“If we’re going to combine our strength, then...... isn’t it important who becomes the center of gravity?”
“What exactly do you mean by that? May I ask in detail?”
I looked at the face of the person claiming to be on the government side.
His name was definitely Yoo Jinhwan, or something.
And if what they explained earlier was accurate, then he was—
‘From whatever ministry, a vice minister...... that’s what they said.’
Someone so high up
I’d thought I’d never see their face in my life.
“Hm. First Lieutenant Kim, you looked like a smart man, so I didn’t think you’d fail to understand this.”
Yoo Jinhwan seemed to have the kind of pride that fit his lofty position.
With a self-satisfied expression, he looked down at us and spoke.
“As you say, First Lieutenant Kim, if powerful threats exist in other countries as well, then we should respond together at a national level. But it’s been over a year since we were scattered apart. Even if the factions spread across the land suddenly decide to cooperate, it won’t be easy to cooperate properly.”
“That’s true.”
“So we need someone to serve as the center of gravity. And that role—”
He curled his lips into a grin.
Then, pointing at himself, he said.
“I think I can handle it.”
When First Lieutenant Kim looked at him with a puzzled expression,
Yoo Jinhwan shrugged and said.
“First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok, do you know how presidential acting authority works?”
“I know it to some extent.”
I didn’t remember it perfectly either, but—
If the President, the leader of the Republic of Korea, became unable to exercise their authority for some reason,
I knew that other high-ranking people were supposed to act in that place.
‘Wasn’t number one the Prime Minister?’
After that, I think there was a whole line of ministers from various ministries......
“Unfortunately, our country is going through an unprecedented situation we’ve never experienced before. Not only the President, but even the Prime Minister...... and the ministers of every ministry. Not a single one survived.”
At those words,
I and my unit members couldn’t help widening our eyes.
‘They all died?’
Unlike other regions, Seoul had an unbelievable number of surviving humans.
And yet those high-ranking people were wiped out?
“In this national crisis, not a single person in a position that could serve as a center of gravity survived. Even ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) though as much as 10% of Seoul’s citizens survived, among them, not one......”
It wasn’t just us who found that strange.
A peculiar shadow crossed his face.
“It was enough to make you feel some kind of malice, as if something wanted no proper leader to appear.......”
“.......”
“Ahem! Well, enough dark talk.”
He quickly waved his head side to side and continued.
“Anyway. Even in this crisis, we succeeded in keeping the government system alive somehow. The dead are dead, and the living have to live. So what matters now is who acts with the President’s authority in the current government.”
“Yes.”
“In fact, that would be me.”
“......Pardon?”
Everyone eligible to act with the President’s authority had died.
But they were people high enough to be acting authority in the first place.
So there was acting authority for their acting authority.
“The minister of my ministry passed away, but as the vice minister, I’m designated to act in the minister’s place if the minister becomes unable to exercise their authority for some reason.”
Presidential acting authority was held by ministers.
And now that there was no minister, the vice minister acted with that minister’s authority.
Which meant—
“Right now, the President’s authority of the Republic of Korea rests with me. In the current situation, the head of state of the Republic of Korea is me.”
“.......”
I glanced aside at the people from other regions.
“......Hmph.”
“This is ridiculous.”
Not just us.
The other regional survivors also looked at him with expressions that said he was talking nonsense.
“Well, I know it might look a bit forced! But what can I do? That’s the reality.”
Sensing those looks, he waved his hands and said.
“Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not some power-crazed man. If the world returns to normal, we’ll choose a representative again through a proper election. I only took this position because we needed a command head to respond to this state of emergency.”
“.......”
“First Lieutenant Kim. When you said the survivors of the Republic of Korea must cooperate, I was very glad to hear it. Because it meant we weren’t the only ones who thought that way. But...... we have to think a little realistically, too.”
He stroked his chin as he spoke.
“It’s been over a year since that Wall of Fire appeared and each region became isolated. You as well, the survivors of the other factions gathered here, and those who didn’t come here...... each region must have formed its own power. Do you really think it’s easy for them to cooperate?”
It wasn’t an easy era.
Even among humans, trust was hard now, and it was difficult to blindly trust factions from other regions.
“It’s hard for them to trust each other, and even if they somehow build a cooperative relationship, there will be many problems. Most important of all is the chain of command. Fundamentally, everyone will think they’re equals, so receiving orders from another faction hurts pride, and giving orders is difficult as well. But.”
Grin.
“If there’s legitimacy, the story changes a little.”
Legitimacy.
I could roughly guess what he was going to say.
“Coordination between regions that are equal won’t be easy. You might even see a great struggle of force to establish rank. But......”
There was no superiority between regions.
But if you insisted there was one—
There was exactly one thing.
“The capital of the Republic of Korea is Seoul. And the head of state is the President.”
“.......”
“The others might find it uncomfortable if it’s just orders from another equal faction, but if there’s the legitimacy of ‘the President’s orders,’ then they can accept it somehow and cooperate, isn’t that right?”
Of course.
That was only true if Seoul held that kind of strength.
No matter how great a dynasty was, without power it would inevitably be torn to pieces by warlords.
But.
I recalled the military power I’d seen in Seoul before coming here.
‘It’s not lacking.’
They had few awakeners.
But the number of survivors and their level of armament was outstanding.
Awakeners are certainly strong, but it takes quite a while before they become stronger than a soldier holding a gun.
You had to view them as a force that possessed hundreds of thousands of low-level awakeners.
And if you even consider that they could gradually awaken over time, their potential was beyond imagination.
“Isn’t it only natural that the role of unifying those who survived in this land...... should be taken by the government?”
*****
The enemies lurking in the north.
To prepare for them, we had to rally the survivors who remained alive.
And they were claiming
that the one best suited to carry that out was—
“The government.”
Before the collapse.
They claimed that they, who called themselves the ruling power of the Republic of Korea, were the ones who should do it.
Watching them, I thought.
‘There has to be a reason they’re going out of their way to say that.’
And.
Just as I thought—
“Unifying the survivors of this land will be fastest if we center on Seoul. So.......”
Yoo Jinhwan looked at First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok and spoke.
“First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok. Your unit needs to cooperate with that.”
......So that’s how it comes out.
They might be calling themselves the government.
But the faction with the greatest influence in this land was probably—
‘Us.’
Not because our power was stronger than Seoul’s.
Not for that kind of reason.
‘The radio we sent.’
Through that radio,
we had already made our presence known to the survivors of this land.
So if we entered under the government, it was obvious it would make the government’s survivor unification much easier.
And.......
Hearing that, I honestly
couldn’t help falling into deep thought.
‘What they’re saying isn’t wrong, either.’
Unlike what I’d assumed before coming here, they were, at the very least, a faction with a fairly proper system.
And they also had the backbone to call themselves the government.
At least in terms of legitimacy.
It was true that Seoul had more representative weight than us, who came from far-off Gangwon with a small number of survivors.
If we cooperated with them, it would become somewhat easier to rally survivors from other regions.
The problem was—
‘That means the Legion goes under them.’
That was the problem.
Was it okay for the Legion to go under another faction?
It was a group we had raised through hell in Gangwon.
The attachment I had to the Legion was beyond imagination.
For that Legion to join under someone else.
Could I really make that decision?
‘Honestly, I don’t like it.’
The aversion was unavoidable.
But at the same time,
maybe that aversion was nothing more than my useless pride.
‘If breaking that pride and cooperating under them...... is more advantageous to our survival?’
I didn’t know for sure.
But they were people who had survived this intact all the way from the collapse to now.
‘Joining them might also help our survival more.’
If so, bending my pride might be
what benefits me,
and the Legion, and the Legion members.
‘What should I do.......’
And.
While I was agonizing over that—
“To be honest, we assumed the other soldiers would have been wiped out, of course.”
“We can’t tell you how fortunate it is for us that you survived. As long as your unit is with us, our plan will proceed smoothly.”
The government-side figures continued speaking.
Yoo Jinhwan also looked at First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok and said.
“Ah, of course we have no intention of ignoring the merits you achieved. A unit that survived in Gangwon and preserved its forces to this extent. We’ve already thought about what would be best.”
“What do you mean?”
“The post of commander of the 12th Corps is vacant right now. Since it’s an emergency, I’ll use the presidential authority I have to raise your position.”
With a grin, he looked at First Lieutenant Kim’s face and said.
“Commander of the 12th Corps...... Lieutenant General Kim Hyeon-seok!”
“.......”
“From First Lieutenant to Lieutenant General. It’s an unprecedented promotion, but considering your merits, this is the least we can do. Not bad, right?”
But then.
I felt a strange sense of dissonance in Yoo Jinhwan’s words.
‘Raise your position.’
That sense of dissonance I felt there.
As I was trying to grasp what it was—
“You all.”
Someone opened their mouth.
“......You’re speaking as if the Legion is already a subordinate force under the government.”
Only then, hearing those words,
I realized what that dissonance was.
Without even considering our acceptance or refusal,
they were already speaking
as if we had already gone under them.
As if we were already their subordinates.
‘......Wait?’
And.
I widened my eyes and looked at the person who said it.
“First Lieutenant Kim?”
“What do you mean by that?”
I’d been agonizing over what they said.
I’d been thinking about whether entering under them was right or not.
“It’s simple. Whether the Legion joins under the government or not......”
But.
While I was agonizing like that—
“That’s not something you decide. I think it’s something I decide.”
“......What!”
First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok spoke first.
