Chapter 42
Guardian Angel Eve (3)
With the Governor gone, the small world had returned to normal, and there was nothing Lee Shin needed to do there for the time being. He would probably be limited to observing until the next Sabbath dawned and brought him more divine power.
The dinosaurs are still the same.
Checking on his believers through [World Observation] had become part of Lee Shin’s daily routine, and he never forgot to monitor the situation in the [Giant but Lazy World] as well.
The druid dinosaurs, who had provided a small amount of assistance during the recent war against Governor Johan, had undergone no dramatic changes.
[Yawwwn.]
[Sunlight, nice, today.]
Their daily routine still consisted entirely of napping, rolling around, and getting up to graze whenever they became hungry.
Unlike the first and second worlds, the world of the druid dinosaurs was extraordinarily abundant. They did not even need to work to survive. After they ate their fill of grass and lazed around, lush new grass would grow back before they knew it.
It was truly a world where they could spend their entire lives eating and sleeping without a problem.
They were the complete opposite of the dwarves in the small world, who became anxious when they sat still and had the Korean obsession with doing everything “quickly, quickly” ingrained in them.
It was a complete ecosystem in itself, lacking nothing and requiring no assistance. Perhaps that was why not a single believer in Lee Shin had yet appeared in the [Giant but Lazy World].
In truth, it seemed even more difficult for faith to develop in a place like this. Unless it was directed toward a being like Blue Star, who had personally created them, why would dinosaurs with no difficulty surviving ever believe in a god?
There’s nothing wrong with living well.
Lee Shin did not think a world like that was bad either.
A world that did not need a god.
Did that not mean it was already a pleasant place to live?
Of course...
I’ll have to visit it again soon.
Even so, there were always some who needed a god.
[...But, you know.]
Among the druid dinosaurs lazing around...
one dinosaur lying among the others possessed a noticeably different look in his eyes.
[I don’t think... we can spend our entire lives... doing nothing...]
Rex, the druid dinosaur.
His laziness was slowly beginning to fade.
[I’m starting... to get tired of sleeping too...]
It was slow.
But the seed of change had sprouted there as well.
Guiding that change was the responsibility of a god.
Specifically, Lee Shin.
First, I should finish everything I need to do.
He had matters to handle in the real world for now.
—The response to your items has been incredible, you know? Thanks to you, anything labeled “Made in Korea” apparently comes with a premium these days. They’re calling it the country of Mr. “Shin” or something...
“Really?”
—Honestly, I understand why. I can feel the difference whenever I use them myself. They’re so powerful that they’re practically cheating. I think I finally understand why your dad... why Uncle Yeonghwan spends so much money on games. “Make your first purchase and your combat power will soar! We’ll shower you with the best weapons on the server!” This is the real-life version of that!
It had been a while since they had spoken on the phone.
Choi Bom made an enormous fuss about it.
Are they really that impressive?
From Lee Shin’s perspective, it was difficult to grasp just how extraordinary the dwarves’ equipment was.
When they fought in the small world, it didn’t seem like their equipment gave them much of an advantage.
In reality, the dwarves’ excellent equipment was the only reason they had been able to put up a fight at all. But Lee Shin observed them from afar as though watching an automated battle in a strategy simulation game, making it difficult for him to understand that.
He also knew very little about war or combat.
In any field, only someone with a certain level of knowledge could recognize what they were seeing. If someone who knew nothing about sports attended a baseball game, how would they be able to tell whether they were watching Major League Baseball or an amateur league?
If war were compared to a sport, Lee Shin was the sort of person who, rather than understanding the psychological battle between the pitcher and batter, would ask, “So, does the person throwing the ball score the points, or does the person hitting it?”
—Ugh... What’s the point of explaining it when you wouldn’t understand anyway?
“You’re right.”
—Anyway, be careful when you go out. Getting a lot of attention might bring good things, but it also increases the chance that you’ll get dragged into something bad. People in online communities have been saying that simply possessing you would change a nation’s power, and wondering whether a country like China or the United States might abduct you. They’re even saying the government should cut the salaries of National Assembly members and spend the money protecting Lee Shin instead.
“It’s fine. I have...”
—Stop saying, “That’ll never happen to me,” all the time! With the fifth cycle right around the corner, tensions are rising across the world. When a nation’s survival is at stake, what wouldn’t people be willing to do? I-I’m worried about you, honestly.
Choi Bom added the last part in a voice that gradually faded into a mumble.
Lee Shin remained silent for a moment before answering.
“All right. I’ll be careful.”
—You mean it, right? You’d better be.
“So you need to be careful too. Don’t dismiss small injuries by saying they’re nothing or that all the other cadets get them too. I worry about you every day as well.”
—E-every day...?
For some reason, Choi Bom’s voice became even quieter.
Her answer soon followed.
—I-I understand...
“......”
—I have to go now. I’ll call you again next time.
“Okay. Text me whenever you have time.”
—Y-yeah. And...
After hesitating, Choi Bom continued.
—You know... Instructor Choi Mi-hee and the other new instructors aren’t the kind of people who give empty compliments, but they said I’m talented. They told me I’d have no trouble being deployed to the field immediately after graduation, and that once I gained some experience, I’d become better than most hunters.
“That’s amazing.”
—S-so I’m going to train really hard and make sure I graduate successfully. No matter how far ahead you get, I’ll catch up to you soon...
Choi Bom was hesitating more than usual today.
As Lee Shin listened to her, several responses came to mind.
It doesn’t matter if you become an unimpressive hunter.
You don’t have to be good at it.
Just take care of yourself and don’t get hurt.
However, he quickly realized that none of those were the answer Choi Bom wanted to hear.
Although he often missed the mark...
Lee Shin was not an idiot.
“I’ll wait for you.”
He gave her the answer she wanted.
—Hmph! Y-you’d better keep that promise!
Choi Bom soon ended the call.
After lowering his phone, Lee Shin muttered inwardly.
I might get caught up in something bad, huh?
He had never lived while entertaining such thoughts.
Because he had been different from others since childhood, Lee Shin had encountered many unusual situations. However, he had never once faced what could truly be called a “bad situation.”
More precisely, such situations had been unable to reach him.
Lee Shin vaguely understood why.
Still...
Maybe it could happen. At least once.
His circumstances had changed considerably now.
Even then, I’ll probably be fine.
Didn’t Lee Shin have plenty of good people by his side?
Manager Kim Dong-seok, who always looked after him. Hunter Seong Chanyang, who would rush over the moment he contacted her. His dependable friends in the small world.
And now there was Eve, his guardian angel, who could remain by his side at all times...
“Mmmph?”
Right.
Eve.
“Is shumthing wrong?”
Eve’s pronunciation was slurred.
That was only natural.
She had stuffed three ice creams into her mouth simultaneously and was now chewing away. Unable to choose between strawberry, peach, and melon, she had simply chosen all three.
“W-would you like a bite?”
“...No, thank you. You can eat them all.”
“I-I am grateful for your graaace...”
Her body had grown, but her behavior remained exactly the same.
As Eve innocently gazed at him with her star-shaped pupils sparkling, Lee Shin could only chuckle.
Yes, she truly was a good kid.
I’ll be fine, right?
Ding!
「TIP: Once the cooldown has expired, you may replace your [Guardian Angel] as many times as you wish!」
「TIP: Perhaps you should give it some thought...」
「TIP: d_d」
No, he could not do that.
Eve might be unreliable, but she was not an idiot.
“Ah! I-I ate too many heavenly ice bars, and now my h-head... It feels like my head is going to split apaaart...”
“......”
“I-I must be receiving divine punishment for being blinded by g-greed...”
She wasn’t an idiot, right?
「TIP: ...... (3)」
Anyway...
—Mr. Lee Shin, Cult Leader Ji Seongwei has arrived in Korea.
It was time to go to work.
Although calling it work was an exaggeration when all he had to do was share a meal with the commendable cult leader who had worked diligently to evangelize and increase the number of his believers.
Well, in other words...
Nothing unusual will happen, right?
***
“We succeeded.”
In an alley along Teheran-ro in Gangnam...
a shabbily dressed man spoke into his phone.
“He was less guarded than expected. I suppose that’s because he was a nobody who became famous overnight without any proper foundation. He didn’t even have a single competent bodyguard.”
—Then the operation was a success?
“Yes. I have taken over the body of Ji Seongwei, leader of the Lee Shin Salvation Cult. Now I only need to make contact with Lee Shin naturally and smuggle him away.”
—The preparations are already complete. Once you finish your mission, Lee Shin will live for the glory of the mainland. It will be good for him as well. It would be a waste for a man of his caliber to remain confined within such a cramped little country.
“I agree.”
Squelch.
The shabby man raised both hands and swept back his hair. His face and body soon softened and flowed like slime, transforming his appearance.
The beggar-like man became Ji Seongwei, leader of the Lee Shin Salvation Cult, complete with long hair and sunglasses.
It was more than a superficial transformation. His fingerprints, irises, and even genetic information had changed.
It was no different from replacing Ji Seongwei’s mind while retaining his body.
—You can do this, can’t you?
“Failure does not exist for me.”
The man was an operative sent by the Chinese Hunter Association.
Through his trait, [Mind Domination], which allowed him to seize control of another person’s body, he had carried out espionage missions in numerous countries. He was an elite among elite operatives.
His current mission was to seize the body of Ji Seongwei, leader of the Lee Shin Salvation Cult, and smuggle Lee Shin—who was being closely protected by the South Korean government and Dawn Management—into China.
—Devote everything you have to this. We have sent many people already, but for some strange reason, every operation targeting “Lee Shin” has failed. It is difficult even to call them failures. They all collapsed before they could properly begin, as though no harm whatsoever is permitted to befall that man.
“I am different.”
—Yes. I believe in you.
The man was genuinely confident.
He was confident that he would not fail.
No matter how extraordinary he may be, he is still only one human being.
Even renowned S-rank hunters had failed to detect operations carried out through the man’s [Mind Domination]. He was certain that the man people worshipped as “Lee Shin” would be no different.
No matter how extraordinary he was, he was still human.
The operative was proud of one thing.
No one could see through his ability.
As long as they were human.
In the old days, he would have been expected to bow before our great nation and offer those weapons as tribute. Yet he dares exclude our nation alone and sell his treasures to those Westerners? How dare that fool, who doesn’t even know his place...
Lee Shin!
He was a man who lacked even the most basic sense of human decency.
It was only natural that Great Hero Yangtze had been furious.
I’ll teach you just how vast the world truly is. And I’ll show you that no one can disregard our great nation and get away with it!
The man steeled his resolve.
Of course...
“Cult Leader Ji Seongwei?”
“Yes, I am the leader of the Lee Shin Salvation Cult—”
“It seems someone else came with you.”
“...Pardon?”
The one who failed to understand how vast the world was had not been Lee Shin.
It had been the operative.
“The person hiding inside him should come out.”
The man’s ability was unquestionably exceptional.
However, the being standing before him now...
“The person I came here to meet is Cult Leader Ji Seongwei.”
...was not human.
He was a “god.”
「Your soul has been seen through.」
「No one can deceive the eyes of a god.」
「No one.」
「TIP: Worship him.」
「TIP: Prostrate yourself before him.」
「TIP: If you wish to live.」