REAPER SCANS
Five-Time Regressor Walks the King’s Path
[Translator – Anwen]
[Proofreader – Valirius]
Chapter 41
"…Chun-Sung, all this time, I think I misunderstood you. I thought you were just an eccentric woman, I didn’t think you’d be this considerate.”
Rush looked like he was touched by my act and went to change clothes with the staff’s guidance.
After a few outfits, I chose the best one for Rush.
I even took him to a salon and got his hair done. After all that, he was worth looking at.
At least to the point that he could approach a woman without being cursed at.
"How is it? Do I look good?”
"You’ll get by.”
As Rush looked at himself in the mirror with a little hesitation, I firmly nodded. I then dragged him along to the bar in the basement.
Seeing that men had to pay for entry and women didn’t, I thought it was similar to a club. Rush looked a little excited as we went down to the basement.
"It’s my first time coming to a place like this.”
"Enjoy it while you can. You won’t be coming back for the next ten years.”
In my case, I hadn’t been to one for 22 years.
I clicked my tongue at the thoughts of the past. When I finally came down to the basement, I let out a forced chuckle at the similar neon signs and loud booming of music.
I really thought this Constellation might’ve created this Floor using our country as the model.
Of course, the fashion was a bit distant from modern people, but the thing that was similar was how some people preferred rather exposing clothes.
"Ch-Chun-Sung, what now? What should I do?”
"The moment you spend some money, people will automatically be attracted to you.”
That was one thing I learned as the youngest son of a chaebol.
Approaching the owner who was serving drinks, I stood in front of him and smiled lightly.
"Owner, my friend here said he’ll buy everyone’s drinks tonight. He’s going big, so bring all the drinks you’ve got inside.”
"Really?”
"You think I’d lie? My friend’s name is Rush. He wants to have some fun tonight, so spread the word.”
With that, I poured gold coins from my pocket.
The owner’s eyes grew big at the sight of the gold coins, and he hurried toward the DJ.
Then, the DJ who heard the news grabbed the microphone and ran forward.
"Everyone, big news! A big patron came out to buy all the drinks today!”
People cheered loudly.
"His name is Rush! He said he wants to have some fun tonight, so I hope you all welcome him!”
"Ch-Chun-Sung—Ah?”
Surprised by my action, Rush turned to me with big eyes. I only pushed him forward.
"Hurry up on stage. You have to put your face out there if you want to attract even one more person.”
"B-but are you sure this is really okay? If you spend that much money…”
"Gosh, that’s enough talking. Go up before the kids’ excitement fades.”
When I pushed him forward with force, Rush climbed onto the stage with a puzzled expression.
As soon as he appeared, people chanted Rush’s name and he greeted them timidly. After answering the host’s questions a few times, he came back down.
Naturally, people began to approach Rush one by one, the star for tonight who was paying for everyone’s drinks. I hoped there was at least one ideal partner amongst them that Rush desired
Even though it was a dream only for tonight.
As expected, the power of money is great. I leaned against the wall with a satisfied nod.
'This reminds me of the old days.’
I remembered the times when I spent money to my heart’s content.
My father, who only focused on my older brothers, paid me no mind at all.
Thanks to that, I played until I got bored.
"Miss.”
While I was reminiscing, a group of men who appeared to be drunk approached me.
I didn’t react at all for a minute, but when I pointed a finger at myself they all gave cheesy smiles. I had a strange feeling.
"You came here alone? If you aren’t busy, why don’t you come play with us?”
I was dumbfounded and for a moment I had nothing to say.
I’d been hunted by countless women.
But to be targeted by a man? Me? Me?!
A vein bulged on my forehead.
"What are you guys doing? Can’t you see that the lady is uncomfortable?”
As I was about to raise a hand with the intent to crush their heads, I heard a guy’s voice.
Another guy appeared trying to protect me from the crowd of drunks, and I felt like applauding him.
That’s right, fists are the ideal solution.
Let’s solve this issue with fists.
"Chun-Sung.”
When I was about to raise my fists again, I heard Rush’s voice this time.
He hurried past the men and up to me. He grabbed my wrist and soon dragged me away.
There was no one who stopped Rush, who paid for all the drinks tonight. The men had no choice but to leave while grumbling.
"What the hell are you doing?”
I stared at him, frowning at his absurd action.
Just a minute ago, Rush was surrounded by people.
It was probably a situation Rush would never experience again.
The attention of people was fleeting.
Although he paid for the drinks tonight, that fact will gradually be buried under the loud music and neon lights.
That’s why I had him properly seize the opportunity, but this idiot shook it off himself and came to me.
"My friend looked to be in trouble, can’t I come to the rescue?”
I gave his head a slap.
Seeing how Rush looked like he was about to cry, I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed.
Why do men always have this heroism complex in their hearts?
"Go back. I’m going home so that something like this doesn’t happen again. For you… No, for me, please go and have fun.”
I didn’t have any idea how to clear this Floor. For now, as the Constellation said, Rush was the only clear condition. He needed to drink and play around before he left for the army.
That’s why I needed to make sure he didn’t feel an ounce of disappointment before he left.
With my demand, Rush turned back. I left the basement bar like I told him.
Walking out, the loud music and bright neon lights stopped obscuring my senses. Away from all that, I felt a little more comfortable and looked around.
Firstly, I planned to leave Rush here in order to go and gather information about this Floor.
'And the best place to gain information is…’
In a world like this, there should be guilds that buy and sell information.
With that thought in mind, I started looking around for such buildings.
After wandering around for a while, I arrived at a building. The sign read 'Information Guild’, so I entered.
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – Anwen]
[Proofreader – Valirius]
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* * *
"Welcome.”
As I came in, the clerk greeted me warmly.
She looked at me with a smile.
"Did your husband cheat on you or something?”
She joked.
"Cut the nonsense. Bring all the military-related information you have, as well any recent big events in this country. I will pay in advance, and I’ll pay more if it isn’t enough.”
Her eyes grew as wide as saucers at the gold coins raining down before her. She hurried to the back.
Then she opened the counter door and bowed politely to me.
"I’ll take you inside, Madam.”
"Call me 'Madam’ one more time and I’m gone.”
"Ah, yes, I apologize. Please, come inside. Miss.”
She hurriedly changed how she addressed me and led me to a room.
Afterward, she served tea and refreshments, followed by several men carrying a luxurious box.
One of them opened the box and politely presented it to me. Inside, there were three parchments.
"All the latest information is in there. Of course, we have information about the military, and we can provide you with more in-depth information if you would like.”
In general, information about the military was classified.
Therefore, they were first disclosing legal public information and leaving it up to me if I wanted to also view the private, illegal, information.
I took out the parchment and looked over it. I smiled lightly and she caught on. She left the room with a bowed head and brought in the illegal information.
After scanning all the information, I sipped the tea and fell deeply into thought.
'While the emperor was living a secluded life due to a serious illness, his subordinates fought for the throne and all of the direct descendants died at the hands of one another.’
That was the biggest and most recent incident.
Seeing how they asked for a fairly large amount of money for this information, it seemed like it was top-secret information unknown to the public.
It must mean that this information was kept secret among the aristocrats.
But that wasn’t the problem.
Since there was no direct lineage, someone had to find a bloodline to replace the sick emperor.
The Information Guild didn’t seem to have found the emperor’s lineage yet.
However, having cleared countless Floors, I noticed right away.
'Yeah, there’s no way the Constellation didn’t set anything up.’
It was obvious.
The person with the emperor’s bloodline.
'Rush. It must be him.’
The guy who was with me just now and was about to go to the army.
My senses told me so.
'He will be assassinated if I leave him be.’
According to the information, there were several famous nobles in this country.
As I said earlier, there were those who were seeking the emperor’s bloodline. But, amongst the nobles, some also held ambitions of swallowing up the country.
To them, Rush was a hindrance.
The moment they knew Rush was a descendant, they’ll send assassins after his life.
'Of course, there’s always a slim chance that Rush isn’t of the emperor’s bloodline.’
There was no harm in being vigilant in advance.
'More than that, I think this country is going to go under.’
The country was more rotten to the core than I imagined.
In addition, while the inside was rotting away, the country was constantly being chipped away at for the past two years.
'From the outside, ordinary citizens appear to be living happily.’
Without knowing that their country was equivalent to a sand castle, ready to crumble at any moment.
There was dissatisfaction toward the country, but they were busy living life trying to get by one day at a time. They didn't even know how their country was running.
As such, this country’s system was built so that people who don’t struggle hard to live couldn’t survive.
I looked at the information about the military this time.
As Rush had said, nobles didn’t join the army, spouting that they had responsibilities regarding national affairs. All they did was take in innocent citizens as soldiers.
This country, Gritia, was considerably larger than I’d thought. As a result, there were frequent wars with the surrounding countries.
Because of that, the conscription system was established 50 years ago. That was why, to always be prepared for war, young citizens in their 20s had to serve as soldiers for a decade.
The problem was that ever since the current emperor was crowned, the empire hadn’t fought for about 20 years. This led to the conscripted soldiers being taken advantage of by the country.
The labor for the border barrier of Gritia was one example.
The wall was steadily being built for the past 50 years to prevent invasions from neighboring countries. It reminded me of the Great Wall of China and, of course, the primary manpower was soldiers.
Among the soldiers, there were some who didn’t even receive proper wages and finished their service after building the wall for ten years like a slave. Not to mention, if they were to be injured during a construction accident, they were immediately discharged. Of course, the country took zero responsibility for it.
'What a shitshow. In addition, army seniors and executives use means of blackmail, intimidation, and violence. It’s literally the Korean military of the 1900s. The suicide rate, and the homicide rate due to violence, are extremely high. At this level, it’s safe to say the higher-ups don’t even care how the army is doing.’
I stopped reading the information about the military being in this motherfucking situation. It couldn’t get any more rotten than this.
In the end, it seemed like it didn’t matter whether it was an army here or an army there. They were all about the same.
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