Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Go Yejin, having arrived with us at the home-style diner, showed off her knack for instantly befriending the owner like a ten-year regular, then explained why she'd come looking for me.

"Transcendent Choi Junho, you're so elusive that I figured meeting you would be nearly impossible. So I followed your senior partner, Team Leader Jung Dahyun. I heard the two of you often eat together."

Apparently, she'd tailed Jung Dahyun for nearly a month before finally succeeding in seeing me.

I'd thought she was just a master of headline-writing, but her persistence was professional-grade too.

When I asked whether she was Awakened, Go Yejin nodded.

"That's right! I'm from an Awakened background. Though I gave up because I had no talent. Hehe, Auntie! Another bottle of water, please! This soybean paste stew is so good."

Beside her, Jung Dahyun's expression wasn't exactly bright—was the food not good? It tasted the same as always.

I continued my conversation with Go Yejin.

"So what's this article you want to write about me?"

"Ah! Recently, you've become incomparably more popular after hunting Nuri. Have you felt that?"

"Not really."

Even if I got famous, villains still couldn't recognize me.

If anything, Jung Dahyun was more famous.

"Huh? Well, for starters, your popularity online is incredible. Before, there were comments doubting you, but now it's nothing but praise! You say you haven't felt it, but if you went somewhere where you could, you'd realize your popularity has multiplied several times over. And naturally, writing about you guarantees high view counts."

"Sounds like the view counts are high even without writing about me?"

From what I'd glimpsed, Go Yejin's articles racked up far more views than others.

Go Yejin smiled sheepishly.

"I'm, um, fairly confident in that area, so……."

"You wrote plenty of entertaining headlines about me."

"I'm sorry! I was wrong! Please spare me!"

She immediately went pale and begged for mercy.

"I'm not going to kill you."

"Thank you, thank you."

"I'll think about the article and give you an answer. I judge based on advice from those around me."

"Got it! Contact me whenever it's convenient, and I'll come running anytime!"

Go Yejin handed me her business card. As I took it, the flow of conversation broke, and we spent some time focusing on our meal.

"Have you had any organizations pestering you lately?"

"What kind of organizations?"

"Well, you earned a huge sum, Transcendent. So donation groups and the like would be trying to contact you……."

"I haven't gotten any calls."

"Really? That's strange. Donation groups are in a frenzy trying to reach you."

"Ah."

I remembered telling Oh Jongsu to unplug the phone line. So that's why nobody had contacted me. Which meant they'd probably gone somewhere else instead.

Anyway, donations. Embarrassing as it was, it was a word I hadn't given a single thought.

"Donations are a good thing."

"What? Really?"

Not just Go Yejin, who'd answered, but even Jung Dahyun looked surprised.

I wondered if I'd said something wrong.

"Donations are good, aren't they?"

"Uh, um! Yes, of course?"

"What's with you two?"

"No, it's nothing."

As I tilted my head at the wide-eyed Go Yejin, Jung Dahyun cut in.

"Hold on, Reporter Go. Don't write about this in an article."

"What? Ah, okay."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Go Yejin's face.

"Is there a problem?"

"It's not that, but……."

"It could get troublesome."

"It's fine. I unplugged the phone line."

"Ah, so that's why you weren't getting calls."

"That's a relief. Good call."

I figured they'd probably contact somewhere else instead.

After finishing our meal, we each had a drink at a café. Go Yejin entertained us with a reporter's perspective on the situation surrounding me.

She talked about how I'd generated a hundred trillion won in economic impact, how South Korea's security ranking had risen five tiers—and even Jung Dahyun, who'd been listening indifferently, was soon absorbed.

The part about overseas deployments was especially interesting to me.

A transcendent's influence reached more places than I'd thought, and most of it was tangled up in political relationships.

I suppose I was on the freer side.

"Please contact me for sure! Until we meet again, I'll work hard writing articles about you, Transcendent."

"I'll look forward to the headlines."

"Yes! I'll do my best to write something even more provocative!"

More provocative than this? That was the most exciting point of today's meeting.

"She's a handful."

"She sure is."

By the way, what was Go Yejin's gift again?

* * *

The mention of donation groups made me realize it, but thinking about it, I'd never once given donations any thought.

Using the money I earned to help someone. In my last life, I'd lived miserably, awakened late, got consumed by greed for power, and went mad—no time to think about it. In this new life, I was too busy working as a public service Hunter to keep from going mad, then adjusting to being a transcendent—I never had the chance.

Maybe I should look into donations.

"Thanks to you, the places handling Awakened Security Office business have been swamped by donation groups."

Summoned by Cheon Myeongguk to the Blue House, I had to endure some thorny words.

"Ah, I didn't know."

"It's fine. Even though we were swamped, it was actually convenient—we could control the situation from our end."

"Then I'll leave it to you going forward."

"……."

Was that a yes or a no?

He was confusing me on purpose.

"…I'll reconnect the phone line."

Under the silent pressure, I changed my answer.

"Soon, diplomatic delegations from allied nations, starting with the United States, will arrive."

"Do I absolutely have to participate in that?"

"Of course."

Strange. That didn't match what Lee Sehee had said.

"From what I've heard from those around me, troublesome things can happen. There's the exchange match and all."

"Surely you're not saying that because it's troublesome?"

He's a ghost. Why are there so many mind readers around me?

"It's not that. I heard I might end up facing other transcendents in a match, and I'm not confident I won't kill them."

"Not kill them……."

"Meaning I'll end up killing them."

How could I face someone in a match and not kill them?

For me, the hardest thing was holding back. I wasn't confident I could avoid killing. If killing were allowed, I'd accept gladly, but that didn't seem to be the case.

I figured it'd be better to just declare I'd kill them if they made me fight.

"I can't stop my hand."

"You're not deliberately not stopping it, are you?"

"No."

"……."

Even I felt a little embarrassed saying this. I was supposedly a Hunter who'd served the nation, gone from public service Hunter to state-certified transcendent—and here I was saying it was hard to keep people alive.

Now that I was sane, I was experiencing things I never had as a villain.

But how did others manage to keep their opponents alive during matches?

"…I'll do my best to minimize any clashes. However, the President may have other orders."

"Thank you for your consideration."

Cheon Myeongguk said he'd try—that should be enough.

"Also, your Nuri settlement payment will be deposited soon."

"That was fast."

"…Is it alright for someone receiving money to be that indifferent? In any case, once you receive it, donation groups and various other places will pester you."

According to Cheon Myeongguk, no matter how much you try to hide information, information about money always leaks.

"Other transcendents have suffered considerably from those worms who swarm once they smell money. I'm well aware that you aren't particularly greedy in that regard, but it never hurts to manage things in advance."

"Thank you for the advice."

"Not at all."

Cheon Myeongguk muttered, "It's just that I'm worried I'll end up killing those worms too."

I couldn't quite make out what he said, but since it was a mutter, I let it slide. He must be under a lot of stress.

"Ah! And I'm going to give a special lecture soon."

"A special lecture?"

"Chairman Go Myeonghak requested it. The exchange match is coming up, so he asked me to teach the students a thing or two."

"Transcendent Go Myeonghak. He's truly a wonderful person. The word 'noble' might well have been invented for him."

"He is a good man."

Though for someone like that, he sure seemed to have a lot of frustration piled up inside.

"Please, go easy on them."

"They won't die. They won't die."

Of course, that was a lie. Among the Academy's problem students, some were on the path to becoming villains, and I intended to stomp them down the moment they showed the slightest sign.

But what could I even teach students? I hadn't thought about the important part.

What I was good at, ultimately, was killing things.

That'd be too much, so I'd teach them know-how like Force manipulation or gift awakening.

* * *

Two days after Cheon Myeongguk's words, over two trillion won was deposited.

Honestly, it didn't feel real. The sum was just that large. With this, I could eat everything I wanted to eat and buy everything I wanted to buy.

But that was as far as it went.

Money didn't mean much to me. As long as I had enough to eat what I wanted and buy what I wanted, that was fine. Even after becoming a public service Hunter, I don't think I was ever short on money.

The only times I'd needed money were for Oh Jongsu's treatment costs and for buying a house to bring my parents to Seoul.

Even those were solved by running a hunt that same day.

"Nothing to do, really."

Maybe I really should look into donations.

I'd never seriously considered it, but donations didn't seem like a bad choice. If the money I earned could give someone struggling hope for their life, wouldn't that be worthwhile too?

Come to think of it, since returning to the past, my life had been a continuous series of killing things. Maybe it'd be nice to donate a lot, get my name on a donor list, and create a scholarship in my name.

But how much should I give? Honestly, after giving Yunhee some allowance and contributing research funds to the Shinseong Guild's research institute, the leftover would still be plenty.

When I shared the idea with Yunhee, what came back wasn't praise but a shriek.

"Are you crazy? Why are you suddenly fired up about that?"

"What, donations?"

"Yeah, you. Why are you suddenly doing something you've never done in your life?"

"Isn't it fine?"

"No, it's not!"

"Why?"

I couldn't understand why Yunhee was screaming.

"Do you know how much they embezzle from donated money? If you donate, they'll be thrilled and start swapping cars, throwing company dinners, going on retreats!"

"Yunhee."

"Yeah."

I felt sorry for Yunhee. She should be looking at the world beautifully, but she was far too cynical.

"Those are just a few cases. There are plenty of people who volunteer with good intentions. So don't look at everything through such cynical eyes……."

"Ah, seriously! Ugh! This is so frustrating!"

Leaving Yunhee, who was pounding her chest, behind, I went into my room, changed clothes, and came out. Even then her anger hadn't cooled—she gulped down cold water, then fixed me with a glare and scurried over.

"So are you really going to do it?"

"Still thinking about it."

"I'm telling you not to."

"You really don't want me to?"

"Yeah."

"But I want to."

"……."

Yunhee's blazing momentum faded. Then she dropped her glare, let out a deep sigh, and took a step back.

"Ugh! It's not like you're the type to listen to me anyway. And it's not my money, so I can't push further. But just donate a little. Don't go dumping a huge amount just because you're not greedy for money. Got it?"

Was I really that unreliable when it came to money? I didn't dislike having a sister who worried about me this much, so I obediently agreed.

"Got it."

"How much are you going to give?"

"About half?"

"One trillion? Hey, are you insane!"

I made one joke and had to endure a waterfall of nagging.

* * *

The next day, when I arrived at the National Guard Bureau, the place was filled with the racket of ringing phones.

Everyone's looks toward me weren't exactly warm, but I understood the situation from what Jung Juho said after practically dragging me into the Director's office.

"Everyone's in an uproar because you got your money. Why the hell are all the inquiries about you pouring in here?"

I recalled something I'd forgotten.

"I forgot to plug the phone line back in."

"Don't bullshit me! You did that on purpose, didn't you? Do you know how much my people are suffering?"

"I'll apologize later."

"You think my people will accept an apology after a few words? Huh?"

"We'll see once I try."

A true apology ought to come with a commensurate gesture, after all.

Still, I hadn't known there were this many organizations wanting donations.

Jung Juho seemed curious about my intentions too.

"Are you really going to donate?"

"I should."

"How much?"

"A reasonable amount?"

"I don't know what your 'reasonable' means. Anyway, wrap this situation up quickly."

"Will do."

Jung Juho pushed me out of the Director's office, telling me to clean up the mess.

I went around the National Guard Bureau apologizing. Since the commotion was because of me, I told them I'd treat everyone to something expensive soon, and cheers erupted.

Seeing how easily I could make up for a mistake like this, money really seemed like an excellent tool.

I informed the National Guard Bureau staff of the conditions I wanted.

Yunhee's nagging was one thing, but I also intended to set at least minimal requirements when donating. As long as those conditions were met, I was willing to put up even a large sum.

After making the rounds, I ran into Jung Dahyun, who'd just returned from patrol.

"Congrats on the jackpot."

"Thanks."

"I heard you're going to donate too. That's a wonderful choice."

"Yunhee nagged me about it, though."

"Because there are organizations to worry about. I'm sure you'll choose well."

"Honestly, I don't really know which ones are decent."

"Still, it'd be good to look into it before deciding."

The world was vast, and there were many people in need.

Donation groups' activities were so varied that I didn't know where to start helping.

The fortunate thing was that I had a lot of money and the ability to help them all.

"It's not good to have too many conditions on a donation."

"Still……."

"I only set one condition."

"What condition?"

"That they give me auditing authority so I can verify how the donated money is used."

It was my money—surely I had every right to see where and how much of it was spent.

At my words, Jung Dahyun's worry-filled face turned pale.

"If they embezzle the donated money……."

"Come on, a donation group wouldn't do that. If they take money saying it's for donations and then spend it themselves, isn't that deception? That's the kind of thing only villains do."

And villains deserved to die.

"I didn't know there were this many places with good intentions in the world. I'll probably get a lot of calls tomorrow."

"……."

And the next day.

Not a single message came from any of the donation organizations that had received my intentions.