Chapter 449

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Chapter 449: Lord Jeong Yeongwoo07 (2)

—When you say a reply… do you mean you're preparing a written response?

“Yes. If we receive a letter, we should reply. Isn’t that how the universe works…?”

At Yeongwoo’s rhetorical question, Kubu blinked his large eyes.

—In the case of the Universe Families, they usually receive countless letters.

So generally, they only reply to letters that are deemed extremely important — that was Kubu’s explanation.

—Now that our Renaissance has been listed among the Universe Families, we’ll also begin receiving a lot more correspondence.

“But we’re not going to be flooded with investment offers, are we? So we should definitely respond to that one.”

Besides, Yeongwoo was curious.

He wanted to know what exactly an “investment” from a Universe Family entailed.

“Let’s set a date. Who is the person offering to invest in us?”

—It is Chancellor Herisa, head of the Bate Family on planet Luth.

“Chancellor…?”

Yeongwoo had a peculiar weakness for titles with the word head, and reflexively straightened his posture.

“I’ve never heard of a ‘Chancellor’ title in the Universe. Chancellor of what, exactly?”

Kubu rolled his eyeballs once before answering.

—Chancellor Herisa is listed as a representative appointed by charity organizations like the Blue Relief Society and Hand of Life.

“…It says that? You read that in some family registry or something?”

Yeongwoo sensed right away that Herisa, despite the grand title of “Chancellor,” wasn’t particularly well-known.

Sure, the universe was vast, but truly famous individuals were recognized without needing any explanation.

People like President Dogo of the Vesedel Royal Family or King Mara of the Ten Thousand Demons, for example.

“No… I was kind of hoping the ‘Chancellor’ was some big-time gangster or something.”

Yeongwoo shook his head in disappointment.

At that, Kubu blinked again and asked:

—Shall I cancel the reply, then?

“What about other investors? Is this Herisa person the only one?”

—That is correct.

“Sigh. Why do all these pseudo-business types keep coming after us?”

But still, it was their first investor.

That alone made it a meaningful connection.

“Alright, let’s meet them. Write back with a date and time.”

—Then, when and where shall the meeting take place?

“Hmm.”

Yeongwoo thought for a moment in response to Kubu’s question.

“They’re not investing in me, they’re investing in the Earthship, aren’t they?”

Then he looked up at the dark sky.

“Tell them to come to the Grand Assembly Hall tomorrow at 7 PM. By then, the Planetship issue should be resolved.”

—Understood. One more thing remains.

“What is it?”

—It’s time to decide on the emblem for Renaissance. It will also serve as the Lord’s seal.

“Ah.”

In simple terms, they needed a seal for official correspondence — so this was the right time to create one.

“An emblem, huh.”

Yeongwoo turned around to look at the current members of the family.

“Do any of you have a design in mind?”

At this, Jiseon frowned and shot back:

—Like you’d listen to us anyway?

“I’d like something similar to Chairman Dogo’s wedge-shaped emblem.”

—…Why?

“Well, our family basically came into being thanks to the Chairman’s grace. And it’s easy to sign with the tip of a sword, right?

Also, if the emblem subtly resembled Dogo’s, it could indicate that their family was under his protection.

“Hmm.”

Yeongwoo thought a bit more before finally drawing his sword, Bastard.

Chaaah!

He slashed the ground with it, carving a broken V in the center.

Kweeaaak!

—What’s that?

Jiseon asked, looking at the two diagonal lines.

Yeongwoo raised his sword once again and responded:

“A broken horizon.”

—Broken? Why?

“Because it got hit by our cannon fire…!”

With that, Yeongwoo forcefully stabbed a straight line between the two diagonals.

KWA-AA-AK!

—Huh?”

As the red trail from Bastard sliced through the air, it felt like a real artillery shell had been fired.

And the result on the ground—

“This is our emblem, Mr. Kubu.”

A straight line cutting through the middle of two V-shaped diagonal lines.

“It kind of resembles the Chairman’s emblem, it’s easy to draw, and it symbolizes something unique. After all, our family’s greatest weapon is the Planetship.”

—I… guess?

Jiseon tilted her head, unconvinced.

Meanwhile, Kubu blinked twice and seemed to analyze the emblem Yeongwoo had drawn.

—Then, from now on, this symbol will officially represent Renaissance.

Then, an identical emblem to Yeongwoo’s drawing floated into the air.

Swaaah!

At last, Renaissance had an official emblem.

And right on cue, the biggest task of the day came crashing in.

Beep!

—Taxes will begin being collected at 10 PM.

—Delinquents will be instantly erased upon collection.

The most brutal event ever: tax payment. Refuse, and you die.

Sure enough, the words “instantly erased” appeared, and everyone in the room wore anxious expressions.

“The time has come. Mr. Kubu, please go send the reply to our investor. I’ll go take care of our taxes.”

At Yeongwoo’s words, Kubu blinked in farewell and disappeared into thin air.

Srrt.

Then, Yeongwoo’s gaze turned to Yechan.

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“Yechan, you’ve worked hard so far. From now on, continue to suffer—as a vassal of the Family of Renaissance.”

“…Huh?”

Before Yechan could even finish blinking in surprise, the crest of the Renaissance’s main cannon appeared above his head.

“Huh?”

[You have received a vassalage offer from the Family ‘Renaissance.’ Do you accept?]

As Yechan blinked at the system message in front of him, Yeongwoo added:

“Now, the most prestigious job a human can get is to become a vassal of Renaissance. So I’m offering you this position.”

Yeongwoo gestured with his hand, and Yechan, looking dazed, asked:

“What changes if I become a vassal?”

“You get job security. You’ll be able to work for life.”

But what about weekly wages?

Yeongwoo already had the answer ready.

“Vassals usually get a weekly wage, but since you’re already earning commission from planetary collections, we’ll just offset it with that.”

“Oh, okay.”

Yechan agreed without much thought.

“But if someday you’re assigned work beyond the planet, we’ll renegotiate separate pay then. Right now, only Mr. Kubu receives a regular salary.”

Administrator Kubu.

He was an irreplaceable being who received a staggering 150 million every week.

After all, he was the alien who had witnessed Yeongwoo from the beginning of his journey as head of the family to now.

On top of that, it was Kubu who practically handled all cosmic affairs.

“O-okay. I don’t know if I’ll ever work in space, but…”

Yechan nodded, and Yeongwoo looked at the crest now affixed above his head.

“And we never betray our vassals. Once you’re part of the Renaissance, you’ll be protected by Earth’s warship.”

“So… do I just accept this?”

“That’s right.”

Anyway, for any Earthling, joining the Renaissance wasn’t exactly a bad move.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Yechan accepted the vassalage offer.

Flash!

The crest of the Renaissance cannon flashed, and a new system message appeared before Yeongwoo’s eyes.

[Survivor of Earth, Kang Yechan306, has been inducted as a vassal of the Family Renaissance.]

Since Yechan had yet to accomplish anything of interstellar renown, he was still labeled simply as a “Survivor of Earth.”

[Second vassal registered under the Family ‘Renaissance.’]

[Would you like to assign a specific title?]

Unlike with Kubu, no default role was recommended this time, so Yeongwoo assigned Yechan the title of “Interior Minister.”

“You’re now the Interior Minister of the Renaissance. Everything Earth-related can go through you.”

“Interior Minister…? Isn’t that a bit too much for me?”

“Well, calling you the ‘Tax Collector’ would’ve sounded weird.”

Their conversation ended there, as the clock struck 10 PM and tax collection began.

– Tax collection begins now.

Beeeep!

A sharp signal rang out, and taxes were collected from everyone present—including Yeongwoo himself.

| Calculated Tax: 7,642,300,000

| Deduction: Dependent Family

| Final Tax Due: 6,497,590,000

“…What.”

He had to pay nearly 6.49 billion in tax today. Since he had pulled in an absurd amount of money from wedding gifts, the tax authority had immediately come down hard.

Even with some relief from dependent deductions, it was still in the 6 billion range.

“Calculated tax of 7.64 billion? This is insane.”

Yeongwoo felt genuine fear for the first time in a while.

Frankly, taxes were scarier than Mara, the King of Ten Thousand Demons.

“Am I going to get hit with this kind of tax every time?”

Maybe it was time to start figuring out some serious tax avoidance strategies.

But there was no escaping this round’s tax disaster, and after paying, Yeongwoo’s balance was:

—Usable Karma: 8,364,270,016

—Defense Funds: 150,322,545

Sure, 300 million in reparations would be coming in from Japan tomorrow, and there’d be some interest from the wedding gifts too—but compared to what he lost, it was peanuts.

“Everyone… managed to pay their taxes safely, right?”

Everyone raised their heads in response to Yeongwoo’s question.

To be honest, the fact that they were still alive was proof enough they’d successfully paid up.

“I paid 6.49 billion in taxes today.”

“…What?”

—……!

Jeonggu and Jiseon’s eyes widened at the insane amount, and even Yechan stood agape, speechless.

“So today, try not to get on my nerves. I’m not in a great mood.”

And just then, his mother chimed in.

– You little brat, you got that money for free anyway. You should’ve had your tax defense ready earlier. Don’t they do that in space?

Well, Yeongwoo was definitely going to rake in more big income soon.

With even the planet ship about to launch, tax defense was now a planetary issue—not just Yeongwoo’s.

So Yeongwoo summoned Kubu again, who had just clocked out.

“Kubu, you heard that, right?”

Kubu quietly materialized from thin air.

Swoosh.

– Before the unification ritual, the ‘Family’ didn’t officially exist, so aggressive tax avoidance wasn’t possible.

He seemed bothered by the earlier conversation, so he started with a bit of an excuse.

Then, blinking his large eyes once, he added:

– But now, I can recommend a few methods.

“Oho… So you’re finally going to prove your paycheck’s worth?”

Yeongwoo urged him to get on with it.

Kubu rolled his eye once and paused for a beat.

– The first method is…

“The first?”

– Bribing the National Tax Service.

“…What?”

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