The external Legion Commander role was handled by Lieutenant General Kim.
And most of the internal work was being handled by Minjae hyung.
But even so.
In the end, the real head of this guild was me.
“Don’t make that face. This isn’t even that much.”
“......Yeah, sure.”
There were a few proposals that only I could approve.
I looked at the documents Minjae hyung brought.
The Legion was now a fairly large organization.
And with that, a wide range of opinions and operation proposals kept getting submitted by the unit.
“First one. Kim Jongdu...... the architect guy’s proposal.”
“He wants to build defensive facilities on the border between Seoul and Gyeonggi...... huh.”
“He’s with us now, but he’s from Gyeonggi. Now that he knows there are dangerous monsters inside Seoul, he probably wants to help that side.”
“Hmm. Approved.”
Small things got processed at Minjae hyung’s level.
But the big ones, I had to sign off on.
“Next is a proposal for a landing operation—securing the coastal region and taking a ship to the far south.......”
“We don’t know what monsters might be lurking in the sea. Too dangerous. Put it on hold for now.”
“Next is a proposal to establish a royal guard unit for the Legion Commander.”
“......How many times have I rejected that, and it’s still coming up?”
“If it was the same as before, I’d have ignored it, but they keep adding more content and justification every time. It’s basically at the level of a paper now, and it’s persuasive enough that I can’t just cut it off at my level anymore. Personally, I think it might be worth reading at least once, but......”
“If I read it, I might get persuaded. Rejected again.”
“Yeah, figured. Next.”
That was basically how it went.
When I was staying with the unit, I’d approve things as they came in, so it wasn’t particularly busy.
But when I’d been away and then returned like this, work piled up.
“And this is the last one.”
We kept processing things like usual.
And before I knew it, only one document that needed my approval remained.
And then.
“......Not a bad scenario.”
After reading it carefully.
I nodded.
[Gyeongsangbuk-do Region Recapture and Survivor Rescue Operation]
“Let’s go with this.”
It was the moment the Legion’s next move was decided.
*****
“Then I’ll explain the operation again.”
A massive meeting room built inside vimana.
All squad leaders and team leaders of the [Legion].
Even me, the Legion Commander, and Lieutenant General Kim Hyeon-seok, the external Legion Commander, were all gathered.
“The objective is simple.”
A man standing at the podium began to speak.
“Recapture Gyeongsangbuk-do, and rescue every survivor scattered across the region, fighting to stay alive!”
And.
The person speaking was someone quite familiar.
Originally, they’d been active in Gyeonggi rather than Gangwon.
But recently, they woke up, accepted our scouting offer, and joined.
[Jo Jun]
[Intermediate Strategist]
The one currently serving as our tactical officer.
They were starting to draft our first operation.
“Among those, our priority is the latter. Our goal for this expedition will be to recapture Gyeongsangbuk-do while placing the highest priority on securing the survivors’ safety.”
After that.
The explanation continued.
Routes for sending forces all the way to Gyeongsangbuk-do.
Key points we had to seize in advance to secure supply lines.
Which forces would occupy where, and how they would advance while cooperating organically.
“Normally, an offensive campaign that sends troops this far would never be easy.”
Sending forces over a long distance was, in fact, not easy.
Back in Gyeonggi, we could lift [vimana], but not now.
“Fortunately, our situation is good.”
But.
Even if we couldn’t operate [vimana]—
Our Gyeongsangbuk-do recapture operation wouldn’t be that difficult.
Because.
“Survivors who have continued fighting to live in Gyeongsangbuk-do have promised to cooperate with us. We sincerely thank you for your cooperation.”
“Thanking us for what, we should be the ones thanking you.......”
The soldiers’ gazes gathered in one spot.
There stood an elderly-looking old woman and the awakened people who followed her.
“The most important thing we must consider while recapturing Gyeongsangbuk-do is cooperation with these survivors.”
We lacked information.
But the survivors inside Gyeongsangbuk-do would have grasped the dangers of each area through long years of survival struggle.
If we could get their cooperation, recapturing the region might take time, but it seemed it could be completed without major risk.
“Honestly...... I never imagined you’d help us as if it were only natural.”
Then.
Yoo Jeongsuk, who had been listening to the briefing, covered her face and spoke.
“We gave up on strengthening ourselves. Our argument was that living longer was more important than dying while trying to grow stronger...... but I’ll be honest. We were simply...... afraid to fight ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ to gain strength.”
“......Guild Leader.”
“Many people fell while trying to become stronger. But the truth is, we knew they were probably right. Surviving until the wall opened, and then asking for help from beyond it...... it wasn’t a strategy based on our own strength, it was a strategy that leaned on luck. Even if we endured by luck until the wall opened, there was no guarantee others would help us.......”
In Seoul, at the meeting, she’d looked quite proud of her choice.
But now, she didn’t.
The reason was probably—
“Seeing Seoul collapsed that horribly...... I realized it was a ridiculous idea.”
Because they’d seen the region they meant to ask for help fall apart.
“Honestly, even when those ‘government’ people contacted us, I thought we’d have to give up a lot in exchange for being rescued. But you...... you don’t even ask for that.”
As she spoke with puzzled eyes.
Lieutenant General Kim shrugged like it was obvious.
“We’re only fulfilling our duty.”
“......I see. Thank you.”
Well, of course, it wasn’t only duty.
The more human survivors there were, the more manpower we’d have to resist this apocalypse.
So we needed to save as many people as possible, and—
‘There probably isn’t even going to be some huge price, anyway.’
Better for the Legion to grant a favor.
And leave the survivors with a debt.
To respond to the threat in the “north,” we’d need as many survivors cooperating as possible.
Making them owe us, to draw out that cooperation.
Anyway, like that.
The Legion’s main focus right now—
Was on recapturing Gyeongsangbuk-do.
‘According to those survivors, there are actually quite a lot of survivors in Gyeongsangbuk-do.’
They said it was because a few awakened people, centered around Yoo Jeongsuk, had led the atmosphere.
That fighting to get stronger wouldn’t let you overcome this apocalypse anyway.
So they should survive as safely as possible, conserve supplies, and endure until the wall opened.
They succeeded, by luck, in enduring.
But of course, there were drawbacks.
‘They focused only on survival, so they didn’t really grow.’
If we hadn’t opened the wall this fast, they would’ve been wiped out soon.
And even now, right after opening it, it was the same.
If our rescue was delayed even a little—
No one knew how many more would disappear.
“Then we’ll begin preparing the expeditionary force immediately.”
“We’ll return to Gyeonggi as well and prepare our forces.”
A major operation carried out by awakened people cooperating across three regions.
Gangwon, Gyeonggi, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
It would consume a lot of supplies and manpower, and take a lot of time.
But.
I didn’t think we would fail.
“Then.”
And.......
Since it didn’t feel like something we’d fail at.
“Good work, everyone.”
“Huh?”
I.
Was planning to do my own thing instead.
*****
“You’re saying you won’t participate in the Gyeongsangbuk-do expedition?”
When I said that.
Corporal Gwangil and Corporal Seo Suhyeok widened their eyes and asked.
“Why?”
“Did you sense some ominous sign in Gyeongsangbuk-do.......”
“No, no. Nothing like that.”
It was the opposite.
If my guess was right, the expedition wouldn’t be that difficult.
And.
“Me. In this kind of war, even if I join, I’m not exactly useful, am I?”
“Kuh...... no, I wouldn’t put it like that.”
“Right. ‘Not useful’ is a bit much...... more like you’re a little less useful......?”
“.......”
Sergeant Lee Minjae and Team Leader Lee Sanga tried to dress it up a bit.
But honestly, I didn’t have much to do in that expedition.
“If we were overwhelmingly outmatched, maybe I could help by finding a way out through my cooking.”
But now, we had enemy information through the survivors in Gyeongsangbuk-do.
And with awakened people from three regions cooperating, the troop scale was large.
In that situation, what I could do was...... hmm.
“Maybe supply [Combat Rations]?”
Even that was more efficient to do at vimana’s cafeteria.
To be honest.
I’d already realized it during the war to take Gangwon.
‘The Legion is already insanely strong.’
Even if I wasn’t there.
The Legion would be able to carry out the operation smoothly.
‘Taeyjun said he rebuilt his strength, too, so he can pass that information to Lieutenant General Kim. The only issue is that it takes time....... But it’s an expedition they can pull off.’
If something went wrong later, I’d run over then.
But I didn’t need to focus on that field.
“Then, Sergeant, are you staying in vimana?”
“No. Not that.”
Of course.
It wasn’t that I was skipping the expedition because I wanted to hole up somewhere like an old-timer sergeant.
“When the unit is busy with something else, there’s something I want to resolve first and get it out of the way.”
“Something you want to resolve?”
At the team leaders’ questions.
I shrugged, slipped a hand into my chest area, and pulled out a piece of paper.
“What is that?”
“A paper with a rumor written on it.”
“A rumor......?”
*****
My room prepared inside vimana.
Inside it, a large birdcage had been set up.
And inside the cage, a fairly big blue bird had settled in.
‘Jang Youngwoong said it would disappear quickly once he died, but.’
Honestly, I thought it would, too.
A lifeform born from a skill.
If the one who used the skill died, it disappearing was the natural conclusion.
But......
‘That thing looked like a lifeform made of mana.’
If that was the case—
Even if the caster died......
‘If I feed it cooking...... maybe it’ll last a little longer.’
So I made food packed with mana and fed it.
And.
This was the result.
-COO COO!
“Yeah, yeah.”
The bird lying inside the cage right now.
That was it.
‘Between Kkamangi and this...... why does it feel like I’m collecting animals.’
Anyway.
The fact I could keep this blue bird alive for longer mattered.
A summoned creature with the ability to bring back rumors.
Since they were rumors, there was a high chance of falsehood mixed in.
But the utility was still significant, because—
I could request a ‘specific rumor.’
‘Fetching information took a lot of mana. I can’t make it do it often...... but it’s definitely useful.’
With Sergeant Park Taejun’s information-gathering weaker now.
It meant I gained one more usable method of gathering information.
And.
Standing in front of the cage.
Rustle.
I unfolded the paper the bird brought.
‘At first, I agonized over what rumor to make it fetch.’
It was an action with high mana consumption.
I had to give commands carefully.
A rumor that could reveal the root of the malice crushing this world.
Or a rumor that could reveal the identity of the system, which seemed like it could become strength in approaching that root.
Or even a rumor about an existence that could become a threat to us right now......
There were plenty of options.
But in the end, the command I gave was this.
-I want to know about an existence specialized in healing the body.
In the process of resolving what happened in Gyeonggi.
My body ended up wrecked.
I hid it because of the soldiers’ morale, but—
It was serious enough that even a few team-leader-level soldiers had noticed.
‘In my current state, even if I want to do something, I can’t.’
I’m basically a cook, but before that, I’m a mess sergeant.
Being both a cook and a soldier.
Now that my ability as a soldier was gone, restrictions piled up.
I felt it clearly in Seoul.
And on top of that.
{For now, do something about that body condition first.}
Mirinae said that, too.
So there was only one answer.
-I need a way to resolve this problem... or even if I can’t resolve it, at least alleviate it.
With that thought, I sent the bird out.
And the rumor it brought back was this.
And then.
“Ha.”
After reading what was written on the note.
I couldn’t help letting out a hollow laugh.
-Even if it’s not anyone else.......
A line someone said to me in Seoul not long ago surfaced in my mind.
-You’ll come looking for me on your own.
At the time.
I wondered what kind of basis they had for saying that.
Now I finally understood.
“I thought I’d finally gotten out, and now I have to crawl back in.”
Because.
[Seoul, Gangnam]
[A rumor says that a bizarre monster called the ‘Death Surgeon’ possesses the greatest medical skill, able to revive even someone as good as a corpse.]
If this rumor was true.
That thing was—
“A doctor.”
And sure.
It was a profession that made it obvious I had to go find them.
