Chapter 79. Our Sacred Flame Foundation
Chapter 79. Our Sacred Flame Foundation
I never imagined he would just casually drop an official announcement that he's going to live in Korea from now on.
I didn't even know Emir used social media.
'How did he have so many followers...?'
The moment I saw Emir's social media post, the first thing I did was contact the President.
It was a bit embarrassing to bother him over something like this, but...
- Haha, not at all. We have already benefited greatly from you, Hunter.
"Still, I am worried I might be causing unnecessary trouble."
- Gaining even one more S-rank is a tremendous gain for the nation. So please do not feel too apologetic.
"By the way, has there been any word from Turkey? After all, we are essentially taking an S-rank hunter from their country..."
- It is rather like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted... We assess that Turkey has effectively lost Emir Hunter's trust.
"Understood. In any case, if anything unusual comes up, I will let you know ahead of time."
With that, I hung up the phone.
Like that, I quickly resolved the troublesome paperwork concerning Emir.
As for naturalization, I was still unsure.
I did not want to force him.
"So, what is he up to now?"
"He is probably helping with the shop opening."
"He knows how to do that kind of thing...?"
"Yes, I heard he often helped Rana with her work as well."
Saying that, Laila showed me her phone.
The photo already showed a long line in front of Rana's shop.
"What the...?"
"Well, she was already famous overseas, and because it is a shop run by an S-rank hunter, it seems a lot of people came."
"No, I mean..."
Emir's shop sign.
It read 'Hero Kebab'.
The things he had already done were more than enough to make me sigh, but even the shop sign was screaming its connection to me.
'Ah, my head hurts...'
When I recklessly charged barehanded into the heart of the Demon God's Third Legion.
When I headbutted and shattered the castle of the kingdom that had colluded with the Demon King.
When I looted the imperial treasure vault to cover travel expenses.
Back then, when Kyle looked at me, was this how he felt...?
'Come to think of it, the old me was really quite a handful, was he not...'
"...Hero, what are you thinking about?"
And yet, Laila had followed me all the way to Earth, her eyes fixed only on me.
She was now my girlfriend.
Come here...!
─ Squish...!
"Hnn... Y-Yo, Hero...?"
"Just stay like this for a little while."
A place where the holy power that heals the wandering lamb gathers.
If you bury your face here, all the worries of the world vanish.
---
"I do not really wear suits... but they always feel so stuffy whenever I do."
"Hehe... but you look handsome though?"
We had come to a hotel for the orientation event with the new employees.
Laila and I had arrived first and were waiting for Attorney Kim Tae-hyun.
"Hero, just a moment."
Like me, Laila was dressed neatly.
A white dress shirt, black skirt, black stockings.
Even a staff ID card made for the foundation employees.
"Your tie is crooked..."
Saying that, she carefully adjusted my tie with her own hands.
And she smiled brightly.
"Hehe... I do not know whose boyfriend he is, but he is way too handsome?"
What a cheeky minx...
How did she bewitch a person so thoroughly...
"Ah, anyway... Emir said he could not make it today?"
"Yes, he said he is very busy. Besides, Emir is just an employee in name only anyway."
After much deliberation with Laila.
There was simply no way to use Emir as an office worker belonging to the foundation.
So we ended up hiring him through a contract with the restaurant.
'Well, we could use him as security personnel later on.'
We were spending time at a café in one corner of the hotel lobby.
As time passed, well-dressed people began filing into the auditorium one by one.
"Let us go in too."
Laila and I entered a small room behind the podium.
Attorney Kim Tae-hyun, now the legal director, personally took the microphone and acted as MC.
And the man who had taken on the role of our foundation's president came up onto the stage.
"Hmm... He looks surprisingly decent..."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah... given that face, it is surprising he is that age too."
It was the 'Resignation Letter Always in My Pocket' guy, who had changed his nickname to 'Hero's Foot Wiper'.
Surprisingly, he was a man in his late 30s who had graduated from the same university as me.
'But I did not graduate, so was he really an alumnus?'
"He was more of an elite than I thought, huh?"
"Indeed..."
Laila flipped through the documents and confirmed.
He had held the position of deputy manager at a mid-sized guild with solid financial backing.
"Hello... To think that someone like me, who used to work a salaried job, would become the president of a foundation... It is truly moving..."
On the podium, he was introducing himself without a hitch.
Surprisingly, among those gathered here, he was the one with the longest history with Attorney Kim Tae-hyun.
"Haha... You must be bewildered."
"I will work hard!"
He bowed and came down from the podium to take his seat.
Then, Attorney Kim Tae-hyun called for us.
"Let us invite the Chairman of our foundation and the Director of the foundation!"
We went up onto the podium and introduced ourselves briefly.
I fiercely emphasized that I hoped not a single won would be wasted in our foundation.
Unlike the previous fan meeting, it proceeded in a quiet and solemn atmosphere.
"...Just understand that it is like this."
Attorney Kim Tae-hyun explained the company's welfare, operations, and so on.
"Well, now that the formal atmosphere is over, everyone please enjoy your meal."
Only then did people begin to let out sighs of relief, their expressions softening.
"I look forward to continuing a meaningful relationship with our 'Seonghwa Foundation' for a long time to come."
The pre-ordered buffet dishes were laid out, and I walked around, turning on the stream.
[ World's Strongest Hero : Company OT ]
[Company OT, lol, for real]
[That is fucking hilarious lol]
[Shitty small company (seed money 300 billion won)]
"Nice to meet you all."
Saying that, I spun the camera around once.
There, in the magnificent auditorium, countless dishes were laid out.
[Fucking jealous, shit]
[We are making a fuss because adding meat to our spicy pork is expensive...]
[ Hero's Foot Wiper has donated 100,000 Watts! ]
- I will work like a dog for you, Chairman!
[Shit haha financial therapy for sure]
[If you give me a lot of money, I can lick you like a dog!!!!]
The viewers' chat and the loyalty(?) of the person who was now the president of our Seonghwa Foundation.
There was nothing I did not like.
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 50,000 Watts! ]
- Boss, I will enjoy the meal hehe
And then something I did not like appeared.
It was clearly a pure expression of joy, so why did it feel so unsavory...?
I quickly looked around, but there was no particularly suspicious(?) movement.
[hahahahaha]
[What a crazy bastard lol]
[Feed them expensive food and they turn into lambs lmao]
Just then, I spotted someone who was not particularly suspicious, but familiar.
"Good to see you."
Startled by the sudden greeting, the woman flinched and turned her head.
"Ah, oh... Hello!"
"You took the graphics card last time, right? Your name was..."
The woman who had received the graphics card bowed her head in greeting.
Still, as if she remained quite shy, her hand gripping her phone tightened.
"Yes! I am 'Lee Chae-hyun', the new employee!"
I nodded while looking at this cute-looking woman.
'Unlike those malicious bastards, she was a truly innocent person...'
---
After the company orientation ended, Laila and I, the president, and Attorney Kim Tae-hyun came to my house.
Because we still did not have a proper foundation office.
"So, are you going to visit the shop that Emir Hunter opened tomorrow?"
"Yes, since it is a shop run by an employee... I will go to show my face and give it some publicity."
Emir's kebab shop was very popular.
And they frequently provided free kebabs to nearby orphanages and nursing homes.
"Ah, right..."
Attorney Kim Tae-hyun began pulling out documents one by one.
"Chairman, these are all the companies that have expressed intent to sponsor the foundation."
"That is quite a lot..."
Construction companies, fashion companies, food companies, electronics firms—there were many.
Even unrelated companies had expressed a wish to send employees to help with volunteer work.
Also, with Emir joining, global corporations were vying to sponsor us.
"We are currently working on three areas, right?"
We designated three targets: domestic war veterans, Mexico, and Turkey.
Turkey was included to preempt any talk that might arise due to Emir.
Emir had become disillusioned with sponsorship and used our Seonghwa Foundation to donate.
'It was good for public justification, but... would it really go this far?'
"They have expressed an intention to meet as soon as possible."
There was no reason to drag it out unnecessarily.
I checked the time; it was still afternoon.
"Tell them to come here now."
Usually, the companies giving sponsorships were the ones holding the upper hand.
But that was not the case with me.
Because it did not matter whether I received their sponsorship or not.
"Which company...?"
"All of them."
It was not them giving me sponsorship.
It was me accepting their sponsorship.