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 [Chapter 194]

[Pandora Clan Disclosure]

Pandora Clan must disclose their gifts.

The story that started from Dongdaemun-gu gradually gained strength.

Because there was no subject to be harmed except Pandora Clan.

"I am curious about what gifts Pandora Clan players have. Honestly, not much is known except for Ryu Yeon-hwa's gift."

Moreover, even people interested in Pandora Clan wanted to know the clan's hidden strength.

Pandora Clan was currently the most talked about clan in Korea.

The story spread rapidly even to ordinary people.

Several factors overlapped here and the story gained public sentiment.

"─Because of <Myeongwang > Sindorim's terror attack, we need to guide people's thoughts in a different direction since we don't know where they might turn. Release the most talked about rumor now."

One was the Fairy government's attempt to divert people's attention from the recent Mana Religion soul-returning ceremony terror attack.

Also─

"─That's good. Use that topic to cover up Baek-ryeon's existence as much as possible."

To hide Baek-ryeon's existence.

Even if her existence was now being treated as an open secret, the meaning of announcing it in the media was different.

A girl only 10 years old.

To protect her privacy and escort her safely, she needed to be hidden as much as possible.

But the media sometimes defied the government's words depending on the situation while complying at other times.

Under the pretext of freedom of the press, they sometimes violated embargoes to greedily report scoops faster than other media outlets.

In a way, the media showed behavior like private companies pursuing their own interests rather than public interests.

Especially media outlets with deep relationships with groups were like that.

Those media outlets even had the signboard of being among the top 10 national comprehensive daily newspapers.

The Fairy government had to pressure them while throwing them material to appease them.

Lastly, another was─

"─These damn groups are rushing in thinking this is their chance. Is the Pandora Clan Lord's favorability greatly divided? Well, I guess that's how it is with heroes. If you achieve too many merits, you'll inevitably be seen as a potential enemy in others' eyes."

Groups not sponsoring Pandora Clan started tearing into Pandora Clan thinking this was their chance.

Even people who had been jealous of Pandora Clan's successful progress were riding the wave and fanning public opinion.

Dangun Daily

May 28, Year 17 of Seonryeok

[Ban Sa-ik Editorial Column]

"<Crimson Wing> did it again this time."

The Mana Religion soul-returning ceremony terror attack is regrettable.

Can we really blame those people unconditionally?

The terror attack led by <Myeongwang > Sindorim tells us how many painful things our society has buried and endured so far.

Our society is sick.

...(omitted)...

Meanwhile, <Crimson Wing>'s actions are very noticeable.

The hero who repelled the Seoul Disaster.

Pandora Clan Lord No Eun-ha saved Seoul again.

...(omitted)...

As citizens, we should be very glad that a great hero to succeed the living legends of this era has been born.

So I want to know.

What <Crimson Wing>'s power is.

Galaxy Daily

May 28, Year 17 of Seonryeok

[Su Sang-hae Editorial Column]

...(omitted)...

What does the state exist for?

The state exists for the people.

The reason the Fairy exists as head of state is because she has the power to protect the people, and has the people's support.

And in the same sense, the reason players openly exist in our society is because they have the power to protect us.

...(omitted)...

The reason No Eun-ha receives people's cheers is no different from the reasons mentioned above.

His power is protecting the citizens.

But what we must keep in mind is that No Eun-ha is not the Fairy who exists for public interest, but a player who exists thoroughly for private interests.

It's true that No Eun-ha pursued public interests, but we need to look at No Eun-ha as a person objectively.

...(omitted)...

Now No Eun-ha is protecting citizens because what he pursues coincides with public interests.

But we don't know about the distant future.

No Eun-ha's power is too dangerous.

The fact that No Eun-ha showed feats of stopping <Myeongwang > Sindorim means conversely that No Eun-ha could carry out such terror too.

Therefore, we need to know No Eun-ha as a person in more detail.

We must thoroughly grasp what his power is and prepare for any eventuality.

Samra Daily

May 28, Year 17 of Seonryeok

[Na Guk-bong Editorial Column]

...(omitted)...

The person who stopped the Mana Religion soul-returning ceremony terror attack wasn't just <Crimson Wing> No Eun-ha.

There's an unsung hero obscured by <Crimson Wing>'s huge wings.

Samra Clan Lord <Earth Dragon> Chong Eun-ju.

She can be said to be the hero who contributed most to <Crimson Wing> taking down <Myeongwang > Sindorim at the time.

According to what she revealed to this newspaper....

☆

The Mana Religion soul-returning ceremony terror attack.

Fortunately, the damage from the terror was smaller than in the previous regression.

Even so, the aftermath brought by the terror was enough to shake society.

Is this the end of the Mana Religion now?

In the previous life, Mana Religion believers disappeared after this incident, so we don't need to worry about those bastards.

First, the Mana Religion was disbanded.

The Mana Religion was continuously perceived as a pseudo-religion by people.

Nevertheless, the reason Mana Religion could expand its influence without being disbanded was because it was a religion.

Freedom of religion and freedom of propagation.

Some laws Korea had before its destruction were still maintained.

So the Fairy government was reluctant to readily disband the Mana Religion.

If they made a mistake, they could face backlash.

But as the Mana Religion caused terror, the Fairy government gained justification to disband the Mana Religion.

And among the believers who lost their place, those who won't be problematic are being accepted by the Eun-ha God Religion... There probably won't be any revival of the Mana Religion or such.

Damn, to say Eun-ha God Religion with my own mouth... It's stuck in my mouth because of Iriya. Change the name.

Like that, the Mana Religion was disbanded.

People moved by the divine dignity Eun-ha showed while resolving the terror knocked on the doors of the Eun-ha God Religion.

Pandora Clan's recognition rose, and the Eun-ha God Religion greatly expanded its influence.

On the other hand─

─They all think Sindorim did it even though I said it wasn't Sindorim.

Most people in the world thought this terror was <Myeongwang > Sindorim's doing.

Even though there were testimonies from Eun-ha and believers who survived at the time.

Even though the Mana Management Organization proved to some extent that Shin Yeon-su used <Miracle > through additional investigation.

People strongly remembered him controlling ghouls.

Whatever the truth, people said Sindorim was the root cause.

This is probably why I thought Sindorim was the root cause in the previous regression.

Moreover, in the previous regression, all believers at the scene died or became ghouls, so they couldn't investigate the incident.

The National Assembly building collapsed too.

That's what public opinion was like.

What public opinion says becomes the truth.

Eun-ha realized the nature of public opinion again.

The fortunate thing was that unlike the previous life, when people shouting such things appeared, people accurately refuting their opinions also appeared.

Anyway, it's fortunate people's attention is more on this than Baek-ryeon.

Did the Fairy government's pressure work?

Soon Eun-ha sighed looking at today's newspaper.

Since Baek-ryeon awakened her gift.

Eun-ha was paying attention to the media.

Reporters from some media outlets even tried to secretly take pictures of Baek-ryeon.

It would have been understandable for the media to mention Baek-ryeon.

But fortunately, what he was worried about didn't seem to be happening.

Even today's newspapers were just praising him or reporting on the Mana Religion soul-returning ceremony terror attack.

"Huh?"

"Papa?"

Then he paused while skimming just the headlines of some newspapers.

Several newspapers including Dangun Daily.

Those newspapers were praising him to an excessive degree.

"Dangun Daily even put it on the front page, what's going on with them?"

Eun-ha tilted his head.

Dangun Daily had never published articles favorable to Pandora Clan until now.

He couldn't help but be suspicious of such a newspaper praising him and publishing an article on the front page.

Especially wasn't columnist Ban Sa-ik a figure who had continuously disparaged Pandora Clan?

The article published today was like spitting in his own face.

Moreover─

"─They all end by throwing out the topic that gift inspections should be done while praising me at first."

The context was similar to other newspapers.

Eun-ha fell into thought.

"Papa?"

Strange.

Something is strange.

Eun-ha picked up the phone.

He connected to Han Seo-hyeon's office.

[─This is Administrator Shakira. How may I help you?]

"Oh, Shakira noona. Are there any newspapers other than the ones I usually read there? There's something I want to check."

[We have the rest of the top 10 national comprehensive daily newspapers in addition to the ones you usually read. Should I bring them?]

"Oh, the rest too..."

Including neutral-leaning newspapers like New Country Daily.

I should check all the newspapers provided to Pandora Clan.

Eun-ha was about to ask Shakira.

Right then, the person on the phone changed.

[It's me.]

"Oh, Seo-hyeon."

[I think I can guess what you're thinking now. I was just thinking something was strange too.]

"Dangun Daily praising me?"

[If they hadn't blatantly shown it, I would have passed by without much thought too. It seems we should gather the sub-lords and talk.]

"Alright, gather them right away."

Han Seo-hyeon seemed to have noticed too.

Eun-ha nodded.

☆

As Pandora Clan's numbers increased, one more sub-lord position was added.

So Eun-ha discussed with the sub-lords and decided to look for someone among the executives to become a sub-lord.

'Me! Me! Me! Ariel can do really well! Entrust it to Ariel! And I won't work anymore!'

As Pandora Clan members were swamped with work, people who couldn't become executives also became executives by raising funds around this time.

Ariel was the same.

Ariel who bought boxes of soju and shrimp chips and got scolded by Eun-ah spoke brightly as if she had never done that.

''''─Rejected. Not you.''''

'Ah, why! Let me do it too!!'

'Think about your conduct. Just quietly eat water and shrimp chips. Know there won't be soju for a while.'

'No Eun-ha! I bought it with my own money, isn't this really disappointing!?'

'Yeah, I'm disappointed too.'

Of course, the sub-lords unanimously opposed Ariel's candidacy.

Then they selected someone who could manage clan members well and work well.

The candidates were Cha Eun-woo, Jin Seo-na, Kim Min-ji, Kang Si-hyeong, Bong Gu-rae, and Jo A-ra.

'How much more work are you going to make me do if I become a sub-lord... I'll be satisfied just being an executive. Let me sleep a bit earlier.'

'I'll resign, honey.'

'What would I do becoming a sub-lord. I don't want my insides to burst cleaning up the trouble you guys cause.'

Here, Kang Si-hyeong, Bong Gu-rae, and Kim Min-ji expressed their resignation.

So three people remained.

'The salary is tempting but... No, I'll live a life with evenings. No, but the high salary is a bit attractive too so I'll run.'

'I like a life with evenings too. I don't really want to do it either... But since I ran I'll do it if I'm chosen.'

In the end, they decided to choose a sub-lord among Jo A-ra, Jin Seo-na, and Cha Eun-woo.

And after voting with clan members, the person chosen was Cha Eun-woo.

'Huh? I was chosen? I didn't expect to be chosen, but since you chose me I'll work hard from now on.'

Cha Eun-woo who put on the armband like that.

Clan members once lamented her hard future ahead and praised her as a face genius.

But surprisingly, Cha Eun-woo perfectly digested her work.

They say the position makes the person.

She showed the qualities of a sub-lord and even instilled fear in new members.

'─Hey, kids over there. You shouldn't handle devices like that. Did you join without even checking the clan regulations?'

''''We're sorry!!''''

The armband changed the person.

To this, Jin Parang expressed it by comparing with words he picked up somewhere.

Of course, he just got cursed at by Mok Min-ho.

'─Eun-woo is dead. She's gone now. The kind Eun-woo is dead...'

'Jin Parang, if you want, I can make you die swamped with work even more than now.'

'Tch, I won't do it because it's petty. These guys are really becoming like No Eun-ha in pairs.'

No matter how Eun-woo changed.

Mok Min-ho didn't care.

He defended Cha Eun-woo to the point of bickering with Jin Parang.

☆

The people attending the meeting happened to be in the clan hall.

So Eun-ha called the sub-lords and Administrator Han Seo-hyeon.

By then, they seemed to have grasped the situation too.

"It seems public opinion that we should disclose our gifts is being formed."

"I think I heard such talk too. Ordinary people even talked about what gifts we have while walking on the street, so that says it all."

Jeong Ha-yang opened the conversation.

Mok Min-ho agreed too.

Eun-ha could recognize the current situation after hearing their opinions.

We went too wild this time.

It wasn't just Eun-ha himself.

Other clan members also exerted their full power to suppress the Mana Religion soul-returning ceremony terror attack.

So people purely became curious about Pandora Clan's feats.

"That's not the only cause. The Baek-ryeon issue seems to be mixed in too. There are even stories that you have <Future Sight> because you've been protecting Baek-ryeon in Pandora Clan from before."

"Externally, they seem to cite your actions that seemed to foresee the Seoul invasion."

Han Seo-hyeon, No Eun-ah.

The two added a few words.

In short, the situation currently occurring was complexly composed.

"You mean there's an intention to stimulate people's curiosity and try to grasp Eun-ha and our clan members' power."

Cha Eun-woo summarized their thoughts.

With those words, the people present now fell silent.

Eun-ha kept his mouth shut too.

The first statement was made by the Dangun Clan Lord at the Dongdaemun-gu regional assembly, right?

Was it led by the Dangun Clan Lord?

But he couldn't understand how a statement from the regional assembly spread throughout Seoul and even ordinary people became interested.

"I think the Fairy government was involved a bit too. You know, the Fairy government could do that to divert attention."

Then Jeong Ha-yang broke the silence.

 Her words had a point too.

The Fairy government might have done so to prevent people from learning of Baek-ryeon's existence, and to make people forget the Mana Religion soul-returning ceremony terror attack incident as quickly as possible.

Im Ga-eul would do something like that.

She's skilled at manipulating the media.

She knows how to divert public attention.

It wouldn't be a difficult task for Im Ga-eul, a former actress.

And if she diverted the topic with that intention, Eun-ha couldn't strongly complain.

"─That's good. We were trying not to reveal Baek-ryeon's existence anyway, so it's good if we draw attention."

""""...""""

Eun-ha also just wanted to divert the topic from Baek-ryeon.

But he didn't have proper power to move the media side.

There was no need to think badly of the Fairy government doing that instead.

Moreover─

"─We've been keeping it secret. Even though we're called an A-rank clan now, not much is known."

""""...""""

"Though disclosing gifts isn't mandatory, to raise the rank of the clan and clan members, we should be able to use gifts as promotional material too."

Of course, people with gifts that could naturally be known without disclosure were like that.

In the case of high-ranking clans, they revealed their strength to some extent.

By doing so, they could gain trust, so it couldn't be said to be just a loss.

Moreover, even if gifts were disclosed, if the person wanted, they could falsely register.

Disclosing gifts gives some points in rank evaluations, and falsely registering gifts is also a kind of strategy, so.

Of course, it's over if you get caught.

There was a similar incident in the previous regression.

It was probably around this time then too.

When Eun-ha received people's attention as the <Watchdog of the Little Princess>, pressure suddenly started coming to disclose his and Lee Yu-jeong's gifts.

Especially for Eun-ha, public opinion that his gift should be investigated was strong since he went mad to the point of not distinguishing friend from foe when activating his gift.

So Eun-ha underwent gift inspection and could learn what gift he had.

"─It's good anyway. We can inspect the gifts of clan members who don't know well what their gift is yet."

At that time, Lee Yu-jeong's gift wasn't revealed even after inspection.

But gift inspections conducted by the Mana Management Organization could easily inspect gifts unless they were rare.

I don't know who did it, but they laid the groundwork well.

I was going to tell the kids to get gift inspections anyway.

When undergoing gift inspection, gifts had to be mandatorily disclosed.

So Eun-ha was planning to have clan members undergo gift inspection while watching the timing.

Moreover, the Mana Management Organization had been managing gift information from around the world stored in the player library.

People who underwent gift inspection could access materials related to their gift.

It was an opportunity for clan members to learn in detail about their gifts.

☆

Time passed from then.

Eun-ha publicly announced that all of Pandora Clan would undergo gift inspection.

People were excited.

And as the date approached─

─The number of people is no joke.

Did they all have nothing to do?

Eun-ha and clan members visited the Mana Management Organization's Gift Research Center.

And they could meet people waiting at the research center.

──!!

""""...""""

Camera shutters clicked everywhere.

Clan members were dumbfounded.

Soon they approached and pleaded to say something.

Eun-ha boldly ignored them.

As Eun-ha ignored them, clan members also followed with their mouths tightly shut.

"─Hello. I'm Lee Ha-neul, director of the Gift Research Center. We sincerely welcome Pandora Clan's visit."

After shaking off people.

The research center director personally came out to greet them.

Eun-ha exchanged greetings with him.

Then he looked around.

There are a lot of people here too...

There were quite a lot of people inside too.

Though disguised as if they came by chance.

Their gazes were unusual.

Even if disguised as ordinary people, their atmosphere or outwardly visible physique said they were players.

They came to spy on Pandora Clan.

In case Pandora Clan somehow tries to deceive about their gifts.

"Thank you for today. But there are a lot of people here."

"Don't worry. By the Fairy's order, Pandora Clan members' gift inspections will be conducted in an area where outsiders can't enter."

"That's fortunate."

"Then follow me."

Their thoughts were correct.

Eun-ha had no intention of disclosing all clan members' gifts.

He was thinking of only disclosing gifts that had to be disclosed or could be disclosed.

There was no need to give clues to exploit their combat styles by disclosing gifts like Choi Eun-hyeok's or Mok Min-ho's.

It was good I hinted to Im Ga-eul that I'd secretly inspect gifts and manipulate the gift announcements using this incident as an excuse.

Soon the research center director guided them.

Eun-ha left behind the disguised people looking at him with disappointment.

They went underground.

"It would be better to divide into groups from here."

"Then I'll divide the groups now."

The research center director said.

Han Seo-hyeon who heard about this beforehand divided people without fuss.

Soon clan members were divided into groups.

Eun-ha grouped with Han Seo-hyeon, No Eun-ah, Jeong Ha-yang, Choi Eun-hyeok, and Jin Seo-na.

"Gifts are characteristics of mana, but the methods of activation differ for each. So while there are gifts like <Ice Flower> that manifest externally just by drawing out mana, there are also gifts that activate under certain conditions. Or the activation method can be peculiar. Some gifts even change according to a person's emotions."

The research center director guided them.

Entering a room that looked like a studio, a vast space could be seen through a glass window.

Eun-ha and clan members looked at the space made of pure white tiles.

"It's a room made of special materials that can withstand magic effects. Staff waiting inside will give various help so you can realize your gift as much as possible."

Only one person undergoing gift inspection can enter the inspection room.

The rest will wait inside the studio.

The research center director added.

"Then which person should go first? Please tell me as you like."

"Ah, I'll go first. Is it okay if I get inspected first?"

"Do as you want."

The research center director kindly asked.

Jin Seo-na gently raised her hand.

To this, Eun-ha and others gladly sent her off.

As inexperienced people, they were curious how gifts are inspected.

There was a chance to inspect gifts at the Academy, but I stopped them then.

If they inspected gifts as students, they wouldn't be able to falsely deceive later.

Their skills would be exposed as is too.

Eun-ha sat on the sofa.

Then Han Seo-hyeon and Jeong Ha-yang stuck right next to him on either side.

"Now we have to fight for seats just to sit next to my brother... Eun-hyeok, let's go sit over there."

"No, noona. I'll watch closely how Seo-na realizes her gift."

"Tch, I guess I have to sit alone. Alright."

Eun-ah opened her drowsy eyes.

Han Seo-hyeon and Jeong Ha-yang tried to give up their seats to her midway.

But she said not to mind and sat in another seat.

And Choi Eun-hyeok took a seat next to the research center director.

[─Then we will begin Jin Seo-na player's gift inspection.]

Soon the inspection began.

A staff member in the studio conveyed words to the inspection room through a microphone.

Jin Seo-na manifested mana as recommended by staff in the inspection room.

The process of finding gifts takes quite a long time.

An inspection where everything has to be tested.

Even if undergoing gift inspection, one might not realize it.

So Eun-ha decided to pass time using his smartphone.

He decided to look at menus for what to order for lunch later.

Time passed like that─

──!!!

The inspection room flashed.

Jin Seo-na realized her gift.

People sitting in the studio stood up abruptly.

""""...""""

"...Huh?"

Soon the flashing light disappeared.

And Jin Seo-na's body was revealed.

People were at a loss for words.

"W-What is this!?"

Jin Seo-na looked at her body and exclaimed in bewilderment.

People were bewildered too.

Because─

""─She has three tails now....""

"""You only see the tails?"""

Not only did her tails increase, but her body grew much larger than before.

So the buttons holding her clothes together fell to the floor with a thud.

"Why did my body become like this!?"

Jin Seo-na who ended up wearing tight-fitting clothes made a crying face.