Chapter 198: I Permit This Cohabitation.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 198: I Permit This Cohabitation.
“Cough-!”
A man walking down the street let out a cough. In that instant, the people around him began to glare at him with murderous eyes.
Startled by their stares, the man glanced around nervously before cautiously backing away from the crowd.
The others acted as if it were the right thing to do, keeping as much distance as possible from the man who had coughed.
“Achoo-!”
“Hey, you…”
“No, fuck, it’s just a sneeze!”
Three months had passed since Yohan revealed himself to the world.
Now, the witches and Yohan were no longer a matter of public interest.
A super-powerful pandemic with a 300% fatality rate was sweeping the entire globe.
[The death toll from the pandemic originating in China, the so-called China Virus, has once again increased...]
[Ruling party assemblyman Jeong O O sparks controversy with reckless remarks, telling citizens to 'go out and play more.']
[Due to the unprecedented pandemic, criticism against China from nations around the world is unceasing, and the US Secretary of State did not hesitate to say, 'If they do not take responsibility, the entire world will go to war with China.']
“This is serious.”
Yohan, who had settled in next to Evangeline as she watched the news, commented, looking at his teacher.
Evangeline was watching the TV with a sullen expression.
“It’s so boring.”
“What is?”
“Everything! Because of this virus or whatever, they’ve stopped filming all the dramas and variety shows!”
She complained, venting her frustration. Hearing her, Yohan could only let out an awkward laugh, unsure what to do.
It couldn’t be helped. Although the disease could be blocked by wearing a mask, you couldn’t exactly film a variety show or a drama while wearing one, could you?
Some variety shows could substitute with transparent masks that showed the celebrities' faces, but for major productions, even that was difficult.
“At least we don’t have to worry about that sort of thing.”
“Hmph, as if we’d ever fall for some measly microbe.”
“Exactly.”
Fortunately, Yohan’s group was free from the worries of the pandemic. This was true not only for the witches, who far transcended humanity, but for Yohan as well.
First, the virus couldn’t penetrate Evangeline’s magic. Second, even without magic, diseases couldn’t easily infiltrate superhumans who possessed magic power in the first place.
‘What a relief.’
If he hadn’t had magic power, Yohan would have been living in terror of this deadly virus, and that would have been truly awful.
The China Virus. After a three-week incubation period, the disease would manifest. The infected would complain of cold-like symptoms before slowly suffering and inevitably dying. It was a danger on par with a biological weapon.
It was contagious even during the incubation period, making it difficult to distinguish between the infected and the uninfected. The fact that it killed everyone it infected, regardless of age, sent the global community into a state of shock.
Hundreds of millions had already died from the disease in China and India. If not for the fact that its transmission could be prevented with masks, humanity might have already gone extinct.
‘The atmosphere these days is no joke.’
Yohan was feeling it firsthand. The prices of groceries, daily necessities, and luxury goods were skyrocketing.
Food costs had nearly doubled in a short time, and luxury goods had surged several times over.
It felt less like prices were rising due to increased demand and more like they were rising because there was a shortage of goods. The feeling that the world was hurtling toward its end blossomed on the streets every day.
‘There’s no place as good to live as Earth.’
He might have blustered about how the witches were all he needed or how they could return to the other world at any time, but the truth was, not only he but the witches too had grown far too accustomed to civilization.
Returning to the other world wouldn’t be a huge problem, but they would surely miss the pleasures and comforts of Earth.
It might take decades, perhaps even centuries, for a civilization like Earth’s to blossom in the other world.
‘Right, let’s stop it.’
He hated humans. But he couldn’t give up the comfort they provided. The very act of living was unpleasant, but if they could provide comfort, he could permit them to cohabitate with him on this planet.
“Teacher.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Should we fix this?”
Not ‘heal,’ but ‘fix.’ It was a statement that could only come from someone who didn’t see humans as equals.
Hearing his words, Evangeline’s face bloomed into a wide smile.
“Should we!?”
That smile alone was reason enough to save the Earth.
[This is something China must take responsibility for.]
[What are you asking us to do?]
[Compensation for the dead is a given, as are follow-up measures such as developing a cure, and we demand your support for it.]
The Chinese representative bit his lip at those words. A pandemic that started in China. It was only right that China take responsibility.
But what if he promised such a thing and returned home? He’d face a firing squad, and his family would be put on display in the ‘Mysteries of the Human Body’ exhibition.
They boasted of being the country of Confucius, yet in that very country, there was no intention of faithfully adhering to Confucius’s will and teachings.
[I cannot promise such a thing. In the first place, this is not China’s problem.]
[But all the data indicates that this pandemic began in China.]
[That data is fabricated. Here, read this report written by our government’s brilliant scientists.]
The Chinese representative submitted the documents as he spoke. But it was obvious without even looking which of the two—China’s documents or America’s—was the fabrication.
When an incident occurred in China, the Chinese would never submit un-doctored data. Even if it existed, it would be made to not exist.
Watching the Chinese representative feign ignorance to the end, the US representative slowly began to apply pressure.
[We are prepared to go to war.]
[The great nation of China will never yield to external pressure.]
[The entire world will stand with the United States. How many countries do you think hold a grudge against China right now?]
[It seems you’ve forgotten that we have nuclear weapons. China may not be able to defeat everyone, but do not forget that we can take everyone on.]
At those words, the US representative let out a low groan. The Chinese representative was right. Why was it that despite all the world’s data showing the pandemic originated in China, no proper sanctions could be imposed?
Because a desperate China could decide to take everyone down with them, launching their nukes and turning the Earth into a wasteland. Having already defiled the planet with a pandemic, China could now blanket it with radiation.
That was even more terrifying than the pandemic. It was something that must never happen. But the US representative, as if this was one thing he could not concede, pushed various treaties toward the Chinese representative.
[In that case, we will impose tariffs on all goods coming and going from China—]
“Ah, so everyone’s here.”
[—!?]
The grand conference hall where representatives from all over the world had gathered to talk. An uninvited guest crashed the meeting.
The hall erupted into chaos at the sight of a man and a woman who had suddenly appeared out of thin air. Guards seconded from each country rushed to evacuate the VIPs while simultaneously moving to subdue the two intruders.
But all their actions came to nothing.
“Huh?”
[What in the world is…]
With a single gesture from the woman, the guards were teleported back to their original positions, frozen in place as if their entire bodies were bound. The world leaders who had been trying to stand were forced back into their seats.
A transcendent power that casually shattered human common sense. Seeing this, the representatives instantly realized who the two were.
‘The self-proclaimed prophet and the superhero…!’
‘I heard they weren’t leaving Korea!’
‘Dammit, what the hell are the surveillance agents doing…!?’
The superhero who had stopped the mysterious monster incident that once occurred in Korea.
The self-proclaimed prophet who had hacked every electronic device in the world to announce his presence and had punished humanity by making all its satellites fall from the sky.
At the appearance of these two, the world leaders swallowed hard. To put it bluntly, if the two of them declared they were disappointed in everyone here and decided to kill them all, there was absolutely no one who could stop them.
“There is no need to be so tense.”
Recalling the persona he had adopted when he last showed himself to the public, Yohan began to act the part, opening his mouth to speak.
Hearing Yohan’s words, the representatives listened to him in silence. There was no one who couldn’t understand him. For some reason, Yohan’s words were intelligible to them all.
“I will give you a cure.”
[…Are you being serious?]
“Yes. No payment is required. Build factories in each of your countries. Factories for the cure. Make them very large. In the order that the factories are completed, I will provide the raw materials to produce the cure there.”
Yohan continued to lay out the conditions for receiving the cure. As soon as a factory was completed, it had to be announced on broadcast, and he would not forgive anyone who used the cure to commit crimes or seek profit.
And the cure, he said, was to be administered to every single citizen, by any means necessary.
The representatives fell silent upon hearing his story. It wasn’t a bad proposition. The only problem was…
[Why?]
“Hm?”
[What is the reason for your sudden kindness toward humanity?]
This was a starkly different image from the prophet who had claimed he would punish humanity. Wondering if this, too, was some kind of test, the US representative asked cautiously.
Hearing his words, Yohan broke into a wide grin.
“I had a change of heart.”
The reason was simple. It was because his teacher had said she was bored since her TV programs were no longer airing.
Humanity would never have imagined they were being saved simply because some entertainment shows had stopped airing.