Chapter 468: Demotion.
Chapter 468: Demotion.
I was finally back at the Mercenary Clan House.
To my surprise, the clan members gave us a grand welcome.
Of course, I knew they would welcome us. But the reception was so over-the-top that it was more bewildering than anything.
The initial cheers and applause were fine, but they showed no signs of stopping. When I finally managed to quiet them down, they all just stood there, grinning from ear to ear as they stared at me. Watching them, I couldn't help but wonder if they had all gone mad.
I was a little worried, but it was too awkward to just stand there. So, after telling the clan members who had accompanied me that they’d worked hard, I headed straight for Hayeon. She was, at least, the one with the most normal expression on her face.
“Did anything happen while I was away?”
“No. It’s been quiet… Ah.”
Just then, Hayeon gave a faint smile and shifted her gaze toward my shoulder. As she took a few steps back, I quickly turned around. There stood Seon Yuun and Ahn Sol, both looking exhausted.
Seon Yuun spoke first.
“Clan Lord. A few of the Users we rescued this time have asked to see you.”
“Hm? Why? Didn’t we provide them with all the gear they needed?”
“It’s not about the gear. They want to thank you for saving their lives… and say they wish to repay the favor. I believe they’re talking about joining the clan.”
“Tell them to stop talking nonsense and go home. Ah, and tell the clients to visit with User Kim Sujeong soon. With this, the request is complete, so we need to collect the remaining payment.”
I refused without a moment’s hesitation. On the surface, they spoke of repaying a debt, but their true intentions were obvious. It might have been a different story if there was a User worth scouting, but I had observed each of them on the way here, and they were all mediocre at best.
As Seon Yuun bowed his head and turned to leave, my gaze shifted to Ahn Sol. Her eyes, as she looked at me, held a certain desperation.
“What is it?”
“Orabeoni… Um… what are your plans for today?”
Hearing her next words, I finally understood her feelings. This expedition had been a long journey, lasting over two months. So, aside from physical exhaustion, she must be longing for a warm meal and a soft bed.
“No, you’ve all worked hard. It’s best to rest and recover today. Get some good rest. Go and tell the others.”
“Really?”
Ahn Hyun and Hangyul needed to recuperate anyway, so I slowly nodded. A wry smile touched my lips as I watched Ahn Sol run off as if she could fly. It seemed I had pushed them quite hard.
A moment later, I turned back to Hayeon.
“I’m a little tired today myself.”
“You’ve worked hard, Clan Lord. I’ve already given instructions to prepare a meal and clean your room, so you can head right in.”
At Hayeon’s words, I calmly walked toward the door. I could feel her following carefully beside me. As I did, I glanced up at the sky and saw the sun hanging high overhead. It was still shining brightly, but it looked like it would set soon.
When I lowered my gaze, I suddenly felt a sense of emptiness.
Come to think of it, I hadn't seen Yumi. Yumi had a special talent; whenever I went somewhere, she had an almost supernatural knack for knowing when I would return. She was often the first person I saw at the main gate, so why wasn’t she here today?
“By the way, where is Yumi?”
“Ah, Yumi? She’s probably very busy right now.”
“What? Busy with what?”
“Hoho… You might be a little surprised when you see.”
Hm? Surprised when I see her?
I tilted my head at Hayeon’s words, but since it sounded like she was fine, I didn’t ask further. I gently opened the door and made my way to the dining hall first. To be honest, I was just as hungry for a warm, delicious meal as anyone else. The food here was always better than anything you could get outside.
The meal was certainly good. No, since it was prepared by a skilled chef and not the Flowers of the Night, it was absolutely delicious.
After finishing my meal, I left the dining hall and sat down on a chair in the first-floor lobby. A fire was blazing in the fireplace in front of me, casting a reddish glow. Feeling the warmth seep into my body, I closed my eyes and sank into thought.
For the past two years, Mercenary had taken on and completed countless requests and excavated numerous ruins. Naturally, this brought results, and we hadn’t simply stockpiled them in a warehouse. The ruins, our main source of income, were finite, so we couldn’t rely on expeditions forever.
Thus, we invested externally by purchasing shops, inns, and pubs, or by establishing branches in other cities. Internally, we used the funds to improve the welfare of our clan members, establishing the Mercenary Academy, renovating buildings, and upgrading the blacksmith, among other things.
The area I’d put the most effort into was the dining hall. Not only is food a fundamental part of life, but the Flowers of the Night were also notoriously bad cooks. (It was so bad that eating a meal they cooked, which should have been a refreshing start to the day, made you feel like your whole body was sagging.)
Eventually, I reassigned the Flowers of the Night to house management and completely overhauled the dining hall. As a result, the Users currently managing it were a rather skilled couple who had experience running a restaurant in the modern world.
Meeting this couple… well, I suppose you could call it a coincidence.
I once had to go to Eden, and after finishing my business, I stopped by a cozy little restaurant. That’s where I met them. The peculiar thing was that they weren’t non-combat Users. In fact, they were once quite famous and skilled combat Users.
At first, I was curious why they were living like non-combatants, but after hearing their story, I understood. They had been active until the wife became pregnant, and the husband had forbidden her from engaging in any more strenuous battles.
In the end, they ceased all activities upon the birth of their child and opened a restaurant with the money they had saved.
In any case, their cooking was superb. After a brief conversation, I bought the restaurant on the spot and scouted the couple. It was a win-win situation: they got to raise their child in a safer environment with good conditions, and we got to eat high-quality meals every day.
“Uuungh. Orabeonii.”
Perhaps it was because I’d had a delicious meal for the first time in a while. A languid voice drew my attention, and I saw Ahn Sol sinking into the chair next to me. Her face was full of contentment, and her left hand was gently rubbing her stomach. She looked utterly satisfied.
“What is it?”
“I’m… so, so full…”
“Right. Feeling more alive now?”
“Yesss. Being able to drink something in front of a warm fireplace like this… I’m so happy…”
Ahn Sol smiled brightly and took a big gulp from the large cup in her right hand. I watched for a while, fascinated, as she poured the drink down her throat without a pause. How could so much fit down that slender, white neck? The cup was tilted almost vertically.
“Gah! Cough, cough!”
Finally, Ahn Sol slammed the cup down and let out a small cough.
In that instant, I felt as if I’d been pulled away from the fire, and the quiet surroundings suddenly became noisy.
I discreetly looked around and saw clan members, having come from the dining hall, gathered in small groups, chatting. I could hear them asking all sorts of questions with excited faces; it seemed they had been caught by those curious about the expedition.
After listening to the surrounding conversations for a while, I turned back to Ahn Sol. She was already nodding off, her head drooping as if sleep was taking over now that her stomach was full. I shook her shoulder.
“Ahn Sol. You should go to your room to sleep.”
“Nngh… Huh?”
Ahn Sol squirmed for a moment, but then she lifted her head and looked up at me with sleepy eyes. Her face was flushed, perhaps from the fireplace, and a faint light flickered in her pupils. Then, her lips parted.
“Orabeoni…”
“Hm?”
“My brother…”
“Yes.”
Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something. I waited patiently for her to continue.
But in the end, she seemed to give up. With a faint smile, Ahn Sol stood up.
“…It’s nothing. It’s nothing at all.”
“…Is that so?”
I took out a cigarette and watched Ahn Sol walk away unsteadily. My brother—she meant Ahn Hyun. I was curious about what she had wanted to say, but I quickly pushed it from my mind. My decision regarding Ahn Hyun’s punishment was already made, and there was no room for reconsideration.
A moment later, I lit the cigarette, thinking I would head in after this one. I closed my eyes and sank deeper into the chair.
Starting tomorrow, things were going to get very busy.
*
The next morning, the Mercenary Clan was in a flurry. Just as everyone was finishing a pleasant breakfast and starting to talk about the expedition’s results, a sudden summons was issued. And not just any summons, but a general assembly.
Whether they had participated in the mountain expedition or not, all the clan members were curious about the outcome. Yet, without a word of complaint, they began filing into the meeting hall one by one. They all had a gut feeling about why the Clan Lord, Kim Soohyun, had called the assembly.
To explain briefly, the structure of Mercenary was fundamentally one where all authority was concentrated in Kim Soohyun. Of course, there were clan members who represented various departments, but they were merely acting as proxies.
In other words, positions like high-ranking executive or executive did not officially exist in Mercenary.
That is, only among the ‘clan members.’ Aside from the Clan Lord, Mercenary treated all its members equally, and they all had similar rights to speak, regardless of their years of service or skill. This structure was a good fit for the small, elite nature of the clan.
As such, there was no official second-in-command, but there were a few Users tacitly acknowledged by the clan members.
If one were to pick the three Users Kim Soohyun favored the most, they would be the Shadow Queen, Ko Yeonju; the Mage of the Blue Moon, Jung Hayeon; and the Aura Spearman, Ahn Hyun.
As the clan’s power grew, it became difficult for Kim Soohyun to look after each member individually as he had in the caravan days, but Ahn Hyun was an exception. Whenever Kim Soohyun had free time, he would mentor Ahn Hyun, and he took him along wherever he went. Was that all? Whenever the spoils from excavating a ruin were distributed, Ahn Hyun was always included.
As a result, Ahn Hyun had acquired User information that no one could ignore and had built a solid position for himself within the clan.
One might expect him to become arrogant, but Ahn Hyun’s reputation within the clan was actually quite good. Unlike Lee Yoojung, he didn’t have a defiant attitude and had an easygoing personality.
Furthermore, far from hazing new members, he would personally look after them with a welcoming attitude. So, despite the slight favoritism he received, no clan member was seriously envious or jealous of him.
Because of who Ahn Hyun was the clan’s reaction to the incident he had caused was sharply divided between ‘punishment without exception’ and ‘but it’s Ahn Hyun.’
Therefore, how Kim Soohyun, who had always doted on Ahn Hyun, would handle the situation was a matter of unprecedented interest, watched by every single member of the Mercenary Clan.
“Wow, I had a feeling he wouldn’t just let it slide yesterday. I wonder what will happen to Ahn Hyun.”
“I saw him go into the meeting hall earlier… Still, the Clan Lord is being a bit harsh, don’t you think? The guy just got back.”
“Harsh? What’s harsh about it? I think it’s great. Even if it’s Ahn Hyun, what he did was wrong. I would’ve been really disappointed in the Clan Lord if he’d just dragged it out and let it slide.”
“Who said he didn’t do anything wrong? But we should at least hear Hyun’s side of the story…”
The general assembly was being held in the large meeting hall on the fourth floor. The Mercenary Clan members climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, engaged in a heated debate about Ahn Hyun.
“What do you mean, his side of the story? He must have heard everything on the way back!”
“Cough, cough-cough!”
Just then, as Dongseok was about to shout in his rough voice, a harsh coughing sound came from the bottom of the stairs. They reflexively turned to see an elderly User struggling to climb up. Dongseok immediately stopped talking and rushed over.
“Goodness, Elder Manseong! You’re not well, what brings you here…?”
“What do you mean? I came because a summons was issued… But what is everyone doing here? It’s hard enough as it is, and you’re blocking the way. Cough!”
Lee Manseong let out another rough cough and lifted his head. The clan members standing on the stairs all avoided his gaze. Lee Manseong clicked his tongue and let out a deep sigh.
“The Clan Lord will make the decision anyway. What’s the point of chattering about it now? So, let’s all cut the chatter and get moving. It looks like we’re the last ones…”
Dongseok helped Lee Manseong without another word. The clan members fell silent and made their way into the fourth-floor meeting hall.
As Lee Manseong had said, almost all the Users were already gathered in the large meeting hall. In the center of the room, Ahn Hyun, Jung Hayeon, and Baek Hangyul stood like criminals, while on either side, over fifty Users were seated neatly at tables.
A moment later, Kim Soohyun gave a light nod to Lee Manseong as he slowly took his seat. After confirming that all the clan members—everyone except Ko Yeonju—had gathered, he quietly spoke.
“It seems everyone is here. Then, let’s begin the meeting.”
A solemn and heavy atmosphere filled the hall. The clan members all looked at the three in the center with awkward eyes. Ahn Hyun, Jung Hayeon, and Baek Hangyul. Aside from their abilities, these three were practically the original members of Mercenary, having been with Kim Soohyun the longest.
Kim Soohyun began to speak.
“Since everyone should be aware of the situation, I will begin without a separate explanation. User Ahn Hyun?”
“Yes… Yes!”
The moment his name was called, Ahn Hyun stammered in his reply. The title ‘User Ahn Hyun’ felt so distant. But before he could process it, Kim Soohyun continued.
“This is your first and last chance. Make your case.”
His words caused a small stir. To ask for a defense without any preamble meant that Ahn Hyun’s guilt was already confirmed. Tense, the clan members recalled the words Kim Soohyun had left them with as he left the meeting hall two months ago.
‘This is my final warning to all of you. If an incident like this ever happens again, no matter who it is, they will not escape responsibility.’
‘What I have just said will apply to this incident without exception.’
After taking a moment to compose himself, Ahn Hyun carefully began to speak.
“First, Hyung-nim. Thank you so much for saving me…”
“User Ahn Hyun?”
“…My apologies, Clan Lord-nim.”
“Yes. User Ahn Hyun. I have no memory of asking for your gratitude. I was telling you to explain why it happened, why you did such a thing. To explain this situation and convince me. Do you not understand what I am saying right now?”
“……”
The man before him, staring intently with cold eyes, felt like a stranger. Ahn Hyun swallowed hard and glanced at Hayeon. The moment Hayeon nodded, he bit his lip slightly.
“To say it was a momentary mistake would be an excuse. I am truly sorry. I believe no explanation can suffice for this situation, and I think it is all my fault. I will humbly accept any punishment you see fit. However…”
“Hmm. Is that so? You have no intention of making excuses and will humbly accept your punishment. Then you’ll have nothing to say if I proceed with the planned probation, I suppose.”
Kim Soohyun said, slightly raising one eyebrow. Ahn Hyun, who had been bowing his head, snapped it up. It wasn’t because he had been cut off. It was because probation was a much lighter punishment than he had expected.
“Yes, yes!”
“Understood. Then, User Ahn Hyun will take responsibility for this situation and be placed on probation. I will not accept any objections on this matter.”
As Kim Soohyun’s words fell, a much larger commotion than before settled over the meeting hall.
It was then.
“However. This is not an ordinary probation. It is a conditional probation with three restrictions. That is, there are three restrictions that will apply to User Ahn Hyun.”
The murmuring hall once again fell into solemn silence.
Ahn Hyun tensed up again. Probation meant to be careful with one’s words and actions. He didn’t know what kind of punishment would follow, but he felt that as long as it fell within the category of probation, it would be manageable.
Finally, Kim Soohyun picked up the record in front of him, then raised his eyes to look at Ahn Hyun.
And in that moment.
“First. Ahn Hyun’s status as a clan member is revoked. As of this moment, I will no longer recognize Ahn Hyun as a member of the Mercenary Clan.”
Kim Soohyun’s characteristically low, cold voice echoed through the quiet meeting hall.