The Sanctuary Declaration

Huh, would you look at this.

It was a complex skill description that seemed to emphasize just how important sanctuaries were. As the saying went, the longer the skill explanation, the more there was to exploit. I read through it line by line, carefully examining the sanctuary’s effects. The more I read, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clearer it became how I should use it.

With the sanctuary, I can raise their obedience levels while preventing withdrawal symptoms.

The sanctuary came packed with powerful buffs—mental and physical stability, rapid fatigue recovery, mild arousal, and more. With those in play, I probably wouldn’t have to personally step in every time to resolve someone’s withdrawal symptoms. Of course it only worked while they were inside the sanctuary, but even that condition wasn’t really a downside when you thought about it.

It said the total sum of the believers’ obedience levels inside the sanctuary also helps strengthen its effects…

Inside the sanctuary, you wouldn’t suffer from withdrawal. Turn that around, and it meant that outside the sanctuary, you would. So to avoid the symptoms, the believers would have no choice but to stay put. Their obedience would then directly strengthen the sanctuary, and inside that strengthened sanctuary their obedience would rise even faster. In the end, the only way to escape withdrawal was to pay me obedience points. It was a closed loop.

Kya. It’s a bug. Straight-up bug.

The sanctuary was an elaborately designed obedience-point duplication exploit. And if its effects grew strong enough, it could even influence normal people who weren’t believers yet.

That’s one more reason to swallow Star Entertainment as fast as possible.

The quest required me to designate at least two locations as sanctuaries. Turning the house into one and the Star Entertainment building into the other felt just right. I could transform the agency’s idols, trainees, and employees into excellent industrial warriors for the Infinite Celibacy Sect using the sanctuary buffs.

Then first… let’s open the sect management window.

I pulled up the cult leader window and entered the management tab.

Still just a baby cult leader?

I’d figured that clearing one quest would at least bump me up to the childhood stage, but I apparently hadn’t graduated from newborn status yet. Looked like I needed to step it up.

First, the sanctuary…

I pressed the [Sanctuary Declaration Available] button. Yeonju lived in the house, and I occasionally had to entertain other female guests, so turning it into a sanctuary quickly seemed like the smart ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠move.

“Oh right, I still had that officetel.”

I’d left it abandoned for so long I’d completely forgotten. For a second I considered designating both the house and the officetel to knock the quest out instantly, but I dropped the idea just as fast. Creating a useless sanctuary just to clear a quest would be beyond stupid. I still had no idea how much I needed to expand the sect’s influence to unlock more declarations, so I had to use these two precious chances as efficiently as possible.

Therefore I designated only the “Cult Leader’s Hannam-dong Residence” as a sanctuary, returned to the management window, and instantly set the symbol as well. The symbol I chose was ‘§’—the double S. It carried deep meaning. One S stood for the S in “SEX,” and the second S stacked on top to resemble the dollar sign ($). It neatly packaged both the most obscene act humanity could perform and the king of all currencies inside a single simple symbol.

It had been a flash of brilliance that let me pick the double-S symbol in the blink of an eye, but I could confidently say no symbol suited the Infinite Celibacy Sect—which worshiped the gods of money and women—better than this one.

Heh, what a fucking idea. Now I just need to acquire Star Entertainment and everything else will fall into place.

If the Star Entertainment takeover went smoothly, the remaining quests would be easy. I could create holy relics by pouring aura into any sculpture in the building, and the double-S symbol could serve as both the sect’s emblem and the agency’s official logo.

The blueprint for clearing the quest was already complete.

Right. Time to get to work for real.

I opened my contacts and sent Yu-na a text. If things went according to plan, she was a woman who could play a major role not only in this quest but in the sect’s future as well.

****

The next day.

It was an old-fashioned Japanese restaurant inside a luxury hotel. The private room had tatami flooring and the course was a VIP lunch set. I had texted Yu-na yesterday saying I wanted to treat her to lunch while discussing work, and she had gladly accepted.

While we ate and chatted about light topics, I occasionally studied the woman sitting across from me.

Pretty and competent. Talent like this has to become a believer no matter what.

She had voluminous, glamorous wavy hair and wore a neat yet luxurious office outfit that suited her perfectly. Her social skills were outstanding too. Talking with her never got boring. She wasn’t the relentlessly aggressive type like Dayeon; instead her perfectly timed reactions and smooth topic shifts were on another level. Conversation with her flowed comfortably without a single lull.

We were simply having lunch and a casual talk, yet I could already tell just how capable she was. If Jeonghye had been born into a golden-spoon family and followed the elite track, maybe she would have turned out like this. Then again, Jeonghye—who had grown up straight and strong despite her unfortunate circumstances—was plenty charming in her own right.

“…Minjun?”

“Ah, Yu-na. Sorry. I spaced out for a second.”

We got along surprisingly well. After we entered the restaurant I had suggested we drop the formal speech and use polite language with each other, and she accepted without hesitation. It was a natural step forward from a simple customer-employee relationship to something a little more intimate. Given that Yu-na was nearly thirty, calling her “noona” would technically be correct, but that could wait until our relationship progressed further.

Slurp.

I took a sip of green tea from my cup and looked at Yu-na across from me. She was glamorous and luxurious. The vibe she gave off was pure high-end luxury—the real deal among real deals. If this were the old me, I wouldn’t have dared even speak to her. But things were different now.

“Yu-na, have you studied M&A at all?”

“It’s not my specialty, but I covered the basics during university and my MBA. Are you eyeing a company, Minjun?”

“Yeah, well. I’m thinking of buying an entertainment agency myself and wanted to get some advice on how to proceed.”

Even as I said it, the feeling was fresh. Here I was, speaking in a completely serious tone about buying a company in front of a woman like Yu-na. At some point I had become that kind of person. Man, I should have recorded this moment on video.

“If you haven’t studied M&A, doing it personally will be difficult. You’d need to work with a professional firm or put together a dedicated team. Realistically, even if it costs a little more, entrusting it to a professional firm is the easiest route. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I can arrange it for you anytime if you’d like.”

“Hmm…”

I listened to Yu-na’s answer and pretended to ponder it seriously, dragging out the silence. She waited for me to speak with an expression that said she would listen carefully to whatever I said next. It was a bit random, but this was another perk of becoming extremely handsome. Should I call it appearance-based focus? Or appearance-based sensitivity? While it usually applied to women, when a handsome face delivered an expression, that expression gained far more power. Even if my actual expressiveness stayed the same, women would empathize with every shift in my face and concentrate fully. So even simple silence, once boosted by the appearance buff, could create a special atmosphere.

I read the mood and spoke at the perfect moment.

“Right now I’m only targeting an entertainment company, but there’s no telling what will happen later… I plan to expand into as many businesses as possible going forward.”

“…Yes, Minjun.”

“The problem is I have plenty of money but I’m short on people. I’m still young and my social experience is basically nonexistent.”

“I see…”

Even with just that much, Yu-na’s reaction suggested she already knew where I was headed. In the subtle movement of her nodding head I could sense her complicated inner thoughts. Well, if she listened to the end she’d realize there was no need to overthink it.

“…Since it looks like you’ve already guessed what kind of proposal I’m about to make, I’ll be direct. Yu-na, would you consider working with me?”

“When you say work…”

“I plan to reach out and invest across multiple industries. I’ll need a management expert who’s knowledgeable in many fields and has wide-ranging connections. I’d like you to take on that role. I know it’s lacking in many ways, but if you can trust me and follow my lead, I’ll treat you with an exceptional title and salary—several times what you’re earning now. Performance bonuses and incentives will also far exceed industry standards. I truly hope you’ll work with me, Yu-na.”

It was a speech I had practiced multiple times because it felt so awkward. Even while saying it myself, goosebumps rose all over my body. It was inevitable. I had lived right on the edge of average—actually clearly below it. I had never once imagined uttering lines that a chaebol department head might say. But what could I do? As the saying went, recruiting talent had never been easy. Awkward or not, it wasn’t something I could run from.

“Hmm…”

Yu-na pressed her beautifully painted lips together and made a troubled face, as if wrestling with internal conflict. But I could vaguely sense that the conflict she was feeling had nothing to do with changing jobs. She was probably agonizing over how to politely turn me down.

“Um, Minjun. This is really a secret, but… since it seems you genuinely want me, I’ll tell you.”

“Yes, Yu-na.”

Her tone had turned solemn. I had already expected rejection, but I pretended to listen attentively and leaned slightly toward her. Then her lovely, plump lips parted.

The words that came out were incredibly shocking.

“Actually, the chairman of Sehan Group is my father.”

“Ah……… I see. So that’s how it is.”

I tried to keep my composure and casually said the safe line “I see,” but I couldn’t stop my cheeks from burning. Chaebol, chaebol. I had heard the word far more often than “commoner,” but since I had never actually seen one, I never imagined one could be hiding this close. Of course I wasn’t sure whether a financial holding company chairman strictly counted as a chaebol, but it was clear Yu-na’s family was at that level. And here I had tried to lure the chairman’s daughter away from the company with promises of exceptional treatment. Showing off wrinkles in front of a pupa would have been less embarrassing. My face had no choice but to turn red.

“Were you surprised, Minjun?”

“Um… haha. Honestly I’m pretty flustered. It seems I made a proposal that was way out of line.”

“Ah! It’s really not like that. This is the first time I’ve received an offer like this from a client instead of a headhunter or HR manager. It felt like you were acknowledging my abilities, so I was actually very grateful. You evaluated me based on my own skills, not my family background.”

“If that’s how you see it, then I’m truly grateful.”

Thanks to Yu-na’s kind tone and reasonable explanation, the heat in my face gradually cooled. Finding my reaction amusing, she looked straight at me with a playful smile.

“You have such big ambitions at only twenty years old, yet you get this embarrassed over something like this?”

“Ahem… Well, it’s my first time. I really couldn’t have imagined it.”

“I’m sorry, Minjun. There could be employment fairness issues, so I never told anyone. No matter how confidently I entered the company, people only believe what they want to believe. No one in the department except the highest executive knows I’m the chairman’s daughter.”

“I accidentally learned one of your secrets, Yu-na. If that’s luck, then I guess I’m lucky.”

“Hehe. If it weren’t for my father, I would have accepted your offer on the spot… I’m ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really sorry.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Who would turn down a young, handsome boss like you? Especially when you evaluate me so highly.”

Yu-na smiled at me with her eyes. I was momentarily taken aback by the sudden compliment on my appearance, then returned a soft smile. Even though the job offer had been rejected, sharing a secret she couldn’t tell others seemed to have softened the atmosphere between us considerably. Until now our conversation had flowed smoothly but stayed mostly professional, more like a well-matched client and banker than a man and woman. But now it was different. After meeting so many women, I could clearly sense these things. A faint but definite pink current was flowing between Yu-na and me, and this kind of atmosphere was perfect to take advantage of.

I immediately activated the Prophet’s Voice skill. If the pink current was faint, I just had to charm Yu-na and amplify it. I could fill the entire tatami room with that pink current if I wanted.

Well, this is actually my specialty.

Since the standard job offer had failed, it was time to switch to Plan B—‘Seduce Lee Yu-na.’