Chapter 78

Chapter 78

We’d barely cleared up the misunderstanding, but something about it felt forced.

Like he was making himself accept it.

I didn’t know what he thought of me, but it didn’t sit well. I was a transcendent who’d absorbed some civilization, and he was treating me like a villain picking a fight with everyone he laid eyes on.

Did he have any idea how vicious a bastard like Berserker was?

Come to think of it, did that guy get Immunity to All Poisons and then take a mental attack too?

I’d have to ask him sometime.

“The President is waiting for you.”

Lee Chantae excused himself to talk more with the staff, and I followed Cheon Myeongguk to meet the President.

“Come in.”

The President’s expression as he greeted me was heavier than usual.

I glanced around, and even Cheon Myeongguk’s face had darkened compared to before.

Something must have happened.

I wondered what it was, then a thought flitted through my mind.

Come to think of it, the mood had been similar when the Chinese delegation visited.

“Who do you want me to kill?”

“It’s not that.”

“It isn’t.”

The President and Cheon Myeongguk denied it in a hurry.

It’s not? Maybe the President just found it awkward to bring it up himself.

I looked at Cheon Myeongguk, and he shook his head.

“I think you’ve misunderstood. This isn’t a Zhang Zidong situation. A lot of people are coming to this event—we can’t openly put out a hit on someone.”

“If you just say the word, it’s possible.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Perhaps because I look like an easy target, people tend to pick fights with me.”

“…Well, I suppose with that face you look like a college senior. If someone picks the wrong fight, a few of them will end up dead.”

“You can speak comfortably with me.”

That was me testing the President a little.

Zhang Zidong had been in direct conflict with our national interests, so I’d removed him, but the other transcendents weren’t.

I was curious how the President would act when the sword was placed in his hand.

I wanted a counterpart I could negotiate with—I hadn’t grabbed the hand of someone who wanted to use me for his own benefit.

“It does make me greedy, but that’s not the matter at hand.”

“Your expression was dark, so I misunderstood.”

“Running a country is nothing but stress. If a president’s face gets all smooth and shiny, it means he’s been slacking off. You have to finish your term looking haggard to have worked hard. Haha!”

The President really was something else. No—it was Jeon Hancheol himself who was impressive. The Mayor of Busan and the Mayor of Seoul had been disappointing, after all.

After laughing for a while, the President got to the point.

“I called you because I wanted to know how the confirmation hearing looked to you. The members of the National Assembly didn’t rub you the wrong way too much, did they? Administrator Jung included.”

Was he asking because he thought I might take it badly? If anything, that showed he gave a lot of thought to how I felt.

But why did it feel less like managing a person and more like managing explosives?

“It doesn’t matter. I just keep track of who said what in my head.”

“…That’s what seems to be the problem.”

“I’ll make sure no one thinks trouble arose from this.”

“The focus of the conversation has drifted quite a bit.”

The President shook his head and let out a small laugh. The mood that had been about to turn serious softened.

The topic shifted to the event in Tokyo.

“This event is going to be quite eventful. Japan is pulling out all the stops to show it’s still standing strong. And the various countries are going to put their heads together on how to respond to the newly designated Harmful-class Level 8 Plus monsters.”

Apparently the controversy over Harmful-class Level 8 Plus monsters was hotter than I’d thought.

Until now, a Harmful-class Level 8 monster could be hunted without much danger if a transcendent was involved, but a Plus requires either one more transcendent or more than double the supporting force.

So there was heated debate over the Nuri hunt, which could be called the first case, and several of the places that had faced the newly appeared Plus-tier monsters had suffered heavy losses and were blaming me.

Why blame me for being weak themselves?

Well, it’s their freedom to badmouth me.

But if they do it in front of me, I just won’t hold back.

The President was clearly about to tell me to exercise restraint…

“If you go and they pick a fight, don’t hold back—let them have it.”

“…That’s not what I was expecting you to say.”

“What good are people who only doubt us, anyway? If we share hunt information and they doubt it, they should pay the price. If someone extends goodwill, you shouldn’t criticize them, at the very least. So I prepared this.”

At the President’s nod, Cheon Myeongguk handed me a document he’d been holding. Scanning the contents, I saw it listed the transcendents attending the event, their affiliated countries, countries of origin, ages, genders, dispositions, and how they had commented on me.

Was he telling me to wipe them out openly?

But looking through it, no one had said anything worth dying over.

It was clear they were blaming me to save face for their own weakness.

Among them, a guy named Guillermo was the most outspoken. He was a Mexican transcendent who’d said he lost his closest friend to this Harmful-class Level 8 Plus monster.

He should be blaming the monster that killed his friend—why was he throwing a fit at me?

Then again, most people blame others when they fail.

Looking at what they’d said, I could let it slide, but if they pulled the same stunt in Japan, I wouldn’t forgive them.

Seeing all the insults compiled like this was a novel experience. Was this the power of a summary?

People all over the world had really chewed me up and enjoyed it.

“Just don’t kill them all.”

“Anyone hearing that would think I kill everyone who annoys me.”

“……”

Surely he didn’t actually think that?

Come on, no way.

*

Before monsters appeared, Incheon to Tokyo took a little over two hours. But after monsters appeared and blocked the flight routes, causing hundreds of planes to crash, we had to detour around them.

It took us four hours to reach Tokyo after leaving Incheon.

I traveled with Lee Chantae.

“In my personal opinion, Japan is an excellent partner.”

His first impression was gruff, but having spent time with him up close, this man was a chatterbox.

He especially loved laying out information he knew.

He said he didn’t normally like attending these events, but with his guild currently on shaky ground, he’d decided to go to Tokyo to secure government support.

Government support was sweet, apparently?

Given how he’d thanked me right after the Nuri hunt, and how quick he was to read the times and shift his stance despite his heavy appearance, he was sharp.

Still, he was almost too honest with me.

“Japan and we have a great deal to gain from each other. Getting stronger than necessary isn’t good, but neither is weakening. Ah, this is just my personal view—do you have different thoughts about Japan?”

“I don’t think much about it. Not a bad partner, I suppose?”

“That’s a relief. If you thought ill of them, we’d have had to readjust our relationship too.”

Did my opinion carry enough weight to affect the Avant-garde Guild?

Lee Chantae said that many around him shared similar views, and that many worried I might antagonize Japanese transcendents the way I had when I killed Zhang Zidong.

So many pointless worries.

Seeing my reaction, Lee Chantae tossed out a remark.

“That’s only natural. We need to accurately grasp the influence you hold. To those who know your power, your intentions will become a crucial moment that determines the future.”

It was similar to what others around me said.

I couldn’t easily figure out whether this was a constitution thing. If my say held as much weight as my power, the country of South Korea should just move in perfect unison at my word.

Maybe it was like how the mood sometimes turned chilly when I asked a question.

I like jokes too, you know.

What a difficult problem this was.

Meanwhile, our plane arrived in Tokyo.

The first order of business was simple.

Go straight to the hotel and do interviews with reporters. Then rest for two days, and once the event opens, just show my face a few times.

The practical work would be handled by the government’s delegation, and all I had to do was add a few remarks to the Nuri hunt briefing.

Normally, people used this time to get friendly with transcendents from other countries, but why bother? I planned to buy the anime Blu-ray box Yunhee had mentioned.

As the plane landed, a landscape both similar to and unfamiliar from Korea came into view. Japan, an island nation surrounded by sea, had prioritized defending the greater Tokyo area when monsters appeared—and succeeded. So it retained its cityscape, considered among the finest in the world.

I’d cleared immigration without a hitch and was heading for the airport exit when suddenly thunderous cheers erupted from outside.

Kyaaaah!

“What’s that? A monster?”

“It’s not a monster’s presence.”

“Then?”

“Must be a ghost they’re seeing.”

I and the rest of the delegation passed through the exit to see hundreds of people cheering.

Those people were clearly waiting for people like us, but the signs they held said… Choi Junho? Head Breaker?

…It was me?

Why were those people waiting for me?

And why were there hearts next to my name?

While I stood there failing to process the situation, another wave of cheers erupted.

Junho-sama!

Head Breaker-sama!

“……”

“Remarkable. I knew a fan club had formed in Korea, but I didn’t realize Japan was affected to this extent. The name Choi Junho will become a brand.”

And with that, I heard the word K-transcendent, which was chilling just to hear.

So this was how Lee Chantae’s words could flip your stomach. Must be nice to talk so comfortably when it’s not your problem.

Only then did the situation before I left the country start to make sense.

Why Jin Sejeong had told me to do full makeup before going.

At first I’d thought it was strange that she said it was for national dignity, but seeing the scene before me, I understood that meaningful smile she’d worn at the end.

You tricked me, Jin Sejeong!

This was a first for me, so I couldn’t immediately think of how to respond.

Even now, they were shouting Junho-sama, Head Breaker-sama.

“Why not wave your hand?”

At Lee Chantae’s words, I reflexively raised my hand, and another round of cheers erupted. Lee Chantae smiled contentedly beside me, and I was dumbfounded.

He should be giving me advice, and here he was pouring fuel on the fire.

“Let’s go.”

I had to endure an inexplicable sense of embarrassment until I escaped the airport.

Me—once the worst, most vicious villain who’d plunged the world into terror—getting idol treatment.

Surely that absurd lore of theirs wasn’t spreading to Japan too?

Come on, no way.

Anyway.

Just you wait, Jin Sejeong.

Just you wait, Lee Chantae.

*

Even after returning to the hotel, there was no rest. No sooner had I changed clothes than I went down to the Convention Center with a few staff and was cornered by Japanese reporters for interviews.

The Japanese reporters’ tendencies were similar to our country’s. They wanted to know how I assessed their country (Japan), and they wanted comments on their transcendents and promising Hunters.

I mentioned my meeting with the Awakened Minister last time, said I hoped the alliance between Japan and Korea would grow stronger, and made brief comments about Japan’s transcendents and prospects.

Jin Sejeong had said they’d ask about this, so I’d skimmed a few lines.

The Japanese reporters loved it.

They liked it more than I’d expected.

For example, my assessment of one Japanese transcendent went like this:

“The serene Immovable Heart of Japanese transcendent Tsuyoshi is so remarkable that South Korean transcendents take note and Chinese transcendents study his technique. I also think highly of him for maintaining a spirit unshaken under any circumstance. I believe Tsuyoshi is a talent who can contribute greatly to the East Asian monster front line, beyond Japan.”

…I’d just taken the nationalist clickbait thumbnail and added some seasoning.

Of course, beneath the surface was the fact that I’d once coveted Tsuyoshi’s gift, Immovable Heart.

I’d thought that if I’d had this gift, I would never have lost myself.

Now, with my own thickened mental barrier and Immunity to All Poisons, it was a gift I no longer needed. Though the fact that Immunity to All Poisons occasionally malfunctioned did bother me a little.

But the Japanese reporters’ reaction was so enthusiastic it left me dazed.

I’d only added seasoning after taking Jin Sejeong’s advice to give good lip service when possible.

Somehow it felt like I’d dug my own grave.

After that, I had to talk with the Japanese reporters for over two hours.

Our country’s staff kept glaring at me resentfully.

This is normal, isn’t it?

“It isn’t.”

A staff member’s voice, worn down by fatigue, snapped me back to reality.

…I guess not.

*

On the first day, after being thoroughly worked over by reporters, I came down to the restaurant for breakfast.

The restaurant was packed with officials from various countries who’d arrived earlier. The sheer variety of races bustling about really drove home that this was an international event.

Since I was in Japan, I should have Japanese miso soup. Was there any with tomato? I heard they grill rice cakes and put them in too.

I was looking around to quietly savor some miso soup in a corner when—

I sensed a familiar energy signature. It was James Reed of the United States.

I recalled the Macho Man, who spoke Korean absurdly fluently and wanted to duel me before smoothly evading.

Following the energy, I saw the back of James Reed’s massive frame, impossible to hide. He was in heated conversation with a handsome middle-aged Latino man. It wasn’t English, so it must have been Spanish.

Then I heard a familiar name.

“Guillermo!”

Same name as the Mexican transcendent who’d been calling me a fraud.

Was it him?

I never thought I’d run into him like this.

As I approached, the two stopped talking and turned toward me.

James Reed flinched as if he’d been caught talking behind someone’s back, and the man presumed to be Guillermo furrowed his brow and fixed an intense gaze on me.

“Junho! It’s been way too long!”

“Yeah, long time. Your Korean’s still good. So who’s this? A friend?”

“A friend, haha!”

He tried to laugh it off awkwardly, so I asked him point-blank.

“Is this Guillermo?”

“……”

“You know what all the people who badmouth me have in common? They can’t do it to my face.”

“……”

“Say it to my face.”

I said it to Guillermo, but he looked like he hadn’t understood. Right, he probably didn’t know Korean. This wasn’t Korea, so I couldn’t force him to use Korean either.

“Junho! Calm the hell down!”

Oh right, this guy had been talking with him. Congratulations, you’re my interpreter.

“You know Spanish, right? Translate.”

“I don’t know Spanish!”

“You were just jabbering in Spanish a second ago.”

"Ah! You caught me! This is such a damn pain!"

James Reed's face twisted, his true skill laid bare.