The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 143

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 143. A Mature Choice (3)

Kim Hanna had warned Seol Jihoo never to get involved, but not long after, he’d completely forgotten about the White Rose affair.
He’d open his eyes and it would be morning; the moment he gathered his wits, evening had already fallen—those were the kinds of frantic days he was living.
Just as Teresa had said, Dylan’s sudden death meant the handover of authority had never been properly completed. No matter how hard he tried to piece things together, it felt like swinging a bat at thin air.
The world spun as though he’d done violent headbanging dozens of times over, and he couldn’t help but groan under the strain.
If Jang Maldong hadn’t walked him through things one by one, he wouldn’t have known what to do at all.
Lately, he’d been rushing around visiting the various organizations with whom Carpe Diem had maintained friendly relations, needing to formally announce that a new leader of Carpe Diem had been appointed.
If things got really hectic, he could send a messenger or notify them by communication—but even that required reading the situation.
For instance, with Sicily, which held the most influence in Haramag and proclaimed itself the Hegemon of the Southern Region, there was no choice but to visit in person.
“It’s strange, really.”
A leisurely voice tinged with amusement rang out.
“It feels like just yesterday I saw you at the Neutral Zone… tagging along after Agnes like a snotty kid, and now here you stand before me as the leader of a reputable organization, less than a year later. Quite something.”
Seol Jihoo laughed awkwardly.
The crimson hair suited the military-style coat. The woman, her head tilted slightly and supported by her fist, made his skin prickle with inexplicable tension whenever they faced off like this.
Those blood-red eyes, which seemed almost lazy at first glance, always reminded him of a beast perched solitary and dignified on a rock during a safari bus tour from his childhood.
Even the briefest glance away made his body shrink, as if she might lunge at his back the moment his attention wavered. But he forced himself to speak.
“Thank you. Don Cheonji.”
“Don, is it.”
A soft laugh slipped out.
“I’d appreciate it if you’d stop calling me that. Strictly speaking, ‘Don’ is an honorific used to show respect toward an elder of age and standing.”
Cheonji raised both hands and continued.
“I’m not a nobleman, nor am I some sort of accomplished patriarch. And I’ve only just passed thirty—is ‘Don’ really fitting? Don’t you think so, Agnes?”
When she glanced up with the question, Agnes, standing beside the desk, silently nodded in agreement.
“See?”
“My apologies.”
“Apologies, nothing. I know it was meant as a sign of respect. But anyway—.”
Cheonji’s playful laughter faded as she shifted her gaze.
“I hear the new leader of Carpe Diem has quite a bit of a relationship with the Triad.”
The question came out of nowhere, slipping past his guard. Given the history between Sicily and the Triad from years back, it was no light matter—Seol Jihoo’s facial muscles stiffened.
“I know what you’re thinking. Don’t jump ahead.”
Cheonji waved her hand dismissively.
“We had a meeting with the Triad a few days back. Ha-O Win came in person.”
Seol Jihoo’s eyes widened.
“The past is forgotten. We’ve decided to look toward the future. And let me tell you, he had quite a way with words. I nearly doubted my ears when I heard it. It was shocking enough that men who live by their own pride came knocking on their own, but that they’d speak so sweetly—I never dreamed it.”
Cheonji shrugged and pulled a cigar, rolled tight with premium leaf, from her heavy coat. Agnes lit it with practiced ease.
“On the other hand, I’m a little curious about it. For them to want to improve relations with us must have been a major decision on their end too. I’d say the internal struggles they’ve sustained over the years have finally come to a head.”
“Though we’ll have to wait and see,” Cheonji added, removing the cigar from her lips.
Murky smoke mixed with her breath drifted out.
“Here’s the conclusion. If what the Triad says is true, then at least our interests won’t collide. They’re a capable outfit in their own right, and now that they’ve entered Paradise, they’re bound by the same obligations as we are. If they don’t turn hostile, I can offer them some encouragement. Do you understand?”
Their interests won’t collide? While both organizations operate in Haramag? And she could offer them ‘encouragement’?
Questions piled up like it sounded as if she were simply saying she’d watch from the sidelines, but Seol Jihoo didn’t press further.
He simply nodded.
“So.”
Cheonji smiled with satisfaction.
“Who do you like better?”
Seol Jihoo blinked.
“Just what I said. Do you like Ha-O Win—”
Cheonji let the words trail off, casting a sidelong glance at Agnes standing upright beside her.
“—or do you like Agnes better?”
……
Had he misheard it as something like “Do you like your dad better, or your mom?”
He wanted to tell her not to joke around, but Cheonji looked so eagerly expectant that the weight of it was crushing.
“Do I have to answer?”
“Yeah. I definitely want to hear it.”
“Um…”
“Why? Isn’t this better than some naïve question about which one I like?”
Though he thought the question was even more ridiculous and childish, and though he noticed a subtle mischief in Cheonji’s voice, Seol Jihoo decided to keep what he truly felt buried in his chest.
There was no denying that asking which to choose between the Triad and Sicily was an easier question to answer than the original one.
So the young man deliberating pointed hesitantly at the fair-skinned maid with his index finger.
“I… prefer Agnes a bit more….”
“Heh!”
Cheonji bowed her head.
“So that’s how it is. Agnes?”
“Yes.”
“Congratulations. How does it feel? Keyshab seems to be showing results lately—doesn’t it make you proud?”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Agnes answered tersely, her expression unchanged. But catching the glimmer in Seol Jihoo’s eye, she turned her head away as if averting her gaze.
It might have been an illusion, but bathed in the sunlight from the window, the nape of her neck seemed to flush ever so slightly.
“Aha-ha-ha, aha-ha-ha!”
Watching Agnes stare at distant mountains that didn’t exist, Cheonji laughed so hard the room nearly shook. She was cackling so much that smoke caught in her throat, bringing on a rough cough.
Once Cheonji finally composed herself, she wiped her eyes and wobbled slightly.
“I apologize for the trouble. Agnes and I have been comrades for a long time, so seeing such a reaction from her is extremely rare.”
‘That’s not true,’ Seol Jihoo thought.
Reading Agnes’s reactions wasn’t particularly difficult for him. Though admittedly, he had to be prepared to be beaten within an inch of his life for it.
“Well. Thanks to that, I’ve laughed heartily for the first time in months. Since I’ve come this far, it’d be a shame to send you off empty-handed….”
Cheonji stubbed out her cigar as she spoke.
“Do you happen to have a separate contract with an information organization?”
“No.”
“I thought as much. Dylan had his own independent network, but….”
Cheonji opened a drawer.
“It’s a gift. Take it.”
She tossed it lightly. As he caught it reflexively, a small hexagonal badge with an engraved ‘S’ came into view.
“Nothing special. Just the emblem that symbolizes Sicily. Though I don’t give it to just anyone.”
“Why this?”
There’s a shabby shop in the Southwest Alley. It’s tucked away in a corner, so it’s hard to find, but you’ll manage. It’s a dangerous area, but if you’re as skilled as rumors suggest, there’s no reason you’d die there.”
Seol Jihoo turned the badge over in his hands as he asked.
“I just show them this, and they’ll help?”
“Exactly. It’s an organization called the Indian Assassination Unit. The branch in Haramag isn’t the main headquarters, but it’s reliable enough. At least they don’t fool around with information.”
Cheonji’s lips curved upward.
“If you’re going to call yourself a leader, you should understand how this world works. Don’t you agree?”
In truth, Seol Jihoo had Hanna—an information source that was nearly omniscient—but this wasn’t wrong either, so he accepted it readily.
“Thank you.”
“Good. Give my regards to the old woman. And I’ll have Agnes come by soon to return the favor.”
Seol Jihoo tilted his head. For some reason, at the end of every visit he made, someone always used the word “favor” or “return a visit.”
The Royal House’s Teresa had done the same, as had Kazuki from Umitsubame and Ha-O Win from the Triad.
“I’ll pass on your message.”
Standing up from his seat, Seol Jihoo suddenly stared at Cheonji intently.
“What?”
“…Nothing. I’ll be going now.”
He’d suddenly grown curious about Cheonji’s information and activated the Nine Eyes, but the status window didn’t appear.
Clean slate. Normal Observation failing to work was only the second time since Seo Yoo-hee.
Leaving Sicily, Seol Jihoo headed straight for the Southwest Alley. While searching for the hideout, he felt strange gazes from all directions, but the moment he pinned the badge to his chest, the stares vanished as if they’d never been.
After some difficulty, Seol Jihoo found the assassination unit’s hideout. The turbaned man, seeing an unexpected visitor, flinched before greeting him with an unnecessarily courteous demeanor.
Normally, information provision levels would be tiered according to the client, but without hesitation or question, the man offered him the second-highest tier: VIP Grade.
He would have to pay a considerable sum in silver coins each month for information access, but Seol Jihoo signed a three-month contract without wavering.

The saying that time heals all wounds means that one grows accustomed to any circumstance as days pass, and humans are indeed creatures of adaptation.
As he tackled pressing matters one by one and grew callused to the title of leader, Seol Jihoo finally grew comfortable in clothes that didn’t quite fit.
Upon waking, he no longer worried whether he could survive the day without incident; he’d earned the leisure to sit back and enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee.
As he sat on the sofa savoring the aroma of coffee, he heard the bathroom door swing open with a bang.
“Oh?”
Cho Hong emerged with a towel draped over her shoulders, dripping water everywhere, having finished her dawn exercises and showered.
Seol Jihoo courteously averted his eyes, though he wasn’t particularly flustered. Cho Hong and Hugo wandering around naked wasn’t a rare occurrence, so making a fuss would’ve been counterproductive.
“I’ve told you to at least wear underwear when you walk around.”
Of course, he still made a remark.
“Yeah, yeah.”
Cho Hong answered nonchalantly, and rather than putting on underwear, she didn’t even dry off before grabbing dolphin shorts. She inserted her feet into them and pulled them up fluidly as she spoke.
“Come to think of it, I’ve been seeing you around more mornings lately?”
“You saw me yesterday too.”
“Before, I mean. Back then. It was hard to catch even a glimpse of you.”
“Two of you just acted like you didn’t know me. I would’ve been so grateful if you’d helped out a little.”
When Seol Jihoo spoke curtly, Cho Hong let out a stifled laugh.
“Who asked you to be the leader?”
“This isn’t leadership. It’s servitude.”
“Respecting the leader’s unique authority and not interfering in their work—that’s a teammate’s virtue. Besides, we listen to your orders anyway.”
“Fine. That’s an order. Help me with my work sincerely.”
“Of course, an order that doesn’t make sense, I can refuse.”
Cho Hong spoke in that languid way of hers, her shoulders rippling with amusement.
“Don’t look at me like that. Still, you do go along with these trivial things without complaint, don’t you?”
Cho Hong tapped her pants with her palm. Seol Jihoo, who’d been watching with bewildered eyes, suddenly turned serious.
“Hey.”
“?”
“That’s an order. Sit.”
“What?”
“Come here and sit.”
The way Seol Jihoo patted his own thigh as he spoke had an almost authoritative air to it, and Cho Hong’s eyes narrowed in disbelief.
“Is this bastard insane…?”
But then her expression shifted to something like ‘Oh, so that’s how it is?’ and a knowing smile crossed her face.
Without another word, she walked over, turned around obediently, and settled her rear against his thigh as instructed, even leaning back against him with a subtle shift of her weight.
As his muscular, pale back drew near, Seol Jihoo found himself flustered instead.
“Cho, Cho Hong? What are you doing?”
“What. I’m just following orders.”
“No, I—”
“I’m simply obeying commands.”
Cho Hong surrendered her back as if to say ‘Go on, do what you want’, her expression carrying the added weight of ‘Like you could change anything anyway’.
Seol Jihoo set down his coffee cup and tried to push her away quickly, but he couldn’t manage it.
Cho Hong had whipped around and pinned his shoulders, locking his thighs in a vice-grip with her legs.
“Tee-hee~. What a cute bastard. Where have I seen that before, hmm?”
“Get off, get off. This is weird.”
“What am I gonna do with you, seriously? Can’t even follow through when I give you what you want. You’re hopeless, truly.”
“What? What did you call me?”
“I said you’re hopeless… Tsk, just. Where do you get the nerve to look at me like that? Bang—just let me eat you up, why don’t I?”
When Cho Hong raised her hand as if to strike, Seol Jihoo bristled in response.
“Is this how you treat your leader—someone as important as the sky itself?”
“The sky? A leader? Look at you. Went up there to breathe some air and came back full of hot air.”
“Get down in three seconds.”
“Don’t want to.”
Cho Hong laughed brightly, and Seol Jihoo bit his lip.
“I’m serious.”
“Go ahead. Do it. Do your worst.”
“You sure?”
“I said try it. Why do you have such a long tongue?”
“Hiya!” Cho Hong lunged at him. Seol Jihoo cried out “Whoa!” and met her head-on without backing down.
A thunderous crash followed, and the Carpe Diem Office erupted into chaos. After a furious bout of rolling and wrestling, punctuated by laughter and shouts, it was Cho Hong who yielded first.
“You, you bastard! Tickling like some kind of maniac!”
“Your weak spot is your ribs.”
“Don’t you dare!”
“So, going to behave, or not?”
“I’ll behave! I promise I’ll behave!”
As Cho Hong rolled desperately while giggling, she failed to see the door and slammed her temple hard against it.
Bang!
“Ugh.”
“Are, are you okay?”
“Hey, wh—?”
Just then, a paper envelope slid through the gap beneath the door and covered Cho Hong’s contorted face.
Seol Jihoo quickly picked up the envelope and got to his feet.
Cho Hong, still wincing, rubbed her temple.
“What’s that, Agnes?”
“Intelligence from the Assassination Unit.”
“Now that you mention it, seems like one’s been coming in every single day lately. A newspaper?”
“Something like that.”
Seol Jihoo returned to the sofa and opened the envelope. Cho Hong, rolling his neck, tossed the towel aside and pulled on a sleeveless shirt.
“Anything interesting?”
“Let’s see….”
Seol Jihoo extracted the report and began reading aloud.
“Cheon Cho-hong, affiliated with Carpe Diem. Another disturbance at Eat Drink and Enjoy… cause: a petty quarrel while heavily intoxicated. Smashed everything in sight, then fled without a care.”
Seol Jihoo paused mid-sentence and looked up.
“Ah, that’s right—I just remembered an important appointment. Work hard, will you!”
Cho Hong hastily threw on his clothes and vanished. Seol Jihoo shook his head and returned his attention to the report.

– Endless rumors continue to swirl around Seo Yoo-hee, the “Daughter of Lushulea,” who has relocated her base to Haramag. The Lushulea Temple Priests have been making steady visits for weeks, strictly guarding mysterious parcels and bundles of unclear purpose.
Many observers believe she is fully relocating her operation and moving her personal assets, but those familiar with her usual frugality are puzzled by the nature of these bundles.
Some groundless speculation suggests she is accepting bribes, while others spread the outlandish rumor that, as an apostle who serves the Goddess of Lust most intimately, she is overwhelmed by mounting desire and spends day and night indulging in carnal satisfaction.

“Lunatics.”
Seol Jihoo let out a dry laugh. In truth, considering that the higher one’s rank climbs from mid-tier to high-rank, the greater the influence of the characteristics governed by one’s patron deity—the claim wasn’t entirely without foundation. But Seol Jihoo dismissed it as baseless gossip.

– Marcel Gioinea is searching for someone.
Once known as “the Steel Archer” and once hailed as a promising successor to Kazuki, Marcel Gioinea vanished without a trace, only to suddenly reappear in Haramag a month and a half ago.
According to reports, he was ambushed and captured by members of Tarnera on his way back from Horn Hill, and was being raised like livestock in a village settlement.
However, he miraculously escaped alive along with three other prisoners, and during the escape route discovered the Tarnera group completely annihilated.
It is presumed that an unidentified Earthian was attacked while passing through but instead slaughtered them all.
Given that this creature normally delights in cannibalism and presents an unthinkable danger when fifteen of them coordinate their assault—even seasoned high-rank warriors cannot guarantee survival—whoever did this must possess extraordinary skill.
With the Steel Archer’s return, numerous factions have extended overwhelming offers, but Marcel Gioinea, true to his straightforward nature, has rejected them all and shows no signs of stopping his search for his unknown savior.
He is currently returning to the site where the annihilated group was discovered to track down his benefactor’s trail.

“Well done.”
Seol Jihoo nodded approvingly. Whoever it was, they’d done a good deed.
“Still, now that he’s saved them, he should look around more thoroughly. If there’s a group of them, there’s bound to be a village nearby… tsk.”
Part of him clicked his tongue at the carelessness.
“Slurp.”
He tilted a cup of now-lukewarm coffee and turned the page.

– Scheherazade: Key Issue.

Seol Jihoo’s eyes narrowed.

– White Rose stands at the Peak.

Something he had completely forgotten suddenly came rushing back, and he found himself reading mechanically.

– The mercenary guild White Rose of Scheherazade is embroiled in controversy. Caligo’s top faction, PAX, has lodged a formal protest.
According to PAX’s official statement, White Rose has hijacked the “Ancient Emperor’s Villa” expedition that PAX had been preparing.

Seol Jihoo’s face drained of color.
Paradise had many unwritten rules, but the greatest taboo—the most forbidden act—was stealing ruins that another had already claimed.
Because ruins held infinite potential value, disputes were always likely to arise. Just a few years ago, conflicts over ruins ranked first among reasons Earthians clashed with one another.
The Seven Nations eventually passed a law stating that “all authority regarding ruins belongs to the first discoverer,” which dampened the trend somewhat, but such incidents still occurred regularly.
The problem was that situations surrounding these events were often murky, giving rise to endless controversy.
It was difficult to prove ruins had been first claimed, and even with solid evidence, there was no guarantee others wouldn’t swarm in afterward.
Ultimately, keeping quiet until departure was the best way to maintain secrecy, but even this was imperfect.
In the worst case, someone else might discover the same ruins during preparation and claim ownership—a nightmare scenario.
In any case, ruin-related controversies were so complex that the wisest course was to avoid entanglement altogether.
Seol Jihoo swallowed hard and continued reading.
In response, White Rose’s captain, Bok Jeong-sik, expressed his grievance. White Rose had legitimately purchased the information for ten gold coins and received no other warnings from the merchant, he claimed.
Furthermore, Bok Jeong-sik asserted that while they had indeed spent months preparing and encountered difficulties finding partner organizations, they had canceled the plan at the last minute. The expedition attempt, he maintained, was entirely Pisora’s rash decision.
Pisora boarded a ship at Nur Harbor one day prior and is currently unreachable. PAX intends to request that both Caligo and the Royal House of Scheherazade judge the matter.
Seol Jihoo set down the paper and rose from the sofa at once.

Kim Hanna’s communication had been dark all morning; it wasn’t until past noon that she finally got through.
She launched into business before Seol Jihoo could say a word, claiming she’d been slammed.
– Things are getting interesting, aren’t they?
“What’s going on?”
– On the surface, there are two contentious issues.
Kim Hanna raised her index and middle fingers into a V.
– First, the dealer gave the ruins information to PAX first, then turned around and sold it to White Rose too. Gutsy move. Well, that’s predictable enough, so let’s set it aside.
Kim Hanna folded down her middle finger.
– Second, Pisolara forced the expedition forward. But considering PAX didn’t raise objections until after that crazy woman had left port, something about it doesn’t sit right.
“Surface level means the truth underneath is different?”
– Exactly. There’s more than one peculiar detail here to just shrug and accept.
Kim Hanna flicked her tongue across her upper lip.

(To be continued)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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