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Chapter 425

“No, I get it. I’ve screwed up time after time. No wonder you don’t trust me...”

With that, Illaphael’s wings drooped, and she lowered her head.

“...”

Seeing the angel like this, Choi Yeonseung felt a bit bad.

‘I think it was better when he was just an arrogant and rude angel.’

“Rebuke me, human.”

“Uh... There are many people here. It’d be a bit weird.”

“I deserve to be insulted. Go on! Tell me how worthless I am!”

Illaphael hung onto Choi Yeonseung.

The right-hand of a constellation of the Abyss had come to the celebration ceremony of humans, so naturally everyone was curiously looking at Illaphael, especially when she grabbed and held onto Choi Yeonseung’s sleeve.

Everyone was wondering what they were talking about.

‘Maybe they’re having a conversation about the Abyss. Aren’t they both household members of constellations?’

‘I’m curious! What are they talking about...?’

‘Is it about the next Abyss raid?’

‘How long has it been since the last Abyss raid succeeded? They couldn’t have finished setting up base so quickly.’

Most people present were just staring at Choi Yeonseung and Illaphael, but Han Seha was about to come over to them, puzzled by the angel’s appearance.

Was Illaphael trying to challenge Choi Yeonseung?

‘Uh, Seha will make things even more complicated.’

Choi Yeonseung looked at her and signaled with his eyes that he was okay. Then he looked at Illaphael and said, “I will insult you later, so let’s get down to business.”

“A-alright. I understand.”

Choi Yeonseung’s words seemed to have lifted Illaphael’s spirits a bit, the angel’s expression slightly brighter than before.

‘I’m starting to miss Adaquaniel...’

[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ is proud that even though they are both angels, Adaquaniel isn’t like this.]

-The goddess shouldn’t be proud. She should be worried about a competitor...

The goddess of sloth muttered to herself as though she found it ridiculous.

***

Despite the fact that she was always unlucky and made mistakes, what Illaphael said was reasonable.

The monsters on Earth were becoming more and more powerful.

‘That’s certainly true.’

Choi Yeonseung had also noticed that. If he hadn’t gotten involved in this dungeon raid, the worst case scenario would’ve happened— a new constellation would’ve been born on Earth.

The constellations of the Abyss were already wreaking havoc with their limited power, so Choi Yeonseung couldn’t even imagine how terrible it would’ve been if a constellation had appeared on Earth and went on a rampage while leading the nightmare demons...

‘Besides, the nightmare demons are the worst kind of monsters to roam on Earth.’

Apart from their strength, there were monsters that were especially incompatible with the humans on Earth. It was even more so for monsters like the nightmare demons that could infiltrate human society and take root.

As the monsters on Earth became stronger, they would gradually evolve, and their characteristics would become more diverse...

‘Everyone is overly optimistic.’

The first Abyss raid had been a success.

The last A-grade and S-grade monster raids had been successful.

The second Abyss raid had been a success.

Given the events of recent years, it was only natural that the morale of the people was high.

It was an incredible shift from several decades ago, when the evil god constellations led a great invasion, several countries fell, and rumors circulated that the destruction of humanity was near.

However, in Choi Yeonseung’s eyes, it was still too early to let his guard down. But the problem was that even if he pointed that out, very few people would listen.

The household members of constellations and the people in power on Earth were likely aware that the dungeons and monsters on Earth were getting stronger. There was certainly enough information to garner interest, so why wasn’t anyone trying to make a move?

...The problem was that nobody was willing to take the first step, as that was often disadvantageous.

-My fellow citizens! Monsters are getting stronger these days. We need to prepare by providing hunters more support!

-Look at this! That congressman got paid by the clans!

-...

Investing in hunters was rather similar to investing in defenses. Even if a lot of money was spent, it was best if nothing bad happened. However, if nothing actually happened, people would inevitably say things like “Why the hell did we spend so much money on this then?!”

The main issue was that modern weapons like missiles and tanks didn’t drink, cause accidents, and hold parties with drugs like hunters did...

The terrible behavior of hunters was put on display every day on the news, so citizens were naturally discontented that their tax money was going to hunters instead of the country’s defense systems.

In fact, since some of the lawmakers of some countries were tied to large clans, such a negative attitude toward hunters wasn’t completely unwarranted.

‘The United States is openly doing it.’

It had gotten to the point where politicians even handed over the rights to manage a city to hunter clans, so it was hard to estimate how much money hunters were actually receiving.

Of course, people weren’t stupid. Even though they couldn’t do anything, they could vaguely tell how much hunters were receiving and taking.

Knowing this, the politicians were at least trying to act wisely and with tact. Even if they were paid by the hunter clans behind the scenes, they rebuked the hunters in public, calling them selfish and lazy.

-There are some clans that didn’t step forward even though the dungeon exploded this time!

I condemn the cowardice of these clans!

-Didn’t this politician take a photo with the clan leader last month...?

However, for the politicians to insist in this situation that hunters should receive more funds because the monsters were getting stronger? That would mean putting their careers on the line.

“That’s certainly true.”

“I’m glad you agree,” said Illaphael with a slightly brighter expression. “That’s why Master told me to cooperate with four people who are highly influential among humans. When it comes to manipulating humans and getting them to act, you’re better than Master’s subordinates.”

“...”

Choi Yeonseung was unsure for a moment whether that was a compliment or an insult.

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says it is a compliment.]

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ says it is a compliment.]

‘Do I manipulate people?’

-I don’t have that feeling...

“Master said that we must first persuade the influential people of each tribe. We have to get the information right away when a dungeon is discovered.”

Illaphael’s expression contorted in anger before continuing, “The humans here dared to ignore Master’s request...”

For Illaphael, the Russian clans here were ungrateful. Her master was doing this out of concern for the insignificant humans, but they were being a hindrance instead of helping.

‘It’s not like I don’t understand where she’s coming from.’

It was understandable for Illaphael to be angry with these hunters, given that they were disregarding her master. However, from the perspective of the Russian clans, the angel constellation was just another constellation.

To them, he was just another alien being that could stab them in the back at any moment. How could they trust an alien and give him information?

Of course, Choi Yeonseung didn’t say that out loud because he thought Illaphael would completely lose it.

“If this is about intel, don’t worry. I got an offer from that side.”

“...!!!”

Illaphael was startled.

Of course, there were many complex reasons as to why the Russian clans were willing to fully cooperate with Choi Yeonseung. These included the way in which Choi Yeonseung and his team had handled the Chort incident, Choi Yeonseung’s own achievements and reputation, and the complaints of the Russian hunters regarding dungeon raids in other countries.

However, in Illaphael’s eyes, it seemed that Choi Yeonseung had accomplished something that not even the angel constellation could.

‘There’s a reason Master thinks highly of him.’

“It really is amazing. I can see why Master praised you for being a great manipulator and getting humans to obey you unconditionally.”

“...”

“I shall cooperate with you, even if the effect will be minimal!”

Illaphael’s fighting spirit was once again rekindled. Despite her consecutive failures, her master still believed in her. In addition, this human being still respected Illaphael and treated her as an equal despite the angel being indebted to him.

She couldn’t afford to fail again in front of these two!

“Out of curiosity, how do you plan to cooperate?”

“Thank you for asking. I will spend my own money to send gifts to the human tribes on Earth. If they receive a gift, they will feel a sense of favor.”

“...Then?”

“Then, I will send the hunters into battles similar to the ones fought by constellations so that they can see how powerless they are!”

In the Abyss, that was how household members dealt with creatures that didn’t follow their constellation.

They used the carrot and the stick. They showed the Abyssal races a display of transcendent force and offered them items that only a constellation could give.

After that, the creatures would magically gain faith in that constellation.

...Of course, this was nonsense on Earth.

“Um... Sorry, but... Just let me handle this,” Choi Yeonseung said reluctantly.

“!?!?”

***

‘The angel constellation has a good point.’

Choi Yeonseung was lost in thought on the way back.

If the successful Abyss raid and bringing constellations on their knees was the offense, then preventing monsters and constellations from appearing on Earth was the defense.

With a bit of luck, Choi Yeonseung had succeeded in several attacks, so now he had to focus on the defense.

‘Foolish methods like the one proposed by the angel will never work. I need to think of something more complex and subtle. There’s a reason Gyeongryong hyung started a company like this.’

Of course, Hwang Gyeongryong hadn’t established a company to protect Earth, but Choi Yeonseung understood his mindset to a degree.

As an individual hunter, there were too many limits to what he could do.

Hunters could live comfortably and enjoy all kinds of luxuries, but they were just pawns when it came to national affairs.

In order to intervene in something like that, Choi Yeonseung had to rise to a higher stage.

‘There are two main things I can do now. One is to reach out by strengthening the influence of Dragon Industry.’

Having experienced a few corporate wars, Choi Yeonseung realized that clashes between corporations were as fierce as those between hunters and clans.

Not even prominent clans couldn’t escape the influence of these large corporations. Back when Peleza, a high-tech materials company, joined forces with two other companies and tried to monopolize the market, various clans and companies quickly jumped to their side

However, what happened when Peleza went down in flames?

Those clans and companies came back to Choi Yeonseung and got on their knees, begging for the newly developed materials from Dragon Solution.

Such incidents showcased the fact that the power of larger corporations couldn’t be ignored. That was especially true for Dragon Industry after Choi Yeonseung had also gotten involved in politics.

‘The second thing is to increase my influence in other clans.’

If Choi Yeonseung only cared about his own company, he could bring in talented people like Hwang Gyeongryong had done. However, he was a constellation.

‘If I only recruit hunters for the clans on Dragon Industry’s side, those clans might get bigger, but I’ll lose influence in the great picture. As a constellation, it wouldn’t hurt to show some benevolence to other clans.’

If Choi Yeonseung recommended and sent talented hunters to trustworthy clans, his influence would naturally increase in that clan. If those talents succeeded as hunters, who would they listen to?

‘In fact, I can bring in some really great people in our clans while recommending the decent talents to other trustworthy clans.’

“Excuse me, Chairman.”

“?”

“Can I help you with anything?”

Darren, the secretary who had traveled with Choi Yeonseung this time, looked nervous as he asked that. As an expert on Russia, he should’ve played a big role in the raid of the Chort dungeon. However, he had just been a guide...

There was a bigger reason Darren offered to help.

They were currently on a private jet, returning from Russia, and Choi Yeonseung was checking the artifacts he had brought with him one by one. He looked like an assistant blacksmith working for the clan and performing odd tasks.

“No, it’s fine. You can just relax.”

“...”

How could he relax...?