Chapter 46
Preparation (1)
『 Translator – Divinity 』
We told Master Namgung everything about our investigation and what had happened yesterday.
When the Paecheon Fortress conspiracy, which had been mere suspicion, was confirmed by Jo Un-chil’s testimony, Namgung family head was enraged.
“Those bastards…!”
And when I told him that I had killed Sa Gong-chan, the leader of the Heavenly Radiance Squad, he naturally looked at me with suspicion.
“…Is that true?”
“Even the Young Master didn’t seem to believe me. I think the rumors should have spread by now, why don’t you check?”
The Namgung family head tilted his head at my nonchalant attitude, but he followed my suggestion and sent a servant outside the estate to gather information.
Of course, it didn’t take long for the servant to return.
The servant entered the office, unable to hide his surprise, and relayed what he had heard.
“Everyone is talking about the bloodbath that happened last night at the House of Wind and Moon. I heard that the leader of Paecheon Fortress’s Heavenly Radiance Squad was found dead, along with five of his men…”
“……”
For the record, the House of Wind and Moon was the name of Jo Un-chil’s gambling house.
Anyway, Namgung family head and Namgung Hyeon, realizing that my words were true, looked at me with shock.
I simply shrugged in response, and they regained their composure after a belated cough.
“A-Ahem! That’s truly surprising. I heard that you’re only twenty this year, Young Master, but to have reached such a level at that age. Brother Yeo, you’ve raised a fine disciple.”
“I didn’t raise him. He grew up on his own.”
“Come on, don’t say such hurtful things.”
“What’s so hurtful? It’s not exactly wrong.”
“But words can have different meanings…”
Knock knock
“You two, save the off-topic conversation for later.”
Hwa-ryeon called us back as Master and I were getting sidetracked.
Returning to the main topic, we put our heads together and discussed what those bastards were up to.
After an hour, the conclusion we reached was, “We don’t know.”
I stood up.
“We won’t get anywhere just by agonizing over it like this.”
Hwa-ryeon tilted her head at my words.
“What are you going to do?”
“If we don’t know the answer, we need to go to someone who does.”
Hwa-ryeon made a strange expression, as if she immediately understood what I meant.
“…Are you saying you’re going to go ask them yourself?”
“Wouldn’t that be obvious? Since he even told us to come to the county office to discuss the rules of the duel tournament, we have a reason to visit him, don’t we?”
Those who had been surprised by my initial suggestion gradually started to agree as I continued.
“It doesn’t sound like a bad idea. So when are you planning to go?”
I grinned at Namgung Hyeon’s question and answered,
“Right now.”
***
“Keke, khehehe…”
Gu Man-deok, the magistrate of Hefei, who had just visited the Namgung family and unilaterally declared the duel tournament, let out a sinister chuckle inside his rather luxurious carriage.
“That dumbfounded look on their faces… It’s like a weight has been lifted off my chest.”
Ever since Gu Man-deok was appointed magistrate of Hefei, those Namgung family bastards had been a thorn in his side.
‘Five Great Clans or whatever, they’re just a bunch of warriors with inflated egos…!’
Those guys who dared to hold their heads high in front of him, an official of His Majesty the Emperor.
They had vast lands and overflowing wealth, yet they didn’t even offer him, the administrator of Hefei, a token of ‘respect.’
And on top of that, they had the Sword Saint, one of the Ten Venerables, and numerous other titled experts, making it difficult to pressure them!
‘But that’s all in the past now. Not only the Sword Saint, but most of the other prominent experts are dead.’
The remaining experts had also left the estate to participate in escort missions.
All that remained in the family estate were the insignificant new family head, who had been hiding in his brother’s shadow, and the frail-looking young master.
‘It won’t be long now. It’s been a long year.’
One year.
The plan that had been in motion for a whole year was finally nearing its end.
If the Namgung family lost in this duel tournament and were driven out of Hefei…
‘Their land and assets will all be mine…!’
All the preparations were complete.
With everything going smoothly, he felt like he could fly.
“Mwahahaha-!”
Man-deok, unable to contain himself, burst into laughter.
The merchants, who had been sighing deeply at the bleak situation where they couldn’t sell their goods due to the lack of stock, turned their heads at the sound of his laughter.
And realizing that the source of the laughter was Man-deok, they frowned or looked away.
Man-deok, who had been openly demanding bribes and engaging in corruption with guilds and trading companies ever since he was appointed magistrate of Hefei, had long lost the support of the people.
Of course, he didn’t care about such things in the slightest.
“Magistrate, are you returning to the county office right away?”
“What’s the rush? Let’s take our time, take our time.”
Since he had been working tirelessly for the past year (though others might disagree), Man-deok decided to take a moment of leisure and lay down in the carriage.
“Wake me up when we arrive.”
“…Yes, sir.”
The coachman and the escorting guards frowned, but they couldn’t disobey his order and simply followed it.
Thus, Man-deok arrived at the county office, which should have taken only an hour, after a long half-hour.
Thanks to his sweet slumber, he entered the county office feeling refreshed, only to be greeted by Cheol-u’s scowling face.
“What were you thinking, arbitrarily doing such a thing!”
“Wh-What…?”
Man-deok, momentarily intimidated by Cheol-u, who was a head taller than most, soon flushed and raised his voice.
“You scoundrel! I forgave your rudeness this morning with my merciful heart, but how dare you commit such an atrocious act!”
“Atrocious? Want to see what a truly atrocious act looks like?”
Cheol-u reached out his large hand as if to wring Man-deok’s neck right there.
Just as Man-deok’s face turned pale under the shadow of the giant hand, a small, slender hand intervened.
“…Stop it, Deputy Leader.”
It was Chil-ji who saved Man-deok once again.
Man-deok’s face brightened as he saw Chil-ji, who had rescued him.
But Chil-ji’s expression as she looked at him was ice cold.
“Magistrate, why did you inform the Namgung family about the duel tournament without consulting us?”
“Hmm? Well… wasn’t that what we agreed on long ago?”
At Man-deok’s nonchalant question, Chil-ji closed her eyes tightly.
And after a deep sigh, she spoke again.
“…Hasn’t the situation changed? Our strongest fighter, the Heavenly Radiance Squad Leader, is dead. We’ve lost our means to deal with the Namgung family head…”
“Haha, is that all? Isn’t he just an insignificant guy who was hiding in his brother’s shadow? Why are you so worried?”
“……”
Chil-ji felt a sudden urge to kill Man-deok at his out-of-touch remark.
An insignificant guy who was hiding in his brother’s shadow?
Did he think such a person could succeed as the family head over other experts?
The difference between a martial arts family and an ordinary local clan was that the direct descendant didn’t automatically inherit the position of family head.
As befitting a family of martial artists, if they couldn’t prove their martial prowess, they couldn’t become the family head, even if they were the younger brother of the previous head.
And it was only natural for the standards to be even stricter when the previous family head was one of the Ten Venerables.
However, Namgung Seon-u, the current family head, had inherited the position without any issues.
In other words, the experts of the Namgung family, who were still alive at the time, had acknowledged Namgung Seon-u.
To belittle such a person as insignificant…
It was evident from his usual behavior, but this magistrate of Hefei clearly viewed martial artists as nothing more than thugs.
“Uh, ahem…”
Meanwhile, Magistrate Man-deok, belatedly realizing something was wrong from Chil-ji and Cheol-u’s reactions, cleared his throat.
And then he offered an alternative as a solution, which was also absurd.
“Th-then… we can just call in other experts. It’s not like Paecheon Fortress, the largest martial arts faction, lacks talent.”
Naturally, Chil-ji and Cheol-u were dumbfounded at his words.
“This blabbermouth…!”
“…We need an expert on par with the Heavenly Radiance Squad Leader, or even stronger. We can’t just summon such people as we please.”
“Uh…”
Man-deok’s face finally turned serious as he heard Chil-ji’s explanation.
“Th-Then what happens? We can’t have the plan fall apart after coming all this way, can we?”
“…….”
Chil-ji and Cheol-u remained silent.
And then, an unfamiliar voice came from behind Man-deok.
“I’ve come to discuss the duel tournament~”
Man-deok quickly turned his head.
He saw Ja-seong’s grinning face at the front of the group entering the county office.
***
Having decided to go to the county office myself to find out what those guys were plotting, I headed there with Namgung Hyeon and Miss Seol.
Of course, I couldn’t bring the others.
We were going to meet the Paecheon Fortress guys, and they might recognize Hwa-ryeon or Master.
And so, the three of us arrived in front of the county office.
“Isn’t that the Young Master? What brings you here?”
One of the soldiers guarding the gate recognized Namgung Hyeon.
“The magistrate asked me to come. Is he inside?”
“Ah, yes. He just arrived.”
He just arrived… It seemed he had left at least an hour before us and then dilly-dallied before finally coming here.
Anyway, thanks to the soldier recognizing Namgung Hyeon, we were able to enter the county office without any problems.
After walking for a while, we heard a commotion in the distance.
It sounded like they were arguing.
“Hold on a moment.”
I stopped them and channeled my internal energy to both ears.
My hearing sharpened, and the murmuring voices became clear.
—Magistrate, why did you inform the Namgung family about the duel tournament without consulting us?
—Hmm? Well… wasn’t that what we agreed on long ago?
I stood there for a moment, eavesdropping on their conversation, and felt the corners of my mouth rising.
“Young Master?”
Even at Namgung Hyeon’s puzzled look, I couldn’t suppress my grin.
Look at these guys.