Part 1 Chapter 10-18

At the moment Phoenix declared the 6 Mint Choco.

Seok Harang was watching Phoenix’s bizarre antics live, drinking three kinds of beverages at the cafe Padre Juan, which he had become a regular at through Phoenix’s introduction.

“Mint… chocolate…?”

Seok Harang was horrified. Just imagining it sent shivers down his spine, making him tremble. To forget the imagined taste lingering in his mouth, he quickly cooled his Americano and poured it in.

“Is the world really going to end?”

“It’s quite good, though.”

Juan, the cafe owner, placed a blueberry tart he had baked for Seok Harang on Harang’s table.

“Thank you.”

“This month’s new creation. Ugh.”

Juan turned his eyes to the live broadcast on the TV hanging on the wall, his face looking quite displeased. The news of Phoenix performing the 6 Mint was also broadcast abroad on a foreign TV station’s late-night live news.

“Why? You don’t like it either, sajang-nim?”

“No. I was just thinking it might be quite interesting to bake cookies with mint chocolate.”

“Ugh.”

At Juan’s words, Seok Harang frowned.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline that. This is the best for me.”

“You can’t force someone to eat something they dislike. It’s something that strongly divides opinions, after all. There are people who dislike even blueberries, which you enjoy. Everyone’s tastes are different.”

“There are people in the world who dislike blueberries?”

Seok Harang was genuinely surprised. Juan, who had been brewing his own coffee, widened his eyes while holding the cup.

“Isn’t there one right nearby?”

“Who?”

“Phoenix.”

Surprisingly, Phoenix did not cosplay as an ordinary person regarding her identity; she revealed her true identity-that she was the leader of the Azure Syndicate, and an SS-rank Villain named Phoenix.

Juan, for his part, calmly accepted that fact. She was his number one customer, bringing in tremendous sales every time she visited since settling in Busan not long ago, and Juan was happy to welcome any customer as long as they enjoyed his coffee.

“That young lady seems to dislike blueberries.”

“What? No way. She drinks it so well at our place.”

“She’s probably just pretending to drink it well, isn’t she? Look at that.”

Juan pointed to Cheonghwa-Phoenix in the broadcast video, who was taking a delicious bite of the mint chocolate ice cream handed to her by Baek Heea.

“Do you think she’s eating that because she likes it?”

“……Her face is smiling, though?”

“Even if she’s smiling, it’s not a true smile. It’s not the kind of smile that appears when someone eats something they truly like. Right… what was it called?”

Juan, who was drinking coffee, snapped his fingers as if a thought had suddenly occurred to him.

“Ah, was it a ‘capitalist smile’?”

“Simply put, she’s pretending to smile, right?”

“That’s about it.”

Seok Harang mumbled, biting the straw of his yogurt with raw strawberries blended in.

“So, that means she was being fake when she was with me…?”

“Ah, she’s doing it even now.”

In the video, Phoenix was eating strawberry-flavored ice cream that she had ordered herself. Baek Heea ordered one of each type of strawberry ice cream and laid them out in front of Phoenix.

“It feels like she’s eating it out of obligation.”

“What? No way. She’s such a strawberry fiend.”

Seok Harang underestimated Juan’s keen eye. While he could understand pretending to dislike blueberries, the idea that Phoenix disliked strawberries was simply unbelievable.

“I’d rather believe that the Round Table is becoming Villains.”

“Is that so…?”

“That’s how it is. Does that look like the expression of someone eating something they dislike right now?”

In the video, Phoenix was even stomping her feet, thoroughly enjoying each type of strawberry ice cream. Seok Harang poured the entire blueberry smoothie into his mouth and stood up.

“Then I’ll get going too. Sajang-nim, thank you for the meal.”

“Are you leaving already?”

“Yes. I don’t want to, but…”

Seok Harang pointed with his thumb at the box-packaged 6 Mint in the video.

“I’ve decided to do that too.”

A short while later.

Reports poured in that Seolhwaryeong had appeared at US Robbins in Seomyeon, Busan, and performed the 6 Mint gift packaging.

***

At that moment. China, Beijing Central Party Monster Management Bureau.

“Just kill me instead.”

“No, you must do it.”

“Even if a knife is at my throat, I won’t do it.”

“It’s Mao Zeping’s body that will die anyway, not you, my liege, is it not?”

Hwanryong and Bonghyo engaged in a battle of wills. They glared at each other and exchanged arguments to the point where the atmosphere around them grew tense, and the members of the Hwanryong Corps couldn’t say a word.

Between the liege and his subordinate, an emerald-colored ice cream in a pink cup was asserting its presence.

“It’s an ‘order’ from Phoenix-nim.”

“No. I won’t. I’d rather die. Are you crazy? How can you tell me to eat something like this?”

Hwanryong pounded the table, resisting fiercely. If he had been in his gray girl form from his Chaos Hwanryong days, it might have been cute, but now he was throwing a tantrum in the form of Mao Zeping, an elderly middle-aged man.

“You, *hweeeok*, with my body, doing something strange, *haaaak*?!”

Heuksagal screamed, shaking her enormous chest. The bed in the panic room that Mao Zeping had secretly installed behind the director’s office had become Heuksagal’s nest.

“Noisy…”

As Hwanryong scratched the desk with his fingernails in annoyance, Bonghyo quickly gestured to one of the Hwanryong Corps members.

“Silence her.”

“Yes.”

The member entered the panic room through a secret passage.

“Kk, kyaaak?! Oh, don’t come! I’ll never, *eueueup*?!”

The members silenced Heuksagal. After a moment, the director’s office became quiet, and Bonghyo had to clear his throat and appease the sulking Hwanryong.

“Ahem, ahem, my liege. So, the punishment Phoenix-nim has decreed is-“

“Why do I have to be punished…?”

“First, for the sin of me not stopping you from backstabbing Phoenix-nim?”

“Then isn’t that your fault?”

Regarding the act of backstabbing Phoenix, preemptively acquiring Jiparyong’s Core, and awakening Heuksagal, if one were to discuss who between Bonghyo and Hwanryong bore more responsibility, it was naturally Bonghyo.

However, Bonghyo’s master was Hwanryong. Due to Phoenix’s absurd logic that a subordinate’s mistake is the master’s responsibility, Hwanryong suddenly found himself facing the torture of mint chocolate.

“Please try it again. I think it tastes quite good, actually.”

“That’s because you’re a sugar addict who can’t resist anything sweet. Did you drain Mao Zeping’s blood and fill him with sugar water?”

“For people who use their brains, sugar supply is essential. In that sense, my liege.”

Bonghyo resorted to his last resort.

“Regarding the matter that Phoenix-nim ‘requested’ under the name of ‘punishment’ this time, I will plan your summer vacation according to the process you undertake, my liege.”

“What.”

Hwanryong’s expression stiffened. Bonghyo covered his mouth with a black fan and smiled with his eyes.

“If the results of your actions are good, my liege, there will be no need for you to step forward further. I will grant you five days, no, a week of rest. How does that sound?”

“Bonghyo.”

Hwanryong rose from his seat and grabbed his coat.

“Let’s go to US Robbins immediately.”

“Yes.”

The only driving force that could make the lazy ghost work was the guarantee of rest.

A short while later.

It was widely reported that Mao Zeping, the director of the Monster Management Bureau, had bought six mint chocolate cups from US Robbins and was sharing them with his subordinates-an unbelievable report.

* * *

At that moment, the Yuseong Family mansion in New Seoul.

“It’s as expected. Starting with Phoenix-nim, key figures like Seolhwaryeong-nim have certified the 6 Mint.”

“Good. They’re doing it properly even without celebrity marketing. There are no problems with supply in each region, right?”

“Yes. We’ve sent enough ice cream to accommodate more than double the average number of visitors.”

Baek Sang-woo compared the locations of US Robbins stores scattered across the country with their visitor numbers. US Robbins, which only existed in three cities-Incheon, New Seoul, and Busan-had to be bustling with crowds for a long time.

“What about mint chocolate?”

“For now, as you instructed, we’ve taken measures to ensure each store can consume 10 tubs per day.”

US Robbins was originally a foreign company, but after Eun Yuha’s strenuous efforts, it successfully became a subsidiary of Yuseong. The hardships Eun Yuha endured during that process were unimaginable, but Eun Yuha had no intention of incurring any losses.

“We need to produce as much as possible without compromising quality. Our customer-nim has set the stage for us; if we can’t capitalize on this, we’re no different from fools.”

“The UCC creators and internet broadcasters we’ve recruited have already started the challenge. The entire nation will probably know about it in about four days.”

“Only the nation? Hehehe.”

Eun Yuha chuckled at the information coming in through the doll. Soon, he manipulated a screen and showed Baek Sang-woo a video that made him smile.

“Want to see this?”

“…Isn’t that Director Mao Zeping?”

In the video, Mao Zeping appeared, personally visiting a store and gift-packaging a large amount of mint chocolate. People were mostly confused when he, who usually monopolized power with his iron-blooded charisma, participated in the mint chocolate challenge as if hinting at some secret relationship with Cheonghwa.

“Hmm, should I help too? The Yuseong chairman and all the executives-“

“Young lady.”

Baek Sang-woo replied with a serious expression.

“If you go yourself, young lady, it will actually hinder sales.”

“……I know.”

Eun Yuha felt a slight pang.

“You can go now.”

“Yes.”

After sending Baek Sang-woo away, Eun Yuha rose from his chair and threw himself onto the bed. He was extremely busy handling matters in Seoul, but he wanted to enjoy a brief rest.

“Hehehe…”

Eun Yuha played a video in the darkness. In it, Phoenix was stomping her feet, lost in happiness.

“She’s truly adorable…”

Next to the screen.

The stock price of US Robbins began to soar rapidly.

***

Three hours later, New Seoul Hero Association VIP Room

“Even if it’s not strictly the 6 Mint, there’s also fun in starting from stage 1.”

I shaped ice cream with flames and informed Xiaolin of my plan.

“As famous people around the world suddenly start buying mint chocolate, people will become curious. They’ll wonder, ‘Just how delicious is mint chocolate that they’re acting like that?'”

“I agree.”

Xiaolin bought one more, separate from what I had packaged, and was attempting the 4 Mint. Xiaolin ate mint chocolate better than expected, and was even eyeing the item I had gift-packaged.

“This has an owner.”

“Who is it?”

“There is. A Kim-ssi.”

“…Is it a gift for Beacon?”

I shook my head. The executives had already been fighting for a long time over heaven and earth issues; I wanted to avoid trouble arising from preferences for mint chocolate.

“There’s another Kim-ssi. So, you eat that and head up to Seoul first.”

“What? What are you planning to do?”

“I’m planning to stay in New Seoul for a bit longer.”

Since I was here anyway, I intended to finish handling the troublesome matters. With Eun Yuha as a powerful supporter on site, I also needed to wander around New Seoul with his help and find the heroines.

“Meaning they must enter the academy.”

“Are they also possessors of potential worth your attention?”

Xiaolin showed interest, her fighting spirit burning. I nodded.

“Yes. Their potential alone might be greater than yours?”

“That’s hard to believe. I was S-rank.”

Xiaolin pouted, perhaps offended at being compared. But I wasn’t lying.

“I’m sorry. Two out of the four are S-rank talents.”

“…You mean such beings haven’t awakened yet?”

“Because they’re minors.”

Since they are in their early twenties in the original work set in 2025, they must naturally be middle school or high school girls in their late teens now.

“They’re still at an age where they should focus on their studies.”

“Then are you planning to bring them into the battlefield?”

“……No. I’ll just keep them in Seoul and nurture them. They’ll be formally deployed to the battlefield after they become adults, won’t they?”

Perhaps as a reaction to having her childhood stolen by Mao Zeping and being confined to a manor, Xiaolin expressed considerable disapproval of my plan to find talented children.

“Don’t worry. I won’t lock them up and raise them like you were. I’ll just provide dormitories for the children who need them.”

“Is that so…”

Xiaolin seemed lost in thought. When there were no more questions, I lay on the bed and scanned the unfolding of the great mint choco era that Cheonghwa had triggered.

[Ppooshung Ppooshung! Hello, everyone, this is Pungma from Pungma TV! Today, I’m going to challenge the 6 Mint – a flavor so astonishingly delicious that I came all the way from Seoul to eat it!]

While there were those who fearlessly took on the 6 Mint Challenge I initiated,

-Isn’t Cheonghwa-ryeon a psycho?

ㄴHow could someone think of coming all the way from Seoul just to buy and eat something like this?

ㄴDon’t be mistaken, nim. It’s gift-packaged, so Cheonghwa isn’t eating it lol

ㄴShe was doing ‘aang’ with the Praetor, indirect kissing, right? Didn’t she take a bite then?

ㄴYou’re pathetic, nim hahaha Are you perhaps jealous?

While there were those who tasted mint chocolate and were horrified by its flavor,

-Cheonghwa is a goddess, a pioneer, and the sun. My life before tasting the mint chocolate introduced by Cheonghwa was like that of a blind person wandering in darkness. Cheonghwa is clearly a goddess who made my eyes open wide with her warm sunlight.

Though somewhat exaggerated, there were also those who discovered a new taste. A considerable debate was raging on the network between those who claimed ‘mint choco is delicious’ and those who asked ‘how can you eat that?’

“Conflict is usually covered by another conflict, isn’t it? Fufufu.”

Now, the scent of mint chocolate will spread across the world, and a certain monster, who can’t resist mint choco, will come to its senses.

“Xiaolin.”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to catch some sleep for a bit, so please stand guard for me.”

I lay comfortably on the bed and tried to get some sleep.

I never imagined, until then, that the challenge I had attempted would attract another mad entity, not Fenrir.