Book 23 Chapter 13

The Two Sides of Karma

—A Secret Plan

"Yeonbi, is that child doing alright?"

Naye-rin asked, setting down her tea.

"She's probably doing fine, Rin. So don't worry too much."

It seemed she was unlikely to fail.

"I don't want to believe that such a thing exists on one side of the reality I live in."

What she was talking about was Ryu Eun-kyung's past.

"That is the darkness humans possess. Just as they can become the most noble, they can also become the most wicked, for that is the karma humans possess. Infinite possibilities are not a one-way street."

It was a bitter affair.

"Is it karma… inescapable… I don't need such infinity…"

Having to witness the ugly side of humanity was incredibly painful for a human.

"Well, it might be what they call 'excessive benefit.' Or perhaps it's God's mischief to see if humans can handle it. But whatever it is, isn't the important thing right now? The fact that that young lady was born a woman is true, and the fact that her younger brother was born a man is also true. These are destinies that cannot be changed."

Destiny, unlike fate, is determined at the moment of birth and cannot be changed.

"But I don't think you need to be so depressed."

"Why is that?"

"I told you before. Destiny cannot be changed, but fate can. It's called fate because it can be moved."

"To have to have everything just because you're a man… It's truly unfair."

Naye-rin herself had encountered many situations where she thought, 'What if I weren't a woman?' Most of them were not good memories. However, her parents had always been on her side, doing their best to cherish, love, and protect her.

* * *

"Is it wrong to be born a woman?"

The girl asked herself with a bitter tone.

The martial arts world is a world ruled by strength. It was too harsh a place for a woman's delicate body to endure. However, Yeonbi saw through Ryu Eun-kyung's thoughts.

"That's not true. How could it be? What's wrong with being born a woman? Women are far better than men who needlessly breed violence. At least there is beauty. The continuation of humanity depends on women holding more than two-thirds of the initiative. Men aren't very helpful in bearing and raising children."

Each person has a different role. Differences clearly exist in this world. And if there were no differences, the world would stagnate. Perfect equality cannot and should not exist. That's why Yeonbi said the following to Ryu Eun-kyung.

"Alright. Since it's come to this, you'll obtain it with your skills. Such a tiny family can be taken over with skill. How about it? Simple, right?"

Ryu Eun-kyung, who thought it was not simple at all, retorted.

"W-with skills?"

She had never thought of it that way before. To her, her family had always been a colossal entity that could swallow her whole. So she added:

"I can probably guess what kind of mess he would have become if you had indulged that younger brother's every whim. If you are defeated by such a pathetic person, there is a fundamental problem. From what I see, you are not that weak. It's just that your thinking was rigid. Such collective consciousness is a curse that erodes one's destiny. There is no curse as fearsome as fixed ideas. They clip the wings of human talent and shackle their feet. You can just create new ones. Exceptions always exist anyway. So why don't you become the exception?"

"I-I can't…"

Ryu Eun-kyung looked quite shocked. Yeonbi's words were so far outside the norm that it was difficult to follow. She had clearly never thought that way before. And she had just learned that it was possible to think that way. It was a way of thinking that did not exist in her world.

"Who decided that you can't? Have you even tried?"

"……"

Ryu Eun-kyung remained silent. Yeonbi's sharp words, which instantly shattered her long-held common sense, had already shaken her spirit. The way she kept telling herself she shouldn't do it seemed like the last desperate struggle of the curses she had built up.

"If you don't have a goal, you can have one now. Someone somewhere said, 'Boys, be ambitious,' but no one ever said girls can't be ambitious. Besides, such a small wish, it's not even ambition. Not like me, who wants to conquer the martial arts world."

"Conquer the martial arts world?! Is that wish for real?"

"No. Of course, it's a joke."

Yeonbi smiled sweetly. The silver-haired girl chuckled, saying, "Somehow, it doesn't sound like a joke, which is scarier."

"Conquering something that offers no real benefit is just a loss. If you calculate the cost of conquering the martial arts world and the profit you'll get afterward, the cost-performance ratio is too bad. Only men have such wishes."

She was someone who might later suggest making the leader of the martial arts alliance a woman.

"Hmm, that's quite possible."

She was a daughter who briefly worried about her father's future.

"I'll praise you for not running away from this harsh reality. Even if you are foolish and kind. Now, what will you do? Will you succumb to destiny as it is, or will you fight against it and transcend it?"

Ryu Eun-kyung pondered for a long time. She realized that depending on her answer, she could completely change.

"…I will confront it head-on and earn recognition."

That was a declaration of liberation from the shackles of the past. It was a declaration of becoming a different person than she had been.

"Alright. If you say that much, I will help you. In fact, helping someone with no will to do so is a waste of time. And I truly hate wasting time."

Especially when the effort she put into helping is completely ignored, an unbearable impulse arises. Therefore, she wanted to avoid such situations.

"I will pave the way for you!"

One only needs to teach the way to those who are willing to move forward. What use is a path to someone who doesn't intend to walk?

"Then, what kind of…?"

Yeonbi replied with a smile.

"I have a secret plan to lure Namgung Sang, are you interested?"

Ryu Eun-kyung nodded quickly and said,

"Of course. But do you really have such a thing?"

Ryu Eun-kyung, who deeply distrusted the world, asked with shining eyes.

"Of course. Of course. I don't have a hobby of joking about such things. I'm sure this secret plan will make him unable to move."

"Please teach me that secret plan."

Ryu Eun-kyung said, her eyes sparkling like stars.

"Hmm, what should I do…"

Yeonbi played hard to get, as a formality.

* * *

"Since I told you the secret plan, she must have succeeded. So don't worry too much, Rin."

"I truly hope it goes well."

"It will go well, probably."

It was a rather nonchalant answer.

"Should we have accepted her as the third player in our team?"

Naye-rin said, lost in thought for a moment.

"That would have been a good option too. But it seems she has a connection with the Head of the Imperial Guard… And besides, we have this young lady, don't we?"

She would surely sulk greatly if she wasn't included.

"Ah, yes, she was there. I completely forgot for a moment."

However, it might have been better if she had forgotten.