novelraw Chapter 60
Chapter 60
Chapter 60
‘If I can just have that money, I won't have to keep working as an attendant. Not only could I quit, but I could even open a new shop in my own name.’
He was a worldly man, and on the spot, he could come up with three or four ways to put Cheon Ha-seong in a difficult position and steal that money pouch.
In particular, Cheonghaeru had many regular customers, and among those regulars were many people who held sway in Qinghai.
If he and this simpleton were to tell different stories, most people would surely believe his.
If things didn't seem to be going smoothly, it would be fine to slip them a little money. Seeing the bank notes in the simpleton's money pouch, it seemed it would be more than enough to take a cut from that money and give it to them.
While the attendant's head was spinning, Cheon Ha-seong had no idea what he was thinking. He was just wondering if it was always this difficult to enter a restaurant outside the Divine Cult.
“May I go in now?”
As Cheon Ha-seong spoke and tried to enter, the attendant blocked him again.
“Let me have that money pouch.”
Cheon Ha-seong was dumbfounded.
He also wondered if he looked that naive.
“Why are you asking to see my money pouch?”
When a piercing light shone from Cheon Ha-seong's eyes, the attendant suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. At first, he hadn't looked special at all, but now he had the thought that he might have picked a fight with a dangerous person.
However, almost at the same time he had that thought, the piercing light vanished.
The attendant felt strange, wondering what he had just seen.
‘Let's just give up.’
Just as the attendant had that thought and was about to guide Cheon Ha-seong in, as luck would have it, a few men who seemed to have seen the spectacle approached him.
“A-Myeong-ah, what's going on?”
The men who approached while asking that looked like delinquents at a glance, and they had a vile look, as if they enjoyed the misfortune of others.
Cheon Ha-seong let out a deep sigh inwardly, wondering why such people were getting involved. He was busy. He had no time to get entangled with bastards like this here.
He had to quickly meet the chef, persuade him, and take him back to the Divine Cult.
But even the simple act of entering the restaurant was not going smoothly, so his mood naturally soured.
The attendant saw the men approaching him and started scheming again.
It seemed they too had taken notice of the simpleton who had just entered the restaurant. Perhaps they had even seen the simpleton's fancy money pouch.
These men were the scoundrels of an influential family in Qinghai, and it seemed that if they just helped him, it wouldn't be difficult to steal the simpleton's money pouch.
Cheon Ha-seong looked at the attendant, thinking that this matter would not end easily.
“Is there something else you wanted to say? I'd like to go in and order some food. It seems you're not the only attendant at Cheonghaeru, and since you seem very busy, I will ask another attendant.”
Cheon Ha-seong didn't think those words would work, but he tried to create an opportunity by saying them anyway. However, the men who had appeared belatedly blocked his path.
“I don't think that's going to happen. What kind of bastard are you? You look like you're new to Qinghai; do you even have a travel pass? I'm asking if you aren't some robber from another place who snuck into Qinghai. We are from the powerful clans of Qinghai. It's no exaggeration to say that we manage Qinghai amongst ourselves. It is our important duty to root out suspicious bastards before they muddy the waters when they enter Qinghai.”
Cheon Ha-seong looked at them and smiled.
“Is that so? You want to see my travel pass? I have one.”
Until then, Cheon Ha-seong hadn't known whose travel pass he had received.
He had understood that they would have prepared a travel pass in advance in case there was a need to go outside the Divine Cult, but he didn't know whose pass they would have prepared.
Seeing Cheon Ha-seong confidently hold out his travel pass, the scoundrels of Qinghai flinched. Normally, if they told someone to present their travel pass or identification, that person would shrink back even if they hadn't committed any crime.
This was even more so when they called themselves the powerful clans of Qinghai. But seeing a man hold out his travel pass without the slightest hesitation, their expressions stiffened.
‘…!’
Seeing the face of the man who first took the travel pass harden, the others thought it was strange and all looked at the pass.
The attendant, on the other hand, didn't know what the problem was even after seeing the travel pass Cheon Ha-seong presented. He wore a puzzled expression, wondering why the others were making such faces.
The men who had gathered returned the travel pass to Cheon Ha-seong as if nothing had happened, quietly turned around, and left the restaurant.
The attendant, not knowing why they were doing that, stood there blankly, but as if he couldn't just stand still, he sneakily followed them. In the meantime, Cheon Ha-seong went and sat at an empty seat, and an attendant from another area came and took his order.
Cheon Ha-seong hadn't been planning to eat himself, but thinking it wouldn't be right to just take the chef without patronizing the establishment at all, he ordered dumplings.
He was curious just how delicious they were that Seo Hyo-eun hadn't been able to forget a taste she had had a long time ago. However, even as he ordered the dumplings and paid, his attention was focused on the men who had gone outside. It was because he was curious about the travel pass he had.
They had already left Cheonghaeru and were a considerable distance away, but if he used his internal energy, it was not difficult to hear what they were saying.
“Young Masters, what was that travel pass the man had that you were all so surprised?”
When the attendant asked, the one who had first taken the travel pass snapped and said.
“That man is a Manager of the Golden Merchant Guild. Do you not know what kind of place the Golden Merchant Guild is?”
Cheon Ha-seong heard the words but wasn't greatly surprised, as he had never heard of the Golden Merchant Guild. However, seeing the attendant's reaction, it seemed it was not a matter to be taken lightly.
“The Golden Merchant Guild, you say? How could I not know of the Golden Merchant Guild, one of the Four Great Merchant Guilds of the Central Plains? But how could a Manager of the Golden Merchant Guild appear here in such a state?”
“As it is, I was already thinking that your greed would one day bring you disaster. How can you hope to live long when you don't even know how to properly judge a person and only covet what's in their money pouch!”
Cheon Ha-seong became more curious about the Golden Merchant Guild.
Just as he was thinking that, another person spoke, as if trying to revive the dying embers of the conversation.
“I heard a rumor that the true owner of the Golden Merchant Guild is the maternal family of His Highness the Crown Prince. Could that be true?”
“I've heard the same. It's a fact that everyone who should know, knows. So isn't that how the Golden Merchant Guild was able to easily enter the ranks of the Four Great Merchant Guilds of the Central Plains, even though they started later than the others?”
“And that man from before is a Manager of the Golden Merchant Guild?”
“Isn't that what he said? Let's get out of here quickly. He might get angry because we annoyed him by asking to see his travel pass for no reason, don't you think? At that time, we won't be able to handle all of his anger.”
Then they fled, competing with one another.
Cheon Ha-seong was feeling anew the greatness of the Divine Cult.
This too must have been possible because the followers spread throughout the Central Plains had diligently proselytized. Listening to what the people were saying, it seemed the place called the Golden Merchant Guild was an enormous organization, and weren't they saying they had won over even one of its Managers?
‘Or is it? Could it just be a forgery?’
In any case, his feeling of gratitude towards the followers was very great.
In the meantime, the dumplings he had ordered came out. The person who brought them was not the attendant who had taken his order, but the one who had blocked him.
The man had a radiant smile on his face and brought a plethora of dishes and alcohol that Cheon Ha-seong hadn't even ordered.
Cheon Ha-seong let out a chuckle, feeling as if he could see right through the man's intentions.
“Young Master, it seems I failed to recognize a noble person and have made a mistake. I hope you will please forgive me. These are things I have paid for with my own money, so please eat to your heart's content. You originally ordered only one serving of dumplings, but I have brought three. I have paid for the two servings beyond what you ordered.”
“There is no need for that. However, in the future, I hope you will not discriminate when dealing with people just by looking at their outward appearance. While there may be times you have to filter people out in the course of your work, I do not think an attitude like the one from before will be good for Cheonghaeru.”
“Yes, yes. Young Master. I will take your words to heart and engrave them deeply from now on.”
The attendant, thinking he could get past this just like that, spoke with relief.
“Then please enjoy your meal, Young Master.”
Just as he was about to turn around, Cheon Ha-seong called for him.
“I will pay for this food. I have the money to pay for it. And I do not like to receive favors from people I do not know well.”
Saying that, he took out his money pouch, and the attendant, startled, stopped him.
“Young Master, please accept it. It is a token of my sincerity.”
The attendant had tried to have his mistake forgiven this way, but when Cheon Ha-seong said he would pay for the food, he became anxious.
However, Cheon Ha-seong insisted on paying for the food and made a proposal to the attendant.
“It seems you want to help me, and there is a way for you to do so, Brother.”
“What is it?”
The attendant was in a position where he had to grant whatever it was.
If he got on the wrong side of a Manager of the Golden Merchant Guild, Cheonghaeru might have to close its business.
Currently, Cheonghaeru was not doing business with the Golden Merchant Guild. However, he didn't even want to imagine what would happen if this man, taking this incident as an opportunity, decided to ruin Cheonghaeru.
“Just say the word, and I will do anything.”
As he said that, the attendant wondered if Cheon Ha-seong was about to demand an amount of money that was beyond comparison to the price of the food. But even if he did, it seemed he would not be able to refuse.
The attendant had never regretted anything as much as he did at this moment.
Watching his face instantly rot, Cheon Ha-seong spoke.
“It is a slightly difficult request, though.”
“…”
The attendant swallowed dryly. Cheon Ha-seong looked at him with a very apologetic face and spoke.
“Could you let me greet the chef? The food is so delicious that I really want to greet them. It would be good if it's the chef who made these dumplings. Ah, is there by any chance only one chef who makes dumplings at Cheonghaeru?”
The attendant was bewildered, wondering what he had just heard.
So he looked at Cheon Ha-seong and carefully asked back.
“Young Master, so you are saying that the favor you wish to ask of me is to let you greet the chef?”
“That's right. The chef who made the dumplings. And please answer what I just asked.”
“Ah, yes. That is correct. There is only one chef who makes dumplings at Cheonghaeru. Since Cheonghaeru opened, one person has always made the dumplings by himself.”
At that, a look of joy spread across Cheon Ha-seong's face.