Descent of the Demon Master - Chapter 864: Improving (4)

Becoming a lawfully-recognized entity? That was easier said than done.

It might not sound all that complicated on the surface. After all, one only needed to register the organization with the government, and that would be it.

However, register as what, exactly? Should the Assembly declare itself as an organization of hand-to-hand fighters that subsisted on collecting rent from various real estate around the country?

‘…Reporters will show up here if that happens.’

…Which might lead to some “amusing” situations, at least.

Before Kang Jin-Ho could say something, Lee Hyeon-Su beat him to the punch and began bucking like an unruly stallion. “Maybe you didn’t get enough sleep last night?!”

Lee Hyeon-Ju frowned coldly. “Chief Lee. Please state your intentions more clearly. Unless you wanted to shoot breezes with me?”

“Sounds like you did get some sleep last night. Then, why does it sound like you are still dreaming?” Lee Hyeon-Su groaned loudly. “That’s enough from you, okay? That’s enough.”

“I’m not joking, Chief Lee.”

“Yes, yes. I know. So, let’s stop there, okay.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju sharply replied, her expression reddening. “…Listen here, Chief Lee. Do you think I’m saying all this for some brownie points?”

“Probably not,” said Lee Hyeon-Su, his expression cold. “But it sure doesn’t sound like you’ve given this matter any thought at all.”

“Chief Lee!”

“No, no. No need to shout. Let’s get this out of the way, shall we? Reality is not a fantasy. Goofy ideals simply don’t work in the real world, okay?”

Before Lee Hyeon-Ju could argue back, Wiggins butted in first. “Since you stopped translating and started quarreling with Miss Lee, should I play some games on my phone until you two are done?”

“…My apologies, sir.”

Wiggins shrugged, then turned his attention to Kang Jin-Ho. “My lord. I’m sure what Miss Lee said sounds like a baseless suggestion, but it’s not as nonsensical as you think.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “Mm?”

“Truth be told, martial societies in other nations are also seriously weighing their options regarding this very topic, my lord. Honestly, I believe the Korean martial society should’ve started this discussion a long time ago.”

“What do you mean?”

“Almost no other country in the world boasts a higher rate of credit- and debit card usage than South Korea. As an example… Despite being Korea’s close neighbor, most Japanese still prefer paying cash rather than with their cards.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju quickly chimed in. “Most fast food outlets in Japan didn’t accept card payments, although I heard things are beginning to change.”

“…Really?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head again. Japan had this image of being a technically advanced country, so he couldn’t help but feel weirded out by this revelation.

“Out of three East Asian countries, South Korea is at the top of the list in terms of electronic payments, sir. The second place is, surprisingly, China. However, the current trend is already moving away from physical card payments to smart payment systems.”

“…S-smart? What?” Kang Jin-Ho blinked his eyes furiously.

Wiggins slowly shook his head. “My lord, you don’t need to concern yourself with it. Just know that the overall trend is marching toward the full-scale adoption of electronic payment systems. Once that happens, the days of traceless transactions will be over for good. Every transaction will leave behind a footprint in the future.”

“Mm…!”

“Knowing this inevitable future is just around the corner, the martial societies of other nations have been trying to find ways to circulate funds as legally as possible. As I’ve said before, the South Koreans should’ve started thinking of solutions much sooner, my lord. To me, it feels like we’re very much late to the party. And so…”

Wiggins glanced at Lee Hyeon-Ju and Lee Hyeon-Su, then grinned brightly.

“Miss Lee’s recommendation isn’t wrong at all. As a matter of fact, you could even say she’s gotten a better grasp of our situation better than some of us.”

A subtle smirk floated up on Lee Hyeon-Ju’s face. On the other hand, Lee Hyeon-Su’s face cramped up instead.

“N-no, master! Hold on!”

Of course, Lee Hyeon-Su wouldn’t be Lee Hyeon-Su if he accepted that unkind evaluation without a fight.

“What do you mean, she’s gotten a better grasp?! That’s not reality, but a daydream! The martial world should not interfere in the surface world. We stay as far away as possible from the other side. That is the unwritten rule!”

“Really? Even though we interfere regularly?”

“…!”

Wiggins chuckled softly. “We must not interfere? If we had been serious about that, we would have completely closed off any and all avenues of contact between the two worlds. However, martial artists and regular people already live side-by-side. Not only that, but some regular people are already fully aware of our existence, now don’t they?”

“M-mm!” Lee Hyeon-Su could only weightily groan, unable to argue back.

Kang Jin-Ho stared at the trio, his expression unreadable. It felt like the discussion had veered slightly away from the realistic problem of paying taxes and into something far grander in scale.

Then again, they were talking about redefining the boundary separating the Martial Assembly from the surface world. It was indeed grander in scale than worrying about paying taxes or not!

“Wiggins,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Yes, my lord.”

“The Round Table…? How did they view this issue?”

“So much of the Round Table’s operation is already heavily involved with the surface world, my lord.”

“Hmm…!”

“The knights of the Round Table are heads of the nations they represent. They influence not only the politics but even the economy of their respective nations. It might not seem readily apparent, but you can safely assume that each knight wields greater influence than a high-ranking minister in their home nation.”

“High-ranking minister…?” Kang Jin-Ho sheepishly scratched his head. It was hard to gain a proper understanding from such an explanation.

Wiggins continued to speak. “The important thing to remember isn’t the political influence of a knight, my lord. No, it’s their influence on the economy. The Round Table has been raising operational funds through corporations and companies owned by each knight for the longest time.

“Allow me to be frank, my lord. As Miss Lee has said before, the times have changed. Strength is still the most important tool in the martial world, but it’s not as significant in the surface world.”

“Yes, I agree,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Strength that can’t be utilized is meaningless, my lord. Even if there’s trouble with the surface world, it’s not like you can personally lead an army to deal with the situation. Now is it?”

“…Yes, that’s true.”

“In the end, you need money. You need money to exercise influence in the surface world. As a South Korean citizen, I’m sure you understand that better than most people. After all, a chairman of a large corporation wields more influence than the President of the nation here, don’t they?”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned ever so slightly. Even though what Wiggins said was true, it was still unpleasant to be reminded of the sad state of Korea’s affairs.

“My apologies, my lord.”

“No, I don’t mind. Do carry on.”

Wiggins briefly paused to gauge Kang Jin-Ho’s mood, then resumed his explanation. “The Assembly should have connections to various politicians. I can’t imagine someone as shrewd as Lee Jung-Geol sitting on his hands and not even bothering to do anything in that regard.”

He glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su as if to ask for clarification and confirmation.

“You’re correct, master. All the higher-ranking politicians with real power know of our existence. There is no helping this situation, unfortunately.”

“And you surely support them financially, as well?”

“Well, yes. You need treats if you wish to train dogs, after all.”

Wiggins contemplatively nodded. “The Martial Assembly probably used those connections to weather the storm until now. Even if the organization’s illegal funds were discovered, it could rely on its connections with the higher-ups to sweep everything under the rug.

“However, things will only become more computerized with time, my lord. Not to forget, the voices of civic organizations are getting louder these days, as well. I’m afraid there is an expiration date to how long we can rely on illegal means of obtaining funds.”

“Fuu…” Kang Jin-Ho sighed while leaning back on the chair.

‘Even things like this are getting in the way.’

Trying to hide the Martial Assembly’s existence from the world was similar to hiding an elephant in the middle of a desert. If the environment used to be a dense forest, it was now a flat desert where the horizon could be observed without any obstruction.

Kang Jin-Ho also had been thinking about this status quo for a while now. He knew it wouldn’t last forever.

“Okay, so…” Kang Jin-Ho scratched his cheek. “Your solution is?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju replied forthrightly. “We need to establish a corporation, Chairman Kang.”

“C-Chairman?” Lee Hyeon-Su gasped in shock.

However, Lee Hyeon-Ju remained unfazed. “If we evaluate the Assembly’s total assets, it easily rivals some of the largest corporations in this country. Even if we exclude those shady assets with seemingly no legal owners, we still dwarf some of the country’s top small-to-medium corporations.”

Lee Hyeon-Su continued to argue back. “Even if that’s true, what corporation are you even talking about here?! When we don’t even produce anything!”

“There are many ways to cover that. For instance, we could be security experts. As in, we provide private protection. Alternatively, we could call ourselves an investment firm.”

“…I-investment?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju coldly stared at Lee Hyeon-Su. “Chief Lee?”

“Y-yeah?”

“I acknowledge you as a capable, competent individual. However, your capabilities are limited to the operation of the Martial Assembly. You don’t even know how the surface world corporations operate, so please. Stop. Interrupting.”

Lee Hyeon-Su was immediately left speechless. It wasn’t because Lee Hyeon-Ju’s scary aura had suppressed him, though. The truth was… He had no comebacks.

It was true that he had practically no knowledge of how surface-world companies operated. Even if he was a weakling, Lee Hyeon-Su was still a martial artist, so he mostly focused his expertise on efficiently manipulating power dynamics within the martial world.

Eventually, though, Lee Hyeon-Su thought of something to say. “But, isn’t it the same story for you?”

“Fut!” Lee Hyeon-Ju smirked ever-so-slightly in derision, then turned her head to stare at Kang Jin-Ho. “My grandfather had planned for the Assembly to become a legitimate business entity one day. That’s why I’ve been studying this topic for a long time, Assembly Master.”

“…!”

“Now that I think about it, weren’t you attending Jaegyeong’s business management course? Doesn’t that mean you’re naturally interested in this topic?”

“Well, uh… Mm, ah? Y-yes, of course. Of course…” Kang Jin-Ho faltered, then hurriedly nodded away.

Of course, Lee Hyeon-Su didn’t miss the tiny beads of cold sweat on Kang Jin-Ho’s forehead.

Even though Lee Hyeon-Su glared weirdly at him, Kang Jin-Ho desperately pretended not to notice anything.

Lee Hyeon-Su tutted away. “Don’t you know that our Assembly Master only attended the course for half a semester? What would he know about business management in that case? He probably only skimmed the surface.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju tried to come to Kang Jin-Ho’s defense. “Even if that’s true, you must’ve signed up for that course because you were interested. Weren’t you, sir?”

“Y-yes. Of course,” Kang Jin-Ho hurriedly replied as more cold sweat soaked his back. For obvious reasons, he couldn’t reply that he just applied to the first university course on the list, which happened to be business management.

He had the grades, and the university had already been chosen. Worse still, Kang Jin-Ho never really thought at length about earning a degree or something from the university to assist him in his career.

All he did was submit his application to the first course he saw on the university’s list. That was it.

At the time, he figured it’d be great if what he learned could help with the cafe’s operation. No wonder he had zero vision of what his future could be back then!

Lee Hyeon-Ju continued to lay out her case. “We can declare the Assembly as an investment firm.”

Lee Hyeon-Su countered again. “But, what investment can we even make?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju glared at him with eyes reserved for looking at an ugly insect. “An investment firm doesn’t only make investments. To make it simple enough for Chief Lee’s tiny brain to comprehend… We can register as a fund manager.”

“Fund manager?” Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head.

“Contrary to what you believe, Chief Lee, a corporate body doesn’t necessarily have to manage a factory to produce goods. Who do you think owns all those high-rise skyscrapers in Gangnam?”

“…The mighty Land Gods?”[1]

“Wanna die?!” Lee Hyeon-Ju shot a sharp glare full of venom, forcing Lee Hyeon-Su to quickly shrink into his seat. This was why a man shouldn’t try to run his mouth on things he had no idea about!

“Those buildings all belong to corporate bodies, okay! Uh-whew! In any case! Plenty of investment companies use corporate bodies to raise funds to buy and operate buildings. And they use the revenue earned to sustain their operations.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. “Mm…”

“The Assembly already owns a lot of real estate, to begin with. That is why I think we should use that to our advantage and change the Assembly into a legitimate entity. I can’t speak for other departments, but… At least when it comes to the flow of our funds, we will have a lot more breathing space.”

Kang Jin-Ho stared quietly at Lee Hyeon-Ju before narrowing his eyes. “Let’s summarize everything, then.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Tell me the advantages.”

“First of all, we can legitimize our current assets and funds coming through our corporate bodies. By doing so, we will be able to recover all the funds we couldn’t until now.”

“Mm…!”

“Secondly, it’ll become possible for us to make investments of our own.”

“Investments?”

“Yes. We currently possess an extensive portfolio of real estate and assets, but our situation stops us from shuffling them around. Because… Well, we can’t freely sell or buy, you see?”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. “I guess so.”

“However, becoming a legitimate business entity will open all those previously locked doors, sir. We could sell off all of our ambiguous, unprofitable assets and reinvest the revenue into high-value stocks and real estate. This step is absolutely crucial in ensuring the future of the Martial Assembly, sir.”

“I see. And?”

“And, well…” Lee Hyeon-Ju smirked triumphantly. “You will now get to carry around a business card with your name on it, sir. Which should be a significant factor to consider. You will no longer be the Assembly Master, but the Chairman of a company, sir.

“Can you picture yourself among family members and distant relatives during the holidays? You’ll be like confidence personified, sir. I can promise you that your parents will dance around in pure joy.”

Lee Hyeon-Su groaned loudly again. Now thoroughly irritated, he decided to rebuke Lee Hyeon-Ju one more time. “Listen here, Miss Lee! Are you trying to make fun of us?! Be more serious, will you!”

“No, hold on,” Kang Jin-Ho raised his hand and stopped Lee Hyeon-Su. And then… His super-sparkling eyes locked on Lee Hyeon-Ju. “Run that by me again. What was that about my parents dancing in joy?”

Lee Hyeon-Su grimaced.

Goddamn it…

Yup. She got her man.

1. The author used a portmanteau of “landlord” and “god” in Korean here. ☜