Chapter 356: Chapter 356

The angels panicked and called out the goddess’ name, but she didn’t answer.

“Let me in.”

“!”

The angels were surprised by Choi Yeonseung’s sudden appearance. They had worked together a few times, but the angels hadn’t expected him to come directly to the goddess’ realm like this.

“Choi Yeonseung, no matter what, you can’t do this!”

“That’s right. Master is very depressed right now. We can’t soothe her. If you go in for no reason, you can get seriously hurt.”

Adaquaniel appeared behind Choi Yeonseung and said, “I will take responsibility in my name.”

“If you say so...”

“It can’t be helped.”

The angels immediately stepped aside. Seeing how easily the angels let him in, Choi Yeonseung thought for a moment that the goddess’ words didn’t hold much weight.

“...Can you please back off so I can talk to her?”

“Ah, of course.”

“We just wanted to take a look...”

The angels watched curiously before flapping their wings and moving back. What did Choi Yeonseung intend to say to her?

“...Could it be that Master forced that human...?”

“What nonsense are you saying? No matter how kind Master is to us, there are some things that we absolutely can’t say!”

“B-but what Master said earlier was so questionable...” n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Some of the angels looked baffled after they listened to the goddess of balance. To make it more suspicious, Choi Yeonseung was the only mortal the goddess of balance had been interested in lately.

“That was probably about something else! Everyone, watch your mouths! I won’t forgive you for saying that about our master!”

“I... I’m sorry. You are right.”

The angels reflected on their impudence. There was no way their master would’ve done something like that.

***

“...”

Choi Yeonseung already felt uncomfortable as he heard the crying coming from the goddess’ room.

“Goddess, can I come in?”

...What?! the goddess yelled in surprise and stopped crying. The angels should’ve prevented anyone from coming in, but Choi Yeonseung had suddenly come in front of her room. Did no one stop you?!

“I asked them to let me in, so they did.”

...They let you in because Adaquaniel told them, right?

“...Yes.”

The goddess wasn’t a complete fool. She obviously knew that only Adaquaniel could’ve made the angels step aside. Without her, Choi Yeonseung wouldn’t have been able to come in so easily.

That’s right. Everyone trusts and follows Adaquaniel. You also trust and follow Adaquaniel... I’m an ugly constellation who is pushed aside even by her own subordinates...

“No, why would you say that?”

You would be better off with Adaquaniel. You are both mortals.

The goddess’ voice became lower and lower.

“Goddess, it would be better for us to talk in person. There seems to be a misunderstanding.”

We can’t meet in person.

“What do you mean?”

I might hurt you because of my perverse and twisted desire.

“...No, that’s certainly not the case...”

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ sincerely apologizes. She says she said that in the heat of the moment.]

“Goddess, please listen to me. It’s understandable that you feel confused because of that constellation from the future. However, she only defeated you because she had a powerful ability and because she knew about you. There’s no shame in losing to someone like that.”

...??

[???]

-???

“...Wasn’t it because of that?”

Choi Yeonseung was flustered when all the listening constellations acted surprised. He thought that the goddess of balance was depressed over the humiliation of being defeated by the constellation from the future...

-Are you crazy?

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ cannot believe you are saying this. Your child came from the future and you are thinking about losing a fight?]

‘Of course, that part was shocking as well, but since it’s the most shocking thing, shouldn’t we first talk about the fight, which is less shocking, and then move on to the most pressing matter and resolve the misunderstanding?’

-......

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ says that isn’t the case.]

It seemed that Choi Yeonseung’s words only managed to inflict another wound onto the goddess of balance.

That’s right... I couldn’t do anything. I just got hit...

“Goddess, I also lost against that constellation. Don’t you remember?”

It wasn’t a loss. It was a tie...

“In any case, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. You have to see the fight until the end.”

The goddess sighed and nodded reluctantly at Choi Yeonseung’s persuasion.

That’s right...

“So do you feel better now?”

...How could I?! she shouted as though she found it absurd. There was still a severe problem. Look, Hunter Choi Yeonseung. If what that constellation said is true, how was she born?

“Uh... Do I have to be specific?”

Choi Yeonseung wondered if he needed to teach sex education to a constellation. The goddess also noticed this, so she gave up and spoke before him.

...I guess I used my power to suppress you and then gave birth to that child...?

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says you might’ve used a trick rather than strength...]

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ says to shut up and listen.]

“No, Goddess. That’s not the case.”

How can you be sure? the goddess asked bluntly.

“I’m also a constellation, so I don’t think you can overpower me by force.”

...???

***

There was an awkward silence for a while.

Choi Yeonseung decided to reveal his true strength. After all, this was the goddess’ domain, so nobody else would see it.

“I will open the door and come in.”

Choi Yeonseung used his power of existence to open and close the door that normally couldn’t be moved with ordinary force. The goddess stepped back in surprise, her eyes still watery and puffy. Silk garments and sheets were thrown all over the place.

Her room was quite a mess.

The Undefeated Incarnation of Training...?

“Yup, that’s me.”

......

The goddess looked at Choi Yeonseung once and then at the ceiling. She then cocked her head and finally seemed to accept it.

“Isn’t the problem solved now?” asked Choi Yeonseung optimistically.

Seeing his pure expression, the goddess also said, Hmm, I guess...? She was about to move on when her eyes suddenly widened.

Too many things had happened for her to get over it that easily.

Wait... Wait a minute.

-It’s ruined...

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ says it is good to reveal the truth, but it seems to have awakened other memories. You should’ve just lied to the end...]

I’m sure I said a lot of things...

“I don’t remember, Goddess. Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, let’s work together to destroy the evil god constellations of the Abyss,” Choi Yeonseung said firmly as he held the goddess’ hand.

He had a feeling that if he just left right then and there, the goddess would go back to being depressed in her room!

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. However, I couldn’t tell you the truth because I had a hard time persuading the constellations I’m allied with.”

-???

[???]

[???]

The other constellations were startled by Choi Yeonseung’s suddenly throwing the blame on them. Was he selling them out?!

Of course, he wasn’t entirely wrong, but...!

“Let me introduce you.”

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ greets you awkwardly.]

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ manages her expression and says hello.]

[The ‘Goddess of Defeat and Sloth’ says that she didn’t do anything.]

......

The goddess of balance was stunned by how the other constellations greeted her. She didn’t seem particularly pleased, but it was understandable. From her perspective, the other constellations had prevented her from learning the truth about Choi Yeonseung.

If anything, it would’ve been strange if she had responded positively.

Ah, yes... Nice to meet you...

‘She’s not happy at all.’

In any case, Choi Yeonseung managed to resolve the situation by dropping this bombshell; the goddess was so shocked that she had forgotten to cry. Of course, after Choi Yeonseung left, she might remember what he had said and throw another fit, kicking the blankets and yelling, but the overall issue would’ve been sorted by then.

“I look forward to your kind cooperation in the future, Goddess.”

Choi Yeonseung extended his hand. The goddess hesitated before smiling gently and shaking Choi Yeonseung’s hand.

She was still confused and all over the place, but the moment Choi Yeonseung held out his hand, she instantly wanted to hold it.

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ says it is too easy...]

[The ‘Goddess of Defeat and Sloth’ says that they can still hear you...]

[...She praises that generosity is the charm of the goddess of balance.]

At the end of the conversation, Choi Yeonseung sighed with relief. Having this conversation had been so difficult that he felt it would’ve been easier to fight a constellation.

He was glad that it was somehow finally over!

-It’s a shame that you have revealed your secret, but you can definitely trust the goddess of balance if you look at the constellation who appeared from the future.

-I told you we can trust her.

-Yes, I got it. Also, don’t forget to make a child.

-...Wait. Do I have to make it now?

-I don’t know that... My realm isn’t seeing the future.

***

Stankey, the chairman and current CEO of Western Systems, was a man full of arrogance. He used to say this all the time...

-Even if companies who make high-tech artifacts look fancy, they’re still nothing without our company.

In a way, it was true.

The companies that made products by combining technology with state-of-the-art artifacts didn’t do all the production themselves. The really valuable components would be handled by reliable companies, and those that didn’t require much technology would be handled by lesser companies with lower labor costs...

Of course, the one who requested the components was the main party, which had the most amount of authority in the exchange, but sometimes, this relationship was reversed.

If the company hired by the main party was so technologically skilled that it was irreplaceable, it would actually have more authority than the main party!

Western Systems was just like that. Their technology to manufacture core stabilizers, which was often used in products containing artifacts, was excellent.

The cores from monsters weren’t used just for generating energy. By processing the core, it could also be used as fuel to directly activate magic artifacts. Of course, that was several times more difficult than just using it as an energy source, but the speed of human development was unimaginable.

At the moment, there were various magic artifacts being released. However, the core was essentially an unstable material, and several safety devices were needed to avoid accidents when using it.

The core stabilizer was one of those devices. It was an intermediate component that couldn’t be omitted when it came to artifact-related products!

“Chairman, Hunter Choi Yeonseung said he is coming in person.”

“What??”

Stankey frowned at the unexpected news.

There were many people in the business world who didn’t like hunters who had become entrepreneurs. Traditional entrepreneurs saw hunters who had become entrepreneurs as cocky bastards who would inevitably screw up and lose everything.

In fact, such entrepreneurs had been involved in many scandals and accidents.

-CEO John Fields, a former hunter, is accused of a Ponzi scheme...

-Immense damage...

-The recently acclaimed electronic money turned out to be a scam. There are a lot of victims...

Given this image, Stankey naturally didn’t like Choi Yeonseung.

Hwang Gyeongryong had a long track record. Even if Stankey disliked him, he had to acknowledge his achievements. However, Choi Yeonseung had just popped out of nowhere.

“Chairman, he’s an A-grade hunter and is currently in charge of Dragon Industry.”

“I know that. You think I’d frown in front of him? Watch your mouth.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Why do you think he's coming? It’s probably because of the Chinese factories, right?”

“I think so.”

“If those crazy hunters had done their job properly, it probably wouldn’t have happened...”

Stankey cursed with a dissatisfied expression. Whenever hunters gained fame and fortune through raids, entrepreneurs often wanted to gouge their eyes out at the dropping stock prices.

That was one of the reasons Stankey had a bad feeling about this.

‘If the hunters hadn’t stopped it, the area would’ve been devastated...’

“Follow me. I have to persuade him myself.”

“You mean right now?”

“Yes. In any case, it’s difficult for his company to find anyone other than us. He’s like a child, so he’s easily coaxed.”