Ch.639Chapter 24. Real Estate Never Die (17)

“Before devising a plan to eliminate the Demon of the Monkey’s Paw, Yoo Yeol-chung.

“This is the situation, Baek Seol-hee.”

“Hmm…”

I explained to Baek Seol-hee about the battle that took place in the cable car.

“I came to see Mount Geumgang and ended up seeing a demon instead. So what about that A-rank woman who escaped?”

“She’s currently being tracked. The Association has been notified, and The Syndicate is also investigating using the Tavern Owner.”

“For me… Ah, I turned it off.”

The A-rank Italian female hero, ‘Firenze,’ is now officially being pursued.

The official reason for tracking her is ‘suspect in demon harm case.’

She’s accused of going into hiding without reporting to the Association or authorities when her husband, the hero ‘Milanio,’ became corrupted into the demon ‘Honeysucker.’

In reality, the voice was stolen, and the ghost of Hwalbindang appeared and attacked the couple, with the husband becoming a demon to save his wife…

“It’s the last request of a man who’s no longer Milanio after being Zenros’d. I could catch her right away if I wanted to, but I’m giving her a little time.”

Officially, an investigation has to take place.

When one half of an A-rank couple scheduled to participate in the World Cup becomes a demon and the other goes missing, how could there not be an investigation?

And while we could easily find the wife if we stepped in, she needs time.

Time to consume all the honey from the voice and turn it into her own magical power.

Milanio wanted her to awaken as an S-rank with the power of that voice, and although he had Zenros’d, I decided to grant that wish.

To spite Yoo Yeol-chung.

“…I understand the situation, but shouldn’t you be granting the wish in a different way? Like, maliciously.”

Baek Seol-hee questioned my actions with a puzzled expression.

“Shouldn’t you pretend to grant Milanio’s wish while actually taking the voice away from Firenze before she awakens as an S-rank?”

“You’re thinking quite sharply in that direction, which is unlike you.”

“Dealing with those kinds of people was my specialty. Villain elimination. I was someone who professionally dealt with people the country could openly call ‘malicious,’ remember?”

Just as detectives who mainly handle criminal cases and arrest criminals become mentally exhausted, Baek Seol-hee had faced many villains and witnessed their malice firsthand.

The fact that she maintained her purity even after seeing such malice was due to her upright spirit.

That’s why she knows well how malice and spite are realized.

Because those were the kinds of people she faced.

“You seem to be trying to pursue two tracks simultaneously.”

“That’s right. Granting a wish for free, and showing a more definite spite than Yoo Yeol-chung. I’m trying to run those two tracks.”

“Is that possible?”

“It is. It’s possible precisely because this is the Korean peninsula.”

If Yoo Yeol-chung had appeared with a default form of some mountain god or such being, it might be different, but since he appeared as a Monkey’s Paw covered in fur, we have the advantage.

“It’s not just about enjoying the downfall of others, but approaching it in a way that allows many people to feel catharsis even while watching others’ downfall.”

“…Is that possible?”

“Of course. If we go with a folktale meta.”

I reached out to the side, and Seong Ji-eun beside me had already completed all preparations.

“Mountain god meta.”

“…Are those really gold and silver axes in your hands?”

“Yes.”

Dressed in white hanbok with a white band around her head, Seong Ji-eun swung gold and silver axes in each hand toward the air.

“They’re gold and silver gathered from the veins under Mount Geumgang.”

“I used the collected gold and silver to make them with my Goblin club. Just looking at this gives you the feeling, right?”

“…I’m not sure if you’ll actually go out looking like that, but I can see what kind of mischief you two are planning.”

Baek Seol-hee looked us over with an expectant face.

“When are you going to do it? Right now?”

“We should move as soon as possible. We saw a demon wandering around the Korean peninsula, and we can’t just let that slide.”

I pulled out one target.

“First, we’ll use this guy as bait.”

“This guy… wait, isn’t that Milanio?”

“Yes.”

The sweet husband, now white-haired and temporarily confined to a room at the Haeguneul Hotel in Mount Geumgang.

We’ll use him to lure Yoo Yeol-chung again.

“Listen carefully, Seol-hee. No matter what the process is, this is what’s important.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Seong Ji-eun raised her gold and silver axes.

“A happy ending. Good people are rewarded, and bad people are punished.”

* * *

Shortly after.

After planning with the three of them, I made contact with an agent dispatched to Mount Geumgang from the Hero Association.

“Busy during pregnancy.”

“…It’s still early in the pregnancy.”

The woman who responded to my words, Thunder Empress Kim Yoon-ji, lightly pressed down her white hat and pointed inside.

“Welcome. Patriotic Master. It’s an honor to receive Meister Do Ji-hwan.”

“Am I a Meister?”

“Female Meister. In a private setting, I could express it more explicitly, but…”

Crackle.

Thunder Empress lightly raised magical power on the floor.

“Does calling me here mean you want me to cooperate in suppressing The Syndicate’s movements?”

“Yes. A demon from Pandemonium has appeared.”

“……”

Thunder Empress nodded heavily with a serious face.

“To prevent Hero Association support personnel from being enchanted by the demon, you’ll use controllable personnel to defeat the demon. I understand your purpose.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

As Thunder Empress said, that’s the reason I called her to Mount Geumgang—or officially, the reason she told the Hero Association president that she wanted to go to Mount Geumgang.

“We’ve already caught the demon, but if a Hero Association hero interferes and we lose the demon, it would be frustrating.”

“You mean to prevent what’s called a troller.”

“Yes.”

Even among heroes, sweet potato trollers are unwelcome.

“Thunder Empress. While I persuade Milanio, please review the materials about the demon.”

“Understood. But, Mr. Do Ji-hwan.”

Thunder Empress, or rather Kim Yoon-ji, who was faithfully carrying out her mission, carefully opened her mouth.

“…Is Senior Hyun Se-rin not here this time?”

“No. She’s briefly in America right now.”

“……”

Kim Yoon-ji lowered her head with a gloomy face.

“That’s a shame. If she were here…”

“What? Were you planning to subtly suggest the three of us get together?”

“Eek…!”

Kim Yoon-ji backed away from me with a reddened face.

“Do, do you think I’m the kind of person like Senior Baek Seol-hee?”

“But if ‘White Rider,’ who came from America to Korea and made a deal with the Korean government to spend a night with the Patriotic Master, chooses you as her patriotic assistant, you’d immediately say okay, wouldn’t you?”

“That’s because the senior designated me as her secondary shooter, so of course I have to do it.”

You might wonder what talk of primary and secondary shooters has to do with patriotism, but these two have been together since they were young.

“Look forward to it. I’ll make sure you two hold hands together.”

Slap.

I lightly slapped Kim Yoon-ji’s bottom with my hand.

Kim Yoon-ji was startled and distanced herself from me, but soon narrowed her eyes while quickly scanning the surroundings.

“…You must invite me when Senior Hyun Se-rin is there.”

“Of course.”

Beep.

Kim Yoon-ji extended her Taegeuk Watch to the hotel room door to unlock the electronic lock.

I entered the room without bringing anyone along and met a man sitting on the bed, intently watching TV.

“Who are you…?”

“I am Korea’s Patriotic Master, Do Ji-hwan.”

“……”

I didn’t come as a Goblin.

Nor did I come as a scholar.

Since I introduced myself as Patriotic Master Do Ji-hwan, this man—Milanio—showed an openly wary attitude toward me.

“Wh-why are you looking for me?”

“Well—”

“You’re not planning to do something to my wife, are you?!”

Before I could say anything, Milanio misunderstood on his own and rushed at me.

“Under the pretext of awakening her, you’re going to seduc—”

“Calm down.”

I avoided Milanio’s hands as he charged at me, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed him onto the sofa.

Thud!

“……”

Even though he had Zenros’d, he was still a former A-rank ability user.

He seemed dumbfounded that someone like him had been cleanly thrown by me.

Or perhaps.

“Ma-magical power…?”

“So you can still sense it minimally even after Zenros. Well, even though you’ve become a demon once, with effort you could at least reach F-rank.”

“Uh, um…?”

I sat down across from Milanio, crossed my legs, and created something with magical power.

“Shh.”

“!!”

The mask I created was the same mask that had given the voice to the demon Sweet Husband.

“Y-you are….”

“I operate in various ways under the title of Patriotic Master.”

“I-indeed…. Snow White becoming stronger, other S-rank heroes getting pregnant…. it was all you….”

“That’s right.”

This is the most efficient approach for someone who’s letting their imagination run wild.

Just throw out some bait, and they’ll piece together the setting on their own.

“I have a proposal. In exchange for making your wife an S-rank and getting revenge on the ghost that turned you into a demon, I want to eliminate the Pandemonium demon ‘Yoo Yeol-chung’ who tried to use you.”

“!!”

“I’d appreciate your cooperation. For the sake of a safe World Cup and peace in this land.”

“……”

Milanio clenched his fist and nodded firmly.

“Even though I’ve lost all my power, I’ll do anything for world peace. What do I need to do…?”

“Before that.”

I handed him two round beads and one long rod.

“Do you trust your wife?”

“O-of course.”

“Then.”

Question.

“Are you certain that she will love you for the rest of her life as before, even though you’ve Zenros’d? That she won’t abandon you and have an affair with another man?”

“O-of course…! I trust my wife…! …But. If my wife were to leave me and choose another man…. that would be unavoidable….”

I got my answer.

“Mr. Carbonara.”

“What? I’m Milanio….”

“I’ll make you not so easily washed away.”

“Wh-what does that….”

“I’ll make you.”

From an A-rank ability user.

“Into an S-rank house husband.”

Like Do Ji-hwan.

“You will personally make your wife an S-rank.”