◈ Episode 21. The Existence of Love and Hate (2)

Bulkkuck─

No. 1, Lee Eun-hye.

President Lee Jun-wook, Mrs. Choi Kang-hee.

The only married one of the four siblings.

“Arang. Say hello to Uncle Ho Yeol-i.”

“Hi, Uncle Ho Yeol-ri!”

The eldest sister held her daughter, Arangi’s hand tightly and opened the door to my room.

No. 2, Lee Ji-yoon.

No. 2 walked in after her and said to me.

“Ho-yeol, your dye job is awesome. You look like an idol. Idol.”

No. 3, Lee Yerim.

He looked at me and flashed me a rotten smile.

“Idol is bullshit. My mom would faint if she knew. She’d faint if she knew. My hair is already graying. Your son lost his hair before you did.”

Four women burst through the front door.

In the past, I would have panicked.

I would have been embarrassed, like I’d been caught with something I’d been hiding.

But now I was brazen.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. Have you been well, sisters?”

A polite greeting, a bow from the waist down.

The sincerity that came from the formality.

It was the sisters who became serious in response to my greeting.

No. 2 poked Wensu in the side.

“It’s ……, I think it’s her concept.”

“That’s right, where’s our dear old Ho Yue?”

“When I called her sister, she was half-heartedly…….”

I explained most of the situation on the call.

Not long ago, I became a player.

It changed my speech and appearance.

I quit my job because of that inevitable situation.

Finally, Lee Ho-yeol in the news said it was me.

Then he came running.

He said he couldn’t believe it without seeing it with his own eyes.

Of course, I had no right to refuse.

‘……I’m guilty of something.

Even if I wasn’t guilty of anything.

When you’re surrounded by Nos. 1, 2, and 3, and you’re suffering from their bite, even their brashness becomes your fault.

In short, it’s a natural enemy relationship.

But as I said, I have changed.

I can act brazenly in the face of my enemies.

“The wind is cold. What would you like for tea?”

We exchange glances.

“……You, what is it?”

“Does our Ho-yeol have a girlfriend?”

“That’s nice, but what’s wrong? Ho-yeol, do you want coffee or arango or something hot? Uncle~ I’ll have some too~”

I skillfully took out the teacups and prepared the tea.

As they looked around, No. 2 and Wensu whispered.

“He’s got a girlfriend. Otherwise, how could a man’s house be so clean? And what the heck, look at that teacup. It’s just so delicate…….”

“Even if that’s true, the house is so clean, I can’t see a hair on it.”

“Look at this, look at this refrigerator. You’ve been caught.”

Wen-soo took a lettuce from the refrigerator.

No. 2 picked up a chicken breast.

“Since this is all you have in the fridge, I’m guessing your girlfriend is on a diet. Tell your sisters the truth. What does she do? How old is she? Is she pretty?”

……There’s a lot of misunderstanding to clear up.

After that, we sat down and talked calmly.

This cleared up most of the misunderstandings.

I had hard evidence.

“……You’re the one eating the lettuce and chicken breast?”

“Well, seeing as how I’m feeling better, I guess so, dude.”

“No way, I’m living on my own and I can’t be bothered to feed myself!”

“Yerim. Don’t judge the world by your standards. You’re so full of yourself, I thought I had a new girlfriend.”

“So Ho-yeol picked out this teacup too, you’re quite discerning~”

You did a good job preparing the refreshments according to the formalities.

Maybe it was because it was warm and sweet after all.

The reactions became more harmful.

Except for Wen-soo, who looked somewhat resentful.

But there was one topic I couldn’t avoid.

My eldest sister asked me.

“So, what do you think? Is it worth it?”

It was a short question.

I knew the subtext was that it wasn’t simple.

It was common knowledge that player activity was dangerous.

So I couldn’t be the first to say it.

Dangerous is not dangerous.

I couldn’t lie.

Wensu warned me.

“You, look us in the eye and tell us.”

……They don’t call them enemies for nothing.

I knew it was a big lie from a young age.

But in this moment, there was no lie in me.

“It’s a good fit.”

I didn’t say it to keep my blood relatives from worrying.

It was a statement of confidence.

In the Count Ascura Raid, I realized my potential and my limitations.

I knew my vessel.

I knew I was cut out for it, at least when it came to beating up demons.

I could answer without the slightest hesitation.

“……Well, I don’t think you’re lying.”

“Yi Yerim, it’s you again. Didn’t I tell you that Ho Yeol is you? Unlike you, he’s been able to take care of himself since he was a kid. He’s a natural, so the news will always talk about him.”

“Really? The youngest one says that, so the eldest sister can relax a bit.”

……It was easier than I expected.

Maybe because of her confident demeanor.

Anyway, I asked my oldest sister.

“Dad, does your mom know about this?”

“Dad, Mom, they don’t know yet because they’ve been busy making dumplings since dawn today, but they’ve been talking about you on the news all day, so I’m sure they’ll find out soon enough. Well, your hair color. The color of your hair. There’s no way your mom and dad wouldn’t recognize you even if you were so different.”

“Nadunadoo! I recognized Uncle Ho-yeo-ri!”

Tsudam tsudam─

I stroked Arang’s head and said.

“We’ll have to tell your father and mother the truth, too.”

“Never mind, we’ll tell them.”

……Nega?

Wensu looked at me and said.

“Mom and Dad aren’t like us. Even if you go on a trip somewhere, they worry about you until you get home, just like you told us. How much do you think they’d worry if you said it so casually?”

In other words, she said she’d speak for them.

…… Yeah, I thought, that’s better for me.

I nodded, thinking to myself.

I heard a small, muffled laugh.

“But my dad, my mom, my sister, my sister, it’s like old times.”

“It does. It’s not just me, is it?”

“……?”

“Let’s see, it’s been about 10 years, Lee Ho-yeol, you’ve got a double whammy. All of a sudden, he’s respectful to us. He even says hello to his mom and dad.”

“……!”

“But he was cute back then. First of all, he had a cute face. He was cute back then. Now he’s changed. ……. No. Now that I look at it, does it look like that face is coming back?”

“Come to think of it, Ho-yeol, weren’t you just insisting on dying your hair silver?”

My black history!

……I was a natural enemy.

Demon hunters, demons, and more than just enemies.

.

.

.

I gently handed the sleeping Arangi from my arms.

It whimpered-

“I’ll go. Stay in touch.”

“I want to nag you, but there’s nothing to nag you about.”

“I’m going.”

I bowed politely.

Just as I was about to close the door.

Tsk-tsk.

Wensu stuck her foot through.

“One last nag from this elder sister.”

“……?”

“Slap her when she’s down. That’s actually what I came to tell you, us.”

I don’t think my sisters got the last word, but…….

I know what they mean without having to explain it.

When I nod, she adds.

“And one last thing, really. Save well while you can. And above all, no guarantees. You know?”

At the sound of that, it dawned on me.

Yeah, no guarantees.

I don’t know why my house got a red flag…….

“……Wait, that’s not it.

Reward for clearing the crack!

Integrity, innocence, take what you can get!

*.

Rift clearing rewards.

This was the main source of income for players.

The amount of the reward was measured by the proper level of the rift, and players were rewarded according to their contribution.

Countries were also involved in providing these rewards.

Rifts, time bombs that could lead to global disaster.

It made sense to reward players for closing those rifts, but the national rewards were literally pennies on the dollar.

“I understand that the national budget is limited, but…….”

“But shouldn’t they be able to increase it?”

“That’s why we can’t pay for labor, man.”

So.

Who’s Paying Players Huge Rewards?

It was Cosmo, the developer of Arcana.

No, I wouldn’t call them Cosmo anymore.

All but one of them left.

He moved to AAU.

Just one.

It was Raymond Sean, the CEO of Cosmo.

It’s as if he knew Arcana was going to happen.

Arcana’s homepage changed to reflect the upheaval.

The ranking system was revamped.

New update announcements.

Even the status of crack clearing.

Cataclysmic.

The world was literally turned upside down like a game, and it was the presence of the Arcana homepage that kept it that way.

It’s also led to a reevaluation of Raymond Sean from all corners of society.

“Let’s say he’s the one responsible for the Cataclysm, why would he still be running the website? Isn’t humanity more advanced than it was before the Cataclysm because of the website?”

He had a point.

The website kept the social system going.

Arcana civilizations that invaded the real world.

The synergistic effects of interaction have actually made the world more advanced than it was before the Cataclysm.

“That’s undeniably true, but……. I think we need to be clear before we reassess: Is Raymond really running the website to prepare for a cataclysmic event. Or is he simply running it to sway public opinion as it is now.”

Of course, the differences of opinion won’t be easily resolved for a while.

But for now, at least, we’re sticking up for the players.

After all, Cosmo, the rewards for clearing the rift were huge.

“……The dull ache is gone.”

“Yeah. This is financial therapy.”

“This is why I can’t play anymore. Me.”

Where did that huge payout come from?

It was the monthly cost of electricity on the evil continent of Arcana.

Hundreds of thousands of won a month.

And then there’s the price of a dedicated connection, which can cost upwards of $10 million.

It was undeniable that Cosmo was making astronomical amounts of money.

For decades to come.

Even with the huge crack rewards for players, that money would be preserved.

So it was only natural that we were interested in the rewards for clearing new rifts.

We knew it was going to be epic, even at the right level.

Guild, Berserker.

My bushy scarlet bob twitched.

He counted the numbers on the screen and muttered.

“……What is this, this?”

“What’s going on. Are the numbers too big to read, sis?”

“Kak. Shut up. I’m counting again.”

Seventy million…….

Counting the balls, Leonie swallowed hard.

……What the hell, so many? Is this a true story?!

Guild, come on.

Nam Tae-min and Nam Cheol-min couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

“That’s a lot for a reasonable level.”

“……It’s an acceptable amount. If you think about it, this rift was incredibly tricky. Just us and Inazuma barely made it out of the Count’s estate unscathed.”

“Is that so? Even if you think so, I’ve never seen a unit like this before…….”

Similarly, Jesse was bombarded with questions.

“Jessie, can’t you just give us the front seats?”

“No.”

“I’m just curious – if we got this much, how much did you get?”

Yes, each had their reasons.

Berserker was the first to clear the new crack.

Gaon had beaten the hardest Trap Rift in the same rift.

Jesse for killing Count Ascura.

This naturally begs the question.

For Ho Yeol, who was involved in all of this.

What kind of reward would they receive?

Well, one thing was certain.

“…….”

You wouldn’t have guessed it by the look on his face.

.

.

.

I crunched the numbers.

“…….”

 

In front of that astronomical number, I opened my mouth shamelessly.

“That’s a no-brainer.”