Chapter 12

Chapter 12. Backing (3)

As always, the Left Envoy rose from his bed wearing an expression filled with irritation and displeasure.

He woke at dawn, washed and dressed himself, then put on red robes.

After placing an official hat on his head and tying the strap beneath his chin, he looked like an elegant scholar.

Except for the permanently irritated expression on his face.

“Another unpleasant day begins.”

The Left Envoy headed toward his office in the Military Strategy Department.

When he stepped outside, Golyeon was already waiting.

“Good morning, Left Envoy.”

“Why are you here at this hour? We are not close enough to exchange greetings before sunrise.”

“My apologies. The news was urgent enough that I waited until you woke.”

“A report before I even enter the office? If this is something trivial, I will deduct your salary this month.”

“So, what happened? Did another Demon Venerable start a rebellion?”

“It is not that serious.”

“Tell me while we walk.”

The Left Envoy headed toward the Military Strategy Department.

Golyeon followed behind him and began speaking.

“Last night, two branch-family descendants of the Six Great Demonic Clans who belonged to the Enforcement Pavilion were killed.”

“Who died?”

“Hwan Ji of the Blade Demon Clan and Wi Hyeonmun of the Ice Demon Clan. Jin Cheol of the Fist Demon Clan was also present, but he survived with serious injuries and is being treated at the Medical Blood Pavilion.”

“I don’t know which fearless bastard did it, but his life is finished. Branch family or not, they carry the blood of the Six Great Demonic Clans. Their families will retaliate to preserve their pride.”

“Yes. I believe so as well.”

“How troublesome. The elders of the Six Great Demonic Clans will come bother this old man again. I already have more work than I can handle.”

His irritation rose.

The aftermath of the Black-and-White Demon Venerable's rebellion had still not been completely cleaned up.

And now the Six Great Demonic Clans had been handed a perfect excuse to create trouble.

Just thinking about it made the Left Envoy's head ache.

“Have you identified the fearless bastard responsible?”

“Yes. The surviving Jin Cheol gave us his testimony. The culprit is said to be a Demon Soldier from the Black Blood Unit.”

The Left Envoy stopped walking for a moment.

A certain face flashed through his mind.

...Surely not.

How long has it been since he joined the Cult? Even that bastard couldn’t possibly cause such an incident this quickly.

I may dislike him, but I’m becoming overly suspicious.

“Why would a Demon Soldier from the Black Blood Unit kill descendants of the Six Great Demonic Clans?”

“The investigation is still ongoing, but the men who died and were injured were infamous among ordinary cult members.”

“Explain.”

Golyeon explained everything about the two dead men and the survivor.

What they had been doing to ordinary cult members.

Even how the troublesome mission had eventually been dumped onto the Black Blood Unit.

“For crimes committed by descendants of the Six Great Demonic Clans, that does not sound particularly severe.”

“Yes. That seems to be why the situation was so difficult to handle. They were descendants of the Six Great Demonic Clans, so the Enforcement Pavilion itself could not easily punish them. Yet the problem was not serious enough for those powerful enough to ignore the Six Great Demonic Clans to care.”

“The hardest problems to solve are always those awkward ones in the middle.”

“It seems people with a little power remain more troublesome than those with a great deal of it.”

The Left Envoy gave a small laugh.

“Did you learn anything about the culprit's appearance?”

“Yes. Jin Cheol described him.”

“Tell me.”

“Around thirty years old. Black hair tied behind his head. He uses a bow, and there is a large cross-shaped scar on his face.”

The annoying face that had flashed through the Left Envoy's mind appeared again.

This time, perfectly clearly.

“...Golyeon. Are you perhaps thinking the same thing as this old man?”

“I believe so.”

“That madman. He doesn’t even know his place, yet he touched the branch families of the Six Great Demonic Clans.”

The Left Envoy's steps toward the Military Strategy Department suddenly became lighter.

The irritation filling his head only moments ago transformed into unexpected joy.

Hehehe. Bi Anso, you bastard.

You dug your own grave.

I couldn’t touch you because you are the Princess's lover, but now the Six Great Demonic Clans will remove that eyesore for me.

The headaches that had begun after Cheon Wolyeong's pregnancy and Bi Anso's entrance into the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult seemed to melt away like snow.

The Left Envoy felt so relieved that he suddenly burst into laughter.

Why is this demonic old man suddenly laughing like a lunatic?

Did all that constant irritation finally break his mind?

Should I walk a little farther away?

Golyeon, who had no idea what the Left Envoy was thinking, wondered if the old man had finally gone insane.

After walking for some time, they arrived in front of the Military Strategy Department.

Another person was waiting there.

“You are...”

“Greetings, Guangming Left Envoy.”

The person waiting for him was the physician who had first diagnosed Wolyeong's pregnancy.

He had since become Wolyeong's personal physician.

“Why are you here? Has something happened to the Princess?”

“No. The Princess asked me to deliver a letter to you.”

“The Princess sent a letter to this old man?”

The physician took a carefully sealed letter from his clothes and handed it over.

The Left Envoy signaled Golyeon to move away.

Then he slowly opened the letter.

Finally, he tightly closed his eyes.

If you try to bury this incident like you usually do, don’t expect to ever see my face again.

The Left Envoy's headache, which had disappeared only moments earlier, returned.

This time, even worse than before.

That damned bastard!

Before causing trouble, he went to the Princess and asked her to protect him!

Of course. There is no way that shameless fox would cause an incident without thinking first!

Before anyone could see the letter, the Left Envoy used Samadhi True Fire and burned it to ashes.

Truthfully, Wolyeong's threat, if it could even be called a threat, was something he could ignore.

Even if he ignored her, Wolyeong could not actually punish him or interfere with him.

If he simply allowed the Six Great Demonic Clans to deal with Bi Anso, her feelings toward him would merely be hurt a little.

No.

Perhaps quite a lot.

Even if the girl he considered almost like his own daughter came to hate him, this was necessary for her own sake.

Earn a little hatred from Wolyeong, remove the shameless womanizer Bi Anso from the Cult.

It was a perfectly reasonable and efficient choice.

...Surely it was.

“Golyeon. Come to think of it, you have a daughter, correct?”

“Yes. She turned twelve this year. I married rather early.”

“Have you ever seriously upset your daughter? More specifically... have you ever done something for her own good, only for her to become angry because of it?”

“Why are you suddenly asking something like that?”

“Stop asking questions and answer me.”

Golyeon tilted his head at the strange question.

Still, he began searching through old memories.

“Hmm... Two years ago, my daughter asked me to buy her a red outfit. But she already had many red clothes, so I thought she would regret it later and bought her a blue one instead.”

“And?”

“Even now, whenever she gets the chance, she complains about that day. She says things like, ‘You ignored what I said!’ and ‘You don’t care what I actually want!’”

“Isn’t your daughter the strange one? You chose what was best for her. Why would she be upset?”

Golyeon shook his head.

“Left Envoy, have you ever heard this saying? When a woman has a problem, sympathy comes before solving it.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? If you sympathize with her, that is precisely why you would go through the trouble of solving the problem.”

“Left Envoy. I have two older sisters and two younger sisters. And now I live in one house with two women.”

“I may know little about many things, but when it comes to the workings of a woman's mind, I have considerable experience.”

Golyeon continued with the expression of a man who had already reached enlightenment.

“Do not try to understand.”

“No matter what a man does, understanding a woman is impossible.”

“Whether she is your wife, daughter, or sister, simply... accept it.”

“Life is easier that way.”

There was such solemn resignation in his voice that the Left Envoy felt a chill in his chest.

“This is not about this old man, but about an acquaintance.”

“That acquaintance's daughter told him, ‘If you ignore what I say, don’t ever expect to see my face again.’ However, that acquaintance intends to ignore her because he believes it is for her own good.”

“What do you think will happen?”

“Oof. He’s one step away from being disowned.”

“I, is it truly that serious?”

“Once a woman becomes deeply upset about something, she can remember it for the rest of her life.”

“If your acquaintance never wants to see his daughter's face again, tell him to ignore her.”

Golyeon actually shuddered as he spoke.

“Please tell that acquaintance this, Left Envoy.”

“Stop thinking unnecessary thoughts and just accept it!”

The next day, inside the Black Blood Unit.

“Did you hear? Yesterday, elders from the Blade Demon Clan, Fist Demon Clan, and Ice Demon Clan went to the Military Strategy Department.”

“Ah, because of what that lunatic Bi Anso did? That bastard's life is finished.”

“That’s what I thought too, but apparently the lunatic isn’t going to die.”

“What are you talking about? A Black Blood Unit member attacked their branch-family blood. There’s no way the elders of the Six Great Demonic Clans would stay quiet.”

Conversations about how I had killed those three thugs could be heard everywhere.

And people were also talking about the Guangming Left Envoy's furious outburst at the Military Strategy Department the previous day.

“Of course the elders went straight to the Guangming Left Envoy's office. They demanded that he hand over that lunatic.”

“Do you know what the Left Envoy said?”

“What?”

“He shouted, ‘You couldn’t even properly educate your younger generation, so they ended up tormenting ordinary cult members! How dare you come here and try to harm a man who was carrying out an official mission!’”

“The elders said, ‘Left Envoy, we have no intention of overlooking this matter!’”

“Then the Left Envoy shouted, ‘Silence! Anyone who makes an issue of this will be considered an enemy of this Left Envoy! Surely you understand what that means!’”

“Apparently, the Left Envoy even used the Lion's Roar while shouting. His voice could be heard from outside the entire Military Strategy Department.”

“Wow. I thought he was just a strict old man, but he actually covered this up. Did the elders of the Six Great Demonic Clans really back down?”

“What else could they do? They may be elders of the Six Great Demonic Clans, but their opponent is the Guangming Left Envoy, second only to the Cult Leader.”

“Exactly. You know the Guangming Left Envoy oversees both the Military Strategy Department and the Administration Department, right? Unless the Cult Leader gives a separate order, that old man's words might as well be the Cult Leader's.”

“Kukuk. Do you really think they would make an enemy of the Guangming Left Envoy over a few dead branch-family members?”

Wow.

Uncle Left had even more authority than I expected.

Of course, if I had not asked Wolyeong for help beforehand, there was no way that strict old man would have protected me.

Good.

That matter was settled.

Now I could focus on the forty-point mission, hunting down former Demon Lord Jang Gal...

“Hey.”

Someone suddenly spoke from behind me.

It was Deputy Leader Yeonhwa.

“What is it this time? Don’t tell me you’re going to say you can’t give me the mission after all.”

“Do I look that shameless to you?”

“Who knows? It isn’t as if we know each other very well.”

“That damned mouth of yours.”

In front of everyone, Yeonhwa suddenly dropped to one knee.

The noisy surroundings became completely silent, almost as if time itself had frozen.

“W, what are you doing, Deputy Leader?!”

“You won our bet. The mission to kill that bastard Jang Gal belongs to you.”

“So I have one request.”

“A request?”

“Let me help with the mission.”

What was this?

There was no way this woman would go this far merely for points.

“Do you have a grudge against this Jang Gal?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t want to explain the details.”

“But I have to kill that bastard Jang Gal with my own hands.”

“So take me with you.”

What should I do?

Working with this woman was uncomfortable.

But traveling alone into a Great Desert I had never visited before was also honestly unsettling.

Damn it.

No choice.

“Deputy Leader. Choose heads or tails.”

“Another coin toss? Heads.”

“Then I’m tails.”

I flicked the coin upward with my thumb.

It spun into the air, then fell back onto the back of my hand.

I covered it with my other hand.

“Heads, we go together. Tails, I complete the mission alone.”

“Whatever the result, we follow it.”

“Fine.”

I took a deep breath.

Then I removed the hand covering the coin.