The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 146

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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 Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 146

Chapter 146. Sweeping the Front Courtyard (6)

Chun-il agreed to come to the Songbi Inn the following morning.
Since his employer would be my Father rather than me, he needed to meet with him first.
My business here at Daejin House was finished.
After Chun-il left the private room, Palgap hurried over to me.
“Young Master! That person who just left—was that Gisaeng actually… a man?”
“Yes.”
“W-w-what…?”
“You’re wondering how that’s possible? I have no idea either.”
I continued speaking.
“As you’ve noticed, his previous profession is a bit unusual, but he’ll be joining our family soon, so treat him well.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Then, call the Shop Attendant for me.”
At my words, Palgap pulled the cord and rang the bell, and shortly after, the Shop Attendant entered.
“You called for me?”
“Yes, I was having such a pleasant time that I completely forgot about an important appointment. I’m afraid I must take my leave now.”
“Ah, I see.”
“How much do I owe?”
I paid the Shop Attendant for the bill.
“And please, feel free to eat the remaining food. I’ve been careful to use separate utensils and set aside portions cleanly.”
At my words, the Shop Attendant’s face brightened.
“Thank you kindly, sir.”
The portion had been far too large for me to eat alone, so I’d been careful to set aside portions from the start.
Shop Attendants and Handmaidens at taverns like this, along with ordinary employees, typically aren’t provided separate meals.
That’s why those working in places like this tavern often select decent leftovers to make their meals, saving on food costs.
Knowing this, I’d deliberately eaten cleanly.
I wanted them to have days like this too.
I could have avoided touching the food altogether, but that might have raised unnecessary suspicion.
In any case, that’s why employees at the Eunhae Trading Company appreciate the welfare benefit of affordable meals provided by the company.

* * *

The next day.
True to his word, Chun-il arrived at Songbi Inn at the crack of dawn.
After meeting with my father, we decided that I would go to the Eunhae Trading Company headquarters with him.
And right after breakfast, my parents departed for the Eunhae Trading Company Headquarters.
Naturally, Go Il-pyeong accompanied them, and my father left behind the vice-commander of the Eunpung Corps’s first unit and half of that unit to ensure my safety.
After seeing off my parents and their entourage, I looked around the suddenly quiet inn.
Before my parents departed, Sa Gu-chul Merchant Leader and Sakang Branch Master had already left for the Hongyeon Trading Company Headquarters in Shaanxi, so the inn had grown peaceful.
“Phew!”
I took a deep breath and left the inn.
Now that I had carved out this time, I should handle all the matters I’d been planning to address.

A short while later,
I arrived at the small bookstore on Book Street that I had visited yesterday.
I asked Palgap and the guards to wait outside for a moment, then entered alone.
Just as yesterday, the Old Bookkeeper sat before his wooden table, attending to his work.
The moment I entered, he lifted his head and looked at me.
And he asked me directly.
“So, what brings you here with such curiosity?”
“I came because I was curious about you, sir.”
At my answer, the old man smiled gently and replied.
“What could be curious about an old man like me, worn down by age.”
“Why did you recommend that book to my attendant?”
“Because he has talent.”
It’s certain.
The old man before me knows that Palgap was born with the talent of Salwang.
“How did you know my attendant possesses such talent?”
“I saw it.”
I took a small breath and asked with cupped fists.
“Who are you, sir?”
At my question, the old man gestured toward the books with his hand.
“For now, I’m simply an old man running a small bookstore.”
From those words, I realized the old man before me had once been someone of considerable standing.
The fact that he now merely runs a small bookstore implies he once did something remarkable.
“I simply recommended that book because I found his talent too precious to waste.”
If I pressed further here, I might learn the old man’s true identity, but I chose not to.
The man before me was estimated to be a master equal to or surpassing my own Master, and he bore goodwill toward me.
There was no need to press the matter and risk offending him.
I bowed respectfully once more to express my gratitude.
“I understand your words well, sir. I am grateful that you recognized my attendant’s talent and recommended that book to him.”
At my words, the old man nodded.
“Then I shall take my leave, Old Bookkeeper.”
“You’re going?”
“Yes, sir. To trouble you further would be disrespectful. I bid you farewell.”
As I turned to depart, the old man’s voice stopped me.
“The Salwangs have always been attendants before they were Salwangs.”
“Pardon?”
“The previous Salwang was likewise a loyal attendant.”
The old man offered nothing more, returning his attention to his work.
A clear dismissal.
Yet despite his reticence, he seemed to be imparting something—perhaps he favored me more than I’d realized?

Some time later,
back at the inn, I reread the secret manual the old man had recommended for Palgap.
Was it because of what he’d said—that all Salwangs were attendants before they became Salwangs?
The manual’s contents seemed to reveal themselves in a new light.
Passages about concealing one’s presence, about never losing sight of a target—when reinterpreted through the lens of an attendant’s role—became lessons on remaining unobtrusive before one’s master, on finding one’s lord when he was lost.
Who exactly was that old man?
The mere fact that he knew the previous Salwang marked him as no ordinary person.
I had retreated, yes, but only to advance further—one step back for two steps forward.
To let such talent slip through my fingers would haunt me sleepless with regret.
Was that matter tomorrow, or the day after?
My heart quickened at the thought of claiming the treasure the Baekcheon Trading Company had abandoned.

* * *

Baekcheon Trading Company.
It was a merchant guild founded with funds from the Murim Alliance.
Though it claimed to operate as a guild promoting righteous conduct, that was merely a façade.
Baekcheon Trading Company had been established to divert the elders’ attention away from Murim Alliance affairs.
The man appointed as its Merchant Guild Leader was Namgung Kang.
Even he didn’t know why such diversion was necessary.
But he made no effort to find out. A peculiar instinct whispered that knowing would be dangerous.
What truly captivated him now was the sense of superiority his title as Merchant Guild Leader bestowed.
The exquisite pleasure of watching countless people grovel before him under that name filled him with delight.
He harbored no interest in the guild’s actual operations.
The Chief Managers hired by the Murim Alliance managed everything themselves.
His sole responsibility was affixing his seal to whatever documents the Chief Manager placed before him.
And recently, the Chief Manager had died.
Rather than sorrow or mourning, what Namgung Kang felt at the death of the Chief Manager who had long overseen the guild was irritation.
The man had died so suddenly, causing him such inconvenience.
Still, he supposed the old fool possessed some conscience, having groomed a capable successor to ensure the guild’s operations continued without disruption.
For the first time in ages, Namgung Kang felt the urge to explore areas of the guild beyond his office.
So he wandered aimlessly until he arrived at the quarters where the guild’s staff resided.
“Ah! W-we greet the Merchant Guild Leader!”
“We greet the Merchant Guild Leader.”
The servants immediately prostrated themselves at the sight of him, and Namgung Kang accepted their obeisance with satisfaction.
Then a particular young man caught his eye.
A walking staff rested beside the young man.
The staff seemed incongruous with the sturdy youth, which is precisely why it captured his attention.
Thud, thud.
As Namgung Kang drew closer, he noticed the young man’s legs were different from those of ordinary people.
The young man’s right leg was missing.
“What is this? A cripple? Is this wretch also a guild employee?”
A staff member trembled as he answered the question.
“H-he is the son of the Previous Chief Manager, who has passed away.”
“The old man’s son, you say?”
“Yes.”
“Did that old fool use his position as Chief Manager to secure employment for his crippled son?”
“N-no, sir. He works here because he performs his duties adequately.”
“What duties can a cripple perform? He’ll only consume food. Never mind—I have no use for such a wretch in my guild. Cast him out.”
“Sir?”
“Cast him out at once.”
“B-but, please consider the service of the Previous Chief Manager and show mercy.”
“We beg you.”
Namgung Kang merely scoffed at their pleas.
“Listen to this cripple trying to learn the Six Trigrams Sword Technique. What effort? He should have just sat in the Chief Manager’s seat, eaten well, and lived comfortably—what shamelessness made him leave this useless bastard here before he died?”
“….”
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you throwing him out right now?”
He summoned the Eunhae Trading Company’s warriors and had them remove him on the spot.
As the staff watched with pitying expressions, Namgung Kang spoke.
“If anyone here dares to take pity on that wretch and brings him back into this company, I’ll throw them out as well. Remember that.”
At those words, the staff had no choice but to turn away from the sight of him being dragged off by the warriors.

* * *

The wind blew.
A young man sitting beneath a stone wall shrank back from the wind carrying the chill of late autumn.
“Father, look. There’s a strange person over there.”
“I see.”
But neither the biting wind nor the piercing stares stirred anything within him.
Because he was consumed by rage.
His name was Heo Un.
The only son of the Previous Chief Manager of the Baekcheon Trading Company.
His father had been an orphan. And his mother had been an orphan as well.
Which meant he was now utterly alone in this world.
And on top of that, he was disabled.
He had no right leg.
It hadn’t been this way since birth.
A carriage accident during his work at the company had left him this way.
The physician said it was heavenly fortune that he’d survived, but Heo Un resented the heavens.
He’d wanted to end his own life, wondering what the point of living was, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it because of his father.
His father, who worked day and night to care for him and to apologize to the other company staff for the burden he caused.
And he knew well how the so-called Merchant Guild Leader rarely showed his face, and how hard his father had worked to compensate for that absence.
Then his father passed away.
An illness brought on by overwork had worsened.
He was discovered dead, slumped over a cold wooden table, and thanks to the company staff who helped, he received a proper funeral.
After that, Heo Un continued working at the Baekcheon Trading Company. He was someone who did his part despite his physical limitations.
But yesterday, he was cast out from the Baekcheon Trading Company.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Merchant Guild Leader Namgung Kang appeared and drove him away.
He could accept being mocked and expelled with the slur “cripple.”
Though the insult stung, he’d grown accustomed to hearing such words, and calluses had formed over his heart.
But insulting his father—that was something he couldn’t bear.
And that sorrow had transformed into rage.
All that grueling work for the Baekcheon Trading Company, for the Merchant Guild Leader—negated with a single sentence.
Glub.
My stomach churned violently. Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday evening.
I’d been thrown at the warriors in that state, so I couldn’t bring anything from the Trading Company with me.
Baekcheon Trading Company also had quarters for resident employees, and Heo Un lived there.
Father couldn’t leave his post for even a moment, so the entire family lived there.
That meant all the money I’d accumulated was still inside the Trading Company.
Even if other employees wanted to bring me something, Namgung Kang would be watching with eyes wide open, so there was nothing they could do.
I exhaled heavily.
“How am I supposed to live from now on?”
Stripped of everything in an instant, the road ahead seemed impossibly dark.
Even if I wanted to find work, who would hire someone like me?
I knew it well.
No matter how capable I was, people would judge me on sight alone.
That’s when it happened.
“Hey, old timer.”
I turned to see beggars.
“Who gave you permission to work here?”
“What? I’m just…”
Thwack!
One of the beggars kicked me, and I crumpled to the ground.
“Brother, take it easy. You look like a cripple anyway.”
I couldn’t protest against their snickering.
To anyone’s eyes, I was a beggar and a cripple.
That’s when it happened.
“What are you doing right now?”
When I turned at that voice, a finely dressed young nobleman was watching them.
Behind him stood a bear-like attendant and three guards.
There was something cold in that young nobleman’s gaze.
“I asked what you’re doing right now.”

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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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