Hugo’s children grew quickly. As fast as they grew, their fandom of Lee Gun grew faster. Their fandom was high enough to pierce the sky. It was enough to surprise their parents and the people around them. For example…
Boom!!!!
“Sungjae!!”
“Young master! Are you ok?!”
The three-year-old Sungjae was clumsy. He frequently banged his head against the wall by mistake.
“My god! That sound was incredibly loud. Are you ok? Sungjae…?”
Hugo ran toward Sungjae, but the sight of his son surprised him. “Is he crying or not?”
Despite having a large lump on his head, Sungjae was hiccuping while holding in his tears. No, he was crying, but was forcing himself to laugh. It could make one feel sorry for him.
“Good. I didn’t cwhy! Lee Gun-nim can still come bwack!”
“W-Why is he being like this? Lee Gun-nim? What are you talking about?”
Lee Jaewon started to sweat. “That is… He kept crying so much that we told him Santa won’t bring Lee Gun-nim back if he kept crying….”
“Ah….”
On the day of Christmas, Hugo and Lee Jaewon had dressed up as Santa and Rudolph, Hugo being Rudolph. That wasn’t all.
“Dad! Dad!”
“Hurry up and pway it! Pway it! That, that!”
“Again?” Hugo put on the video of Lee Gun on his phone and sighed. “You two probably account for one-fourth of the views on those videos.”
Chun Yooha was seven years old, and Chun Sungjae was three. The two children were obsessed with Lee Gun. They especially liked the video where Lee Gun drop-kicked the Zodiac Saints!
“Kyaa Kyaa! Amazing! Amazing!”
“Dad! One more time! One more time!”
“Sigh! I wish my kids would like something more normal."
Lee Jaewon started to sweat. “Does Lee Gun-nim have any video that can be considered normal?”
“…I guess not.”
Any video related to Lee Gun was considered to be against the law and hazardous material. The uploaded videos were considered normal, but the videos displayed something far from heroic.
Anyway, those in their late teens, twenties, and thirties liked Lee Gun, but young children like these two weren’t supposed to like Lee Gun. In fact, Sungjae had caused numerous troubles not too long ago.
To help the less fortunate ones, his kindergarten had hosted a toy giveaway.
“The one who does the kindest gestures will be number one, and the winner will receive the coolest of the thirteen Zodiac Sants!”
After hearing this, Sungjae diligently worked to receive stickers for good behavior.
“My god! Sungjae gathered three hundred stickers. He’s number one!”
“Woo!”
“We will give Sungjae the toy of the coolest one among the heroes!”
Sungjae’s heart was beating fast in anticipation. He ripped open the wrap around the present.
“Look! It’s the hero who everyone loves! He’s our hero the Leo Saint Stevens…!”
“Wehhhhhhhhh!!! This isn’t it!”
“??!!”
Sungjae wept as he held the doll.
His friends and teachers were flustered, not knowing why he was crying.
“W-What’s wrong? The Leo Saint is popular among the children these days…!”
At the time, ten out of ten children would say that they liked the Leo Saint the most. Of course, Lee Gun would be the last.
Anyway, Lee Jaewon had realized the truth, so he started to sweat when he was taking Sungjae back home.
It seemed Sungjae had to take a group picture with the doll of Stevens in his arms.
“Y-Young master. I’ll buy you a Lee Gun doll once we get home. Please don’t cry.”
Since it was a present from his teachers, Sungjae was unable to throw it away. He sniffled as he held the Stevens doll.
“The coolest person is Lee Gun-nim. It isn’t the cat.”
Hugo shook his head from side to side. “My children are quite the anomalies. Why do they like Gun so much?”
Lee Jaewon didn’t think that question deserved a response. Anyway, that wasn’t important right now.
“Z-Zodiac Saint-nim. Look who is trying to contact you.”
Hugo became angry when he saw the caller. It was a call from an association that monitored awakened beings.
This association was in charge of the observatories and its planetariums (Registry of Disciples). They also tried to mediate disputes between the temples.
- Hugo-nim! You must have your TV on right now, right? Currently, the Scout is being broadcast all over the world. Are you sure about sending only one employee there to participate in the event? Ah! I should have realized sending even one would be a tall task for the Sagittarius temple.
Hugo became angry when he heard the voice making fun of him. The Scout was an official yearly event where talented people picked the temple that they wanted to enter.
“Zodiac Saint-nim. This year… Will the number of members entering our temple be zero again?”
Hugo flinched at Lee Jaewon’s words. Yes, seven years had passed since the temples had been established, and it had brought sudden changes to the world. Each of the Zodiac Saints had become integral to each of their communities.
“The Virgo temple is already opening up branches in other countries….”
“What?! Branches?”
“Moreover, the amount of land he has taken for himself is no joke…”
“Damn it! I can’t believe that idiot Kevin is good at expanding his business…!!”
Anyway, the Zodiac temples picked out the most talented prospects and took them into the temples to grow the power of their Zodiacs.
According to rumors, they had several thousand fighters considered the first string.
On the other hand, the Sagittarius temple had a total of three members.
“There is me, Zodiac Saint-nim, and the unruly girl. One left yesterday.”
“Ughh….”
“We somehow made it through last year, but at this rate, we’ll be last again. Our profits will be stolen.”
“Ughh...”
As a Zodiac temple gained more disciples, the temple grew in terms of power, faith, and wealth. However, none of this mattered to Hugo.
- Now that I think about it, the Sagittarius temple has the lowest number of people nominated to it, right? Ah. I pray you will be able to gain even a single B-rank if possible. You won’t be able to survive solely using the sympathy card for much longer.
Hugo glared at his phone, but the person on the other end was telling the truth. Normal disciples were supposed to be a reflection of the public’s approval rating for a temple.
In other words, a temple was able to run smoothly if it had a high number of patrons and normal disciples. Elite disciples were the most important, and the Sagittarius temple had none of them.
‘Not having direct disciples places a huge limitation on us.’
Unfortunately, a rumor was going around the elite disciples that the Sagittarius temple was a place where flowers died before they could bloom. The Sagittarius temple was known as the number one temple to avoid!
“Do we have any applicants…?”
“Zero.”
“What about the aptitude test?”
“What?”
“The aptitude test for the newcomers should be out now, right? S rank! A rank!”
“Ah. Yes. Their names are Carly, Goat, and Oliver… Ah. They are showing the S-ranks on TV.”
“!”
Hugo and Lee Jaewon directed their gazes toward the TV.
“According to rumors, two of them were determined to be SS rank…”
“What? SS rank? That’s amazing! They are like you! What about the results of the compatibility test?”
The Constructs had stepped forward to check humanity for their compatibility. If a person was able to receive the power from a god, roughly predicting how much they would grow was possible.
The prediction probability was 95% and above. Therefore, it was normal for the temples to madly scout these prospects.
However, the Sagittarius temple had a criterion that was separate from the ability of a person. The most important criterion was compatibility.
It didn’t matter how strong an individual was. The person would receive less support from the Zodiac if the compatibility was low.
In other words, the number of bread crumbs dropped from the gods decreased if one wasn’t to their liking. On the other hand, the support from the gods exceeded 500% if one was compatible with the god!
It was why a C-rank with high compatibility could be treated like an S-rank. The one with high compatibility had a chance to receive a massive amount of wealth.
So compatibility was the best negotiating tool to use when trying to engage with a talent.
Hugo’s eyes twinkled. “So what is their compatibility?”
Ah. That is… The S-rank Oliver is compatible with the Leo temple and the Aries temple. The SS-rank Carly is most compatible with the Libra temple. The two of them have already chosen their temples.”
“W-What about the kid called Goat? There is a rumor going around saying he is an SS-rank like Carly. What’s his compatibility with the Sagittarius temple? Will we be able to bring him in?”
“G-Goat has a D-rank compatibility with the Sagittarius temple. He’s the least compatible with our temple. There’s almost a zero chance he’ll come to us when you take compatibility into account.”
Hugo despaired. “SS rank… He’s an SS rank….”
“Anyway, Goat is compatible with the Leo temple and… especially compatible with the Taurus temple… The Taurus temple is celebrating right now.”
“T-The Taurus temple must be overjoyed… They’ll be able to take in an SS-rank.”
If Lee Jaewon were a measuring stick for a compatible SS-rank, Hugo could see how much the Taurus temple would grow in terms of fighting power.
‘Just a single S-rank can shift the dynamic.’
It seemed the person on the other side of the phone realized that Hugo was in a state of despair.
He spoke in a weasley voice.
- Anyway, I believe the Sagittarius temple will have a barren year again. That’s why I contacted you in concern, Hugo-nim.
“What the hell did you just say? You’re concerned?”
- Yes. No A-rank or B-rank disciple wants to join the Sagittarius temple since their compatibility with your temple is mediocre at best. There is no way they’ll want to join. Thankfully, a D-rank with compatibility of an A-rank has appeared. Wouldn’t you like to take that person?
Hugo rested his head against the table. A D-rank would want to become a normal disciple or join a support-type temple. Why would a D rank want to choose a battle-type temple, where he would fight at the frontline?
Lee Jaewon let out a bitter laugh. “I guess this year is a dud too. In the first place, it’s hard to find someone with high compatibility with the Sagittarius temple. I’ll somehow find a way to bring a B-rank into…”
“Shit! This is the fault of our damn Zodiac! He should lower his standards! That damn god cares about only appearance! What’s wrong with the appearance of those SS-ranks? She’s pretty! He’s handsome! What’s the problem? Why doesn’t he like them?”
Sagittarius apathetically responded.
[That girl will be taken by Libra. Those men have no artistic and intellectual sense. They are better off going to those savage gods.]
“$#*$#&#*!”
Hugo wanted to choke his Zodiac’s neck when…
- Now the three candidates will choose their temples! I would like all three to come up on stage… What? Benjamin Goat never showed up at the event hall? Where is he?
“What the hell? He is missing? Did Ivan already take him?”
“I’m not sure….”
The sudden incident on live TV took the world by surprise. Hugo and Lee Jaewon were also taken aback.
Kwahng!!
“!!”
At that moment, someone barged into the office of the Sagittarius temple. It was as if a bear had charged into the room.
Hugo and Lee Jaewon grabbed each other as they screamed.
“W-What the hell? Why is he here?”
Yes, the one to charge into the small office of the Sagittarius temple was Benjamin Goat (16)!
“Is this the Sagittarius temple?”
“I…It is….”
The enormous man lowered his head. “My name is Benjamin Goat! I received an aptitude of S rank! Please take me into the Sagittarius temple!”
“?????”
Hugo and Lee Jaewon didn’t know what was going on. Why would he come here? What was he so lacking that he wanted to join the Sagittarius temple?
Goat ignored their expression as he let out a bright laugh. “I fell for the Sagittarius temple when I saw Hugo-nim and Lee Jaewon-nim fight! If you would have me, I’ll work very hard!”
Hugo and Lee Jaewon blinked. One second, two seconds, three seconds!
“Zodiac Saint-nim!!”
Hugo was ecstatic. “Here! Sit here! I have the contract right here!!”
“Z-Zodiac Saint-nim! That’s the promotional Lee Gun-nim pamphlet!”
“Ah! Here!”
Of course, Sagittarius didn’t seem to like Goat.
[You should expel someone like that….]
“Ahhhk!! No! I’m not going to give you any food if you do this, Zodiac bastard!”
This was how Goat entered the Sagittarius temple, shocking the world.
“Hey, did you hear about it? Goat entered the Sagittarius temple!”
“What? Aren’t they ass? Why would he enter the Sagittarius temple?”
“If Goat went there, it must mean the Sagittarius temple is legit.”
“That’s right. There is no way he entered that place without any thought…! He must have some kind of vision with them!”
Thanks to the move, the stock of the Sagittarius temple made an upward move. Regular disciples and patrons rushed toward them, and they went up to number one in the public approval rating.
This made disciples rush toward them, and the Sagittarius temple underwent a phase of explosive growth.
Ivan, who had been ready to welcome in an SS-rank, had been getting ready for a big party. When things didn’t work out, he went on an angry rampage.
***
Not too long into the future, in the US…
It was Chun Sungjae’s fifth birthday, but something happened that day that made him hate his birthday.
Chun Jiwoo’s Lab.
Knock knock!
“Chief researcher. You have a guest.”
“Guest? Who is it?” Chun Jiwoo answered.
“It’s Sergeyevich… The Capricorn Saint has come to meet you.”
“!”
Chun Jiwoo greeted an unexpected guest.
