novelraw Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Chapter 30
『 Translator – Divinity 』
The Captain of the Honor Guard could be trusted. He couldn't open his head and look into his thoughts, but since the Captain's family was staying near the Cult Leader's Hall as hostages, he would have no other choice.
Although they were called hostages, their living conditions were far better than living outside, so the Captain's face looked even better than before.
Cheon Ha-seong found the method the Cult Leader had come up with to be amusing.
After the Captain of the Honor Guard left, Cheon Ha-seong looked around the room where he was left alone.
Seo Hyo-eun was staying on the second floor of the hall. In that way, the Cult Leader had naturally made Cheon Ha-seong responsible for his daughter's well-being.
‘Should I go up?’
Cheon Ha-seong was having a hard time concentrating in the unfamiliar place, so for that and other reasons, he went to find Seo Hyo-eun.
Seo Hyo-eun was looking at a pile of several books, and when Cheon Ha-seong entered, she greeted him with a radiant face.
“Did I interrupt?”
“How could you?”
As Seo Hyo-eun spoke, Cheon Ha-seong looked at the papers densely covering the desk. They were filled with cramped writing in Seo Hyo-eun's handwriting.
“Can I look?”
“You can. I wrote it for you to see, Head Instructor Cheon.”
“What is this?”
“The masters of our cult's prestigious Demonic Clans and the martial arts they use. I also found as many of their counter-methods as I could. Fortunately, the records of our cult's Martial Arts Tournament remain, so I organized it based on that. I left most of them out, thinking you wouldn't need to worry about them, but I thought it would be good for you to know the martial arts of the Family Heads and the Elders. No matter how strong you are, Head Instructor Cheon, it's a problem if several people attack you at once.”
Cheon Ha-seong felt a great sense of gratitude, wondering when she had found the time to pay attention to such things.
“And this here is a genealogy. You might think, 'Why do I need to know something like this,' but it's good to know, as a time may come when it's useful. It can also help in grasping motives when something happens.”
Although she said that, in truth, she must have been speaking with their future together in mind.
Seeing Seo Hyo-eun preparing this in advance and even going to the trouble of summarizing it, Cheon Ha-seong couldn't help but smile.
“Head Instructor Seo.”
Cheon Ha-seong, sitting on the edge of the writing desk, caressed Seo Hyo-eun's cheek with his hand. At that, Seo Hyo-eun looked at him awkwardly.
He hadn't intended to do anything, but Seo Hyo-eun seemed to be expecting something, so Cheon Ha-seong thought he should at least kiss her. But how often do things go according to plan?
The moment he had that thought, the door burst open as if to say, 'Let's see you get what you want.'
He had already heard footsteps in the hallway, so he was somewhat prepared. Cheon Ha-seong very naturally got off the desk and pretended to be reading what was written on the paper.
The person who came in was Cheok Gyo-woon.
These days, he had started to seem a little better, but it seemed Cheok Gyo-woon and he just didn't get along.
“What is it?”
Cheon Ha-seong asked so coldly that Cheok Gyo-woon was forced to wonder if he had done something wrong. But they hadn't even been together until now, so it seemed there was no way he could have done anything wrong.
“I had something urgent to tell you, Head Instructor, and I came because I heard you were here.”
“Right… What is it?”
Cheon Ha-seong asked, controlling his feelings as if he weren't angry.
“My mother is looking for you.”
He was annoyed, wondering if he had really intruded at such an important time just to say that, but for some reason, Cheok Gyo-woon looked incredibly confident. To make such a face, it seemed he should have at least prepared a very incredible gift.
However, Cheon Ha-seong had no intention of receiving such a thing from the Fourth Demonic Marquis.
“Why is the Fourth Demonic Marquis looking for me?”
“You will know when you go.”
When Cheon Ha-seong looked at Seo Hyo-eun, she made a face as if to tell him to hurry and go.
[I can just use my Stealth Technique if anything happens, so don't worry.]
He thought it was a ridiculous thing to say, but he had confirmed several times that Seo Hyo-eun's Stealth Technique was useful, so it was also convincing.
Saying he would be back, Cheon Ha-seong went outside, and Cheok Gyo-woon looked at him with a meaningful gaze.
“Why?”
“You must be curious about what's going on, so I will tell you in advance. You know that my mother went to the Martial Arts Academy, right? Aren't you curious about what happened after that?”
He couldn't deny that, so Cheon Ha-seong also listened intently.
From then on, a story he had never expected flowed out.
“What… does that mean? Why did she make such a decision?”
He could understand that the Fourth Demonic Marquis might have thought well of him, but he couldn't easily understand how she could have gone all the way to her family home and made such a drastic decision.
“The Family Head agreed to that as well?”
“Yes. My mother persuaded him.”
“And Cheok Gyo-woon? Did you agree to that as well?”
“Yes, I also thought it would be for the best. However, it was not an easy decision for me either, so there is something I would like to ask of you, Head Instructor.”
Cheon Ha-seong looked at Cheok Gyo-woon with suspicious eyes, wondering if he was finally about to show his true colors. However, completely unaware of what Cheon Ha-seong was thinking, Cheok Gyo-woon spoke with a serious attitude.
“I acknowledge you, Head Instructor. That is why I fully agreed with my mother's wishes. However, as I am giving up on my lifelong aspiration, I hope that you will not disappoint me.”
Cheon Ha-seong was in a difficult position.
He had never wanted it, but wasn't this to say that the Fourth Demonic Marquis and the Cheok Demonic Clan had decided to help him?
“Is it okay to give up on a lifelong aspiration so easily?”
“But if I don't give up on that aspiration, I will eventually have to stand on the opposite side of you, Head Instructor, and you are not someone who shows any mercy to those who stand against you, are you?”
“That's right.”
“So that's why. To stubbornly insist while knowing that would be to think that my own life is not precious at all. I cherish my life. The lives of my family members are also precious. Whether you want it or not, Head Instructor, you will now stand tall at the center of a political struggle. And it is highly likely that you will be intensively attacked at this time when you are not yet prepared.”
It seemed he was trying to say that receiving their help would be important.
Cheon Ha-seong thought of the Cult Leader and Seo Hyo-eun. The Cult Leader had told him to leave the Divine Cult with Seo Hyo-eun, and Seo Hyo-eun had tried to tell him about the Demonic Clans' genealogies, their martial arts, and their counter-methods.
Everyone was thinking about what would happen in the future and agonizing over how to prepare for it.
Cheon Ha-seong also thought that he should at least listen, and headed for the Fourth Demonic Marquis's Residence.
Now, there was no awkward feeling at all while going to the Residence. The sense of unfamiliarity he had felt when he first went there was now to the point where he couldn't even remember it.
When he entered, the servants and warriors in the Fourth Demonic Marquis's Residence also greeted Cheon Ha-seong without any awkwardness.
Looking at their expressions, Cheon Ha-seong realized even more clearly what the master of the Residence thought of him. Just by looking at the expression of Cheok Gyo-woon walking beside him, they would have had no choice but to know that he was an important person to the Fourth Demonic Marquis.
As he entered the room, the Fourth Demonic Marquis greeted him. Then she looked at Cheok Gyo-woon, as if wanting to know if he had at least given him a simple explanation on the way.
“Head Instructor Cheon also knows the general situation, Mother.”
“Good. We can save some time. So what are your thoughts, Head Instructor Cheon?”
“I would like to know what I have to do, and why you are making such a proposal to me.”
“As expected of you, Head Instructor Cheon. For a person to be so uninteresting.”
“I have almost never met a person who helps without expecting something in return. That is why I have lived my life trying to handle my own affairs by myself as much as possible.”
The Fourth Demonic Marquis also nodded, having heard that Cheon Ha-seong had lived without parents.
“We will be cooperating on an equal footing. The Cheok Demonic Clan and I will help you, Head Instructor Cheon, and we would like you to help us when we need it.”
“It is difficult to promise that I will do so.”
“You're a person who lives such a difficult life. In times like these, it would be fine to just give a vague answer and move on. Can't you just say you'll do it now and then pretend you don't know later? Isn't it enough to just get what you can get that way?”
“I was not taught that way. My parents may have passed away early, but it's not as if they were never there from the beginning. And they did not teach me that way.”
That firm tone of voice even felt cold, and the Fourth Demonic Marquis shook her head.
“Head Instructor Cheon, don't think of everyone in the world as an enemy. If you act so coldly to everyone, no one will be able to come to your side.”
Then she wondered what she was even saying right now.
It seemed that because her opponent was Cheon Ha-seong, she ended up saying all sorts of things. She, who even in her own opinion was an incomparably cold person, had the thought that Cheon Ha-seong must be a strange man indeed to make her say such things.
“Anyway, you are an interesting person. Come and visit my family home with Gyo-woon sometime. The sooner, the better.”
The Fourth Demonic Marquis spoke as if it held no special meaning, but in truth, she was subtly paying attention to what Cheon Ha-seong would say.
“Understood. I will engrave those words in my heart. Thank you for extending your hand. And I ask for your help. Please protect the Cult Leader so that those who dare to be unqualified cannot shake him. If you help me, then on the condition that our goals align, and on the condition that we achieve those goals together, I will help you too.”
“Good. That was what I was hoping for as well.”
In truth, she had more personal motives, but she couldn't bring herself to say so.
Cheon Ha-seong left the room and spoke briefly with Cheok Gyo-woon. It was about how it would be difficult to go to the Cheok Demonic Clan right away, so he asked him to explain the situation first and ask for their understanding.
Cheok Gyo-woon was more than willing to do that for Cheon Ha-seong.
“Do not worry. I know best how busy you are, Head Instructor. It seems you have suddenly taken on many new tasks here, yet you are not quitting your job as a Head Instructor at the Martial Arts Academy, are you?”
“That's right. I believe I have work to do at the Martial Arts Academy.”
“Understood. But in my opinion, I think it is also important to use your time with focus. How about I help you with the work at the Martial Arts Academy? I know what you are worried about, Head Instructor. You are trying to prevent the candidates from common follower backgrounds from being harassed and losing their opportunities, right?”
Cheon Ha-seong looked at Cheok Gyo-woon with a face that said, 'No way.' At that, he spoke with a proud expression.
“In any case, isn't someone of my stature the one who would lead such activities? I am also the person with the highest status in this current batch. I will make sure to tell the candidates not to do such things. That should do it, right?”
Cheon Ha-seong stared at Cheok Gyo-woon with a blank face. Hearing his words, he realized he was right. If you just make the villain reflect and guide him onto the right path, the troublesome matters are resolved in one fell swoop.