Chapter 399: The Mother and Daughter's Resolve (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 399: The Mother and Daughter's Resolve (1)
After Lu Bu and his men left the airport.
The Saintess was able to safely board the plane back to her home country.
Just before she was fully on board, she turned and expressed her gratitude to me.
“Thank you so much.”
“It was just a deal.”
It wasn’t something that deserved thanks.
I only did it because it was part of our agreement.
Besides, I’d saved someone’s life, of all things. I had to do what I could.
“You’re truly an unpredictable person.”
I found that odd.
I had simply fulfilled the terms of our deal. What part of that was unpredictable?
“Even if it’s a deal, not many people would go that far. And…”
She trailed off for a moment, then shook her head.
“No, let’s talk about this later.”
“…Later?”
I wonder.
Will we even have a reason to see each other again?
Well… I suppose we might if our schedules overlap, but she wasn’t exactly the type of person I was eager to meet again.
I had no way of knowing what kind of expression she was making or what her eyes looked like behind that veil.
“You called it a deal, but to me, it was a great favor. You saved not only my life but the lives of my knights as well.”
“Does that mean…?”
“If you ever need my help, contact me anytime. I’ll help you with anything I can.”
An unexpected reward was coming my way.
Help from the Saintess herself, who was willing to step up.
Wouldn’t this be as good as having an extra life saved up?
As I celebrated inwardly, she continued.
“And there’s one thing I want to ask of you.”
“Go on.”
“Please, don’t lose the heart you have now.”
“……?”
Don’t lose the heart I have now?
What was she talking about?
Just as I was about to open my mouth to clear up my confusion, she turned and entered the plane.
I could have stopped her if I’d raised my voice, but I didn’t.
She had turned her back at the exact moment I was about to ask.
That meant that whatever my question was, she either didn’t want to answer it or couldn’t.
“Well… I guess I don’t really need to know.”
Whether I knew or not.
My heart wasn’t going to change.
I’d rarely felt so at ease, or had so many happy moments, as I did now.
After watching the plane carrying the Saintess race down the runway and soar into the sky, I turned away.
“Time for me to head back, too.”
It was time to return to Korea.
* * *
Back in his hideout, Lu Bu was lost in thought.
The operation was a failure.
But his mood wasn’t entirely foul.
Of course, it was a shame he couldn’t eliminate the Saintess, who could turn into an enemy at any moment.
‘William Turner.’
It was because he had met an opponent he quite liked.
“To think a warrior like that was hidden in the Vatican…”
His perception of the country known as the Vatican was changing in that instant.
He had thought those folk they called Paladins, their pride and joy, were only skilled at defending.
It seemed that wasn’t always the case.
“Interesting.”
Though he harbored the ambition to rule not just this country but the world, his essence remained unchanged.
A warrior.
A breed that reaffirmed the meaning of life by facing strong enemies.
The man named William was still lacking in many ways, but he was a talent whose future held great promise.
So how could he not rejoice at finding a worthy adversary?
But this was strictly a matter of his mood.
“…Things have gotten complicated.”
The fact that his plan had gone awry remained unchanged.
Within his own country, his presence had long since surpassed that of the State Chairman.
It was clear that the nation would fall into his hands someday.
However, the failure of this plan had merely delayed that time.
A few of his other plans had already been derailed by outside interference.
He could not afford any more delays.
Just as he was momentarily considering whether to raise an army and take the country by force…
Knock, knock!
Someone knocked on the door.
“General, you have a visitor.”
“Who is it?”
“Someone from the Black Market.”
“…The Black Market?”
The Black Market.
Currently, the Black Market and the rest of the underworld were in a state of constant upheaval due to shifting power dynamics.
For someone from the underworld to visit at a time like this, it was obvious who it would be.
It had to be the very person causing that upheaval.
“Let him in.”
No sooner had he spoken than the door opened and a man walked in.
He was a scrawny man, wearing a black beanie pulled down just above his eyebrows.
He was so thin that his cheeks were sunken, making his cheekbones protrude sharply.
Just as Lu Bu’s eyes were about to narrow at the man’s sickly appearance…
The man bowed his head respectfully and offered a greeting.
“Greetings, General.”
His voice was unusually thin for a man and had a cunning feel to it.
“I am Pam, the master of the Adrenaline Clan, active in the underworld.”
Clan.
It was what the active underworld figures and villains in China called their groups.
And Adrenaline was the clan currently causing the biggest stir in the underworld.
They were the main players in the ongoing upheaval.
“For a rat of the underworld, you’ve got some nerve showing your face to me.”
This was an incredibly brave—no, reckless—act.
The only reason Lu Bu interfered with the government’s subjugation of the underworld was to erode the public’s trust in the government.
It wasn’t out of concern for the underworld factions.
Quite the opposite.
Lu Bu intended to step in and crush the underworld forces himself after the government’s operation failed.
That way, the government would fall, and he could naturally swallow them whole.
“Your courage is commendable, so I’ll hear you out.”
The moment he finished speaking, the man who had introduced himself as Pam opened his mouth.
“I’ve heard the government is planning an operation to subjugate us.”
Lu Bu’s brow furrowed slightly.
“…Where did you pick that up?”
Pam just smiled, evading the sharp question.
“For guys like us to survive, we have to be quick on our feet, don’t we?”
This wasn’t information one could obtain just by being quick-witted.
It was an operation the current government was carrying out in top secret.
Even Lu Bu himself had only managed to catch wind of it by a thread.
How could the target of the subjugation have acquired that information in advance?
The answer was obvious.
This operation was known only to a very small number of people within the government.
That meant one of those few had ties to them.
Shaking his head at the grim reality, Lu Bu thought.
“The state of this country is pathetic.”
He couldn’t help but lament.
Even as the nation was endangered by the excessive expansion of the underworld forces they had accepted, there was still some fool leaking information to the very targets of subjugation to line their own pockets.
He let out a small sigh and warned Pam.
“Hurry up and tell me why you came to see me. My patience is wearing thin.”
“Please lend us the support of the soldiers under your command, General.”
Lu Bu scowled at the direct request for help.
“Are you asking me to join hands with you?”
“If you would, we couldn’t ask for more… but if you’re not inclined, how about considering it a temporary deal?”
A deal.
Slightly intrigued, he asked.
“Tell me what I get out of it.”
“You want the government’s operation to fail, do you not?”
He meant that if Lu Bu provided support, they would ensure the government’s operation failed.
Lu Bu scoffed at the absurd offer.
If their only opponent was the government, they might have a chance at victory.
The current government had been in power for so long that it was corrupt to the core.
But this time, it was impossible.
“The government has already joined hands with Korea, Japan, and the Vatican. Do you really think you can survive against all of them?”
“If our organization and you, General, join forces, it’s more than possible.”
He grew curious.
What was the basis for their confidence that they could defeat a subjugation force formed by four nations—Korea, China, Japan, and the Vatican?
“Give me your reasoning.”
At Lu Bu’s firm demand, Pam took a pill from his inner pocket and showed it to him.
It was none other than Red God’s Might, the drug created with Lu Bu’s aura.
“I’ve heard you’ve been having difficulties improving Red God’s Might recently.”
“…So?”
Lu Bu reacted sharply as Pam pointed out his most recent headache.
Pam replied.
“We will help you with the improvements.”
“……”
An offer that was hard to refuse had been thrown his way.
* * *
While Kim Do-jin was suddenly away in China, Shin Yu-jeong had been deep in thought.
And today, she finally put an end to her worries.
Perhaps later—no, perhaps very soon—she would come to regret this choice.
But for now, it was an undeniably attractive option.
“…Fuck, I don’t know anymore.”
It was partly an act of desperation.
She was afraid of the world’s judgment, but what could she do?
She and Kim Do-jin were both already doing things that went against common sense.
Whether she took one more step or not, it was all unconventional anyway.
With that thought, Shin Yu-jeong left her room and stood before her mother, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV.
“Mom.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s form an alliance.”
It was the moment just before the birth of a blood alliance, one bound by true, shared blood.