A dark room.
Several people were sitting inside that room.
“Then, we will begin this special report.”
“Begin.”
Where a small light was lit in that room.
Beneath it, a man stood in front of a whiteboard.
“As the System foretold, the wall has opened. This time, we collected information from beyond that wall. Fortunately, we obtained a few meaningful pieces of information.”
The man spoke as he pointed at the papers pinned to the whiteboard.
“This is information on the key personnel of the [Iron Legion].”
“......!”
At the man’s words, those listening widened their eyes.
Because what came out of his mouth was the name of the group that most of the people who survived on this land were paying the closest attention to.
“First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok, the Legion’s leader.”
What he pointed at first with his hand was—
A man who looked to be in his late twenties to early thirties, with an intellectual air.
Hearing that, those people tilted their heads.
“First Lieutenant? Isn’t that rank too low for the leader of the Legion that sent out that radio?”
“He looks young, too.”
Then.
The man delivering the report shook his head and said.
“You shouldn’t dismiss him just because his rank is low. They are the ones who completed the occupation of an entire region in such a short time. You should interpret it as meaning the commander’s capability was considerable. And ‘First Lieutenant’ is only a pre-collapse title...... you should probably see him as someone with tremendous command ability.”
“Hm, if you say so, then I suppose so. I thought they were people who were lucky enough to be in a military base on the day of the collapse and were able to build up their strength.......”
“As I told you before, being in a military base is actually a disadvantage. Just from the fact that someone who was in a military base survived...... it means the ruler of that Legion is no ordinary person.”
Next.
The man standing in front pointed beneath First Lieutenant Kim and said.
“According to the [Guild System], there should be five executives under First Lieutenant Kim. In the Legion, it seems a Sergeant and Corporals, and one civilian collaborator, are in those positions.”
“......A Legion commander as a First Lieutenant, and executives who are soldiers and a civilian. I can’t get used to it.”
“Likewise, you shouldn’t dismiss them just from hearing their ranks. Considering their occupation speed...... there’s a high chance these are strong people around level 29.”
At that,
The people sitting and listening to the report furrowed their brows.
“So there are at least five strong people in the high twenties, is that it?”
“Yes. And in the case of the leader, First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok, there’s a high probability he’s over level 30.”
“Right. He would have to be at least that much to unify a region....... Continue.”
The man’s hand pointed to one picture.
A montage drawing of a man with a sharp impression.
“Sergeant Lee Minjae. I hear he handles lightning magic at a fairly high level, and even has a summon.”
“A summon?”
“They say it resembles a snake. They say its size is small, so it likely isn’t a particularly strong summon...... but just the fact that he controls a monster is something to rate highly. As for Sergeant Lee Minjae himself, I hear he’s a mage specialized in wide-area magic.”
Next, what he pointed at was a hulking warrior.
“Corporal Jeon Gwangil. I hear he’s a martial-type fighter with a cruel disposition.”
“Cruel?”
“He’s someone who enjoys rough fighting to the point that those who saw his battles felt fear. He’s likely someone with a personality that makes it hard to fit into a group...... but that First Lieutenant Kim must be binding him in place with his command ability.”
After that, what he pointed at was—
A man holding a gun.
“Corporal Seo Suhyeok. This one is truly the very model of a soldier. His job is [Marksman]. He seems to mainly operate as a sniper.”
“A sniper.......”
“Unlike Corporal Jeon Gwangil or Sergeant Lee Minjae, there isn’t that much information...... but he likely has skill that can’t even be compared to an ordinary human.”
When the report reached that point.
One of those listening to the report tilted their head and asked.
“Didn’t you say there were five executives?”
“When the battle ended, they say there was one executive from a civilian background who took civilians with them. If you include that, it makes four in total.”
At that, the ones listening furrowed their brows.
“You said First Lieutenant Kim is the leader and there are five executives...... but one is missing.”
“Unfortunately, regarding the remaining one...... we haven’t found out yet.”
At those words.
The gathered people widened their eyes in surprise.
“There’s information you don’t know?”
“Isn’t that a first?”
The man spoke with a grin.
“There are things even I don’t know.”
“Haha...... the man who always brought back precious information like it was nothing is even talking weak.”
Small laughter.
But within that laughter, there was a strange trust.
“So? If you’re lacking information to that extent...... are we abandoning this plan?”
“No. It’s still a plan worth attempting.”
As he said that, he distributed the documents he had to the people.
Just in case, I searched through them, and among the information we have, there was something about First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok.
In those documents—
There was a photo of a soldier and information about him.
“His peer and superior evaluations are unbelievably good.”
“But compared to that, his specialty test scores are pretty low. This is an interesting case, too.”
“He’s someone who built up that level of power in a world like this. Maybe he’s not that good at his specialty work, but dealing with people is his specialty, something like that.”
“So what, exactly, does it matter that you have First Lieutenant Kim’s file?”
“Look at his family background.”
When the people saw that part—
Only then did they nod.
“His father is also a soldier, and his mother is a police officer. His older brother is a firefighter...... and his younger sister is a social activist.”
“So it’s a patriot family, then. Is that why he broadcast that radio?”
“Yes. No matter what the composition is, the key is the Legion’s leader who holds all of those members under his domination. If we succeed in digging into First Lieutenant Kim properly, we......”
The man standing in front—
Held First Lieutenant Kim’s montage in his hand and said.
“We might be able to take the Legion into our hands.”
*****
“There’s something I want to ask about what I said last time.”
First Lieutenant Kim is the face of our unit.
System-wise, all unit members know I’m the Legion Commander, but outsiders all think he is the ruler of the Legion.
“If, really if. If this call isn’t a trap, and they really are people who can say they’re the Government of the Republic of Korea.”
Since this situation has advantages in many ways,
This trip to Seoul as well was planned for him to step forward as the representative.
“How do you plan to deal with them?”
“Hm.”
At those words.
I leaned back deep into the vehicle seat and thought.
‘If they really are the government.’
If we were ordinary survivors, the story would be simple.
It would just be a matter of whether we trust them and join them, or not.
But.
“I feel like there’s another reason you’re asking this. Am I mistaken?”
“......It feels like your sense of identity has changed a lot lately, but still.”
We were a little different.
And that’s because—
“We’re soldiers, Youngjun.”
We were soldiers.
And if you’re a soldier of the Republic of Korea—
“Since we present ourselves as a military unit...... it might be right for us to join under them.”
A Republic of Korea soldier moves by the orders of the Government of the Republic of Korea.
An utterly obvious proposition was being presented to us.
“O-of course. The one who decides is you, no matter what. I’m just offering an opinion.”
“Hm.”
TAP, TAP.
After thinking for a moment while tapping my fingers on the vehicle seat, I opened my mouth.
“As you know, First Lieutenant.”
“......?”
“We’re no longer an ordinary military.”
At that, First Lieutenant Kim’s expression darkened slightly, but—
He soon nodded and said.
“That’s true.”
The reason we maintained the identity of being the military was because we thought that side was beneficial.
But if you asked whether we were really a group that could be called the regular army, that wasn’t quite it, either.
Most Legion members were already not from a military background.
“I don’t like it either, but this world has come to run on the logic of power. Even if they have a president, a chairman of the Joint Chiefs, or a minister of national defense, they won’t be able to move us as they please.”
The essence of our unit—
Had already been twisted too much from the moment we left the 423rd Battalion.
“If they try to control us regardless of our will, I will stop it.”
“.......”
“By any means necessary.”
At my words, First Lieutenant Kim furrowed his brows.
I could understand that reaction, too.
‘In the end, it’s only been a year since the day of the collapse.’
Even though the density of that time had been unimaginably thick,
In terms of time, it had still only been one year.
It differs by person, but—
The authority carried by the name ‘government’ was still vividly left in people.
‘It probably isn’t only First Lieutenant Kim, either.’
Since the identity we have as a military unit is closely tied to that authority,
Those showing that reaction likely wouldn’t be all that rare.
“The people who gathered into the Legion didn’t gather because they believed in the name Government of the Republic of Korea or anything like that.”
But.
Even if I could understand their reaction, that didn’t mean I could accept that opinion.
“They gathered because they saw the name ‘Iron Legion,’ not because it’s a military unit under the government.”
The Legion members are people who gathered under the Legion’s name.
And I’m their leader.
And even though I was away for a while, there wasn’t a single moment I ever abandoned that identity.
“First Lieutenant Kim is our unit’s only executive...... but at the same time, he’s a member of the Legion. And that person brought up the idea that the Legion should go under another group.”
“.......”
“So I’ll say it clearly.”
With my arms crossed,
I looked at First Lieutenant Kim and said.
“You’ll have to present a justifiable reason to bring up something like that, First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok.”
“.......”
“If you can’t...... I won’t just let it slide.”
First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok—
Looked at me with trembling eyes.
*****
“The reason is...... that our identity is soldiers.”
“Hm.”
“One of the reasons we’ve been able to lead this group up to now is because a big part of it came from the legitimacy that we’re government troops.”
At first, there were difficulties in many ways, but—
It’s true there were also many cases where we benefited from the value of that name.
“If we deny that, then we’re no longer a proper military...... we become no different from a local warlord that simply has force.”
“It’s this era. I don’t see that flow itself as a problem.”
“It won’t be a problem right now. I mean right now.”
When I furrowed my brows,
First Lieutenant Kim cautiously continued.
“The problem is later. Later, after more time passes than now...... can we remain as a proper organization like we are now?”
“......?”
“Up until now, there was no problem. Even if our scale grew a bit, we were still only a single military unit. But while occupying Gangwon, I felt it. The territory we rule expanded too drastically.”
The occupation of Gangwon was something I didn’t experience.
While I was in Gyeonggi Province,
It seemed First Lieutenant Kim felt something while carrying out the occupation of Gangwon.
“The number of surviving humans wasn’t large, but compared to before, it increased too much. And as time passes, the territory we occupy...... and the number of humans active within that territory, will only keep increasing. And, Youngjun.”
“Yes.”
“The military is an armed group...... it is not a political group.”
Only then.
I understood what he was trying to say.
‘We’ve endured this world with force.’
I don’t know what will happen going forward, but—
Thanks to ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) the hellish suffering up to now, the Legion has been able to secure force at a considerable level.
But.
“You mean we could collapse because of factors other than force.”
“That’s right. If there are this many people, internal friction arises, and politics can’t help but arise.”
The number of Legion members isn’t large,
But the number of people who belong to the Legion’s territory is.
Even in Chuncheon alone, an enormous number of survivors have survived and are growing.
“Among them, there are those who grew at the [Guild] level, too. There were also those who were exerting considerable influence in some regions.”
Power to survive against monsters.
Food so you don’t starve.
Clothes and shelter so you don’t freeze to death.
Up until then, it was enough if we simply satisfied the minimum conditions for survival.
But now, it wasn’t.
Back when we made a village near the ammunition battalion,
I wanted to build human society starting from them.
Now that quite a bit of time has passed,
That society has begun to properly form.
‘Politics.’
We—
Were in a situation where we didn’t even know whether we had the capability to lead that society or not.
“Youngjun, I don’t doubt your ability. And it’s not only you. There are many talented people in the Legion. Minjae, Suhyeok, Gwangil...... guys who were ordinary back in our unit days, even if they had a slightly special side, are now all exerting tremendous charisma.”
“.......”
“And you, if you look at it, you’re still just a young man in your early twenties.”
As First Lieutenant Kim said.
I’m only now a kid in my early twenties.
Normally, I should be worrying about whether to return to society after discharge, or go back to college.
“Not only you and the others, but me too. I’m taking the role of the external leader...... but honestly, you know too, don’t you? That the position of First Lieutenant isn’t high at all among officers. I’m just older than you guys, that’s all, and in the old society, I’m just a guy who’d be treated like a fresh beginner.”
Listening to First Lieutenant Kim,
I recalled the attitude he showed in the early days of the collapse.
‘Rather than giving orders himself, he wanted to receive orders from higher units.’
The judgment itself of waiting for orders from higher units might have been right.
But until those orders came down, he showed a stance of not wanting to do anything at all.
It was far too passive to survive the collapse.
“Giving someone like me the role of the external leader of an organization that’s become this huge...... I’m lacking experience far too much.”
Even now, I still think that was an unseemly attitude for a commander, but—
‘If you don’t have confidence, that can happen.’
In the end, that was—
Something that sprang from anxiety that he couldn’t properly run this unit.
Whether it was First Lieutenant Kim, the Legion’s external leader,
Or me, the practical leader,
If it was about battle, maybe.
But we had no experience in running a large organization or politics.
On the other hand—
“If they really are a proper successor government, there’s a high chance they have that capability.”
There is still the gate of whether it’s true or not,
But if they really possess enough ability to call themselves the government,
Their experience in that area would be far greater than ours.
In other words—
“On the assumption that they really are a proper government...... I want you to consider the option of joining them.”
After hearing that, I fell into thought for a moment.
An identity as a soldier, and complicated issues like politics.
First Lieutenant Kim’s words weren’t completely absurd.
“First Lieutenant Kim.”
But—
“I don’t think that’s all.”
“What?”
I felt like there was more behind the reason First Lieutenant Kim made that proposal.
That kind of thought came to me.
