Chapter 1033

EP.1033 Part 3 Chapter 3 Truth’s Price

The bad guy here is Seongju.

Whether it’s the Tera people or the Earthlings from twenty years ago, there isn’t a single good thing to say about Seongju.

So I don’t think it’s wrong to pin all the blame on Seongju.

You think if it weren’t for Seongju, we wouldn’t have met Shin-ra?

Considering the pain Shin-ra went through, it’d probably be better if Seongju didn’t even exist.

Thus, let’s heap all the faults onto Seongju.

Even if a little stain can tarnish something pure, adding more paint to something already black won’t make much of a difference, right?

Besides, their color is already black anyway.

“So you’re asking me to cooperate for the sake of your image management?”

“Yeah.”

“Does that mean no matter who comes around in the future, as long as they say Seongju is bad, that’s all there is to it?”

“[Correct.]”

“Hmm…”

The Dark Goddess scratched her cheek.

Either my proposal didn’t sit well with her, or she just wasn’t feeling it—she showed no signs of being cooperative.

“What’s in it for me?”

“… …”

To be honest,

there’s nothing in it for the Dark Goddess.

If I threaten to cut off the “adult content supply,” this would essentially escalate into an actual fight.

Therefore, I need to persuade the Dark Goddess.

If I fail, then I’ll become an adult video uploader for sure.

“How can I get you to cooperate?”

“Cooperate? Between friends.”

“Wha…t?”

“We’re friends, aren’t we?”

The Dark Goddess extended her hand toward me.

“I’ll keep it a secret forever. If framing that ‘otherworldly dark entity’ doesn’t work, I’ll just say you’re some kind of illusion I conjured up based on you. Everyone will understand. They’ll accept that I’m a bit shady but still okay.”

No way.

I never expected the Dark Goddess to help me like this.

This woman might actually be someone I could truly befriend—

“Except there’s a condition.”

“Condition?”

Of course.

There’s no way there wouldn’t be one.

“What is it?”

“Tell me the truth.”

“The truth?”

“The truth about you. What’s this darkness from another world? Which realm are you from? And ultimately, what’s your purpose? Without that, I can’t fully commit to helping you.”

The Dark Goddess’s gaze was serious.

It was as if she had struggled internally countless times before finally managing to voice these words, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“Just reminiscing about the past.”

Back then, when I was on Earth twenty years ago, I tried every trick in the book to avoid answering such questions.

Everyone wanted the truth, but I couldn’t give it to them.

I feared the variables that would arise if I revealed the truth.

But things are different now.

“So that’s it? You’re a little worried?”

“…Huh?”

“If I tell you the truth, you might get extremely confused.”

“You’re worrying about me…? Don’t worry. I’m prepared to accept any truth. Come on, spill it already.”

“Well… I’m about to tell you something crazy. But first—”

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“The dark entity came from another world, corrupted the seven goddesses,

used that to invade another world called ‘Earth,’

and from that, a ‘game’ was created.

I was a player of that game,

and eventually ended up inside it…”


And then I was sucked in…

In that world, I became the heroine, the fallen ‘Blazing Phoenix,’ the being I loved most – the Goddess of Fire.

I saved the Earth that served as the game’s backdrop,

returned to my original world and rescued the person I loved,

and lived happily with that person I loved from my world.

But when I heard her past world was in danger, I came here.

And now, while moving to save her, I met you.

“What do you think?”

“……”

The Dark Goddess couldn’t say a word.

“Did I summarize it too much?”

“No, uh… how should I put this… um…”

The Dark Goddess pressed her head with her hand.

“Well, I can’t really respond easily right now… but damn, you must’ve suffered a lot.”

“…Yeah. Seriously went through hell.”

When you think about how many times I died in the mental world or all the pain I endured in reality, saying I suffered like crazy is no exaggeration.

“Before hearing the full explanation, let me ask something first.”

“You can ask me anything.”

“…Didn’t you just say you saved the fallen entity of the Goddess of Fire? Is the woman you’re married to….”

“Yeah, that’s right. She’s the one recognized as the Goddess of Fire in this world.”

Strictly speaking, though, she’s different.

“She’s slightly different from the current Goddess of Fire in this world. From both mine and her perspective, this is a past world, so this version of her is from before she met me.”

Shin-ra once explained it like this:

“What was Shin-ra, Blazing Phoenix, or even her previous self really like?”

The answer was surprisingly simple.

“It’s like the difference between a high school girl and a college girl.”

“…Huh?”

“If you want details, I don’t know them either. You’ll have to meet her.”

Shin-ra said this:

“Don’t touch her until the high school girl evolves into a college girl. That’s what she told me.”

Like saving the strawberries on a strawberry cake for last.

Shin-ra’s always been the type who saves the best part for the end.

“Can you explain a bit more?”

“Of course.”

And so, I slowly explained everything to the Dark Goddess.

“You fall, become defiled, and turn into a used-up rag.”

“…Eh?”

Straightforward.

* * *

At that moment, somewhere else.

“President, are you sure this is okay?”

“What is?”

“Won’t revealing everything like this be dangerous?”

“How could it be dangerous?”

The bald man fiddled with something resembling a cat mask on the armrest and grinned lecherously.

“I feel so relieved inside, so what’s the problem?”

“Huh?”

“Are you saying you couldn’t speak because of someone, worried about trolling, or couldn’t say the whole truth and had to keep it short? Watching from the side made me almost die of frustration.”

“But you didn’t die, and even if you did, you kept coming back to life.”

“That’s only because I had to come back to be seen right next to them.”

The bald man shrugged and pointed outside.

“You see, these days, I’m in such a good mood. Because everyone in the world now knows exactly how I feel.”

“Huh?”

“Games are way more fun when you participate directly rather than watching from afar.”

“Oh, so you were observing the map all along?”

“From my position, I could press the escape switch anytime, unlike yours where things go wrong, and you might die alongside the participants.”

“……”

The bald man quietly shrugged again.

“Let’s skip over those minor details and focus on our constructive future. Sound good? Hmm?”

“Constructive future…?”

“The Phoenix Lord theory.”

“……”

The man in the yellow suit tilted his head up toward the ceiling.

“Why not? Don’t you think it’s not bad either?”

“It’s true that leaving this on Earth indefinitely might cause problems, but isn’t this going too far?”

“What’s too far? It’s perfect. This is the era of harem-love!”

“Can the words ‘harem’ and ‘pure love’ coexist?”

“You fool! You fail to see the times!”

“……”

The man in the yellow suit tapped his chest.

“If you possess pure love for seven people, the men acknowledge it, and everyone lives harmoniously without fighting, how is that any different from pure love?”

“President, I understand your point about pure love, but—”


“I don’t think discussing this will have much meaning…”

“This guy, you’re getting too cocky.”

“Even if I’m cocky, I must still say what needs to be said. True love is about sharing love one-on-one. The words ‘harem’ and ‘true love’ cannot coexist.”

“Hmph…”

The bald man showed signs of discomfort, but the man in the yellow suit stood firm without backing down.

“Are you just opposing things for the sake of opposition?”

“If that’s how it feels, I apologize. But what I mean by true love is…”

“One-on-one love? Haven’t you already had your fun? From now on, having many lovers will be considered true love.”

“No way, that…”

“Ah, honestly, admit it! You know it’s good anyway! It’s too late to shake off everything else and go another way! Once you’ve had kids, it’s already over!!”

“You’ll like having grandkids too!!”

“Grandchildren… hmm…”

The man in the yellow suit could no longer say anything.

No matter how much I tried to persuade him, I was just the underdog, and he was clearly a much higher existence.

“Chairman, there is one thing you must make certain.”

“What?”

“Even if Chairman’s number one pick ends in ‘Failure,’ you must let it go at that time.”

“Hah, that goes without saying.”

The bald man rubbed his hands together, showing anticipation.

“With all the setup I’ve provided, and it still fails? Then it’s not my fault. Oh God, Buddha, Allah, and even the gods of tteokbokki with yellow wings and roe deer, please bestow the light of the harem upon that poor woman…!!”

“…Who are you praying to?”

“Shut up! This is the only way it could work!”

“……..”

It was just… so pitiful.

If she had done anything wrong, it was only one thing.

Yes.

She didn’t listen.

* * *

“Explanation’s over. Got it?”

“…….”

The dark goddess, who might now be called Anggra, pointed at me with a stern expression.

“So, can I also become the wife of your friend?”

“What? Hold on. That’s a different story.”

It’s completely different.

“Even though I currently live with three women, that doesn’t mean I intend to increase the number here.”

“Is that so…”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Of course, I panicked when someone suddenly wanted to join the harem.

And it was kind of awkward for various reasons.

Not that I disliked Anggra exactly, but… well, I do dislike her a little.

“Hmm… No, not really. Maybe a bit, because of some things I’ve done.”

“That’s not it.”

“Even if it wasn’t, wouldn’t your wives worry? If I were in their place, I’d feel uneasy welcoming someone like me as a wife.”

“No, that’s self-deprecation.”

“No, no. A person should know their own limits. I may be a goddess, but…”

“………”

If she says it herself like this, then…

“Ah, that method seems good. That friend who came to this world, Kim Nori, right?”

“What about it?”

“Why don’t we possess her?”

“What?”

“Oh, no. Not possession. The order is reversed.”

Anggra giggled while pointing at herself.

“Why don’t we make her the second-generation Dark Goddess?”

“………”

No.

“No, why?”

“You said it yourself. This world fell because the leaders among the goddesses became corrupt. But did they truly just accept its destruction?”

Anggra’s eyes gleamed with certainty.

“To borrow an expression from your world, it’s sort of like that. Like ‘reincarnation laundering?'”

“………”

“Isn’t it a good idea?”

“………”

Why?

“Why do cloths remain cloths even after washing them? So why not make a new cloth before it becomes a rag! A pure, white, clean fabric! What do you think?”

Why does the number keep increasing every time…?

“You can become the master of this planet, and instead of something like the Dark Legion, you can turn the goddesses into your wives. It fits perfectly, doesn’t it?”

“………”

I felt dizzy and couldn’t say anything anymore.

“…Strategy time.”

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