Chapter 150. With Two Golden Eggs (1/2)
Four days after returning to Haramark, Seol Jihu walked out of his room while rubbing his eyes and flinched when he saw an old man’s back.
Jang Maldong was sitting on the couch reading a paper. Seol Jihu didn’t know what he was reading, but seeing how he looked bitter, Seol Jihu asked carefully.
“You’re awake?”
Jang Maldong glanced back before gently putting the paper down.
“I opened up the envelopes. They kept stacking up while you were gone.”
“Ah, the information from the assassins’ guild. That’s fine. In fact, I wish the other two would read them on their own.”
“Stop dreaming. I’d be damned if they don’t froth at their mouths while doing that.”
Seol Jihu laughed thinking Jang Maldong was joking, but Jang Maldong was being serious.
After slowly walking forward, Seol Jihu grabbed the paper on the table.
—The wind has begun to blow the other way.
The report had a simple and concise subheading. Seol Jihu’s eyes immediately opened wide.
—With the return of Phi Sora (Korea), the reignited flames of the controversy were met with a fierce wind.
‘Already?’
It had only been a few days since Seol Jihu contacted Kim Hannah. Astonished by Kim Hannah’s haste, Seol Jihu continued to read the report.
—The Scheherazade Royal Family announced that the broker at the center of the crime turned himself in and sought punishment. According to the investigation, this Earthling who sold the information about the ruin to two parties was Charlie Haber (Canada).
He admitted to his crimes of breaking Paradise’s taboo, but he also dropped a bombshell regarding White Rose’s leader, Bok Jungsik (Korea)….
…The Scheherazade Royal Family has thoroughly reviewed his claims and examined the evidence he submitted, and revealed that they would summon Bok Jungsik.
Currently, Charlie Haber is staying in Scheherazade’s prison by voluntary request, under the strict scrutiny of the Scheherazade Royal Family’s watch.
“Don’t take everything at face value.”
Jang Maldong spoke in a heavy tone.
“This report is at the same level as a newspaper article. Little information has been revealed to the public, so they added some unnecessary self-assessments.”
His calm tone made it sound like there was no way the broker would turn himself in. As Seol Jihu had a bit more knowledge regarding the event, he was slightly surprised.
But then again, anyone would get suspicious if someone who was hell-bent on hiding himself suddenly turned himself in.
At the very least, someone who was knowledgeable about the inner workings of Paradise would easily guess that some kind of outside interference had occurred.
What would be difficult would be pinpointing Kim Hannah as the perpetrator.
“He wasn’t like this in the beginning.”
Jang Maldong heaved out a deep sigh.
“He sheepishly laughed even when someone criticized him. Although he was lacking in talent, he was passionate and tenacious…. At the very least, he was principled.”
Seol Jihu instinctively realized that Jang Maldong was talking about Bok Jungsik.
“…Right, he was principled.”
He muttered the last line again before fumbling around for his cane and getting up from the couch.
The old man’s shoulders seemed particularly bitter as he trudged to the door.
[But you know… not everyone is as noble and amazing as Old Man Maldong.]
[Just imagine it. You giving your time and effort to raise disciples, all so that they can aid Paradise in some way, but instead, they fight and kill each other all in the name of profit….]
Seol Jihu went ‘Ah’…
[How would you feel if that happened to you? Think about it.]
And he subconsciously opened his mouth.
“Miss Phi Sora…”
He immediately regretted speaking out, but it was too late.
“Miss Phi Sora proved her innocence.”
Jang Maldong stopped. The corner of his mouth curled up ever so slightly.
“Yes… you’re right.”
Then, he pushed his fedora down until it covered his eyes.
“You did well. Rest up.”
Seol Jihu blankly stared at Jang Maldong as he quietly walked out of the door.
‘I did… well?’
*
The incident that heated up Scheherazade quickly cooled down.
Seol Jihu was standing alert, wondering what Bok Jungsik would do, but he could only chuckle when the result came out.
When the suspect, Bok Jungsik, refused to answer the summons, the Scheherazade Royal Family forcefully searched White Rose’s building. However, Bok Jungsik was nowhere to be found. He had gone into hiding.
With Charlie Haber confessing and providing evidence, claiming to be innocent would only be disgraceful. In a way, his quick decision to run showed how experienced he was in Paradise.
Regardless, running away was akin to admitting guilt, and Bok Jungsik’s claim had lost all credibility.
Naturally, Phi Sora’s statement came into spotlight once again.
Although it was true that she forced the expedition, anyone who knew the inner workings of White Rose saw that this was Bok Jungsik’s plot.
The focal point fell on Bok Jungsik who ran away, and now that Phi Sora had some room to breathe, it was unlikely that all the blame would fall on her shoulders.
At the very least, she was absolved of the charge of willful negligence.
The matter came to a close for now with the Scheherazade Royal Family issuing the Red Notice for Bok Jungsik.
If there was something that went outside of Seol Jihu’s expectations…
That would be that Phi Sora didn’t avoid responsibility by saying ‘I was only being used’, and that she ‘temporarily’ rose to the position of the leader of White Rose.
While she was only acting a leader temporarily, taking this position was equivalent to announcing that she would settle this incident.
Another thing that surprised Seol Jihu was that White Rose’s ‘temporary leader’ contacted him personally.
*
Seol Jihu set off for Scheherazade as soon as he received the call.
Jang Maldong periodically told him about the situation White Rose was in, and Phi Sora’s actions could only be described as a series of surprises.
Seol Jihu was expecting her to rebuild White Rose from bottom-up, but she officially announced its dissolution. As if to show the world her fiery temper, she did not stop at just saying this but was supposedly doing everything in her power to put it into action.
For Seol Jihu, who was eagerly waiting for her to go broke, this wasn’t such a happy news.
On the other hand, he got curious. What Phi Sora was doing was equivalent to narrowly stopping a piggy bank from falling on the ground and shattering, and then raising it up high and slamming it down on the ground.
‘Couldn’t she have just stayed silent?’
Why was she trying to destroy White Rose with her own hands? It didn’t seem like it was simply out of anger.
Seol Jihu kept tilting his head as he entered Scheherazade.
White Rose Guild lacked any semblance of liveliness. Not only did no one enter and leave the building, only one or two people could be seen walking around inside. But from the way they were packing their belongings, even they seemed to be getting ready to leave.
With no one to guide him, Seol Jihu searched his memories and walked around the building.
Phi Sora was waiting inside the conference room.
After briefly exchanging greetings, Seol Jihu spoke as he sat down on the chair opposite to Phi Sora.
“This place is pretty empty.”
“I let everyone go.”
Phi Sora spoke fleetingly.
“People who wanted to leave left, people with time left in their contracts were transferred elsewhere, and the hired-for-help had their contracts canceled….”
She slowly blurred the end of her speech before looking side to side.
“We have to leave this place by the end of the day as well.”
Seol Jihu doubted his ears.
“We finished negotiating with PAX. The land belongs to the Scheherazade Royal Family, so there’s nothing we could do about that; but the money from the transfers, our shared assets, and this building itself will all be handed over to them.”
“Did you really have to go that far?”
“Technically, the incident hasn’t ended yet. In Paradise, coming to an agreement is incredibly important. More so than you might think.”
Phi Sora hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“And it’s true that I pushed for the expedition on my own.”
“But….”
“No buts. I didn’t know this would happen, but what I did should get me charged with manslaughter. Well, I can technically be shameless all I want, like a certain someone, but I don’t want to.”
Phi Sora crossed her arms.
“It would have been a different story if PAX persisted on having things their way, but thanks to that Bok bastard quickly running away, they reluctantly accepted this offer. They must know it too. That resolving this matter cleanly is much better than rolling in the mud to possess me…. Why are you staring at me like that?”
“It was just a bit unexpected.”
“What is?”
Phi Sora’s eyebrows perked up.
“I didn’t think you would dismantle White Rose. Personally, no less.”
Trying to sound like he was chatting casually, he stealthily raised a question.
“Is it… revenge?”
Phi Sora immediately let out a snort.
“Revenge? I doubt that bastard will return to Paradise ever again. I’m sure he’ll be too busy keeping himself safe on Earth.”
This was somewhat frightening considering that PAX was an international organization.
“It’s not like I have regrets. It’s just that….”
Phi Sora tapped on the desk a couple of times.
“I’ve been with White Rose since the day I stepped into Paradise. To be honest, there were many bad memories, but there also were good memories….”
“….”
“Love it or hate it, White Rose and I grew together. Since it was able to reach its current height with my help, I think I have the right to put an end to it myself.”
From her words, Seol Jihu could feel the affection she had for White Rose. He calmly asked back.
“I’m sure you could have chosen to start over. With you as White Rose’s leader.”
“No.”
However, Phi Sora rejected firmly.
“That will never happen. Ever.”
She emphasized this line.
“This is the end.”
‘The end?’
It sounded like she was compressing a whole lot of meaning into this one word, but Seol Jihu nodded his head without digging any further.
“Then you’re leaving today?”
“Yes, today will be my last day here too. I’ll leave as soon as I finish the negotiations.”
Seol Jihu’s jaw dropped slightly.
‘This person.’
How could she be so impatient? Was she a bulldozer?
Taking Seol Jihu’s intent stare the wrong way, Phi Sora shrugged.
“Don’t worry. Given my level and experience, do you think it will be difficult for me to find a new home? I already know where I’m going…. No, wait, why am I telling you all this?”
She grumbled in a low voice before taking two pieces of paper out of her pocket. She flicked her hand, and the paper pieces flew like paper airplanes and landed in front of Seol Jihu.
Next, a pen rolled toward him.
Seol Jihu grabbed the pen and carefully studied the paper before asking.