WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 91: There’s No Reason, Is There?
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Perhaps the Intelligence Chief’s silence had only worsened Wang Gi-neung’s temper.
His questioning grew even sharper.
Yet no one spoke.
It was not simply because they feared Wang Gi-neung.
They were just as lost in this situation.
‘If we had an alternative, we would have used it long ago, Family Head.’
‘Who could have expected this...?’
‘Haa.’
From masters of the clan’s renowned Tracking Arts to high-level Tracers hired at enormous expense.
They had employed every possible means, yet still could not find the slightest lead on the perpetrators.
It felt as though they were chasing ghosts.
‘Ghosts would be better. Even if we failed to find them, we would only become a laughingstock.’
The problem was that the perpetrators were living people, and they continued attacking other subsidiaries.
Thanks to that, the Shanghai Wang Family was receiving increasingly cold looks from the other Black Dragon Clan families.
Had they not stepped forward in the first place, it would have been one thing.
But after receiving investigative authority from Rimon and declaring they would have their revenge, the Shanghai Wang Family bore much of the responsibility for the damage caused by failing to catch the perpetrators.
‘Disgrace is no longer the problem.’
‘Our Shanghai Wang Family could lose its standing as a prestigious clan.’
In that sense, everyone in the Shanghai Wang Family was equally desperate for an alternative.
The problem was that there was no suitable alternative.
“How about requesting Guardian’s cooperation?”
The Martial Division Chief spoke in a grave voice.
Everyone looked at the Martial Division Chief as though they had heard something they should not have.
It was already surprising enough that someone who rarely spoke had offered an opinion in a situation like this.
But the proposal itself was so unexpected.
“Are you saying we should admit that we have no way of catching the perpetrators ourselves?”
“The more hounds, the better. Especially when they have noses as sharp as Guardian’s.”
“Hmm.”
“Well...”
The Wang Family’s executives stirred.
The Martial Division Chief’s words made sense.
The Wang Family had already decided not to be choosy about its methods when it hired Tracers.
Furthermore, Guardian had proven its ability by playing a major role in preventing the perpetrators’ attacks over the past month.
Considering that it was officially the dedicated company responsible for Black Dragon Clan security, it was the best choice.
“That will not do.”
But Wang Gi-neung was firm.
They could not borrow Guardian’s strength.
“We declared that we would avenge this ourselves. If we ask Guardian for help now, what will others think of us?”
“Isn’t our family motto to seek practical gains rather than empty pride?”
“You can only seek those gains when the time is right.”
“...Are you saying it is already too late?”
“Far too late.”
Wang Gi-neung shook their head.
It would have been different had they borrowed help from the start.
But a month had already passed since they rejected Rimon’s intervention, and they still had not caught the perpetrators who continued their attacks.
The Shanghai Wang Family’s position had already been weak. If they now made the disgraceful spectacle of begging Guardian for help, they would never again be called a prestigious clan.
‘If I had known catching the perpetrators would be this hopeless, I would have considered another way.’
Wang Gi-neung sighed.
Who could have imagined that even after mobilizing the Seven Dragons Society’s resources, they would fail to find the perpetrators?
No one had expected it.
With perhaps one exception.
‘Did the Sword Duke refuse my offer because he foresaw this?’
Rimon had readily accepted Wang Gi-neung’s request not to intervene, but refused any compensation.
At the time, Wang Gi-neung had considered it the foolish stubbornness of an old-fashioned swordsman who could not weigh profit and loss.
But was that truly it?
If Rimon had accepted the offer then, all the criticism the Wang Family faced now would have been directed at him.
Rimon would have been painted as a corrupt official who abandoned the pursuit of the perpetrators for profit, while the Wang Family could have worn the skin of victims and received sympathy.
Yet by refusing compensation, Rimon had escaped responsibility for this situation.
By deploying Guardian to repeatedly prevent the perpetrators’ attacks, he had even built his reputation.
What if this was not a coincidence?
What if he had foreseen this situation from the beginning?
The Sword Duke was no rigid swordsman.
He was an old, cunning tiger, like the king of the mountains who surveyed every ridge at once and only prowled when prey was within reach.
‘I should have realized it when the Sword Duke withdrew so easily.’
It was a pointless regret.
At the time, that had been the best choice Wang Gi-neung could make. Even if given another chance, they would make the same choice.
“Forget about Guardian. The only way to protect this family now is to catch the perpetrators ourselves, somehow.”
Wang Gi-neung steadied his clan.
Then, looking at the ruined mural where the bloodstains of Wang Gi-seong, their cousin, still remained vivid, Wang Gi-neung muttered quietly.
“Whatever it takes.”
* * *
“I see.”
Li Qing-yu turned over the documents.
After pressing down her seal, she opened another document and continued calmly.
“So the Shanghai Wang Family has decided to maintain its current policy after all.”
“Yes.”
Youin, an elderly man in a suit, added evenly.
“Family Head Wang understands the situation, so additional personnel have been recruited and the search for the perpetrators is being stepped up, but...”
“If they were perpetrators who could be found that way, would they not have been caught already?”
“It seems they are too desperate to realize even that obvious fact.”
“That is unfortunate. Someone as perceptive as Family Head Wang has misjudged the situation and wasted the clan’s time, manpower, and money.”
“Will you hold him accountable?”
“I have no intention of blaming Family Head Wang in particular. The result would have been the same no matter who stepped forward.”
Li Qing-yu spoke matter-of-factly.
Wang Gi-neung, the head of the Shanghai Wang Family, was by no means incompetent.
A grandmaster-level expert was someone who could only reach that realm after possessing exceptional talent and enduring bone-grinding training.
So if Wang Gi-neung was doing nothing but spinning their wheels?
It was not Wang Gi-neung’s incompetence, but the perpetrators’ cunning that deserved admiration.
“Do you think it is a Skill?”
“There are few ways to shake off our clan’s Tracking Arts and high-level Tracers this cleanly.”
“Even if there is a Skill meant for that, could it truly evade Family Head Wang’s pursuit on its own?”
“Even a Monarch would find that difficult.”
Li Qing-yu readily accepted Youin’s point.
Though this was the Iron Age, ruled by Players, they were the Seven Dragons Society.
Even an exceptional Player would find it difficult to completely evade the eyes of those who held all the world’s wealth and wielded absolute influence over the hidden world.
“Unless there is another power supporting them.”
“Do you believe this is an organized attack?”
“If the Sword Duke’s instinct is right.”
“I see. In that case, finding the power behind them may be faster.”
“You believe him more readily than I expected.”
Li Qing-yu tilted her head slightly. If she had said such a thing to another clan, they would have mocked her for trusting the instincts of someone past their prime.
But Youin, who knew Rimon in his prime, wore a serious expression.
“The Sword Duke stopped the grand design that our Seven Dragons Society had prepared for over a hundred years through instinct alone. There is no reason not to trust his instincts.”
“The Sword Duke is perceptive.”
Li Qing-yu smiled brightly as though she herself had received praise.
Youin suddenly asked her,
“Did you deliberately entrust a security company like Guardian to the Sword Duke because you wished to borrow that perceptiveness in case something like this happened?”
“No. I did it because I thought it would inconvenience the Sword Duke the least.”
“...”
“Of course, I would be lying if I said I had no other expectations.”
Youin wore an odd expression.
Li Qing-yu had deliberately granted Rimon excessive authority, making the clans watch her reactions.
She had eased the pressure the Elders placed upon her.
She had prepared for emergencies.
There were countless benefits Li Qing-yu had gained by entrusting Guardian to Rimon.
Yet she spoke as though all those benefits were merely incidental.
But only for a moment.
At Li Qing-yu’s next question, Youin resumed his report.
“What are the other clans doing besides the Shanghai Wang Family?”
“They are very uneasy.”
“As expected.”
“This is not something to take so lightly.”
Youin spoke seriously to Li Qing-yu, who appeared as calm as though she had merely heard that a neighbor’s house was on fire.
“Until recently, things were still manageable. But ever since Guardian’s prediction failed during the last attack, the subsidiaries’ profit margins have fallen across the board.”
“That is... troublesome.”
Li Qing-yu looked troubled.
Unlike the past, when it had been called the Demon Cult, the Seven Dragons Society was now undeniably a corporation.
It was centered on profits and gains rather than faith, conviction, oaths, and fear.
And a decline in its core profits was, in some ways, a greater problem than hundreds dying in the attacks.
The dissatisfied looks currently directed at the Shanghai Wang Family could turn toward Li Qing-yu.
For someone who needed to reclaim her standing among the clans to achieve her goal, it was truly a troublesome situation.
“Princess, how about asking the Sword Duke?”
This was why Youin, who would normally have simply followed orders in silence, offered a suggestion on this unusual occasion.
“You mean asking him to catch the perpetrators?”
“Yes. The Shanghai Wang Family may be reluctant to let Guardian intervene, but there is no reason we must feel the same.”
Li Qing-yu tilted her head as though hearing an unexpected proposal, and Youin spoke calmly.
“If the Sword Duke leads the effort to help capture the perpetrators, the Sword Duke and Your Highness will win over more clans.”
“You sound certain that the Sword Duke can find and punish the perpetrators immediately if he wishes.”
“He is the Sword Duke.”
Unless Rimon chose not to act at all, who could evade his blade once he drew his sword?
Li Qing-yu watched Youin speak so calmly, then smiled and nodded.
“I think so too.”
“Then...”
“But I will not ask the Sword Duke.”
“...May I ask why?”
“Family Head Wang was the one who asked the Sword Duke, who had intended to help from the start, to step aside. What do you think will happen if we ask the Sword Duke for help again now?”
“The Sword Duke will probably not care much.”
“Probably not.”
Li Qing-yu readily nodded.
Then she added lightly,
“But the Shanghai Wang Family will bear a grudge.”
“...”
To preserve its standing as a prestigious clan, the Shanghai Wang Family needed to catch the perpetrators itself, whatever it took.
But what if Rimon, who had promised to step aside, acted on his own and killed the perpetrators?
They would have every reason to bear a grudge.
“No matter how weak its influence has become, the Shanghai Wang Family is still a prestigious clan. If they resolve to oppose the Sword Duke, it will affect the others as well.”
A grudge left a deeper mark than a favor.
Even if Rimon bestowed favors on a hundred clan members, the grudge of a single Shanghai Wang Family member would be greater and endure longer.
All the more so because their opponent was Rimon.
“So is there really a reason for the Sword Duke to go out of his way and act?”
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