Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The Demon Chancellor
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"...So, Miss Cecil."
"Please call me Nora. Or if you have a preferred title, feel free to use that. I'm practically your property, so do whatever you want with me."
"No, no."
Do-hyun's head throbbed.
He felt a level of awkwardness he'd never experienced, not even when facing Sarah, LA's Demon King!
...In terms of villain rank, Nora outclasses Sarah by a wide margin.
He never could have imagined the infamous Nora would be this kind of person!
She's stayed hidden behind the curtain, never stepping into the spotlight, so hardly anything was known about her. Except that she had incredible business acumen.
"For now, stop kneeling and have a seat. And no more of that 'master' talk or anything weird like it."
"D-Do I not please you...?"
Nora's eyes filled with fear.
"...It's not that you don't please me. I requested you from immigration as a supporter to help with my work, not for anything strange."
"Understood! Entrust me with any task! Ah, would you like to eat first? I thought you might miss Korean food, Master—er, Do-hyun—so I prepared kimchi stew! Or... me first?"
Do-hyun's head throbbed again.
The terrifying gangster queen was acting like this—such a fussbudget!
"Calm down. You don't have to watch my every move like that. I won't send you back to prison."
"...Really?"
"As long as you don't betray me or do anything harmful to me, like Cecil did."
The reason Cecil was acting this way.
If Do-hyun kicked her out, she'd have to return to prison!
She's kind of a ditz. Is this really the gangster queen...?
Do-hyun took a sip of the kimchi stew and set down his spoon.
It smelled good, but it was American-style.
In other words, sweet. Like a donut.
Damn it. How much sugar did she put in this kimchi stew? If she wanted to impress me, she should've researched the recipe.
The kimchi stew from that taco place in Washington had been better.
"Is it to your taste?"
"Hmm. Well..."
"I replicated the kimchi stew from the most popular Korean restaurant in LA's Koreatown to match your palate. Not only did I recreate it 100%, but I added my own researched recipe tweaks."
Was the problem the LA Koreatown kimchi stew taste, or Cecil's added recipe?
Either way, with her eyes sparkling innocently, he couldn't bring himself to say it was bad. She looked like she'd burst into tears if he did.
She's a tough opponent!
He'd wondered if her airheaded demeanor was a facade to screw him over...
But it didn't seem like it.
She just looked purely bright and innocent.
"Did you already know Korean?"
"No, I studied it to serve you, Do-hyun."
"In less than a week?"
"I can learn a new language in about three days. I currently speak 17 languages—covering 95% of the world's population—so tell me if there's any you need."
An astonishing claim.
Of course, she couldn't be some amateur.
She was the one who toyed with Wall Street without needing future sight.
Wall Street, along with Silicon Valley, was one of the places in America crawling with the most 'demons.'
Do-hyun decided to test Cecil's 'ability.'
"As I said, I requested you to help with my work. What do you think I should do to achieve my 'goal'?"
A vague question.
Do-hyun deliberately didn't explain what his goal was.
This wasn't really about seeking advice—it was a test of Cecil's 'ability.'
If Nora Cecil has the class I suspect, she'll easily guess my goal. And what I need to do next.
But.
"...If I may ask, what is your goal, Do-hyun?"
"...You don't know?"
"You haven't told me...?"
"......"
"......"
"S-Sorry for being so stupid! Please don't kick this incompetent out back to prison!"
"...Calm down. What is your class, exactly? It's the supporter type, right?"
Awakener classes fall into three main categories.
Knight, Mage, Supporter.
These branch into subcategories, and for supporters, they are like this:
- [General Affairs]
- [General Affairs]
- [General Affairs]
- [General Affairs]
The [General Affairs] awakens abilities unrelated to combat. FBI's Roder's class is one of the [General Affairs].
Under that [General Affairs], there are countless subcategories.
Do-hyun suspected Cecil was a [Finance] class.
"No, my class is [Labor]."
"Labor? What's the exact class name?"
"......[Miscellaneous Worker]."
Do-hyun tilted his head.
[Miscellaneous Worker] was a class specialized in odd jobs.
But Cecil's demonstrated abilities couldn't be explained by a simple aide class.
"Is it standard rank? Or a high-tier aide class?"
"......A high-tier class."
"What exactly?"
"W-Well..."
Cecil hesitated, closing her mouth.
"Cecil, as I said, incompetence is fine. Everyone has their uses, even the incompetent. But I never keep anyone I can't trust by my side, so don't hide anything from me."
"!!"
Cecil understood Do-hyun's warning and opened her mouth.
"......[Demon Chancellor] class."
"!!"
Do-hyun was shocked.
Demon Chancellor class! And with a modifier!
It was a legend-class in the aide category!
A chancellor who assists the king, managing and handling everything below.
In some ways, more useful than a strategist class.
Strategist classes painted the big picture; he'd relied on them heavily in the early rounds, but less so later as his experience surpassed them.
In America, I need to handle matters on a scale incomparable to Korea. I needed someone to manage and process it all—this is perfect.
And he liked the modifier.
Demon Chancellor.
It suited perfectly for assisting Do-hyun, who would become the king of this American hell.
"Good. Let me ask again. My plan is to make LA mine first. What do you think is the best way?"
Do-hyun lowered his tone.
Sensing she'd been accepted, Cecil replied with a resolute expression.
"First, you need a force."
"How? By subjugating LA's villains?"
"If you want to make LA yours, that's not a good method. Becoming king of the villains keeps you in the shadows."
"Then?"
"Given your current situation, the most suitable path is becoming an arcane business entrepreneur."
Do-hyun twisted his lips into a smirk.
It matched his own thinking exactly.
The [Demon Chancellor] class has not just intelligence attributes, but strategy attributes too. Give it a clear goal, and it excels at devising proactive plans.
"Tell me the specifics."
"Starting a new business from scratch takes too long. Competition is fierce. Better to target a company with weaknesses, bring it down, and acquire it cheaply. You could even leverage Genocider's infamy by eliminating a few executives."
As expected of a Demon Chancellor.
The strategies she proposed were most appealing.
This one's compatibility will be great. Do-hee was talented but clashed with my temperament constantly.
He'd been considering bringing Do-hee from Korea—the aide from past rounds—if he couldn't find a suitable helper in America.
But it seemed unnecessary now.
"I was thinking the same thing."
"As expected of you, Master! So wise!!"
"...No need for pointless flattery. And drop the 'Master' title."
"Yes. Then I'll call you Master from now on. Here are the merger target candidates."
Numerous famous company names poured from Cecil's lips.
Famous ones, perfectly sized for swallowing whole.
But Do-hyun shook his head.
"I'll swallow one of the AS100 companies."
"P-Pardon...?"
"Babel Farms. That's my target."
"Fuck? Are you crazy?!"
Shocked enough to curse, Cecil blurted it out.
"S-Sorry! You're joking, right? Haha. Your jokes are so witty, Master. I'm dying laughing."
"I'm serious."
"Fuck? N-No, shit! Are you insane?!"
Well, he understood.
Even geniuses judge the world by their own common sense.
"Babel Farms was founded by a mafia cartel! Its subordinate guild, Babel Blade, is full of mafia awakeners too. Unless you can wipe them out single-handedly...!!"
"What if I can wipe them out single-handedly?"
"...Pardon?"
"Assume I can wipe out all of Babel Blade alone. Plan under that premise."
Do-hyun added conditions.
"Deadline is one month. Devise a concrete way to bring down Babel Farms and take everything within that time."
To others, it would sound insane.
But Do-hyun was dead serious.
To distribute Hyper-NHD without delay, I must acquire Babel Farms as fast as possible.
Cecil clamped her mouth shut, falling silent, her blue eyes staring blankly into space.
She was activating a skill.
"If you can truly eliminate Babel Blade alone, then yes—there's a way to acquire Babel Farms within a month."
"Oh? Let's hear it."
Curious how well Cecil's strategy aligned with his own, Do-hyun asked—and soon grinned deeply.
Very pleasing.
As expected of the Demon Chancellor.
She'd devised a demonic strategy far more vicious than his original plan.
"Today, we have a special guest!! Hero Kim, who's setting America ablaze right now!!"
LA, home to Hollywood, the holy land of American entertainment.
Do-hyun appeared on a talk show.
I used to appear on broadcast media like this occasionally anyway.
It was the easiest way to gain public popularity, so he planned to use it actively in America too.
However, today's talk show followed Cecil's strategy—
"Our other special guest: LA's pride, hero and Babel Blade guild's vice president, Mr. Kane!!"
A Mexican man appeared, glaring at Do-hyun with murderous eyes.
That's right.
The channel Do-hyun appeared on was one that infamously invited feuding parties to trade barbs on live TV.
"Babel Blade claims that Genocider, former Helstech CEO and LA mayor Palmer's killer, is the culprit. What are your thoughts, Kim?"
"I agree that Genocider is the culprit."
"!!"
The studio buzzed, and Do-hyun smiled at the camera.
"Of course, I'm not Genocider."
"...Haha. Right. So why do you think Genocider killed former mayor Palmer?"
"Because Palmer was a bastard who deserved to die. The Genocider I know would never let a villain like that live."
"!!"
Everyone knew the open secret that Do-hyun was Genocider.
A suffocating tension settled over the set.
Babel Blade's vice president Kane glared at Do-hyun, who met his gaze calmly and spoke.
"Looks like there's another bastard here who deserves to die by Genocider's hand. Mind if I make a prediction, Mr. Kane? You won't survive the night—you'll die by Genocider's hand. Along with your precious mafia-born clan brothers."
"......!!"
Do-hyun turned back to the camera—toward the millions of Americans watching—and smiled brightly.
"Shall we all make a bet? Whether Mr. Kane survives the night or not? I'll wager my entire fortune that Mr. Kane gets executed by Genocider tonight."
That public murder prediction.
Set America ablaze.