Chapter 802: Where is my son?

“It feels like we’re meeting quite often.”

A quiet room.

A place where a somewhat pungent tea aroma permeated the faint scent of wood.

Inside the room, neatly organized as if reflecting the owner’s personality, an old man was looking at me.

Eyes as quiet as the room.

His expression seemed blank, yet the fleeting emotions contained within felt like they revealed his humanity.

Sensing that, I replied with a slight smile.

“I know, right? I think we might get attached at this rate.”

“…”

At my words, the old man’s beard trembled slightly.

“Star King. No, Chief Holy Dragon.”

The switched titles tickled my insides uncomfortably.

“Yes. Elder.”

“From now on, please call me Strategist Muk.”

“Strategist Muk-nim.”

I was now facing Mukyeon, the legendary strategist who had returned to the Alliance.

Piled high within the organized desk were letters.

Through the gaps, something resembling elixir pills was faintly visible.

‘That looks like something from Shorim.’

‘It obviously wasn’t Great Restoration Pills or Summoning Pills, but it seemed to be a lower-tier elixir pill produced by Shorim.’

Even as a lower-tier item, its price was considerable.

Was it piled up like a mountain?

From the looks of it, none seemed to have been consumed.

In any case, I could tell the Alliance was paying considerable attention to Mukyeon.

“Star King.”

“Yes.”

Amidst those items, Mukyeon spoke to me.

“I believe this old man’s decision not to unnecessarily participate in today’s test to select Holy Dragon members was all according to your wishes, Star King. Since you requested to preside over it, I judged it correct not to go unnecessarily, but… was my judgment perhaps mistaken?”

“No. It was correct.”

“Thank you. Then, I shall ask now.”

Thump.

Mukyeon took a sip of tea and placed the teacup down.

In that moment, my gaze examined the tea water, and I took in the aroma a little deeper through my nose.

“Why has this situation occurred?”

“…”

“I heard that Chief Iron Dragon and an applicant had a sparring match. Chief Iron Dragon claimed it was done to personally verify the questionable test process. Is that correct?”

“…That is correct.”

“I have confirmed. I will discuss this matter in more detail with Chief Iron Dragon. Next.”

Rustle.

Mukyeon picked up a letter from the desk.

It was the so-called statement of events (經緯書) that I had personally written and submitted.

“This concerns the matter of ambushing and assaulting the Chief Gold Dragon.”

“…”

This was also the reason I was currently meeting with Mukyeon.

“Currently, the Chief Gold Dragon is unconscious, so we cannot confirm the accounts from both sides. As a result, the only information available is the testimony of the Chief Gold Dragon’s subordinate leader, who witnessed the situation, and your statement of events, Seongryong Daeju. So I ask you.”

Mukyeon’s gaze instantly darkened.

Seeing that, my Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily. He was clearly an old man without a trace of malice, yet his expression changing made such a difference.

“Why did you do that?”

I steadied my breathing at his question, asked with such a heavy gaze.

“I believe I sufficiently explained why I did it in my statement.”

I had written down the entire situation.

Immediately after beating up the Chief Gold Dragon, as expected, the guards and other martial artists arrived right away.

I also remembered the bloody mess that was the Twin Crescent Swords and the gazes of those looking at me.

Their eyes were filled with wariness.

Their tense postures suggested they were bracing in case I lost control.

The Twin Crescent Swords was a peak master, a considerable expert even within the Alliance.

The fact that such a person was beaten unconscious by me was also proof that few could stop me if I decided to truly lose control.

Because of that, everyone was extremely tense, unsure of how to proceed.

‘Take me away, then.’

I instead extended both arms, requesting to be restrained.

After all, I knew this would happen, so I didn’t really intend to cause a commotion.

“Chief Seongryong.”

“Yes, Strategist Muk-nim.”

“So, you’re saying the Chief Gold Dragon intended to falsely claim that Sword Dancer used dark arts during the sparring match between her and Chief Iron Dragon? And that he tried to spread false rumors about an illegal transaction between Chief Iron Dragon and yourself.”

Rustle.

A page of the letter was turned.

“And upon hearing that, you were unable to contain your emotions and resorted to violence?”

“That is correct.”

It was a concise and neat summary.

I had thought I might need to add explanations since I’d written it so roughly, but Mukyeon pinpointed only the necessary parts and concluded his assessment.

However.

“I have confirmed your account as written, but the evidence is insufficient.”

This statement of events was written solely from my perspective.

As Mukyeon said, its credibility is weak.

Moreover.

“This is an incident where one Daeju was attacked and collapsed by another Daeju. It’s not possible to make a judgment based solely on the perpetrator’s side in such circumstances.”

“I am aware of that.”

“Therefore, I will ask you once more.”

Mukyeon placed the letter he was holding back on the desk.

“Why did you do that?”

He posed the same question to me as before.

“…Strategist Muk-nim. As I mentioned earlier…”

“It is not a question regarding the statement of events.”

“Then?”

“Chief Seongryong. Do you know why you are facing me like this?”

“Well, that’s because you, Strategist Muk, summoned me.”

“That is correct. Conversing here without shackles, rather than with the guards’ suppression unit or the Alliance’s internal security force, was purely an act of exercising my authority.”

He stated boldly that he had abused his power.

Mukyeon’s demeanor as he mentioned it seemed resolute rather than shameless.

“Originally, this kind of meeting should have been handled directly by the guards, not by me. I arranged this meeting because I truly wanted to ask.”

“Should I be thanking you?”

“There is no need for that.”

“Understood.”

“That his words became the issue, leading you to assault him… this part strikes me as odd.”

“If you don’t believe me, why not place a restriction on me? Even if you did, my words wouldn’t change.”

“Placing restrictions on a Daeju is prohibited within the Alliance.”

“…Is that so?”

Was there such a thing?

I thought it was a rather useless clause.

Why don’t they place one?

‘It would be so easy to find traitors if they just placed that one restriction. Tsk tsk.’

This is why the internal rot is overflowing.

“So, you can’t believe my words… and there’s no evidence. What do you intend to do?”

“Ah, it’s not that I don’t believe you.”

“Yes?”

“As I keep saying, it’s merely a point of doubt. Why would Chief Seongryong make such a choice… that’s what I mean.”

“That’s a statement I don’t quite understand. My choice is all explained in the statement of events-“

“…because the Daeju I’ve seen doesn’t seem like someone who acts so emotionally.”

Flinch.

Mukyeon’s words made me falter for a moment. But I had to quickly add:

“You’ve mistaken the person, Strategist-nim. I’m a very fiery person.”

“Yes, from my perspective too.”

What…?

“You are a blazing flame. A powerful fire capable of clearing away anything in its path. However.”

Mukyeon’s gaze remained heavy and stoic. I felt more pressure from that.

“A flame that knows when to burn.”

“That’s an interesting thing to say. What kind of flame is a flame that knows when to burn?”

I couldn’t agree with the statement.

Flame is disaster.

It is called catastrophe and disaster because it cannot choose whether to die out or to burn.

A flame that knows when to burn? It was a deeply contradictory statement.

“That’s why it’s even more frightening. A flame that knows when it must burn-how frightening is that?”

“…So. Are you saying that in your view, Strategist Muk, I am such a frightening fellow?”

“Hmm. I’m not certain to that extent, but…”

Crackle.

Mukyeon took an elixir pill placed before him and peeled off its wrapper.

He put it straight into his mouth and chewed.

A pleasant aroma momentarily spread around.

“A person capable of becoming frightening to any extent, should the need arise. And… not someone who would carelessly mess things up. That’s the Chief Seongryong I see.”

“You’re giving an excessive evaluation to a reckless punk like me.”

“If that’s the case, then it must be my mistake. But the Daeju I see is like that. And I don’t think such a Daeju would create this situation without any thought.”

“…”

“That’s why I was curious. You couldn’t possibly not consider the problems that would arise from engaging in conflict with a Daeju within the Alliance, could you, Chief Seongryong?”

Although he was voicing his personal thoughts, Mukyeon’s voice was full of conviction.

The more I listened, the more ambiguous it became how I should react.

“…There’s no greater overestimation than this. What do you take me for?”

It feels like you’re assigning countless meanings just because I beat someone up out of anger.

It was true, as Mukyeon said.

Initially, I had expected to be locked up in an interrogation room for a meeting with the guards.

Ah, of course, naturally….

‘I had intended to use tactics to get here from there, though.’

I hadn’t expected to end up here, at Mukyeon’s location, without first going to the interrogation room.

“I understand your intention, Strategist-nim, but as you said, I’m not that thoughtful.”

“Is that so? That’s truly a shame.”

“…”

His tone clearly indicated he didn’t believe me at all.

Damn it.

Why the hell is he acting like this towards me?

Usually, the types of people who approach me can be divided into two categories. One of them is.

‘People who pick fights, saying they don’t like whatever I do.’

Most of them, like the Twin Crescent Swords or the Sword King I just fought, were incompetent fools.

If not that.

‘People who have strange expectations even when I haven’t done anything.’

There were also those who unnecessarily overestimated me.

Mukyeon, standing before me, seems to be of this latter type.

If anything, they were the more troublesome kind.

And this time was no exception.

“Since you say you have no particular intention, I understand. The details regarding the situation as well. Ultimately, we plan to decide on the disposition after hearing from the involved parties, the Chief Gold Dragon and his subordinate leader.”

Even though his eyes didn’t seem convinced, his words stated otherwise.

His lowered gaze focused solely on me.

“However, even if the reason you stated, Chief Seongryong, is correct. This is still clearly an assault that goes against regulations. Please keep that in mind.”

“I am aware of it.”

“Depending on the situation, this could even lead to dismissal from your position, but… As you know, Daeju, the current Martial Arts Alliance needs Chief Seongryong. So it probably won’t come to that.”

“Yes.”

I knew that well, just as Mukyeon said.

That’s partly why I did it.

“If there’s something I must insist on pursuing.”

Slide.

Mukyeon spoke and handed the letter towards me.

When I took it, it was a contract I had written previously.

“The part that says, ‘Receive the right to support two units among the Alliance’s Sword Brigades,’ seems like it needs revision. Would that be alright?”

“…Haha.”

Seeing that, I let out a hollow laugh.

Bringing up the conditions because of the trouble I caused.

Was it because that was absurd?

No.

‘This old man…?’

It was because he was rather impressive.

Meaning, my laugh was mixed with admiration.

“How did you know?”

At my words, Mukyeon smiled slightly.