Sometime Soon — 5
The letter a Courier Gate courier had delivered at midday carried quite the happy news. Of course, I'd have been happier still if it had come from Sa Yun.
The sender was Cheon Il-hwa of the Cheonghoe Merchant Guild. Its contents announced that the mine's development was complete—which meant my invested capital had multiplied several times over on its way back to me. The profits were being held at the guild's banking house in Yangwi Fortress for me to collect at my leisure, and I found myself quite satisfied with that arrangement.
It was good timing, too. I had no shortage of places to spend money in the days ahead. When it came to making money, mine investment really was king.
If I was going to do this at all, I'd have loved to develop a gold vein all on my own, but that wasn't something I could manage alone—it would take tying in with other parties. Mine development was hardly a venture for pocket change. Still, one of the mines that appeared in Part 2 of the game was a gold mine, and it sat not far from Yangwi Fortress. Someday I'd have to coax the Cheonghoe Merchant Guild into developing that one as well.
In any case, with good iron and fresh funds in hand, I decided it was time to tackle everything I'd been putting off.
Developing a base meant facilities like the Sword Workshop and the talisman workshop certainly mattered, but farmland couldn't be neglected either—especially in a backwater village like this one, which had little else going for it. Even in Cheonsang Myeongwol, once you secured a base, you profited from the goods it produced. By that same logic, raising Seomhwachon into a proper stronghold for Hongseong Gate would itself be one way of strengthening the sect.
I drummed my fingers on the table over my pipe, nodded to myself, and rose.
"Huh? Where are you going?"
"Thought I'd drop by the magistrate's office."
In Cheonsang Myeongwol, investing funds into a base's administrative office was how you developed and protected it. Bandit raids and monster attacks weren't threats you could simply ignore, after all.
Seomhwachon sat near Mount Hongseong, so monsters rarely showed themselves, but that didn't mean vermin like bandits never came prowling. The Magistrate worked hard, granted, but that didn't make the village safe forever—and with the Great Demon Cult's elite soldiers already sent to their graves, we needed government troops who could at least somewhat measure up to them. Not their equals, perhaps, but close.
For that, investment—investment alone—was the way forward. In the end, it's the budget that rules the world.
"I'll come with you."
"By all means."
With nothing better to do, apparently, Chae Jin trailed out after me. We were strolling at our leisure through the streets of Seomhwachon when she remarked, quite suddenly,
"Seomhwachon feels so much livelier than before, doesn't it?"
"Can't argue with that."
The improvement in the quality of local goods alone had visibly lifted everyone's spirits. Human life seemed complicated but was really quite simple—merely being able to use good things raised its quality by a considerable degree.
Chae Jin, sneaking glances at the smiles of the people passing through the market, sidled a little closer to my side.
"You think that's why?"
"The treasures, you mean? Probably. Add in the Sword Workshop, better-armed soldiers, and Hongseong Gate's regular patrols, and public order has improved too."
Safety, and better-quality daily necessities. That alone was enough to make people a good deal happier.
Chae Jin nodded slightly, then wore a wry smile.
"It reminds me of the lessons I used to sit through at Moon Lotus Pavilion."
"They hold lessons at Moon Lotus Pavilion?"
"Moon Lotus Pavilion is hardly an ordinary martial sect. It's based at Cheongho, looks after the whole surrounding region, and runs all manner of businesses—it practically lays the foundation of daily life for the people of Cheongho."
At that scale, calling them a mere sect certainly wouldn't do them justice. Then again, the Blade Emperor did hold an official imperial post, honorary though it was. Not even the government offices would dare touch him carelessly.
"That's why we're educated in the duties we'll have to shoulder when we one day lead Moon Lotus Pavilion. Management is one part of that training."
Chae Jin spoke evenly, her steps light as she walked.
Running a sect—especially one as vast as Moon Lotus Pavilion—was no simple feat. Beyond the businesses and the lands, personnel management alone would be a handful.
"I was weak at that sort of thing, so I got scolded plenty."
"Really, now."
"Hehe. Yes. So I just hope that someday, someone I can trust will be at my side to help."
"I see."
"Anyway, looking at it that way, Seomhwachon seems to be run remarkably well. Everything fits together neatly, doesn't it?"
"The Magistrate here does fine work."
And I meant that, joke or no joke. He was competent enough that I suspected if Hongseong Gate hadn't been annihilated in the prologue, the Magistrate would have worked alongside them to repel the attack in Part 1.
That much I hadn't foreseen, but I'd have to call it a happy miscalculation. If the Magistrate of this county had been one of those pocket-lining officials so easy to find in Cheonsang Myeongwol, my workload would have multiplied several times over.
"I'd say we make a good team, hand in glove?"
"Can't argue with that."
My investing and developing, his administering and managing—the two had meshed well, and that was what had carried the village this far. The credit couldn't be laid at my feet alone, or his alone.
Smiling at Chae Jin's words, I walked on in agreement, and before I knew it we stood before the magistrate's office.
"Hmm? Welcome, welcome."
Everyone in the office knew my face, so I was let inside without any inspection. The Magistrate, at work within as always, greeted us with a smile at the sight of Chae Jin and me and showed us to our seats.
"What brings a busy man like you all the way here?"
Sipping the tea he'd poured for me himself, I held out the documents I'd prepared. He read through them for a good while, then his eyes went wide.
"So you're telling me... I needn't pay for those new weapons from before?"
"That's right."
The Cheonghoe Merchant Guild's successful mine development had earned me quite a tidy sum. Hoarding it all to myself—what would I even do with it? Better to pour it into Seomhwachon's growth.
"Haven't you been pinching pennies everywhere because of that expense? I hear the funds for reinforcing the palisade around the village were cut."
"Well, yes, but—"
"You've helped me out in one way or another plenty of times..."
The tournament the other day was proof enough of that.
"And I expect I'll be asking the office for help again when something comes up. Calling it repayment might be a stretch, but... consider the equipment fee waived."
"Goodness... I feel as though I'm forever in your debt."
"Isn't that what neighbors are for—helping one another? And once a little surplus builds up, that money can go toward... maintaining your dignity, Magistrate."
"What dignity does a man like me have? Haha. In any case, thank you, truly. Hmm... I'd half a mind to build a gate and name it after you, Innkeeper."
Normally, generous investors got bridges or gates inscribed with their names, but if there was money to spare, I'd rather see it spent on training the soldiers and raising a few more defenses.
"Actually, there is something I'd like to ask of you. The unorthodox sects' movements have been unsettling lately, haven't they."
"The unorthodox sects... Ah, right. That was the Four Black Alliance business, wasn't it? The damned fools got caught hoarding gunpowder without sanction—several sects were annihilated for it, and the survivors were shipped off to the battlefield to atone for their crimes."
The Magistrate clicked his tongue in clear displeasure. I nodded along and pressed on.
"Even so, the mood among the unorthodox sects remains ugly, and who's to say when something might boil over?"
"Go on."
"As I mentioned, I invested in the mine this time and turned a tidy profit. And as a result of that investment, we now have access to high-quality iron."
"Oh ho..."
"So here is my request. Could we expand the village's defenses? Guard posts, the palisade—perhaps a watchtower or two as well..."
"It's certainly no bad proposal. Proper defenses would help, no question..."
Of course, walls and watchtowers might mean little to a high-level martial artist. But we couldn't simply sit on our hands, either—and the ones attacking wouldn't all be high-level martial artists, after all.
"To the villagers, even a low-level martial artist is a mortal danger."
"That too is true.... Hmm. Very well. I'll see that matter moved forward."
"I'll contribute to the cost as well."
"My, my. That really isn't necessary."
He said it while plainly hoping I'd insist, and I could only laugh. With a low cough, the Magistrate drew out a catalog.
"Truth be told, ever since those Great Demon Cult elites came calling, I've been wanting to raise the quality of the soldiers' weapons. This catalog from the imperial center lists arms available for immediate purchase—I'll see about procuring some."
"Thank you."
"No, no—the thanks are mine to give. Now, is there anything else you'd like to discuss?"
The Magistrate smiled with easy generosity, as though he'd grant whatever I wished. I shook my head.
Nothing. For now, at least.
Once my business with the Magistrate was concluded, Chae Jin and I made for the Sword Workshop.
There, we ran into a pair of faces I hadn't expected.
"Huh? What are you two doing here?"
"Oh! Master Innkeeper! Hello!"
It was Sa Yun and Yu Hui, greeting us with bright smiles. While Chae Jin and I traded surprised looks at finding the inseparable duo at the workshop, Old Man Mak came shuffling out, grinning.
"Ah, the landlord himself! We were just having a look at Miss Yu's hands."
Sa Yun had simply stepped back and stood there beaming, while Old Man Mak gestured at the hand Yu Hui held out.
"Why look at her hands?"
"A sword has to fit the hand that wields it—that's the rule. This young lady insists her own sword is plenty, so no harm done, but if I'm to forge blades for Hongseong Gate someday, I'd best take their measure now, no?"
Cheonsang Myeongwol had a similar event, come to think of it. You presented your hand, and a weapon was forged to match it.
I looked at Sa Yun.
"Why don't you get fitted too?"
"This sword is all I need."
"If you say so."
With Sa Yun hugging her sword protectively to her chest, I had nothing more to add. What could I say when she'd made herself clear? I'd help her get fitted by Old Man Mak when she truly needed a finer blade someday.
"Ah, and good iron will be arriving before long."
"Heheh. Is that so? Glad to hear it. As it happens, Hongseong Gate brought me their worn swords a few days back, and I handed back fresh ones just yesterday."
"Well done."
"Mmm, think nothing of it. In the murim, when a sect keeps its weapons maintained like this, the smith lends a hand whenever trouble finds them—that's how it's always gone. And I hear Hongseong Gate patrols the village and lends its strength to local affairs besides."
"That's true enough."
"Hongseong Gate's name has long since reached my ears. There's nothing bad about helping them. Oh—and the Sword Saint stopped by earlier, as it happens."
"...Pardon?"
What was that supposed to mean?
I looked at Chae Jin; she tilted her head, evidently just as lost.
Sa Yun and Yu Hui each offered an explanation.
"My master said she would go see the inn just now."
"She said she'd make a round of the village first, then pay you a visit, Master Innkeeper."
Me?
Why me?
Surely she hadn't come for more Dang-gwa sweets. Nothing else came to mind.
I turned the matter over in my head, but no fitting answer surfaced, and in the end I headed straight back to the inn none the wiser.
And there, I had a feeling I was about to learn the reason.
"...Good day to you."
"Have you been well?"
There in the inn's backyard, the Sword Saint sat alone on the long bench where I so often smoked my pipe.
"What brings you all the way out here?"
I ushered Chae Jin inside first. Only after the visibly disgruntled woman had gone in did the Sword Saint rise from her seat and ask,
"I came because there are a few things I wish to ask you."
Well, that was convenient.
I had questions of my own, too.