Chapter 330 - 161: "I’m Coming In~

Sean: "Huh?"

Elvire, beside him, added a question mark of her own. "?"

"Are you sure you weren’t mistaken?"

"I’m certain, Master."

Elise said, "My sister saw it too. The Ring of Truth appeared on his hand."

"Yisha’s shot should have hit him right between the eyes, but Pulente used a Truth Technique to alter the bullet’s trajectory. That’s why it only grazed his ear."

’So Pulente let it graze him on purpose?’

On their end of the line, the two of them exchanged a look.

Sean: "Clever bastard."

He wasn’t some naive, 18-year-old college student like the Eleanor Sisters. From that short description alone, he understood Pulente’s intentions. He could already picture the scene: Pulente, shot but still clutching his ear as he got back up, raising his arm to shout his political slogans.

He had to admit, they had underestimated the governor.

A perfectly good assassination attempt, and Pulente had somehow managed to turn it into a political gambit...

’So, is leveraging the power of faith the next step?’

With how big this incident had become, it was bound to be on the news.

It seemed no one had entered the apartment since he left; everything was just as Sean remembered. Then again, maybe he was misremembering, and the Florist Family had actually sent people to search the place after he was gone. Not that it mattered. He had left the place "clean," without leaving a single useful thing behind. He wouldn’t have cared even if the Florist Family had emptied the entire apartment.

But the Florist Family had apparently realized this as well, because they hadn’t bothered. Sean was glad to be spared the trouble.

It was nice to be back in Holkaydo and have a chance to relive his old life as a shut-in.

Sean glanced at his watch, got up from the living room sofa, and turned on the TV.

As expected, every major channel was reporting on former Governor Pulente being shot by an assailant during his speech in Holkaydo that afternoon. If Elise hadn’t called, Sean would have found this perfectly normal. A former governor was still a governor, and an assassination attempt on one—especially during the critical election season—was a major event that couldn’t be overreported.

But now, Sean suspected Pulente himself was fanning the flames from behind the scenes.

"Eli, what do you think?" Sean asked the girl beside him.

"I told you not to call me Eli. You haven’t earned that right yet." Elvire shot Sean a glare, then snorted before answering, "Flip through a few more channels and see if there’s an interview with Pulente himself."

"If Pulente is orchestrating this publicity himself, he’s bound to make a personal appearance. He’ll ramble on about whatever he can to maximize the impact of the assassination attempt. You have to remember, Pulente isn’t just a politician, he’s a capitalist. He’ll do everything in his power to exploit every usable element to its fullest, squeezing every last drop of value out of this incident. It’s in a capitalist’s nature."

Heeding her words, Sean flipped through a few more channels and, sure enough, found a post-incident interview with Pulente.

The backdrop was an emergency room at Holkaydo City Central Hospital.

Onscreen, Pulente’s face was covered in blood, but his expression was still resolute, carrying an air of venerable strength that comes with age.

A reporter asked:

"Governor, were you terrified?"

"In your position, you must have anticipated something like this happening today, correct?"

"Do you have anyone in mind you suspect of planning this assassination?"

"We heard that when the shot rang out, you coincidentally turned your head, allowing you to dodge what would have been a fatal bullet. Were you thinking about something at that moment?"

The questions were pointed and detailed, making Sean suspect the reporter had been planted by Pulente himself.

Pulente’s response was as follows:

"First of all, I was not frightened."

"Watch your words, miss. The people of Siracle State never fear danger!"

"Second, I have indeed considered that I might face an assassination attempt one day, that I might even die. But as I just said, I am the Governor of Siracle State. I have a duty to set an example. Even if it means risking my life, I must do what needs to be done. That is why I am here in Holkaydo today."

"As for who I might suspect..."

"Does that matter?"

"It doesn’t."

"What matters is who saved me."

"You ask what I was thinking when the shot was fired?"

"I wasn’t really thinking."

"I heard a voice behind me. I couldn’t make out what it was saying, so I instinctively turned my head to hear it more clearly."

"At first, I was confused. I thought my ears were just ringing... you know how it is. When you get older, your body starts developing little ailments. It wasn’t until the exact moment that bullet grazed my ear that I finally heard the voice clearly."

"It said: You reap what you sow."

"It was the ’Master’!"

"The ’Master’ saved me!"

"Do you have any idea how excited I was?"

In the interview, Pulente was like a child seeing his favorite superhero, saying excitedly, "The ’Master’s’ warning saved me from disaster. In that moment, I understood with profound clarity that even though we can never see the ’Master,’ the ’Master’ is always with us. I felt more encouraged than ever before, which is why I ignored everything else and tried to get up, to reach out my hand, and to shout with all my might."

"I knew the attacker was nearby and could have shot me again at any moment."

"But I wasn’t afraid!"

"Because the ’Master’ was protecting me, protecting Siracle State, and protecting all the people of this land!"

"Thank you, ’Master’! Thank you, ’Master,’ for granting me this new life! Thank you, ’Master,’ for placing your trust in me..."