Chapter 230: Catastrophe
Chapter 230: Catastrophe
The conference, which had drawn the interest and attention of so many, ended in catastrophe, leaving behind nothing but a bitter conflict. As a result, some of the other clans that had gone to the trouble of traveling to Barbara returned to their own cities with nothing to show for their efforts.
The User Academy, which had temporarily suspended its training, resumed operation after the conference ended. The meeting among the clan leaders also reshaped the Academy: several instructor positions held by the eastern, southern, and northern clans were suspended, and Users from the Golden Lion Clan and its allies filled the vacancies.
The official reasons for the replacement were convoluted, but it boiled down to this: only Users from clans that had passed an internal audit were qualified to teach new recruits. However, considering that half of the suspended instructors belonged to Eastern clans, it could be interpreted as a form of pressure to accept the audit, as well as a move to gradually reclaim authority over the academy.
This, too, had the potential to become a major issue, but the instructors from the Eastern clans chose to step down without protest. To be precise, the same suspension was applied not only to the Eastern and Southern clans but also to the Northern and some Western clans that had yet to undergo an internal audit. And since the majority of regular Users had already been looking at them unfavorably from the moment they refused the Golden Lion’s audit, it seemed they decided it was better to quietly comply with the current atmosphere.
But the clans that hadn't participated in the expedition were not about to take this lying down. The words Seo Jinwoo, Sung Hyunmin, and Na Seung-hye had left behind when they gathered after the third conference strongly hinted at this. I had no idea what kind of trouble they were planning to stir up, but I figured I would find out soon enough.
Because judging by what I knew of them from the first playthrough, they weren't the types to just stand by and do nothing.
*
The User Academy finally entered its thirteenth week. The program was supposed to last a total of 100 days, and all training was usually completed before the fourteenth week. This time, however, due to the suspension for the conference, the policy was changed to extend the training to the end of the fourteenth week under the pretext of providing additional education.
As I had expected, the Mercenary Clan seemed to have escaped the direct fallout from the Matriarch’s murder. Our participation in Training Instructor duties had been canceled, but we were still permitted to serve as Discipline and Lifestyle Instructors.
When I returned to my quarters after assisting with the afternoon training, I heard the sound of water pouring from the bathroom. Assuming Kim Hanbyul was washing up, I was about to lie down on the bed and turn over when I heard a rustle from beneath me, the sound of something crinkling.
Startled, I shot upright and spotted three or four report pages that had been trapped beneath my side. When I picked them up, I recognized the elegant handwriting Ko Yeonju always used in her reports. I glanced toward the bathroom, then slowly read through the densely written pages. The ink smudged slightly beneath my fingers, suggesting that the report had only just been written.
Seventeen members of the Golden Lion Clan announce their withdrawal? And an exposé by Senior Executive Shin Tae-seung?
The moment I read the title at the very top, my eyes widened. My reading speed naturally increased as I turned the pages, one after another. When I finally finished the fourth and final page, I let out an involuntary, dry laugh.
“Ha.”
The report contained rather interesting news. In brief, Shin Tae-seung, a mid-ranking executive of the Golden Lion Clan, and sixteen clan members under him had withdrawn. They had also exposed information about the Golden Lion Clan, bringing Do Youngrok’s past relationship with the Matriarch back into focus. The report detailed how he had repeatedly clashed with her and later taken the lead in driving her out.
One additional statement made me laugh: “Do Youngrok, who currently leads the Golden Lion Clan, is exploiting the Matriarch’s murder to restore the prestige lost in the failed Steel Mountains expedition. He has already finished coordinating with the western and northern clans; the eastern and southern clans are the true victims.” I had wondered how they would strike back, but they could hardly have been more direct.
It was a little noisy earlier. Was this why?
Just as I was about to sink into thought, the bathroom door flew open. I turned and saw a woman emerge with a towel loosely wrapped around her body. It was not Kim Hanbyul, but Ko Yeonju. Running a hand through her wet hair, she gave me a broad smile.
“You don’t seem to be laughing at my body. I take it you’ve read the report?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I got a good look. I never thought you’d come all the way into my quarters.”
“I came because I missed you. But I was too early. I didn’t have much to do until your instructor duties were over, so I wrote it out of boredom. Doesn’t it feel like old times?”
Didn’t have much to do?
Ko Yeonju’s words were suggestive. She began putting on the clothes she had brought out, and for a moment her fully exposed body captured my attention.
“Hup.”
Once fully dressed, she hopped onto the bed where I was lying. As she snuggled into my arms, I could smell the fragrant scent of her skin. I wrapped my arms around her, buried my nose in her hair, and closed my eyes. My mind had been cluttered with various matters, but for a moment, I felt a sense of calm.
We held each other in silence for a while. We didn't bring up the report again, nor did I intend to. Everything Ko Yeonju wanted to say was already written there. However, I could sense a certain weariness from her limp body.
After stroking her hair for a while, I spoke in a quiet voice.
“The Matriarch’s passing… are you okay now?”
“The Matriarch? Yes. I’m okay now.”
“You seemed so sad back then.”
“Of course I was. The Matriarch helped me a lot when I first came to the Hall Plain. But I’m really okay now.”
She stopped talking and lifted her head. Then she rolled over on top of me, looked me straight in the eye, and continued.
“I’ve experienced the deaths of Users I knew countless times. Of course, it’s sad. But it’s just that—sad. It won’t affect my actions.”
“Is that so? I understand.”
It was a very Ko Yeonju-like answer. Reassured by her declaration, I let out a long sigh. I raised the report in my right hand, channeled mana into it, and burned it to ashes. Ko Yeonju watched in silence, then whispered in my ear.
“Is there anything you’re curious about?”
“No.”
“Soohyun. The situation is incredibly complicated. It is changing by the day, so quickly that no one can see what lies ahead.”
“I’m aware of the situation. Is there something else you wanted to say?”
“Yes. There is.”
Ko Yeonju was still on top of me. She buried her face in my chest, and I soon felt a tickling sensation.
“Soohyun. I think it would be best for you to pull out now. You may want to remain neutral, but the people around you won’t let you. You need to be especially careful in a situation like this. Now that things have come to this, it wouldn’t be strange at all for either side to start playing dirty. The longer you hold out here, the more likely you are to face bad things, or even worse, something terrible.”
“Haha. To think the great Ko Yeonju is worrying about me like this. How refreshing.”
“It’s because I’m worried. I’ll help you. Pulling out of here and leaving Barbara seems to be the right answer right now.”
“I will not leave under any circumstances until the Academy graduation is complete.”
I said it immediately, hammering the point home, and I felt Ko Yeonju’s breath catch.
“I intend to stay here and see how this all ends. By then, I should be able to grasp most, if not all, of the internal situation. That information will be crucial in deciding my future course of action.”
“But.”
“And it’s not just that. I still have a reason to remain here. If I just up and leave, what will other people think? I don’t want to let everything I’ve accomplished here turn to dust. I don’t want to think I’ve wasted three months of my time. I want to at least see this through to a proper end.”
“You could get swept up in all of this.”
“I can assure you, that will never happen.”
Seeming to realize she couldn’t change my mind, Ko Yeonju sighed. While I was at it, I decided to add one more thing.
“User Ko Yeonju. From this moment, as your Clan Lord, I am giving you an order.”
“Please speak. As a clan member, I will obey my Clan Lord’s command.”
“Drop everything you are currently working on and return to the southern city of Monica immediately. I know User Jung Hayeon is there, but you’ve left the clan members unattended for too long. I want you to go back, rest your weary body, and get our internal affairs in order. In preparation for my return.”
“…You’re telling me to rest easy while you’re here like this, Soohyun? Are you telling me to be the only one to pull out?”
“Yes. And for the record, I will not accept any objections on this matter. No further discussion will be permitted.”
There was no longer any need to keep Ko Yeonju here. Of course, having her around would be convenient. Thanks to her, I had been able to stay informed about the situation outside. But it was enough. I had shown a certain degree of good faith to the other clans. Since the situation couldn't get any worse, it was time for me to make my own judgments and act on them.
Ko Yeonju lifted her head, and for a moment, we exchanged a heated gaze. I saw her eyes scan every part of me before finally looking away. At last, her lips slowly parted.
“You have to take care of yourself.”
“I’m confident in my ability to look after myself, so you don’t need to worry anymore. However, I will take your words to heart as much as possible. If you truly trust me, I hope you’ll follow my orders for now.”
“That’s not fair. When you put it that way, I have no choice but to trust you.”
“I’m not sure what’s so cheap about it, but I’m glad you seem to trust me.”
Only then did Ko Yeonju seem to relax a little, saying, “I trust you.” She soon dropped her worried gaze, but seeing her force a faint smile, I gave her a genuine one in return.
The realization that I had smiled sincerely left me feeling strange. I should have been growing more tense as the situation worsened, so why did I feel so pleased?
*
Inside the Golden Lion Clan’s Clan House, Do Youngrok sat in a luxurious-looking chair with a pleased expression. He stroked the head of someone kneeling before him, then spoke languidly.
“That bastard showed his rotten nature back when the Mercenary Clan clashed with the Beech Tree Clan. Don’t dwell on it. Just think of it as someone who was bound to leave finally leaving. He was never qualified to be an executive.”
“Slurp. Slurp.”
“In times like these, you have to handle it with composure… Hngh… Kh!”
“Sluuurp! Gulp… Gulp…”
Do Youngrok had been speaking with a relaxed expression when he suddenly cried out and straightened. From the woman with her head buried between his thighs came the wet sounds of her swallowing greedily.
A moment later, as if she had swallowed all of his fluid, the woman raised her head. She licked her lips and looked up at Do Youngrok.
“Smack, smack. But will this really be all right? Technically, he’s a traitor. We could have him arrested.”
“No. We need to maintain our position as the victims. We need to show that we’re enraged by the death of our spiritual pillar, the Matriarch. So just stick to completely denying everything he said. Things are already intense enough; there’s no need to make it a bigger deal.”
“Need… Tch. Liar. You wanted him gone anyway, didn’t you?”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because he was an unnecessary part of the Golden Lion Clan you’ll be leading… Huh? Wait… Aah!”
Do Youngrok leaned down and grabbed the woman’s waist, lifting her. He aimed his still-erect member between her slightly parted legs and slammed down into her. The woman jumped, but Do Youngrok forced her down, driving himself deeper and making her cry out. After watching her reaction with satisfaction, he immediately began to move his hips.
“Heheh. You always feel so good inside. Ah, right. It was a game we were winning from the moment the Matriarch died. As long as our allied clans don’t turn their backs on us, we’ll be able to regain the initiative.”
“Still, ahn, giving them, ahn, to SSUN, ahn, was such, ahn, a waste!”
“Those SSUN bastards suffered the most this time. It was necessary to quell the complaints from their side. Now that we’ve come this far, nothing else matters. In the first place, if the Matriarch hadn’t botched the call to arms like that, we wouldn’t have had to do any of this. Anyway, things are working out better than expected, and more than half of public opinion is on our side. As for clan members… we can just… recruit new ones. As long as… we protect… Barbara… new people… will keep… coming.”
“Aaaaaaaah! W-Wait! Just a moment! Please!”
At the woman’s plea, Do Youngrok stopped just as his thrusts were beginning to quicken. She went limp for a moment, then raised her legs and wrapped them around his waist. She pulled him close with both arms and panted heavily. While she recovered, Do Youngrok savored the feeling inside her, then suddenly remembered something and patted her back.
“Ah. Speaking of Mercenary, what happened with that? Did you succeed in recruiting him?”
“Not yet… He hasn’t been won over… I’m working on it…”
“From what I see, he seems to get along better with the Eastern and Southern sides than with us. But do we really have to do it that way? Kim Hanbyul seems like quite a catch. There are better ways than just giving her to some random guy.”
“Better ways for you, you mean. Haah. Anyway, she said she’d wrap it up for sure within the week, so just wait a little longer. Haah. Like you said, things are intense enough; there’s no need to give them any leverage against us… Haaa… And he’s unknowingly drawing the attention of all the clans right now.”
The woman, Sung Yubin, let out a sweet breath. Having finally caught her breath, she continued in a much more stable tone than before. Then, she shot Do Youngrok a coquettish glare.
“Besides, what’s so special about a kid like that? Am I not enough to satisfy you?”
“Heheh. My, my. Is Sung Yubin jealous of such a young girl?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t like her.”
“Of course, I prefer a fiery type like you, but a haughty type like her can be a tasty treat sometimes. Anyway, fine. Since you’ve put it that way, I’ll wait a little. But make sure you get results within the week.”
“Okay. I’ll pay a little more attention. She seems to be hesitating because of her virginity. If it comes to it, we can just have someone pop her cherry. In any case, let’s let those kids play among themselves. We should get started again, shouldn’t we?”
“Putting on a brave face when you’ll be crying in no time.”
Do Youngrok grinned and drove his hips upward again. This time, Sung Yubin began moving her own hips to meet him. For a long while, their cries echoed through the Clan Lord’s office inside the Golden Lion Clan’s Clan House.