The Knight King Who Returned with Gods : Chapter 29
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 29 Inner Justice (2)
The luncheon and the stroll with the President had ended
neatly.
The more he listened to Leon's story, the more his
complexion turned blue. And as he made up his mind, Leon tapped him on the
shoulder.
"President Ahn. Despite my status as a guest, I have
a favor to ask of you."
"A... favor?"
President Ahn was very worried about what kind of favor
this madman might ask.
This was a scumbag king who saw his people as slaves to
be exploited!
With his inner sense of justice awakened, President Ahn
had long since forgotten about his conversation with Chairman Kim Dae-young a
few days ago.
"It's no big deal. I have farmers who work under me.
They say that the problem of contamination of the land has not been
procedurally resolved yet."
"Ah......."
He immediately understood. Land contaminated with maso is
labeled as a polluted area and all use is restricted.
The Hunan Plain had been purified, but it still needed to
be verified and formalized, so technically it was still an administratively
contaminated area.
"The local officials are a bit slow. I will get this
taken care of quickly."
"Thank you. I apologize for asking you to do this as
a visitor."
"No, Your Majesty, what you have done for Korea is
more than enough."
President Ahn might be wary of Leon, but he didn't deny
Leon's usefulness. He also had a question about the 'blessed rice'.
"Speaking of which, Your Majesty, how do you intend
to distribute the rice in the future?"
"I've decided to sell it through the
Association."
"Hmm, I see, but it seems like it would be a lot for
the Association to handle alone, especially since it's such a high-value
commodity that even foreign countries would be interested in."
"We have yet to provide for all the people of this
land, so how can we possibly look at other countries? But if all the farmers
have the faith they are supposed to have, it won't be too far off."
President Ahn understood Leon's intentions, but he also
remembered what Chairman Kim Dae-young had asked him to do a couple days prior.
Leon's blessed rice was a big game-changer. It was a
breakthrough.
The seeds had to be secured by the Republic of South
Korea.
'What
if we become the first to distribute the blessed rice to the entire country and
create a national health miracle?'
President Ahn cannot help but imagine that future.
'Heheh.......'
Although he hid his thoughts behind a smile, Leon knew
what President Ahn was thinking.
But he shouldn't be so amazed. The miracles of being in
the company of the divines wouldn't just end there.
"President Ahn. By the way, the Association has been
a bit pushy with me lately."
"Yes? The Association? When I have specifically
instructed them to cooperate with Your Majesty?"
"Hahaha, indeed, you are the representative of the
Republic of Korea. You act like a dignified man. Nothing less."
President Ahn was willing to listen to whatever Leon
asked for. Since Leon hadn't made any brazen moves yet, he'd milk as much as he
could out of him.
'What does he want from the Association? Is it benefits
like the top ten guilds──'
"Something about me having to pay taxes or
something."
"......?"
"As President Ahn knows, counting coins is not
befitting of a king."
He had been accumulating apology statements as a
political figure for years.
"How can a king be expected to pay taxes?"
Being criticized for tax evasion of 10 billion won which dragged
his parents-in-law.
"That is ridiculous, I can't possibly be expected to
pay a penny out of my own pocket. The commoners of the Association are unable
to understand. President Ahn should do something about it."
'Y, you're worse than me, you bastard!'
Once again, his inner justice flared up.
* * * *
Kim Dae-young, Chairman of Daelong Group, was introduced
to Leon, which he had requested from President Ahn.
Thanks to this, the company was busy preparing all kinds
of feasts and welcoming arrangements.
"Kim Shin-young, can't you come here sooner?"
"Agh! Uncle, I'm still not fully recovered!"
Kim Shin-young. She was the niece of Daelong Group
Chairman Kim Dae-young. A young woman who had recently undergone chemotherapy
for breast cancer.
She was the epitome of a chaebol spoiled child, as she
was raised as the youngest child, but not today.
"If you don't behave yourself today, I don't care if
your mom or dad are watching, I'm going to break your legs!"
"Che... and I was thinking of going to a club for
the first time in a while."
Even though she said that, Kim Shin-young was also
looking forward to Leon's visit.
She had been suffering through chemotherapy and
miraculously began to get better after eating the rice.
Of course, she hasn't been completely cured yet, but it
looks like she will soon be, as the large tumor mass had shrunk to the point
where science can't explain it.
She didn't even need rehabilitation. In fact, even though
the cancer was not yet cured, she felt much healthier than before and her body
was full of energy.
And most importantly, she felt a strange energy whenever
she ate the rice. The mysteriousness of it was strangely disturbing.
"But Uncle, have you tried that rice yet?"
"Don't eat things without knowing what they are.
I'll think about it after the safety tests are done."
"Well... I'm running out of it."
The stock Shin-young had gotten were the ones her mom had
managed to get from the Honam Plain for her during her treatment.
It wasn't so easy to obtain at that time, and now it's
under strict surveillance by the Association.
"What kind of man is he?"
Shin-young was curious about Leon, the man who grew such
rice. The information that he was a survivor who succeeded in capturing
Cheongju Gate was widely spread.
It had become quite an uproar about him preaching his
faith, but Kim Shin-young was one of those who had directly benefited from it.
Even now, she could feel a tingling energy within her
body.
This feeling of warmth inside her.
It was a sensation that could not be described in words
to her who was used to pleasures and drugs as she ran around clubs.
Soon enough, a state car pulled into the reception hall.
It was the vehicle carrying Leon.
"Oh, Your Majesty! Welcome!"
Chairman Kim Dae-young greeted Leon with an attitude that
seemed like he was about to throw his hands up in the air. Despite the
hospitality, Leon narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue.
"Tsk. If it weren't for President Ahn's request, I
wouldn't have come to a merchant's place."
"Haha... the honor is on our side, Your
Majesty."
Chairman Kim Dae-young did not make the same mistake as
Doojeong Group's Park Jong-chan.
His opponent was a thoroughly authoritarian royal. He's
arrogant, treating entrepreneurs as merchants.
But his power is real.
Whether it's the power of faith or the Lionhearted King's
own ability, it was hard for him to understand, but in short, it was the power
to make money.
"The reason I invited Your Majesty this time is
because I have a child who has been cured of a great illness thanks to Your
Majesty's grace."
"Ho-ho? You say you have a child who has been graced
by the Goddess?"
"Yes, yes. Shin-young, what are you doing instead of
showing yourself?"
Chairman Kim's strategy was this:
He would use Kim Shin-young, whose cancer was cured
thanks to the blessed rice, to repay the favor.
It may seem like Chairman Kim Dae-young was unilaterally
doing this, but the human heart is such that when they receive something, they
want to give something back.
In this way, they build goodwill and maintain a
relationship, then will naturally talk about things like business. To him, a
financial tycoon, he is like a primitive royalty.
"Ah......."
Shin-young came over in front of Leon at his uncle's
beckoning, and something inside her stirred.
Radiance.
A holy aura and splendor.
A spiritual power that transcends humanity.
She shuddered at the intense aura that beamed down on
her.
"Niece?"
'Why is he calling me like that all of a sudden? Am I
really sick? I told him that I haven't fully recovered! I shouldn't have come!'
She was the niece of the Daelong Group's chairman, Kim
Shin-young. She was very famous within the circle.
It was no secret that she was a bit of a troublemaker,
downing pills in broad daylight, abusing power, and lost herself in luxury.
If it weren't for the interference of the Daelong Group,
Kim Shin-young would have been in jail as a drug offender. But even Kim
Dae-young, the chairman of Daelong Group, hadn't been able to fix Kim
Shin-young's messed-up behavior. But.......
"Who, who are you? A, a god? Or, are you
'Death'?"
"Niece, you're scary. What's wrong with you?"
"I am an agent of the Pantheon. The guardian of
light and justice, as well as the keeper of the temple's fires. I am also the
guardian of poor people as yourself."
"Ah......."
As Leon stood before her, Shin-Young dropped to her knees
in fear, desperately avoiding his gaze. As if trying to prevent something as
filthy as herself from reaching him.
'Is
this failure being considerate of others?'
No one in the house, including Kim Dae-young, could even
imagine it.
"Yo- you don't need to offer a hand......."
"Ahaha, don't be afraid."
"Sob...!"
Shin Young wondered if this was what the sick woman who
touched the hem of Jesus' garment 2,000 years ago would have felt.
The man's radiance was intense. Something inside of her
flared up in response.
To feel a sense of fulfillment and sanctity that can't
even be compared to drug-induced hallucinations.
"Hold on to the holy feeling you feel now. Your
purity has pleased the divine, so honor it."
"Sob sob sob... thank you! Thank you, thank you,
Angel...!"
"It is King Lionheart."
Leon gently stroked Shin-Young's head as she wept in
gratitude. It was a sight that would have stunned anyone who knew him on Earth.
But that aside,
'Wha,
what the... Scary.'
‘What’s
wrong with her? She must have lost it.'
To the average person, who doesn't ingest the blessed
rice and doesn't feel the presence of the divine, it would have looked like a
drug addict's terrifying paroxysm.
Except that she was so much more subdued than usual.
"Take this child to the bedroom. She is a child of
great religious gifts. Treat her with the utmost care."
"Yes? Yes?"
...Great religious gifts?
Chairman Kim Dae-young and the attendants gave him a
dubious glance, but Leon's gaze was unwavering.
"Go on."
"Ah, yes! Miss, come this way."
Faced with Leon, the attendants laboriously led the
sobbing girl with weak legs away.
Chairman Kim Dae-young was still stunned, but Leon's
voice snapped him out of it.
"Are they guests you invited?"
"What? No, I didn't invite anyone other than His
Majesty──"
"There's Chairman Kim!"
A group of people were rushing in from the other side
before his words were finished. The chairman's bodyguard team immediately
stepped forward, but the people with headbands' voices boomed through.
"President Kim Dae-young, we demand a five-day work
week!"
"Raise our wages!"
"Reinstate the unfairly fired employees!"
Protesters holding signs marched forward.
Leon asked,
"Who are they?"
"You, Your Majesty don't have to worry about them.
That bunch of commies."
"I asked you. Don't divert the subject."
When Leon made an expression of displeasure, Kim
Dae-young quickly explained,
"They, they... are... protesters. They've been
making a lot of noise lately."
"Protesters... What are they?"
"......."
Kim Dae-yonug hesitated to answer.
'If
I told the truth here, I'd be the bad guy.'
"It, it's a small matter. I hired them, and they
don't even know how to thank me and ask me to raise their wages. There are many
other people who can replace them, and they don't even understand that."
"That is not a good thing to say. Labor is something
sacred. Laborers should be treated accordingly."
Alas. He was leaning toward social justice. He misjudged
the royalty.
Kim Dae-young admitted his mistake. He passed the story
as smoothly as possible,
"No, of course, our group adheres to industry
standards for the convenience of our employees. In fact, we do a pretty good
job of it."
"Industry standards. It's obvious even if I haven't
heard it."
"Ha, ha, ha......."
Chairman Kim broke out in a cold sweat and quickly
thought of something to make Leon feel better.
'Yeah,
righteousness', he thought.
"Your Majesty is giving this merchant a big lesson.
I understand, I'll have their wages raised. This old man seems to have forgotten
his original intentions."
"Raise their wages? Why?"
"What?"
Leon stared at Chairman Kim with questioning eyes.
Genuinely puzzled.
"There's no need to raise wages since there's
already a fixed amount."
"Yes? Ah... I heard that Your Majesty also pays
farmers. How much does Your Majesty pay them......."
"Ten percent."
"......!"
For a moment, Chairman Kim Dae-young wondered if he had
misheard. 10%? And the 90%?
"In the Lionheart Kingdom, where we are taught by
the Goddess, we offer ninety percent for offerings. It's benevolence. You're
assured of a whopping 10% yield."
"Huh!"
"Crazy......."
"Unbelievable......."
The exclamations came from all directions.
Ten percent? Against ninety percent?
It was a horrific tax that even the British colonial
bosses of the past era could not have imagined.
'Is
it really okay to join hands with such a devilish person?'
And this gave Chairman Kim Dae-young a great sense of
skepticism.
Although he was considered an unscrupulous businessman by
the public, he prided himself on having lived a life of at least a little bit
of goodness.
At least he didn't let his employees starve to death.
Like many businessmen, he's worked his workers to the brink of exhaustion,
outsourcing to third, fourth, and fifth parties to cut costs and having them
endure harsh working conditions.
But Leon wasn't at that level.
Ten percent? Against ninety percent?
'How
could anyone be this evil? This guy is a real medieval king.'
He feared what horrible things would happen if this man had
influence over domestic companies.
'What
an evil man... I am evil, but not as evil as him!'
The next day, an article appeared saying that
negotiations with the protesters had been dramatically concluded.
* * * *
Despite being introduced by the President, why Leon
bothered to meet with the lowly merchant was to get help in the distribution of
the 10% of the rice produced in the plains.
The 10% was supposed to be handled by the government and
the rest was to be left to the farmers to dispose of themselves, but the
problem is that today's farmers don't have the 'power' to dispose of their
rice.
As the Pantheon's name spread through YubTube
advertisements as well as news coverage, the attention focused on Leon, the
Pantheon, and the blessed crops rose.
This also means that individual farmers are powerless to
safeguard their rice unless they sell it.
Han Hari immediately reported that the rice distribution
center was flooded by cancer patients.
It was a disturbance caused by the desperate, terminally ill
patients, but there was no telling when mercenaries and Majin would join in.
"230 million won a bale."
Hari clapped her hands in delight at the price, which was
much higher than what they'd get from the Association.
"That's incredible, Your Majesty!"
"It should be cheaper."
"Yes?"
"It's the market that sets the price of goods, but
the crops aren't worth that much."
"Uh......."
More expensive is better, right? Hari thought so
inwardly, but Leon disagreed.
"If it's so expensive, how can the poor people buy
it and eat it? The grace of the Goddess should be shared equally among all the
people."
"So... should we sell it?"
"I told the President that he should educate the
common people and preach about divine grace, but he said that a president must
remain religiously neutral."
"Well... he has a point."
Where Leon lived, religion held great authority, but here
on Earth, it was different.
The theocracy had died out long ago, leaving only the
Middle East as a place where religious authority could be exercised by the
political establishment.
Here, the president had to remain religiously neutral.
"Well, this has gathered quite a bit of faith,
enough to raise the power of the 'Lion's Heart' and a legion."
At that, Hari realized something and spoke up,
"Those whom His Majesty has ordered to get ready are
currently on standby."
"Hmm. Have you found a suitable dungeon?"
"Yes, but Your Majesty... are you sure it will be
all right?"
"What do you mean?"
Hari had prepared what Leon had asked for dutifully. Even
though she had basically become a temporary employee of the Pantheon Guild, she
could do things easier since the Association was keeping a close eye on Leon.
They told her to give in to whatever he asked for.
"The yellow-ranked gate that appeared this
morning... I've won the bid on it, as Your Majesty wishes."
Yellow grade. Of course, it's a gate that Leon, who has
more than enough power (at least S-class), can handle on his own.
But he won't be the one clearing this gate.
"It would be... nearly impossible for those chosen
by Your Majesty to capture that gate."
"Well. That remains to be seen."
"????"
Leon smirked at the confused Hari.
"If they can't do that without a Lionhearted King by
their side, then they won't even be able to serve as soldiers."
Two days later, in front of Samjeon Station in the Songpa
District of Seoul. More than 50 Hunters were gathered in front of the gate.
Among them was Gu Dae-sung, the 10,000-year D-class
hunter.
***
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