Chapter 49
Chapter 49
『 Translator – Divinity 』
The Principal, truly flustered, stared blankly at him before speaking.
“That… It was something that came up during the meeting, but…”
Then, as if he couldn't remember exactly who had said it, the Principal looked at the other Head Instructors.
“Who was it?”
The Head Instructors also looked at each other, seeming to struggle to recall who it was. If that many people had tried to remember at the same time, someone should have known. Yet, no one could remember.
Both the Principal and the Head Instructors seemed to belatedly realize that the matter was strange.
“Were we hit by a group Soul Bewitchment Art or something? How could we completely forget about that? That's the only thing I can't remember.”
The Principal said, recounting the proceedings of that day's meeting. Listening to his story, it was true that while he remembered everything else, he specifically couldn't remember the person who had proposed that agenda item. And yet, he remembered the agenda item itself with certainty.
Not only that, but they had postponed all other agenda items and had implemented that one first.
Several Head Instructors had sat side-by-side at the writing desks, looking at the copy and making new copies from it.
“I just copied what I saw. As you know, Head Instructor Cheon, I don't have the skill to intentionally change it even if I wanted to.”
One Head Instructor said, and Cheon Ha-seong thought he was probably right.
It wasn't as if everyone who incorrectly transcribed the mnemonic verses would fall into the danger of Qi Deviation. If the flow didn't connect properly, at most the technique's power would be halved or have no effect at all.
However, seeing as the copy's mnemonic verses had a clear direction, it meant that the person who had made the initial copy was no ordinary individual.
“We need to know where the candidates live. We must go to them at once and collect the copies.”
The Principal, as if his mind had snapped to attention, ordered the Head Instructors to bring the candidates' address book. At that, a flood of people began to pour in from outside. They were the people sent by the Cult Leader. Among them was Gi Mun-yong.
Watching everyone divide the work and leave to retrieve the martial arts manual copies, Cheon Ha-seong started to move.
A thought belatedly occurred to him that perhaps the erasing of the mnemonic verses from the wall had been aimed at this from the very beginning. If so, many of the candidates who had entered the Divine Cult's Martial Arts Academy could be harmed. Since the incorrect verses were in the second half, the candidates with higher martial prowess at the Academy were more likely to be harmed.
And among them, the one with the highest probability was Cheok Gyo-woon.
‘It might not be, but for now, I have to meet with the Second Demonic Marquis first. I don't know why they're going this far, but if they're picking a fight, it's only right that I answer it.’
With that thought, he went to the Second Demonic Marquis's Residence. The person guarding the front saw Cheon Ha-seong arrive and announced him inside.
Normally, Cheon Ha-seong would have had to wait there and go in after being told to enter. However, this time, he went straight inside without waiting. It wasn't at a normal speed, either; he entered almost at the same time the guard had announced his arrival.
When he entered, what Cheon Ha-seong saw was the sight of the Second Demonic Marquis and So Jeon sitting opposite each other, talking.
It was a sight one could easily imagine at other times. But both the Second Demonic Marquis and So Jeon had momentarily flustered faces.
Since Cheon Ha-seong had entered so suddenly, they should have gotten angry or yelled, 'What is the meaning of this,' but their expressions seemed to freeze with bewilderment and tension.
So Jeon, at least, quickly regained his composure, but the Second Demonic Marquis seemed to be glancing at So Jeon for cues.
Cheon Ha-seong, wondering what kind of secret these people had between them to be acting like this, nonchalantly walked between them.
At that, So Jeon stood up and bowed politely to the Second Demonic Marquis.
“It seems Cheon Ha-seong has something to say to you, Mother, so this son will take his leave.”
As So Jeon stood up and walked away, Cheon Ha-seong continued to watch him. Then, just as So Jeon was about to open the door, Cheon Ha-seong called out from behind him.
“You have seen me at the Martial Arts Academy, have you not, So Jeon?”
At those words, So Jeon's shoulders flinched minutely.
It was a movement he would not have noticed if his Qi Sense hadn't developed to such a degree due to the inner core of the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp and the Azure Sky Stone Milk.
“The people who saw me at the Martial Arts Academy call me Head Instructor Cheon, if only out of habit from that time, but you, So Jeon, call me Cheon Ha-seong.”
At that, So Jeon slowly turned towards him.
“Is there a problem? We are not in a relationship of Head Instructor and martial artist now, so isn't it fine for me to call you Cheon Ha-seong?”
In that instant, an amused expression appeared on Cheon Ha-seong's face.
So Jeon wondered if he had made a slip of the tongue, but thinking he hadn't said anything wrong, he maintained a confident expression.
“At the Martial Arts Academy, the martial artists who have entered are called candidates. Everyone is called that from the moment they enter. It might be different if one passes early and leaves the Academy, but otherwise, they are called candidates for six whole months, so it's a title that cannot be forgotten.”
Until then, So Jeon had been in the position of trying to leave that place by any means, and Cheon Ha-seong had been trying to hold him back. But now, as if he didn't care whether he left or stayed, Cheon Ha-seong turned his body towards the Second Demonic Marquis.
“An incident has occurred at the Martial Arts Academy, Marquis. It seems someone suggested that a copy of the mnemonic verses of the Heaven-Shattering Will Art that were carved on the wall should be made and given to the candidates to learn. Coincidentally, the Head Instructor who proposed that at the meeting was a person from the So Demonic Clan. Isn't that strange? I don't know why the So Demonic Clan is being brought up so often these days. I would think they don't have the luxury for that.”
The Second Demonic Marquis understood the first part of what Cheon Ha-seong was saying. But she did not understand the words that followed.
The Second Demonic Marquis, without realizing it, looked at her son standing by the door. She almost called him by his name.
What Cheon Ha-seong had said was a lie, but there was no way for the Second Demonic Marquis to realize that fact.
As he lied, Cheon Ha-seong's expression did not change in the slightest. Just by looking at his expression, no one would have even imagined that he was lying.
The Second Demonic Marquis, not even imagining that Cheon Ha-seong was telling a lie, just thought that someone had acted arbitrarily without reporting to her. And she believed that the only person who could carry out such a thing was So Ga-woon.
So Ga-woon, listening to Cheon Ha-seong's words, at first thought similarly to the Second Demonic Marquis. He had thought that someone had plotted this without his knowledge. However, as far as he knew, there was no one in the So Demonic Clan who could pull off such a thing.
Wasn't the erasing of the mnemonic verses carved on the wall an incident he himself had instigated by egging on his mother? For an event to occur, there must be a chain of cause and effect, but the event that followed was too absurd to be so.
‘Could it be that this man orchestrated this to pressure us?’
He glanced at Cheon Ha-seong. He couldn't glare at him openly. It was because of the feeling that Cheon Ha-seong was continuously watching him. In reality, Cheon Ha-seong wasn't even directing his gaze towards him, as if he had no interest, but it was a strange thing.
“I would like to stay here and spend a long time with you, but unfortunately, I have a mountain of work to do outside. I don't know why there are people who make work and people who have to deal with it separately. If I could just find out who the ones making the work are, the best way to reduce the work would be to grab them at once and break their necks.”
After speaking, Cheon Ha-seong smiled gently. The two of them understood perfectly that it was a threat directed at them. And yet, wasn't he speaking as if he knew nothing?
Cheon Ha-seong left the place with a sense of relief, as if he had said all he had to say.
Until that moment, he hadn't even dreamed that So Ga-woon was a different person from So Jeon. He had just wondered if perhaps So Jeon had lost his memory like the people at the Martial Arts Academy. It was questionable whether one could forget even the fact that they had met him at the Martial Arts Academy or the title of 'candidate' just because they had lost their memory.
However, it was better to think that way than to think that a person who looked exactly like So Jeon existed. At least that was within the bounds of Cheon Ha-seong's imagination.
Even so, it wasn't something he could understand clearly, so Cheon Ha-seong left the Second Demonic Marquis's Residence, thinking it was strange. Then, noticing that there was no one watching him, he performed his Stealth Technique on the spot.
When he hid his body and entered the room, a heated argument was taking place between the Second Demonic Marquis and So Ga-woon. Neither of them raised their voices, but their disappointment and anger towards each other could be felt in full.
Until then, Cheon Ha-seong had thought the adopted son was So Jeon, so he tilted his head in confusion as he listened to their conversation.
‘Why is So Jeon talking as if he's a different person?’
However, it wasn't just So Jeon; the Second Demonic Marquis was the same. Then, finally, Cheon Ha-seong's eyes went wide.
“Did you covet your older brother's position that much? Is that why you decided to kick out your brother and take his place at a time when the family is in such a critical state? What have I not done for you until now! In fact, out of a sense of guilt, I have treated you better than your brother!”
“Mother, what are you saying right now? Are you suspecting this son after hearing what that bastard Cheon Ha-seong said? I am just as clueless as to how this happened. This son suspects that perhaps you, Mother, have backstabbed me in order to cast me out.”
Cheon Ha-seong, having heard something he had never imagined, had to struggle immensely to organize it in his mind.
He remembered the time when So Jeon had entered the Martial Arts Academy.
So Jeon was much older than Cheon Ha-seong, but because Cheon Ha-seong had entered the Martial Arts Academy absurdly early and passed in that same year, the two had been able to meet there. And as Head Instructor and candidate, at that.
Even without any interest in So Jeon, Cheon Ha-seong had no choice but to know about him. Just as the Principal had done when Cheok Gyo-woon entered this time, back then he had also frequently instructed the Head Instructors to take special care of So Jeon.
It was only natural, but the more he did so, the more Cheon Ha-seong's antipathy grew, and he did not like So Jeon. However, So Jeon probably didn't even care what a mere Head Instructor like Cheon Ha-seong thought of him.
‘To be that identical means they're twins, doesn't it? They seem to be the same age and are completely identical…’
He had never heard anything about So Jeon having a twin brother, so Cheon Ha-seong's shock was immense.
Cheon Ha-seong also knew that the older generation considered twins to be inauspicious. Moreover, if such a thing had happened in a prestigious Demonic Clan, the result would have likely been even more gruesome.