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Chapter 493: Balance (10)

Donation laundering.

A completely deranged business born from the collaboration of a supreme do-gooder and a notorious villain.

However, the components of the business itself were perfectly normal and legal.

After all, it wasn’t unusual for a charitable organization to appoint a representative to act on its behalf externally.

Of course, the fact that the representative was none other than Jeong Yeongwoo, the owner of the Earthship, was a bit problematic.

“Is that guy, Koatu, really that rich?”

◇ He is the greatest arms dealer in the upper galaxy. He makes a fortune every time a war breaks out.

“So, he must have a lot of weapons too.”

Yeongwoo stroked his chin with interest.

While large amounts of cash could be laundered through donations, weapons weren’t something they had made any agreements about.

‘I guess I’ll just have to take those for myself.’

As Yeongwoo’s eyes gleamed greedily, Teroph suddenly dissolved the scale and produced a milky-white coin in its place.

Swaa!

“Hm? What’s that?”

◇ A token.

“A token?”

◇ It will serve as proof that you are acting on behalf of the Shelbir royal family.

“Ah. That’ll definitely come in handy.”

Even though it was a royal family of do-gooders, royalty was still royalty.

Hadn’t the Chairman refused to offer special protection to Prince Aldo at the wedding, simply because he was of royal blood?

‘In this insane universe, the more backers you have, the better.’

Thinking that, Yeongwoo accepted the coin Teroph handed him.

Tap.

Suddenly, an enormous tooltip filled his vision, completely unexpectedly.

Fwoosh!

‘…What the hell?’

「Token of Salvation」 – Mythic Currency

【Cloak of Light】

【Chorus of Virtue】

【Protection of the Shelbir Royal Family】

‘Mythic currency? This tiny thing is mythic?’

As Yeongwoo stared at the milky-white coin in disbelief, a secondary tooltip popped up to explain the coin’s true value.

【Cloak of Light】

| Gain 20% damage reduction against evil-aligned entities.

【Chorus of Virtue】

| By using this token as collateral, you may borrow each of the following planets’ ultimate weapons once:

— Doatel, Delmir, Shuaarel

【Protection of the Shelbir Royal Family】

| This token serves as a royal insignia substitute.

“…Holy crap.”

Yeongwoo unconsciously covered his mouth.

This was far more than just having the Shelbir royal family as a backer.

‘A 20% damage reduction against evil entities? That’s insane.’

It was essentially an anti-villain currency.

But even more shocking was the next effect.

【Chorus of Virtue】

| By using this token as collateral, you may borrow each of the following planets’ ultimate weapons once:

— Doatel, Delmir, Shuaarel

‘Borrow ultimate weapons?’

In short, it meant he could borrow the mythical armaments of three entire planets once each.

“Chorus of Virtue… how is this even possible, Your Majesty?”

By now, Yeongwoo had come to understand the weight of what ‘mythic’ meant.

Ultimate planetary weapons were the lifeblood and very essence of a planet.

They were often tied to the progenitors of royal families or great houses who ruled the planet.

They were, quite literally, myths.

To lend such weapons to another?

That was nothing short of extraordinary.

“Huh.”

As Yeongwoo’s fingertips trembled slightly, King Teroph softened the outline of his head—he was smiling.

◇ This coin represents the trust among do-gooders. If you’ve received this, it means you have the trust of us, Doatel. And so, Delmir and Shuaarel will gladly lend you their strength as well.

In other words, the characteristic stubborn sincerity of the do-gooders applied even to overwhelming power.

If Doatel trusted someone, the other great virtue planets—Delmir and Shuaarel—would help as if it were their own concern.

Help so great, they’d lend their ultimate weapons without charge.

“But still… if I borrow those mythic weapons and then run away, wouldn’t it all be over?”

Classic villain thinking.

“I’m the owner of a planet-class ship. I could easily escape from you all.”

And that was true.

However, instead of warning Yeongwoo sternly, King Teroph simply reached out his hand.

Swish.

He gently held the hand that clutched the "Token of Salvation."

◇ Welcome to the world of virtue, Lord Jeong Yeongwoo.

“…Ah.”

Yeongwoo’s pupils, tightly contracted until then, dilated all at once.

A flood of light poured into his darkened heart.

“This is absurd. Giving something like this to a villain… all three planets could be destroyed.”

◇ Lord Jeong Yeongwoo. You are no longer a villain. You are someone walking the path toward balance.

When Teroph said this, Prince Aldo, standing beside him, drew a scale symbol in the air and bowed his head.

‘…These crazy bastards.’

But if Yeongwoo claimed he wasn’t moved by their one-sided trust—so absolute it lacked even a basic failsafe—it would’ve been a lie.

Ironically, their reckless faith made him want to return the favor.

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“…How do I make a ‘chorus’ request?”

Eventually, Yeongwoo asked how to borrow an ultimate weapon.

King Teroph pointed to the token.

◇ While holding that, make a chorus request. Then you’ll be able to receive each planet’s ultimate weapon immediately. However, Shuaarel is currently using its ultimate weapon, so it may not respond.

“Ah. Is that planet at war right now?”

◇ I’d rather call it a… defensive posture.

"Understood."

Whatever the case, it seemed that Shuaarel, one of the three major virtuous planets, was not in a peaceful state.

However, the decisive weapons of the other two planets were still available for use at any time.

"It’s possible to borrow one decisive weapon from each, meaning I could use them twice in total, excluding Shuaarel, correct?"

◇ Of course.

"Then does it matter where the chorus is requested? For example… within the Void?"

He was referring to Mara, the master of the Void.

After thinking for a moment, Teroph replied.

◇ As long as it’s not within the domain of a Transcendent, I believe it should be possible anywhere.

"The domain of a Transcendent…? What is that?"

◇ I haven’t seen it myself, but… I’ve heard that once you enter that realm, no one can return unless the Transcendent personally opens the path.

Meaning that even a myth or a planetary ship’s master wouldn’t be able to come back from there.

"Then we wouldn’t be able to request the chorus when fighting a Transcendent?"

◇ That’s not what I meant. You just need to request the chorus before entering the Transcendent’s domain.

"…Really? Then there's a very high chance I’ll lose a myth."

◇ As I mentioned earlier, that would be a mark of trust.

No further explanation was offered.

It meant that if Yeongwoo, who had already earned their trust, judged that he needed to use their decisive weapon against a Transcendent, they would support that decision without hesitation.

‘Even a parent wouldn’t go that far.’

What on earth is virtue?

It was a moment filled with many thoughts.

After all, the ultimate goal of these virtuous beings wasn’t to blanket the universe with good, but to achieve cosmic balance.

Perhaps they themselves were truly transcendent beings.

◇ Good deeds bring good rewards. Our chorus is both a portion of the reward the Lord will receive and another virtuous act we can perform.

“…Understood for now. Honestly, I feel like I’ve already received more than enough rewards. Even though I haven’t actually done anything virtuous yet.”

◇ You will commit virtuous deeds in the future. And that will be the reward we shall receive.

Doing good without expecting anything in return.

Yeongwoo still found that kind of foolishness hard to agree with, but he could at least admit that Teroph and the other virtuous beings were truly great entities.

"I’ll try to bring as many donations as I can. That seems like the best good I can offer right now."

◇ The path to balance will not be easy.

Then Teroph lightly tapped the emblem with his finger.

◇ Show this, and every virtuous being in our galaxy cluster will aid the Lord.

This meant that the immense virtue the Shelbir royal family had built up extended across the galaxy cluster.

And now, Yeongwoo was allowed to use that vast accumulation of virtue.

‘Shit… Is this really okay?’

It was a ridiculously generous privilege for someone who once walked the path of evil.

But it also meant their expectations for Yeongwoo were incredibly high.

After all, drawing virtue from evil was no simple feat.

—Lord Yeongwoo, where do you intend to go next?

At last, Prince Aldo asked about Yeongwoo’s next destination.

Without hesitation, Yeongwoo turned his gaze skyward—toward the planetary ship floating in space.

"First, I’ll return to the ship. After discussing things with the stars there, I’ll likely go meet someone named Koatu."

But there were two matters to settle first.

He needed to resolve the Golden Tempest achievement and have a meeting with Chancellor Herisa.

‘If I want to do both today, I’d better hurry.’

Checking his wristwatch, Yeongwoo glanced around and said,

“If it’s alright, I’d like to return now.”

◇ Already? You’ve come from afar—please rest and tour our planet a bit.

"Ah, well, if I don’t return within three hours, the planetary ship is set to bombard this place."

◇ ……?

“So I’ll save the Doatel sightseeing for next time.”

With that, Yeongwoo opened the Aratubank and retrieved Song Jeongho’s coffin.

FWOOOSH!

Then, pulling a return stone from his coat, he looked up at the sky.

"May you stay healthy, Your Majesty! I’ll bring you good news soon."

Jiseon also quickly grabbed her return stone, and at last, Yeongwoo’s entire body began to be enveloped in a holographic light.

WHIIIRRR…!

He had activated the return sequence to the planetary ship.

Then Teroph suddenly spoke, as if he’d just remembered something.

◇ I’ll send the donation transmission coordinates via communication channel.

There would be no need to cross the galaxy to deliver donations each time.

"Got it. That’ll make things easier."

With those final words, Yeongwoo’s body was drawn into the sky along a holographic beam, followed by Jiseon.

FLASH!

Then Teroph looked at the place where Yeongwoo had disappeared and spoke to Prince Aldo.

◇ To achieve balance, sometimes… we must return to chaos.

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