045 - King Without Shame
The King Without Shame executives and the Special Awakeners arrived safely at the territory. Han Seol escorted them the whole way back with drones, just in case.
The 31-year-old woman with the sludge substitution ability was named Park So-yoon. The 38-year-old man who could harden soil into stone was Song Hyun-woo. And the 17-year-old girl who produced fuel was Han Su-ah.
None of them were in great shape, so after a quick greeting, I issued them citizenship cards and sent them to the hospital.
Park So-yoon and Song Hyun-woo's loyalty exceeded 70%, but Han Su-ah's was at 51%. She seemed naturally wary of me, probably due to the abuse she'd endured. No big deal. A few days in the hospital with hearty beef stew would push her over 80% in no time.
"Ah...!"
Han Su-ah, lying in bed, tried to sit up when she saw me.
"No need. Stay put."
After three days in the hospital VIP room under recovery mode, everyone's loyalty had broken past 70%. Park So-yoon and Song Hyun-woo hit over 90%, and Han Su-ah reached 72%.
I entered her room with the Han sisters and Seo I-rang. I brought Seo I-rang on purpose. It was a bit sneaky, but showing her a happy child would help shatter any lingering wariness.
"How's your body feeling?"
"It's like a miracle... I feel completely healthy."
She'd looked merely sickly on the outside, but detailed scans showed severe internal organ damage and weakness. Thanks to the VIP room's power, she was recovering at an astonishing rate after just three days.
Song Hyun-woo had already been discharged yesterday, assigned a room, and put to work on road maintenance under the civil servants' direction since this morning.
Han Su-ah was a Special Awakener who'd drifted from Incheon all the way here. I'd heard people in Incheon gathered along the coast. Fish was a massive, low-risk food source, after all—a cheat key for humanity's food supply stretching back to hunter-gatherer days. No need for years of honed hunting skills like with land beasts, and you didn't run into mountain monsters. Aquatic monsters existed, but they were far rarer than land types and not particularly threatening. The riskiest had been "Ness" in the Han River, but even that was taken down by the old government forces.
The key to modern fishing? Fuel, obviously. Boats needed it to move. Sure, you could go old-school, but ignoring existing vessels to build wooden ones from scratch was wildly inefficient.
Han Su-ah had managed fine when her group's forces were small, but as her ability scaled them up, she'd been overworked. In the end, when she refused, they subjected her to beatings and torture. She escaped with like-minded companions.
"So where are those companions now?"
"Well..."
Turned out, they'd only brought her along to exploit her. She shook them off and reached Gyeonggi Province, only for a new round of exploitation to begin. Her group had been building power by selling her fuel, much like in Incheon—until they pissed off a warlord and got dismantled.
Han Su-ah barely escaped, wandered, and eventually turned herself in to a human auction house she'd heard about.
"What a rough life..."
"Um... do I have to make fuel with my ability here too?"
Terror flickered in her eyes, but I couldn't lie.
"Yeah, you do."
"..."
"But we won't beat you or exploit you to the point of ruining your health like before. I promise."
"Thank you..."
Han Su-ah bowed her head deeply. Her shoulders began to shake, and she started sobbing.
"S-sis, wipe... wipe your tears."
Seo I-rang handed her some tissues.
"Alright... want to give it a try?"
"Yes!"
After letting Han Su-ah rest two more days in the VIP room, I discharged her and tested her ability. We brought an empty fuel barrel and had her fill it.
She gripped it with both hands, eyes wide in focus.
"Whoa...!"
Liquid rose from the bottom. A blue fluid with an eerie glow quickly filled the barrel.
"The color's deeper than what the Alliance's ability user made."
This fuel was highly versatile for nearly any vehicle or machine, far more efficient than regular oil.
"I heard you can make solid fuel too."
"Yes! I'll do it!"
A blue cube formed in her hands. According to her, it burned far longer and hotter than wood once lit.
"Perfect. Excellent."
I nodded in satisfaction, and Han Su-ah smiled, bowing her head.
"Han Seol!"
"Yes!"
"Call the technicians and have them build a fuel storage warehouse far from everything. No wood—make it stone."
"Understood. I'll see to it."
We'd been gradually upgrading territory warehouses from wood to stone. Stone lasted longer and was more durable. Processing came from the armory swords. Awakener residents hauled rocks by cart, technicians marked cuts with pens, and executives sliced them cleanly during morning sword training.
The first proposal had been a massive stone statue of me, but I shot it down. That would've been public execution for my dignity.
A citizens' group was established in Hoeseong. I approved it. They had no real power—just a watchdog since our executives couldn't station there permanently. Hoeseong's civil servants worked hard now, but complacency might breed corruption. So I picked citizens to monitor them.
They submitted daily surveillance reports via devices, voicing citizen concerns like ancient Roman tribunes.
Surprisingly, no requests for more rations. Han Seol said they'd be rejected anyway, and no one sane would risk eviction over it.
"Do-hyun, the diplomat's here."
"Got it. On my way."
The Gangnam government diplomat had arrived. I headed to the spa with Han Seol.
"Your Excellency! It's been too long!"
He shot up, bowing 120 degrees with a booming greeting.
"Yeah."
This was the guy who'd first visited Paradise, then returned to kneel in the mud during rain after that incident. I'd figured he'd been fired, but he still handled Paradise diplomacy. Or maybe no one wanted the job.
"Everyone, sit."
This time, I summoned him from Gangnam. One reason.
I eyed the diplomat. "You cleared out the Dome Head hide and bones from the plaza last week, right?"
"Pardon? Ah... yes! That's right!"
"Where's it going now?"
He looked flustered. "Um... not sure exactly, but probably underground storage... It was only for display anyway; no other use for a monster corpse like that."
"Huh. Sell it to me, then?"
"Pardon?!"
"Why not? Useless corpse. I'll buy it. You guys have no use for it."
"..."
He gaped at me, speechless. Fair reaction.
"Isn't this what you wanted? Trading monster corpses for liquor instead of food."
"If it's not rude, where would you use a named monster's body..."
I stared silently. He jumped up. "S-sorry! I overstepped!"
"Yeah, you did. Not your business. But since you asked—for an end-of-year banquet display."
"I see..."
Ridiculous excuse, but this weak diplomat was powerless.
"But I'm just a diplomat. How could I..."
"Go convince the higher-ups. Fail, and liquor trade with Gangnam ends that day."
"Y-Your Excellency! That would..."
"What? I gotta handle your job security too?"
"Forgive me...!"
Utterly unreasonable. Sorry for him, but if he hated the hassle, quit diplomacy, ditch the perks, and live as a regular citizen.
"I'll do my best..."
I'd already tipped off Chief Secretary Na Jong-hoon via spy. He'd back the diplomat.
"Good. One Dome Head corpse for 2,000 bottles of Paradise liquor. Fair price? Dismantle it fine—bring every bone and hide."
"Yes...!"
He squeezed his eyes shut and bowed. Looked like a headache.
Top-grade gear for 2,000 bottles? A steal. The Tetra hunt had cost tens of thousands in liquor equivalent. War was pouring water into a bottomless bucket.
Best to snag named monster corpses via trade when possible.
I stood, placed hands on his shoulders from behind. "But... you said it's in underground storage, right?"
"Pardon? Ah... yes! Probably the monster corpse storage... Eek!"
He clapped a hand over his mouth, realizing his slip. Sweat beaded on his temple.
I massaged his shoulders. "Separate warehouse for monster corpses, huh? Right?"
"Your Excellency! I'm just a diplomat—no access to that info. Just rumors!"
"Sure, let's say that. This chat's off-record, so relax and answer."
"Y-Your Excellency?!"
Terror filled his eyes. I leaned to whisper in his ear.
"How many named monster corpses you got?"
The diplomat staggered out. I sent him off with meat, tuna sashimi, and liquor to recover.
Jackpot info. Per him, Gangnam "probably" stored Sun Dancer, Obelisk, and Six Wing corpses underground—hauled during their capital move, just in case.
Told him 2,000 bottles per corpse; sweet-talk the brass. Na Jong-hoon would assist.
To the executives: "If no reply from Gangnam in two days, cut all liquor trade."
"Yes!"
On the way back to the office, Han Byeol said, "You've gotten really skilled."
"Huh? At what?"
"I was worried about you handling talks directly, but your... negotiation—no, intimidation—is top-notch now."
"Really? Guess the leadership lessons paid off."
Han Byeol smiled silently.
One lesson from the teachers: King Without Shame. A king feels no shame. Not a king myself, but it fit leaders too.
My tactics with the diplomat were brazen threats, but embracing shamelessness let words flow easy.
Originally, it paired with "hero's lust"—kings needn't shame over multiple women. With the beautiful twin sisters already mine, it fit the original meaning too.