A Slave's New Name
Park Chun-deok
I headed to the university hospital Rona had told me about as quickly as possible. When I reached the room the nurse directed me to, Rona was fidgeting anxiously.
"Sis!"
Rona spread her arms and hugged me the moment she saw me.
"Why did you take so long?! I called you so many times!"
"Yeah, yeah."
I sighed, patting the back of Rona's head.
"Why didn't you tell me about something this important until now?"
"……."
For some reason, Rona avoided my gaze. Don't tell me...
"Hehe, I forgot."
"……."
Forgetting something this important? She really needs to get her act together.
I looked at Roun lying comfortably on the hospital bed. What kind of dream was this guy having?
"This guy... he'll wake up, right?"
"Of course."
Where in the world is there an idiot who can't undo their own curse?
"What happened after this guy's drug scandal came out?"
"It was total chaos. The entire company got purged, and everyone was busy making excuses for a week."
"What were you doing until then without saying anything?"
"Well... I was playing with Ha-im."
Rona scratched her cheek.
I really want to smack her.
I sighed and began the curse removal ritual as Rona continued talking.
"But the strange thing is, this guy apparently didn't actually do drugs himself."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yeah, he only sold them."
That was completely unexpected. Given his drug-dealer face, I was sure he'd used them, but he only sold them...
An idea flashed through my mind.
"Is this guy strong?"
"Suddenly? Well, of course he's strong. Not as strong as me, though."
According to Rona, Roun and Ha-im were the top candidates to reach S-Class next year. I couldn't believe it. He charged in even knowing the situation was disadvantageous to him. That idiot is the next S-Class?
"You're not lying, are you?"
"Aw, it's because you don't know, sis. Ha-im really flies around during the day."
"……."
I was half-skeptical, but that wasn't important right now. The curse removal was almost complete. Something with sharp teeth slowly emerged from Roun's forehead. Rona stared at it with curious eyes.
"Oh, what's that?"
"A curse."
"A curse? This?"
"You might not know, but curses have their own will."
At least, the ones I cast do. I'd embedded a will into the curse to prevent anyone from possibly dispelling it.
Pop!
The curse fully emerged from his forehead and dispersed, but instantly turned into black liquid and seeped back into his forehead.
"What is that?"
"A slave seal."
"……!"
A philosopher once said that when someone commits a crime, lifelong labor is better than a short-lived execution. I agree with that opinion.
"Sis, isn't that too harsh..."
"Rona, the world is even scarier than this."
"……."
"Besides, as far as I know, Awakeners are allowed the death penalty unlike regular citizens."
"That's true, but..."
Awakener death penalty. Execution was permitted only for Awakeners. It made sense since their very existence was like living weapons of war.
'Though it's only a tiny minority.'
Only about five Awakeners had been executed so far. All of them had committed mass slaughter.
"Life imprisonment with labor is better than execution."
"……."
"I'm sparing his life, after all."
Flash!
While we were talking, Roun's eyes snapped open. His face was drenched in cold sweat. Had he been having a terrible nightmare?
The moment he saw us, he swung a massive scythe. As expected, he didn't deviate from my predictions even an inch.
"Kneel."
"……!"
Bang!
Just from hearing the single word "kneel," Roun slammed his head into the floor with enough force to break the hospital bed. Rona watched the scene with her hand over her mouth.
"What the...!"
Roun began to grasp the situation and glared at me. I didn't like that.
"Kneel."
Bang!
Roun slammed his head into the bare floor again. But the resentful look in his eyes didn't fade.
It was simple after that.
"Kneel."
Bang!
An endless repetition of kneeling. Roun kept slamming his head into the tiled floor until his entire head was soaked in blood. The floor caved in about 5cm, and after slamming his head roughly a hundred times, blood flowed all over his head.
"I... I'm sorry..."
"Your tone doesn't sit well with me."
"...I was wrong."
He should've said that from the beginning. Now that he seemed ready to talk, I might as well sit comfortably in a chair. The quick-witted Rona brought over a chair at the perfect timing.
"You know what you did wrong, don't you?"
"...Why is that my fault? Isn't it the fault of the people who bought the drugs? It's those druggie bastards' fault...!"
"Well, I'll give you that."
I shrugged. If they had any sense, they wouldn't have done drugs in the first place. But that wasn't what I was asking.
Looking down at him, I stepped on his head with my shoe.
"Still don't get it?"
"...Don't tell me it's because I hurt that kid?"
"That kid being my little sister? Not really."
I wasn't angry just because he'd hurt an idiot who knew what he was getting into. I sighed. He really didn't seem to know, so I ground my dirty shoe roughly against his head.
"You bothered me."
"……."
What I hated most was being bothered. On top of that, this guy had detonated an EMP right in the middle of Seoul, making it even more annoying.
"From now on, you're my slave."
"……."
"Just so you know, there's no pay."
"What...!"
"Kneel."
Bang!
He tried to get up again, so I reminded him of his place. Somehow maintaining his consciousness, he asked me a question.
"...Then where am I supposed to live? As you know, I can't show my face to people anymore."
"Hmm... Wait a sec."
"……?"
I made a call somewhere, and the two of them barely nodded. The other party picked up in less than a second.
"Yes, Grandpa, it's Seong-a."
The person I'd called was none other than the chairman of Haeyeon, Grandpa.
-"R-Really, Seong-a...?"
"……?"
Grandpa seemed quite flustered by my call.
-"Ahem, right, Seong-a. What's going on?"
He regained his composure and returned to his usual dignified voice. I spoke in the most careful tone I could muster.
"Well, my friend says they need to find a house and wants to borrow some money, so maybe..."
."Hmm, got it. Tell me the account number. I'll send 1 billion won right away."
"Huh?"
A billion won out of nowhere startled me for a moment. As expected of Korea's top conglomerate chairman, his sense of money was on another level.
"Uh... Grandpa, I think that's too much money..."
-"Too much? I thought they were living in Seoul..."
"My friend is interested in the countryside, so..."
With most people in Korea knowing this guy's face, what choice did we have? Hiding out in the countryside and coming when I called was the best option.
-"Still, they'll need at least 300 million."
"No, they don't need that much..."
-"It's already done."
"……."
With a doubtful feeling, I checked the account belatedly and found 300 million won had been deposited.
"Grandpa, I don't have the ability to pay you back..."
-"It's fine. There's no grandfather in this world who'd ask his granddaughter to repay pocket money."
"……."
As expected of Grandpa. Completely different from Mrs. Kim, who scolded me for spending 3 million won.
"Th-Thank you. I'll hang up now."
When I tried to end the call, Grandpa hurriedly stopped me.
-"Wait, don't you have one last thing to say...?"
"Something to say?"
-"Yeah, something like the usual things family members say to each other..."
Usual family conversation, huh. I roughly understood what he meant.
"Yes, I love you, Grandpa."
-"Ahem, right, I love you too."
Having heard what he wanted to hear, Grandpa ended the call without complaint. Well, when someone's giving you 300 million, saying "I love you" as family isn't a big deal.
I stared at the dumbfounded Roun.
"There, it's done. Live quietly in the countryside from now on. Come immediately when I call."
"……."
Then Rona, who had been quiet behind me, asked.
"But what about his identity?"
"……."
'Right. I didn't think of that.'
At the point where I'd decided to live as a pure and lovely granddaughter, making this kind of request was awkward. I pondered for a moment. A new identity...
"Don't worry. There's a way."
This was exactly why I'd befriended a high-ranking official. Preparations were complete. Now, time to wrap things up.
***
The two of us, wearing hats, masks, and sunglasses, watched the news on the electronic display board.
-Drug dealer Roun found murdered... Who is the culprit?
It was a truly sensational headline. We continued watching the news.
-Rona, the culprit visited while she was in the bathroom...
The scenario was that someone had discovered the murdered Roun while Rona was in the bathroom. It was fortunate that Rona had agreed, but there would inevitably be some noise about it. I'd have to share a room with her later.
"Is this what they call gukbap?"
Whether or not, our drug dealer was mixing the gukbap like he'd never seen it before, paying no attention to the news. A sigh escaped me automatically.
"Let me ask you just once. Why did you sell drugs?"
"My father ran a drug business. I inherited it."
"……."
It was a family business. That surprised me a little.
"Well, I tried to quit at first, but the income was pretty good, so..."
Even so, I had no goodwill toward a drug dealer.
We ate gukbap while talking.
"What am I supposed to do from now on?"
"Go to America and investigate the Prophet a bit."
"The Prophet?"
At the mention of investigating the Prophet, Roun gave me a suspicious look.
"Why?"
"Hey now, a slave asking questions?"
"……."
Our quick-witted slave lowered his eyes and ate his gukbap. Since he had connections with the Prophet, I figured he'd be helpful for this task.
A few minutes later, a call came from the team leader I'd texted.
-"Do I really have to do this?"
The moment he picked up, the team leader complained to me. Anxiety crept in for a moment.
"You can't do it?"
-"No, I can do it, but..."
"Then do it. You made a killing with American stocks, didn't you?"
"……."
The team leader had no choice but to follow my orders. He'd made how much from American stocks?
"Oh, and stop touching that stock now. It's at its peak."
-"...Understood."
There was still reluctance in the team leader's voice, but that wasn't my problem.
-"By the way, how did you do it?"
"Do what?"
-"That guy's body."
Ah, that?
"It's a kind of illusion."
-"An illusion? I heard it even had tactile sensation..."
"A true illusion should be able to create tactile sensation as an illusion too."
-"……."
What kind of illusion can't even create tactile sensation?
-"...Expecting common sense from you is asking too much. Anyway, what are you going to do about that guy's new name?"
I looked at Roun, who was diligently eating his gukbap.
A new name...
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"From now on, your name is Park Chun-deok."