“...We just have to hold out for three months, huh.”
“If we can attack those monsters like you say, nothing would be better. But it’s far too dangerous a task.”
Jo Beomseok calmly continued.
“Those monsters seemed to understand human habits as well. They’re not the sort of monsters you can just head out to subjugate and actually subjugate. That’s probably why the Chair lost as well. If Central Branch’s forces were still intact, that’d be one thing...”
“That’s exactly why. All the more reason we should be more proactive about finding those missing people from Central Branch...”
“Heh, you’re really the one saying that?”
When Junggu started arguing,
Jo Beomseok replied like he found it absurd.
“I’ll say this in advance. When the Chair said he was going to attack the source of that cold, I was against it. I said it was never a good strategy to pour all of our forces at once into an enemy whose identity we didn’t even know.”
“...”
“And the one who agreed to that reckless operation was you.”
“T-That’s...”
This was the first I’d heard of this, too.
Honestly, it surprised me a bit.
“You agreed to that reckless plan, and now you want me and my group to take part in cleaning up after it? There’s a limit to how shameless you can be.”
“...”
“Now that Central Branch’s strength is gone, going out to subjugate monsters that dangerous is an act with far too much risk. As the leader of Southern Branch, I have no intention of putting my branch’s Awakeners into that kind of danger.”
At those words,
all Park Junggu could do was grind his teeth; he couldn’t come up with any proper answer.
“If you really want to do it that badly, take only your own group and go. Just don’t try to drag others along to die with you.”
In terms of logic and in terms of speaking power,
he was clearly behind: not just a lack of grounds, but also the fact that he’d agreed to the operation in which Central Branch had been wiped out.
Park Junggu’s side was distinctly losing.
“Isn’t that a bit too complacent?”
As the flow of the conversation turned against us,
I didn’t know whether it would work or not,
but I decided to at least try giving Junggu some covering fire.
“And who are you?”
“...This is Shin Youngjun, who recently joined our group. He’s quite capable.”
“Hmm.”
At Junggu’s words,
Jo Beomseok frowned slightly.
“I feel like I’ve heard that voice somewhere before...”
Muttering something I didn’t quite understand,
the old man shook his head and went on.
“Well, let’s put that aside for now. Normally, someone who isn’t even a group leader wouldn’t be allowed to speak up... but fine, since you’ve opened your mouth, go ahead and talk. What exactly is complacent?”
“You said earlier that we only have to hold out for three months. That according to the Legion’s plan, that Wall will open within three months at the latest.”
“I did.”
“Holding out for three months. It’d certainly be good if we can do that.”
This...
wasn’t something I was saying because I had to use these people to find my parents,
or anything like that.
“This world didn’t even take a full year to get this way.”
It was purely my judgment and intuition.
“From what I’ve experienced, the monsters have been getting stronger by the day. ‘We just have to hold out for three months’? With such a defensive stance, I don’t think you can confidently say we’ll actually last those three months.”
“Then what do you think we should do?”
“To survive in this world...”
Up in Gangwon Province,
as I kept fighting and surviving,
I’d come to understand a truth.
“Even if you know a place is dangerous, if you judge that you can gain power there that will let you live longer—”
“...”
“Then you have to actively throw your body into that danger, struggle, and seize it. It might be dangerous in the short term, but that path will be the way to survive the longest.”
To survive in this world,
you had to throw yourself into danger, fight, and wrest victory from it.
I wanted to convey that realization to them, but—
“...I know you helped us. But still.”
To my words,
the leader of Eastern Branch listening to the conversation—
the Architect, Kim Jongdu—replied, displeased.
“I don’t see why I have to listen to that kind of lecturing from someone who isn’t even a group leader.”
“...”
Hearing him, I looked around.
The old man Jo Beomseok was the same,
and no one’s expression looked particularly good.
“...What I said isn’t wrong, though.”
“Heh, technically speaking, sure. Didn’t you say you only recently joined Northern Branch? Where were you before that?”
“I just operated on my own.”
“Oh... you operated on your own?”
Kim Jongdu let out a short laugh.
“A guy who’s never led a group is lecturing other group leaders. You think that’s reasonable?”
“...”
“In an era like this, I don’t even know what it’s supposed to mean that you were ‘operating alone.’ But honestly, I don’t really care. What matters is this.”
Already sharp-looking to begin with,
Kim Jongdu lifted his glasses slightly and said:
“While you were operating by yourself, the ones who led others and kept them alive in this world until now weren’t you, they were us.”
“That’s—”
“What you say sounds nice. But whatever you were doing before finally joining Northern Branch... the ones who’ve been fighting harder than anyone in this world, and as a result have survived along with many others, aren’t loners like you. It’s us.”
“...”
“Do you really think you have the right to butt into the decisions of people like that?”
When I couldn’t answer,
I don’t know how he took that, but—
“To respond proactively to a threat, to act aggressively... what you’re saying isn’t wrong. But you should understand that it’s a bit different from the position of someone who leads others.”
Kim Jongdu’s tone grew a little calmer.
“Our decisions hold the lives of hundreds, thousands of people. When people’s lives are at stake, it’s something we have to decide a bit more carefully.”
“...”
“I can see you’re very eager, but you need to learn to think from a leader’s point of view.”
His tone was almost soothing, like he was trying to coax me down.
At that tone,
I clenched my fist and muttered inwardly.
‘...Not enough.’
What I’d said wasn’t wrong.
Judging from the faces around me,
at least that old man called General, Jo Beomseok,
and Yunseong, the former Central Branch elite, didn’t think my words were completely off.
Even that Eastern Branch guy, Kim Jongdu,
hadn’t directly denied the logic itself.
As someone who had survived in this kind of world, he probably didn’t think what I’d said was entirely wrong.
The problem was—
‘Authority... I’m lacking authority!’
What I’d said wasn’t wrong?
Sure, it might have been correct.
But—
‘That’s all it is.’
Even if my words weren’t wrong,
did they have the persuasive force to make people absolutely follow them?
That was another matter entirely.
If, at this moment, I’d been someone who’d built up long years of trust with them like the other leaders here,
the story might have gone a little differently.
But I wasn’t.
‘This isn’t my territory.’
Unlike in Gangwon Province, where I held clear authority as the ruler of the Legion,
here I was nothing but an outsider who had only recently joined.
If this were back when I was in the Iron Legion,
even if I’d spouted something far more baseless than now,
the achievements I’d built up in the Legion’s survival struggle would have given my words authority.
‘The humans here don’t know me.’
My words came from experience built up through long battles.
So they might be reasonable,
but they couldn’t possess the kind of authority that could sway them.
I had never had any influence at all on their survival,
and I had never once taken part in the history of their struggle.
‘A complete outsider.’
The words spoken by someone like that
couldn’t carry any authority.
****
The proposal at the meeting to investigate the cause of the cold—
the opinions on that proposal ended up almost entirely on the opposing side.
“What Youngjun said isn’t wrong. Those monsters could suddenly swarm us, or the temperature might drop sharply enough within those three months for everyone to freeze to death!”
The only one who, at least, thought the source of the cold needed to be properly investigated,
was the one who’d brought me here—Park Junggu—and he argued with all his strength, but...
“If they’re monsters strong enough for that, wouldn’t it be even safer to stay inside the Wall? Especially since we in Southern Branch are the ones closest to the source of the cold... as you know, when it comes to defending inside the Wall, we’re confident no enemy can break through.”
“The matter of the temperature dropping is...!”
“That’s ultimately only a conjecture.”
“It’s also a conjecture with a very high chance.”
“Maybe. But from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re just wanting to believe that conjecture is true.”
Arms folded, Jo Beomseok narrowed his eyes at Junggu.
“Park Junggu. You like fighting.”
“...”
“Now that winter has come and the already small number of monsters has dwindled even further, there are fewer chances to fight and fewer chances to raise your level. But going yourself to the Demon Realm or the source of the cold... that’s too dangerous. So you want a chance to fight, don’t you?”
“...That’s not the only reason.”
Junggu denied it,
but I also knew he was a huge battle maniac.
‘So that is part of it.’
But I was in no position to say anything about someone like that.
His words hit pretty close to home for me, too.
In the end, the reason I was trying to persuade them,
had originally been because it would be better for their survival...
‘But now, it’s a bit different.’
The thought that my parents
might still be alive in there somewhere
had taken a big place inside me.
“...Whew. If it’s come to this.”
As things didn’t go well,
Junggu rose with a tense look.
Then,
he moved his hand behind his back, about to grip the haft of that axe—
“...Still as barbaric as ever, I see. You’re going to try to persuade us with force?”
“I don’t see any other choice.”
Seeing that, the General
looked at him with contempt.
“Park Junggu... do you really think that’s going to work?”
“Haha, in the end, this Association itself stuck together under the Chair’s strength. If you have the strength... isn’t there nothing you can’t do?”
“Hmm. That sounds like you’re saying you have that much strength.”
That sharp gaze
briefly brushed over me.
“Well, setting aside °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° whether your strength is sufficient or not... you won’t be able to persuade me just by pressing with force.”
“In the end, you’re also someone who gathered under the Chair’s power. How is it any different now...”
“You’re misunderstanding something. I joined under the Chair because, first and foremost, his arguments were reasonable.”
The Chair had been strong,
but it wasn’t as if he’d simply suppressed everyone with brute force.
“To survive in a world like this, all of humanity has to join forces. I judged that wasn’t wrong, and on top of that, the Chair had great strength as well. That’s why I followed him.”
“And you’re saying we’re different?”
“Very different. You want to throw forces at the source of this cold, don’t you? It sounds to me like you’re basically telling us to all go die together. If that’s the choice, I’d rather die here.”
“...”
Seeing that even the last-resort idea of using violence
didn’t seem likely to work,
all Park Junggu could do was clench his fists and shake,
unable to do anything.
“Whew. I understand what you’re worried about, too.”
Seeing that,
Jo Beomseok let out a sigh and spoke.
“The source of this cold... the fact that we know nothing about what’s happening there is dangerous in and of itself. I agree with that.”
“Then...!”
“So how about this. Since we in Southern Branch are the closest to that place, we’ll send small scouting parties now and then.”
“...A small scouting party won’t be able to go deep.”
“True. Just as you say, the scouts I send probably won’t do more than circle the outer edges... but if something strange happens in there, we’ll at least be able to sense that. If a problem arises, it won’t be too late to respond then.”
“...”
“Luckily, since we only have to hold out for three months, time is mostly on our side.”
Folding my arms, I thought.
‘If you’re talking purely as a group leader, that old man is the most competent one here.’
His opinion was simply the opposite of mine.
But it sounded very reasonable.
On top of that, the moment he saw that Junggu’s opinion hadn’t gone through and he was frustrated, he immediately presented a compromise.
He was the leader of what was supposedly the strongest branch in the Association at present—Southern Branch.
And he’d built up a considerable amount of influence over his long time in the field.
‘He’s nothing like that deadweight officer Lieutenant Kim. He’s the genuine article.’
From the start,
I didn’t know this place well,
and I was an outsider without any authority.
And meanwhile, all Park Junggu had in mind was resolving things by force.
‘He was never someone those two could persuade.’
The mere fact that such an outstanding human being had survived was something to be glad about,
but...
Grit...
for me as I was now,
it was anything but welcome.
****
In the end,
according to General Jo Beomseok’s opinion—
“Then... let’s end today’s meeting here.”
they decided to greatly strengthen vigilance around the place where the source of the cold lay,
but otherwise to maintain the status quo and focus more on defense.
And.
This conclusion...
‘Is not one I can accept.’
While I was thinking that,
“For the time being, there will be trade between the groups. Once that trade is roughly wrapped up in three days, we’ll hold one more meeting. After that, the plan is for everyone to return to their respective territories. Is that acceptable?”
“Yeah, that’s fine by me.”
“Let’s do that.”
Under Yunseong’s lead,
the meeting wrapped up.
People left the central building
and scattered back to their rooms.
“...Sorry.”
Coming to find me,
the first thing Park Junggu said was an apology.
“I thought we’d definitely be able to settle this with strength... looks like I was wrong.”
“...Well, it can’t be helped.”
“It seems persuading them is going to be difficult.”
He’d shared my view that the source of the cold needed to be investigated properly.
Now that that view had been rejected,
he looked deeply dejected.
“But my belief that we have to investigate that place properly hasn’t changed.”
He closed his eyes in thought for a moment,
then snapped them open and spoke.
“If it’s come to this, even if I have to take only Northern Branch’s warriors and go...!”
“P-Please don’t say insane things like that.”
“Huh?”
Junggu had just suddenly declared a group suicide.
It was questionable even with the forces of all the branches, and he wanted to go with only Northern Branch’s strength.
That really would be suicide.
“There’s still a way to persuade them.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. So...”
Instead, I had something better.
“Would you guide me to the kitchen?”
Half-confirmed already—
I had a method of persuasion that could, with high probability,
work on any human.
‘Cooking.’
It was far too dangerous,
and if I overused it, I felt like it might shave away at my own humanity.
So I’d been very careful using that power.
KitchenChef’sSpecialSauceKitchen Chef’s Special SauceKitchenChef’sSpecialSauce
But—
‘For the sake of this, that damned “humanity” is...’
I had to break through that place,
even if it meant my mind ended up leaving humanity behind.
‘It’s not easy to make a dish that doesn’t just stir emotions, but actually changes someone’s judgment.’
If, like with Lieutenant Kim, I managed to imprison them somewhere,
and then just kept feeding them the same dish, it would definitely be possible.
‘But there are a lot of targets I have to feed this time, and unlike back then, they each have their own factions. Most of them are even high level.’
Imprisoning them wouldn’t be easy.
So I’d probably only get one shot at using [cooking].
To break high-level Awakeners with strong resistance in that single shot,
I needed dishes into which I’d poured everything I had.
For that,
I needed to be guided to the kitchen—basically, a cook’s workshop.
...However.
“The kitchen...”
When he heard me,
Park Junggu looked hesitant.
“What is it?”
“The reason you’re looking for the kitchen... you’re not trying to make poison like you did back at Northern Base, are you? That would mean...”
With a slightly pale face, Junggu fidgeted.
“No matter how you put it... that kind of extreme measure is a bit...”
Ah.
I could guess what he was imagining.
“I’m not trying to assassinate anyone or anything like that, so relax.”
“Oh, really?”
I had no intention of making poison.
It was just that, to change the feelings of people of that caliber,
I needed to cook properly in a proper facility.
“If that’s the case, that’s a relief... but there’s still a problem.”
“Huh?”
“Come to think of it... you vanished as soon as you got here, so you’ve never been to the Dining Hall here, have you.”
The reason he’d hesitated was
something else entirely.
“I think I mentioned this a few times... but the food here is pretty decent.”
“...?”
“And there’s a reason for that.”
Following his lead,
I headed for the Central Branch Dining Hall—
the place with the kitchen.
And when I first arrived there—
“Huh?”
What greeted me was—
“Who the hell are you punks...”
A young man with a punk-like face,
his hair cropped short.
“Barging into the sacred kitchen with your dirty feet!?”
