Chapter 35
The gatekeeper’s face went ghost-white.
“G-get lost…?”
The members of the Law Enforcement Hall hardened their expressions and glared at Sama Ryang. The inspectors were no different; they just didn’t show it.
...That was pretty fiery.
Hah, this one’s impossible to read. Youth really is something.
Is this right? Is this really right? So fully prepared meant he was ready to tear the place apart?! It meant his internal energy was packed to the brim?!
Sama Chang barely managed to keep himself from grabbing Sama Ryang by the collar and demanding answers on the spot.
Since when had he changed like this? Where had the snot-nosed kid who used to smile even when someone snatched away his toys gone?
They were only distant relatives, but still blood of the same surname.
He’d thought he had a rough grasp of the boy’s nature from the times they’d crossed paths in childhood, but that had been completely wrong.
Damn it!
Yet despite those thoughts, he said, “The Inspector-General is right. This isn’t the sort of place where we come to ask for permission.”
The form of address changed as well. In a public setting, he was making the hierarchy clear.
Thud!
Sama Chang infused his palm with inner energy and shoved the gatekeeper’s shoulder aside.
If they backed off here, he was certain they’d end up accomplishing nothing at all.
“We’ll go in.”
Leaving behind the gatekeeper as he groaned in pain and collapsed unconscious, the group entered the inner courtyard.
At that moment—
Whoooosh—!
About thirty members of the Law Enforcement Hall unleashed a vicious aura.
It was their duty to capture and interrogate brutal fiends. They were not the sort to retreat just because someone glared at them menacingly.
How dare they act as if they’re the masters here.
What was more, the resentment between the organizations had run deep for a long time.
If the Military Council was the head of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, then the Law Enforcement Hall was its hands and feet—and sometimes its eyes and ears as well.
No matter how much they were all considered one body under the name of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the long years of one side issuing orders and the other side obeying them could hardly have left their feelings toward each other in a good state.
It was at that knife-edge standoff that a low voice rang through the inner courtyard.
“Enough.”
Sama Ryang’s expression hardened as he looked toward the source of the voice.
There he is.
A man strolled out from among the burly officers, each of whom looked like a brute enough to be called a strongman.
He wore the purple robe that symbolized a senior official of the Law Enforcement Hall, and though the color was ostentatious, it suited him well thanks to his slender frame.
He was Song Ryeong, the deputy hall leader of the Law Enforcement Hall.
“How terribly uncouth. Were you planning to be dragged away for disobeying inspection orders?”
“No, sir!”
Song Ryeong, whose unusual atmosphere radiated a vast sense of presence, looked at the inspectors.
“My apologies. As you know, this place is a living hell where vicious fiends are confined. Suppressing them, interrogating them, and dragging them in—that’s our everyday work. It isn’t exactly a welcoming place for visitors, so the threshold can’t help but be high. Please understand.”
Sama Ryang gave a calm nod.
“I understand. If anything, we ought to be more wary of a situation that allows us to enter too easily.”
“Sharp as ever. That is certainly a concern we Cult members should keep in mind.”
Song Ryeong looked over the group, then asked with visible surprise, “Oh? Hall Inspector Heong. I thought you’d retired, hadn’t you? I seem to remember hearing as much recently.”
Heong Baek let out a booming laugh.
“Ha ha! If people are still looking for me, how could I retire? As you can see, I’m still very much active.”
“What a reassuring asset to have. Then please come in. I’d hate to be accused of keeping the inspectors standing around too long.”
As Song Ryeong turned toward the main building, the Law Enforcement Hall members quickly dispersed.
Following after him, Sama Ryang recalled the organization chart of the Law Enforcement Hall.
So this is where it starts.
The Law Enforcement Hall was organized into a total of five squads. Each squad consisted of a handful of spirited members and the squad leader who commanded them, and above them stood Song Ryeong and the hall leader.
The hall leader often left his post, since his duty was to punish those who invaded the cult’s domain.
That was why the deputy hall leader supposedly handled the day-to-day affairs of the hall.
“It’s embarrassing to show such an ugly scene before the Military Council.”
Song Ryeong spoke quietly.
“They are strong in their own way, but… whenever they show that foolish side of themselves, I sometimes feel a weight in my chest and even wonder whether this might be inner demon.”
Sama Chang answered with a sullen expression. “Do you now?”
“Indeed. Honestly, I should just retire already. Sometimes I wonder whether I’ve fallen prey to madness. I’ve tried meditation, and I’ve even kept my subordinates at a distance, but none of it has been particularly effective.”
Song Ryeong turned his head and looked at Sama Ryang.
“If I were to spend more time with books and writing, as you all do, do you think I might see some improvement?”
Just as Seorin’s expression stiffened ever so slightly, Sama Ryang replied in an even tone, “It might help. If one dedicates oneself wholly to a single thing, one naturally begins to resemble it. If retirement feels burdensome, then taking a short rest could also be a good choice.”
A faint curve appeared at the corner of Song Ryeong’s lips.
“Clear and precise. Then I’ll provide you with a place to stay while you investigate, so please look around at your leisure.”
* * *
“You can stay here.”
One of the Law Enforcement Hall members led the group to a room furnished with beds.
“As for Sir Seo...”
Sama Chang waved a hand. “This side is fine. I’m the sort who’ll sleep at home even if it kills me. By dusk, I’ll probably vanish like a ghost.”
Seorin shot him a sidelong glance.
“Why say useless things like that? You’re not still holding a grudge because I scolded you earlier, are you?”
“Did I say anything wrong?”
“No, but it came out of nowhere.”
Sama Chang turned to the Law Enforcement Hall member.
“You’ve got your hands full with a junior who grumbles all the time. Either way, thanks for the guidance.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Law Enforcement Hall member withdrew with a sour expression.
Creaaak.
Once the door shut and the group was left alone, the humor in Sama Chang’s voice vanished.
“So. What do we do now?”
Sama Ryang answered, “We proceed according to the original plan.”
“You’re saying we keep going?”
“Yes. We won’t know anything unless we look.”
“Honestly, I can already see the result plain as day.”
“...”
“You understand what that deputy hall leader meant earlier, don’t you? I’m not sure whether he was saying he’d already accounted for every person in the Military Council or simply looked into the Inspector-General’s movements. Either way, the deputy hall leader knew you were a physician.”
“...”
“Which means they knew an inspection was coming in advance.”
Sama Chang’s voice gradually rose.
“If there were any flaws worth worrying about, they would’ve cleared them away long ago. So what’s the point of carrying out the inspection? Don’t tell me you’re forcing this just because it’d be embarrassing to go home empty-handed.”
“Senior, calm down a bit. Raising our voices among ourselves is not—”
“You stay out of it.”
Sama Chang cut off Seorin and said in a heated tone, “This is exactly why I’ve been uneasy from the beginning. What was the point of crossing the main road so openly when we should’ve been handling this discreetly? Why step on the gatekeeper’s foot and draw attention to yourselves? Why were you in such a hurry?”
There was no flaw in Sama Chang’s words.
It was true that Song Ryeong had subtly tested them by asking about mental symptoms, and it was also true that Sama Ryang’s conduct had drawn unnecessary attention.
Hyeong Baek interjected in a low voice, “How juvenile. In a situation where you should be joining forces to get the job done, to end up hurling accusations instead—well, I’ve only reversed my retirement to witness an ugly scene.”
“...”
“The problem clearly lies with the leader. It seems you’re not the sort of vessel fit to serve as Inspector-General after all. I can’t be bothered playing a fool, either.”
After a brief silence, Sama Ryang asked, “So both of you are saying you intend to disobey orders?”
“...What?”
Bang!
The sound of a fist slamming the table thundered through the room.
“I’ve spent more years in the Military Council than you’ve lived in all your years. I’ve devoted my life to carrying out orders, and you dare speak of disobedience to me?”
It looked, from any outsider’s perspective, like a rift had broken out among the inspectors.
Sharp words had flown back and forth several times; anyone listening in would think the same.
The acting is first-rate. They look like they came from a proper theater troupe.
Seorin sat on the bed and watched her companions.
Heong Baek leaned back in a chair, nonchalantly pushing the table he’d just smashed aside while calmly polishing his beloved weapon.
And Sama Chang was flipping through the personnel records, his lips moving nonstop.
He wasn’t trying to memorize the records. From the moment they entered the room, they’d been talking in secret through voice transmission all along.
[So you and I are taking Squads One and Two, then?]
[Yes. Please pay special attention to the leader of Squad One. The false report was apparently written by him.]
[You said the seal belongs to the deputy hall leader. Are we going to detain him and confront them face to face afterward?]
[That seems necessary.]
This wasn’t some precaution against the possibility of eavesdropping. They were absolutely certain that this place was being monitored.
The first thing Song Ryeong had done was nothing other than give the group a place to stay.
It had been less than a day since the inspection was authorized.
Even if there had been far too little time to erase the records, putting them up in the very heart of the organization meant there was a very clear intention behind it.
What was more, they had just found the squad leader in question among the Law Enforcement Hall members—the very person connected to the reason for this inspection.
He doesn’t know why we came. If they underestimate us and let even a little opening show, that’ll be a bonus. This...
If we play this right, we might even get off work early.
Seorin rose with a broad smile.
“That’s enough of the fighting!”
Sama Ryang said coldly, “As the Inspector-General vested with full authority by the Chief Military Strategist, I order you to proceed exactly as announced in advance. If you refuse, I will treat it as insubordination and bring charges accordingly.”
“You bastard... You really mean to—!”
“Fine, I’ll play along. But if this ends with nothing to show for it, you’d better be prepared as well.”
Sama Chang snorted and went on, “You’re about to see the fool who lives only for his own grandiosity get knocked flat on his face. Though, I suppose that would be a sight worth seeing in its own right.”
“Why are you being like this, Senior Chang, seriously? Stop acting like a petty miser! What’s wrong with you? Why does a person live that way, anyway?”
“...”
As Sama Chang left the room, he glanced at Seorin. The way he shrugged his shoulders somehow seemed to carry a trace of his true feelings beneath the surface.
* * *
“Pwahaha!”
Gwak Jiryang, the leader of the Law Enforcement Hall’s First Squad, burst out laughing and drew back his inner energy. The ears he’d set up for eavesdropping were now almost embarrassingly useless.
They walked in acting all high and mighty, and they’re just a bunch of ragtag no-hopers.
The Inspector-General—whether because he was too young or too rigid—had failed to win even a shred of trust, and the other inspectors were pouring out their dissatisfaction without restraint.
At this rate, with friction between them already this bad, there was no way a proper investigation could possibly happen.
After a while, the office door opened and one of the inspectors came in.
“I’m Sama Chang. We’ll be conducting a brief search.”
Gwak Jiryang’s brow furrowed.
“A search? You’re starting with the squad leader’s office?”
At the incredulous tone, Sama Chang stared at him wordlessly.
Unbelievable.
An inspector who could cut off his head had just walked in, and this man wasn’t even pretending to be tense.
Was he that confident, or was he simply a fool who didn’t realize a blade was hanging over his neck?
“Well, I don’t think digging around down below will turn up anything.”
“Hmm... that may be true here as well. Still, feel free to look around. The ledgers are in that drawer over there, and the battlefield records should be next to them. If you need anything else, just ask.”
Leaving behind the sarcastic but cooperative Gwak Jiryang, Sama Chang began pulling out documents one by one.
Nothing here. Not this either. This one... is a bit iffy.
From the dense records, he pieced together the Law Enforcement Hall’s assets and the flow of expenditures.
To verify who had been sent where would easily take half a shichen, but Sama Chang read through it all without hesitation, using his characteristic speed-reading.
And soon he understood why Gwak Jiryang had been so confident.
Ha. He really did a proper job on this.
These were not immaculate ledgers without a single flaw.
The problem was that the flaws were far too trivial. The discrepancies were so minuscule they looked no different from simple clerical errors.
If they had found no dust at all, that alone might have aroused suspicion; instead, they had left behind only the sort of imperfections too minor to press.
Gwak Jiryang, who had been loitering nearby as though he had nothing to do, let out an exaggerated murmur of admiration.
“Oh? You’ve already finished looking through it all? I hear the Military Council people are all well-versed in handling documents, and it seems the rumors were true. So, did you find anything?”
Sama Chang shook his head with a sigh.
“After all that trouble, there’s nothing to show for it.”
He got to his feet.
“Come with me now. The last step is the meeting with the squad leader.”
“The last step? Didn’t you just say nothing turned up?”
“It’s a formal procedure.”
He sounded as if he had no particular expectations.
“Are you asking whether I’ve got anything to report?”
“Yes, exactly. My throat’s getting sore, so stop talking and let’s go.”
At the irritated tone, Gwak Jiryang barely held back the laugh threatening to spill out.
The sight of the man who had entered as proudly as a victorious general now leaving like a rat drenched in rain was highly amusing.
Go on, search all you want. Let’s see what you come up with.
Dragging the investigation out with useless chatter would be entertainment enough on its own.