00468 left. ————————————————– ———————-=
We finally returned to the Mercenary Clan House.
The clan members gave us an unexpectedly warm welcome.
Of course, I knew it would be welcomed. But it went too far and she felt rather embarrassed.
The initial cheers and applause were okay, but there was no sign of it ending. I managed to calm it down, and now they are all smiling and looking at me. As I was looking at them quietly, I wondered if they had gone crazy as a group.
I was a little worried, but anyway, it was embarrassing to just sit still like this. So, after first telling the clan members I had worked with that I had a hard time, I headed straight for Hayeon. Fortunately, Hayeon had the most normal face.
“Did anything special happen?”
“yes. I just stayed quiet… . ah.”
It was then. Hayeon smiled softly and suddenly her eyes focused on my shoulder. Soon Hayeon took a few steps back and I quickly turned around. Then, Seon Yu-un and An Sol appeared with tired-looking faces.
Seon Yu-un spoke first.
“Clan Lord. “Some of the users we rescued this time said they would like to meet the clan lord.”
“huh? why? “Didn’t you take care of all their equipment?”
“I’m not talking about equipment, I’m just saying thank you for saving my life… . He says he wants to return the favor. “I think they are talking about joining a clan.”
“Stop talking nonsense and just tell me to go back. ah. Clients are advised to bring user Sujeong Kim to visit sometime soon. “Now that I have completed the request, I need to receive the balance.”
I refused without hesitation at all. On the outside, he said he was returning the favor, but his true intentions were clearly visible. I was wondering if there were any users worth scouting, so I checked each one out and found that they were all at a decent level.
Finally, seeing Seon Yu-un bowing his head and turning around, I turned my gaze to Ansol. Ansol’s eyes as he looked at me contained an unknown earnestness.
“why?”
“Brother. I… . “What are you going to do today?”
And, only after listening to the next words, I was able to understand Ansol’s feelings. This expedition was a long journey that lasted over two months. So, aside from being tired, you will miss warm food and a soft bed.
“no. It’s been hard so far, so it would be better to relieve my fatigue today. Get some rest today. “Why don’t you go and tell them that?”
“Really?”
Since Anhyun and Hangyeol had to go to nursing anyway, I nodded slowly. I smiled bitterly as I saw Ansol running as if he was flying. It looks like he’s been pushing it quite hard so far.
After a while, I looked back at Hayeon again.
“I’m a little tired today too.”
“Thank you for your hard work. Clan Lord. “I told you to come out and prepare a meal or clean your room, so you can come right in.”
At Hayeon’s words, I calmly walked towards the door. I felt Hayeon carefully following me next to me. Meanwhile, when I quietly look up at the sky, I see the sun floating in the sky. It was still shining brightly, but it looked like it was about to fall.
When I looked down at the road, I suddenly felt empty.
Now that I think about it, I can’t see Yumi. Yumi has a special ability: if I go out somewhere, she can guess when I will return like a ghost. That’s why I saw her at the front door many times, so why can’t I see her today?
“But where is Yumi?”
“Oh, Yumi? “Are you going to be very busy right now?”
“yes? “Are you busy?”
“Ho Ho… . “You might be a little surprised when you see it.”
huh? Are you surprised when you see it?
I tilted my head at Hayeon’s words, but anyway, I thought she was saying that she was well, so I didn’t ask any more questions. Then she gently opened the door and walked into the restaurant. In fact, I was also hungry for a warm, delicious meal. Because the food here is better than the food eaten outside.
The meal was definitely okay. no. Since it was a dish prepared by a skilled chef and not prepared by night flowers, it was very delicious.
After finishing my meal, I left the restaurant and sat down on a chair in the lobby on the first floor. A glowing fire was burning brightly in the fireplace in front. Feeling the hot light shining through my whole body, I closed my eyes and fell into thought.
Over the past two years, Mercantile has received and processed countless requests and excavated numerous ruins. If so, results would naturally follow, but he did not simply store them in the warehouse. This is because the number of ruins, which were the main source of income, was limited, so it was impossible to rely on exploration forever.
So externally, they purchased shops, inns, and taverns, or built branches in other cities, and internally, they used funds to improve the welfare of clan members through mercantile academy, building renovation, blacksmith shop, etc.
The part that took the most effort was the restaurant. This is because meals are a major part of life as they are food, clothing, and shelter, and in fact, the night flowers are not very good at cooking. (If anything, you need to start the day refreshingly, but the night flowers cooked After eating, I felt like my body was going limp.)
In the end, after turning Night Flowers into house management, the restaurant was reorganized on a large scale. As a result, the users currently managing the restaurant were a capable couple who had experience running a restaurant in modern times.
When I met this couple… . Well, maybe it was a coincidence.
One day, I had to go to Eden, and after finishing my errands, I stopped by a small restaurant. At that time, I met a couple there, and one thing that was unusual was that the couple were not non-combat users. He was also a skilled combat user who was quite famous at one time.
At first, I was curious why he lived like a non-combat user, but after hearing the circumstances, I was able to understand. During the peak of his activities, his wife became pregnant, and her husband was opposed to her fighting any more intense battles.
Eventually, the two stopped all activities as soon as the child was born and opened a restaurant with the money they had saved.
Anyway, the food was very good, so after chatting a bit, I scouted the couple and took over the restaurant on the spot. It was good for the couple to be able to raise their children in decent conditions and a safer environment, and it was mutually beneficial because we were also able to eat high-quality food at every meal.
“Ugh. “Brother.”
Is it because it’s been a while since I ate delicious food? When I turned my gaze to the sleepy voice, I saw Ansol sitting down on the chair right next to me. Her face is full of satiety and her left hand is gently stroking her stomach. It was a very satisfied face.
“why.”
“Me… . I’m so full right now… .”
“okay. Do you think you can buy it now?”
“yes. Being able to have a drink in front of a warm fireplace like this… . I’m so happy… .”
Ansol smiled and took a sip from the large cup in his right hand. I stared in amazement for a while as Ansol poured the drink into my stomach without stopping. How could something like that fit into that white and slender neck? The cup was tilted almost straight.
“Khyaaa! Cough, Cough!”
Finally, Ansol put down the cup and let out a weak cough.
Then, at that moment, I suddenly felt like I was leaving the flames and that the quiet surroundings had become noisy.
As I quietly look around, I see clan members coming out of the restaurant and gathering in groups of twos and threes to talk. I can hear people asking about various things with very excited faces, so it looks like they have been captured by people who are curious about exploration.
After listening to the surroundings for a while, I looked back at Ansol again. I could see Ansol nodding off as if he was falling asleep because his stomach was full. I shook Ansol’s shoulder.
“Ansol. “You should go in and sleep.”
“Yes… . huh?”
Ansol twisted his shoulder for a moment. But she soon lifted her head and looked up at me with her sleepy eyes. Perhaps because she was in front of the fireplace, her face was red, and a faint light flickered in her eyes. Then, suddenly, Ansol’s lips opened.
“Brother… .”
“huh?”
“You know, I have an older brother…” .”
“huh.”
Ansol’s lips purse as if he wants to say something. I calmly waited for the next words.
But in the end, he seemed to have given up, and Ansol got up with a weak smile.
“… no. it’s nothing.”
“… so?”
I took out a piece of tobacco and stared at Ansol, who was walking unsteadily. My brother is Ahn Hyeon. I was curious about what he really wanted to say, but I quickly put it out of my mind. This is because the disposition of Ahn Hyeon had already been decided and there was no room for further consideration.
After a while, I lit a candle, thinking I should just burn this one. Then I closed my eyes and sank deep into the chair.
It will be very busy starting tomorrow.
*
The next morning, the Mercenary Clan’s morning was very busy. After finishing our meal happily, we were about to start talking about our achievements, when suddenly a summons was issued. And that is not just a summons order, but a general summons order.
Clan members who participated in the mountain range and those who did not were very curious about the results, but they all began to enter the conference room one by one without saying a word. This is because Clan Lord Kim Soo-hyun had an intuition of the reason for issuing the summons.
To put it briefly here, Mercenary’s structure basically centers all authority on Kim Soo-hyun. Of course, there were clan members representing each sector, but they were only agents.
In other words, there is no official position for a mercantile executive or executive.
So, it is limited to ‘clan members’. Mercenaries treat all clan members equally, except for the clan lord, and have similar rights to speak regardless of age or skill. This structure was a good fit for the structure of the elite mercenaries.
As such, it was as if the term ‘second in command’ did not exist, but there were still users who tacitly acknowledged it among the clan members.
Among them, Kim Soo-hyun’s three favorite users were Go Yeon-ju, the Queen of Shadows, Jeong Ha-yeon, the Blue Moon Mage, and Ahn Hyeon, a Qigong Spear user.
As the clan power increased, it became difficult for Kim Soo-hyun to take care of each person one by one like he did during the caravan days, but An Hyun was an exception. Kim Soo-hyun coached Ahn Hyun whenever he had time, and took her with him wherever she went. Is that all? Also, whenever her achievements were distributed after the excavation of her remains, Ahn Hyeon always received the grand prize.
As a result, Anhyun was able to possess user information that no one could ignore and was able to establish his own position within the clan.
That might raise his arrogance, but in fact, Ahn Hyeon’s reputation within the clan is quite good. Unlike Lee Yu-jeong, she did not have a crooked attitude and her personality was gentle.
In addition, rather than being territorial towards the new clan members, it was seen that they were taking care of them directly with the mindset of getting along well in the future, so despite receiving some favoritism, there were no clan members who were extremely envious or jealous.
Because it was Ahn Hyeon, the reactions within the clan were sharply divided about this incident. The reactions were ‘Punishment without exception.’ and ‘Still, Anhyun.’
As such, it was of unprecedented interest to the extent that all members of the Mercenary Clan were keeping an eye on how Kim Soo-hyun, who had always admired Ahn Hyun, would deal with her this time.
“Hey, for some reason I thought I was just going to get over it yesterday, but that wasn’t the case. “What will happen to Anhyeon?”
“I saw you enter the conference room earlier… . Anyway, the clan load is a bit too much. “I’m a clan member who just returned.”
“no. What’s too much? I just like it. No matter how much you call it Anhyeon, what you did was wrong. On the contrary, if I had just dragged it out and moved on, I would have been really disappointed by the clan lord.”
“Who said they didn’t do anything wrong? But I also listened to Hyun’s story… .”
The general meeting place is held in the main conference room on the 4th floor. The Mercenary Clan members who received the summons had a heated discussion about Anhyeon as they climbed the stairs to the fourth floor.
“What are you talking about? “You probably already heard it all on the way!”
“Cluck, cluck, cluck!”
It was then. Just as Dong-seok was getting angry with his harsh voice, a strong coughing sound was heard from the bottom of the stairs. When I reflexively turned around, I saw an old, grayish user struggling to climb the stairs. Dong-seok immediately stopped what he was saying and rushed over.
“Oh my, chronic old man! You’re not feeling well, so what are you doing here? .”
“For some reason. I came because I heard that a summons had been issued… . But what are you all doing here? It’s already so hard that I’m dying, but they’ve blocked the way up. Cough!”
Lee Man-seong coughed harshly once again and then raised his head. Then, the clan members standing on the stairs all avoided eye contact. Lee Man-seong clicked his tongue and sighed.
“The Clan Lord will make the decision anyway, so what’s the use of talking about it now? So everyone, let’s stop talking and go upstairs. It looks like we were the last ones… .”
Dong-seok supported Lee Man-seong without saying anything. Just like that, the clan members silently walked into the conference room on the 4th floor.
As Lee Man-seong said, almost all the users had already gathered in the main conference room. In the center of the conference room, Ahn Hyeon, Jeong Ha-yeon, and Baek Han-gyeol were standing like criminals, and there were over 50 users neatly seated at the tables on the left and right.
After a while, Kim Soo-hyun gave a light greeting to Lee Man-seong, who slowly sat down. And after confirming that all the clan members, no, all except Yeonju, had gathered, he quietly opened his mouth.
“It looks like everyone is here. “Then, let’s start the meeting.”
There was a solemn and heavy atmosphere flowing in the conference room. The clan members all looked at the three people in the center with awkward eyes. Hyeon Ahn, Ha-yeon Jeong, and Han-gyeol Baek. Aside from their ability, those three were no different from the original members of Mercenary, who had been active for the longest along with Kim Soo-hyun.
Kim Soo-hyun opened his mouth.
“Everyone probably knows the situation anyway, so let’s get started right away without further explanation. User Ahn Hyeon?”
“yes… . yes!”
The moment his name was called, Ahn Hyeon stuttered to answer. This is because the term “user Ahn Hyeon” felt so distant. But before I could even accept it, Kim Soo-hyun continued.
“This is your first and last chance. “Let’s make an argument.”
And the moment I spoke, a small commotion arose. Telling them to state their defense without any words meant that Ahn Hyeon’s guilt had already been confirmed. Although the clan members were nervous, they recalled what Kim Soo-hyun said two months ago as he left the conference room.
‘I give you one last warning. If an incident like this happens again in the future, it will be difficult for anyone to avoid responsibility.’
‘From what I just said, there will be no exception to this case.’
After catching his breath for a moment, Anhyun carefully opened his mouth.
“For now, tongue, bro. What really saved me was… .”
“User Anhyun?”
“… sorry. “Clan Lord.”
“yes. User Ahn Hyeon. I don’t remember telling you to thank me. Why did you do that, why did you do that? What I wanted to do was explain this situation and convince me. “Don’t you know what this means?”
“… … .”
This was because the man in front of me, who was looking at me gently but coldly, felt quite unfamiliar. Ahn Hyeon swallowed his saliva and then looked at Hayeon secretly. And the moment her Ha-yeon nodded her head, she bit her lip slightly.
“It would be an excuse to say it was a momentary mistake. I’m really sorry. I don’t think any explanation for this situation is enough, and I think it’s all my fault. I will accept whatever punishment you give me. but… .”
“Hmm. is that so. I have no intention of making excuses, and I will accept my punishment. Then, even if you are placed on probation as planned, I will have nothing to say.”
Kim Soo-hyun said while slightly raising one eye. And Anhyeon lifted her head from her bowed position. It wasn’t because she cut herself off mid-sentence. The reason the punishment was probation was because it was a much lighter punishment than expected.
“Yes, yes!”
“All right. Then, user Ahn Hyun will take responsibility for this situation and be placed on probation. “We will not receive any objections on this matter.”
As soon as Kim Soo-hyun’s words fell, a much bigger mess than before fell into the conference room.
It was then.
“but. This probation does not mean general probation. Conditional Probation with Three Limits, meaning there are three limits that apply to user Ahn Hyun.”
Then, solemnity and quiet returned to the once noisy conference room.
Ahn Hyeon regained the tension he had slightly lost. Discipline means to be careful and refrain from speaking or acting. I don’t know what kind of punishment there will be, but I thought it would be okay if it was in the category of probation.
Soon, Kim Soo-hyun listened to the record in front of him, then raised his eyes and looked at Ahn Hyeon.
And, it was that moment.
“first. Ahn Hyun’s clan member position will be removed. As of this time, I will no longer recognize Ahn Hyeon as a Mercenary Clan member.”
Kim Soo-hyun’s unique low, cold voice resonated in the quiet conference room.
—————————= Review of the work ——————– ——-=
ah. It’s driving me crazy. According to the voting results, Han So-young is far ahead. This probably won’t work. There is a high possibility that Han So-young will be voted out, so she should be voted down. Anyway, Han So-young will appear sooner or later. She will be portrayed as obnoxious as possible to drive down the vote. Hahaha. (No, it might be a joke.)
There are still two restrictions left, and you may think that the punishment for Ahn Hyun is excessive. However, I have some future thoughts, so I would appreciate it if you could stay tuned for a little more. 🙂
Well, I hope you have a good day today and that you enjoy reading it.
P.S. Thank you to everyone who voted. We plan to continue voting, so please cast your valuable vote!
fantasy,
