Chapter 107: Rendezvous
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 107: Rendezvous
[I’m glad you won’t ask any further questions. I trust you will keep this an absolute secret. I will, of course, pay the additional fee.]
I could vaguely imagine the expression on the face of the man speaking with Baek Ahyeon right now. He was probably completely bewildered. Or perhaps he was staring at her with a look of disgust. But Baek Ahyeon was handling the situation with remarkable composure.
She didn’t seem to care how others judged her. One might think it was because they were all dead men walking anyway, but it was clear she felt no shame in front of ordinary ‘humans.’
[It’s a bit disappointing that he’ll be brought here in restraints… but it can’t be helped. Yes. I’ll see you in two days. If you send him to where I’m staying, my other followers will guide him the rest of the way.]
The conversation was gradually winding down. I glanced to the side and saw Lee Wanyong, who had no way of knowing what was being said, looking extremely tense.
[Yes. The most important thing is security. I would appreciate it if you paid special attention to that. Yes. That will be all. Of course. I look forward to working with you in the future.]
It was over.
Baek Ahyeon and the executive from the Black Thorn Guild finished their conversation and exchanged farewells. Finally, with her mission successfully completed, I could speak with her again. Feeling a little mischievous, I spoke to Baek Ahyeon with an amused tone.
[I didn’t know you had such a peculiar fetish.]
[Th-that’s…]
[N-no! It’s not like that, Savior! Absolutely not! I… I was just so flustered… I said whatever came to mind… I… I belong only to you, Savior! P-please… kill me!]
[I-it’s not because you have the body of a Green Skin, Savior! P-please… believe me!]
Her tone was incredibly urgent. Her voice was so genuinely desperate that I decided to end my little joke there.
[I know your heart, my follower. It was merely a jest, so pay it no mind.]
[Y-yes. Th-thank you. Thank you.]
The meeting between her and the man was set for two days from now. Of course, I couldn’t be certain if the Troll they were bringing was the one I knew, but I was fairly sure it was. Most of the captured Green Skins were likely Orcs and Goblins. Trolls, being classified as a superior species, were probably not that common.
There was another reason to support my guess. The fact that they even bothered to ask why she wanted one meant they also considered that Troll to be special.
[Baek Ahyeon. My beloved follower.]
[Yes. Yes! Savior!]
[You’ve done well. On the day you meet me, you will receive what you desire.]
[Th-thank you. Thank you, Savior!]
It was the most vibrant voice I had heard from her recently. She hadn’t said anything directly, but she seemed to be looking forward to it a great deal. I smiled faintly and cut the connection, then turned my gaze to Lee Wanyong, who was swallowing nervously.
He was looking at me with a somewhat frightened expression. The man still had a job to do, so I decided to offer him a carrot. A man without hope won’t act with desperation. But a man with hope becomes incredibly desperate.
“You understand why I’m keeping you alive, don’t you?”
With a gesture, I glanced toward the human children who were being welcomed into the clan. I saw his expression as he noticed my gaze and looked in their direction. He wasn’t a fool, so I figured he would grasp my intentions to some extent.
“Yes…”
“I killed your comrades, and I killed the magician we captured, but the reason I spared you is because you are useful.”
“Y-yes.”
“Whether you are a Green Skin or a human doesn’t matter, as long as you are useful to the tribe.”
“Y-yes. I understand. I will do my best to be as helpful as possible.”
This man was a dead man walking anyway. I had no intention of letting him participate in the operation, nor did I ever plan to have him join us for the long haul, but I began to roughly outline the plan to him. It was funny, but I was seeking advice from the enemy. After listening to my explanation for a long while, he eventually nodded with a slightly surprised look on his face. Soon, I received a very positive response.
“I-it seems like it will succeed. R-really… Somorah will…”
Seeing him stutter in disbelief certainly felt good. It meant he also believed our plan would succeed.
“I’m glad you’re optimistic. Is there a route we can use to enter, or a place nearby where we can hide?”
“Yes. There’s a forward base not too far from the city. I heard it was used back when the city wars were still going on…”
“So it’s not in use these days.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
He called it a forward base, but it was probably nothing more than some trenches and a shoddy wooden palisade. Still, it seemed like a convenient place to hide until the operation began. I thought it would be best to discuss hiding there with Hakajin and Ragia, so I gave the man a slight smile. He seemed to understand what I was thinking and smiled back. Soon after, I was able to formulate a more detailed plan with Lee Wanyong, Hakajin, and Ragia.
It would be two days until the Troll arrived at Baek Ahyeon’s location, and three days until we could make contact. Amidst the tribe’s incredibly cheerful atmosphere, the great battle everyone had been waiting for was about to begin.
*
Yoon Jungsoo, who ruled the small city of Somorah through his unique resourcefulness rather than his martial prowess, nodded his head in relief. For the ruler of a city, he looked remarkably reassured. While it was no exaggeration to say he held absolute power within the city, that power did not extend far beyond its walls.
To be more precise, it would be correct to say he was constantly wary of outsiders. Yoon Jungsoo, who maintained connections with several militarily powerful cities, knew just how convenient of an outlet his city was for them, and he was also well aware of his own lack of strength.
He had expanded his territory, but it lacked substance. As a result, despite generating considerable profits, money was constantly flowing out to various places.
The incident that had made his situation even worse was the Hadum slave raid. The disappointment of the Hadum guild masters, who had been expecting a great deal, was immense, forcing him to offer them another massive bribe, which had strained the guild’s finances to their limit. The news his subordinate brought back at such a time was, naturally, bound to make him happy.
“The West’s Saint? Heh… Figures. That’s why they say you can’t trust a single ‘good’ person on this continent.”
“Yes. I was completely baffled myself. To think she’d use a monster for… for that purpose.”
“Tsk. It was strange from the start. In fact, it was strange from the moment I heard that a woman revered as a saint was coming here. Some idiots were babbling about how the Saint’s salvation was extending to the East, but… tsk. In the end, that woman is the same as us. No, she’s even worse.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter to us as long as she pays in gold… I was worried about how to cover our recent losses… but this worked out perfectly. Don’t you think?”
“Yes. Two hundred gold coins to spend three days with a Troll… Contrary to the rumors that she has no greed, she seems to have money rotting away. I just threw out a number to see what would happen… but for her to slap down 200 gold coins without hesitation, isn’t that incredible?”
“It just shows how much she wants to keep it a secret, right? Don’t you go blabbing about what happened today anywhere. It might make for a good story over drinks… but whatever her reasons, she’s our client now. If you run your mouth and rumors spread, we lose credibility and a client. It looks like she’ll be staying here for a while. I don’t know where she’s staying, but make sure you throw in plenty of extra service.”
“Yes, Master.”
In truth, it wasn’t an incident that could be brushed aside for a mere 200 gold coins, but it was money like rain in a drought. It was enough to cover the magical reagents needed to breed monsters, the drugs to suppress their ferocity, and the cost of training the newborn monsters.
Yoon Jungsoo slowly began to recall the West’s Saint, Baek Ahyeon. He had only seen her once from a distance, but he remembered her having a plain and cute face. The thought of such a woman seeking out a monster made him tense up in spite of himself. The fact that she had specifically sought out this city meant that she, too, needed an outlet. When he thought about how long she must have been holding back while wearing a mask in the West, he couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
‘Saint, my ass…’
Inwardly, he insulted Baek Ahyeon with all his might, but the followers the Saint led were not only numerous but also had a very high proportion of priests. The mere presence of priests in the city would bring stability, and it would surely attract other adventurers to Somorah. The longer they stayed, the more Somorah would profit. As if sharing his thoughts, the executive who had dealt with the Saint, Min Chulgi, spoke up.
“Rather than that, how about we subtly make her a recruitment offer?”
“Tsk. Are you crazy? Our guild’s reputation is obvious without even looking. There’s no way a saint would accept. She was extremely concerned about security for this matter alone… Tsk. Imagine if a nasty rumor about her and us got out. She’d flee Somorah in a heartbeat, obviously.”
“But if it were unofficial… wouldn’t it be possible? In any case, the West’s Saint needs what we have here… and no matter how much of a saint she is, she might prefer to enjoy it for free rather than paying 200 gold coins every time. We can’t keep tiptoeing around other guilds forever… With that many priests, couldn’t our Black Thorn Guild soar to new heights?”
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it sounded. If they could just get rid of the ‘protection money’ that was currently hindering the Black Thorn Guild’s progress, they could live much more lavishly. If that many priests joined the Black Thorn Guild, it might be impossible for now, but a time could come when they no longer needed the protection of others. Having finished his thoughts, Yoon Jungsoo found himself nodding.
“Tsk… That sounds plausible.”
“Hehe…”
“There’s nothing to lose by trying… but we should show some goodwill first, right? Tsk… Pick out the sturdiest one, just like the Saint wants, and bring it to her. Pay special attention to its handling… No. It might not be a bad idea for me to meet her myself. Go and ask her when she has some time… You understand what I mean, right?”
“Yes, Master.”
Yoon Jungsoo watched Min Chulgi bow and leave, then smiled faintly. If he had to pick the most dependable man in the guild recently, it would undoubtedly be him. It was a proposal where they had nothing to lose, whether it failed or succeeded. If it succeeded, the city’s situation would truly change. Imagining the beautiful future of Somorah and the Black Thorn Guild, Yoon Jungsoo spoke his thoughts aloud.
“Ha… That kid is damn smart. Hehe…”
Even to his own ears, his voice sounded incredibly pleased.