Daejeon and Chungcheongnam-do.
The Awakeners forces from those two regions left their seats as if they had no intention of cooperating right now.
“You should’ve asked their opinions first.”
No matter what.
Just like First Lieutenant Kim said, there were people who had no intention of cooperating.
They ignored that intention and tried to create an atmosphere as if cooperation was the obvious thing.
I understood the intent, but from the other forces’ point of view, it wasn’t something that felt good.
“......Then what do you think?”
The government-side people turned their heads and looked at the other forces.
Aside from us, what remained were Gyeonggi Province and Gyeongsangbuk-do.
“I came here from the start to cooperate with other people. There’s no reason for me to leave.”
Yoo Jeongsuk from Gyeongsangbuk-do looked as if she regretted the ones who had left instead.
She’d said she endured believing the day would come when she could join with other forces, so it was only natural.
“There’s no reason to refuse when it’s about survivors joining forces. But.”
And in Gyeonggi Province’s case—
“Depending on what kind of cooperation it is, I think the story could change a little.”
Jo Beomseok spoke while alternating his gaze between us and the government-side people.
“I only represent Gyeonggi Province’s survivors...... the Association. The Association isn’t my private organization. If that cooperation has to be done in a way where we enter under the government...... then that’s something we’ll have to think about. At the very least, it isn’t something we can decide lightly here.”
He said he would have to think about it, but
it meant joining under some organization was uncomfortable to him.
“.......”
“So that’s how it is.”
For the government-side people who had been treating us like we were already under them,
their brows knit.
When First Lieutenant Kim shrugged his shoulders, the government-side people scowled and said,
“They’re civilians, so that’s possible. But you’re soldiers, aren’t you!”
......That again.
At this rate, it felt like the same argument was going to repeat forever.
I sighed inwardly as I thought.
‘I don’t know why First Lieutenant Kim suddenly pulled that kind of stunt.’
But.
Listening to them, I also started thinking the “enter under them” route wouldn’t be good.
It felt like the cause and effect got flipped, but the behavior First Lieutenant Kim showed had now become the same as my will.
If that was the case—
‘At least I need to stop the situation where we just repeat that same talk.’
Even if First Lieutenant Kim was good with words, they were many.
On the other hand, here it was only First Lieutenant Kim talking.
Even if Gyeonggi Province had a friendly relationship with us, there was no way they would openly take our side in a place like this.
I needed another method.
“So, I’m saying......!”
[Chef: First Lieutenant Kim.]
“......!”
When I sent a private message,
First Lieutenant Kim flinched as he was about to rebut the government-side person.
“So what are you saying!”
[Chef: I will hear the reason for your sudden overreach separately later.]
“Choose your words carefully, First Lieutenant Kim. You swore to devote yourself to the nation’s.......”
[Chef: If you have no intention of betraying the Legion, follow my order.]
I delivered my command to First Lieutenant Kim.
Whether the government-side people kept babbling or not, First Lieutenant Kim silently read my order.
“Why aren’t you answering!”
And then, a moment later.
“Haa...... Let’s end this useless, exhausting talk here.”
“What are you saying!”
“Don’t you think it’s rude from the start.”
First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok cut them off,
and answered with a displeased expression.
“Everyone who came here came as representatives of each region...... yet people who aren’t even representatives are raising their voices.”
“What are you trying to say. Are you talking about bringing the proof you demanded earlier!”
“Let me ask just one thing.”
First Lieutenant Kim ignored even Yoo Jinhwan—the one claiming Presidential Acting Authority—
and looked toward a corner of the meeting room as he spoke.
“Can I take what’s being said here as matching your opinion.”
“......?”
First Lieutenant Kim was speaking while looking somewhere other than the seats where the Seoul-side people were gathered.
Everyone’s eyes turned to where he was looking.
Someone who looked there frowned and muttered.
“That moderator......?”
“.......”
What was there was
a man who, after introducing the government-side people at the start, had stepped back and been quietly listening.
“You mean me?”
“Yeah. You.”
The person in charge of running this meeting, and......
at the same time—
“I’m asking whether what those people are saying matches the representative’s view—yours.”
[Jang Youngwoong]
[Lv.34]
Among those I had seen in Seoul,
he was the one with the highest level.
*****
From what we could see, Seoul’s fighting strength was considerable.
But.
That strength was a slightly different kind from other Awakeners forces.
An enormous number of humans,
and the equipment supplied to them, looked like Seoul’s main power.
But.......
It wasn’t that there were no Awakeners.
And among them—
“If representatives of each region came to talk, you should’ve stepped forward from the start.”
“.......”
That man, who was giving an awkward smile at First Lieutenant Kim’s words,
was an Awakener who had reached an incredible height even by the standards of all other Awakeners.
“H-How......”
As First Lieutenant Kim pinpointed him precisely,
small murmuring voices came out.
“Did someone leak information.......”
“No way. None of us are the type to leak information.”
Flustered faces and voices.
They were whispering among themselves, but
even if it wasn’t me—someone with stats high enough to hear it—it looked strange enough to anyone.
“......Don’t change the subject, First Lieutenant Kim! We were talking about the duty you must fulfill if you’re a soldier!”
“Vice Minister Yoo Jinhwan.”
There was still someone trying to keep talking.
But the one who stopped him wasn’t us—
“Thank you for your efforts. But I think you can stop now.”
It was that man, Jang Youngwoong.
When he said that—
“If you say so...... understood.”
Yoo Jinhwan, who had been acting like the highest person in the room right up until then,
nodded obediently, sighed, and sat back down.
“......What the hell is this?”
“Looks like you have something to explain to us too.”
A young man who had seemed like nothing more than the meeting’s moderator,
and Presidential Acting Authority—
between those two was a clear superior-subordinate relationship that didn’t fit at all.
When Jo Beomseok and Yoo Jeongsuk noticed that and frowned—
“I’m sorry.”
Jang Youngwoong bowed his head toward us as he spoke.
“We were deceiving you. Just as First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok said...... I am the one currently serving as the representative of Seoul’s survivors.”
“......Huh!”
At that,
Jo Beomseok and Yoo Jeongsuk visibly jolted in surprise.
As I looked at their faces, I thought—
‘There was something I wondered from the moment we entered this meeting.’
Before coming here,
when I spoke with Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan, he told us this—
the reason Seoul could remain this intact wasn’t because they were amazing,
but because there was another man.
‘I thought Seoul was unified around that man. From Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan’s tone, that was certain.’
But.
None of the people here showed anything like that.
‘I thought it made no sense for the head of a force this large to have no real Awakener.’
Even Yoo Jinhwan, who claimed Presidential Acting Authority,
made me doubt whether he was truly a leader capable of carrying Seoul through this crisis.
‘It was a ridiculous misunderstanding. The head of a force this large...... can’t not be an Awakener.’
And when I looked over every Awakener here with that doubt in mind,
the one who stood out was that man.
“My name is Jang Youngwoong. Before the collapse...... I was an ordinary civil servant. I did not deceive you out of malice, so I hope you will forgive me.”
The hero of Seoul that Kim Myeonghwan had mentioned.......
The moment I heard the name, a hollow laugh came out.
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan had said there was a hero in Seoul and all that, but—
‘Jang Youngwoong.’
That
was apparently wordplay.
“You didn’t say a single word...... how did you figure out Mr. Hero’s identity.”
“......Did the Legion gather information on us too?”
They looked shocked, thinking we had investigated their information.
“No malice...... I don’t know how I’m supposed to believe that. In the first place, why didn’t you reveal your identity?”
As if he found it unpleasant, First Lieutenant Kim demanded it from the man who had stayed behind pretending to ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ be the moderator.
“I truly did not do it out of malice. It’s just.......”
He answered with an apologetic expression.
“In order to speak with survivors who came from other regions...... I judged that having people with authority step forward would be better for giving trust to our group.”
“.......”
At those words,
both First Lieutenant Kim and I couldn’t help flinching a little.
Because—
‘Ahem. It’s not like that’s not us.’
We, too,
in order to give trust about us when contacting other forces, had been using First Lieutenant Kim as a figurehead.
Just like we put forward the only executive we had—First Lieutenant Kim—
they put forward others too.
“......Know that it was discourteous.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
First Lieutenant Kim seemed embarrassed himself.
He didn’t press further, and let it go.
“Then...... First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok. May I ask you just one question as well?”
“Go ahead.”
“It is true that I deceived you. Your suspicion toward us must have grown heavier. Still...... can I take it that the will to cooperate with us itself remains?”
At that,
First Lieutenant Kim glanced at me, then answered.
“That’s right. If you’re a proper government, there’s no reason we can’t cooperate.”
“Then that’s a relief!”
It was ridiculous that he’d gone wild with abrupt actions and now looked to me for approval, but
regardless of what I thought,
Jang Youngwoong nodded readily.
“Then let’s do this. Today, time has already passed a lot, and the atmosphere seems to have gotten a bit overheated...... so let’s end today’s meeting here.”
“Hm?”
“It’s unfortunate that some people left, but everyone gathered here wants cooperation. I apologize for deceiving you today, but how about we proceed with discussions about cooperation tomorrow.”
He looked at First Lieutenant Kim as he spoke.
“Tomorrow, I will formally serve as the representative and lead the discussion.”
“.......”
“We will also bring evidence that can prove our identities. How about we talk again then.......”
With the atmosphere overheated once,
and the flow of the meeting getting cut when the man’s identity was revealed,
he was proposing that we hold a proper meeting again tomorrow.
“Fine.”
It wasn’t a suggestion that would become a big problem.
First Lieutenant Kim nodded with a dissatisfied face.
And so,
the first meeting with other regions in Seoul came to an end.
*****
After the first meeting ended,
each force returned to the lodging assigned to them.
We, too, were moving toward our assigned lodging when—
“Wait a moment!”
Someone came running toward me.
It was someone familiar to me.
“Miss Iseo?”
“I came because I have something to tell you, Youngjun. You probably won’t have the time to talk long, but just a moment.......”
Han Iseo approached, gripping my shoulder,
and whispered into my ear.
“The suspicion you brought up earlier was definitely valid. Even if it wasn’t the Legion, it was a problem someone from another region should have mentioned at least once and moved past.”
Suspicion—
First Lieutenant Kim’s point about whether those people were truly figures who could claim to be a proper government.
“But...... you know my ability, Youngjun.”
“Yes.”
“By that ability.”
Han Iseo wasn’t a combat type.
Since she didn’t help in combat, on long-distance expeditions she was practically just baggage.
Even back when she was in Gyeonggi Province, she rarely participated in trips that traveled long distances.
“They weren’t lying.”
“.......”
And yet the reason she came here was.......
Because she had the power to grasp people’s true intentions.
‘Han Iseo knows that I’m the head of the Legion.’
She must have seen First Lieutenant Kim grilling them about proof and all that.
So she probably thought First Lieutenant Kim’s suspicion was my suspicion.
It looked like she wanted to give me an answer to that.
When you think about it, I’m the one who’s deceiving them in the end.
Even though we’d now become a relationship belonging to completely different organizations, she was still stepping forward this actively to help.
Honestly, I felt nothing but gratitude.
......But.
“......Yes. I know.”
“Huh?”
“I’m truly grateful you told me.”
Han Iseo made a puzzled expression at my answer, then continued as if it didn’t matter.
“If you already knew, that’s a relief. And...... we decided we’ll take the same position as the Legion side as much as possible.”
“Huh?”
“It doesn’t seem like the Seoul-side people are lying either...... but that’s separate from whether we can trust them. On the other hand, the Legion...... as long as you’re there, Youngjun, we judged it’s something we can trust. Keep that in mind, and if there’s anything you need, tell us. We’ll respond as much as possible.”
“......! Thank you.”
Leaving those words behind, Han Iseo returned to the Gyeonggi Province camp.
We weren’t the only ones who had seen Seoul’s intact state and its fighting strength.
And yet they declared they would support us if it came down to it.
‘It’s something to be grateful for.’
But.......
Phew.
‘If it comes down to it, they’ll stand with the Legion.......’
As I watched her figure grow farther away,
I sighed inwardly, turned back toward the Legion camp, and thought,
‘They can’t even imagine there’s a problem inside that Legion.’
When I turned around,
there was—
“......Youngjun.”
“First Lieutenant Kim. No.......”
The Legion’s external head.
“First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok.”
“.......”
“I’m going to need a proper explanation.”
He
was looking at me with trembling eyes.
