Chapter 210: Internal Cleanup - 7
Chapter 210: Internal Cleanup - 7
Late afternoon.
After finishing his other business, Jiha arrived at the hotel where Narsha was staying.
When he entered, the escort guards on duty recognized him and quickly bowed their heads.
Having resolved the clash with Heinrich, Jiha was now the undisputed leader of the escort guards.
'But this alone won't cut it. They aren't mixing with the Commons...'
The forces under Jiha's command were split into several branches.
The subordinates who had followed him from the start, the Commons including Uben, were not the most skilled, but their loyalty was absolute. They would follow Jiha to the very end.
There were the Uniques he had tamed as a man. Asira still had the final step remaining, but that would be resolved soon enough.
Iroha Deadheart, who provided him with information—she would follow him too once the terms of her recruitment were settled.
The administrative staff under Market Master Dudinel, the Waris merchants Jiha had gradually gathered under his wing by spending money—these people lacked military force but were a crucial foundation for maintaining the city.
On top of that, the 2,300 escort guards that Narsha—or rather, Lungtao—had collected were newly recruited.
'I need to sort out the hierarchy, the organization. Unilaterally imposing order isn't hard, but they won't easily accept each other. They need a process of integration.'
He had succeeded in leaving behind the factions of Blue Seal and Purple Liberation, uniting them under the name of the Investigation Committee as a single bundle.
The next step was organizational structuring. He had to make them move as one under Jiha's command.
They had to forget their original allegiances and have the concept of being Jiha's subordinates firmly hammered into their heads.
Jiha was ascending to the fifth floor, deep in thought, when he spotted a familiar face.
A haughty, transcendent beauty: the dark elf Enril.
Enril was closing a door and stepping into the hallway when she noticed Jiha and her face registered shock. Jiha approached and asked,
"What are you doing here?"
"......What about you?"
When Enril hesitated to answer, Jiha narrowed his eyes and looked at the door she had just come out of.
As he reached for the handle, Enril hurriedly grabbed his arm.
"What is it?"
"......Ah."
Flustered, Enril spoke slowly.
"Lijin is changing. Right now is a little......"
Jiha ignored her and opened the door.
Lijin, who was indeed in the middle of changing and was just fastening a button, looked momentarily startled before smiling gently.
"Hello, Lord Jiha."
"......."
Jiha watched silently, then glanced at Enril. Enril was too flustered to meet his eyes.
She wanted to hide something from him, but at the same time, she felt guilty about it.
This wasn't a normal situation.
"I won't get angry, so tell me."
"It's......"
Enril hesitated and looked at Lijin.
Lijin wavered, then dropped her head.
At the unspoken gesture, Jiha closed the door and stepped inside.
"Take it off."
"......."
"If you don't, I'll take it off myself."
At the cold urging, Lijin slowly unbuttoned her dress jacket.
The woman's pale skin, a blue brassiere covering her attractive breasts.
Jiha looked at the red scar etched across Lijin's shoulder and closed his eyes.
"Put it back on."
"......You promised you wouldn't be angry, didn't you?"
"I won't get angry at you."
He knew what it was without even asking.
That wound was inflicted by Narsha.
If it wasn't, there would have been no need to complicate matters like this.
Since Lijin had no combat ability, Jiha had issued a stern warning to Bran.
No escort guard would be insane enough to mistreat Lijin, someone Jiha had personally sent.
And if it wasn't Narsha, there would be no reason for Enril to come here secretly to deal with it quietly.
Lijin, having guessed how Jiha would react to this, had tried to handle it silently, only to be found out.
"Go see a healer. You can't let it scar... Don't worry about the money, get what they call cosmetic healing. I'll cover it."
"I already received treatment."
True to her word, only a trace remained on Lijin's skin.
Further treatment would erase it completely.
"Get more. It bothers me."
"Jiha."
Lijin spoke calmly.
It was a form of address she was only allowed when they were alone. Jiha opened his eyes and Lijin spoke slowly.
"Lord Narsha was the one who called the healer for me."
"So you're happy because you got medicine after being given the disease?"
"Lord Narsha regrets it deeply. She's mentally distressed, so please don't be too hard on her."
"......."
The victim Lijin was covering for Narsha.
"The only person Lord Narsha can place her heart in now is you, Jiha. The fact that you haven't come to see her only makes her more anxious and unbearable. And right now, she's terrified of being scolded by you."
"......."
Narsha couldn't possibly be unaware that Bran was no match for Jiha.
It was an act of childish petulance.
"Don't defend her. This isn't something I can just keep letting slide."
If Narsha died, every weapon she had made would become useless.
The combat prowess of the escort guards he had just taken in would plummet, which was the last thing Jiha wanted.
But there was a saying: sometimes you have to behead even a beloved horse. Punishing even the cherished for the sake of discipline.
No matter how useful a piece was, it wasn't more important than the order of the organization.
Anyone who acted out of line would lose their head.
He had Lungtao's request, but he couldn't keep being lenient.
"Jiha, please......"
When Lijin bowed her head, Jiha frowned.
"Women become desperate when cornered. Please be a little gentle."
"Why are you defending her so much?"
"Because this is the task I was given by you, Jiha."
"......."
Jiha thought for a moment, then turned around.
"Go get treatment right now so there are no scars. I'll check tonight to make sure you got it properly."
After saying that, Jiha opened the door and left.
Enril, who had been waiting, bowed her head.
"I'm sorry, it's......"
"This isn't your fault."
Enril had simply received an implicit request from Lijin and tried to handle the matter quietly.
How far should one intervene in the dealings between his women? It was a nebulous area, hard to define.
Jiha paused in thought for a moment, then threw out a remark.
"Still, I'm a bit disappointed."
"Ah......"
"Take Lijin to a healer. Stay with her and make sure she gets the full treatment."
Jiha gave the order and moved forward.
Narsha occupied the entire fifth floor of the hotel.
She usually stayed in the central bedroom.
Jiha opened the bedroom door and entered, but Narsha was nowhere in sight.
He looked around and realized she was under the covers on the bed.
"......."
Incredulous, Jiha walked over and yanked the blanket off.
Narsha was curled up on the bed, her face buried in her knees.
Jiha looked down at her without a word.
Narsha gave a long sigh and spoke without lifting her head.
"......What did you come here for?"
When Jiha didn't reply, her voice dropped even lower.
"Getting high on your own emotions after hitting someone, what a 'refined' hobby you must have."
"......."
"Have you eaten?"
If Narsha had come out strong, he'd planned to smash her down immediately.
But she was completely deflated, shriveled up in despair.
She was poised not to resist anything Jiha did. Lijin was right that she was regretful and frightened.
"I asked if you ate, Narsha."
"......."
Narsha slowly shook her head.
"Get up and get dressed. Let's go eat."
"......Huh?"
Narsha lifted her head slightly to look up at him.
Her face looked like she couldn't believe her ears, never having expected Jiha to say such a thing. Jiha added a condition.
"Apologize properly to Lijin. That's the condition."
"......."
"If I have to repeat myself, I won't go easy."
At Jiha's calm warning, Narsha nodded after a pause.
"......Fine. I'll apologize."
"Good. Now get dressed and let's go."
Narsha answered quietly.
"......Wait outside. Let me change."
"......."
He'd already seen everything there was to see, what was the point now?
But women always got fussy about these things.
"I won't wait long."
Moving to the next room, Jiha stared out the window and sank into thought.
"Her condition is better than last time......"
Before, she had been trying to starve herself to death.
No matter how hard or painful it is, pain gradually fades with time.
Narsha was finally acknowledging in her heart that Lungtao was gone.
Lost in thought for a while, Jiha returned to the bedroom when he figured enough time had passed.
Narsha, now in a light dress, was standing there blankly before lowering her gaze.
She was following Jiha's words for now, but didn't know how she should act.
That was why she had simply lingered there even after changing.
Jiha spoke.
"We're heading out. Follow me."
The Blue Seal barracks.
Enril and Lijin hadn't returned yet.
"Let's eat dinner first."
"Why are we......"
Narsha's tone suggested she didn't understand, but Jiha didn't explain.
"Captain, you've arrived."
"Captain, how are you?"
When Jiha entered the Common mess hall, the Commons all stood up at once to greet him.
Jiha was about to sit down but turned when he realized Narsha wasn't beside him.
Standing at the entrance of the mess hall, Narsha was hesitating instead of coming straight in.
Used to acting like a queen, she was likely unaccustomed to eating in a place like this.
"Come and sit."
"......."
Narsha walked over with hesitant steps and sat across from Jiha.
The Commons watching were quite flustered.
Keeping the seat opposite Jiha empty was a kind of courtesy, a sign of respect.
There had been exceptions like Sirel or Lijin, but this was the first time Jiha had personally brought someone and seated her there.
Jiha had his own reasons for doing this.
The Commons would know that Narsha was the master of the escort guards.
Showing himself sitting and eating across from her would help the Commons avoid friction with the escort guards of their own accord.
It was part of the organization's internal cleanup process.
Jiha added a word to Rugin, who had placed a tray in front of him.
"Get her something to eat too."
The gargoyle Rugin looked at Narsha and tilted her head.
"Small. Must feed her a lot."
"What?"
Narsha erupted in anger.
She didn't know what to do with herself and was following Jiha's instructions for now, but her temper hadn't gone anywhere.
But as soon as Jiha calmly looked at her, she froze like stone.
'I'm not a snake......'
Jiha pinning her down on the bed must have been profoundly shocking to her.
He was someone who must not be crossed, a man who must not be antagonized—she was inwardly terrified of him.
'And yet she did crazy things like setting Bran on me or hitting Lijin......'
Her words and actions differed depending on whether Jiha was present or not.
Even now, she was holding back because Jiha was present; if he weren't, she'd have attacked Rugin.
'So she'll try to bite anyone else, but she's scared of me......'
Jiha organized his thoughts and tossed out a question.
"Why did you order Bran to do it? You must know Bran could never beat me."
"......."
Silence. Jiha repeated calmly.
"Not answering?"
"......Do I have to answer?"
The voice that finally emerged was somewhat defiant.
When Jiha simply watched her, she stubbornly pressed her cute little lips into a tight line.
A resolve never to open her mouth. Jiha frowned.
"If you answer now, I'll take it into consideration."
"......."
"Do you really think clamming up will solve anything?"
Jiha tsked as Rugin returned and set a tray down in front of Narsha.
It was piled high with meat and vegetables.
"......You expect me to eat all this?"
"Don't leave any food."
Jiha commanded and picked up his utensils.
Internally, he was mulling over how to handle Narsha.
'In the end, this one is still a child who hasn't grown up. Her body is an adult's, but her mind acts like a kid's.'
She had learned to be docile, knowing Jiha was a frightening adult man who wouldn't spare her whether she was a Unique or not.
But she still emotionally exploded elsewhere and couldn't control herself.
For a child acting on temper, you have to teach them an adult's rules.