Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

Members of the National Assembly, including Seol Rok-jin, publicly declared Weltschmerz, us, as enemies of the state.

Especially Assemblyman Seol Rok-jin, who had openly expressed that he was on the anti-awakener side in normal times, spewed out his anger without hiding it.

“The culprits who murdered Assemblyman Kim Seong-deuk this time are very arrogant and vicious people.”

Weltschmerz. Seol Rok-jin continued his criticism while mentioning their name.

“I know there are many things being said about Assemblyman Kim Seong-deuk. For me, I can’t believe and don’t want to believe that Assemblyman Kim Seong-deuk, who led me like a father, committed such crimes. But even if that were true.”

Seol Rok-jin’s eyes turned red as he clenched his fist. Many people let out sighs at that sight.

“Is it ‘right’ to murder Assemblyman Kim Seong-deuk like this? I absolutely cannot understand. Since when did torturing and murdering someone become the right thing to do in this country called Korea?”

Assemblyman Seol Rok-jin’s remarks immediately became dozens, no, thousands of articles that spread in all directions.

“This is a horrible crime. If Assemblyman Kim Seong-deuk really committed crimes, if all those unspeakable allegations are true, he should have received a trial and been judged by justice. But in this incident, there was no proper investigation or trial. Why? Because they weren’t confident they could hold Assemblyman Kim Seong-deuk accountable with appropriate laws.”

Seol Rok-jin shouted looking at the cameras spread all around:

“They just wanted to show. That even this country, even the law is under their feet.”

Everyone swallowed groans at Seol Rok-jin’s words.

Certainly, isn’t this country called Korea being played by a single criminal?

“The assassination of Assemblyman Kim Seong-deuk shouldn’t be seen simply as the death of an individual. It can be seen as the fall of a country under the rule of law.”

Seol Rok-jin, who muttered that he felt devastated, stopped speaking for a moment as if choked up. His image with reddened eyes filled with tears spread across Korea through broadcasts.

Seol Rok-jin, who barely gathered his emotions, continued speaking:

“I know there are people defending them now. Some say this. That there must have been a reason they had no choice but to step up. Let me say one thing.”

Seol Rok-jin looked straight ahead once more and said:

“If those with power start wielding that power privately, someday a world will come where might makes right.”

Seol Rok-jin’s words shook everyone. Especially non-awakeners. Seol Rok-jin skillfully expanded the crime committed by Weltschmerz, those criminals, into a crime committed by ‘awakeners’.

And he touched people’s worries.

Yes, what if those with power start wielding their power as they please?

What if awakeners who are now keeping quiet while following the law start acting recklessly? Can I, can the government stop that?

So we need even stronger laws, stronger sanctions, a more perfect leader.

In an instant, Seol Rok-jin wrapped up the Weltschmerz incident. The subtle pro-Weltschmerz arguments that had popped up disappeared in an instant.

Watching that news, I thought:

“Well, he’s still incredibly good at speaking.”

I knew it wouldn’t be over in one go, but to think he’d overturn the atmosphere so instantly.

Now anyone who takes my side will be branded as someone who wants to overthrow the country.

—What are you going to do now?

Ray asked me in an expectant voice.

—You can’t just sit still when they’ve made such a big move, right?

Well, I didn’t think you were so belligerent.

“What am I going to do? I’m not going to do anything.”

What’s the use of doing anything against someone who’ll act like that no matter what I do?

“Rather, I need to prepare.”

—For what?

“They’re definitely going to try to break something big soon.”

He’s not someone who’ll end this with just words. He’ll create an incident to solidify this atmosphere.

“Then shall we go make chairs in the meantime?”

It would be a big problem if I started something else and couldn’t handle their side.

—Why are you so obsessed with those damn chairs?

“I feel like I’m almost there, just a little more.”

—What’s with that talk like a gambler stuck in a gambling den!

“Just one more time, I’ll try just one more time.”

It’ll work this time, this time for sure.

* * *

“Finally!”

I clenched my fist at the window that appeared before my eyes. I finally completed a chair.

There are several reasons why I failed to make chairs until now.

First of all, I was really bad at making things straight.

With bricks, I could just make a mold and stamp them out, but with chairs, it was a problem from the start that I had to make four legs myself.

Every time I attached a leg, the same thing that happened when I cut Han Seo-hyeon’s bangs in the past was reenacted.

This leg is weird now. Now this leg is weird. As I kept cutting like that, soon only floor-sitting chairs remained.

In the end, I gave up on making chairs by conventional methods. And I turned to artifacts. Compared to making water spring up where there’s no water, and toilets and bathtubs that become clean by unknown methods, a chair that just needs to stand well should be nothing, right!

I used five lightning-struck old trees as materials. By the way, the lightning-struck old trees are handmade. I poured 50% output into them. Han Seo-hyeon’s smash came down on my back that day, but I had no choice because I needed materials with mana flowing through them to make artifacts.

Anyway, the magic chair completed like that was this:

=====

Lightning-Struck Chair / E-Grade

—–

Furniture · Chair

A chair made by a carpenter with terrible skills while wasting good materials.

The moment you sit on it, your buttocks tingle and your whole body becomes tired.

=====

There’s no need to go that far!

“It’s a decent chair except for the fact that your butt gets numb and your back hurts like hell.”

At my muttering, Han Seo-hyeon said as if dumbfounded:

“We agreed to call that a terrible chair.”

“Don’t you think it’ll be fine if we put some cushions on it?”

At my words, Han Seo-hyeon turned his head. It meant no.

Tsk.

I reluctantly decided to just buy the rest of the furniture from IKEA. Even I had to admit it was impossible to make all the rest of the furniture myself.

Now that Professor Geum has joined too, I decided not to engage in this hopeless manufacturing job anymore.

Well, everyone in the world has their own role, and it seems I have the worst skills for this kind of work.

Still, I was quite disappointed. To think I can’t make anything functional without magic artifacts.

I thought furniture would be a piece of cake since I even built a house!

—Even that house is maintained by magic power. If it weren’t for the mana circuits engraved in the bricks, your house wouldn’t even maintain its shape and would collapse. You have absolutely no basics of architecture in your head.

Ugh, it’s so painful that I can’t refute Ray’s words after this chair incident.

I was confident in my talking skills, but in front of such overwhelming clumsiness, even the most flowery words lose their shine.

Anyway, when I arrived at IKEA, I looked at the furniture with dead eyes.

Damn, the difference in quality from what I made is so obvious from the start, it’s really discouraging. I quietly approached the display.

“What, this incredibly amazing-looking chair is only 90,000 won?”

It can be folded when not in use and even comes with a cushion? Moreover, the balance is incredibly good.

Damn. It’s a defeat. To think I’d be defeated by such mass-produced products.

“Still, none of them have as much sincerity put into them as my chair.”

—It’s a law that only unskilled people talk about sincerity.

“Damn.”

I bit my lip in jealousy while going around the furniture section. To think all the factory-made furniture is better than what I made.

Ah, is this how Salieri felt looking at Mozart?

—I don’t know who those guys are, but I strongly feel this is an inappropriate comparison.

Butting in when you don’t even know. Complete severe old fogy syndrome. I pushed the cart while suppressing the rising rebellious spirit.

No, I tried to push it.

The cart wouldn’t move at all. Looking closely, Kim Jae-ho holding the cart was standing still.

Seeing Kim Jae-ho’s back, I turned my gaze to the side due to rising anxiety. It was the doll sales stand.

Emergency, emergency.

“Jae-ho, what did I say before we came here?”

“You said to listen well.”

“Right, now let’s go forward.”

Despite my words, Kim Jae-ho was stuck in place.

“I don’t want to.”

“What did I say?”

“I’m listening well.”

Kim Jae-ho pointed to his ears. Certainly, Kim Jae-ho was ‘listening’ to my words well.

“That’s not what I meant! I meant do as I say!”

“You didn’t say it like that.”

Good grief! I’ve fallen into a trap.

We have lots of things to buy today! There’s no room to load such big dolls. Besides, didn’t I buy you a new doll recently!

“You have dolls at home.”

“I don’t have one that looks like that.”

Kim Jae-ho pointed to a dolphin doll. Right, I’ve never bought him fish before.

—Dolphins are mammals, not fish…

‘Mister, did you come to pour oil on a burning house?’

The old fogy soul that arbitrarily settled in my head, and Kim Jae-ho throwing a tantrum without reason. It was quite chaotic.

Alright, fine. It wouldn’t be bad to properly discipline him this time.

I decided to use an extreme method.

“If you like dolls that much, Jae-ho can live here, I’ll go home.”

At my words, Kim Jae-ho became serious.

“You’re telling me to live here?”

It was harder because he was someone who didn’t understand jokes at all.

“No, no. I’ll take our Jae-ho with me.”

“But why did you say that?”

“No, I was just joking.”

“Is this funny?”

No, what’s going on? Cold sweat ran down my back.

—Are you a middle-aged crisis strategist?

‘M-maybe I should be.’

I swallowed hard.

“No, it’s not funny. Uh, but you see, there are social jokes even if they’re not funny.”

“You were trying to abandon me.”

“No, I’m telling you that wasn’t serious.”

As we were making a fuss like that, people were already glancing at us. Damn, we’ve drawn attention. Aah, this was behavior unbecoming of a publicly wanted criminal.

I closed my mouth while reflecting on myself. I whispered to Han Seo-hyeon, who was looking at me and Kim Jae-ho with a disgusted expression from the side:

“Seo-hyeon, at least you move away.”

“What nonsense is that all of a sudden?”

“We’re too exposed.”

“Oh my.”

Han Seo-hyeon clicked his tongue but still quietly moved away according to my words.

Now only Kim Jae-ho, who wouldn’t budge from the doll corner, remained in front of me.

I made up my mind and said:

“I’ll buy you a doll as an apology. Choose one.”

“Two.”

“One…”

“Two.”

Kim Jae-ho was a non-negotiable rogue! Have you ever seen such a bad guy. I originally wasn’t planning to buy any, but he should be satisfied with one!

“Waaah, buy it! Buy it!”

I thought Kim Jae-ho’s inner thoughts had burst out. I turned my gaze to the side.

Some kid was lying on the floor throwing a tantrum.

“You can’t do this here!”

A woman who was flustered by the child lying down in the toy section appeared.

Oh my, that child over there seems to be quite the troublemaker too. As I was looking at that situation with pity, my eyes met with that mother.

I smiled as if I understood everything.

And that mother…

Disappeared hugging her child with an expression of seeing an unsightly sight.

—Puhaha! Your smiling face still has tremendous destructive power.

‘Ha.’

Unlike the child’s mother who picked up her tantrum-throwing child, it didn’t seem like Kim Jae-ho could be picked up easily. It would be possible if I used mana, but if Kim Jae-ho struggles…

Forget it. There’s only one answer.

“Alright, choose two.”

At this rate, Jae-ho’s room will be full of just dolls. At my permission, Kim Jae-ho bought two large dolphin dolls while grinning. When I asked why he bought two when they look the same, Kim Jae-ho said:

“They’re not the same. These two are different characters.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, they’re friends so they have to be put together.”

So he had his own reasoning. Though I don’t really want to respect it.

The shopping ended safely.

It was fine except for Han Seo-hyeon scrunching his face after glancing at Kim Jae-ho’s and my carts.

“You only bought useless things!”

“I bought everything because it’s necessary.”

“Why did you buy five kinds of air fresheners?”

“Well, our base is a bit gloomy, right? I thought it would be nice if there was a good scent.”

“And what’s this?”

“Ah, that. It’s a decoration to put on doors. I thought it would be nice to see whose room it is from the outside.”

“We’re the only ones living there in the first place, what’s the use of this!”

I had to endure Han Seo-hyeon’s nagging for a long time.