The Hunting Dog of the Prestigious Family Has Returned Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“He noticed? Seriously?”

“Yeah. Our eyes met through the camera.”

On the rooftop of a rundown building…

A man narrowed his eyes as he stared out at the overpass, his drone still linked through his visual interface.

“I thought it was just some pathetic infighting between the clan bastards… but this is way more interesting than I expected.”

His gaze landed on a bodyguard incinerating the corpses of the attackers.

The one guarding Kim Chang-woon, the illegitimate son of Andong Kim clan, known as one of the loyal prestigious families.

“Thanks to him burning the bodies clean, there’s no way to identify the victims. He even retrieved all those fake Hahoe masks the assassins were wearing.”

“This won’t be considered an attack by Hahoe. It’ll just get brushed off as a traffic accident. A self-driving vehicle malfunctioning and swerving off course… something like that.”

“A high-ranking noble dying in a car crash? The stock of that company must’ve tanked. What manufacturer was it?”

“Giu Motors.”

“Damn it. I had shares in that one.”

“You might want to pull out now. But anyway, that’s not the point right now, is it?”

The man speaking turned to his colleague beside him.

“You heard what that kid just said, right?”

“Yeah. I heard it.”

The two exchanged a glance, recalling the words Kim Chang-woon had just said to his bodyguard.

-“How long do you plan on staying loyal to a family like this?”

“…Buné. What do you think?”

“What do you mean, what do I think? At the end of the day, he’s still a Sedo bloodline, right? Bet if you see him in person, he’ll just rant about how we’re terrorists like the rest of them.”

“Hm…”

“…Wait a sec, you.”

As his colleague seemed to fall deeper into thought, the one called Buné frowned and retorted.

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of making contact… with that Sedo noble brat?”

“Would it hurt to keep the possibility open? It’s not like we have many other options. Besides…”

He actually looks promising.

Murmuring to himself, the man rubbed his chin.

“His car just got hit by a missile, and instead of panicking, he coordinated with his bodyguard and took down the attackers.”

“…”

“And on top of that, he even sensed that someone was watching him. Even if he’s wrapped in all that aura and privilege, no Sedo brat would normally…”

“…react like that at fifteen.”

Just for a moment, the colleague’s words hung in the air.

Then, as if irritated by this shift in opinion, Buné waved his hand dismissively.

“But come on, no matter how impressive he seems, he’s still a Sedo! Are you seriously thinking of bringing someone like him into our plans—?!”

But before he could finish his outburst…

“That Sedo bloodline,”

The man interrupted with quiet firmness.

“—is exactly what we need in our plan.”

“…Tch.”

Buné turned his head away, clearly displeased.

Seeing that, the other man gave a faint, bitter smile and slowly stood up.

“I’m not exactly thrilled about it either. All I’m saying is, keep the door open for now. Just as one possibility.”

“So, in other words…”

“We’re not contacting him yet. For now, we just report what we saw. Let Yangban-tal decide.”

“Ugh…”

Letting out a sigh that said everything, Buné shook his head and brought the object in his hand to his face.

Click.

A wooden mask, one modeled after the traditional once worn by folk performers in ancient mask plays, locked into place over his face.

“I’m saying this upfront: I’m against it. Got it? And I’m not helping convince the others either!”

“Relax. I wasn’t counting on you.”

The other man followed suit, lifting the mask he held and placing it on his face.

A mask with an open jaw.

* * *

It truly was a beautifully sunny day.

I got hit by a missile on my way out for a casual outing, had a lively archery match with some assassin “friends” who came charging in…

Honestly, what more could you ask for in an exciting day?

“By the way, I didn’t know you were skilled in archery, Master.”

On the way to the lower residential sector, in the replacement car Taewoong had secured, he glanced over at me after finishing a checkup on his prosthetic body, while I sat fixing my clothes and looking out the window.

“Skilled? Nah, it’s just a hobby.”

I waved it off, but Taewoong closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

“Even in that chaotic situation, you steadied your breathing and fired arrows. Not only that… you precisely struck the internal components of the attacker’s prosthetics. To pull that off without a prosthetic body yourself, relying only on instinct… Not even the trained Royal Guards could manage that.”

“So what? I hit a few targets. It’s still just a bow.”

I leaned my chin against the car window and muttered.

“The most dangerous attacker was taken care of by you, Taewoong, and you also blocked all their gunfire.”

“…”

“All I did was fire a few arrows… no, a few bombs attached to arrowheads. That’s it.”

“But if not for those few shots…”

After a brief pause, Taewoong spoke quietly.

“I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

“…Khhm.”

I awkwardly looked out the window again.

It was embarrassing, sure, but I couldn’t deny it.

I remembered what happened to this guy in the last life, when I had fled.

So yeah… he wasn’t wrong.

And besides—

‘He turned out to be a lot more useful than I expected.’

Even now, I could vividly feel the sensation of pulling back the bowstring.

The stillness in that moment as I released the string, it was like time froze.

The arrow’s flight path tracing clearly in my vision.

Sure, I brushed it off like it was nothing, but I was also reliving the fight just now, a strange thrill bubbling inside me.

In my previous life, archery had been nothing more than a hobby.

A distraction I dabbled in out of sheer boredom.

And who could blame me?

In this version of Joseon, where automatic rifles, missiles, railguns, and pulse rifles were everywhere, what good would an old-school weapon like a bow even do?

I just… wanted to do something.

And since a bow was the only weapon I could wield, that’s what I chose.

Never thought it would work out this well.

‘Maybe… maybe this could be the breakthrough I need.’

My greatest weakness in my previous life had always been raw combat power.

No matter how well I strategized, dismantled organizations, manipulated traitors into siding with me…

In the end, I kept failing because I lacked personal strength.

But unlike back then, this time… I had time.

And I had the one talent that belonged to me.

Enough time to actually make use of it.

“We’ve arrived.”

While I was lost in thought, the car carrying Taewoong and me pulled up to an old residential district in the lower city.

As soon as I stepped out of the car, I was hit with a wave of damp, foul-smelling air.

People packed tightly in every direction between cramped, decaying buildings.

Bzzzz—

[Let’s eradicate illegal weapons.]

[Myungjin Eco’s compactor provides a hygienic solution at an affordable price.]

[For inquiries, call 0220…]

Turning my head, I saw a trash drone flailing helplessly in the middle of a mountain of garbage, plastered in peeling advertisements from all sorts of companies.

It looked old, clearly a few years past its prime.

“It’s this way.”

Following the address, we arrived at a shabby apartment building.

Built sometime in the early 2000s.

Its structural lifespan had long since passed, and the area was littered with garbage and filth.

“There’s not even a doorbell?”

We followed the intel and knocked on the door.

No answer. Not even the sound of anyone moving inside.

But then, after a few more minutes of waiting—

Creak.

The door slowly opened.

And through the small gap, a tiny hand appeared.

Along with that hand, a young girl peeked out timidly.

“H-Huh?!”

The moment she noticed me and Taewoong, she gasped and hurried to shut the door again.

“Ah, wait, wait just a second!”

Still, I couldn’t just let it end like that.

I reached out and stopped the door from closing, then leaned in close with what I swore was the gentlest, kindest smile known to mankind.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to be scared. Hey there, kiddo, we’re not bad guys, alright? We just want to talk for a moment. That’s all.”

As softly as I could.

As sweetly as humanly possible.

I gave it everything I had, pouring all my energy into sounding like a decent person.

“H-Hic! U-Uwaaahhhh—!”

And yet, the girl’s face turned pale, and she dropped to the floor, bursting into tears on the spot.

***

“Sniff! H-Hngh! Y-You’re really not bad people? You’re not here to collect money?”

“Don’t worry. We’re not here for anything like that.”

Soothing the crying child turned out to be much harder than I’d expected.

As for what it took to calm her down, here’s a short breakdown of the items involved:

One box of Rurupong Snack Gift Set, the current must-have among children.

(Suggested retail price: ₩48,000)

A limited-edition playset, Let’s Play!

Rurupong Kitchen Clang-Clang Oven

All-in-One Edition. (Online reseller price: ₩170,000 to ₩185,000)

The newly released portable gaming console, KDS Trigger, Rurupong Edition, launched a month ago. (Premium online department store price: ₩420,000)

...Looking at the pile now, when did I even buy all this?

It all just kinda happened while I was trying to stop the crying. Every time she asked for something, I bought it. And suddenly here we are.

“This is all your fault, Seo Taewoong! You stood next to me looking all scary for no reason...!”

“Pardon me, Young Master?”

The girl, face still puffy with tears, sniffled as she happily assembled her toys.

Seeing that, I turned to Taewoong with a bewildered expression, only to be met with a sigh and his calm rebuttal.

“Grabbing the door while making that face… Of course the child got scared.”

“What do you mean that face? What’s wrong with my face?”

“You looked exactly like a loan shark coming to collect debt.”

“...Excuse me?”

What the hell? Is he insulting my face now?

How in the world does this kind, honest face of mine look anything like a loan shark’s?

I just don’t see it.

“Anyway…”

Ignoring Taewoong’s unjust slander, I turned my gaze toward the inside of the house where the girl lived.

“Yeah… this is pretty bad.”

The wallpaper was peeling, probably hadn’t been redone in years. The gas had been shut off long ago.

The kitchen, at least, seemed tidied up with some care, but the water that came out of the faucet was reddish-brown rust water from corroded pipes.

And above us, the ceiling exposed bare, skeletal piping, between which some unidentified creature, rat or bug, was crawling along.

“No one in their right mind would call this a livable space.”

“And definitely not a place to raise a child.”

Still, while I said that aloud, my thoughts were running elsewhere.

‘Thanks to this, things will go much more smoothly.’

People struggling with poverty are the easiest to persuade.

And if they have family they need to support?

Even better.

What if they are in debt because of that family?

Then it’s absolutely perfect.

You could wrap a leash around their neck under the guise of grace, and if needed, use their family as hostages.

‘Which means finding this guy at this exact moment… it’s the best possible scenario for me.’

It meant I could recruit a swordsman with incredible potential and skill—for practically nothing.

‘Judging by the time, he should be showing up any second now.’

Just as I thought that, glancing at the time displayed in the corner of my visual interface—

“Who the hell are you people?”

A stiff, cold voice cut through the air.

I turned to see a teenage boy standing in the open doorway.

He looked maybe two or three years older than me.

Smiling, I greeted him casually.

“So you gave up on ambushing us since your little sister’s here? That’s sweet. You’re a good big brother.”

His jaw clenched like I’d hit a nerve, and he instinctively reached his left hand behind his back.

Taewoong immediately responded, activating his prosthetic system, but I held him back and rose to my feet.

“Answer me! Who the hell are you people, just barging into our place like—!”

“Kim Moo-yeong. Age eighteen. A wandering swordsman of Hangwae* origin. Date of naturalization unknown. Parents, both deceased. The only known family is his younger sister, Kim Ha-yeong. Credit grade: Class 21. Inherited debt from parents currently totals 320 million won…”

I started listing off the intel Taewoong had sent me, and Moo-yeong’s eyes went wide like lanterns.

“Currently scraping by as a mercenary, but being of Hangwae descent and lacking citizenship, he often doesn’t get paid for his work. Can’t afford a proper weapon, let alone a prosthetic. Life’s rough, huh?”

“Shut up and answer the damn question! Who are you? Loan sharks? Debt collectors? Or maybe someone from the bank—?!”

But he didn’t get to finish that sentence.

The moment he opened his mouth to say more, he suddenly froze on the spot.

“W-What the…?”

I could guess the reason easily enough.

He must’ve checked the message that just came through on his comm terminal.

“But now that you’ve met me, your life’s not gonna be the same anymore.”

Notice from Donghwa Money:

As of today, your outstanding debt of ₩320,144,331 has been fully paid. All financial obligations have been cleared.

Notice from Joseon Financial Authority:

As per the request of a VVIP, your credit grade has been adjusted from Class21 to Class3.

One repayment notification after another poured in.

And right behind them, his account balance started ticking upward in real-time.

“Now then, how about you take your hand off that hidden blade?”

I grinned at Moo-yeong, who stood frozen like a statue, then delivered the final blow.

Notice from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joseon:

Your citizenship application submitted on [xxxx−xx−xx] hasbeen approved.

Effective immediately, you are now officially a citizen of Joseon.

Clang.

The metallic sound echoed through the room as the blade Moo-yeong had hidden behind him clattered to the floor.

He probably couldn’t even begin to understand what had just happened to his life.

Watching the stunned expression on his face, I gave him a warm, satisfied smile.

“So… why don’t we sit down and have a little chat?”

[TL: Hangwae – A term referring to displaced individuals or descendants of anti-Japanese resistance movements. In this story’s world, they are treated as stateless and marginalized.]

---The End Of The Chapter---

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