The post-disaster reconstruction proceeded remarkably smoothly. After Sung Jinwoo revealed his endless army of soldiers, so-called 'manpower' became the cheapest commodity imaginable.
With their varied abilities, the magical beasts could naturally handle all sorts of tasks.
His grand unveiling also made the entire world take notice.
The catastrophe in Korea had, of course, drawn widespread global attention.
While people hadn't been on the ground, satellites were watching, providing a rough picture of the situation.
The unprecedented power of both the monstrous beast and the hunter sparked countless discussions worldwide.
People wondered just how much resistance humanity could muster against a magical beast of that caliber—a Monarch.
Could National-Level Hunters still serve as the immovable pillars protecting humanity and standing at its pinnacle?
But all this had little to do with Castorice.
This time, Castorice remained semi-transparent in the eyes of the uninformed.
Interviews and people seeking her out were pitifully few. However, those who had spontaneously shunned her had vanished completely, and quite a number even came to her door to apologize.
What Castorice didn't know was that her lack of attention wasn't due to few people being aware of her strength.
While the number was small, basically anyone in any country with a bit of power knew she possessed what could be called the world's strongest combat ability.
However, from his interactions with Castorice, Sung Jinwoo could tell she wasn't the type who enjoyed being placed on a pedestal.
On the contrary, she preferred a low-profile life. It was just that her power made staying low-key impossible, forcing her into the spotlight.
As her number one employee, Sung Jinwoo clearly conveyed to foreign diplomats Castorice's desire to avoid attention.
He then attended the World Hunter Conference in her stead. Alongside Cha Hae-in, he received National-Level Hunter certification and publicly disclosed Castorice's identity to the national leaders and hunter representatives present.
'As a person, she doesn't wish to be enshrined as a deity.'
Sung Jinwoo emphasized that Castorice preferred an ordinary human life and warned everyone not to disturb her casually.
The reason he could replace Castorice as Korea's hunter representative was because the world recognized his endless army and formidable strength as being at the global apex.
This speech, half-warning, half-reminder, was naturally not taken as empty words.
Especially with Cha Hae-in, a hunter of comparable strength to Sung Jinwoo, also standing on Castorice's side, nations had to treat this warning with even greater caution.
After the battle, Castorice traveled to the world of the Fragments of Brilliant Light and received their solemn gratitude.
They did not enjoy war or combat. If they had, they wouldn't have turned on and killed their creator after learning he had orchestrated the endless war.
By ending the long cycle of conflict between Rulers and Monarchs, Castorice naturally earned their goodwill. They offered to fulfill one unconditional request from her as a token of thanks and a gesture of friendship.
The Fragments of Brilliant Light were indeed eager to befriend Castorice.
They had witnessed her power firsthand—the mighty, invincible Monarch of Destruction couldn't even fight back against her. Even they felt awe toward such strength.
As for whether agreeing to an unconditional request was inappropriate... they didn't think so. Judging from the perspective and description of the brightest Fragment within Go Gunhee, Castorice's nature was kind-hearted.
Such a person might make troublesome requests, but certainly not unreasonable ones.
What they didn't expect was for Castorice to use this token of thanks immediately.
The divine artifact that could reset time—she had been curious about it ever since learning of its existence. Seeing an opportunity, of course she had to ask.
Naturally, if they were reluctant, she wouldn't press further. She was merely curious and wanted to toss it to Herta for research.
However, the Fragments of Brilliant Light showed no hesitation. The artifact had originally been meant to save Earth and oppose the Monarchs.
Now that Earth was safe, the Monarchs were gone, and the artifact had lost its purpose, it was of no use to them. They handed it over to Castorice outright, stating that their offer—for a request in return—still stood.
Castorice didn't expect them to be so generous, but the Fragments of Brilliant Light had their own considerations.
While this was a debt of gratitude they owed, it also established a lasting connection with her. This connection shouldn't be settled with just one item.
Upon returning to Earth, Castorice received Sung Jinwoo's report. Learning what he had done at the world conference, she nodded with little reaction.
Increasing recognition from more people did boost her 'Approval Rating,' but for Castorice, this was in no way urgent.
The existence of the Underworld provided her with a constant source of approval.
Compared to the Underworld, Earth's approval, while greater in quantity, was far inferior in quality. It wasn't important enough for Castorice to change her way of doing things.
Compared to her many other 'selves,' the quality of approval Castorice harvested was already among the best.
[Amber: Finally, another super approval-generator besides me!]
The main body gave high praise.
As a god of another world and Earth's protector, the approval Amber gained every second was astronomical.
[Aria: The group's low-tier streamer sheds tears of envy.]
Stuck in the Resident Evil setting, even her avenues for gaining approval were extremely limited.
Despite having incredibly outstanding skills in that world, taking down B.O.W.s solo like drinking water, her gains were always unsatisfactory.
[Herta: Just wait. Once this genius's fame spreads across the universe, you'll all be left in my dust.]
She had just finished dealing with the Chitauri invasion in Marvel. While quite famous on Earth, she had little spread in the cosmos.
[Jingliu: It seems the flow of time here is much faster for me. The plot of The Return of the Condor Heroes has already concluded. With no more opponents, I have almost no way to gain approval anymore. I'll probably change worlds soon.]
[Eblana: The world I arrived in seems to be Akame ga Kill!]
A newcomer? The character pool has rotated again.
[Amber: Eblana is actually a bit tricky... I didn't really plan to pull for her, but couldn't resist the completionist urge...]
[Amber: Thankfully, it's the world of Akame ga Kill!]
[Castorice: Thankfully, it's the world of Akame ga Kill!]
Such a world was actually somewhat suitable for Eblana.
[Eblana: You're not mentioning the personality match at all... I don't want to be OOC, but Eblana's personality...]
[Amber: ...Good luck.]
In truth, Amber, who had become a god, was no longer the naive girl of before. She understood that slaughter could sometimes create beautiful things, though she had never personally acted on it.
[Eblana: Looks like I'm the first one to 'eat the crab,' so to speak.]
[Castorice: I think I've kind of eaten some too... maybe just a crab leg... I'll send the memories back to the main body later.]
[Amber: Akame ga Kill! is, in a way, a world where you don't need to hold back. Just do as you see fit.]
Amber still trusted her own moral compass. Even if it was skewed, it couldn't be too far off—certainly much better than the nobles in that world.
[Eblana: I know, sigh... Wait for my updates!]
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.