Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Faintly, Suddenly (6)
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Do-won's mornings are always noisy.
Because it's the time when the tasks gathered overnight start being distributed to each branch, and everything gets hectic.
"Will this be enough for ordering supplies from outside?"
"Yes. Go ahead with this."
Regulating the influx of goods from the outside world. Managing taxes, land, and manpower. And handling complaints from various sects.
You could tell just by looking at the crumpled faces of the Wood People heading to work outside the management office window.
Work here was pretty complex and tricky in its own way.
The fact that the building where all the work had to be done was at the very top of Do-won meant they had to climb the mountain first thing in the morning after waking up, which was a daily source of grumbling.
"...Hoo."
And all the affairs arising in such a Do-won.
The woman named Hong Yeon had shouldered them alone as the sole leader up until now.
-Thud.
The door closed, and Hong Yeon slumped over her desk.
On her desk was a nameplate reading 'Cult Leader'.
"Cult Leader my ass..."
The Demonic Cult's Cult Leader. Flashy on the outside, that's all.
In the old martial world, the position of Cult Leader was said to be one where you could strut around proudly, but at least in Do-won, that didn't hold true.
Hong Yeon herself was buried under an endless grind that left her back aching nonstop.
'...I'm exhausted.'
Honestly, she was worn out now.
She felt it even more lately because of her injury.
'That insolent bastard... If only he'd been in one piece since he started helping out.'
The second successor.
The man called the Blood Demon or Little Heavenly Demon.
Hong Yeon rubbed her once-broken nose and squinted.
The more she thought about that man, the more her blood boiled, but honestly, she was desperate enough right now to borrow even his hands.
'There's just too much to handle here to begin with.'
There were many reasons for the heavy workload, but at the root, Do-won was overly conservative.
A society that still hadn't adopted something as basic as smartphones.
Maintaining exchanges with the outside in such an anachronistic place was tricky enough, and it consumed far too much manpower in the process.
Most residents of Do-won hadn't even received basic education, so even when handing off tasks, they were full of incompetents who couldn't do the job right.
'Why the hell can't they even memorize a single little book?'
This was a problem even outside, let alone in Do-won, which prided itself on ancient ways.
The world had changed, but not everyone kept up with that radical shift.
She tried buying factory-made swords to cut costs, but they insisted swords for training had to be hand-forged by artisans per tradition.
She tried introducing magical construction tools, but they called it forbidden sorcery and refused.
Did those senile elders even know how much funding went into repairing the structures their disciples wrecked?
'Isn't there anyone competent, who knows some foreign languages, can put other families in their place internally, and I can trust with outside affairs?'
That was the pipe dream Hong Yeon needed.
Of course, such a person didn't exist.
-Knock, knock, knock.
A knock came at the door right on cue.
"Come in."
-Creak.
The door opened, and a man entered.
Distinct features, hair that looked stylish even uncombed.
She'd thought it the first time she saw him, but he had the kind of looks that would sell well.
"Did you memorize everything I told you yesterday?"
The moment she saw the man, Hong Yeon asked about the assignment she'd given him.
Truth be told, memorizing it all in a day was nearly impossible.
She usually needed to drill ordinary Wood People for about a week straight before they could handle their jobs.
Still, she'd given him the task to test his diligence to some extent.
"I memorized it."
The words came from the man's mouth.
"Good, as expected... Wait, what?"
His completely unexpected answer left Hong Yeon flustered.
"I memorized it. Not perfectly, though."
"Are you bragging or something?"
He looked serious, so it probably wasn't a lie, but it didn't matter much anyway.
He'd learn the ropes only by seeing and doing it himself.
"You think I'd bullshit about running a nation? I pulled an all-nighter."
Hong Yeon put down her quill pen with a sigh.
"Good, if you've got it. Just don't drop it after three days."
"What do I start with?"
"Inspecting the lower Do-won. Follow me around and observe for now."
"Sounds easy."
His flippant personality was grating no matter how many times she saw it.
It was worlds apart from the mad ferocity he showed in combat.
Suppressing the faint terror etched into her body from their spar, Hong Yeon stood and took the lead.
"Follow me. Oh, and before that."
At the door, Hong Yeon turned to him just before opening it.
"...Use formal speech outside."
"Got it."
Flippant to the end.
No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't like the guy.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I spent the time following the Cult Leader around, getting trained on the tasks I'd take over.
Even on a small scale, running a city came with its own blooming headaches.
Frankly, Do-won had problems galore at a glance.
Policies set at the top didn't reach the bottom.
The rules had tons of loopholes.
With so many holes, handling everything in one place without proper oversight was infuriating.
'Of course, if the managed area is small, no need to split organizations.'
The central office—that massive building in Do-won.
In the old days, it sufficed.
Do-won claimed an entire mountain range as its grounds, but it was essentially just managing a big village.
'But this is the modern era.'
Eyeballing it and saying, "You earned this much, so we'll take about this in taxes."
Do-won wasn't that chaotic, but tax imposition and exemptions weren't codified by class.
Procurement for institutional needs varied by handler each time.
The statistics used were hardly what a specialist would compile.
'Education, labor, transportation... Feels like living in the Middle Ages half the time.'
She didn't know what the old martial world was like.
But in my view, even back then, they had more structure than this.
"Got the gist?"
After touring everything, Hong Yeon turned to me and asked.
I had a good sense of the place's level now.
Plenty of parts I hadn't grasped yet, so too early to tinker.
I asked her straight up first.
"I've looked into it myself, but isn't this a total mess?"
I knew it was rude for an outsider, but whatever.
I was the Little Heavenly Demon, and three of my people lived in this village.
"Switching to casual the second we're alone... Fine, why do you think that?"
I laid out what I'd personally investigated about Do-won, mixed with the flaws in its management system she'd explained, pointing out fixes.
Of course, I couldn't pinpoint everything perfectly.
I'd only learned halfway before quitting.
The guy wasn't much of a father, but I'd picked up plenty over his shoulder.
His skills were legit, and since he wanted me to succeed him, he passed on all sorts of know-how.
...I tuned out the business and politics crap because it bored me to tears.
Didn't expect it'd come to this.
"What I know is theoretical, but I'm no armchair scholar."
Basic stuff, really.
Anyone could think of it; high school civics covered it.
Institutions built to run a nation's framework.
Having even rudimentary substitutes versus none was night and day.
So I stressed the necessity.
"You're right. I know that much."
Hong Yeon widened her eyes in surprise but nodded along.
"...Guess you're not just a thug after all."
"I'm no expert, so filter it yourself. Your call as the boss."
"True, I know the issues but haven't fixed them. Know why?"
"Nope."
"......"
"Been here less than a month. Gotta see it in action."
The basics I mentioned were different knowing them versus not.
That guy taught me this not for a job in those fields, but to broaden my horizons—a form of training.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [I see.] 'Took you long enough?'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [It takes some time, and a lot of mana. Every training session cuts the connection... I might need to draw more mana.] 'Fine by me. My mana pool's grown lately, so it should be okay.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Thank you. By the way, you knew about that field too?] Not in detail.
For politicians, surviving the political game matters more than handling taxes.
Still, knowledge always becomes power.
Hong Yeon's gaze toward me had changed noticeably.
"Yeah... You've pointed out a mountain of fixes even a newcomer like you can see. But there are too many issues. The elders meddle and block everything... The Heavenly Demon won't touch this stuff. Makes it harder."
With an absolute monarch like the Heavenly Demon staying out, reforms wouldn't come easy.
Hong Yeon sighed in frustration at the reality, then looked at me curiously.
"But why suddenly offer to help us?"
Her tone had shifted from wary to something else.
"You're the Little Heavenly Demon, but not the first successor. Trying to win me over?"
"If that were it, I'd have beaten you senseless."
Hong Yeon flinched and clamped her mouth shut.
"Lots I want to know about Do-won, and it's a twofer. If it works out, it's good for Baek-do and Hwang-do too."
"The Heavenly Demon's kids?"
"Yeah."
I skipped Cheon-do. Seemed it was a secret from her that Cheon-do was the Little Heavenly Demon.
"Why them?"
"Why so many questions?"
"...Sorry."
"No big deal. Ran into them passing by and thought it'd be nice if they grew up well."
It was where I'd leave them behind.
Even if traces faded faintly, I wanted everywhere my hands touched to be solid.
What if my actions sparked a future where Do-won didn't fall?
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [That won't happen.] 'Just in case. If.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Hope springs eternal, but...] How long could I stay in this world anyway?
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Not long in real time, but about three months here.] Three months. Long enough or short, depending.
But plenty to leave my mark.
"Just want them to grow up well? That's it?"
"What, you want me to fuck everything up instead?"
"No, uh, sorry. Guess I misjudged you."
Misjudged means I was right before, huh. Dick.
Hong Yeon looked sheepish, glancing at me before bowing her head.
A far cry from our first meeting.
"Anyway, I've taught you everything. Answer any questions later. Got a lot."
"Anything on operations, sure."
Hong Yeon showed her first satisfied expression since we met.
Win-win. Fitting word.
Now that I knew the past wouldn't change, no need to hide secrets.
Make enemies or allies as I pleased.
But with Cheon-do, Baek-do, and Hwang-do here, I wanted this place better.
Even if Do-won vanished in the future, it could linger as a happy hometown memory.
This was their cradle.
A place that brought smiles whenever recalled.
Their joy was mine.
'So.'
I'd do everything I could.