Kim Hak-gyu, who had been staring blankly at the ledger for a moment, changed his expression and spoke.
"…What is this supposed to be?"
Playing dumb.
Obvious, but effective.
But I continued to press him.
"Are you pretending not to know? You've helped yourself quite a lot. Excessive taxation or policies bordering on outright plunder are one thing, but embezzling royal subsidies is not something I can let slide."
"I didn't write that. No matter who you are, even if you're a young master of Cheongsin, you can't just pin such a false charge on me."
"A false charge?"
"Yes. A ledger is something anyone can tamper with, isn't it? No matter how bad your relationship with Unseong is, this goes too far!"
Oh?
For someone with a loose tongue, he sure talks well.
It was the excuse I'd expected.
A ledger is something anyone can manipulate.
Even if you compare handwriting, he could just insist it was forged.
That was exactly why I had told Huam that a ledger alone wouldn't be enough.
"So you're saying I fabricated this?"
"…Yes."
"Really? You just said something you can't take back. You accused me of document forgery. Do you realize that?"
Kim Hak-gyu swallowed nervously.
There's a big difference between simple denial and accusing someone from Cheongsin of being a forger.
"The one who did something irreversible is you, Young Master. If you don't bring solid evidence, I'll raise this as a formal issue."
Kim Hak-gyu came out stronger than I expected.
He knew it too.
That if he backed down here, it was over.
They say in ambiguous situations, the louder voice wins, so it wasn't a bad choice.
After a silent standoff between us, Kim Hak-gyu spoke again.
"If you have no evidence, I'll be on my way. All of Eun-ak's accounting ledgers and records have been organized inside the government office, so check them yourself."
Kim Hak-gyu began to move hurriedly, as if he wanted to leave this place as fast as possible.
In his mind, he probably thought he'd won.
But the one who'd won was me.
Huam would be bringing the evidence any moment now.
...
But why isn't she here yet?
What's going on? Hurry up.
I'm starting to get nervous. I'm actually a coward, you know.
Just then, from far away, came the clattering sound of a cart heavily laden with cargo.
She's here.
"Ah, I'm so nervous I need to pee."
I called out to Kim Hak-gyu, who was heading toward the government office.
"Where are you going? We're not finished talking."
"I'm finished here. Or do you have any proof that I embezzled funds?"
"Of course. You think I came without evidence? Can't you see it over there?"
"There is?"
Kim Hak-gyu looked in the direction I pointed, disbelief on his face.
Clatter, clatter.
The sound of a cart groaning under a load far beyond its limit.
Pulling the cart was Jeon Ga-eun, wearing a mask.
The moment Kim Hak-gyu spotted the cart, he froze in place.
"Why is that…?"
He probably couldn't believe his own eyes.
There was more stolen wealth than I'd expected.
She must have been late because it took time to load everything onto the cart.
Still, the fact that she appeared at just the right moment meant that woman, Jeon Ga-eun, was no ordinary person.
Then why hadn't I heard of her before? I should have at least heard the name once.
"Well, if it's Huam, it wouldn't be strange for there to be things I don't know."
I walked over to the cart.
There was no need to compare it with the ledger.
All I had to do was find the royal subsidies he had embezzled.
It didn't take long.
"Here it is. A box stamped with the royal crest. What now? Looks like we've found definitive evidence."
The clearly stamped royal emblem.
It was undeniable proof that Kim Hak-gyu had embezzled royal funds.
This is what you call a dead end.
So, how will Kim Hak-gyu respond now?
Kim Hak-gyu looked around in panic, then shouted at the guards.
"Guards! Subdue that Cheongsin bastard!"
It was the worst possible move.
So the guards were on his side too.
Fine. I was planning to drive out all the ones Unseong had planted anyway.
I didn't even need to move.
All the guards were quickly subdued by Huam.
Even though Huam specializes more in infiltration than direct combat, they were far stronger than a rural guard unit.
With a face full of despair, Kim Hak-gyu stared at his last hope being crushed.
"This is treason. Unseong won't be able to save you now, will they?"
"Uaaaaaah!"
Kim Hak-gyu screamed and charged at me in madness.
I lightly hooked his leg and sent him crashing down, then said to Jeon Ga-eun,
"Confiscate all of Kim Hak-gyu's assets, including the guard captain's, strip them down to their underwear, and expel them."
"I will carry out your orders."
I could execute them all, but I didn't want something so ill-omened to happen on the first day Sang-hyeok took office as lord.
Since they failed the mission Han Baek-sa gave them, they'd be lucky to survive even if they returned to Unseong. And if they didn't return, they'd spend the rest of their lives begging, trembling in fear.
Isn't that more painful than death?
For now, it seemed I'd kept my promise.
I said to Yang Mi-young,
"Do you think this is enough to change Eun-ak?"
"Yes."
Yang Mi-young replied blankly,
"It should be enough, Young Master."
Cheers erupted from all directions, and everyone began chanting my name.
It seemed I had gained enough support from the citizens of Eun-ak.
After the chaos died down, Yang Mi-young looked at the endless stream of carts and spoke bitterly.
"They said they didn't even have money to buy rice…"
He really siphoned off an unbelievable amount.
Why this city had fallen so quickly.
Why people starved to death.
It was instantly understandable as countless carts poured into the government office.
"Sister! Sister! Did you hear? The lord says he's going to exempt taxes from now on!"
"Yes, I heard."
"Just changing the lord, and it's like the world has turned upside down. Long live the lord! Long live the Young Master!"
Everyone was in a festive mood.
No matter how much Lee Seo-ha tried to change Eun-ak, I'd thought it wouldn't be easy.
I'd figured we'd be lucky just to drive Kim Hak-gyu out.
Even a small tax cut would be an improvement, something to be grateful for.
But I was wrong.
The Young Master of Cheongsin had prepared everything to keep his word.
"So he really came to change Eun-ak."
Of course, recovering the money Kim Hak-gyu had embezzled didn't mean Eun-ak was truly changed.
No matter how much money there was, if the city couldn't find a way to sustain itself, Eun-ak would remain a hard place to live.
But I began to think that Lee Seo-ha from Cheongsin might be able to do it.
"It's really going to change."
Murmuring that, Yang Mi-young shared in the people's joy.
"Long live the lord! Long live the Young Master!"
The citizens, elated, shouted their cheers at every opportunity.
Being acknowledged by others feels incredibly good.
You never get tired of it.
But after enjoying the gratitude enough, it was time to think about the next plan.
The fundamental problem of Eun-ak hadn't been solved yet.
No matter how much wealth Kim Hak-gyu had amassed, it was meaningless if the city couldn't sustain itself.
I waited for the people to calm down, then spoke.
"Everyone, pay attention!"
At my words, all the cheering citizens turned their gaze toward me.
In their eyes was a respect that hadn't been there before.
To them, I was practically a hero who had saved them from Kim Hak-gyu's tyranny.
Considering they would need to work day and night from here on, it was a good start.
"We've recovered everything Kim Hak-gyu embezzled, but it's not enough to solve the city's fundamental problems. So I'd like to make a proposal to you."
Everyone nodded, waiting for what I would say next.
"There is information that there is a secret vault inside that mine. Inside the vault is enough gold and treasure to transform this city. I intend to find it and change Eun-ak."
The citizens began to murmur.
"A secret vault? What's that?"
"It means a hidden treasury, old man. But is there really something like that in the mine?"
"Exactly. We've already dug it out completely. There's no way something like that exists."
Even if I suddenly claimed there was a secret vault in the mine, few would believe it.
Then a man raised his hand and spoke.
"Lord, we believe we know the mine better than anyone. It's been dug to the point where there's nowhere left to dig. We never found anything like a secret vault. Do you know the exact location of this vault, Young Master?"
"No, I don't know the exact location. But I know the general area, so finding it won't be too difficult."
"Then…"
The man hesitated before continuing.
"Then it's far too dangerous. If we dig any deeper, we'll all be buried alive."
The miners' faces were filled with fear.
This reaction was expected.
Before coming to Eun-ak, I'd briefly looked into the city's situation.
As silver yields declined, Kim Hak-gyu expanded the tunnels further.
The recklessly expanded tunnels collapsed frequently, and many workers died, turning the mine into their grave.
Everyone here had likely buried a comrade in that mine.
Fear was only natural.
But the reason we had to find the vault was clear.
"So you won't do it? Even if we recover everything Kim Hak-gyu hoarded, in one or two years you'll be worrying about winter again."
The money taken from Kim Hak-gyu was only a stopgap, not enough to solve the root problem.
Still, people hesitated.
No one would readily agree to risk their life.
Then Yang Mi-young stepped forward.
"Are you certain the vault exists?"
I nodded with confidence.
"Yes. The vault definitely exists."
"Then that's enough."
Yang Mi-young raised her voice and spoke in my stead.
"I'll dig for the vault, just as the Young Master says. Sure, if we keep things as they are, we might survive. But what about the families of our comrades buried in the mine? Do you think we can support the children and elders who lost their parents and children, living like this?"
The many miners who had died meant just as many parents or children left behind.
At the cry of Yang Mi-young, the de facto leader of the citizens, people began to waver, and a man who had been in the bandit group with her shouted,
"That's right! If the lord hadn't saved us, we'd have died long ago. Even if I die, I'll die for the lord."
"Exactly! When have we ever worked without risking our lives? Even when we were bandits, it was the same!"
Starting with the bandits, the citizens began to nod.
"Alright! Let's do it!"
Maybe because they were miners, they were bold.
Just with the shift in mood, everyone burned with enthusiasm, saying they could start work even today.
With the issue resolved, Yang Mi-young said,
"Then where should we dig? Let's start today."
"Good idea."
I smiled slightly and said,
"But not today. Excavation starts tomorrow. And what should I call you?"
"Please call me Yang Sipjang."
"Alright, Yang Sipjang. Bring the tunnel map so we can draw up an excavation plan."
Considering the time it took to travel to and from the capital, I had a little over ten days left.
I needed to find the vault and obtain the Heavenly Ore within that time, so it was tight.
Yang Mi-young came back with the map along with others.
I spread it out on a large desk and spoke.
"Could you explain it roughly?"
"There are fifteen tunnels in total. Two are still in operation, and the rest are closed. You said you could narrow down the location—where should we start?"
"This might sound like a strange question, but can I ask just one thing?"
"Anytime."
"Let's say this. Suppose there are monsters outside the city, and the walls are about to collapse. If you had to lead refugees to safety, which tunnel would you choose?"
"What? What do you mean…?"
"I told you it was a strange question. But it's an important one. Which tunnel would you run to?"
"Well…"
At my question, Yang Mi-young fell into thought.
"Please, just one. Just one."
Please let her name only one escape route.
If she pointed out several tunnels, excavation would slow down that much.
Please, just one.
Just one…
"If that happened, we'd have to run to Tunnel Eight."
"Just that one?"
"Yes. That's the only one."
Thank you.
Thank you for answering my prayer.
I asked, hiding my excitement,
"Really? Why?"
"Tunnel Eight is closest to Tunnel Three, which connects to outside the city. Of course, escaping that way would mean climbing from below to above, which is extremely dangerous."
"If we escaped that way, would there be a risk of tunnel collapse?"
"Of course. Digging upward from below is more than ten times harder than digging downward. …Don't tell me the vault is there?"
"Probably. No, I'm almost certain it's there."
If the tunnel collapses, people could die.
Before the regression, the people of Eun-ak survived by luck when the tunnel didn't collapse, but there's no guarantee it would be the same this time.
"There has to be a good method…"
As I was pondering, Yang Mi-young spoke.
"What are you worried about?"
"I'm looking for a way to minimize the risk of collapse."
"We're not trapped in the city right now, are we?"
Pointing toward the entrance of Tunnel Three behind the mountain, Yang Mi-young said,
"If we enter through Tunnel Three, we can dig from above downward, right?"
She's a genius.
"Ahem. I was thinking the same thing."
I said, avoiding Yang Mi-young's suspicious gaze.
"Then let's focus excavation efforts on this area."
"We'll begin immediately."
And so, the excavation of the Solar Sword, the Heavenly Ore, began.