Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Whoooosh—!!!

The wind whipped through my hair for what felt like an eternity. The fierce turbulence made my brows furrow involuntarily, forcing me to shut my eyes.

…Just how far is he planning to go?

Paejon.
Just how long had I been dragged through the air by this stubborn old man?

By my estimate, at least half a keun (about fifteen minutes).

At this speed, if we had been flying for that long, just how far had we traveled?

I hope we haven’t left Hanam.

It was entirely possible. I couldn’t think of a good reason why we’d need to leave, but based on rough calculations, it wouldn’t be surprising if we had.

And then, at some point—

Boom—!!!

A heavy impact exploded as Paejon landed, the ground beneath us shattering and rebounding from the force.

Swish—!

Paejon released the grip he had on me. My body spun wildly in the air, but I twisted my energy and managed to land on my feet.

“Hoo—!”

I let out a deep breath. Paejon grinned at me.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had a good run. Feels refreshing. Not bad at all.”

“…I nearly died, though.”

What was he thinking, suddenly grabbing me by the neck and leaping through the sky? Loosening my tense muscles, I looked at him and asked:

“Why did we come all the way here?”

I had no idea where we were. All I could see was a forest, nothing but trees in every direction.
Why did he drag me all the way out here?

At my question, Paejon’s eyes gleamed.

“We have things to discuss, don’t we? And you’re the one who wouldn’t want to have that conversation in front of the Sword Master, not me.”

“……”

I had nothing to say. He was right.

“You reckless brat. You dump all that important information on me and then run off to Hanam—what am I supposed to do with that? Were you expecting me to go running to that old geezer and tell him everything?”