Tribute

After the hunters left, I went around the thirteen passes one by one, meeting the commanders of the Regional Defense Corps.

The border was vast, and the Empire's Regional Defense Corps were stationed throughout it, so there was no telling which pass's soldiers the hunters might encounter. Nor were the coordinates that allowed them to cross over from Earth limited to the vicinity of Pamagok, so I had to warn the commanders in advance to prevent unnecessary trouble.

The commanders were puzzled when I told them I had shown benevolence to barbarians, but the hunters did not appear to be much of a force. Since I wasn't asking them to let the hunters into the passes or provide assistance, merely to refrain from attacking first and leave them alone, most of them agreed.

Of course, one of them did voice concern. It was Nochil, who had recently been transferred to the post of commander of the Thirteenth Pass.

"Good heavens, for the Great General to come all the way here in person!"

As soon as he heard I had arrived, he came running out beyond the military camp to greet me barefoot. His face was full of suspicion—'Why is that bastard here again?'—but he did not say it aloud.

"If you wished to see my face, you only had to summon me to visit once. I fear this old man may be wasting the time of the terribly busy Great General."

"Ha-ha, not at all. We are on good terms, are we not?"

His tone was the exact opposite of before. Nochil had once tried to keep me in check alongside Gusam. Since he had never directly touched Pamagok, I let him retain his post as commander of the Regional Defense Corps even after becoming Great General, though I would visit him like this from time to time.

He knew he had done wrong, so every time I went to see him, I stuffed his hands with bribes. His family was well-connected, with ties reaching both the military and the imperial court, and he had amassed quite a fortune even while serving as a commander on the frontier.

"What's this golden toad? I've never seen this ornament before."

"A certain great clan in Heukseo sent it recently to celebrate my seventieth birthday."

"Is that so? Tsk, it looks like something that would repay a favor very well, but what a pity—it suits Lord No perfectly."

"Oh, no, not at all! How could a mere piece of metal compare to the favor I have received from the Great General? I'll pack it up and give it to you on your way out!"

I was pleased. So there really was a golden goblin here that produced treasure whenever you pressed it.

Nochil had requested a transfer from the Third Pass to the Thirteenth, the pass farthest from the Third, to avoid me, but it had been pointless. Today, after collecting a handsome share, I told him about the hunters as well.

"Barbarians from somewhere even farther away than beyond the frontier…"

"We decided to call them 'Daehan.' What do you think, Lord No? How should we deal with them?"

The other commanders of the Regional Defense Corps had not given me any particularly useful answers when I asked them the same question. Bunhui, in particular, looked as though she had forgotten who they were altogether.

Regardless of his past actions, I held Nochil in high regard. When the great coup had ended, he was the one who informed Gusam that the poorly supported Celestial Emperor would appoint a Great General and plan an expedition to subjugate the barbarians.

In the Cheonyu Empire, growing old was proof that one had survived for a long time. Having weathered countless political bloodbaths in the capital when he was young, he possessed the worldly experience I lacked.

"If I may dare to offer what little insight this old man possesses…"

"You were saying?"

"Relations with foreign peoples are, by nature, difficult to close again once one has opened the door. This is especially true when they offer something to curry favor."

Once someone steps through a gate carelessly left open, one can glimpse all the way to the household's storeroom through the gap. Nochil advised accepting only useful tribute and, in particular, refusing private gifts. Otherwise, we might fall out of favor with the officials in the capital.

"Also, it is absolutely improper to demand something merely because you find it tempting. Ahem, this is a rule of propriety that must be observed not only with barbarians, but between superiors and subordinates as well."

"Ha-ha, I know that perfectly well. I've never done such a thing, have I?"

"Grrk."

I had never asked for the golden toad. Wasn't Nochil the one who offered to give it to me first?

Since I only needed to avoid accepting wealth from the barbarians—that is, the hunters—I could put it another way: there was no problem accepting it from him. Nochil said he was going to the privy and briefly left the office. A moment later, a loud cry rang out from outside. He soon returned and sat down as though nothing had happened.

"What was out there?"

"A rooster."

"What a loud fellow. Anything else?"

"Lastly, beware of profiteers."

"Profiteers?"

"People who ride the tide of the times to line their own pockets."

Nochil earnestly urged me to heed his warning, saying that such people were the true culprits who ruined relations between groups.

"Thank you for the advice. I'll be going now. The tea was good."

"You've finished it? H-how was the taste?"

"Hm? This?"

I looked at the empty teacup on the table. It was pu-erh tea, was it?

As a commander on the frontier, I had never tried it before, but I had heard it traded at a fairly high price in the capital. As for the taste… honestly, it was just ordinary.

At first it made me cough and left my insides feeling hot, but soon that sensation eased refreshingly, and I felt as if my qi had grown even stronger than before. It was probably just my imagination, but I felt better too.

"It was good. Not bad."

"Guh…!"

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

"N-no, nothing at all. I'll look forward to your next visit."

I returned to Pamagok with the golden toad. Before long, just as Nochil had said, the Association began sending various items.

"Have you been in robust health, Great General…!"

It was Moon Seoyeong, a B-rank hunter and Director Park Ingyu's direct aide. She had learned this strange greeting, which was not even used in the Empire, from historical dramas. She came with the other hunters, saying that the Association had sent gifts for me, each of them carrying a suitcase stuffed to bursting.

Apparently, since they might have to enter a monster's stomach, it was difficult to bring large objects. They also said that electronic devices did not work inside the tower.

After Park Gyu inspected their luggage, they showed me the items one by one. As expected, most of them did not appeal to me in the slightest.

"This is wild ginseng sent personally by the Association President, who was concerned about the Great General's health."

"Just a few days ago, I personally traveled all the way to Heukseo because I was concerned about a subordinate's health. If your master was worried, should he not come here and show his face? How can he convey his concern with a trifle like this?"

"S-sorry!!"

"It smells foul even from here. Remove it. Next?"

"This is gold, which they call a gold bar. It is a resource prized in every civilization, so the government went to great lengths to approve a supplementary budget……."

"How could a mere lump of metal compare to the favor I received from the Celestial Emperor? I have no use for it."

They had honestly told me that the mana stones that rolled around here, practically useless to us, were immensely valuable to them.

Naturally, the hunters needed my permission to hunt magical beasts and extract mana stones in Pamagok. For that purpose, they had prepared items valuable by Earth's standards, or at least of equivalent worth, but every last one fell short.

Every time I rejected a gift, Moon Seoyeong and her companions' faces grew twice as gloomy. But not everything was useless.

"What's that red thing in the round container? Are those the heads of enemies?"

"N-no, they aren't!"

"It's one of the foods we'll be eating. The things in that suitcase aren't tribute."

"It smells foul."

"Sorry, it's fermented food. We'll remove it right away……."

"If you leave it outside, it might attract magical beasts, so I'll store it somewhere safe. Bring it here."

"Pardon?"

I couldn't pass up kimchi after fifteen years. I'd eat it with rice in secret later.

They had brought countless tribute items, but the only thing I accepted was a single container of kimchi. That alone would never earn them permission to hunt in Pamagok. Just as the hunters were growing dejected, however, something caught my eye.

It wasn't one of the things in the suitcases. I rose from my seat and pointed to the short-haired woman kneeling there with a humiliated expression, as she did today as well.

"Your name was Shin Yuyu, was it?"

"M-me!?"

Pamagok allowed entry to only a small number of people and was extremely dangerous, so the Association continued employing Shin Yuyu to ensure the staff's safety. What she could gain from it was the commission and mana stones, both of which could be converted into money.

Shin Yuyu had not refused the Association's request. It wasn't because she was kind despite her foul mouth. I knew there was a reason behind her actions.

"I'm interested in the book you always keep tucked into your waistband. I want to examine it, so bring it here."

"……."

The Heavenly Record. A divine artifact summoned through Shin Yuyu's unique ability, 'Revealing Heavenly Secrets.' Its owner could consult her ancestral spirit to see divinations that foretold the future.

The reason she continued working with the Association, and the reason she had suppressed her anger and knelt before me from the first time we met until now, was surely the advice of that book. It was an object of value incomparable even to the greatest treasures.

"I won't confiscate it, so lend it to me for a moment. You said you can't use it without your permission anyway, didn't you?"

"Guh, here……."

Once again, she stealthily opened the book to check its contents, then finally came up the stairs with reluctant steps. I picked her up effortlessly and seated her on the armrest.

"Wh-what are you doing!?"

"Don't go downstairs. Stay beside me."

Of course, I had to teach her how to use it.

As Shin Yuyu had instructed, I pictured the current situation in detail in my mind and placed my hand on the book's cover.

Then I opened to a page at random and checked its contents.

《If_you_keep_drinking_the_tea_Nochil_gives_you,_immunity_to_all_poison_won't_be_a_dream!》

"Oho."

"Who is Nochil?"

"Someone I trust."

Honestly, since I visited him almost every day and extorted wealth from him, I had thought he would harbor a grudge. Contrary to my expectations, Nochil seemed to be a true loyal subject.

Now that he had proven trustworthy, should I reduce how often I visited him?

No, on the contrary, I decided to visit him even more often and build a deep friendship with him.

Before thinking of the second question, I glanced at Shin Yuyu. Sitting on the armrest, she was pressing her hands between her legs, as though self-conscious about her skirt.

If I kept her beside me, I might be able to keep using the Heavenly Record. I wondered whether her ancestral spirit might even tell me something like that.

Since those spirits were fundamentally trying to protect their descendant, Shin Yuyu, I wasn't sure whether they would be favorably disposed toward me. I had nothing to lose, so I decided to try.

《If_you_try_hard,_she'll_offer_it_of_her_own_accord_later_(absolutely_not_a_toxic_fake-marriage_shipper).》

"What a load of bullshit, seriously……!"

"What did you say?"

"N-nothing."

I didn't quite understand what it meant. Still, since it said I would be allowed to keep consulting the book if I made an effort, it didn't seem like a bad result.

Was it three times a day? If so, I had one chance left.

I didn't have anything else I wanted to know right away, but the Koreans deprived of kimchi wouldn't be able to stay here long, so it would be better to squeeze everything I could out of them.

Without giving it much thought, I opened the first page.

《Even_if_you_do_nothing,_schemers_are_bound_to_flock_to_a_sweet_scent.》

The book informed me that an unwelcome guest would be visiting soon.