Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 74

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 74

With all the commotion in the black market suppressed,

Lee Jaehak continued the cleanup, receiving reports from his subordinates about the aftermath.

“Most of the White Bone Clan are just vagrants. Don’t bother being considerate in their treatment. If anyone complains about excessive force, break a limb or two. If they resist too much, you can kill them.”

“Yes! But what should we do with those who attended the black market? They’re making a fuss, asking if we know who they are and demanding lawyers.”

The Golden Sword Commander, who was receiving the report alongside him, chuckled.

“To act like that even after hearing the name of the Soongmoo Lee Family! Master, it seems they still haven’t grasped the situation! Heh heh!”

The Soongmoo Lee Family was granted the authority by the state to execute vagrants and serious criminals.

Although that authority was limited to ‘those with special martial power,’ like wizards or warriors.

And in such cases, the government invariably sided with the Soongmoo Lee Family.

“They don’t seem to realize their necks are more at risk in court. Fools.”

The Soongmoo Lee Family’s legal team, or rather, even Lee Jaehak’s personal legal team alone, would guarantee victory in any legal battle.

Lee Jaehak glanced over the subdued civilians.

At his cold gaze, they swallowed their breaths and lowered their heads.

“We’ve also captured the White Bone Clan members who fled.”

“What about the evidence?”

“This is all we found here.”

Lee Jaehak frowned, taking a quick look at the evidence.

“I don’t see any definite ledgers or attendance lists. So, they kept them in their main hideout.”

Lee Jaehak clicked his tongue.

It would be best to wipe out the nest, but doing so would scatter the vagrants like cockroaches.

Then, the Golden Sword Commander cautiously spoke up.

“Ah, about that. As the suppression was being completed, the Golden Sword unit searching the area caught someone.”

“Someone?”

“They say he was a staff member here. And he insisted on handing this over, saying only you should see it, Master…”

The Golden Sword Commander handed Lee Jaehak a briefcase.

Inside the briefcase were bundles of files.

Lee Jaehak’s eyes gleamed as he scanned through the documents one by one.

Details of fund flows and transaction names, along with numerous nominee accounts. Not only the identities of visitors to the black market but also the smuggling routes and origins of goods that had passed through the black market.

It was detailed and thoroughly organized data.

“Bring him here.”

“Yes. Hey, you!”

As the Golden Sword Commander gave the order to his subordinate, a neatly dressed man in a suit soon appeared.

‘He doesn’t seem like someone who should be working for the White Bone Clan.’

Clear eyes, upright posture.

He didn’t feel even a trace of magic, but his demeanor was refined.

“I greet the bloodline of the great family. My name is Jung Jinsoo.”

The Golden Sword Commander’s eyes lit up.

“The audacity! How dare you stand so straight…”

“Enough. Let’s hear what he has to say first.”

Lee Jaehak stopped the Golden Sword Commander.

“I am Lee Jaehak, the seventh of the Soongmoo Lee Family. I have a few questions.”

“Yes, I will answer truthfully.”

“Why did you keep these without destroying them? Don’t you know that bringing this to me in this situation will only be seen as a trick to avoid the immediate consequences?”

“There’s a letter in the front pocket of the briefcase. He said showing you that would suffice.”

“He? A letter?”

Lee Jaehak opened the front pocket of the briefcase.

A piece of paper appeared from within.

It was printed on plain paper to prevent identification of the handwriting.

“Hmm…”

Lee Jaehak read the letter and snorted.

The content was short.

[Those materials are more than enough as compensation for this incident. So, please give me some change. Just take care of the man in front of you for a while. He has a daughter who needs treatment. Thank you.]

‘How impertinent…’

Even as he thought that, a hollow laugh escaped him.

‘To blatantly use my brother like this. That audacious bastard.’

Audacious, but.

The data he left behind was clearly valuable.

This thoroughly organized data is more than enough as evidence.

Using this, he could recover funds related to Baek Cheolsoo, exploit the weaknesses of the wealthy who played with fire in the black market, and the family could claim credit for cleaning up the black market.

However, the problem was,

‘You only set the stage, and I cleaned up the mess, and now you want to make a deal with this?’

Moreover, isn’t this cunning fellow who left this letter in a position where he shouldn’t be contacting him?

Then, Jung Jinsoo quietly continued.

“There’s something on the back as well.”

At those words, Lee Jaehak turned the letter over.

[I’m adding a postscript just in case. I hope the great Golden Sword won’t just add a spoon to a finished meal and have other thoughts. And since you’ve taken all the important gains, you probably won’t care who I am. I think that’s likely unless you’re incredibly narrow-minded. You’ll quietly cover up this incident, right? I’m just saying that’s what I think.]

“…”

Does this guy even know the meaning of a postscript? The postscript is longer than the main content? And the content is ridiculous.

“Haha!”

Lee Jaehak burst into a hearty laugh for the first time in a while.

Has there ever been anyone in the history of the Soongmoo Lee Family who started their journey as a warrior in this way, or who passed off work in such a blatant manner?

‘So, he’s saying that since he didn’t contact me directly, but was merely entangled by an unknown eccentric, he hasn’t violated the family rules?’

Indeed, an audacious fellow.

But good.

He welcomes such a deal.

‘Following the defeat of the sixth brother, even this… As expected, it was a good decision to choose the youngest and create a cooperative relationship by arranging a meeting just before the Cheonwisan journey.’

“Commander. Let’s wrap things up here. When the relevant personnel from the related departments arrive, hand it over and clean up. There are also hazardous materials, so clean up carefully. With this data, the follow-up won’t be difficult.”

“Yes, yes?”

“And Jung Jinsoo, was it? I’ll take care of you for a while. You should thank the person who left this letter.”

Jung Jinsoo bowed lightly.

Lee Jaehak turned and walked away.

* * *

Several days had passed since the incident at the black market.

Immediately after escaping the black market,

I booked a room to recover from the injuries sustained in the fight with Baek Cheolsoo and devoted myself to recovery.

Originally, it would have been impossible to book a room as a minor, but the outing ID issued by the family helped.

While recovering at the hotel, I also listened for news related to this incident from time to time.

But nothing was heard.

Despite the considerable commotion during the suppression process, the White Bone Clan and the black market were quietly cleaned up without a sound.

‘Typical of the seventh brother.’

The fact that it was quiet even though many domestic tycoons were involved meant that the handling was thorough.

‘More than that, it seems the seventh brother accepted the deal. There’s no sign of anyone tailing me.’

Throb!

As I used recovery magic, the wound from the fight with Baek Cheolsoo throbbed.

The scar that now remained could have led to a major injury if I wasn’t careful.

‘The fight with Baek Cheolsoo was quite a valuable experience.’

While recovering, I often replayed the battle with Baek Cheolsoo.

The battle with him was a bit special.

It had been quite a while since I obtained Mujin [a powerful weapon or technique], but this was the first time I had used Mujin against a person, not a monster.

‘Well, I did use it in front of my father and against the trainer in Jeokcheongdo, but…’

My father’s was almost like a guided sparring, and the fight with the trainer was more of me unilaterally chasing him.

It was the first time I had fought a warrior, even someone stronger than me, without any restrictions.

‘Baek Cheolsoo was clearly superior to me in terms of physical and magical power. But he was easier to deal with than I thought.’

The victory or defeat of the battle was decided by Baek Cheolsoo’s arrogance and mistakes, but even if that hadn’t been the case, I was confident I would have won.

Even Baek Cheolsoo, who had accumulated all sorts of experiences as a vagrant, couldn’t keep up with my combat style, which had been honed with the memories of Black Qi and Mujin.

‘These kinds of practical battles are important in this warrior journey. Until now, the battles in the family have always had restrictions.’

I had experienced various practical battles in the family, but they were subject to various restrictions, whether for political or environmental reasons.

Thanks to that, I had made a lot of progress, but there was also the disadvantage that I couldn’t be sure of its effectiveness in actual combat.

Woo-!

At that moment, I felt the pain in the throbbing wound decrease significantly.

Crack!

I stopped thinking, stretched greatly, and got up from my seat.

With this, the injury was recovered, and my physical condition was good enough.

‘Then, shall we start moving?’

It was time to call out Jung Jinsoo.

* * *

After checking out of the hotel, I headed straight to Seoul.

The place I headed to was a serene traditional Korean house near Seoul Station.

When I inquired at the counter, an employee guided me to the innermost room.

“You’ve arrived.”

And Jung Jinsoo was there.

Jung Jinsoo stood up from his seat and bowed lightly.

“There was a place like this.”

I didn’t even know it was a restaurant until I came inside.

That’s because it was an ordinary Korean house from the outside, not to mention the sign.

“It’s a space for people who want a quiet place to talk. It’s a room designed with various devices, so it’s not easy to hear the story from the outside.”

Jung Jinsoo answered and sat down again.

And Jung Jinsoo, who had been looking at me for a while, gave an awkward smile.

“Why are you smiling?”

“I just realized that Young Master Lee Cheol is 15 years old.”

He was emotionally charged in the warehouse, and the situation in the black market was so urgent.

But seeing it properly at this moment, it really hit him.

15 years old, an age that is still called young.

Perhaps because of the background of Soongmoo Lee Family, he feels a few years more mature than his original age, but looking at it this way, he really still has the face of a boy with baby fat.

‘A boy, he is a boy…’

But he doesn’t feel like he’s facing a boy.

Even the look in his eyes and the atmosphere he exudes.

As a scion of a prestigious family, his way of speaking and behavior are understandable, but the overall atmosphere is by no means like that age.

‘A mere 15-year-old child brought in Lee Jaehak, the Golden Sword of Soongmoo Lee Family, caught Baek Cheolsoo, and destroyed the black market.’

Jung Jinsoo decided to erase the age of the person sitting in front of him from his mind.

“I wanted to start by thanking you. Thank you so much.”

Jung Jinsoo decided to say what he had to say first.

“Both my daughter and I have received a great favor from Young Master Lee Cheol that we cannot repay.”

“You don’t have to be so grateful. It was just a deal.”

“The very act of offering that deal was a great favor to me. If it weren’t for you, Young Master, I would have continued to be bound by Baek Cheolsoo.”

“Is your daughter doing better?”

At my question, Jung Jinsoo smiled.

“Yes, she’s not completely cured, but she’s much better. The Soongmoo Lee Family’s medical center is as great as I’ve heard.”

Jung Jinsoo’s daughter was suffering from a disease related to magic.

Usually, in the case of such a disease, she has to receive special treatment called magic treatment, not treatment in a normal hospital.

And the Soongmoo Lee Family Medical Center is world-class in that field.

Since internal injury patients are pouring out almost every day, the number of patients treated by the doctors at the main family’s medical center is enormous.

It is an environment where skills cannot but improve.

“That’s a relief.”

“Yes…”

Jung Jinsoo took a deep breath and continued in a calm tone.

“In the end, you kept all your promises to me, Young Master. Now it seems it’s my turn to keep my promise. I will do anything. What can I do?”

Jung Jinsoo, his eyes shining as if he had made a firm resolution.

It was a tone as if he would do anything, no matter how dirty.

I chuckled.

“Anyone would think I’m going to make you do something dirty.”

“…That’s not what I meant.”

“First of all, I need to ask you to do a few things.”

I handed Jung Jinsoo what I had brought.