WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME NOVELS
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Former Supreme ◈
Chapter 109: The Supreme Ones' Amusement (1)
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The carriage arrived at a manor in a secluded area.
An elegant, dignified middle-aged beauty came out to greet them.
"Greetings, Supreme One."
The woman seemed to know Yeom Hwasin's identity exactly.
"Have you been well?"
"Thanks to you, I have been well."
"I've brought an esteemed guest today, so see to him especially well."
"I will serve you with all my heart. This way, please."
As Baek Socheon followed her, he sensed the presence of people lying in wait all around them. Skilled masters were hidden throughout the estate, guarding the place.
The woman led the two of them into a room lavishly decorated with expensive furnishings.
After she left, Baek Socheon asked, "Where is this?"
"A place I come to when I want to rest for a while."
Baek Socheon could tell that this was Yeom Hwasin's private harem.
"What happens when you don't come?"
"They all wait for me."
"They just wait around without doing anything until you come? Isn't that too cruel?"
"Too cruel? Don't they live comfortable lives thanks to me?"
"I don't think so."
"That doesn't mean I can drink with women who have slept around with other men, does it?"
A short while later, a table laden with food and drink was brought in. Women entered with it, wearing light makeup and splendid silk clothes that showed off their figures. They were beauties one would only see at the most elite brothels.
One woman sat on each side of Yeom Hwasin, and one sat on each side of Baek Socheon.
"Greetings, Great Hero. I am Seol-ah."
"I am Cho-ah."
They were composed and well-trained.
Still, Baek Socheon could tell they were desperately struggling to hide their fear.
At an ordinary brothel, making a mistake with a guest would end with a scolding or perhaps a slap.
Yet if they made a mistake before Yeom Hwasin, not only they but everyone here could be slaughtered.
No matter how much training they had received, it was not a fear women barely in their early twenties could endure.
Baek Socheon looked at Yeom Hwasin.
How could Yeom Hwasin fail to notice the fear they had not fully concealed? Baek Socheon even wondered if he enjoyed it.
"You don't seem to be in a very good mood. Don't you like them?"
"No. It's been a long time since I've seen women this beautiful. I can see your type, too."
"How does your taste compare to mine?"
"I don't think mine is very different."
"Then why are you so gloomy?"
"Because this is your own space. I don't feel at ease here."
"True. I suppose that could be it."
"Since we're going to have some fun anyway, shall we go somewhere young people go?"
"Where?"
"You'll know once we get there. I'll show you around this time."
"Fine."
Yeom Hwasin readily accepted Baek Socheon's offer. Since it was a suggestion from someone who seemed so far removed from having fun, he appeared even more curious.
"It is rather far away, though."
"That's fine. Time is the one thing we have plenty of."
The two walked outside.
As they headed toward the carriage, Yeom Hwasin suddenly spoke.
"That consideration was unnecessary."
In that instant, Baek Socheon knew Yeom Hwasin had seen through his thoughts.
There had been another reason he wanted to leave that place.
Since they had come all this way, they could have enjoyed themselves there before leaving.
Yet he had a feeling the two women attending him would die because of it. This was Yeom Hwasin's private harem. Regardless of Yeom Hwasin's goodwill toward him, Baek Socheon had judged that the women might be dealt with according to the rules of the place. It existed for Yeom Hwasin alone.
"I have my problems, but you do too."
"What problem?"
"Get rid of that pointless obsession with authority."
"Obsession with authority? Am I authoritarian?"
"You didn't know?"
"I thought I was quite open-minded."
"No. You are definitely authoritarian. This place, too, exists because of your authority."
Yeom Hwasin neither agreed nor disagreed.
Since they were already talking about it, Baek Socheon added, "Before we came here, didn't you ask whether I had ever enjoyed myself? The kind of enjoyment I have in mind belongs to everyone and is fleeting. Once it becomes mine alone, I think it takes on a different meaning. At the very least, this place and the word enjoyment don't suit each other."
"Hm. That does make sense."
Yeom Hwasin sank into deep thought.
Perhaps this was what Yeom Hwasin hoped to gain from traveling with him. Things he had never considered before, change and reflection, fragments of thought joining together into a single realization.
The carriage traveled for an entire day before arriving somewhere new. It was a tavern called Youth. When Baek Socheon thought of amusement, this was the only place that came to mind. He had come here a few times with his seniors after first joining the Murim Alliance.
"It's been a very long time since I was last here. Thankfully, it hasn't gone under yet."
Rather than going under, it seemed to have grown larger than before. Young men and women stood near the entrance in small groups, chatting. The atmosphere was completely different from any ordinary inn or tavern.
Before entering, Baek Socheon gave Yeom Hwasin a warning.
"Promise me one thing before we go inside."
"Go on."
"Even if someone picks a fight with you in there, don't use your hands."
"Are my feet allowed?"
"Don't make lame jokes like that, either. If you do, the two of us will be drinking alone all night."
"Fine, I promise."
"Good. Let's head in!"
The two entered.
The moment they opened the door, a wave of lively heat washed over them. The outside was not the only thing that looked different. The interior was unlike an ordinary tavern as well.
Musicians played quick, cheerful music, while young men and women gathered at each table, laughing and chatting.
They did not remain seated at their tables. People stood around the room talking, moved from one place to another, and joined other groups.
"Oh! What sort of place is this?"
"It's somewhere young people mostly come to have fun. They naturally sit together with people from other tables and talk."
"And if they hit it off, they sleep together, too?"
"That probably happens as well."
"When have you been here?"
"I came a few times with my seniors before the war began."
"Oh?"
Yeom Hwasin looked around with an expression of surprise.
"This is my first time in a place like this."
"I heard there aren't places like this among the unorthodox faction. Then again, if you had one, could it be run properly? There would be knife fights every day."
"Our alliance could operate it directly. It could make some money."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course. With war ahead, our alliance is struggling with a shortage of funds as well. Why haven't those idiots in the Financial Hall reported a business like this?"
"Looking at you now, you seem obsessed with war."
"You only realized that now? What do you think? Are you worried you brought the wrong person?"
"Not at all. If anything, I hope you take up this business."
"Why?"
"Do you think a tavern like this could become so successful after operating for just a year or two? It needs word of mouth, and it needs investment. Wouldn't it be better if war did not break out during that time?"
"True. I'll wipe all of you out first, then run this business for pocket money. Hahaha."
Yeom Hwasin laughed happily.
"We came all this way, so let's not talk about war. Let's drink with the young people. Though I don't know whether they'll let us join them."
"They can refuse?"
"Of course."
"That stirs my competitive spirit."
Just then, a server approached and politely addressed them.
"I'm sorry, but we will have to seat you two on the second floor."
"The second floor?"
When the two looked up, they saw older people seated upstairs.
As Yeom Hwasin was about to flare up, Baek Socheon quickly said, "The promise!"
"I know."
Baek Socheon said to the server, "Lead the way."
"Yes."
Unaware of the situation they had just escaped, the server led them up to the second floor. Unlike the bright, lively first floor, the second floor was elegantly decorated. Older patrons sat there for the most part.
They ordered drinks and side dishes. The prices were several times higher than at an ordinary inn.
"What do we do now?"
"You go over and ask any women you like if they would join us."
A middle-aged woman on the second floor smiled at Yeom Hwasin. At her signal, Yeom Hwasin averted his gaze as if there was no chance, then looked down at the first floor.
He scanned the room before pointing someone out.
"That girl over there is pretty."
Yeom Hwasin was looking at a young woman on the first floor. She was noticeably the most beautiful among the three women together, and resembled the women from his private harem.
"I certainly know your type now."
Still, the Yeop Sami Baek Socheon had seen before was nothing like that type of woman. Perhaps that was why she was all the more special. The women Yeom Hwasin liked looked like this, while she was completely different.
"I'll go bring them over."
"You?"
"Are you going to go instead?"
"If I went, I could bring them over at once."
"Of course you could."
He would threaten or abduct them, after all.
"Wait here."
Baek Socheon went down to the first floor and approached the women.
'To think that at my age, I would be asking women to join me for a drink here!'
He truly was doing something he had never imagined.
Baek Socheon approached them.
"Young ladies, would you like to join us?"
Until then, Baek Socheon had been confident. He thought no one would doubt him even if he shaved a decade off his age, and he did not think his looks fell behind anyone else's.
The women looked at his face, then immediately exchanged glances.
"I'm sorry, but we have things to discuss among ourselves."
"I'm sorry!"
"Sorry."
They seemed so apologetic that Baek Socheon was the one left flustered.
"No, it's fine."
Baek Socheon turned and walked back to the second floor. Though he had not had a drink, his face was red.
Having watched the entire thing, Yeom Hwasin grinned as though he were dying to tease him.
"What did they say?"
Instead of replying, Baek Socheon drained a cup of defeat wine.
"You're past your prime now."
"When I came here before, women fought to sit beside me."
"Those women have probably grown older and have daughters about that age now."
"But I don't look that old, do I?"
"Tell me, have any young women called you youthful-looking lately?"
"No."
Most of the praise he received came from his peers or older men. Or from himself while looking in the mirror.
"Young women can see right through it."
After teasing Baek Socheon, Yeom Hwasin rose from his seat.
"Where are you going?"
"We didn't come all this way to have the two of us drink together, did we?"
He went down to the first floor and approached the women who had turned Baek Socheon down.
Baek Socheon watched tensely. He had let Yeom Hwasin go because he did not think he would cause trouble, but there was no telling what might happen.
A moment later, something astonishing occurred.
After exchanging a few words with Yeom Hwasin, the women rose from their seats and came up to the second floor.
Baek Socheon asked the woman who had rejected him, "Did he threaten you by any chance?"
She burst into laughter.
"No, he's just so entertaining. Earlier... you understand, right?"
"Ah, of course."
The three women sat down.
Yeom Hwasin looked at Baek Socheon with a victor's smile.
"I was quite popular in my day."
The women laughed at his words.
This was an unmistakable defeat.
The woman Yeom Hwasin had pointed out asked, "What is your relationship?"
They answered at the same time.
"Friends."
"Enemies."
Yeom Hwasin had said friends, while Baek Socheon had said enemies.
The women laughed as though it were amusing.
They drank together and talked about many things.
After having fun for quite some time, the women rose from their seats.
"Then we'll see you next time."
One woman said to Baek Socheon, "Cheer up."
The others encouraged him as well.
"It'll work out!"
After they went down to the first floor, Baek Socheon said to Yeom Hwasin, "What was that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Tell me honestly. Now."
Yeom Hwasin laughed heartily.
"When I went down earlier, I told them you had never slept with a woman in all your years."
"What?"
"So I brought you here to at least let you talk with women. I told them I was actually your father and asked them to play along."
"Good heavens!"
Baek Socheon was dumbfounded, but eventually burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha!"
How could he have imagined Yeom Hwasin would say something like that?
The situation itself was absurd. He was in a place like this, going through something like this with Yeom Hwasin.
Just then, a man passing their table happened to look at Yeom Hwasin and flinched in surprise.
"You!"
Baek Socheon tensed as well.
Footnotes:
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