Chapter 112
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: The Mayor and the Swordmaster Alumni Association
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"You're the only one who understands us, Mr. Mayor!"
"You're so young and decisive in getting things done!"
"True to your reputation! You're nothing like those other doddering politicians!"
Look at those pure, beaming smiles lighting up their wrinkled faces.
Where had those ferocious beasts gone, the ones roaring like they were about to tear the complaints office apart? Now they were meek as lambs, clutching my hand.
Squeeze—!
"Ugh…!"
Why do old folks have such a iron grip?!
"Oh, come on. I'm just doing my job."
I finally wrenched my hand free and hid it behind my back.
Throb, throb.
Every joint in my delicate office-worker fingers screamed in agony.
They'd definitely be black and blue by morning. I'd have to slather on some Special Task Force ointment before bed tonight.
"Please head home and get some rest. I promise—I'll make sure to bring you good news soon."
"Heh heh, we trust you, Mr. Mayor."
"We'll be waiting!"
Promise—for sure—definitely.
The triple axel favored by con artists.
Statistically, 99.7% of people who string those three words together are liars.
The remaining 0.3%? Just folks with a limited vocabulary.
The elders didn't catch on to my three-word combo at all. They left the mayor's office with satisfied looks on their faces.
Slam.
The moment the door shut.
"Heh heh heh… Kuhahaha!"
The kindly mayor mask on my face shattered into pieces.
You naive old fools! Falling for it so easily!
Did you see that? How one sweet word from me melted all their defenses and left them disarmed.
That I understand them?
Not a chance!
I'm just using them!
Perfect. The first button on the Brutus Project is sewn on tight.
Now they'll serve as the hilt of the sword I wield.
The blade of betrayal aimed straight at the youth.
Of course, actually swinging the policy hammer isn't my job.
Tedious, brain-racking work like that belongs to the experts who are paid for it.
Whoosh.
I flung open the door to the chief secretary's office with gusto.
"Seria! I just had an amazing policy idea!"
A cold silence greeted me.
Flip, flip—
Seria didn't spare me a glance, mechanically turning pages in her documents.
"Mr. Mayor. What fresh idiocy are you scheming this time?"
As expected. That chilling tone, like she'd been waiting for my entrance.
But I no longer bent to such petty frost.
I ignored it and plopped down in the chair in front of her desk.
"It's not like that! This one's legit good! Welfare policies for the vulnerable!"
"Do you know that every 'good deed' you've pushed has blown massive holes in the city budget and forced the secretary's office into three straight days of all-nighters?"
"Forget the past! Look to the future! Just hear me out first! You can judge after!"
Forget the past! Politicians' number one favorite sentence! The magic spell to bury mistakes!
Seria paused her work and finally looked up at me.
"You know the Swordmaster Alumni Association elders, right?"
"Anyone who's a Neo Incheon civil servant knows them. They're like resident ghosts haunting the city hall complaints desk."
"Watch your mouth! Who do you think they are?!"
I shot to my feet, slammed both hands on her desk, and leaned in.
Time for the performance!
"They're living history itself! In the '60s, they went as dispatched miners to Germany, smashing kobolds in underground dungeons to earn dollars!"
Emotion built in my voice.
"In the '70s, they were great veterans spilling blood in Vietnam's jungles against Viet Cong villains! In the '80s, they battled massive sandworms in the scorching Middle Eastern deserts while paving highways! They're the vanguard of Korea's industrialization!"
Thud.
I timidly tapped the desk.
Because it was Seria's desk.
A few perfectly aligned documents shifted slightly.
"……."
Seria's gaze flicked to the misaligned papers.
Oh no.
I could feel the killing intent.
I stealthily straightened them back.
Reading the room, I restarted.
"What do we owe heroes like that? Total support! Lavish rewards! That's the nation's duty, isn't it? Push it now! Create special allowances for elderly heroes! Cover all medical costs! Triple—no, quadruple the honorary hero pensions!"
Huff, huff.
My breath came ragged. Had I ever poured my soul into a speech like this before?
Come to think of it, yeah, a lot. Ever since becoming Lee Garam, it was speeches nonstop.
But Seria's expression didn't budge an inch.
Ice age. Tundra. Tsundere.
"Are you done?"
"Uh… yeah. Done."
"I heard your eloquence, Mr. Mayor. An emotional overkill speech that wouldn't even pass elementary school play level, but your effort is commendable. Where's the money coming from?"
The answer I'd expected.
"Money? We'll make money! Cut from other budgets if we have to!"
"Which budgets?"
Her finger scrolled the tablet.
"Insim Party project funds?"
"No way! Sugar Girl will cry! She'll go full menhera mode!"
"Catopia snack operations budget?"
"Can't do that! Nero will unleash her Nyan Punch!"
"K-Ninja cultural support program?"
"The Kurokumo Clan will betray us!"
"Then where?"
"W-Well…"
Silence.
I didn't know either.
Where the money would come from.
"And there's a more important fact."
Her turquoise eyes locked onto mine.
"Those folks are doing just fine on their own. You don't need to worry about them."
"…What?"
What did she just say?
I could hear the foundational premise of my plan crumbling.
"Let me show you the data."
A file popped up on the monitor in front of me.
[Swordmaster Alumni Association Full Member List.xlsx]
The association's roster. And next to it, tiny asset summaries.
"Swordmaster Alumni Association President, Bankruptcy Blade Shim Mu-gang. Owns three commercial buildings on Guwol-dong Rodeo Street. Monthly rental income alone nets over 30 million won after taxes."
"……."
"Vice President Ironless Sword Ghost Na Gi-tae. Runs the largest swordsmanship dojo in Songdo. Annual revenue rivals a mid-sized company, mostly from active heroes as students."
"……."
"Treasurer Gale Blade Wanderer Bae Man-sik is a famous stock guru. Confirmed stock assets exceed 10 billion won."
Seria calmly laid out the facts.
Not just the execs—every member was living large, no envy needed.
"They're veterans who fought on the front lines for decades. Surviving that proves their strength. Even in their seventies, they could crush average C-Rank heroes. They help each other out, forming their own solid cartel."
"H-How? I thought they devoted themselves to the country… got abandoned… protesting at chicken joints… poor and miserable…"
"They did devote themselves, that's true. But they've been compensated plenty. The central government and city provide ample perks. A armed group of dozens of veteran superhumans? No government ignores that."
Ah.
Now that I thought about it, yeah.
In this world, veterans aren't just soldiers. They're human weapons with decades of combat experience and honed superpowers.
No way they'd be poor.
No way anyone would let them stay poor.
Poor ones get dangerous.
A hungry tiger is the scariest, after all.
"Th-Then why do they come to city hall every day causing a ruckus?"
Seria answered as if it were obvious.
"They're bored."
"……Bored?"
"Kids are all grown, living overseas or in Seoul. They've got nothing but time. They come just to chat. Visiting the complaints desk is their regular event, a social activity. Official association schedule."
She flipped the screen to show their activity log(?).
[Swordmaster Alumni Association Official Schedule]
- Monday: Regular occupation of city hall complaints desk (pension raise demands)
- Tuesday: Grab young heroes at training grounds for morale lectures (minimum 2 hours)
- Wednesday: Go to Freedom Park to backseat chess or go games (never play themselves)
- Thursday: Makgeolli and old war stories battle (same repertoire on repeat)
- Friday: Trot medley appreciation (max volume in public)
"Still! They said life was tough!"
"Old folks always say life's tough."
Damn. Tricked.
Or did I just assume?
"Neo Incheon's truly poor, struggling elders don't have the leisure to yell at city hall. They're scavenging trash or scraping by on part-time gigs."
Was my Brutus Project dead on arrival?
Crisis.
But isn't a crisis just opportunity in disguise?
Crisis is opportunity. I decided to flip this.
"Yes!"
I slapped my knee.
"Then we support them all!"
"Pardon?"
Seria's eyes widened ever so slightly.
"The Swordmaster elders are just the figurehead! Real target is separate! Full-scale welfare expansion for every elderly person in Neo Incheon! Massive basic pension hikes! Expanded subsidies! Beefed-up benefits!"
I marveled at my own quick thinking.
What a perfect pivot.
Swordmaster Alumni Association is mere symbolism.
Now the Brutus Project's true aim: blanket handouts to the entire elderly generation!
Scale it up like this, and youth backlash will be off the charts.
I'm a genius, after all.
"Helping the needy is the mayor's job, right?"
Supporting just the "privileged elderly Swordmasters" might not rile up the youth enough.
'They earned it serving the country.'
Small numbers, national heroes with real achievements.
But.
Expand to all Neo Incheon elderly?
Story changes completely.
Blanket perks for the entire senior population.
Funds? Straight from the future generation—the youth's pockets, naturally.
The zero-sum game begins: mortgaging tomorrow to prop up today.
I awaited Seria's final verdict.
1 second.
2 seconds.
3 seconds.
An eternity.
And finally.
"Haa…"
A sigh escaped Seria's lips.
And that always meant approval.