Chapter 102

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 102

Chapter Title: The Mayor and Seppuku

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Seppuku.

Suicide by disembowelment. Hara-kiri.

The noble act of a samurai slicing open their own belly for the sake of honor. Or so they say.

Why the belly? Why specifically there?

The ancient Japanese believed that a person's courage and spirit resided in their abdomen.

Thus, cutting open one's own belly to reveal its contents was a noble way to prove one's purity.

A sublime ritual to restore sullied honor through a clean death and proclaim one's true heart.

But is this Edo-period Kyoto? Or some mansion in the Kamakura shogunate?

No. This is 21st-century South Korea, and among its cities, the most modern and futuristic one: Neo Incheon.

Behind him isn't an empty bamboo grove—it's a newly opened mala tang hulu shop!

And yet this old man is standing in the middle of Bupyeong with a knife, declaring he's going to disembowel himself.

In front of a live-streaming camera. Before tens of thousands of viewers and hundreds of onlookers.

What kind of anachronistic nonsense is this? Go watch samurai movies in a theater!

"Seria! Seriaaa! Do something! Handle that old man somehow!"

I shouted desperately. My voice was practically a scream.

"That old guy's really gonna cut his belly open! We have to stop him!"

"We've already taken measures."

"Huh? Measures? What measures?"

"Dispatched an A-rank healing hero who was on vacation nearby. ETA ten minutes."

I started to sigh in relief, then tilted my head.

"What? Ten minutes? What if he cuts before that?!"

"Mayor. Seppuku isn't that simple a way to die. No kaishakunin."

"Kai... what?"

"Kaishakunin. The person who beheads the performer to spare them prolonged agony. Without it, after slicing open the abdomen with a tanto, they bleed out and die from shock over anywhere from several dozen minutes to more than an hour in excruciating pain. The gruesome sight of entrails spilling out is just a bonus."

Her explanation was so specific and vivid.

"Besides, Mr. Genji isn't an ordinary person. He's a superhuman trained for years. His physical durability and vitality far surpass a normal human's. Even if he cuts open right now, there's more than enough time for the emergency team to arrive, staunch the bleeding, and perform abdominal surgery."

Scary.

This woman is really scary.

How can she describe something so horrific so casually? Wikipedia addict?

"A-alright. So... measures are in place, right?"

Yeah, as long as he doesn't die. If he doesn't die, it'll be fine somehow.

No, wait.

"Hey! He's still gonna cut his belly open on live stream for tens of thousands to see!"

"That's your problem, Mayor."

"My problem?"

"Mr. Genji is calling you 'my lord' while doing seppuku. The comments are already flooded with 'Seppuku because of Lee Garam.'"

What?

I looked back at the tablet screen.

Shogunate Mayor?

Shogun Lee Garam?

What the hell is this?!

"Aaaah!"

I tore at my hair.

While I wailed like that, Genji finally pressed the knife tip to his left abdomen.

"Stop, Elder!"

It was at that moment.

A desperate shout came from off-screen. Two young men and women burst through the crowd.

Kurokumo Yuuta. And Kurokumo Tsubaki.

"What is this madness?!"

Yuuta grabbed Genji's arm and screamed. Tsubaki struggled to wrest the knife away.

Hey, aren't you contract workers? What are you doing on the clock?!

"You bastard! Let go! This is this old man's final duty!"

"No!"

"Yuuta... Tsubaki... Step aside. This is my burden alone."

"No! It's our burden too!"

Tears burst from Yuuta's eyes.

"If the Elder is a sinner, so are we! We ate and clothed ourselves with money earned through assassinations! We grew up on bloodstained cash! If we're judging sins, we're not innocent either! If you're going to die, we'll follow!"

Tsubaki wailed too as she drew her own kunai.

"Yes, Elder! We'll die together! The Kurokumo are one!"

This was just the beginning.

"Us too!"

More Kurokumo clan youths appeared from somewhere, gathering around Genji.

"We're all sinners!"

"We won't let the Elder go alone!"

"The clan's sins are everyone's sins! We'll atone together!"

One by one. From women carrying children to young boys and girls. Black clouds gathered.

Dozens shouting in solemn lament at once. Kunai and tantos in their hands.

A sudden tearjerker melodrama.

Group seppuku performance.

What insane situation is this?

I anxiously checked the chat and on-site reactions.

"Oh no, stop those people!"

"Yeah! Why die?!"

"Say you want to live!!"

Sympathy swelled among the onlookers.

Melodrama.

Yeah, Koreans are weak to melodrama.

Tears, family love, self-sacrifice. They go crazy for those keywords.

That was when it happened.

A middle-aged man threw off his coat and rushed at Genji. A blue energy field extended from his hand, firmly binding Genji's knife.

"Stop this! What does dying solve?!"

A telekinesis user.

Starting with him, nearby citizens stepped up one after another.

"You can't die here!"

"Neo Incheon hasn't abandoned you!"

"Go ahead and try! We'll save you all!"

Vines extended from a high school girl's hand, gently wrapping a Kurokumo boy. A delivery guy in uniform zipped around at super speed, snatching knives from hands.

Neo Incheon isn't just strong because of heroes. Superpowered folks overflow even among ordinary street citizens.

That's everyday life in Neo Incheon.

The Kurokumo clan didn't resist.

They just stared vacantly at the hands stopping them.

Warm touches. Concerned gazes.

Things utterly foreign to them, who'd been treated as monsters and murderers their whole lives.

"Why..."

A trembling voice leaked from Genji's mouth. Tears dripped from his heterochromatic eyes.

"Why... stop... us...?"

"Because this is Neo Incheon! You're already our neighbors!"

Nod.

The moment they, pointed at as monsters their whole lives, were accepted as humans for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the first time.

With that one phrase, the entire Kurokumo clan collapsed.

They hugged each other and wailed like children. Decades of pent-up sorrow and pain erupted at once.

Ah, damn it.

Why is this so touching?

My nose tingled involuntarily, but I held it back desperately.

Their scene was broadcast live across Neo Incheon—no, all of South Korea.

Public opinion did a 180, a 360 back to square one, then flipped 180 again.

The arrows of blame aimed at me instantly turned toward the Japanese government.

And then fuel was poured on the fire with a revelation.

The Kurokumo clan's assassination ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠list: 547 names.

Not a single Korean among them.

All Japanese. And vicious criminals or corrupt powerholders at that.

Thud.

I slammed my head on the desk. It echoed loudly. But it didn't hurt.

"Mayor, headbutting the desk can cause brain damage. It seems sufficiently damaged already, but worsening it won't help."

"Shut up..."

I groaned.

"I'm done for! Totally finished!"

"Positive news. You've finally started accurately recognizing your situation. Great progress."

"Kaaaaah!"

"Haa..."

Days passed. The Bupyeong seppuku uproar settled down.

Genji grandpa's getting psychiatric counseling at the hospital, and the Kurokumo clan became cherished neighbors of Neo Incheon.

Now the Kurokumo residence turned into Little Tokyo, a ninja theme park.

Ninjutsu experience, shuriken throwing, ninjutsu scroll crafting.

Tourists flock in.

And... my approval rating bounced back to the 60s.

From concrete to now titanium-grade.

"Ughhhh..."

I was sprawled on the mayor's office sofa.

Meow~

Nero climbed on my face and kneaded. I felt like I couldn't breathe, but I let it be.

Gotta pass out before Seria comes.

"Mayor."

Seria's cold voice.

"Third day in that position."

"Leave me be. I'm a depression patient now."

"Success depression, a new disease?"

"Yeah! Trauma from success being too scary!"

I shoved Nero aside and sat up.

Nyaaang!

Nero protested, but I ignored it.

Pulled out my smartphone.

Yeah, need some hate online for mental health.

Self-harm. Mental self-harm. Digital self-harm.

Let's see.

"What the heeeell!"

No antis.

Not a single one.

Everyone praises, worships, loves me.

The Japanese netizens were just as noisy.

Everything was a mess.

My pro-Japanese cosplay failed miserably.

Instead, I became the ultimate anti-Japanese fighter, icon of multiculturalism, great leader embracing minorities.

And crucially, the primal anti-Japanese sentiment buried deep in Koreans' hearts awakened.

- Japan wants them back? Then we definitely won't give.

- Long live Korea! We'll do anything Japan hates.

- Mayor, descendant of independence fighter, personally vouched for them?

No! Why go anti-Japanese now!

You should've done it when I first accepted the Kurokumo!

Or curse me as pro-Japanese traitor then! Why burn with bad timing now!

Even the fact that I, independence fighter descendant, vouched for them got rehighlighted as 'symbol of dialogue transcending past for future harmony'—embarrassing interpretation.

I tore at my hair.

The decisive blow was the Korean government.

The Justice Ministry, threatening to indict me for dereliction just days ago, completely flipped.

[Official Gov Statement: Kurokumo Clan to be Protected Domestically on Humanitarian Grounds. Japan's Extradition Request Rejected for Lack of International Legal Basis.]

The Justice Minister emphasized 'humanitarian grounds' about ten times in the press conference.

Of course, not just public opinion. Real reason was elsewhere.

Genji's released hit list and the Kurokumo's hidden client ledger.

Full of Japan's shogunate and gov dirty secrets over centuries.

Japan shut up thanks to that. Scared whose names were in the ledger.

Thus, I unwittingly scored a diplomatic win too.

For escapism, opened Nertube.

Welcoming me: highlight of Kurokumo clan moved by citizens' comfort, hugging and sobbing.

Beautiful scene.

Touching happy ending.

Everyone but me, again.