The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 169

"…I don't know how things ended up like this."

The president uttered a single word as if he were at a loss, and then looked at Lee Shin.

And the other people on the government side were also glaring at Lee Shin with eyes that contained the same, no, more intense and negative emotions than the president.

"Hahaha, I know, right. Somehow, the situation ended up like this."

But Lee Shin just smiled widely at the government officials.

'That, that! That young bastard! How dare a brat who hasn't even dried the blood on his head laugh at me?!'

'Ah, ah, my blood pressure… my back is killing me…'

The government officials glared at Lee Shin as if they would kill him.

'He did much better than I thought, but… was it really a good choice to have that guy come here?'

Cheon Yuhwa looked at Lee Shin with cold eyes.

'Wow, how can a person's expression be so annoying…'

'It's a face that really makes you want to punch it.'

'It's still a greater provocation than anyone I know. To provoke like that with just an expression and a tone of voice, he's really an amazing guy.'

'I thought he was a different person because he changed so much at the meeting, but seeing that expression, it's definitely him.'

Even the demi-humans, whose favorability towards Lee Shin had risen because he had helped them greatly, were looking at him with eyes that said, 'isn't that a bit much'.

But even though Lee Shin was smiling so provocatively, as if teasing them, no one in this place could easily open their mouths.

Because the way Lee Shin had spoken a moment ago was that deeply ingrained in their minds.

"The cost of accepting the demi-humans, you say? Oh my, that's strange. According to what I know, it wouldn't be enough even if the government gave the demi-humans compensation."

"Evidence for that? Ah, of course there is. If you ask the people outside about what happened in Gwangju, Busan, Cheonan, and Jeonju in order, you'll find out. What? How do I know such information? Haha, well, why do you think?"

-It's not about accepting the demi-humans. To be precise, it will be a form of coexistence, knowing each other's shortcomings. In other words, it's not a relationship where one side is superior. It's better this way. Doesn't that mean it's a relationship where neither side can betray the other?

Lee Shin used a way of speaking that slowly denied the other person's words and twisted them with his own, so that by the time the other person realized it, they were already cornered.

It was a way of speaking that was so tiresome that not only the person on the receiving end, but also the people watching from the side, were tired of it, so they naturally began to avoid talking to Lee Shin altogether.

A politician is a person who deals with the other person with words.

But to be completely pushed back by a guy whose identity you don't even know, who suddenly appeared, with your specialty, words?

Even in front of the president, who is at the top of Korean politics?

It would have been better to just go around shouting that he was incompetent.

On top of that, even if he had won against Lee Shin, all he could find was the principal.

So the government officials had naturally chosen the lesser of two evils, to quietly close their mouths, instead of the worst, to open their mouths and be thoroughly refuted.

"Oh my~ Since everyone has closed their mouths, I'll continue to speak. Well, if you have anything you're curious about, please ask. I'll answer anything."

And the meeting, where everyone was naturally trying to exchange opinions on 'how can we harmonize with each other?', had turned into Lee Shin's presentation of 'this is how we can get along well with each other!'.

From that moment on, the protagonist of this meeting had changed to Lee Shin.

"First, as I said before, we need to fix the premise of accepting the demi-humans a little. It's more efficient to have the demi-humans help with the reconstruction of the broken city. That way, they will have an attachment to their own environment and adapt…"

Lee Shin continued his explanation, writing various words and pictures on the whiteboard he had taken out of his inventory.

And the future drawn on the whiteboard was so realistic that it made one nod their head naturally.

Of course, the details would have to be seen in practice, but at least on the surface, there seemed to be no problem.

By that time, the people on the government side were glaring at Lee Shin with eyes that seemed to want to burn him to death, while the people on the demi-human side were looking at him with eyes of admiration for his eloquent speech.

-Isn't he going too wild?

-Are you asking that now?

Without even knowing that Lee Shin was Cheon Yuhwa's shadow.

In fact, if you knew the truth, it would be stranger if it didn't turn out this way.

Cheon Yuhwa is the daughter of a world-renowned corporation.

Although she hadn't received education as a successor because she had an older brother who had been designated as the successor, it meant that she had at least learned basic economics, sociology, and the study of kingship.

On top of that, Cheon Yuhwa had been in on the government's side, so she knew what materials the government had prepared and what kind of proposal they were going to make, and she had already finished all the countermeasures for it.

The only part that could have been a problem was Lee Shin's acting, but for Lee Shin, acting at the level of changing his expression was as natural as breathing.

And so, Lee Shin continued his presentation as if he were running a solo race.

Cheon Yuhwa assisted with numerous knowledge and situations, and Lee Shin took control of the atmosphere with his tone of voice and simple gestures.

And so, everyone in the conference room was swayed by the hands of the two swindlers, Lee Shin and Cheon Yuhwa.

"…That's all."

By the time they came to their senses, they had already been completely had.

"Hah…"

The president, realizing that fact, let out a small sigh.

'To make a mess and then create the board he wants… kids these days are really scary.'

To be honest, he could have intervened if he had wanted to, but the president had chosen to just watch.

If he had made a mess and created a strange result, he would have intervened immediately, but since he was making a mess and presenting an ideal direction, there was no reason to intervene.

No, on the contrary, he had even been cheering from the middle.

The position of president seems to be able to do everything, but in reality, that's not the case.

It's a position that naturally receives checks from various places, but if Lee Shin sets the stage like this, most of those checks could be mitigated.

But apart from that, what he was curious about was what he was curious about.

"…You, what on earth are you?"

The president asked Lee Shin that without realizing it.

"I'm just a passing ordinary citizen."

Lee Shin answered that in a nonchalant voice.

"Hah, is that so?"

At that, the president, who had noticed that Lee Shin had no intention of answering, nodded his head and looked at the leaders of the demi-humans.

"You may not be able to feel it much now because you are confused, but our world is full of rules that are unfamiliar to you. Will you be alright?"

At the president's serious words, they opened their mouths naturally one by one.

"What we elves want is peace. For that, we are more than willing to follow some rules."

"What our Hoin tribe wants is the stability of our family. If you don't provoke that part, we promise to be quiet too."

"What we orcs want is struggle. But it seems there are monsters in this world too, so you don't have to worry about that part. We don't force a fight with someone who doesn't want to."

"What dwarves want is just to make weapons. Thankfully, I've confirmed that there's no problem with that part, so there won't be a big problem."

They said that and took the hand the president had extended with words.

"…Alright. Then we will also do our best to accept you."

The president said that and bowed his head slightly.

"Then I'll be in your care from now on."

The representatives of the demi-humans, who had been looking at the president for a moment, got up from their seats and showed their respect to the president in their own ways.

"On behalf of the [Rosewood Tree] clan, I express my gratitude for your kindness."

"On behalf of the [Three Fangs] clan, I express my respect for your consideration."

"On behalf of the [Tarka] clan, I express my admiration for your courage."

"On behalf of the [Red Anvil] clan, I will engrave your leniency in my heart."

And so, the first meeting was able to end successfully thanks to one person taking on all the villain roles.

And Lee Shin was able to firmly engrave himself in the minds of the government side and the demi-human side, in a good way and a bad way.

-But is it okay to suddenly reveal your identity like this?

'In the first place, I never tried to hide my identity. It's just that I wasn't caught until now because Cheon Yuhwa tried to hide me and various coincidences kept overlapping.'

Lee Shin answered Yireu's words, who was lying on his head, in his mind.

-For that, you seemed to have moved quite carefully.

'Well, since I ended up hiding my identity, I wanted to make a dramatic entrance. I was satisfied with that part.'

Lee Shin chuckled, thinking of his cheesy nickname, Flame Lightning Spear Ghost.

'Since the information has been uploaded on the internet, it's good to have introduced myself to the government. And…'

-And?

'Recently, I saw a scene in a novel where the protagonist dealt with an assassin who was after him, and it looked fun.'

Lee Shin said that and smiled widely at some of the government officials who were glaring at him as if they would kill him.

-I see. I thought you were pushing them a little too hard, so that was the reason?

'I guess so.'

-If that was the reason, then it can't be helped.

'Right?'

The two said that and chuckled.

No matter what, the two had similar tastes.

When the meeting ended, the leaders of the demi-humans came to find Lee Shin and requested a conversation.

"Thank you for your help today. Thanks to you, we were able to handle things much better than we thought."

"Not really. I didn't do much. I just read what that Cheon Yuhwa girl had prepared."

Lee Shin thought for a moment whether to say, 'it's because I'm good, so you'll have to repay this debt for a long time'.

But since it seemed it would be annoying if they clung to him because of this, he honestly said that he was able to handle things thanks to Cheon Yuhwa.

Since he had already obtained most of what he could get here, and all that was left were troublesome things that could only be obtained by doing various political and economic things, Lee Shin had no lingering feelings.

"Hmm, I see, so that's what it was."

At Lee Shin's words, Tarka nodded his head as if he understood.

"I thought it was too different from the appearance you usually showed, so there was a reason for that."

"Certainly, I thought something was strange when I looked at Cheon Yuhwa's side, so that's what it was."

"Uhm…"

They, who had also felt some sense of incongruity in Cheon Yuhwa's actions, readily believed Lee Shin's words.

"By the way, you are strong. This is the third time I've seen a strong person like you here."

"Are the first and second Hyunwoo and Yuhwa?"

"Yes, both of them were strong opponents."

"Why? Do you want to fight me too?"

As Lee Shin asked with a smile, Hoyeon looked at him for a moment and then shook his head.

"No, if I fight you, it certainly won't end with a light injury. It's not desirable for me to get injured in a situation where I have to be a fence for my own kind, so I refuse."

"Really?"

At Hoyeon's refusal, Lee Shin readily backed down.

He had no intention of stopping them if they came, but he had no intention of clinging to them either.

"But I want to invite you. Even if Cheon Yuhwa helped, it's clear that you are also a benefactor who helped us."

"Ah, it's the same for us. If you visit our village later, we'll reward you."

"Hmm, well, alright. I'll keep it in mind."

"…Are you going to go?"

At Mairiph's words, Lee Shin nodded his head.

"Yes, I have a place to go. And since I've talked for this long, I think I've gathered enough attention."

Lee Shin slowly moved his steps, wondering if the five who had followed him here had shaken off their pursuers well.

"Damn it! This guy ran away too!"

"Haven't you found the guys who were behind this guy yet?"

"Yes, we've completely lost them."

For reference, for Lee Shin, who could erase his presence as he pleased by unfolding the Flame Leaf Return Art and boasted of a speed like lightning with the Lightning Ray Immortal Art, shaking off the pursuers who had been following him was a piece of cake.

(End of Chapter)