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Childhood Friend of the Zenith (Web Novel) - Chapter CH.1077: The World of Ascension (7)
Chapter CH.1077: The World of Ascension (7)
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“What did you just say?”
A cold voice wrapped around my ears. The displeasure in her tone was unmistakable, and her sharp gaze matched her voice perfectly—it left an impression.
The expression on her face made it clear that she thought she had misheard me, but beneath it, irritation simmered.
She looked to be just past twenty, dressed in expensive silk and adorned with lavish accessories.
Anyone could tell she was from a wealthy family.
“What did you just say to me?”
Seeing her, I snapped back to my senses.
“Ah.”
Mi Madam.
The woman standing before me was the Mi Madam I knew.
The matron of the Gu family and the head of one of the most prominent trading companies in Zhongyuan.
And, more importantly, someone I still wasn’t sure how to deal with.
This young and beautiful woman standing in front of me—she was her.
“......What exactly did you just call me?”
Hearing her words, I finally came to my senses. It was obvious that I shouldn’t have carelessly addressed someone who looked this young as "Madam."
I quickly changed the subject.
“Ah, my apologies. You just resemble someone I know.”
“......Resemble? That person has the surname Mi as well?”
“......”
Damn it. Of all the things to say, I had to call her Mi Madam.
“Yes... It was just an odd coincidence.”
At my response, Mi Madam’s eyebrows lifted.
“Judging by the way you’re calling it a coincidence, it seems you know who I am?”
“......”
Ah, for fuck’s sake.
I slipped up. I must have been more flustered than I thought.
I had already figured, from seeing Namgung Jin and Moyong Tae, that I would inevitably run into people I knew in this world.
And yet, despite knowing that, I had let myself get caught off guard in this situation.
How should I smooth this over?
I didn’t need long to decide.
“......I do know of you. You’re quite famous, after all.”
Mi Madam was bound to be well-known in this era too.
A person like her wouldn’t just carry some mild level of fame.
At my words, she scoffed.
“So then, am I to assume you knowingly mocked me?”
It seemed she truly was famous.
“Mocked? Not at all. It was just a brief mistake.”
“I doubt there’s another woman in Zhongyuan who looks like me.”
“There is. She looks nearly identical to you.”
“That’s a ridiculous excuse. Why don’t you just say I look like your mother? That’s a line men use all the time.”
“......”
I paused for a moment.
Looking like my mother, huh.
That line made me think for a second.
“......You do look a bit similar.”
“Ha.”
Mi Madam let out a short, incredulous laugh.
“So you’re planning to keep joking around? With me?”
“If I’ve offended you, I apologize. That wasn’t my intention.”
As if I’d be crazy enough to joke around with Mi Madam.
“......So, what business do you have with me, Lady Mi?”
I smoothly shifted the conversation to the main topic.
Mi Madam’s eyes narrowed.
She seemed to be debating whether to keep picking at my words or move on to a more productive discussion.
But eventually,
“As I was saying earlier, I have a proposal for you.”
She chose to suppress her irritation and return to her original purpose.
That choice told me a lot about her personality.
“A proposal, for me?”
“That’s right. I have an offer for you.”
“And does Lady Mi know who I am?”
I forced myself to use the title that didn’t quite sit right in my mouth.
“Well, not in great detail. I only know your name.”
“And?”
“However, I do know that Master Paejon has taken an interest in you.”
“......”
Ah.
‘So that’s the problem?’
If Paejon had shown interest in me, and that led to Mi Madam suddenly having business with me...
‘Why, though?’
Even so, I couldn’t see why she’d come to me.
As I was about to frown in confusion—
“Do you currently have a trading company sponsoring you?”
‘Ah.’
At her follow-up question, I understood her reasoning.
Sponsorship.
‘She’s trying to claim me.’
For a trading company to sponsor a martial artist was an implicit declaration that the martial artist was affiliated with them.
The more martial artists a trading company sponsored, the greater their influence.
‘So at this point, the Baekhwa Trading Company was actively sponsoring warriors?’
As far as I knew, Baekhwa Trading Company only ever supported the Gu family and didn’t take on outside sponsorships.
But now, they were trying something different?
“Sponsorship, huh...”
“From what I know, you are a son of the Baek family, yet you don’t have a specific trading company backing you.”
“......”
She already knew my name without an introduction.
She had even investigated my family’s status. How the hell did she move this fast?
‘Even I don’t know this shit.’
I had just picked a random prestigious family to claim as my background. How was I supposed to know whether the Baek family had sponsors or not?
“So, if you don’t have any backing, our trading company could offer you excellent terms.”
“Hmm...”
A sponsorship from the Baekhwa Trading Company.
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
‘...This is getting more annoying by the second.’
First Paejon, now Mi Madam.
Why did I keep getting tangled up in these things? And why did the power dynamics always play out the same way?
Back then, despite being Paejon’s disciple, I was still formally offered a position.
And now, despite being part of the Gu family, I was being offered sponsorship again.
It was a ridiculous situation.
But,
“What do you think? It wouldn’t be a bad offer for you either, Young Master Baek—”
“It’s a bad offer.”
“What?”
“I said, it’s a bad offer.”
I told Mi Madam, whose expression twisted slightly.
“What are you—”
“Judging by how Lady Mi approached me, I assume you thought I lacked experience.”
I scratched the back of my head and continued.
“But this is a bit much.”
“What exactly do you mean?”
“If even Master Paejon was interested in me, you must have figured I have something valuable. And yet, you approached me with this as soon as the exam ended?”
I narrowed my eyes.
“And considering your attitude while delivering your message, I doubt you’re offering good terms.”
“......”
As I continued talking without pause, Mi Madam was momentarily speechless.
That confirmed it.
‘She’s young.’
The woman in front of me was not the Mi Madam I knew.
The Mi Madam I knew would never have approached me in this manner.
Her demeanor would have been completely different.
‘She’s still unrefined.’
There were too many signs of inexperience in her.
‘Compared to Moyong Hee-ah...’
“...Ha.”
Mi Madam let out a laugh, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Was her pride wounded? Her eyes held a look of mild surprise as she stared at me.
“You’re quite different from what I expected.”
“And how exactly did you expect me to be?”
“Exactly as you just described yourself.”
Naive, oblivious, and slow-witted.
She was blunt about how she had perceived me.
“It seems I made a mistake. I apologize.”
Mi Madam quickly erased her expression and immediately offered an apology. Her ability to adjust was fast.
“Then, would it be alright if I approached you differently next time?”
It was already too late for that, but she didn’t seem to care.
“No.”
I rejected her outright.
For a simple reason.
“I already have a sponsor.”
“...What?”
Mi Madam’s expression stiffened at my words.
“That’s impossible...”
“I don’t know what information you gathered, and while it’s true that the Baek family does not receive sponsorships, that doesn’t apply to me.”
“...!”
Mi Madam’s eyes widened.
Which meant she understood what I was implying.
I had an individual sponsor.
“From where?”
“I don’t believe I have any reason to tell you that.”
“Tch...”
Mi Madam clicked her tongue as if realizing she had been a step too slow.
Then,
“...How strange. Why is it that I’m only learning about someone like you now?”
“I don’t like leaving the house much.”
“......”
“Are we done? I appreciate the offer, but it seems it will be difficult for me to work with the Baekhwa Trading Company.”
I gave a slight bow and moved away.
I pretended to be composed, but inside, my heart was racing.
‘Wow.’
What if my voice had trembled? What if I had stumbled over my words?
My mind had been flooded with those thoughts, but it seemed I had handled it well.
‘I can’t believe I actually met Mi Madam.’
That had genuinely caught me off guard—I almost screwed up.
‘...I need to handle this quickly and move on.’
I couldn't afford for anything else to go wrong. I needed to wrap this up and sort out my next steps.
I should hurry and finish the remaining exam.
Just as I was thinking that—
“Hahaha! Wait, did Lady Mi just get rejected?”
A sharp, ringing laugh came from a distance.
“See? No matter how you go about it, some things just won’t work.”
Hearing the voice, I turned my head.
And again—
That way of speaking...
No way.
I looked with wide eyes, and Mi Madam also turned to face the approaching figure.
Then, with a glare of irritation, she spoke.
“...Baek Bong (White Phoenix). I am in no mood for your nonsense.”
“Oh, really? That’s a shame. I was just in the mood to mess with you.”
The woman teasing Mi Madam with a bright smile—
She had deep navy-blue hair, a cold aura, yet a refreshingly cheerful expression.
Her name—
“Moyong Biyeon.”
“Oh? You know me?”
The White Lotus Sword, Moyong Biyeon.
In my past life, she was someone who shared an incredibly deep connection with Moyong Hee-ah.
Their appearances were undeniably similar.
But the atmospheres they carried were worlds apart.
As I stood there, unable to say anything, just staring at her—
“Hey.”
Moyong Biyeon looked at me and smiled seductively.
“What’s with those eyes? Did you fall for this big sister?”
“...Excuse me?”
“Oh, so you have an eye for beauty? Well, of course, I’m better than this ice-cold woman over here.”
“You crazy—”
Wait...
Did I mishear?
Did Mi Madam just call her a lunatic?
Yet despite being insulted, Moyong Biyeon didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
She even added another comment.
“Sorry to disappoint, but this big sister already has someone.”
“...What?”
Thump.
I stopped mid-sentence and turned my head to the side.
Suddenly, my heart was reacting.
Sssssss.
My breath grew warm.
Thump—! Thump—!
My racing heartbeat—
I forcibly calmed it down and looked in the direction Moyong Biyeon had come from.
This feeling...
“Ah, there he is. My partner.”
As Moyong Biyeon waved her hand, someone in the distance approached.
I stared at him as well.
My Nine Flames Firewheel was going wild.
It could have been my imagination, but despite the freezing air, I could feel heat seeping through.
A silhouette came into view.
And before anything else, the first thing I noticed was—
Those red eyes.
A figure taller than me by at least half a head. A large, imposing frame.
The scar that was supposed to be across his nose—wasn’t there.
His age seemed slightly older than mine. Probably not yet thirty.
Step by step—
Slowly—
The young man walked toward us.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm.
‘...Am I really seeing him this soon?’
I didn’t need to ask.
I could tell from his red eyes alone.
And even if that wasn’t enough, the way Nine Flames Firewheel was reacting told me °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° everything.
It was him.
The reason I had come to this world in the first place.
‘Father.’
Gu Cheolwoon, the Heroic Blade.
No—Divine Dragon, Gu Cheolwoon.
Our eyes met.
