Chapter 69. An Extreme Dilemma
Chapter 69. An Extreme Dilemma
Why were civic groups suddenly coming after him?
Had he ever crossed paths with them?
"Ah... no way..."
"You have some idea what this is about?"
"I have a guess, but... going this far just for that... does that make any sense?"
The groups that had been contacting him ever since he announced he would do charity work.
He had flatly rejected every one of their proposals.
At his words, the lawyer scratched his head as if he couldn't make sense of it either.
"I don't think I would have figured it out either, without this information..."
'No, seriously. They held a grudge over being rejected and went this far?'
He couldn't empathize, but he tried to at least understand.
Yet no matter how much he racked his brain, he simply couldn't comprehend it.
"Uh...? I think you should see this."
He moved next to the lawyer and peered at the laptop together.
It felt like things were spiraling a bit out of hand.
"No... what's this about a sudden search and seizure?"
A case of spreading false information targeting a public figure.
It was escalating considerably.
"Counselor, do prosecutors normally conduct search and seizures in cases like this?"
"No."
To his question, the lawyer answered instantly without a trace of hesitation.
---
Before Song Hoon had gone to the lawyer's office.
"..."
The conference room was steeped in silence.
And in that room sat two middle-aged men, each occupying a chair.
"P-pardon me..."
Though they held positions of no small consequence, they were nervous.
Before them, a woman who scarcely looked old enough to be their youngest daughter was gracefully drinking tea.
A woman with blue hair and beautiful golden eyes.
"..."
She could not be dismissed simply because she looked young.
A figure who could sever the necks of those seated here with a single word.
"The tea is truly lovely."
"Haha... knowing someone as distinguished as yourself would be coming..."
Yet they still had no grasp of the situation.
Why this woman, known as S-class above S-class, was here.
"It is simply so lamentable that the Hero, who even tried to establish his own charity foundation, must suffer such slander."
"W-we understand..."
Laila was, on a personal level, furious.
Why must her Hero endure baseless slander?
"What if the Hero is deeply wounded and decides to cease his activities, or emigrate overseas?"
"...!"
"!!!"
As the Saintess, she had met countless leaders of kingdoms and empires.
But these men weren't even such leaders—they merely held positions akin to the nobility.
Putting pressure on them was no trouble at all.
"If that were to happen... as the Hero's wife, I would have to tend to my husband's wounds. And of course, if he emigrates, I would naturally follow him as his wife..."
Two S-ranks from a single nation would withdraw.
And it would happen specifically right after this meeting.
'My political life was over...!'
The word would inevitably spread.
If they had simply withdrawn, that would be one thing—but to withdraw after this meeting?
'Word would definitely get out...!'
Laila rested her chin on her hand, toyed with her teacup, sighed softly, and murmured.
Quietly, as if she meant for them alone to overhear...
"Sigh... between Singapore and Canada..."
A fleeting vision of the future flashed through their minds.
A scene of them being mercilessly beaten down by other politicians, held accountable for driving away S-ranks.
"What would you like us to do...?"
He made the cautious offer to Laila.
Then Laila simply smiled sweetly and said,
"I simply wish the bad people who slander others would pay for their crimes."
"W-we will take that to heart...!"
They answered, sweating profusely at Laila's every word.
"Oh my, why are you sweating so much? Are you feeling a bit warm...?"
Laila rose from her seat and gave them a polite bow.
"I trust you will handle this fairly."
"We will deal with it definitively...!"
As she turned away, the faintest hint of a... wicked(?) smile played at the corners of Laila's lips.
'Why must they slander such a truly kind Hero...'
She simply found it unacceptable that her husband(?) was being slandered.
So, as a citizen(?) of this nation, she raised an appeal(?) to those who drew a salary from it.
'This was part of a wife's duty, was it not?'
---
At that very moment, the civic groups were being shaken down to their last speck of dust.
He realized then that all sorts of crimes existed in this world.
Articles about them were flooding out in an endless torrent.
[ 'Heaven Orphanage' Violation of Donation Laws, Tax Evasion, Document Forgery & Uttering Exposed ]
[ 'Hope Scholarship Foundation' Breach of Trust, Embezzlement Uncovered in Droves! ]
[ Numerous Charity Groups Donated Only 300 Million Out of 47 Billion Won. Where Did the Remaining 46.7 Billion Go? ]
[ Perpetrator Who Slandered S-Class Hunter 'Song Hoon' Found to Have Offered Money Inducing Spread of False Information? ]
[ Head of Certain Organization Revealed to Have Sexually Harassed Volunteers... Shock ]
"What a bunch of scumbags..."
To think they'd done all that and then had the gall to come asking him for donations—it was beyond absurd.
He didn't know why this sudden investigation had happened, but either way, it was immensely satisfying.
"There are a lot of truly evil bastards out there."
"I know, right~"
"Still, why would the prosecutors suddenly move like that?"
"Who knows~ I simply think bad people received their punishment."
Indeed, bad guys always get what's coming to them eventually.
Then, without thinking, his gaze drifted toward Laila's face.
'Hmm... I saved the world and that's how I ended up with such a beautiful and kind girlfriend.'
"What is it?"
"Just that you're pretty."
"Oh, you..."
According to breaking news, the groups had paid people to disclose false information.
During the search, even their ledgers detailing the monetary payments were uncovered.
"Hero, how is the lawsuit progressing right now?"
As for the progress, the lawyers were attacking it with fire in their eyes.
Already, more than dozens of people had received complaint forms.
All of them were shedding tears and begging for leniency.
'Maybe don't do things you'll regret in the first place...'
Truthfully, he had given the subject of leniency some thought.
Of course, accepting it was up to those bastards...
High-intensity search and seizures progressed against the groups, and some organizations went bankrupt under fines exceeding hundreds of millions of won.
Additionally, for individuals, both civil and criminal proceedings were being pursued simultaneously.
[ The Ultimate Hero: I am justice itself ]
[Hero that's seriously too cool]
[I only believed in you, bro!!!!!]
[It's a festival!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
"Ahem, everyone's been doing well, right?"
He gave the viewers the full account of everything that had happened.
How the charity groups had come right up to his front door, and how he'd gotten tangled up with them. Everything.
[What petty pathetic losers lololol]
[They just held a grudge because the money they used to skim off disappeared]
[Wow but seriously lolololololol]
A situation where everything was being laid completely bare.
And donations poured into his stream without pause.
Of course, among them were also donations of apology piled high like a heaping bowl of rice.
[Ah get rid of those f***ers]
[Sinners, accept your punishment!!!]
[I'll receive it all~ lololol]
↳ This comment had been temporarily blocked.
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 10,000 Watts! ]
- So anyway, if you get settlement money, what are you going to use it for?
"Ah, I'm going to use that money to do charity work myself."
[A true great Hero]
[Hey, support the veteran soldiers a bit]
[Do something for soldiers' welfare...]
Various opinions came flooding in.
The poor, soldiers, veteran heroes, the disabled, abandoned dogs, etc...
[ Hero's Foot Wiper has donated 30,000 Watts! ]
- Boss, how much was the settlement per person?
"5 million won."
[Huh?]
[You only got that much?]
[What the hell, you only got that much???]
"No, I'm saying the amount I get is 5 million won."
[Isn't that the same thing?]
[No what does he mean?]
[Ah lmaooooooo oh shit I get it now]
The settlement agreement he had arranged with the lawyers was a 9:1 split.
If the amount he received was 5 million won, then the total settlement itself was 50 million won.
It was an exceptionally large sum, as far as settlements over malicious comments go.
"But I've given the leniency thing some thought too, you know."
[That's really f*****g no fun]
[You bastard that's disgusting seriously -_-]
All the viewers were hopping mad.
But his thoughts were a little different.
"Ah, just listen for a moment!"
[Hiss hiss...]
[What the hell is this detox crap when I'm about to ascend]
[You dopamine-addled bastards...]
"There are those of you who want to receive leniency, right?"
As always, he opened his trusty Notepad.
The method for receiving leniency was simple.
Just apologize.
[Apologize is apple you dumbshit ;;]
[F***ing armband!!!! Cut out the no-fun jokes]
[What so you gonna swear and apologize too, ahhh]
"Film a formal apology video."
Film the video so your face and ID were visible.
Of course, with the back digits of the ID and your address covered.
Then upload the 5-minute video to Nutube.
[That's more like it lololol]
[I knew this bastard was up to something lolololol]
[5000 vs getting your face archived]
Of course, he had also prepared for the possibility that they might get leniency and then take the video down.
He planned to collect the videos from them and upload them directly to his channel.
"So, make your choice."
With a merciful heart, he provided them an option.
Cough up the 50 million won settlement, or have their faces broadcast to the entire nation.
"I won't force you."