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Chapter 41

* * *

One hour later.

The Korea-Japan match ended as Seong Jihan had predicted.

1:3

The MVPs for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th matches were all won by Sword King.

The GP settlement was promptly completed in true BattleNet fashion. Seong Jihan, who had hit the jackpot at 37 times the bet, flashed a grin and showed his mobile phone.

“See? The money has been multiplied nicely, right?”

“My blood, sweat, and tears…”

Masied, who had bet on Japan’s 3:0 win and lost his salary, looked as if he was on the verge of tears.

“Think of it as buying the Orb with that.”

Seong Jihan opened the BattleNet market, brought the Arachne’s Orb he had previously added to his cart, and just like that, 500,000 GP vanished, and the Arachne’s Orb appeared in his inventory.

“Here.”

Seong Jihan took out the 500 million worth of relic and tossed it to Masied.

“Uh… what?!”

Masied, catching the Orb, looked at it in disbelief. He then placed it carefully as if it was a precious relic. It was the Arachne’s Orb. To Masied, the item, similar in size and feel to a soccer ball, was recognized by his SSS-grade gift, ‘God of Soccer’, as a soccer ball.

“It recognizes it! It recognizes it as a soccer ball! My Gift… accept it!”

“That’s good.”

“Did you… really think this would work? Is it… really okay for me to have this?”

“We made a deal, didn’t we?”

“Right.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to use it after you’ve lowered your level and changed your class?”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

Masied, who was about to try it immediately, nodded and carefully stored the Orb in his inventory.

“I never thought it would really work…”

Tears filled Masied’s eyes. Though he had hoped, he never truly believed it would become a reality. While others with the same SSS-grade gift showcased their skills in national matches, he was stuck in Bronze, simply kicking a soccer ball around.

‘But now… it’s different!’

Like in 2010, when he reigned as the legend of the soccer world, this time he would be the best in BattleNet. The will of a man who once stood at the pinnacle reignited with determination.

“Thank you, truly.”

“It’s nothing much.”

‘Nothing much?’

Masied had seen the amount of GP Seong Jihan had received from the bet.

‘Seong Jihan earned 4 million GP from this bet.’

Considering the Orb cost 500,000 GP, Seong Jihan had given away 1/8 of his winnings for someone he had barely met twice.

And not just that. He had treated Masied with respect, believing he could be the best.

To Masied, who had lost his self-esteem, this meant a lot.

‘… Jihan, I will repay this kindness a hundred, no, a thousand times over.’

On that day, the gratitude Masied felt went far beyond Seong Jihan’s expectations.

After all, he had brought an end to a decade of wandering and hardships.

‘I will live up to your expectations… and repay you in kind.’

It was a moment when Seong Jihan’s goal of winning over the heart, rather than just binding through a contract, perfectly aligned.

At the main entrance of Sword Palace.

As Seong Jihan was about to part ways with Masied and enter, he narrowed his eyes. There were reporters stationed outside. Just then, flashlights went off all around as reporters swarmed a foreign car pulling up to the entrance.

“Ms. Yoon Seah! Can you comment on today’s match?”

“Did you happen to see Sword King’s interview?”

“Sword King said ‘he doesn’t have a daughter’. What do you think about this statement?”

‘What?’

Seong Jihan quickly rushed to where the reporters were gathered.

“These people… This is not a place for these kinds of questions!!”

The stern-looking chauffeur tried to fend off the reporters, but…

“Step aside, sir!”

“Ms. Yoon Seah! Just a quick statement!”

“Ms. Yoon Seah!”

It’s a universal truth: there’s no resisting a horde.

The reporters quickly overpowered the chauffeur’s defenses, and the cameramen swiftly focused on the backseat.

Seong Jihan hadn’t caught Sword King’s interview since he turned off the TV after seeing the match results.

But seeing the reporters’ uproar, it was evident that Sword King had said something provocative.

‘These guys…’

Seong Jihan swiftly held the reporters back.

Even in the real world, where his power was limited, his Force had grown enough to control dozens of people.

“Wha- What?! I can’t move!”

“That’s… That’s Seong Jihan!”

The reporters, who were previously aggressive, went silent. Compared to Yoon Seah, who isn’t a player, Seong Jihan was a more formidable entity.

“Mr. Seong Jihan!”

“Did you see Sword King’s interview today?”

“We’d like your comment on the interview!”

The reporters started their barrage of questions. Even if their bodies couldn’t move, their mouths certainly could.

“…”

Seong Jihan chose to stay silent amidst the reporters’ onslaught.

“Let’s go, Seah.”

“…Okay, uncle.”

Seong Jihan, after bringing out Yoon Seah from the backseat, nodded to Kim Heesu.

“Thank you, Ms. Heesu, for bringing Seah. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Yoon Seah also looked apologetic.

“I’m sorry, Heesu. And I apologize to the driver too for asking for a ride today.”

“Don’t worry! These reporters are too much. I’ll talk to the ones from our side later!”

Kim Heesu, coming from a media family, had the authority to reprimand the reporters.

“…Thank you.”

As Yoon Seah waved to Kim Heesu, her expression quickly turned cold when she faced the reporters.

“I’m sorry, but I have nothing to say in response to your questions.”

“Ms. Yoon Seah! Ms. Yoon Seah! Uh…”

“Sword King clearly mentioned in the interview that… Uh…”

The reporters, ignoring Yoon Seah’s words continued to ask questions but were shut down by Seong Jihan.

“Enough.”

Seong Jihan’s Force made sure they couldn’t utter another word.

Seeing that, Kim Heesu’s driver unknowingly shrank.

He had also experienced this terrible terrible experience once.

It was as if your whole body had given up on you and wouldn’t listen to any of your commands.

“We won’t be giving an interview today. The paralysis will be released once we enter the building, so wait patiently.”

Reporters, with their mouths shut, could only nod in response.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay, uncle.”

Leaving the reporters in a state of paralysis, Seong Jihan and Yoon Seah entered the Sword Palace together.

Kim Heesu, who had watched Sword King’s interview on her smartphone, murmured,

“Sword King gave such an interview…”

She glanced at Yoon Seah’s retreating figure.

He really abandoned his daughter.

“It’s truly over for Seah, isn’t it?”

One corner of Kim Heesu’s mouth curled up in a faint smile.

* * * * *

“Uncle, did you hear… what my father… no, what Sword King said?”

Was she trying to completely come to terms with the situation? Yoon Seah referred to Ito Ryuhei as Sword King.

“Honestly, I’m not sure.”

Seong Jihan pretended not to know and entered the penthouse of the Sword Palace.

He thought everything had gone smoothly after obtaining the GP and signing the contract with Masied.

He wondered why the reporters made such a fuss about Sword King’s interview.

“We can watch it on TV, right? Uncle, let’s watch it together.”

“Do we really need to watch that interview?”

“…Maybe it will be better if we watch it together?”

Yoon Seah gripped Seong Jihan’s clothes tighter. She had always been resilient, dealing bravely with her father’s decision to become a Japanese citizen.

But today, she seemed a bit vulnerable.

“Alright, let’s watch it.”

Seong Jihan walked into the living room and sat on the sofa.

Behind the sofa, there was a display of Sword King’s shattered face.

He turned on the TV and flipped through the channels.

As expected, many channels were highlighting Sword King’s recent interview.

He settled on a channel showing the interview from the beginning.

Reporter: “Why did you behave that way during the first match?”

Referring to the first match where Sword King committed suicide.

Sword King Ito Ryuhei responded fluently in Japanese: “It was my first time coordinating with the Japanese national team, and there were many awkward moments. In order to align properly with them, I had to face numerous trials and errors. Hence, I took a drastic measure.”

Reporter: “So you committed suicide…”

Sword King: “It was more of a tactical showmanship than suicide. Now that I have joined the Japanese national team, we have become a prominent force in Northeast Asia. But the tactics were still old. It was time to break the defensive and passive tactics, so I had to resort to this strategy.”

Seong Jihan chuckled. Sword King tried to justify his suicide as a tactical move.

The interview continued to review the subsequent matches, all of which Sword King dominated. He was seen beaming throughout.

Sword King: “As expected, Korea was weak.”

Reporter: “Really?”

Sword King: “Yes. Now that we have completely united in the Japanese spirit, the Korean national team was no match for us. Korea seemed to be the weakest in the Northeast Asia league.”

Reporter: “So, you’re saying Korea will end up at the bottom of the league?”

Sword King: “Absolutely.”

Sword King, Yoon Sejin, who was once the hope of Korea, now went by the name Ito Ryuhei and was declaring his former homeland would end up last in the league.

Finally, the interviewer touched on the personal topic.

Reporter: “There have been several issues regarding the daughter you left behind in Korea. What are your thoughts on this?”

To this, Sword King Ito Ryuhei clearly answered: “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

Reporter: “What?”

Sword King: “I don’t have a daughter. I gave up everything to become a citizen of Japan. So, I don’t have a daughter.”

Watching this, Seong Jihan muttered, “So that was it.” Yoon Seah, having seen the interview, had a smile on her face, as cold as Sword King’s.

“So, that’s why the reporters swarmed.”

“…”

“Why would they cling to such a distasteful interview? Truly disgusting, right?”

“Yes. Don’t bother about them. They’re just filthy beings.”

At his words, Yoon Seah, who let out a faint chuckle, gripped Seong Jihan’s collar tightly.

“Uncle, can I ask you for a favor?”

“What favor?”

“You promised that if I found a clue to that quest, you’d grant me one wish.”

The Colosseum Map quest was the last quest remaining for Seong Jihan after completing all the Bronze quests.

[Epic Quest]

[Find the Shadow Queen located near the spectators in the Colosseum Map and provoke her.]

[Reward: 50,000 achievement points.

The Constellation, Shadow Queen’s interest.]

A quest of the hardest difficulty within the Bronze tier, where you can earn a constellation’s interest.

Yoon Seah mentioned it with confidence in her voice.

“Seah, I’ll gladly fulfill all your wishes even if you didn’t find a clue.”

“Aww, that’s no fun!”

Yoon Seah smiled weakly and spoke.

“I think… I’ve found her. The ‘Shadow Queen’.”