The Abandoned World (3)

I peeled off the black short-sleeve shirt and black pants I'd been wearing ever since Paul tore my previous clothes to shreds, and changed into a suit from inside My Room.

After all, I was going to meet my mother-in-law. I could hardly show up in a T-shirt and black pants, could I?

Once I'd finished changing into the suit inside My Room, I stepped back outside.

"Huh? Why the sudden suit?"

"…I just felt like wearing a suit today."

As I emerged from My Room, Kim Dokja looked me up and down and asked the question. I brushed her off with a vague answer and took my place at her side.

She stared at me with a puzzled expression, then gave a small snort and followed after Jeon Ildo.

And so our party, led by Kim Dokja, arrived at the gathering place where the kings had assembled.

They had gathered on the central platform of Yongsan Station. The conference room, wherever they'd managed to scrounge it from, was screened off by a massive tent.

Dozens of sentries stood guard around the tent.

They fell short of our party, but each of them was still a force to be reckoned with.

They were probably the elites the kings had raised, or their close aides.

Not that it matters. One of my area-of-effect skills would wipe them all out anyway…

Following Jeon Ildo's lead, we made our way toward the tent where the kings were gathered. The sentries around it shot us sharp, hostile looks.

And I did not care for those looks one bit.

I scrunched up my face and addressed the sentries who were glaring at us with such intensity.

"Eyes down."

"…Ahem! Ahem!"

"……Nice weather today."

I'd said it mostly out of embarrassment at how intense their stares were (?), but fortunately they listened. They hastily dropped their gazes, cleared their throats, and turned their heads away. The murderous intent… no, the embarrassment directed at them settled down.

"Watch yourselves. If my eyes start spinning, you're all dead. Especially if I catch any of you looking at our cute little ones with that kind of stare, I'll really gouge your eye—"

"…N-now, now. Let's calm down and go inside, okay?"

Kim Dokja, watching the sentries' faces turn paler and paler the longer I talked, tugged on the sleeve of my suit and led the party forward.

We reached the entrance of the tent and were about to go in when two sentries guarding the doorway stopped us.

"Our apologies, but from this point on, only 'kings' may enter."

At the sentry's words, Kim Dokja and I both looked back at our companions.

They seemed to have already grasped the situation. Lee Hyunsung, Jung Heewon, and the future Shin Yooseung gave us small nods.

As Kim Dokja and I were about to follow Jeon Ildo and push open the tent flap, Jung Heewon called out to us.

"If anything happens, scream right away. Got it?"

Her thoroughly reliable words drew small laughs from both of us as we stepped inside the tent.

…A sound-blocking skill, huh. That'd be useful to have.

Maybe I should check later if the Dokkaebi Bag has a skill book for it?

Stepping inside the tent, we found a spacious interior furnished with a round table.

And on that table, from who knows where, sat jerky and biscuits.

…This is how kings live? Wait, is that even food fit for kings?

I looked at the jerky and biscuits prepared on the table with a devastated expression.

My party and I, thanks to Shop User and My Room, still enjoyed relative freedom when it came to food and daily living. But the other kings — no, the Incarnations surviving inside the Seoul Dome — led truly wretched lives.

While most of them slept on cold floors lined with newspaper or wooden planks, we slept in beds with proper blankets.

While most of them struggled even to wash their faces, let alone take a shower, we showered with hot water in My Room.

While most of them roasted monster meat over open flames, we cooked proper meals in a kitchen.

I deliberately looked away from the pitiful reality of the kings before me and examined the chairs they sat on.

Some sat on plastic chairs, some on wooden ones, and one person had even dragged in an entire sofa. But no matter what they sat on, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the place they occupied was unmistakably a throne.

…Goddamn it.

They were so pathetic I was about to tear up.

I was going to have to donate some modern food and supplies to these kings later.

Otherwise I really might start crying over people who were kings in name only.

Want to know why I was reacting like this? If you looked closely, some of the clothes the kings were wearing had scratches and even a few frayed spots.

There were bloodstains on some of them too — traces of just how hard they'd been living.

I had just barely managed to tear my eyes away from the shabby thrones and the meager food prepared for them when I noticed a middle-aged man in a suit, much like mine, addressing the kings.

"So as I was saying, it would be advantageous for our group to go. Korea is a latecomer. Do you really think we can take on the ones who've already established themselves? But if our group goes, it's a different story. If I go…!"

Min Jiwon, who hadn't been listening to a word of the middle-aged man's noisy rambling, turned her head toward us as light spilled in through the gap created by the opened tent flap.

"The last of the kings have arrived."

Min Jiwon looked at Kim Dokja and me as she spoke.

The middle-aged man, wearing a suit with a gold National Assembly badge pinned to it, looked us over and asked,

"And who might you be?"

"Kim Dokja."

"Park Jinwoo."

"…Ah. So you're the ones…"

We deliberately answered him shortly, just to get under his skin. The corner of his eye twitched.

"Ahem, ahem. I am Yoo Yeonho, the President of Yeouido."

The middle-aged man, barely managing to keep his face from crumpling, composed himself, introduced himself as president, and offered a handshake. We shook his hand.

Then Min Jiwon, who had been looking at Yoo Yeonho with clear disapproval, spoke up.

"Mr. Yoo Yeonho is not a king, but he leads a faction, so he was allowed to attend."

"King, my foot…. Do you all really think this is the Joseon Dynasty?"

Yoo Yeonho turned toward the kings and shouted at them.

"We live in an age of liberal democracy! Get a grip, all of you!"

I turned to Yoo Yeonho, who was spouting nonsense, and said,

"How long has it been since the president died? And now some crazy middle-aged guy is still calling himself president and going on about a liberal democracy that's already fallen apart. Have you lost your mind?"

"W-what kind of insolence is this…?!"

"All of that became ancient history the moment the first main scenario opened. You think if you keep insisting on it, the Dokkaebis and Constellations are going to go, 'Oh my, of course, Mr. President!' and stop dropping scenarios on you? Pathetic."

I brushed past the self-proclaimed president who was glaring at me.

"Everyone been well?"

I offered a light greeting to the kings I had some acquaintance with, then set down a single-person leather sofa I'd bought from the general shop next to Kim Dokja's seat and sat down.

As I walked past Yoo Yeonho and took my seat, Kim Dokja gave a small smirk, nodded lightly, greeted the kings, and sat down in her own place.

Min Jiwon, who had been smiling at the way Yoo Yeonho glared at me after my verbal thrashing, pointed toward Lee Sookyung and spoke.

"And Ms. Lee Sookyung here is also attending for similar reasons. You may or may not have heard of her — she is known as the King of Wanderers."

My mother-in-law — no, Lee Sookyung — looked up at her daughter Kim Dokja, who was still wearing a mask. Kim Dokja looked down at her mother with an expressionless face.

I let out a quiet sigh at the sight of the two of them, then set some snacks I'd bought from the general shop onto the table and continued.

"Well, that covers the brief introductions. These are a gift from me. Everyone, dig in first."

"W-what is this? Where on earth did you get food like this, Mr. Jinwoo?"

Min Jiwon asked in a trembling voice as she stared at the pile of snacks stacked on the table.

"Just think of it as one of my skills."

I gave a short laugh at her words and looked over the snack pile on the table.

Choco Pie, Oh Yes, French Pie (strawberry), Ace crackers, Binz, Butter Wafers, Couque D'asse, and more — I'd laid them all out and watched the expressions of the kings seated at the table.

None of them said a word, but every face was stunned by the mountain of snacks filling the table.

Well, more accurately, every king except Kim Dokja, Lee Sookyung, and me.

I opened the general shop and spoke to the kings who were staring blankly at the snack pile.

"Anyone want something to drink? Water, soda, tea, coffee — doesn't matter. I'll buy it."

At my words, the kings exchanged glances, then turned to me with flushed faces.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"…Ahem. Do you happen to have green tea?"

"I'd like some black tea, if possible…"

"Coffee would be fine for me."

"…I'll take hot chocolate."

"Ahem…! Coffee will do for me."

One after another, Cha Sangkyung, Min Jiwon, Jeon Ildo, Kim Dokja, and Yoo Yeonho named what they wanted.

I looked at Lee Sookyung, who still hadn't said a word, and asked,

"Does the King of Wanderers care for anything?"

"…………."

Lee Sookyung looked at me for a moment, then shook her head.

"Then I'll bring you some water at least."

"…………."

Whether she still didn't want to reveal her identity to her daughter or not, she simply nodded without speaking a word. I gave a bitter smile and ordered everything they'd requested.

I handed Lee Sookyung a bottle of convenience-store water, then pulled a pot from My Room's kitchen, filled it with water, set it on the Magic Hearth, and lit the flame.

Funny — everyone ordered hot drinks.

Finding that curious, I took out the hot chocolate, coffee, green tea bags, and black tea bags I'd bought from the general shop.

The Magic Hearth's heat brought the water to a boil in no time. I poured appropriate amounts into cups and handed hot chocolate to Dokja, coffee to Jeon Ildo and Yoo Yeonho, green tea to Cha Sangkyung, and black tea to Min Jiwon.

"Here. Not sure how well I made them, but I hope you enjoy."

All the kings except Kim Dokja looked at the drinks I'd given them with deeply moved eyes and began to sip slowly.

"…Haa. I've truly missed this taste."

"You're telling me. To think I'd get to taste this again…"

"This is all thanks to you, Mr. Park Jinwoo. Thank you so much, Jinwoo."

Min Jiwon, Cha Sangkyung, and Jeon Ildo bowed their heads slightly in gratitude. I waved a hand and said,

"I'll give each of you a whole box once the meeting's over. Eat them, throw them away — whatever you want. Consider it a small token of thanks for helping us in the fifth main scenario. Don't feel burdened."

"Then I'll gratefully accept."

Min Jiwon's eyes sparkled as she spoke. I found her reaction so cute that I couldn't help but smile.

Poke.

Something jabbed into my left side. I carefully shifted my gaze in that direction.

There sat Kim Dokja, carefully blowing on her hot chocolate, eyes narrowed as she glared at me.

For some reason, her stare was terrifying.

She wasn't saying a word, but her eyes looked like she was silently raining every curse in the book down on me.

After our brief tea time, we eyed one another, and Kim Dokja was the first to speak.

"Now that we've finished our little tea time, I'd like to know why you called us here."

At her words, Jeon Ildo, seated to her left, opened his mouth.

"We intend to select the representatives who will participate in the 'Sixth Scenario' at this gathering."

Yoo Yeonho picked up where Jeon Ildo left off.

"The people gathered here currently command the largest forces in the Seoul Dome. Kim Dokja and Park Jinwoo's forces are relatively small in scale, but given their significant contributions to the scenarios, we specially invited you to this seat. Consider it an honor."

Kim Dokja's face tightened slightly at Yoo Yeonho's words. I turned to him and said,

"Even bullshit has its limits."

"What? Mr. Park Jinwoo, you've been far too rude from the start…"

"Enough, you fat, bloated bat. Everyone else here is someone I can respect. Unlike you, the other kings actually led their forces into battle against the Disaster of Floods in Yongsan District."

I cast a glance over the kings seated at the table.

"Our force may have fewer people than yours and the other kings', but every one of them is a fighter who can take on a hundred. And I alone could erase you and all your forces from the Seoul Dome."

A cold silence, like a chill wind, settled over the tent with my words.

Bang!

Yoo Yeonho's face flushed red as he slammed the table and shot to his feet.

"What exactly do you mean by that?!"

"Ears packed with fat too? I said I could wipe out your entire force by myself."

"Truly arrogant!! Just because you made a name for yourself in the fifth scenario, you dare spout such outrageous claims!!"

"Outrageous… outrageous, huh…"

I let out a snort of laughter at the garbage coming from a bat who'd been hiding somewhere, waiting for opportunities, while our party risked our lives clearing scenarios.

I looked over the kings, excluding Yoo Yeonho, and said,

"Doesn't anything seem off to you? 'His Excellency the Self-Proclaimed President'?"

"…What do you mean?"

"You really don't know why the other kings aren't saying a word to me?"

"……Come to think of it."

Yoo Yeonho's face crumpled as he looked around at the kings seated in their chairs.

Every one of them sat with their eyes closed, silent and still.

Flustered, Yoo Yeonho shouted at them.

"W-what are you all doing? Sitting silent in the face of this lunatic's outrageous claims! And you still call yourselves kings?!"

"Earlier it was 'this isn't the Joseon Dynasty' this and 'we live in an age of liberal democracy' that — but the moment things go against you, you're calling for the kings?"

I rose from the sofa and walked slowly toward Yoo Yeonho.

"Want to know why the kings are silent about what I just said? Because they've seen my power with their own two eyes."

"W-why are you coming toward me?! G-guards!! Guards!!"

"You idiot. Didn't you see the message ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about the sound-blocking skill?"

Wham!!

"Guh…!!"

I threw a light punch into his gut. Yoo Yeonho tumbled and rolled right out through the tent entrance.

I moved his now-unnecessary chair into a corner, shifted my sofa over, and set it down between Kim Dokja and Min Jiwon.

"Well then. Our low-quality, bottom-tier idol — His Self-Proclaimed Excellency the President — has had to hurry back due to pressing business. Shall we continue the conversation?"

I addressed the kings, who were staring at me with expressions of utter disbelief at what I'd just done.

"I hate long-winded talk, so let's keep this simple. Anyone have a problem with that?"

When the kings remained silent, I took it as agreement and opened my mouth.

"The kings here all want to participate in the sixth scenario, but the sixth scenario happens to have a limited number of participants. So you've been arguing over how many of your people to send — or whether to send them all. Am I right?"

"…You really did summarize it simply. Yes, Mr. Jinwoo, you're correct."

Min Jiwon nodded slowly after hearing my summary and confirmed it.

Ding!

Right on cue, a system message arrived about the allocation numbers.

I deliberately put on a smile and addressed the kings looking at me.

"I'm sure the kings here understand how important it is to get an early foothold in a scenario. That's why you called this meeting — to participate in a scenario you know nothing about."

Every gaze at the table turned to me at once. I slowly raised my hand toward the table and lightly struck its surface.

Bang!

"Give it up."

"…Excuse me? Give what up?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Give up on the sixth scenario. I'm saying this for your own good."

"…Do you know what happens in the sixth scenario, King of Pleasure?"

"Of course I do. I know it far too well."

"I've been curious about this since earlier, but how exactly do you know information about the sixth scenario, Mr. Jinwoo?"

The gazes of Min Jiwon, Cha Sangkyung, Jeon Ildo, Kim Dokja, and Lee Sookyung all fixed on me. I smiled mischievously under their stares and said,

"Do any of you know what happens when an Incarnation without a Sponsor collects five Stories?"

"…No. Unfortunately, my Sponsor never told me about that."

At Min Jiwon's words, the other kings — Cha Sangkyung and Jeon Ildo — nodded in agreement.

"Then let me enlighten you. When an Incarnation without a Sponsor collects five Stories, that Incarnation becomes a Constellation."

"…What?"

"…W-what do you mean?"

"…Is that true, Mr. Park Jinwoo?"

The three kings stared at me with faces that made it clear this was the first they'd ever heard such a thing. I smirked and continued.

"Absolutely."

I snapped my fingers lightly.

Snap!

Crackle!

A channel screen, like a scaled-down version of the giant screen at Yongsan Station, materialized in empty air and displayed the landscape of Peace Land.

—Aaaaagh!! Everyone run!! Retreat! I said retreat!!

—S-save me! Save me…!!

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

On the channel screen, Japanese Incarnations who had mutated into yokai were brutally slaughtering the little people of Peace Land.

Limbs torn off, guts ripped out and eaten, heads burst open — the sight of the little people made the kings' faces go deathly pale.

Confirming their reactions, I closed the channel screen and asked them,

"See that?"

"W-what on earth was that just now…?"

Min Jiwon asked me with a face drained of color.

"If we go to that Peace Land, we become 'Disasters' and have to exterminate the humans living on that planet. That is the hidden sixth scenario."

Ding!

"W-what on earth is this…"

The kings, confirming the newly updated main scenario after my words, checked it with panicked expressions.

I watched them in silence for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"Some of you are probably wondering. Why, knowing this information, would I so readily reveal it to people who could be considered competitors?"

Several of the kings flinched at my words. Seeing that, I continued.

"As you just saw, some of the Japanese Incarnations have become Disasters and are massacring the humans of an entire world — an entire planet. And they're losing their humanity. Look at them tearing off people's limbs with glee, bursting heads, ripping out guts. Do they look normal to you?"

The kings said nothing and quietly bowed their heads.

"Well, of course, those are just Incarnations with yokai Sponsors whose bodies have mutated into yokai forms. Those of you with human-origin Constellations as Sponsors probably won't end up looking like monsters like that. Though you might still lose your humanity."

Oddly enough, the Constellations weren't sending any indirect messages — they were completely silent. Their reaction was strange, but I kept my eyes on the kings before me and continued.

"Of course, that's not the only way to clear the scenario. You can also take the side of the little people living on that world — that planet — and clear it that way."

Ding!

I ignored the system messages floating before my eyes and looked at the kings as I spoke.

"This scenario has two choices. One: side with the Disasters and lose your humanity. Or two: side with the little people and keep your humanity. So — which will you choose?"

Watching the kings stare at the newly updated scenario and sink into thought, I smirked and continued.

"For reference, if you choose Disaster, there's a chance you'll end up controlled by whoever becomes the King of Disasters. And if you become a little person, your overall stats drop, so it'll be rough."

"…Park Jinwoo. How did you know all this information?"

At Kim Dokja's voice from beside me, I put on a mischievous smile and looked at her.

Her face was rigidly set as she stared back at me.

"I just happened to find it. While you guys were eating grapes, I was flipping through channel screens in my room looking for old man Gong Pildu and stumbled across it."

"……………."

Kim Dokja seemed genuinely shocked. Even after my explanation, she kept glaring at me with that stiff expression.

I raised a hand slightly at her reaction and continued.

"For the record, I'm sitting this sixth scenario out, Dokja."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Exactly what I said. I'm not participating in this sixth scenario."

The kings, who had been lost in thought staring at the updated main scenario, pulled their eyes from the scenario window and looked at me.

I felt a massive presence behind me, turned my head, picked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up the sofa I'd been sitting on, and shifted a little to the side.

"She's here. The tyrant who'll pick who participates in the sixth main scenario for us."

"Huh?"

BOOM!!

The moment I moved aside, one side of the tent exploded, and the spot where I'd been sitting was instantly buried in dust.

As a result, the snack pile on the table got covered in dust.

The kings hurriedly rose from their seats and looked up toward the site of the explosion.

The Supreme King Yoo Joonghyuk, who had forced her way in without bothering with the tent entrance, swept the room with her characteristically menacing gaze, then fixed her eyes on Kim Dokja and me.

"The S-Supreme King…!"

At Yoo Joonghyuk's appearance, several of the kings went pale as they stared at her.

The Supreme King Yoo Joonghyuk casually frowned at Kim Dokja and me, still seated in our chairs, and opened her mouth.

"…I will announce the participants for the next scenario. If anyone has objections, speak now."

"Allow me, our Supreme King's personal translator, to explain. She's saying: 'I will choose the participants for this scenario.' 'Anyone who objects to my words, I will kill.'"

"……Shut up, Park Jinwoo."

Yoo Joonghyuk snarled, her face twisting at my words.

But I had realized something.

She told me to shut up — yet she didn't particularly object to my translation itself.

She must have told me to shut up because what I'd said was exactly right, and she had nothing to argue with.