The Hunting Dog of the Prestigious Family Has Returned Chapter 83

“I’m never coming back. I mean it, I am never setting foot here again!”

“For someone saying that, you seem to have enjoyed yourself quite a bit more than expected?”

“Where exactly did you get that from…?”

After the chaotic graduation ceremony had finally come to an end.

I walked into the conference room set up in the center of the school, half dead.

The cheering of the crowd, surpassing mere excitement and bordering on madness, was still ringing in my ears.

That had nearly ended in disaster.

If not for the scrap of conscience still remaining somewhere in my heart, today Kim Changwoon ‘Young Master’ might have undergone a dark evolution into ‘Great Leader.’

“We’ve been waiting for you, Young Master Changwoon.”

Bickering like that as I entered the conference room, a composed voice quite different from the one outside greeted me.

A group of people dressed immaculately.

This meeting with them was the real agenda concealed behind today’s extravagant graduation ceremony.

The first executive meeting of my organization, the Eight Outcasts Society, which had only just begun to stretch its wings.

Ah, though I had to say, this was more interesting than I’d expected.

To think that behind a school graduation ceremony, a conspiracy for rebellion was being hatched. It felt like some kind of spy operation.

“Looks like everyone is gathered.”

I opened my mouth quietly, and the lighting at the center of the conference room flickered red.

Beneath that red light, representatives from every sector appeared one by one.

The woman who held the reins on funding as the overall director of Pyeongwoon Casino. Proprietress Park Bokja.

The head of the Killing Pact, Min Jeonghwan, responsible for the dirty work: maintaining order in the underground tiers, eliminating key targets, and the like.

The president of the Merchants’ Federation, who held the supply chains that served as the lifeblood of the underground tier, and the president of the Professors’ Association, who operated under the name of an educational foundation while nurturing ‘revolutionary soldiers.’

These were the core talents forming the backbone of the Eight Outcasts Society.

The central pillars of the ‘rebellion’ that would shatter the aristocrats’ order and overturn Joseon.

“Let’s start with reports. Current status of the underground tier?”

When I posed the question, the representatives from each field began speaking in turn as though they had been waiting for it.

“The artificial body supply chain has currently expanded beyond the underground tier’s interior to establish connections with middle-tier companies as well.”

The first to speak was the president of the Merchants’ Federation.

His manner of speech was polite, but those eyes were sharp enough that he was clearly no pushover.

“Formal contracts have been concluded only with a select number of companies…. but referencing the list of companies the Young Master sent us, we are gradually broadening our reach. The initial response has not been bad.”

Since these were companies personally vouched for by none other than Yangban Mask, concerns about information leaks were reduced.

“That said, I am a little bothered by the fact that the Hahoe side will be able to freely view our information. Right now we are in a cooperative relationship so it should pose no problem, but….”

“Let them look as much as they want for now.”

When I said that, the president of the Merchants’ Federation widened his eyes as though surprised.

“Is that wise? Profitable as it may be….”

“Because that ‘profit’ is far more important than whatever information leaks out to Hahoe.”

The greatest weapon my organization, the Eight Outcasts Society, possesses is money.

To be precise, it is the only weapon.

The underground tier’s infrastructure and people, built up using casino revenue as seed capital, and the purchasing power generated by those people.

If the market formed in this way loses its vitality, the Eight Outcasts Society will be nothing more than a puppet group in name only.

So we had to constantly generate money and build an economic sphere that constantly consumed money.

“From a company’s standpoint, the market and physical assets the Eight Outcasts Society holds should be quite attractive. Once the floodgates open, the Eight Outcasts Society will before long become their primary trading partner. The more transactions grow, the deeper our foothold will become.”

When I said that, as though my words had clicked for him, the president of the Merchants’ Federation’s eyes deepened.

“If we expand our influence among those companies little by little like that….”

“Before long the companies will lend more ear to the Eight Outcasts Society’s voice than to Hahoe’s.”

I had put it in complex terms, but in one word it meant buying off the middle-tier companies with money.

Open relations with money, win favor with more money, build trust with steady money.

A method that was careful, thorough, and certain all at once.

Pulling the middle-tier companies away from Hahoe and into our sphere of influence, little by little like that.

That was our true objective.

“Next, the Killing Pact.”

When I said those words, the interface panel in the conference room switched automatically.

But the moment I saw the report that appeared on screen, I couldn’t help but furrow my brow.

[KillingPact_TrueFinalReport_True_1.2.3_RevisedFinalTrue.]

The title alone was worrying, and opening the report revealed it to be quite a sight.

Graphs crooked, items not even aligned, contents awkward as though a flower had been stuck in a pile of dung.

Quality difficult to even comment on.

“……You made this and are calling it a report?”

“Ah, ah-hem!”

When I tilted my head slightly and spoke, Min Jeonghwan, who had been sitting beside the screen, cleared his throat first.

“I, I couldn’t help it! This is the first time in my life I’ve ever done paperwork!”

His face had gone as red as a ripe persimmon.

“Even so I made this with my life on the line?! I changed the fonts one by one, and when I couldn’t figure it out I even went and asked the professors here….”

I glanced at the principal who was attending the meeting, and he shook his head slowly with a grim expression.

Ah, so this is the result of teaching him as much as possible.

Understood.

‘Well…. you can at least tell he worked hard on it.’

The grammar had been shattered to pieces, but the data inside had not been handled carelessly.

‘If I think of it as a report made with rough hands that led an organization, well…. I’d have to say it was written quite diligently.’

If someone with no knowledge whatsoever did this well, shouldn’t he get a gold star sticker or something.

Without realizing it, I let the corners of my mouth rise. This was precisely why I couldn’t bring myself to dislike Min Jeonghwan.

“……In any case! Every remnant Sword Pact organization left throughout the underground tier has been completely cleaned up.”

“Right, good work on that.”

When I nodded, Min Jeonghwan continued.

“What remains are the ones flowing in from overseas…. I’m sorry to say, but we may need to step back from that side. When we smelled something off and investigated, they turned out to have connections with the patrol forces guarding this district.”

That had been a good call, then.

We had stepped up to maintain order on the streets, but when all was said and done, the Killing Pact was just a Sword Pact organization.

Touching the military officers under the Training Command could end up poking a hornet’s nest for no reason, so it would be better for me to handle this directly.

‘Maybe I should buy drinks for that district’s security chief sometime.’

Thinking that as I skimmed the next document, there was something rather interesting.

“Mercenary operations?”

“Ah, yes. We started that as well.”

Min Jeonghwan added this as though suddenly remembering at my words.

“It would be a waste to let the ones who built up real combat experience fighting the Sword Pact sit idle. So I took those people and put together a small PMC.”

Escorting trade ships heading to Japan, discreetly requested VIP protection from the middle tier, even wako suppression along the Yellow Sea coastline.

The variety of missions was wide, and the results had been solid.

“We’ve already deployed about three teams, and the performance has been good. The people would rust if they didn’t fight anyway.”

“Conveniently, we can also test the weapons gathering dust in storage. Perfect cover story too.”

That was what I said aloud, but what satisfied me most inwardly was something else.

Min Jeonghwan’s Killing Pact was fundamentally an armed group.

Meaning it had been an ‘expenditure drain’ from which money and supplies flowed steadily even when nothing was being done.

That such an organization had built its own revenue structure and begun taking on external missions was a significant impact on the Eight Outcasts Society’s overall financial structure.

An organization that had only been burning money had now become a force that brought money in.

It was also proof that all the support poured in until now had not been in vain.

“Good. Then last and most important, the casino….”

With the conference room lighting settling dim, I slowly turned my gaze toward the proprietress.

But her expression was visibly stiffened.

The face that had always smiled with such ease being that rigid was not a common sight.

“…What’s this. Are we in a downturn?”

“My goodness, running a casino in Joseon and being in a downturn? I’d have to throw away my merchant credentials.”

When I probed with a casual question, the proprietress gave a hollow laugh and opened a data window.

Revenue, up 146% year over year.

Customer influx rate, record high.

Cash flow, stable.

Net profit margin, all-time high.

The figures floating before my eyes were saying it clearly.

Business was going spectacularly.

To think that even while the entire country was being turned upside down by the Andong Kim purge, people still needed to gamble.

This country had surely been rotten to its core from long before.

“Looking at the report the performance seems fine. So what’s the problem?”

“Here, take a look at this.”

The proprietress flicked a finger and opened a different window.

Inside were names I recognized, listed out.

Aristocratic politicians including the four great clans of Joseon, lobbyists from upper-tier companies, and even shadowy names smiling from behind them.

“The upper tier has caught the scent. We’ve already received threats demanding a portion of the business stake. They’re sending in forced land sale orders, saying they’ll build a second casino next door, all of that.”

The reports that followed were even more of a sight.

Background investigations on staff, recruitment offers, even hacking attempts at security vulnerabilities.

It wasn’t even a slow probe from below the surface, at this level it was essentially holding a knife to our throats and demanding we hand over the business.

“Since we can’t touch an aristocratic clan to fend this off…. I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be able to run this business.”

“Hmm…….”

I quietly scrolled through the data window with my fingertips, running calculations in my head.

Now, with the purge winding down and the civil war being brought under control.

Those in power had begun seeking new ‘sources of revenue.’

And the casino we had built was, to them, the sweetest and most tempting prey imaginable.

‘I thought the name value of Andong Kim would keep us safe, but I suppose this is as far as an illegitimate son’s name can carry us after all.’

Upper-tier aristocrats setting their sights on the casino was a problem of an entirely different dimension from a Sword Pact like Dokgo Seong.

If they were sending direct contact to the proprietress, it was only a matter of time before they moved in earnest.

In that case, devising countermeasures now would be wasted effort.

Joseon aristocrats were the kind who played above the law, so what good would fighting over management rights or anything like that do.

Having finished my assessment, I slowly interlaced my fingers and raised my gaze in silence.

“……Six months.”

After a moment of quiet, I opened my mouth, and every gaze in the room converged on me.

“Use whatever means necessary. Just maintain the current state for that period and extract as much capital as possible.”

The proprietress furrowed her brow slightly and asked.

“Young Master, are you thinking of abandoning the casino?”

“Yes.”

I nodded and continued.

“The casino was the Eight Outcasts Society’s ‘first source of revenue.’ But the educational foundation has already turned profitable, and the trade and mercenary operations, the Merchants’ Federation network, all of that has been activated.”

From the beginning, this gambling business had been a niche carved out of the chaos in Joseon’s upper echelons.

It was not a business we could live off forever.

On top of that, crucially, the Eight Outcasts Society now had a structure capable of sustaining itself without the casino.

Losing the casino would be a blow, but it wouldn’t shake the entire organization immediately.

Then what remained was one thing.

“The feast is over, so eat what we can before it ends?”

“Exactly.”

“Understood. If that’s your judgment, Young Master, we’ll do as you say.”

A business built with all her heart and soul had just been handed a death sentence, yet the proprietress only smiled bitterly and showed no particular reaction.

She too already seemed to have anticipated this.

“Though I am curious about one thing.”

But after turning my words over for a moment, the proprietress narrowed her eyes and asked.

“Why specifically six months? Not too short, not too long. Is there some meaning to that number?”

“There is.”

At those words, I looked at her and smiled.

A smile fit only for a villain.

A cruel smile that looked ready, given any opportunity, to bring someone to their knees and expose secrets one by one.

“We need time to organize our customers’ personal information.”

When those words fell, the conference room went quiet for a moment.

But one person who had understood my meaning, the proprietress, could not hold back for long, and.

“Bwahahahaha!”

She clutched her stomach with laughter and said.

“Of course! Naturally you wouldn’t hand over the business without a fight, Young Master! Bwahaha?!”

The proprietress suppressed her bursting laughter and opened another data window.

Inside it was packed with personal information on every customer who had ever visited the casino.

“Records of illegal political funds transfers, evidence photos, intimate private lives, audio conversations, entertainment records, political statements, evidence of affairs. Recordings of this and that which can’t be written out in plain text….”

Everything had been recorded, organized, and safely encrypted.

So, six months.

During that time, I would mix all this information together and weave it into connections with one another.

And then.

“Gather it all up, and when we close Pyeongwoon Casino’s doors, release everything.”

Our first business, which had served its purpose.

I would turn it into a nuclear bomb capable of shaking the entire aristocratic society.