Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought so. Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu turned to him and asked.
"Uk, is something wrong? You don't look very happy."
"Ah, yes. There's actually been a problem back at the clan."
Young Lord Hwangbo Uk had some difficulty continuing.
"The merchant who's been supplying our clan with whetstones told us he can no longer provide them. The whole clan is in an uproar."
"What? He can't supply us with whetstones anymore? What in the world do you mean?"
Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu reacted sharply.
One might wonder why losing a supply of whetstones was enough to cause such a commotion, but this was a martial clan.
Whetstones were indispensable to any martial clan.
Of course, the Hwangbo Clan specialized primarily in unarmed combat, but that didn't mean they neglected weapons.
And once members of the clan entered military service, weapons inevitably became even more important.
On top of that, the Hwangbo Clan was blessed with extraordinary natural strength. Their weapons tended to lose their edges quickly, so they naturally went through far more whetstones than most other clans.
Young Lord Hwangbo Uk gave Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu an awkward look.
"Well… I think you'd be better off hearing the details from Grandfather."
.
.
.
A short while later.
We were shown into the reception room.
Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu sat silently in his chair while I helped myself to the tea and snacks beside him.
Watching me eat, Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu let out a quiet chuckle.
"You certainly eat well."
"They went through the trouble of serving all this. Imagine how disappointed they'd be if I didn't eat any of it."
"Well, that's true. Is it to your taste?"
"It's quite good. Now I understand why the food was always delicious at every inn you chose for us."
"My clan does have plenty of gourmets."
I took a sip of tea before asking,
"By the way, what is your relationship with Young Lord Hwangbo Uk, whom we met earlier?"
"Ah, he's my nephew. His father is the current Young Clan Lord – and also my older brother."
Then Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu was the Clan Lord's son.
So he was a direct descendant of the Hwangbo Clan.
"Then what about Elder Hwangbo Hwi?"
"He's my uncle."
So that was how they were related.
Just then, I sensed someone approaching. A moment later, the door opened and a broad, powerfully built old man stepped inside.
The sheer presence radiating from him sent a sudden chill crawling over my entire body.
I quickly rose from my seat and took a scroll from inside my robe.
"I have brought an Imperial Decree from His Majesty the Emperor."
The instant he heard me, the old man dropped to one knee.
Thud!
"I, Hwangbo Se, Clan Lord of the Hwangbo Clan, receive His Majesty the Emperor's Imperial Decree!"
So this man really was the Hwangbo Clan Lord.
When carrying out a mission to deliver an Imperial Decree, the decree itself took precedence over everything else.
That was why I'd skipped introducing myself and immediately announced it.
Still, having the Hwangbo Clan Lord kneeling in front of me was a little uncomfortable.
Obviously, he wasn't bowing to me. He was paying respect to His Majesty's Imperial Decree, but that didn't make the situation feel any less awkward.
I kept my discomfort off my face and held out the scroll, which he respectfully accepted.
After reading the decree, he carefully rolled it back up and tucked it inside his robe.
The reverence in every movement made the Hwangbo Clan Lord's loyalty to the Emperor obvious.
Most people didn't go quite that far.
He rose to his feet, and I cupped my hands as I introduced myself.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group."
"I am Hwangbo Se, Clan Lord of the Hwangbo Clan. Have a seat."
"Yes."
He looked toward Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu beside me and spoke in a stern voice.
"And what are you doing? Sit down. You're making the room restless."
"Yes, Father."
Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu immediately moved to his seat and sat down.
Judging by everything I'd seen of him until now, I'd thought he was the sort of free-spirited man who refused to be bound by rules.
Apparently not.
Then again, I'd heard the Hwangbo Clan maintained a strict and rigid family tradition.
Seeing him now, I could believe it.
"So, I hear His Majesty the Emperor has taken quite an interest in the Martial Arts Academy your merchant group is funding?"
I quickly focused my attention on the Clan Lord and answered his question.
"Yes. That's correct. The purpose of the Martial Arts Academy we're establishing is to provide talented individuals for the Imperial Court."
"People trained in martial arts?"
"Yes. In fact, another purpose behind this project is to place people loyal to His Majesty among the various powers throughout the empire."
He nodded at my explanation.
"I see. Understood. Then am I to choose the Instructor our clan will send?"
"Yes, but if possible…"
I pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to him.
"I'd like someone who matches these conditions as closely as possible."
It was the proposal Chief Administrator Zhuge Cheon-du had given me.
The Clan Lord read over the paper and slowly nodded.
"At least Peak-level martial prowess, some degree of knowledge regarding every martial art practiced by the Hwangbo Clan, with unarmed combat as their primary specialty. None of the other conditions are particularly difficult, but requiring them to know all of our clan's martial arts complicates things somewhat."
He pondered it for a moment before changing the subject.
"Then let me ask you something first. What martial arts will the students who enter this academy actually learn? Even if the martial clans agree to send Instructors, none of them will willingly hand over their secret arts."
The Clan Lord was right.
Chief Administrator Zhuge Cheon-du had raised the same concern.
But I'd already had an answer in mind from the moment I first began planning the Martial Arts Academy.
The martial arts taught there would all be based on the Heavenly Flow Art.
The very martial art the world believed I had learned.
I explained it to the Clan Lord piece by piece.
"First, the reason I require the Instructor to know all of their clan's martial arts is so they'll be able to answer the students' questions."
"Is that all?"
"Yes. But that matters far more than you might think. Imagine how disappointed the students would be if an Instructor from the Hwangbo Clan couldn't explain the Hwangbo Clan's own martial arts."
I continued.
"I believe a teacher is someone who walks one step ahead of his students, then shows them the road he traveled so they don't have to stumble through the same mistakes. To do that properly, a teacher needs a much broader foundation of knowledge. Wouldn't you agree?"
"You're right about that."
"As for the martial arts the students entering the academy will learn…"
I grinned.
"You'll find out later."
There was no reason to reveal that already.
"You don't need to worry too much. We have absolutely no intention of demanding another martial clan's secret arts."
"I see. Judging by that look in your eyes, you must be preparing something quite extraordinary."
He nodded.
"Very well. I'll do as you've requested."
Come to think of it, judging by what Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu had told me earlier, the Clan Lord was Elder Ghost-faced Constable's older brother.
If so, there was a good chance he knew Elder Ghost-faced Constable's actual birthday.
I was wondering when I should ask when Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu suddenly spoke.
"Father! I heard what happened. Our whetstone deliveries were suddenly cut off! What in the world is going on?"
"Haa… That's what happened. Either way, it's become quite the headache."
The Clan Lord looked at me with a troubled expression before continuing.
"The fact that you're bringing this up despite having a guest present must mean you trust him."
"Yes. I would trust him with my life."
So that was why he'd mentioned the matter in front of me earlier when questioning Young Lord Hwangbo Uk.
I was grateful that he trusted me enough to place his life in my hands, though it also felt slightly burdensome.
"Is that so?"
The Clan Lord studied me once again.
"Well, everyone will hear about it soon enough anyway…"
A few days earlier, the merchant who had always supplied the clan with whetstones had suddenly come to apologize, saying he would no longer be able to fulfill their orders.
"When we asked what had happened, he told us that a merchant group had monopolized the region where the whetstones are produced. He can no longer obtain any himself, so he has nothing to supply us with."
"Which merchant group?"
"The Baekcheon Merchant Group."
"…"
Then something didn't add up.
The Baekcheon Merchant Group might be enormous, but it was still a merchant group. There was no sensible reason for them to deliberately antagonize a customer as large as the Hwangbo Clan.
Which meant there had to be another reason he hadn't mentioned yet.
I cautiously asked the Hwangbo Clan Lord,
"Forgive me for asking, but is there some history between the Baekcheon Merchant Group and the Hwangbo Clan that I'm unaware of?"
"There is."
As expected…
"Which clan does the Merchant Lord of the Baekcheon Merchant Group belong to?"
"Isn't he from the Namgoong Clan…"
Ah! How had I not thought of that?
"Exactly. As you already know, relations between our clan and the Namgoong Clan are extremely poor."
Normally, even that wouldn't have been enough to cause something like this.
But this was the Namgoong Clan we were talking about.
Still, the Baekcheon Merchant Group had monopolized the source of whetstones…
They were certainly competent.
The greatest source of stone suitable for high-quality whetstones was Shanxi.
In the martial world, a fight could be decided by something as simple as whose blade held the sharper edge.
Naturally, martial artists couldn't simply use any random stone to sharpen their weapons.
I thought back to my previous life.
The Namgoong Clan had monopolized the whetstone-producing regions in my previous life as well.
In this life, I had more than enough power to stop that from happening.
There was a reason I'd deliberately allowed it to happen anyway.
Still, to resort to something this petty just because the two clans hated each other?
At that moment, Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu spoke.
"Father. Is this because of that incident?"
Hm?
As I turned toward Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu, he continued.
"I mean what happened at the last Murim Grand Assembly."
The Murim Grand Assembly?
What had happened there?
"Haa… We'll discuss that another time."
"Ah, my apologies."
That sharp reaction only made me more curious, but this clearly wasn't the time to press him.
It must have been a fairly sensitive matter.
Fine. I could leave that alone and deal with the problem in front of me first.
"Clan Lord, there's something I'd like to propose."
"Go ahead."
"I can arrange for your clan to receive a steady supply of high-quality whetstones again."
"You can?"
"Yes."
"You must have some connection to the Baekcheon Merchant Group, then?"
"Ah, no. Nothing like that. And why are we suddenly talking about the Baekcheon Merchant Group?"
I shrugged.
"I never said I'd be getting the whetstones through the Baekcheon Merchant Group."
"Hm?"
Judging by how sharply his interest had risen, I'd clearly caught the Hwangbo Clan Lord's attention.
"Then how exactly do you intend to obtain the whetstones?"
"That's a trade secret."
I grinned and continued.
"If we can supply your clan with high-quality whetstones at a reasonable price, I'd like you to grant me one request."
"A request? What would that be?"
"I'll tell you later. But it won't be anything unreasonable for the Hwangbo Clan, so you needn't worry."
.
.
.
I was shown to the guest hall.
Once inside my assigned quarters, I washed up and rested for a while.
The Clan Lord had said it would take some time to choose the right person for me, but it would still be better to move quickly.
That night.
I left my quarters.
Just then, someone familiar approached me.
"Are you heading out?"
"Ah, Young Lord Hwangbo Uk."
He was the Young Clan Lord's fourth son, whom I'd met earlier with Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu.
"Father ordered me to attend to you, Deputy Merchant Lord."
"I appreciate that."
Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu was already middle-aged, so his older brother, the Young Clan Lord, was naturally even older.
And yet, he still hadn't become Clan Lord.
The reason was simple – the current Clan Lord was still standing strong.
For generations, the descendants of the Hwangbo Clan had been born with large, powerful builds, and many of them lived unusually long lives.
Because of that, succession to the position of Clan Lord tended to happen much later than it did in other clans.
The current Clan Lord probably hadn't inherited the position until he was past sixty himself.
"I don't know where you're going, but I'll accompany you."
"I appreciate the offer, but there's no need."
"No. If I ignore my father's orders, I'll be the one getting scolded."
"I'm really fine. It's not as though I can use a Young Lord of the Hwangbo Clan as my porter."
"Since I've been ordered to attend to you, I wouldn't mind even if you used me as a porter."
"In that case… very well."
I called for Palgap.
"Palgap."
"Yes, Young Master. Did you call for me?"
"Yeah. Young Lord Hwangbo Uk has offered to help me, so I don't think you'll need to come along after all."
"Understood, Young Master."
I turned back to Young Lord Hwangbo Uk.
"Then please take me to Jinan's marketplace."
"Of course."
As I followed him toward the marketplace in Jinan, I remembered something Young Lady Seohyang had once told me.
A faint smile spread across my face as I said,
"Young Lord, before we reach the marketplace, could you find us something like a handcart? One that can be pulled by a person."
A short while later.
I swept through Jinan's marketplace, buying things like a storm.
"Oh! This is quite impressive."
"You have an excellent eye, sir. This is a tea set crafted by the famous Master Yonggun."
"But it's fake."
"W-What do you mean…?"
"The genuine pieces have his seal stamped right here."
"…"
"So don't waste your time trying to fool me with something this obvious. Show me something that's actually worth buying."
"Understood."
I ended up buying a genuinely fine tea set from the shop and loaded it onto the cart.
And Young Lord Hwangbo Uk was the one pulling that cart.
He still looked completely bewildered.
Apparently, he'd never imagined I would actually take him up on his offer and use him as a porter.
I don't make empty threats.
"All right, let's head over there next."
"Excuse me?"
"What are you doing? Bring the cart."
"…Yes."
Looking half resigned to his fate, he pulled the cart along behind me.
I glanced back at him from the corner of my eye.
There was a reason I was making him work as my porter.
I wanted him to get fed up and leave on his own.
Because what I was about to do next required absolute secrecy.
–TL Notes–
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