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Chapter 572: The Black Zone (4)

‘What… filial piety?’

Yeongwoo widened his eyes at the unexpected development.

Sure, he had been generous for the first time in a while.

He had just executed a transfer of 4 billion Karma to Jeonggu, after all.

But he had never imagined that this would be considered an event worthy of being registered in the Catalog.

[Filial Piety Toward Kim Jeonggu]

| Evaluation Grade: D |

Though you only needed a tool that wouldn’t betray you, you nonetheless showed trust toward Kim Jeonggu.

And perhaps Kim Jeonggu may have begun to trust you, if only a little.

With those rather meaningful words, the “Filial Piety Toward Kim Jeonggu” entry dissolved into the air.

Sssaaat.

And just like with Madam Kanaph, a new individual was added to the Hypocrite Catalog.

But the name was…

「‘Jeonggu Kim Renaissance’ has been added to the Hypocrite Catalog.」

“…Huh?”

Yeongwoo tilted his head at the peculiar name—

and right then, the reason revealed itself.

「You now receive 5% less damage from all ‘Renaissance’ members.」

“Ah.”

Only then did Yeongwoo gain certainty:

The basic reward for the Hypocrite Catalog was damage reduction against the target’s clan.

Since Jeonggu belonged to Renaissance, adding him to the Catalog granted Renaissance-related damage reduction.

And to clearly indicate this, the Catalog seemed to list the person’s given name, then their personal surname, then their clan name.

‘First the given name… then the original surname… then the clan. So that’s the official cosmic formatting.’

If so, Yeongwoo’s own name would likely appear in official documents as:

Yeongwoo Jeong Renaissance.

‘Wait—then the Chairman probably has his own original surname too, right?’

The Destroyer King Dogo was an illegitimate child of the Vesedel royal family.

Meaning he likely wasn’t granted the royal surname “Vesedel” at birth.

Though he’s now known publicly as Dogo Vesedel, he must have originally possessed a different surname.

‘The Catalog really is incredible. It even remembers every detail about a creature like my father.’

Jeonggu Kim Renaissance.

Renaissance being recognized is obvious since it’s now officially registered as a clan—

but ‘Kim’ was simply a small, Earth-specific concept of a surname.

Yet the system didn’t simply write “Kim Jeonggu Renaissance.”

It recognized that Jeonggu originally had a distinct surname and labeled him properly as Jeonggu Kim.

And that meant—

‘The Catalog won’t be easy to deceive.’

He wasn’t sure about other Catalogs, but the Hypocrite Catalog seemed almost certainly connected to the cosmic records.

Otherwise, how could it grasp the context and inner nature behind hypocritical acts so precisely?

Flash!

[Hypocrite Catalog]

〔2〕

The collection count updated to “2,” and the next reward message refreshed.

「Three more acts of hypocrisy until the first collection reward.」

‘Three more to go.’

He had already filled two entries, but honestly, that was pure luck.

Given the Catalog’s standards, forced acts of hypocrisy would never register.

For instance, even if he summoned Coatwo right now, freed him, and gave him travel money—

the Catalog would not react.

The same logic likely applied to the Prestige System.

“Your Prestige hasn’t increased from holding a Myth yet, has it?”

“…Huh? A Myth holder?”

Jeonggu still clutched the Aratubank shield, yet looked completely clueless.

Yeongwoo sighed.

“When you become a Myth Holder, your Prestige level rises. Father, I’ll give you that shield.”

“R-really?”

Of course, Yeongwoo was lying—

but Jeonggu naïvely hugged Aratubank like a precious child.

Slip…

But even after waiting, Jeonggu’s Prestige didn’t rise.

“As expected, shallow lies are seen through immediately.”

“…Lies? What lies?”

“Give it back now.”

When Yeongwoo grabbed the shield, Jeonggu tightened his grip like a child refusing to hand over candy.

“Hey—who gives something and then takes it back?”

“I never gave it in the first place.”

Jeonggu’s Prestige level was 31.

Yeongwoo’s was 49.

In cosmic value, that was the difference between heaven and earth—

no, between a planet and a star.

“Let’s not make this a hassle.”

Yeongwoo applied strength, and Aratubank tore free from Jeonggu’s arms.

KWAT!

“You won’t get much rest now. Only a few hours left before arrival.”

Yeongwoo was right.

The Earth-Ship was already nearing the Tuani Galaxy.

This might be his last chance to rest in comfort.

“Father, you should sleep too. Once we enter the Black Zone, it’ll be nothing but exhausting trouble.”

“I already spend all my time resting in my room… what more rest do I need?”

“…That’s true.”

Yeongwoo shrugged and headed toward his cabin.

He needed to use whatever little time remained to rest.

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Meanwhile, Jeonggu—

“This… is Prestige?”

He examined himself, overwhelmed by the entirely new sense of presence he had felt since unlocking his Prestige Level.

It was like stepping outside after being trapped in a room for years—

as if he had finally become a true existence.

“So that’s why the brat kept calling me a ‘creature,’ huh.”

Jeonggu shook his head and sat on the sofa.

At that moment, Madam Kanaph—who had been silently standing in place—finally spoke.

—Um… so am I staying here now?

“Ah.”

Jeonggu looked toward where Yeongwoo had been.

But he had long vanished.

All Jeonggu could do was sigh.

“That brat really brought a distinguished guest aboard and didn’t even arrange lodging?”

Typical Yeongwoo post-processing.

He saved her life, so in his mind, he had already done everything necessary.

“If he didn’t say otherwise… you’ll probably stay here for tonight. This is the safest place on the entire planet anyway.”

—I… I see.

As always, the safest place in any region was near the lodging of the planet’s strongest swordsman.

And since Yeongwoo was effectively Earth’s strongest, this was unquestionably the highest-security area on the planet.

“Use this sofa for now. I’ll bring you some bedding.”

Jeonggu bowed and left to fetch guest bedding.

Only then did Madam Kanaph finally allow her tension to ease as she looked out the window.

Crackle!

A wave of frost spread across the glass, so intense it looked as if it might shatter the window.

—I don’t even know where this place is… or what’s going to happen to me.

Cold was nearly lethal to amphibians.

Madam Kanaph instinctively curled in on herself.

—…Ugh.

And then—

A soft warmth touched her shoulders and neck.

Swish.

—…?

When she turned, she saw Jeonggu Kim Renaissance draping a white blanket over her shoulders.

“You must be scared, right? Of this planet… and of my son.”

—N-no, not at all.

“This planet is rough in many ways, but it has surprising warmth too. I hope someday you’ll be able to feel Earth’s warmth.”

Jeonggu stepped back with a polite smile.

Madam Kanaph felt something soften inside her, and she returned a faint smile.

* * *

‘Ugh… ughhh, you sons of bitches…!’

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo—who had fallen asleep quickly—was having a terrifying dream.

He was trapped in a narrow room, locked in a knife-fight with countless shadowy silhouettes.

Front, back, left, right—

Blades came from every direction, too many to block simultaneously.

Deciding it was best to reduce their numbers as quickly as possible, Yeongwoo abandoned defense and swung wildly.

Then one of the countless blades pierced his neck—

“HUURK…!”

His entire body dropped as if falling through the floor.

And he jolted awake.

“Why the hell am I dreaming something like this? The Chairman could’ve at least shown up…”

A horribly ominous dream.

“God…”

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and checked the time.

‘6:42 a.m.… At least I slept enough.’

By now, the Earth-Ship had likely almost arrived at the Tuani Galaxy.

It had been about 3 hours since their last communication with Earth.

‘Earth, what’s our status? Where are we now?’

As he stood up, Earth responded in his mind.

○ You’re finally awake. Looked like you were having a pretty awful nightmare.

‘It was fucking terrible. Why today, of all days?’

○ Maybe your accumulated karma is finally exploding?

…Half of that sounded like he meant it.

Earth continued,

○ Good timing though. The Tuani Galaxy is already within visual range. According to Kejen, we can’t go any farther in this ship.

‘So we have to rent a local vessel from here?’

○ Probably. Come to the control room—Kejen’s been preparing for a while.

Then Earth asked.

○ Is Jeonggu confirmed as your companion?

‘Yeah. Now that his Prestige Level is higher, he can at least serve as a meat shield.’

And Kim Jeonggu, even before being Yeongwoo’s biological father, was a master of slyness.

In a crime market with a 58% transaction-failure rate, he could act like a native.

‘For this mission, I need someone shady. And conveniently, that shady bastard happens to be my father.’

○ Even so… between you and Kejen, he might turn into a surprisingly normal person.

Yeongwoo was insane, and Kejen was basically a native of the Black Zone.

The mere fact that his hideout was near the Black Zone said it all.

‘He doesn’t need to go wild. I just need him to be unethical enough to handle dirty negotiations.’

He finished speaking and wrapped himself in his final piece of equipment—his transparent cloak.

‘All right. Time to go. Let’s see for ourselves just how terrifying this Black Zone really is.’

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