Doing Good Deeds Will Bring Blessings¿

Breaking News) A bomb exploded in a building in Anyang, leaving fatalities

— What on earth is happening at the end of the year?

— Why does everything feel so chaotic lately?

— I live nearby and heard the explosion.

— Is there some kind of munitions factory around there?

ㄴ As far as I know, that place is a notoriously famous cult building.

ㄴ Yeah, same. I almost got dragged in when I first entered college. I was sitting in a café when someone approached me saying they’d do a psychological test. That was how it started.

ㄴ For real, if you live in that area, this tactic is well known lol. They share a building with the Truelight Guild.

ㄴ Not “share a building,” it’s literally the same thing. Truelight Church = Truelight Guild = cult.

— Wait, Truelight Guild was a cult?

— Isn’t it a pretty famous mid-tier guild? That’s scary as hell.

ㄴ It’s widely known among people who know that it’s based on a cult, but somehow a lot of people still don’t realize it.

ㄴ If the video algorithm goes wrong, you get flooded with videos of the cult leader’s sermons.

— But why would a bomb go off in a guild building?

ㄴ Maybe there was an accident during item research?

— Whoa, another breaking update just dropped, casualties are estimated to be over ten.

— Holy shit, that’s a massive incident.

— May the deceased rest in peace. ▶◀

— Breaking News) Truelight Church leader “Lee Manbok” confirmed dead.

— What the hell lol, the one who died is the cult leader? Really?

— Wasn’t this guy already under arrest?

ㄴ Maybe he was temporarily released, like on special leave or something.

ㄴ Isn’t that only for people with family deaths or serious illnesses?

ㄴ Yeah lol, guess he bribed his way out and then died.

ㄴ Ah, well, good riddance lol.

— No matter what, someone died, what’s with these reactions?

ㄴ Sounds like you don’t know Truelight. Investigative current-affairs shows have covered their scandals plenty of times—exploiting members, committing violence, etc.

ㄴ Exactly. The cult leader was completely insane, but he kept getting his sentence reduced.

ㄴ He’d roll into court in a wheelchair every time, begging for sympathy as an elderly man.

ㄴ Must’ve bribed the judge too. Barely served any time lol. Go watch a documentary.

— If an innocent Hunter had died in an accident, people would be making a huge deal out of it… But a cult leader dies? Who cares, lol.

— This is basically justice being served.

— The justice that the Korean courts couldn’t deliver.

“What are you staring at so hard?”

At Jeong Dajeong’s words, I turned off my phone screen. “Oh, just reading some articles.”

I was only curious about how the news about that Truelight Sect had broken.

There aren’t many articles, considering the scale of the incident.

That was especially true compared to how my Supernatural Test results or the Gwanghwamun Dungeon Break had dominated the news for days. Putting aside the fact that people were accepting Lee Manbok’s death almost cathartically, or that news about dozens of casualties and what really happened behind the scenes was getting little attention—

There’s nothing about me at all.

Of course, the involvement of Yu Hanul and Han Jaeyeong, who had intervened midway, was also completely erased. Honestly, I had expected at least some eyewitness accounts to leak out, given how many Truelight followers there were. How thorough must the media blackout have been?

Han Jaeyeong had mentioned it beforehand.

“They won’t run detailed coverage in the media. Too many sensitive issues are tangled up in this.”

Come to think of it, Gwanghwamun draws unavoidable public attention because of its location, but in general, S-rank Hunters themselves don’t get exposed that often. Each one of them is information that can’t be ignored, economically or militarily. And since the Gwanghwamun Dungeon Break is widely viewed as an attack on the Hunter Management, that tendency is even stronger.

On top of that, the Truelight Sect incident involved extremely provocative elements, like human experimentation on Hunters, so the authorities would naturally be cautious about releasing details to the public, especially the fact that they deliberately turned Hunters into “water balloon” states to extract soul cores.

And that those soul cores could be used to wield another person’s abilities. If that were to become widely known, things would get very ugly, very fast.

That said, the moment the words Central Management came out of Lee Manbok’s mouth, it became worth questioning what this media control was really for. If the Enemy of Humanity were one of the top figures in the Central Management, then this blackout might simply be an attempt to hide the fact that one of their own pawns had been cut off.

Hmm, I really hope that’s not the case.

If the opponent is once again standing at the very top of state power, wouldn’t that mean I’m fighting at a huge disadvantage?

It’s still just speculation for now, though.

Jeong Dajeong tilted his head as he looked at me. “What kind of article did you read to make your face so dark?” He still thought I’d gone to a guild seminar.

I decided to make up a suitable excuse. “They say the Earth’s environment is recovering because all household waste is being dumped into dungeons.”

“…And that’s why you look so gloomy?”

“At the same time, they say the use of disposable products and the amount of trash being produced have skyrocketed.”

There really were related articles floating around. When pollution was choking them, people seemed to reflect a little, but now that they had a place to dump their trash, they were wasting things recklessly again. That trashy mindset itself annoyed me.

Honestly, humans never seem to have any redeeming qualities.

“Well, I get why you’re angry, but staying in a bad mood only hurts you. You can’t control other people anyway. The only thing you can control is yourself.”

Surprisingly, Jeong Dajeong sometimes says things that sound this wise. Just as I was about to admire him a little—

“See? Even Leo thinks th—ow!”

“Kyak!”

Jeong Dajeong, who had been waving a cat toy in front of Leo, nearly got hit by his front paw. I didn’t hesitate and smacked Leo once.

“Meow!”

“Hurts!”

“Leo, I told you not to hit Jeong Dajeong.”

“Mewk!”

“Annoying!”

Leo protested at me in a sharp voice after getting hit. He probably found it utterly absurd to be treated like an actual cat.

That said, Jeong Dajeong wasn’t entirely blameless either. He’d suggested that since Leo was a black cat, maybe he should wear a red ribbon, and even tried to put a velvet ribbon around his neck. He also kept shaking crinkly toys right in front of his eyes. If Leo were a real cat, that’d be one thing—but he’s closer to a monster, so of course it would irritate him.

…Then again, hadn’t he rubbed up against Choi Miyeon like a normal cat? It seems Jeong Dajeong, in particular, just rubs him the wrong way.

“Daon, even so, how could you hit Leo!” Seeing Leo bristling, Jeong Dajeong drooped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he’d hate it this much. I was just trying to get closer to him.”

From Jeong Dajeong’s perspective, no matter how much of a monster he was, Leo acted just like a kitten around me—and since we all lived in the same house, he probably felt they needed to get along.

He really does love animals.

Even though we couldn’t afford to keep a dog or a cat, I’d seen him scrape together what little money he had to feed stray cats now and then. On Sunday mornings, he’d often cry while watching animal-related programs.

“He looks completely like a cat on the outside, even if he’s basically a monster. I guess his habits are totally different.”

“Really? Don’t cats hate being bothered the most?”

“Ugh… that one hit a little close to home.”

Jeong Dajeong pretended to cry as he stuffed all the toys and ribbons into a drawer. Only then did Leo, who’d been on edge, let out a low purr and settle into a corner of the sofa.

“Still, it’s nice. The two of us… no, the three of us, getting to welcome the New Year together.”

Yeah. Thankfully, I was able to welcome a peaceful New Year without getting scolded by Jeong Dajeong.

Oh, how did we make up?

There wasn’t even really a reconciliation. Turns out, Jeong Dajeong had felt bad about hanging up the phone over something so trivial and called to apologize. Thanks to that, I got away without hearing a single lecture. And in any case, I made it back to the house before the New Year.

Honestly, I still don’t really know what meaning there is in spending the New Year together.

“Oh, the countdown’s starting.”

Jeong Dajeong looked at the large TV screen with a slightly wistful expression.

“You’re already becoming an adult, Daon. I can’t believe the day has come already…”

“Why? Is that something to be sad about?”

“Yeah. It feels like time passes way too fast.”

Sometimes, I really can’t understand Jeong Dajeong’s sensibilities. If it were me, I’d be eagerly waiting for the day the younger sibling I had to support grew up quickly and could at least pull their own weight.

Maybe he noticed the puzzled look on my face, because Jeong Dajeong smiled. “What’s with that look? I mean… I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard, but I was happy raising you.”

Among humans, he really was a rare species. If there’s any luck left in this world, it must have been reincarnating me as the younger sibling of someone like Jeong Dajeong. If I’d been born into this world with my past-life memories intact but without growing up under Jeong Dajeong’s protection, I probably wouldn’t have bothered wanting to protect this world at all. Thinking about it that way, maybe the system should be rewarding Jeong Dajeong, not Yu Hanul, for saving the world.

“Five, four, three, two, one!”

On the TV, the anchor called out the shrinking numbers in a bright, energetic voice.

“Happy New Year!”

The bells announcing the new year rang out.

“Congratulations on becoming an adult, Daon.”

To be honest, I’m not sure there’s really that much of a difference between who I was yesterday and who I am today just because the date changed. If anything, the one who truly deserves praise is my blood relative. He raised someone like me all the way to adulthood.

Jeong Dajeong beamed. “And Happy New Year.”

Whether it’s really okay for a demon to receive New Year’s blessings is a bit questionable, but I nodded anyway. “I hope you receive lots of good fortune in the New Year, Brother.”

“You say that like you’re the one handing out blessings.”

No way. I’m closer to a bundle of disasters than a bringer of good fortune.

The system has found traces of a “soul core”.

The system requests assistance from User “Jeong Daon”.

The system presents “partial stat unlocking” as a condition.

Still, I do intend to take care of any disasters that might come about because of me. Staring at the system message, I fell into thought.

Traces of a soul core, huh…

It seems it’s finally given up on trying to drag me into that ridiculous quest by name. And as long as it doesn’t involve being tangled up with Yu Hanul, the so-called hero, there’s no reason for me to refuse receiving information. Honestly, my desire to find that bastard and tear them apart is probably stronger than the system’s.

I just don’t need to show that right now.

I’m no hero, and even if I’ve negotiated a bit with the system, I’m not kind enough to work for free. If the system needs my help, I plan to stall a little and squeeze out a bigger reward.

The compensation I got for waking Yu Hanul last time was way too small.

Back then, things were so urgent that I jumped in without even negotiating exactly how many stats I’d get back—and ended up getting stabbed in the back. On top of that, what I saw in Yu Hanul’s memories was so shocking that by the time I could have protested, too much time had already passed.

I need to remember that the system is wary of me, too.

In this world, the only ones on my side are Jeong Dajeong and Leo. That’s something I always need to keep in mind.

Just then, my phone vibrated softly. Bzzzt!

“When Daon was first born, she was really ugly, but before I knew it… huh? What is it?” Jeong Dajeong, who’d been reminiscing, paused mid-sentence. “…Daon, your phone just buzzed!”

“Is that really so surprising?”

“Of course it is! I’m right here, so who on earth is contacting your phone? Ah, was it an emergency alert?”

So in this world, Leo isn’t the only one on my side after all. Still, the number of people who could contact me was limited, even more so at midnight on New Year’s.

Curious, I checked the screen. Fortunately, it wasn’t an emergency alert like Jeong Dajeong guessed. It was a message from someone whose number I’d saved yesterday.

— Happy New Year, Jeong Daon.

— For the record, this is not a hacking message.

It was Choi Miyeon.

“Who is it?” Jeong Dajeong asked.

Yeah… how should I explain it? We hadn’t known each other long, but we’d seen every ugly depth of each other’s lives. She was probably in the middle of a police investigation, yet she’d managed to send a message right on time.

While I hesitated, Jeong Dajeong started listing names. “Is it Hunter Yu Hanul? Or Guildmaster Han Jaeyeong?”

"Neither."

After answering, I sent a reply.

I know. —

Happy New Year to you too. —

I considered adding something about taking care of her health, but decided against it—saying something that obvious felt inefficient. And almost the moment I sent the reply, my phone vibrated again.

“Guess you’re not exactly a gentleman.”

The two people Jeong Dajeong had just mentioned had sent New Year’s messages.

— Happy New Year. And congratulations on becoming an adult. See you soon.

— Congrats on becoming an adult and taking one more step toward being an official member of the HP Guild~ haha

Compared to Yu Hanul’s neat message, Han Jaeyeong’s was packed with all kinds of chaotic emoticons. Surprisingly, Jeong Dajeong seemed to like them.

“These emoticons are pretty good. Copy them and send them to me. I’ll reuse them for people at work.”

“…I thought you didn’t like Han Jaeyeong?”

“The emoticons aren’t guilty of anything. Hurry, hurry.”

With a sigh, I handed my phone over to Jeong Dajeong.

Still, all things considered, it wasn’t a bad way to start the year.