Chapter 11: The First Upgrade (1)
Translator: Pai_
"300 points! They're giving me 300 points!"
Mun Su-ho let out a hushed exclamation.
Good lord, he never expected the returns to be this massive.
"This means I can hit the upgrade right now!"
He hurriedly flipped through the Prophecy Newspaper's Advertisement Section to confirm his memory was correct. Sure enough, the product the Newspaper Otaku had been craving was listed there, tagged as (Always Available).
[Upgrade] Family Newsletter → Clan Newsletter
(300 Points) (Always Available) (Non-Refundable)
* Tired of only receiving news about your family? We have just the thing for you. The subscription upgrade service!
* From now on, you will receive a newspaper covering not only your own family, but the noble house of the liege lord your clan serves. Enjoy the Prophecy Newspaper's expanded coverage!
"I knew it!"
Su-ho's breathing grew ragged. He let out a long exhale and had to fight with everything he had to calm his racing heart.
When explosives had nearly blown up his workplace, when he'd choked a criminal into submission, when he'd hoisted that cart minutes before detonation and sprinted with it... at all the moments he should have been excited, he hadn't felt a thing.
'But... thinking about it rationally, I can't just be purely thrilled that I got 300 points.'
Mun Su-ho thought it over. There had to be a reason the Subscription Points had paid out this generously.
He already had a pretty good idea what that reason was.
"I see. So our clan was fated to be completely ruined by this incident."
From Su-ho's perspective, it was the natural conclusion.
Total collapse of the entire clan!
Over there, watching the gatekeepers majestically directing the crowd, it was hard to grasp that they might have been destroyed as early as today.
And yet, examining things one by one, it was actually harder to find a reason they wouldn't have been ruined.
First, they had no money. Absolutely none. The head of the family, Mun Geum, had lost his entire fortune. The rest of the family was experiencing the miracle of returns worse than negative fifty percent.
Second, after Mun Geum was ousted, his legitimate daughter Mun Si-ah would have to succeed him as head. But...
'She was supposed to suffer full-body burns today and end up in critical condition. Si-ah.'
That's right.
The one piece of common knowledge accepted and agreed upon among the family, the assumption that 'of course Si-ah is the successor', had nearly been shattered today by the terrorist.
That would have been catastrophic. Their patriarch had already lost all authority, and now the heir, Mun Si-ah, bedridden on top of it? Then what would happen to the city gate, with all its lucrative interests at stake?
Surely the relatives wouldn't come crawling up saying, "Oh, our dear Su-ho, we're so sorry we treated you like an illegitimate child all this time. Things being what they are, please lead us," and install him as head of the family, would they?
"Well, this is something..."
Not a chance.
Uncles and aunts alike would immediately mobilize every connection they had, whether through the Royal Capital Guard or high society, and plunge into an all-out war to seize the position of family head.
An illegitimate child was nothing but a thorn in their sides. From that day forward, Mun Su-ho's closest companions would be an assassin's blade and a vial of poison.
Right about when you couldn't tell whether this was a family or a total dumpster fire, the Obsidian Baron, liege lord of the gatekeeper clan, would step in. And the Baron would most likely revoke the entire clan's rights.
A true worst-case scenario.
'Knowing all this, I can't just sit still!'
Mun Su-ho sprang to his feet. Then he strode forward with a confident gait. Once the situation had crystallized in his mind, determination surged into both legs of its own accord.
"Uncle. Please tell me you're grateful."
"Huh? Oh. Uh, sure. Thanks...?"
"Father. Please tell me you're grateful."
"Hmm? R-right, Su-ho. Thank you for earlier."
Su-ho gave a satisfied nod.
As someone originally from a world that valued propriety, he couldn't have been more pleased. That whole "even if nobody around me acknowledges it, I know what I did, and that's enough" sekai-kei sentimentality simply did not exist in Su-ho's repertoire. [TL: Sekai-kei ("world-type") is a Japanese genre where the protagonist's personal feelings and relationships directly determine the fate of the world.]
Now it was time to instill some manners in his younger sister, Si-ah.
For the record, Si-ah's eyesight was close to 3.0 herself, only slightly worse than Su-ho's. Thanks to that, she had a front-row view of the illegitimate child pulling this bullshit on each family member in turn.
If that bullshit came her way too, she was fully prepared to teach him in person that true courtesy was a two-way street. That intent radiated unmistakably from Mun Si-ah's eyes.
With a smooth motion, Su-ho pulled 10 Sita from his pocket. Then he landed them naturally in Si-ah's palm. Like a seasoned pilot, his landing was impeccably smooth.
"Dear sister. Please tell me you're grateful."
"If not for orabeoni, how could we have come through today's disaster without a single casualty? Father. Uncle, Auntie! Actually, orabeoni warned us about the attack in advance earlier. The reason I was able to snipe the mage in one shot was entirely thanks to orabeoni."
"......"
"Go rest, orabeoni! You were the only one who noticed the explosives were about to go off on their own and dealt with it. I'll handle things here."
With the siblings pulling a double dose of bullshit, the gatekeepers could only work their jaws in silence.
They cast sidelong glances at the family head, Mun Geum, because it was becoming pretty clear that there was something seriously wrong with that man's seed.
"N-no. Why is everyone glaring at me...?"
"......"
Mun Geum shriveled up. He had nothing to say for himself.
After making a full lap to savor the familial affection, Su-ho returned and, without a moment's hesitation, pressed [Upgrade] in the Advertisement Section.
The letters burst their ink with little pops, printing new sentences.
【Warning!】
「Upgrading your newspaper tier will result in a readjustment of your Subscription Fee.」
「All Subscription Points accumulated under the Family Newsletter will be donated as operating funds for this publication and reset to zero. From the moment you upgrade to the Clan Newsletter, you must accumulate Subscription Points again from 0!」
「In order to provide our subscribers with higher-quality news and premium products, a Subscription Fee increase is unavoidable. We ask for your understanding.」
「Are you sure you wish to upgrade your newspaper tier?」
「Yes」 「No」
"Huh?"
Mun Su-ho blinked. A full point reset?
He skimmed the warning notice and got the gist of it quickly enough. In short, "higher-quality information" and "premium products" were on the way.
'Wait. So out of my 305 points, 300 get deducted and the remaining 5 just vanish as a donation?'
This was the kind of service that could spark controversy.
As someone who had acquired a cheat, he was duty-bound to agonize over every last fingernail clipping. No amount of gain was ever enough, and no loss, however microscopic, could ever be tolerated!
And where had these 5 points come from? None other than preventing his father Mun Geum's food poisoning caused by reckless potion consumption.
These 5 points carried value beyond their number. For example, his sincere devotion to his father. His filial piety. Anyway, something like that...
"Orabeoni! Our lord has sent a dispatch saying he's coming here in person! You're a party to this incident too, so straighten up right now!"
He pressed down firmly on the Advertisement Section. Struck the part that read 「Yes」 with precision.
「Thank you for your order!」
「Thank you for donating your remaining 5 points to this publication. A small token of appreciation or service will be prepared in the future.」
「The Prophecy Newspaper once again promises our subscribers that we will provide differentiated, high-quality information unmatched by any other newspaper!」
"Oh."
Mun Su-ho was startled. His finger had slipped before he even realized it.
A whopping 5 points' worth of filial piety had vanished into thin air, and as a devoted son, he could hardly suppress his regret. Next time, he would absolutely not waste even a single point!
Mun Su-ho watched with sparkling eyes as the Prophecy Newspaper's letters rearranged themselves. In truth, his eyes had been sparkling from the very beginning.
【Prophecy Newspaper - Clan Newsletter】
【Kingdom Calendar Year 996, October 18th】
【Yesterday's Weather: Clear, followed by heavy rain】
Behold, the heading now reading Clan Newsletter!
If it were up to him, Su-ho would have loved to leisurely pore over every article at his own pace. But the timing was all wrong.
The eternal boss of the gatekeeper clan, the Obsidian Baron, was due to visit the scene shortly. He needed to absorb any information related to his lord immediately!
'This article was already in the Family Newsletter too.'
'Where's the new stuff? Any new articles?'
Mun Su-ho plunged into frantic speed-reading.
There wasn't even time to enjoy a cup of black tea. In the distance, his younger sister was smiling demurely while radiating an aura that said, 'Why aren't you helping us prepare for our lord's arrival? Want to die?'
"Ah."
Fortunately, he managed to snag just the right article.
Printed on the front page of the newspaper was the following:
『Obsidian Baron Catches the Flu!』
「Yesterday, the Baron went out to inspect the scene due to the attempted bombing. However, a sudden downpour began at noon, and the Obsidian Baron was briefly exposed to the rain.」
「Perhaps his aged body, nearing seventy, could not withstand the chill? The Baron began burning with fever last night and has been bedridden since today.」
「Despite his retainers' urging to take shelter from the rain, the Baron insisted on continuing his inspection. It is reported that from his sickbed, he lamented to a longtime friend, saying he would have shrugged this off in his youth, and that he had simply grown old.」
「The retainers of the Baron's household grow ever more concerned for their lord, whose vitality has been declining since his return from the recent war...」
'A downpour!'
Wait. Come to think of it...
Su-ho's gaze shot immediately to the very top of the newspaper page. There, alongside the title Prophecy Newspaper, the date and weather were always printed.
【Prophecy Newspaper - Clan Newsletter】
【Kingdom Calendar Year 996, October 18th】
【Yesterday's Weather: Clear, followed by heavy rain】
Sure enough, it said "clear, followed by heavy rain" in plain print!
The Prophecy Newspaper was a miraculous publication that always ran articles dated one day ahead. In other words, when the Prophecy Newspaper said "yesterday," it actually meant today!
'Rain is coming soon! And not just rain, a downpour!'
Now that he thought about it, when his father had been hit-and-run the day before yesterday, rain had been forecast then too. Wasn't it the original fate that Mun Geum's body would be swept away and lost in that sudden deluge?
Even a weather forecast that could easily be glossed over sometimes provided a crucial hint.
And right now was exactly one of those times.
"Sister!"
"Yes, orabeoni. You're the number one contributor to this incident, everyone agrees, so please hurry and stand beside Father."
"This isn't the time for that. Tents. Not just any tents, we need tents that can hold up even in a downpour!"
"......Pardon?"
Si-ah's composed facade nearly cracked for a moment. She and the relatives had already worked together to set up an ornate tent for the Baron's comfort, and now this illegitimate child was spouting nonsense.
With a smooth motion...
But the instant 10 additional gold coins landed on her palm, Mun Si-ah felt her acting skills undergo a dramatic breakthrough!
At this level, she could probably march straight to the Royal Capital Theater Company and land a new job.
"That tent over there is all show and no substance, flashy on the outside but it'll collapse the moment it rains. Set up a new one, thick and sturdy. Make sure no muddy water gets in either. It might start raining soon."
"But of course. Orabeoni's thoughtful consideration is truly boundless, and as his younger sister, it is only right that I follow his lead."
"Let's go get it from the storehouse together!"
"Yes, orabeoni!"