Chapter 77

“Um, Grand Strategist?”

At my voice, Gal So-ye snapped back to herself.

She stared blankly at me for a moment, then asked in a voice far more lively than usual for her.

“That is the smell of Yeonggeop Pavilion’s Seven-Treasure Dragon King Stew. Did you perhaps buy it for me?”

“You can tell just from the smell.”

“Because it’s a dish I revere.”

A dish she reveres?

That was a very peculiar way to put it.

As I was turning over the meaning of the word revere in my head, Gal So-ye spoke again.

“Your information network is in decent shape, Seventh Young Lord.”

“You could say that. Hehe.”

I was laughing when I suddenly tilted my head.

Information network?

“Do you have something urgent you wish to say to me?”

“Yes.”

Gal So-ye picked up a strange-looking object lying on one side of the desk.

“Do you know what this is?”

“I have no idea.”

“It is a sandglass timer. When you flip it over, the sand flows for a fixed span and measures time. One turn is seven minutes.”

“That’s fascinating.”

“I don’t meet alone with anyone more than once, aside from my lord. However, in light of your sincerity, Seventh Young Lord, I will make time for you twice.”

Twice, huh.

That was not enough time to persuade Gal So-ye.

But it didn’t matter.

Even if she turned that sandglass not twice but twenty times, this conversation would not end until I decided it did.

“I have a feeling I am going to smash your principles quite badly today, Grand Strategist.”

“We will see about that, Seventh Young Lord.”

I sat down across from her.

In the brief time it took to fetch a chair from the corner, Gal So-ye’s gaze stayed glued to the Seven-Treasure Dragon King Stew.

It was unexpected.

In my memory, Gal So-ye was a cold-hearted butcher.

By the decisions she made without so much as batting an eye, hundreds of thousands of people had been slaughtered.

So what was with this dazed expression, losing herself because of a dish?

Did that dish have some deep story behind it or something?

‘Focus. Stop getting distracted by nonsense.’

My goal was the downfall of Heuk Jin-pung and the Hundred-Succession Heuk Clan.

To achieve that, I had to stick to the real business.

It was best to come out strong from the start. That would grab her full attention.

“Do you know what the Heaven Rebelling Society is?”

Sure enough, Gal So-ye’s gaze swung back to me.

“How do you know about the Heaven Rebelling Society, Seventh Young Lord?”

All information within the Cult passed through the Demon Eye Pavilion and was reported to the Grand Strategist.

Yesterday’s incident would have been the same.

But that report could not have been complete.

The Heaven Rebelling Society’s members had been annihilated without leaving a trace. And I hadn’t told them anything, precisely for today.

“They called themselves the Heaven Rebelling Society. They seemed like a seditious group. They shouted some weird slogan too.”

“What was it?”

“Something like ‘in the name of Heaven Rebelling, we sever the old heavens.’”

In an instant, the look in Gal So-ye’s eyes changed.

“Then it was definitely the Heaven Rebelling Society. They are traitors plotting to overthrow the Cult. But why would they attack you, Seventh Young Lord?”

“That—”

“The likeliest answer is that they mistook you for the successor. Either someone fed them false information, or you have been making your presence a bit too conspicuous of late.”

Her last words made me flinch inside.

It sounded like she knew exactly what I had pulled with Ju Ok-hwa.

I answered as if I knew nothing.

“They said they would dispose of the Cult Leader’s successor for the sake of a new future for the Divine Cult.”

“What a steaming pile of bullshit.”

“Eh?”

“There are people who scream their heads off while masking their own greed and stupidity with the flimsy veil of some great cause. The Heaven Rebelling Society is made up of that sort.”

It was not that I didn’t understand. I was just startled by how rough her choice of words was.

I kept discovering new sides of Gal So-ye today.

“Anyway, what exactly happened? All that remained at the battlefield were traces of massive explosions.”

“Who knows. One thing led to another, and they just went boom on their own.”

I glossed over it roughly.

I could not exactly say it had been thanks to information from before my regression.

And even if I dressed it up in some plausible story, Gal So-ye would see right through it in no time.

At times like this, being vague was best.

“That’s the answer I expected.”

Gal So-ye said calmly.

She must not have expected a proper answer in the first place.

“You really are good at predictions. You even knew in advance that I would come.”

“Given the nature of the incident, I didn’t think someone with your temperament would just let it go, Seventh Young Lord.”

“And what kind of temperament is that?”

“You do not choose your means when it comes to your goal.”

Her assessment was so accurate I could not help but let out a short laugh.

In my past life, I had frantically struggled to escape the Heavenly Demon, and now, conversely, I was throwing myself into fire and water to save him.

I looked at Gal So-ye and asked.

“By any chance, do you also know what my current goal is?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then that makes this simple. I want to strike a deal with you, Grand Strategist.”

“Let’s hear the terms.”

“I’m going to expel the Hundred-Succession Heuk Clan from the Seven Demon Houses.”

“…”

A brief silence settled over us.

Gal So-ye stared straight at me, as if trying to gauge whether I was serious.

Our gazes collided in midair.

“You really mean it.”

“Yes. They crossed the line.”

They stationed wanderers at the Sacred Fire Festival, sent assassins to my residence, and mobilized both the Heaven Rebelling Society and Transcendent masters.

In the end, Heuk Jin-pung himself had shown up to spread his killing intent and leave.

Scared the life out of me.

“As you are well aware, Grand Strategist, the Heaven Rebelling Society’s backer is Heuk Jin-pung. Dragging them in just because of his personal grudge against me? As someone who loves the Cult more than anyone, I cannot just let that slide.”

“I get the feeling you are also acting out of personal resentment, Seventh Young Lord.”

“That is a misunderstanding. I am truly filled with loyal devotion for the Cult. If we let something like this pass and set that kind of precedent, what do you think will happen? Sooner or later they will drag in any dog or cow they like and turn the Cult into a slaughterhouse.”

“You have a point.”

“In that case, you share my view, do you not, Grand Strategist?”

Gal So-ye made an unreadable expression, then shook her head slightly.

“To punish the Hundred-Succession Heuk Clan, there are five points we must consider. Can you guess what they are?”

“Why don’t you go first, Grand Strategist, and I’ll rebut them one by one.”

For all my flippant tone, I was quite desperate.

If I didn’t bring those bastards down, I would be the one who ended up paying the price. And to avoid that ending, Gal So-ye’s cooperation was essential.

“Very well. First, the balance of stability maintained by mutual checks within the Seven Demon Houses could collapse. Second, if the Hundred-Succession Heuk Clan, one of the pillars of the Divine Cult, falls, that creates a power vacuum, which in turn weakens the Cult’s overall strength. Third, the countless clans under the Heuk Clan’s umbrella will rebel. Fourth, we have no physical evidence that they mobilized the Heaven Rebelling Society. Fifth, we do not know our lord’s wishes.”

Gal So-ye listed them off without even pausing for breath.

I almost nodded along without thinking.

There was not a single point that was unrealistic.

The Grand Strategist didn’t divide the world into simple right and wrong.

So I had to respond not with emotion, but with logic.

“First, we would not be collapsing stability, we would be cutting away rotten branches and setting order right. Second, a roof does not cave in just because you lose one pillar. Before long, a new pillar will grow to fill the gap. Third, those clans will be the first to turn their backs when the tide turns against them. Fourth, as for evidence, we can make that from here on. Fifth, my master will not bat an eye even if not just the Heuk Clan but the Seven Demon Houses as a whole collapse.”

I finished my rebuttal, ticking off my fingers one by one.

“You came well prepared.”

“That is the bare minimum.”

“Then allow me to rebut your rebuttal.”

“Hey now, hold on.”

I cut the Grand Strategist off and spoke.

“Grand Strategist, we can stop the acting here.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The truth is, you want this too.”

I said it with meaning.

A strange light flickered in Gal So-ye’s eyes.

In the future, she would execute every Demon Cult member suspected of being involved with the Heaven Rebelling Society.

Their number reached nearly ten thousand, and some factions took such losses their power was cut in half.

The Hundred-Succession Heuk Clan, the Dark-Shadow Gu Clan, the Crimson-Moon Jin Clan.

Three whole members of the Seven Demon Houses.

Under the banner of purging the Heaven Rebelling Society, she had used it to weaken the overgrown power of the Seven Demon Houses.

The reason I was making such a reckless proposal to her.

It was because I remembered all too well what kind of person she was.

“You say I want this? You make it sound as if you have been inside my head.”

“I have never done that, but I feel like I understand your true feelings well enough. You care for the Cult deeply, just like I do. Has it not come time to change out the stagnant water?”

“That does not necessarily have to mean the Heuk Clan.”

Gal So-ye tapped on the desk as she spoke.

I answered at once.

“But at this point in time, they are the best candidate.”

In any case, Gal So-ye would go after the Heuk Clan eventually.

All I was doing was moving that up by a few years.

Gal So-ye asked, sounding intrigued.

“You called this a deal earlier, did you not? What do I gain?”

Nice.

If the conversation had come this far, the chances of success were now far higher than the chances of failure.

“There’s a problem that must be giving you headaches these days, Grand Strategist.”

“Do you mean you, Seventh Young Lord?”

“Haha. Funny. I do not mean me, I mean finances. Piles of debt and little income. It must be driving you crazy.”

The Treasury Pavilion oversaw finances, but it was the Grand Strategist who, based on those figures, managed all the Cult’s expenditures.

The Demon Cult suffered from chronic deficits.

It was because there was so much debt piled up from previous generations.

Perhaps this was even one of the reasons she razed three of the Seven Demon Houses to the ground.

“The Heuk Clan has amassed a great deal of wealth through illegitimate means. We’ll use this opportunity to seize it all.”

“It’s an appealing idea, but that cannot be all, can it?”

“We can also use Heuk Jin-pung to root out the Heaven Rebelling Society. That lets us cut off the seeds of future unrest in advance. It also sends a powerful warning to the Seven Demon Houses, that they too can be ruined at any time just like the Heuk Clan. Is that not enough?”

As Grand Strategist, not a single one of those points could be ignored.

Sure enough, Gal So-ye’s expression was not bad.

‘Time to drive the nail all the way in.’

Gal So-ye was an extremely rational person.

She didn’t empathize easily with anything, and her emotional range was so narrow it was almost nonexistent.

But there was one exception.

“The old man who died yesterday. I hear he was the head of an exterminated clan?”

Before coming here, I had heard that the old man’s identity had been uncovered.

Why had the head of a clan wiped out long ago survived all these years with his limbs bound?

And why had he been used by Heuk Jin-pung?

“He was from the Blood Water Goong Clan.”

“That’s the first I’ve heard of them.”

“That’s because they were destroyed long ago.”

“Let me guess. Twenty-six years ago?”

“How did you know?”

“Before he died, the old man said something about twenty-six years of resentment. I figured it had to be related to the Heuk Clan.”

“I see.”

Gal So-ye nodded heavily.

She had a tragic past that only the Heavenly Demon knew.

It bothered me to exploit that personal history, but there was no helping it if I wanted to convince her for sure.

I had to take care of Heuk Jin-pung one way or another if I wanted to move forward.

I let out a deliberate sigh.

“Man, to think something like this happens in this world. His clan was eradicated, yet the head survived alone, held captive for decades. With what feelings, for the sake of what, did he endure all that time?”

“You have quite a soft heart, Seventh Young Lord. To even worry about another’s feelings.”

“Do you feel nothing at all, Grand Strategist? If anything, I would think you feel such things better than anyone else.”

Gal So-ye’s eyes trembled ever so slightly.

“What makes you think that?”

“People say that those with high intelligence also have strong empathy.”

“…”

Gal So-ye squeezed her eyes shut.

What I said must have dragged up her past.

She was the sole survivor of a clan extermination.

Driven by revenge, she had crossed to foreign lands, proven her talent, and become Grand Strategist in her late teens.

For someone like her, the fate of the Blood Water Goong Clan’s head could not possibly feel like someone else’s story.

“Grand Strategist, look at how the Heuk Clan behaves. They are people who do not fear the Cult’s laws. A second and third Blood Water Goong Clan could be born at any time, along with survivors who must live their whole lives in torment. Are you really going to keep just watching and hesitating like this?”

Gal So-ye let out a deep sigh.

“You are right, Seventh Young Lord. I don’t want to add even more to my workload, but we must punish the Heuk Clan. Do you already have a plan?”

I clenched my fist in joy as I answered.

“Nothing concrete yet. First, I plan to provoke a mistake from Heuk Jin-pung.”

“You will create bait, dig a trap, provoke the Heuk Clan’s head into moving, then drop him into that trap?”

“Something like that.”

“Unless the bait is substantial, the Hundred Succession Heuk Clan Head will not react. What do you have in mind?”

Gal So-ye went straight for the heart of it.

I answered with a grin.

“That is for you to figure out, Grand Strategist.”

“…Me?”

“Yes. That’s what I brought the bribe for.”

“I already gave you my time, did I not?”

“And I told you everything you would gain by taking down the Heuk Clan.”

“Haaah.”

Gal So-ye shook her head, then stared straight at me.

“You are a hard person to read, Seventh Young Lord. You seem bright, bold, and greatly ambitious, yet in some ways you are the opposite. And you throw tantrums to get your way.”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“I have one condition.”

A condition, huh.

Puzzled, I asked her back.

“What is it?”

“Later, you must grant me one request.”

“Hold on, you are slipping in a condition like that for something this important?”

“It will not be a personal favor. It will be something someone who loves the Cult more than anyone, like you, will welcome. Surely your devotion has not faded in this short time?”

“No, that’s not it, but…”

“Then that’s enough.”

Gal So-ye ended the topic with an air that she wouldn’t budge an inch.

I couldn’t see my own face, but I was probably making a look like I had just chewed dirt.

It seemed like it would be an enormous hassle.

‘First, get rid of Heuk Jin-pung and worry about it later.’

As for the favor, I could always wriggle out of it somehow depending on the situation later.

“Then I’m counting on you. Please have a plan ready by tomorrow morning if possible. Don’t forget that even if it feels like cutting off a diseased arm, it’s something that must be done.”

“You really are fond of arms, Seventh Young Lord.”

What does she mean by that? I wondered, then I went “Ah.”

So that was a jab.

I was not about to just take it, so I pointed at the sandglass and tossed in a line.

“In the end, you broke your own principle. You didn’t flip it for quite a while there.”

I snickered and left the office.

Behind me, I heard Gal So-ye’s voice.

“This looks crazy good. I need to eat it right away.”

…Her choice of words surprised me yet again.

And then, the next afternoon.

I stood at the front gate of the Hundred-Succession Heuk Clan.

“A-are you really going to go in?”

“Yes, I am.”

Time is money.

From here on out, I was about to start something insane.