Iron Gangmin Coin Is Always a Buy on the Dip (2)

"Oppa, you can cook now too!?"

"I can make kimchi stew, at least. It doesn't taste anything like the way Mother used to make it, though."

"Mmm… It's still delicious! Oppa, you're the best!"

Serin and I sat facing each other as we ate.

Though she liked perilla leaves, she still couldn't pick them up properly and asked me to separate them for her, just like old times.

I almost cried.

"Dohwa, it's delicious, right?"

"Kyaeung~."

"……."

But, well, seeing Dohwa made all the emotion vanish in an instant.

I could let it slide that she still ate only chicken breast because she seemed to dislike hot and salty food, but…

At least eat with your hands.

Stop burying your nose in the plate.

"Dohwa, I told you to eat with a fork."

"Kyaeung… Keng!!"

"That's right, good job."

So I spent my spare time training Dohwa.

I taught Serin various things too, while I was at it.

And before I knew it, the day had flown by.

"Oppa, let's sleep together!"

"Why don't you sleep with Dohwa?"

"Dohwa likes sleeping with Oppa too, right~?"

"Kyaeung~."

"……."

Even sleeping pressed up against each other in bed was just like old times, but anyway.

We got through the first day without incident.

The second day was no different.

"Master~ Is Dohwa good?"

"Yeah, yeah. You clean well too~."

For starters, Dohwa learned to do simple housework.

It wasn't something I'd told her to do; she did it voluntarily.

Whenever she saw me doing housework, she would take over as if to say, Leave this to me.

I was so proud of her.

"Good, good!!"

"That's right, good job."

Whenever she did that, I patted her head several times, saying, "Good, good."

If I scratched beneath her chin too, Dohwa would grin as though she'd gained the whole world.

"……."

'I feel like I'm going to get arrested.'

I didn't particularly want to think about how that scene looked to other people, but anyway.

I gave Serin my phone and told her to say if there was anything she wanted to buy, only for her to recoil in horror at the gallery full of brown things, among other incidents.

I put a mask and hat on Dohwa, and we all went out shopping for clothes and such.

And so the second day passed quickly too.

'…It's peaceful.'

This was the peace I'd wanted so desperately.

My life was happy with nothing more than this.

Even without overwhelming strength, I could be perfectly happy.

'Could I retire now?'

So did I really need to go back to the Tower?

I was already the strongest in the world. Did I need anything more?

I even found myself thinking that.

And those thoughts of mine…

were shattered to pieces by a single news report from Japan.

[Breaking news! Japan's No. 1 S-rank, Sugiyama Renya, has entered the Gate alone!]

[He said we should watch closely because he would be back soon….]

Morning of the third day.

A fool had thrown himself into hell.

"Heeey, that's so cool… Oppa? What's wrong?"

"That man might die."

"No way, Renya is ranked fourth in the world!! He'll solve it in style and come back!!"

Those who knew as little about the situation as Serin did still saw it and held on to hope,

[Awakened Minor Gallery]

Title: Renya Live ON

(Monster photo)

He bolted at top speed the moment he spotted the boss

Said "Yabai" about a hundred times

The footsteps behind him are terrifying as hell;;

'…So this is how it turned out.'

Renya, who had entered the Gate boldly, ended the broadcast after just one hour.

His final words were that Iron Gangmin was right: this thing couldn't be beaten.

So nobody but Iron Gangmin should enter.

[And Iron Gangmin! No, Lord Iron Gangmin!!]

He even left a message for me.

I'll give you anything you want.

I'll apologize for my arrogant remarks too.

So please, stop the Break.

If it gets out, Japan will have to suffer a third nuclear strike.

'It's not exactly three straight bunker rushes, but a third nuke is a bit much.'

Even I felt a little sorry for him,

I immediately began planning a trip to Japan…

"Tsk."

'But what am I supposed to do?'

I couldn't leave right away.

I wanted to make a quick trip to Japan and pick up some Legendary-grade armor while I was there, though.

I didn't have a passport.

I'd already applied, so it would be issued in a few days.

I wondered whether that guy would still be alive by then.

'It isn't my fault, though~.'

I didn't feel particularly guilty.

Even if he died, it would be his own fault.

Of course, I wasn't exactly praying for him to die.

"Serin, we said we'd take a trip to Japan once my passport came, remember?"

"Mmm? Why~?"

"I think we should take the fastest flight available, one that fits the timing as closely as possible. Is that okay?"

"Yeah!!"

"Got it. Then let's pack in advance."

I'll try to get there as quickly as I can.

So keep running and hang in there.

[Awakened Minor Gallery]

Poster: Iron Gangmin's Awakener Analysis 2

Title: You'll give me anything? LOL

My mouth is watering

You're all screwed LOL

'This should be enough.'

In case there was any misunderstanding, I even made it clear that I would answer Renya's call for help.

Click.

I disconnected my phone from Wi-Fi.

Since things would be noisy for a while with everyone going on about Iron Gangmin this and Iron Gangmin that, I planned to leave the internet behind for a while.

I should go as soon as my passport arrived.

That thought hadn't changed, but…

[Japan Awakened Guild Alliance. 'We'll pay any price, so please stop being angry with us'….]

"……?"

A week later.

I realized that my asking price had skyrocketed.

* * *

Meanwhile, while Hwi-min waited for his passport,

Japan was thrown into chaos.

It was because of the news that Japan's proud No. 1 S-rank and strongest Awakener, Sugiyama Renya, had entered the Gate.

"As a samurai, I must take responsibility. I'll go, even if I have to go alone."

"If Lord Sugiyama puts it that way…."

No one around him actively tried to dissuade him, either.

After all, he was Japan's strongest.

He was a hero who had resolved every Gate.

He didn't have as much experience as South Korea's Hwang Hee-chan, but his strength was among the top handful in the world,

and everyone even held quiet hopes.

…Those hopes were betrayed in the worst possible way.

-Mutter.

"Sugiyama, without even fighting…?"

Renya's broadcast giving up on the raid and requesting rescue.

"If Iron Gangmin is right, isn't it level 1,071? This isn't the Pilgrim's Tower, and if he'd used a title and Stigma, it should have been worth trying to fight, no?"

"Who knows? I'm not sure."

Everyone expressed their doubts.

They'd assumed he must have entered because he had some hidden advantage, but he fled without even drawing his sword once.

They wondered what the hell he thought he was doing.

-Tap-tap-tap-tap!

'That's only level 1,071? It's not even in the same league as that Failed Knight!!'

It would have been unfair to Renya if he'd heard that.

After all, this Gate's type was 'Raid'.

The level Hwi-min had seen was based on multiple Awakeners fighting it.

Trying to face it alone was bound to make its perceived level shoot much higher.

That was why he had given up on the raid immediately.

Of course, the others had no way of knowing those circumstances.

"If Sugiyama dies, won't Japan lose its status as the strongest Awakener nation too?"

"Now that it's come to this, just stay alive…."

Everyone earnestly prayed for his safe return.

A Fourth-Floor clearer is a superhuman who may or may not appear even if an entire nation commits all its resources to support one.

Losing him so pointlessly would be a national loss.

It wasn't for nothing that Cheonghwa had invested trillions of won to rescue Hyunseo.

"A third nuclear strike would be seriously dangerous!!!"

On top of that, if the Break occurred,

Japan would have to beg other countries, 'Please, launch a nuke at us.'

So the Japanese prayed.

For someone who could resolve this situation without nuclear weapons…

They prayed to Iron Gangmin.

"He'll be here soon, right?"

"Legendary-grade equipment is a treasure even Iron Gangmin would covet, so he'll come running soon."

At first, no one was all that desperate.

Legendary-grade equipment was so rare that there were fewer than ten pieces in the entire world.

Since they had promised to give him one, they believed Iron Gangmin would come rushing over.

[Day 1 of Sugiyama Renya's isolation…]

[JP Airlines announces it will provide a private jet if Iron Gangmin wants one]

But the next day,

Iron Gangmin did not come.

"I suppose getting out of the country in one day would be difficult."

"He'll come today, right?"

Day two of Renya's isolation.

Iron Gangmin did not come.

"…He really has to come now, doesn't he?"

Day three.

He didn't come.

[Sugiyama Renya's anguished final broadcast…]

[Tears as he asks when Iron Gangmin is coming]

[Japan's strongest in dire straits!]

Day four.

Renya's phone battery ran out completely, and all news of his survival ceased.

There was still no word from Iron Gangmin.

"It takes less than three hours from Seoul to Tokyo! Why isn't he coming!?"

"Sugiyama's really going to die at this rate!!"

Japanese public opinion shifted drastically after Renya's final broadcast.

Before, they had held to the vague hope that he would still come, that Legendary-grade equipment was worth that much.

But…

Now the prevailing opinion was that Iron Gangmin had gotten angry and canceled his trip to Japan.

"So 'You're all screwed' really did mean that!!?"

"Iron Gangmin really intends to let Japan take a third nuke!!!"

The words 'You're all screwed' that he had written in the gallery, too,

had by then changed into words implying that he was standing by and watching.

It had been ambiguous enough to confuse even Koreans.

There was no helping that other countries took the words as an ominous sign.

-Roll-roll.

"So this is Teenieping…?"

'I thought it was just a silly children's cartoon, but it might actually be touching.'

Hwi-min, meanwhile, was simply binge-watching children's animations with his younger sister, catching up on what had piled up during her hospitalization.

'Come to think of it, why is my passport taking so long?'

On top of that, the delayed passport meant he couldn't go even if he wanted to.

The Japanese had no way of knowing these circumstances.

It was hard to imagine that an Awakener was waiting for a passport to be issued.

And on the fifth day of Renya's isolation.

On the eighth day since the Gate appeared.

[Analysis of Sugiyama Renya's remarks]

[Is Japan being made an example of?]

[No word from Iron Gangmin for five days…]

"If he doesn't come soon, this is going to get dangerous!!!"

Japan was gripped by terror.

The worst catastrophe, a Gate Break, was now only a matter of time.

Along with that came a massive crash in Japanese stocks and the yen.

All sorts of phenomena foretold Japan's doom.

"Just give him whatever he asks for!!"

"Are you sure that's wise? We don't know what he might demand…."

"At this rate, we'll be begging the US or China to please launch a nuke at us; anything would be better than that!!"

Naturally, Iron Gangmin's stock rose in inverse proportion.

The prevailing opinion was that they had to bring him over even if they gave him something far more precious than mere Legendary-grade equipment.

People were even saying they had to buy into Iron Gangmin Coin right now—that even buying it now counted as buying at the bottom.

It had gotten to that point, but…

'I finally caught up on Teenieping to the latest episode, and my passport is here too… Huh?'

"What the hell is this?"

Hwi-min had gotten the news late because he'd done nothing but watch animations with his younger sister and deliberately stayed off the internet.

It made no sense to him.

'I have to go right away… Huh? There are no tickets?'

On top of that, flights to Japan had been canceled ages ago.

It was impossible to get to Japan by ordinary means at present.

[Private jet for Iron Gangmin standing by at all times…]

'I don't want to take that.'

Of course, a private jet for Iron Gangmin was waiting at the airport, but would Hwi-min actually take it?

If he used an invisibility skill or changed his appearance with the Legendary-grade item 'Shapeshifter,' there was no chance of his identity being discovered, but

Hwi-min felt deeply uncomfortable with the idea.

He was reluctant to reveal his abilities.

'Can't be helped.'

So, after weighing countless factors,

Hwi-min made a quick decision.

"Serin, let's take that trip to Japan another time."

"Okay~."

"And… ahem, Baekrihyang?"

[My God! This child has been desperately searching for you, Lord God. What brings you here….]

"Please ask Hyunseo whether a flight to Japan can be arranged for me without anyone finding out that I took it."

Ryu Hwi-min finally came crawling out.

Decision made: Japan.