The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 479

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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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The Heavenly Supreme Has Died – Episode 479
Seolhyang. Ah, I’ve grown accustomed to calling her that now. Apart from the name being a bit… unconventional.
“…What do you mean unconventional? What’s wrong with it?”
Seolhyang speaks as if bewildered. Why not Baek? I find that far more endearing and fitting.
“Would Baek not work?”
“Would it?”
“That’s unfortunate. Why don’t you finish what you were eating?”
The chopsticks rise as if reluctant to stop. The table overflows with dishes.
It’s a mystery how so much food fits into that small frame.
“…Would you like more?”
“Am I allowed to eat more?”
“Waitress. Two more dishes here.”
“Would you like some alcohol!”
“No need.”
Since I promised to provide, I make good on it. That was my intention as I fed her.
To be honest, I felt a twinge of regret. How much does she eat?
‘…How much money do I have left?’
Fortunately, I could manage it. Though I did bring less than I’d hoped.

* * *
After feeding her, I brought Seolhyang back. Upon returning, Chongwan was furious.
“Baek, you wretch!”
“Eek!”
“Where have you been gallivanting without doing any work!”
As Chongwan erupts in anger, Seolhyang flinches and hides behind me. This is unbearable.
‘Aren’t you the Celestial Demon?’
Whether it’s truly a change in body that altered her nature, she’s become remarkably petty. What is this?
“…N-no! This wretch said they would buy me food…!”
Crack—!
“Aaaah!”
A riding crop appears from nowhere, striking Seolhyang’s forehead. She clutches her brow in pain.
“Ow, it hurts!”
“What are you doing before the Young Master! Why can’t you address him as ‘Young Master’ properly!”
“…Y-young…Master…?”
Despair flashes across Seolhyang’s face. Her expression was one of shattered pride.
Seeing that, I find it somewhat amusing.
“That’s right. If you’re a servant, you should address him correctly.”
“Grrr…”
“What? Do you want to be called Baek again?”
“…”
At my words, Seolhyang (female) flinches.
“…Young Master… Young Master.”
“Yes, Seolhyang.”
“Seolhyang? You’ve given me a name?”
“It seemed necessary. Baek sounds too much like a dog’s name, doesn’t it?”
“Well, I suppose it does.”
“Really…?”
Really does sound like a dog’s name? I only thought it was cute.
“Anyway. Don’t scold her too harshly. I simply fed her because she was helpful.”
“…I understand. But if she’s to serve as an attendant in this household, shouldn’t she learn properly?”
“What could we possibly teach her…?”
What is there to learn properly? Our household isn’t that impressive.
It’s rather strange that we even bear the name of a distinguished family.
“The ability to brainwash oneself into believing that enduring and persevering through everything, while shouldering all burdens, is nonetheless rewarding. That’s what she must learn.”
“….”
I rubbed my head lightly. I felt a faint echo of the emotion Chongwan (male) had experienced in days past.
“…I’ll do my best.”
“Don’t worry!”
“Wait, hold on. Where are you going!”
As I tried to slip away, Seolhyang (female) reached out to grab me.
“I have urgent matters to attend to. Study well, Seolhyang.”
“Don’t go! Wait a moment!”
“You brat! Speaking informally to the Young Master again!?”
“Ahhhhh!”
I ignored the scream echoing behind me. Would the day ever come when Chongwan (male) discovered Seolhyang’s (female) true identity?
I could only hope it wouldn’t.

* * *
I returned to the Branch, leaving Seolhyang behind, and moved toward my destination—the back alleys of Hyeon where Haowen was located.
The moment I approached, I sensed a presence. The men guarding the entrance widened their distance upon seeing me.
It seemed they had been waiting. The door that had been closed then opened. The distinctive darkness within became visible to my eyes.
At the center sat a woman.
“Hello, our dear prince.”
She smiled brightly and waved her hand. Seeing that, I made a displeased expression.
“You were waiting, it seems.”
“What do you think?”
“You’ve become quite cunning.”
A sigh escaped me. I suppressed it and sat down before her.
“It looks like you met with the Dean well? I can tell from your reaction.”
“Thanks to you.”
“Don’t mention it. I didn’t do anything.”
A sly smile. Damn it.
“What do you want?”
I sat and asked. At my question, the Branch Leader smirked.
“What? Suddenly asking what I want?”
“Don’t play dumb. I already have a headache.”
The reason I sought out the Branch Leader was simple. It was the conversation with the Heavenly Supreme—that was the problem.
She had told me that Seolhyang was of the Northern Sea’s bloodline, and if the Gungju learned of this, disaster would follow.
The problem here was—
‘That woman saw Seolhyang.’
When I brought her. The Branch Leader saw Seolhyang at that moment. I should have noticed the peculiar reaction then.
But I hadn’t paid attention to it.
Because of that—
‘Everything has become complicated.’
I don’t fully understand what kind of person the Northern Sea Gungju is, but based solely on the Heavenly Supreme’s words, Seolhyang’s existence would become a problem.
But if the Heavenly Supreme knows this, would Haowen not know?
Moreover, that woman even knows of the Heavenly Supreme’s existence.
She knows but deliberately doesn’t act. She didn’t want to incur the Heavenly Supreme’s wrath.
However.
“The Dean has deep enmity with the Northern Sea.”
If that turns toward me, it becomes troublesome. Extremely so.
But the Branch Leader knows all of this and knows of Seolhyang’s existence. What does this mean?
“What do you want?”
It meant she was someone who could easily send this information to the Northern Sea.
Of course, if the Gungju were to act as a result, it could also become a problem for Haowen’s side.
And while I do hold their leash—
“I always feel it, but you’re truly perceptive. It means we don’t need to waste time on unnecessary talk between us.”
“I don’t have the time or energy to dance around this. So stop wasting my breath and just tell me.”
What does she want in exchange for her silence? I was prepared to hear her demands.
“But nothing about your father. That’s off limits.”
“Firm, aren’t you? You could ask for that too, you know.”
“I’d give it to you if you asked. But I don’t think that’s what you want.”
Ahahaha—
The Branch Leader laughs.
“Sharp. I like that. Do you remember what you said when we first met?”
“I refused.”
“Still so firm. It only makes me want you more.”
“Get to the point. I’m busy.”
“Pretending to be busy—”
What the Branch Leader said to me years ago.
‘Want to work with me?’
Before she called me by that ridiculous title of “Young Master,” this was the work she’d proposed to me.
To join Haowen. To invite a bloodline of a prestigious orthodox sect into a heterodox intelligence agency—what kind of absurdity was that?
And she was serious about it.
‘I’ll make you the Haowen Master.’
I’d shown my disdain at those words. She was already a Branch Leader herself, yet she’d offer to make me a Master? The proposition was ridiculous.
But I learned later.
‘She was someone capable of it.’
Someone who could have done it if she wished. Even now, she was someone who could become a Master if she wanted.
This woman was like that. The fact that she’s currently stuck in Yeolyeong is for other reasons—she’s not someone who’s settled here.
“Tell me what you want. Let me hear it.”
“It’s nothing major.”
She crosses her legs smoothly.
“How many days do you have left before you return to Hanan?”
Even in this conversation, she’d already calculated that.
“…About that long, yeah.”
“Before then, I’d like you to do one thing for me—”
“What is it?”
“The Moyong clan has a job this time.”
“Rejected.”
“…What?”
I refused before even hearing the details. The Branch Leader’s expression darkens.
“How can you reject something without knowing what it is?”
“Anything involving them would cause you harm. Offer something else.”
“Who said anything about harm?”
“Then it’s not like that?”
“What do you take me for?”
“Heterodox sect spawn.”
“….”
“Why the wounded expression? Stop pretending.”
“Ah, you noticed?”
The Branch Leader chuckled. Of course it would show.
“So, what do you want me to do about the Moyong clan?”
If it wasn’t about causing harm, what could they want? I asked, puzzled.
“The Moyong family will be collaborating with an escort service for their commercial operations this time. It should be the Zhenqing Escort Service.”
“And?”
“There’s cargo inside. This will probably….”
The woman smiled wickedly at me and spoke.
“Be targeted by the Green Forest bandits.”
“…!”
My eyes widened at the Branch Leader’s words. The Green Forest bandits making a move? Here?
“The Green Forest? They haven’t engaged in such activities for quite some time, have they?”
The orthodox sects. Right after the Sword Saint decimated the Green Forest bandits, most of their operations ceased.
Not just plundering, but many other activities were no longer feasible for them.
‘The Green Forest bandits suddenly?’
It wouldn’t have been strange before, but now it was peculiar.
“Why?”
“Who knows. What the Moyong clan is entrusting to the merchant guild. What matters is that the Green Forest bandits are targeting it. And here… if it’s the Green Forest bandits.”
The woman’s fingertip pointed toward me.
“It’s information our young prince might quite enjoy.”
“….”
“What do you think? Not bad, right?”
“…I suppose.”
It wasn’t bad—as information, it was quite valuable. But there was a problem here.
“What do you want from me in all this?”
You’ve given me such information, so what do you want? Right now, you’re only providing me with good intelligence.
You haven’t even mentioned what’s necessary to silence your own mouth.
When I asked Hani what was needed for this matter.
“What we need is simple.”
The Branch Leader smiled with a sinister grace—beautiful yet seductive, yet somehow cold.
“Haowen’s people need to participate in that merchant convoy. Help us.”
“You? But you just told me you wouldn’t cause harm to me—”
“We won’t cause harm to our young prince, we said we wouldn’t harm the Moyong clan’s affairs. We truly won’t interfere with the escort operation in any way.”
“Then what—”
“Just let us tag along. And we’ve already given the young prince helpful information in the process, haven’t we?”
“Why would you need to go so far?”
“My goodness.”
The Branch Leader conceals half of his face with a fan.
Seeing that, I furrowed my brow.
“You wouldn’t tell me anyway, would you?”
“Exactly.”
A pointless question. If he intended to tell me, he wouldn’t have made this request in the first place.
“Will you do it?”
….
I brush back my hair. An accompaniment to Pyohang.
And the matter of the Green Forest Sect.
Even the affair of the Northern Sea came to mind.
“I’ll at least try.”
I had to attempt it first. Already entangled with Haowen as I was. The problem was that I foolishly exposed some of my weaknesses.
‘I’ll attempt damage control.’
While thinking that.
“Ah, right.”
The Branch Leader spoke to me.
“I’ll be participating directly in this operation.”
“…What?”
The Branch Leader participating directly? My eyes widened at those words.
This meant.
‘…This is no ordinary matter.’
The fact that Haowen’s Demon was moving meant not only Haowen, but the matter itself was extraordinarily significant.
Very much so, at that.

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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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