Solo Swordmaster - Chapter 17

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 17: If It Has to Be, a School Bus

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The government was one thing, but I never expected the Infinity Guild to get directly involved in this.

Before rescuing the children, Rimon had considered fleeing overseas.

He had thought it would make it easier to shake off the government’s pursuit and secure the children’s safety.

The problem was that the children had been held in an Infinity Guild safehouse.

No matter how prestigious one of the Ten Great Guilds was, kidnapping innocent children and taking them hostage was not something that could simply be overlooked.

What if the Infinite Monarch moved to conceal that fact?

Going abroad would be no use.

Unlike nations limited by borders, the influence of Monarchs extended across the entire world.

He could end up living as a fugitive for the rest of his life.

To draw that bastard out as planned, I need to secure the children’s safety first...

To catch a snake, you had to strike its head first.

And Rimon had a plan to draw out the one behind this conspiracy.

But it was not a plan he could use while moving around with twenty-three children in tow.

So Rimon considered whether there was a way to protect the children while still moving freely himself.

Is there anywhere safe to hide them?

The first method that came to mind was hiding the children away.

Naturally, that came with demanding conditions.

It had to be a place beyond the government’s and the Infinite Monarch’s notice, where the children could escape even if its location was discovered.

It needed, or had to be able to provide, the bare necessities for the children to live.

And if it had guardians who could protect them in his stead, that would be even better.

Tsk. There’s no way a place like that exists.

The conditions sounded absurd even to him.

With no money and branded a traitor, it was impossible for him to find such a perfect hideout.

No, it would have been the same even if he had money.

In this country, places that could evade not only government agencies but also the Infinite Monarch’s gaze were...

“Hm?”

Rimon blinked.

Then he muttered with a sour expression.

“...Come to think of it, there is one?”

That was right.

There was exactly one place that met all those nearly impossible conditions.

And it did not even require money.

But Rimon was not pleased.

Instead, he frowned.

The fact that he had not thought of it until now showed just how absurd a place it was.

It’s a bit of a gamble, but...

Rimon tapped his sword.

Even a perfect hideout was not guaranteed to be safe.

If things went wrong, he could find himself in a far more dangerous situation than dealing with the government.

But he did not hesitate for long.

“To catch a tiger, you have to enter its den... isn’t that how it goes?”

After letting out a brief chuckle, Rimon took his hand from his sword.

Then he picked up his phone and entered a number he vaguely remembered.

“Now that I’m a traitor anyway, it wouldn’t be bad to enjoy the good life for once.”

Beep, beep, beep.

He dialed 114 to ask for a phone number.

He changed the last digits of that number to 116 and called it.

He pressed 111 while the phone was ringing.

After dialing several strange combinations, he finally got through to a recorded voice.

[The number you have dialed does not exist. Please check the number and try again...]

“Wolong Fengchu. A crouching dragon meets its time and rises into the heavens.”

[...]

Rimon raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

It had been so long that he had worried the call would not connect.

But the recording had abruptly cut off, so at least he had called the right number.

A moment later, the voice from the receiver turned his guess into certainty.

[Who are you?]

“Your people normally don’t ask that.”

[You contacted us using a musty old Silent Code that was used decades ago. This is a different matter.]

Rimon gave a soft snort at the old voice, filled with age yet utterly firm.

This was a much better response than he had expected.

What he had to say remained the same.

“Give her a message.”

[Her? Who do you mean...]

“Tell her the Sword Duke got fired from his civil service job.”

[...!]

Rimon could tell.

The moment he revealed his name, the person on the other end had drawn in a breath.

They had frozen like a statue, while only their heart pounded as if it were about to burst.

It made sense.

Judging by the Silent Code they remembered and the sound of their voice, they had to be at least sixty.

They were from the generation that would naturally react in shock upon hearing his name.

Especially if they were someone who could receive this call.

“You’ve already found my location, right? Come pick me up, then.”

[...]

As though they had heard something utterly absurd, heavy silence came through the receiver.

Yet their heart had instantly grown cold again, and they did not say a word carelessly.

Rimon chuckled at the composure expected of the person in charge of that place, then added one more thing.

“Oh, and don’t forget to bring a school bus.”

* * *

Swish.

He moved his hand.

From cutting through the meat with his knife, to slicing off a suitable piece of steak, dipping it in sauce, and putting it into his mouth.

Every precise motion was a work of art.

Even a tutor who had taught royalty all their life would have admired it. His table manners were nothing short of perfect court etiquette.

But Park Hyeon-gun could not appreciate it.

Park Hyeon-gun only waited for him to finish eating, cold sweat running down their face.

“About one hundred and fifty high-level Players, excluding the Liberation Brigade. Fifty Unit 909 members armed with advanced weapons. And two grand duke-class players.”

Park Hyeon-gun flinched.

This was the first time he had spoken before finishing his meal.

“Did I hear that correctly?”

“Yes.”

“Not only were they all wiped out without a single survivor, but the PAB director also died?”

“...Yes.”

Even as Park Hyeon-gun answered, doubt filled their mind.

Would their answer sound true?

When Park Hyeon-gun had first received this information, it had felt like a terrible joke.

After cross-checking it several times, Park Hyeon-gun had confirmed it was true and made the report. Still, they could not help wondering whether something had gone wrong.

All of them had died at the hands of one person.

And that person was an ordinary man, not even a Player, never mind a Monarch.

By Park Hyeon-gun’s common sense, it was more absurd and impossible than the world ending tomorrow.

“The Savior of the Nation. The Guardian Deity of Humanity...”

But he did not get angry.

He merely nodded as though he had found a delicacy in some cheap roadside restaurant and was savoring its flavor.

“It seems those titles were not given without reason.”

The man accepted the situation unexpectedly calmly.

Flustered by Infinite Monarch Lee Cheon-gi’s reaction, Park Hyeon-gun quickly lowered their head.

“I apologize. My investigation was insufficient.”

“There is no need for Manager Park to apologize. No one could have expected failure after preparing that much force.”

Ah...

Park Hyeon-gun understood why Lee Cheon-gi was not reprimanding them.

He found the result just as unexpected.

It would have been different if their preparations had been lacking.

But this was like preparing a gun to kill a chicken, only for the chicken to deflect the bullets and peck the hunter to death.

It was almost laughable to assign blame.

In this era, where Players were the mainstream, the fact that a Sword Master incapable of using skills possessed such strength was astonishing and bewildering.

At least, it was by their standards.

But Park Hyeon-gun could not relax.

Even apart from failing to deal with Rimon, there were still matters they would be held responsible for.

“So where is he now?”

“After attacking our safehouse, we confirmed that he stayed at a holiday cottage near Bukhansan, but...”

Park Hyeon-gun hesitated.

Should they really report this?

The failed trap had at least sounded like a joke. This was something only a madman would say.

But knowing they had no choice, Park Hyeon-gun finally squeezed their eyes shut and continued.

“The last confirmed sighting of him was when he left on a school bus. We have lost his trail since then.”

“...What kind of bus did you say?”

“A school bus. You know, a yellow one...”

“...”

Even Lee Cheon-gi, who had calmly accepted the news that about two hundred people had been slaughtered, could not find words this time.

An odd silence followed.

Perhaps his throat was dry, Lee Cheon-gi picked up the wineglass beside him and took a sip.

Then, as if there were nothing strange about it, he asked with an even expression.

“I believe I heard you say that you lost his trail. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“That is rather unexpected. Our guild’s Tracers should not be so incompetent that they would lose someone’s trail even when he is traveling by bus.”

In other words, was this not Park Hyeon-gun’s incompetence?

Park Hyeon-gun swallowed dryly.

They had only narrowly escaped blame earlier.

They could not hope for that luck again.

Park Hyeon-gun would have wanted to cut off the head of any subordinate who could not even track a school bus.

Fortunately, this time, Park Hyeon-gun had an answer.

“I cannot be certain, but I have an idea where he may be.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. There are only a few places in this country that our Tracers cannot pursue.”

At that moment, Lee Cheon-gi’s brow twitched.

His influence in this country was nearly absolute.

Furthermore, the guild’s Tracers were masters capable of easily penetrating most defenses.

Whether it was deep within a government agency or on the private property of a major corporation, they could investigate anything they wanted, legally or illegally.

There were only a few exceptions.

Places touched by another Monarch.

Or...

“Are you referring to the Leviathan Hotel?”

A hotel with a long history that had held the highest position for many years.

“It is only a possibility for now.”

Lee Cheon-gi understood.

The possibility that Rimon was somewhere other than the Leviathan Hotel was infinitely close to zero.

Otherwise, Park Hyeon-gun would not have used such an absurd word as possibility before him.

“Rimon Aspelder and the Leviathan Hotel... That is quite an interesting story.”

In truth, it was more than interesting.

Anyone who knew even a little of the truth about what the Leviathan Hotel was, and what it meant for Rimon to go there, would have found it more unbelievable than the previous two reports.

But Lee Cheon-gi had reason to seriously consider even that impossible assumption.

“Manager Park.”

“Yes.”

“Are you certain she made contact with Rimon Aspelder?”

“I can stake my life on it.”

“I would prefer it if you could be equally certain of her location.”

“...”

At Lee Cheon-gi’s calm remark, Park Hyeon-gun fell silent.

Rimon’s location could at least be guessed. She was someone impossible to track.

Park Hyeon-gun had only learned that after assigning a whole group of their finest Tracers to her and still failing.

Lee Cheon-gi did not blame Park Hyeon-gun any further.

He merely spoke calmly.