That Means I'm Also My Little Sister's Brother
Three days after my first meeting with Seo Moon-min-hye, I spent that time quite productively.
"My lord, here are today's profits."
Before me stood a woman with deep blue hair, bowing respectfully. Anyone would call her strikingly beautiful, and her voluptuous figure was the kind that drew every man's gaze. But this was merely a Polymorph transformation. Her true form was Leviathan, a massive sea dragon resembling a serpent.
"Good work, Leviathan."
I took the smartphone she handed me and checked her current earnings.
"You've made quite a bit. They sold well?"
"Yes. Even though the recovery potions you developed were classified as premium goods, the ones I created were treated as extremely rare by this world's standards, so they sold easily."
Leviathan smiled brightly. Among my subordinates, she was the most skilled in magic and excelled at crafting potions and magical items. Even an ordinary kitchen knife could become a terrifying legendary blade in her hands. My own abilities surpassed hers, but most of the goods were things she had personally made.
"The amount is decent, but still not enough."
Even with bulk sales, the total came to over 12 billion won. Large guilds had bought in volume, and since the production cost was nearly zero, the profit margin was enormous. Publicly, Leviathan's identity was listed as a reclusive genius from the Liberin Kingdom. Her official name was registered as Levia Jin, a citizen of the Liberin Kingdom, so there was no room for suspicion.
The Liberin Kingdom has plenty of reclusive geniuses, after all.
The Liberin Kingdom, located in the middle of the Pacific, was a nation that had never existed on Earth before. Seventy years ago, when mana suddenly surged across the globe, the kingdom had appeared in the center of the Pacific for the first time. In other words, it was an island nation from another dimension.
"My lord, since we've already created my identity as a reclusive genius of the Liberin Kingdom, wouldn't it be better for me to operate officially from there?"
"From the Liberin Kingdom?"
"Yes. Living there would give me greater freedom of movement and make it easier to expand my influence."
I considered Leviathan's suggestion for a moment.
The Liberin Kingdom, huh.
It would indeed be better for her to work from there rather than Korea. The island nation from another dimension had fallen into the middle of the Pacific, but it was now recognized as one of Earth's countries and had even joined the UN. Its population was approximately 42.1 million, and while an island nation, its land area was 251,221 km²—slightly larger than Great Britain's 229,761 km². With a per capita GDP of roughly $53,200 and a total GDP of about $2.2397 trillion, it ranked among the advanced nations.
Since the Liberin Kingdom came from a world where mana was commonplace, its technology for processing mana was the best in the world. A small number of different races lived there as well, including elves and dwarves. For mana awakeners, dwarven weapons from the Liberin Kingdom were considered essential once they reached a certain level of skill. The kingdom also manufactured various mana-powered items and sold them worldwide, and brands from Liberin Kingdom companies were practically synonymous with trust.
It's a bit separated from Hawaii, but not too far.
Given its location, the Liberin Kingdom could have claimed sovereignty over much of the surrounding Pacific, but it chose not to. To avoid conflict with the United States and other nations while officially belonging to the UN, the kingdom announced that, as a nation from another dimension, it would respect the existing territories of Earth. Of course, it retained rights to its immediate waters for survival, but amid the global chaos following the mana awakening, it quickly integrated into Earth by producing goods for mana awakeners.
At the same time, it absorbed Earth's cultures internally and grew rapidly, rising to the ranks of advanced nations.
It had originally been a monarchy but changed to a constitutional monarchy, and major social changes followed.
Not overreaching and adapting to Earth was a wise decision, wasn't it? Probably.
Even in the 1950s, if it had acted too aggressively, the United States would have rained nuclear weapons on it. And Arian Liberin, one of the main heroines of this novel, was the princess of this very kingdom.
"How long do you think it will take to establish yourself and expand your influence?"
"I'll have a solid foothold within three months at the latest. Hehe, and once I do, I'll earn your trust even deeper than Baalzebul's."
At my words, which were as good as permission, Leviathan replied with obvious delight, though there was something faintly ominous in her tone. Among my summons, she was better than most, but Leviathan's personality was far from normal either.
She's far too jealous.
She especially wanted the position of being most trusted by me and grew envious of anyone who earned more trust or praise than she did. This was unavoidable. After all, she was also the Demon of Envy.
"Hehehe, then I'll depart first to earn your full trust, my lord!"
Leviathan answered with overflowing enthusiasm, and I nodded.
"Alright. I trust you'll handle things well on your own, so do your best."
"Yes!"
Leviathan flashed an eager smile and vanished from before me, teleporting to the middle of the Pacific where the Liberin Kingdom lay.
Then it's time for me to move as well.
It was time to deepen my relationship with Seo Moon-min-hye. With that thought, I crossed space toward the Seo family estate. My vision shifted, and the Seo family mansion appeared before me. Unchanged from three days ago, the estate still stood proudly atop the mountain, radiating authority. It was amusing how easily I could erase it all with a single gesture, yet if anyone saw my expression right now, they would probably find it chilling.
This anger still hasn't faded.
Perhaps because synchronization had sharpened my memories, the hardships from back then felt vividly alive. Those powerless, miserable moments—the cold, the hunger, the constant worry about survival—felt as if they had happened just yesterday.
For now, I have to endure.
To make this revenge certain, I would endure for the time being. The real beginning would come the moment Seo Moon-hyun entered the academy. For now, I only needed to focus on growing closer to Seo Moon-min-hye.
—Min-hye, can you come out for a moment?
While thinking that, I sent a message spell to Seo Moon-min-hye. The spell allowed my voice to echo directly in her mind.
—Okay, I'll be right out.
Seo Moon-min-hye's reply came back. She couldn't use message magic herself. I had simply established a connection between us when I sent the spell, allowing her small responses to reach me.
"Oppa?"
Calling my name in a small voice so no one inside the house would hear, Seo Moon-min-hye watched as I revealed myself by swapping only the space between us.
"Oppa!"
Seeing the space shift and my figure appear, Seo Moon-min-hye beamed and called out loudly. Now that she knew no one was around to hear, her voice was bright and unrestrained, and I smiled in return.
"Yeah, Min-hye. It's only been three days. Have you been well?"
"Yes! Thanks to the wild ginseng you gave me, I've been doing great!"
Bringing up the ginseng, she looked genuinely pleased. It seemed the elixir's effects had taken hold properly. A mana awakener who consumed an elixir for the first time would feel their power suddenly surge, wrapped in a sense of omnipotence for several days. Until they grew accustomed to it, their combat ability would rise while their finer control actually declined. Seo Moon-min-hye was exactly at that stage now.
Her body is overflowing with energy.
After checking her condition, I asked, "Did anyone question where you got the ginseng?"
"Actually, Father and my little brother asked. They wanted to know where I found it."
"What did you tell them?"
"I just said I picked it up, and they didn't ask any more."
The conversation began with such ordinary topics. But this was merely opening the floodgates.
"Um… Oppa. I asked around for the past three days…"
Seo Moon-min-hye glanced at me cautiously. Sensing her hesitation, I spoke first to help her.
"I'll explain how I was kicked out and how I lived afterward."
I didn't ask if she was curious. It would be more effective if I simply offered the explanation myself.
"When I was five years old…"
As Seo Moon-min-hye listened to my past, her face froze in shock.
"How could they…"
The fact that they had thrown out their own five-year-old son with nothing left her trembling. To a thirteen-year-old girl, such a story must have seemed unbearably cruel.
"That's how it was. Do you understand now why I hate the Seo family?"
"…Yeah. I think I get it."
Seo Moon-min-hye's expression darkened, and unease crept into her eyes. She seemed afraid I might hate her too.
"Still, don't worry too much. You were only three back then, and you didn't do anything to me. You weren't even in a position to know anything. Out of this hateful Seo family, you're the only one I don't hate."
Of course I didn't hate her. On the contrary, knowing she would grow up beautifully with a good personality, I intended to make her one of my wives. That was far better than leaving her as a brocon little sister who couldn't even marry someone better than the defeated heroine.
I kept those thoughts to myself and simply smiled warmly as her older brother. Seo Moon-min-hye returned a smile mixed with both sorrow and joy.
"Okay, Oppa!"
With that, she had fully accepted and acknowledged me as her brother. Considering her brocon personality from the original story and how she had pitied Seo Moon-jin's situation, she now held deeper goodwill toward me than anyone else.