Chapter 64: The flag has been collected.

“Uncle. Uncle!”

Taehyung, clinging to his uncle who had just surrendered, was crying, looking utterly pitiful.

But even seeing him like that didn’t make me feel much sympathy.

“I’m sorry, Taehyung. But Minji’s cousin is incredibly strong.”

“That’s not the point! What about me?”

Look at this rude kid.

Even so, wasn’t his uncle fighting hard for him?

Well, in any case, I’ve become a hero to Minji thanks to this.

“See? I told you I wouldn’t lose.”

“Yeah, but don’t you feel a little bad for him?”

Our kind-hearted Minji always finds a way to pity others.

Does she really think that’s pitiful?

No, it’s not.

“This is exactly when you should crush him even more. Isn’t he your rival?”

“Yes, unnie.”

Minji seems to see him as a rival, and that kid clearly likes her.

You can tell by the way he teases her.

But to me, that kid isn’t a good match for Minji, so I’ll make sure to distance them.

“After meeting all these hunters, I’ve realized that competition is everything in life.”

“Really?”

I’m sure our model student Minji will understand what I’m saying.

“Taehyung is trying to step over you. Can’t you see that?”

“Is he?”

“So, whenever you get the chance, you need to crush him thoroughly. Completely.”

You have to stomp on him so hard that he never dares to come after you again.

I can’t allow a brat like that to hang around my little cousin.

“Got it!”

“Make sure he never stands up again in front of you.”

“Yep!”

You have to keep stomping and crushing him.

“If you want to get as strong as I am, you could even consider joining the Church of Canora.”

“I understand!”

-Wow, using a child to recruit like this… But seriously, anyone can see that Taehyung likes Minji, right?

I know, and that’s why I’m doing this.

No matter what, I can’t let a guy like that hang around my cousin!

Now, let’s ask Lightning Punch.

“So, since Minji won, does that make Taehyung her slave now?”

“There’s no other way. Sorry, Taehyung.”

Lightning Punch was looking nervously at Taehyung.

Let’s see how this brat reacts.

He’s so cocky, thinking his uncle is the best in the world.

To be honest, I feel like I’m picking on a kid, but…

“I will never be a slave!”

“Taehyung! Taehyung!”

The kid ran off, with his uncle, Lightning Punch, chasing after him.

That pride of his, always getting in the way.

“Well, this was bound to happen.”

“No matter what, he lost the bet. What’s with all the fuss?”

He probably never thought he’d lose.

I bet Taehyung’s plan was simple: provoke Minji so that her office worker aunt, Park Yoo-jung, would show up.

Then he’d bring in his backup, Lightning Punch.

If things had gone according to plan, Lightning Punch would’ve won.

But my appearance changed everything.

“He wanted to make you his slave. He just didn’t expect to lose.”

“Really?”

Now’s the perfect time to teach Minji a good lesson.

“That kid’s a pervert. He wanted to make you his slave and boss you around. Now that it’s his turn, he’s trying to run away.”

“He’s so cowardly.”

Yes, this is it.

Now I can free Minji from Taehyung’s grip.

I’ll destroy his little crush for good.

“That kid’s been sneaky from the start. You shouldn’t be involved with someone like that.”

“Yes.”

“Remember, you need to stomp on kids like him whenever you can.”

“Yes.”

Minji looked me right in the eyes, captivated by my unyielding gaze.

She couldn’t help but agree.

After today, Taehyung will be crushed even more thoroughly.

Hahaha, it makes me happy to think I’m ruining a kid’s pure first love.

“One more time, what should you do with kids like him?”

“Stomp them!”

I smiled with satisfaction.

“And Minji’s friends, you heard me too, right? Listen to what this pretty unnie says, okay?”

“Yes!”

Perfect.

The brainwashing starts now.

“Unnie, can I use a mace like you?”

“Of course! A mace is the best weapon for cracking skulls. If that Taehyung brat starts acting up again, crack his skull with it.”

“I’ll have to smash his head to bits.”

“Uh, but I don’t have a mace.”

It’s a bit of a shame that she doesn’t have a mace.

After all, there’s nothing better than a mace for cracking skulls.

Smashing feels more satisfying than cutting, and you can make sure they’re finished.

These days, there are some creatures that keep moving even after you chop off their heads.

“I’ve got plenty of money, so should I give you one as a gift?”

“Really? You’re the best, unnie!”

This is exactly what I wanted.

This way, I can slowly increase the number of followers.

-Evil, pure evil.

Evil?

Thanks to whom do I get to increase my followers even in this new world!

You could call this the beginning of the Ttukbaegi Religion (Smashing Pot Religion.).

After defeating the cocky brat and villain Lightning Punch, I was seen off by the handler in charge.

“Uh, Saintess, would you mind if we use today’s data for the Hwigwang Guild’s reference?”

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

It’s not like I’m the one getting involved—it’s just data.

“And would you consider working for our guild?”

“No, thanks.”

I can handle things by myself, so why bother?

Besides, I wouldn’t want to work in the same place as Lightning Punch.

“Are you working with Heavenly King guild?”

“Oh, no, this time I’m just cooperating to help a friend settle a debt.”

To be honest, watching what the elves have been doing lately, I’ve started seriously questioning if I should even be helping them.

“I see.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, the guild master there, Jeon Tae-yeon, is a lesbian. You might want to be careful.”

“Thanks for the heads-up. Anyway, I think I’ll leave soon after enjoying myself today.”

Later that night, I had to answer a call from my aunt.

[“What on earth is a ttukbaegi (skull)?!”]

What do you mean, it’s a skull.

What else?

***

England.

The Hero’s party sent to England had learned about Earth with the help of locals.

They built connections with local hunters and were introduced to various things, including computers.

“This thing called the internet is incredible.”

“Seriously. To think you can learn everything in the world through the internet.”

The Hero’s party, their eyes sparkling, were amazed by the internet.

It was like discovering fire for the first time.

At first, they were shocked, but now they had grown used to it.

Thanks to Maria’s magic, they had learned the English language and could read online without any trouble.

“If we had this in our world, we could probably even find out where the Demon King is.”

“Did you find any information about Karina?”

“If it’s Karina, I found something. Apparently, there’s a returnee in a country called Korea, and she’s known as the Saintess. Her name is Karina.”

Finally, they had found information about Karina.

She was active in a country called Korea, which was far from England.

“What’s a returnee?”

“A returnee is someone who went missing in another world and then came back.”

“That’s a thing?”

“Apparently, there are cases like that all over the world. Look here. There’s also something called ‘The Great Cataclysm.’ This seems to be something we need to know if we’re going to find the Saintess in this world.”

The Great Cataclysm had changed the world.

During that event, people had gone missing, and when they returned, they had transformed in various ways.

These people were called returnees.

Some came back having aged normally, while most returned with a different appearance.

“So Karina was originally from this world?”

“This world is definitely different from ours in many ways.”

“Yeah, it seems like this world is incredibly advanced.”

The architectural styles, the skies, and the level of civilization were all signs of great progress.

The high standard of living was also something to admire.

At last, they began to understand the things the Saintess had once said—about being born in another world, her complaints about the food, and the discomfort of traveling.

None of those were jokes.

“Now that we know, are we going to head there?”

“But isn’t it way too far?”

Korea may be a small country, but it’s one of the most influential nations in the world.

There should be ways to get there, but who would’ve thought it was this far?

No wonder it was hard to find her.

“But listen, Hero, don’t get mad and hear me out.”

“What is it?”

“Well, the location of the black dragon we fought… turns out it was just north of Korea.”

They pointed to Baekdu Mountain on the screen.

After searching for the black dragon’s habitat, it turns out it was located on Baekdu Mountain, just north of Korea.

“So if we had just gone south, we would’ve been fine?”

“Looks like it.”

“So that dragon sent us way off course?”

For the first time in his life, the hero felt his neck heat up.

***

As usual, I posted on the forum.

—

[Username: HeadSmasherSaint]

[Title: Today, I crushed a little brat’s one-sided love lol]

My younger cousin had a bet with her rival, but the rival’s uncle showed up for him while I stepped in for my cousin.

I completely humiliated the uncle in front of the brat, who saw him as a hero.

It looked like the brat had a crush on my cousin, so I gave my cousin a lecture, telling her not to associate with such a sneaky kid.

You know, just in case of any potential flags lmao.

[Comments]

100-Year-Old Succubus: You psycho lol, how could you crush a kid’s pure love like that?

└HeadSmasherSaint: I can’t let just anyone be with my cousin, obviously.

└Mermaid: I’m telling you, she’s no saintess. She’s a demon, a demon!

└Revolutionary Leader: Should I make you spicy fish stew?

└HeadSmasherSaint: Do that, and I’m not helping you.

Overweight Orc: By the way, if the uncle was a hero, does he have a name?

└HeadSmasherSaint: Apparently, he uses lightning.

└Overweight Orc: Then is it that Lightning Punch guy? I probably can’t climb the Tower of Destruction for now, I have a blind date.

└HeadSmasherSaint: Yeah, him.

└Baby Siren: I heard Lightning Punch Kim Yoon-sik is supposed to be pretty strong.

└HeadSmasherSaint: Yeah, but he’s no big deal.

Dwarf Guy: Forget that, when are we going to the tower again?

└HeadSmasherSaint: Should we go tomorrow?

└Dwarf Guy: Sounds good.

└True Battle Mage: I can go tomorrow too.

└Innocent Elf: Me too, I’m going tomorrow lol.

└Neko Cheonma: I’ll skip tomorrow. I’ve got to help out my younger sibling.

—

-Well, you did rope that kid into the bizarre Ttukbaegi Religion, but you know….

“This is all for the goddess’s religion, so don’t cause trouble, okay?”

-No matter what, though…

I decided to ignore the goddess’s words.

Now, should I go confront the Heavenly King Guild about this weird issue with their divine power pouch?

It’s annoying seeing them parade around someone else’s sacred powers in the forums.

Translator’s Note: Ttukbaegi actually means Earthenware pot which can be also referred as skull in this case.