“Hello, Mr. Hyun-Sung. You're early today,” I greeted.

“Is it true you’re heading to the Republic?” he asked.

“...”

“...”

“Yes, looks like it,” I replied.

It was the same morning routine as always. After arriving at the guild, Hyun-Sung would come to the office. We would exchange greetings, talk for a bit, and then go about our respective work. If it had really been like any other day, he would have started laying down the groundwork to have lunch together, but that kind of behavior was nowhere to be seen this morning.

He didn’t ask about my schedule, didn’t check whether I had lunch plans, and didn’t even ask if I was too busy and needed to grab something quick. His mind was clearly filled with my new schedule, and sure enough, he immediately brought up the news about the Republic visit.

“Why... all of a sudden...”

‘People don't change that easily.’

We had gone through so much in the first life, but Kim Hyun-Sung was still Kim Hyun-Sung. He was aware that our souls had completely merged and had come to understand what was important in our relationship, but fundamentally, nothing about us had really changed.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that we were exactly the same as when we used to get along well.

Kim Hyun-Sung was still Kim Hyun-Sung, and I was still Lee Ki-Young. Of course, we spent more time together than before and were making a conscious effort to be a bit more honest with each other, but what mattered was that there were no noticeable changes in our daily lives.

He was busy worrying on his own, and I was too tied up with my schedule to have much time to see him. Of course, it didn't mean that what we had done so far was meaningless, but...

‘It really felt like going in circles.’

His anxious gaze made me wonder again whether everything that had happened in the first life actually meant anything.

“Why?”

‘What do you mean, why, you bastard?’

Judging by his reaction, it looked like he had been binge-watching videos about the Republic. His expression suggested that he was worried not just about a simple invitation to a meal, but whether I was actually planning to naturalize as a citizen of the Republic. People like him really ought to be banned from accessing Benigoa Net.

“It seems there’s been some misunderstanding,” I said.

“A misunderstanding...?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

“Yes. Things like me naturalizing in the Republic or some incident happening in the Democratic Country are all fabricated stories. I was simply invited to spend a short time at Commander Jin’s residence in the Republic. Of course, I do plan to take care of a few things while I’m there, but most of what’s being spread in articles and video channels is just made up,” I explained.

“Ah!”

‘Why the hell are you going, "ah" for?’

Even so, I could still see him looking anxious from time to time. It was so ridiculous that it almost made me laugh.

‘What kind of algorithm has he built brick by brick?’

To begin with, Kim Hyun-Sung wasn't really the type to use the Goddess’s Hand Mirror often. He only set up a personal social media account because people around him were using it, so he decided to make one to communicate with them. It was really hard to believe he came from the modern world, considering how unfamiliar he was with this culture.

Naturally, he couldn't even recognize memes as memes, and he would easily fall for provocative articles and posts designed to bait attention.

He used to stay far away from that kind of stuff entirely, but perhaps he became aware that he knew too little about the world, as he had been searching for things more often. The problem was that the direction he chose to learn about the world was wrong.

Just like how our parents would end up believing all those sensational videos on platforms like Utube, Kim Hyun-Sung had also been exposed to that kind of content.

It was only a guess on my end, but checking his Hand Mirror would confirm it right away.

“Let me see your Goddess’s Hand Mirror,” I said.

“Ah... sure,” he said. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

“You set a password.” I pointed out.

“Ah... the password...” he mumbled.

“What is it?” I asked.

“The password is...” he paused.

“What is it?” I asked again.

“2714.”

‘What a ridiculous subscription list, seriously.’

“Why did you subscribe to these?” I asked.

“Am I not supposed to?” he asked.

“That’s not the point, I’m asking why you subscribed to them,” I said.

“Well... they have a lot of views... and a lot of subscribers... and if you look at the comments, they say the stories covered by this channel are more transparent than any media outlet.

"Haven’t you heard that news agencies these days are basically puppets of the central authority? People my age all subscribe to it. They say if you truly care about the continent, you have to subscribe...” he explained.

'So typical. People his age, he says.' Of course, people actually his age would never use the phrase, "people my age." It was obvious where he picked that line up from. Naturally, I immediately checked what videos he had been watching.

[Why can sobbing be heard every day from the Honorary Cardinal’s room?]

‘What the hell is this about? What do you mean by sobbing can be heard every day?’

[The hidden secrets behind the Saint of Sacrifice and Revival’s prayer gathering?! What exactly is happening inside the closed prayer meetings? Ninety-four shocking secrets that will leave you stunned.]

‘What kind of secrets could there even be that there are ninety-four of them?’

[Is the continent truly at peace? A mysterious prophet speaks of another continental war and destruction drawing near. Hidden signs that the Saint of Sacrifice and Revival is struggling to prevent the continent’s downfall!]

‘This is toxic. Seriously toxic.’

[A single remark from Blue Guild’s Sub Guild Master Lee Ki-Young that shocked the entire continent. A red flag for the Blue Guild? The Sunset Swordsman’s critical mistake! The Republic is smiling!]

‘You didn’t make any mistake, you idiot.’

He was already a ball of anxiety and was easily swayed to boot, so the fact that he had been seeing these posts for quite a while now, yet had decided to come to me only today sounded quite impressive. I thought nothing had changed, but in this regard, it seemed he had developed quite a bit of patience.

It didn’t look like he had watched everything he subscribed to yet, but there were so many absurd stories I couldn’t even put them into words.

‘The Vatican is shocked by the Honorary Cardinal’s secret private life?’

“...”

“...”

‘Adventurers were shocked after discovering the Saint’s corruption in Stragglers’ Lane?’

'Why are these people so shocked all the time? Even the thumbnails are ridiculously provocative.' It didn’t seem like Hyun-Sung had watched it yet, but the moment I clicked on it after being baited by the provocative wording and thumbnail, the video told the story of another saint from the Federation.

It was certainly a story where the word "corruption" suited it perfectly, but there was no guarantee that the story was even real.

‘I’m the one who’s actually shocked.’

To make things worse, toward the end, it suddenly mentioned that the Saint of Sacrifice and Revival had recently been enjoying hambier skewers in Stragglers’ Lane.

'So that's why my silhouette is in the thumbnail.'

“It would be better if you refrain from watching things like this. These channels write unverified and sensational stories just to earn gold from views. They’ll probably be sanctioned soon by the Continental Protection Management Committee.

"Channels like this pop up all the time, so it makes me wonder if controlling them at all even means anything, but still, the ones that cross the line need to be dealt with,” I explained.

“Ah...”

‘What do you mean, "ah." Seriously, living so long cut off from civilization really left you with no sense of reality.’

“I’ll unsubscribe you from anything that looks useless. I’ll subscribe you to some official channels that are at least worth watching, so if you want to keep up with news about the continent, it’s better to focus on those. If you really want to learn, you should read books. Books,” I emphasized.

Whether it was fortunate or not, Benigoa Net lacked streamers dancing in revealing outfits, and I didn’t see any extremely toxic political channels either. At the same time, though, he had subscribed to every single specialized channel about griffons.

“I’ll leave the griffon channels,” I said.

He looked reassured upon hearing that, but aside from that...

‘Wow, this is actually a serious problem.’

Watching Benigoa Net rot this quickly was honestly baffling. In the early days, it had some purity to it, but it didn’t take long for both outsiders and the people of the continent to become corrupted.

Actually, I thought it was already getting bad before, but now, it was basically chaos.

Of course, since I had control of the Goddess’s Hand Mirrors, I could block everything if I really wanted to do so, but the issue is the amount of time and manpower it would take. Completely shutting it down wouldn’t even work, and all sorts of backlash would happen if I were to do that.

‘I really need to come up with some kind of solution.’

However, it wasn’t something I could deal with right away. For now, I cleaned up Hyun-Sung’s subscription list and handed the Hand Mirror back to him.

‘If I had been even a little later, this could have turned into a real problem.’

If I had been even three weeks later, this guy could have gone around talking about making the Democratic Country great again and building a massive wall at the border.

He could have even become active on social media, spouting all kinds of nonsense to the point that everything he said before would lose its meaning.

He could have also started criticizing the Continental Protection Management Committee, gotten swept up in some bizarre political ideology, and spewed ridiculous claims. He could have also turned into one of those people who go around lecturing everyone as if they had all the answers to any questions.

‘Just imagining it is horrifying.’

He could have realized that he was handsome. The thought of Kim Hyun-Sung becoming a celebrity, picking out outfits, taking photos at flattering angles, and doing weird BeTok dances was beyond horrifying.

It would honestly be better if he just posted sentimental photos or even left short captions on landscape pictures, like what my father often did. This was why it was important for him to be educated.

Now that everything was over and he was just finding his own life, even though he had technically been out in the world for a long time, this could actually be his first time really living in this world—no, this was definitely his first time doing so.

The kind of person Kim Hyun-Sung would become depended on his environment. I could not let him get influenced by some weird Republic propaganda channels or those shocking bait channels. The mere thought alone was horrifying enough.

“Anyway, there’s no need for people of the Democratic Country to kneel, and I’m not going to naturalize in the Republic or leave the Blue Guild, so you can relax. Shouldn’t you be focusing on the work you are doing right now, Mr. Hyun-Sung? You only just started,” I asked.

“Right. Actually, I was going to have you review it today, Mr. Ki-Young...” he answered.

‘What review? Seriously, is this elementary school homework or something? Just say you’re submitting a proposal.’

“Ah, really? I should take a look then,” I said.

“Okay.”

“...”

“...”

“The Rahel City Plan. It sounds impressive,” I complimented.

“Thank you.”

‘It looks like Miss Kim Mi-Young was deeply involved in this.’

However, he had to have put a lot of thought into preparing this one. After all, it was a long-cherished project of his. In the first life, Rahel was a slum, and in the second life, it was merged with a nearby city along with the founding of the Democratic Country, but due to issues with its location, the plan now was to separate Rahel entirely and develop it into a new special city. Surprisingly, it was Kim Hyun-Sung’s idea.

Since Rahel in the first and second lives had completely different characteristics and populations, I wondered whether there was any real need to go this far, but what could I do? If he wanted to do it, then he wanted to do it.

Personally, I hoped that through this plan, he would finally be able to let go of the burdens weighing on his mind, but the Rahel City Plan didn’t seem to be about atonement. It was probably just something that had been bothering him.

In any case, it was off to a solid start, and as soon as the paperwork issues were resolved, they were planning to begin immediately, so the project was progressing quite satisfactorily.

‘Looking at Laves, he does have a strangely instinctive sense, like stumbling into the right answer by accident.’

I had no idea if he had inherited his business instincts from his parents, but rather than dabbling in a bit of everything, he had the persistence to push forward with a single idea in mind, and Rahel was no different.

“Let’s move forward with this right away,” I said.

“Okay. By the way... have all the personnel for the Republic visit been decided?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

‘You’re not going anywhere.’

“Ha-Yan and Sora will probably come along... The rest haven’t been decided yet. It’ll probably be difficult for you, Mr. Hyun-Sung,” I answered.

“...”

“...”

“I see...”

‘Wow... seriously.’

“You still have work to do here,” I added.

“But... I think I can join later with the second group,” he remarked.

“...”

“...”

As expected, he hadn’t really changed much at all.