Search and Seizure

It was a fact I hadn't known before, simply because I had never had any reason to visit the academy's infirmary, but calling this place an "infirmary" was a massive understatement. It was more like a fully fledged clinic. I had assumed they would just have a few cots set up with a supervising instructor on duty, but instead, there were several physicians and numerous nurses bustling about.

"Chef Yoon, it's time for your medicine."

"Ah, yes."

A lovely nurse approached the bed where I was lying, carrying a small tray, and personally handed me a cup of water and a medicinal pill.

Well, they said this pill was highly effective at purging necrotic qi... but tasting it now, it seemed to be made entirely of standard tonic herbs meant for general physical recovery. Is this doctor a fraud?

I tossed the pill into my mouth, swallowed it, and immediately popped a piece of red bean sweet jelly into my mouth to wash down the taste.

"It's quite sweet."

"Isn't it?" the nurse replied, offering a warm, beaming smile.

Feeling a sense of quiet satisfaction, I smiled back, only to feel a sudden, sharp prickling sensation at my temple. It was entirely due to Seonwoo Seol, who was sitting on the opposite bed, glaring at me with narrowed eyes.

And she didn't stop there.

"Nurse, aren't you quite busy right now?" Seonwoo Seol asked, her lips curved into a smile.

But that smile was incredibly chilly. Even though it was early summer, the temperature in the room seemed to plummet instantly.

"O-Oh, my. Look at the time. Chef Yoon, I have some other duties to attend to." Sensing the sudden drop in the atmosphere, the nurse hurriedly excused herself and rushed out of the room.

Why on earth was she acting like this?

"Do you have some kind of grievance against me?" I asked. If she didn't, there was no reason for her to behave so aggressively.

But Seonwoo Seol merely pouted and shot back, "Do you enjoy flirting with older nurses?"

"She's actually younger than me."

"You've already figured out her age?"

"No, just in passing..." I began to answer honestly before realizing something was off and shutting my mouth. Why was I letting myself get dragged into this interrogation?

"By the way, what brings the esteemed Socheonma here? You were discharged early since you took far less necrotic qi than I did."

Having taken a direct hit from the Stench King Hapdan, I had to rest for another two days because of the residual necrotic qi in my body, whereas Seonwoo Seol, who had taken relatively less damage, was discharged first.

"Am I not allowed to come?"

"It's not that you're not allowed, but if you're just going to keep glaring at me like that, I might as well leave first." If you keep staring me down, I'm running away.

Only then did Seonwoo Seol back down, looking slightly sheepish.

"Is it nice, resting all by yourself?"

"Absolutely. No one to bother me, and I can finally read a book in peace after so long."

"Hmph, you really are living like a Taoist immortal," Seonwoo Seol grumbled, her lips twitching. "But your little vacation is over."

"Who's here?"

"The constables from the Podo-amun and the Murim Alliance investigation team are arriving at the academy soon. You and I will be joining them as key witnesses."

"What about that bastard Geum Ho?"

"He's obviously a target of the investigation too. They said they're bringing him in no matter what."

Hehehe, perfect. You can't escape my grasp, you bastard.

"What's with that... sinister grin?"

"Just thinking about crushing that bastard Geum Ho. Want me to let you land a hit too, Socheonma?"

"No thanks. If I'm only going to hit him once, I'd rather not start at all."

Ah... so she meant she wanted to beat him to a pulp. Seeing this, it was clear that even if the Demonic Cult had been quiet lately, they were still the Demonic Cult. Then again, if it hadn't been for Geum Ho, both Seonwoo Seol and I could have slipped away quietly, so her anger was entirely understandable.

"By the way, how long are you going to keep calling me 'Socheonma'? You spoke informally to me last time."

"Me? When did I speak informally?" As a thirty-seventh generation descendant of the Papyeong Yoon clan, raised in a land of proper etiquette, I had never dropped my honorifics carelessly with anyone.

"When you told me to strike that Stench King bastard's flank!"

"Ah, that? That was an emergency. I had to keep it short."

"Still, it's a fact that you dropped the honorifics."

"Should I kowtow and apologize then?"

"Who asked for an apology?"

"Then what do you want?"

"Just call me comfortably. Using my title makes us sound so distant."

She had a point. Normally, people only used formal titles if they weren't close. Since Seonwoo Seol and I had crossed the line between life and death together while fighting the Stench King, continuing to call her by her title did feel a bit cold.

Should I call her like this, then?

"Uh... Seol-ah?"

"A-Are you crazy?!"

"You told me to call you comfortably."

"That's what my father calls me!"

So the Heavenly Demon is just a normal dad to his daughter? Surprisingly, his nickname for her was quite ordinary.

"Then... let's go with Lady Seonwoo."

"Isn't there anything better?"

"I'll think of one later."

"Tsk." Seonwoo Seol clicked her tongue loudly. What was her problem?

"Also, there's something important I need to tell you."

"Something important?"

"It's..."

At that exact moment—

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

"Chef Yoooooon!"

A very familiar voice echoed from down the hall.

Slam!

The door to the infirmary flew open so hard it nearly broke off its hinges, and in marched none other than Man Hanseok. He looked a bit slimmer than the last time I saw him; it seemed the cold jokbal I had given him had worked wonders.

"Are you alright?! I heard you were poisoned by necrotic qi!"

"Why are you making such a fuss? I'm fine, that's why I'm in the infirmary."

Excluding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the kitchen staff and servants, he was the very first student to visit me. Having a student worry about me like this... as a nutritionist, was there any greater honor?

"If you collapse, Chef Yoon, who's going to oversee my dietary therapy?!"

"This little brat..."

I shouldn't have expected anything else. He was basically saying, *Chef Yoon has always been the one to feed me...* Should I smack him or not?

I was the fool for expecting anything from Man Hanseok, who didn't possess a single grain of tact.

Suddenly, Man Hanseok noticed Seonwoo Seol standing right next to me and jumped in surprise.

"O-Oh! Instructor Socheonma! Hello!"

"...Chef Yoon, I'll come back to talk to you later."

"Huh? Ah, yes. See you later."

Seonwoo Seol shot Man Hanseok a sharp glare before quickly slipping out of the infirmary.

"What were you talking about with Instructor Socheonma?"

"Nothing a guy who only cares about school lunch needs to know."

Man Hanseok looked utterly bewildered, but I could only watch Seonwoo Seol's retreating back. It felt like she had been trying to tell me something incredibly important, but now I had no way of knowing what it was.

A few days later, in front of the Poeun Branch of the Hyeondong Merchant Group.

"I am Jang Chil, a Constable Leader from the Podo-amun."

A burly man whose neck was as thick as his head clasped his hands in greeting. As a Constable Leader, he was the head of the constables—essentially the chief of police in this jurisdiction.

I returned the gesture, clasping my hands politely.

"I am Yoon Gomyung, the Head Chef of the Inner and Outer Dining Halls."

"A chef? With that build?" Jang Chil asked, scanning me from head to toe.

Well, who would ever look at me and think "chef"?

"In times like these, a man has to be able to protect himself. That's how I ended up like this."

"Hah, indeed, even the chefs at the Mutual Righteousness Academy know martial arts. That must be how you took down that great arch-demon."

"Oh, no, Constable Leader Jang. I just lent a hand. Lady Seonwoo, the Socheonma, did all the heavy lifting."

Even if my strength was bound to be revealed eventually, it was best to downplay it now. If rumors started spreading that the Head Chef was actually a hidden peak master who killed an arch-demon in a single blow, my peaceful life would be over. In the Central Plains, where entertainment was scarce, spreading wild rumors about others was practically a national pastime.

As I waved my hands in denial, a quiet voice spoke up from behind me.

"I doubt the Socheonma could have defeated an arch-demon who mastered demonic arts all by herself."

"Excuse me?"

I whipped my head around to see a man dressed in scholarly robes standing with his hands clasped behind his back. He had a somewhat sickly air about him... but wait, had I seen him somewhere before?

"May I ask who you are?"

"I am Jegal Bi of the Murim Alliance. I came to investigate the defeat of the arch-demon. Are you Chef Yoon Gomyung, the witness?"

"Yes, I am Yoon Gomyung. If your surname is Jegal, are you related to Instructor Jegal Mu of the Southern Hall...?"

"He is my younger brother."

"Ah, no wonder you looked familiar."

Did the Jegal clan only breed handsome men? His younger brother, Jegal Mu, was handsome enough to put modern celebrities to shame, and Jegal Bi, though possessing a different vibe, was also exceptionally good-looking. Ah, my stomach was starting to hurt from envy.

It was good that the investigators had gathered, but... why did the atmosphere feel so strange?

To be precise, Jang Chil and Jegal Bi were locked in a silent, tense standoff, with me caught right in the middle. If I were a woman, I might have squealed, feeling like two men were fighting over me, but unfortunately, I was a twenty-seven-year-old military veteran, so there was absolutely no chance of that.

Jang Chil ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠glared at Jegal Bi, scanning him up and down with an annoyed expression.

"And why is the esteemed Murim Alliance representative here?"

"The arch-demon Stench King was a wicked cultivator who caused immense harm to both commoners and martial artists. Naturally, the Murim Alliance, representing the martial world, must investigate."

"Wasn't it the common people of the Central Plains who suffered? If commoners were harmed, the government should handle it. Why is the Murim Alliance trying to take the law into its own hands?"

"An arch-demon is a matter for martial artists. It is only right that the Murim Alliance handles it."

"An arch-demon is a criminal. Criminals belong to the government!"

"Are you looking for a fight?!"

"Even with the treaty of non-interference between government and Wulin, you shouldn't cross the line!"

"Gentlemen, please. There are many eyes watching. Let's restrain ourselves."

They always said the government and the Murim Alliance didn't get along, and they weren't kidding. Watching them growl at each other was already giving me a headache. If you put these people in the same room to investigate, would they even get any proper results?

To make matters worse, Jang Chil's constables and the Murim Alliance warriors were carbon copies of their respective leaders. It was a complete circus.

Judging by the way they were glaring and growling at each other, they were just waiting for an excuse. The moment I looked away, they'd probably start beating each other up. It was great that I was here as a witness, but would we actually find anything useful? It felt like being assigned a group project where all my partners were foreign exchange students who didn't speak the language.

In other words, we were completely doomed.

Sighing inwardly, I stepped into the courtyard of the Hyeondong Merchant Group's Poeun Branch. Naturally, the merchant group's building was empty, guarded only by the temporarily deployed members of the Fierce Tiger Squad.

"What are you two focusing on finding?"

"Since we know the men Chef Yoon defeated were from the Double Axe Sect of Liaodong, we need to see if they committed other crimes," Jang Chil replied.

"The Murim Alliance needs to find out how the arch-demon cultivated his demonic arts. It would be best if we could find the manual for the Shadow Soul Undying Palm," Jegal Bi countered.

"A criminal's tracks are more important than some martial manual!"

"What could be more important than preventing demonic arts from spreading again?!"

"Do you martial artists care about nothing but demonic arts?!"

"We must recover the manual to prevent future crimes!"

This was exhausting. They couldn't even go five minutes without fighting? How did the Imperial Court and the Murim Alliance even coexist? They probably wanted to throw punches the moment they met.

"Alright, alright. Let's split up and search, shall we?"

After practically begging them to search different areas, the bickering finally stopped. I had joined this investigation to find evidence that would completely ruin Geum Ho, but instead, I was just babysitting grown men. Ugh, my head.

In any case, the constables and the Murim Alliance warriors dispersed as planned, beginning to collect and record anything that might be related to the case.

I chose to search the bedrooms where the merchant group members used to sleep. People often hid secrets in the places where they slept—like under the bed or in the bedside drawers.

As I opened a wardrobe in one of the bedrooms, I found a drawer containing neatly folded pieces of cloth. They looked like bandages, but they were far too short. Given the long strings attached, it seemed they were meant to be tied around something.

"...You pervert!"

"Huh?"

Startled by the sudden shout behind me, I spun around to find Seonwoo Seol pointing a finger at me, her face completely red.

"Why are you touching that?!"

"What is this?"

"It's... it's undergarments!"

"Oh..."

Well, since I had never had any reason to see women's undergarments in this world, I genuinely hadn't known. I quickly shut the drawer and asked, pretending nothing had happened, "Why are you so late? I thought we were investigating together."

"I had instructor duties to attend to... No, don't change the subject! Why were you opening a drawer with women's undergarments? And you even picked them up!"

"It was a mistake, a mistake. I've never seen women's undergarments before, so how could I know?"

"...You've never seen them before?"

"Is this a conversation to have with a young lady of marriageable age? Let's change the subject."

Back in Korea, I had seen plenty of them to the point of having them burned into my memory, but there was no need to mention that. And while having such a conversation with a beautiful woman was rare, this was the kind of talk you saved for when your relationship had progressed a bit further.

Seonwoo Seol seemed to agree, as she slightly turned her head away with a flushed face and asked, "Ahem. What were you looking for?"

"Anything that could be evidence."

"This is a maid's room. Let's go to the other side. That's where the branch manager came out from."

We crossed over to the adjacent building, and the furniture there was on a completely different level. There were glossy, black-lacquered wardrobes, tables, and even expensive-looking white porcelain. This was clearly the branch manager's office and bedroom.

In the cold brazier, there were ashes of burned paper. Judging by the sheer volume, it seemed they had burned important documents right before they were captured. A spilled cup nearby looked like it had been used to douse the fire.

Moreover, a strange odor filled the room.

"Do you smell necrotic qi?"

"Indeed. It doesn't seem like his room, so why does it smell like that?"

Looking down at the floor, I noticed drops of a strange black liquid. Could this be Hapdan's blood? If so, we absolutely had to search this place—and we had to do it before that disastrous investigation team got here.

I immediately opened the drawers and began my search. A moment later—

"Oh."

I found a thick ledger filled with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠countless numbers, a transparent glass bottle that was incredibly rare in the Central Plains, and a half-torn map.

"This is the branch's financial ledger," Seonwoo Seol said, flipping through the thick book.

While she was distracted by the ledger, I slipped the glass bottle into my pocket and examined the half-torn map. Despite its age, it wasn't crumbling at all; it was perfectly intact. The texture didn't feel like paper; it was likely parchment or poison-beast hide. There were some characters written on it, but they were in an ancient script I couldn't read.

"Lady Seonwoo."

"......"

"Lady Seonwoo?"

No response. She was completely absorbed in the ledger. Clearing my throat, I called out in a softer voice.

"Seol-ah."

"Wh-What?!" Seonwoo Seol jumped, looking around frantically before scowling at me. "I-I told you not to call me that!"

"I called you twice and you didn't answer. Can you translate this writing?"

Seonwoo Seol glanced at the map, then shot me a look. "It's cursive script. Can't you read it?"

"I can't. Translate it, please."

"It says 'Jangbodo'... wait?"

"A treasure map?"

We both froze, staring at each other in shock.

"Oh my god—"

Before Seonwoo Seol could scream, I quickly clamped my hand over her mouth.

"Keep your voice down."

She nodded quickly, and only then did I release my hand.

This... we just hit the jackpot.