NABC Book 4: Chapter 11
Book 4: Chapter 11
Book 4: Chapter 11
The meeting had ended.
As Yeon So-hyeon left the cave, the Organs warriors appeared.
Eldest Young Master, we will escort you to the secret passages entrance.
A female commanding warrior, who had been waiting, respectfully greeted and approached with a blindfold.
Get rid of that.
Yeon So-hyeon bared his teeth.
But this is the Organs directive
Directive or not, I dont care.
Yeon So-hyeon pointed behind him.
This was my fathers personal training ground. You understand? A place Ive been to dozens of times since I was a child.
As he started walking briskly, the Organs warriors quickly followed.
But!
Just so you know, I can get from here to Wongak Pavilion blindfolded, even if I have to roll there. Dont waste your time on nonsense.
The female commander, wearing a smooth mask, hesitated for a moment, then tucked the blindfold into her pocket.
Then, signaling her subordinates, they swiftly moved, summoning the group waiting with the sedan chair.
She quickly handed over Yeon So-hyeon to the commanding warrior responsible for the sedan chair.
After finishing her conversation, she approached Yeon So-hyeon and performed a fist salute.
I have arranged everything, so you will be comfortably escorted to Wongak Pavilion.
Yeon So-hyeon patted her shoulder.
You do your job well. You have a knack for it.
You flatter me.
As Yeon So-hyeon got onto the sedan chair and held the door, he said to her,
Must have been suffocating working in a place as rigid as the Organ for so long.
Well
Yeon So-hyeon closed the door and spoke through the small window.
If you ever leave the Organ, come to Wongak Pavilion. Well need capable people like you in the future.
Hearing this, the surrounding warriors chuckled.
Some even coughed mockingly.
After all, who would leave a key position in the Luoyang Sword House to join the notorious Eldest Young Master, a sworldess man at that?
But contrary to everyones expectations, she scratched her head and replied,
Uh my name is Cheongsu. If that time comes, Ill be in your care.
Yeon So-hyeon burst into laughter and knocked on the roof of the sedan chair.
Lets go home, boys.
As the sedan chair disappeared like the wind, the surrounding warriors looked at their commanding officer with disbelief.
The commanding officer nonchalantly shrugged.
What are you looking at? Knowing how to grab the right opportunity is crucial in social life.
The warriors sighed.
The rope you just grabbed seems more like a rotten vine.
As someone commented, she widened her eyes in surprise.
Phahahahahaha!
A hearty laugh.
Unperturbed by her subordinates bewildered looks, she laughed heartily for a while.
Eventually, she calmed down.
Ah, laughing so much made my stomach hurt.
She gestured, and everyone shrugged their shoulders, beginning to move to retreat.
She stood behind, holding her mask and wiping away tears from laughing so much.
A rotten vine, you say? That Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon?
She shook her head in disbelief.
Maybe Im really getting old.
She watched the departing warriors and smirked bitterly.
After all, most who remembered the old days were replaced after the family head collapsed.
An organization established for a single purpose had failed in that purpose.
Since that day, many who had been with her on the scene had either quit or been replaced.
Until now, did you have the luxury to sleep soundly?
While they were talking animatedly, the new female executive committee member spoke in a small voice.
Will things really get harder for us now?
Her voice echoed in the cave.
The Eldest Young Master has endured all this dishonor silently for the familys sake.
Being called a swordsman without a sword, a coward, or a weakling, he had borne it all quietly.
Such an Eldest Young Master, perhaps he himself will be the first to prevent that large-scale conflict?
The executive committee members nodded one by one.
Thats a reasonable thought.
Perhaps he would act that way.
Then the chairmans voice resonated.
But dont forget, everyone. If the Eldest Young Master feels that we are not performing our role adequately
Everyone felt an undeniable fear in his voice.
At any moment, he can immediately disregard all rules and repeat that bloodbath . Without any hesitation.
The cave fell into a heavy silence.
* * *
While the other executive committee members were busy making this meeting room, where the family head seal lay, into a sealed area, the chairman was lost in deep thought.
Was the constraint that the Eldest Young Master imposed on the council really just those intangible things?
Making the Supreme Operating Council more fair due to his presence?
He didnt think it was just that.
The proof was right there in himself, the chairman.
How dare they denigrate us as a band of thieves?!
Just because the kid is praised as a genius by those around him, hes all high and mighty!
Drag that brat out of the council chamber right now!
He vividly remembered the remarks hurled at Yeon So-hyeon by those in the initial Supreme Operating Council.
They were the epitome of shamelessness.
Those who had essentially imprisoned the Eldest Young Master, the only and rightful successor.
Those who, relying on the Eldest Young Masters goodwill, believed that the truth would never come to light.
Old men who acted as if the Luoyang Sword House was their own to rule.
Now, none of them remain in this place.
Their identities, one by one, had been revealed through secretive rumors.
The Oath of Silence, the most crucial internal regulation, had to be strictly maintained for the legitimacy of the Supreme Operating Council.
Back then, he believed that the security regarding the members of the initial emergency council was relatively lax.
But such incidents repeated over time.
Those who sought to privatize the power of the executive committee.
Those who harbored excessive ambitions, secretly supported their factions, or sought illicit gains.
Such individuals were gradually exposed and disappeared from the council.
Now, the only one remaining was the individual who had opposed their actions to the end at that time.
The person who had anonymously sent a letter of apology to the Eldest Young Master.
The only one who acknowledged their mistakes and accepted their original sin.
The current chairman, himself.
He recalled the last conversation he had with Yeon So-hyeon before his departure.
* * *
The Supreme Operating Council owes an enormous debt to Eldest Young Master. But.
As the chairman struggled to find his words, Yeon So-hyeon, with his hands clasped behind his back, spoke.
But that doesnt mean you can give me any preferential treatment in selecting the minor family head.
Thank you for understanding.
If even a hint of favoritism towards the Eldest Young Master in the selection of the minor family head was exposed, the other successors would not stand idly by.
Besides, I know that being slightly ahead of the other successors isnt enough to become the minor family head.
We are truly sorry.
A significant gap that everyone could acknowledge was needed to minimize dissent.
Leave those matters to me.
He smiled at the chairman, sitting behind the special curtain.
So, just continue as you have been until now, Chairman.