– Thud!
“Jin-woo, hurry up and start the car!”
“Huh? Didn’t you say there was no scoop?”
– Whack!
“Are you living under a rock? How much chaos has there been since Yoon Seong-ho’s death was announced!”
Inside a broadcasting station, a seasoned reporter smacked a folder onto the desk of what seemed to be a rookie reporter.
“Quickly start the car, we need to head straight to the XX Funeral Parlor.”
Without delay, an old van belonging to the broadcasting station set off toward the XX Funeral Parlor, the venue of Chairman Yoon Seong-ho’s funeral.
“But, is there anything to cover at the funeral parlor?”
“Ah, I just realized this is your first time, isn’t it? A funeral parlor.”
“Yes.”
As the junior reporter drove toward the funeral parlor, the senior reporter began to slowly explain what kinds of stories they could uncover at such a venue.
“At a hero’s funeral, we capture the mourning; at a villain’s funeral, their criticism and mockery; and for the rich, we get the family feuds over inheritance.”
“Still, it feels wrong to focus on inheritance when someone has passed away.”
The junior reporter murmured, clearly uneasy, but the senior reporter replied:
“Idiot, it’s an era where even the memory of a dead family member can be sold for profit. And if they cry, ‘I loved our family the most~’ to manipulate the media, it puts them at a significant advantage when inheritance disputes arise later.”
With that, the reporters entered the funeral parlor without answering further.
“But… was there a successor in the Yoon Seong-ho family?”
“I’m not sure… Hero Lee Seol-hwa left home and operates independently. I heard there’s a daughter studying at Raon Academy around her age… Ah, that must be her.”
“Poor girl, at such a young age being surrounded by relatives from both sides of the family…”
The journalists entered the funeral parlor expecting the usual heated inheritance fight but were instead met with an unexpectedly quiet atmosphere.
Ordinarily, the mood should have been so tense that funeral attire might even be in disarray due to the intense arguments. However, most visitors seemed entranced, merely eating the traditional soup and quietly leaving without a word. This even included the Kim family, which had been on the rise since acquiring a significant portion of Yoon Seong-ho’s fortune.
Concluding that interviewing the seemingly distraught young girl wouldn’t be as impactful as obtaining a statement from the Kim family, who inevitably would inherit the majority of Yoon Seong-ho’s wealth, the reporters focused on the Kim family.
“The uncle’s passing has been too shocking for Se-ah; we plan to protect her until she recovers emotionally. We will carefully plan her return to the academy.”
“Yes, thank you for the interview.”
After finishing the interview, the reporters watched Yoon Se-ah struggling to enter the main mourning room.
“Let’s go, staying here any longer will just drain our energy.”
“…”
“Huh… I didn’t expect the funeral parlor’s atmosphere to be like this.”
“Senior, what will happen to that girl now?”
After reboarding the van returning to the broadcasting station, the junior reporter asked his senior.
“Well, what wouldn’t happen? She’ll either transfer all her inherited shares or they will be forcefully taken by the Kim family. Although, Raon Academy alone will attract numerous opportunities for her, she doesn’t necessarily have to join the Kim family.”
“Something about the large-scale corporate inheritance fight feels… intense.”
-“Bu-roar!”
As they exchanged questions, the van’s engine roared to life, and they started back to the broadcasting station.
“If only that girl were a bit older, or Hero Lee Seol-hwa had been involved, the Kim family wouldn’t have dared approach her. Such a pity.”
“What about the article’s content?”
“Just have GPT handle it, roughly. The public just wants dopamine hits. Issues can be deleted later; we need speed.”
“…Yes, understood.”
Like that, the junior reporter, driving alone back to the station, worried momentarily for the lonely young girl, Yoon Se-ah.
“Se-ah, would you care to talk with your cousin…”
“No interest.”
‘Oh, this kid, when is this nonsense going to end?’
Meanwhile, the girl herself was nonchalantly chewing dried meat, counting the hours until this whole funeral would finally conclude.
…
It had been truly dull and uninteresting for three days.
Without my laptop, I might have died of boredom.
On the first day, no one from the Kim family even mentioned the shares that might have been left by Yoon Seong-ho.
At first, they feigned caring about Yoon Seong-ho and assured me I’d be taken care of by the Kim family without worry. There was constant persuasion to stay at their residence instead of the academy dorms…
On the second day, the true colors started to show. Most of the extended Kim relatives asked if Yoon Seong-ho had left me any special inheritance. It was likely because they had assumed that shares meant for Hero Lee Seol-hua had mistakenly come to me. Apparently, the Kim family had sent their third son. He threatened me, boasting he could block my life in Korea unless I handed over all the shares—but I kindly returned the favor with Yoon Seong-ho’s same ending.
Later reports stated that the man had tragically fallen off the Han River bridge in an alleged drinking and driving accident. It wasn’t an unnecessary move but a necessary decision—after all, he would later become a villain anyhow.
Because of the third son, the rest of the Kim family realized there was a mysterious power backing me, and their disguised attempts at demanding shares ceased. This wasn’t a wrong choice.
Afterward, the Kim family, realizing there was nothing left to gain, didn’t even participate anymore, opting to go straight to Hero Lee Seol-hwa, likely accompanied by Mrs. Kim Gyeo-ul who had failed in her schemes.
‘Whatever, they’ll figure it out themselves.’
The Kim family held a share of about 9-10%, apparently granted by Yoon Seong-ho under the condition not to demand further assets. Perhaps Kim Gyeo-ul thought she could use those shares to infiltrate Yuseong Group despite the pre-established safeguards.
With a 40% share, there’s no doubt they could control Yuseong Group; hence their initial submissive demeanor. Yet it’s easy to envision their desperate demeanor when failing, turning to Mrs. Kim Gyeo-ul, who holds a steady 30% of the shares.
Since the two were likely safe at their secure residence, they didn’t warrant my concern.
In all likelihood, they wouldn’t even pass the gates. Among the Kim family I know of two potential threats: the third son, now deceased, and the twin daughters who soon will take the entrance exam for Raon Academy.
‘Honestly, the shares don’t matter much to me.’
After all, I know how to manage wealth.
I have a plethora of copyrights for undeveloped potions which could lead to market monopolies, similar to Yoon Seong-ho, or even investing all my fortune into stocks that skyrocket later.
But as someone who must ensure this world avoids bad endings, Yuseong Group remains a formidable barrier.
For the protagonist, it can become a great lifeline through the company’s support, and for me, it can provide a solid foundation to grow.
Isn’t it more efficient to start digging a mountain with machinery rather than a single shovel?
Developing new potions within Yuseong Group would be far faster and investments from the company significantly more beneficial.
Yuseong Group, the world’s number one potion manufacturer, enjoys a position that allows easy relocation if pressed politically, thus South Korea’s government carefully uses incentives to keep them in the country.
Clearly, holding Yuseong Group is the right decision.
‘Of course, Yoon Seong-ho was too inept politically, always being pushed around by others.’
Many S-Class Hunters visited during the funeral. Most were high-ranking guild members, some even arriving before the Gate Purge.
The Spiral Guild, Sun Guild, Cloud Totality, and Sea Spear Guild were among those who visited. Most representatives were at least deputy guild masters, with Ryu Seong-ho, the master of Spiral Guild, making a personal appearance, which was somewhat surprising.
Thanks to this, I had the chance to leisurely observe the future heroes who would protect not only Korea but the world, much like following celebrities.
“…There was no need to come so far.”
“True, you can think we were dragged here because of the old man.”
On the fifth day of the funeral, members from Raon Academy arrived.
Starting with Kang Ayul, and including her grandfather, the S-Class Hero ‘Sword Saint,’ faculty members who owed their lives to potions mostly came.
They came briefly then left, Kang Ayul seemed to have something to say to me but ultimately left without uttering a word.
True to their promise, neither Lee Seol-hwa nor Mrs. Kim Gyeo-ul showed up at the funeral parlor.
Yoon Seong-ho was to be placed in a columbarium. Given the Kim family’s traits, it was unlikely they’d maintain his grave, and I found the upkeep bothersome.
With that, after assigning the rest of the tasks to the funeral parlor staff, I was just preparing to pack some of my belongings leisurely when…
– Creak!
“What is it, too late?”
A woman entered.
‘I thought she wouldn’t come.’
Her long golden hair reached her knees, and if not for her all-enveloping black robe, her outfit was so revealing that it was unclear whether she was in her underwear or fully dressed.
The Principal of Raon Academy, and South Korea’s S-Class Hero, ‘The Grand Sage.’
“Um… so you’re the student council president, right?”
“Yes, Director Eve.”
The arrival of ‘The Golden Witch,’ Eve Meitner.
