822

 [Chapter 206]

[Behind-the-scenes Maneuvering(8)]

<Abyss > Seon U Hwa-ryeong died.

The first person to report his death to the Fairy was Baek Seo-jin.

Im Ga-eul, surprised by the news of <Abyss >'s death, guessed that he might have been involved in Seon U Hwa-ryeong's death.

"Yes, I understand. I should take some time to mourn the Surveillance Bureau Director's passing as well."

"Hwa-ryeong would like that."

That was the end of it.

Im Ga-eul didn't question Seon U Hwa-ryeong's death any further.

No, she shouldn't have.

The fact that Baek Seo-jin reported it directly meant it was related to darkness and she shouldn't be concerned about it anymore.

Darkness wasn't her jurisdiction.

In the end, all Im Ga-eul could do was nod her head.

"But Fairy, the document you were just looking at doesn't seem to be an official government document..."

"Ah, this? It's an assignment Baek-ryeon did recently."

It was then.

Baek Seo-jin's gaze turned to the document on the desk.

He seemed curious.

Im Ga-eul handed him the document with a bitter smile.

"Although it's full of hope, it's not entirely unrealistic. Honestly, I didn't expect such a young child to have these thoughts. While looking at this assignment, I could feel Baek-ryeon's beliefs."

"A country where all people are equal... It's quite an idealistic national theory. It seems she has similar thoughts to you, Fairy."

After seeing Ha Baek-ryeon's assignment.

Baek Seo-jin evaluated calmly.

He agreed as well.

It was a fairly solid proposal for a 14-year-old to think of.

But that was all.

It was merely an ideal.

It didn't match the reality of this country.

"The thought is admirable, but it's a law that can't be applied to this country. We've passed the stage where this could be implemented. Unless we completely overturn the country, it can't be executed, and shouldn't be executed."

"...I see."

"As long as monsters exist, people can't live happy lives. So someone has to suffer at the bottom in their place so that they can live less unhappily."

"..."

In a world where monsters exist.

People live selfishly.

Consideration for others is only possible when one can live a stable life.

It's impossible in this era, in this world.

People who always feel the threat of survival have to kill others to live, just like animals do.

To make people believe they live stable lives in this miserable reality, there needed to be people living even more pitiful lives than them.

Therefore, Ha Baek-ryeon's thoughts were nothing more than the hopeful theory of a child unaware of this miserable reality.

Baek Seo-jin knew this.

And now she knew it too.

No, she had to acknowledge it.

Nevertheless─.

"─Who knows, maybe someday Baek-ryeon will be able to create such a world."

"It seems the Fairy still hasn't given up on that heart. I thought you had learned to compromise..."

"..."

"I'll take my leave now."

"Take care."

At Baek Seo-jin's words as he clicked his tongue.

Im Ga-eul flinched for a moment.

She quickly hid her expression and saw him off.

Not long after that day, Baek Seo-jin's whereabouts became uncertain.

Certainly, I'll continue translating the rest of the text you provided.

☆

The impact of Seon U Hwa-ryeong's death on society wasn't significant.

Some people questioned his death, but it ended there.

His death was quickly forgotten, and people continued their daily lives as usual.

Instead, people were more interested in finding Pandora Hearts, the idol group that became instant stars after a brief TV appearance.

As a result, Pandora Hearts officially debuted riding on their popularity and have been on a high ever since.

Even in the previous life, Ariel debuted as an idol....

This future hasn't changed, it seems.

It's a bit surprising, but it's not bad since we can promote at the clan level.

Yoo Cheon even asked to help Pandora Hearts continue their activities.

Eun-ha allowed Ariel's entertainment activities for stress management, as she enjoyed singing.

For now, Pandora Hearts was scheduled to take a break after finishing activities for their first album.

It was an unexpected turn of events anyway.

"Genesis Clan Lord, welcome."

"Calling me to a place like this.... What on earth did you want to talk about?"

On one such day.

Eun-ha secretly met Ji Yong-hyeon, the <First Sword> of Genesis Clan.

It was a bar that Twenty-five and Lee Kang-hyuk had connections with.

Eun-ha, who had been waiting in the innermost room, welcomed Ji Yong-hyeon.

"Well... It's nothing much. Ah, let's have a drink first."

"It's the first time I'm drinking with the Pandora Clan Lord like this."

Eun-ha poured alcohol into the glass.

Then Ji Yong-hyeon also poured alcohol into Eun-ha's glass.

The two clinked their glasses together.

Then Eun-ha activated magic.

"I'll put up a soundproofing barrier."

"Alright."

He creates a soundproofing barrier that can't be detected from the outside by mixing the principles of Magoo and Sonic Wave.

Eun-ha accomplished this with just a few hand gestures.

Ji Yong-hyeon recognized Eun-ha's skill and quietly expressed admiration.

"Actually, I have a proposal for the Genesis Clan Lord."

"A proposal?"

"Yes, a proposal."

The recent PKK Group incident.

Eun-ha had figured out that Choi Jung-hoon's influence was behind it.

So he wanted to take retaliatory measures against Choi Jung-hoon.

But Choi Jung-hoon was guarded by bodyguards 24 hours a day.

It was quite risky for Eun-ha, now hailed as a national hero, to approach him.

Seon U Hwa-ryeong had been lucky.

Now I should slowly... decide how to deal with that guy too.

Let's think about it carefully.

Choi Jung-hoon was a troublesome existence.

He was Eun-ha's enemy.

But the development he would bring to this country couldn't be ignored.

He was also the only person who could stand against Sirius Group's monopoly.

For Baek-ryeon's authority to take precedence, the people below and the business groups need to be weakened to the point where they can't interfere with Baek-ryeon.

Even if Sirius Group is on my side, Sirius Group isn't mine, it's entirely Han Seo-yeon's.

I can't let Han Seo-yeon dominate.

Galaxy and Sirius.

Luminous and YH.

KK and Donghae, etc.

Currently, the top 10 business groups were balanced.

They were too busy competing with each other to pressure the Fairy.

Eun-ha hoped this situation would continue in the future.

Even so, Choi Jung-hoon is annoying.

Should I just brainwash him and turn him into a puppet...

But that was too dangerous.

Other people would notice, and there was a high probability that Choi Jung-hoon's mind would completely collapse.

That's why Eun-ha decided to take revenge in another way.

The reason Eun-ha met Ji Yong-hyeon today wasn't unrelated to this.

"The proposal is... would you consider creating a new clan?"

"A new clan? What do you mean?"

"As far as I know, Genesis Clan was originally created to be a sword to protect the Fairy. The Genesis Clan Lord thinks the same, right?"

"...That's right. At that time, everyone who joined Genesis Clan swore to carry on <Divine Spear>'s will, and I too carried on <Divine Spear>'s will."

"But don't you think it's far from its founding purpose these days?"

"..."

"People joining are only interested in the name value of Genesis Clan, and since you receive sponsorship from Galaxy Group, you sometimes get interference, right?"

"So you're saying I should create a new clan for the sake of reform? One that doesn't receive sponsorship from anyone?"

"That would be nice, but... You'd end up spending a lot of money that way. The scope of clan activities would be narrow too. So how about creating a clan composed of people who truly want to protect the Fairy, and receiving sponsorship from the Mana Management Agency?"

"Sponsorship from the Mana Management Agency..."

"Unlike in the past, they should have quite a lot of money now, and their influence is quite strong too."

"Calling me here to say such things, it's just bewildering."

Ji Yong-hyeon sighed.

Eun-ha replied proudly.

"What is the Fairy, no, what is Baek-ryeon to you, Pandora Clan Lord? Is she a tool to be wielded, or a person to be protected?"

It was as if he was saying he would gladly become an enemy depending on the answer.

Eun-ha didn't avoid his gaze and answered honestly.

"Family, whom I absolutely don't want to leave crying."

"..."

What expression would suit?

There was no need to ponder.

In his previous life, he, Yoo Jung, and Ha Baek-ryeon had formed what was essentially a family.

So saying they were like family was absolutely not wrong.

"I'll think about it slowly, positively."

Perhaps he liked his answer.

Ji Yong-hyeon offered his glass with a smile on his lips.

Eun-ha clinked glasses with him.

☆

I learned from this incident.

The law is made for people to live comfortably, but there are too many people who aren't protected by that law.

When I become the Fairy, I'll make sure all those people are protected by the law too.

Until now, she had simply tried to become a Fairy who did her job well, not thinking about what kind of Fairy she wanted to be.

Being a Fairy who did her job well was a goal.

'What kind' of Fairy was a dream.

Until now, she had acquiesced to accepting the fate of becoming a Fairy, not dreaming of anything.

So this time, she decided on a dream.

To become a Fairy who creates a country where everyone can be treated fairly.

With this, Ha Baek-ryeon wrote down her thoughts and submitted the assignment to Im Ga-eul.

To which Im Ga-eul said─.

"─It's good content, but it might not be easy to apply in reality."

Im Ga-eul gave a bitter smile and patted her head.

A law for equality of all people.

The content was mainly about treating Ains and foreigners equally like other people, and incorporating people who aren't recorded in the national administrative system and thus can't receive protection into the system.

Unfortunately, the law Ha Baek-ryeon had carefully drafted was judged to be difficult in reality.

"What? Why?"

Ha Baek-ryeon wanted to know the reason.

Im Ga-eul kindly explained.

"Too much time has passed since we rose from destruction. People have become accustomed to this life now."

"..."

"And the people who have been benefiting until now will obviously oppose it."

"Why would they oppose? Who benefits from this? Just making it mandatory to register resident registration numbers for Ains and foreigners..."

"It's something that harms all citizens except Ains and foreigners. All citizens except them."

"...Why?"

She couldn't understand.

Im Ga-eul was troubled.

Nevertheless, Im Ga-eul couldn't ignore her question.

"Assuming people are selfish, everyone wants to not be at the bottom compared to others. You sometimes feel that way in school life too, right Baek-ryeon?"

"..."

"It's like that. So all we can do is watch to make sure they don't cross the line and help appropriately."

"Is that... so? Then until now, it wasn't that we couldn't do it, but that we didn't..."

"Above all."

Ha Baek-ryeon's eyes wavered.

Im Ga-eul quickly cut off her words and took the lead.

"Darkness doesn't want it."

"...What?"

"This is something you'll learn someday... Darkness doesn't want it. That's the only way darkness can fully exist. That was what the powerful people at the time agreed upon when this country was rebuilt."

Darkness doesn't want it.

What is darkness?

Ha Baek-ryeon wanted to know, but Im Ga-eul didn't tell her anymore.

Just saying she would tell her when she became an adult.

Im Ga-eul just repeated those words and eventually chased her away.

But I don't want to give up....

Ha Baek-ryeon was frustrated.

But she didn't want to give up.

Even if it was realistically difficult, she wanted to succeed.

Moreover, when she told Jin Pa-rang, Jin Seo-na, and Ariel about her thoughts.

The three praised her, saying she was very admirable.

She didn't want to disappoint them.

It was on one such day.

"Ah! Hello."

"It's Baek-ryeon. It's been a while."

On her way to receive Fairy lessons.

Ha Baek-ryeon met Baek Seo-jin.

She immediately bowed her head.

Baek Seo-jin received her greeting with a kind smile.

And then.

"I saw the assignment you did."

"Yes?"

"A law for a country where all people are equal. That one."

"Ah, you saw it..."

"It was a good law."

Baek Seo-jin suddenly spoke.

And he evaluated that the law she made was good.

Ha Baek-ryeon's face brightened.

But Baek Seo-jin's praise was very brief.

His hand fell heavily on Ha Baek-ryeon's head.

"But it's impossible in this country."

"..."

"As monsters appeared, this world became a thoroughly class-based society. Above all, this country is based on darkness."

A voice with weight.

Ha Baek-ryeon found Baek Seo-jin's words extremely threatening.

She froze on the spot.

The hand stroking her head felt like a threat that it could burst this head at any time if he wanted to.

"Be a good Fairy. I hope you'll act out hope for the citizens that way."

After saying that.

Baek Seo-jin left.

Released from the pressure, Ha Baek-ryeon stood there for a long time.

Indeed, he's a scary person.

☆

Equality is impossible in this society.

But people tend to gather under one banner.

That banner can sometimes be religion.

And sometimes it can be a person.

And in the case of a person, it now becomes idol worship.

Today and tomorrow

I hope it's sunny!

IDOL.

Pandora Hearts had a busy schedule thanks to their popularity.

Today was no exception.

They received cheers from people at a university festival they appeared at.

Their songs and dances brought joy to people.

One, two, three!!

The first album, main title track.

As the bouncy tune was coming to an end.

Ariel signaled to the stage.

People waved their light sticks following her lines.

Finally, Iriya came to the front of the stage and put her hands together in prayer.

"We are all equal beings under the wings of Eunha God. Amen."

""""Amen.""""

The song ended.

Everyone prayed.

Pandora Hearts' activities were explosively intertwined with the expansion of the Eunha Faith.