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“Ugh….”

The President and the Prime Minister chuckled dryly as they recalled the Capable People who would need a long recovery.

They then exchanged glances and forced a bitter smile.

“It’s quite the sight to behold.”

[ Indeed. ]

They continued their conversation, both picturing the same figure in their minds.

“How delighted must they have been to see us losing our minds?”

[ They probably thought it was the perfect opportunity. That’s their nature, isn’t it? ]

“And on top of that, they must’ve seen the half-crazed Americans… Haha. The more I think about it, the more nauseated I feel. Just picturing those bastards cheering with joy is truly, utterly infuriating.”

In their minds, they envisioned the country that would benefit the most when Korea and Japan were at each other’s throats.

The beings that profited the most when Korea and Japan were solely focused on fighting each other.

As soon as they judged that the half-crazed Americans would not intervene, those bastards stretched their hands toward Korea and Japan.

When Korea and Japan were fixated on Dokdo, they sent people to sweep up Divine Objects and Magic, those damn bastards.

[ Damn Chinese bastards. ]

The prime suspect, China, was the one brazenly committing terror and stealing the Divine Objects.

[ No matter how I think about it, it can’t be anyone but China. When the opportunity arose in East Asia, they must have leaped at the chance to scoop everything up. ]

The Prime Minister tossed aside his usual indirect talking style and cursed China with a red face.

And the President, far from stopping the Prime Minister, chimed in.

“Who else besides Russia and China would resort to such audacious and downright foolish acts? But the likelihood of it being Russia is slim. Why? If Russia had acted, the U.S. would not have stayed silent.”

[ Exactly. No matter how bad things look, isn’t Russia the U.S.’s arch-nemesis? So it can’t be Russia. ]

“And just look at what the Chinese are doing. It’s obvious, isn’t it? They’re rampaging around the world with their eyes wide open, gathering Divine Objects and Magic….”

[ Yes. It’s exactly as you say. Obvious, obvious. They must have decided not to miss this chance to steal from both Japan and Korea! ]

They were convinced.

It was definitely China that stirred the pot this time.

When Korea and Japan were focused on Dokdo, it was China that committed terror and stole their items.

Evidence?

There was none.

No traces remained from how thoroughly they prepared.

But isn’t there such a thing as a gut feeling?

“According to reports, these damn bastards in Korea are using EMP to wreck everything, taking hostages, and planting bombs. The way they handle hostages shows a blatant disregard for human life. Isn’t it obvious? What country, overflowing with people, regards human life as lightly as a fly, if not China?”

[ In Japan, they were bombarding everything like it was nothing. Using that many bombs without a care? The culprit is obvious. It’s got to be China. It’s bombs of a level that couldn’t be used without state backing. ]

A dismissive attitude towards life.

Untraceable bombs.

The country that benefited the most.

All of this was screaming one thing.

It was China.

The President and Prime Minister were certain, cursing China.

And amid the strange camaraderie formed from their mutual cursing of China, they silently agreed to stop wasting energy on each other and focus on containing China.

—

In a peculiar atmosphere within a building.

On its top floor, a man was lying on a bed.

Or rather, could this even be called a bed?

The sparse and desolate interior seemed to serve some intent, and it was hard to call what the man lay on a true bed.

Stone.

What he lay on was a massive stone.

Well-polished, flat, and shining granite.

About the size of a king-size mattress.

This stone, carved and shaped into a square, sat desolately in a corner of the top floor.

But contrary to its claim, no matter how you looked at it, that stone could not possibly be regarded as a bed.

It was too finely shaped and trimmed to even resemble one.

No, it wasn’t a bed.

Not a bed…

Right.

An altar.

It’s more fitting to describe it as resembling an altar.

An altar painstakingly made by someone who sculpted a massive stone with their own hands.

A very primitive form of altar.

And on top of that “altar” was the man.

Dressed in luxurious silk pajamas, looking like royalty or nobility, he rested his chin in his hand, gazing at the void as if he had nothing to do.

Or perhaps like a rabbit waiting as it stared blankly at a door.

Thus, the man maintained his focus in one position for a while.

What he was looking at was the elevator.

From the elevator came sounds of a rope being pulled and machinery operating, while the numbers displaying the floor kept changing, informing that the elevator was in operation.

And finally, the elevator’s number stopped, with a ding sound as it arrived at the top floor. The doors slid open, and people began spilling out, calling for the man.

“Hey, big brother! Are you alive?”

To some, he was big brother.

“Oppa…? I came to see you….”

To some, he was oppa.

“Jinseong, are you alright?”

To some, he was Jinseong.

And.

“Tsk….”

To someone, he was family, though no blood connected them yet they belonged to the same fence.

As such, they approached the man who lay on the altar with their varied emotions.

—

“I truly appreciate you all coming to visit me.”

Jinseong welcomed those who emerged from the elevator, straightening his posture.

He sat up on the stone and stretched out his hand, pulling an invisible chair from afar closer to him.

As his hand reached out, the chairs, seemingly caught by an unseen force, gently floated and settled near the stone he lay on, while a folding table that had been propped against the wall also unfolded with a rustle, settling beside the chairs.

“They’re not the best chairs, but you should find them suitable enough to sit on for a while,” he said, inviting them to take a seat before him.

And so, the family of the Lee Clan and Park Jinseong gathered in one place.

For the first time since his coming of age ceremony.

Lee Yang-hoon.

The wives of Lee Yang-hoon.

And both Iserin and Iarin as well.

All had come together.

Once everyone was seated, Lee Yang-hoon, who had been looking at Jinseong for a moment, finally spoke.

“I saw the video.”

A short, rough statement.

But it carried a weight of various emotions.

“The flames were quite something. It seems there are some aftereffects.”

Lee Yang-hoon looked at Jinseong with displeasure.

Though most of Jinseong’s body was covered in silk pajamas, even the areas exposed—his neck and hands—could convey his condition.

His skin had turned bright red.

A shiny liquid that didn’t seem like sweat gleamed on his skin.

Most of that shine was likely from ointment applied to soothe and heal the burns, but even amid that ointment, there were liquids that looked neither like ointment nor sweat.

That was surely the pus from the burns.

“I’ve heard that if you apply the medicine properly and take some rest, it will heal without a scar. Is that true?”

“Yes. The doctor also said so, and I believe it. There’s no need for anything special; if I simply use the medicine given at the hospital, I think I’ll recover quickly. It’s truly a fortunate thing.”

“Ugh.”

Lee Yang-hoon clicked his tongue at Jinseong’s response, then pulled something from the shopping bag he had placed on the table.

It was a luxurious-looking wooden box.

“I understand how busy a man who just stepped into society must be. Can a man waste his time on such things?”

He said this as he opened the box.

Clank.

With a small sound, the opened box revealed its insides like a clam showing its flesh.

As the box opened, cold dry ice emitted smoke, drifting downward like mist, flowing downwards, cold like the breath of a female ghost.

Just like clouds laden with sorrow cascading into a waterfall.

And at the center of that chilling air, something half-hidden in the dry ice smoke appeared.

“It’s an elixir I obtained from Nepal.”

It looked like a dried caterpillar, no bigger than a pinky joint.

Its unimpressive appearance seemed flawed for an elixir.

“It’s a cordyceps found in the dwelling of a snow leopard. It’s been frozen for decades in the home of a creature akin to a spirit. Though it’s not strong, it contains cold energy, so it might help with your burns. Consider it nourishment.”

Yet despite its unimpressive exterior, its origin was extraordinary.

A snow leopard, an animal seldom seen even by those traversing the Himalayas, was discovered in the dwelling of one that was almost a spirit.

Moreover, it’s said to contain cold energy due to the influence of the snow leopard.

Just considering its value as a collectible, it was likely quite expensive.

And besides, it’s not strong, but it contains cold energy?

Since it’s not powerful, there’d be less repulsion, making it an ideal elixir for nourishment.

He must have sourced it for thousands.

Yet, Lee Yang-hoon offered this product worth tens of millions without saying a word.

He simply tossed it out, saying it was for nourishment.

Jinseong smiled at Lee Yang-hoon’s consideration.

“This will be a great help. I’ll be sure to consume it.”

 

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