Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 226

“Can you deliver it right away?”

“We can deliver! We can deliver, but… there are so many items that we need to call a truck. So, it might take about an hour.”

“Then I’ll wait and go with it. Please process the payment.”

“O-Okay, then in total…”

The manager’s eyes started to tremble as he tapped on the calculator.

He took a deep breath, seeing a price that seemed like a digit was misplaced.

‘Is this a dream?’

No, it couldn’t be a dream…

Even so, he was a toy store manager, not a department store employee. It was strange enough that someone was buying toys in bulk, but the fact that it came out to this price was shocking and terrifying.

“A-Are you sure about this?”

He knew that it could be rude for a seller to ask a buyer such a thing. But the price was so astronomical that he couldn’t help but ask.

“Please pay with this.”

Kang Jin-ho took out his card from his wallet.

Usually, people who pay with a card for this kind of price, or even half of it, would have a haughty air about them. But Kang Jin-ho’s hand that presented the card was nothing but polite.

The manager, with a dazed look, reflexively asked as he received the card.

“How many months would you like to pay it in?”

“It’s a debit card.”

“……Yes.”

Can this price be paid with a debit card?

He had never done anything like this before, so he had no idea. The manager recalled the first time he stood at the counter when he first joined the company. He didn’t think he was this bewildered back then.

As he carefully swiped the card and had him sign, something beeped and a receipt started to come out.

‘It actually works.’

He learned a new fact.

“H-Here’s the receipt.”

“Please throw it away.”

“Sir, if you throw this away, you won’t be able to exchange or refund the items.”

“Yes. Please throw it away.”

The hand holding the receipt trembled. The manager, unable to throw the receipt into the trash can under the counter, carefully slid the receipt into a document box next to the counter.

“Um, then…”

As Kang Jin-ho looked around, the manager jumped forward and politely extended his hand, pointing to one side.

“P-Please come to the manager’s office. The sofa is comfortable, so it’ll be nice to wait there.”

“Would you do that for me?”

“Oh, sir! It would be my honor. Please, this way!”

The manager ushered Kang Jin-ho into the manager’s office, closed the door, and turned around with wide eyes.

“D-Did you call the truck?”

“Yes! I did.”

“A large container truck?”

“Yes! Manager! I asked them to send one of the trucks that delivers our goods quickly. It’ll be here in 30 minutes.”

“Really?”

The manager nodded vigorously, then took out his card from his pocket and handed it over.

“Then go quickly and get some coffee.”

“Get coffee?”

“Hey, you crazy bastard! Are you going to give that customer instant coffee? Go to the cafe upstairs and buy some coffee! Hurry!”

“……What kind?”

“Buy all kinds, you punk!”

“Yes, sir!”

As the employee rushed upstairs, the manager put his hand on his chest. His startled heart was still pounding.

‘Should I take some calming medicine?’

Kang Jin-ho had added another act of ‘evil’ to his list, giving someone else’s heart a hard time from the morning.

“It’s ready!”

“Okay.”

The manager, who had loaded the items with incredible speed, carefully finished the banding to prevent damage to the products and informed Kang Jin-ho.

“The remaining items will be sent to the same address in a week.”

“Please do.”

“W-Would you like to ride in the lead?”

The manager was so nervous that military jargon came out of his mouth without him realizing it.

“I’ll go in my car. Where’s the truck?”

“It’s at the main gate.”

“Okay. I’ll go to the main gate, so please start.”

“Understood.”

As Kang Jin-ho left the manager’s office and headed towards the elevator, the manager quietly shouted.

“Hey! I’m going to go deliver it with him, so watch the store!”

“Yes, manager.”

“I’m going!”

The manager, who had rushed to the main gate and got into the truck, saw a red sports car stop in front of the truck shortly after.

‘That’s it.’

He knew it instinctively.

No, he could tell rationally, not instinctively. Anyone could tell it looked expensive. Only someone who drives a car like that could buy this many toys.

“Where is this delivery going?”

Only the address was written, so he didn’t know where it was. He could just put the address into the navigation system, but he was curious about where such high-end toys were being delivered.

Brrrrrrr.

The car in front slowly started to move.

“Please, follow that.”

The manager pointed at the sports car to the driver, who was sitting there with a look that said he was experiencing all sorts of things, and the driver replied with a blank face.

“Are you crazy? How am I supposed to follow a Lamborghini with a truck? What am I, Schumacher [Michael Schumacher, a famous Formula One driver]?”

“That person is the one who ordered it! Are you not going to go?”

“I’ve seen it all.”

He was probably the only person in the world who had ever chased a Lamborghini with a truck.

“Please don’t lose it.”

“Don’t you have the address?”

“……I do?”

“Then why are you following it?”

“I feel like I should.”

The manager turned his flushed face towards the window, seeing the truck driver looking at him with eyes that said he had seen all sorts of weirdos.

Driving slowly so that the truck behind him could follow, Kang Jin-ho recalled what Park Yu-min had said yesterday.

“Do you know why the kids were wary of you when you first came?”

“Because I was a stranger.”

“That’s right. Then do you know why they are wary of strangers?”

“……Because they’re strangers?”

Park Yu-min smiled lightly.

“It’s because they’re scared.”

“Of strangers?”

“No. They’re scared of getting close.”

“……”

It was an incomprehensible statement.

He had heard of being afraid of not being able to get close, but Kang Jin-ho couldn’t understand the concept of being afraid of getting close to someone.

“I don’t understand.”

Park Yu-min replied bitterly.

“If a stranger comes and spends time taking care of the kids, the children who are starved for affection will cling to that person. They’re just happy that someone is spending time with them.”

“Hmm…”

“But… if that person is busy and doesn’t have time, and then one day they don’t come, the kids won’t do anything else during the time that person used to come, and they’ll just stare at the door. Wondering when they’ll come, when they’ll come.”

Kang Jin-ho’s face hardened.

“Of course, you shouldn’t blame that person. They’re busy and struggling to live, and it’s a blessing that they took the time to come, even for a little while. But… the kids get hurt. They feel like they’ve been abandoned again. They’re not old enough to understand that yet.”

“I see.”

“I know you’re busy. I understand completely. And I don’t think you’re someone who needs to come to the orphanage. Me neither. So, Jin-ho, as a friend, please, just visit the orphanage once in a while. There are too many kids staring at the door, wondering when you’ll come. I’m really sorry for asking this.”

“Sorry, huh…”

Kang Jin-ho sighed softly.

Even bringing an animal into the house requires a sense of responsibility. A commitment to take responsibility until the end once you start caring for it. How much more responsibility would it take to give affection to a person?

‘You idiot.’

The thought of the children staring at the door made his heart ache. It was strange to feel that emotion, as if he still had such feelings.

He couldn’t apologize for his past indifference with these material gifts, but it would be a minimal show of sincerity.

He knew that the real apology wasn’t this, but how much more he would care for the orphanage in the future.

‘Why can’t I do anything on my own unless someone else points it out?’

Jo Gyu-min and Park Yu-min sometimes told him that he seemed to be able to do anything, but Kang Jin-ho thought he was an idiot who couldn’t do anything without someone else’s advice.

How could he do anything on his own when he couldn’t even do something like this properly?

He had made important decisions and pushed them through on his own in the Demonic Cult [a fictional organization from the story], so he could now understand how frustrated his subordinates must have been.

‘I deserve to be stabbed to death.’

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

The orphanage came into view in the distance. He parked the car in a suitable spot and got out, and the truck stopped in the front yard of the orphanage.

“Where should I unload it?”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his cheek.

“Please put fifteen of each inside, and the rest can go in the warehouse in the back. I’ll open the door for you, so please stack them well inside.”

“Yes, sir!”

Park Yu-min walked outside, hearing the sudden truck noise.

“W-What is this?”

Park Yu-min asked with a dazed face, finding Kang Jin-ho at the back of the truck.

“Jin-ho?”

“Yeah.”

“What is this?”

“Toys.”

The moment he finished speaking, the back of the container opened, and the toy boxes piled up inside came into Park Yu-min’s view.

“……Hey, Jin-ho.”

“Yeah?”

“Why is the scale so extravagant even when you buy toys?”

There was no room for excuses.

The children were ecstatic.

They were so happy that they seemed half-crazed. Everything was great.

Except for one very minor problem.

Kang Jin-ho was watching the children, who were shouting and jumping around as they opened the toys, with a subtle expression.

“Park Yu-min.”

“……Yeah?”

“What did you say to me yesterday?”

“The door?”

“……I’m sorry.”

Everything was great. Except for one thing. The children, who were moved and amazed by the storm of toys they had never seen before, missed Kang Jin-ho’s presence at the door.

Thanks to that, even though he had been standing at the door for 10 minutes, no one was paying attention to Kang Jin-ho.

“What is this?”

“What is this!”

“Do you want to eat?”

“Get lost!”

Kang Jin-ho, looking at the children with a hollow face, sighed. But his expression was not dark at all. He didn’t come to be seen. He came because he wanted the children to have fun.

So why would he feel bad?

“Oh? It’s Jin-ho oppa [older brother, a term of endearment].”

“Uwaaaah.”

Someone found Kang Jin-ho and shouted loudly.

Then the children started running towards Kang Jin-ho, abandoning their toys. It was as if these kids had some kind of hive mind; once one of them started moving, the rest would do the same.

All the dozens of children abandoned the toys they were opening and ran towards Kang Jin-ho.

It was perhaps a very touching sight.

If it weren’t for the manager’s pale voice coming from behind him!

“D-Don’t step on it! That’s a million won [Korean currency]! Uwaaaah! Don’t step on it!”

The price for bringing in the toys, the epitome of a spending spree, was devastating.

Every time a robot’s wing fell off, the manager screamed with a tearful voice.

“You can’t step on that!”

Scattered toys, running children, and the manager’s wailing voice.

In the midst of that chaos, Kang Jin-ho scratched his head.

“I don’t know.”

If they’re having fun, that’s all that matters.

Kang Jin-ho hugged the children who were running towards him with both arms.