Chapter 491

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Chapter 491: Balance (8)

—The Miracle of Laundry…?

Aldo's head felt like it was turning to mush.

What was this human, exactly?

He'd just brought a dragon out of nowhere and smashed the Scales of Balance, only to start talking about something called the Miracle of Laundry?

Of course, Aldo couldn't even begin to imagine what "laundry" was supposed to mean in this context.

"That's right. We're going to launder money—no, our evil karma—into good karma."

—Ex… excuse me?

Laundering evil karma into good.

To Aldo, who constantly worried about the balance of the universe, it sounded like an absolute dream—but the problem was that the one saying this was none other than Jeong Yeongwoo of Earth.

And Aldo had already seen more than enough of what kind of person he was at the Promotion Hall and the wedding.

—You're not seriously suggesting we kill evil-doers to increase the ratio of good karma by comparison, are you?

“…Huh? I mean, that actually does sound like a pretty solid plan.”

Yeongwoo scratched his forehead.

Apparently, after the wedding, even Prince Aldo had undergone some internal changes of his own.

—I cannot condone something so wicked!

“No, no, Prince. In the laundry business I’m starting, there won’t be any casualties.”

—Oh? Really?

Aldo reacted with genuine surprise.

“Of course, we might need a few swords and guns.”

—I knew it!

“No, no, hear me out. What do evil people usually spend their money on?”

—Uh, well…

Aldo stared off into the air.

Then, cautiously—as if unsure whether it was okay to say it—he answered.

—Probably… to do even more evil things?

“Exactly. But what if they used that money to do good things instead? Like charity or disaster relief donations.”

Aldo quickly shook his head.

—It would be wonderful if that actually happened, but evil-doers don’t make charitable donations.

“But if, by some miracle, they did… wouldn’t that have an enormous impact on the balance of the universe?”

If the money of evil-doers could be funneled into charitable causes, it would mean far more than just acquiring funds for good deeds.

“If evil people spend money on good causes, what does that actually do?”

Yeongwoo held up two fingers.

“It doubles the effectiveness of good karma!”

—Huh…? Why does it double?

“Because their donation wouldn’t have happened at all under normal circumstances—so it’s pure added good karma. Plus, since they spent money on charity instead of evil, that’s less evil being committed. Get it?”

In other words, not only was new good karma being created, but evil karma was being reduced—making it effectively double the positive impact.

A miraculous bit of logic, really.

—T-That’s…

Aldo’s incorporeal jaw dropped.

He was already starting to feel like he was being swept away by this devilish man’s momentum.

But he couldn't deny that, while the logic was outrageous, it did have a certain charm.

If—if—it actually worked, the balance of good in the universe would skyrocket.

—But… there’s no way that would ever happen, right? Why would evil-doers donate…?

Just then, Yeongwoo pulled out his trump card, as if he’d been waiting for this question.

“Because I’m going to make them.”

—How could you possibly do that…?

“Whether it means aiming cannons at their planet or beating them into saints, I’ll handle it. What matters is—”

Swipe.

Yeongwoo pointed to the emblem of the Shelbir royal family engraved on Aldo’s armguard.

“—the Universal Relief Corps. In other words, the credibility of a legitimate charity. We need justification to ‘persuade’ these evil-doers.”

—Justification…? You mean you want to use our name to intimidate them into donating?

“Your understanding is impressively quick. That’s nearly spot on.”

Then Yeongwoo nodded with mock solemnity.

“But we’re not intimidating them. We’re persuading them. For the balance of the universe, of course.”

—…!

Hearing Yeongwoo’s full explanation, Aldo felt a chill run down his spine.

This lunatic had come all the way here planning to use the name of the Shelbir royal family as cover for space-age extortion.

The sheer audacity and deviousness of it all left him speechless.

—But wouldn’t those “donations” ultimately end up in your hands? Mr. Yeongwoo, I mean…

Aldo couldn’t quite bring himself to finish the sentence.

What he wanted to ask was: if donations from evil-doers were just ending up in the hands of another evil-doer, wasn’t that just a rebranding of the same old evil?

Of course, Yeongwoo already had a rebuttal ready.

“You’re not suggesting I’d use those donations as personal war funds, are you?”

—Wait… you’re not?

Aldo, seemingly determined, asked bluntly.

But Yeongwoo instantly flipped his expectations.

“Nope. That money will go directly to Doatel. I swear it—on my parents’ names.”

—…Are you serious?

“Of course.”

Shockingly, he meant it.

After all, you can’t do laundry without loading all the dirty clothes into the washing machine first.

“But in return.”

—In return…?

“Doatel will need to donate a portion of the collected funds back to me.”

—Ah.

As Aldo reflected on the true meaning behind this man’s “laundry,” Yeongwoo continued.

“Two-for-one karma efficiency. In other words, a huge influx of donations. That creates too much good in the universe. So to restore balance, you’ll need to donate some back to me.”

—…….

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A claim so deranged that Aldo couldn’t even begin to argue against it.

—But in the end… doesn’t that just become evil karma all over again?

“No, no. The funds I receive will go toward securing the next round of donations. So ultimately, it leads to even greater good. Meaning—it’s still good karma.”

The “donation” that had flowed to Jeong Yeongwoo would clearly be used to beat people up, so it was undeniably evil karma.

However, if that violence led to new donations flowing into Doatel, then in terms of outcomes, it was true that the ratio of good karma would increase.

—But if we follow your reasoning, wouldn't that mean we're not only tolerating evil karma, but actively encouraging it by giving donations to you, Mr. Yeongwoo?

‘Damn, guess he really is a prince of a nation. Sharp one.’

Yeongwoo had no rebuttal to Aldo’s point.

So he chose to charge through head-on.

“You’re absolutely right.”

—…?

“And that is the price to pay in order to drastically raise the ratio of good karma in this universe. Can one ever achieve greatness without sacrifice?”

To begin this endeavor, as Prince Aldo said, the royal family of Shelbir and the entire planet of Doatel would have to bear a form of sacrifice.

Doatel, which served as a cradle of good karma in this galaxy cluster, would have to indirectly commit an act of evil.

—……

Aldo seemed to hesitate for a moment, then slowly raised his head to respond.

—Dear Mr. Yeongwoo.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

—I'm sorry, but if one commits evil to do good, isn't that not good… but hypocrisy?

“……”

—Even though you came a long way to see us… I’m afraid we cannot accept this.

“What?”

—I apologize, but we of Doatel…

Just as Prince Aldo was about to deliver his final rejection—

◇ Hypocrisy is still good.

A sacred voice echoed like a bell from deep within the other side of the altar.

“…What? Who…?”

Yeongwoo widened his eyes and turned toward the voice, seeing a radiant light shimmering from the altar.

“No way…”

Sensing something, Yeongwoo took a deep breath, and Aldo dropped to one knee toward the altar in reverence.

‘Shit, it’s Aldo’s father!’

Aldo’s father.

In other words, the King of Doatel.

The pinnacle of the Shelbir royal family had been listening to the entire conversation all along.

—…Father.

Aldo then lowered his head to the floor and spoke softly.

At that moment, a snow-white caramel appeared at the top of the altar stairs.

‘Huh? What the… The caramel is white?’

Then the royal guards lined up in front of the altar suddenly shifted formation.

Chwah-jah-jat!

They created a path from the altar straight to where Yeongwoo and Aldo were standing.

—His Majesty the King of Doatel, the Immaculate White, King Teroph Shelbir, makes his entrance!

With that, the knights announced the king’s arrival and drew their swords, holding them upright and close to their bodies.

Just then, King Teroph of Doatel began descending the altar steps.

Clack, clack.

Like Aldo, he wore silver-white armor marked with a jar-like emblem, but his face was so pale it seemed as if a lump of light was walking.

In fact, a glow shimmered faintly around Teroph’s body.

“What the… I can see light around your father’s body. I'm not hallucinating, right?”

Aldo, still with his head down, replied,

—My father has performed acts of good so great, they could be called divine achievements. That light is the proof of them.

“Then if someone like him says hypocrisy is also good… doesn’t that make it the truth?”

Yeongwoo quickly shot back, but Aldo offered no rebuttal.

The highest authority on the planet had already intervened.

◇ Though we have lost the scale, I believe we’ve gained something far more valuable. Visitor, how shall I address you?

“Uh, uh…”

Assuming the king was addressing him, Yeongwoo wore an expression of awe and dropped to one knee.

“I’m Jeong Yeongwoo, owner of a planetary ship from Earth.”

Then, after a slight hesitation, he added,

“I figured you wouldn’t need the scale anymore, so I broke it ahead of time.”

◇ If what you and my son discussed is true, then that will indeed be the case.

The King of the Good Karma Planet truly operated on another level.

Even after seeing the scale destroyed with his own eyes, he didn’t ask for compensation.

—But Father, helping this man means condoning evil deeds. Doing good is important, yes, but doesn’t that mean we’d be enabling evil karma?

Aldo made a final effort to voice his concern before anything was finalized.

But Teroph remained completely unmoved.

◇ Are we truly helping him?

—…What?

◇ We are helping the universe.

If cooperating with that so-called villain could increase the universe's good karma ratio and reduce evil karma, then it meant helping the entire universe.

◇ And if we must draw a black line across our white to achieve that, then that becomes our sacrifice.

“……”

Yeongwoo, now being called the “black line,” wasn’t thrilled, but he kept his expression neutral.

That’s just part of becoming a businessman.

◇ If we abandon our perfection for the sake of the universe, then that, too, becomes good karma. What matters is balance. And we are part of that balance.

Doatel is also part of the balance.

In other words, Doatel did not need to cling to pure good.

Not if it was for the grand cause of restoring universal balance.

Shhhk.

At last, King Teroph turned his gaze to Yeongwoo.

◇ So then, I suppose… it’s time to talk, is it not?

“Uh… talk about what, exactly?”

◇ About the balance… of donations.

“Oh.”

The time for laundering rate negotiations had arrived.

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