Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: The Saintess for Only One Person (7)
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Two days had passed.
The Hunter Management Bureau had publicly announced the series of events to the world.
It wasn't something they could just hide away.
Kang Woojin had laid out the bare bones of the scenario, and Lee Dong-hyun had piled on the flesh thickly.
Even so, Korea was in an uproar.
America was shocked, China was stunned, and Japan was on its knees.
Of course, none of it was in a good way.
Hundreds of people belonging to the Dawon Truth Church had massacred each other, filling the Incheon area with the stench of blood.
In this modern age where towers and gates had appeared...
Even in a world where monsters roamed and Awakeners fought across the globe, incidents and casualties on this scale were exceedingly rare.
Hunter casualties weren't as high as one might think to begin with.
But the deaths of hundreds of civilians turned Korea upside down and then some.
They weren't ordinary civilians, being quasi-Awakeners, but...
To those unaware of the truth, it came as a massive shock.
📰 Breaking News [This is today's breaking news.] Even when the Hwameong Guild had screwed up, it hadn't been this bad.
📰 Breaking News [Believers of the Dawon Truth Church have gathered, protesting near the Hunter Management Bureau. Police authorities are collaborating with the Bureau to prioritize citizen safety...] The street screens were plastered with news about the incident.
And for good reason—the event wasn't fully over yet.
The Bureau revealed that renegades hidden within the Church had exacerbated the damage, but people weren't quick to trust them.
"The Hunter Management Bureau must uncover the truth! Uncover it!"
"Uncover it! Uncover it!"
"The government must disclose the truth of the incident! Disclose it!"
"Disclose it! Disclose it!"
Not only did they refuse to believe, but dozens were protesting in the streets.
Armed with their faith, they took a hardline stance, troubling every organization in sight.
In short, it was total chaos.
"The Hunter Management Bureau must uncover the truth! Uncover it!"
"Uncover it! Uncover it!"
"The government must disclose the truth of the incident! Disclose it!"
"Disclose it! Disclose it!"
It was inevitable, really.
"Uncover it! Uncover it!"
"Disclose it! Disclose it!"
The protests weren't just fueled by faith alone.
Awakener surveillance teams from the Bureau and guild members from various guilds were still rooting out the Church's remnants in secret.
Disciples who hadn't been at the scene.
Among those with records of illegal dealings and debauchery, some had luckily escaped punishment.
The Bureau and guilds were pursuing them to the root.
To protect themselves, they were inciting believers to intensify the protests.
The area was a complete madhouse because of it.
But as if he'd anticipated their response perfectly, Kang Woojin watched the protest site from afar and calmly continued his call.
[Yeah, probably won't be able to get in today either.]
The worried voice of Kang Eun-seol vibrated through the phone's speaker.
[What?! Again?!]
Given the state of things, it was only natural to worry.
No matter how much she disliked that stepbrother, he was still family.
[What the hell are you doing out there, anyway?!]
Kang Eun-seol scolded Kang Woojin in an agitated tone.
Blood is thicker than water, as they say.
Or maybe it was just that she'd built up some reluctant affection.
Whatever the case, it was clear she was furious—even slipping in the "oppa" title.
His next words were enough to fuel her anger further.
[On a date.]
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ [Yeah, got it. You take care of meals too, Eun-seol.]
After barely soothing the grumbling Kang Eun-seol, I let out a light sigh.
She seemed to be getting sharper by the day.
Probably from all the stress of internet streaming.
Well, it was only natural.
As time passed, her subscribers grew naturally, and Eun-seol's channel was steadily gaining traction, but that meant more people harassing her too.
'She must've had a rough time yesterday.'
Kang Eun-seol, with no outlet for all that stress.
How desperate must she be to lean on and cling to me, whom she hated so much?
And she even had a good excuse.
After all, I was the one who'd suggested she try streaming.
She'd grumbled about hating it but still acted spoiled toward me.
'Right on plan.'
By tossing her into the savanna-like world of streaming and leaving her isolated, I'd been subtly training her without her realizing.
Tap tap tap.
I sent my one and only little sister a link to an SNS post.
[Check this out.]
The reply came quickly.
[What's this?]
[You were stressing about content ideas before, right?]
What I'd sent was a video of a camgirl dancing sexily.
[...What the fuck. You watch this shit?]
Soon, an emoji of disgust followed from Kang Eun-seol.
I'd gone out of my way to give advice, and this was the thanks I got.
I shook my head at her lack of receptiveness.
[I'm saying go a bit bolder. Just slap 'sexy' onto all your current content, and the variety doubles. Subscribers will mellow out too.]
Mellow out? More precisely, her viewer tier would jump, leaving no time to fuss over petty chats.
[Just pay more attention to outfits during streams. Whether it's gaming, mukbang, or even casual chats, it'll spark way more talk.]
Not full striptease, but I was steadily pushing her toward the shadows.
[Don't be so negative. Think about it seriously. Celebrities do sex appeal too, right?]
I deliberately used a stiff, businesslike tone.
[Sex appeal! You idiot moron!]
[Sexy or sex.]
[You crazy bastard! How are those the same?! And you really wanna say that shit to your little sister?!]
[Anyway, I gave you an idea. Talk later.]
The phone buzzed several more times after, but I ignored Eun-seol's messages completely.
Her choice was set in stone anyway.
Even without me pushing, she'd seek the shadows herself to pay off her massive debt.
That was her future.
Step.
Reflecting anew on our Eun-seol's plight, I slowly turned away from the protest site.
[Hey, Sia.]
Then I called Cynthia.
[Home?]
Her fresh voice answered my short question.
[Yeah, home.]
Lately, I hadn't been paying her much attention, but her voice was as normal as ever.
[And you, Woojin?]
Calm, too.
Despite the period of benign neglect.
Not that it didn't faze her, but it was like her parents were right there.
[I was thinking of heading to your officetel anyway. Mom's dropping off side dishes.]
[Side dishes?]
[Yeah. More than usual. Since it came up, wanna come over?]
[Why so much? Oh, because of Yeon-hee noona, huh.]
I nodded at Cynthia's words.
I hadn't met my stepsister yet, but my mouth had run, as mouths do.
Looks like my new mom had asked Cynthia's family separately.
[But can't right now. Got an appointment.]
Just the day before yesterday, I'd been rolling through battlefields with her, but now we chatted casually as I added,
[Appointment?]
[Yeah, I'm out.]
[Meeting another girl?]
Suddenly, Cynthia's voice turned icy.
[Business. Work.]
[......]
Silence fell over the line, then a rustling sound.
She'd moved spots, pressing close to the speaker with a low voice.
[Harin? Or Jiwon?]
Her whisper was sticky and dangerously resonant.
[Yeeun?]
As she listed women linked to me, I felt awkwardly embarrassed.
Made me sound like the bad guy.
'Where else is a good guy like me?'
It'd only been two days since I'd contributed to world peace by wiping out a band of renegades.
[I told you not to make me too jealous, right?]
But Cynthia, seemingly indifferent, pressed me coolly.
As much as the time I'd ignored her.
The backlash for teasing and frustrating her would be fierce.
A strong premonition hit me.
[It's really work, no misunderstanding.]
I tried to play it cool.
[Anyway, when you go to our house later, look after Eun-seol a bit, Sia.]
Unlike my topic shift, a short sigh came from her end.
[And Sia, make a bank account in your name I can use.]
I even asked her to lend me an account for potentially shady stuff.
[Why a bank account...?]
[Time to start paying off Eun-seol's debt.]
[Couldn't you just use your own name?]
[More precisely, buying up her debts.]
In other words, switching her repayment target from her agency to me.
[Even with family, money stuff needs to be clear-cut.]
Of course, Eun-seol wouldn't have a clue.
[Mm. True...]
[If I hold her debts directly, family ties might let it slide messy. So using someone else's name on purpose.]
[Like you lent her the money? Won't she feel burdened?]
[It's an investment too, so frame it as fair trade. Discount the interest as a friend deal.]
I kept walking, explaining the rough plan to Sia.
Strictly speaking, I wasn't paying off her debt for her.
'Sorry, Eun-seol. But nothing's free in this world.'
I'd forgive it all later through some means.
For now, I needed to keep the original flow, pressing her down.
That way, I could draw in the original story's NTR guys tied to her and get revenge on those scumbags.
[Then just clear your schedule that day?]
[Yeah. Procedures won't be too picky. Her agency's desperate too.]
I synced schedules with Cynthia and promised to visit Eun-seol's agency sometime.
Honestly, I wanted to pay off my tsundere(?) sister's debt and take credit, but 600 million was too steep for that.
No, I could still take credit while pretending to cover her interest.
Thus, swallowing tears, I detailed a plan to teach my one sister a life lesson.
[Ah, already here.]
Chatting long with Cynthia about this and that, I'd arrived at my destination.
[Yeah, uh-huh. Yeah. Hanging up now, Sia.]
Standing at the entrance to some nameless mountain path, I pocketed my smartphone and looked around.
"Woojin-ah!"
Han Ye-eun, already there ahead of time, approached with a bright smile.
"Who were you talking to for so long?"
As she beamed—echoing Cynthia's earlier vibe...
"Nothing much."
I covered quickly, no room for a second mistake, reminding her of our real goal.
"Let's hurry."
We weren't here to play, after all.
"Yeah, got it!"
Han Ye-eun and I climbed the mountain path without delay, searching for the cult leader's seal based on Han Jong-hoe's testimony.
Rustle.
It didn't take long.
'That...'
A family grave site before our eyes.
Tucked into the low mountainside, that's where we found the Dawon Truth Church's sacred relic—the cult leader's seal.
Han Ye-eun held the horn-pipe-like stamp and asked me,
"So now, if I take over as acting leader with this?"
"Yeah, exactly. You're the previous leader's daughter and a candidate for Great Saintess of the Truth Church. Well, not just a candidate anymore? Anyway, no one will object."
I'd entrusted the Church's cleanup to Han Ye-eun.
"First, disband the protesting believers. We'll root out the trash left inside."
Of course, I wasn't sitting idle.
"The Bureau and guilds will help, so don't stress. Jiwon will assist a lot too."
Han Ye-eun nodded firmly at my calm explanation.
"You can stabilize the Church internally in no time."
With that pep talk, I'd wrapped up the incident completely.
Or so I thought.
Halt.
Descending the mountain, Han Ye-eun suddenly stopped on a flat park path.
Grabbing my arm.
"Hey, Woojin-ah."
"Yeah? What?"
Tilting my head at her.
Something left unsaid?
Sure enough, Han Ye-eun shyly murmured,
"...Thanks."
Her abrupt words drew a smirk from me.
"For what?"
I had a pretty good guess.
For saving her.
For keeping her hands clean of blood.
For granting her father an easy death compared to his sins.
For protecting his honor and normalizing the Dawon Truth Church.
Thinking about it, I'd done plenty deserving her thanks.
"Just... everything."
She beamed up at me.
"Kinda bland."
I shrugged with a chuckle.
"Bland?"
Right then, she pulled me into a hug and stepped forward boldly.
"Then I'll make it not bland."
On tiptoes, she pressed her lips to mine.
How much time passed like that?
"I love you."
After our fresh kiss, Han Ye-eun whispered, her face slightly flushed.
"I'll be your saintess, Woojin. No—your saintess only. Master."
She added playfully.
"So you'll only look at me, right, Master?"
But the mana suddenly coiling around my body was no joke.