Chapter 21 - Falling for Temptation
Not many days after Akame left for her revenge, I was able to face her again.
…On TV, in breaking news.
[Breaking news! A clash between S-rank superhumans has occurred in a city in 00 City, Japan! It’s reported that ‘Great Boss’ Toyoda Yamatake, one of Japan’s S-rank superhumans known for his violent personality and constant ominous rumors, and ‘Flower Sword’ Sarame Akame, one of the Three Great Sword Saints who hadn’t been seen for years and was even rumored to be dead, have clashed!]
Drip…
Water involuntarily dripped from my mouth as I was drinking some cool water after practicing shuffling cards stylishly on YouTube.
No, how long has it been since she went to Japan and her revenge is breaking news even on Korean news?!
Just how much did she rampage…
[As a result of this rare clash, ‘Great Boss’ Toyoda Yamatake died miserably, causing a tragedy where an active S-rank superhuman died, and ‘Flower Sword’ Sarame Akame, presumed to be the winner of this duel, not only clashed with Toyoda Yamatake but also caused a massacre by killing all the superhumans under Toyoda Yamatake, causing great damage to the city before disappearing!]
Puhub! Kuluk! Keheuk!
And right after that, seeing the breaking news that turned my worries into reality, I couldn’t help but spit out the water I was drinking.
“Oh, that’s a relief. The cards didn’t get wet…”
Thanks to spitting it out uncontrollably, there’s a lot more to clean up… but at least the cards didn’t get wet, so that’s fortunate.
A silver lining in misfortune…
[This incident is presumed to be an act of revenge by Sarame Akame, who was attacked by Toyoda Yamatake years ago and harbored a grudge from that incident. Experts say that for a clash between two famous S-rank superhumans, the damage was significantly less, suggesting that Sarame Akame, presumed to be the protagonist of this incident, achieved an overwhelming victory against Toyoda Yamatake, and it’s estimated that Sarame Akame’s power has significantly increased compared to years ago, but the method remains a mystery…]
“…Is that considered little damage? As expected, high-ranking superhumans are scary and amazing in many ways…”
“Hello~. Ah! Were you listening to my story, Teacher?”
“Ugh!? Wh-what a surprise…!! No, when did you come…?!”
“Ah! I just came in through the window a moment ago!”
“No, why through the window when there’s a perfectly good door…?”
“Um… To make an impressive entrance to deeply imprint my presence on you, Teacher…?”
“You succeeded in your intention, but not in a positive way… But please don’t do that next time…”
I nearly had a heart attack…
“Hehe… Yes. I understand!”
Akame, who answered cheerfully, naturally came over and sat next to me.
…What’s with this naturalness? This is clearly my house, right…?
Moreover, having such a big shot sit next to me made me feel extremely burdened instead. I feel like I’m going to break out in a cold sweat!
“I came as fast as I could right after finishing my revenge… The news is really fast! Even though I tried to come quickly by running across the sea!”
No, you ran across the sea…?
Damn, hearing that makes me feel even more burdened! I feel more burdened because I can feel how much you care about me!!
“Um… But how are we able to understand each other now?”
“Ah! I got a translation artifact! I’ll give you one too! Please use it without hesitation!!”
“Ah, yes…”
A translation artifact… Did such a thing exist?
But seeing her prepare even this and give it to me as a gift, I had an ominous feeling.
“Anyway! Now that I’ve achieved the revenge I wanted, it’s time to pay the price, right?”
Akame, who suddenly changed from a cheerful atmosphere to a solemn one, held out her sword to me and bowed her head.
“As I swore before, I, Sarame Akame, swear to serve by Dam Han-ul’s side for the rest of my life.”
Damn it! As expected!
“Ah…”
It’s heavy! Too heavy! Moreover, it’s burdensome and even scary!
An S-rank superhuman saying she’ll serve an ordinary person like me?! Damn… I really feel like I’m going to break out in a cold sweat!!
Moreover, for life?! Is there any reason to make someone suffer from stomach pain!! If a person eats something they can’t handle, they’ll get indigestion or even die from their stomach bursting!! Especially me…!!
However, in this atmosphere, saying “Ah, that’s a bit…” was an even harder task for me.
An S-rank superhuman, moreover someone strong enough to easily kill another S-rank superhuman, puts aside all pride and seriously says she’ll serve me like this, and I reject that? If I do that, it’s certain death, certain!!
Anyway, so the only choice I could make was one.
“…Uh, well… I understand for now… It feels a bit excessive for life… You can leave whenever you want to leave…”
All I can do is pray that she’ll get tired of being with me and drop out on her own…!!
Should I call this the Indian rain dance meta…?
“Thank you, Teacher!! From now on, for ‘life’!! I will serve you with sincerity and personal interest!!”
Ah, but if I feel like this is wrong from the start, that’s not just my imagination, right?
She’s even emphasizing ‘life’ as she says it. Haha… This is ruined.
No, and what’s with the personal interest?!
“It seems awkward to just be together… I should pay you a salary, right?”
“It’s okay, Teacher!! I didn’t do this expecting something like a salary!!”
“No, if I don’t give you at least that, I feel like my stomach will really hurt a lot…”
By the way, this is sincere…
Having an S-rank superhuman as a subordinate is already overwhelmingly honorable, but to use her without pay?! I’ll be the one who can’t handle it first!!
“Um… If you insist… Just give me a cheap 30 million won per month!”
“What? Thirty…?”
Kugh! I expected it, but as expected of high-class personnel…!! It’s expensive…!!
“Hehe… Is it too cheap? But it’s okay because money will naturally come in if we run a few dungeons!!”
Moreover, she thinks this is cheap!! As expected of an S-rank superhuman… It feels like her life itself is on a different dimension from an ordinary person like me.
Well… I heard that if S-rank superhumans join a large guild these days, their value starts from a basic annual salary of hundreds of billions… Thinking about that, it is a bargain…
S-rank superhumans are strong and rare, so just recruiting them brings enormous benefits to the guild. It’s a bit similar to sports stars of the past…?
“Kheuk, I understand. Then let’s do that…”
Fortunately, these days I’ve gained a large fixed income and the fortune-telling business is doing quite well, so it seemed I could fully handle that much. It’s a bit sad, but…
“Ah! But in this case, how should I address you? Hmm… Master?”
“What?! No, that’s a bit…”
Being called master by an S-rank superhuman? Ugh! Just imagining it is painful…!!
“…Just call me by my name. Han-ul or Dam Han-ul…”
“Hehe, then I’ll call you Han-ul from now on~? I look forward to working with you, Han-ul!”
“Ah, yes… Likewise…”
As I grasped the hand she held out reverently, Akame smiled brightly.
“Ah! But Han-ul! I’ll have to live in Korea from now on, but I don’t have a place to live! What should I do?!”
“What…? Well, you could find a hotel or something…”
You’re an S-rank superhuman who earns a lot of money… If you ask such a thing to an ordinary citizen fortune teller like me…
“I can’t do that! I have to protect Han-ul from now on, right? So I looked for properties near this house, but there weren’t any…”
Oh, why do I have another ominous feeling?
Weren’t all the troublesome things already over?
“So I was wondering… Could we share Han-ul’s house…?”
Damn it!! This is what it was!!
“No, no matter how…”
No matter how, we wouldn’t stay in the same room, but living in the same house with an S-rank superhuman?! This really absolutely can’t happen…!!
“Ah! And I forgot to mention… I felt like the favor I received this time was too great, so I brought some additional money~?”
Akame, who smiled leisurely as if she had predicted everything, waved her hand in the air and pulled out something that made my actions stop abruptly.
A feast of green banknotes appearing with the force to shatter the floor, covering the TV, and gold bars revealing their heavy presence appeared…!!
Moreover, those banknotes were all dollars…!! This is crazy!
“When I raided the place you mentioned, I found these? They seemed to be Yamatake’s slush fund… There was originally more, but only this much was intact, so I only brought these.”
Ah! Suddenly, it felt like a halo was shining behind Akame. Somehow, looking again, she seems very familiar…?
“And I brought a car that seemed to suit you? You don’t have a car yet, right?”
My goodness! Even a car?!
Receiving the car key, it was indeed an extraordinary brand.
“Ahem, anyway… So… Can I live with Han-ul…?”
No matter… No matter what…
“No matter what, it would be an unparalleled honor on my part to be able to live with an S-rank superhuman! Hahaha…”
Ta-da! In the end, there was nothing absolute?
But I couldn’t help it…!! Seeing Akame’s satisfied smiling face, I knew it was an intentional action, but… It was too much money to refuse…!!
And these days, with my mental state being torn apart, my only remedy is financial therapy… I couldn’t help it. If it weren’t for the huge amount of money piling up, I would have withered away long ago…
“Huhu… I look forward to working with you? Ah, and this might be inconvenient to keep in this house, so I’ll organize it neatly and deliver it to you!”
“Oh my, that would be helpful. Haha…”
Anyway, like that, living together with an overwhelmingly burdensome S-rank superhuman began.
A few days later…
I received a call from someone somewhat familiar.
[Hey! Have you been well?! I’ve been well, of course… and now I’ve come to Korea to see you? Because I felt neglected since you didn’t show any interest! Kyahaha!]
“…What?”
[Just kidding! Anyway, I have something to give you, so let’s meet tomorrow at 9 PM! I’ll send you the location!]
“…What?!”
[Then see you tomorrow, fortune teller teacher!]
“…Whaaaat?!?!”
…And just like that, an unwelcome appointment was made.