WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 70: That’s How We All Did It Back Then
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“...Did you just call me a know-it-all fool?”
“What else would you call someone who’s good at their job but has no idea how to do it? A know-it-all fool.”
“...”
“What? You don’t find that convincing?”
Rimon snorted as he looked at Weiling, who was glaring at him with cool eyes that plainly showed her displeasure.
“You know-it-all fool. Do you know why the princess deliberately set up a company like Guardian for me?”
“Is it not because Sword Duke has neither the desire nor confidence to run a business?”
Weiling openly mocked Rimon’s incompetence.
Rimon shook his head slightly at her.
“No. It’s because she wants me, if I can’t do the work of the Eastern Depot[1], to at least serve as its chief eunuch.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“It means there has never been an Eastern Depot chief eunuch in history who groveled before the emperor and begged for money because the budget was short.”
Rimon clicked his tongue as Weiling frowned.
He could tell from her expression alone that she not only failed to understand his words, but had no intention of trying to.
Tsk, I was planning to focus only on training for a while.
It would not matter if he left things as they were.
Weiling was competent, so Guardian would not actually go under.
And considering Li Qing-yu had not mentioned it directly, it was probably something she expected but had not intended to ask of him.
Can’t be helped.
Rimon finally rose to his feet.
Then he said bluntly,
“Hey, lead the way.”
“Where to?”
“Where do you think?”
Rimon gave a cold smile at Weiling’s suspicious expression.
“To a business that’ll give us money, work, and results.”
Two hours later.
Five Black Dragon Clan subsidiaries had been wrecked.
* * *
Weiling was used to enduring things.
Voidless Advancing Sword Style itself was an ultimate art founded on stealth and patience.
As the secret guard of Li Qing-yu, who was calculating and inscrutable, Weiling had also naturally become accustomed to carrying out her duties in silence, without asking questions.
“...What exactly are you thinking?”
Yet at that very moment, despite all her training, Weiling could not help asking.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m asking why you’ve been going around destroying the clan’s subsidiaries.”
“Isn’t auditing one of our company’s duties? I just went around conducting audits. Why would I need another reason?”
Rimon answered without the slightest shame.
In one sense, he was right.
Guardian was the company in charge of security, protection, and audits for all Black Dragon Clan subsidiaries.
Even so, there was a reason Weiling had no choice but to question Rimon while looking at him as though he were the worst thug alive.
“What part of storming through the front entrance, beating down every guard in sight, and turning the office upside down counts as an audit?”
Since setting out to secure results, Rimon had done nearly the same thing at every Black Dragon Clan subsidiary he visited.
First, he stormed through the front entrance.
“I’m here to see the president.”
“An appointment? I didn’t make any such thing.”
“You can’t see them without an appointment? Do you bastards not know who I am? Tell the president to come out right now!”
Then he caused a scene, demanding to see the representative.
“Oh, really? You’re blocking me? Are you trying to throw me out?”
“Go on, then! Try it if you can!”
And once the security team, guards, or employees gathered to stop him, that was the end of it.
He beat them all down, stormed into the office, and overturned every desk and cabinet, scattering documents and office equipment everywhere.
“Tsk. Kids these days, honestly. When I was young, the head of a trading company stayed glued to the office all day. Where do these so-called presidents keep wandering off to?”
“Tell them I’ll be back next time, so they’d better stay put and wait for me. Got it?”
He did not even take the documents he had scattered. He simply strolled right back out.
The employees’ blank expressions as the documents they had spent all day preparing were casually trampled beneath Rimon’s feet looked as though they had lost their country.
Even Weiling, who had merely watched, could not bear to meet their eyes.
“Hmm, I suppose that wasn’t much like an audit after all?”
“Can you honestly say that?”
Apparently, Rimon had some awareness of it himself. He scratched his cheek, then shrugged at Weiling’s icy rebuke.
“But it’d be a bit much to start cutting people down, firing them, or throwing them in prison without warning. Times have changed.”
“...What exactly do you think an audit is?”
“You barge in somewhere, cause enough trouble that nobody can work, then beat up anyone who resists.”
“Can you honestly say that?”
“Why not? That’s how we all did it back then.”
“...”
Rimon tilted his head as though he truly could not see the problem.
Weiling was left speechless.
If he had merely been feigning ignorance, she could have sneered at his shamelessness. But his face looked one hundred percent sincere, leaving her at a complete loss for words.
[Team Leader, people do not usually call that an audit. They call it wrecking the place.]
“Are they different?”
[They are very different...]
“Hmm. That’s unexpected. I thought wrecking the place was just the modern term for auditing.”
[What on earth did audits look like in your day for you to make such a ridiculous assumption?]
Yoo Na-gyeong, the bluebird perched atop Rimon’s head, shook her head in disbelief at his shameless answer after speaking up in Weiling’s place.
Then Yoo Na-gyeong and Weiling thought at the same time.
Princess, why did you choose such an old-fashioned murderous maniac as your prince consort?
I really think the princess made the wrong choice in marriage...
Whether he knew their thoughts or not, Rimon got out of the car and strolled forward. Then, looking up at the towering building before him, he spoke casually.
“Hmm, this subsidiary is pretty big. It must be doing well.”
[Team Leader, do you not know where this is?]
“It’s a Black Dragon Clan subsidiary. The company name makes that obvious.”
[No, I mean, do you not know what Black Dragon Construction is?]
“Is it somewhere I need to know?”
[Normally, yes. By both revenue and technological capability, it’s one of the ten largest international construction companies in the world.]
Yoo Na-gyeong was dumbfounded.
The Seven Dragon Group had consumed the wealth of the entire world.
Among its subsidiaries were many companies comparable to ordinary conglomerates, even if they were not on the level of the seven holding companies. Black Dragon Construction was one of them.
It had grown into a massive corporation by constructing Leviathan Hotels across the world.
Yet Rimon was unimpressed.
“Even so, it isn’t the best.”
[...It is in the top ten among construction companies.]
“Try living to my age. Once you pass a hundred, even remembering only the best in the world becomes a bother.”
Why should he care about some ordinary company that had not even become the best?
Rimon spoke as though it were only natural.
“You should be careful.”
Perhaps because of his arrogant attitude, Weiling looked at Rimon with cool eyes and continued in a cold voice.
“It may not be the best in the world, but unlike the previous subsidiaries, this is not a place where you can easily wreck everything.”
“Oh, really?”
Even after Weyling’s words, which were practically a threat, Rimon did not grow tense. Instead, he grinned as though looking forward to it.
Then, the moment the automatic doors opened and he entered the Black Dragon Construction building, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Whirr!
“Tell the president to come out!”
“Yes, sir. Right here.”
“...Huh?”
[What?]
Yoo Na-gyeong, perched atop Rimon’s head, looked stunned.
It was not merely because the lobby of this branch of Black Dragon Construction, a massive corporation, was almost empty.
The moment Rimon shouted, someone appeared as if waiting for him, bending at the waist in a respectful ninety-degree bow.
“Who are you?”
“Hehe. My name is Wang Gi-neung. I have long admired the Sword Duke, so it is a great honor to meet you, sir.”
“No, I’m asking what you do.”
“Why, I am naturally the person Sword Duke was looking for.”
“...You’re the president here?”
“Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Wang Gi-neung, Head of the East Asia Branch of Black Dragon Construction. I look forward to working with you, sir.”
Rimon regarded Wang Gi-neung, the middle-aged man who offered him a business card and bowed again, with an odd expression before turning around.
When Weiling nodded, his expression became even stranger.
It’s good that someone more important than expected came out.
Rimon knew little about Black Dragon Construction, but even he could tell that the Head of its East Asia Branch held considerable authority.
After all, this was the person responsible for overseeing the Zhonghua Seventy-Seven Federation. That alone made it clear Wang Gi-neung was one of Black Dragon Construction’s real power players.
“Are you really the Head of the East Asia Branch?”
“Of course I am.”
“Then why are you acting so servile? Keep that up and your back’s going to snap.”
“Servile? Not at all, sir. Sword Duke is the one who’ll soon marry the princess. Showing such a person proper respect is not groveling. It is only natural.”
“Is that so...?”
His mustache curled upward at both ends.
A foolish smile spread across his face.
He even rubbed his hands together like a fly.
Rimon was briefly put off by the sight of Wang Gi-neung, who looked less like a businessman than a treacherous courtier or a shameless flatterer.
Well, you can’t judge someone by appearances.
Like an old hand of the martial world with a lifetime of experience, Rimon brushed aside the prejudice formed by Wang Gi-neung’s appearance and opened his mouth with a swagger.
“Then why did you come out? I was looking for the president here.”
“Why would someone like Sword Duke seek out such an inferior person? If there is something you need, I will handle it for you. Please speak freely.”
At that moment, Rimon smiled faintly.
“You make it sound as though you knew I was coming.”
“How could that be, sir? I merely heard rumors that a few foolish, lazy men failed to properly attend to Sword Duke.”
“You heard rumors about something that happened only a few hours ago. Your ears must be quite sharp.”
“Well, I am a member of the Black Dragon Clan, after all. My ears are a little sharper than most.”
Wang Gi-neung spoke as though it were obvious.
But Rimon’s smile only deepened.
The other companies he had visited had failed to do even that much. Clearly, Wang Gi-neung was not merely a flatterer.
I thought I’d have to visit at least ten places. Looks like I got lucky.
“Ah, it must be uncomfortable to speak in a place like this. Why don’t we go inside? Some fine tea just came in.”
“Fine tea, huh? That doesn’t sound bad.”
Rimon did not refuse Wang Gi-neung’s invitation.
A short while later, Wang Gi-neung led him into a room, and Rimon was briefly dumbfounded.
It was not merely because of the lavish office, from an old mural covering an entire wall to a crystal chandelier and all manner of furniture. It was as splendid as the penthouse where Li Qing-yu stayed at the Leviathan Hotel.
It was because, as though Wang Gi-neung had known Rimon was coming, a brazier on the table held pork belly sizzling with a savory aroma, while bottles of makgeolli sat beside it.
“...By ‘fine tea,’ you meant grain tea[2]?”
Footnotes:
[1] Eastern Depot: A Ming imperial secret-police agency run by eunuchs. Rimon means an auditor should secure resources from those they oversee, rather than beg their patron for operating funds.
[2] Grain tea: A euphemism for alcohol, literally “grain tea,” making Rimon’s line a joke about the promised fine tea being makgeolli.
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