Chapter 162
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: Truly Regrettable
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Moon Cheonyeop swallowed dryly.
Whether it was ruining the life of some musician who got on his nerves or exploiting a rival's weakness to drag them down into ruin...
He'd pulled out all the stops to become a true power player in the WIM Guild, but even so, it had all been just an extension of business.
He'd never touched truly dangerous crimes.
After all, the potential rewards from crime paled in comparison to everything he'd stand to lose if he got caught.
That was why.
Why he couldn't hide his tension right now.
"I've brought what was promised."
"Do you want to die?"
"W-what?"
"If you don't want to die, then shut up and hand it over. That's all you need to do."
"...!"
Moon Cheonyeop ground his teeth.
As a key figure in the WIM Guild, he'd always been the one dishing out disdain, never on the receiving end. This humiliation was almost too much to bear.
But he didn't dare snap back.
As a high-level player, he could tell.
Her words weren't mere bluster. He had to swallow his pride here.
With that, he handed over the briefcase he'd brought.
Then he shot up from his seat.
"I've kept my end of the deal. So you make damn sure to handle your side properly!"
The woman shrouded in a thick coat and scarf—leaving only her eyes exposed—known as Tata, said nothing.
She merely stared at him with cold eyes.
Moon Cheonyeop flinched under that gaze but forced himself to act dignified as he exited the bar.
'Damn it all. Who the hell does that crazy bitch's errand boy think he is, talking to me like that!'
The moment he stepped out of the bar.
Moon Cheonyeop bolted down the alley like he was fleeing for his life.
All the while cursing Tata inwardly for daring to humiliate him.
'Just you wait. If you don't handle this right, I swear I'll make sure you don't go down easy either...!'
Thwack!
"Guh?!"
It all happened in an instant.
An empty bottle rolled underfoot as he hurried along.
In his rush, he hadn't checked his surroundings properly and stepped right on it, tumbling forward and cracking the back of his head.
Of course, as a high-level player, a mere fall was nothing he couldn't recover from quickly...
Krunch!
"Gaaak!?"
But then a flowerpot came crashing down from somewhere, smashing straight into his face and finally knocking Moon Cheonyeop out cold.
By the time two shadowy figures approached the unconscious man—nose gushing blood as he lay sprawled on the ground—it was already too late.
"Hmm. What do you think? Looks pretty naturally knocked out, right?"
"...Natural's dead."
"Don't sweat the small stuff. Everyone trips backward and busts their nose at least once in life."
Rimon crouched down.
And began rummaging through Moon Cheonyeop's pockets.
Aynsha watched the scene with a blank expression before murmuring softly.
"I didn't know you were a thief, Ri."
"Huh? What nonsense is that?"
"If you're not a thief, then why knock someone out and frisk them?"
"Why do you think? It's an investigation."
"You don't have investigative authority, Ri. And I've never heard of an investigation method like this."
"I had no choice. We tailed him this far and got nothing, so I have to find some clues somehow."
Rimon grumbled.
He'd hoped eavesdropping on Moon Cheonyeop's meetup with Tata might yield a lead— even mobilizing his Sword Master senses to spy thoroughly.
But the two had barely exchanged words before parting, leaving him with zilch.
Who else would resort to this but him?
Though, since it was Moon Cheonyeop, he hadn't felt much hesitation anyway.
"Oh? This is..."
Perhaps his efforts paid off.
As Rimon thoroughly patted down Moon Cheonyeop, he finally found the clue he'd been after in the man's wallet.
A business card hidden inside a deliberate scratch on the inner fold.
The moment he saw it.
Rimon's face hardened.
Aynsha tilted her head at his reaction.
"Is it surprising that this guy has a shady parlor's business card?"
"...Do your eyes see this as some brothel card?"
"It only has a phone number. Nine out of ten are shady joints."
"Shady joint... Yeah, can't argue with that."
Knowledge straight from Tata, huh.
Rimon furrowed his brow at Aynsha, who boasted with a straight face.
Her innocent demeanor alone made it clear she had no idea what this card really was.
Feeling a headache from the increasingly tangled situation, Rimon glared at the simple black business card dotted with a few stars like a night sky.
"No place shadier than the Liberation Brigade."
The Liberation Brigade committed all manner of crimes without hesitation, but surprisingly, they rarely operated out in the open.
They were a criminal organization, after all.
Ones destined to be hunted down if they showed their faces in the light.
So the Liberation Brigade burrowed deeper into the shadows, committing crimes more individually than as a group.
Even so, their infamy was sky-high.
They might not step into the spotlight, but from the shadows, they backed all sorts of criminal services.
Sometimes taking hit jobs.
Sometimes linking accomplices.
Sometimes providing safe houses.
For the right fee, the Liberation Brigade spared no support—and that's why criminals stayed loyal to them.
In a way, they weren't much different from any other players or guilds.
The only fatal difference was that all their activities revolved around illegal crimes.
And one of their go-to methods for offering these services? Business cards.
Untraceable cards, each with a unique number for the recipient—vouchers for the Liberation Brigade's criminal services.
[...So you're saying that Moon Cheonyeop guy is a member of the Liberation Brigade?]
"Nah, if he were a real member, he wouldn't handle a card this sloppily. He probably snagged one they tossed out as bait somewhere."
[Bait?]
"Yeah, they hand them out sometimes to potential clients or recruits they want to hook."
[I see... So that's how the Liberation Brigade operates these days.]
As if she'd grasped something crucial.
Li Chingwei murmured calmly for a moment before adding, as if it just occurred to her.
[In that case, Park Hyeon-gun from Infinity Guild might've connected with them the same way.]
"Who knows. The Liberation Brigade's got more tricks than that."
Rimon shook his head.
With every kind of criminal player in their ranks, their methods often defied imagination.
Some even claimed contact via dreams or talking birds.
In that light, using an overt business card like this meant it was low-stakes bait—they didn't care if it got traced.
"Moon Cheonyeop's not the problem."
[Tata, then.]
"Yeah."
Moon Cheonyeop was just a loose end.
A mere high-level player stripped of his Midas connections and WIM influence.
Rimon—who'd left even a fully intact Moon Cheonyeop half-dead—had no reason to worry about some Liberation Brigade link now.
But Tata was different.
"The White Dragon Princess foresaw me killing her nanny, and now that nanny's meeting someone tied to the Liberation Brigade. You think that's coincidence?"
[Maybe. For any other clan, it could be. But...]
"No coincidences in White Dragon Clan business."
[More like they turn coincidences into non-coincidences.]
Li Chingwei let out a sigh.
Rimon clicked his tongue in sync.
He'd braced for trouble once prophecy got involved, but this was beyond annoying.
Sensing the mess herself, Li Chingwei asked calmly.
Not Rimon, but the girl silently standing beside him with a blank face.
[What do you think, Aynsha?]
"I want to know what the question means."
[Any guesses on why your nanny met a Liberation Brigade lackey? Or her goal?]
"None."
[No prophecies that could be clues?]
"None."
Her response sounded not just curt, but half-hearted.
But knowing it was Aynsha's honest truth, Li Chingwei wasn't disappointed.
She just posed one final question.
[What about the chance she's a Liberation Brigade member? Or allied with them?]
"Impossible."
"You claim no guesses, but you can assert that?"
"Of course. I swear on my name."
Still blank-faced.
But unlike before, Aynsha answered with firm resolve, continuing bluntly.
"Tata isn't just a nanny."
The White Dragon Clan's youngest elder.
The confidante who's served three generations of princesses.
Her one and only family, raising and guiding her since childhood.
A woman who wielded unrivaled influence—even over the elder council—yet remained content as mere nanny and attendant.
Aynsha declared no way such a Tata would side with the Liberation Brigade.
Rimon frowned.
"...Hold up. So you're saying that Tata girl's basically your clan's number two? Wait, from what I hear, she sounds more like the real boss than you."
"Naturally. Tata is the wisest in our clan. So the clan follows her judgment."
"What about the princess's judgment?"
"Irrelevant."
Tata's smarter, so better to follow her.
Rimon grew even more grave watching blank-faced Aynsha state it plainly.
"Princess, did you know?"
[That she's the real power in the White Dragon Clan? Sure.]
"This ain't just 'power.' She's basically someone I should be learning from."
[Hmm... Position-wise, yeah, she's a lot like you, Sword Duke.]
Both wielded power with total backing—as princess's consort or closest aide.
The difference? Rimon received support from Li Chingwei, while Tata seemed to control Aynsha.
That was why Rimon scowled.
He knew from experience how dangerous a disloyal aide could be.
Including how tempting the offers could get.
"The number two who puppets the number one is always besieged by temptations."
[No way. You know the princess's power is absolute in the Seven Dragon Society, Sword Duke.]
"Doesn't look that way from watching you. Plus, if the Liberation Brigade reached into the top ten guilds, they could've hit the Seven Dragon Society too."
[That's...]
Li Chingwei trailed off awkwardly.
No matter how she'd toppled the clan, her own standing had been rock-bottom until recently. She had no ground to argue.
Even if she was dead certain otherwise.
Instead, Aynsha countered.
"Speculation. False accusation. I protest."
"Gonna trust your nanny to the end, huh?"
"Of course."
"Fine. Call her."
"...?"
"Tell your nanny to come here. We'll hear her side directly."
"Very well."
Dead certain, apparently.
Aynsha nodded and immediately called Tata.
[Princess? Still on your date? What is it?]
"Tata, something's come up. Come at once."
[...Right now?]
"Yes."
[...]
"Tata?"
Aynsha blinked in confusion at the lack of Tata's usual bold "I'll be right there!"
Then a voice echoed through the air.
[You should've just enjoyed your date quietly. No need to stir up trouble.]
"...Tata?"
[Princess.]
Not her usual spirited, unflinching tone—but cold and flat.
So familiar yet so alien, leaving Aynsha blinking dazedly as she quietly declared.
[I'm terribly sorry, but Tata must betray you from now on.]