novelraw Chapter 81
Chapter 81
Chapter 81
“Are you worried, Head Instructor Seo?”
Cheon Ha-seong asked in an affectionate voice.
“No. On the contrary, I think it turned out well. I feel that the influence of the prestigious Demonic Clans in the Divine Cult was too high. I don't know when lineage became so important in the Divine Cult. Wasn't it a cult that cherished the value of survival of the fittest? But centered around the prestigious Demonic Clans, those people enjoyed special privileges and banded together. They excluded others and tried to prevent them from becoming strong.”
Seo Hyo-eun must have been able to say that with certainty because she had also been at the Martial Arts Academy.
“That's right.”
“Father also thought a lot about that. That's why he said this might be a good opportunity. In that respect, he also said he was grateful to you, Head Instructor Cheon. He said that if you hadn't started it first, he wouldn't have even dared to try.”
Cheon Ha-seong was grateful for those words. It wasn't that he was grateful for being praised; he was grateful that he had accepted it as a problem of the Divine Cult and had decided to change it.
“Even if we accept the Danmok Demonic Clan, I'm not sure about the Cheok Demonic Clan. The Danmok Clan has committed a wrong, but the Cheok Clan hasn't done anything that wrong.”
At Cheon Ha-seong's words, Seo Hyo-eun showed confidence.
“The Cheok Demonic Clan won't be difficult.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
“Cheok is following Father with real enthusiasm. And it seems Father is also pleased with him. He calls for him frequently and they talk about various things; it's almost at the level of brainwashing. It seems Father is constantly worried that you have no faction, Head Instructor Cheon. So he called for Cheok and repeatedly told him that it would be good if the Cheok Demonic Clan became your faction.”
Cheon Ha-seong felt sorry and grateful to hear that the Cult Leader had been doing such things behind the scenes.
“Cheok will also be guessing what will happen if he gets any greedier. It will be easier for him to decide on a course of action once he finds out what happened to the Danmok Demonic Clan this time, following the So Demonic Clan.”
Then he asked if it didn't seem like Danmok Yeon would try to protect the Danmok Demonic Clan.
“What do you think that person will be like in the future? From what I've heard, it seems the reason he is being good to you is because he is drawn to your power. He is not a good person. He is just a person who worships power. If he hadn't thought you were stronger than him, I think he would have killed you without a second thought.”
Cheon Ha-seong could not deny those words either. It could have been the most accurate judgment.
“You're probably right. But I think it will be important to persuade even those who have harbored unjust thoughts and make them able to fight for us. I felt a lot of things while I was in Qinghai. That we have to become stronger, and we have to draw more people to our side. Because the fights we have in our own front yard are different from the fights we have outside.”
Seo Hyo-eun also nodded her head as if she understood his words.
Even while thinking that, casting out Danmok Muyeol might have seemed contradictory at a glance. However, Seo Hyo-eun also knew that it would be crucial in this matter to resolutely get rid of a person who was unlikely to change.
“What do you think will happen with the Azure Sea Sect? People must have found out by now, right?”
“They must have.”
“The intelligence agents must already be on the move, right? The news must be starting to come in.”
At Seo Hyo-eun's words, Cheon Ha-seong also wanted to meet them.
It didn't make sense that a massive organization like the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult wouldn't have intelligence agents. He had thought several times that it would have been better if he had received their help first. However, when he first left for Qinghai, his only goal had been to bring back the chef, so his preparations had been very insufficient.
Cheon Ha-seong, after talking for a long while, thought that he had been talking too much about other things.
“Our baby is doing well? Growing up healthy, right? They're not angry that their father is only just now showing interest, are they?”
“I think they might be.”
At Seo Hyo-eun's words, Cheon Ha-seong was about to dote on the baby, but as if it had been waiting for just that moment, a voice was heard from outside.
“It is Gi Mun-yong, Head Instructor. May I come inside for a moment?”
“Come in.”
As Cheon Ha-seong corrected his posture and waited, Gi Mun-yong entered with an emotional face. The expression of being truly happy that he had returned safely was written all over his face. Still, as if he had to deliver the message he had to deliver first, he spoke with a serious face.
“The Cult Leader has said he will prepare a banquet. He said that the two of you do not necessarily need to attend, and that you just need to let him know whether you will or not. May I hear your decision now?”
When Cheon Ha-seong looked at Seo Hyo-eun, she immediately shook her head.
She wanted to spend this time intimately with Cheon Ha-seong, at least for now.
At that, Gi Mun-yong continued.
“The Cult Leader said he will invite many of the Divine Cult's leadership and representatives of the followers to that event. And he also said he will make an official announcement about you, Head Instructor, at that event. It seems he intends to officially announce the Young Supreme One's pregnancy and solidify your position.”
Cheon Ha-seong thought that things were proceeding a bit suddenly. He wondered if something else had happened, as such things do not happen by chance.
“Why so suddenly?”
“He was very angry after hearing that the Young Family Head Danmok Muyeol had been rude to you on the way here.”
“Who told him that?”
“Warrior Sa.”
“Sa Un-ak?”
“Yes, well, that person may have just started it, but once the words came out, everyone else stepped up and spoke from then on. It seemed they didn't even think about the Cult Leader's expression worsening and were so excited they were out of their minds.”
As things had turned out, it seemed he had no choice but to go. Listening to him, it seemed the atmosphere there was not very good, and that everyone was probably watching the Cult Leader's expression.
If the Cult Leader's expression was so frighteningly stiff at an event meant to welcome the followers from Qinghai, who could possibly enjoy the banquet comfortably? It would be a relief if the food they ate didn't give them indigestion.
“Don't you think the Cult Leader is intentionally doing this to keep me by his side, Head Instructor Seo?”
“The possibility is very high.”
At that, Gi Mun-yong, as if he found it amusing, added one more thing.
“I hear that the Principal and Head Instructors of the Martial Arts Academy will also be invited in large numbers, Head Instructor.”
“Even the Principal? Why the Principal?”
“Isn't the Principal the one who most needs to know your current position, Head Instructor Cheon? It seemed the Cult Leader also knows well how the Principal has treated you all this time. So it felt like he was waiting for an opportunity. Isn't the only reason the Principal can be the Principal because the Cult Leader allowed and approved him for that position? But what has he done in that position?”
Cheon Ha-seong also knew that was right. Until now, he had thought it was not his business. He had thought that he just had to work hard at his own post and do his own job. But that wasn't the case.
He was away from the Martial Arts Academy, and new candidates would continue to enter it. And the Principal would not change easily and would treat the candidates as he had before.
“That's right. The Martial Arts Academy is a really important place in the Divine Cult, and we can't just entrust it to anyone. If the Cult Leader is thinking of entrusting that position to a new person, then I am in favor. Many of the Head Instructors will have to change as well. Before, they just managed the candidates who entered the Academy and passively answered their questions, but it would be good if they now also actively educate them.”
Having gone through various things, Cheon Ha-seong's thoughts had certainly broadened, and his perspective on problems had widened.
If he couldn't find a solution before, now he could present one.
Once he learned who the damage would fall upon if a problem wasn't solved, he could no longer pretend not to know.
He also knew what a great wrong it was to do nothing when one was in a position to solve a problem.
That was a fact he had realized while going through the incident with Danmok Muyeol. He had had a chance to deal with him before. But at the thought that he might change later, he had failed to be resolute each time.
Another problem was the fact that he had rapidly grown close to the Divine Cult's leadership. Since the Cult Leader and the Young Supreme One both listened so attentively to his words and were directly influenced by them, he could not speak carelessly about just anything.
It was to the point where the fate of a family could be decided by a single word from him, so his decisions had to be made with care. And the result of that had appeared in the recent incident caused by Danmok Muyeol.
He could no longer just avoid problems for the reason that the responsibility he had to bear was heavy. It seemed that if his responsibility grew heavier, he had to brace himself for it and do what he had to do.
“Then I'll have to eat just a few dumplings.”
Seo Hyo-eun came to a simple conclusion.
“You have to eat a lot of dumplings. It's not a given that the food at the banquet will suit your taste.”
“Then shall we do that?”
The preparations were all finished, but Paeng Ga-jong's dumplings were taking a long time.
“I will stop by on my way and urge him one more time.”
When Gi Mun-yong said that, Cheon Ha-seong did not refuse.
“Then I'll ask that of you.”
“Yes, Head Instructor.”
Gi Mun-yong was so happy that Cheon Ha-seong had made a personal request of him that he left, beaming.
……
At the banquet, alcohol and meat were served heartily, and many people were invited and attended.
Cheon Ha-seong went with Seo Hyo-eun, greeted the Cult Leader, and then moved to another seat. It was to talk with the followers from Qinghai, thinking they would be nervous.
Seeing Cheon Ha-seong go to them, the Cult Leader looked at his daughter with pity.
“Are you not upset that he has returned after several days, only to go off to others already, Hyo-eun-ah?”
“Not at all. Why are you trying to drive a wedge between us, Father?”
At those words, the Cult Leader was at a loss for words and stared blankly at his daughter.
“Do you really think this father of yours is trying to drive a wedge between you?”
“Not at all.”
The Cult Leader burst out laughing loudly. It seemed he had laughed without realizing it, dumbfounded by her talent for playing with his emotions.
His relationship with his daughter had been comfortable and close before, but it felt as if they had grown much closer since a certain point. That too was all because of his son-in-law.
Because Cheon Ha-seong had played his role well in the middle, they had come to know a lot about each other that they hadn't known before, and their affectionate feelings had deepened.