The Hunting Dog of the Prestigious Family Has Returned Chapter 7

“He noticed? Really?”

“Yeah. Made eye contact with the camera.”

On the roof of a shabby building.

The man controlling a drone through his ocular implant narrowed his eyes as he gazed toward the elevated highway.

“I thought it was just power clan bastards fighting each other… but this is way more interesting than I expected.”

His gaze was directed at the guard burning the assailants’ corpses.

The warrior attending Kim Changwoon, the illegitimate son of the mighty Andong Kim clan.

“Thanks to him burning all the corpses, identifying the victims is impossible. He even recovered all the fake Hahoe masks those assassin bastards were wearing.”

“So this incident won’t be a Hahoe assault—it’ll just be a simple traffic accident. An accident caused by an autonomous vehicle that derailed due to vehicle defects… something like that, I’d say.”

“A traffic accident for a vehicle carrying a noble? That company’s stock is screwed. Which manufacturer was that car?”

“Kiwoo Automotive.”

“Ah dammit, I’m done for. I have stocks in that company.”

“Then pull them out now. Besides, that’s not what’s important right now.”

The man who spoke turned to his companion standing beside him.

“The words that kid just said. You heard them, right?”

“Yeah. I heard.”

The two exchanged glances, recalling the words the boy named Kim Changwoon had said to his guard.

‘How long will you stay loyal to this kind of family?’

“…Bune. What do you think?”

“What’s there to think? He’s still power clan blood regardless. I bet when push comes to shove, he’ll scream that we’re terrorist bastards, won’t he?”

“Hmm…”

“…Wait, you.”

As his companion’s contemplative expression deepened, the person called Bune asked incredulously.

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of making contact? With that power clan young master?”

“Wouldn’t it be fine to keep the possibility open? It’s not like we have many other options right now. And besides…”

He does look useful.

The man who spoke grabbed his chin and muttered.

“The car he was riding in got hit by a missile, but far from panicking, he commanded his guard and turned the tables to suppress the assailants.”

“…”

“On top of that, he even noticed someone was watching him. Even if he’s a power clan bastard wrapped in phase power…”

“That’s not the kind of behavior you’d expect from a fifteen-year-old brat.”

That was brief, though.

As if disliking how his companion’s mind was leaning, the person called Bune waved his hands dismissively.

“But no matter how great he is, that bastard is still power clan blood! Why would we involve someone like that in the plan…!”

But his protest was short-lived too.

“That ‘power clan blood.'”

At his companion’s next words, he had no choice but to close his mouth.

“His status as a member of a noble family is absolutely necessary for our plan.”

“…”

Bune turned his head with clear displeasure.

Watching him, the man smiled bitterly and slowly stood up.

“It’s not a method I’m particularly fond of either. I’m just saying we should keep it open as one possibility.”

“In other words…”

“I’m not planning to contact him immediately. We’ll just report it so the ‘Yangban Mask’ can make the judgment.”

“Haah…”

Sighing with reluctance, Bune shook his head and brought what he was holding to his face.

Clack—the sound of an object covering his face.

It was a wooden Bune mask like those worn by mask dancers in the old days.

“I’m telling you now, I’m absolutely against it. Got it? I won’t help you convince the others either!”

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t expecting you to.”

The man who spoke also put on the mask he’d been holding.

A mask with an open chin area.

It was an Imae mask.

---

It was such a lovely day.

While heading out for an outing, I got hit by a missile, and I even had some fun archery with assassin friends who came rushing to play.

What a truly exciting day.

“By the way, I didn’t know you had expertise in archery, Young Master.”

On the way to the lower residential district in the newly requisitioned vehicle Taewoong had arranged.

As I was adjusting my clothes while looking out the window, Taewoong, who’d finished checking his artificial body, turned toward me and spoke.

“Expertise? It’s just a hobby.”

I waved my hand dismissively, but Taewoong slowly shook his head with his eyes closed.

“In that chaotic situation, you not only calmed your breathing and shot arrows, but you accurately hit the interior of the assailant’s artificial body. To accomplish that with sensation alone, without an artificial body… even trained royal guards couldn’t do that.”

“What good does accurate shooting do? It’s still just a bow in the end.”

I spoke with my chin resting against the car window.

“You handled the most dangerous one among the assailants, and you blocked all their gunfire too.”

“…”

“What I did was just add a few arrows… no, that’s not right. Just a few bombs attached to arrowheads.”

“But without those few shots.”

After a brief pause, Taewoong said.

“I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

“…Ahem.”

I shifted my gaze outside, feeling awkward.

It was embarrassing, but I couldn’t deny it.

My previous life when I fled.

Thinking about what happened to this guy back then, well, he wasn’t wrong.

Moreover…

‘It’s also true that he was more useful than I’d expected.’

The sensation of drawing the bowstring still felt vivid at my fingertips.

The immersion that made time seem to stop the moment I released the string.

The arrow’s trajectory appearing almost visible to my eyes.

I was speaking modestly, but I too was savoring the exhilaration while replaying the battle that had just occurred.

In my past life, it was just a hobby.

A trivial skill I’d picked up briefly to relieve boredom.

And why not?

In this Joseon where all kinds of advanced weapons like automatic rifles, missiles, railguns, and pulse rifles ran rampant, what good would an archaic weapon like a bow do?

It was just to try doing something.

I’d only chosen it because archery was the only thing I knew how to do… but I never expected it to work out this well.

‘This might become a breakthrough.’

My greatest weakness in my previous life was martial power.

No matter how much I planned operations, dismantled organizations, persuaded traitors, and created situations—

I repeatedly failed because I lacked the crucial martial power.

But unlike back then, I had time now.

The only talent I possessed.

Time to utilize it.

“We’ve arrived.”

While I was lost in thought, the car carrying Taewoong and me arrived at a shabby residential area located in the city’s lower levels.

The moment I stepped out of the car, I felt musty dampness and stench.

Densely packed buildings with people crammed between them.

Whirrr—

[Let’s eradicate illegal weapons]

[Myeongjin Eco’s shredders provide a hygienic environment at an affordable price]

[For consultation inquiries, call 0220…]

When I turned my gaze, a cleaning drone plastered with advertisements from various companies was floundering in the middle of a mountain of garbage.

It looked worn out here and there—must be quite old.

“This way.”

Following the address, we arrived at a shabby apartment.

Construction date: early 2000s.

The building’s structural integrity deadline had long since passed, and garbage and filth were scattered everywhere throughout the environment.

“Is there not even a doorbell?”

After following the pre-acquired address, I knocked on the door.

No answer, not even a sign of human presence behind the door.

But after waiting like that for several more minutes—

Creeeeak—

The closed door slowly opened, and through the gap, a tiny hand appeared.

Along with that small hand, a little girl emerged through the door crack.

“Eek?!”

As if belatedly noticing Taewoong and me, the frightened child immediately tried to close the door.

“Ah, wait, wait.”

But I couldn’t let that happen.

After grabbing the closing door, I brought my face close to the child with the most benevolent and gentle smile in the world.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to be scared. Little one, we’re not bad men, okay? We just want to talk for a moment.”

As gently as possible.

Like the kindest person.

I spoke with all my might like that.

“Hic! Waaaaaaah—!”

The little girl’s face turned pale, and she sat down right there and burst into tears.

---

“Sniff! Hic! Y-you’re really not bad people, right? You’re not here to collect money, right?”

“Don’t worry. We’re not those kinds of people.”

Calming the crying child required far more effort than I’d anticipated.

To briefly list the items used in the process…

1. One box of the ‘Lurupong Snack Gift Set,’ currently popular among children. (Recommended retail price: 48,000 won.)
2. The limited-edition ‘Let’s Play Together! Lurupong Kitchen Clanging Oven Set All-in-One Edition.’ (Online sales market price: 170,000~185,000 won.)
3. A portable game console released a month ago, the ‘KDS Trigger Lurupong Edition.’ (Online department store premium price: 420,000 won.)

That would be it.

…Looking at what I’ve accumulated, when did I buy this much?

I kept buying everything the crying kid asked for to calm her down, and it ended up like this before I knew it.

“Seo Taewoong, it’s because you were standing next to me! Looking all menacing for no reason…”

“Forgive me for saying so, Young Master?”

The child with a face swollen from tears, sniffling as she diligently assembled her toys.

When I spoke while looking at the child in bewilderment, Taewoong sighed and rebutted.

“If you grab a closing door and make that face… it’s natural for kids to get scared.”

“What do you mean, that face? What’s wrong with my face?”

“Anyone would’ve thought you were a loan shark coming to collect money.”

“What.”

Oh, now this guy’s even insulting my face.

What about this virtuous face looks like a loan shark?

I have absolutely no idea.

“By the way.”

Deliberately ignoring Taewoong’s criticism, I turned my gaze to look at the house where the child lived.

“It really is terrible.”

The wallpaper was peeling off—who knew when it was last put up—and the gas had long been cut off.

The sink seemed to be kept tidy enough, suggesting diligent housekeeping, but the water coming from it was untreated reddish metal-tinted water.

The pipes were exposed bare above the ceiling, with things crawling between them—bugs or rats, who could tell.

“This is clearly not a space fit for human habitation.”

“Even less so for raising a child like that.”

But even while saying that, my mind was thinking about a different aspect.

‘Thanks to this, the task will be much easier.’

Humans struggling with poverty are very easy to win over.

Especially if they have family they need to feed?

If they even have debt created because of that?

Truly icing on the cake.

I could give grace to attach a leash, and if necessary, I could even use the family as hostages.

‘So finding this guy at this timing is an absolutely perfect situation for me.’

It meant I could acquire a warrior with tremendous talent and potential at a bargain price.

‘Looking at the time, he should be coming out soon.’

Just as I was thinking that while checking the time displayed in a corner of my visual interface—

“Who are you people?”

A stiffly hardened voice grated on my ears.

When I turned around, a young boy stood in front of the open front door.

He looked about two years older than me.

Thinking that, I greeted him with a smiling face.

“You gave up on a surprise attack because your little sister’s here? How nice. What an excellent big brother.”

As if struck at the core, the boy clenched his teeth and reached his left hand behind his back.

Taewoong activated his artificial body in response, but I restrained him and stood up.

“Answer me! Who are you people to suddenly come to our house…!”

“Kim Mooyoung. Eighteen years old this year. A ronin from the surrendered Japanese. Naturalization date unknown. Parents already deceased. Family relations: only one younger sister, Kim Hayoung. Credit rating: grade 21. Debt inherited from parents, currently 320 million…”

As I rattled off the personal information Taewoong had sent me, the guy’s eyes widened.

“You make a living through mercenary work, but since you’re from the surrendered Japanese without citizenship, your commission fees get withheld constantly. You can’t afford an artificial body, let alone a proper weapon… what a harsh life. Right?”

“Shut up and answer the question! Who are you people?! Loan sharks? Or from the bank…!”

But that was brief too.

Mooyoung tried to say more, but the next moment he stopped in place, unable to continue his words.

“Uh, what…?”

The reason was easy to guess.

He must have checked the message that appeared on his communication terminal.

“But you met me, so that kind of life ends today.”

[Dongwa Money informs you: As of today, your debt amount of 320,144,331 won has been paid, and all debts have been settled.]

[The Joseon Financial Management Board informs you: In accordance with a VVIP’s request, your credit rating has been upgraded from grade 21 to third-grade.]

Debt settlement messages arriving one after another.

And then the bank balance starting to rise.

“First, put down the sword you’re hiding behind your back.”

Watching Mooyoung frozen in place, unable to move, I delivered the final blow.

[The Joseon Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs you: The review of your Joseon nationality acquisition application submitted on xx/xx/xxxx has been completed, and as of today, your Joseon citizenship has been issued.]

Clang—

With a metallic sound, the sword Mooyoung had been hiding fell limply.

He probably couldn’t comprehend what had just happened to him.

Watching Mooyoung’s face, I showed him a pleased smile.

“Shall we sit down and have a chat?”