This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 556

It might be a given, but the news from the World Hero Association was enough to turn the Korean Hero Association upside down.

There was no other way.

Though I had met Chae-rim just once, for others, it was like hearing about the world’s number one hero, who suddenly revealed a desire to visit Korea.

“Is she really a living person…?”

“Did you think she was fake?”

“No, it’s just… she doesn’t do much outside…”

“Deputy Park, you’re not into conspiracy theories, are you?”

“W-What? Of course not… ahahaha…”

Thanks to that, everyone had differing opinions, but one person stood there completely bewildered—Chae-rim, who had unexpectedly become Miss Almighty’s target.

“So she wants to meet me?”

“That’s what they said.”

Chae-rim’s face practically screamed “Why?” upon hearing the secretary’s answer, but in such a situation, the secretary could only offer one response.

“Even if you ask me…”

Unless she had been assisting Chae-rim for a long time, it was only after Chae-rim became the vice-chairwoman that the secretary started helping her with her work.

The matter of Chae-rim being connected to Miss Almighty was from the time when she was actively working as a hero.

So, the secretary, who only started helping Chae-rim after she became the vice-chairwoman, wouldn’t know what had transpired between the two.

Thus, she had to respond like that.

Chae-rim’s gaze shifted naturally to Dogun, who was sitting beside her since she couldn’t get the answer she wanted from the bewildered secretary.

Of course, the response Dogun could give was predetermined as well.

“I’m not really sure either…”

“Hmmm…”

“Maybe she remembers the time we met before?”

“That woman?”

Dogun said that, but Chae-rim was skeptical.

If she had left an impressive impression during their first and only meeting, it might be different, but all she could recall was feeling something strange and trying to escape before she was subdued.

Moreover, from what she observed, that Miss Almighty didn’t strike her as the type to remember every trivial detail.

She seemed the type who clearly lacked interest in everything around her.

So, it would make more sense if the reason was something different.

The problem was that she couldn’t even imagine what that could be.

Of course, some might say why bother thinking so deeply about something like this.

After all, since it was the other side that wanted to meet first, one could just meet up and confirm it, right?

However, Chae-rim, who was more serious about her role as vice-chairwoman and the association than anyone else, couldn’t bring herself to do that.

The reason being—after all, the other party was no ordinary person.

If she didn’t want to, even the chairman of the World Hero Association couldn’t easily meet Miss Almighty.

That person had expressed a desire to meet her, so it was only natural to understand the reason for the meeting before stepping out.

Thus, she fell into deep thought…

Was it because the other person was far from ordinary that interpreting their intent was so challenging?

To exaggerate a bit, ever since she took on the vice-chairwoman role, this issue felt like one of the top three hardest tasks she had faced.

Considering the other two were eventually resolved, this might become an eternal conundrum that stubbornly stuck around.

That was probably why she had been quietly struggling in the meantime.

Was it perhaps that seeing her like that evoked some sympathy?

Before she knew it, Dogun, who had finished sorting the documents in his hands, let out a sound as if he had realized something.

As I turned to look at him, it seemed he was just about to glance my way, and our eyes met.

“Perhaps…”

“Perhaps?”

“Maybe it was just a casual request?”

At that moment, a retort nearly escaped my lips—but I held it back.

After all, seeing Dogun’s expression, he seemed to have more to say.

“You know what our sister said, right? That… Miss Almighty’s personality is one that you can’t really figure out.”

“…That’s true.”

Even back when she was active, and now that she had met all sorts of people as the vice-chairwoman, the only one she could never figure out was her.

“The idea of her having an incomprehensible personality means she could do anything without it being strange… So maybe from her perspective, she just wanted to visit Korea?”

“Then why specifically did she want to meet me?”

“Maybe it’s just some kind of pretext concocted by the headquarters?”

“If she visits Korea without a reason, it’s clear we’ll be on high alert.”

“Exactly.”

At first, I thought it was nonsense, but the more I listened, the more plausible it seemed.

Considering what she showcased during the banquet, it made even more sense.

“Dogun’s point has merit.”

“Really?”

“Yes, honestly, being the number one hero in the world is comparable to even the president of America or the chairman of the World Hero Association, right?”

“That’s true…”

After all, America was known as the land of heroes.

With its relatively short history, Americans were bound to be sensitive about figures like great men or heroes, especially when someone from their own country held the title of the strongest hero in the world.

How would they perceive Miss Almighty?

It could become a very sensitive subject for some, so it was unlikely anyone would step out to investigate… but as the secretary said, Miss Almighty’s standing was undoubtedly comparable to theirs.

“But if someone with that much presence visits another country for no reason, what do you think people will think?”

“Hmm…”

“To put it a bit bluntly, imagine if the sitting president of the United States simply came to Korea as a tourist.”

“. . . Wouldn’t people think the president has nothing better to do?”

“Right? So maybe she’s using this to create a ‘pretext’?”

If it was just Dogun suggesting it, it might not carry much weight, but even the secretary, who had always provided sound advice while assisting her, seemed to agree. The assertion started to sound more credible.

“If that’s the case…”

“If they ask for something from us, we might have to comply with their requests.”

“Of course it’s Dogun. It seems like you’re cunning while pretending not to be.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Of course!”

While Dogun and the secretary exchanged glances and laughed like sneaky villains, I began to consider something a bit different from before.

If their speculation was true, it was like we had a wish card we could use against the World Hero Association.

Now, what should I wish for with that?

I would gradually think that over, but one thing was certain—I couldn’t ask for something excessive.

To be precise… I shouldn’t.

After all, the other side was no ordinary person.

Thinking of the way she acted that day, she didn’t seem the type to hold onto such whims, but…

There’s that saying, right? “You can know the depths of water, but you can’t know the depths of a human heart.”

So even if I felt greedy, it was better to restrain myself.

Especially since the other side was not just an ordinary person.

The problem was, doing so would severely limit the range of requests I could make…

“Hmmm…”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, if what you’re saying is right, it means we can ask them for something, but then I wonder what exactly we should ask for.”

“We don’t necessarily have to fixate on that.”

“True, but… it feels like a shame to waste it.”

“That’s also true.”

If the other party was just a politician with an impressive title but nothing of substance, I wouldn’t be worried about this at all.

I would’ve just casually killed some time.

But the other side is the current strongest in the world.

For those who are currently active or preparing for qualification tests, just a piece of advice from her would bring them to tears of joy.

Maybe Dogun was also thinking along the same lines.

“If it’s really bothering you, why not ask her to give a short lecture or something?”

Dogun had just spoken what I had been imagining in my head.