WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 55: Clear My Name?

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• “An unprecedented surprise... The entire nation is stunned as the Blue House announces that the ‘Blue House Assault Incident’ was part of an emergency response drill.”

• “National Peace Party floor leader: ‘No excuse can justify deceiving the public.’”

• “Why did Infinite Monarch Lee Cheon-gi appear as the Blue House spokesperson?”

As expected.

Every newspaper was plastered with the same topic.

That was how much impact Lee Cheon-gi’s press conference had made.

The public had already been in an uproar over the Blue House Assault Incident, but after that press conference, it had been turned completely upside down like a Dungeon gone berserk.

[This is a conspiracy!]

[What do you mean by that?]

[Think about it! Does it make any sense to blow up the entire Blue House for a single drill? This is a scheme by the current administration to raise its approval rating!]

[No, I think that is a bit of a stretch. If you look at the recent crime rate among high-level Players...]

Current-affairs programs claiming absurd conspiracies or explaining why such emergency drills had been necessary.

[Goddamn it. I thought a civil war was about to break out, so I sold all my stocks. This isn’t even April Fools’ Day. What kind of scam is this?]

[Congrats★Sucker★]

[Anyone fooled by this show is an idiot.]

[You really believe some Sword Master grandpa, not even a Monarch, could turn the Blue House upside down by himself? LOL]

[It was way too bloodthirsty to be a play.]

[Sword Master XXX. Bluff Master OOO.]

Internet forums already treating it all as old news, laughing, chatting, and cursing.

[In an age when even the Blue House can collapse! A special deal just for you!]

[Yes. This product is an illusion-type item officially approved by the Infinity Guild, and it was even used in staging the recent Blue House incident...]

Home-shopping channels, advertising agencies, and every sort of company trying to make money by tying themselves to the incident somehow.

Like ants swarming honey.

All kinds of people clung to Lee Cheon-gi’s press conference, sucking it dry, swallowing it whole, and chewing it over.

Their angles varied wildly. Even within the same outlet, the content, claims, and atmosphere could be at opposite extremes.

But there was one thing.

One common point without exception.

“Not one person believes the Sword Duke truly committed treason.”

A girl in an Eastern-style dress.

At Li Qing-yu’s murmured observation, Rimon gave a light snort.

“Of course not. That idiot warned the reporters not to spout shit they couldn’t take responsibility for.”

“The more you try to stop them, the more some people insist on talking.”

“That depends on the situation.”

Rimon put down the newspaper he had been reading.

Then, looking at Li Qing-yu as she tilted her head, he continued.

“The ones who yap in times like this are attention seekers. But with everyone’s attention fixed on that idiot, who would want to talk about an old relic like me?”

It struck the heart of the matter.

The focus of every discussion right now was the current administration and Lee Cheon-gi.

No one thought of Rimon as the center of this incident.

Even those babbling about conspiracies and suspicious circumstances had set aside the possibility that Rimon had truly committed treason.

Naturally.

If Rimon really were a traitor?

Then the Blue House being overrun.

The president being taken hostage.

They would have to accept that all of it had really happened.

At the hands of a single ordinary person who had not even contracted with a Constellation, let alone become a high-level Player.

To people of this era, who saw Sword Masters as relics of a bygone age, it was simply impossible by all common sense.

“So people ultimately believe what they want to believe.”

“Common sense tends to transcend logic.”

Sleeping with a fan on would suffocate you.

Having your picture taken would steal your soul.

The sun revolved around the Earth.

If one thought about them carefully, they were not merely absurd. They could only be called superstitions.

Yet the reason there had been eras when almost everyone believed such things without doubt was not because they were foolish.

It was because that was common sense.

In that regard, Lee Cheon-gi’s press conference had been exquisite.

It had given a suitable basis to those desperately trying to fit this situation into the framework of common sense.

No matter how ridiculous that basis was.

“To have calculated all the way to that point before holding such a press conference... The Infinite Monarch was unexpectedly quite the strategist.”

“What strategist?”

As expected of the Black Dragon Clan.

Li Qing-yu nodded in admiration of that scheme. Rimon looked at her as if she were being absurd and said mockingly,

“I guarantee that bastard just found it too bothersome to clean up every little mess, so he flipped the entire board over.”

“You mean he said all that without any calculation?”

“Yep.”

Li Qing-yu’s eyes widened.

To make such a mad press conference without thinking it through.

For the Black Dragon Clan, whose instincts were schemes and conspiracies, it was a story beyond imagination.

But Rimon nodded without hesitation.

Then he gave his reason.

“Because that’s what I used to do.”

“...That is extremely convincing.”

Rimon had once been an absolute being himself.

He knew well that rather than bothering with schemes, crushing everything with power and authority was the way of an absolute being.

For most, it would be foolish bravado.

But simply because the one doing it was an absolute being, it became a perfect answer.

That was what an absolute being was.

In fact, the reason the claim that everything had been a “show” seemed convincing was solely because Lee Cheon-gi had announced it.

Had anyone else said it, things would not have passed so easily.

“I should have known when he said he would handle the cleanup himself... I was the idiot for trusting a bastard like that.”

“Still, you cleared your name, did you not?”

“That is why I didn’t call myself a sucker.”

“Um... Is there really that much difference between an idiot and a sucker?”

“As much as there is between premature ejaculation and impotence.”

“That is an enormous difference...”

As if it were a very easy-to-understand comparison, Li Qing-yu murmured thoughtfully for a moment.

Then she suddenly asked,

“But are you not disappointed?”

“I am. If I had known this would happen, I would’ve beaten that bastard Lee Cheon-gi a few more times.”

“Not that. You missed the chance to publicly announce that you defeated the Infinite Monarch and regain your reputation.”

Thanks to this press conference, the charge of treason had disappeared.

But the fact that Rimon had defeated Lee Cheon-gi had been buried alongside it.

For anyone else, it would have been enough to make them swallow tears of resentment.

But he was not disappointed.

“Fame? What fame? What is there to brag about in beating a glorified errand boy?”

He merely continued indifferently.

“And who would believe it if I announced it? There are plenty of bastards who would gouge out their own eyes and deny it even if they saw it themselves.”

“That is certainly true.”

Li Qing-yu readily agreed.

The reaction to the press conference alone showed how firm people’s blind faith in common sense was.

She herself had been one of those who had created that common sense over decades in order to bring Rimon down.

“More than that, when I think about the swarm of flies that would gather after hearing it, it’s better to pretend it never happened.”

Li Qing-yu blinked once.

As if she only then understood what he meant, she smiled faintly.

“You do not wish to play the role of a convenient swordsman.”

“Some people have to eat it before they know whether it’s shit or soybean paste.”

Rimon answered calmly.

If people came to believe that he had defeated Lee Cheon-gi, he would certainly gain fame.

But more people would also try to use him.

It was obvious enough from the fact that even Lee Cheon-gi, the absolute being of this era, had a parasite like Park Hyeon-gun clinging to him.

There would be plenty who believed Rimon would be easy to exploit because he had no faction or affiliation.

Of course, such people could be useful depending on how they were used.

But Rimon was already busy enough keeping an eye on the Constellations, and he disliked using more force than necessary. There was nothing more bothersome to him.

“Well, thanks to this, I can win that bet. I should be satisfied with that much.”

“A bet?”

“Yeah. There’s someone with dead-fish eyes who bet on whether I could clear myself of the treason charge.”

For a moment, he chuckled as he recalled Sia, who had looked stunned upon seeing Lee Cheon-gi’s press conference as though the sky had fallen.

Then Rimon sank deep into the sofa.

He looked at Li Qing-yu with interested eyes.

“So, do you think this will make it easier to get the elders’ permission for our marriage?”

As though it were someone else’s business.

Rimon asked about his own marriage.

It was ironic, perhaps, but Li Qing-yu did not seem flustered in the slightest.

She simply smiled and answered.

“I already received it.”

“...You did? Already?”

“Yes. There are a few conditions attached, but they are not particularly difficult. You can consider it a virtually unconditional approval.”

“If they were willing to approve that readily, I don’t think they would’ve opposed it in the first place.”

“Well, the elders also know the Sword Duke’s strength well. After opposing it, they must have realized that they wanted the Sword Duke after all.”

Rimon’s expression became complicated at Li Qing-yu’s calm answer.

He was old enough himself to know how impossible stubborn old fogeys could be when they dug in their heels.

Yet if the elders had given in this quickly, had they been driven into a position where they had no choice but to do so?

“Tch. Then I was happy for nothing over clearing the treason charge.”

“Do not regret it. There is certainly something to be gained from the Sword Duke clearing his name.”

“You mean they can openly use me as a swordsman now?”

“No. We can hold our wedding openly and proudly.”

“I’m sad that I can’t deny that.”

Rimon gave a faint laugh.

To him, who could wipe out a country like this with a few swings of his sword, and to Li Qing-yu, who could collapse its economy with a few orders.

A treason charge was ultimately worth only that much.

“Anyway, does that mean we only need to hold the ceremony now?”

“Once we complete a few procedures.”

“Procedures?”

“I am still the princess of the Seven Dragons Society. From booking the venue to deciding the guests, there is quite a lot to prepare.”

“Hmm, that’s true...”

Rimon nodded.

Even ordinary newlyweds usually needed months or even years to prepare for a wedding.

Much less could Li Qing-yu’s wedding, as the head of the Seven Dragons Society and owner of the Seven Dragon Group, be arranged overnight.

“Well, tell me anytime if there is something I can help with. It’s not as though I have anything but time.”

“Really?”

“Sure. I’ll help with most things.”

Rimon nodded calmly.

Li Qing-yu looked at him with sparkling eyes and asked,

“Then could you make some time tomorrow?”

“I don’t mind, but... why?”

“There is something I need to deal with soon, and I absolutely need the Sword Duke’s help with it.”

“Is there someone who needs killing?”

“No.”

“Then is there something that needs smashing?”

“Not that either.”

Li Qing-yu stifled a laugh at Rimon’s truly swordsman-like questions after he briefly considered what kind of task would require him.

Then, with a meaningful smile, she said,

“If I had to say, it’s more the opposite.”

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