The Hunting Dog of the Prestigious Family Has Returned Chapter 73

“Then, is your tribe satisfied with these terms?”

“Satisfied? No. But given the nature of our deal…. this is more than fair.”

Iron Tiger Fortress, 1st Forward Base, a temporary encampment situated along the border zone.

After wrapping up negotiations with Tuowen, the Jurchen chieftain, Yoo Sanghyeon sat with his fingers interlaced, quietly looking down at the agreement.

1. Aisin-Gioro Tuowen and the tribes under his leadership recognize Iron Tiger General Yoo Sanghyeon as the overlord of the Northeast Frontier, and will not encroach upon his territory.
2. The Iron Tiger General and Tuowen will formally conclude a logistics contract, and establish a relay point at border-zone coordinates NA-7784 to conduct free trade.
3. Said coordinates may be subject to change in accordance with monster movements, and the process of consultation for coordinate revision shall be…….

Various clauses and exceptions were written out, but that wasn’t what mattered.

What mattered was that this agreement bore the signature of Iron Tiger General Yoo Sanghyeon.

By confirming it in person, the formal logistics contract between Iron Tiger Fortress and the Jurchen tribes was established.

“With this, the supply situation should improve considerably.”

Yoo Sanghyeon closed the document and murmured quietly.

For many long years, the isolated forward bases and Iron Tiger Fortress’s self-sufficient system had remained precarious.

But through this contract, a stable channel for the traveling merchants had been secured, and supplies of goods from the Central Plains could now be obtained through the Jurchen.

For Yoo Sanghyeon’s part, this was a gain, not a loss.

Still….

“From their perspective, this contract could become a major turning point.”

“Is that so?”

I asked in response, and Yoo Sanghyeon slowly nodded.

“By concluding a formal contract with Iron Tiger Fortress, they’ve gained speaking rights to represent not just one tribe but all the Jurchen. If they use this trade as a foundation to grow their tribe’s influence and gradually bring together the tribes scattered across Manchuria…. they could transform from a frontier tribe into a massive collective.”

“So what they’ve gained isn’t simply a trade route. It’s the title of ‘the only Jurchen tribe that trades with Iron Tiger Fortress.'”

“Exactly.”

Yoo Sanghyeon glanced sideways at Tuowen.

“Perhaps that chieftain is a man of far greater capacity than I’d assumed.”

It was around the time I was having this exchange with Yoo Sanghyeon after leaving the negotiating room, that—

“Is that really true?!”

“You’re not mistaken, are you?”

“No, that can’t be…….”

A small murmur rose from among the Jurchen group as they made their way back to their encampment.

I was tilting my head, wondering what was going on, when one of the Jurchen warriors came over and scrutinized my face.

“It’s him, Chieftain! This one, this one is the archer who killed Aihan!”

“What?”

What on earth is this about?

While I stood there bewildered, the chieftain Tuowen himself came over and asked me,

“You, didn’t you get attacked by our tribe on your way to the Northeast Frontier?”

“I did…. I suppose?”

That time they’d threatened me with that ferocious hostility when I first encountered them.

So that was what that grudge was about.

“Then perhaps…… didn’t you kill someone who looked like this?”

“Well, how would I know. It was just a brief passing encounter….”

I said that and looked at the photo, but I had no choice but to go quiet.

A photo of a body taken just recently, still warm.

Because lodged in that body’s skull was a large tungsten arrow.

“Young Master. No matter how you look at it, that’s the one we have loaded in our vehicle…….”

“Mooyoung. Shh. Shh.”

Well. This is a problem.

Having come all this way to end up dealing with talk of family vengeance was a bit inconvenient.

There was no need to stir up a conflict, so should I quietly try to change the subject?

As if reading my expression and seeing me deliberate, Tuowen’s face twisted, and then,

“Is that right? Is that what you’re saying? Kha! Khahaha!”

In the next moment, Tuowen burst into laughter and clapped me on the shoulder repeatedly.

“Good! Then I’ll have to invite you to our tribe sometime. Come visit! I’ll give you a proper thank-you!”

“……Thank you?”

What is he on about now.

A thank-you? What kind of thank-you?

I killed one of your people. I’m an enemy of your comrade.

I scowled, having no idea what was going on, but Tuowen, chuckling as if something was very funny, went on.

“The Aihan you killed and his faction were men who were in very close collusion with the Defense Commander.”

My expression went slightly sour at those words, but Tuowen, as if he’d never enjoyed himself more, kept talking.

“They were selling our movements and location to the Defense Commander for scraps of money. Getting fat on the Defense Commander’s corrupt military procurement funds, while betraying the safety of their own tribe, traitors!”

“Wait, what on earth is….”

“This is nothing less than the bond that the steppe has granted us! If you hadn’t killed those men, our plan to unleash the monsters would have been exposed! Khahaha-!”

At that I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

This was exactly like a cow stumbling backward and catching a rat.

“Well, let’s keep this between us.”

Saying that, Tuowen held up a finger with an easy-going grin, then led his tribespeople away in a cloud of dust.

The armored vehicles slowly receding into the distance.

In my hand, as I watched them go, was a small data chip.

---

With the logistics contract concluded as well, there was truly nothing left for me to do here.

In other words, it was time to return to Hanseong.

Goodbye, my lovely paper documents.

It’s been disgusting knowing you, and let’s never meet again.

I was packing up the considerably grown pile of luggage and making preparations to leave, when—

“Inspector! A gift from Garrison Commander Jeong.”

Researchers from the Iron Tiger Army’s armory set a heavy container down in front of me.

A tactical module finished in high-gloss black coating.

The black equipment loaded onto a large trailer gleamed with a faint metallic luster in the dimness.

“This is……?”

“We removed all the portions connected to the Administration’s database and optimized it with our own OS. Optical camouflage, electronic warfare module, and the latest thermal weapons. All the features it had originally can still be used.”

At those words I looked over the tactical module with interest.

At this level, it would be no exaggeration to call it practically a brand-new module.

Perhaps because real engagements never stopped out here, their skill in field repair and restoration was clearly second to none.

“Stow it away in an armored vehicle and use it when you need it. It’ll be useful.”

“I’m grateful you’re giving it, but…. wouldn’t it be better to use this here in Iron Tiger Fortress?”

At my question, Garrison Commander Jeong Hyoyeong, who had delivered the gift, gave a small smile and said,

“Reverse engineering is already finished, and production preparations are moving forward step by step. Using the electronic components the traveling merchants bring in, we’ll be able to produce it ourselves.”

“Meaning this is an empty shell you’ve already sucked all the knowledge out of, and you want me to take it and destroy the evidence?”

“You’ve understood precisely.”

I chuckled with Garrison Commander Jeong and gazed with a moved expression at the large truck loaded with the tactical module.

With the Jurchen incursions gone, it was the dawn of an age where vehicles this large could move about freely.

“My, my. I just got a new truck and already the suspension’s going to be shot. I’ll be charging extra for this, Young Master.”

A familiar face appeared from the truck’s driver seat.

It was Gwak Cheolgon, the traveling merchant who had brought me to the Northeast Frontier.

“What, you already got a new truck?”

“Of course. Speed is a merchant’s life! You can’t survive in this business without moving nimbly. Besides, do you have any idea what kind of fuel economy that armored vehicle got?”

“Ah, well…….”

His words as he patted the side of the truck had me nodding along without thinking.

Petite sunglasses, a red muffler, topped off with a woven straw hat.

The merchants’ fashion sense never ceased to be a mystery, no matter how many times I saw it.

Like that, I finished my farewells with the others and was coordinating the next schedule with the Hahoe members, when—

“Yo, Young Lady?”

“Young Lady! What are you doing here…?!”

“Young master!”

Yoo Arin burst through the crowd, eyes sparkling, and spoke.

“Next time I come to Hanseong, show me around!”

“Yes?”

“Especially one of those Hanseong convenience stores! I saw them in dramas. They say there’s all kinds of delicious things there, don’t they?”

This is some inspired nonsense.

Joseon convenience stores are places that conduct human experiments on their customers one day at a time.

Substandard food, strange retort meals, imported snacks of unknown origin.

While I was picturing the scene of a Hanseong convenience store in my head—

“Oh, and also that….”

Hesitating for a moment as if deciding something, Arin fidgeted a little, then held out a small box in front of me.

“This, a gift!”

“A gift?”

If someone offers it, you can hardly refuse.

I reached out and took out the contents from inside the box.

A silver dagger, crafted with meticulous artistry.

With a pattern engraved in fine detail, it looked less like a weapon for self-defense and more like something for ceremonial use.

“This, to me?”

“……Do you, perhaps, not like it?”

No, I mean. It’s not that I dislike it.

At the sight of Arin trailing off hesitantly, I took it without saying anything particular.

“Thank you. I’ll put it to good use.”

“Really? Truly? You accepted it just now, right? Didn’t you?”

“Yes. I’ve properly received it.”

Arin, visibly delighted, didn’t have much to say about why she was so pleased and just dashed off the way she always had, in that headlong rush.

What is that about.

I was thinking that when, a moment later—

“Huh?!”

The next instant, I noticed the air around me had shifted in a subtle way.

The gazes of the people watching Arin.

And the gazes of the people watching me were anything but ordinary.

Particularly Yoo Sanghyeon and the Iron Tiger Fortress officers.

Their expressions were… well.

I couldn’t quite describe it properly, but those looks were absolutely not favorable ones.

“I had been thinking of treating you to a proper drink, but you’re leaving so suddenly, a shame. Thank you for doing great work.”

A moment later.

As if representing the Iron Tiger Army’s officers, Iron Tiger General Yoo Sanghyeon slowly approached and tapped me on the shoulder.

Outwardly he wore a fairly gentle expression, but why did the shoulder he’d grabbed hurt so much?

“Not at all. If it hadn’t been the Administration’s orders, I might have stayed a little longer. It’s a pity in many ways….”

“Never mind that, you!”

“Yes, yes?”

In an instant, Yoo Sanghyeon cut off my words, his eyes flashing sharply.

“I heard you had a conversation with Arin in the middle of the night…. is that true?”

“Ah, about that….. hm, hm?”

“So it’s true! It is?!”

What’s gotten into him, all of a sudden?

I stepped back in confusion, but Yoo Sanghyeon pressed closer.

On top of that, behind him, the officers of Iron Tiger Fortress were lined up in a row—

Looking at their eyes, Yoo Sanghyeon almost seemed like a gentleman by comparison.

Ah, there’s no escaping this situation.

“Then tell me plainly.”

“What on earth are you…….”

Yoo Sanghyeon’s voice dropped a level, and,

“What did you think of my daughter?”

At the question that followed, the gazes of the officers sharpened further.

What in the world do they want.

Swallowing a curse inwardly, I answered with composure.

“She was…. far wiser than I had expected.”

“Hm.”

I said what I actually felt, and Yoo Sanghyeon crossed his arms and nodded.

Was that the right answer? Let me add a bit more.

“Both in phase power and in strength of spirit, she has grown splendidly. Far beyond expectations, she has become an exceptional per….”

“Not that!”

Ah, that wasn’t it?

As if I hadn’t given the answer he wanted, Yoo Sanghyeon actually moved even closer, and,

“Is she pretty?”

“……Excuse me?”

“Is our daughter pretty, I’m asking.”

At those words, the soldiers and officers of Iron Tiger Fortress all turned to stare at my mouth at once.

“Ah…. yes! She, she is?”

On the spot judgment, answered honestly.

But this wasn’t the end.

“How pretty!”

“Ah, even searching all of Hanseong, you’d be hard-pressed to find a beauty like her….. is what I’d say?”

“And you found that pleasing?!”

“Yes! Of course!”

“Right! So that’s how it is-!”

A cry that sounded as if it came from the bottom of his heart.

At those words, like a scream, the faces of the Iron Tiger Fortress soldiers, the officers in particular, darkened with a grim weight.

“Ah, so that’s him? The one Young Lady’s been going on about day after day….”

“So it was him.”

“Scrawny thing, looks like the type to make women cry….”

“That our Young Lady has feelings for that kind of person…….”

Whhrrrrr-

A strange mechanical sound began coming from behind.

Ah… excuse me, officers?

Why are you activating your artificial bodies?

And why is a combat helicopter’s minigun spinning?

That’s not loaded with ammunition, right?

It’s not, is it?

“Hmm…. well. That puts my mind at ease, then.”

Against a backdrop of gloomy muttering, Yoo Sanghyeon very slowly. Very, very slowly, nodded his head, and then broke into a broad smile and clapped me on the shoulder.

“Going forward, do well with our Arin. Understood?”

“Yes…. I. Thank… you?”

Words and gestures of encouragement.

And yet, his expression was, how to put it.

Not the least bit happy.

Not even a little.

Just as that indescribable pressure was bearing down on me heavily,

“Um…. Young Master? Might I ask you something?”

“Wh?! Oh! Mooyoung! Of course, of course! What is it?!”

Perhaps he hadn’t caught the bizarre atmosphere, or perhaps it was a desperate attempt to rescue me.

At Mooyoung’s sudden interjection, I turned toward him with immediate relief.

Thank you, Mooyoung.

You saved my life!

“Back at the negotiating room, you received something from the Jurchen chieftain…. what was it?”

“Ah yes, certainly. I was curious about that too.”

Yoo Sanghyeon, back to his usual self by now, chimed in.

Good timing.

I handed Yoo Sanghyeon the small data chip I’d received from Tuowen.

“There was something I wanted to pass along to the General before leaving.”

“Something you wanted to pass along? What could that…….”

“The coordinates of the Great Manchurian Rift’s center. Ground Zero.”

A brief silence.

Yoo Sanghyeon, upon hearing my words, looked down at the data chip in his hand and drew a sharp breath.

“You don’t mean….”

“Young Lady’s power is growing steadily, and the Iron Tiger Army’s situation couldn’t be better. Yangban Mask’s approval has come through as well. Once preparations on our end are complete…. it’s possible.”

The Iron Tiger Army, Hahoe, and my Eight Outcasts Society.

The one thing this three-organization coalition absolutely had to accomplish before the revolution.

“The next time we meet, we’re going to close the Great Rift in Manchuria.”

There was something we had to find there, without fail.

A dagger to pierce the heart of the nobility.

Another key to ignite the revolution.