Part 1, Chapter 6 (9)

4:29 AM, Gyeongbu Expressway Dongdaegu JC

“…Hmm.”

Eun Yuha grimaced unpleasantly and turned the steering wheel. The specially modified 25-ton truck sped down the road, road-killing monsters that rushed at it.

[What’s wrong? You don’t look well.]

“It’s nothing, Abeonim. I just received some news from Japan, and it put me in a bad mood.”

Heo Yun-hwan, the masked man on the screen, spoke from behind his mask.

[What news? Don’t tell me there’s a problem with Moby Dick?]

“Moby Dick is still heading up to Busan. Harang and the other Heroes have begun preparations to intercept the monsters coming ashore. The real problem is currently at sea….”

Eun Yuha’s eyes scanned the data pouring into the screen. It was top-secret information sent from the Machine Dolls sold as products, in addition to the one she directly controlled.

“The passenger ship carrying strawberries seems to be in a bit of danger right now. It looks like entering Tsushima is out of the question.”

[Tsushima? Didn’t the Association withdraw its branch there?]

“The passenger ship itself shouldn’t have a big problem. Jilpungek’s younger sibling is on that ship.”

[Jilpungek? That good-for-nothing should be in America right now?]

At Heo Yun-hwan’s words, Eun Yuha took a deep breath.

“…I hope they arrive safely.”

[Are you talking about the people, or the strawberries?]

“Of course, the people. Everyone on that ship paid money to ride Yuseong’s ship, they’re all my customers. As the company owner, I naturally have to take responsibility.”

[…There’s something subtly strange about praising you. Anyway, let’s hurry. It’s already 4:30.]

Eun Yuha felt a surge of emotion. Swallowing the words that had risen to her throat, she stepped on the truck’s accelerator.

[By the way, this suit.]

A Hero suit, black from head to toe. Heo Yun-hwan touched his mask with a gloved hand.

[It seems a bit different from the design I proposed.]

“If I used that as is, I’d get sued for copyright infringement.”

[That’s true. This current design isn’t bad either.]

Heo Yun-hwan pointed to the upper part of the helmet-like mask. The military cap-like headpiece from Heo Yun-hwan’s requested design was gone, replaced by a slightly different design.

[Doesn’t this make the epithet ‘Dark Lord’ meaningless? A bit disappointing.]

“…It’s similar if you exclude the head part. Be satisfied with that. I spent three hours changing it.”

[I have no words.]

Eun Yuha’s seven dolls simultaneously sighed. They couldn’t openly sigh in front of Heo Yun-hwan.

It was good that Gwanggeom Heo Yun-hwan had become unreservedly close, unlike in his previous life, but from the side, he had a tendency to act a bit goofy.

Of course, Eun Yuha also treated Heo Yun-hwan more warmly than before. He was a good conversation partner to confide in, as comfortable as Phoenix.

Thump! The truck hit another monster. Eun Yuha’s body shook violently, but she quickly regained her posture and straightened the vehicle.

[By the way, the more I see you, the more I’m surprised. You’re driving such a large trailer as a woman.]

“I learned it because of my supernatural ability. All the experiences of my other dolls come to me.”

[Living seven times more lives than others, you’re going through a lot.]

“Most of them are chaebols, though.”

The conversation paused for a moment. Heo Yun-hwan’s mask lens glowed.

[…Are the X-roids also yours?]

“Oh my. What do you mean by that?”

Eun Yuha shook the steering wheel left and right. The back of the truck swayed wildly. Heo Yun-hwan almost fell but steadied himself against the wall.

“You’re not thinking I connected my supernatural ability to the X-roids, are you?”

[It’s a reasonable suspicion. Aren’t Machine Dolls like Eun Jaemin ultimately just androids with different models?]

Eun Yuha nodded at Heo Yun-hwan’s chiding question.

“…I can connect them, but I don’t. I don’t want to put my body through such hardship. Instead, I’m well-versed in the theory. Yuseong’s database collects it all.”

[What?]

Heo Yun-hwan’s voice rose. Surprise was evident behind the mask.

“It’s stored on the server. Who in Korea, or anywhere in the world, bought Yuseong’s X-roids. What kind of preferences they have when playing with X-roids. And those X-roids send all sorts of data to me. Oh, I don’t receive it directly; there’s a separate terminal. A dedicated doll processes it.”

[You….]

Eun Yuha gave a bitter laugh.

“After all my older brothers died, there was no other way. Some were married with children, and unlike me, some were truly scoundrels. Even if it was dirty, I had to have at least some sexual life. So this is the method I came up with. While maintaining my purity.”

[……Many thoughts come to mind, but.]

Heo Yun-hwan spoke in a benevolent voice.

[You’ve truly suffered a lot.]

Eun Yuha burst into a hearty laugh.

“Right? But there are good things about it too. I can hear and see what people who bought X-roids are thinking, you know? It’s really interesting. Some people pretend to be gentlemen outside but indulge in masochism with X-roids, and some treat X-roids like real humans. Oh. Speaking of which, Abeonim, in 2011-“

[Stop.]

Heo Yun-hwan hastily cut her off. Eun Yuha chuckled.

“You just bought it and never used it. I remember it because it was a special order. Your body size was definitely 14-“

[…Did I do something wrong?]

“Not really. Aside from insisting on your design and delaying us by three hours?”

The car jolted again. The corpse of a monster left on the road was ground under the truck’s wheels.

[Then, if the person you truly marry later is a woman, are you planning to marry her through a doll?]

“Uh, I haven’t thought about that.”

Eun Yuha tapped the steering wheel with her fingers, lost in thought. Eun Yuha didn’t have much thought about marriage.

“I’m a woman married to money.”

[This, I’ve been scammed into marriage.]

Heo Yun-hwan shook his head. Eun Yuha stepped hard on the accelerator.

“Well, if there’s someone more valuable to me than money, I might think differently.”

[Would such a person exist?]

Eun Yuha just smiled without a word.

* * *

4:29 AM, Phoenix Penthouse.

“I called them for nothing.”

I sat in a chair, flipping through papers and handling complaints. Ryu Cheon-seong had become the mayor of Seoul, but the residents of Seoul were already accustomed to solving problems through the Azure Syndicate.

‘Now I should tell them to submit their complaints to the Seoul City government.’

On the surface, it would be Ryu Cheon-seong’s achievement, but in reality, the Azure Syndicate would be the one solving those piled-up problems. It had been that way until now, and it would continue to be.

‘As for Busan, Seok Harang will handle it well on his own.’

The monsters that emerged from the Naha Gate, the dimensional gate in Okinawa, were only mid-boss level. Even if they boasted about being the Water Demon Dragon’s second form or whatever, an SS-rank Hero could easily defeat them in a 1v1 fight.

‘Let the rest of the small fry handle themselves.’

Since the Azure Syndicate had reclaimed Seoul, the Heroes should handle Busan’s problems themselves. If they couldn’t handle a crisis of this magnitude, they would easily crumble in the face of more severe dangers to come.

‘An SS-rank right now is practically the strongest in the world. Someone I taught should be able to overcome at least that much.’

Even in the original story, there were only about ten people of that rank. Seok Harang had already surpassed his level from five years later, so he should earn his keep.

‘The problem is Pyongyang.’

The bizarre monster of Pyongyang, Nucleon, a hidden boss and one of the top 3 in terms of difficulty.

‘You need at least four SS-ranks to safely catch it, that damn cat.’

It’s not that I can’t catch it alone. I just need to bring out my true body. But if I did that, the Korean Peninsula would become an island instead of a peninsula due to the aftermath of the battle.

‘Me and Seok Harang make two. Gwanggeom is on hold.’

No matter how strong a person is, trauma cannot be ignored. Gwanggeom went berserk in the Pyongyang battle and killed his comrades, who were like sworn brothers, with his own hands.

“Two are missing. Hmm.”

I wondered who could become an SS-rank at this point. The first candidates that came to mind were, of course, the Round Table. Among them, the Knight of the Sun, who was the first in the world to reach SS-rank, came to mind. Sir Gawain. The guardian deity of England, overflowing with a sense of justice, and the leader of the Round Table Heroes.

“No, on hold. How dare he mention the sun. How presumptuous.”

The real sun is here, and there’s another Spirit equivalent to the sun, so how dare a mere human discuss the sun? He deserves to die-

“…Ahem.”

Thinking I might be too stressed, I neatly stacked the papers and pushed them to the side of the desk.

It was quiet. After the Cheon Gaeul attack incident, I cast a Barrier so that no one could enter the penthouse without my permission. The only one in this room was the Azure Flame Phoenix, just one person. I calmly quelled my anger and decided to think comfortably.

‘I definitely need to invest more in our forces.’

The growth of the executives is slower than expected. Even though I feed them Cores like a mother bird, hunting the monsters pouring out of Pyongyang, there’s a limit to that.

‘After all, Affinity Rate is like a limit level, so it’s hard to make them grow.’

If there were a game system, Affinity Rate would be displayed as ‘level.’ But a ‘mana scanner’ that can quantify individual Affinity Rates hasn’t been released yet.

“Himeji Hikari.”

The main heroine who came to Korea for some reason. A woman who, based on her Japanese doctorate, was researching at the Daejeon Research Complex, learned about the existence of Cores, and asked the protagonist’s party for help. Since Cheongsong is here, that future won’t happen, but until that scanner is developed by Himeji Hikari, it’s hard to objectively grasp Affinity Rates. It’s not like I can just hug anyone.

“She must be a middle schooler right now.”

If Eun Yuha is a chaebol genius, Hikari is a genius in magic and science.

“If it weren’t for Jilpungek’s younger sibling, I would have brought her over immediately.”

Just as his father Heo Yun-hwan is an obstacle to Seok Harang, Hikari’s only older brother, Hayate, is a significant stumbling block for her. The killer who tries to kill the protagonist at every opportunity is Jilpungek, ‘Himeji Hayate.’

“…No, how would I handle more than this?”

Cheon Gaeul, Eun Yuha, Seok Harang.

Even just three of them are a handful, and if I add more main heroines, it will definitely become pandemonium. Even now, they keep shaking my heart-

“Ugh, instead of looking far away, let’s find them nearby.”

Naturally, Korea’s S-ranks came to mind. Saintess Lee Yuna, Azure Cloud Park Raon, Night Emperor Kim Nuri…..

“Why are they all women?!”

This is problematic in many ways. How can only the three main heroines come to mind first? Is the Republic of Korea in this world a matriarchy? Looking at the proportion of the Round Table, that’s not the case either.

‘…It’s natural that they come to mind first since I raised them the most.’

Originally, these three were the protagonist’s first teammates. A rookie healer, a wounded veteran, a problem child. Even without considering them as main heroines, all three possess the potential to reach S-rank on their own.

If a man came to mind-

“Brother hasn’t come to Korea yet, and the current S-rank is Lee Seung-hyung….”

For a moment, I fell into thought.

“Should I really raise him? Properly?”

This person is virtually Fire Fist Kim Cheol-su’s direct disciple. Since Lee Seung-hyung inherited that name through the Praetor, he and I have an ambiguous master-disciple relationship in terms of martial arts.

“I should kill the man Cheon Gaeul liked, no! Get a grip! Let’s not be tied to the past and only think about the future! Down with Seongju! Down with the Otherworld God!”

What does someone else’s past matter? Whether Cheon Gaeul was a couple with Lee Seung-hyung, kissed him, or had sex with him, saving the world and my own survival are what’s important-

CRASH! I slammed my forehead directly onto the desk. My forehead didn’t hurt, but my heart did.

What should I call this restless feeling right now? It felt like hearing that my ex-girlfriend had a new potential boyfriend. For some reason, I remembered those times when I couldn’t sleep properly at night, secretly looking up that guy’s SNS.

Yes. To put it precisely, being NTR’d of Cheon Gaeul by Lee Seung-hyung-

CRASH! CRASH CRASH!

How dare I even discuss that? Even if Cheon Gaeul had a slight crush on me, there was too much I felt sorry for to accept it. In many ways.

I kept my forehead on the desk and regulated my breathing. The rapid mana pulsation slowly began to subside.

‘Objectively. Let’s judge him only as a force. Whether or not to bring Lee Seung-hyung to our side.’

“I’ll have to ask Cheon Gaeul first….”

The idea of tying Lee Seung-hyung to the Azure Syndicate through Cheon Gaeul also crossed my mind. But I didn’t want to do that to Cheon Gaeul.

‘Be cool. Lee Seung-hyung is a good talent.’

I had to admit what needed to be admitted. As much as I made him an S-rank, he is a man of sufficient value if we only consider him as an immediate force. Since I am a fire-attribute Spirit, I could surely help him reach the highest level if I actively nurtured him.

‘Whether he becomes a Hero, a Villain, or a monstrous human depends on Cheon Gaeul, though.’

With that, I erased Lee Seung-hyung from my mind. If I exclude Lee Seung-hyung, the other S-ranks are-

“……It’s all useless thinking.”

Anyway, there’s no need or thought to use them as an immediate force.

‘Nucleon just keeps sleeping unless you wake it up first.’

“Since it’s using the Cube as its Core, I do have to catch it, but considering it produces monsters, there’s no reason to catch it right now.”

It’s a creature that just sleeps underground until the game ends if you don’t bother it. There’s no need to intentionally cut open the goose that lays golden eggs.

It was already 4:33 AM. It was the time when humans are most tired, but Spirits don’t experience physical fatigue.

“I should finish processing the complaints and then go grind for Cores.”

I picked up the papers and began drawing red lines.

About 10 minutes later, at 4:44 AM, Heroes gathered in Sanyang, China.

Calling themselves a volunteer army united by a great cause, not by an association or a central party, they proclaimed the defeat of Pyongyang’s monster, which threatened the peace of Manchuria.

I urgently woke up the executives and gathered them in the penthouse.

The number of Heroes participating in the surprise operation was approximately 4,000.

At the forefront was Unjang Xiaolin, a member of the Round Table and a main heroine, wearing a green cloak.