Chapter 98

Chapter 98. Aftermath of the Scenario (2)

The Church of the Morning Star.

According to what Daji had said last time, the various evil acts such as human experimentation had been carried out by executives like Archbishop Mun Gihwan.

Ha Mina, the leader of the Church, had supposedly been confined and drugged, so she had been unable to interfere in those matters.

"There are still too many unclear things about that place. When we went to headquarters last time, the situation changed too quickly, so we couldn't properly investigate anything."

They had met Daji disguised as Ha Mina and heard about the internal situation, but in the end they still hadn't verified the details.

"Anyway, Lee Hyunje decided that we can't leave the Church alone. But we can't just storm in, so for now he's demanded an explanation."

"They haven't answered yet?"

"Nothing."

"Hmm. It's not like they'd obediently admit wrongdoing."

After the fact that Ha Mina had already died came to light, Church headquarters seemed to have fallen into chaos.

Now they were being asked to explain themselves.

They were probably struggling over how to respond.

"Ah, then you people are heading to Hanam next."

"That's what it looks like."

"Understood. Then I'll need to take that into account before I speak."

Number 49 nodded, then grinned.

"Everyone, I have a proposal of my own. Would you like to hear it?"

"That smile doesn't inspire much trust."

"Oh, come on! Trust me a little!"

At Kang Yujin's cold voice, Number 49 slammed the table in frustration.

After finishing the conversation, Number 49 walked out of the restaurant.

Then they lightly jumped up onto the roof.

"Looks like they're going toward the Church after all."

"I see."

The one who answered Number 49 was a woman seated on the rooftop, enjoying the sunlight.

A bewitchingly beautiful being capable of captivating people.

Daji.

"In that case, I should accompany them and help. I was the one who remained inside the Church while pretending to be Ha Mina."

"Yes. The Nameless King wants that too."

After the Scenario ended, Daji officially began working under the Nameless King.

Originally, Daji could have simply disappeared somewhere beyond people's sight.

But she had decided to place herself under the Nameless King for a while, both to observe how the world changed and to decide how she wanted to live from now on.

She also seemed personally interested in Kang Yujin.

"Lady Daji."

"What is it?"

"The Nameless King more or less trusts you. He thinks you'll become a powerful asset."

"Fufu. What an honor."

Although a portion of her power had been eaten by the Fourth Beast, Daji was still a great fox demon who had lived for thousands of years.

Her power was incomparable to that of an ordinary Contractor.

And because Daji was not a Contractor, she was completely free from the visible and invisible restrictions that normally existed between Constellations and Contractors.

That made Daji an extremely useful card for the Nameless King.

"Just in case, don't start making moves on those people."

"Hm? What exactly do you mean?"

"Don't seduce them! They're all hot-blooded young men! If a stunning beauty like you starts wagging her tail at them, they could fall for you immediately!"

Number 49 raised a finger as they shouted.

"Why are you still wearing such revealing clothes anyway? Didn't you decide to stop seducing and corrupting people?"

"This is simply the style I like. I'd appreciate it if you stopped interfering in a woman's fashion choices."

"I don't know where I'm supposed to look!"

"Oh my."

Daji covered her mouth and smiled.

"Fufu. How cute. I didn't expect that kind of reaction from you."

"C-cute?!"

While Number 49 stared in disbelief, Daji stepped closer and stroked their chin.

"I've been curious for a while. Are Apostles male? Female? Or both?"

"Aaaah! Get away from me, you fox demon!"

Startled by the sudden physical contact, Number 49 flailed while trying to escape her touch.

"Don't worry, cute Apostle."

"You're already doing this. How am I supposed to not worry?!"

"I have no intention of entering that kind of relationship with Kang Yujin or anyone else. I'll act strictly as a collaborator. At least for now."

"Why add something ominous at the end..."

"If I had to say, the one I'm interested in is the Nameless King. Couldn't you arrange a meeting for me? I'm very curious about what kind of person he is."

"Absolutely not!"

Number 49 shouted and shoved Daji away.

Daji giggled as she stepped back.

"Well, in any case, leave the Church issue to me. There were things that bothered me while I was pretending to be Ha Mina, and I wanted to dig around in there anyway. I'll carry out the mission properly."

"I feel uneasy already..."

Number 49 shook their head and sighed.

[The true identity of the Nameless King is Robin Hood!]

[Robin Hood is already active under the Constellation Name, the Merry Outlaw? Haha, everyone, you know one thing but not the second!]

[Robin Hood was not a single person! His legend was formed by combining the deeds of numerous nameless heroes!]

[At the May festivals in England, one of the participants was chosen to play the role of king, and that king was called Robin Hood!]

[Hm? Nameless hero? King? Doesn't that sound like the Nameless King?]

"What nonsense..."

I sighed while watching the Constellation Tube video.

I had been browsing Constellation Tube to get a sense of public opinion, but every video I found was low quality.

"They really just throw out theories without any evidence."

The view counts seemed high, but the comments were largely negative.

That meant the content itself was lacking.

At present, my channel and Jason's channel were ranked first and second in popularity on Constellation Tube.

I had worried that similar channels might appear and threaten our popularity.

But if this was the level of content they were uploading, there was nothing to worry about for a while.

"Still, Constellation Tube will only become more influential if more good videos get uploaded..."

With that thought, I leaned back in my chair and stretched.

My shoulders felt a little stiff.

It was strange that even though I had been freed from a human body, I could still feel human-like sensations.

My heart doesn't beat, but blood comes out if I get injured. I really don't understand this body.

A Constellation's body was definitely different from an ordinary living creature.

At the very least, I didn't seem to have human internal organs.

Yet outwardly, I looked exactly like a human.

I could breathe.

I could sweat.

I don't know...

I briefly closed my eyes while thinking about it.

Then an energetic voice rang out.

"Nameless, I'm back!"

I opened my eyes and saw Number 49.

They had returned after completing the task I'd assigned.

"Nameless, what do you think?"

"What do you mean?"

I answered slowly.

"There are almost no worthwhile videos. Looks like we'll dominate the popularity rankings for a while."

"Not that."

"Then what?"

"The chair! I'm talking about the chair!"

Number 49 pointed at me as I lounged against the backrest.

"How do you like the new chair?"

"Stop shouting. My ears hurt."

"Ow!"

I pushed Number 49's head away with my index finger, and they made a wounded expression.

"Well... it's not bad."

The chair I had originally used was a luxurious one gifted to me by the Count when I first became a Constellation.

But it had been destroyed during Bradamante's attack.

The guest chairs had been destroyed too.

I considered repairing it, but honestly, it had always felt too extravagant and uncomfortable.

So I decided to buy a new one.

"It's comfortable to sit in."

To be honest, I wanted a modern chair.

Apparently those weren't sold here.

Furniture seemed to come mainly in medieval or early-modern styles.

So I ordered something comfortable and durable.

I paid particular attention to durability after watching Bradamante destroy my old chair with a single slash.

"You should've bought something with a more luxurious design..."

"Comfortable and durable is enough."

"Come on. It's completely behind current Spirit Realm trends. Honestly, who spends three million Origin Power on a chair like that these days?"

"Stop nagging about pointless things."

After snapping back, I reached out and operated the observation device.

But unlike before, I didn't have to lean forward and touch the device itself.

What I touched was a screen projected in midair.

"Hmm. Looks like you're handling the projection-type observation device pretty well too."

"It's not that difficult."

I had also replaced my observation device.

The first one I used was the [Mercury No. 1], costing 500,000 Origin Power.

Back then, I bought the cheapest one because I didn't want Number 49 to treat me like an easy mark.

Later, I realized its functions were too limited.

So not long after, I upgraded to the multi-function observation device [BR-93], which could access Constellation Tube.

It cost five million Origin Power, ten times the price of the Mercury No. 1, but it was worth the money.

This time, I bought the latest model.

An observation device called the [Galactica S8].

The price was an unbelievable forty-five million Origin Power.

"It's more convenient than the old devices."

The Galactica S8 was a so-called projection-type observation device.

It projected screens into the air.

It could display multiple screens simultaneously, and simple hand gestures could change the location and size of each one.

It even had a keyboard and mouse, making it far easier to control than previous devices that relied entirely on touch input.

"Hmm. As expected, you adapt quickly."

"Do I?"

"Other Constellations sometimes complain that it's too hard to use and demand refunds."

Since I had been a modern human from the Material Realm, I adapted quickly.

Constellations unfamiliar with computers or smart devices would probably need time.

"Anyway, it feels worth forty-five million Origin Power."

"Right? The more expensive, the better. You should've listened to me sooner. From now on, buy everything I recommend. Got it?"

"You're getting cocky again."

"Ow!"

Number 49 leaned in to brag, so I pushed their forehead away again.

"You have so much Origin Power now. Why are you still being so stingy? Spend boldly!"

"You just used the word overspend yourself."

I sighed.

"My Origin Power certainly has increased... but I have no intention of wasting it."

My Origin Power had now surpassed six billion.

Before the Scenario began, I had around 1.5 billion.

In other words, I gained roughly 4.5 billion Origin Power through this Scenario alone.

Of course, more than half of that came from uploading Hector's video to Constellation Tube.

I had made a famous Constellation like Hector praise me heavily and publicly reveal my Constellation Name.

What's amazing is... it's still increasing.

My Origin Power was still rising.

Not explosively like before, but still rapidly.

Word seemed to be spreading from person to person until it reached even the furthest corners of the Spirit Realm.

At this rate, even if I did nothing for a while, I would probably reach eight billion.

"Buy anything necessary immediately, but don't try to sell me useless junk."

"It's not useless... I only recommend things that seem helpful to you."

Number 49 looked dejected.

"Don't you think you're underestimating my loyalty? No one devotes themselves to you as much as I do."

"Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"When you sell me something, how much commission do you get? Ten percent? Twenty?"

"..."

"Hey, why are you suddenly looking away?"

Just how much profit was this little bastard making off me?

I still didn't know where Apostles sourced their merchandise.

Their ecology remained full of mysteries.

"If you find something genuinely useful, recommend it. I'll consider it positively."

"Really?! Nameless, you're the best!"

"Don't cling to me!"

I peeled Number 49 off and stood up.

"Anyway, you did what I asked, right?"

"Yes!"

Number 49 nodded with a grin.

"Just like you said, I sold that thing to Kang Yujin!"

"Don't say sold it like that..."

I sighed at Number 49's painfully blunt wording.

"I'm glad he bought it. It was pretty expensive."

"One and a half billion Coins."

1.5 billion Coins.

Depending on the person, that was enough money to retire and live comfortably forever.

"But Kang Yujin will use it well."

"Will he really?"

"He will."

I nodded with complete confidence.

"Kang Yujin will use it to develop a new fighting style. It's worth investing 1.5 billion."

Hanam, Capital Region.

An emergency meeting was underway inside the headquarters of the Church of the Morning Star.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?!"

Archbishop Mun Gihwan slammed the desk in frustration.

"Does no one have any idea how we're supposed to get out of this situation?!"

"..."

Only the Church's core executives were present.

They were also accomplices who had confined Ha Mina and taken control of the Church.

But now, all of them sat silently.

"At this rate, Lee Hyunje is going to march an army straight into Hanam! Once the believers learn that the Church Leader is dead, they'll turn against us too, and then we're finished!"

"Um..."

The one who cautiously spoke was Priest Kim Munyeong.

She had originally worked under Bishop Baek Yunho in Cheonan.

"Why don't we just run away? At least we can save our lives."

"Run where?!"

"Well..."

"We can't abandon this place anyway! Where are we supposed to go while leaving all the research results behind?!"

After he shouted that, a heavy silence settled among the executives.

This was different from taking Baek Yunho's research data and escaping Cheonan.

Back then, all they had to do was take the data.

The research "results" here couldn't simply be carried outside.

"Archbishop, there's something I've been wondering."

Kim Munyeong raised her hand.

"Those experiments. What exactly were they for?"

"What?"

"Bishop Baek Yunho seemed to do research simply because he loved research, but you and the others weren't like that, were you? I want to know why you were conducting those experiments."

"..."

At her question, Mun Gihwan fell silent.

But his expression was strange.

He looked as though he'd been caught completely off guard.

And it wasn't just him.

Every executive wore a similar expression.

Every one of them except Kim Munyeong, who had only recently returned to headquarters.

"...?"

As Kim Munyeong stared in confusion, the sound of footsteps echoed.

Click. Click.

This underground room was restricted to executives only.

Everyone who belonged here was already present.

Then who was coming?

The door finally opened, and a woman appeared.

"Everyone is gathered."

The sight of her made everyone gasp.

Mun Gihwan and all the other executives stared in shock.

"Why are you all so surprised?"

"How..."

Mun Gihwan spoke with a trembling voice.

The woman tilted her head slightly.

"I see. The brainwashing is still active."

"B-brainwashing?"

"That's right, everyone."

She slowly looked around.

"Did none of you ever find it strange?"

"W-what...?"

"I possessed the ability to predict the future."

A kind of supernatural power or insight.

The ability to intuitively grasp truths and future events that an ordinary human mind could never understand.

"Do you truly think I wouldn't have known that all of you were going to confine me and try to turn me into a puppet? Or that Daji would kill me and take my place?"

"...!"

At that moment, everyone realized.

The mental control had been lifted, and they finally understood what had really been happening.

"C-Church Leader...!"

"That's right. Your Church Leader. You've all worked very hard."

Ha Mina, leader of the Church of the Morning Star.

She spoke with a cold expression.

"Then let us proceed to the next stage."