Chapter 412: Bullshit
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 412: Bullshit
What they wanted was quite simple.
‘They’re trying to avoid a war.’
At least, that’s how it felt to me. Of course, I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility that they were some unexpected human rights activists fighting for the good of all people. But I couldn’t help but think that what the man truly wanted was to avoid the war itself.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand. War always brought more loss than gain. Considering the pain and damage it would cause, avoiding it was the right thing to do. The problem was, that wasn’t the reason he wanted to avoid it.
‘What he wants is…’
It was just a guess, but considering the current situation in the North, it wasn’t entirely without merit.
What he wanted was to solidify his position. If a war broke out, the standing of those who made up the cabinet would weaken. The North’s powerful warriors would gain a louder voice, and the authority they could wield would grow immensely. Naturally, this would, in turn, strengthen Han So-hye’s royal authority once more. There was no way they would want that.
Only by preventing a war could they prove their own worth. They would protect and grow the kingdom, maintain the current system, and continue this era of peace, all while slowly chipping away at the influence of those with military power. They weren’t thinking about the consequences. All they wanted was to gain more power than the military. That was their goal.
As the meaningless debate continued, I glanced over at Han So-hye. Her expression was one of visible exhaustion. It seemed she was trying to read the room, caught between the warriors who had originally propelled the North forward and the newcomers who now formed her cabinet. It was hard for me to understand, but looking at Han So-hye, I felt like I could see why the previous king had died so young.
“This incident is a tremendous insult to our Queen. Our East will not stand idly by.”
“If a war breaks out, many people will suffer.”
“Is this not an unavoidable fight? Look at the conditions they’ve presented. They’re absurd. It’s more logical to assume they were looking for a fight from the very beginning.”
“That is what diplomacy is. They don’t actually expect us to accept all of these ridiculous terms.”
“So you’re suggesting we go in at a disadvantage.”
“That is not what I mean. The East, the Green Skins, and the Elves are our allies. We, too, would never accept such conditions. I am merely suggesting that we negotiate.”
“So the North has nothing to do with this, is that it?”
“We will ensure that we share the burden of any damages our allies may incur.”
“I look forward to seeing just how you plan to share that damage. I truly do. Are you suggesting we hand over the Elves and the other leaders to the Western Continent?”
“We Elves will not go to the West.”
“If such a thing were to truly happen, our North would not remain silent either.”
Arguments like this went on and on. Amidst it all, what bothered me was Han So-hye’s expression. She, too, wanted to avoid war if she could. But she originally had a belligerent nature, much like the Green Skins. For her to react this way meant there had to be a reason.
[You’re quiet. Will you not speak, my mate?]
As I remained silent, Jang Ye Ri contacted me again.
[I just didn’t think there was any need for me to speak. They aren’t the ones who will make the final decision anyway. Besides, you’re not saying anything either, are you?]
[I see. Haha. It seems we are thinking the same thing, my mate. Are we not truly a match made in heaven!]
Despite her cheerful tone, Jang Ye Ri also remained silent. The only ones raising their voices were Jang Ye Ri’s subordinates and the people from the North. No, the meeting was revolving more around the North than the East. Naturally, Choi Seulgi was quite passionate, but in a formal setting like this, her influence seemed somewhat limited.
It was hard to see her as the same person from before, and some were even giving her looks that seemed to subtly dismiss her.
‘What a shitshow.’
It was no surprise that I felt like I was watching some country’s national assembly.
This was a fight for the sake of fighting, not to achieve a result. I let out a slow sigh. It felt like a waste of time just being here. Eventually, a great deal of time passed, and the day came to an end.
“We have plenty of time. Let us discuss this matter in more detail tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
I immediately rose from my seat. Everyone’s face looked utterly exhausted. It made me feel a strange sense of admiration for those people back on Earth who could sustain these kinds of fights. The meeting had yielded no results. Even so, I slowly began to observe Han So-hye.
There was no need for me to make a move. If she was the Han So-hye I knew, I believed she would find the answer.
*
“Aaaaargh! That fucking son of a bitch! Son of a bitch! Fucking bastard! I’m going to kill him. Don’t stop me, I’m really going to fucking kill him.”
“I’m not stopping you.”
Choi Seulgi’s room was a complete mess. Not a single spot was unscathed; the curtains and bed had been slashed with a dagger and were utterly ruined. She must have been stressed to her absolute limit, so it was no surprise she was reacting this way.
“Fucking son of a bitch… If I just stick a dagger in the back of his head when no one’s around, no one will know it was me, right? Right? Or should I poison his food? Huh? Or maybe…”
“Whatever you do, everyone will obviously know it was you. When I left, the guards waiting for those guys didn’t look half-bad.”
“I could send those bastards to their graves in one second if I wanted to. Shit… Fucking shit… Huu… Huu…”
Even after venting her anger for a long time, she was still panting, unable to calm down. The fact that I found her like this cute probably meant I wasn’t normal either. When I let the corner of my mouth lift slightly, Choi Seulgi spoke, annoyed.
“What are you smiling about? Aren’t you angry? No, before that, why were you so quiet during the meeting?”
“Well… I didn’t think anything I said would change much. It’s probably the same for everyone except the North. The East, the Elves, all of us. We have no reason to avoid a fight. If anything, we welcome it.”
“What does that mean? You’re going to fight without the North?”
“Their queen didn’t look like she wanted to fight. We’ve all made our decision. If the North won’t make theirs, then there’s no reason for them to join us in this battle.”
As I finished speaking and nonchalantly looked away, Choi Seulgi’s expression crumpled.
“What? How can you say that?”
“Are you on the side that wants to fight?”
“Of course. So I can wipe out the crazies on our side, not just the psychos from the West, during the chaos of the war.”
Choi Seulgi’s eyes were dead serious. As someone who was arguably the best assassin on the continent, being on her bad side was not something I would welcome. In fact, I was starting to wonder what kind of nerve those guys had to act this way in front of her.
“Anyway, this is more serious than I heard…”
“It is. I was already thinking of getting out of here soon. But before that, I have to kill all the bastards in this place. I should have killed them a long time ago… If only So-hye hadn’t asked me not to…”
Her brow was furrowed. As I opened my mouth again out of curiosity, Choi Seulgi’s voice quickly followed.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s exactly as it sounds. So-hye asked me not to touch those cancerous lumps. ‘You can’t threaten them or intimidate them, Unni. Please just watch for a little while longer.’ What could I do when she said that? Those bastards know they’re under the Queen’s protection.”
“I’d like to hear a bit more detail.”
“As the era of peace continued, she started feeling her limits. I mean, if we were on Earth, isn’t she at an age where she’d be graduating from school or just starting a job? She’d been doing fine until now… but I think she’s feeling the burden of ruling a nation, rather than just fighting on the front lines… She was also heartbroken that so many of her comrades-in-arms died in the last war…”
“Hmm…”
“The policy to encourage migration to the Northern Continent wasn’t going as well as she’d hoped… so she scraped together experienced talent from Earth to form a new cabinet, and that’s how we got those cancerous lumps. It was a mistake to think it was a good idea to separate the military from those tumors. I mean, what do the people of the North, who’ve made a living out of fighting, know about governance? When they heard there were some gentlemen who had experience in this or that, they accepted them right away. By the time she came to her senses, this was the result.”
I felt like I was starting to understand. The people who made up the North were not that cunning to begin with. The Knight of the North, Kang Changhoon, the Frost Dragon, and all the others were like that. They weren’t ruling a small city like before, so there must have been a lot of trial and error. Perhaps bringing in those people was an inevitable choice.
“The timing was good. The timing was perfect.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Turns out that old man, Choi Hee-chul of the Winter Weasels, was actually quite capable. Politics, administration, economics, there wasn’t an area he hadn’t touched. His entire clan… and with a man like that stuck running drills in the training camp, how could the country run properly? Do you know what kind of jokes are going around?”
“What?”
“They don’t call it the butterfly effect, they call it the Half-Minotaur Wingrin Effect… They say none of this would have happened if the Half-Minotaur had never come over…”
“…”
“Should we send him back?”
“Of course not. He has to pay for his sins.”
It was utterly absurd, but it sounded somewhat plausible. If Wingrin hadn’t come over, Choi Hee-chul wouldn’t be training here, and if Choi Hee-chul hadn’t left the North to train, the current cabinet wouldn’t have been formed.
The thought that the North’s current mess was all due to the ‘Wingrin Effect’ made my mind go a little blank.
“It’s funny, but the less-endowed warrior women even call this ‘Wingrin’s Curse.’ A very nasty curse…”
“That’s interesting.”
“I feel like I want to turn back time and stop Wingrin from ever crossing over to Choi Hee-chul’s side. It sounds ridiculous, but I really do. Speaking of which, what’s Wingrin up to these days?”
“He’s selling milk in the village.”
“He turned another country into a complete mess, and now he’s living happily.”
Choi Seulgi grumbled in dissatisfaction, but I knew she wasn’t being serious. It was something she could have prevented if she wanted to, so she was probably just muttering it as a joke.
It was then, as I was sharing all sorts of useless talk with Choi Seulgi.
“Seulgi-unni.”
A voice came from outside the door. It was a voice I had certainly heard before. Unmistakably Han So-hye’s. I hadn’t expected her to come here first, and I was curious why she had come at this hour.
Of course, it wasn’t that I couldn’t guess the reason.
Choi Seulgi looked at me with slightly surprised eyes, and I, too, widened my eyes and met her gaze.
“Perhaps Wingrin’s Curse might just become Wingrin’s Blessing…”
If this was all part of Wingrin’s design, then it wouldn’t be a curse, but a blessing.