episode_0184

Unable to grasp (3) ― World Seongju Office

The streets of the world are still vibrant enough to put the moon in the sky to shame.

“Looking for someone to collect point tax as a fixed member!”

“The ‘Cherry Blossom’ guild is recruiting new guild members! Anyone with skills is welcome!”

A bar full of loud shouts and bustle from adventurers.

“Oppa~ Just sleep with me today. I will treat you well~”

“Come here~ Aying~ Come here, oppa~”

Their own sleepless night was there, mixed with the coquettish laughter of women selling warmth to spend the night.

And the top of the world where you can see it all at a glance.

Seongju quietly looked down at the black dots moving around busily.

“… … It feels like raising insects.”

If you look closely below, you will see that they are adventurers living hard each day with different faces, but to them, they are just tiny black dots.

“Ant babies that are so annoying to raise.”

Because they can’t forget the comforts of the past, they whine at the slightest hardship.

However, there is no reason or benefit to protecting them by telling them what to do.

Moreover, they are so weak that sometimes they are even given the title of adventurer to raise them.

“… … But the ranker tells me to do it this way.”

An advertisement for One Mind Salvation Church is being played repeatedly on the ‘video player’ placed on the table in the office.

Seongju continued to stare at the man with a benevolent smile in the advertisement.

One thing every gamer knows.

My new path is a shortcut to being a piece of shit.

Just following what the ranker does will get you halfway there.

“And these days, I think I understand why they put on such live shows.”

Kiiing!

Seongju calmly looked at the purple mana that filled his hands.

The color is so vivid that it cannot even be compared to when the world was first built.

It was a growth achieved through points that no awakened person, no matter how strong, could ever gather on their own.

“… … What the fuck is all this for?”

However, even after seeing this remarkable growth, I was filled with a very bitter aftertaste rather than joy.

[In a collapsed world! Let us continue our own salvation! Let’s live tomorrow with love and hope!]

The ‘video player’ is still playing advertisements with bright light.

Kiiing—!

With a clearer movement sound, the castle lord’s purple pupils scanned the white-robed man.

[You cannot identify the target yet!]

A familiar message appears next.

“There’s a monster living in the tower, fuck.”

The future was so bleak just with the presence of one fair, but this was not the end.

[‘World’, a new world where everyone can become stronger, awaits you!]

Seongju stared at the huge electronic display board that was broadcasting the advertisement he had applied for at the same time.

Daehan and Salvation Church loudly exchanged provocations on the neutral power ‘broadcast’.

Among them, I couldn’t help but pay attention to Daehan’s silence, which contrasted with the still active broadcasts of the Salvation Church.

It was very obvious what could be inferred from Daehan remaining silent for quite a long time.

“I knew that, you old bastard number 3.”

In the war between the Salvation Church and Korea, the Salvation Church won.

Numbers 2 and 3, who used the broadcast to provoke the Salvation Church, were both eaten by the Salvation Church.

“And now there is a very high probability that the target will be me.”

After eating ‘Daehan’ and ‘Minguk’, the next target had to be ‘World’, which was in the midst of annoying people with advertisements.

Even if you are not a member of the Salvation Church, everyone observing this situation will be thinking the same thing.

So, I had to prepare quickly.

Therefore, the guild system, which can select combatants for sure, was introduced first rather than the academy, which could increase the survival rate of newbies.

What the world needs now are soldier ants rather than worker ants.

I don’t know what kind of crazy tricks they might try to take over my city, but I needed to be prepared.

no. Strictly speaking-

I had to prepare a ‘strategy’.

smart-

“Yes! Come in—!”

Seongju returned to his seat, answering the knock he had been waiting for.

Good!

“Nice to meet you! This is my first time seeing your face in person like this!”

Two men with wary eyes cautiously opened the door and entered.

Seongju smiled softly and gestured to the prepared spot.

“Don’t be so alert and sit comfortably! Would you like something to drink?”

“… … No.”

A very dry answer compared to a rather touching question.

It was too arrogant behavior for the ruler of the world, but he still smiled and looked at the two people slowly sitting down.

“This is it~ For a moment, I almost thought I had invited celebrities instead of adventurers!”

“… … .”

An appearance that cannot be hidden at all with a dark, blurred expression.

The combination of a young man who felt refreshed just by looking at him and an old man with a dignified charm created a strange synergy.

“Super rookie duo who appeared like a comet! A hot potato and buddy who is receiving love calls from all the guilds in the world not only because of his looks, but also because of his unique skills and personality!”

“… … .”

“I can’t tell you how proud I am that these talented people are active in the world!”

His eyes are quite different from the fuss of Seongju, who noisily shakes the office.

The cold, sunken purple pupils scanned every face of the young and the old.

“… … Adventurer Kang San. And the adventurer, um… … This is not my real name, but as other adventurers call me, Old Man.”

“… … .”

“Furthermore, before being an adventurer, our old man is a precious awakened person!”

“… … .”

They did not respond to the Lord’s endless praise.

Kang-san is just quietly looking at Seongju, and Yeong-yeong is looking at Kang-san with worried eyes.

It was a scene where you could naturally see who held the key to the duo.

“Hmm… … The atmosphere is so cold. Have I done something wrong to you?”

“… … I heard the news.”

Finally, Kangsan’s mouth opened a little more for the first time.

“They announced that they will raise the point tax again tomorrow.”

“Um, yes.”

Seongju nods his head as if asking what the problem is.

Kang San looked into those eyes and spoke one after another.

“There are many people who cannot afford the point tax that is currently imposed.”

“Ah~ Wait a minute, I understand. I am very happy to hear the heartwarming news that our Mr. Kang San is distributing food to the homeless every day.”

“… … .”

“I’m just asking this first, just in case. Are you saying that you are dissatisfied with the point tax because of vagrants?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm―. You’ve remained silent until now. Is that really what you’re asking me for the first time?”

“Yes.”

her-.

Seongju quietly clicked his tongue and tilted his head.

Wow, what is it?

Contrary to what he looks like, he’s a bastard who hits goals.

Still, I could clearly tell by looking at Kang San, who nodded resolutely.

I called just in case, but as expected…

“Hmm… … Well, that’s good. Just because I felt a little offended by Kang San’s question doesn’t mean I can confiscate his stats or skills, and in my own way… … Because it is a very warm and cool-headed question based on humanism.”

It was a soldier ant that could be helpful in the strategy.

Seongju smiled slightly and opened his mouth again.

“In fact, I would like to ask. Why can’t the point tax be raised?”

“There are many citizens who cannot go out to hunt zombies due to unavoidable circumstances.”

“Yes, I know.”

“They barely survive each day by begging and stealing―”

“That’s their situation.”

“… … Yes?”

“It’s their situation. And just as they have their circumstances, I also have my circumstances.”

Seongju guided Kangsan’s gaze and pointed out the window.

“You didn’t think that such a huge city would just be built and finished, right? Whether it’s the increase in the number of adventurers or the introduction and maintenance of our own system, everything―”

Seongju curls the hand that was pointing out the window as if it were a coin and shows it to Kangsan.

“All points are included. The points come from zombie heads, not the ground, and I am a castle owner, not a volunteer. The castle lord has a duty to maintain the world smoothly, and adventurers also have a duty to pay their own taxes.”

Vagrants do not contribute to any part of this positive and smooth virtuous cycle.

“Besides, this is the most important thing, Mr. Kang San.”

Seongju lowered his voice and made eye contact with Kangsan.

“Where in the world is there anything free?”

Kang San twitches his eyebrows as soon as he finishes speaking.

Seongju spoke one after another, as if covering his mouth as he was about to retort.

“If you are Mr. Kang San who has survived until now, you will know what I mean.”

A world where no one can deny even if someone cries that hell has arrived.

“On the contrary, in a world like this, giving something for free is more suspicious.”

[Abundant salvation – to all who have exhausted their reason to live.]

At that moment, a familiar advertisement came out of the ‘video player’.

“Isn’t that right, Mr. Kang San?”

Seongju asked Kang San, who belatedly recognized the video player.

In the video player, a man in white and a woman in a suit standing like a shadow next to him.

I asked quietly as I looked at Kang San, who could not control his trembling eyes as he looked at them.

[One Mind Salvation Church.]

“You come from there, right?”

“… … .”

“I’m very curious to hear that you came from the Church of Salvation. As you know, Kang San, there are a lot of people trying to go in, but I’ve never seen anyone trying to leave.”

Except for those two.

“Why did you leave the Salvation Church, Mr. Kang San? That too, along with an awakened person and bodyguard who will be treated with special respect there.”

In response to Seongju’s question, Kangsan closed his mouth and remained silent for a moment.

Seongju waited quite patiently for Kangsan to open his mouth.

“… … Do I have to answer?”

“Yes. Strictly speaking, this is a slightly late entry inspection.”

“… … .”

Kang San closed his mouth again and stared endlessly at the videos in the video player that Seongju had collected.

The believers waving their hands enthusiastically with bright smiles, Han Gu-won smiling kindly at them, and Seong Ga-eul behind them.

No, the leader and assistant leader of One Mind Salvation Church.

“… … I came out because I thought they were wrong. I came out because I knew that even if it was right now, it would definitely not be right in the end.”

… … also.

Seongju quietly listened to Kangsan’s next words.

“I came out because I knew that, even though I had no power, nothing would change no matter how much I shouted that it was not right.”

… … Did you get the answer?

An ending that seems to have suppressed quite a few emotions.

Seongju skillfully deduced what Kangsan was saying.

“It’s not because of revenge or spite, but because I don’t have the power to change the Salvation Church… … I understand right away why you came to our world.”

Because I need strength.

Because this is a world where everyone can become strong.

“I understand. Also, I know for sure that Mr. Kang San and Mr. Young did not come to the world with bad intentions.”

But as he said-

There is nothing free in this world.

“And that’s why I brought you two into the castle.”

Seongju smiled softly and looked at the strategy puzzles in his hands.

A video player comes into the corner of his field of vision.

The first phase of the attack on One Mind Salvation Church, which you must have heard hundreds or thousands of times.

Get rid of the One Mind Salvation leader and the assistant leader.

Even if I think about it again, I can’t think of any plans that are very feasible.

Kidnapping, poisoning, assassination.

Or a war that starts with a fair declaration of war or a surprise attack.

In all of my plans, I had to face the monster known as the One Mind Salvation Cult leader at least once.

The battle power between him and himself has grown so wide that he can’t even fathom the gap.

The chances of breaking through that and killing his beloved pontoon master are infinitely close to 0%.

So, there was only one question that Seongju had to repeat.

“I have something to show you both.”

Is there any reason to fight him?