Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Triumphant Return (4)
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When it was time to honor the one with the highest merit, the Lord of the Fortress rose.
It seemed he intended to bestow the award himself.
However, the reward that came from his lips far exceeded my expectations.
“Tell me what you desire.”
It was, for all intents and purposes, a blank check.
A rush of excitement made my pupils and nostrils dilate, and dopamine flooded my brain.
*Ding, ding, ding…*
Just as the sound of a casino slot machine hitting the jackpot rang like an auditory hallucination in my ears…
‘Wait a minute, this is…’
I have to choose carefully, don’t I?
The moment I realized this was a more difficult problem than I’d thought, my excitement instantly subsided.
If I demanded something absurdly large and got rejected, it would be worse than not asking at all. But if I asked for something small, I would be chewing on regret for the rest of my life.
‘Hmm… Should I just ask for ten thousand nyang?’
In modern terms, that was worth ten billion won.
I briefly flicked an abacus in my mind, but it didn't seem likely.
‘Is that too much?’
No matter how great my contribution, he wouldn’t just hand over ten billion won.
‘Should I ask for treasure instead of money, even if it’s less liquid? Maybe I should see what others ask for first?’
As I was deep in thought, mulling over my options…
“I wish to receive the iron mine west of Mount Guryong.”
The Iron Ore Hall Master spoke, his expression like that of a gym rat who had just discovered a gym full of new equipment.
He had chosen a reward that was just like him.
‘The iron mine west of Mount Guryong has vast deposits and is highly profitable to excavate. It’s worth at least five thousand nyang, conservatively.’
In other words, if he granted that, it meant asking for ten thousand nyang would be acceptable.
*Nod.*
“So be it.”
At the Lord’s ready approval, I silently repeated the words ‘ten thousand nyang’ in my mind.
Next came Adept Inhyeon’s request.
“I wish that you would release the rice stores so that no one starves this winter.”
“I will release twenty thousand seok in the name of the Black Dragon Hall. Are you satisfied?”
*Nod.*
Once again, the Lord readily agreed.
‘Twenty thousand seok of rice is roughly ten thousand nyang.’
If this goes well…
I might be able to leave the Nine Dragons Fortress very soon.
*Thump, thump.*
My heart began to race again.
However, there was someone ready to throw a wrench in the works…
“Just give me some alcohol.”
It was Bukgung Baek.
“...?”
“...?”
“...?”
The three of us standing in the same spot stared at him with eyes full of doubt. His words were so absurd it felt like the natural reaction.
The Lord was just as dumbfounded.
The man, who rarely showed any change in expression, even furrowed his brow.
“This is a formal conferment of merits.”
“I don’t need it, so just give me alcohol.”
“Are you mad?”
“As you can see, I am perfectly sane.”
“It seems you didn’t get hit enough last time.”
“Don’t you remember getting a nosebleed yourself, my Lord?”
“And you were laid up for a fortnight.”
“...I went easy on you because you’re my father’s friend.”
“I went easy on you because you’re my friend’s son, and now you’re getting insolent.”
My goodness.
To argue with the Lord in front of nearly a hundred people.
I had suspected for a while that Bukgung Baek might be crazy, but this was beyond simple madness.
As everyone stood there with their jaws agape, the Lord made a unilateral decision.
“You will have no reward. Instead, I will give it all to this man.”
“Do as you please.”
He pointed directly at me, declaring he would give me the reward.
‘What a windfall!’
A two-for-one deal.
This was the jackpot of all jackpots.
I looked at Bukgung Baek with a heart full of gratitude.
‘For as long as I remain in the Nine Dragons Fortress, I will treat you as my benefactor.’
Thanks to him, I could become rich in an instant.
Finally.
“Well, what is it you desire?”
The Lord asked me.
*Thump, thump.*
My heart pounded.
After taking a small, deep breath, I spoke with as much confidence as I could muster.
“Hehe, this humble one would be eternally grateful for just some money.”
“Money? Very well, how much do you need?”
“I was thinking… around twenty thousand nyang should be sufficient…”
“That is a hefty sum.”
“I-If that’s too difficult, eighteen thousand nyang… no, fifteen thousand nyang would be fine as well.”
*Smirk.*
A small smile touched the Lord’s lips as he looked at the Grand Chancellor.
“What are your thoughts?”
The Grand Chancellor replied in a business-like tone.
“It is indeed a large sum, but considering Squad Leader Jin’s merits, it is a justifiable amount. However, the purpose of this ceremony is to foster a sense of belonging among the warriors of the Nine Dragons Fortress. A purely monetary reward would tarnish that meaning. Therefore, I believe it is right to grant him something of equivalent value.”
The Lord gave a slight nod and said.
“So he says. How about something else?”
It felt like I had hit a snag just when things were going so well.
‘This ruins everything…’
But I wasn’t one to give up here.
If I had to receive an item instead of money, I would just have to get something more expensive.
As I worked my brain’s left and right hemispheres like a dual-core CPU, I recalled a conversation I’d had with Jeok Hwa-ran.
‘Ah! That’s right. She said, ‘If the Lord asks what you want, say you want land.’’
Jeok Hwa-ran was from the Red Dragon Hall.
She must have known something when she said that.
‘I’m trusting you, Hwa-ran.’
*Gulp.*
“Th-Then I would like to receive some land.”
I said, swallowing nervously. The Lord nodded.
“Land, you say…”
The Grand Chancellor interjected into the Lord’s musings.
“As it happens, there is a fine location available. It is far, but it is a piece of land that was once valued at one hundred thousand nyang.”
*Pfft.*
The Lord let out a small laugh.
“Looks like this fellow hit the jackpot. Give him that.”
“Understood.”
*Tremble, tremble.*
Hearing their conversation, I couldn’t control the shaking in my body.
‘O-One hundred thousand nyang!’
I would have been grateful for twenty thousand, but one hundred thousand!
The amount was so enormous that I was completely stunned.
*Thud.*
Unable to watch me stand there blankly, Bukgung Baek nudged me in the back.
I finally snapped out of it, quickly dropping to my knees and bowing my head.
“This grace! I shall carve it into my bones and pledge my loyalty for all my life!”
“...”
All hail Jeok Hwa-ran.
After the conferment ceremony concluded, on the way back to the Outer Hall headquarters.
I rushed to the Hall of All Things to receive the land deed.
‘I have to at least check where the land is.’
After checking the deed, I couldn’t help but be surprised.
‘What is this?’
The location recorded on the document was Hanzhong, which until recently had been a battlefield.
To find out the more detailed location, I read the deed several times, but it was only filled with vague descriptions.
This was the limitation of the martial arts world, where the concept of a cadastral map didn’t exist.
“Hmm.”
This wouldn’t do.
I would have to go and see it with my own eyes.
***
“Hmm… You’re taking a vacation?”
When I met with Vice Hall Master Ga Rip for the first time in a while to request a leave of absence, he wore a troubled expression.
“Is that not allowed?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
He pointed to his perfectly fine face and frowned.
“Look at this haggard face! Do you know how busy I was while you were gone? The war is over, and just when I thought things would finally quiet down, you want to take a vacation. Isn’t that a bit much?”
His argument was persuasive enough that I couldn’t easily respond.
In the Outer Hall, Ga Rip’s role was to schedule and command all squads except for the First Squad.
My job was to command the First Squad, which handled disputes and violent incidents between martial artists, and to dispatch and apprehend criminals in case of unexpected events.
In other words, during my absence, Ga Rip had to handle his own work plus these two additional duties.
On top of that, he would have had to deal with a mountain of paperwork, so he must have had a very busy time.
Of course.
‘Even so, you probably only worked six hours a day…’
It was obvious that he had only worked half as much as anyone else.
Still, the justification was on his side, so it was difficult to press for a vacation.
‘Hmm… I have no choice.’
In the end, I decided to pull out the trump card I had prepared.
“...It’s been so long since I’ve seen the faces of my bear-like wife and fox-like children at home… Huh? What’s that?”
“Ahem, it’s nothing much, just something Miss Cheong made that I brought along. I figured you must have had a hard time while I was away.”
“That thing…?”
“You know what it is. That thing that’s very useful at night. Ahem, it’s embarrassing to say it out loud. Oh! I heard they call Miss Cheong the Divine Maiden Cheonghwa in the market.”
“D-Don’t tell me! Is it the legendary Nine-Night Vigor, the pill that lets you go nine times?”
That was right.
What I brought was a kind of virility enhancer made by Cheong So-so.
It was originally a Blood Replenishing Pill made for patients who lacked blood, but a very welcome side effect of boosting virility was discovered during treatment, and now it was used as a restorative and aphrodisiac pill.
I had secretly stolen it from Cheong So-so’s clinic last night.
‘I’ll deal with the scolding later.’
Getting the vacation right now was what mattered.
“Hehe, that’s right. It’s so labor-intensive to make that only about five pills can be made a month.”
Indeed.
The ingredients were quite ordinary, but the manufacturing process was so arduous that mass production was impossible.
If it were possible, Cheong So-so would be sitting on a pile of money by now.
“Ooh! Such a precious item! With this, I’ll be able to stand tall before my wife. Ah, of course, I already do, but still.”
Ga Rip rejoiced and reached out his hand, and I placed what I had brought onto his palm.
“Huh? But why is there only one pill? I thought I saw at least ten…”
“Ahem, as you know, it’s incredibly hard to come by. I have to share the rest with others here and there.”
“Goodness! My dear man. Don’t be like that…”
“Well then, I’ll be on my way. Since I couldn’t get a vacation, I should go out and work, shouldn’t I?”
The moment I slowly started to rise, an urgent voice called out.
“Ah, alright! I’ll give you a vacation! Is three days enough?”
“...”
“Seven days! I’ll give you seven days!”
“...”
“A fortnight! No more than that!”
“...”
“*Keuk!*”
***
“Making such a fuss over a simple unpaid vacation…”
In the end, I succeeded in purchasing a month of unpaid leave with ten Nine-Night Vigor pills and headed straight home.
“Oh my? You’re back early.”
“Yeah, I have to go to Hanzhong…”
“What? To Hanzhong, all of a sudden?”
I told Myo Hyang about the conferment of merits that took place today.
“Oh my! Really?”
“I’m serious. That’s why I want to check it out myself. They said it’s worth a hundred thousand nyang, so I have to see it with my own eyes.”
“Then I’ll go with you.”
“You too? Why?”
“You don’t know much about land, do you? You’re supposed to take an expert with you for things like this.”
“...Are you an expert?”
“Don’t you remember? I stepped in and sold Heuk Sa-ro’s house for two and a half times its value.”
“That’s because Hall Master Bukgung bought it…”
“Hmph! You don’t trust me?”
“...Fine, do as you wish.”
Well, it was true that she knew more about it than I did.
When I allowed her to join, Myo Hyang was thrilled.
“Really? So we’re going together?”
However, besides Myo Hyang, there was someone else who wanted to join this trip.
“How could you steal the pills?!”
“Ugh!”
“I can’t believe you! Do you have any idea how hard they are to make?!”
“...Sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, then take me with you.”
It was Cheong So-so.
“What about the clinic?”
“Is there a law that says I have to work all the time? I’ll take this opportunity to get some rest.”
“No. I can’t allow it.”
“Are you discriminating against me right now?”
“The clinic’s income will drop.”
“Hmph, says the person who steals pills in the middle of the night.”
Faced with my firm attitude, Cheong So-so bit her lip and said.
“Fine. Then even if I go, you have to make the pills you stole before you leave. Otherwise, I’ll shut down the clinic indefinitely.”
“...”
In the end, faced with the ultimate move of shutting down her business, I had no choice but to allow Cheong So-so to join.
‘Ah… this is going to be tiring…’