Chapter 34

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 34

Chapter Title: The Mayor and Sugar

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Conspiracy. Scheme. Plot.

Call it whatever you want. What matters is the essence.

The pure malice contained in my actions. The noble will toward destruction.

Operation name: Sweet Requiem.

The plan is simple.

Destroy Heartsbread, the automatic popularity farm boosting my approval ratings.

More precisely, shatter the illusion of benevolent influence they've built up.

What I'm targeting is mental destruction, image destruction, trust destruction.

Heartsbread's success story. What's at its foundation?

The redemption tale of the villain Sugar Girl. Mayor Lee Garam's great, embracing even the most horrific villain with love and turning her into a productive member of society.

What a load of nonsense.

So, all I have to do is smash that deceptive illusion.

If I make people see her not as a reformed villain, but as the same horrific villain she always was, the entire myth will crumble like a sandcastle.

Me, Lee Garam. Today, I'll become a sneaky little rat.

A video I collected a few days ago under the pretext of gathering city promotion materials.

A mundane record of Sugar Girl developing her new menu items.

I sat down at the computer in my mayoral office and created an anonymous account.

Nickname: 'Justice of Neo Incheon'.

Words that couldn't be further from me. Could there be a more perfect disguise?

Upload the video.

Make the title as provocative as possible. Pull in maximum aggro.

[Shocking Exclusive] Heartsbread, the Truth Behind Their Hygiene.avi

[Horror] This Is How Your Bread Is Made

[Sugar Girl Leak] Forbidden Recipe Fully Revealed!

Kuhuhuhu. Perfect.

In the video, Sugar Girl kneads the dough with an innocent expression, humming a tune.

The key part starts now.

She plucks out her own hair and melts it into the dough, adds water she's dipped her finger in, and even drools saliva into it.

Of course, her body is entirely made of sugar and confections.

Her hair is cotton candy, her saliva is honey syrup, her blood is strawberry jam.

Her powers casually leap over modern society's taboo of hygiene.

But ordinary people don't know that. Even if they did, instinctual disgust is only natural.

It's the same principle as losing your appetite upon learning someone else's spit is in your delicious food.

Once this video spreads, people will be horrified.

'Disgusting!', 'How can they sell that?', 'Villains can't be trusted!'

Perfect. Nothing could be more shocking.

No iron stomach, no foodie, no tolerant citizen could accept bodily fluids in their bread.

There'll be an uproar of revulsion. Rage at being tricked.

And that rage's arrows will naturally point at me, Mayor Lee Garam, for sheltering such a horrific villain.

Aah, thrilling. Just imagining the citizens' angry, disgusted reactions makes my heart race.

The perfect prelude to my perfect failure.

Click.

My finger on the Enter key felt lighter than ever.

The results came in very quickly.

The video's views exploded exponentially within hours.

#1 real-time search: 'Sugar Girl Leak'.

Internet communities were in absolute chaos. Servers on the verge of crashing.

I sank deep into my chair with a satisfied smile.

Now, let's see the festival of rage aimed at me.

First stop: Neo Incheon's biggest mom cafe. Housewives' opinions are the barometer of approval ratings, right?

Good. Perfect. Exactly the reaction I wanted.

Next? The anonymous community for 20-somethings.

Expecting rage, mockery, and jeers, I refreshed the board.

But...

Huh?

Something's off.

The vibe is completely different from what I expected.

...Huh?

Huh?

Wait a second.

I rubbed my eyes. Looked at the screen again.

It's clearly in Korean, but it doesn't make sense. Is my brain glitching?

What? Am I hallucinating?

Where's the 'disgusting'? The 'filthy'? The 'impeach'?

But no matter how much I rubbed my eyes or refreshed the page, the scene didn't change.

If anything, it was spiraling in an even more horrifying direction.

Why all the thanks? Why the endless purchase proofs?

I hurriedly logged into Hero Gallery, the haunt of mischievous trolls.

Surely here, at least, I'd get the reactions I wanted.

The concept post list was plastered with Heartsbread.

...What the hell. What is this creepy research?

What the hell are these guys?

My scrolling finger trembled faintly.

There was some anger toward me.

But the direction was totally wrong.

Not 'crazy mayor sheltering villains', but 'selfish mayor hogging delicious stuff'.

This isn't it.

This wasn't my plan.

Dazedly drifting through Nutube, I found a live news broadcast.

Heartsbread in the video was swarmed, no room to step.

Normally, a sweet dessert shop would be mostly women.

But today, over 70% of the long line was men.

He swallowed hard, pretending to be calm, but...

That lecherous glint in their eyes! That dark intent!

Lies. All lies!

"Why... why did it turn out like this...?"

My hands shook.

What is this?

What the hell are these crazies?

Is my common sense worthless in this world? My ethics?

My plan was perfect. Logically flawless.

Stimulating basic human hygiene instincts and disgust.

But are they even human?

Or is a cute girl the ultimate drug that paralyzes all reason and common sense!?

I must have seriously miscalculated something.

I based my plan on public common sense.

But this world's public doesn't share my common sense.

A world with heroes and villains.

A world where superpowers exist.

A world where the very coordinates of common sense are warped.

"What... exactly am I fighting...?"

Failure.

Once again, my perfect failure plan turned into even more perfect success.

Beyond the mayoral office's floor-to-ceiling windows stood Heartsbread, once an ordinary commercial building.

No, 'stands' doesn't fit anymore. 'Towers' is more accurate.

Just a few weeks ago, it was a modest 3-story building.

A cute little altar for my failures.

But what is that now?

7 stories. A 7-story pastel-toned mega-tower.

A grotesque cake-shaped building slathered in pink and white cream, tacky as hell. Like a candy castle popped out of a children's fairy tale book, that bizarre, sweet monstrosity boldly invaded Neo Incheon's skyline.

The result of superpowered construction workers piling on expansions day and night. The Babel tower born from my failure's success.

And look at the base.

Ants. Swarming ants.

Heartsbread was packed despite it being a weekday morning.

They clutched smartphones, snapping the tower, each other, screaming in joy.

On one side of the road, huge tourist buses lined up.

Pouring out were foreign tourists with colorful hair.

Following signs like 'Welcome to Neo Incheon!', '! (Welcome to Heartsbread!)', they headed there.

They snapped photos with Heartsbread as backdrop, like it was scripted.

"Alright, everyone! This is the famous Heartsbread! The 'warm heart' in Heartsbread represents Mayor Lee Garam's sincerity! In Korean, warm heart means heartfelt care and consideration! Mayor Lee Garam personally named it, pouring his true feelings for the citizens!"

The guide shouted through the megaphone like it was routine.

"Neo Incheon's newest holy site! The miracle bakery produced by Mayor Lee Garam himself! 1 set per person limited sale—hurry!"

Holy site. Miracle.

The only truth I created was 'bread shop run by a villain with horrific hygiene'.

But now my pure malice had faded, packaged in deceitful buzzwords, sold ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worldwide.

Foreign news yesterday said even neighboring Japan's netizens were buzzing.

That madness willing to sell an S-Rank hero for a cute girl. That's the true face of the world I'm up against.

In the end, my despicable whistleblowing became the ultimate viral marketing for Sugar Girl.

Heartsbread had transcended Neo Incheon to become Asia's premier tourist spot.

My approval ratings? Skyrocketing.

"Gangwon potato farmers called! They want your consulting, sir!"

"Jeju citrus co-op this time! Begging for one visit!"

"Sir! Five variety shows calling today too... mph!"

I clamped the policy planner's mouth. No more.

Phones rang nonstop, TV droned my name all day.

Some bald pundit on as panelist pushed up his glasses with a serious face.

Syndrome.

I just wanted to be impeached.

I just wanted to run away.

The world won't let me go. The suffocating yoke of success tightens around my neck.

Creeak.

The office door opened, and Seria entered.

The tablet in her hand showed that bald pundit's face from TV earlier.

"Congratulations, Mayor. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠You're a national star now. Hollywood next? Should we roll out a red carpet for your commute?"

Mockery? Praise?

Or genuine question?

Her turquoise eyes fixed on me. That cold gaze pierced my being.

"Uh, n-no. Red carpet? Wasteful. Can't use city budget for that."

"By the way... how do you always produce such miraculous results, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mayor?"

Seria leaned over my desk, hand planted.

Whoosh.

Faint lilac scent brushed my nose.

The closer she got, the sharper her gaze. Chill creeping up my spine.

"Was all this really your calculation? For example... that video uploaded online recently."

My heart dropped.

"The one showing Sugar Girl's baking process. Quite the intriguing timing for the leak. Almost like someone uploaded it on purpose."

How does she know? I used that dumb anonymous 'Justice of Neo Incheon' account!

My throat parched. Couldn't swallow; no saliva.

If they find out I orchestrated impeachment to escape? That I'm not the real Lee Garam?

They'd dispose of me. Stage an accident. Erase all traces.

I've survived because she's interested. Sees me as intriguing lab rat or pet.

But if that interest turns to suspicion or annoyance?

That's the end.

"Ha, haha! Of course! Everything's per my plan! My eye spotting the gem Sugar Girl. My producing skills polishing her into the finest jewel. All combined into a great work of art! That's Heartsbread!"

I didn't even know what I was saying. It just came out.

Once you start lying, push to the end.

I'm the god of marketing. Trendsetter. Icon of the era.

I shouted it was all my ironclad plan.

Seria stared silently.

"A mayor as great as me sees five moves ahead! No, ten! Twenty!"

"I see."

Seria finally nodded.

"Then I'll prepare the next schedule. Rest easy, god of marketing."

Bow.

With a light nod, she slipped out like a ghost.

Alone again.

Silence filled the office. Distant noise from outside.

I stood.

And.

"Kuaaaagh!!"

Yanking my hair, I screamed.

"I just want to be happy once. Why can't I, Lee Garam, ever be happy!"

Tearing at my hair, I wailed.

I don't want success! Don't need approval ratings!

I just... wanted to quietly pocket slush funds and flee to a small South Pacific island!

Thud.

Collapsed on the office floor. Drained of all energy.

Heartsbread is hopeless now.

Leave that sweet monster be.

Best to shove the success onto Sugar Girl. Say I just gave minor advice; all her talent and effort. Draw the line.

Have to. Somehow escape this success icon yoke.

"Sigh, my fate..."

After rolling on the floor awhile, staring at the ceiling, I muttered.

"Next... time for the next plan."

Yeah. My noble journey toward impeachment isn't over.

One plan fails? Make two new ones! Like a hydra—cut one head, two grow back!

This time, I'll design the perfect failure that succeeds!