There are more injured people than expected.
Sanghyeok and Arin did try to hold back, but it was impossible for everyone to come out unscathed.
"All right, this will hurt a bit. One, two!"
"Ugh!"
After setting a splint on a man with a broken arm, I moved on to treat the next injured person.
Still, those with broken arms or legs were the lucky ones.
The man whose jaw had been shattered by Arin's first strike would be living on porridge alone for the next month.
As I was treating the last injured person, a middle-aged man asked nervously,
"Is… is it really okay?"
"You'll be fine now. Just don't overdo it. It'll take two or three months to fully heal."
"Oh, thank you. Thank you so much."
Given that this was a situation where getting your head chopped off wouldn't have been surprising, being treated instead—no amount of bowing would be enough.
In any case, earning goodwill from the citizens of Eunak, especially Yang Miyoung, was a good thing.
After all, their labor would be essential to finding Vigo.
I could force them into labor, but that didn't suit my nature.
After the treatment ended and we took a short rest, Jeong Doyun appeared.
"You arrived quickly. Did you find information on Eunak's acting lord?"
"Yes. Just as you said, Young Master—he's someone who follows Han Baeksa."
"Right? That old fox wouldn't have left quietly."
Even now, Eunak was technically Unseong's territory.
The day Eunak would be transferred to Sanghyeok was the day Sanghyeok arrived and formally received authority from the acting lord.
In any case, since he was someone planted by Han Baeksa, it was easy to predict he wouldn't be a decent person.
"The acting lord's name is Kim Hakgyu. Ever since Eunak was transferred from Unseong to Young Master Han Sanghyeok, he's been squeezing the citizens dry to gather every last bit of wealth. I believe he intends to send it to Unseong."
"Has he already sent it?"
"No. He's stored it in a secret warehouse. It seems he plans to scrape together everything before leaving."
Fortunately, the city's wealth hadn't yet been taken away.
But without physical evidence, we couldn't punish him or even conduct a search.
After all, Kim Hakgyu was from Unseong.
If we investigated recklessly, it would turn into an inter-family conflict.
That was why I had asked Jeong Doyun to find concrete evidence.
With solid proof, we could punish him on the spot.
"Did you find evidence?"
"Yes. Here is the secret ledger. We're also tracking the location of the hidden warehouse, so we should find it soon."
I examined Kim Hakgyu's ledger that Jeong Doyun handed over.
The thick book was packed with numbers.
'He really took a lot.'
Kim Hakgyu was even greedier than I had expected.
He had fattened himself by embezzling even the funds sent by the royal family for maintaining the mines, roads, and city walls.
"He even embezzled royal support funds? Impressive."
He probably planned to take all of this back to Han Baeksa and secure himself a position.
"This is a copy of the most recent letter he sent to Han Baeksa."
The letter Jeong Doyun handed me said that even if a new lord arrived, he would remain loyal to Unseong, so there was no need to worry.
"I see. Understood."
A rotten official and a spy for Unseong.
An unforgivable combination, isn't it?
We had gathered a fair amount of evidence, but it was still insufficient.
Documents alone were weak proof, since they could be forged.
As I was thinking that, Jeong Doyun spoke again.
"And there's someone I'd like to introduce to you today."
"An introduction?"
As I tilted my head, a woman dropped down beside Jeong Doyun.
Her face concealed by a mask, she knelt on one knee, bowed her head, and spoke.
"Huam, Unit Two. Jeon Gaeun. I pay my respects."
"Who is this?"
At my question, Jeong Doyun answered.
"She's a new member who'll be working with us. She insisted on meeting you in person, so I brought her along."
This time, Jeon Gaeun spoke.
"I wished very much to meet you, Young Master whom I respect."
"You respect me?"
"Yes. I learned by chance about what happened in Hwagang, and since then I've admired you. You are the only person who killed a Rakshasa in your teens."
"She's the one who found that ledger."
"Oh?"
Jeon Gaeun's face was hidden by the mask, but I could see the corners of her mouth lift.
'Jeon Gaeun, Jeon Gaeun… Who was she?'
No matter how good my memory was, I couldn't remember every unremarkable Huam operative.
But one thing was clear—she was highly capable.
That much was obvious just from the fact that she had found the ledger.
Still, there was one thing that bothered me.
"Why are you covering your face?"
"Shall I remove it? I suffered severe burns in a fire when I was young, so it may be quite unsightly."
Jeon Gaeun stood up abruptly and brought her hand to her mask.
But I didn't stop her.
She was probably trying to act confident and get me to say, "That won't be necessary."
But I wasn't falling for such shallow tricks.
I was the kind of man who never believed without seeing for himself.
Soon, Jeon Gaeun threw off her mask.
"..."
Just as she said, the burns were severe, along with many other scars. Without them, she would have been quite beautiful—but there was no point in making assumptions.
So it was true.
I felt like I'd become a real bastard.
"…I apologize for forcing you to reveal something so personal."
"It's fine. One cannot keep someone whose face they don't know at their side."
"I can vouch for her skills."
Jeong Doyun added, and I nodded.
She had even shown her bare face—there was no reason to nitpick further.
"Understood. Besides, the captain must be busy guarding Arin, so it felt awkward to call him out casually."
"…Captain is a bit much. I'd appreciate it if you'd call me more casually."
"I'll think about it."
Jeong Doyun squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head.
Revenge, you bastard.
In any case, I continued with what I had been saying.
"The ledger alone isn't enough. He could claim it's forged and stall for time. Find the secret warehouse. Nothing more, nothing less—if you find the royal support funds, we can punish Kim Hakgyu on the spot. Is it possible before we arrive?"
It was probably impossible.
We'd reach Eunak by tomorrow morning—there was no way they could find the warehouse in that time.
It simply meant that I was in a hurry.
"We will carry out your order."
Jeong Doyun and Jeon Gaeun nodded, then vanished in a blur.
What?
"…You're actually going to do it?"
As expected of Huam.
"Good thing I stayed on Yu Hyeonseong's good side."
They were a group I never wanted to make an enemy of.
The citizens of Eunak walked behind Seoha.
There were no restraints, and they weren't treated like criminals.
Walking at the front, Yang Miyoung glanced up at Lee Seoha, the young master of Cheongsin.
From the conversation earlier, it was clear who the real authority was.
The child named Han Sanghyeok, the so-called lord, hadn't said a single word—he had merely nodded along to whatever Lee Seoha said.
"Sister, this new lord seems different somehow. Do you think life might get a bit better?"
"Yes, he does seem different."
It felt like meeting a lord who was actually human, for the first time.
But changing Eunak would be difficult.
The city had already fallen to rock bottom.
"Still, changing it won't be easy."
Kim Hakgyu was not an easy opponent.
At best, all that young master could do was remove Kim Hakgyu from his position as acting lord and drive him out.
Rebuilding a city that Kim Hakgyu had stripped down to the last grain of rice would be difficult even if the head of the Cheongsin family himself came.
"Changing Eunak…"
It was probably impossible.
'Still…'
She wished he would change it.
Soon, Eunak's city walls came into view.
The city looked like ruins.
Ivy covered the city walls, making them greener than gray, and the houses inside the city were no different.
The streets were relatively clean from regular cleaning, but the people's faces were as lifeless as corpses.
"Oh my, oh my!"
Seeing the bandit group, people sighed with stiff expressions or covered their mouths in shock.
It made me feel like I was the villain.
I had treated the bandits who attacked us and hadn't even bound them. Still, it seemed the prejudice that those in power were always evil ran deep.
Then, among the crowd, a man caught my eye.
Wearing a warrior's uniform, he subtly held up a piece of paper toward me.
– Found.
Just two characters were enough to convey the meaning.
'Impressive.'
To think they'd really find everything before we even arrived.
I gathered the people like clouds and arrived at the government office.
In front of it stood Kim Hakgyu, waiting with his attendants.
While everyone else wore rags, he alone was dressed in fluttering silk.
As if he were some immortal.
Having dressed himself up so extravagantly, Kim Hakgyu gazed at the carriage with an arrogant expression.
'I can guess what he's thinking.'
He thought there was no need to curry favor anymore, having already gotten everything he wanted out of Eunak.
Now he would try to seize control of the conversation to avoid having his crimes exposed.
One way to seize control was to pressure the other party aggressively.
By showing an unwelcoming attitude, you intimidate them and take the initiative.
Simple, but effective.
Especially effective against someone young, inexperienced, and lacking confidence in what they're doing.
'It would work on an ordinary young master of a great family.'
Children of great families grow up being treated well wherever they go.
Everyone they meet bows and scrapes. Few would dare raise their voice at a young master of Cheongsin.
But I was different.
Before my regression, my life had been worse than that of a commoner.
Endless contempt.
At the academy, I was bullied. I failed the military exam again and again, scraping by in poverty. Even after becoming a low-ranking warrior, I lived under constant abuse from my superiors.
On top of that, the name Cheongsin was used mockingly—I'd even wished I were just a commoner.
…
Thinking about it made me sad.
I really had lived a hard life.
Well done, me from before the regression.
"I'll handle this. Sanghyeok, just greet him."
"Yeah. Thanks. I hate politics."
The carriage stopped before Kim Hakgyu, and as promised, Sanghyeok greeted him with a bright smile.
"Nice to meet you. I'm the new lord, Han Sanghyeok."
"You're late. I've been waiting quite a while."
Kim Hakgyu clicked his tongue arrogantly as he replied, then looked over the line of bandits standing behind the carriage.
"And what's all that? Even if you're a lord, did you hire servants and bring them along?"
At the mocking tone, even good-natured Sanghyeok stiffened.
That wouldn't do.
Getting angry meant losing.
I stepped between them and spoke.
"I'll explain that."
As I intervened, Kim Hakgyu sneered dismissively.
"And who are you?"
"I'm Lee Seoha of Cheongsin. At Sanghyeok's request, I'm acting as acting lord. You can talk to me."
"Hahaha. A friend acting as acting lord? Fine. I've heard rumors. Runner-up in the Seongmu Tournament, was it? To think a Cheongsin genius couldn't even win…"
The quality of his conversation was low.
In short, it was trashy.
No matter what, he must have heard about me from Han Baeksa.
Probably nothing good—but Han Baeksa, who had been humiliated by me twice, wouldn't underestimate me.
And yet, this reaction showed just how arrogant Kim Hakgyu was.
Which was good.
It meant he'd be easier to crush.
"So, what is that procession behind you?"
"I was just about to question you about that—this works out well. Why are Eunak's citizens committing banditry? Against the newly appointed lord, no less."
"..."
Kim Hakgyu fell silent.
An unexpected variable.
Until the handover was complete, Kim Hakgyu was still the acting lord, and everything that happened before then was his responsibility.
I drew my sword first.
"Did you order it?"
With that, I seized the initiative.
Kim Hakgyu replied stiffly,
"How could that be? I know nothing about this."
"Hahaha. It was a joke—no need to get so serious. I know you didn't order it. These bandits said they turned to crime because of poverty. But tell me—no matter how much Eunak declined, did it really fall so far that people had to become bandits? They say even a ruined rich family lasts three generations. It's only been ten years since Eunak's mines closed, hasn't it? Where did all that silver go?"
Kim Hakgyu thought for a moment before answering.
"Not everyone in Eunak commits banditry. Criminals commit crimes regardless of circumstances. They didn't turn to banditry because life was hard—they simply chose an easier path than honest labor."
"Maybe. That could be true."
Kim Hakgyu let out a small breath, visibly relieved.
But it was far too early to relax.
I stepped closer and waved the ledger in front of him.
"But then I found something like this."
The moment he saw the ledger, Kim Hakgyu's face twisted into the color of shit.
"What's wrong? You look like you just ate crap."
That arrogant face finally looked much better now.