Chapter 45: You’re useful after all, huh?

Kim Hyeong-jin is begging for death, but think about it.

I’m sorry, but I have no intention of killing him so easily.

To someone who no longer fears death, it would simply be a form of rest.

I don’t want to offer him that kind of salvation.

“Oh, sorry, but that’s not possible. In my belief, death is salvation. Sure, you confessed your sins—what do they call it? A confession? Anyway, you did that, but since you dared to aim for me, I can’t just let you die so easily.”

“Pa… Park Si-woo. Are you crazy?”

Why does he keep bringing up the name of someone who’s already dead?

“So why do you keep spouting nonsense? Think carefully with that noodle brain of yours. If suddenly you remembered a past life or someone from your past came back and claimed to know you, would that make you that person from your past life? Also, if you really think I’m Park Si-woo, does your lower half still react to a man?”

“Well…”

He has no argument, does he?

This isn’t just a matter of intelligence; even though he seemed smart in the past, that’s clearly no longer the case.

“Since you don’t seem to get it, let me knock some more sense into you.”

Crack!

I shattered his empty skull once more.

By now, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve done this. Kim Hyeong-jin, finally worn down by instinct, submitted to me.

“Fine. Stop hitting me. You’re not Park Si-woo!”

“And who am I, then?”

“You… you’re… the… saintess.”

Who does he think he is, calling me “saintess” like we’re friends?

He should know how to show respect.

“It’s Saintess nim. Add ‘nim’ to the title.”

“Saintess… You f—! You think I’m going to call someone like you ‘nim’? Whether it’s your past or whatever—there’s no way you’re a saintess now!”

Crack!

A fitting punishment for trash who can’t respect the saintess: another resurrection for the sake of justice.

Dragging my mace, I approached Kim Hyeong-jin’s freshly respawned form.

“And now?”

“S-Saintess… Saintess-nim… Please, I was wrong! Just kill me or spare me—please, make it stop!”

“I actually considered offering you salvation, but you don’t even deserve to die.”

What should I do, though?

Letting him live is risky with those eyes of his.

“So you’ll let me live?”

“What should I do with you, hmm?”

As I pondered, something fell from his chest.

It was a card with the logo of the Heavenly King Guild—his Hunter ID.

“What are you planning to do with that?” he stammered.

“Are you with the Heavenly King Guild?”

This piece of trash was part of that guild?

“Y-Yes.”

“How did you manage to get in?”

The Heavenly King Guild has strict entry requirements.

No way someone like him would get in easily.

“Ugh…”

“Did Jeon Tae-yeon take someone like you in?”

I’ve met Jeon Tae-yeon before.

She’s no fool.

There might be weaklings in the guild, but a trash like him?

She wouldn’t.

“Well, it’s because of my… my eyes.”

Those eyes?

Of course, it had to be them.

Even with a decent face, Jeon Tae-yeon wouldn’t recruit him based on looks alone.

“So, did you try to force yourself on Jeon Tae-yeon?”

“I couldn’t. She always used clones. The gap in our abilities was too great. All I could manage was to make her feel some attraction.”

In other words, he was weak.

A good power, but with the wrong owner.

Or maybe that’s the limit of his ability—to incite no more than mild affection.

“So you kept trying? Persistent, aren’t you?”

It seems this trash will actually be useful after all.

“Well, you’ve been lucky. Just enough to keep your status as a Hunter, huh?”

Everything starts to make sense now.

“Ugh… so you’ll spare me?”

“Well, I’ll let you live.”

I’m not one to lie.

“Really?”

“I think it’s better not to grant you salvation. Plus, I can negotiate with Jeon Tae-yeon and deal with a woman who might cause me trouble.”

“What… what do you mean?”

Crack!

I smashed his lower half again.

How many times now?

This time I made sure, striking it with the mace repeatedly until he wouldn’t even be able to relieve himself.

My mace feels tainted now.

Once today’s business is finished, I’ll have to purify it with some craftsmanship.

“Screeeaam!”

Worried he might die from shock, I restored only enough of his lower body to keep him alive, not fully heal him.

He’ll have to live as a eunuch for the rest of his life.

He won’t be able to embrace the woman he loves, nor will he ever have children.

“And it’s best to destroy his mana circuits too.”

If I want to prevent him from using his abilities, that’s the only option.

-Yes, it’s a unique ability. His mana circuits must be destroyed entirely.

“No need to take his eyes anymore.”

Leaving them intact would be a greater torment.

He’s relied on his powers all his life, and now, even when he sees a beautiful woman, he won’t be able to use them.

Even if he tries to seduce her with his looks, his lower body won’t function as it once did, making his original goals impossible.

This is probably the worst outcome for him.

At his age, if he’s still like this, no matter how many times you beat him, he’ll never change—a perverted bastard through and through.

It’s better to remove what he can’t use.

“Ahh… Ugh… Aaargh!”

“Honestly, your skull should have been shattered over a hundred times by now. You should be grateful I’m going this easy on you.”

He should be thankful that he’s from the Heavenly King Guild.

I used his ID card to call Jeon Tae-yeon.

[“Is this the Saintess?”]

She answered quickly.

This’ll be over soon, then.

“Is Kim Hyeong-jin part of the Heavenly King Guild?”

[“Let me check… Ah, yes, he is.”]

Now, time to set the stage.

I’m going to milk this situation for all it’s worth.

“You really are quite wicked.”

[“Sorry?”]

“I never imagined you’d send Kim Hyeong-jin to assassinate me in retaliation.”

[“What are you talking about? I would never do something like that! Knowing who you are, I wouldn’t dare attempt something so low!”]

Of course, she wouldn’t.

She’s done her homework on me, and after the guild’s failure to launch a large-scale attack, there’s no reason for her to provoke me further.

Not to mention she’s apparently fond of me.

There’s no way she’d want to kill me.

I’m going to use this guy to pressure Heavenly King.

“Whatever the reason, a man from the Heavenly King Guild attacked me. Shouldn’t that be the main issue here?”

[“I’ll take a look. Would you like to come to the guild?”]

Good, that’s the response I wanted.

*

Jeon Tae-yeon met with me discreetly.

Since this was an important guild matter, she came in a car to a secluded alley where I had temporarily set up a dungeon using a dungeon core.

“Do we really need to talk here?”

“Unless you want me to drag this giant mess to the guild for everyone to see?”

She should’ve thought twice before letting someone like Kim Hyeong-jin into her guild.

Jeon Tae-yeon glanced down at Kim Hyeong-jin, who was limp like a pile of minced meat.

“Ugh…”

Still groaning in pain, he looked up at her, his face turning pale.

“So this is Kim Hyeong-jin.”

By the look on her face, it was clear she was seeing him for the first time.

His charm ability must have been that potent.

“Are you sure you don’t know him?”

“I… I really don’t know how this man got into the guild. His ID is genuine, so he must be a member, but…”

Her expression showed she felt wronged.

Had she forgotten him entirely?

Or maybe it was hypnosis.

I didn’t care enough to dig deeper.

What mattered now was that he admitted using his ability on her.

“Well, let’s ask him directly. Kim Hyeong-jin, explain how you managed to join the Heavenly King Guild.”

Jeon Tae-yeon pressed a blade to his neck as she asked.

That’s pointless now; this guy already doesn’t care if he lives or dies.

To him, it doesn’t matter whether he lives—what he’s afraid of is not knowing what I might do to him next.

So he has no choice but to go along with the flow.

“I have a charm ability. I used it to charm guild master into allowing me to join.”

He spoke in a calm, almost detached voice.

See, he’s being honest now, fearing another blow to his skull.

Jeon Tae-yeon shook her head, clearly overwhelmed.

She hadn’t seen this coming.

“Ha… So it wasn’t a lie.”

She placed a hand on her forehead and sighed.

This puts me in a better position for negotiation.

Not only have I saved her from this piece of trash, but I can also use this situation to my advantage.

“I think this gives me some leverage in our deal, don’t you? After all, I saved you from this scum.”

“What… What are you talking about?”

“I’m suggesting you reduce my debt in exchange for keeping things as they are.”

“Your debt?”

Yes, the debt to the elves.

“That’s right. I don’t need much—just 20 billion.”

“Do people often ask if you’re sane?”

“You know me well.”

In the other world, I’d get asked that a lot.

But this negotiation wasn’t about clearing my entire debt—Kim Hyeong-jin wasn’t worth that much.

“You know I won’t agree to that. After all, he didn’t enter the guild by my choice; he slipped in through trickery.”

“Still, he’s a Heavenly King Guild member, isn’t he?”

No matter the reason, Kim Hyeong-jin is part of the Heavenly King Guild.

This means a guild member attacked a returnee.

If this were just a fight between hunters, they could spin it as a personal matter.

But since I’m not a hunter, that changes things.

A civilian attacked by a hunter—now that’s different.

Especially when it involves a guild like Heavenly King, which has already made enemies with certain powerful people.

This could easily become a scandal.

“You’re… right.”

Got her.

How should I spill this story to make it the most fun for everyone?

I could always say that the government already tried to go after the guild once, claiming there was some broker feeding them information.

Just a guess, but it seems like I hit the mark.

“If I hand this trash over to government officials, they’ll be all too happy to tear into Heavenly King, don’t you think?”