Chapter 305
Chapter 305
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 305
Chapter Title: Not Easy (5)
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I headed straight to the inn where Dokgo Cheol was staying.
"Uro Restaurant. Is this the place?"
The place Dokgo Cheol had chosen as his lodging fit its name, Uro—tucked away at the far end of the inn alley in Dan River District, a modest little spot.
"Excuse me, could I ask you something?"
"Come on in. I'm in the middle of stir-frying something, so just give me a moment... What?! The Monster Dragon?!"
As soon as I stepped inside, the innkeeper, who had been tending to the kitchen, came rushing out in shock.
"Ch-Chairman of the Student Council, what brings you to our humble establishment?"
"...You even brought the wok and ladle with you. Is it okay to leave the kitchen like that? The stove's flames are shooting up."
"A little fire doesn't matter! Welcoming Dan River District's benefactor and the young hero of the righteous martial world is far more important!"
"What's that..."
"I've been meaning to rearrange the stove anyway—I can get a new setup! No, if the kitchen burns down, I won't be able to serve you properly. Stay right here; I'll go fetch Mi-ju in a flash and..."
I held up my palm to calm the innkeeper down.
"No need. Sorry, but it's the busy season welcoming new students, so I don't have time to spare. And we can't let the shop burn either."
"Ah, right, of course."
"I'll come back to sample your cooking skills once I have some free time."
"You promise?"
"It's a deal. Anyway, the reason I'm here today is about a new student staying here named Dokgo Cheol..."
"Second room on this floor. Let me show you the way!"
"You should get back to the kitchen... I'll go myself."
I finished speaking and was about to head to the room when,
apparently having heard the innkeeper's fuss, Dokgo Cheol was already out.
"...Chairman Eon Yong-un?"
"That's me. Shall we talk somewhere quiet?"
"Yes. It's humble, but this way."
Dokgo Cheol pretended to be calm.
'Whether he has ties to the Demonic Cult or not, any freshman would be on edge with a senior like me showing up. That's only natural.'
Especially this time, with the incident of top-ranking examinees getting expelled mid-exam. It made sense all the more.
Dokgo Cheol's calm facade was proof he was tense.
'Of course he'd be nervous after watching Sang U-cheong and Baek Ri-gyeom get caught. So, shall I keep this tension going a bit longer to make him sweat?'
No need for elaborate tactics.
His mind was already a mess of thoughts, so a few offhand words to scatter his focus would do.
"Perfect weather for entering the academy."
"...It does seem so. Probably because it's spring."
"Oh, right. Congratulations on 'safely' making it in."
"...Uh. Yeah. Thank you."
"Now that you're officially my junior, feel free to speak casually."
"Yes."
Such subtle questions were enough to plant more thoughts.
"Anyway, I have some questions for you."
"Yes! Ask away."
"You seem a bit on edge. Is that normal for you, or is it because I showed up?"
"...Pardon?"
"The innkeeper, I mean this place's owner. He seems a little scattered."
"Ah. Oh, yeah, the innkeeper."
"Who else would I mean? You're the only ones I've seen here—obviously him."
"...Yeah. Um. He's been staying here about a month before and after the entrance exam, and he's always been a bit scatterbrained. Forgetful too."
After letting Dokgo Cheol stew for a bit like that,
he swallowed dryly and asked.
"...But why are you here for me, Chairman?"
"Oh, I have a proposal for you."
"A p-proposal?"
"Yeah. Something that benefits you."
"What kind of proposal..."
"Heh. Back in my day, if a senior or professor offered something beneficial, we'd shout 'Yes, sir!' without hearing details. Weighing it like this... are you perhaps?"
"……!"
"Raised on a lot of herbal tonics as a kid? You're quite composed."
"……."
Toying with his heart stopped there.
I grinned and stated why I'd come for Dokgo Cheol.
"Nothing major. Just join the Student Council."
"The St-Student Council?"
"Why? Don't want to?"
"No."
"Then you do?"
"Ah, no!"
"What's this now."
"Sorry. It was so unexpected, I got flustered."
Dokgo Cheol clearly looked flustered by my offer.
He must have thought it might be like the proposals Sang U-cheong and Baek Ri-gyeom received.
'But this offer that came back is too tempting.'
An invitation to the core of the Righteous Martial Academy's student self-governing body would be incredibly appealing to Dokgo Cheol.
Yet suspicion lingered, as he swallowed dryly again and spoke.
"Honestly, I don't understand why you'd offer this to me. My entrance exam score was barely average."
"The entrance exam only judges the minimum aptitude for the path of righteousness—no need to obsess over rankings. Jang Seon, who barely scraped by, applied to join today, and we've accepted him."
"I know that guy. He's got amazing talent, right? And he's from Haenam, isn't he? He got top-tier assignment out of academy courtesy, but our family suffered clan extermination, so we can hardly call it prestigious."
"I don't care about that. As long as they'll work hard under me, that's enough. I think you can do that, Dokgo Cheol. Don't you want to rebuild your clan someday?"
"...Yes."
"Look at me. There was a time when everyone called me a wastrel, pointing fingers at my every move. But now they call me the Monster Dragon, the world's top young expert. The Pearl Eon Family has reclaimed its place among the Five Great Clans. You can do it too."
"……!"
A glint flashed in Dokgo Cheol's eyes at my words.
Some of his inner doubts had lifted.
'But the root suspicion remains.'
It only benefits him in the end.
He'd still wonder what I gain.
So here, I needed to show a bit of worldly pragmatism on purpose.
"And with the incidents involving Baek Ri-gyeom and Sang U-cheong in this entrance exam? I don't want to hear complaints about neglecting the sects that sacrificed in the last Righteous-Demonic War."
"...If someone from the Dokgo Clan joins the Student Council, those rumors would die down."
"That's about thirty percent of my motive. Too obvious?"
"No."
"If it feels off, fill out this membership form right now. I really want your help."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ On the way back to the Student Council room after getting Dokgo Cheol's membership form,
my master spoke up.
- Yong-un.
'Yes, Master.'
- I feel like you're keeping that Dokgo Cheol too close.
'I have to keep him close to manage him. Letting him loose means no clue what he's up to.'
- I get that, but the Student Council will handle future academy policies and schedules... And don't you share the building with the Martial Arts Research Society? What if he starts a fire or something?
'The Blood Cult, just starting to break away, won't use Dokgo Cheol like that. And the society's materials are copied to the Wudang Mountain library, right?'
Even if the worst happened as Master feared, I could recopy them and bring corpse soldiers to retrieve everything.
'Keeping council info from leaking for a while is no issue.'
- By keeping him spinning nonstop?
'Spinning? The New Student Education Team—'New Ed Team' for short—is the official name.'
- You're just gonna poison them all with exhausting drills everyone hates? You sure know how to package it.
'...Anyway, they'll be too busy adjusting for a while.'
Plus, I'd team Jang Seon and Namgung Young with him, so Master's worries were unfounded.
'And excluding Jang Seon, everyone knows Dokgo Cheol's a spy, so for important meetings, just send him on errands.'
- But that's only once or twice. Can't keep excluding him forever. He's perceptive; he'll catch on that his cover's blown.
'Yes, that's why I said for a while.'
- You have a separate plan in mind?
'Not a plan—bait.'
- Bait?
'Remember when I fought the Do-ol Moon Horse and the Five Bamboo Groves of Sichuan? They mistook me for Blood Demon-related because I mixed Blood Clan Arts with Heaven-Splitting Divine Art.'
Master admired my words.
- Oh? So Dokgo Cheol will make the same mistake?
'Yes. Use that to enter a phase of mutual probing with the Blood Cult.'
But he quickly dropped the admiration and raised a doubt.
- No? If Dokgo Cheol contacts anyone from the Blood Cult, won't it be exposed immediately?
I grinned at Master's words.
The Blood Cult had to secretly build power within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Thus, its preparatory organizations operated as compartmentalized cells where members barely knew each other.
'It won't happen.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Namgung Young, Jang Seon, Dokgo Cheol.
The Righteous Martial Academy Student Council welcomed three new freshmen.
At the same time, work came flooding in.
It had to.
The four dorms were accepting new students, and with classes starting soon, course registrations began.
Amid the deluge of academy duties, I had to fulfill both council chairman and student obligations.
Days passed in a blur like that.
Meanwhile, the three new Student Council freshmen chose their dorms.
Namgung Young, Jang Seon, and Dokgo Cheol all applied to Blue Bamboo Hall and got in.
"Dang Ok-gi."
"Yeah?"
"Any idea why that Gong Yun next to you looks so dead inside?"
"Ah, this? Seems Young wanted her to follow to Fragrant Orchid Hall."
Namgung Young's acceptance to Blue Bamboo Hall had Namgung Yun pouting.
"Didn't Junior Namgung say from the start she was applying to Blue Bamboo?"
"Oh, you missed Namgung Yun grumbling last time?"
"When?"
When I asked back,
Zhuge Seolji answered.
"You weren't there. When you had us accept Young and Seon's forms and went for Cheol's. Jang Ho asked those two juniors about their dorm choices."
Dang Ok-gi giggled and added,
"Right. Heh heh heh. Anyway, she said Young was just talking big, that her personality meant she'd go to Fragrant Orchid anyway—no way she'd believe otherwise."
"Then shock when she showed up in blue uniform today?"
"Yeah. Heh heh heh. As if she'd go to a place like Fragrant Orchid!"
As Dang Ok-gi and the others burst out laughing,
Namgung Yun raised her voice at Dang Ok-gi.
"You're in Fragrant Orchid too, Dang Ok-gi!"
While Moyong Gil cautiously chimed in.
"...Yeah. Please, have some self-awareness."
Jang Seon and Dokgo Cheol came to the Student Council room and bowed with clasped fists.
"Seniors! Hello!"
"Seniors. Hello."
I nodded to accept their greetings.
Dokgo Cheol approached Woo So-reung with a question.
"Senior Woo So-reung."
"Yes... I mean, yeah?"
"About the notice that New Ed Team starts right at opening ceremony—we need to collect signatures from freshmen."
"...What about it?"
"We don't have to go around ourselves, right? Just notify the self-governing body clearly, have them collect signatures, then retrieve them?"
"Yes... I mean, yeah. That's fine."
"You assigned this yesterday when you were busy, so I answered subconsciously—wanted to confirm. We'll take our leave then. Jang Seon."
"Taking our leave!!!"
As Dokgo Cheol and Jang Seon left,
Woo So-reung glanced out the window, confirmed they were gone, and let out a long sigh.
"Huuuuu."
Eun Ha-seong, beside her, shook his head and spoke.
"Not easy. Not easy at all. Brother Yong-un, I think it would've been better to keep So-reung in the dark about Dokgo Cheol's identity like Jang Seon. Watching her makes me nervous as hell."
"...Sorry, Brother Eun."
"So-reung's just awkward being treated like a senior. Same with Namgung Junior, right?"
"True. But since she knows deep down he's Blood Cult, she's extra on edge. Sigh. How long do we keep this up?"
"Until the big fish bites the bait—there's no 'how long' about it."
Just wait till the big one takes the hook.