I Got an Omnipotent Angel - Chapter 92

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Chapter 92: Secret Record of the Returning Soul

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"Kim Gicheol's bounty payment has been processed. Good work."

Mystic Association headquarters.

I finished filing the report for Kim Gicheol's Extermination Request.

I'd reported the successful extermination by phone on the day we caught Kim Gicheol. Today, I came to write up the request report.

Though calling it a report was a bit much. It was more like the Review Division checking whether the information they had was correct.

"One billion won of the ten-billion-won bounty has been transferred to Gagaram. And..."

Team Leader Kang Gihan pulled out several documents and handed them to me.

"These are detailed tax-saving plans for your ongoing hotel business."

Kim Gicheol's Extermination Request hadn't just been about collecting the bounty.

In exchange, the Association would designate businesses as tax-exempt so high-ranking sorcerers could avoid paying taxes on the huge sums they earned.

"Wasn't it supposed to be completely tax-exempt?"

"More precisely, it gives the National Tax Service a reason not to audit you. Please take a look at this."

The documents contained details about the Yurim Hotel I would soon reopen, as well as the leases on my properties.

"This is a contract stating that Mystic Association employees will use the Yurim Hotel for the next three years. Of course, we'll cover the costs, and Gari Bodhisattva can invoice us appropriately."

That way, I wouldn't be committing tax evasion. I'd just be running a solid business.

"For material costs, labor, and other hotel operating expenses, you can write down reasonable figures, and we'll take care of the rest. Hmm... We recommend creating a few more businesses."

"Create businesses?"

"Yes. Businesses that supply materials and food to the hotel, for example. If you establish those as nominee companies registered under borrowed names, you can set the prices however you like."

This was the tip Pastor Go had hinted at before.

If a plate bought by a supply company cost ten thousand won, you listed it as one hundred thousand and claimed it as an expense.

Then the hotel's net profit would look smaller, making it seem like I wasn't earning much. That meant lower taxes, apparently.

Normally, going too far would get you caught, but in this case, the National Tax Service wouldn't investigate in the first place.

"You're taking care of every little detail."

"Let's call it the Association's sincerity in hoping you'll focus on your main work."

No wonder the Association headquarters had been packed with tax accountants and bank employees.

"If you'd like, future request fees can also be paid through your businesses. You should discuss that with Pastor Go."

"Sure. I'll think about it."

Anyway, the problems caused by me making too much money lately were gradually getting sorted out.

I still had to deal with the 1.2 tons of gold bullion I got from Japan by setting up several businesses over there. Tax matters were way too complicated.

"And... regarding the Kim Gicheol extermination mission. There have been some comments from higher up."

"Are they unhappy because I didn't capture him alive?"

"Opinions were divided. The head of the Special Task Division wanted him killed immediately, while other departments wanted to use Kim Gicheol as a hunting dog."

It seemed the Association itself had been divided over Kim Gicheol.

Still, plenty of people probably wanted a villain like Kim Gicheol dead.

"The issue was Gari Bodhisattva, who crushed a Black Knot-level sorcerer like Kim Gicheol in such a short time. Could you tell us exactly how you subdued him?"

"Well, that's a trade secret."

Honestly, I got advice from Pastor Go on this part.

「Wae! WaeWae!」

「Ugh, what the hell is this beast of Satan?」

「A beast of Satan... It does have some cute sides, you know?」

「Let's put aside your questionable standards for cuteness. Hide this thing if you can.」

When I asked why, the reason was simple.

「You know foreign-affairs supremacy? I mean, lookism. One wrong move and people will think you're some sorcerer practicing dark arts.」

Basically, Pastor Go told me not to reveal them because they looked way too filthy.

Unlike Gari, who was normally invisible, composite beasts had to materialize to be useful, which made things worse.

Pastor Go said people would freak out just from seeing them.

So I didn't explain anything about the composite beasts to the Association.

"Anyway, this concludes the Extermination Request. We look forward to working with you again."

"I'm the one looking forward to it."

* * *

The scale of what I did these days had gotten pretty big.

The 1.2 tons of gold bullion from Japan, the hotel, the medical equipment factory. All of it was hard for an ordinary guy like me to handle.

Thankfully, most of it ran on its own.

Holy Temple Church and the Mystic Association were handling things, so there wasn't much for me to do.

I'd make a big offering later.

So what was my main job?

"Line up, everyone. A line. Huh? Rubbing against the wall won't get you through, so line up properly."

【S-sorry...】

Today, too, the place was packed with ghosts while Eight-Foot Sister and Kohaku bustled around.

"Can you lot not stay orderly?! And don't make a racket! This is the king's audience chamber!"

Wae! WaeWae!

Squeeeal!

The water-deer spirits, WaeWae, the boar spirits, Quackquack, and the dog and cat spirits, Barkbark and Meowmeow, all helped keep the ghosts under control.

They weren't in composite beast mode.

Pastor Go had told me to hide them whenever possible, so I had disabled composite beast mode.

After the sanctuary was proclaimed, ghosts had started flocking to my house, and the Association was observing this place too.

"All right, court is adjourned! Take your number tickets and go home!"

【W-we're adjourned already?】

【No, I've waited for days!】

When quitting time came, Kohaku adjourned the proceedings, and complaints rose among the ghosts.

Kohaku glared and used transformation magic to turn into a massive fox monster.

"You lot! Where do you think you're looking? You should be grateful that my lord is considerate enough to hear out your troubles!!"

【Eek! S-sorry!】

【I-I'll come back tomorrow!】

The ghosts fled in panic.

Ever since Kohaku arrived, it felt easier to keep the ghosts under control.

You really did need a manager who could communicate.

"My lord! Good work today too~"

"Yeah, you did well too, Kohaku."

"Hehe, what did I even do? My lord did everything."

Kohaku rubbed her hands together with a sly smile.

Everything about Kohaku was great, except for that shameless flatterer routine...

"Still, this work never ends."

"That's right, my lord. There aren't just one or two ghosts, and their numbers keep growing every day... Ah, I'm not saying you're slow at handling things, my lord!"

"I know."

The number of ghosts kept growing every day. This was more work than Kohaku and I could handle alone.

But if we only dealt with them whenever we had spare time like this, there were too many ghosts waiting.

The longer ghosts with lingering resentment waited, the more likely they were to become evil spirits. We needed to move fast.

"Is there a ghost judge somewhere?"

"Hmm, I've looked for ghosts from the legal profession, but they aren't easy to find, my lord."

"Figures. What resentment would people who lived well and ate well have?"

With a sigh, I opened the Ghost Soul Compendium.

This book, which seemed to be Kim Gicheol's secret teachings, explained how to handle ghosts' souls and distinguish the nature and karma of a soul.

Since I spent every day surrounded by ghosts, I had been reading it in case it contained anything useful.

"Ugh, Chinese characters are hard. Why are all old books written in Chinese characters?"

"I'll help too, my lord. They're Korean Chinese characters, so they're a little difficult for me to read as well."

With Kohaku's help, I resumed reading the Ghost Soul Compendium.

[A ghost is not born from death, and a soul does not vanish through death.]

The introduction explained that while a person lived, their soul resided in their body, but after death, the soul could lose its way.

Regret blocked its path, resentment held its feet, and obsession bound the soul to this world.

A soul that had died but could not leave was called a ghost.

The Ghost Soul Compendium was a method for safely guiding such ghosts' souls onward.

It classified souls into five stages.

The first was a residual soul.

This was the state soon after death, when the soul retained nearly all its memories from life.

Most souls reached this state, but as time passed, they became wandering souls.

A wandering soul gradually failed to realize even that it was dead and simply drifted around.

The third was a vengeful soul.

This was a state where the soul had been twisted by powerful resentment, and souls that died with deep grievances began at this stage.

The fourth was an evil spirit.

It was a soul whose resentment or obsession had grown too powerful, causing it to harm other living beings.

Finally, there was the evil ghost.

It was a powerful evil spirit that harmed living beings and devoured other souls to gain an independent spiritual status.

Residual souls and wandering souls could also turn into vengeful souls over time, then become evil spirits and evil ghosts. The book said souls had to be guided onward as quickly as possible.

"The contents are perfectly normal, so why did that bastard Kim Gicheol use it like that?"

"Isn't power all about how one chooses to use it, my lord?"

"Tch. People are always the problem."

The introduction explained why the Ghost Soul Compendium had been written, and the methods for using it followed.

It described Ghost Soul Reading, which reads the memories of ghosts who had lost their memories from life, and Ghost Soul Restraint, which holds a ghost's soul in place.

It also described the Soul-Cleansing Method, which washes away resentment, Soul Release for passage to the afterlife, and even methods for making contracts with ghosts.

Kim Gicheol had definitely abused the Ghost Soul Compendium.

It was a method for safely guiding souls through passage to the afterlife.

"This... could be useful for work."

Wasn't my job basically helping ghosts achieve passage to the afterlife?

If I used the secret arts in the Ghost Soul Compendium, I might be able to help ghosts achieve passage to the afterlife more easily and reduce the workload.

"That's right, my lord. Look here."

Kohaku pointed to Ghost Official Index.

"It's a secret technique for tracing a ghost's soul and karma, my lord."

"Huh? Then with this..."

"Couldn't we trace ghosts from the legal profession?"

"Let's try it right now."

It was time to automate ghost trials too.

My desire for work-life balance transformed into a focus on studying.

Ghost Official Index sought out the karma remaining in a ghost's soul.

It was inscribed on Karmic Mirror Paper, and I had to chant the designated incantation in the blank space of the Ghost Soul Compendium.

"A soul bears traces, karma has weight, and office holds authority. Reveal the soul of one marked by the karma of official duty, one who bears the weight of a judge who recites judgments and precedents."

At that moment, the spiritual power at my fingertips trembled faintly and began to be absorbed into the Ghost Soul Compendium.

Flutter!

The Ghost Soul Compendium opened, revealing a blank page near the end.

This page, with nothing written on it, was Karmic Mirror Paper.

Faint black ink rose over the Karmic Mirror Paper, but it wasn't writing.

"A line?"

"It seems to be pointing somewhere, my lord."

Just as Kohaku said, the lines spreading in every direction formed something like a map indicating a location.

When I looked closely, it seemed strikingly similar to Seoul's geography.

Once the spreading map was complete, a single dot appeared, and characters were engraved there.

「Kim Panyeong · Vengeful Soul」

Kim Panyeong... a vengeful soul?