Chapter 70
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Back in the Day, It Was All Like This
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"......Are you calling me a smartass right now?"
"What else would you call someone who does the work well but has no clue how to actually do business? A smartass fits the bill."
"......"
"What? Doesn't sit right with you?"
Rimon let out a smirk as he eyed Wayling, who was glaring at him with cold eyes that laid bare her dissatisfaction.
"Smartass. Do you know why the princess went out of her way to set up a company like Guardian for me?"
"Because Your Grace has no interest in running a business yourself, nor the aptitude for it, isn't that right?"
Wayling openly mocked Rimon's incompetence.
He just shook his head slightly at her.
"No. It's because even if I can't handle being a prime minister, she wanted me to at least play the role of a eunuch."
"What nonsense is that?"
"It means there was never a single eunuch in history who went begging the emperor for more budget like some lowly clerk rubbing his hands together."
Rimon clicked his tongue at Wayling, who furrowed her brow.
He could tell from her expression alone that she not only failed to grasp his point but had no intention of trying.
'Tch. I was planning to focus on training for a while.'
He could just leave things as they were.
Wayling was competent enough that Guardian wouldn't go under anytime soon.
And considering Li Chingwei hadn't explicitly asked him to step in despite knowing about it, she probably had some expectations but no real intention of burdening him.
'No helping it.'
In the end, Rimon stood up.
And he said bluntly,
"Hey, lead the way."
"To where?"
"Where do you think?"
Wayling gave him a suspicious look at the out-of-left-field command, but Rimon shot back a cold sneer.
"To the business that'll cough up money, jobs, and results for us."
And two hours later.
Five Black Dragon Clan affiliates lay in ruins.
Wayling was used to enduring.
The martial art she practiced, the Silent Sword Style, was an ultimate technique built on stealth and patience from the ground up.
Plus, as the secret bodyguard to the enigmatic and deep-minded Li Chingwei, she'd naturally grown accustomed to carrying out missions silently without question.
"......What in the world are you thinking?"
But at this moment,
all that training went out the window as Wayling finally had to ask.
"Thinking about what?"
"I'm asking why you're smashing up the clan's affiliates left and right."
"One of our company's jobs is inspections, right? I was just doing some inspections. Why do I need a reason for that?"
Rimon replied so nonchalantly it was almost admirable.
In a way, it was straight out of the playbook.
Guardian handled security, protection, and inspections for all Black Dragon Clan affiliates.
Yet Wayling couldn't help staring at him like he was some common thug as she pressed further. There was a good reason for it.
"How is barging through the front door, knocking out all the guards, and trashing the offices an 'inspection' by any stretch?"
Ever since he'd set out to rack up some results,
what Rimon called "inspections" at the Black Dragon Clan affiliates had all followed the same script.
He'd storm right in through the front gate.
[I'm here to see the president.]
[An appointment? I didn't make one.]
[No appointment means I can't see him? Hey, do you punks even know who I am? Get the president out here now!]
He'd kick up a fuss demanding to see the boss right off the bat.
[Oh yeah? Gonna stop me? Try kicking me out if you can!]
[Bring it on!]
And once security, guards, or employees rushed in to intervene, that was that.
He'd beat them all down, barge into the office, flip desks and cabinets, and dump every document and item onto the floor.
[Tch, kids these days. Back in my youth, merchants stuck to their shops from dawn till dusk. Where the hell does the president think he's going, gallivanting around?]
[Tell him I'll be back, and next time, he better be here waiting. Got it?]
He wouldn't even bother gathering up the scattered papers—just saunter out whistling.
The employees' dazed, lost expressions as they watched a full day's work get trampled underfoot by Rimon...
Even Wayling, who just stood by watching, could barely stomach it without looking away.
"Hmm, not inspection-like enough, huh?"
"You call that an inspection?"
He seemed at least somewhat aware of it himself.
Scratching his cheek, Rimon shrugged at Wayling's icy retort.
"Slicing a few heads off or firing people or throwing them in jail on the spot would be a bit much, don't you think? Times have changed."
"......What do you even think an inspection is?"
"Storming in wherever, making sure they can't get any work done, and beating down anyone who resists. That's it."
"You call that an inspection?"
"Why not? That's how it was back in the day."
"......"
He tilted his head as if genuinely puzzled what the issue was.
Wayling was at a loss for words.
If he'd just been playing dumb, she could've sneered at his shamelessness. But that 100% sincere face left her truly speechless.
[Team Leader, normal people don't call that an inspection. They call it a rampage.]
"Different things?"
[Totally different......]
"Huh, didn't expect that. I figured 'inspection' was the fancy modern term for rampage."
[How did they even do inspections back then for you to assume something like that?]
It was so absurd that
Yuna Kyung, the bluebird perched on Rimon's head who'd been relaying Wayling's questions, shook her head in disbelief at his brazen reply.
And both Yuna Kyung and Wayling thought the same thing.
'Princess, why on earth did you take this outdated killing machine as your consort?'
'That princess... I swear she made a mistake in marriage......'
Oblivious or not to their thoughts,
Rimon hopped out of the car and strode forward before spotting the towering building ahead and blurting out,
"Hmm, this affiliate's pretty big. Must be doing well."
[Team Leader, don't you know what this place is?]
"A Black Dragon Clan affiliate. The name says it all."
[No, I mean, do you know what kind of company Black Dragon Construction is?]
"Should I?"
[Anyone would. It's one of the top international construction firms in the world, counting by revenue or tech prowess—top ten fingers, easy.]
Yuna Kyung was dumbfounded.
The Seven Dragon Group had its fingers in pies across the world's wealth.
Among its affiliates, even if they didn't match the seven holding companies, several were on par with major conglomerates—one being Black Dragon Construction.
A behemoth that grew by building Leviathan Hotels worldwide.
But Rimon's reaction was lukewarm.
"Still not the best, though."
[......It's top ten in construction.]
"Live to my age, and even remembering the world's best gets tiring around 100."
Basically, why should he care about some run-of-the-mill company that hadn't even claimed the top spot?
Rimon rattled on casually.
"You'd best be careful."
Maybe it was that arrogant attitude.
Wayling fixed him with a chilly gaze and continued in a frosty tone.
"It's not the top in the world, sure, but unlike the other affiliates so far, this isn't a place you can just rampage through easily."
"Oh? Is that right?"
Far from tensing up at her near-threat, Rimon grinned like he was looking forward to it.
And the moment the automatic doors slid open, he marched into the Black Dragon Construction building and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
Whirr!
"Get the president out here!"
"Yes sir, reporting for duty."
"......Huh?"
[Huh?]
Yuna Kyung, perched on Rimon's head, wore a blank expression.
It wasn't just the surprisingly empty lobby for a major corp's branch office that threw her off.
The instant Rimon shouted,
a figure had appeared, bowing a perfect 90 degrees like he'd been waiting.
"Who're you?"
"Ehehe, name's Wang Jin-ung. I've always admired the Sword Duke, so meeting you like this is a real honor."
"No, I mean, what do you do?"
"Why, I'm the one you came looking for, of course."
"......You're the president here?"
"Allow me to introduce myself properly. Wang Jin-ung, head of Black Dragon Construction's East Asia branch. Looking forward to working with you."
Rimon eyed the middle-aged man, who handed over a business card and bowed again, with an odd look before glancing back.
He grew even more puzzled at Wayling's confirming nod.
'A bigger fish than expected popping up is good, but...'
He didn't know much about Black Dragon Construction, but he could tell the East Asia branch head was a heavyweight.
Overseeing the Zhonghua Seventy-Seven Federation alone made him a real power player there.
"You really the East Asia branch head?"
"Of course."
"Then why so servile? You'll snap your back like that."
"Aigoo, servile? You're about to marry the princess, aren't you? Showing respect to a man like that's just good manners, not servility."
"Is that so......?"
Mustache ends shooting upward.
A grin plastered across his face.
Hands rubbing together like a fly.
Wang Jin-ung looked less like a businessman and more like a sycophant or toady. Rimon felt a twinge of unease, but only briefly.
'Can't judge a book by its cover.'
True to his veteran ways with years under his belt, Rimon brushed off the first impression and spoke up casually.
"So why'd you pop out? I came for the president."
"Aigoo, why would someone like the Sword Duke bother with underlings? Whatever you need, I'll handle it—just say the word."
At that moment,
Rimon cracked a subtle smile.
"The way you say it, sounds like you knew I was coming."
"Heavens no. I just heard rumors that some fools and slackers failed to serve the Sword Duke properly."
"Rumors from stuff that happened just hours ago? You've got sharp ears."
"Well, I'm Black Dragon Clan through and through. Gotta have ears a bit sharper than most."
Wang Jin-ung stated it like it was obvious.
But Rimon's smile only deepened.
The other companies he'd hit hadn't managed even that much, proving Wang wasn't just some bootlicker.
'Thought I'd have to hit ten spots, but luck's on my side.'
"Ah, it'd be uncomfortable talking here—why not head inside? Got some fine tea that's just arrived."
"Fine tea, huh...... Not bad."
Rimon saw no reason to turn down the invitation.
And shortly after, in the room Wang led him to, Rimon blinked in disbelief.
Not just at the ancient mural covering one wall, the crystal chandelier, or the lavish furniture.
Not even the office decked out as flashily as Li Chingwei's penthouse at Hotel Leviathan.
It was the spread on the table,
sizzling pork belly roasting over a brazier and a bottle of makgeolli right beside it, like they'd known he was coming.
"......So the 'fine tea' you mentioned is boricha?"