Solo Swordmaster - Chapter 18

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 18: What’s My Worth?

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“Alright, we’re here.”

“We’re getting off here...?”

“Yeah, get out. I’m not planning to sell you, so quit looking like you’re about to die.”

There were many hotels with long histories.

There were also many expensive, excellent hotels.

But when people spoke of a hotel that was not merely good, but truly the best, there was always only one name.

Leviathan Hotel.

The oldest (最古) hotel with a long and storied history, and the finest (最高) hotel, one that had never once surrendered its place at the top.

Many had sought that position.

Yet not a single hotel had ever been able to threaten Leviathan.

That was how renowned Leviathan was, even among the finest of the finest.

“Get down slowly, slowly. Don’t go jumping out and getting hur...”

Crash!

“Waaah!”

“That’s why I told you to get down slowly! Hey, do you have any medicine here? Medicine? Put some antiseptic on this kid.”

As lofty as its reputation was, Leviathan Hotel was equally selective about its guests.

New-money types were routinely turned away at the door.

Even powerful figures with enormous influence over politics and business, top actors, and renowned scholars normally had to wait years to make a reservation.

Simply being able to reserve a room was considered proof that one belonged to the upper class.

That was how difficult it was to stay at Leviathan.

“Everyone’s out now, right? Let’s see, twenty, twenty-one... Huh? Where did the other two go?”

“...”

“What are you two doing hiding behind the seats? Come out already.”

“N-no! You’re going to sell us!”

“I said I’m not.”

“You’re lying! The director said human traffickers are all liars!”

“What about me looks like a human trafficker?”

“Uh, um... Everything?”

Thwack!

“Oww!”

“Is saying things that get you hit some kind of Hanbit Orphanage trait? Honestly, you little brats...”

In that sense, the scene unfolding in the VIP underground parking lot at that very moment could be called unprecedented in Leviathan Hotel’s history.

Children whining because they were hungry were the least of it.

One child was crying over a scraped knee.

A little one was rolling on the ground after being flicked on the forehead.

A girl had the dead eyes of someone sold into slavery.

There was even a baby whose diaper gave off a foul smell.

Around twenty children crowding in front of a yellow school bus was a sight that absolutely did not suit Leviathan.

Yet the elderly person did not so much as flinch.

They merely bowed politely.

“Welcome to Leviathan Hotel.”

“Hm?”

The white-haired man who had been dragging children off the school bus turned his head slightly.

Rimon looked surprised when he saw the elderly person in a neat suit greeting him.

“Your voice sounds familiar.”

“If you are asking whether I was the person you spoke with earlier, then yes.”

“Oh?”

Rimon’s expression grew stranger.

He could now guess the elderly person’s identity.

“I didn’t expect the general manager to come greet me personally.”

That was certainly remarkable.

Worthy of its reputation as the best, the position of Leviathan Hotel’s general manager was by no means lowly.

Even when a national prime minister visited, the general manager would rarely greet the guest personally, usually giving instructions from behind the scenes instead.

Yet the elderly person answered calmly.

“As I am attending to none other than the Sword Duke, it is only proper that I come personally.”

The response was courteous, and so was the manner.

But Rimon could sense the meaning concealed within them, and a peculiar smile appeared on his face.

“That’s strange. The last time I came, it was so hard just to see the general manager’s face.”

“You did not come as a guest last time.”

“So I look like a guest now?”

“Do you not?”

It lasted only a moment.

The elderly person’s eyes were cold despite their polite manner, while Rimon was smiling even as one hand rested on his sword.

Their gazes met, and the air around them grew chilly.

Like a cigarette ember falling into a powder keg.

Or a dam on the verge of collapse.

The strange atmosphere that sent chills down one’s spine melted away when Rimon gave a short laugh.

“You know the answer, so why ask?”

Rimon glanced at the children behind him.

Understanding what that meant, the elderly person bowed again.

“...I apologize for my rudeness.”

“There’s no need to apologize. You’re only doing your job.”

Rimon snickered.

Honestly, the fact that they had not drawn a blade on him the moment he arrived was already a warmer reception than expected.

Even that was only possible because he had brought the children.

Had Rimon come alone, the elderly person would never have let him inside, even if a sword were held to their throat.

That was assuming he had been ordered to welcome Rimon as politely as possible, of course.

Knowing that better than anyone, Rimon did not blame the elderly person for the sharp reception.

He merely confirmed the purpose of his visit.

“Where is she?”

“She is waiting on the top floor.”

“Hm? Can I just go up? No security check?”

“No matter how we searched you, would it mean anything to the Sword Duke?”

“Well, that’s true.”

What would be the point of a security check when they were letting in the world’s most terrifying human weapon?

The elderly person’s question was not sarcastic, but entirely sincere. Rimon nodded in agreement.

Then he casually asked, “Can you look after the kids until we’re done talking?”

“This is Leviathan Hotel.”

The moment the elderly person answered calmly, twenty-three people who appeared to be hotel staff emerged behind the children.

Maids in elegant uniforms.

Doctors carrying medical bags.

Men in suits armed with swords.

Only after seeing them skillfully soothe, treat, and guard the frightened children did Rimon stride away in satisfaction.

“Take good care of them. They must be hungry, so give them something tasty too. By the way, I can’t pay.”

Rimon did not ask whether he could trust them with the children.

Leviathan was not petty enough to take young children hostage.

“Please do not worry. A meal has already been prepared for your party, and all services will be complimentary.”

The elderly person did not ask whether Rimon could be trusted inside either.

Rimon was not so devoid of honor that he would bring children to a place where he intended to draw his sword.

They could hardly be called close.

But precisely because of that, Rimon trusted the elderly person he had just met more than a friend. Together, they entered an elevator that led directly to the top floor.

As the elevator rose, Rimon asked as though the thought had just occurred to him.

“Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever heard your name.”

“...My introduction was delayed.”

Despite having deliberately put it off, the elderly person spoke with the utmost courtesy, as though nothing had happened.

“Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Youin of the Black Heaven Dark Soul Style (黑天闇魂流).”

“Youin... I’ll remember that.”

Ding.

Repeating the name to himself, Rimon slowly stepped out of the elevator.

In the dazzlingly luxurious penthouse that occupied the entirety of Leviathan Hotel’s top floor, he greeted the person waiting for him.

“Welcome, Sword Duke.”

“Yeah, here we are again.”

Before the Seven Dragons Society emerged into the open.

Back when it hid in the shadows and sought to overthrow the world.

Youin was one of the few survivors to have escaped Rimon’s hands, as well as an inheritor of one of the Seven Dragons Society’s greatest secret arts, the Seventy-Two Martial Arts Schools.

Only one person could order Youin to receive Rimon as a guest.

The owner of Leviathan Hotel, one of the seven pillars of the Seven Dragon Group said to possess all the wealth in the world.

Looking at the girl in an Eastern-style dress, Rimon grinned.

“The princess of the Black Dragon Clan.”

* * *

“Before we get to the main point, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“What would that be?”

“Where did you get the school bus? There shouldn’t be any in this country.”

Li Qing-yu’s answer was simple.

“I had it airlifted from the United States.”

“...It didn’t even take an hour for the bus to arrive, did it?”

“I used spatial teleportation.”

“So your ‘airlift’ was actually spatial teleportation, not air transport...”

Rimon clicked his tongue.

With the rise of Players, spatial teleportation had become far more common than it used to be.

But that was only by comparison.

Generally speaking, spatial teleportation was still a rare ability, and Players capable of long-distance spatial teleportation were especially scarce.

Yet she had teleported an entire school bus across the Pacific?

The transportation cost alone could have bought hundreds of school buses.

Should I say that’s only fitting of a Seven Dragons Society princess?

Still, Rimon understood.

The Seven Dragons Society had always been an organization drowning in money.

Its financial power was the reason it had maintained its influence for more than several centuries, even after the Seven Dragons died and the Bronze Age ended.

And after openly establishing itself as the Seven Dragon Group, its wealth had only increased further.

To Li Qing-yu, princess of the Black Dragon Clan, that sort of money-burning madness probably did not even feel wasteful.

And what’s this state of affairs for me?

He had lived for hundreds of years.

Yet his entire fortune amounted to 37,000 won in his pocket.

Feeling a fresh sense of regret over his own life, Rimon grumbled inwardly.

“Before we get to the main point, may I ask you something as well?”

“Hm? What?”

“When you asked for word to be passed to me that you were fired from your government job, did you mean what I think you meant?”

Li Qing-yu’s expectations must have been immense.

Her eyes shone brightly as she asked, filled with both joy and nervousness.

Rimon answered with an indifferent expression.

“No.”

“...What?”

“I need to know what you think I meant before I can tell you whether you’re right or not. Do you think I’m some psionic user like you? Can I read minds?”

“Ah... Right.”

Li Qing-yu looked relieved.

She straightened her posture and asked again with a much calmer expression.

“Then let me ask again. Did you come because you are considering accepting the proposal I made before?”

Only a few days ago, Li Qing-yu had come to him with a proposal.

Remembering the marriage proposal he had rejected without even a moment’s hesitation, one so bold it bordered on absurd, Rimon shrugged.

“Well, at least for now.”

“...By ‘for now,’ you mean you might reject it again.”

“That’s right.”

“May I ask why?”

Li Qing-yu did not look disappointed.

She merely asked out of pure curiosity.