Solo Swordmaster

Chapter 65: Cutting Corners

“Anyway, isn’t that weird?”

“What is?”

“The constellation’s power I absorbed. I really went to hell and back to deal with this.”

After cutting The Snake that Connects Ends, Limon had been constantly grappling with the fragments of starlight he absorbed.

The power itself wasn’t a bad thing, but he couldn’t control it. It also gave him an extremely off-putting sensation, putting him in quite a bit of discomfort.

“In the worst case scenario, I was going to lock myself in and train.”

The only thing he knew was swordsmanship training, and even that would have taken a good decade.

“That’s not good.”

“Yeah, our plans would go down the drain.”

“No. If the Master of Swords closed himself off, I would be living a solitary life, getting discarded right after marriage.”

“Is that what you meant by ‘not good’?!”

“There’s nothing worse for a future bride.”

“Tsk. At least we’ve found a solution.”

“Yes, that is a relief.”

Amidst his struggle, an unexpected solution found its way to him.

It was the Abyssal Black Violin he had acquired from the amusement park he went to with Li Chingwei and the kids—playing it, to be exact.

“I didn’t expect that cursed instrument to help disrupt the power of the constellations.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Limon could clearly feel it the moment the curse led him to play it. The unmoving, rigid fragments of starlight within his body started to dissolve like salt under the rain.

“It’s good I can control a little bit more of the power, but…”

“Is that not enough?” Li Chingwei tilted her head.

Limon looked discontent.

“It’s just dumbfounding that the power I can finally control is merely a disguise ability.”

“I believe ‘merely’ is an understatement. Your newfound disguise technique is comparable to that of ‘Hundredfold Exuviation’.”

Li Chingwei gave him an odd look. The young man named ‘Li’ was the disguise Limon used during his lesson with Julia. It was a metamorphosis ability he had acquired after dissolving the starlight fragments.

Was it because it had derived from a snake that controlled falsehoods and deceit? Its power went beyond simply changing his appearance, having the power to interfere directly with human recognition.

That meant that drawing a dot on his face could make him an entirely different person, and that wearing a white gown would make others perceive Limon as a doctor.

It was the summit of disguises.

An actor could have fit a thousand roles and an assassin could have infiltrated wherever they wanted.

But Limon was feeling apathetic to his new ability.

“It’s still nothing more than just a disguise. I’m not a clown or an assassin. What would I do with a meager skill like this?”

“But you seemed to utilize it quite effectively with Julia.”

“Well, yeah. I had to. If she saw my actual face, she’d have ran before the lesson even started.”

The bluebird perched atop his head snickered.

“[And you still managed to make two teachers run away…]”

Snap!

“[Ow! Why are you hitting me?!]”

“Don’t interrupt while the adults are talking, brat.”

“[But I’m an adult too!!]”

“In your past life. How dare a brat with fuzz for feathers act like an adult?”

“[Well frick! Mentally being an adult makes you one! Besides, I’m a bird! Give it a few months and I’ll be adult!]”

“Yeah, yeah. So come back after you eat some more worms.”

Li Chingwei grinned watching Yoo Na-kyung argumentatively flap her wings as Limon teased her.

“Anyway, it’s good to know that Julia is still around after a week. It seems you’re doing well with your lessons. Unlike before.”

“…”

“[……]”

“What is it?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. The lessons are going well. Yeah. It’s going well.”

“[Boss, you’re drooling—]”

“The only thing a bastard animal has to do is eat, Blue. Here, have a big mouthful.”

“[Urm, urmfff!]”

Limon shoved biscuits into her beak, silencing and threatening her with murder simultaneously.

Leaving her to spasm, she started to wobble her wings, eventually flopping over. In response, Li Chingwei tilted her head.

“So why are you here? I’m sure you didn’t interrupt my training because you were just curious if my lessons were going well.”

“Oh, I’m here because of the corners I talked about cutting the other day.”

“Cutting corners… You mean when you asked me to take charge of a subsidiary?

“Yes. We have just finished preparations.”

Limon looked taken aback.

“That’s pretty fast. It mustn’t have been that easy to take care of, surely.”

“Surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard.”

“Really?”

“Yes. As it turns out, there are quite a few cases similar to the Master of Swords in this country. So I used some for reference.”

“As far as I know, I’m the only one who has held the president hostage.”

“That being an exception, of course.”

Li chingwei grinned as she took out a small case.

Seeing what’s inside, Limon gave her an odd look.

“....Princess. What is this?”

“As you can see, it is your business card.”

***

***

“It says that I’m the CEO of ‘Guardian’, Leviathan’s exclusive security & inspection enterprise?”

The golden letters were engraved on a thin, pure silver plate, showing off its top-dollar craftsmanship.

With his status worth more than the luxurious business card, Limon was stupefied.

“It’s the enterprise the Master of Swords will be taking charge of from now on,” Li Chingwei calmly explained.

“…You said you took cases similar to mine for reference.”

“It seems that high-ranking officials of this nation usually become the independent director or a conglomerate, or create their own company to be granted a similar privilege to that of their former status after retirement.”

“That’s called nepotism, not a predecessor, princess…”

“Is there a difference?”

“Yeah. One has 11 letters while the other has 8.”

Limon didn’t bother to explain the difference between the two.

“I told you I don’t have time for these things, princess. I’m busy training. Why would you entrust a CEO position to me with all these duties?”

“It will be all right. No one would say anything even if the Master of Swords does not work.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Limon gave her a look of confusion.

That might have been the case… if it were anyone but the elders of the Seven Dragons Association. They wouldn’t just sit back and watch Limon frolic around when they set the condition that Limon was to manage a subsidiary and produce results.

In return, Li Chingwei gave him a purposeful smile.

“Master of Swords. Do you know what it is called when you manage security and inspections at the same time?”

“Overworking?”

“No, it’s leaving a cat to run a fish store.”

“…What?”

Limon blinked for a while. Realizing what she was trying to say, Limon subconsciously became appalled.

“So you want me to be the man behind the throne?”

“That expression is a bit old. Most people would call it a ‘spymaster’ these days.”

“Tomayto, tomahto. You’re just telling me to be the actual wielder of information under the favor of those in power.”

“No, but everyone else, including the elders, can think so.”

“Hm?” Limon furrowed his brows. Deep in thought, he tapped the table with his fingers.

“So it’s a falsification, then?”

“If that’s what you think it is. No one in the clan would want the Master of Swords to actually work hard in a position like this.”

“Well, of course they wouldn’t. It’s like handing a sword to a swordsman.”

The Emperor’s private eye, who dominated in the past. Secret police in times of a cold war, or the FBI… They have held incontestable power with investigative authority, handling information and managing security since the dawn of man.

So what if the one in charge of that was Limon? In the eyes of the Black Dragon Clan, it could only look like a murderer who had a license to kill. Even if that homicidal demon was too busy and stayed in all day, they could only tremble without knowing the full context.

“They would want an inspector to be lazier the more hostile they are, after all.”

“Isn’t that the reason all the tax offices and inspectors ultimately end up collapsing?”

“Yes, except the small difference that we are starting off already meeting our downfall.”

“That doesn’t sound like a very small difference to me.”

“I believe that’s just you.”

Limon emotionlessly watched Li Chingwei beam and scratched his head.

“Well, I get that it’s all the better for me to mess about. But would that really be okay? Word will get out either way, even if I don’t work at all.”

The elders were on the lookout for a fault to begin with. Even if they were currently treading on ice, it was clear to see how that would all change once they found out that Guardian was nothing more than an empty shell.

“You don’t have to worry. Even if the Master of Swords does not work, the Guardian will.”

“What are you going on about now?”

“It means I already have everything fully prepared.”

“…?”

Limon looked perplexed.

But instead of explaining any further, Li Chingwei only grinned.

“Come in,” she ordered calmly.

The next moment, someone came through the door as if they had been waiting and respectfully bowed.

“I am here, princess.”

“I’m sure you know what to do from here.”

“Yes.”

Lean and tall, with short hair and wearing a semi-formal suit, a woman with an androgynous face lifted her head. One wouldn’t be able to decipher if she were a man dressed as a woman, or just a pretty boy from a glance alone.

With chilling, dark blue eyes pointed at Limon, she bowed once more.

“Hello. My name is Wei-Ling. As of today, I will be the Master of Sword’s secretary.”

“…Secretary?”

‘What kind of horseshit is that?’ Limon seemed to ask.

Li Chingwei answered lightheartedly.

“Since the Master of Swords is the chief executive officer, or at least on paper, I felt that you needed a secretary at the minimum.”

“I don’t need such a thing.”

“It would still be good for you to have one. A competent entourage will be of help in any situation.”

Listening unenthusiastically, Limon narrowed his eyes and looked back and forth between the beaming Li Chingwei and the cold Wei-Ling.

“Like what?”

“I’m not sure. It depends, but you could get advice for work-related matters, or get simple tasks done for you.”

“…And by ‘it depends’, you mean I can make her do all my work for me?”

“Oh, that is also a possibility.”

As if she hadn’t thought of that before, Li Chingwei acted surprised.

Limon scoffed at her bald-faced lie.

“So you want me to become a puppet master leaving his puppet to do all the work while he gets all the credit, while I continue to train?”

“There is no need to be so pessimistic. Making use of an excellent subordinate effectively is also part of a superior’s skillset.”

“That’s nonsense incompetent superiors made up to steal the credit of their subordinates.”

Limon could not help but marvel at the princess’ brazenface.

‘So this was her plan all along.’

It was no wonder she took up the elders’ condition so easily. In hindsight, it was obvious that it was her plan from the very beginning to get him a competent subordinate so that even a monkey would ‘produce results’.

“But a normal amount of competence wouldn’t be enough to be clear of criticism from the elders.”

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

Before Li Chingwei could answer, Wei-Ling coldly interjected. With icy, settled eyes, she looked at Limon’s eyes.

“My abilities will not be causing any trouble when it comes to work-related matters.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Blatant hostility was laced in her voice. It was so sharp and direct, it was rather refreshing to Limon.

The corners of Limon’s lips curled up. He glanced over to Li Chingwei.

“You can trust her. Wei-Ling is a prodigy whom I trust the most in our clan."

“Is it okay to let someone like that be my subordinate?”

“I hope it shows the importance of this.”

For an instant, relief flushed over Wei-Ling’s face. Though it was the same cold expression, one could tell from a glance how relaxed she became. But that was only for a brief moment.

“Of course, I can bring someone else if she is not to your liking. What do you think?”

“…!”

Limon let out a laugh seeing Wei-Ling instantly turn pale. He had a rough idea why Li Chingwei had sent this blatantly hostile woman to work under him.

But he didn’t bother to point it out. Instead, he turned back to Wei-ling.

“Should I just call you Wei-Ling?”

“Yes.”

“All right. I’ll get your last name later, then.”

“You won’t hear my family name come out of my mouth. Ever.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Wei-Ling’s answer was ice cold, like she didn’t even want to hear her name being uttered by Limon.

But Limon wasn’t angry. Rather, he snickered like he’d just found an interesting toy. And something came to mind.

“Oh, do let me know if you ever need any advice. I don’t know about camouflage, but I could teach you a thing or two about swords.”

‘Whether you like me or not, I can do that much for my entourage,’ Limon said nonchalantly.

He gave Wei-Ling a cross look.

“Wei-Ling of the Void Progression Sword.”

“…”

The bodyguard of the princess, now fired and appointed to be Limon’s secretary, did not answer. She simply shot daggers at Limon.

A cold-faced Chao Wei-Ling, and a fiercely grinning Limon.

Amidst the bluebird still spasming from choking on the biscuit, LI Chingwei looked back and forth between the two and smiled.

“It’s good to see you two are getting along well.”

——

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