The sense of wrongness I’d felt from the moment I arrived in Seoul.
The problem was—
‘There was no way to figure out what that wrongness actually was.’
While I was agonizing over how to uncover it.
The one who approached me was First Lieutenant Kim.
-Youngjun. I checked the change in me like you said last time... and there was a trait like this.
The trait he showed me back then was this.
[Meeting Expectations]
[Even if it’s a fake that’s only dressed up to look flashy on the outside.]
[If it succeeded in reaching a higher realm, that fake can be worth more than the real thing.]
[You, who have thoroughly deceived outsiders and dressed yourself up as a strong man!]
[Now it’s time for that swagger and decoration to become reality.]
[By consuming a large amount of mana, you can exert the same ability as how outsiders evaluate you.]
[Usage Limit - Once per day]
The effect of this skill was simple.
First Lieutenant Kim was known to the outside as the Legion’s commander, but his actual ability wasn’t on that level.
This skill.
Pulled his ability up.
To exactly the level outsiders believed he had.
‘In a way, it could be a pretty ambiguous ability.’
For a skill like that to mean anything, your external reputation had to be higher than your real ability in the first place.
And if you were being cold about it, it was simply better to just be competent.
No matter how amazing the ability it gave you.
That spec only lasted temporarily.
[External Evaluation]
[Ruler of the Steel Legion]
[King of the North]
[Iron-Blooded Commander]
But....
In First Lieutenant Kim’s case, it was a little different.
[He is the leader of the Steel Legion, a group that succeeded in occupying a region in the shortest time. While it is said all military units have been annihilated, he is the commander of the military unit that survived and overcame an invasion that “should have” ended in annihilation. Those who know of the Legion evaluate him as a powerful ruler.]
[He is the ruler who achieved 100% occupation of Gangwon, a region where the largest military force in the Republic of Korea had been concentrated over a wide area. He is evaluated as the owner of immense military power.]
[During the occupation of Gangwon, he displayed a conquest speed so fast it was difficult to accept. Through near-perfect command as though he knew all information about the enemy, he is evaluated as a commander with insight close to prophecy.]
......
......
The endless stream.
Of how outsiders saw First Lieutenant Kim.
‘First Lieutenant Kim was nothing more than a puppet figurehead.’
But either way.
Outsiders saw First Lieutenant Kim as the head of the Legion.
Maybe not in every other region of the country.
But at least to the people of Gangwon and Gyeonggi, the Legion’s standing was enormous.
And thanks to that radio, the reputation had spread across the entire Republic of Korea.
Meaning he was the Legion’s leader and absolute ruler.
[Overall Evaluation]
[An unprecedented genius commander equipped with prophetic insight, overwhelming strategic and tactical ability that fights 100 with the power of 1, and overwhelming charisma to lead a massive organization in a world where law has vanished.]
That was.
How outsiders viewed First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok.
-...Youngjun.
And then.
When he used that skill, First Lieutenant Kim said—
-I need a little more information. If I can fill in just that one piece....
-Fill it in?
-I think I can figure out what that wrongness we’re feeling really is.
After that.
Me and the unit members gathered every scrap of information we could give him.
That skill could only be used once a day.
And even then, it consumed a huge amount of mana.
So I stalled for time as much as possible, collected information, and passed it to him.
So that after I delivered everything I could.
He could use the skill.
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
“What...?”
If he became the [head of the Legion] people believed in.
Then even with this small amount of information, I believed he could get close to the essence.
*****
“...Not the first time?”
“What are you talking about... are you two acquaintances or something?”
The Seoul-side people only tilted their heads, not understanding what he meant.
But the person who mattered—
“Ho...w....”
The man himself.
Jang Youngwoong’s face was filled with nothing but shock.
“You underestimated us.”
“.......”
“No, calling you ‘you’ might be rude. You’re someone who rules as many as a million people.”
At those words.
Even the Seoul-side people’s expressions stiffened.
Whether they did or not.
“Well, doesn’t look like you plan to answer. Then I’ll just keep talking.”
First Lieutenant Kim kept speaking.
But in that moment—
TAP TAP.
‘...?’
First Lieutenant Kim.
Kept tapping the ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ table with the pen in his hand while continuing his speech.
When I looked over.
[Sergeant Shin Youngjun, if you’re watching, lightly tap my shoulder.]
I could see he was writing words there.
Since he was speaking out loud, nobody seemed to pay attention to what he was writing.
But I read it and lightly tapped First Lieutenant Kim’s shoulder.
[The information you collected was useful. Thanks to that, I roughly have a sense of what that wrongness is. The problem is....]
He said, frowning slightly.
[If what I sensed is true, then even if we learn the truth, we’re not in an advantageous situation.]
At that.
I frowned and answered through a guild message.
[Chef : What do you mean?]
[No time to explain. So.... Execute Plan D as fast as possible.]
Only then did I realize it.
“So then, which number is it for me? How many times have we met?”
“...You really know?”
What First Lieutenant Kim was saying right now.
Wasn’t to fluster the other side, or anything like that.
[I'll stall for as long as I can, so hurry.]
It was, purely.
To buy time.
“Oh, and one more thing. That space underground—there’s a spot about the size of one person lying down. Why was someone lying there?”
“How did you get that far...!”
The moment I caught what was happening, I moved as fast as I could.
And recalled the Plan D he mentioned.
‘Calling it Plan D is a bit dramatic.... It was just one of the operations he told us about yesterday.’
Yesterday, before we entered Yeouido.
First Lieutenant Kim had already used that ability once.
And he’d asked us to gather information.
“At no point before this did First Lieutenant Kim ever notice anything... how the hell!”
“Is that so? The me you saw must’ve been a bit slow. Looks like I’m the only one who noticed in a single day.”
And then.
He’d told me a few operations.
And....
‘Plan D was the most incomprehensible one.’
To carry it out.
I shoved my hand into the hardtack pouch at my waist.
“Yeah, that’s right. First Lieutenant Kim always opposed cooperation at the second meeting....”
While I was urgently carrying out the plan.
Jang Youngwoong muttered as though he’d realized something.
“If you give First Lieutenant Kim more than two days to think, he approaches the essence no matter what...? Even though I hid information as much as possible... in just two days?”
“Well, sometimes you get cases like this where it happens in one day.”
“Hah, haha... this is ridiculous. So you’re the genius I’ve only heard about.”
He looked genuinely rattled.
Pale-faced, wiping his own face, he spoke.
“So? Why reveal it to me?”
“Hmm.”
“If you noticed, it would’ve been better to pretend you didn’t. Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
First Lieutenant Kim drank a bottle of water.
Then replied like it was nothing.
“No matter how hard I try, all that effort will soon become something that never happened.”
“...I see.”
“You’ve had it rough too. So?”
He looked at Jang Youngwoong.
Then smirked.
“I don’t know which number I am, but how many times can you do this? It can’t be infinite.”
“...You noticed even that.”
The two of them carried on, ignoring the puzzled looks around them.
And listening, I thought—
It sounded like they were talking.
Assuming they’d ‘meet for the first time’ again.
“I don’t know how many chances I’ve got left, but do you think you can trick me in that time? I’m curious.”
“Shut up. No matter how much of a genius you are... I’ll succeed someday.”
“Heh. Confident. Sounds like you still have quite a few chances left.”
First Lieutenant Kim and Jang Youngwoong.
The two of them, for lack of a better phrase—
“Of course I can be confident. I’m still making progress one step at a time.”
“Yeah? What did you gain this time?”
Jang Youngwoong said that, then.
Reached into his jacket and pulled something out.
“Up to now, First Lieutenant Kim has never realized anything in a single day. I don’t know what behavior of mine started the snowball... but there’s only one difference between then and now.”
He looked at the seat next to First Lieutenant Kim.
The chair that was empty right now.
“Sergeant Shin Youngjun isn’t here.”
“...Ah. Our Youngjun?”
The moment my name came out.
I felt a chill crawl up my spine.
‘I never told that man my name.’
Only then.
I, too, could vaguely sense what First Lieutenant Kim had realized.
But.
‘If an ability like that truly exists... how do you beat it?’
If it was the ability my mind was already jumping to.
There was no way we could deal with something like that.
‘Ah. So that’s it.’
In fact, the only method I could come up with....
Was just one.
‘Plan D... was made with this in mind.’
The orders First Lieutenant Kim gave me “just in case” totaled four.
And among them, Plan D had the lowest probability and assumed the worst-case scenario.
‘And it was an order given only to me, regardless of the other soldiers.’
Why it was only given to me... was simple.
Because of my job.
‘Cooking.’
Having one dish.
Prepared in advance.
*****
“First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok... you really are a genius rare enough to be one of a kind in history.”
“You’re praising me so much it’s embarrassing.”
“But no matter how unprecedented a genius you are, you can’t reach the essence with zero clues. That’s why you refused cooperation on day two. Which means... someone must have been collecting and providing those clues.”
What came out of his jacket was a pistol.
He pointed that pistol at himself as he spoke.
“Sergeant Shin Youngjun. With that ability, you could have gathered information without us noticing.”
“...Huh?”
“Good thing I realized it now. If it got any later, it really would’ve been irreversible.”
At that.
First Lieutenant Kim replied with an incredulous laugh.
“I’ll tell you right now. You’ve got it completely wrong.”
“Haha. You’d say that. But my mind’s made up. I wanted to absorb the Legion’s strength as intact as possible, but....”
He shoved the pistol into his mouth.
And said as he pulled the trigger—
“Next time, I’ll start by removing that bastard first.”
BANG!
THUD.
The man who’d been talking perfectly fine a moment ago.
Jang Youngwoong’s body collapsed to the floor.
“...No, no no no no no!!!”
“Mr. Youngwoong!”
As the Seoul-side people panicked and ran toward the corpse—
“...First Lieutenant Kim!”
I threw away even the thought that I was supposed to stay hidden.
Grabbed First Lieutenant Kim by the shoulder and shouted.
“Give an order!”
An order telling him to give an order.
If other people heard it, they’d have no idea what it meant—an absurd thing to say.
But I was sure.
[Meeting Expectations]
If the current him.
Had gained the ability worthy of the ‘ruler of the Legion’ the world believed in—
“SERGEANT SHIN YOUNGJUUUUUN!!!”
Then there was no way he hadn’t reached.
The point I—the true ruler of the Legion—had in mind.
“THIS IS AN ORDER!!!”
“...Yes!”
First Lieutenant Kim’s relaxed posture from a moment ago was gone.
He stared at me with a deadly serious expression and shouted.
“Never forget everything that happened in Seoul!”
“Loyalty...!”
...And with that as the last thing.
CRACKLE....
The world collapsed.
And I was thrown into a black space where nothing existed.
*****
A pitch-black space where nothing existed.
In that void, I blankly raised my eyes to the sky.
[The divine power you possess senses external existences.]
And then.
High in that sky, a gigantic star looking down at us.
I realized my eyes had met that thing’s gaze.
“What....”
And.
Staring at that star that was glaring at me, I said—
“What are you looking at.”
Just like that.
The world rewound once.
******
I kicked off the ground lightly and vaulted over the ditch.
And then, the moment I crossed from Gangwon into Seoul—
“...Guh—hkk...!”
“Sergeant Shin!?”
I.
Rolled on the ground, consumed by excruciating pain.
“Sergeant Shin!!!”
“The Legion Commander’s condition is strange! Get a medic!”
The moment I thought I’d crossed from Gangwon into Seoul.
A brutal, inexplicable pain suddenly slammed down over my mind.
“There’s nothing physically wrong! I don’t know! I don’t know why he’s in this much pain...!”
“You bastard... is ‘I don’t know’ supposed to solve anything right now?”
“I-It looks severe, so we should at least knock him out—!”
I could feel soldiers surrounding me.
But—
“Shu...t... up....”
“...Yes?”
“There’s something... I have to do. So....”
“B-But still!”
Hearing their voices.
I answered through a fading mind.
“Shut up and... step back....”
“...!”
At my words.
The soldiers backed away, sweating cold.
‘...Status window.’
Inside that pain.
Clenching my teeth, I opened my status window.
[Applied Cooking Effect - (1)]
And.
I stared at the text written there.
[Hero-Grade Chef’s Hearty Set Meal Lunchbox of Deep Loyalty]
My head felt like it was splitting open from the headache.
My body couldn’t function because the pain in my brain had me rolling on the ground, drooling uncontrollably.
But—
[Upon consumption, you will possess absolute loyalty to the commander’s orders.]
[When a commander’s order is issued, the effect of that order is applied with extreme intensity.]
Even so.
What I had to do was obvious.
-Never forget everything that happened in Seoul!
A shout lingering faintly in my mind.
“An order....”
Everything that happened in this Seoul.
All the things I’d already forgotten.
“I... have to follow it....”
I have to remember.
