them."

Correction.

The scariest words he had heard this year had just come out of Namgung Il's mouth.

"Ugh—"

As if his stomach was also scared by those words, it immediately reacted.

Jong Seo-eon, who covered his two mouths and forcibly pressed down what was coming up from inside.

Only after barely preventing a catastrophe could Jong Seo-eon put his hands down as they were.

'No. Any more than this and I'll really die.'

Even just to keep his master's teaching, Jong Seo-eon had tried to eat all the food if possible.

But if he ate any more, he really felt like he would die.

For a beggar to die from being too full after eating food, it was truly absurd just to imagine.

"Uh... Young Hero."

"...?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can eat any more because I'm too full..."

In the end, Jong Seo-eon said to Namgung Il.

Hearing that, Namgung Il clicked his tongue.

Namgung Il muttered to himself in a voice that sounded very disappointed.

"For a beggar to say he'll leave food because he's full. He's really full."

"..."

"It seems the discipline of beggars these days has become quite loose. In my time, I licked the bowl so much that a hole was made in it."

Jong Seo-eon, of course, could not understand those words.

For a person from the Namgung Clan, of all people, to have licked a bowl?

Moreover, to say that a hole was made because he licked it too much... it was natural to think that it was all made up.

Swoosh—

Just then, Namgung Il got up from his seat.

Jong Seo-eon stared blankly at him.

Namgung Il went to the side alone and sat there, starting to eat the food.

'Is he going to eat it all by himself?'

Jong Seo-eon immediately shook his head.

How could Namgung Il handle all that food by himself, which he couldn't even bring himself to eat even if his stomach were completely empty?

Jong Seo-eon thought that Namgung Il would also give up soon after emptying just one or two plates.

'Still, it's unexpected.'

He had thought that since he was a person from the Namgung Clan, he would think nothing of leaving food.

Well, just by looking at his attitude towards him, he could tell that Namgung Il was different from the children of prestigious families he had generally thought of.

'He's a peculiar person. He must have lived without any lack since he was young... why does he feel so familiar?'

There was no way Jong Seo-eon could know the reason.

As Jong Seo-eon was looking at him with such a curious gaze, Namgung Il swallowed the food in his mouth and said.

"You said your name was Jong Seo-eon, right?"

"Ah... yes, that's right."

"I'm suddenly curious. What is your master's name?"

Jong Seo-eon's master. In other words, Namgung Il was asking who the current leader of the Beggars' Sect was.

When he suddenly asked such a question, a sense of puzzlement appeared in Jong Seo-eon's gaze, but since it was not information to be hidden, he immediately answered the question.

"My master's name is Gae Du-sik."

"Ah, Du-sik?"

"...Pardon?"

Seeing Jong Seo-eon's reaction, Namgung Il realized that he had made a slip of the tongue.

It might have been okay if it were him in the past, but now he shouldn't call the leader like that.

As if to cover up his mistake, Namgung Il hurriedly opened his mouth.

"I-innkeeper!"

"Yes, did you call?"

"Give me another bowl of noodles for Du-sik here!"

"Pardon?"

What on earth does 'for Du-sik' mean?

The man's expression seemed to be saying that now.

"You don't know 'for Du-sik'?"

"Uh..."

"Hurry up and go and bring me some noodles for Du-sik!"

"Ah, I understand!"

In the end, the man could not understand the meaning of 'for Du-sik' until the end.

After all, it was a word that Namgung Il had just made up in a hurry.

After roughly sending the man back, Namgung Il looked at Jong Seo-eon and said.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I suddenly wanted to eat noodles."

"Uh... is that so?"

"So, what did you say your master's name was?"

"...Gae Du-sik."

Although Jong Seo-eon was somewhat suspicious, he decided to just let it go.

In the meantime, the meaning of the word 'for Du-sik' kept replaying in his mind.

Of course, no matter how much he thought about it, Jong Seo-eon could not understand its meaning.

'I somehow got through it.'

Although he was always careful, sometimes words would come out without going through his brain like this.

But Namgung Il thought that he couldn't help it just now.

Because Gae Du-sik was his disciple.

Hearing a familiar name after a long time, the name had come out in the way he used to call him without him realizing it.

'By the way, so Du-sik became the leader after me.'

He had two disciples.

One was the Gae Du-sik he had just mentioned. And the other was a brat named Gang Du.

To be honest, since the Righteous-Demonic War had broken out shortly after he had taken them in as disciples, he had not been able to play the role of a proper master.

Because of that, he had been a little worried about how they were doing after time had passed... but it was a relief that one of his disciples seemed to have properly become the leader.

'Then how is that brat Gang Du doing?'

Since he had learned that Gae Du-sik was doing well, Namgung Il became curious about the other's well-being.

Perhaps Jong Seo-eon would also know about Gang Du's well-being?

Namgung Il immediately asked Jong Seo-eon about that as well.

"Have you perhaps heard the name Gang Du?"

It was then.

Namgung Il momentarily thought that he might have made a slip of the tongue.

Because as soon as he asked that question, Jong Seo-eon's expression darkened rapidly.

Moreover, seeing a faint anger flowing out, Namgung Il swallowed his words for a moment.

"...How do you know that name, Young Hero?"

"Uh... I think I've heard it somewhere."

"I'm sorry, but I can't answer that question. And please refrain from mentioning that name in front of me as much as possible."

"...I understand."

What on earth was that brat, Gang Du, doing for Jong Seo-eon to show such a reaction?

Although Namgung Il was curious about that, it seemed he couldn't keep asking Jong Seo-eon the same question in this atmosphere.

"By the way."

"..."

"What brings you here, beggar?"

Namgung Il immediately changed the subject.

And so, Jong Seo-eon's expression seemed to have returned to normal a little more than before, and Namgung Il continued to speak, observing his reaction.

"Could it be that you've come here for the entrance exam of the Flying Dragon Academy?"

"...How did you know?"

"I just said it, but it seems I was right."

"Then... are you also here for the entrance exam of the Flying Dragon Academy, Young Hero?"

Namgung Il lightly nodded his head in place of an answer.

But to think that Jong Seo-eon was really here to enter the Flying Dragon Academy.

As he had said just now, since he had said that just to change the subject, Namgung Il was a little surprised inwardly.

'If he's a Hougai, he should be able to enter the Flying Dragon Academy through recommended admission.'

Well, is that not necessarily the case?

In fact, he was also here now to enter through the exam, not recommended admission.

So it meant that Jong Seo-eon also had some circumstances he couldn't talk about.

Since there was that incident earlier, Namgung Il decided not to ask that far.

"That's great. Then let's stay here for the night and go to the exam together tomorrow."

"Ah, no! I've already received a meal, so how can I be so rude..."

"Please just accept it as a token of my apology."

"...Pardon?"

"I don't know the reason, but it seems I've hurt your feelings just now."

"..."

When Namgung Il said that, Jong Seo-eon became speechless.

Seeing that, Namgung Il continued to speak with a light smile.

"You were probably planning to sleep on the street anyway. If you sleep uncomfortably like that, will you be able to pass the exam tomorrow properly?"

"...I'm used to sleeping on the street, so it's fine."

"Oh, what kind of beggar refuses like this? It's good to be polite, but you should also know how to shamelessly accept such a favor."

"...Pardon?"

"That's the way of the beggar."

Why was Namgung Il saying that...

Seeing Namgung Il speaking exactly like his master had said to him, Jong Seo-eon was surprised inwardly.

"If someone shows you a favor, just accept it with a grateful heart."

"..."

"Because that's the way of the beggar."

The way of the beggar... Jong Seo-eon did not know where that saying had come from.

'I don't know the reason. But...'

Jong Seo-eon instinctively knew that Namgung Il's favor towards him was genuine.

At that moment, a smile appeared on his lips as if he had decided something.

Jong Seo-eon bowed his head slightly and said to Namgung Il.

"I understand. I will gratefully accept your favor, Young Hero."

"You should have done that from the beginning."

When Namgung Il said that, Jong Seo-eon laughed awkwardly.

However.

Hearing Namgung Il's words that followed, the smile completely disappeared from Jong Seo-eon's face.

"If you want to go up and rest quickly, you'd better sit here and pick up a plate."

"...Pardon?"

Did I hear something wrong?

As Jong Seo-eon was looking at him with such an expression, Namgung Il lifted a plate and said.

"You can't sleep today until you've eaten all the food here."

"..."

"Don't leave any food. Isn't that also the way of the beggar?"

"Uh..."

I should have just slept outside.

Jong Seo-eon once again regretted it inwardly.

(End of Chapter)