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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: One Billion Won
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It didn't seem likely that her brother would be able to readjust to society anytime soon. Nor did it seem he'd be able to handle the role of a father just yet….
‘He's back, and that's all that matters.’
The simple fact that he had returned alive was more than enough to make her feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude.
‘If I just hold on and do my best, I'm sure everything will work out.’
For a moment, Lee Su-bin's gaze shifted to a thick stack of utility payment notices piled on the corner of the dining table.
“Hoo—.”
Lee Su-bin let out a long breath, then forced a smile and said in a cheerful tone.
“I'm heading out!”
It was just as Lee Su-bin was leaving the house.
“Hm?”
Letting out a low hum, Kang-jun tilted his head slightly and began to examine the stack of utility bills that Su-bin had been looking at just before she left.
There was a man recorded in legend, the first in the history of the Anux Continent to unify all kingdoms by force and stand tall on the throne as ‘Emperor’.
Some called his overwhelming power a catastrophe, while others described it as nothing short of divine.
The ultimate Necromancer, the first to reach the realm of the 9th Circle.
A disaster descended from another world.
The king of the dead, leading an army of tens of thousands of undead.
That man, whose name had, until very recently, always been preceded and followed by grim and ominous titles, was now….
“Now, open wide and say ‘ah.’”
“Aah—.”
“That's right.”
…preoccupied with feeding his three-year-old daughter baby food he had warmed up himself.
“Is it good?”
“Yummy.”
Just as Kang-jun was scraping the last of the baby food from the Lock & Lock container with a small baby spoon.
“My Lord.”
The old man, Shartia von de Crabslie, who stood at attention before the father and daughter, spoke in an exceedingly polite tone.
“Forgive my impertinence, but is something troubling you?”
“Does it look that way?”
“If I may be so bold, your expression seems particularly dark today….”
Kang-jun nodded once and replied.
“You're right. In fact, I was planning to bring it up after Seol-i finished her food.”
Kang-jun replied quietly, then popped the last spoonful into Seol-i's mouth and added.
“It seems we've run into an obstacle.”
At those words, Crabslie couldn't help but gasp, sucking in a sharp breath.
‘An… an obstacle…?’
How many years had it been since he began serving his Lord?
It had to be well over two hundred years, at the very least.
In all that long time, had his Lord ever once used the word ‘obstacle’?
Even in the midst of perilous, life-or-death battlefields….
Even when facing a reckless battle with not a speck of hope for victory in sight….
‘He never said such a thing.’
In his mind, his Lord was someone who belonged to an entirely different category from words like ‘danger,’ ‘crisis,’ or ‘obstacle’.
All the more reason.
He couldn't help but be seized by a terrible anxiety.
Just what kind of tragic situation were they facing….
…for his Lord to utter the word ‘obstacle’?
Kang-jun then gestured with his chin toward the mountain-like stack of ‘bills’ at the end of the table and said.
“Here, read the contents of those documents aloud.”
Swallowing dryly, Crabslie picked up a bill with a trembling hand….
…and using the legendary-grade artifact, the ‘Sage's Monocle,’ which was enchanted with a language-deciphering spell, he began to read its contents aloud.
“Notice of debt collection for unpaid telecommunication fees….”
“Next.”
“Notice of water supply suspension due to unpaid water bills….”
“Next.”
“Notice of scheduled electricity cutoff due to delinquency….”
“Next.”
“Reminder of overdue city gas payment and notice of supply suspension….”
“Enough.”
Kang-jun said curtly, wiping his daughter's mouth with a handkerchief before asking.
“In your opinion, what do these documents seem to be about?”
“Forgive me for saying so, but it seems they are documents demanding payment….”
At that, Kang-jun let out a deep sigh and replied.
“Your guess is correct. My sister never said anything, so I had no idea, but it seems our financial situation is a complete mess.”
Kang-jun's gaze naturally shifted to Seol-i, who was sitting quietly on his lap.
If his sister had been living alone, would her livelihood have become so dire, even with the low pay from her factory job?
‘Probably not…’
He was certain that things had gotten this bad because she'd had to take on raising his daughter on top of her already strained finances.
Just as Kang-jun was about to get lost in thought.
“However….”
Crabslie began, then continued in a rather agitated tone, as if he couldn't possibly comprehend the situation.
“Who would dare demand payment from a member of the imperial family? This is a clear challenge to the imperial authority, and nothing short of an insult!”
“Oh, really? And so?”
“If you but give the order, my Lord, I shall see to it that they pay for their sins with their lives in the dead of night—”
Instead of replying, Kang-jun just clicked his tongue, “Tsk, tsk,” and Crabslie, taking the hint, promptly shut his mouth.
A moment of silence passed.
Crabslie cleared his throat a couple of times and said.
“Forgive my presumption, my Lord, but I have an ingenious plan to resolve this financial crisis. You need not worry.”
“What is it?”
“If we were to implement a policy to temporarily raise tax rates until the imperial treasury stabilizes, and in particular, impose a progressive tax on the nobility and provincial lords….”
At that, Kang-jun finally let out a snort.”
“Pfft….”
…which eventually turned into a full-blown roar of laughter.
“Khk, a tax hike policy. Hehe, imposing a progressive tax….”
“M-My Lord?”
“Hah, damn. That's so funny I think I'm going to cry….”
And Seol-i, nestled in Kang-jun's arms, also began to laugh along, without knowing why.
Finally managing to stop laughing, Kang-jun wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said.
“I think you're under a serious misunderstanding. If I were to explain our status here on Earth using the class system of the Anux Continent as a comparison….”
Kang-jun paused, pondering for a moment before muttering, “Ah, right,” and then added quietly.
“You can just think of us as ‘slaves’ or ‘commoners.’”
“Slaves or commoners, you say…?”
“Yeah, probably somewhere in between.”
Finished speaking, Kang-jun added in a perfectly level tone, as if it were nothing.
“We're in a position where we have to eke out a living by receiving a pittance from the ruling class in exchange for intense labor and servitude.”
“My goodness, then we truly can be seen as nothing more than the slave or commoner class….”
His voice trailing off, Crabslie's legs suddenly gave out, and he staggered where he stood.
‘A s-slave…?’
For him, it was an utterly shocking revelation.
He was, after all, a pure-blooded vampire who had inherited royal blood, and had once even held the title of ‘Vampire Lord,’ leading his entire clan.
Later, he had commanded the entire chancellery within the imperial court….
…and thanks to the many great and small merits he achieved while serving the Emperor,
…he had ultimately been granted the title of Grand Duke.
‘And I, who was all that, am a mere slave in this world—?’
After being dazed for a moment, Crabslie forced himself to pull his thoughts together.
‘If I alone feel such great despair, I cannot even begin to fathom how my Lord must feel…’
Soon, something akin to self-loathing began to rise in a corner of his heart like smoke.
Could he truly call himself a ‘loyal subject,’ with a clear conscience before the heavens, after this?
‘I still have a long way to go…’
Then, bowing his head deeply, he spoke in a solemn and exceedingly grave tone.
“I shall devote my entire being to assisting you, my Lord, so that your empire may be established here on Earth and you may once again sit upon the throne!”
“Yes, yes. Go ahead and do your best all by yourself.”
It was merely a sarcastic remark….
…but Crabslie took it to mean, ‘I entrust the entire process and all authority for founding the nation to you.’
‘Ah, my Lord trusts me this much! First, I should investigate the national power and relationships of the various kingdoms that exist on Earth—’
Just then, Kang-jun stood up with Seol-i in his arms and spoke again.
“In any case….”
Then he added a few more words in a serious tone.
“We need to start making money now.”
Having said that, Kang-jun let out an involuntary, dry laugh.
‘Money….’
In the past few hundred years, had he ever worried about wealth?
Probably not once.
Because he had amassed a fortune far too vast for any one individual to possess, he might have worried a few times about where or how to store it….
…but he had never once had a worry born from ‘poverty’ like this.
‘Well, I suppose this is a happy problem to have.’
Having sorted his thoughts to some extent, Kang-jun habitually began to pat Seol-i's bottom as he held her.
His touch already seemed quite practiced.
***
That night, Kang-jun was enjoying the peace, just like any other day.
His daughter, Seol-i, was sound asleep in his arms….
Pat, pat—.
Kang-jun was watching the TV news, gently stroking Seol-i's back.
「According to a survey conducted by the Korea Occupational Research and Development Institute, the professional occupation with the highest average income last year was revealed to be ‘Hunter.’」
「Even the average annual income for ‘E-rank’ Hunters, currently classified as the lowest rank, was calculated at an astonishing ninety million won on average….」
「In the case of Hunters belonging to ‘A-rank’ and above, which are considered high-rank, an average value could not be calculated, but they are known to be recording astronomical profits….」
「Regarding this, Professor Kim Seong-dong of Hanguk University's Department of Social Phenomenology commented, "In the future, this phenomenon of wealth redistribution based on the logic of power will only accelerate."」
It was then, as Kang-jun was watching the news with such intense focus he looked like he might be sucked into the TV at any moment.
“Kang-jun, is the news interesting?”
To the question his sister, Lee Su-bin, had suddenly asked, Kang-jun nodded his head and replied.
“The world seems to have changed a lot in the last three years.”
Lee Su-bin naturally took a seat right next to Kang-jun and replied, skillfully peeling an apple with a paring knife.
“You're right, it's changed so much. You have no idea how hopeless it was when the Gates first started appearing. I was scared to even watch the news every day.”
“Was it that bad?”
“Gates started appearing out of nowhere, monsters poured out, and so many people died or got hurt all over the place….”
Her words trailing off vaguely, Lee Su-bin speared a slice of apple with a fork and handed it to him before continuing.
“But it's a relief that things stabilized so quickly. In fact, these days, people even say the world is a much better place to live in than before the Gates appeared.”
“Is that so?”
“To be honest, I can't really feel it, you know? People like us, ordinary people, are still just struggling to get by every day. Making a living is just as hard now as it was back then….”
Her voice trailing off once more, Lee Su-bin added with a bitter smile.
“And on top of all that, now we have to worry about ‘Gates’ that could pop up anywhere, anytime, right? In fact, our house is actually classified as being in a high-risk area for Gate occurrences.”
“Can't we move to a safer area?”
“If I could, I would have done it long ago. For Seol-i's sake, I want to move to a safe area right away, but….”
Kang-jun took a bite of the apple, then asked cautiously while chewing.
“Not enough money?”
“No.”
“Then?”
A heavy silence fell between the two for a moment.
Lee Su-bin forced a smile and replied.
“It's not that we don't have enough, we don't have a single penny. To be honest, the only reason we can still live in this house is because the landlady has been understanding about the late rent….”
Letting out an unconscious sigh, Lee Su-bin gave a small, sheepish smile and continued.
“I just hope the lottery ticket I bought this week is a winner. Then we could live comfortably without any worries….”
“Lottery?”
“Yeah, I've actually been investing five thousand won every week for a few years. These days, the prize money is around one billion won, I think.”
She then arranged a few slices of the peeled apple nicely on a plate and said.
“Kang-jun, I'm done with the apple, so tell the Elder to come out and have some.”
Kang-jun, however, didn't answer her….
…his attention was solely on what she had said before.
“So, you're saying that with one billion won, you could live the life you've dreamed of?”
To that, Lee Su-bin replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “Well, of course,” and continued.
“If I really had that much money, the first thing I'd want to do is move to a safe area.”
“And then?”
“Hmm? Well, first I'd quit the factory I'm working at now, and until I find a decent new job, I'd just want to focus on raising Seol-i.”
Su-bin's gaze shifted to the peacefully sleeping Seol-i as she added.
“She's at an age where she needs a lot of love and attention, you know?”
Kang-jun nodded a few times and replied.
“I'll figure something out.”
“Huh…?”
“The one billion won.”
Although he had completely forgotten the value of this world's currency and couldn't properly gauge how large a sum it was….
‘Still, what a relief.’
He felt relieved that he could give his sister the ‘life she wanted’ with mere wealth.
‘They said this is a world where power is money, so if I just put my mind to it, I should be able to earn that much, no matter the amount…’
Hadn't he obtained ‘absolute power’ that no one could match during his three hundred years on the Anux Continent?
To be honest, it wasn't something he wanted to do.
As soon as he realized he had returned to Earth, he had vowed over and over again not to use or reveal his power.
The reason being.
He knew full well that the power he possessed would make it impossible for him to live the ‘ordinary life’ he had longed for for so long.
But, for the sake of his own flesh and blood, a vow like that….
…he was willing to break a hundred, no, a thousand times over.
Kang-jun then gazed at his right hand, repeatedly clenching and unclenching it….
…and in response, the ‘nine rings’ coiled around his heart, a mark of reaching the 9th Circle, began to stir.
‘Just until I make one billion, and as secretly and carefully as possible so I don't stand out…’
Just then, Lee Su-bin let out a “pfft” of laughter.
It was because her brother's absurd promise had brought back a flood of old memories.
Come to think of it, the Kang-jun in her memory was a boy who used to say similar things all the time.
‘Noona, I'll definitely succeed one day and take good care of you!’
The two of them had lost both their parents in an accident at a young age….
…and after that, Lee Su-bin had taken on the role of the de facto head of the household.
Was that why?
Her brother would sometimes act as if she were his parent, and at some point, he had started habitually saying he would ‘repay her kindness.’
Just like now.
For the first time in a while, Lee Su-bin spoke in a cheerful voice.
“It's nice to think about the old days.”
“Old days?”
“It's nothing. Have some more apple.”
“Okay.”
