Episode 631. Press Conference (4)

Lee Hoyeon chatted with the Irene and Alice sisters before exiting the convention center.

Fortunately, he managed to get away with exploiting the Iris Guild somehow.

‘Right. How much have I done for the Iris Guild? It’s only natural to make them work that much, isn’t it?’

Lee Hoyeon played a significant role in Iris Guild becoming not just the world’s best information guild, but the world’s best guild.

He reconciled the Alice and Irene sisters, neatly sorting out the succession structure, and for Alice, the successor of Iris Guild, he fixed her disability and unlocked her potential.

Information about Pandemic’s terrorist attacks was consistently provided, so many attacks that couldn’t have been prevented originally were prevented.

Besides that, profitable information or beneficial things were shared immensely, so considering all this, he should at least be made an honorary executive.

‘And Alice and Irene are my girlfriends, so what’s wrong with making them work a little?’

Having just had a productive conversation with Irene, his thoughts must be correct.

Lee Hoyeon smiled, recalling Irene’s cute appearance.

‘You there.’

‘…?’

Just then, a familiar voice reached his ears.

Turning his head, he saw Chairman Arthur of the Wizard Association.

His gaze pierced through the rune barrier and was fixed precisely on him.

‘Chairman-nim? I was planning to greet you later, but we meet again like this.’

‘Hmph. You sure talk smoothly now, you who went silent right after saying you were ready to mass-produce the magic tools. Check this out.’

Thump-

Lee Hoyeon caught the magic tool thrown by Arthur.

Resembling a smartwatch, the magic tool had a pretty cool appearance.

────[ Hell’s Mana Injector ]────

▶ Grade: High

▶ A magic tool that absorbed mana contained within the Infinite Entropy.

▶ The hellish mana absorbed from the Infinite Entropy is injected into the user’s body at regular intervals.

────────────

‘Oh… It turned out pretty well. As expected of you, Chairman-nim.’

‘It’s scheduled for sale starting today. As you said, I intend to minimize the profit gained from selling the magic tools.’

‘I will repay you with outstanding research and results. Oh, let’s cleanly reveal the cost and production process entirely, right? I have no intention of making money, so if I get criticized for being a merchant, it would be unfair.’

‘…Yes. That’s how it should be.’

Chairman Arthur watched Lee Hoyeon, who was examining the magic tool, turning it over and over, with questioning eyes.

The rights to [Hell’s Mana Injector] belong to Lee Hoyeon.

Mass production and distribution are handled by the Wizard Association, but Lee Hoyeon was the one who designed the magic tool.

The monsters from the Underworld are an unavoidable disaster.

They have already infiltrated human life, and without the [Hell’s Mana Injector] created by the Wizard Association, humans cannot fight them.

For an ordinary person, greed would likely arise, but Lee Hoyeon said he didn’t need the profits returning to him from the mass production of the magic tool.

Instead, he said to produce more with that money and supply it worldwide? It was beyond comprehension.

‘Today’s press conference was truly impressive. You knew a lot more information than I thought.’

‘I have connections with the Iris Guild.’

‘Hmm… I trust you, Mage Lee Hoyeon. I hope you don’t have any strange ideas, especially for Sol’s sake.’

Arthur, who had spent his entire life engaged in political struggles within the Wizard Association, found Lee Hoyeon’s actions alien.

He knew Lee Hoyeon was a steady young man, but as Arthur got older, he felt an unfounded anxiety.

Especially since he’s a man deeply involved with Im Sol, Arthur worried a bit more.

To Arthur, Im Sol was like a daughter, though not by blood.

‘Chairman-nim. There’s only one thing I want: to save this world. You’ll cooperate too, right?’

‘…Don’t worry. We’re already in the same boat, so we can’t back out now.’

‘Anyone hearing this would think we’re committing a crime. Please take good care of the magic tool mass production, Chairman-nim. Once things are wrapped up, Sol and I will visit.’

Lee Hoyeon bowed his head slightly and turned away.

Arthur watched his retreating back blankly, smacked his lips, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

His words were right.

Where or how he obtained the information didn’t matter; the important thing was that they shared the same goal.

There was no need to make an enemy of this steady young man who was responsible for humanity’s future.

‘Sol must not have fallen for some weirdo… Tsk. Perhaps it’s because I’m old, I worry too much about pointless things.’

Im Sol had always acted decisively since childhood.

Since he was the man she chose, Arthur figured he should support him as much as possible.

He moved his feet, operating his smartwatch.

‘From now on, release the supply worldwide. Also, organize the production process and costs and leak it to the press. Right. Don’t forget to include the name of the genius mage, Lee Hoyeon.’

---

Two days later.

Lee Hoyeon lay on the living room sofa, checking the news.

• Kuh, ku-euk. Ka, aaak….

In just two days, the world had changed significantly.

Now, it was commonplace for famous figures to appear on TV, speaking brainwashing words and emitting black mist.

Although the list investigated by Iris Guild wasn’t entirely accurate, most of it was correct, so it was a day to admire Iris Guild’s abilities once again.

• Breaking news. The President of China…

‘Right. I had a bad feeling about his face reading from the start. Tsk tsk.’

Of course, the transitional period of politicians falling under the brainwashing and being cursed at was unavoidable.

People will adapt soon, right?

‘This is why a show of force is the best.’

Thanks to the show of force, his press conference made headlines in various countries.

People who had fallen under the brainwashing were caught in real-time at the press conference, so Lee Hoyeon’s words gained significant weight.

And every time high-ranking officials, who were so confident, publicly emitted black mana and collapsed live on broadcast, the credibility of Lee Hoyeon’s words soared sky-high.

Forget the principle of presumed innocence; he created a situation where ‘if you don’t do it, you’re the bad guy.’

‘You’re amazing, as always. Daddy. I wish our kids were as smart and resolute as you.’

‘Tonight, I’ll definitely try my best. Hoo.’

Lee Hoyeon got up as Rebecca approached and made space for her to sit.

Lying down continuously made my body feel weak, and I felt like doing nothing.

It’s about time I get up.

‘Really? I’ll be looking forward to it. Oh, want to lie on my lap?’

Just then, Rebecca rolled up her dress, revealing her thighs.

Lee Hoyeon, forgetting to answer, lay back down on the sofa.

‘Ah! It tickles.’

The soft sensation made me unconsciously almost rub my face against it.

Lee Hoyeon coughed lightly, turned his head, and fixed his gaze on the TV.

• As you can see, the Cyclops Giant’s weakness is located on its crown…

This was footage of S-class hunters who had mastered hellish mana hunting monsters without taking damage.

The hunters, now familiar with the strategies, were truly making great strides.

It was exactly as Lee Hoyeon intended.

‘But after all this effort, there’s no reaction from Pandemic?’

‘I know, right? Actually, I was quite nervous.’

As they grew accustomed to hellish mana, the equipment monitoring the gates of hell also advanced.

However, even at the gates of hell, no significant changes were detected.

No new monsters were attacking, nor were the demons moving.

What on earth are they doing? I have no idea.

• Experts are focusing on the byproducts emerging from the corpses of hellish monsters. And the new ecosystem in the darkness above the sea is also drawing attention…

The hellish monsters emerging from the gates of hell no longer pose a threat to life.

No, to be precise, they soon will be.

With the strategy guide created by Lee Hoyeon and becoming accustomed to hellish mana, even the hellish monsters are no different from gates or dungeons.

Now, the wealth and honor gained from killing hellish monsters and exploring the darkness are within sight.

The treasures obtainable from the gates of hell would be more valuable than most dungeons, and the monsters’ corpses would become materials that never existed before.

Truly, it was a very human way.

While lost in random thoughts and massaging Rebecca’s thigh, a voice was heard from above my head.

‘Oh, right. Daddy. Irene asked for help destroying the black pillars, so can I go?’

‘You don’t have to ask me for permission.’

‘Still, for something this important, you should report to your husband.’

‘Heh heh.’

Hearing words like that makes me unconsciously smile.

Lee Hoyeon got up from Rebecca’s lap and kissed her.

‘D-Daddy. This is the living room…’

It was a brief kiss, but the sight of Rebecca’s ears turning red was quite cute.

‘Ms. Rebecca. You’re taking Liliana and Scarlet too, right?’

‘…Yeah. Liliana is depressed because she can’t broadcast, so I thought I’d show her the world abroad, at least.’

Because she became too famous from going around destroying black pillars, Liliana lost her will to live that day.

I don’t know why broadcasting is so important to her, but her usual behavior changed drastically.

‘Just then, there she is.’

Roll roll-

Liliana, wearing baggy sweatpants, was rolling around on the floor.

A while ago, she suddenly threw a fit about quitting chicken, and sometimes she acts strangely like this.

‘Ms. Liliana? What’s wrong?’

‘Li, Ms. Liliana. Rolling around on the floor is dirty, you know. What if Dahee sees and learns from it?’

‘Ugh… Aaaah…’

Just then, Scarlet and Nam Daeun, coming out of the kitchen, were startled and tried to help Liliana up, but she refused to budge, like gum stuck to the floor.

‘Liliana. Stop doing strange things, come here and sit. Let’s rest together.’

‘Sob… I don’t even have the strength to move anymore.’

‘If broadcasting is that important, why don’t you just do it?’

‘But only weirdos, not viewers, are coming…’

‘Ah. That makes sense.’

Lee Hoyeon used ‘Clean’ on Liliana, who had rolled on the floor, and had her sit on his lap.

Liliana immediately relaxed completely and leaned against Lee Hoyeon’s chest.

The Lucy-Lumi twins also complained about the hassle from reporters contacting them, so Liliana must be in a similar situation.

Since her face is already known, she probably can’t do broadcasts anymore.

• How to destroy the black pillars will be followed by a special lecture from Mage Im Sol…

‘…Isn’t that something Daddy should be doing, not Mage Im Sol?’

‘If I go, only reporters will swarm.’

It’s awkward to say myself, but after the press conference, I became way too famous.

Especially since Chairman Arthur mentions my name every time he’s interviewed about the magic tools, my image among hunters is good.

Yesterday too, I went to the scene, but too many people gathered, so I couldn’t even fight properly.

Thanks to that, I’m resting today.

• Sp, breaking news. The monsters coming from the gates of hell have started moving. Especially, new types of monsters are appearing in large numbers…

‘Huh?’

Blankly, Lee Hoyeon, who was watching TV, narrowed his eyes.

The monsters captured by the unmanned drone.

Among them, a face similar to Liliana’s was visible.