Chapter 60 : The Beggars' Sect's Situation (3)
Evening. In the dining hall, the members of the Beggars' Sect were gathered together, eating.
Munch— Munch—.
As expected of beggars, the way they ate was nothing short of ravenous.
They even picked up things that had fallen on the floor and ate them without hesitation.
Among them, Namgung Il was also occupying a seat, mixed in with the members.
'This sight, it's been a really long time.'
Namgung Il looked at the members eating around him with a pleased expression.
I've really returned to the Beggars' Sect.
In the past, he had really hated eating competitively among the beggars, but seeing it like this after a long time, it felt quite heartwarming.
"You beggar bastard! How much are you going to eat!"
"I'm eating like this because I'm a beggar bastard."
"I've only eaten one! Give that to me right now!"
"Why should I? It's the slow one's fault."
He had also had times like that.
The dining table of the Beggars' Sect was truly the wild itself.
If one couldn't secure one's own share, one would often go hungry, so to survive, one had to secure food somehow.
"Spit— Spit—!"
"Wh-what are you doing!"
"What do you mean, what am I doing? I've marked it as mine with my spit."
"Ugh...! You dirty bastard!"
It seemed the winner had been decided.
'Still a long way to go.'
Seeing that, Namgung Il thought to himself.
To give up food just because of a little spit.
If it had been him in the past, he would never have given up food for just that one reason.
'There was even a brat who would put snot on it.'
Going even further, Namgung Il had also seen a brat who put food inside his trousers.
At that time, he had thought what a dirty beggar that was... but thinking about it now, that was also all a memory.
Swoosh—
Just then, Jong Seo-eon approached and placed a plate of food in front of Namgung Il.
"Captain... are you really alright?"
"With what?"
"That... I was thinking it might be a bit much for you to eat in a place like this..."
Jong Seo-eon said and glanced around.
He was used to it now, so it didn't matter, but an ordinary person wouldn't be able to eat properly in a place bustling with beggars like this.
Although he had brought him here because Namgung Il had said he would eat here, he was planning to move to another place right away if it seemed difficult.
"I'm fine."
"..."
"Oh, it's meat? I'll eat well."
Namgung Il said and picked up the bone with both hands.
And Namgung Il, who began to eat very calmly.
No matter how ravenously the beggars around him ate, Namgung Il did not seem to care at all.
"..."
Seeing that, a grin flowed from Jong Seo-eon's mouth.
Yes, that must be Namgung Il.
If he had cared about such things, he wouldn't have eaten with him in the first place.
Just then, the members who had smelled the meat approached, sniffing.
"Wh-what is this! This fragrant smell that I'm smelling for the first time in a year!"
"Meat! Am I seeing things right now?"
"It looks delicious..."
Since the situation of the Beggars' Sect was like this, meat, of course, could not be served on the members' dining table unless it was a special day.
Potatoes, vegetables, or watery gruel were the usual diet.
Seeing the meat on the dining table after a long time, the members couldn't help but feel dizzy.
"Get lost!"
Jong Seo-eon shouted at those members.
To dare to covet the food of a precious guest.
When Jong Seo-eon revealed his anger and shouted, the members slowly returned to their original positions.
Drag—
But the members who had returned to their seats could not eat as they had before.
How could something like a potato go down their throats when they had just seen meat in front of them?
The potato, which had been delicious until just before, now felt dry and tasteless.
"Jong Seo-eon."
Just then, Namgung Il called for Jong Seo-eon.
"Share the meat on this plate with the members."
"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"
"It's enough for me to just eat what I'm holding in my hand."
A Buddha, a Buddha has appeared over there.
Hearing Namgung Il's words, the members' faces lit up.
"Captain, you don't need to go that far."
This meat was specially prepared by the Beggars' Sect for Namgung Il.
But to share it with the other members.
Although he could understand what Namgung Il was thinking when he said that, Jong Seo-eon still thought this was not right.
"Jong Seo-eon."
"..."
"Please."
Since Namgung Il had said so, Jong Seo-eon could no longer refuse.
In the end, Jong Seo-eon, who let out a sigh and lifted the plate.
The numerous eyes in the dining hall all moved in unison according to the plate that Jong Seo-eon was holding.
"Young Master Namgung Il has prepared this for you."
"...!"
"Be grateful and make sure everyone shares a little."
Jong Seo-eon said and placed the plate among the members.
"Thank you, Young Master!"
The members all shouted at Namgung Il in unison.
A moment later, the inside of the dining hall was filled with members shedding tears of emotion.
"Ugh... yes, this was the taste of meat."
"To think I had been living without this taste until now... I'm sorry, my tongue."
"I'm never going to swallow it! I'm going to keep chewing and savoring it even when I sleep."
Although there was a considerable amount of meat on the plate, the number of members in the dining hall was much greater.
So the amount of meat that one member could eat was extremely small, but the members were happy enough with just that.
'They're eating well.'
Seeing that, Namgung Il smiled a pleased smile.
But soon, the smile disappeared from Namgung Il's lips.
Namgung Il just felt sorry for the sight of the members of the Beggars' Sect being happy with that small piece of meat.
"..."
In the past, it was never to this extent.
Still, meat was served steadily about once every three days, and all the members of the headquarters could eat without any shortage.
But to think that the financial situation of the Beggars' Sect would worsen to this extent.
Namgung Il had been able to hear the rough situation from Gae Du-sik before the meal.
"Due to circumstances, the Beggars' Sect is currently divided into two factions."
Hearing those words, Namgung Il couldn't help but be quite shocked.
Rightly so, he had protected the Central Plains by sacrificing his life, but for the Beggars' Sect to be divided into two?
Also, the shock was greater because the cause was his disciples.
"The Beggars' Sect can now be divided into the Dirty Clothes Faction and the Clean Clothes Faction."
"..."
"But the problem is that the brats in the Clean Clothes Faction have been in charge of most of the Beggars' Sect's finances until now."
No matter how much the Beggars' Sect was a beggar group, they did not live by begging alone.
Rightly so, if they were to feed the members all over the martial world, could they cover that money with just begging?
Of course, there were means of income other than begging in the Beggars' Sect, and the beggars who were mainly in charge of that were the Clean Clothes Faction.
'As he said, if the Clean Clothes Faction brats have turned their backs... it's not strange that the headquarters has become like this.'
Since the source of income had suddenly disappeared, it was inevitable that it would affect the finances.
Since the Dirty Clothes Faction usually only begged, they would, of course, not have known how to earn money by other means.
Especially since Gae Du-sik had become the leader at a very young age, he was bound to be even more ignorant of the financial part, and as a result, he had come to a situation where he had to borrow money from Man Cheok-su.
'From what I heard, it seems Du-sik became the leader, and Gang Du took charge of the Clean Clothes Faction.'
Was there some kind of friction between the two?
Although he was naturally curious about that, in the end, Namgung Il could not hear that far.
'...I'll have to meet that brat Gang Du later.'
Before that, he would have to do something about the debt first.
Although the fundamental problem was not the debt, it was true that the situation had worsened because of the debt.
After that, Namgung Il was planning to gradually find out why the two had split up.
"Captain."
Just then, Jong Seo-eon approached Namgung Il.
"Thank you. I never thought the members would be so happy."
"What for, it's not like I prepared the food."
"..."
"I enjoyed the dinner."
Namgung Il said and placed the bone with not a single piece of flesh on it on the table.
To be honest, the dinner prepared by the Beggars' Sect was far less delicious than what Namgung Il usually ate.
Still, Namgung Il quite liked this dinner.
Because he knew that despite their difficult situation, the Beggars' Sect had specially prepared this meat for him.
With just that one thought, Namgung Il was already full.
"That's a relief."
Hearing Namgung Il's answer, a smile also appeared on Jong Seo-eon's lips.
But that was also for a moment, and soon, an emotion of worry appeared in Jong Seo-eon's two eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"..."
"Don't worry. I'll take care of the debt somehow."
Although Namgung Il said that, Jong Seo-eon's expression was still the same.
"...I'll ask you honestly."
"...?"
"Captain, why are you trying to help me... no, the Beggars' Sect so much?"
Jong Seo-eon had always been curious about that.
The statement that he would pay off a debt of one hundred thousand gold was, no matter how he thought about it, an area that was beyond simple goodwill, right?
Although the help he had received from Namgung Il so far could be considered simple goodwill, as expected, he couldn't help but feel a considerable burden to accept this as just goodwill.
"Do you need a reason?"
"Yes, I need one."
"..."
Haaah—
Namgung Il let out a light sigh towards Jong Seo-eon.
And.
"Don't misunderstand."
"...?"
"I'm not helping the Beggars' Sect, I'm doing it for myself."
Namgung Il said, his gaze turning quite cold.
At the sudden change in Namgung Il's attitude, Jong Seo-eon couldn't help but be flustered, and Namgung Il continued to speak in the same tone.
"Did you think I would pay it back for free?"
"Pardon?"
"I'm going to get it all back later. So tell the leader that too."
Considering Jong Seo-eon's personality, it would be better to say it like this.
Just by looking, it seemed he had that expression because he thought he was causing him trouble.
So Namgung Il was deliberately speaking coldly like this.
"...I understand!"
As Namgung Il had expected, Jong Seo-eon answered with a much more at ease look.
It's not just receiving help, it's just being in debt.
Jong Seo-eon vowed in his heart that he would surely repay this debt to Namgung Il later.
"But how are you planning to get one hundred thousand gold, Captain?"
"Ah, that?"
"..."
"There's a way to get it all."
A way to get one hundred thousand gold in five days... as expected, no matter how much he thought about it, nothing came to Jong Seo-eon's mind.
Still, Namgung Il must have some kind of thought.
Because of the way he had shown himself so far, Jong Seo-eon trusted Namgung Il quite a lot.
"Jong Seo-eon, let's go somewhere with me tomorrow."
"With me?"
"Yes, I think I'll need your help."
For Namgung Il to ask for his help.
Jong Seo-eon, of course, nodded his head as if he were happy.
"I understand. Of course, I have to go!"
"..."
"But where are we going?"
At that question, Namgung Il took out a piece of paper from his clothes and showed it to Jong Seo-eon.
"The World Escort Agency."
"...?"
"This paper will turn into money there."
Namgung Il said with a meaningful smile.
(End of Chapter)