The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 305

Swordmaster Wants to Live Peacefully – Episode 304

The Holy Shrine (14)

Originally, a Holy Shrine is like a group bound by a single mythology.

The more they share a common mythology, the stronger the bond between the deities within the Holy Shrine, and their abilities also create a synergistic effect.

Originally, Holy Shrines were established by gods who gathered based on the same mythology, but…

Yu Seong-wu was a solitary myth and a solitary great deity.

No one shared the same mythology as him.

If Yu Ji-woo, Hong Seo-hwa, or Baek Woo-hyeon, who are around him, become proper deities, they would be gods based on the same mythology.

But he had no one now.

Therefore, he was thinking of making the establishment of the Holy Shrine itself the foundation of his mythology.

By accepting other deities as members of the Holy Shrine, he would fuse them into one and use them as the basis of his mythology.

That is the second stage of establishing the Holy Shrine.

Medea closed her eyes as she listened to Yu Seong-wu’s story.

She is a witch who has lived for a long time.

The first witch to appear in Greek mythology, and the child of a god.

It’s impossible to even guess how long she has lived.

At least thousands of years.

“Considering that you don’t belong to any Holy Shrine, you don’t seem to be on good terms with Olympus [the home of the Greek gods].”

At his words, she nodded slightly with her eyes still closed.

It wasn’t wrong.

She was expelled from Olympus a long time ago for some reason, and she founded the Witch Society for women in similar situations to herself.

Even after a long time, her relationship with Olympus had not recovered, and that was where she was now.

Medea slowly opened her eyes and spoke.

“I have no intention of returning to Olympus now. And as you said, the Witch Society is a gathering of the rejected. It’s a group founded by those whom no one would accept.”

Even though the Witch Society has raised its status to a group of magicians, it is still often rejected with the label of ‘witch’.

The reason why they don’t settle in one place and operate as a decentralized organization, with the meeting place changing, was because of that.

“Are you saying you’ll accept such a Witch Society? Making us all your followers?”

“You’re stating the obvious. And not just followers. If you gain divinity, you’ll naturally be treated as deities of the Holy Shrine.”

“……”

As Medea began to contemplate, Yu Seong-wu also looked at the other witches’ expressions.

The witches all had similar expressions.

They looked like they were wondering if this was really okay.

Some were negative, and some were positive.

Looking at them in detail, they were making different expressions.

Yu Seong-wu was planning to bring them all under his control, to bind them together.

He opened his mouth.

“There’s an old saying that if there’s a river, a wise woman finds a bridge to cross, and… a crazy woman has already crossed the river.”

And the crazy women were invariably branded as witches, drowned, or burned at the stake.

Yu Seong-wu continued.

“I want crazy women. To survive in this crazy world, shouldn’t geniuses who seem crazy gather together?”

In times like these, the weak must unite.

In order to confront the gods who are trying to manipulate this land as they please, with the age of mythology returning, it is necessary to gather those who have been rejected by the gods and make them a counterforce.

That too will become a mythology.

Changing the world is the exclusive property of those who are pointed at and called crazy.

“Crazy women, huh……”

Jeanne muttered.

Yu Seong-wu knows her past.

The patron saint of France who was active in the Hundred Years’ War, and the greatest contributor to the Battle of Orleans.

France branded her as a witch and referred her to a religious trial.

She made all the possible rebuttals, but none were accepted.

Even though she led the war to victory, she was already labeled as a ‘witch’ and it was irreversible.

What about Bathory?

She lost her entire family to vampires and continued the life of a vampire for revenge.

She finished her revenge, but there is no home to return to.

“I’ll make you a home to return to. I’ll make sure no one can point fingers and call you witches anymore. This is not a request, not coercion, and not a deal. If you lend me your strength, I will repay you with equivalent value.”

“…It’s a dangerous gamble. The moment you establish the Holy Shrine, all other Holy Shrines will become your enemies. Do you think you can withstand the onslaught of the gods?”

“Of course. I have received approval from Persephone and the Underworld King. At least Olympus will be friendly, and Japan’s Takamagahara [the High Celestial Plain, home of the Japanese gods] will also lend a hand. With that much, other Holy Shrines won’t be able to easily attack.”

And finally, Yu Seong-wu asserted that he was there.

He is the only great deity on Earth who can wield that power.

While other great deities are bound by restrictions and wield their power through incarnations, Yu Seong-wu can move directly.

That alone is an enormous merit.

“I’ll make sure no one can ignore you anymore. So lend me your strength.”

Medea stared into Yu Seong-wu’s eyes.

Eyes filled with intense conviction.

Red eyes that seemed confident that they would never be broken represent his will.

She had seen the eyes of countless people, but this was the first time she had seen someone with such eyes.

Eyes of a person who would rather break than bend.

‘Ah, even though he has reached divinity……’

He still has human eyes.

If you were to count the human parts left in him, wouldn’t it be his faint humanity and this body?

Medea looked around at the other elders and said.

“I would like to ask for your opinions. This is the biggest issue of any meeting we’ve held so far, so I would like to borrow the wisdom of you elders.”

Medea seemed to have already made up her mind.

The other witches opened their mouths.

“I’m in favor. I feel like we’re already in the same boat… It’s not like we can go to another Holy Shrine anyway.”

Jeanne, the Witch of the Holy War, gave her vote of approval.

“No objection. Research resource support is better than what the Witch Society used to do. We might be able to see greater results if we work with them.”

Callie, the Witch of Alchemy, who was continuing her research at the Meteo Industries research lab, gave her vote of approval.

It seemed that the money spent on her research so far was not in vain.

“I’m also in a state of being mortgaged… so I have no choice but to cast a vote of approval.”

Bathory, the Witch of Crimson Blood, who owed her life to Yu Seong-wu, cast her vote of approval with a bitter face.

As three elders cast their votes of approval, votes of approval came from here and there.

There were two or three votes of disapproval, but Yu Seong-wu decided to resolve that as a matter of taste.

Medea, who had been listening to the elders, seemed to have made a decision and opened her mouth.

“…I understand your opinions well. There doesn’t seem to be any need to raise our hands.”

Medea rose from her seat.

And after looking around at the seated witches, she opened her mouth.

“Until now, we have been wandering around. With the stigma of being witches, we have been subjected to all sorts of humiliation and pointed fingers wherever we go. Such customs exist everywhere in the world and will never disappear.”

That’s exactly right.

The word witch hunt still remains, and in the past, they actually hunted them with weapons in front of them.

Just because they were witches.

Only because of the name witch.

What did they do?

They had just learned a little bit of different ways of thinking and wisdom than others.

One thing was certain, they were not the ones who should be unilaterally hunted.

Just, really just.

For religious reasons, they were hunted for being blasphemous.

“But, it seems that we finally have a nest to return to. Tell the sisters in each region. Gather in Sehyun City, Korea. Our new beginning will start there.”

She smiles faintly and continues.

“And, there will be even more young sisters. We can’t keep wandering around here and there forever.”

The age of mythology has begun, and people have gained strange powers.

The number of children awakening the power of witches is increasing, so they cannot continue to wander around.

Children with the power of witches will be abandoned by their parents and driven out onto the streets without guardians.

If there is a base, it will be easier to care for such children.

Yu Seong-wu smiled and said.

“I will provide all the homes and education for such children. I will create your ‘home’ in the Holy Shrine.”

“…Okay. With this, the deal is done. I look forward to working with you. Master Yu Seong-wu.”

“Likewise. And I’m sorry to start talking about work right away… but can I get a sample of the spell to be installed in the Holy Shrine within a few days?”

“Of course. How many heads are gathered here?”

Medea laughed.

“Now that it’s come to this, let’s complete the best Holy Shrine.”

***

The work of establishing the Holy Shrine has begun in earnest.

The first thing that was completed was, of course, the transfer of ownership of Sehyun City.

It was also the biggest ripple effect in the history of Korea.

“The country is ruined! To give ownership of a city to an individual!”

“It’s absurd!”

And, of course, there was a backlash. It was so absurd that there were even protests.

It was a protest to return Sehyun City, which had been handed over to Yu Seong-wu, to the state.

The protest was held in front of the National Assembly Building in Seoul because they were afraid to do it in front of the Sword Soul Guild.

Sehyun City itself was very peaceful.

That’s because those who live there know his status.

In the past, he had quite a few enemies, but now he has become the object of envy for all divers [those who explore dungeons or labyrinths].

He challenged the Abyss, which was thought to be impossible, and showed overwhelming prowess, and even had the romance of cutting everything with a single sword.

“What if the owner changes? You said it would go back to the way it was?”

“Then it doesn’t matter.”

And there was also a lack of safety awareness that they didn’t care who the owner of Sehyun City was.

They are the ones who have been trained in the labyrinth of the Abyss, which is more dangerous than that.

Rather, it may be more beneficial for them to have an active diver become the owner of the city.

Yu Seong-wu looked down at Sehyun City from the rooftop of the Sword Soul Guild Tower.

High-rise buildings and apartment complexes built everywhere.

A planned city for divers.

Sehyun Special City, which belonged to Korea, was designated as a ‘Special Zone’ from today.

“I’m deeply moved.”

When he first returned to Earth, he returned as a beggar.

He still vividly remembers beating up some delinquents, ripping them off, and going to the bathhouse.

Now he is the owner of a city.

Not just any city, but the most prosperous city in Korea after Seoul.

The amount of money invested is well over tens of trillions of won [Korean currency].

“Yuwol, what about the things you were instructed to do?”

“It’s about 70 percent complete. There are many things that need to be reorganized here and there. All operations will probably be normalized next week.”

Yuwol, who was standing next to Yu Seong-wu, tapped the screen of the tablet a few times and answered.

Sehyun City will become even more prosperous in the future.

As a city and as a ‘Holy Shrine’.

Therefore, a lot of people were needed to manage it, and there were many places to fix here and there.

Yu Seong-wu passed on such things to Yuwol… no, entrusted them.

She was good at this kind of thing.

“The Witch Society will also be moving soon, and the Heavenly Demon and the Murim Alliance [a martial arts alliance] have decided to visit here.”

It will be difficult to deceive the eyes of other Holy Shrines now.

So, they had to proceed with the work quickly, like a crab hiding its tracks.

He chuckled and said.

“It’s going to be more fun in the future.”