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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 31: Never do anything that would make you hated.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in twenty years of being a hero, it’s that you can’t be afraid of sacrifices when it comes to saving lives.
This isn’t a question of whether to save a hundred or a thousand people.
It’s a question of whether you’re prepared to kill a thousand villains for the sake of a hundred good people.
Or ten thousand.
Perhaps even wipe out an entire race.
Petty kindness.
Half-hearted compassion and tolerance.
I’m too old now to play the fool who spares the enemy just to get comrades killed, all in the name of pretending to be virtuous.
Drawing a sword?
I could do that without hesitation.
And I didn’t need to worry about killing this time’s target either.
[The goddess smiles brightly.]
Let things flow as they should.
* * *
An abandoned factory burned to the ground.
The crime syndicate using it as a hideout—its boss, lieutenants, and all members—dead.
Notorious dark mage "Face Collector" missing, though traces left behind suggest death.
Black Knight Vermouth, slain.
Heavenly Demon Sect strategist, Demon Brain, slain.
All criminal attendees at the underground auction held that day—completely annihilated...
"Mr. Yuseong... he was a truly terrifying person."
Just a few days ago, the underworld organization known as Black Chronicle was utterly obliterated.
They weren’t just some ragtag band of thugs.
Had they not been stripped of their hunter licenses, they would’ve held high-ranking A-class licenses, possibly with greater influence than most mid-tier guilds.
They were not a group that could vanish overnight without a trace.
Considering that the auction had also drawn in external attendees, not just the organization members, it made things even more shocking.
Face Collector, Demon Brain, the Black Knight...
All equivalent to or just slightly below S-class hunters.
The kind of monsters who could reign like tyrants anywhere in the world—swept away so easily.
Something was clearly off.
No trace of a battle on site, despite the presence of individuals with S-class level power.
No emergency messages sent out.
That was strange.
Especially Demon Brain, the strategist of the Heavenly Demon Sect—she would’ve definitely left behind some magical trace, some mark.
And yet, the famously aggressive Heavenly Demon Sect had remained silent for days.
As a result, not just Korea but East Asia—and even the global underworld—was holding its breath.
No one knew exactly what had happened there, but something terrifying had clearly gone down.
Everyone wanted to know the truth of what happened there—but no one dared to seek it out.
Even within Yeongnak First School, where some knew the rough outline, the sentiment was the same.
While smaller in size compared to the Heavenly Demon Sect, their inner strength was nothing to scoff at—yet even they dared not claim knowledge about the incident.
It was as if they had been born blind; they chose to cover it up.
—Cough, cough!
The one who insisted on doing so was the very person who would one day lead them.
The Guardian Lion of Law, Emir… no, Lee Jin, took a breath and spoke to the servant at the door:
“Tell them that Guardian Lion of Law, Lee Jin, wishes to meet with the Future of the Church.”
The servant carefully conveyed the message beyond the sliding paper door, and not long after, the doors opened wide.
“I greet the Future of the Church.”
Guardian Lion Lee Jin bowed deeply to the figure inside the room.
A woman with pitch-black hair—Cheon Juyeon, the next leader of the church—responded with a sickly smile.
“Law Guardian, there’s no need for you to send a servant to deliver a message to me.”
“But the rules are still the rules.”
“You know better than anyone that practicality outweighs formality.”
Even as she said that, Cheon Juyeon grimaced and covered her mouth, coughing repeatedly.
Cough... cough...!
It was shocking to see someone once so strong, wise, and compassionate—reduced to such a state.
Lee Jin was once again reminded of the reason.
No magic, no communications—nothing came in or out of the abandoned factory, so no one knew what truly happened there.
No one... except one person.
Cheon Juyeon.
The divinely chosen next leader of the First Glorious Church possessed the Eye of Providence, allowing her to see the light and darkness of the world.
She could even glimpse into the future to a degree—an incredible ability.
And that night, after witnessing a radiance so blinding it nearly cost her her sight, she was bedridden for an entire day.
Was the next leader of the Church great because she saw such light?
Or was the one who produced that light the truly extraordinary one?
Both were remarkable, of course.
But when two great forces meet, one is inevitably dimmed.
To approach the sun in a contest of brightness—was the height of folly.
So the Church decided to let the matter drop.
Following the command of the only one with firsthand insight into the event—Cheon Juyeon herself.
“As mother commanded last time, don’t even think about erasing any trace of this.”
“Yes, I agree. I will follow the words of the next leader in this matter.”
“Also—never do anything that would make you hated. He holds a blade that can sever even the deepest bonds, yet he does not wield it lightly.”
In other words, if you don’t want to die, earn some goodwill ahead of time.
Hmm... honestly, this sounded like a job for a seductress.
Trying to approach someone undercover as a fellow male student felt a bit unfair—but Lee Jin made no complaint and bowed her head.
“Yes, I will comply.”
When you're told to jump, you jump.
That was the truth of the Church.
“And finally—if anyone, friend or not, tries to expose his flaws... eliminate them first.”
At those words, Lee Jin paused to consider, then nodded.
Better to clean up a mess early than to be caught in the fallout.
“Understood.”
And just like that, most of the incident was buried.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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* * *
[The goddess cheerfully raises her hand and says it’s a lovely morning today.]
Maybe she’s replenished her divine power from some recent good deeds, because her morning greeting is unusually energetic.
No, wait—she’s usually pretty bright unless she’s sulking, but today it feels like her glow went from regular headlights to full-on fluorescent lights.
Still, being welcomed so warmly was a nice feeling.
“Oh! Yuseong! You came again today!”
Thankfully, not just the goddess but others at school also gave me a warm welcome.
Professor Shin Arin waved at me with sparkling eyes.
Lately, everyone greets me so enthusiastically wherever I go.
I’m grateful, but...
‘This one’s kind of overdoing it, though.’
I missed just one day of school after getting kidnapped, and she got super worried about me.
It had been a while since someone worried about me like that—it felt kind of awkward.
A bit surreal, even.
Seeing her so happy every time we ran into each other was a little overwhelming.
‘It’s not like I was kidnapped by a crime syndicate or anything. I just said I was out sick—was that really so shocking?’
I mean, people have off days.
Even a model student—or a former hero—can take a sick day.
Well, even if they don’t know what really happened, it was more heartwarming than burdensome to be cared for like that.
‘Honestly, I thought rumors would spread by now.’
Not about me getting kidnapped, but stuff like the factory getting burned down or that underworld gang being wiped out.
I figured those stories would’ve gone around.
But there wasn’t a peep.
No news articles.
Nothing.
Like absolutely nothing had happened—everything online was peaceful.
‘All thanks to the goddess’s grace.’
[The goddess proudly nods her head.]
Did things really resolve cleanly and righteously?
While watching the goddess bask in her own glory, I shook my head.
‘Yeah, no way.’
Rather than a complete defeat of evil, it was probably just that things on their end got tangled up.
Maybe that’s why nothing got out.
That was my guess, anyway.
Well, either way, it worked out well for me.
Being a relaxed civilian was way more livable than working as a hero.
“Maybe I’ll play that new game when I get home.”
* * *
The genius of the Blue Tower.
Seol Yeonhwa, the ice blossom herself, had recently been dealing with a problem.
Not a huge, life-threatening issue—just something small that irritated her a little.
[Blizzard: I’ll go mid.]
Since her last IRL fight, she’d switched to a different game.
Bang! Bang!
[SunsetFalls: Puhaha]
[SunsetFalls: You should’ve dodged if you didn’t want to die]
Maybe it was because the new game was a different genre, but it was kinda hard.
Also, there was this one jerk who really got on her nerves.
Some crazy chick on the other team reminded her of that last IRL brawl.
[SunsetFalls: Slow~]
Bang! Bang!
[SunsetFalls: But my bullets are fast]
[SunsetFalls: PUHAHAHAHA]
“…I should just kill her.”
Yeonhwa scowled and clenched her fist.
She was tempted to go fight in real life again, but memories of the last time stopped her.
She probably wouldn’t run into that guy again, but you never know with people.
Sigh…
Just as she was calming down, her phone buzzed.
It was a call from the master of the Blue Tower.
To outsiders, he was a respected figure—but to her, he was basically the old granny next door.
“Yes, yes.”
At first, she responded absently while gaming, wearing a bored expression.
But halfway through, she suddenly heard something shocking.
Her face stiffened as she asked again in disbelief.
“…You’re saying a cure was found?”
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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