Chapter 277
Chapter 277
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 277
Chapter Title: Kingmaker (6)
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Just like the Gold Dragon Hall Master, who had beaten his son like a dog and banished him, the Blue Dragon and Gray Dragon Hall Masters also acted swiftly.
First, the Gray Dragon Hall sent the perpetrator to apologize directly to the victim, while also paying a substantial amount in compensation.
They also explained why the initial punishment had been so light, and it was a plausible excuse.
The resulting chronic illness wasn't immediately apparent, so they hadn't realized the full extent of the damage.
In modern times, one would have gone straight to the hospital for a check-up, but in a world without even X-rays, let alone CT scans, it was understandable that they couldn't have known.
The Blue Dragon Hall Master sentenced his two junior martial brothers, both elders, to wall-gazing punishment for violating their duty to maintain dignity.
Honestly, this was a bit unfair.
It wasn't an era where visiting gambling dens and brothels was illegal, and the Blue Dragon Hall wasn't a Taoist sect like the Black Dragon Hall.
The reason they still brought it up was simple: it was the only dirt they could find after digging thoroughly.
Truly befitting the most elite group in Nine Dragons Fortress.
In any case, these swift actions managed to halt the decline in the candidates' approval ratings.
‘Even after all that, we’re still not in first place by a landslide…?’
The Blue Dragon Hall’s approval rating is 28%, Gold Dragon Hall’s is 22%, Gray Dragon Hall’s is 20%, and ours is 30%.
These were the results from the latest Hao Gallup poll.
It seemed the support the Gold Dragon Hall had lost was split evenly between the Blue Dragon Hall and us.
‘The field of three main competitors has effectively shrunk to one. I guess we’ve done pretty well?’
But it seemed the Red Dragon Hall Master thought differently.
Bang.
“M-Mujeon!”
He had rushed over to the War Dragon Hall with an urgent expression.
And this was after I had warned him so many times to keep his distance until the election was over.
“…Good grief, I would have come to you if you’d just waited. What brings you all the way here?”
“I would have waited if I were in any state to wait!”
After catching his breath, the Red Dragon Hall Master asked again.
“W-what is going on? We caused such a commotion, so why is the effect so minimal?!”
“Why else? It means the actions of the three Hall Masters were just that drastic. The Gold Dragon Hall Master kicked out his own son, and the Blue Dragon Hall Master locked up two of his martial brothers in the Wall-Gazing Cave. The Gray Dragon Hall Master even went to apologize to the victim in person. None of those were easy decisions, were they?”
“…T-then what should we do?”
“What are you so worried about? You’ll win as long as we stick to the plan.”
“Because I’m anxious…”
The Red Dragon Hall Master’s eyes darted around.
“Sigh…”
To think the man called the greatest killing sword under heaven could be so timid.
I have no idea how he managed to go out on killing sprees in his youth.
“Have you prepared that thing?”
“That thing…?”
“Your platform. Didn’t I tell you to prepare it in advance?”
“Ah, I have. Give me a brush and ink. I’ll write it down and show you now.”
“You could just tell me…”
“Aren’t we going to make posters or hand out flyers anyway? It’ll be clearer if I write it down.”
“Then do as you please.”
I handed him paper and a brush, and he began to write with a swift, fluid hand.
He looked quite serious, as if he’d put a lot of thought into it.
‘Well…’
The Red Dragon Hall recently recruited more people, bringing its numbers to over three hundred. There was no way not a single one of them was smart.
Take Jeok Il, for example. Wasn’t he a talent known for his cool-headed judgment?
“Here, have a look.”
I nodded and waited as the Red Dragon Hall Master handed me the paper with his platform written on it.
Riiip.
After reading only the first line, I tore the paper to shreds.
“W-what, why would you…”
“Are you kidding me right now? If you become the Vice Lord, you’ll kill someone for them, one time only? Are you insane?”
“B-but I wrote that it’s only for those who have committed evil deeds…”
His utterly dumbfounding reply made my sense of disbelief soar to the heavens.
“Everyone has someone they want to kill in their lifetime… and they suffer injustices…”
“No.”
I take it back. I was the idiot for trusting the Red Dragon Hall.
“If killing is too much, how about cutting off a limb and crippling them?”
“Sigh.”
A sigh escaped me at the sight of this dreadful result and his pathetic line of thinking.
There was no way I could distribute a platform like this. One wrong move and the benevolent image we’d worked so hard to create would vanish into thin air.
“It seems we’ll have to create a new platform.”
Since it has come to this, I have no choice. I’ll have to make it myself.
“I’ll contact you when I’m done, so please rest at your residence.”
“Thank you.”
He really is a handful.
* * *
Back in my past life, during my sixth-grade year at elementary school.
I, famous for my tall tales and doorbell-ditching, bribed a friend with some snacks to nominate me for class president.
“I nominate Hojun for class president! Because he’s a good talker and a fast runner.”
My mom had promised to buy me a PlayStation if I became class president.
Hearing this, my teacher wrote my name on the blackboard with a sour expression and said.
“The class president should be someone who studies well and is well-behaved. Do you think he can do it?”
Thinking back now, that man was truly ridiculous.
I mean, where in the world do you discriminate based on grades?
John, who was first in class, was his student, and so was I, who ranked 30th out of 45.
But that was the late 90s, an era known as the jungle.
If I argued with the teacher, I could get a slap across the face, so I had no choice but to swallow my indignation.
And so, the candidates for class president were finalized, and the speeches began.
There were two other competitors.
“If. I. Become. Class president. I will. Work hard. For our. Class…”
The kids all pleaded with their classmates to vote for them in a tone that sounded like it came from a speech academy.
But I was different.
“If I become class president, I’ll make cola come out of the water fountain!”
It was a revolutionary promise I had come up with after thinking all night.
Of course.
“Aargh! Ack! Why are you hitting me?!”
“You crazy little bastard! Does that even make any sense?!”
My plan was thwarted by the violent teacher’s punishment, but still.
Thanks to the intense buzz it created, I succeeded in becoming class president.
To keep my promise, even in a small way, I spent all the money I had saved to treat the class to hamburgers and cola. This also preemptively shut down any potential complaints.
The problem was, my mom looked up the price of a PlayStation and refused to buy it, saying it was too expensive.
Worse, when I argued about it, I got beaten with a wooden broom and kicked out of the house.
It truly was the age of the jungle.
But thanks to that experience, I learned a valuable lesson: ‘elections are all about creating a buzz.’
And this very moment was the time to put that lesson to use.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“Hah, to think my grandson-in-law was a madman… How lamentable.”
In response to the questions from Yong Ma-san and the Red Dragon Hall Master after they reviewed the poster with the platform, I answered immediately.
“This will be the climax of this election.”
“The c-climax?”
“It’s a thing. Just go with it.”
“Still, don’t you think this is a bit too much?”
Yong Ma-san frowned as he examined the platform poster.
To be honest, I expected this reaction.
After all, the platform was just that well-crafted.
‘It’s brilliant, even looking at it again.’
[A New Nine Dragons, a Clean Nine Dragons. Candidate #2, Jeok Sa-jung, will make it happen.]
Platform.
1. Tax cuts for the poor.
2. 50% discount on tuition for the Black Dragon Martial Academy (for those who later get employed by Nine Dragons Fortress or are enlisted as reserve warriors).
3. Violent criminals will be sentenced to forced labor in the mines and farms directly managed by Nine Dragons Fortress (minimum 1 year, maximum 10 years, regardless of status).
4. Double the number of Outer Hall warriors to ensure public safety.
5. Operate soup kitchens for the poor.
…
20. Double the size of the outer fortress of Nine Dragons Fortress.
Twenty promises, each one a gem.
But the Red Dragon Hall Master thought differently.
“The problem is whether we can keep all these promises…”
His timid remark naturally drew a scolding from me.
“How long is the Vice Lord’s term?”
“What term? I can step down whenever I want.”
“Doesn’t that mean you can do it until you die?”
“W-well, yes.”
“And how many more years do you plan on living, Hall Master?”
“When you get old, you should die quickly…”
“D-don’t lie. Please answer honestly.”
“I-I think I’ll live for at least another twenty years…”
“Then you can just accomplish one per year. And a master like you will only live another twenty years? I’d say at least thirty. You’re not even seventy yet…”
“Ahem…”
“And if you can’t do it, you can’t do it. You don’t need to worry about it too much.”
“...Wouldn’t that be fraud?”
“Just try. Then no one can say anything. What can you do about things that are realistically impossible?”
And honestly, no one will even remember these promises by the end of his term.
They’re too busy trying to make a living. How many people would pay attention to campaign promises?
Especially in a world where the average life expectancy is less than fifty.
“Hmm… It’s true, the common folk do have a habit of forgetting quickly.”
Yong Ma-san nodded.
But the Red Dragon Hall Master’s will was ignited.
“…No. I will try.”
“Pardon?”
“It is the path laid out for me by the grandson-in-law who will make me Vice Lord. Shouldn’t I at least try to walk it?”
“No.”
Still with the grandson-in-law thing.
I really wish he would just give up.
“Ahem, it won’t be easy to get the budget for all of this from the Grand Chancellor, you know?”
“Don’t worry too much. If the fortress’s funds are insufficient, I can use my personal wealth. I have that much money. It’s all thanks to you.”
“…”
Looking at his confident face, I thought.
‘Well, he’ll figure it out.’
* * *
From the next day’s dawn, the warriors of the Red Dragon Hall scoured every corner of Nine Dragons Fortress.
They had one purpose.
To put up posters detailing the Red Dragon Hall’s platform.
And the effect was tremendous.
Murmur, murmur.
“Is he really going to do all that?”
“He says he’ll sentence violent criminals to labor reform, regardless of their status…”
“Hah! To think he cares so much for the poor… I never knew he was such a warm-hearted person.”
“What are you all doing! Spread the news quickly!”
“Yes, yes!”
The common people began to spread rumors about the platform, one after another.
Thanks to this, the Red Dragon Hall Master’s approval rating skyrocketed with each passing day.
It could only be described as a whirlwind.
Naturally, the rival candidates began to put forth similar promises, but the effect was minimal.
It wasn’t because they were late to the game.
‘Hehehe. They’re doing a good job.’
It was because the men from the Underworld Network were going around tearing down their posters.
In modern times, vandalizing election posters would be illegal, but not here.
They were even disguised as commoners, so they wouldn’t get caught. Even if someone spotted them tearing one down, they could just say they were taking it to show the neighborhood, and people would have to let it slide.
It was a little cheap… no. On second thought, it wasn’t cheap at all.
Like shameless copycats, the other candidates stole the platform I created. They were the ones in the wrong first.
This could be considered a legitimate exercise of the copyright holder’s rights.
Five days later.
Hubbub.
“Form a line!”
“Anyone who cuts in line will be sent to the very back!”
Finally, it was voting day.