Ch.82Chapter 4. How to Conquer a Hero (3)

He approaches as a married man, forms a relationship, seduces, and then corrupts them into villains.

The Chairman plans to turn Baek Seol-hee, Ymir, and other women into adulteresses to gain psychological dominance over them.

The plan to approach as Do Ji-hwan is now clear.

The only remaining question is how to approach as the Goblin.

‘There’s a reason I came all the way to Seoul.’

Do Ji-hwan is in Seoul.

The Goblin is on Sejong Island.

To separate Do Ji-hwan from the Goblin, I have to endure this inconvenience.

Click.

I took off the Taegeuk Watch, transformed into the Goblin, and created something.

Meow.

“I’m counting on you.”

It’s an illusory cat created with the Goblin’s club.

It’s not a real cat, nor is it sophisticated.

Just a cat that will wander around the room, with the Taegeuk Watch attached to its back.

“Go to the dining table, then the bathroom, just move around. From now on, you’ll move according to my living pattern. Got it?”

Meow.

After creating my alibi with the phantom cat, I kept Do Ji-hwan’s face but changed into different clothes.

Mana is being released outside my body, but it’s possible to put on new clothes after transformation.

The clothes would tear if I used mana again, but that’s not a big issue.

I’ll be meeting her not as Do Ji-hwan, but as the Goblin in a suit anyway.

Flutter.

I pulled back the curtain and opened the balcony window.

There was a safety railing, but as usual, I grabbed it and jumped outside.

Darkness filled the outside.

Seoul’s night was eerie even in busy areas, as if ghosts might appear, and my apartment was no exception.

Thud.

No one notices when I use a bit of mana just before landing to touch down gently.

Seoul is ruined.

Everyone living here is poor, not the kind of people who stay awake at this late hour.

They work hard from morning till evening, return home too exhausted to shower, collapse into bed, doze off for an hour in a daze, then barely get up to prepare for tomorrow.

That’s what it takes to survive in this world, so everyone is too busy with their own lives to care about others.

Even if there were passersby, they wouldn’t care about me.

Whether I came out through the entrance or suddenly emerged from the bushes, their only concern is the hope of a new life amid their repetitive daily routines.

The poor in any world would be the same, but the poor in this world particularly lack hope.

Their only hope would be children, but to have children, one must marry.

Even if they marry, would their child become an ability user?

And if not, what happens to those children?

I got on the bike I had prepared.

Not one I rode regularly as a hobby, but a disposable bike prepared through the Syndicate under a different name.

Vrooooom—

With a rough exhaust sound, the bike quickly left the road.

Some might wake up angry at the motorcycle noise this late at night, but I didn’t need a car just to travel alone.

I’d ignore traffic signals anyway, and a motorcycle could move more easily than a car.

Whoosh—

After crossing the bridge, I heard the wind sweeping across the Han River’s surface.

In the original world, railings were covered with hopeful messages to prevent suicide, but such things didn’t exist here.

Splash.

I heard something fall into the water.

Stopping the bike and approaching the sound, I found two pairs of shoes placed by the railing.

“A double suicide.”

There were two pairs of shoes of different sizes, suggesting a man and woman had jumped together.

By now they’d probably be thrashing in the water, regretting their jump, and drowning with gurgles.

“Tsk. Really… huh?”

I heard small breathing sounds from somewhere.

Next to the shoes, I noticed something like a small basket.

“…Are you kidding me?”

I almost cursed involuntarily.

I quickly checked the contents of the basket and made a decision immediately.

“Damn it…!”

Holding the basket tightly against my chest, I rode the bike southeast.

Faster than when I left the apartment, speeding through Seoul’s roads at a pace that seemed illegal.

If CCTV were recording me, they’d think I was insane for such excessive speeding.

But protecting this basket and the life inside it was important to me.

Following the North Han River along the national road, I arrived at a large building in a quiet rural area more secluded than Seoul.

A temple.

A solitary temple nestled in the mountains.

Screech.

As soon as I stopped the bike, I ran inside with the basket.

“Monk!!”

“…I wondered who would visit at this late hour.”

A monk came out from inside the temple.

An elderly man who, if not for his monk’s robe and if he had hair, could have passed for a corporate executive.

“This child…!”

“…Still alive. Fortunately, there were many warming items in the basket. If the weather had been a bit colder, the child might have frozen to death.”

The monk carefully took the “child” from the basket and held it.

The child was sleeping so deeply it seemed almost dead, and the monk whispered something to soothe it.

“Why didn’t you report this?”

“I’m working as a department head. I left my Taegeuk Watch behind and stopped here urgently on my way.”

“You’re working hard, Department Head Do. Would you like to rest a while? The awake children would be happy to see you.”

“…It’s difficult now. I need to go straight to the East Sea and cross the ocean.”

“I see… You need to erase the fact that you visited here. I understand. I’ll take care of that later. But at least have a cup of coffee before you go. Think of it as a rest stop.”

“…I can’t stay long.”

I parked the bike against the wall and followed the monk carrying the basket inside.

* * *

“I’ve entrusted the baby to the older children. They’ll take good care of it, so don’t worry and rest a while.”

The monk, whose dharma name was Samuel, handed me a paper cup.

“I’ll have a smoke too.”

“Monk Samuel?”

“God won’t mind if I smoke on a day like this.”

Click.

“Are you looking for God in a Buddhist temple?”

“I changed my appearance temporarily for the children, but He knows I have a cross in my heart. Buddha would certainly show great compassion in such matters. Well… if I’m told I was wrong after death.”

Samuel crossed his legs and lit his cigarette.

“I have no regrets about my actions, so I’ll accept whatever judgment comes.”

“…How many children now?”

“Thirty-four.”

“Ha.”

Too many.

There are too many children in this small temple.

It can’t be helped.

This place serves not only as a temple but also as an “orphanage.”

“Fortunately, the company provides financial support. Things have become relatively abundant since you came, Department Head Do. We could easily take in about ten more.”

“You’ll wear yourself out, monk.”

“What’s wrong with burning this one body to create shade for children abandoned by their parents to grow under?”

Samuel pulled out a piece of paper from his robe with a cold expression.

-Sorry. Please raise this child.

“No name?”

“They probably never seriously intended to name and raise this child. Do you like games? Have you heard of Pocket Monsters?”

“Of course.”

A game I played often in elementary school.

The trend continued in this world too, with a completely new version released after 2000.

Everything I knew changed completely from the so-called 3rd generation, and I plan to take a month’s vacation to catch up on everything if the world doesn’t end.

“Did you play the competitive battles?”

“…I only finished the story.”

“Then let me explain. In battles between people, the monster’s innate talent is crucial. It’s called 6V… but I’ll spare you the detailed explanation that would give you a headache. I’ll be direct.”

Samuel blew a large cloud of smoke toward the ceiling.

“They had a child hoping for an ability user to reverse their fortunes, but got a normal person and abandoned the child. Like scratching a ten-month lottery ticket and throwing it away when it didn’t win.”

“……”

“You didn’t try to find the parents? Good. People who treat their children that way will get straight punches from both God and Buddha.”

“That’s quite a statement.”

“Or the Goblin might crack their heads while they’re still alive.”

Samuel let out a deep sigh.

“Department Head Do, I believe in the Group. If the Group comes to rule the world, they will surely take care of abandoned children like these… no, there won’t be abandoned children anymore. The Chairman will definitely create such a world. Don’t you think so too?”

“Yes.”

I decided to believe in and follow the Chairman because I’ve seen this reality firsthand.

“A world where children aren’t abandoned for not being born as ability users. I believe it will surely come.”

Each year.

Many children are born.

And many are treated as if they never existed.

Ability.

For that one reason alone.