WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 62: Will You Be a Fool for Me?
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The baby bird was named Bluey.
It was the result of the most dramatic negotiation Yoo Na-gyeong had ever conducted across both her past and present lives, after she thrashed around and threatened to bash her head in and die rather than be called Peepy.
In return, they agreed to keep Bluey’s past life as Yoo Na-gyeong a secret.
“I’m surprised, Sword Duke. I didn’t expect you to like this bird enough to raise her yourself.”
That was why Yoo Na-gyeong, perched on Rimon’s head, was working so hard to act like an ordinary bird beneath Li Qing-yu’s gaze.
“Oh, this one was Na-gyeong in her past life.”
Peep?!
That was also why Yoo Na-gyeong stared in shock at Rimon’s casual answer.
She was so startled that she nearly slipped off his head. Only after clinging desperately to his hair with her wings did she avoid falling and let out a relieved breath.
But she was the only one surprised.
Li Qing-yu merely tilted her head slightly.
“Na-gyeong? You mean the person whose Blood Debt you intended to repay?”
“She’s also the one who saddled me with those children.”
“If you are introducing her to me on purpose, then she is not simply reincarnated. She must be a reincarnator who remembers her past life?”
“Yeah. Apparently, she can use 『Spatial Movement』 too.”
“I see... I did wonder why she was strangely difficult to read, even as a bird. It seems it was not because she was an ordinary animal, but because she was a high-level Player.”
For a moment, Yoo Na-gyeong could only stare blankly at the two of them as they calmly discussed her as though they were talking about a pet breed.
Then she snapped back to her senses and began hopping around on Rimon’s head in protest.
Peep! Peep peep peep!
“What? You said we would keep it secret, so why did I tell her?”
Peeeep!
“Tsk. You would have better luck fooling a ghost. Did you really think the Black Dragon Clan’s princess would fall for your clumsy bird act?”
Peep, peeeep.
“Perfect acting ability, my ass. Just yesterday, you nearly got caught by a janitor while searching the Internet on your smartphone.”
Peeeeep...
There was only so much one could do to deceive Li Qing-yu, who could read minds as well. Since she would be found out anyway, Rimon said it was better to come clean from the beginning.
At his firm declaration, the little bird let out a miserable groan.
From her past life, Yoo Na-gyeong knew that it was best to go along when Rimon spoke so decisively.
“Quit poking at me, you brat. Is my head your nest?”
Still, she apparently was not fully satisfied. Yoo Na-gyeong pecked repeatedly at the crown of his head in protest, but Rimon ignored her and merely lifted his teacup.
It was then that Li Qing-yu, seated opposite them and watching Rimon and Yoo Na-gyeong with an odd look in her eyes, asked a question.
“When did you learn how to speak with animals, Sword Duke?”
“I never did.”
“Then what was that conversation just now?”
“What conversation? I just thought this airhead would say something stupid like that and gave an appropriate answer.”
“For an appropriate answer, you seemed to understand each other remarkably well.”
“She was my only team member, after all. We ran enough operations together. If I could not manage even this much, I would not deserve to be her superior.”
“That is something to envy.”
“Envy? She is nothing but a nuisance.”
Rimon answered indifferently.
Yoo Na-gyeong had always been expressive when she was alive, so Rimon could manage something resembling a conversation by roughly guessing what she meant. Still, it was like trying to speak with someone mute. Rimon had to piece together everything she wanted to say, which was both tiresome and frustrating.
“On that note, there is something I would like to ask. Could you get me an item?”
“An item?”
“Yeah, a telepathic item that she can use. It would be even better if it can communicate over distance.”
Peep?
Yoo Na-gyeong’s eyes widened at Rimon’s words.
Li Qing-yu, meanwhile, nodded as if she finally understood and smiled.
“So that was why you told me on purpose. You would have had to let me know eventually if you wanted me to obtain the item.”
“Even without that, you would have figured it out.”
Rimon shrugged.
Then, while keeping Yoo Na-gyeong on his head as she looked impressed by intentions she had not known he had, he casually added,
“Though I also don’t have the money to buy one.”
Peeep.
In an instant, the little bird’s admiring gaze became the look one gave a shameless man shaking down a young girl.
Even cheap items cost at least a hundred million won. They were practically worth a house.
Naturally, Yoo Na-gyeong’s eyes went cold when Rimon so brazenly asked for one.
“Do not worry about money. Simple telepathic items are not particularly rare, so they are easy enough to obtain.”
Yet Li Qing-yu readily nodded.
She was a princess of the Seven Dragons Society. Even if the Black Dragon Clan had declined, an item or two was pocket change to the owner of the Leviathan Hotel.
More importantly, the Seven Dragons Society was the mastermind that had manipulated the Player Association and inflated the value of Dungeon byproducts. Rimon, who knew that secret, had no reason to feel guilty about asking for a single item.
“Though it is hardly an exchange, may I ask a small favor of you as well?”
“A favor?”
“Yes. It is not particularly difficult.”
“If it is not difficult, I do not mind. What is it?”
Rimon readily nodded.
Since accepting her proposal, this was the first time Li Qing-yu had asked anything of him. He was willing to grant most reasonable requests.
That was why Rimon could only fall silent for a moment when Li Qing-yu smiled and spoke.
“Please run a company for me.”
“...What?”
“The Black Dragon Clan has many subsidiaries. Please join one and work there. While you are at it, I would like you to build up some accomplishments we can show off.”
Rimon stared blankly at Li Qing-yu for a moment.
Once he realized he had not misheard her, he asked with an awkward expression.
“Where did that sudden request come from?”
“Have you not considered that it is a request I made because I want it?”
“If that were the case, you would not have left me idle all this time. If you suddenly changed your policy, there must be an outside reason. Am I wrong?”
“As expected, you are sharp.”
With a bitter smile, Li Qing-yu acknowledged Rimon’s point and explained with a slightly troubled expression.
“The request actually came from the elders.”
“Your elders?”
“Yes. Since most of our clan’s assets are to be handed over as dowry once we marry, they want to see the Sword Duke’s management abilities beforehand.”
“So they want to make sure I will not run the clan’s remaining assets into the ground?”
“That is the idea.”
“And if I fail?”
“The marriage will not be canceled. However, we will need to negotiate with the elders again.”
“...That is a very elegant way of saying that our marriage will be delayed indefinitely unless the elders are blackmailed again using their weaknesses.”
Rimon clicked his tongue inwardly.
I should have known those old geezers would not approve the marriage so easily.
The Black Dragon Clan elders had not approved the marriage at all.
They had simply set a condition Rimon could never fulfill to give themselves grounds to oppose it.
It had been a mistake to let it pass without much thought because Li Qing-yu had said it was not especially difficult.
“Why are you only telling me something this important now?”
“Because it was such a minor matter that I did not think it was worth mentioning.”
“If I fail at that minor matter, our marriage will be postponed without end.”
“But if you succeed, you will not only secure an undeniable stake, but naturally earn the clan’s support as well.”
Li Qing-yu calmly spoke as though there was no need to weigh the risks of something bound to succeed.
Rimon looked at her with an awkward expression.
“Princess, I know nothing about management or business. I have never earned money doing anything except sword work.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Then what exactly do you trust about me enough to hand me an entire company?”
“I trust the promise you made. That the Black Dragon Clan is only the beginning, and that you will devour the entire Seven Dragons Society.”
Li Qing-yu answered immediately.
Then she smiled and continued.
“If you are the man who will seize Seven Dragons, the corporate giant that controls wealth across the world, then you should naturally be able to handle this much. Do you not agree?”
“...Would I be an asshole if I said no now?”
“Of course not. It would only mean that I was a fool for trusting you, Sword Duke.”
“That is the same thing.”
Rimon scratched his cheek.
It was sudden, but he had prepared himself for this ever since deciding to seize money and power.
And it was something he would naturally have to do in order to rule not only the Black Dragon Clan, but every clan in the Seven Dragons Society.
That was why, after frowning in thought, Rimon finally spoke with a sigh.
“Princess.”
“Yes?”
“I am truly sorry, but will you let yourself be made a fool of?”
“...What?”
Perhaps she had expected him to agree. Li Qing-yu blinked several times with wide eyes before asking uncertainly,
“Are you saying you will not take charge of a subsidiary?”
“That is right.”
“Was my request too difficult? Or are you upset that I kept the elders’ condition hidden until now?”
“It is not that I dislike it. It was something I wanted to do eventually.”
Rimon spoke calmly to the unusually flustered Li Qing-yu.
“But not now. There is training I need to do immediately, even if I must set everything else aside.”
“...Training? You mean you, Sword Duke?”
“Yes. It is training I absolutely need if we are to accomplish our other goal.”
Li Qing-yu wore an odd expression after hearing Rimon’s serious words.
Their goal was to seize the entire Seven Dragons Society, but that was only a means. Their true goal lay elsewhere.
From that perspective, the meaning behind Rimon’s words was clear.
“You mean something necessary to fight the Constellations?”
“More or less.”
“I see... Then it cannot be helped. We cannot make the mistake of sacrificing the greater for the lesser.”
Li Qing-yu readily accepted it.
What she wanted from Rimon in the first place was the strength of a Sword Master capable of keeping the Constellations in check.
If she dragged him into something as trivial as internal clan politics or business and interfered with his training, she would be putting the cart before the horse.
“I said you should tell me if there was anything I could help with, yet I cannot help you when it matters. I am sorry.”
“No. Ever since I proposed marriage, the work I wanted from you was that kind of work, Sword Duke. Leave this kind of work to me.”
“Can you handle it?”
“Yes. I will need to use a few shortcuts, but it will work somehow if you help just enough that it does not interfere with your training.”
“You are a reliable bride.”
“Right? A bride as capable as me is rare.”
Rimon snorted as he watched Li Qing-yu smile playfully.
If it were an easy problem, she would not have asked him in the first place. Yet her confident words were reassuring precisely because she was Li Qing-yu.
She was the Black Dragon Princess.
A girl who could achieve her goals through whatever schemes and tricks were necessary.
Peep? Peep?
At that moment, Yoo Na-gyeong, who had been blinking as though she had heard something unbelievably strange, could no longer hold herself back and tugged at Rimon’s hair with her beak.
“Oh, come to think of it, I have not told you that yet.”
Rimon briefly looked puzzled.
Then, as usual, he guessed why Yoo Na-gyeong was acting that way and casually said,
“I am marrying her.”
Peeeep?
Yoo Na-gyeong’s eyes became tiny dots.
For a moment, she tilted her head as though this were another absurd geezer joke.
Then she looked back and forth between Rimon’s calm crown and Li Qing-yu’s quiet nod. Once she realized it was true, Yoo Na-gyeong’s beak fell wide open.
Whether Yoo Na-gyeong looked as though she had been hit by a slingshot at the thought of a marriage between people separated by centuries, or glared at him like a cradle robber, Rimon did not care in the slightest.
He simply turned back to Li Qing-yu.
“Oh, and there is something I need for my training. Could you introduce me to someone?”
“A sparring partner?”
“No, a violinist.”
“Leave it to me. A grandmaster-level expert representing the Black Dragon Clan... Who did you say?”
Perhaps it was so unexpected that Li Qing-yu confidently began answering, only to ask again with a blank look.
Rimon awkwardly scratched his cheek.
“What I need right now is not swordsmanship training. It is violin training.”
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