Chapter 169
Chapter 169
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Goodness is Intriguing
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Goodness is intriguing.
I reopened the office.
The status of being the world's top fixer, granted by the legacy of the Great Literary Master, had a perception-altering effect that ensured only those who truly needed my help would visit the office.
" I want to climb the League ranks. All the way to Challenger! "
" What's your current tier? "
" Iron. "
" I'll give you a Quest Ticket. "
" Let's see... Huh? Pass the pro Go exam? "
That's why most people came to consult me on things that were unrealistic.
Things that would be hard to achieve even with someone else's help.
" I want to become insanely handsome. The kind of super stud where women fall head over heels the moment they see me. "
" I'll refer you to a plastic surgeon. "
" But I don't have the money. "
" I'll connect you with Love Goods. "
" I don't want to work. "
" I'll get you a VR headset. Become a handsome guy in virtual reality. "
" I want to do it in real life. "
Sometimes, even I couldn't solve their problems easily.
" Looks like you need the Scales of Equivalent Exchange. Here, check the price through this. "
" I want to become insanely handsome! Cha Eun-woo level! The price is a body that dies at 50, or vegetarian for life, or 20 billion won? Let's go with the first one! "
Solving the worries of such people was endlessly entertaining.
It must be like the thrill hardcore gamers feel clearing bizarrely difficult games.
" Yahoo! I really became Cha Eun-woo level handsome! "
" Wouldn't the second option have been better? "
" Nah, men should live fast and hard! Being handsome but only eating veggies would kill my appeal with girls! Thank you so much! I'm off—gotta hit the club! "
Among the visitors like this, some weren't my clients but the entities'.
" A wuxia world? I've always wanted to go there. My adventurous spirit is burning! "
Wuxia was the same as before.
Come if you're meant to come, go if you're meant to go—that cold attitude.
" I've lived long enough already, but I want to check it out. "
Alternate history drew 90% elderly clients, the rest fans of the genre.
And the medieval fantasy I'd acquired first...
" Medieval fantasy? I'd rather play a VR game than get isekai'd there. "
Clients dried up.
Unlike wuxia or alternate history with clear demand, medieval fantasy attracted those wanting a fresh start in life—but VR stole them all.
Never-again chance in the world! Apply now for 50% odds of a squishy happy-happy medieval fantasy world!
Mana awakening guaranteed!
Reincarnate as handsome guy or beauty!
Elf, dwarf, beastkin, demon, dragon—special race odds UP!
Northern Grand Duke, high elf, dragon lord, demon king, beast king, dwarf master—special bloodline odds UP, UP, UP!
Apply now!
Medieval fantasy isekai services were trying hard too, but eh.
Even occasional visitors fled in fear after hearing about the fates of prior isekai victims.
" It seems way too risky. VR has zero risk. I'll pass. "
I closed up shop after today's consultations.
" If there weren't VR alternatives, they'd all be lining up. "
『Monopoly's end.』
On the drive home under Sarang-i's autopilot, I tuned into the radio as usual.
-This time, a cargo ship near Indonesia has gone missing. We've checked the GPS logs, but the location is unknown. This is the eighth disappearance this week alone...
The radio reported the string of recent missing cases.
" At this point, the odds of it being an entity are sky-high. "
Planes.
Deep-sea fishing vessels.
Cargo ships, and more.
Large transport vehicles vanishing frequently lately.
" The Foundation's investigating this one too, right? "
『Since they've stepped in, expect a quick resolution. They seem incompetent at a glance, but they handle most cases effortlessly.』
I discussed the incident with Sarang-i.
『All the missing planes and ships vanished over the ocean.』
" Maybe there's an entity in the sea depths emitting signals that glitch devices. "
『That hypothesis works for planes, Master Lee Seung-hoon, but not ships.』
" Could there be a way to directly attack ships floating on the surface? "
With scant info, I couldn't form anything beyond conspiracy-level guesses.
" There's that cattle mutilation mystery too. Could be aliens kidnapping our vehicles to study them. "
『Aliens exist?』
" The Foundation has a few. "
If they need my help, the Foundation will come knocking.
Next day, back at the office.
" Oh, long time no see. How've you been? "
" Doing great. You too, sir? "
A welcome familiar face dropped by.
I served tea and guided the old man to the sofa.
" Heh heh, always grateful. "
The elder was one of my earliest clients.
[Excuse me, I want to donate to a good cause but don't know how. Could you advise me?]
[Of course.]
Back then, he wanted to donate his savings to an orphanage—and he'd kept coming back since.
" Another donation? "
" Yes, to the orphanage again. "
I looked at the elder.
Dirt under his nails.
Face full of wrinkles, hair snow-white.
Skin tanned dark from hard labor under the sun.
Clothes caked in dust.
‘What does he do for work?'
I didn't know much about him.
Just his name: No Shin-woo, age 70 this year.
And that he periodically donates five million won to orphanages—that was it.
" Why the orphanage every time? "
I asked for the first time.
No idea why.
Maybe because this was the sixth time, and we'd grown close.
" It's nothing special. "
As he prefaced it that way, typical stories popped into my head unbidden.
Story of a child or grandkid lost young to accident, donating to honor their memory.
Kid he fathered vanished young, searching orphanages ever since—donating from those memories.
Grew up rough in an orphanage himself, can't forget, so he donates.
While I mulled over those tearjerker tropes ripe for drama ridicule, he handed me his smartphone.
[67-Year-Old No Shin-woo's Final Strike in Life]
[Tier: Grandmaster]
[Main Role: Jungle]
[Recent Record: 30 Games, 23 Wins, 7 Losses]
" My gaming ID. "
" You game? "
" All alone growing old, nothing to do, got curious what kids these days are into. Tried it—turns out it's fun. "
The ID showed he'd been playing at least three years.
" Playing made me realize: lots of angry kids, no manners. I just lurked quietly, but folks mocked them as orphans. At first, I thought kids today are scary. Then it hit me. "
He wet his lips with tea.
" They didn't lose their parents on purpose, didn't choose to be orphans—yet people hurl it as an insult. Felt so sorry for them. That's why I started donating to orphanages. Still am. "
" That's the reason? "
" Nothing special, right? "
I looked at him again.
Donations get tax breaks, so I checked his assets: basic welfare recipient.
Scraping by poor, yet donating every penny saved.
" No. It's a fascinating reason. "
I handled the donation to the right place and the tax paperwork.
" Take care on your way home. "
" Always grateful. "
I saw the elder off.
"Evil is obvious and boring, but goodness is colorful and intriguing."
A day that brought to mind that anonymous internet quote.
" External Special Consultant, we need your help. "
A few days after the donation.
Staff from the Foundation's Korean branch visited the office.
" What would you like to drink? "
" Dragon Well tea, if you have it. "
" Anything carbonated for me. Oh, zero sugar! "
『I've brought mine. Foundation's the only place that makes ghost food.』
Kim Go-deok, Kim Mi-ri, Shin Young-moon.
Familiar faces.
" What kind of help do you need? "
" We'd like to use one of your entities, Special Consultant. A Quest Ticket or the Scales of Equivalent Exchange—either works. "
The Foundation knew what they were.
No surprise; I hadn't kept it secret.
" Mind telling me why? "
" The disappearances are entity work. Sephirot observations say it's impossible, plus spatial distortion traces. "
But no culprit found.
Kim Go-deok, munching yanggaeng with his tea, chimed in.
" It rejects observation—traces aside, can't track it. Traces so faint, even Sephirot can't. "
" So, use my entities to find the culprit entity? "
Quest Tickets or Scales reveal info if the price is right.
Though some targets resist.
Shin Young-moon, sipping his special drink, replied.
『We brought payment. Foundation's ready to add more if needed.』
" For the world's sake? Of course I'll help. "
With my okay, they conferred briefly.
They picked the Scales of Equivalent Exchange.
The query broad.
" All info on the disappearance case I'm thinking of right now. "
Kim Mi-ri used the scales.
She pondered, nodded—the scales moved.
" Good our prep payment covered it. "
" What was the price? "
" ■■■■■■. You'd need the special antimeme vaccine to hear it. "
Whatever it was, a hefty, special price.
" Ah. "
She asked for paper and pen post-payment.
" Info's fragmented. Even for that price, this is all? Means the foe's no joke. "
" That bad? "
" Yeah. Explains why Sephirot can't track it. "
She wrote down what she got.
" Three pieces total. First: the culprits behind the disappearances are a group. "
We all checked the info.
" Second: their base is in the Arctic. "
Three stark lines.
" And last... "
She clamped her mouth.
Wrote the final line instead.
[Their goal is world destruction.]
" Oh boy. "
" Destruction, huh... "
『Again?』
Business as usual.