"So this is goodbye, Aosaki-kun."
"Yeah... And no, it hasn't been a pleasure being at your service. We almost got killed."
Raynell and Joel almost fell over hearing Toshirou's words.
"Toshirou-nii, you don't just say that!" Joel exclaimed.
"At least be discreet about it!" Raynell added.
"I refuse. No way in hell would I say I was happy doing a job that risked 100% of my life." Toshirou shot back.
They sweatdropped. 'But you got a cool sword... And more power!'
"Haha, leave him be you two. That's what makes him unique. He doesn't mince words in the slightest."
"But mother-"
Dae shushed her daughter who looked sideways, pouting in silent protest.
Yeong-ji, Sung-nim, and the elderly Byung-jin chuckled at their antics, not at all offended by Toshirou's blunt words.
The throne room was restored to its normal state. To Toshirou's surprise, the entire place had been cleared, all the way to the outside, and there was nothing to give evidence that a party had occurred in the village just a few hours ago. The only thing that gave away the fact that there was a feast were slightly drunk soldiers who had just a little difficulty in standing upright.
Toshirou wore the same attire he had on when he first arrived at Min-ji; dark pants and a black vest with a slim-fitting dark blue jacket over it. Somehow, though his previous clothes had been destroyed, the seamstresses and tailors had somehow made a perfect replica of the clothes, much to his delight. It surprised him even, at the speed in which they had done the job. It was indeed a job well done.
Sitting on his throne, galant and royal as ever, Yeong-ji turned to the elder by his left, giving him a signal which the elder nodded to.
The seats surrounding the throne which belonged to the former elders had all been removed. There was no need for them any more, especially since the old men were no more in power. Only two seats remained beside the throne; one by the left, and the other by the right, occupied by the elderly Byung-jin and Lady Sung-nim respectively.
Looking up at them, Toshirou gave a little smile and straightened himself up. The mighty black broadsword he acquired recently, was strapped to his back by multiple white bandage-like materials. His eyes met Yeong-ji's, and he bopped his head slightly.
"It's time for me to leave. I assume you're ready to hear what I want in return for all this. Can't put my life in danger with nothing to show for it." Toshirou said.
The same thoughts ran through Dae, Raynell, and Joel's mind. 'How could someone be so shrewd?!'
"Aha, of course," Yeong-ji laughed. "If it's something within my means, then rest assured it will be done."
"Good, good. That's the kind of thing I like to hear." Toshirou replied.
"So, what is it you ask for?"
The moment of truth left them in silent expectation.
"The reward money. That's all I ask for."
'Of course we would've eventually given it to him. He knows this but yet insisted on asking for it, when he knew he could have anything else he wanted. He's kind.' Yeong-ji thought.
"Park!"
Out of nowhere, a soldier clad in a black kimono appeared and knelt before Yeong-ji.
"Yes, my lord!"
"The reward money, get it from the treasury. I have already approved it."
"Yes, my lord."
As quickly as he had come, he vanished.
"It's been bugging me for a while now." Toshirou said, "If you had someone who could use the flash step, why didn't you deploy them in the war? It would've been helpful, wouldn't it?"
"Hmm, while you're indeed correct, the Covert warriors are strictly meant for the evacuation and escape purposes. In any case the village should be destroyed or be in a state of emergency, the Covert warriors are responsible for the escape of everyone in the palace and the city. Their first priority is the safety of the people and the people alone. Besides, even if they joined the battle, the outcome would've still been the same, wouldn't it?"
The lord gazed knowingly at Toshirou, who averted his gaze somewhat bashfully.
The soldier in the black kimono appeared a second later, holding a brown sack tied with a white string in his hand.
"My lord." He said, being know his knees.
"Give it to him." Yeong-ji commanded.
The soldier nodded slightly and stood up. He walked over to Toshirou and with his head bowed, handed the brown sack over to him.
"Thank you, Park. You are dismissed."
Responding with a bow to his lord, the soldier disappeared without a trace.
'Damn, this sack is heavy.'
"How much is in here?"
"Exactly 2 million pieces of gold coins." Yeong-ji replied.
Joel was elated. He felt like he was floating on air. Two million pieces of gold coins was not a joke. A hundred pieces of silver equalled one gold coin, and 100 pieces of bronze coins equalled one silver coin. A silver coin could feed a family of four for an entire week! Four silver coins could feed them for an entire month! This wasn't a dream, it was reality. With 2 million pieces of gold coins, they were set for life! They would never be broke again! In fact, they couldn't. Joel still couldn't process the information properly, his mind spun with overload, but Toshirou's next words, made him almost faint with shock.
"You're kidding, right? Oh come on Yeong-ji-san, you know this alone just won't cut it. At least double it. That's a fair price for my life, ain't it?"
'Gah!'
Dae, Raynell, Joel, and well, all the attendants at that moment, suddenly forgot how to breathe. Their mouths were agape in disbelief at his demand. Sung-nim on the other hand, looked like she couldn't be enjoying this any more than she was. She was having a very difficult time stifling her giggles.
"Um, Aosaki, you're not being serious, are you?" Dae asked the winter blue-haired teen.
"Do I like I'm joking? I'm being serious right now." He replied.
"Don't kid around! Don't you know what you can do with 2 million pieces of gold?! Heck, you don't even have to do anything and you still won't be poor for the rest of your life!"
"Yare, yare," The teen shook his head, like a teacher disappointed at the limited knowledge of his student. "Dae, Dae, Dae, you are still so naive."
A vein popped on her forehead.
"You know, there's a saying that a life is priceless, and unfortunately, I tend to hold on to those words very dearly as I consider my life far more than priceless. In short, nothing could compensate for my life. That's why I'm being a very good sport about it and just asking for 4 million."
Joel and Raynell were just... dazed. How someone could think like this was far beyond their comprehension.
Dae was cross. "You little-"
"Pfft.. pfft... hehe... mngh..."
They were caught off guard by a giggling Sung-nim, who tried so much to keep back her amusement.
"My lord, I can't." She finally resorted to leaning over and burying her face in Yeong-ji's sleeve, laughing to her heart's content.
The attendants, Byung-jin, and even Yeong-ji were utterly baffled... but in a good way. Sung-nim had always been a soft-spoken woman, hardly ever getting annoyed or jittery about most things. To see her laugh in such a manner warmed their hearts, and Yeong-ji couldn't help but find the act adorable.
He sighed softly with a smile and faced his attention on Toshirou, who was, well, surprised at Sung-nim laughing so... cheerily.
"Park!"
The soldier in black kimono appeared again on his knees before Yeong-ji.
"Another one." He said.
"Yes, my lord!"
The soldier vanished and appeared in an instant, holding another sack in his hands.
Yeong-ji nodded. The man stood and handed the sack to Toshirou, before disappearing once more.
'F-four million?!'
Joel was becoming woozy. He would've fallen over if Toshirou hadn't caught him swiftly.
"Easy, kid. Don't go blacking out on me when you haven't even seen the money."
"H-Hai." The boy replied softly.
"Toshirou-san,"
"Don't."
The girl blushed slightly, playing with his name informally on her tongue.
"To-Toshirou-kun,"
"Much better." He smiled softly at her.
"Are you leaving now?" She asked.
"Yeah. I am."
Raynell tugged on her mother's sleeve slightly, nodding her head towards Toshirou's direction.
"No." The woman said curtly.
"Moooother..."
Hearing the girl protest, she couldn't resist indulging her. Sometimes she just wished she wasn't so cute.
Heaving a sigh, she said, "Fine."
Toshirou raised an eyebrow at their exchange.
With graceful, dignified steps, Dae walked down and stood before him, her facial expression stern and serious, making Toshirou to understand she was not here to joke around.
"Aosaki Toshirou," she brought out a gold medallion from behind and held it in front of him. The medallion was beautiful and very well crafted. The sun was engraved onto it, with star-shaped diamonds placed around it, encircling it with the sun in the middle. "Take it. You've earned it."
Now Toshirou felt this was a bit too much. He hadn't done anything to receive such a beautiful ornament.
"Dae, I couldn't."
"It's a custom in the Min-ae village, to give the Sun's medallion to a person of great aid, courage, and achievements. It's an object that is recognised worldwide as something of great respect, honor, and reverence. You ended the feud between our two villages, you restored peace to the land at the cost of your life even though it had nothing to do with you. You risked everything to protect us; your life, strength, and comrade. It is an admirable thing to do. I am not giving this to you because I was asked to, rather, it's to express gratitude from both me and my village. We thank you, Aosaki Toshirou. So take it, you've earned it."
The boy looked around him to see smiling faces gazing right back at him, including the elderly Byung-jin and Joel.
To their surprise, he knelt on one knee and bowed his head before her. Dae smiled and placed the medallion gently around his neck.
"Thank you, Dae. I promise you, I won't let go of this for as long as I live, and I will never forget your kindness. Or any of you, for that matter. I'll always remember you all, for the rest of my days."
His words brought happiness to their ears and hearts. He stood upright and slightly nodded his head towards her.
Byung-jin lifted himself up from his seat, with Sung-nim and Yeong-ji doing the same. Everyone became alert and faced them. The elder declared in a loud voice, "Now it is time for us to see him off. From the bottom of our hearts, we appreciate everything you have done for us. We thank His Majesty for bringing you to us. We wish you success and journey mercies on your path, Aosaki Toshirou. May His Majesty's presence never depart from you."
A loud 'Amen' resonated throughout the building.
...
"So this is goodbye, Aosaki-kun."
"Yeah, Sung-nim. It's been fun, I'm not gonna lie, seeing laugh that much was certainly a treat for my eyes." Toshirou replied, chuckling at the now fond moment.
"Please don't remind me. It's embarrassing." She said, bashfully.
"Good luck, Aosaki-kun." Yeong-ji said, wrapping an arm around his wife. The hidden meaning to the action did not go unnoticed by Toshirou. He merely smirked and walked forward a few steps.
They stood a few ways in front of the eastern gate that led into the village. Byung-jin, Yeong-ji, Sung-nim, Dae, and Raynell had come to see the Toshirou and Joel off. Along the way, Hazel and Seungho had also joined them, wanting to also the boy off, before they departed ways to their own lives.
'What a day,' Joel thought to himself, looking up at the sky. If this was a week ago and someone had told him he would want to live, he would've laughed it off and disbelieved it, but this was real. He was alive, and wanted to keep on living.
"What are you going to do now?" Joel heard Toshirou say to Hazel and Seungho.
"I've already told you. I'm going to see Chang-min. I would like to see her, and give her a proper childhood."
"I see. Thats a good thing. What about you, Hazel?"
"I'll go to see my parents, then I'll come back to the palace. I would like to serve under the lord. It's the least I can do after all that has happened."
"You don't have to." Yeong-ji said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Stay with your parents, Hazel."
"No, my lord. It's something I have to do. I am grateful, I truly am, and that is why I have to do this."
He let his eyes linger on her for a moment longer before nodding in understanding.
"That's a blessing in itself if I do say so myself." Byung-jin chuckled, stroking his beard.
"That I agree." Toshirou joined.
The sun was out. Twelve noon and the heavenly body blasted its rays beautifully on the land.
'Thank God I apologized to Li-san. But her reaction was so adorable.' Looking up at the sky, he recalled Li-san's reaction as she frantically waved her hands, telling him it was okay, it was just an accident.
Smiling, he said to himself, 'God, I would like to come back to this place.'
"Now be a good boy, Joel-kun." Toshirou turned his head to see Raynell on her knees talking to Joel who had a wide grin on his face.
"Don't give Toshirou-kun trouble, and look after him. Don't let him enter into any trouble too. Okay?"
"Hai!" The boy replied.
"And you, Toshirou-kun," she pointed her fingers at him, "protect him alright? I won't forgive you if anything should happen to him."
"Of course. What do you take me for? I won't let anyone even harm a hair on his head. That's a promise."
"Then I'll hold you to that." She smiled and stood up. She hugged them both, before saying, "Be safe, you too. And come see us again, okay?"
'Raynell, you...'
Even after telling her that they might never see each other again, she still held on to hope, having faith that they would see again.
"Yeah, I will."
She released them both, and they began to be on their way. Joel turned back, waving his arms at them, which they all responded to with waves and smiles of their own, including Byung-jin.
Toshirou suddenly stopped and looked behind him.
"I'll see you later, everyone."
His words surprised them, but they smiled nonetheless.
"Let's go, Joel."
"Bye everyone!"
The purple-haired boy ran to the side of his older brother figure, walking beside him.
Gradually, as each second passed, their backs became less and less visible to them, till finally, they were out of their sights.
'Kill the Archangels, huh. I wonder how that would turn out.' Yeong-ji looked up at the clouds. 'Please be careful, Aosaki-kun. No one should go on this kind of task.'
He felt a soft hand squeeze his own and he turned to see Sung-nim gazing at him, with a knowing smile playing on her lips.
"He'll be fine, Yeong-ji. Have faith in him."
Hearing her drop the formalities brought a smile to his lips. He sighed and replied, "You're right. What am I worrying for?"
It was almost like the boy was their son, the same thoughts calmly went through their minds as they gazed at the peaceful clouds.
'I hope you're watching us, Yeon. I hope you've grown to be a fine young man up there, our son.'
No one knew what the future had in store for them. No one had the slightest idea of what time would give them. Living with their lives on the edge is only one of the many proofs of being human. It was the end of an age for the lords, it was the end of a time for warriors, and it was the end of an arc for the winter blue-haired adventurer. Only one with the power of the future knew what it had prepared for them. They could only face it head-on, without doubt, and with strong conviction. A new tree had blossomed in the lives of the people.