NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
Side story 174. There is no handle (8)
The atmosphere continued to be more flexible than expected.
Baekgolshinma continued to drink while smiling. The officer sitting next to him was the same. His behavior as if he had received a secret order to let Baekgolshinma go even for a moment was admirable.
Baek So-dam was generally not very talkative, but she would occasionally join in on the conversation and contribute to maintaining a good atmosphere. The escorts she brought were left waiting outside the door, while her successor, Yeo So-hong, sat behind her.
Seopil drank his alcohol in silence. Although he drank quite a lot, he didn’t show any sign of being drunk.
Yi Cheon-sang filled his glass whenever it was empty. Yi Cheon-sang was just as silent as Seo-pil. He only answered the occasional silly question from Baekgol Shinma, and otherwise he looked around with his characteristically hard-to-read expression.
How much time has passed like that?
Seopil secretly started to feel lucky.
“This is enough… … .”
“Hey, Mr. Seo.”
“Please speak, elder.”
The White Bone God asked with a flushed face.
“Military Department, are you having a hard time?”
Seopil smiled bitterly.
“Where in the world is there an organization that doesn’t have difficulties? Still, thanks to the Commander-in-Chief, I am able to work with a sense of accomplishment even though it is difficult.”
“Sigh, no matter how well they treat you from above, how can it not be hard working without any vacations?”
“I don’t want a vacation. I don’t think I’ve worked hard enough to put down my work and take a break.”
“But it’s still hard. It’s hard for anyone in the world to know themselves when they’re busy. In order to know the real me, rest is absolutely necessary.”
“I am getting enough sleep.”
“If you work without sleeping, that’s a real problem. Even a skilled person is a person. However, when you rest, don’t just sleep, but live while looking around and doing various things to stabilize your emotions. That’s real life, isn’t it?”
“I have many shortcomings.”
“What do you think? Coming under me?”
It was almost a surprise question.
Seopil really didn’t know that Baekgolshinma would say something like that. He was surprised inside, but his response was relaxed and calm.
“It is an honor of three lives that you look upon me favorably. However, I am not in a position to move if I want to.”
“I’ll tell the General. What do you think?”
“I am just a member of an organization, but the Commander-in-Chief has shown me a favor. Although I am a person with shortcomings, shouldn’t I repay at least half of the favor I have received? Isn’t that the right thing to do as a human being?”
The White Bone God clicked his tongue.
“What a pity, what a pity. If just one person like you had come under me, it would be like a thousand troops.”
“Thank you for your kind words.”
Even as he spoke, Seo-pil couldn’t dispel his doubts.
‘Why on earth?’
Baekgol Shinma was a man who had no interest in power.
I knew that he had been up to something unusual recently. However, apart from being uninterested in power, he was also smarter than the other demon lords, so this kind of recruitment offer was unexpected.
‘You’ve gathered these people just to recruit me? Really?’
That can’t be true.
It couldn’t be true, but Seopil couldn’t be sure. Nothing in the world should be certain, but right now, the situation was so chaotic that his judgment was extremely clouded.
Seo-pil looked at Lee Cheon-sang.
Lee Cheon-sang was drinking silently. Every time he took a sip, he would wet his lips with alcohol.
‘What on earth are you up to?’
Lee Cheon-sang said, “I knew you were coming.”
I don’t know how you knew that, but if you did, you should have done something about it.
At first, I thought that number was just one White Bone God. I thought that he had called upon the Demon King, with whom he had a connection, to block the arrows that were shot, not with a shield, but with a wall, and that he was threatening them.
If it had been that far, I would have thought that Lee Cheon-sang’s response was surprising, but only half-assed.
There is no certainty about what Baekgolshinma thinks of Lee Cheon-sang. The fact that he showed up in a place like this suggests that the relationship between the two is much closer than expected.
So it’s half-assed. It’s like giving away important information to save a life.
‘The problem is.’
It was Baek So-dam and Gongmu-oe.
The appearance of these two people was truly unimaginable. Even if we leave everything aside and assume that it is possible outside of public service, Baek So-dam’s appearance was truly inexplicable.
‘What do you want? Why are all these people gathered here? I don’t think all these big names would have gathered just because of one word from this guy, Lee Cheon-sang… ‘
That was when.
“I have something to ask you, Lord Gong.”
Baek So-dam’s voice was so attractive that it made everyone listen.
The official bowed his head.
“Please speak, my lord.”
“As the head of the criminal justice system, you probably know more about the level of punishment than anyone else, right?”
“Honestly, there are quite a few subordinates who know more than I do. However, I know enough that I can go anywhere and call myself the head of the criminal law department.”
“You are humble.”
“No problem. If you have any questions, please let me know.”
“I wonder to what extent someone would be punished if it was discovered that they had accepted a bribe.”
Seopil’s eyes deepened.
When I first heard that, I thought it was because of the red flag.
But the timing was too vague. We all already knew enough about the Red Flag issue, so was there really a need to mention him here?
“hmm.”
The official said, stroking his beard.
“In fact, there are not many cases where a person is convicted of bribery.”
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“Why?”
“Because there are many ambiguous cases. It is not easy to determine whether this is a gift given out of personal connection or a bribe with intent.”
“Isn’t it a problem that people in public office on campus exchanged something with each other?”
“Of course. The law itself is ambiguous. There is no provision that states that public officials cannot engage in even a single penny of financial transaction with each other.”
“But isn’t the investigative ability of the criminal law department the best in the school?”
“Haha, thank you for the compliment. As you said, if the evidence is strong and there is a high probability that it was a bribe, we will immediately dispatch someone, but the process of concluding that it is a clear crime is long and difficult.”
“okay.”
“So, I had no choice but to call you before. Since you came first, I was truly grateful that I didn’t have to go through any complicated procedures. I would like to take this opportunity to greet you once again.”
“That’s not what I was asking for.”
Baek So-dam said with a smile.
“So, what this means is that whether it was a bribe or not can only be determined through a thorough investigation.”
“In short, yes.”
There is one more thing that the two people did not necessarily bring up.
The question is how far the scope of that ‘investigation’ goes. The Criminal Party is an organization that is trying to keep quiet, but will resort to torture if necessary. Of course, they can also create crimes that do not exist.
In other words, if the head of the criminal law party says something is a crime, then it is a crime. That is precisely why the head of the criminal law party holds enormous power compared to the hierarchy.
‘… … .’
Seo-pil’s face hardened.
Baek So-dam probably didn’t really ask that question because she was curious. A cold chill ran up her back.
Baek So-dam asked Seo-pil.
“How are you, Mr. Seo?”
“… … What are you talking about?”
“Baeknoegak is a very powerful organization. Don’t they receive a lot of bribes?”
It was such an aggressive remark that it could almost be called rude.
Seopil answered politely.
“Of course, there are some who approach it that way, but the military is an organization that exists for the new religion. We are kicking them all out.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think the people above will look favorably on that either.”
“Of course.”
That’s actually the case.
Although individual members of the military organization may have received bribes without anyone knowing, it was strictly prohibited at the organizational level. The leaders of organizations under the General Military Command never received bribes.
It was to avoid being caught in unnecessary trouble. Furthermore, there was no need to take bribes because there was money left over even without them.
Even though there was no need for it, there were many who tried to receive it as human greed is endless. However, all of those people were eliminated or expelled by the military commander.
That was proof that the general was smart. He was a man who could see far ahead. He knew that if he was blinded by money and started taking bribes right away, it would only be a matter of time before the entire organization collapsed.
Of course, Seo-pil, one of the general’s favorite subordinates, had never received a single penny in bribes.
Of course, this could be a different issue depending on how you define ‘bribe’.
“If they find out that the Western Governor took a bribe, they’ll be in real trouble.”
Seopil’s eyes deepened.
“Do you think I took a bribe?”
“Of course.”
Baek So-dam’s words were definitive.
Seo-pil, who had been staring blankly at her, emptied his glass and spoke.
“This is a really difficult position. I don’t know what the Lord thinks of me, but I have never received a single penny from anyone.”
“Really?”
“Why would I tell a lie that will be found out in an instant?”
“That’s right. I don’t understand why you would tell a lie that would be discovered so quickly.”
“… … ?”
“You’re saying you didn’t receive anything from the Red Flag Leader?”
Why is the red flag here?
As the question arose, Seo-pil unconsciously clenched his fists.
The corners of Baek So-dam’s mouth went up.
“It seems that the Red Flag Association has taken quite a lot of the public funds and treasures that the headquarters has given out.”
“… … .”
“Some of them were said to be going towards the military. Are you really unaware of that, Mr. Seo?”
There’s no way I could know that.
It was natural, because the Red Flag Division had nothing to do with the military.
But Seo-pil couldn’t open his mouth.
‘no way!’
Baek So-dam asked Gongmu-oe.
“I think I should go to the criminal court and meet with the leader of the Red Flag Association. The headquarters has found out that one of the leader’s associates has been secretly moving gold and silver treasures to the military department.”
“Oh! Did something like that happen?”
“It wasn’t just a few pennies. From what we found out, the treasure was moving towards the Baeknoegak, an organization under the military.”
“If that’s true, then this is a really big deal. This guy, the leader of the Red Flag Group, went into questioning without saying anything.”
“How about we first inform Baek No-gook-ju of this fact?”
“Of course, I should. But before that, I think I should speak to the General. If we just consider the chronological order of things, there’s no need to do that, but even so, if a member of your organization is involved in corruption, you won’t feel good.”
“Well, he is one of the leaders of our school, so I can’t let things like this distract me. I should speak to the commander in chief as well.”
“It is indeed burdensome. It is difficult for someone with a position like the head of the criminal law department to have a one-on-one meeting with the military commander.”
At that moment, the White Bone God said with a smiling voice.
“Then I guess I can do that.”
“Oh my, you are busy, so why are you here… …”
“Okay, you. You and the commander-in-chief are even good friends when it comes to playing baduk. It would be good for him if I went and talked things through. It’s nice to be able to hold a baduk stone after a long time, isn’t it?”
“If you could do that, I would really appreciate it.”
Something inexplicable is happening.
Seo-pil, who was looking at the three people with wavering eyes, turned to look at Lee Cheon-sang as if he had been struck by lightning.
Lee Cheon-sang, who had placed his empty glass on the table, spoke calmly.
“Would you please fill my glass too?”