Chapter 94
Part 19. Wongakjeong, the Beginning of Change (1)
At that moment.
The main gate of Wongakjeong.
Regardless of shift, every member of the Special Task Force dispatched to Wongakjeong had gathered.
“Captain! The uniform suits you well!”
“You could get married again in that.”
Dressed in guard uniforms, they noisily teased the Life-Stealing Ghost Sword.
The Life-Stealing Ghost Sword tugged several times at the collar of the Special Task Force uniform he was wearing for the first time in a long while, as if it were uncomfortable, then opened his mouth.
“In any case, all of you will also have to wear uniforms from now on.”
At his words, shock swept through the group.
“N-no!”
“Captain! Is that true?!”
To those who had lived their entire lives as warriors, the existence of a uniform was practically a symbol of loathing.
“Now, everyone, quiet.”
Everyone looked at the Life-Stealing Ghost Sword with expressions full of dissatisfaction.
“As you have all likely already heard, as of the start of official duties this morning, the confinement order imposed upon the Young Master has been lifted.”
Originally, these were people who had not the slightest favorable feeling toward the Young Master.
“What does that have to do with us having to wear these uncomfortable uniforms…?”
“The Young Master has never once been helpful in my life.”
“Is it time to seriously request a transfer?”
“To be honest, until now, we did have it easy thanks to being assigned to Wongakjeong.”
Everyone’s reaction was sullen, but the Life-Stealing Ghost Sword ignored them and continued speaking.
“The Supreme Operations Council has issued an emergency order to normalize Wongakjeong’s functions. Naturally, we must cooperate as well.”
“Do we even have anything separate to do that you had to gather all of us?”
“How long will the emergency order last?”
Questions flew from here and there.
“For now, the emergency order will end the moment it is judged that Wongakjeong’s functions have normalized. I do not know when that will be, but it should not be too long.”
As a delighted mood began to spread among them, the Life-Stealing Ghost Sword gave a faint laugh.
“There is no need to be happy. Wearing uniforms is not because of the emergency order, but because the Young Master’s confinement has been lifted.”
It meant they would have to keep wearing uniforms from now on.
Before the Special Task Force members’ complaints could erupt, the Life-Stealing Ghost Sword quickly continued speaking.
“Therefore, it seems the Special Task Force at Wongakjeong, which until now existed as a temporary dispatch, will also be reorganized accordingly.”
“What does that mean?”
The Life-Stealing Ghost Sword shrugged.
“I have not yet received proper orders from the Senate, so I do not know the details.”
The Special Task Force was a special organization that carried out only orders directly from the Senate, so it had nothing to do with the existing chain of command.
“However, additional personnel will be brought in immediately, and it seems further measures will be taken, centered around vulnerable security points.”
Everyone sighed.
“The good days are over.”
“Not necessarily. Perhaps some useful fellows we can order around will come in.”
“Hah, wake up from that dream. There is no way such fledglings would exist in an organization like the Special Task Force.”
The Life-Stealing Ghost Sword raised his voice to draw their attention.
“What is certain is that no security issue must occur in Wongakjeong now that the confinement has ended.”
At his words, everyone shrugged.
“I mean, would anything really happen at Wongakjeong?”
“Even if the Young Master’s confinement has ended, I doubt Wongakjeong will suddenly become crowded.”
“Isn’t this just making things annoying for us?”
The Life-Stealing Ghost Sword ignored them and continued.
“If anyone asks, tell them that all visitors unrelated to emergency-order duties will be received after construction is complete.”
At his words, one Special Task Force member blinked.
“What construction?”
The Life-Stealing Ghost Sword pointed behind him.
Everyone’s gaze turned back.
“Uh…?!”
“What is all that?”
“What on earth is going on?”
From the far side of the main road, an enormous number of people were approaching.
Not only that, but carts piled high like mountains with materials were drawing closer in an endless line.
‘Everyone, get a hold of yourselves.’
Seeing that they were all distracted, straining their eyes to watch, the Life-Stealing Ghost Sword sent a voice transmission to everyone.
‘Do you intend to be looked down on by construction workers?’
No sooner had that message ended than the Special Task Force members brought their lines into order, straightened their posture, and formed ranks.
Then they began to release a faint pressure. Given the level of the Special Task Force members, the atmosphere became extremely fierce.
The group in silk clothes approaching quickly from the front was clearly intimidated by the sight of those Special Task Force members.
“A-as expected of Wongakjeong. It is an honor to meet such great warriors of the main family.”
The person at the very front wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, approached the Life-Stealing Ghost Sword, and greeted him politely.
“I am Tak, the head of Sword Clan Construction’s Third Division. And this side is…”
The Life-Stealing Ghost Sword cut off his attempt to continue introducing everyone one by one.
“I am the captain of the Special Task Force directly under the Senate. There is no need to introduce yourselves to me.”
Thoroughly cowed, they merely nodded repeatedly.
“The Young Master is waiting inside Wongakjeong, so follow me.”
***
A young messenger was running toward Wongakjeong.
“Whoa! It is completely jammed…!”
The back road leading toward Wongakjeong was so packed with carriages entering and leaving that there was nowhere to step.
He quickly turned around and went out onto the main road.
Normally, as nothing more than a low-ranking errand boy, he would never have been allowed to use the main road.
But on a day like today, with an “Important” flag on his back, even he could run along the main road.
“Please move aside! Important letter!”
But it was no use.
Having barely slipped through the carriages and entered the main road, he discovered that workers were turning over all the paving stones on the main road leading to Wongakjeong.
For the sake of smooth passage, one side had been left untouched, but even that side was packed with wagons and handcarts loaded full of materials.
“…It cannot be helped.”
He ran into the construction site where the workers were working.
“Important letter!”
The site, where hundreds of workers were shoveling and swinging pickaxes, was extremely dangerous, but delivering an important letter was a very important duty.
“Hey! Be careful!”
“S-sorry! It is an important letter!”
He did not stop for even a moment.
The young messenger somehow managed to avoid dangerous moments here and there as he ran. Then, seeing no gap to slip through, he decided to step on and leap over a pile of discarded paving stones.
“…?!”
However, the instant the boy kicked off hard from the top, the precariously stacked paving stones began to collapse.
“Uwaah!”
Losing his balance and slipping, the boy somehow curled up and squeezed his eyes shut.
But the impact he had braced for never came.
The boy found himself set down on his own two feet, held by the back of his neck.
“T-thank you…!”
The boy looked back without thinking and was startled.
“Oh my, curling your body in that brief instant was good.”
The one who had caught the boy in midair with one hand was a beautiful girl who looked only one or two years older than him.
At her waist hung a small sword, showing that she was no ordinary maidservant.
“But you must not close your eyes until the very last moment. That way, you can respond properly and reduce the impact as well.”
Dressed in a neat maidservant’s uniform, she raised a hand in response to the applause of the surrounding workers.
“Thank you, beautiful maidservant!”
At the young messenger’s sudden compliment, her eyes widened, and then she covered her mouth and laughed.
“Hoho! All the maidservants of our Wongakjeong are exceedingly beautiful, but this I-ryeong is among the most outstanding of them.”
She pushed the back of the young messenger, who was staring at her with a red face.
“Now! It seems to be an important letter, so hurry and carry out your duty!”
“Yes! Understood!”
He thanked her several more times, then began running again.
A short while later, he spotted a maidservant dressed the same way as the maidservant who had just called herself I-ryeong.
She was raising her voice at someone who looked like the site supervisor, seemingly displeased with something.
“Are the colors of these paving stones not subtly different?!”
“But this much falls within the permitted range under the work guidelines…”
“Are you daring to apply the same standards as any other disorderly main road to the main road of Wongakjeong?!”
“N-no, that is not what I meant…!”
‘Her voice is similar to that beautiful maidservant’s too…’
As the young messenger passed by while glancing at her, he hurriedly looked back.
‘Eh?!’
The maidservant, sensing his gaze, glared at him fiercely.
“Messenger! Do you have business with me?!”
“Ah, no! I am sorry!”
He hurriedly quickened his steps.
Even so, he looked back at her again and again, because she looked far too identical to the maidservant who had saved him a moment ago.
A short while later, he was running along the tall yet worn-out walls of Wongakjeong.
Along the wall, which stretched so far that its end could not be seen, workers were swarming.
“Clear away every rotten roof tile! No, just replace this entire section!”
Team leaders walked around, issuing busy instructions, and the workers’ hands moved even faster.
“That section of the wall—just tear it all down! It will be better to raise it anew!”
One team leader, walking atop the wall, also gave warnings.
“If you fall inside the wall, absolutely do not enter the forest! Do not try to circle around to get out either! You must calmly grab the rope we lower for you and climb back up!”
Along the walls of Wongakjeong, carts came and went without a moment’s rest.
On one side, lime plaster was being mixed. On another, stone materials were being cut. Elsewhere, roof tiles were being stacked by type.
‘There it is…!’
The messenger finally discovered a large tent with a flag hanging from it that read, “Joint Maintenance Field Command Headquarters.”
“Shouldn’t your side be cooperating properly?!”
“Why have the materials that were supposed to arrive already not arrived yet?!”
But the front of the tent was packed with all sorts of working-level personnel.
“I-important letter!”
He tried raising his voice once, but unlike the laborers, the busy and frantic staff did not so much as glance at him.
Having no choice, he squeezed his body through the crowd.
“It is an important letter, ugh! I am sorry, oof…! I-I will pass through.”
As the messenger rubbed his sweat-soaked body against them, the staff frowned and grumbled.
“Honestly, every letter that reaches Wongakjeong after an emergency order has been issued is ‘Important’ grade. Why are you making such a fuss?”
“Hmph. If a letter carried by someone of your level is ‘Important,’ then this body of mine is performing a ‘Most Important’ duty.”
In the end, the messenger used his last resort.
“This letter was personally entrusted to me by the Steward Department Head!”
At the words “Steward Department Head,” the working-level staff turned away as if nothing had happened.
In that way, the young messenger barely managed to stick even his head through the wall of people.
But the next moment, the boy froze in that posture.
It was because there stood a beauty whose loveliness was enough to give him chills.
“Can the maintenance of Sections Gap, Eul, and Byeong be completed before morning is over?”
When the woman’s gold-flashing gaze turned toward him, the silk-clad man who appeared to be the site supervisor answered while sweating profusely.
“S-somehow, we will make it happen!”
“Just because I and the maidservants are away from our posts, there must not be even the slightest negligence.”
“O-of course!”
The woman’s gaze was not directed at the young messenger at all, but even so, he felt a chilling cold.
“Oh? Is that an important letter?”
At the sudden voice from beside him, the boy jumped.
And when he saw the face of the maidservant who had spoken to him, he was startled once again.
“Uwah?!”
“Kyaa?! To be startled after seeing a person’s face! How rude!”
There stood a maidservant who looked exactly like the two maidservants he had seen earlier.
“I-I am sorry!”
After many twists and turns, he was finally able to deliver the letter to the head maid of Wongakjeong.
“A-an important letter sent by the Steward Department Head!”
As the head maid signed the receipt form, the maidservant who looked exactly like the previous two asked her.
“Are they finally coming…?”
The head maid smiled.
“Yes. At last, the maids you will be able to order around are coming.”