Episode 147
An interesting sight unfolded before my eyes.
A dozen men and women nced sideways and took turns offering opinions.
It seemed like the sound of my head pounding could be heard all the way up here.
‘Reactions are sharply divided.’
Not everyone participated enthusiastically.
While some people were worried about what kind of award they should give to show off and gain profit, there were others who stared into space with a sour expression as if they were okay with it.
‘Are you not interested in political matters or are you not interested in me as a person?’
The contribution I made this time was by no means small.
The conspiracy of the Demon Cultist was crushed, the Vampire Demon Lord and the Iron Blood Demon Army were subdued, and the Military Order was recovered and escorted to the Meng’s headquarters.
If it were not for wartime, it would not be surprising if the achievement had been celebrated with extensive publicity.
‘but.’
What was problematic was my identity and background.
Even if you made the same contribution, the reward you could receive was different depending on who praised it.
How many of these people are interested in me, who is neither a disciple of the Nine Great Gates Sect nor a direct blood rtive of the Five Great Families?
‘Rather, there are probably many people who feel wary and want to keep it in check.’
No matter what group you are in, fights over food bowls always exist.
The amount of food in the bowl is limited, so the only way to increase my share is to reduce others’ share.
Originally, the Murim Alliance was an alliance created to protect the interests of the Old Daemun faction and the Five Great Families.
It could be said that it was natural for him to be stingy with Maengdo, who had a humble background.
A representative example was Lee Kang-hak.
During his time on active duty, he achieved various achievements.
Even now, countless monks respect and follow him, so what more can I say?
However, such a person could not even be the Great Blue Dragon, let alone an elder.
It was evidence that awards for meritorious work were not performed equally.
‘Even though I don’t belong to a faction.’
Currently, I was in a neutral position, not belonging to any faction.
To put it in a good way, it could be said to be neutral, but to put it in a bad way, it could be said to be maintaining an awkward attitude.
Whether it is a figure of the Maengju faction or a figure of the Elder faction.
I had no choice but to be reluctant to give power to myself carelessly.
If I were to join an enemy faction in the future, I wouldn’t have to suffer such a disaster.
“How about giving him the position ofmander of the Hwagak unit?”
An elder from the Qingcheng sect said, wiping his goatee.
I had to try my hardest to hold back theughter that was about to burst out.
The owner of the Hwagak unit.
The Hwagakdae (火脚隊) could not bepared to the Four Gods (Four Gods), but it was a unitposed of warriors with outstanding skills in their own way.
A leader belonging to one branch immediately rises to the position of head of the unit?
It could truly be said to be a lightning-fast promotion.
The problem was the background of the head of Hwagakdae.
He was a disciple of the Qingcheng faction and a member of the Elder faction.
Naturally, the leaders under hismand could not help but be influenced by him.
‘You’re tantly maniptive.’
Master Noh’s remarks, whose intentions were tantly revealed, made a furrow between Hwabaek Joo’s eyes.
Zhuge Hwan, who was watching, opened his mouth with a calm expression.
“I probably told you this before. “There will be no further staffing at the Hwagakdae.”
“It did. But isn’t there always an exception? This is only at the level of a reward…”
“We have already acknowledged that exception seven times. “No more.”
“You seem like a really tough person.”
A monk of Cheongseong clicking his tongue with a disapproving expression.
The doctor here felt strange watching them fighting among themselves without asking.
I felt like a fish on a chopping board.
“First of all, I am also opposed to the idea of promoting the Sacheon branch manager to the head of the Hwagak unit.”
Sohyeongeom, who had just thrown away the introduction and watched quietly, spoke in a rxed tone.
The Daoist of Qingcheng red at him with a fierce gaze.
His expression seemed to say, ‘Why are you disturbing me?’
“It’s good to give a reward, but shouldn’t we first listen to the opinions of the parties involved?”
“…….”
“To begin with, the Sacheon branch leader has a history of winning the Yongbong branch. If I had wanted to, I could have been assigned to the Blue Dragon Corps. “If such a person voluntarily applied to the Sacheon branch, there must be a reason.”
Sohyeongeom looked back at me with a faint smile on his lips.
“Isn’t it?”
It was worth spending a lot of money to buy it.
It was truly reassuring to be able to provide support fire when needed without me having to ask for it.
“yes.”
I nodded calmly and answered.
Sohyeongeom prepared a meal for me, so all I had to do was take it and eat it.
“It may be presumptuous to say this, but I have no intention of moving my workce to the headquarters of the Maeng Army.”
“Can I ask why?”
“I think everyone here knows what the current situation is at the Sacheon branch.”
“…….”
“The current Sichuan branch is short of workers due to arge-scale purge. “If I get out of this situation, there will definitely be a lot of chaos.”
“I guess so.”
“I did it, so I have to clean up after it. I don’t want to see the foundation that we worked so hard to build copse. “I hope you will reconsider the matter regarding promotion.”
Although he gave a good reason, in reality, it was just an excuse.
It didn’t matter to me whether the Sichuan branch fell into chaos or returned to its previous state.
I just decided that it wasn’t the time yet.
‘The day wille when I will work at the main branch of the Maeng branch, but right now, I amfortable working as the branch manager of the Sacheon branch.’
Although I made a great contribution, I was not able to achieve the position I wanted.
Also, he was blinded by immediate gains and did not want to provoke the influential figures of Meng gathered here.
‘There is no need to be in a hurry. Just because you don’t get promoted right away doesn’t mean the umted achievements will disappear.’
From the beginning, I had nned to take some elixir and return to the branch.
As originally nned, the debt was paid to the Old Daemun faction and the Five Great Families, so that was enough to satisfy him.
“The Sacheon branch manager is truly a person without greed.”
However, Sohyeongeom seemed to have epted my intentions a little differently.
A smile appeared on his wrinkled face.
“How about something like this?”
“……?”
“Since you said you have no intention of being promoted, the only award that can be officially given to you by the Order is at most an elixir or an item. Formal rewards such as gold coins and silk are not important, so leave them aside.”
“That is enough.”
“No. “That alone is not enough.”
Sohyeongeom shook his head excitedly and took a quick look around.
After seeing that everyone’s eyes were focused on him, he tapped the table with his index finger and spoke as if making a suggestion.
“How about something like this? “The elders here are contacting their respective monks.”
“…What does that mean?”
The Daoist of Cheongseong frowned and asked back.
Suddenly, the tone seemed to be asking what kind of nonsense that was.
“Apart from the rewards given by the alliance, we are nning to send gifts from each n and family.”
“You want to go that far?”
“I have regained the vision of a lost monk, but it is not right to pass on without repaying the favor. “Isn’t that right?”
“…….”
“For your information, no matter what decision the other elders make, I n to contact the monk.”
Everyone reacted in confusion to Sohyeongeom’s sudden deration.
I was equally surprised.
I never thought Sohyeongeom would do this much for me.
“…….”
Silence fell in the conference room.
If you ept the offer, you have to take a loss, and if you don’t ept it, your pride will be hurt.
Everyone just looked at each other and didn’t open their mouths.
I hope there will be a moment of silence.
“That’s a good idea. “I will also contact Sega.”
Namgung Jong-hyeon, a senior from the Namgung family who had previously asked me for an illegal match, agreed with Sohyeongeom’s words and stepped forward.
Then, as if he had been waiting, Man Lik Kwon agreed.
“I think the same thing too. As Sohyeongeom said, thanks to the Sacheon branch leader, I regained the vision of a lost monk, so I must repay him.”
The conference room was inmotion.
As many as three elders came forward to repay me.
The trend changed in an instant.
In a situation like this, who in the world woulde forward and say, ‘I cannot ept that opinion?’
The elder of themunal faction, who was staring at Sohyeongeom with an expression that clearly revealed hisplicated feelings, sighed and nodded.
“I also agree with that suggestion.”
Once the flow was established, everything was smooth sailing from then on.
Everyone cried and nodded to eat mustard.
“…….”
Zhou Hua Baek and Zhuge Huan watched the scene with bewildered expressions.
Wow!
Sohyeongeom pped his hands together again, drawing the attention of the middle school students to himself.
He said with a soft smile on his lips.
“Everyone has agreed, so now we just need to get the leader’s approval.”
“…….”
“What do you think, Lord?”
“I have no reason to object.”
“It has been decided. Then, we will proceed with the work as we discussed just now.”
* * *
When I left Maengjubu, the world was immersed in twilight.
Pang Mun-hwan, who was walking next to me, asked me in a voice filled withughter.
“How on earth did you do it?”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m talking about what happened in the conference room. “The situation seems to be going in your favor, as if you had prepared a script in advance.”
“Rather, I would like to know. “How did the story turn out that way?”
“It seems that Elder Sohyeongeom likes you quite a bit.”
“I never thought you would do that.”
I was able to realize once again how great of a person Sohyeongeom was.
I was thrilled to see him control the atmosphere of the conference room with just a few words.
I truly felt like I had a glimpse of the future I should pursue.
‘I would like to contact you soon and meet you sometime, but I don’t know if you will make time.’
I was able to reflect on my dream once again.
I will definitely rise to the same status as Sohyeongeom and be a rtionship where I can exchange drinks with him without any fault.
* * *
Guided by Pang Mun-hwan, I arrived at the lodging provided by Maeng and immediately threw myself on the bed.
Even though I didn’t do any particrly strenuous exercise, I felt quite tired.
Although he appeared calm on the outside, he seemed to feel tense in the conference room without knowing it.
I was looking up at the ceiling nkly for a while.
“……?”
I slowly got up when I felt a sign of poprity outside the door.
When I opened the door, a man wearing ck night clothes and a mask came into view.
“who are you.”
“I am a shadow belonging to the Dark Nights.”
Heuknightae (黑夜隊).
It was an organization name I had heard of.
I knew that it was a unit directly under the military department and a military group that dealt with the dark affairs of the Meng.
The masked man politely handed me his hand and said.
“The leader told me to bring the branch leader.”