Chapter 12
Chapter 12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: SaintessTV Domination
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"I'll give them all to you."
"Oh dear, Blue Vest sir. Your speed is impressive, but you're a bit lacking in finesse. Please do your best from round 2 onwards!"
"Round 2 is a contest that requires both speed and brainpower. If Blue Vest wins this one, I'll give you two restaurant vouchers as the prize! By the way, it's a famous place that's appeared on my broadcast before?"
At Han Yoo-jung's shout, the staff set up the materials on a large table.
In front of me was some kind of box, while in front of Han Yoo-jung was a small jigsaw puzzle.
"This event is jigsaw puzzle solving!"
What was placed in front of Han Yoo-jung was a 50-piece children's picture puzzle.
She had even slyly fitted a few edge pieces already.
In contrast, what had been dumped in front of me was 2,000 white pieces that made me suspect they weren't trash shredded by a shredder.
Anyone could see this matchup had tossed fairness to the dogs.
The chat exploded with boos, but Han Yoo-jung just grinned shamelessly, thick-skinned as ever.
"Come on~ I'm just a frail healer. Don't I need a handicap like this to make it fun against S-Rank physical prowess?"
Han Yoo-jung was still making excuses to the viewers, but my mind was already filled with thoughts of those restaurant vouchers.
A pricey restaurant that had appeared on SaintessTV—probably that place from last time.
'That was 700,000 won per person.'
And that was without ordering drinks.
Places like that usually make their money on wine, so factoring that in, it was easy to blow past a million won per head.
Terrifying prices.
'Can't pass up free fine dining.'
I widened my eyes and focused.
"Oh my, Blue Vest is already raring to go? Then let's have the start signal."
The moment one of the staff pressed the stopwatch.
Han Yoo-jung's hands flew into motion, rapidly assembling the picture puzzle at high speed.
Had she practiced this?
She had already completed over 30% of it, and the viewers were half-resigned to my defeat—right then.
The Saintess's hands, which had been moving so flashily, came to a complete halt.
They didn't even twitch.
In the stopped time, I scanned the 2,000 white pieces spilled across the table.
'No sane person planned this puzzle contest.'
To me, this was content Han Yoo-jung had prepared to win no matter what.
If I'd lost, she probably would've given me another chance or something, dialing back the handicap.
Like reducing it from 2,000 pieces to about 500.
But I had no intention of winning in such a petty way.
If I was going to win, I'd do it in one go.
'Not my imagination. This is doable.'
There was no picture, but every piece had subtly different cutting lines.
A normal person would have to compare them one by one, but for me—with enhanced dynamic vision and computational ability after awakening—it was just a slightly harder jigsaw puzzle.
'Since I'm winning anyway, why not put on a real show.'
Suddenly, just quickly assembling a 2,000-piece puzzle felt too ordinary.
To create real broadcast buzz, the viewers needed to see something on another level at a glance.
'Assemble it upright.'
I picked up one puzzle piece and held it in the air.
Just like Han Yoo-jung's movements had stopped, the puzzle piece showed no intention of falling from midair.
This much was plenty feasible.
An aerial jigsaw assembly!
Pababababat!
The white pieces on the table rose into the air like they were drawn by magnets, seeking their places.
My arms left afterimages even in this stopped world, moving at tremendous speed.
When I got serious about speed, this was the result.
'50, 100, 150... Easy as pie.'
I even added a performance, assembling at what was—by my standards—a glacially slow pace for the viewers to follow.
By the time Han Yoo-jung had completed two more pieces, my white canvas was ballooning in size midair in an instant.
"Heh heh. No matter how knightly you are... Gasp!"
Han Yoo-jung looked up midway and gaped.
A massive white wall was forming right in front of her eyes.
Mocking the laws of gravity, thin puzzle pieces stood rigidly perpendicular to the table.
Since my reinforcement speed outpaced any risk of toppling, they couldn't fall.
Pabababat!
I'd deliberately taken about 10 extra seconds to go slow.
Just as Han Yoo-jung had one piece left.
Click!
I slotted the final piece into the very top first.
Then I restored time.
"Phew. Looks like I win this one."
I crossed my arms and whistled.
The completed puzzle slowly descended to the floor, fitting perfectly into its spot.
"......"
"I won, right?"
The last puzzle piece slipped from Han Yoo-jung's hand and fell.
"How did you... do that?"
"It was a close, thrilling match, just as the Saintess intended. The viewers saw it well, didn't they?"
Han Yoo-jung checked the completed puzzle in disbelief, then dazedly pulled an envelope of vouchers from a drawer.
She must have planned to give them out eventually, win or lose.
"Total defeat. No, I can't deny this. How fast are you to pull that off? It's not just about speed."
"Eh... I just focused and it worked."
I coolly pocketed the envelope in my vest's inner pocket.
"Thanks for the vouchers. I'll put them to good use. Now, round 3?"
"Round 3... Hmm... Round 3..."
Saintess. Scrambling to revise plans on the fly.
Wonder what bogus handicap she's plotting this time lol
Before Han Yoo-jung could revise her plans, a staffer began setting up.
A cute yellow safety helmet and a red pop hammer were placed on the table.
It was the tham-tham-tham pop hammer game that had been popular on old variety shows.
"Uh... Um..."
Before the game even started, Han Yoo-jung grabbed the pop hammer and helmet and put the helmet on her head.
The chat filled entirely with ???
"I'll start with this on."
"Sure, no problem. You won't get hit anyway."
"Ugh, so annoying! If you don't hit, you lose—rock paper scissors!"
Han Yoo-jung threw rock, and I threw paper.
This was a game I couldn't lose.
To normal eyes, it looked simultaneous—and it nearly was.
But in reality, there was a world of difference.
"That's cheating!"
"Yeah, excuses done. Tham tham tham!"
Han Yoo-jung's head turned to the right.
And there, predictably, was my finger.
"Heh, helmet means it doesn't count even if you hit!"
"If you've got the helmet on, sure."
Han Yoo-jung touched her head and widened her eyes.
The pop hammer in my hand lightly tapped above her crown.
And the other games after that? Her petty handicaps couldn't stop me either.
"Ah, that was fun. Call me again if you have more good ideas next time."
"Ugh... You heartless jerk... No blood, no tears..."
Han Yoo-jung flopped dramatically to the floor with a pout.
Her hair was a mess from all the pop hammer hits.
"That was too much... How do you not let up even once?"
Han Yoo-jung vented like a child, flailing her fists.
The broadcast was already off, so she could throw her tantrum freely.
Showing this cute side might boost her popularity even more.
Such thoughts crossed my mind as I pocketed my spoils of victory.
"Good work, Saintess."
"Haa..."
Han Yoo-jung, sitting on the floor, sprawled out flat.
"Good work to you too, knight. Hmph."
She grumbled verbally, but her expression looked bright.
She knew it too.
Thanks to Blue Vest's appearance, today's broadcast peaked at over 40,000 viewers.
Losing 3 million won in prizes to me was no issue.
Considering the subscriber growth and YouTube video views across the board, she'd already profited tenfold.
"Sang-hyuk..."
Han Yoo-jung called my name for the first time.
Not "knight," but "Sang-hyuk."
"Can I really call you again next time?"
She staggered to her feet and asked.
I nodded and started packing my things.
That was when it happened.
"Oh, by the way, Sang-hyuk, do you like any manga? Maybe figures as prizes next time?"
Han Yoo-jung headed toward a massive display case as she asked.
A gigantic glass cabinet at least two meters tall.
Filled with limited-edition figures and platform awards.
The moment Han Yoo-jung grabbed the handle to open it.
Creeeak.
An ominous sound rang out.
"Huh?"
The massive display case toppled toward Han Yoo-jung.
"Kyaaak!"
She had no time to dodge and squeezed her eyes shut.
As an S-Rank Hunter, her body wouldn't suffer major injury even if crushed.
But a scratch on her face? Or her precious figures shattered?
It would be another trauma for her, just barely recovered from the villain incident.
'High-maintenance girl.'
I activated Swiftness to stop time.
Then slowly assessed the situation.
Was it sloppy moving company work? Or someone harboring grudges around her?
Something under the display case had shifted its center of gravity forward.
"Gotta clear it piece by piece."
I first pulled out the watch pinned underneath by hand and pocketed it.
Then carefully checked the cabinet for issues, repositioned it, and neatly rearranged the figures one by one.
Finally, I wrapped an arm around the frozen-in-shock Han Yoo-jung's waist and pulled her toward me.
All in one second.
Time resumed.
"......Kyaaak!"
Han Yoo-jung squeezed her eyes shut, then slowly opened them when nothing happened.
In front of her wasn't a collapsed cabinet, but her reliable knight.
His unmasked face after the broadcast looked twice as handsome as when she'd first seen it.
"You okay?"
Han Yoo-jung couldn't control her trembling hands.
These 'unlucky' incidents had been happening too often lately.
Bodyguards were useless.
Now, she truly couldn't feel safe without her knight by her side...
"You should switch moving companies. How do they miss a watch and place a cabinet like that?"
Lee Sang-hyuk dusted off the watch and gently placed it in Han Yoo-jung's hands.
"You nearly blown today's earnings. Guess I deserve a bonus for this?"
He joked with a smile, slowly releasing her.
But Han Yoo-jung pretended her strength gave out at the waist, slumping against him.
So he'd keep supporting her.
To feel his reassuring touch just a bit longer.
"Yeah... I'll give you more bonus..."
Han Yoo-jung clutched the returned watch to her chest preciously.
"I'll give it all to you..."