Part 1, Chapter 9, 17

“Baek Cheongyeong, you say….”

A white and blue flower.

It was a name that certainly brought someone to mind, but I wasn’t certain yet. I first set aside the sprouts of doubt slowly rising in my heart and asked about the Cube’s whereabouts.

“Alright…. *Ahem*. So, Baek Cheongyeong-gun. What’s the background on how you came to know about the Cube?”

“It’s simple. I was Director Mao’s trusted subordinate. Mao Zeping entrusted matters related to the Cube only to me.”

“Mao Zeping? Ah, the Solitude.”

I thought it unlikely that Mao Zeping, who never trusted others, would entrust such a significant matter as the Cube to someone else, but the Solitude was embedded in Bonghyo-Baek Cheongyeong’s heart.

“Yes. I also swore loyalty to the Director. So I offered the Solitude myself. Though I never imagined it would become the catalyst for Xiaolin’s death.”

“……Thanks to Hwanryong.”

“Yes. Thanks to my liege, I was able to save my sibling. And the members of the Hwanryong Corps too, as a bonus.”

Baek Cheongyeong was genuinely grateful to Hwanryong. If Baek Cheongyeong was ‘that person’ I was thinking of, keeping him by Hwanryong’s side would be dangerous in many ways.

Should I kill him? But it’s unreasonable to kill someone just because their name is similar.

“What do you think about Hwanryong?”

“Huh? What about the Cube…?”

“Hwanryong, do you love him?”

“Are you cra… *Ahem*.”

Baek Cheongyeong openly frowned. He even let out a curse without realizing it, suggesting he didn’t think rationally when it came to Hwanryong.

“My, my liege is certainly someone who led me to a new life. But to think of them romantically? That’s absurd. I shouldn’t harbor romantic feelings, and besides….”

Baek Cheongyeong genuinely recoiled and shook his head.

“My ideal type isn’t some lazy bum like that, but a career woman who’s a workaholic.”

“…….”

Hearing his genuine words, I was convinced. Baek Cheongyeong was a safe existence. As someone who had played through Hwanryong’s route to the end, I could guarantee that Hwanryong was someone who would only get lazier, never a workaholic.

“Then what’s the reason for your loyalty to Hwanryong?”

“Well, naturally, it’s because they freed me from Mao Zeping’s restraints. Oh. And to add one more reason.”

Baek Cheongyeong sipped his tea to moisten his throat.

“I merely pledge my loyalty under someone who trusts and acknowledges my abilities. Hwanryong-nim acknowledged my abilities and entrusted me with full authority, allowing me to fully display everything I possess.”

“……Considering your alias, you seem closer to Kongming than Bonghyo.”

“He’s my idol. Hehehe.”

I swirled the straw in my strawberry shake. Hwanryong was deeply infatuated with Gaeul, and Baek Cheongyeong merely offered loyalty to Hwanryong, so there was no way he’d feel any affection.

“Hmm, then I concede.”

Baek Cheongyeong is safe. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“My apologies. There was something bothering me a little. Let’s get back to the Cube.”

“Yes.”

“First, how about you tell me the locations of the Cubes you know?”

I sank into the sofa and asked. Baek Cheongyeong, who had covered his mouth first, had his eyes curve into a smile.

“Are you testing me?”

“That’s right.”

“Very well. I don’t know what Phoenix-nim acknowledged in me, but since it doesn’t seem to be my abilities, I’ll earn that acknowledgment with this.”

“As you wish.”

I waved my hand at Baek Cheongyeong, telling him to go ahead and speak. Baek Cheongyeong pressed his watch, displaying a screen showing all of China.

“The total number of Cubes I’ve currently identified is five.”

‘Holy shit.’

What the hell is this bastard? I picked up my shake and slurped it down to feign composure. Baek Cheongyeong marked three points within China.

“One is the remains of the Martial God, stored in Shanghai. It’s an estimation, but I believe the Martial God might have fallen asleep with the Cube in their embrace while defeating an alien enemy.”

“That’s right. I took care of that one.”

“…No wonder. Tsk.”

Baek Cheongyeong clicked his tongue as if disappointed. I raised my hand to cut him off.

“Why didn’t you use the Cube?”

“Because I didn’t know how to use it.”

“Ah. Okay. Continue.”

“Yes. …Another one is here.”

Baek Cheongyeong pointed to a spot on the map. Near the mountain range located east of Luoyang-that is, the city known as Luoyang.

“Correct.”

“It was correct, as expected. I was uncertain because my subordinates kept losing their heads every time I sent them.”

“That’s where Caliphella is guarding. You’ll probably get an event if you catch Heuksagal.”

“Huh? Hmm, well, anyway, thanks to Dongchang’s intelligence, we confirmed the Cube. Mao Zeping knew about it too, but he was quite troubled by his inability to obtain it.”

“Because if he stepped forward, his own head would fly off. Hehehe. Alright, what’s next?”

The third one within China. Unfortunately, it was something I already knew well.

“……May I ask you something?”

“Yes.”

“Was it Heuksagal?”

“……*Ahem ahem*.”

Baek Cheongyeong was staring at me from beyond the screen, as if cross-examining me. I feigned nonchalance, but perhaps he read my thoughts just from that, as Baek Cheongyeong clicked his tongue in disappointment.

“So it was true, after all. I thought it was Jiparyong, but….”

“Why did you think it was Jiparyong?”

“I thought an S-rank monster would have it. When I considered why it wasn’t moving deep within Dongting Lake, I thought it might be because it was guarding the Cube.”

“That’s a shame. That one’s the same type as Hwanryong.”

“Damn it.”

Baek Cheongyeong was genuinely disappointed by his misjudgment.

“Then, is it alright for you to just stay like this? You should secure the Cube from Heuksagal, …no. You’ve already secured it, haven’t you? That’s why you’re so relaxed. Right?”

What the hell. Is his superpower mind-reading, not something like Solitude?

“It’s all written on your face.”

“……I thought I maintained a pretty good poker face?”

“Never gamble in the future. You seem to have absolutely no talent for lying.”

Baek Cheongyeong’s words pierced my heart like a tongue. His scathing remarks twisted my gut, but I decided to heed his words. There was no harm in listening.

“Yes. I secured it. And I already destroyed it.”

“Did you perhaps use it somewhere?”

“Correction. To be precise, I burned it down while destroying Heuksagal’s nest. In this world, only I can destroy Cubes.”

“……*Groan*.”

Baek Cheongyeong tilted his head, looking uncertain, but I decided to brazenly put on a poker face. Wasn’t it the truth? I merely omitted the truth about ‘how I destroyed it.’ There was no need to inform him, and he didn’t want to be informed either.

“You only need one Cube to use its effects. If you have two, a dimensional gate will just open and cause chaos for no reason.”

“Is that so? Then there’s nothing to be done. Since you say you’ve already secured one from the Martial God.”

“Yes. That’s how it is.”

No one in this world knew more about Cubes than I did. Baek Cheongyeong obediently nodded at my words.

“So, three in China. Where are the other two?”

“Pyongyang.”

“I know that one, so pass.”

“Huh? …Wouldn’t it be better to obtain it?”

Baek Cheongyeong seemed quite puzzled that I knew the Cube’s location but was leaving it alone. At first glance, the benefits gained from the Cube were greater than collecting monster Cores generated in Pyongyang.

“Not right now. Later. When the time is right.”

“There’s also a saying about hoarding something until it spoils, you know.”

“Fruit trees are best harvested in season to taste their best.”

“If you insist on putting it that way. And the last one is….”

Baek Cheongyeong swirled his finger across the map. His hand, passing over China, then all of Asia, and reaching Europe, stopped in central Europe.

“Oh.”

“What’s wrong?”

“No. I just thought it was fate.”

I was just wondering if my next destination should be Europe. But it was in a different location than the Cube I knew about.

“There’s a Cube here too?”

“Yes. To be precise, it’s something Mao Zeping secretly secured from Southeast Asia and put into his slush fund.”

“Indeed. There’s no safer place to hide things than there.”

But what if one more was added? In the original story, there were instances where multiple Cubes, not controlled by executives or Spirits, reacted and caused dimensional gates to open.

The Bern Gate. It was an overseas expedition quest in the mid-to-late original story where two Cubes were obtained simultaneously.

“Oh. Hold on a second. That complicates things a bit….”

If one of the three Cubes belonged to Mao Zeping, then the other one must be something someone else put in a warehouse like a slush fund. It suddenly became ambiguous.

“……I guess I should open an account too.”

“Are you planning to embezzle?”

“I have no ill intentions. It’s all for world peace.”

To find the missing Cubes, I had to use any means necessary. Although a sad event where half of the world’s slush funds would disappear might occur in that process, it would by no means be my fault.

Dimensional gates are a natural phenomenon. They are nothing more than a natural disaster.

“Alright. So it’s Mao Zeping’s secret account, then.”

“Yes. If you wish, I will arrange a business trip plan anytime.”

“…Good thing. It’s a relief I didn’t kill Mao Zeping.”

“Even if he had died anyway, wouldn’t Phoenix-nim have intended to obtain it even if it meant blowing up the bank itself?”

“That’s true. But that’s a bit much.”

While that might be the fastest way, committing such an act would make me a public enemy to some very terrifying individuals. And one of those many individuals is Money Ghost, one of my collaborators.

“…Do you know of any more Cubes?”

“Yes. That’s all.”

It was regrettable, but it was astonishing that an ordinary person knew of as many as five Cubes. I asked for his understanding and fell into thought for a moment.

The first Cube. I obtained it by killing the Tentacle Toad in Yeouido and used it to save Cheon Gaeul.

The second Cube. I dug it out and secured it in Daejeon and used it to meet Changyeom.

The third Cube. It’s in Pyongyang, but I still lack the power to defeat Nucleon.

The fourth Cube. I extracted it from the Martial God’s remains and entrusted it to Cheon Gaeul.

The fifth Cube. I destroyed Heuksagal’s nest and secured it. The final outcome was regrettable in many ways, but I put it to very good use on my date with Changyeom.

And the locations of the sixth and seventh Cubes were revealed.

One is east of Luoyang, a place formerly called ‘Hulao Pass’. The S-rank monster Caliphella is guarding it there.

One is in a bank in Switzerland, Europe. Unless it’s Mao Zeping himself, no one will be able to secure the Cube he deposited like a slush fund. If Cheongsong buried it underground with concrete, Mao Zeping boldly entrusted it to a bank.

“It’s strange how a person who doesn’t trust people trusts systems so well.”

“He probably trusted the desires of people who deposit money there. Although the Black Market is on the rise with changing times, there’s still no better place than a bank to deposit physical assets.”

“That’s true. I understand. This concludes the important discussion.”

Core, SR-6974, Cube.

And the name of Baek Cheongyeong.
I had learned everything I wanted to know. To commend him for confirming the location of the missing Cubes that I hadn’t grasped, I gave him a choice.
“I understand your abilities. So, from now on, I’ll ask you one thing.”
“Yes. What is it?”
Baek Cheongyeong waited for my question with an excited expression, even straightening his posture. It was amusing to wonder if the words acknowledging him could make him so happy, but I was curious to see how far that smile would break.
“Don’t you think a superior should take responsibility for their subordinate’s mistakes?”
“…….”
Baek Cheongyeong turned pale. Since he was a smart man, he must have quickly grasped my intention.
“B-but the subordinate committed the mistake, didn’t they? In that case, I believe the subordinate should be held responsible.”
Baek Cheongyeong stammered and was flustered. I found his flustered state quite amusing, so I decided to keep teasing him. This was my intention when I brought up the topic in the first place.
“Yes. So I will hold the subordinate responsible. Baek Cheongyeong. I’m holding you accountable for trying to screw me over.”
“……I will accept anything willingly.”

“Anything? Did you just say ‘anything’?”
“Yes. Even if.”
Baek Cheongyeong squeezed his eyes shut, showing resolute determination.
“Even if my… balls shatter!”
“I have no intention of breaking those. You just need to do this.”
I whispered my plan to Baek Cheongyeong. It was something that would happen in about three weeks, but as soon as he heard my words, Baek Cheongyeong’s eyes were filled with horror.
“Th-this crazy…!”
Baek Cheongyeong was so flustered that he even uttered vulgar words right in front of me.
“Why? You just need to inform the public of Mao Zeping’s change. Simple, right?”
“How can a person do such a terrible thing?!”
“I’m a Spirit, though.”
“……Ah, even so, how could you even think of making him eat that!”
Baek Cheongyeong shivered as if getting goosebumps. I merely laughed.
“Then will you eat it? Choose.”
I gave him a choice.
Whether he would eat it.
Or if Hwanryong would eat it.
The result of his choice would be revealed to the entire world on July 1st, the moment that ‘food’ was released. I could only anticipate it.

“Hehehe. Come to think of it, someone who likes that said this.”
I rummaged through my memories and imitated his voice and manner of speaking.
“There’s no bad person among those who like ….nya.”
“Ugh.”
“……My apologies.”
I quickly apologized.