The Luoyang Sword Clan’s Council of Elders. The Grand Assembly Hall.

“A-Approval… sixty percent! Invalid… forty percent…!” Elder Hwang Mok’s voice, trembling in spite of himself, echoed high and sharp through the hall. “Therefore, we will proceed to another re-vote!”

The invalid tally, which had been a shocking thirty percent last time, had now climbed to forty.

“It actually increased?!”

“How in the world…?!”

Elders shot to their feet as the assembly hall exploded in a wave of commotion. This new chaos, however, was profoundly different in nature from the shock that had followed the first re-vote announcement.

“…To think the result would change again!” An elder from the Third Young Master’s faction slammed his fist on the table. “Weren’t we told the Grand Young Master’s side met with no one?!”

“They didn’t meet anyone!” shouted the elder responsible for monitoring the Grand Young Master’s lounge, his expression aggrieved. “Not so much as a rat got near that room, I tell you!”

“Then what?! Did the Grand Young Master send a ghost to convince the elders?!”

Despite being in the middle of the open assembly hall and not their private lounges, they were already pointing fingers and yelling at one another. Ordinarily, such a display would have captured everyone’s attention, but similar scenes were unfolding in every corner of the hall, so it hardly stood out.

“Didn’t you say you got a firm commitment?!”

“I even offered them better conditions, dammit!”

“…The threat should have been more than enough!”

“Is the Grand Young Master really going to trample the pride of our Council of Elders like this?!”

One elder, driven to the brink of madness by frustration, actually climbed onto his desk and pounded his chest. “Elders of the Great Luoyang Sword Clan! My fellow Elders! Are we simply going to stand idly by and allow our council to crumble?!” He bellowed with all the passion he could muster, but everyone present understood the underlying emotion fueling his desperate display: a profound sense of crisis. They all knew. They all understood the gravity of the situation.

“…If this is the trend, the next result will be…”

Everyone was vividly feeling that same sense of crisis, that same…

“The Grand Young Master…”

…terror of the Grand Young Master.

“…It is lunchtime. However, exiting the Council of Elders is forbidden while a re-vote is in progress. Prepared box lunches will be…”

Elder Hwang Mok’s announcement was completely lost in the surrounding chaos and confusion.

Inside the moderator’s lounge, Elder Hwang Mok was practically melting into his chair. “Haaah…” He had been blindsided by this disaster with the Grand Young Master on his very first day presiding over a meeting.

“You’ve had a rough day,” the Head of the Council of Elders said, patting Hwang Mok’s shoulder in consolation. “Well, I’m going to my office to have my meal. Don’t you skip yours, now. Make sure you eat.”

“Yes, yes. I will… Please, go ahead…”

Hearing the utterly exhausted reply, the Head of the Council of Elders gave a bitter smile, turned, and walked out into the corridor.

“Honestly…” he sighed, gently closing the door to give Elder Hwang Mok some peace. “It is lunchtime. Can’t you at least let an old man eat his meal in peace?”

As the Head of the Council of Elders spoke, a figure hiding at the far end of the corridor stepped out.

“It may be lunchtime, but it is also the precious half-shichen¹ we have until the next vote.”

The man who stepped into a shaft of sunlight, which fell from the high ceiling into the narrow passage, was an elder of the Yeon Clan.

“So, I must ask for your understanding, Head of the Council of Elders.”

His words were gentle, but the glare from his bloodshot eyes was not.

“…I can guess why you’ve sought me out.”

Is this what a man driven to the cliff’s edge looks like?

To the Yeon Clan elder, who looked ready to lunge and tear out his throat at any moment, the Head of the Council of Elders held up both hands placatingly.

“I have nothing to do with this affair. I can swear it.”

At the mention of “swear,” the Yeon Clan elder scoffed. “Normally, I would trust the oath of the Head of the Council of Elders implicitly. However, we’ve been hearing reports from multiple sources recently… that you’ve been cultivating a rather close relationship with the Grand Young Master.”

The Yeon Clan elder stalked forward, closing the distance until he was right in the council head’s face.

“We know you were the one who greeted him when he returned after the Valley of Sins incident. We also know you’ve held several secret meetings with him since. So, how could we possibly not suspect you?”

He was so close now that the Head of the Council of Elders could feel his breath.

“Head of the Council of Elders,” a chilling killing intent surged through him, causing every hair on his body to stand on end. “If we are to be destroyed…” The Yeon Clan elder loomed over the diminutive council head, baring his teeth. “The Yeon Clan will annihilate every enemy we can reach, and then we will meet our end in a final, glorious explosion!”

It was a threat laced with pure madness. Even if they managed to secure this vote, the Yeon Clan would face significant backlash for such a blatant threat. However, as the final vote clearly demonstrated, they were on the brink of disaster. They had no other options left.

“…I see.”

And yet.

“You certainly have ample reason to suspect me.”

Living up to his moniker, the ‘Little Giant,’ the Head of the Council of Elders didn’t budge an inch. He even graced the man with a smile on his wrinkled face.

“If that’s the case, what if I do this?” The Head of the Council of Elders stared directly into those crimson-shot eyes and spoke with deliberate clarity. “During the next vote, I will feign a mistake and publicly reveal my ballot.”

“…!”

The Yeon Clan elder’s eyes widened.

“And, of course,” the Head of the Council of Elders continued, his precise tone turning the pressure back on his accuser, “I will be casting my vote in favor of no-confidence in the current Treasury Director. That should be enough to satisfy you, won’t it?”

Momentarily silenced by the unexpected power play, the Yeon Clan elder turned on his heel. “…I will be watching, Head of the Council of Elders.”

Presently, the sound of his footsteps faded down the corridor.

“Hoo…”

As the Head of the Council of Elders let out a long breath, the door behind him creaked open, and Elder Hwang Mok peeked out.

“…He’s lost his mind. Threatening you so brazenly… and to your face.”

The Head of the Council of Elders simply shrugged in response, prompting Elder Hwang Mok to lean in.

“…But, Head of the Council of Elders.” He glanced around nervously before whispering, “Did the Grand Young Master… truly not give you any word at all?”

The Head of the Council of Elders met his question with a bitter smile.

“…He did say one thing.”

“I knew it! He did?!” Hwang Mok’s ‘I-knew-it’ expression quickly soured. “Well, then! You could have at least given me a hint, couldn’t you…?!”

“It wouldn’t have been much use to you.”

“Still, I could have at least prepared myself mentally—”

“That’s not what I mean,” the Head of the Council of Elders cut in. He smacked his lips for a moment before replying.

“The Grand Young Master’s exact words were, ‘Do as you see fit, Head of the Council of Elders.'”

“…Pardon?”

The Head of the Council of Elders gave another bitter smile at Hwang Mok’s baffled expression.

“I made the exact same face when I heard it.”

“Th-Then…”

The Head of the Council of Elders nodded.

“That’s right. That decision I just made… I was simply doing as I saw fit.”

***

Third Young Master’s Faction Lounge.

“…I hear the Yeon Clan elders are running around, making wild threats to everyone.”

At the elder’s report, the room filled with grim groans.

“…They’ve finally snapped.”

“…I suppose it might have some effect, but…” One elder shook his head. “No matter how you look at it, such a crude, strong-arm tactic…”

“…has obvious limits.”

The first vote: seventy to thirty.

The second vote: sixty to forty.

“We have no idea what method the Grand Young Master is using to get these results…”

“But it’s painfully clear that the tide is turning against us.”

“We need a more precise, more pointed strategy.”

“Dammit…!” one elder lamented, grabbing his head. “If we could just identify the bastards who betrayed us…!”

A collective sigh filled the room. At this very moment, the most effective method was exactly what he had said: find those who had broken the agreement and crush them.

“Easier said than done…”

“…If that were possible, do you think we’d be sitting here like this?”

Behind them, the stacks of prepared box lunches sat untouched, abandoned. No one had even considered eating.

“There are too many cliques and factions…”

“There were too many possible combinations that added up to thirty-three.”

Another sigh rippled through the group.

“And now, it’s not even thirty-three. It’s forty-four.”

That was the problem. Finding the defectors who totaled thirty-three was already a nightmare. But forty-four…

Though no one spoke it aloud, not a single person in the room could deny the thick shadow of defeat creeping over them.

Just then.

“…That’s it.”

A quiet mumble from the corner caught the attention of the elders closest to it.

“Elder Gu? What do you mean by that?”

Elder Gu, who had been sitting in the corner agonizing over an abacus, shot to his feet. “This was never about finding a combination that adds up to forty-four!” He threw the abacus to the floor and shouted, “We’ve been looking at this completely the wrong way!”

As the elders stared at him, baffled, he pounded his chest in frustration.

“The first time, thirty-three! The second time, forty-four! The number we should be looking for is eleven!” He shouted, “We just need to find the combination that adds up to eleven!”

At this proclamation, one elder crossed his arms, looking unimpressed. “Elder Gu, it’s obviously easier to find a combination that makes eleven than one that makes thirty-three or forty-four, but…”

Another elder chimed in, “Just finding them isn’t enough to turn this aro—”

“My god, have you all become this shortsighted?! That’s not the point!” Elder Gu yelled again. “Why should we let the Grand Young Master be the only one who gets to use the re-vote as a weapon?!”

“…”

Everyone here was an elder of the Luoyang Sword Clan. It only took that one sentence for them all to grasp the strategy.

“…I see.”

“We first use the time we have left to find those eleven and restore the balance of the vote…”

“—And then, this time, we force the re-vote.”

Nods spread around the room.

“That part’s simple enough.”

“It doesn’t matter how the Grand Young Master’s side votes.”

“If just half of our side—the ones who held sixty percent of the vote—cast an invalid ballot…”

“A re-vote is guaranteed, which will buy us all the time we need!”

Elder Gu clapped his hands loudly. “Precisely! That’s it! There’s no reason to let the Grand Young Master be the only one to exploit the re-vote system!”

“And then, we use the next block of time…”

“…to squeeze the eleven we’ve found and dig up clues to identify the other thirty-three!”

A path to turn the tables had finally appeared. A new energy surged through the Third Young Master’s lounge.

“Excellent. Then, let’s waste no time and find that combination of eleven—”

“No need for that!” Elder Gu beamed. “I’ve already narrowed down the possible combinations. All of you just need to go and… visit them.”

“Elder Gu!”

“Truly brilliant!”

At that moment, another elder suddenly had an idea. “Speaking of which, isn’t there a group that could handle this situation more effectively than we could ourselves?”

“Ah, of course!” An elder who understood the meaning let out a sharp laugh.

“The Yeon Clan elders!”

“Those madmen are already running around indiscriminately threatening people.”

“If we ‘leak’ this list to them, the Yeon Clan elders will pounce on those eleven like rabid dogs!”

One by one, sinister smiles spread across the faces of the Third Young Master’s faction. It was as if clearing that one obstacle had changed their fortunes; suddenly, everything seemed to be falling into place.

“We shouldn’t be wasting time here!”

“I’ll go with you…!”

Just as the elders were scrambling to their feet, the lounge door burst open.

“B-Big trouble!” An elder from outside stumbled in.

“Th-The Central Inspectorate… they’re here! They’ve entered the Council of Elders!”

The Central Inspectorate.

The only organization in the Luoyang Sword Clan with the authority to investigate the Council of Elders itself. And they had just stormed the building. Unsurprisingly, leading them was the ‘demon’ with white hair and white eyes, the Head of the Central Inspectorate, Dokgo Ya-yeon.

“Wh-What business does the Central Inspectorate suddenly have here?!”

With her towering height, she looked down on the elder who had moved to block her path. “I was told the Treasury Vice Director is here.”

“…That is true, but…” The elder admitted the fact, yet didn’t budge. “He may be under heavy suspicion, but I also heard you have no evidence.”

Another elder slithered forward. “If you’re thinking of fabricating that evidence, I’d advise you to forget it.”

Other elders near the entrance quickly added their voices.

“This is the Council of Elders of the Luoyang Sword Clan.”

“A flimsy, transparent trick like that will be exposed in an instant.”

But Dokgo Ya-yeon, Head of the Central Inspectorate, replied with her signature lack of expression.

“A short time ago, new evidence was submitted.”

“New evidence…?”

“Submitted…?”

She produced a single sheet of paper from her robes.

“This is not a decision made by the Central Inspectorate.”

“Th-That’s…!” The elders who saw the distinct seal on the paper recoiled in shock.

“This is an arrest warrant, issued directly by the Main Clan’s Supreme Operations Council.”

It was the moment a colossal boulder, hurled from outside the game board entirely, smashed the game to pieces.