Chapter 57 – Ruler IV

Chapter 57 – Ruler IV

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 57 – Ruler IV

5

After the trial ended, we went out to have a meal of sundae. I didn’t feel like returning to the guild building, plus my relationship with Tang Seorin had shifted from “Guild Master and Vice Guild Master” to “foodie friends.”

I couldn’t hold back my questions even before the assorted sundae platter arrived.

“Tang Seorin. What was that earlier?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

Tang Seorin tilted her head with a clueless expression. I frowned and passed her a dish of dipping sauce.

“Here. The trial, I mean. Since when did you start using equivalent exchange for judgments? The last time I was here, there was nothing like that.”

“Well, you wouldn’t know since you rarely show your face in Busan. We’ve been doing this for almost half a year now. Here.”

Tang Seorin mixed salt, chilli powder, and pepper in perfect proportions and handed it to me.

“The citizens really like it. It’s now one of Busan’s top three attractions, along with the monster dissection shows.”

“What the heck...? Tell me more. Boss, could we get some makgeolli over here?”

“Sure thing!”

I took the makgeolli kettle and immediately mixed half a cup of cold water with floating ice. This was Tang Seorin’s favorite ratio. Such is the privilege of being a friend who has looked after her for centuries.

“There’s not much to explain. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. It’s just the Code of Hammurabi applied directly.”

“Hm.”

“When the country was functioning normally, we could lock people up for every offense. But now, there are no prisons. And just cutting off fingers or heads wastes manpower. So I’m merely providing ‘revenge everyone can accept’.”

“...Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

“Huh?”

“It’s from Romans 12. Jeez. Leave you alone for a second and you’re pulling crazy stunts.”

“What? Are you picking a fight?”

“My mind is what’s blown here. This is ridiculous.”

The assorted sundae, sundae soup, makgeolli, and well-fermented kimchi disappeared beyond our chopsticks and lips. It was a taste you could only savor in Busan these days.

“I actually think it’s strange how the old society tried to handle everything with imprisonment.”

Tang Seorin raised her chopsticks.

“Think about it. How can theft and murder get the same punishment? The feeling when someone steals your stuff is different from when you get stabbed. There’s a qualitative difference.”

“Hm.”

“Theft also varies. Losing today’s meal feels different from losing a secret radio or a kidney.”

“Is that last one still theft?”

“Of course. Anyway, punishment should be decided based on the severity and context, as well as the personalities of the offender and the victim. For instance, Jesus might offer the other cheek, but you, Doctor Jang, would probably take a tooth along with the slap to consider it a fair trade. Right?”

“I get your point.”

“And surprisingly... this greatest of all witches, the unprecedented and unparalleled Tang Seorin, can provide a fair trade for everyone.”

Just then, a little kid shyly approached and said, “Grand Witch!” while holding out a party hat. Tang Seorin smiled brightly and signed the brim of the hat.

As soon as the fan service ended, Tang Seorin’s expression drooped like a sponge soaked in hot water. It was always the same wherever our idol from Busan went.

“Aww, so cute.”

“But that fairness is just ‘what you think is fair.’ People always run the risk of making wrong judgments.”

“That’s why ‘equivalent exchange’ doesn’t activate without others’ consent. If they think my proposed trade isn’t fair, they simply don’t agree from the start.”

“Who would dare refuse a ruling from Busan’s ruler?”

“Hey, in a world like this, they should be grateful I even hold trials. If I don’t pass judgment, they’ll all just end up dead from a witch hunt. It’s better than dying, right?”

“Hmm.”

“If you’re so worried, why don’t you come watch the trial next month?”

Tang Seorin grumbled.

“Anyway, what have you been up to these days? It’s been hard to see you around.”

“......”

“.......”

And in that moment—I was struck by an intense realization that this entire scene might just be a projection of Tang Seorin’s inner world.

While all the spectators focused on the family’s punishment, I alone turned to look at Tang Seorin.

She was looking back at me.

Between us, the sunset blazed a deep red.

6

Afterword.

I do not consider myself to have the right to judge the world.

Thus, I did not interfere with Tang Seorin’s ‘witch trials.’ She had her own sense of rationality and fairness.

And to be fair, her rationality and fairness were the best possible in the apocalypse.

Other cities? They were subject to personal vengeance by guild leaders seeking their own gains. It was well known that the introduction of AI judges was a long way off.

Not just in the 26th regression, but in every run where I taught Tang Seorin the complete version of the ‘equivalent exchange’ magic, she held witch trials without fail.

“So... what did you think?”

“What do you mean, what did I think?”

“You know. The trial.”

That day, we returned to the train of the Three Thousand Worlds and drank.

Usually, visiting bars outside was our way of maintaining our friendship.

But when Tang Seorin said, “Let’s drink on the train today,” it meant she wanted to get thoroughly drunk that night.

As the ruler of Busan, the leader of the Korean Peninsula Guild Union, and the founder of the Magic Song Dynasty, the Great Witch couldn’t afford to be seen stumbling around drunk in public. Not even in front of guild members.

To avoid any loss of authority when hanging around with Tang Seorin, one would need to be someone like me— Doctor Jang who defeated the Ten Clans, reclaimed the southern part of the Han River in Seoul, and trained countless disciples through SG Net.

“It seems fine to me.”

“What part seems fine?”

“The fact that you’re even asking if it’s okay means that everything is fine.”

“Pfft.”

Tang Seorin laughed.

“What is that? You sound like an idiot.”

But her expression visibly relaxed.

As I listened to my friend’s drunken ramblings for a while, Tang Seorin suddenly activated her equivalent exchange magic.

“Doctor Jang. Put your feelings for me on the scale.”

“Oh, come on. What are you, a child? Are you one of those parents who ask if the kid likes mom or dad better?”

“Ugh, whatever. Just put it on the scale already. Do you agree?”

I sighed and said, “Fine.”

From my chest emerged a dark yet bright serpent tail, half shadow and half light.

Tang Seorin waved her fingers. From her heart, a white snake of light slithered out, coiling on the opposite side of the scale.

Creak—

A sound, impossible to exist physically, echoed as the two sides of the scale slowly found balance. Before long, they reached perfect equilibrium.

Tang Seorin’s lips curled like a cat’s.

“Hmm.”

“What does that mean?”

In the middle of the night, inside the train, the scale Tang Seorin created glowed faintly like starlight, and outside the window, the Milky Way poured down.

It was a meteor shower.

With the night sky’s rain as the backdrop, Tang Seorin smiled brightly.

“It’s a secret.”

It was a very witch-like answer.

– Ruler. The End.

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]