Chapter 439. Going Down and Up (3)
Like everywhere else, there was also a great buzz inside Seven Stars.
“What? Am I the only one who didn’t know? Everyone knew except for me? Seriously?”
“Ah, I didn’t know either.”
“Same! I didn’t know!”
“Me neither…”
“It’s the same for me.”
Yunael shouted, and Jin-Cheon, Abis, Aric, and Aida all responded in that order. But besides them, it appeared that everyone had already been aware of Chi-Woo’s identity.
“You knew it too?” Yunael pointed at Asha, who was playing on top of Evelyn’s shoulder, and Asha nodded.
“Is it the same for you?”
Hawa nodded.
“Really? Are you sure? You aren’t joking, right?”
Hawa nodded a bit hesitantly this time.
“Seriously—?” Yunael plopped down on the sofa and glared at the ceiling above her.
“Uh…um…did you really not know?”
“Yes! I didn’t know!” Yunael jumped up and shouted.
“Really…? That’s a bit strange. Haven’t you been around him for some time now?”
“That’s true, but how could I know unless he tells me!”
“Even without being told…weren’t there many clues?”
“Ah, I mean, I did see him act close to the legend! But who knew they would actually be blood-related?” Yunael accused everyone in the room guilty of keeping her in the dark and yelled at them for not letting her know. Then, in the end, she yelled that she couldn’t bear it anymore and rushed out.
Meanwhile, Chi-Woo and Eval were conversing. Though they had gone over a big hurdle, for some reason, something had been bugging Chi-Woo, and he couldn’t simply feel relief; he kept recalling his brother’s face as Chi-Hyun went down the stairs while he went up.
“It seemed a bit strange,” Chi-Woo said and smacked his lips. “My brother isn’t someone who would do such a shoddy job. It felt like he had purposefully offered points that I could attack.”
Eval smiled brightly. He agreed with most of what Chi-Woo said. Considering the kind of hero the legend was, the weaknesses he displayed in this debate were too critical and obvious. There was no other explanation than that he had purposefully acted the way he did, but…it didn’t matter.
“What are you so worried about, sir?” Eval said in a bright voice. “It’s the legend we’re talking about. There’s no need for him to prove anything. He simply has to live up to his name.”
It was as Eval said. His brother was already the legend. He would do well for himself without Chi-Woo worrying about him. He needed to worry about himself instead. Chi-Woo closed his eyes. He still couldn’t forget the feeling he got when he climbed up to the upper stage and received everyone’s applause. The pressure and sense of authority still lingered in his mind. And after standing before all those people, he needed to meet their expectations and prove his words so that none of them would regret having followed him.
‘Yes, that’s the way,’ Chi-Woo thought. Then suddenly, the door burst open, and one person jumped in without a knock.
“Yunael…?” Chi-Woo blinked hard seeing Yunael heave as she came inside. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“You….!” Yunael pointed at Chi-Woo with her index finger before quickly dropping her hand. Even though she was angry, she knew it wasn’t right for her to point fingers at her boss.
“Choi…!”
“Choi?” Chi-Woo tilted his head, silently telling her to go on. And now that Yunael thought about it, she realized she didn’t know what to say. After all, it was up to the person to decide whether or not they would reveal their real name. ‘Still…!’ Yunael opened and closed her mouth without saying anything. Chi-Woo and Eval both looked intently at her, and over time, Yunael’s face turned more and more flushed. ‘Ah damn it, what am I supposed to say?’
In the end, she simply yelled, “Ah nuwhggggk!”
“Huh? What did you just say? Mr. Eval, did you understand?”
“No, I thought I was seeing a zombie.”
Yunael murmured incomprehensibly and shouted, “…Ah, whatever! How annoying!” Then she turned around and ran out of the office while cursing her lack of eloquence.
“…What is she going on about?” Chi-Woo looked baffled and watched Yunael move farther away. Eval shrugged.
***
The next day, the uppermost floor of the official residence was lit early in the morning as usual. Surprisingly, the person overseeing matters of the city at the desk wasn’t Chi-Woo. Chi-Hyun was still holding the spot as before, while Noel stood uprightly across from him.
“You came to work in the end,” Noel chuckled while seeing Chi-Hyun review the documents before him. “I thought after you were released from your position, you would rest a bit. Weren’t you really relieved yesterday?”
“It didn’t matter to me much. I also sent him a message to use the official residence,” Chi-Hyun responded indifferently.
“Then what happened?”
“I immediately got a response.”
“From Young Master? What did he say, sir?”
“He told me to work instead of playing around…”
Noel almost burst out in laughter, but barely managed to hold it in. She thought Chi-Woo would have received quite a scolding for his remarks.
“But you went a bit too far this time.”
“?”
“Couldn’t you have given me a heads-up on what you were doing, sir? I thought you were really trying to hold Young Master back…”
“I did try to hold him back.”
“Come on, please don’t lie, sir. It’s been many years since I started following you. I knew you did it on purpose.”
“It’s true that I set up the situation to some degree, but I did my best to work against him given the limits.”
“I’m sure you did. But I bet Young Master must be somewhat aware of what you did.”
“It doesn’t matter whether he knows it or not.” Chi-Hyun snorted.
Knock, knock. It was then they heard someone knock on the door. Noel answered and was surprised to see Eval at the door.
“Hello. Good morning, sir.” Eval appeared with a joyful smile, and Chi-Hyun reacted with a slight jerk. It was obvious for what reason Eval had come to see him early this morning; he probably came to talk about their collaboration at the official residence. Yet when he saw the massive bundle in Eval’s hands, Chi-Hyun corrected his assumption.
“Haha. Well, I came just for this…” Eval cautiously placed the giant bundle on the table. “If you haven’t eaten yet, our boss wants you to enjoy this meal while it’s hot, sir” Eval crinkled his eyes and bowed politely before leaving the room. Chi-Hyun looked a bit taken aback, while Noel exclaimed in admiration, ‘Oh my, oh my’.
Chi-Hyun looked dazed for a moment and glanced at the bundle before him. He untied the cloth, revealing a multi-layered lunchbox set. It didn’t just have one or two layers, but seven layers.
“See. I told you Young Master would know,” Noel said. Chi-Hyun scratched his head and smirked. ‘Ha, he did consider my position,’ Chi-Hyun thought. There was no reason for him to not accept this meal when Chi-Woo must have gotten up early in the morning to prepare it for him. Furthermore, the taste was pretty much guaranteed considering that Chi-Woo might have become a chef if destiny hadn’t sabotaged him.
“May I also eat with you?” Noel’s eyes sparkled.
“Sit.”
“Thank you, sir!”
Chi-Hyun easily agreed to share his meal since seeing the feast in front of him put him in a generous mood. He hummed and took down every tier of the lunch box when a paper stuck in between fluttered down. Chi-Hyun picked it up and read it without much thought.
“Wow, it looks so tasty. Look at this sir. The care that was put into this meal…is there anything Young Master is bad at…?” Noel was saying when she looked up at Chi-Hyun confusedly. Chi-Hyun’s face was hardening as he stared holes into the piece of paper he had just picked up. Then veins popped out of his forehead. Brrr! The chair dragged across the floor roughly as Chi-Hyun shot to his feet, gripping so hard onto the piece of paper that his hand shook.
“My Lord…?”
“A moment,” Chi-Hyun said and slammed the window wide open before jumping out. What in the world? Noel hurriedly rushed to the window to see what was going on and soon found out the reason behind Chi-Hyun’s action.
“Stop—!” Chi-Hyun was screaming crazily while chasing somebody. As expected, the person running away was Chi-Woo.
“Stop! I told you to stop!”
“Heeelp…!”
“What? To a loser? A loser? How dare you say that to your older brother?!”
“Ah, it was a joke! Just a joke!”
“A joke? You think you can just kid around with me?!” Chi-Woo escaped with all his might, but he was caught by Chi-Hyun not long after.
“Ahhh—!”
“Say it to my face.”
“Ah, come on. You did lose to me…!”
“Are you seriously…!” Even as he was put in a headlock under Chi-Hyun’s arms, Chi-Woo continued to blabber. Seeing this, Noel shook her head. Not just her, but everybody watching this scene would probably be thinking the same thing, which was, ‘What? I thought they had a bad relationship. I guess not. They have such good brotherly love for one another. I see. Thank goodness.’
***
A couple of days had passed since the general assembly, and in the meantime, a clear change had happened in Shalyh. Seven Stars didn’t really do anything new. They continued to patrol the Demon Empire’s zone as they had done before and progressed with their construction work. Yet there was less resistance to their activities now.
First of all, incidents that had been happening in the Demon Empire’s zone from time to time sharply declined, dwindling from almost no incidents to basically zero. Though the Seven Stars team captains couldn’t be certain of it yet, at this rate, it appeared that it would soon be unnecessary for Seven Stars to do a separate patrol around the zone. Even the half-demons weren’t appearing near the area.
It was the same for their construction project. After Eval warned of the wrath that would follow if the residents didn’t collaborate with the construction work and gave them a one-day deadline, many organizations, with the buhguhbu tribe leading the way, visited Seven Stars. They apologized for refusing the request several days ago and swore to give them all their support. And it wasn’t all just talk. On that very day, they began to organize the construction site around the Demon Empire’s zone.
Furthermore, finding resources and food for the Demon Empire was no longer a problem. No group would dare to refuse to supply the goods when the official residence stated that they would pay for them. Thus, the desolate and dreary Demon Empire’s zone soon became more vibrant. More exchanges happened inside the zone, starting with the human natives who had received protection under some great demons’ help.
They hadn’t been able to make the step before because they were wary of how the other human natives would react, but it didn’t matter now. Chi-Woo had already said that he would punish anyone who went against his order. The reason why the situation settled so fast was mainly because of the general assembly that happened not long ago, but there was another reason that played a great part in this change. It was a rumor that many people had witnessed Chi-Hyun and Chi-Woo showcasing their brotherly love.
The rumor begot numerous speculations. Many said that the general assembly was a preplanned stage of sorts and a ploy to put Chi-Woo in the spotlight, or something along the line. Yet all these speculations had little influence on the public opinion surrounding Chi-Woo. It was because first and foremost, Chi-Woo was an accomplished hero who everyone acknowledged for his deeds, and he didn’t reach his position through mere nepotism. Secondly, whether the speculation was true had no bearing on the situation.
With the recent incident, Chi-Woo had gained influence that could match the legend’s, or even surpass it. Thus, it didn’t matter if his brother had set everything up. In military terms, it was as if the army’s highest authority and the second in command had joined hands and made it even harder for the soldiers to oppose their orders. In the end, it was all up to what Chi-Woo would do from now on, and people would only be able to evaluate how he did in the future.
Chi-Woo finally decided to make the time to go out to the streets and stroll around the Demon Empire’s zone. After a tour around the zone, the impression he got was that nothing was out of the ordinary. Everything was going smoothly except for the fact that he was almost beaten near death after provoking his brother a couple of days ago. There was nothing more for him to do than to hope that things would continue as it was now. And after confirming that the scene he dreamed of when he first accepted the Demon Empire was finally coming to reality, Chi-Woo smiled bitterly. Perhaps there could’ve been an easier path to take, but after much difficulty, they finally reached this point.
After looking with satisfaction at the human and demon children running cheerily across the streets, Chi-Woo turned around. He was about to return to the Seven Stars headquarters when a notification in his head stopped him. Chi-Woo turned on his device, and his eyes turned wide. It was a message calling for his presence.
***
While all this was happening, all the gods confirmed that the Demon Empire had been properly established in Shalyh and looked satisfied. They could find no fault in the matter.
—It’s good.
Mamiya spoke.
—Embracing the darkness was my condition. I felt a bit nervous considering his personality…but this isn’t bad. I wouldn’t give him full marks, but it’s still impressive.
—Then…
With a bright smile, Mamiya raised his arms high and yelled.
—I, Mamiya, approve of Choi Chi-Woo’s rise to Master tier!
Simultaneously, the token in his hand shone dazzlingly.
—I, La Bella, also approve of Choi Chi-Woo’s rise to Master tier.
The token La Bella held also shone. With this, Chi-Woo managed to gain the approval of two gods. Since he had completed the two hardest conditions, it was safe to say that Chi-Woo’s rise to Master tier was guaranteed.
—Since there’s not much to the rest of the conditions…it would just be a matter of time.
—Tch. When is he going to train? He has to put into practice the realization he gained from the last battle.
The White Horse General appeared anxious for Chi-Woo to complete his condition.
—Haha. Why don’t you wait patiently, sir? Since the recent trouble is almost settled, he will focus on raising his tier again soon.
Mamiya comforted him.
—Why don’t we call it a day since there’s no need for us to agree on the remaining ones?
Mamiya said that since the other conditions beside the White Horse General’s were clear, there was no need for the gods to discuss them further.
—Yes, we have no reason to stay around here.
Miho agreed with Mamiya. Thus, the gods were about to return to their respective spaces…
—…Hm?
Mamiya suddenly flinched and gasped.
—Is there…an interference? From a higher dimension…!
Not just Mamiya, but all the gods stopped moving in shock and looked at one another. After a momentary pause, the White Horse General calmly murmured.
—It’s a changed variable. Hm. I see. It’s as you say. It’s not bad. It’s actually better.
The White Horse General stroked his beard like he was talking to somebody.
—Good. Do as you wish. Then, my condition can be replaced by this.
He nodded with great force and smirked.
—I will call that guy as soon as he is prepared.
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