The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 303

Swordmaster Wants to Live Peacefully – Episode 302

Swordmaster Wants to Live Peacefully 302

The Holy Shrine (12)

The hottest news worldwide was, of course, about the ‘Holy Shrine.’

With gods revealing themselves, information about the Holy Shrines became public knowledge.

The gods were real.

And now, they were actively trying to exert their influence.

Some governments tried to suppress this information, but you can’t hide the sun with your hand [an idiom meaning to conceal the obvious].

The officially released list of Holy Shrines quickly spread online.

Korean Peninsula Holy Shrine – Jade Emperor Palace (玉皇宮)

Japanese Holy Shrine – Takamagahara

Chinese Holy Shrine – Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海經)

Nordic Holy Shrine – Asgard (Ásgarðr)

British Holy Shrine – Round Table

Greek Holy Shrine – Olympus (Όλυμπος)

Egyptian Holy Shrine – Kemet

These were the seven most prominent Holy Shrines. The remaining Holy Shrines were either lying low or preparing to make their move.

And most Holy Shrines had contacted Yoo Seong-woo at least once.

Knowing he didn’t belong to any Holy Shrine yet, they tried hard to recruit him.

Aware of the competition from other Holy Shrines, they were very enthusiastic in their sales pitches, promising various benefits if he joined them.

Messengers even arrived with piles of gifts, making it seem like they would be well-off for a while.

“Wow, are the Olympus guys crazy? What are they giving us?”

Yoo Ji-woo examined the gifts that had arrived for Yoo Seong-woo, clicking her tongue in disbelief.

Gifts sent by various Holy Shrines to entice him to join their ranks.

Olympus, having foreseen through Persephone that he wouldn’t join, still had to pretend to recruit him to avoid raising suspicion from other Holy Shrines.

But the item sent for that ‘pretense’ was quite remarkable.

“Is this real? Is this genuine? Not a fake? Not plated?”

Yoo Ji-woo carefully examined the object in her gloved hand, muttering to herself.

She was holding a golden apple.

The apple that was presented when three goddesses asked a shepherd to choose the most beautiful among them.

Regardless of the choice, the result was always destruction…

In any case, the golden apple is a symbol of authority.

Gaia, the primordial goddess, presented a golden apple tree as a wedding gift to Hera, and one of Heracles’ labors was to retrieve the golden apples.

For Olympus to send such a thing meant it was both a bribe and an expression of their desire to maintain a good relationship in the future.

Yoo Ji-woo put down the golden apple and examined the other gifts as well.

All things she had never seen before.

Rare items that even an S-class diver couldn’t obtain were scattered everywhere.

“…I’m realizing anew just how amazing Oppa [term for older brother or male friend] is. They’re sending things like this as gifts?”

“I’m that high-class.”

Various elixirs and artifacts.

Even replicas of the gods’ artifacts arrived, though not genuine.

“…Can I use this?”

“You have your own weapon. Use Banmyeong diligently.”

“Okay…”

But most of them were useless to Yoo Seong-woo.

As he ascended to the level of a divine being, his swords also rose to the same level.

It was as if he was carrying eight divine swords on his body.

Even if he consumed the elixirs, he wouldn’t see much effect.

They would be more useful as healing potions.

“Sort the elixirs separately. You guys can use them later.”

“What? Awesome!”

“To enter a Holy Shrine, you must achieve at least a minimum level of divinity, so those elixirs will be of great help in achieving that.”

“Ugh.”

Yoo Ji-woo, who had been happy, became gloomy again. It meant that achieving divinity required backbreaking effort.

Besides, the concept of becoming a ‘god’ didn’t quite resonate with her.

How could a human become a god?

Perhaps because she had never been interested in religion, she couldn’t even define what a god was.

Even with Yoo Seong-woo, a living god, right in front of her.

“But if Oppa is a god, well, is he all-knowing and all-powerful? Can he read people’s minds?”

“Would I be? Even if I became a god, I don’t feel much different. Humans and gods are the same. A human who has transcended humanity—that’s what they call a god.”

Yoo Seong-woo said, creating a sword made of aura in his hand.

When he lightly swung it, a windstorm raged inside the warehouse.

Yoo Ji-woo, grimacing, tidied up her hair, which had been messed up by the wind.

“You’ll understand someday. Why I’m saying these things.”

Only a very few can reach divinity. It requires talent that overwhelms others and bone-crushing effort.

Currently, Yoo Seong-woo is the only one on Earth with divinity while possessing a living body.

‘There may be a few hidden ones, but…’

Not enough to worry about.

Because he is confident that he is stronger than them.

“Then I should start the plan. I have to create a Holy Shrine…”

Yoo Seong-woo recalled the conditions necessary to establish a Holy Shrine.

Persephone, upon hearing that he was establishing a Holy Shrine, gave him advice without holding anything back.

‘To establish a Holy Shrine, you need a ‘world,’ she said.’

The Jade Emperor Palace of the Korean Peninsula.

Takamagahara of Japan.

Olympus of Greece.

The Holy Shrines each have a ‘world’ that represents them.

That is where the gods gather and is their symbol.

It was the most important element in the Holy Shrine, so it had to be created before anything else.

“Hmm.”

And a world is a kind of divine realm and sanctuary.

A world where gods can wield their power to their heart’s content.

So, if he were to create one, he would have to create it based on his unique world.

However, Yoo Seong-woo has not yet fully developed his unique world.

And if he were to create a world by borrowing the story of the sword, it would be extremely unstable.

“No.”

Is it necessary to make the world his unique world, a divine realm?

Wouldn’t it be enough to sanctify a place on the ground?

A change of perspective.

He roughly sketched out a plan in his head and opened his mouth.

“I need to see the President.”

At least he had to give him a heads up.

Yoo Ji-woo, hearing his muttering, said.

“…What? See who?”

***

Currently, Yoo Seong-woo’s status in South Korea was truly close to that of a ‘god.’

If people were enthusiastic about him as a diver in the past, now they revered him as a living god.

His disappearance a few days ago, his appearance in Japan, and the fact that he had led many people and dealt with the Japanese Emperor had all spread widely.

Moreover, his appearances at official events in Korea inspired reverence in the people.

All humans in Korea came to know what it was like to see a being that was not entirely human.

Some suggested that he should be nominated as President, and others suggested that the position of President was not enough for him and that a special ‘god’ position should be created.

The ‘Yoo Seong-woo’ faith was also spreading secretly, so his status continued to rise.

So the President had to come when Yoo Seong-woo told him to come, and had to go when he told him to go.

If he disobeyed Yoo Seong-woo’s words, he didn’t know what would happen now.

“Did you call for me, Yoo Seong-woo-nim [honorific title]?”

The top floor of the Sword Soul Guild Tower, newly prepared for Yoo Seong-woo.

The President bowed politely and entered.

From the President’s point of view, it was humiliating to have to bow to someone who was young (in appearance).

But the moment he raised his head and faced Yoo Seong-woo, that thought disappeared.

Because there was a sacredness about him that made even impure thoughts melt away.

Of course, Yoo Seong-woo also projected more divinity than usual in order to lead the negotiations in a more favorable direction.

“It’s been a while, President.”

Had he seen him before?

He didn’t remember well, but the President just nodded.

“I have a favor to ask, so I had to call you to this place.”

“Yes, please speak.”

Yoo Seong-woo was able to speak comfortably because the President was more submissive than he had expected.

Sehyeon City, formerly called Sejong City, the land where he currently lived.

That was where he wanted to establish the Holy Shrine.

“I will take Sehyeon City as my land.”

Sehyeon City itself.

Taking a small province wouldn’t be wide enough, and it wasn’t suitable for creating a sanctuary.

However, Sehyeon City was the place where the most Abyss [dangerous portals to other dimensions] appeared, so it was a region where various resources and divinity could be supplied more smoothly.

If properly fortified, a natural fortress could be completed.

“Y-you mean you want Sehyeon City? Th-that is…”

The President’s face turned pale, as if he would have accepted even if he was told to step down from the presidency.

The idea of handing over Sehyeon City as a whole was too absurd.

Yoo Seong-woo added.

“It doesn’t mean I’m going to take everything in Sehyeon City. I still have a conscience. Don’t worry about taxes or anything, but I’m going to take ownership as my own.”

“So, what does that mean? I still don’t quite understand.”

“Yuwol.”

When he called her name, Yuwol, who he hadn’t even noticed standing next to him because of Yoo Seong-woo’s presence, handed the President a tablet.

It contained the content of the treaty to be concluded between Yoo Seong-woo and the country.

Of course, Yoo Seong-woo was the boss, and South Korea was the subordinate.

“It’s not a story that doesn’t benefit South Korea either.”

“……”

The President slowly looked at the tablet. He was still more familiar with paper documents, but the person who looked like Yoo Seong-woo’s secretary (?) was looking at him so menacingly that he was afraid he would be hit if he asked for paper documents.

The contents of the tablet were as follows:

The Republic of Korea transfers ownership of Sehyeon City to Yoo Seong-woo and transfers all rights.

Yoo Seong-woo takes over the public affairs that Sehyeon City has been handling so far and pays taxes to the Republic of Korea.

It wasn’t entirely nonsense. Sehyeon City was a planned city built under the leadership of the government.

Most of the land belonged to the government, and most of the buildings were built by public corporations, so it wasn’t impossible for the government to hand over Sehyeon City as a whole.

“I-I don’t think this is a problem that I can decide on alone.”

To hand over a city to an individual.

Even if he was influenced by divinity, he couldn’t cloud his judgment, which had been honed by a long political career.

However, it was obvious what would happen if he opposed it unconditionally.

He could tell just by looking at how the Japanese Emperor in the neighboring country had died.

Yoo Seong-woo said.

“I don’t intend to rush you. But I think it would be wise to provide a favorable answer.”

The President, hearing that he was expected to hand it over, felt a chill down his spine.

How on earth could he navigate this situation?

“Then go.”

When the President bowed again and left at Yoo Seong-woo’s words, Yuwol said.

“…Seong-woo-nim, you’ve changed a lot from the old days.”