‘It’s not like the only way to persuade people... is with words, right?’
When I first heard that.
What I thought of was my cooking.
But then I also remembered that Junggu didn’t know about my cooking.
And once I took a moment to think about what exactly Junggu knew about me—
It wasn’t hard to interpret what he meant.
‘Help us persuade them.’
And.
If persuasion through words didn’t work on them—
‘Then persuade them with strength...’
Hmm.
At first, I’ll be honest, I was a bit taken aback.
But.
Considering the temperament of this man named Park Junggu.
It wasn’t exactly incomprehensible.
‘A battle maniac who thinks power is everything.’
That attitude of trying to solve things with strength if it comes down to it.
In a way, maybe that’s only natural.
But.
‘I don’t know about that.’
I also felt a bit uneasy.
“Can I ask you one question?”
“Mm?”
As we pushed through the blizzard.
Heading toward this so-called Central Branch of the Association—
“What is it, big bro?”
“...Quit calling me that. Anyway.”
When we were just about to reach our destination.
I quietly moved up to the front and came to stand next to Junggu, who was commanding the warriors.
“About what you asked me to do.”
“Mm. I asked to borrow your strength for a bit, that’s what you mean, right?”
“Do you honestly think that’s possible?”
The fact that this man, Park Junggu, was overestimating my strength.
That in itself wasn’t strange; it was something I’d intended.
Of course, my actual combat power wasn’t quite at that level, but...
‘As long as I use somewhat different methods.’
In reality...
There were still ways.
To crush them with force.
It wasn’t like they didn’t exist.
What worried me was a slightly different part.
“Even if you subdue them by force, will those people truly follow?”
“Hm.”
“Even if you gather the leaders of the other groups in one place... I’m not sure that beating them up is enough to make the people in each branch actually obey their orders.”
“Ha-ha... I can understand why you’d think that.”
At my question—
“There definitely will be some pushback.”
“Sir?”
“But it won’t matter.”
Junggu nodded as he spoke.
“You’ve probably spent all your time beyond that ‘Demon Realm Gate,’ so you don’t know how things are on the surface, or how people’s thinking changed after the world ended. If that’s the case, then it makes sense you’d think that way.”
...Hmm.
I doubt there are that many people who’ve rubbed shoulders with others as much as I have, but anyway.
“What do you think—how did the Guild we belong to... this ‘Association’—come to be?”
“Sir?”
“As someone who belongs to that Guild, maybe I shouldn’t be the one saying this, but unifying all the humans in a region under a single Guild is not an easy task. From what we can tell, in other regions... even in Gangwon, where the radio says a surviving military unit exists, they probably haven’t managed it.”
“...”
I had had some thoughts about that part.
“Isn’t it because this weather restricts the environment humans can survive in?”
“Hm.”
“Because of that, the humans who survived were forced to crowd into narrow areas, which made it easier to unify them.”
“Ha-ha... are you sure you just came down from the Demon Realm? That’s sharp.”
Junggu looked surprised, as if it hadn’t occurred to him that I might know that.
Well, since I came here from a different region, it was a natural guess that I’d be able to notice what was unique about them.
“It’s true that played a big part. But that’s not all.”
“What do you mean?”
“Imagine that all the humans who gathered in this area had only mediocre forces. Then do you think they could’ve unified this easily?”
Probably.
They wouldn’t have.
“In a world this starved for resources, the odds are high they’d still be split apart... fighting... and living like that. In reality, when they were trying to push through unification, there were plenty of forces that opposed it.”
“So you’re saying there was a reason they could still manage to unify?”
“Mm.”
Folding his arms.
Junggu looked up into empty air, as if recalling old times, and said:
“The Chair... back then it wasn’t the Association yet, but anyway, he led his group... and went around visiting those who refused unification.”
“...And then?”
“Those who rejected the unification that was essential for humanity’s survival... or the kind of villains who shouldn’t be allowed to remain inside any group...”
His expression.
Scrunched just a little.
“He cracked their skulls one by one.”
At first, I wondered if that was some kind of metaphor.
“It’s not a joke or an exaggeration, I mean it literally.”
“...”
Apparently not.
“The way I heard it... that Chair sounded like a fairly gentle type.”
“Ha-ha. The Chair was more or less a good person, true. That’s why I decided to follow him. But if you’re asking whether he was mild... absolutely not.”
In the end.
The reason a group called the Association was able to emerge boiled down to one thing.
“The Chair... that old man was unbelievably strong.”
That now-missing Chair.
Had been unimaginably powerful.
‘...Well, yeah.’
They call it unification, but.
What it really means is bringing every other group under your feet.
It’s not easy for that to happen this quickly.
It was only natural that somewhat extreme methods had been used.
“Was that man really that strong, this Chair of yours?”
“Mm. If I compare him to you, I honestly don’t know who’s stronger. In your case, you completely overwhelmed me without even showing me your combat skills...”
He thought for a moment.
Then nodded.
“Mm, no. Even factoring in the skills you didn’t show me, I don’t think you’re stronger than the Chair.”
“That much?”
“Maybe you’re close. But for me, it’s pretty hard to imagine another human stronger than him.”
I couldn’t help but be a little surprised at that.
‘The strength I showed him... had an absurd amount of bluff mixed in.’
My original self was not that level of powerhouse.
But by going all out and layering on as much bluff as I could—
I must have left quite an impression on this man.
‘And yet he can say that man was stronger than me?’
He was someone I’d only heard about.
But he’d had a huge impact on these people.
It seemed clear that he had the power to match that.
“The reason the remaining branches are divided in their opinions... and the Association can’t act as one anymore, is entirely because that Chair went missing.”
The fact that someone like that had disappeared—
Was the single biggest misfortune the humans of Gyeonggi had suffered.
“The fortunate part is that the forces who opposed unification were all removed, so the people who remain are those who supported it... They’re all likely to think the current situation is not a good one.”
“Then why...”
“Even so, they can’t just go under some other force that’s about the same size. So I’d say every force is probably waiting for some kind of trigger that will let them unify properly. The best thing would be if the Chair came back, but...”
He let out a sigh.
“We’re well past the golden time... it’s hard to believe, but we have to assume the Chair and that strike force are basically wiped out.”
Trying to unify again in that situation, huh.
I wasn’t sure that was even possible, but.
“In the end, what we need is a trigger... someone who could stand in for the Chair.”
“Sir...?”
“And there’s only one quality that a person who could be that focal point needs.”
That intense gaze.
Pierced into me.
“Powerful strength... enough to overwhelm everyone else!”
“...”
“If you want to unify the Guild’s opinion so you can investigate the cause of that cold like you said, that’s the only way.”
...No, but.
That’s basically—
‘Isn’t that the same as asking me to take the role of this force’s leader?’
When I frowned.
Junggu gave a wry chuckle and said:
“Did I put too much on your shoulders?”
“Mm.”
“Well, it’s not like I’m saying you have to. It’s more like, I’d like things to work out that way~ is all. If it’s too much pressure, you can refuse.”
“Refuse, you say.”
“If I were the strong one, that’d be one thing, but it’s you. What can I do? The choice is yours. If you really don’t like my suggestion, just think of this as a sightseeing trip to the Central Branch and leave it at that. It’s a decent place to visit. Especially the food there is pretty go—”
He was about to continue.
But then.
“Oh.”
He broke off mid-sentence.
Pointed straight ahead with his finger and said:
“Look over there.”
“...?”
At his words, I turned my head.
In the distance.
Beyond the raging blizzard.
A faint shape came into view.
“That’s the Central Branch.”
A Wall that looked at least twice as big as the one at the Northern Branch.
With enormous height and width.
After a grueling journey.
We’d finally reached our destination.
“Man, I’m freezing here. Let’s hurry inside. We can talk about the rest in there.”
“...Yes, sir.”
So.
As I followed him toward that Wall.
I thought to myself.
‘Overwhelm them with strength... huh.’
It was true.
That in a world like this, it might not be that bad a method.
Strong ruling the weak might sound barbaric.
But those being ruled would also be protected by that strong person.
However...
How should I put it.
‘It just doesn’t suit me.’
I was not a combat class, but a production class.
Overwhelming others with strength was not my style.
Puzzling over how I was supposed to handle this.
I headed toward the slowly opening gate in the Wall.
****
“So you’ve arrived, Mr. Junggu.”
“Mm. It’s been a while, Mr. Yunseong.”
Once we went inside the Wall—
Someone from the inside came out to greet us.
As I watched him talking with the other members of the Northern Branch.
I quietly asked Junggu:
“Who is that?”
“Hm? Ah. You mean Mr. Yunseong.”
From what I could see,
He was acting like a leader of this branch.
But.
I’d heard the Central Branch had most of its combat forces missing.
“He used to be one of the elites of this Central Branch.”
“Sir?”
“Now that the Chair is gone, he’s acting as a sort of stand-in leader.”
I couldn’t help but be a little surprised at that.
“I thought those elites all went missing trying to resolve the source of the cold...”
“Ah, well, that’s a bit complicated. As I understand it, he did join that expedition too. But apparently he got injured before they even began the real attack?”
“Injured?”
“Ha-ha. The trip from the Northern Branch to here isn’t exactly easy either, is it?”
Never mind the environment thanks to that massive blizzard.
The number of monsters able to endure this cold was nothing to sneeze at.
There had been several skirmishes with such monsters.
“He was injured in the course of that. Honestly, getting casualties mid-transit is pretty common.”
“...I see.”
“The others went on to investigate the source, and /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Mr. Yunseong was the only one who returned, after being wounded.”
And.
The other elites who’d gone to investigate the source had all gone missing.
Leaving that man, the only surviving elite, to act as the leader here.
“Well, I say all this, but it’s not like I know him all that well either.”
“Really? You two seemed pretty familiar.”
“We’re only on name-and-face terms. I usually talked with the Association executives or the Chair. I rarely had a reason to chat with other members.”
I watched the man named Yunseong with a slightly curious look.
As we continued further inside the Wall, Junggu spoke to him.
“Have the leaders of the other branches arrived?”
“The Eastern Branch people arrived yesterday.”
“What, then we’re late?”
“No. You’ve arrived on time. The Southern Branch people haven’t gotten here yet.”
“...Again?”
“Well, the Southern Branch is the farthest away, so it can’t be helped, can it.”
Apparently.
That Southern Branch was habitually late.
“Anyway, let’s go in.”
“Mm. All right. Where do we take the goods for trade?”
“As always, to the warehouse over there...”
My reason for coming here was to attend the meeting being held at this place.
But in truth, the main reason this group had come here was trade.
“Oh?”
For that trade.
They’d burned precious fuel to load these vehicles down with all sorts of goods.
And when Yunseong saw what was inside, his expression changed dramatically.
“How much is this...?”
“Heh-heh. Our group had something good happen recently.”
What had shocked him—
Was nothing more or less than food piled to the brim inside.
“With this, our Association’s food worries will ease up a little.”
Thanks to the fertilizer dish I’d made.
The amount of food the Druid, Gang Jaeho, could produce had skyrocketed.
From their perspective, the quantity of food we’d brought this time was enormous.
“Oh, right.”
While we were talking about food.
As if he’d just remembered something, Park Junggu spoke up.
“If we’re talking food, it’s all thanks to Mr. Youngjun here that we can produce this much. So it’s only right that we take care of his business first.”
At those words.
I tilted my head.
“My business...?”
“What, you already forgot what you asked me to do?”
I’d thought I’d come here purely to help persuade the other groups.
“You said there were people you wanted to find.”
“...Ah!”
“Since the leaders of every branch spread across Gyeonggi Province will be gathering for this meeting, if we show them the list you gave me, we might be able to find a few more people.”
Junggu.
Hadn’t forgotten about that other purpose.
“What is this about? People you want to find?”
“Oh, actually...”
When he and I started talking about that.
The man named Yunseong approached with a puzzled expression.
“Mr. Yunseong. Could you read this notebook for us?”
“Hm?”
Junggu, striking while the iron was hot,
Handed him the list of names I’d given him last time.
“What is this list? There are quite a lot of people written here...”
“For reasons I can’t go into, it’s a list of people our branch is looking for.”
“Hm. It seems like too many to all be survivors...”
“Right. It’s a list recorded based on the standards from before [Doomsday].”
At those words.
The man named Yunseong frowned.
“In that case... I doubt many of them are still alive.”
“Still, you never know, so do us this favor. You might know someone on there yourself.”
“Hm. I don’t think it will amount to much, but... since it’s a request from the Northern Branch that brought us so much food, all right.”
The man named Yunseong seemed to think this was probably meaningless.
But he didn’t think it would be any trouble to read through it.
With a calm expression, he began going down the list.
“...Huh?”
Then, after a moment.
As if he’d seen something that shocked him.
His eyes flew wide.
“Mr. Junggu?”
“Mm?”
“Could you tell me in more detail why you’re looking for these people?”
“...Oh, it’s nothing big. The one who made it possible for us to produce that food is this young man here.”
THUNK.
Resting his hand on my shoulder, Park Junggu said:
“This kid is the one who, for his own reasons, is searching for these people. Is there some kind of problem?”
“Hm. So he’s the one looking for them?”
A gaze full of wariness.
Turned on me.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“You...”
The man who’d calmly been reading the notebook and suddenly started acting like this.
I had no idea what was going on.
“Shin Seokjun. Seo Younghee...”
“...Sir?”
“What’s your relationship to these two?”
At those words from his mouth.
I couldn’t help but be greatly shocked.
I mean.
Of course.
‘Shin Seokjun. Seo Younghee...’
Those names—
Were endlessly familiar to me.
The head and matriarch of the Shin family.
In other words.
“...I’m their son.”
“What?”
They were the names of the parents.
I’d been searching for.
