The Crazy Villain Regains His Sanity - Chapter 73

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 73

Returning to Cheongwadae straightaway, I shared my impressions of what had just transpired with Cheon Myeong-guk.

……

Cheon Myeong-guk’s expression, which had been pleased at the news that there were no casualties in the Awakened One incident, stiffened visibly.

“First, I regret that you had to witness something so distressing. I hadn’t anticipated such a gap in our welfare coverage. Though if I may explain, it’s a result of safeguards we put in place to prevent indiscriminate overallocation. I’ll see that we address and improve this.”

Cheon Myeong-guk mentioned that in cases like this, the runaway children’s mother might sometimes be collaborating with a Villain, or the marriage itself could have been fraudulent from the start.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t verified whether she was their biological mother.
The public servant handling welfare had mentioned the same thing — concerns about indiscriminate allocation.
I agreed with that perspective.

“There are holes in every policy, aren’t there?”

Everything had two sides to it.
Resources were finite, and if you were too strict in vetting eligibility, gaps in coverage were inevitable.
In this age where Monsters and Villains ran rampant, resources fell short while demand from those seeking them overflowed. In a sense, it was only natural that those most desperate—those who prepared thoroughly—would be the ones to receive assistance.
Cheon Myeong-guk’s gaze toward me grew cautious.

“Is there anything else you’d like to address?”
“In my view, the support the government is providing seems sufficient. The official handling the case did their job admirably—any limitations were due to regulations beyond their control.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”

In the end, improving welfare support for vulnerable populations required only a manual revision.
More careful review, reinforced provisions—that was all it took.
The real problem came next.
I handed Cheon Myeong-guk the bento box I’d brought from the Dong Administrative Office.

“This is……?”
“It’s a bento box provided to the vulnerable population.”
“It’s rather sparse.”

Cheon Myeong-guk muttered under his breath, swallowing. He’d be even more shocked if he knew the price. So I told him.

“It costs six thousand won, apparently.”
“What the hell! Even the Reserve Army didn’t get this shabby!”

An entirely unexpected response burst out.
Cheon Myeong-guk, wearing a sheepish expression at my gaze, elaborated.

“I’m from the Reserve Army generation. Back then, we also received pretty dismal meals. Still, our bento boxes came out reasonably—but this is rather rough.”

Cheon Myeong-guk went on to say that Reserve Army bento boxes had also cost six thousand won.
While the quality made you think it was expensive, it was acceptable. Accounting for inflation, but this—this was excessive, he said.
The Reserve Army, come to think of it—that institution had vanished as the number of Monsters steadily grew.
I’d only heard fragments of it when my father occasionally talked about his military service.
Now that I recall, he’d had nothing good to say about it.
In any case, with Cheon Myeong-guk’s anger kindled, the conversation became easier.

“In my assessment, the real problem is this.”

What I held up was the soup. By appearance, it was unmistakably soybean paste soup. But the moment I tasted it, I couldn’t suppress my shock.

“This is an insult to Soybean Paste Soup.”

How dare they make Soybean Paste Soup like this! Even I could make something far more delicious at a cheaper price.

“Mm, it’s sewage broth.”

Cheon Myeong-guk let out a sharp breath and nodded in agreement.
Sewage broth? Crude as the expression was, it fit perfectly.
This bento box is funded by taxpayer money. I said I was going to track down the vendor to find out what they were thinking, and Cheon Myeong-guk looked horrified.

“Perhaps it would be wise to think about this a bit more?”
“Why?”

All I needed to do was find the vendor and see how they arrived at six thousand won for this bento box.
Of course, I don’t deny the existence of profit margins.
Companies need to make a living, so it’s natural they take profit. Just look at the BigBang series alone—the cost is absurdly low. That’s why the margin is so high.
Even so, consumers buy things because they think that price is ‘reasonable.’ No matter how high the margin, if a consumer is willing to buy it, that’s all that matters.
But would anyone actually eat this bento box for six thousand won? A convenience store bento box at thirty-eight hundred won already looks better quality.
If you ask me, this bento box is worth twenty-five hundred won—and only if my bank account was down to exactly twenty-five hundred won and this was the only bento box left, would I close my eyes tight for thirty minutes before forcing myself to buy it.

“Perhaps we should consult with the relevant parties first. I’ll report this to the President.”

I was trying to downplay it, but Cheon Myeong-guk was only amplifying the situation.
Isn’t this a trivial matter for the President to be concerned with?

“There’s really no need to—”
“I’ll report it right away. Please wait.”

Cheon Myeong-guk disappeared at a terrifying speed, then thrust his head back in.

“You mustn’t leave.”
“···.”

Does he really not trust me that much?
I pride myself on being rational.
It stung a little, not being believed in.

* * *

The lengthy conversation had ended.
The President, who had successfully bought time by slowing Choi Jun-ho down, exhaled a long, relieved sigh.

“So it finally came out.”
“I apologize. I tried to handle it on my end, but it proved beyond my capabilities.”
“No, it was the right call. If I hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve headed straight there. And thinking about what might have happened—it’s terrifying. Your judgment, Director Cheon, just prevented a mass slaughter in downtown Seoul.”
“···Thank you.”

The President’s words were exactly what Cheon Myeong-guk was thinking.
Choi Jun-ho is the man who killed a chief prosecutor without hesitation at the Central Investigation Bureau. Destroying a single vendor would be easier than flipping his hand over.
Moreover, that six-thousand-won bento box Choi Jun-ho had shown was clearly something cooked up in the middle of some scheme.
The problem was that this was a support project run by Seoul City.
Based on how Choi Jun-ho thinks, if the vendor was selected by Seoul City, then the final decision-maker becomes the Mayor of Seoul.
By the way, the Mayor of Seoul is a prominent politician from the ruling party.
The President had persuaded Choi Jun-ho by promising Seoul City’s cooperation on this matter.
This was the best that could be done.

“I thought honest tax payments would contribute greatly to the national finances, but now an unexpected side effect has emerged.”
“What will you do about it?”
“This is clearly a serious matter, so it’s difficult to even comment. And of all things, they had to joke around with food.”

I’m not sure how I ended up as the one persuading Awakened Ones on the President’s behalf.
But this situation was inevitable the moment he decided to act on Busan City.
The problem was that it happened far too quickly.
Still, this whole affair did yield one valuable piece of information.
Choi Jun-ho takes food seriously.
But Cheon Myeong-guk expressed concern about something else entirely.

“Mayor Han Jeong-mun may resist, sir.”
“And if he does? He’ll end up like Yu Seong-su — getting his brains washed out, confessing all his corruption, and dying. Right now, resistance isn’t what matters. And what can that fool accomplish by resisting anyway?”

If Yu Seong-su had been a powerhouse opposition presidential candidate as mayor of Busan City, then Han Jeong-mun held the same position for the ruling party as Seoul’s mayor.
Since the Monsters emerged and city functions became concentrated, the status of metropolitan government leaders had risen several tiers.
Seoul was an exception in this regard—the government was effectively taking on much of the city’s role.
As a result, unlike other cities with stronger independence, Seoul tended to be subordinate to the central government.
Not that he deserved to be treated with such contempt, but his opponent was formidable.

“Never mind his resistance. Just focus on suppressing this early.”
“Yes, sir.”
“We should also conduct inspections.”

The President fell silent in thought. After deliberating carefully, he reached a decision and gave Cheon Myeong-guk his orders.

“Call in Ji Chang-yong and Han Jeong-mun. Even if the limbs burn, we can’t let the head explode.”
“I’ll contact them immediately.”

Ji Chang-yong was the four-term ruling party chairman, and Han Jeong-mun was the Seoul City mayor.
The two men who could be called the true power brokers of the ruling party rushed to Cheongwadae.

* * *

Since I brought Jin Se-jeong into my circle, the main change has been a slight speed bump in my decision-making—a moment of deliberation before acting.
I don’t see that as a negative.
If she’d tried to force my hand, no matter how capable she was, I simply wouldn’t have cooperated.
As if sensing this about me, Jin Se-jeong recognized exactly where I’d drawn my line and never crossed it.

“I would never stop you from making a decision. Your appeal comes from that fearless, unstoppable nature of yours. I have no power to hinder it, nor should I try. But we need to make it shine more brilliantly.”
“How?”

Jin Se-jeong told me directly that I needed to conduct myself with more sophistication.

“There’s definitely corruption in the bento box contractor selection process. But if you just barge in without warning, you’ll be standing alone against them. They’re an interest coalition sharing political survival—a massive force representing the country’s power structure. You could win against them by yourself, but they have the strength to make it tedious. So first, we need to sway public opinion to your side and neutralize them before they can interfere. Divide the collective.”
“Public opinion, you say······.”

The old me wouldn’t have cared about that, but after tasting Jin Se-jeong’s magic and seeing news articles flooded with comments supporting me, my thinking changed.
Though I couldn’t verify its reality, the sense of growing allies felt reassuring.
But most of those comments kept saying things like they love me, and when I checked the age distribution, people in their thirties dominated it. What’s that about? When I asked Jin Se-jeong, she said that’s just how it is. A puzzlement I couldn’t quite resolve.

“They’re people who understand that your anger is justified.”

···And so, unable to refuse Jin Se-jeong’s suggestion, I ended up doing a mukbang broadcast eating a bento box.
Is this right?
Really?
I had zero expectations at first.
Still, I thought of it as a process to win over a few people watching, but three hundred thousand people are watching me eat a single bento box on air?
And it’s live streaming.

“They’re all people supporting you, Awakened One Choi Jun-ho.”

Is Jin Se-jeong a sorceress?
She seemed more impressive than that Argos-eyed fool who claimed he’d flip the world upside down.
What kind of magic is this?
The comment section was flooded with anger. Their thoughts were aligned with mine.
All I’d said on air was that this Bento Box wasn’t worth the six thousand won price tag. That was it.
The impact of thirty minutes of broadcast time had been remarkably potent.
Articles were already appearing.
Among them, the most striking headline was, predictably, Go Ye-jin’s.

“Now you may proceed exactly as you wish, sir. Why do you hesitate?”
“Just because… I find you trustworthy.”
“Thank you for believing in me.”

The small-framed Jin Se-jeong seemed somehow much larger than before.

* * *

When I headed to Seoul City Hall, the one who came to greet me was the city’s deputy mayor.

“I’m Ham Guk-gi, the administrative deputy mayor. It’s an honor to meet you, Awakened One.”
“Choi Jun-ho.”

The name I’d written down in my notes.
Ham Guk-gi bowed his head.

“First, I apologize for any trouble this situation has caused you, Awakened One.”
“It’s fine.”

Besides, what I’d experienced was minimal. My only concern was understanding how this situation had come about.
The taxes I pay to the national government are substantial enough, and the local taxes to Seoul are no trivial amount.
Wasn’t it only natural to be curious about how that money was being spent?

“What I’d like to know is the process by which the Bento Box vendor was selected.”
“Ah, yes. Well, it was such a long time ago, you see…”
“There are no records?”
“No, we do have records. But they’re rather… ambiguous. Ha ha!”

He laughed awkwardly while studying my expression. That alone told me what he was thinking.
He wanted to gloss over it somehow. Exactly as I’d anticipated.

“So if it was an old matter, that means this Bento Box has been distributed since back then.”
“Yes, well, when we entrust work to someone, we tend to trust them with it, so I suppose this situation arose from that kind of… continuity.”
“That makes no sense whatsoever.”
……

Ham Guk-gi’s mouth fell silent. I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head.
Even with public opinion on my side, the logic of someone bent on making excuses doesn’t change, does it?

“Which department selected the Bento Box vendor?”
“That was… a department that existed before, but it’s since been dissolved and consolidated into other divisions.”
“Then I should be able to review all of that department’s records. Can you bring those to me?”
“Well, I… that is…”
“Deputy Mayor.”
“Yes?”
“What I want to know is which entities were involved in selecting the Bento Box vendor. The reason I’m sitting here now is to resolve this as quickly as possible—not because I’m hoping to be persuaded by what you have to say.”

My blunt cut silenced him. He could no longer dodge the issue. He called for a staff member to bring the records, and then he began explaining himself as he looked at me.

“At the time, that department held bidding, and selected a vendor through a civic organization called Together Sharing. But you see, beyond just the quality of the Bento Box, there were matters of the company’s contributions to the city and the credibility of the business owner, so…”
“Then it seems we should start by investigating that civic organization that selected the vendor.”
“How can you say that? If you do, then we’ll conduct a thorough investigation ourselves…”
“Deputy Mayor.”
“Yes.”

Once I knew which department was involved, the rest would fall into place. There was no need to wait around for Seoul City to conduct their own investigation and bring me the information.
And as the memory of Ham Guk-gi surfaced, I felt no further restraint.

“Your name appears on the board of that organization as a director, doesn’t it?”
“No, that’s not right! I belong to a different organization. I have nothing to do with this.”
“Then why is your name listed?”

If the name was fraudulently registered, he’d pocketed serious money. If he was actually a member, then the Deputy Mayor had used his influence to select the Bento Box supplier and they’d been in on it together.
Watching him make excuses when the facts were this obvious—he must take me for a fool.

“I, well, that is—”

I definitely have an allergy to bullshit.
Whenever I hear some pathetic excuse, I feel an impulse rising in me to smash my own head in to make it stop.
No longer seeing any reason to hold back, I made my move.

“Your tongue’s so long—you eager to have it pulled out with all this garbage you’re spewing?”

Crack!

“Ahhhhh!”

The moment my Mine-infused hand touched his collarbone, a sickening snap echoed through the room, his shoulder caved inward, and Ham Guk-gi screamed and collapsed.
A shame, really.
Why did he keep making excuses when he knew exactly what I was capable of?
If he’d simply admitted his wrongdoing and confessed… well, I probably would’ve done the same thing anyway.
The noise from inside must have carried; the door swung open and people rushed in.
Fear glimmered in every gaze fixed on me.
I gestured for them to hand over the documents they’d belatedly brought, then summoned Ham Guk-gi’s superior.

“Call the Mayor for me.”

I’d thought talking would work since he was from the ruling party.
Had the President not properly briefed him?
Maybe it’d be faster to just go find him myself.

“If he won’t come, I’ll go to him myself.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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