Chapter 138
Chapter 138
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Tamrangseong (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“T-Tamrangseong?!”
Ha-eun’s eyes shot open, her jaw dropped.
Tamrangseong, Cheon Sang-gil.
The ruler of the Ganghwa Island Special Administrative Zone, a city commonly known as ‘Paradise.’
For the undisputed strongest Awakened in Korea, one of the top ten in the world, to come looking for Oh-jin…
And not by sending a subordinate guild member or an attendant, but Tamrangseong himself, in person.
“Why would Tamrangseong be looking for Oh-jin…?”
While Ha-eun stared blankly, alternating between Cheon Sang-gil’s and Oh-jin’s faces.
Cheon Sang-gil approached Oh-jin with a leisurely stride.
“Even if I am an old man on his deathbed, my hearing hasn't failed me yet. I’ve heard many stories about Noerang.”
“I’m honored.”
Oh-jin bowed his head respectfully and took the hand Cheon Sang-gil offered.
A clear energy flowed from his wrinkled palm.
It was mana as pure and clean as distilled water, without a single impurity.
‘Is he some kind of true sage?’
He had seen many Awakened until now, but he had never encountered mana this refined.
“I came because I wanted to have a word with you. Do you have a moment?”
“Of course.”
He didn’t know what the man wanted to talk about.
But this was a member of the Chilseong, coming in person. He couldn’t exactly turn him away, claiming to be busy.
‘Tamrangseong.’
For the superman whose name he’d heard until his ears bled to come seeking him out personally…
It made him think the influence of the name ‘Noerang’ was greater than he had anticipated.
“Thank you. I’ve arranged a place, so please follow me.”
Cheon Sang-gil turned with a faint smile.
“Hey, Oh-jin, is it okay for me to go too?”
“Well, it should be fine. It’s not like he asked to see me alone.”
With Ha-eun, he followed Cheon Sang-gil.
The place he led them to was a quiet teahouse built in the traditional Korean hanok style.
It was a shop so luxurious and magnificent that it felt like a Joseon Dynasty palace had been dropped into the middle of Seoul.
‘What kind of teahouse is this big?’
It was a shop so extravagant you’d wonder if they could cover the maintenance costs even if they were brewing opium instead of tea leaves.
“First, let’s have a cup of tea. Is there any kind you’d like?”
“I don’t know much about tea.”
“Then I’ll order something suitable.”
When Cheon Sang-gil lightly rang the bell on the table, a sliding door opened, and a waitress in a beautiful hanbok entered.
“Three cups of Yuseongcha, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
Yuseongcha?
Was there a tea with such a name?
“It's a tea brewed from leaves grown with fertilizer mixed with finely ground Sacred Stones. Not only is the taste excellent, but it also helps the circulation of mana in the body.”
“…”
He didn’t know what it was, but it sounded so absurdly expensive it made his jaw drop.
*Screech.*
After a short wait, the door opened, and a waitress came in carrying teacups from which steam was gently rising.
“Thank you for the tea.”
Oh-jin took a sip of the faintly blue-tinted tea.
A refreshing minty fragrance filled his mouth, and he felt his head clear.
“Is the tea to your liking?”
“Yes. It feels like my head is clearing up.”
“I’m glad.”
Cheon Sang-gil smiled benevolently and took a sip of his tea.
Ha-eun, sitting beside him, hesitantly followed Oh-jin’s lead and drank the tea, her eyes widening before she gulped down the rest in one go.
That's not beer, Nunna.
“The reason I came to see you is, first and foremost, to express my gratitude.”
“Pardon?”
Gratitude?
He couldn’t recall doing anything that would earn him thanks from Cheon Sang-gil.
“You stopped my foolish younger brother before he could commit even more heinous crimes, so it is only right that I offer my thanks.”
“…”
“Pfft!!! W-what? Younger brother?”
Ha-eun, who had sneakily taken a sip of Oh-jin’s tea, sprayed it everywhere as she stared at Cheon Sang-gil.
There was no need to wonder who the ‘younger brother’ Cheon Sang-gil was referring to.
“…You were brothers with Cheon Do-yoon?”
“Though we weren't exactly on speaking terms.”
Cheon Sang-gil drank his Yuseongcha with a bitter expression.
“To be honest, until recently, I didn’t even know my brother was alive. Eight years… no, it’s already been nine. Forgive me, I’m old and my sense of time gets confused.”
*Clink.*
He set down his teacup and continued.
“I lost contact with Do-yoon after the gate to the Demon Realm opened in the North Pole. I naturally assumed he was dead…”
“You found out he was alive this time.”
“That’s right. And also that he had become an Executor of the Heukseonghoe and was committing terrible deeds.”
Cheon Sang-gil’s eyes glinted coldly.
‘So that’s why the Cheonhye Guild made a move during the Owl extermination operation.’
To think that was the reason they, who rarely ventured outside of Paradise, had suddenly taken action.
“I intended to punish my foolish brother myself before he could commit more sins… but unfortunately, he managed to escape somewhere.”
Cheon Sang-gil let out a deep sigh.
“It was then that I heard your story. That’s why I came to personally offer my gratitude.”
The fact that Oh-jin had fought and defeated Cheon Do-yoon wasn’t publicly known.
But it seemed it couldn’t escape the Cheonhye Guild’s information network.
“Thank you. You’ve done what this foolish old man should have done.”
Cheon Sang-gil stood up and bowed his head deeply.
Oh-jin carefully studied his expression, wondering if he knew about the Gaecheon skill he had used during the fight with Cheon Do-yoon, but there was no sign of it.
“Not at all. I was just doing what had to be done.”
“Haha! Indeed, you are a young man worthy of the title of hero.”
It seemed Cheon Sang-gil was under the impression that he had punished Cheon Do-yoon out of some burning sense of justice.
In reality, he hadn’t fought for justice, but simply because Cheon Do-yoon had messed with Ha-eun.
‘All the better.’
There’s no title more useful than ‘hero.’
Humans are instinctively drawn to ‘good people.’
No, to be precise.
‘They’re drawn to those they *think* are good.’
The truth doesn’t matter.
Only what feels like the truth is important.
“It’s nothing compared to the Chilseong.”
“That is too grand a title for this old man.”
Cheon Sang-gil sat back down.
“No. I’ve heard so much about Tamrangseong-nim’s great achievements that my ears are about to fall off.”
In truth, he had little interest in the Chilseong, so he didn’t know much about what achievements Tamrangseong had made.
The only thing he really knew was the story of how he came to be called Tamrangseong.
Oh-jin exclaimed with feigned excitement.
“The high-ranking Awakened of Capricorn who freely commands sound! There isn’t a person in the world who doesn’t know the story of how you subdued thousands of monsters that poured out of a gate six years ago and attacked people indiscriminately with a single whistle!”
“A-ahem. I-is that so?”
I don't know.
But it’s a damn famous story.
Even I, who couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the Chilseong, know about it.
“To Koreans, Cheon Sang-gil-nim is a hero they deeply admire.”
“Hoho. That’s enough. I’m so embarrassed I can’t lift my head.”
Despite his words, an undeniable smile graced Cheon Sang-gil’s lips.
As expected, even if he’s one of the Chilseong, he’s still human.
“So… did you come to see me just to offer your thanks?”
Surely a member of the Chilseong wouldn’t just say thanks and leave it at that, right?
“That’s the main reason, yes. Ah, of course, I have no intention of just leaving it at words. I’ve naturally prepared a fitting reward.”
“Oh, no!”
Yes! This is it, goddammit!
“Just meeting a hero I admire is more than enough for me!”
I don't know what you've prepared, but hurry up and show me.
“It’s this.”
“You really don’t have to do this…”
This is exactly what I needed most.
“Hoo. Well, I can’t ignore the sincerity you’ve shown. I will accept it gratefully.”
Spouting words he didn’t mean, he opened the small box Cheon Sang-gil handed him.
Inside was a rectangular card that looked like a passport.
“It’s an admission ticket to Paradise.”
“Ah… yes.”
Oh-jin nodded, his expression one of clear disappointment.
The admission ticket to Paradise, something you could get if you paid 10 billion won.
He might have been tempted in the past, but now, it wasn’t a particularly interesting item.
“Well, in this case, it would be more accurate to call it an invitation.”
“An invitation?”
“I would like to invite you to Paradise.”
Paradise.
It was such a veiled place that he had wanted to visit at least once.
“I’m sorry, but I have other things I need to take care of.”
Right now, unsealing Vega was his priority.
“There’s no need to rush. Please come visit when you have the time. I believe it will be a good experience for you.”
“Yes, I understand. I will visit you later.”
There was no reason to refuse the invitation when he put it like that.
“By the way, may I ask what this business you need to attend to is?”
“That is…”
After a moment of thought, Oh-jin narrowed his eyes and answered.
“I have some business in Japan.”
“Japan… Are you going to hunt the ‘Seahorse’?”
As expected.
He knew about the Hippocampus faction.
“In that case, you should meet this fellow.”
Cheon Sang-gil lightly tapped the table, and an attendant in a modified hanbok appeared from somewhere, offering a piece of paper and a pen.
He took the pen and wrote down a contact number on the paper as if wielding a brush.
“He’s an Awakened I have some connection with. His personality is a bit… unique, but he should be of help to you.”
The name written on the contact info was ‘Sakaki Ryo.’
“Thank you. I’ll try contacting him.”
To hunt the Hippocampus faction in earnest, he needed to build connections with the locals anyway.
An Awakened connected to none other than Tamrangseong should be trustworthy.
“Well then, this old man will take his leave. Ah, I’ve already taken care of the bill, so please have a meal with your girlfriend. The Hanjeongsik here is quite famous for that.”
“That?”
Cheon Sang-gil looked back and forth between Oh-jin and Ha-eun with a mischievous grin.
He puckered his wrinkled lips slightly and whistled.
—Vitality, my boy, vitality!
A voice echoed in his head.
It was a cry that was hard to believe came from Cheon Sang-gil, who had the appearance of an enlightened sage or a mountain spirit.
‘What the.’
What kind of nonsense was this old man spouting all of a sudden?
—Huhu. Try it once, and you’ll be in for a surprise tonight. A pillar of fire will just shoot right up!
Cheon Sang-gil raised a clenched fist high into the air.
‘Don’t, you bastard.’
He hastily glanced at Ha-eun, but it seemed the voice was only audible to him, as she showed no particular reaction.
As Oh-jin stared at him with an incredulous expression.
“Hahaha! It seems this old man got a bit carried away!”
Cheon Sang-gil burst into hearty laughter and stood up.
*Screech.*
Just before he opened the sliding door and left.
“Ah, one last thing…”
He looked back at Oh-jin, his face suddenly devoid of laughter.
—Beware of the snake.
Along with the low voice that echoed in his mind.
The sliding door closed.
“…A snake.”
Muttering the ominous name that seemed to cling to him stickily, Oh-jin shook the bell on the table.
“Yes, I’ll take your order.”
“I’d like the Hanjeongsik course.”
The full course.