Chapter 6

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 6

Chapter Title: The Mayor and the Audit

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Words. Words. Words.

Contracts are words, laws are words, even curses are words.

Words are such a convenient tool.

Without form, they can be scattered anywhere, inflated or twisted at will.

Yesterday, I sent away Korea's strongest hero using just that one weapon: words.

But the world doesn't move on words alone.

The provocation at the press conference. The verbal sparring with Jin Yeonhwa.

Of course, all of it had its own results.

Public opinion had soured, conflict with the Association had intensified, and my approval rating was plummeting straight toward Earth's core.

But.

It's slow. Too slow.

What I need is destructive power. Not finesse—direct action.

Action.

The world always craves deeds. Spectacle.

If you want true ruin, you need actions to match.

I said I'd go after the Hero Association, so now I have to actually do it.

Time to keep the promise from the trailer. Time to stage that scene from the teaser for real.

A full-on audit: sending people to dig through files, tear apart warehouses, blow the dust off every corner.

I picked up the receiver. The mayor's direct line. The red phone connecting to the special audit team.

A tool the original Lee Garam used to extort bribes from corporations or spy on rivals.

"It's me. Get to my office now."

Click.

Short and to the point.

Villains don't need long speeches. Actions speak louder.

A moment later.

"Mayor, you called for me?"

An agent in a suit appeared like a shadow.

Grade 1 Audit Enforcer Kang Hyunwoo stood before me.

His emotionless face and perfectly tailored suit said everything about his personality.

He was likely one of Seria Park's planted limbs, there to monitor me.

Didn't matter. Right now, I needed his cold efficiency.

I pointed to the shattered window.

"Do you know what that is?"

"Presumed aftermath of Hero Association President Jin Yeonhwa's superpower. Structural damage from thermal energy..."

"Wrong."

I cut him off.

"That's a declaration of war. The Hero Association's opening shot against the city's administrative power."

Of course it wasn't. Just a trace of me nearly getting hit for mouthing off.

Truth doesn't matter. Pretext does. And the story I'll spin.

"Assemble your enforcement team. Head to Hero Association headquarters immediately. Tear it apart. Accounting ledgers, mission logs, equipment purchases—even cafeteria menus. Leave no dust untouched."

"There'll be fierce resistance. The Association won't cooperate quietly."

"Don't expect cooperation. If the doors are locked, break them. If they resist, arrest them. Don't trust what they hand over—find what they're hiding. I grant you the authority."

"Mayor, that approach is blatant abuse of power. It could escalate into a massive political backlash later."

Yes, that's exactly it.

"Hey, Auditor Kang. Don't worry. I'll take all the blame. No—I have to. So make sure the Association and the press know every responsibility lies with Mayor Lee Garam. Advertise it as my solo decision, my rampage!"

A mad rampaging dictator! A tyrant drunk on power!

Could there be a more perfect villain performance? Even I'm impressed.

Kang Hyunwoo's eyebrow twitched faintly. Probably an incomprehensible order to him. But he bowed his head soon after.

"I will carry out the mayor's orders."

After he left, I sank back into the sofa.

The dice were rolled. No—I'd flipped the board myself.

A municipal audit? What would come of investigating the Hero Association? Spotless paragons of integrity.

In the original story, they were pure good guys, far from corruption.

The outcome was obvious.

'Nothing found.'

And the natural next step?

'Overzealous audit yields zero results. Waste of administrative resources and morale hit to heroes—all from the mayor's folly.'

Insisting a clean place is dirty and digging anyway.

Treating good people like potential criminals and harassing them.

No, nothing.

Finally found it.

The ultimate rage trigger.

Ticket to the express train to ruin.

I drifted into sweet daydreams, toasting my impending defeat.

The week that followed was a festival.

An Aztec-style human sacrifice festival, with Mayor Lee Garam as the offering, of course.

Every day, the press and public dragged me to the altar and carved out my heart with obsidian knives.

As expected, the Hero Association pushed back hard. Blocking the audit team's entry was standard; they refused all document submissions and ran open interference.

Today, as Kang Hyunwoo's team forced the doors open again, the press exploded on cue.

Turn on the TV, and my face was on all day. Open the internet, and my name stayed glued to real-time search #1. Not a single positive mention.

The #ImpeachLeeGaram hashtag had gone beyond joke territory.

These brutal tags were dragging my reputation into the dirt in real time.

Protests filled City Hall square daily, and eggs and tomatoes flew at my office windows.

Bulletproof glass stopped them, of course.

Jin Yeonhwa's shattered window had already been replaced with top-grade material by Seria Park.

Along with a snide remark: 'Another budget waste thanks to our idiot mayor.'

I watched the whole spectacle with satisfaction.

"Mayor, the Association's resistance is beyond imagination. At this rate, we'll get nothing..."

Kang Hyunwoo came for a progress report. Even his iron face showed fatigue and dismay.

"Doesn't matter!"

I slammed my documents on the desk and shouted.

"If there's no result, make one! Pull all-nighters if you have to—find something! Don't stop until those who defy the city's authority are on their knees!"

Inside, I cheered.

'Yes, keep at it like that. Your incompetence is my victory!'

Kang Hyunwoo withdrew with a stiff expression.

Everything was going perfectly. Too perfectly.

Audit day 8.

I was enjoying the usual rage-filled news over a leisurely afternoon when...

Ring ring-!

The red phone on my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠desk screamed. Kang Hyunwoo.

"Auditor Kang. What now? You're not quitting here, are you?"

I answered with deliberate irritation.

[Mayor!]

Kang Hyunwoo's voice crackled through, urgent.

[It's exploded!]

It's here.

Finally.

My heart pounded with joy.

"Yeah, what exploded? Protesters rioting? Or did the council finally vote to oust me?"

Exploded. Yeah, it must have.

Public opinion erupting, citizen fury past the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠breaking point.

Now impeachment would be tabled in council, and I'd go down as the shortest-tenured disgraced mayor in history.

[No, not that...]

Kang Hyunwoo yelled.

[The ledgers. We found double ledgers.]

"...What?"

I doubted my ears.

Ledgers? What ledgers?

[We've uncovered evidence of Association executives siphoning hero support funds into slush funds over the past five years! Fake accounts, shell companies—all secured.]

My mind went blank.

Double ledgers? Embezzlement?

No way. The Hero Association? Those icons of purity? Nothing like that in the original story.

[That's not all.]

I never knew Kang Hyunwoo could raise his voice like that.

[Something even bigger. We confirmed a spy infiltrating the Association's internal network.]

"S-spy?"

[Not just an informant. Over three years, they've collected every hero's personal info, combat data—even unknown weaknesses—and sent it to illegal overseas servers. Likely tied to foreign villain groups.]

I froze, receiver in hand.

What the hell is this?

My scenario didn't include this.

No such variable in my failure plan.

This is...

A real scandal.

This wasn't my plan.

My plan was 'over-audit the clean, transparent Hero Association, take the public's beating, get impeached.'

So why?

How come?

Why was the Association actually rotten?

The long-awaited audit results announcement day.

I stood at the City Hall briefing room podium with vacant eyes.

Hundreds of camera flashes exploded in my vision.

In my hand was Seria's compiled audit report. Not the blank paper proving my defeat.

Proof of corruption. Unexpected spoils of victory.

I read the prepared script like a robot.

Irregular budget misuse by certain corrupt executives.

Embezzlement totaling tens of billions.

And... a spy selling hero intel.

The room fell silent as water doused it when I finished.

A familiar reporter broke the quiet.

"So, Mayor, did you predict all this and order the audit?"

Predict?

Me?

As if.

I just wanted to end my political career.

Deny it now—say it was coincidence.

Spit some nonsense about always hating the Association.

"No, I didn't kn—"

"Without the mayor's solitary resolve, this rotten corruption and conspiracy would have stayed buried in darkness forever."

Before I could excuse myself, Kang Hyunwoo grabbed the mic beside me.

"From day one, the mayor insisted, 'I'll take all responsibility. Uncover the truth without fear.' He shielded us enforcers so we could dig freely. Even called it his 'solo rampage' to shoulder every burden."

What the hell is this loyal retainer cosplay?!

"Indeed! Only the mayor saw through this massive corruption and plot! We respect you, Mayor!"

Waaaaah—!

The crowd's cheers left me speechless.

But even my silence got twisted into something else.

Deep contemplation and resolute decision.

A lonely leader willing to bear all scorn for justice.

The giant TV behind the briefing room flashed urgent news.

"Yes, viewers! Unbelievable! When everyone opposed, Lee Garam stood firm on his convictions! Without him, we wouldn't even know heroes were exposed! This is true leadership!"

The chants of 'Lee Garam step down!' from outside City Hall had turned.

"Lee Garam! Lee Garam! Lee Garam!"

Frenzied cheers.

With shaking hands, I pulled out my smartphone and checked the online communities.

The vicious hashtags cursing me days ago were gone.

In their place, embarrassing praise hashtags dominated trends.

Praise and memes flooded Neo Incheon communities.

Eh?

Wait, what?

This isn't right.

Why did it turn out like this again?