“For a man who makes his living with his head, coming face-to-face with something he failed to foresee is a moment of bitter defeat... and at the same time, a moment so full of new learning that it is hard not to be delighted by it.”

Je Gal Munho looked at the two men with a dazed expression.

“But I truly never imagined the two of you would come to my quarters together.”

That was right. Sitting before Je Gal Munho were Yeon Wi and Tang Gwan.

Yeon Wi, Clan Lord of the Yeon Clan of Green Mountain.

Tang Gwan, Clan Lord of the Tang Clan of Sichuan.

There were not many people who maintained personal ties with both of those men.

Part of it was their status, of course, but the greater reason was their notorious reputations as men who were extraordinarily difficult to approach.

Tang Gwan went without saying, and Yeon Wi too was widely rumored to be among the bluntest men under heaven. For those two to knock on the strategist’s door together would have been enough to surprise even one of the Thirteen Seats of the Supreme Heavens.

“If we startled you, I apologize.”

“Not at all. I was only surprised.”

Je Gal Munho gave Tang Gwan a strange look.

From the look of it, Yeon Wi had brought Tang Gwan here. But given Tang Gwan’s temperament, he was not the sort of man who would meekly follow just because someone asked. That only made it stranger.

Sensing the gaze on him, Tang Gwan let out a snort and looked at Yeon Wi.

“What is this supposed to be?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean why you brought me here.”

“I thought we could begin talking about that now.”

“What?”

Yeon Wi turned to Je Gal Munho.

“Have you heard from my eldest?”

“Heard what?”

Yeon Wi explained what had happened.

Startled, Je Gal Munho turned to Tang Gwan.

“You intend to run as a candidate for Martial Alliance Leader?”

“Hmph.”

Tang Gwan folded his arms and turned his head away.

Yeon Wi spoke evenly.

“Clan Lord Tang has already agreed.”

“Ha!”

That alone was enough for Je Gal Munho to realize just how much Tang Gwan had changed.

So it really is true that what changes a man is not logic, but human feeling.

He knew, of course, what had happened to Tang Gwan during this time.

His conflict with Mo Yonggun, his reconciliation with his daughter—most of it had already reached Je Gal Munho’s ears. It had to. Tang Gwan was the sort of man who might leap in any direction without warning, so Je Gal Munho had kept a close eye on him at all times.

Even so, he had not expected this much change. Je Gal Munho looked at Tang Gwan with undisguised fascination.

Tang Gwan’s expression soured immediately.

“If you keep looking at me like that, I’ll be leaving.”

“Ah, no. I was rude and made you uncomfortable for no reason. Allow me to apologize.”

Je Gal Munho bent all the way at the waist in a respectful apology.

A mocking smile touched Tang Gwan’s face.

“You have quite a flexible spine. You look ready to bow to anyone the situation requires.”

It was naked mockery.

Anyone would have had reason to take offense, but Je Gal Munho only burst out laughing.

“Isn’t that precisely how it should be for a man in politics? To bow lower than anyone before allies, and to gift one’s enemies a blade sharper than any dagger—that is my creed.”

“What a magnificent creed.”

He said it that way, but Tang Gwan understood him too. Without that kind of flexibility, it would be difficult to steer a monster as enormous as the Martial Alliance.

At that moment, Yeon Wi cut in.

“In any case, I trust you understand the situation now.”

“Of course.”

“I would have liked to call in my eldest as well, but I thought it best to inform you of the current situation first, so I brought him here.”

Je Gal Munho smiled.

“You did the right thing. Information like this is always better learned even a moment sooner.”

The corner of Tang Gwan’s mouth lifted.

“Now that I think about it, even for politics, this feels like a bit much.”

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t impartial handling of affairs supposed to be one of a strategist’s virtues? Taking action in advance because someone belongs to the same faction—how is that kind of maneuvering any different from the filth that bastard Mo Yonggun pulls?”

Je Gal Munho shook his head.

“You misunderstand.”

“Misunderstand?”

“Two candidates who intend to run came to me. I will merely be handling the administrative paperwork related to those candidates.”

A light flashed in Tang Gwan’s eyes.

“You’re saying two have already come by?”

“That is correct. Yeon Wi brought you to me so your name could be entered on the candidate list.”

“But if I fail to serve my purpose, you’ll support things from behind the curtain.”

“That is also true.”

“No one’s going to call you a clean politician.”

Je Gal Munho’s eyes deepened.

“What kind of man do you think I am, Clan Lord?”

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“If the answer is difficult, then I’ll say it plainly. I exist to protect the Martial Alliance.”

“...”

“If I had never known, that would be one thing. But once I learned that a catastrophe like Mo Yonggun exists, I had no choice but to move, even if it meant being drenched in filth. If it were merely someone unfit for the position of Martial Alliance Leader entering the election, that would be one matter. But the candidacy of a dangerous man like Mo Yonggun is something I cannot look upon without concern.”

“...”

“And one more thing.”

Je Gal Munho smiled again.

“We are not the same faction. In fact, we have never even formed one.”

“What?”

“I merely intended for Mo Yonggun, Clan Lord Mo Yong, to see it that way. But in truth, Yeon Wi and I have never once joined hands to shake the course of the Alliance.”

Tang Gwan’s eyes darkened.

“To my ears, that sounds like nothing but wordplay.”

“I can understand why you would think so. What matters is that I, at least, have a line—one that tells me when I must step forward and when I must step back.”

A line...

Ever since he came to the Martial Alliance, Tang Gwan had been hearing far too much about lines. Mo Yonggun had spoken of them, and so had that damned eldest son of the Yeon Clan.

Je Gal Munho clapped his hands.

“In any event, if Clan Lord Tang is entering the race, then this Martial Alliance Leader election is going to become quite fierce. I will place your name on the roster at once.”

Yeon Wi nodded.

“Is there anything else required?”

“Nothing in particular. Given the nature of the Martial Alliance, it would be difficult to clearly impose limits such as caps on election funds. But I will restrict each candidate to two sponsors.”

“Sponsors.”

“A sponsor is nothing especially complicated.”

Je Gal Munho’s eyes gleamed.

“The moment the election begins, no candidate will be permitted to leave the inner district of the Martial Alliance. In other words, all opinion-building related to a candidate must be handled by the sponsors in that candidate’s place.”

“I see.”

“In other words, they are the ones who will serve as the candidate’s hands and feet. Naturally, the stronger a sponsor’s influence on the martial world, the more favorable it becomes for the candidate.”

Yeon Wi nodded.

“I understand.”

This was a fight with no clear ceiling.

At first glance, it looked as though the candidates were being restrained by the rule that they could not leave the inner district. But there was nothing preventing letters from being sent, or the political tide from being guided from within.

And while the number of sponsors was limited to two, there was no way to stop people connected to those sponsors from lending their aid.

In other words, it was a fight in which every possible resource could be brought to bear, so long as the proper forms were observed.

Je Gal Munho turned to Tang Gwan.

“Then let me ask. Whom will you choose as your sponsors, Clan Lord Tang?”

Tang Gwan frowned.

“I only just found out, on the way here, that this was where I was coming to have my name entered as a candidate. I’ve had no time to think about such things.”

“Then I will give you time. As of today, your name will be entered on the candidate list. If you inform me of your sponsors by noon tomorrow, that will suffice.”

Tang Gwan shook his head.

“Is there any need to go that far? Give me half a gak.”

“Understood.”

Tang Gwan looked at Yeon Wi.

Yeon Wi smiled.

“I am a man with many shortcomings.”

“In any case, I don’t believe I’ll truly become Martial Alliance Leader, nor do I intend to.”

“Even so, would it not be better to choose someone more capable than me?”

“There are few men more capable than you to begin with, and among those, I know none who have any personal connection to me.”

“Haha.”

That was not wrong. Yeon Wi nodded.

“Very well. Then I will serve as one of your two sponsors.”

Je Gal Munho smiled.

“Understood. Now all that remains is for you to name the other.”

Yeon Wi turned to Tang Gwan.

After a brief moment of thought, Tang Gwan nodded.

“I’ve decided.”

“Who is it?”

“The Divine Maiden of the Western Regions.”

“...!!”

Je Gal Munho’s expression stiffened. Even Yeon Wi looked surprised.

“Clan Lord Tang.”

“I have no intention of changing my mind. The Divine Maiden of the Western Regions will be my final sponsor.”

Yeon Wi asked,

“Have you already met the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions?”

Tang Gwan answered bluntly,

“Didn’t I agree to see her together with you? I haven’t even seen a single strand of that physician’s hair.”

“T-Then why choose the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions as your sponsor? No, more importantly, if she refuses—”

“Then let us go see her the moment this meeting ends, so that she cannot refuse.”

“Ha!”

Je Gal Munho spoke up.

“If the matter has not yet been discussed properly, then I can wait until noon tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

“But may I ask one thing?”

“What is it?”

Je Gal Munho asked ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) carefully,

“Is there a reason you chose the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions? Of course, until she agrees, she is not yet truly a sponsor.”

Tang Gwan gave a short laugh.

“You said the most important thing for an election candidate is public opinion, did you not?”

“Of course.”

“In all the world today, setting aside that pack of lunatics in the Medical God Association or whatever they call themselves, how many physicians are as beloved as the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions?”

“...!”

“In terms of chivalrous reputation, the weight of her name is equal to—or greater than—that of the leaders of the Nine Sects and One Union.”

“What you say is true, Clan Lord Tang. But the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions is far more widely known among the common people than within the martial world. If it were someone on the level of the Heaven-Piercing Divine Physician, that would be another matter, but...”

“That’s enough. We’ll handle that part ourselves, so keep it at that for now.”

“...Haha. I had assumed you would choose Commander Yeon as the remaining sponsor.”

Tang Gwan snorted.

“I’ve no desire to hand sponsor status to that ill-mannered brat as well. Besides, if his father is already serving as my sponsor, do you think that wretch would dare not help?”

That was true enough.

After all, the one who had first told Tang Gwan to run in the Martial Alliance Leader election was Yeon Hojeong. There was no need to formally name him a sponsor. One way or another, he would throw his weight behind it.

“And from what I can see, giving that bastard more titles than necessary would only put more chains on his movements. He’s more dangerous when he carries no official rank at all.”

Tang Gwan smiled coldly.

“He pushed the Clan Lord of the Tang Clan into becoming a candidate, so tell him to run until the soles of his feet sweat.”

The fact that he had calculated even that much in such a short time made it clear that Tang Gwan was no ordinary man either.

“Well then, let’s go.”

Caught off guard, Yeon Wi rose awkwardly. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

“You’re leaving already?”

Tang Gwan frowned.

“Didn’t you say it yourself? That Yeon Hojeong intends to make me a central power in the Alliance.”

“...”

“There’s no need to stop him from helping as he pleases. But my life is mine to lead. There is nothing more disgraceful than being dragged around by someone else.”

Tang Gwan turned away.

“Lead the way to the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions. Let’s settle it today.”

With his hands clasped behind his back, he strode out of the room, looking utterly unrestrained.

Yeon Wi and Je Gal Munho exchanged glances.

There was a curious light in both their eyes.

“...He truly is a fascinating man.”