Chapter 152

As soon as my training with the Heavenly Demon ended, I headed for the Black Spirit Division.
When we were nearly at the Iron-Soul Workshop, Im Yeon cautiously asked,

“Do you really think that woman is at the Iron-Soul Workshop?”
“Of course.”

I had told Im Yeon Flying Swallow’s true identity.
That although she usually disguised herself as a man, she was actually a woman.
Im Yeon had nearly jumped out of her skin.

“I do not doubt you, Young Lord, but I heard there are more than two hundred smiths alone. I am not sure we will be able to find her.”
“Finding her isn’t enough. We’re taking her with us.”

I answered confidently.
I knew where Flying Swallow was and had even figured out her weakness.
If I still failed to catch her, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.

Kkang- kkang-
Chiiiik-
“Put it down here! Here!”

We arrived at the Iron-Soul Workshop.
Hammering iron, quenching heated steel in water, hauling materials into storage.
Every imaginable sound spilled over the walls.

Im Yeon stuck her head out the carriage window and murmured,

“This place feels imposing every time I come here.”

Understandable.
It was a city that never slept, running around the clock with five or six hundred workers assisting the smiths alone.
That was the Iron-Soul Workshop.

Past the outdoor storage yard crowded with freight wagons stood the First Workshop.
It was where everyday items such as farming tools were made.

I got out of the carriage and went inside with Im Yeon.
The first time I came here, the hammering had suddenly stopped and everyone had stared at me.
Perhaps because I had visited several times since then, there was none of that dramatic reaction now.
They merely gave me slight bows with expressions that seemed to ask, ‘Why is that guy here again?’

After a short while, a middle-aged man approached.
He was Chief Steward Lee of the Iron-Gold Wi Family and also the Iron Registry Chief Steward responsible for the Iron-Soul Workshop’s finances and personnel.
The man I wanted to see had appeared.
Someone must have informed him that I was here.

“Greetings, Seventh Young Lord.”

The Chief Steward gave a respectful fist-and-palm salute before cautiously asking,

“Forgive my impertinence, but did you not recently collect the sword you commissioned for your guard? Is there perhaps some problem……?”
“I took another look and noticed a nick in it.”
“A nick?”

I nodded to Im Yeon.
She quickly drew the sword, poked at the spot I had scratched as if emphasizing it, then held it out to the Chief Steward.

The Chief Steward carefully examined the sword.
His puzzled expression gradually stiffened.
Apparently, he immediately realized the mark had been made deliberately.

‘No wonder they have him doubling as a chief steward of the Iron-Soul Workshop.’

He cautiously looked up at me with questioning eyes.
I gave a small nod and whispered,

“Let’s go somewhere private.”

The Chief Steward’s eyes wavered slightly.
He was probably wondering what this was suddenly about.

“Neither of us gains anything from talking here. Let’s move somewhere else without drawing attention.”

I knew Flying Swallow was somewhere in the Iron-Soul Workshop.
But I didn’t know her exact location, so I wanted to keep this conversation as quiet as possible.
If it reached Flying Swallow’s eyes or ears, she would flee immediately.

Having regained some of his composure, the Chief Steward nodded.

“……It seems I should inspect it more carefully. This way, please.”

The Chief Steward led the way.
I followed him to a small room attached to the far end of the First Workshop.
Judging by the piles of documents, it seemed to be where the Chief Steward normally worked.
Once we went inside and closed the door, the noise faded somewhat.

“It is humble, but please have a seat.”

There was only one chair, so I shook my head.

“Let’s just talk standing up.”
“Yes, of course. But what brings you here……?”
“I’m looking for someone. A serious criminal connected to the Heaven Rebelling Society.”

The Chief Steward’s pupils trembled.

“Surely you do not mean that this criminal is hiding inside the Iron-Soul Workshop?”
“That’s right. Why else would I keep coming here like it’s my own home? I’m here to capture them and uphold the dignity of the Divine Cult.”
“But I cannot understand it. Why would a serious criminal belonging to the Heaven Rebelling Society infiltrate the Iron-Soul Workshop?”
“Not exactly infiltrated. More like got hired under a false identity.”
“By hired under a false identity, you mean……”
“They’re good with their hands. Skilled at disguises too. They probably used those talents to get hired as a smith.”
“Not just anyone can become a smith of the Iron-Soul Workshop. Applicants must demonstrate their skill personally and receive a recommendation from an established craftsman. It is not a process one can pass through with a disguise alone.”
“Like I just said, they’re very good with their hands.”

I had once heard something like this from Man Bak-ja.
A master thief was often skilled at forging as well.
Apparently, thieves depended heavily on their tools, so they needed at least enough skill to make or repair them themselves.
I wasn’t certain, but Flying Swallow was probably the same.
That would explain why she had hidden herself in the Iron-Soul Workshop.

But the Chief Steward still didn’t look convinced.
More than anything, he seemed unwilling to accept that a Heaven Rebelling Society member could be hiding in his own domain.

‘I need to make him understand first.’

This place belonged to the Iron-Gold Wi Family.
Even as a Little Demon, I couldn’t just throw my weight around and demand to search the place without evidence.

‘Besides, it would be best to handle this as quietly as possible.’

Making a big racket would only send Flying Swallow running.
If I didn’t have to worry about all this, I would have turned the place upside down and mobilized hundreds of people.
I would have sent them into the Iron-Soul Workshop from every direction at once.

“You mentioned procedures just now. Are those procedures actually being followed properly?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re always short on workers here. When manpower is scarce, identity checks inevitably get lax. And hardly any outsiders come into the workshops, so one unfamiliar face could disappear into the crowd without anyone noticing. There’s hardly a better place to hide for a long time.”

The Chief Steward pressed his lips shut.
He was probably surprised.
Because I understood the inner workings of the Iron-Soul Workshop better than he had expected.

‘I owe that to their young lady.’

Wi So-rang.
She talked so much she never seemed to close her mouth for even a moment.
Thanks to her, all sorts of information I never needed to know had been forcibly drilled into my head.

After a moment, the Chief Steward forced firmness into his gaze and spoke again.

“I understand what you are saying, Seventh Young Lord. Even so, I must report this to the Patriarch first. This is not something I can decide on my own.”

It was the natural response.
From the Chief Steward’s position, following procedure was the correct choice.
Wi Geum-cheol needed to know what was happening if the Iron-Gold Wi Family was to avoid trouble, and making the report would also give the Chief Steward grounds to protect himself.

The problem was that Flying Swallow could escape in the meantime.
So I had to get the Chief Steward moving somehow.

“Of course that would normally be the right thing to do.”

I quietly stared into the Chief Steward’s eyes.
What truly mattered most to him?
The stability of the family?
His own safety?
My approach would depend on which one it was.

I chose one.

“As I understand it, all hiring at the Iron-Soul Workshop falls under the Iron Registry Chief Steward. Is that right?”
“……It is.”

The Chief Steward’s shoulders stiffened slightly.
Seeing that reaction, I thought,
I had chosen correctly.

“If it turns out a Heaven Rebelling Society member was hired here, who would be held responsible?”
“……I would.”
“Then I suppose you know what happens next.”

The Chief Steward swallowed hard.

“Of course, you can report to the Patriarch first. But if that person escapes in the meantime, wouldn’t people start wondering whether the Chief Steward deliberately stalled for time?”
“……!”

The Chief Steward’s face turned ashen.
Just then,
Daaeng—!
A deafening sound rang out from the workshop.
The Chief Steward flinched so visibly that anyone could have noticed.
I asked him,

“What was that?”
“Ah, it is the signal that molten metal is being poured.”

I laughed inwardly.
He must hear that all the time, yet it startled him that badly?
His nerves were completely on edge.

I continued calmly.

“If you act on what I’m telling you now, you’ll become the man who helped uncover the culprit before it was too late. You can make your report afterward.”

The Chief Steward swallowed dryly.
His eyes shook violently.
He was weighing his options.
The risk of acting against the risk of doing nothing.

“Who knows? Even if things go badly, I might stand on your side.”

After deliberating for quite some time, those words finally won the Chief Steward over.

“……How may I assist you?”

I grinned.
The Chief Steward might be in an awkward position, but this was the best outcome for both of us.
I caught Flying Swallow, and the Chief Steward saved his neck.
Wasn’t that a beautiful ending?

“Among the people hired recently, did anyone stand out? Anyone who seemed strange in any way will do.”

The Chief Steward thought for a moment.

“Actually, there is someone.”
“Tell me.”
“There is a smith who joined two or so months ago. His name is Gong Neung. He is skilled, but there were a few things about him that seemed strange.”
“Like what?”
“His hands are far too smooth. Anyone who hammers iron and works with fire inevitably develops rough hands, but his were not.”

I nodded.
Flying Swallow was a thief.
The sensitivity and movement of her hands were her livelihood, so she would have taken great care to prevent calluses from forming.

“He moves so quickly that he excels at carrying heated iron to the anvil. It has to be moved before the red-hot metal cools, and he is far better at it than the other smiths. He is also unusually strong for his build and handles heavy loads well.”

Quick on his feet and strong for his build.
A master of movement arts needed well-balanced strength throughout both the upper and lower body.
It was practically essential for accelerating quickly from any posture.

‘It has to be Flying Swallow.’

“I have also heard that he sometimes leaves his sleeping quarters around dawn. I assumed he was merely going to the latrine and ignored it, but in hindsight, that seems suspicious as well.”

The Chief Steward desperately squeezed his memory for anything else.
He must have realized that now that things had come this far, helping me as much as possible was in his own best interest.

“Where is he now?”
“The Sword-and-Saber Wing of the Second Workshop.”
“Good. Take me there.”
“Yes, Young Lord.”

On the way to the Second Workshop, the Chief Steward continued searching his memory.
He seemed determined to squeeze out even the slightest useful detail.

“Actually, only experienced and highly skilled smiths are assigned to the Second Workshop, especially the Sword-and-Saber Wing.”
“And?”
“Gong Neung is a newcomer, yet he was assigned there anyway. His skill played a part, of course, but he always worked the iron as though possessed by something. As if he had some lifelong dream he was desperate to fulfill.”

‘A lifelong dream.’

That was sitting right inside my robe.
What was Flying Swallow thinking right now?
She had scouted the place last night, so maybe she was working out the details of her plan.
Perhaps she already thought the Thousand-Li Roaming Body manual was halfway into her hands.
She was more confident in stealing than anyone, after all.

Before long, we reached the Second Workshop.
The atmosphere here was more serious than in the First Workshop.
Probably because the work handled here was more important.

“Over there.”

At the end of the Chief Steward’s pointing finger was the Sword-and-Saber Wing.
Its entrance was narrow, and its windows were small.
As one of the Iron-Soul Workshop’s core facilities, it seemed to have been built in an enclosed fashion for security.

We stepped inside.
A wave of heat washed over us as the sound of hammers pounded against my ears.
Around a dozen smiths were hammering iron at their respective anvils.

“That man is Gong Neung.”

One smith was hammering a red-hot lump of iron.
His hammer strokes were practiced and precise.
An absorbed expression. Eyes that paid no attention to the surroundings.
Just as the Chief Steward had said, he seemed completely immersed in his work.

I walked over.
Only when I was a single step away did the smith finally look up.

“Hm?”

He blinked several times, then his mouth fell open.
He looked as though he had seen a ghost.

“What’s with that face? You look like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have.”

Without answering, Flying Swallow’s gaze darted around.
The entrance. The windows. The people standing behind me.
She was clearly calculating escape routes.

I slowly smiled.
Go ahead. Calculate all you want.
Like I’d let you get away.
Now that I had discovered the flaw in her movement art, there was no chance of that happening.

“W-who are you?”

Her voice sounded awkward.

“You already know without me answering. We saw each other yesterday.”
“I ain’t never seen you before, sir.”
“Let’s not waste our energy, Flying Swallow.”
“……!”

Had she given up?
Flying Swallow opened and closed her mouth a few times, then spoke in a barely audible voice.

“There’s no reason someone as distinguished as you should come to such a humble place. I was planning to visit you soon anywa-”

Paat!
Before she even finished speaking, Flying Swallow shot backward. At the same time, the hammer flew toward me.
The movement was incredibly fast.

I casually snatched the hammer out of the air.

‘Fine. So you want to take this all the way then?’

I moved after her.