Chapter 165
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Jeffrey Bishop
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Jeffrey Bishop, raised in an ordinary family, became an orphan at the age of eleven.
It was because of a crazed shooting by the neighbor that claimed his parents' lives.
With no relatives to turn to, he wandered the streets as a homeless teen, tormented by extreme stress during puberty.
He lost the will to live, scavenging leftover food from customers at shops just to stay alive.
‘There’s no God in this world.’
He blamed God for taking his parents.
He blamed the imperfections of this world.
Furious at God, he stormed into the most renowned synagogue in the area and demanded answers.
“Why do I have to suffer like this? Why did God take my parents of all people?”
The boy’s question, laced with rage, was met with a clear response from the cleric Nathan.
“We are people who believe God is right. How could I possibly know God’s will? If you really want to know, go meet God yourself and ask.”
It was a bewildering answer, but Jeffrey chewed over the final words.
‘Ask God myself? If I’m curious, just go inquire directly?’
He was curious, after all.
Curious what answer God would give.
It felt like finding direction in the vast ocean.
From that day on, Jeffrey sought refuge at the synagogue.
Under Nathan’s guidance, he studied the scriptures.
He delved into God’s will and yearned to meet Him.
‘I’ll definitely meet God one day and get my answers.’
For the first time, he felt a spark of fighting spirit for life.
He channeled his anger into fuel to keep going.
In that process, Nathan—who had raised and cared for him—became his father, mentor, and guiding light.
That was why, even at twenty-eight, Jeffrey obeyed Nathan’s commands without question.
He had received a debt of gratitude he could never repay in a lifetime.
And so, he treated Nathan’s daughter, Christine, with utmost respect.
But the human heart is a treacherous thing.
Was it because life had become comfortable?
After more than seventeen years, Christine suddenly started looking like a woman to him one day.
‘I shouldn’t feel this way... I really shouldn’t...’
He scolded himself and even slapped his own cheeks, but he couldn’t help his growing affection.
He just buried it deep inside.
‘I can never let on that I like Christine. It would be a betrayal to Nathan, who’s like a father to me.’
Even when angels appeared and the world fell into chaos, Jeffrey kept his unrequited love hidden.
He was doing the same now, receiving orders from Nathan.
“I heard Christine’s heading to Korea to meet her fiancé. She said you’d accompany her, but she refused, insisting it wasn’t necessary.”
“She probably just doesn’t want me getting in the way between them.”
“Do you think I don’t know my own daughter? Does Christine look like she’s excited to meet her fiancé in your eyes? She’s not going to see him. She’s going to meet the Prophet.”
“Now that you mention it... the next one is the fateful 11th round.”
Jeffrey muttered as if it had just occurred to him.
Even though he had resolved to protect Christine no matter what in the 11th round.
“Yeah. That’s probably why she wants to meet the Prophet. So, Jeffrey. You go to Korea too. Keep it secret from Christine, of course.”
“You want me to tail her?”
“Exactly. Watch over Christine from the shadows. Report everything she does to me. It’d be even better if you could eavesdrop on her conversation with the Prophet.”
“I shall carry out your command in God’s name.”
* * *
Jeffrey followed Christine to Korea afterward.
He sat on a bench and listened to their conversation.
‘To avoid detection by presence sense, I need to keep at least thirty meters away.’
Even at thirty meters, the area was so quiet that hearing them wasn’t difficult.
But maybe he shouldn’t have listened?
Seeing the Prophet refuse Christine’s pleas again, Jeffrey grew furious.
“How much could one word change that guy’s future? Why hide the info like that?”
Since it was a life-or-death matter for his unrequited love, Jeffrey’s emotional investment was deeper than usual.
‘Whew. Calm down. Stay calm and think of ways I can help.’
How could he assist Christine?
He planned to protect her with his life in the 11th round, but that alone wasn’t enough.
Info on the attacker would be ideal, but the Prophet was stubbornly clamming up.
‘Forgot? He’s obviously lying to withhold the information.’
Why, exactly?
Was he really that scared of the future changing?
‘Well, yeah. If the outcomes differ from his visions, he’d lose trust from those who believed in him.’
In other words, to protect his position as Prophet, he was letting Christine stay in danger.
‘Now that I think about it, that pisses me off.’
He glared at the Prophet entering the company building with murderous eyes.
Then, he made up his mind.
He’d force the information out of the Prophet, even if it meant threats.
* * *
“Thanks for the 11th round info.”
“Thank you, Prophet.”
Ma Kyung-rok and Christine expressed their gratitude to Ryu Min.
“Let’s all survive the 11th round.”
Ryu Min waved as he left the company.
He had planned to attend the meeting, but decided to head back and rest today.
‘Someone’s waiting for me to come out, after all.’
He hadn’t looked directly, but Ryu Min knew he was being tailed.
‘The guy following me now is probably the one who was eavesdropping on Christine and me from the bench earlier.’
He was keeping thirty meters back to avoid presence detection, but it was futile.
Ryu Min had a rune from the rune pack.
[Sensory Rune]
-Effect: Doubles the range of presence detection and allows hearing and smelling everything within that range.
The rune he’d drawn from the rune pack was the unfamiliar Sensory Rune.
It essentially enhanced presence detection.
‘A very useful rune indeed.’
With the range doubled, tailing him was impossible to miss.
He could even hear the guy muttering in English.
-One word from you, and how much could that bastard’s future change? Why hide the info like that?
That’s how Ryu Min had noticed the tail.
‘From the muttering, he’s clearly got a grudge against me.’
He spoke English and harbored ill will toward the Prophet...
‘I have a rough idea who it is, but to confirm, I need to draw him out.’
Even though he’d come by car, Ryu Min walked on purpose.
He led him into an alley to make it easy for the guy to show his true colors.
Only when they reached a deserted spot did the tail bite.
“Prophet, old man.”
Ryu Min turned at the English voice from behind.
Thud-!
The tail grabbed his neck and slammed him against the wall.
“Gah...! J-Jeffrey?”
He belatedly recognized the tail as Christine’s butler.
Ryu Min put on a pained act while calmly assessing the situation inside.
‘So it was this guy after all? Why’s he got bad blood with me? Maybe read his mind?’
Staring at the guy choking him with killing intent, he quickly figured it out.
‘He’s pissed because I didn’t give Christine the info.’
Come to think of it, he’d heard the guy was raised by Nathan like family.
‘And yet he’s in love with Christine? Not related to her, I hope?’
Just to be sure, he probed deeper—no, it was his solo act, unrelated to Christine.
‘Might as well play along for now.’
Ryu Min amped up the pained performance.
“Urk, J-Jeffrey! I can’t breathe. L-let go!”
His acting was so convincing that Jeffrey unwittingly loosened his grip.
‘He doesn’t really intend to kill me, then.’
Having read his thoughts, Ryu Min saw through the intent.
Just intimidation to extract the info he’d withheld from Christine.
Ryu Min rubbed his throat, coughing, and shouted with a victim’s face.
“What the hell? What’s this all about?”
“Prophet. I don’t like you. Suspicious from the start. Seeing the future? Sounds like a total con.”
“A con? Haven’t I already proven my abilities?”
“Sure, I believe you now. But I still don’t like you.”
Jeffrey glared threateningly.
A dagger had appeared in his hand.
Ryu Min swallowed nervously, gauging him.
“W-what’s the matter? What do you want?”
“Information.”
“Huh?”
“I want info on who’s out to get Christine.”
“I-I don’t know that either.”
“I heard your chat with her. Even when she asked for the culprit, you dodged with ‘I forgot’ and flat-out refused.”
“You heard, so you know. It couldn’t be helped. The future can’t afford to change...”
“Yeah, that’d be a problem for you. If the future shifts, you lose credibility as Prophet. Gotta be tough.”
Jeffrey’s voice dropped as his eyes flashed wildly.
Rage flickered in his gaze.
“But you can’t just leave Christine in danger.”
“It’s not leaving her...”
“Save the excuses.”
The cold edge of the dagger pressed against Ryu Min’s throat.
“No more talk. Spill everything you saw. Who’s after Christine? Who saves her?”
“W-what if I refuse?”
“Then this blade goes through your neck.”
Scary words, but Ryu Min, having read his mind, knew better.
For all the talk, he had no real intent to harm.
‘Even so, this is reckless.’
It was blatant extortion, and backing off now wouldn’t erase the attempted murder charge.
‘Blinded by love, no thought to consequences?’
Time to teach him a lesson. Ryu Min slipped a hand into his pocket.
Seeing him fiddle, Jeffrey snatched his hand.
Ryu Min’s phone came flying out.
“What’re you doing with the phone?”
It was on record.
Jeffrey immediately powered it off completely.
“Why? What for?”
“Evidence for the cops. This is assault and attempted murder.”
“Ha, a Player reporting to police? They’ll help you out, sure.”
“Or I’ll tell Christine and her family what you did.”
“Go ahead. Wonder if a corpse can talk.”
“Sigh... Why are you doing this? What grudge do you have against me...?”
“No grudge. But keep stonewalling, and one might form.”
“I told you, I don’t know who’s after Christine.”
“You think I’m stupid? You know and just won’t say—it’s obvious.”
“You think threats will make me spill? I can’t risk changing the future.”
“Refuse now, and you’ve got no future. You’ll die.”
Despite Jeffrey’s threats, Ryu Min didn’t cower or show fear—instead, he stared back defiantly.
“Even with a knife to my throat, some things are off-limits. The moment I share future info, it changes. The future I knew vanishes like paper scraps, and I go from Prophet to snake-oil salesman.”
“......”
“The future’s a tangled thread—you handle it with care. Threats won’t work. The instant you get the info and act, the future shifts unpredictably. Why not think how that could hurt Christine more?”
Did Ryu Min’s persuasion work?
After a long silence, the dagger slipped from Jeffrey’s hand.
“You’re right. My thinking was shortsighted. Makes sense now.”
“That wasn’t an apology, was it?”
“Hey, Prophet. You want an apology? Don’t get cocky just ‘cause I sheathed the knife. I can draw it again anytime.”
“......”
Jeffrey vanished without another word or apology.
* * *
‘Tch, didn’t crack even under threat.’
On the flight back home, Jeffrey recalled the Prophet standing firm without flinching.
‘How’s he so calm with a blade at his throat?’
He’d seemed scared at first, but mentioning prophecies flipped his demeanor.
Some sense of mission or firm conviction, apparently.
Thought a dagger would make him talk, but no dice.
‘Specific future info—he won’t reveal it even at risk of death?’
No way to know the Prophet’s mindset, but one thing was clear.
‘At least he won’t blab to just anyone.’
A tight-lipped person was trustworthy.
This raised the Prophet’s credibility, but Jeffrey still didn’t view him fondly.
‘No flexibility. None. A hint wouldn’t kill him.’
Noble if you’re kind, rigid if not.
‘No choice. Guess I’ll protect Christine myself.’
Unaware of how many others aimed to protect her, Jeffrey returned to the synagogue with Christine.
Of course, he kept a short delay before entering, since tailing her was secret.
“Hello, Butler Jeffrey.”
Heading to the office, Christine—who’d been talking with Nathan—greeted him.
“Hi, Christine.”
“No hi for you. Not after what you pulled.”
“......?”
Puzzled by her cold response, Jeffrey tilted his head at the phone Nathan handed him.
“What’s this?”
“The Prophet sent a file to me and Christine. Play it.”
Pressing the apparent audio file, a familiar voice emerged.
-Why? What for?
-Evidence for the cops. This is assault and attempted murder.
-Go ahead. Wonder if a corpse can talk.
-I told you, I don’t know who’s after Christine.
-You think I’m stupid? You know and just won’t say—it’s obvious.
-You think threats will make me spill? I can’t risk changing the future.
-Refuse now, and you’ve got no future. You’ll die.
Jeffrey panicked as he listened.
Unmistakably his own voice, crystal clear.
‘H-how? I definitely turned off the phone then?’
A hypothesis flashed in his mind.
‘No way... two phones?’
His mind went blank, fixated on one thought.
‘......I got played.’
He swallowed hard and looked up.
Nathan and Christine glared at him with terrifying eyes.