Know Shame (1)
Know Shame (1)
It was 1980, the year Gates first appeared in the world.
Back then, it was pure chaos and upheaval.
The damage caused by the Gates was surprisingly limited, thanks to the awakeners...
[In the early days, people were more of a problem than the monsters.]
Yet the damage caused by the resulting chaos was immense.
Religious believers insisted that the pillar of light was a miracle descended into the mortal world and must never be touched.
Citizens whose children had been murdered by villains treated innocent awakeners as monsters.
Doomsayers hanged themselves, declaring that if destruction was inevitable, they would at least choose how they died.
People unable to accept the sudden change caused every kind of commotion imaginable.
Even the Chairwoman shuddered at the thought and said she'd rather die than return to those days. That said it all.
[That was when the Church of the Lord appeared.]
The group that emerged to exploit that opening was the Church of the Lord.
They soothed the chaos with faith.
Awakeners have things called Status Windows, don't they?
Could that be a coincidence?
Not at all. An omniscient, omnipotent being clearly bestowed that power upon them.
A being worthy of being called the Lord. Why should we worship Him?
Has He not sent awakeners—warriors personally chosen by the Lord—into this world?
They are living proof that the Lord took pity on us when we faced the unprecedented threat of the Gates.
In other words, the Lord has arranged everything. We need only give thanks for the miracle and serve Him—the Lord, His apostles, the awakeners.
[And people actually believed that stuff?]
[It may sound absurd, but that's how it was back then. In fact, it was pretty popular in Korea too, which tells you enough. Though less so than abroad.]
To people now, it sounded like an obvious cult, but it reportedly caused a tremendous sensation at the time.
Apparently, ignorant people believed it in droves.
There was even a shrine in Japan dedicated to Master.
In any case, the Church of the Lord was a group that worshipped awakeners.
They weren't exactly bad people.
On the contrary, they improved the public perception of awakeners.
They established an organized ranking system by proposing standards such as S-rank.
They even donated to projects related to awakeners.
Objectively speaking, they were a positive force.
The only problem was...
—Clamor.
"It's the angel!!"
"......."
'Ugh, these damn stalker fans.'
Their obsession was downright intense.
My expression crumpled instantly.
'How had a religion turned into a stalker fan club for grandmas and grandpas? Were they expecting me to sing them some trot or something?'
The Church of the Lord had boomed in the 1980s.
The people who believed fervently back then?
Forty years later, weren't they all stooped-over grannies and grandpas?
Those people shrieked with delight.
They rushed over, begging me for a single handshake.
Some even cooed at me like I was their favorite heartthrob.
What was I, a trot singer?
And it did not stop there. They produced illegal awakener merchandise and called it holy relics.
Whenever they were told to stop, they shrieked about freedom of religion.
They donated so much money to the Association that even the Chairwoman couldn't stop them.
In other words, they were stalker fans wearing the mask of religion.
They were the exact opposite of the Chairwoman, who was an old crone inside a beautiful exterior: old on the outside, but childish and shameless within.
Naturally, awakeners found them off-putting.
"Yujin!! Those people just now... ugh. The Church of the Lord."
"......."
'Things had been getting so sweet between Sia and me, and now it had all fallen apart.'
Sia's reaction was much the same.
She'd been blushing from embarrassment, but the moment she saw the scene in front of the exit, she recoiled in horror.
She had never personally been burned by them, so that reaction meant...
she must have known. As a clan executive, she knew how terrifyingly persistent they were.
"Yujin. If we get involved with them, we should expect to lose at least three hours."
"I'd rather die. Getting stuck at an amusement park with a bunch of random grandmas and grandpas is just... no."
"Agreed."
I had no desire to get involved with them.
But,
"Still, you know? Don't say anything mean."
"Of course."
Their conduct was obnoxious, but they were benefactors to awakeners.
I couldn't openly tell them to get lost because they smelled like red ginseng candy.
Leaving everything else aside, on the surface they were elderly people who had steadily looked after their grandchildren for decades.
How could I say anything harsh to them?
'There was also...'
—Glance.
'Yeah. If this dragged on, a crowd would gather.'
There was even a time limit.
Who was I? The Hypnosis Breeding Guy who had just finished putting on a highlight reel of hypnosis therapy.
If a crowd gathered around someone like me, even people who had not cared before would come snooping to see what was happening.
And more than a few of them would make a scene because they wanted me to treat them.
For the moment, the escorts sent by Cheonhwa were holding them back well, but...
if the amusement park's massive crowd surged toward us, they would break through.
I had to get out before I was swept up in it.
I had to treat the benefactors of the awakener industry with courtesy while escaping as quickly as possible.
'I was not even S-rank yet. If I said it was urgent, they would probably let me go.'
"I am sorry. Our child is hungry, so perhaps we could arrange a meeting another time..."
"Aaaah!! The angel looked this way!!"
"We will treat you to a meal!! Please, don't hold back!!"
"......."
'Damn. They were really laying it on thick.'
I tested the waters, but it wasn't going to be easy.
It wasn't even this bad when I was the S-rank No. 1. Why was this happening?
—A buzz of murmuring.
"Look at that overflowing divine aura. He must surely be a saint sent directly by the Lord..."
"The Saintess's prophecy truly was correct......"
—Flinch.
"......?"
I heard something I couldn't simply ignore.
A Saintess? There had been no one like that during my First Round.
What was that supposed to mean?
"Wait, what? A Saintess?"
"Yujin? Hold on. Now isn't the time to ask about that."
"An excellent question!! She is a divine being who recently appeared in our dreams...."
Unable to let it go, I asked, and the answer came immediately.
Just a few days ago.
A woman had appeared in the dreams of the Church of the Lord believers who possessed truly deep and devout faith.
The descriptions of her appearance varied by witness, but...
all the other details reportedly matched in an eerie way.
First. She had a body as small as a kindergartener.
Second. She clutched her chest with a pained expression.
Third. Despite that, she gently stroked the elderly believers as tenderly as a mother.
Fourth. She never once opened her mouth...
"Strangely, we could still feel what she meant. She was saying, 'Someone will come soon. Please look after them.'"
They said they could sense what she wanted to tell them.
"At first, I thought old age had given me a strange dream. But dozens of others had the same dream, so surely it must have been a prophecy from the Saintess."
"From that description, was the girl not the Lord herself?"
"That is absolutely impossible. I would sooner believe Saint Seo Yujin himself to be the Lord."
That brought the long explanation to an end.
And,
"We were uncertain ourselves... but after meeting you today, we became certain. You are the apostle most cherished by the Lord, the very one the Saintess foretold!!"
"We will offer you every kind of wealth and glory. You need only enjoy it, Saint Yujin."
"You need only lend your name to the honorary office of Pope. That alone would be a tremendous honor for us, for it would mean the will of God is with us."
They bowed their heads with the utmost deference.
Sia drew a sharp, flustered breath.
"People of such standing are going this far...? I know Yujin is incredible, but this is excessive, isn't it?"
Her bewilderment was only natural.
They might have looked like stalker fans, but the members of the Church of the Lord had fought their way through life since the 1980s with their powerful faith as support.
The higher-ranking members among them also held considerable influence in society.
And those people were offering me anything and everything.
Of course she was shocked.
But,
"Yujin, we should have the Cheonhwa Clan review this first..."
"——I'm sorry, but I believe you've mistaken me for someone else."
I refused without a second's hesitation.
I'd only asked because I wanted to know what this Saintess was. I had never intended to associate with them.
'I was a regressor. Who did they think they were trying to fool?'
—A sharp glare.
Moreover, to someone who knew the future, this was an obvious scam.
Had there been any talk of a Saintess during my First Round?
None at all.
Not even once.
Then had things changed because I regressed?
Like how my wives' abilities rose to S-rank?
No way.
I had regressed, and now some Saintess or whatever was trying to help me indirectly? Was she my mother?
'The ban on revealing my regression, the regression itself—some tremendous being was clearly involved with me. But this definitely was not it.'
If something wanted to help me, it should've done so directly from the start.
Why ignore me and instead go around giving unsolicited advice to grandmas and grandpas?
It made no sense.
In other words, this had to be a scam.
It was a fabricated story meant to fleece a future S-rank who was still a naive newcomer to society.
'I didn't know what kind of scam this was, but I wasn't falling for it.'
"I'm not that kind of person. If I were, wouldn't this Saintess have appeared in my dream as well?"
"Only the most devout among us were allowed to behold the Saintess, so it is natural that you did not meet her, Saint Yujin."
"Would the Lord have said such things for someone with no faith in the first place?"
"That's..."
When I pointed out the flaw in their logic, their expressions rapidly crumbled.
They'd taken me for an easy mark, so my unexpectedly sharp response seemed to fluster them.
They quickly bowed their heads.
"I appreciate the Church of the Lord's support for awakeners. However, this offer is far too generous for me. I must respectfully decline."
Not interested. Not buying.
The expressions of the Church of the Lord executives twisted with dismay.
"Why!? We merely wish to help you, Saint Yujin!!"
"If you suspect this is a scam, then simply accept the money. Gift tax will take a considerable portion, but we can give you ten billion won here and now..."
"I'll earn my money honestly."
"Eee-eeeek!!!"
But I didn't so much as twitch an eyebrow.
The grandmas and grandpas reeled as though their blood pressure had spiked.
...That should have been enough, right?
I quickly started walking away.
"Then we'll be going."
"Fine!! Everyone, lie down!!!"
—Flop, flop, flop.
"We will not move from this spot until we have showered you with gold and jewels!! Saint Yujin!!!"
"......."
They actually went and lay down.
Dismay spread across both my face and Sia's.
"Sia. If you force them up with your ability..."
"Their joints are probably weak. If they resist, they might... fracture something."
"Right. Haaah."
They were impressive people despite how they acted, yet they'd actually thrown themselves onto the ground.
It would look bad if I simply walked away.
The elderly were begging me, and I'd become the bastard who coldly abandoned them to go have fun with a woman.
—A buzz of murmuring.
"That is Seo Yujin?!! Wow, I have never seen him in person before."
"If I ask him to hypnotize me..."
I did not even have time to think.
The crowd was beginning to gather, and the escorts looked troubled.
Everything forced me to make a choice.
The choice to use hypnosis on civilians.
'If I was seen using my ability on civilians, it would ruin my image... but I had no choice. I'd have to claim that I had been worried about their health.'
"Ahem. Everyone, please stop..."
I spoke while quietly raising my mana.
I meant to drive them away with Hypnosis, an ability of mine that had been quiet lately.
Even if it meant accepting a small risk.
...But then—
—Tap, tap.
"Daddy, Daddy."
"Haru? Daddy is busy, so wait just a moment."
"———I gotta pee-pee."
"......!!!!?"
My control over my mana shattered.
When I looked down in shock, Haru was frantically twisting her thighs together.
Anyone could see that she was desperate to pee.
"C-can you hold it a little longer? Daddy will be done soon."
"Can't. At limit. Feels like it will come out any second. A waterfall."
"......."
"Waterfall in ten, nine, eight..."
A brief silence followed.
Sia and I immediately met each other's eyes.
We understood one another without a word. We were thinking exactly the same thing.
"We're sorry! Our Haru urgently needs the bathroom!!"
"Officials of the Church of the Lord, please direct your inquiries to the Cheonhwa Clan! Yujin belongs to Cheonhwa!!"
—Grab.
I immediately picked Haru up.
Then Sia and I ran without looking back.
I moved very carefully so as not to jostle Haru's bladder.
"S-Saint Yujin!! At least take the money before you leave!!"
"Don't stop him. The little girl says she is about to wet herself, so it can't be helped."
"Hey, someone call Yoo Jeongcheol. Now that it's come to this, we'll storm Cheonhwa."
The old folks rose behind us with groans of "goodness," which meant our excuse had worked perfectly.
Our little good-luck charm Haru was so lovable that I could only laugh.
"Haru, Daddy will have you there in no time..."
—Whisper, whisper.
"Actually, I didn't need to pee. I was a bad girl for Daddy for a little while."
"......!!!"
It had all been an act!
Barely two weeks after I adopted her, our Haru had learned to lie for her daddy!
My paternal affection surged.
—Smooch.
"Daddy survived thanks to you, Haru!!"
Unable to resist, I planted a kiss on her cheek.
I'd never normally have done such a thing. It felt like cheating.
But Haru was my daughter. My daughter, born from my heart.
This much affection was nothing more than a father doting on his child...
—Tremble, tremble.
"H-haaah!!? Yujin, you stupid, idiotic, thickheaded bear! What are you doing to an innocent child!!?"
"Ah."
She was my daughter, not Sia's.
"It was because she felt like my daughter."
"I can't believe you!! Even if it was only her cheek, you put your lips on a girl, you—!!?"
—Thwack!!!
"Sorry...."
That earned me an enthusiastic beating on the back.
It continued the entire time we waited for Haru, who had decided to use the bathroom while she was there.
'Haru, was it a number two...? Daddy thought his back might start bruising~.'
She took unusually long, so I was beaten for nearly fifteen minutes straight.
* * *
Meanwhile, inside the amusement park bathroom.
Haru simply sat there in silence.
She kept one hand pressed to her cheek and remained silent.
—Thump, thump.
'Daddy kissed me.'
The brief kiss from moments before filled her mind.
His lips had only brushed her cheek before pulling away, yet the sensation had startled her so badly that she could not speak.
Why? Her chest tingled.
It was a sensation she'd never experienced before.
'Heart thumping. Face burning. Totally strange.'
[Status Effect 'Brainwashing' conflicts with Status Effect 'Hypnosis'!]
[Status Effect 'Brainwashing' reactivates....]
[Status Effect 'Hypnosis' has been renewed. 'Brainwashing' is deactivated.]
[As a result of the conflict, Status Effect 'Hypnosis' is somewhat weakened.]
'Ever since this appeared, I'd been completely strange....'
She had an inkling.
The notification had appeared before her eyes on the day she reunited with her sister.
She'd changed slightly after that.
She didn't know exactly where or how she'd changed...
That had to be the cause of the pounding in her chest.
—Squeeze.
"Was this... embarrassment...?"
Haru decided that it was embarrassment.
It was an emotion Seol Hayeon had taught her about several times: the shame one felt when someone saw or touched one's naked body.
The feeling of one's face heating up and tears springing to one's eyes.
So this was embarrassment.
Haru added another entry to the dictionary in her head.
'Embarrassment felt good...!'
If Seol Hayeon found out, she'd lament that the worthless bastard had ruined an innocent maiden. In any case...
That was why Haru spent nearly fifteen minutes in the bathroom.
She was cooling her flushed cheeks.
And,
"Ah, Haru. That took a while."
"Daddy. I'm bored with the amusement park now. Let's go home."
"Huh? We've only been to two places. You don't want to play anymore?"
"Want go home quick and bathe with Daddy."
"Ah, you got a little dirty while doing your business? It can't be helped—"
—Freeze.
"Wait, together?"
"———Naked bath play. Rub bubbles on each other."
"......!!?"
A shard of innocence pierced Yujin.