Chapter 3: I got a job.

The interior of the estate, visible as I followed the woman, was breathtakingly magnificent.

‘Ugh, I’m dizzy…’

Just glancing around was enough to make my head spin.

The place I used to live in was a cramped thatched hut where seven kids and two adults slept and ate, all squeezed together.

If I could sell just one of those decorations on the pillars, it’d probably buy enough food to feed my family for months…

Oh, right. I don’t have a home anymore, do I?

With everything that’s happened lately, I’d forgotten that my parents in this life sold me for a single silver coin.

Hah!

Clang!

As I walked, lost in pointless thoughts and looking around, a powerful shout suddenly rang through the air.

Turning my gaze toward the sound, I saw warriors in martial attire swinging their swords in perfect unison.

‘Wow, real martial artists.’

I gaped, watching the scene unfold.

Having been reborn in a martial world but living among farmers swinging sickles and hoes, seeing actual martial artists felt oddly thrilling.

“Hehe, is it fascinating?”

“Ah! I’m sorry!”

Startled by the woman’s voice beside me, I quickly apologized.

At my apology, her head tilted to the side.

“Hm? What are you sorry for?”

“I heard it’s rude to secretly watch warriors training.”

“…Hahaha!”

…What? Why is she laughing so hard?

The woman, now completely stopped, clutched her stomach and laughed uncontrollably.

Finally calming down, she wiped a tear from her eye and ruffled my hair.

“Haha, the Baek Clan isn’t so rigid as to enforce such rules on a child.”

…So, there is such a rule after all.

I’d only mentioned it because I remembered it from martial arts novels… I’ll have to be more careful from now on.

In the martial world, even living quietly as a farmer, you could get killed by a stray blade. Now that I’m in the heart of a powerful clan, I’ll need to be even more cautious.

As I thought this, the woman continued in a kind tone.

“I’m Song Hwa, from the Muyoung Corps. What’s your name?”

“Ah… You can call me Seoran.”

“Hm, that’s a cute name. Hehe.”

The woman, no, Song Hwa, smiled gently.

If I were in my original body, I’d never have received such a kind smile from a beauty like her.

‘Being young really has its perks.’

It lowers people’s guard.

Might as well take advantage of this chance to ask more questions.

“…Um, by the way, where is this place?”

I still don’t know where I am.

“Hm? Where this is?”

“I passed out and woke up in that room…”

“Oh, I see.”

Song Hwa nodded.

“Then you probably don’t know what happened yesterday either.”

She began to concisely explain the events of the previous day.

In short, this clan had crushed another force that had encroached on their territory—a simple story.

But that wasn’t the important part right now.

‘Holy sht… This is the Baek Clan?’

Even I, who lived cut off from the martial world, had heard of this massive force.

Unlike what most martial arts readers know, this world doesn’t call its prominent clans the Five Great Clans but the Eight Great Clans.

Yes.

The Baek Clan is one of those Eight Great Clans.

In other words, this place is on par with famous clans like the Namgoong Clan and the Zhuge Clan… an insanely powerful family.

I knew it wasn’t an ordinary clan, but to think it was the Baek Clan?

Realizing this, a question naturally arose.

“…But why did the Young Master bring me here?”

They said the Young Master himself picked me up while I was unconscious…

Why would someone like him bother bringing a random Extra #47 like me to this clan?

“…Hm.”

At my question, Song Hwa’s expression turned slightly awkward, her eyes darting.

“Oh! W-We’ve arrived. The Young Master will explain the details.”

She blatantly changed the subject.

…Fck, why am I suddenly so anxious?

‘…Now that I think about it, didn’t I point a dagger at that man?’

No way… He wouldn’t have brought me here just to personally deal with a lowly commoner girl who dared point a dagger at the Young Master of the Baek Clan… right?

My blood ran cold in an instant.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s not… a bad thing for you. Probably? Maybe?”

Seeing my face pale, Song Hwa hurriedly added, but it wasn’t comforting at all.

Creak.

Just as I thought I was screwed, the door in front of us slowly opened.

There, sitting solemnly in the center, was the man in the white robe I’d seen before passing out.

His aura was so menacing it was indescribable… It really seemed like he’d called me here to deal with me.

‘…Looks like I have no choice but to resort to that.’

As Song Hwa led me into the room and the door closed behind us.

Bang!

“I’m sorry!”

I immediately threw myself into a dogeza.

*

“…What are you doing?”

Baek Kang furrowed his brow.

Seeing a young girl prostrating herself on the floor wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Where in the world had she learned such a bizarre posture?

“Get up. I didn’t call you here to receive an apology.”

“Ah, yes! Hehe.”

At Baek Kang’s words, the girl cautiously raised her head but remained respectfully on her knees.

The atmosphere felt oddly tense, so Baek Kang decided to lighten the mood with a playful remark.

“I thought you had the guts to point a dagger at me, so why are you so stiff now?”

“…I’m sorry!”

Bang!

“…”

It was just a joke…

Seeing her head hit the floor again, Baek Kang clamped his mouth shut.

‘I can’t even speak.’

At a glance, she seemed like just a commoner girl terrified of him.

Baek Kang knew his face wasn’t exactly kind-looking, so he was used to most children being afraid of him.

But… he vaguely sensed that this girl’s reaction was different from other children’s.

‘How should I put this…’

To Baek Kang, it didn’t seem like she was scared of him as a person.

She was scared of his position as the ‘Young Master of the Baek Clan.’

She understood her situation, assessed it, and was taking steps to seek forgiveness.

To put it kindly, she was perceptive. To put it bluntly, she was cunning.

“For starters, do you know who I am?”

“…Yes. I was told on the way here.”

“My name is Seoran, and my age is… around eleven, I think.”

“Hm.”

He’d guessed her age from her small frame, but to have such perceptiveness and judgment at that age?

Even when captured by human traffickers, she killed someone to escape, and despite her fear, she had pointed a dagger at him. That had left quite an impression on him…

‘It’s growing on me more and more.’

Someone with her perceptiveness would be perfect to serve his daughter.

Baek Kang’s only child, Baek Yeon, was born frail.

She was afflicted with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, a notorious, supposedly incurable disease.

Because his only heir was fated to a short life, Baek Kang’s position as Young Master was under threat, but regardless of that, he loved his daughter dearly.

He wanted her to live her short life as happily as possible.

He spared no expense or resources to support her… but her slightly, ever-so-slightly difficult personality meant few people volunteered to stay by her side.

This was especially true for children.

Baek Kang wanted to give Baek Yeon friends, but as mentioned, his daughter, who was just a tad bit spoiled, always ended up clashing with her peers.

But this girl, Seoran, standing before him, seemed different from other children.

“Where are your parents?”

“They’re the ones who sold me.”

“Tch, then you must hold a grudge against them.”

At Baek Kang’s question, Seoran briefly glanced around before shrugging.

“Well… it’s a tough world, isn’t it? They must’ve been desperate.”

“…Hahaha!”

At her response, Baek Kang burst into laughter without realizing it.

To speak like that about parents who sold her?

It was an audacious answer, hard to believe from an eleven-year-old.

It almost felt like an adult who’d lived a long life was inside her (if he’d said that out loud, Seoran would’ve probably fainted).

Her response just now solidified Baek Kang’s decision.

“Very well, Seoran. If that’s the case, you have nowhere to go.”

This girl could surely…

“Why don’t you stay here and serve Yeon?”

She could be a good friend for Baek Yeon (or rather, a loyal follower to cater to her whims).