Chapter 39
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 39
Chapter 39. The Jaegal Family (1)
His father gently interrupted.
“I understand. These are important officials of the Trading Company, so it is difficult to give you an answer right away. We will give you an answer as soon as possible, so please take a rest. We will prepare a comfortable room for you.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
The Jaegal Clan member followed his father's aide.
Silence fell in his father's office.
“Chief Administrator Yoo, so that letter is an invitation?”
“Yes.”
He replied with a dazed expression.
“A person named Jegal Hyun-ri from the Jegal Clan has invited me and my younger brother. He says he wants to talk about poetry. He said he hopes we will accept, and if we do, he will send a carriage and an escort.”
“Oh!”
My father was as happy as if it were his own business.
“Then we must accept!”
“But my poetry is poor…”
“What are you talking about! You are too hard on yourself! If your poetry were really poor, would the Jegal Clan send a carriage and an escort to invite you?”
“…”
“And to be honest, I was disappointed when I read your poetry.”
“What?”
“You have such a talent for writing beautiful poetry, yet you hide it.”
“That's...”
“Anyway, accept it! You must accept it! You must!”
In fact, this was an invitation that could not be refused.
Where is the Jegal Clan?
It is located in the west of Hubei Province, on a mountain called Longzhongshan, also known as Fuling Mountain.
It is one of the three sacred sites of Taoism and is home to one of the Nine Sects One Union, the pillars of the martial arts world, the Wudang Sect, and is a place that cannot be ignored.
If you fall out of their favor, it will be as difficult to carry out your activities as if you were dead.
In other words, it meant that I had to make connections somehow.
However, an unexpected opportunity to make connections came my way.
.
.
.
That afternoon.
After work, I returned to my room and stood by the window, sighing.
The Jegal Family...
The Jaegal Clan was currently very powerful, but something about it seemed vague to me. That was because in my previous life, the Jaegal Clan had been almost completely wiped out.
And as far as I could remember, Jaegal Hyun-ri was the former clan head of the Jaegal Clan, or the Grand Master.
There was a reason why my father and the others didn't realize that Jaegal Hyun-ri was the Grand Master even though they knew his name.
The name Jegal Hyun-ri was a pseudonym he used to hide his identity.
In any case, knowing that future, I felt uneasy about being invited to the Jegal Clan.
However, I couldn't refuse the invitation.
The Jegal Clan was still standing strong.
Several days passed.
Perhaps eager to speak with Chief Administrator Yu as soon as possible, Jaegal Hyun-ri, the former head of the Jaegal Clan, immediately sent a carriage and an escort.
Before we left, my father said to me,
“I am relieved that you are going with him. As you know, Chief Administrator Yu is not very articulate, so he could easily become your enemy.”
“Hahaha.”
“Please take good care of Chief Administrator Yu.”
“Yes. I will do my best to assist him.”
And so, Chief Administrator Yu and I set off for the Jegal Clan.
* * *
A residence of the Jegal Clan.
Someone was reporting to a middle-aged man there.
“...That is all.”
“Yes, anything else?”
“Ah, Lord Hyun-ri has invited a guest.”
“A guest?”
“He invited the author of the poetry collection that has been causing a stir lately. He will arrive tomorrow.”
“I see. That old man is really strange. An old man who loves poetry in the martial arts world...”
“Should we proceed with our plan? What if the guests notice something?”
“It doesn't matter. If even the Clan members didn't notice, how would an outsider? And even if they did, what could they do?”
“I understand.”
“Anything else?”
“Ah! Your Highness...”
“Why? Did you beat up the trainees again?”
“...Yes.”
* *
The carriage stopped.
“We're here.”
Soon, the door opened, and Chief Administrator Yu and I got out of the carriage.
In front of us stood a row of magnificent buildings.
Our Trading Company is quite wealthy, but it was incomparable.
Chief Administrator Yu's eyes wavered slightly at the sight.
But I wasn't particularly impressed.
In the future, Eunhae Trading Company would also have large buildings like these.
But a place like that...
Damn Martial Alliance! Damn Baekcheon Trading Company!
At that thought, I suddenly felt a chill down my spine.
“You must be tired from your journey.”
Pal-gap asked me with concern.
“Ah, I'm fine.”
“Then you should rest...”
“We should greet the person who invited us first.”
I looked at Chief Administrator Yu, but I still couldn't collect my thoughts.
No matter how unsociable I am, I'm not that bad.
Was the impact of the Jaegal Clan's buildings that great?
I'll just go ahead.
“We would like to greet the person who invited us. Could you show us the way?”
Those who came to greet us replied to my question.
“Yes, we will pass it on. Please have some food at the guest quarters first.”
“Thank you.”
We headed to the lodgings they showed us.
Thinking about the future when this building, which was so impressive that it overwhelmed Chief Administrator Yu, was reduced to ashes, I suddenly felt bitter.
The lodgings were quite nice.
They were even better than my quarters at the Trading Company.
Perhaps because the Jaegal Clan had a tendency to avoid extravagance, the lodgings were not flashy, but their luxury was undeniable.
“It's the Jegal Family after all!”
Pal-gap said with an excited look on his face.
“Oh! Isn't that an inkstone made of dan-gaeseok? An inkstone made of dan-gaeseok in the guest room! This is an amazing place!”
“Huh? Really? How did you know it was an inkstone made of dan-gaeseok?”
“I still remember what you explained to me last time.”
Come to think of it, there was a stone inkstone made of dan-gaeseok that we bought at the old man's general store.
I haven't used it yet...
Anyway, judging from the luxury of the room, we could tell that we were being treated as honored guests.
It is true that all guests are important and should be treated with the utmost respect.
However, in reality, even that respect is divided into different levels.
Guests who are treated rudely are considered low-level guests, as the innkeeper would be criticized if they were treated poorly.
Guests who are helpful or important to the innkeeper are considered medium-level guests.
And if they are very important figures in the clan, they are top-class guests.
The guests are also aware of this, so there were no complaints.
This means that we are top-class guests.
Is it because we are guests of the Grand Clan Head?
As we were unpacking and resting while drinking the tea provided, a maid came to see us.
“The Clan Head has agreed to see you.”
.
.
.
Chief Administrator Yu and I followed the maid to the Clan Head.
Chief Administrator Yu said to me in a low voice.
“I didn't know that Je-gal Hyun-ri was the Clan Head... This is surprising.”
“Yes, it is.”
I wasn't surprised.
I already knew.
“Then I really do have a talent for writing, right?”
“Yes. Why don't you believe me?”
“Because I find it hard to believe.”
The road to the Grand Master's residence was quite long.
It was probably because, according to the rules of martial arts sects, guests were not allowed to stay close to the residence.
In any case, as outsiders, we couldn't be allowed to stay in the inner sanctum.
Anyway, as we were walking, we passed the trainees' quarters.
Then
Bang! Bang!
“Ugh!”
“Another one, come out!”
I turned my head without thinking when I heard a girl's shrill voice.
A girl dressed in a white martial arts uniform with her hair tied up high was holding a wooden sword.
Ah...
It was a girl I knew.
Seeing her, the maid who was guiding us smiled awkwardly and said,
“The trainees are very enthusiastic.”
Judging from the maid's expression, it seemed that this wasn't the first time this had happened.
But was Miss always like that?
She was so different from the girl I knew that for a moment I wondered if I had mistaken her.
But it was definitely her.
Unlike other sects, the Jaegal Clan was made up of blood relatives. That meant that all of those trainees were children of the Jaegal Clan.
Or they are the children of those who have connections with the Jaegal Clan.
I smiled and said.
“You must be a distant relative of the Young Mistress.”
The maid's face stiffened slightly at my question. In the Jaegal Clan, the distinction between direct and distant relatives was very strict.
So her reaction meant...
“She is Jaegal Yoo-ah, the daughter of the Clan Head.”
“Oh! I'm sorry. My apologies.”
“It's okay.”
It was indeed the woman I knew.
We resumed our walk.
There were two famous people in the Yugang Trading Company, which was one of the ten largest trading companies in the future.
One was the captain of the company.
The other was the captain's bodyguard, Yuga.
The Captain's bodyguard was particularly famous as one of the hundred best fighters in the world, despite being a woman.
She was beautiful, but she never smiled, as if she had lost all emotion, and was called the “woman without a smile.”
And now, that woman without a smile was the daughter of the Jegal Clan Head!
This was information I didn't know in my previous life.
If she was the daughter of the Jegal Family Head, there must have been many people who knew her face, so why was her identity unknown?
Just then.
“Hey!”
Dudada!
We heard the sound of someone running behind us.
“Stop right there!”
With that shout, she blocked our way.
We were taken aback by her actions. She looked at me as if she didn't care about our confusion.
“Who are you?”
The maid quickly stopped her.
“Miss, these are guests of the Grand Clan Head. Please show them some respect.”
“Guests of my grandfather?”
“Yes, sir.”
When the maid said that, it was common sense to apologize and step back.
However, she did not seem to know such common sense.
“It's okay! My grandfather likes me!”
“...”
She looked at me and said.
“You! You're strong, aren't you? Let's have a fight!”
From what she said, she seemed to have noticed that I had learned martial arts.
However, that was only if I had practiced martial arts to a certain level.
I felt strange that she, who was still a girl, had noticed that.
In any case, I couldn't fight her here.
She was the daughter of the Jegal Family, one of the eight great clans, and I was only the son of a trading company captain in Hubei.
If I hurt her, how could I ever live with myself?
I am a realist.
“I'm sorry, but I'm just a merchant. My martial arts skills are only at the level of self-defense. How can I fight against the young mistress, the precious daughter of the Clan Head? Your words are completely unreasonable.”
“It's okay!”
“It's not okay. I can't accept your words, so please take them back.”
“I'm fine!”
Not only Chief Administrator Yu, but everyone around him looked embarrassed.
However, the young lady was adamant.
As far as I know, everyone in the Jaegal Clan is known for their calm temperament...
Is she really a member of the Jaegal Clan?
At this point, I was starting to get angry.
I was tired and wanted to see the Clan Head and rest, but she was getting in my way.
“Miss, you seem to have no idea what the consequences of your actions will be.”
“Do you need to know that?”
“Let me ask you first. Are you a member of the Jaegal Clan?”
“Yes, of course! I am Jaegal Yu! I have the surname Jaegal, so I am a member of the Jaegal Clan.”
“You have the surname Jaegal, yet you are not concerned about the consequences of your actions on the Jaegal Clan! I find that completely absurd.”
I continued.
“If you have the Jaegal surname, I think you should deeply consider the weight that it carries. The Jaegal surname is a right, but it also comes with responsibilities.”
“I don't like that.”
“Then you can give up the Jaegal surname.”
At my words, something flashed across Miss Jaegal Yu-ah's face.
Did I see that wrong?
But I was sure that what was written on her face was sadness.
What was that?
I was puzzled, but I couldn't pursue the question.
“Then if I give up the Jaegal surname, you'll fight me?”
Her next words were still those of a clear-headed madwoman.
So I wondered if I had seen it wrong.