155. Dragon God Association (2)
However, they had no time to escape into delusions. Baek Seol-hwa had already visited the Prime Minister's office to address the refugee issue, and Hwang Geun-chul had a duty to report the resolution to the Dragon Priestess.
"We are deeply considering this matter as well. As Prime Minister, I will report it to Lady Yu-na first and consult with her."
"I pray for a swift resolution."
Though the situation looked grim and they had merely sought escapism, Hwang Geun-chul did not shirk his duties as Prime Minister. He told Seol-hwa, who had come to the office, that it was still under review, no solution had been decided yet, and he would consult with Yu-na before finding one.
Seol-hwa had gone to the trouble of visiting the Prime Minister's office only to leave empty-handed, but the moment the name of Balhut Cult leader Yu-na came up, she trusted it and departed.
With this, Hwang Geun-chul of the current cabinet had bought a little time. Using his Prime Ministerial authority, he convened the cabinet ministers, informed them of the situation, and deeply deliberated on a solution.
"To resolve the refugee problem, we must establish a new organization."
To report the conclusion of those deliberations to the Dragon Priestess, Hwang Geun-chul went to see Yu-na.
"A new organization for the refugee issue? Isn't that commonplace?"
At first, Yu-na simply tilted her head with an unconcerned expression at the Dragon God Association's report. He had spoken gravely, but in this apocalypse, refugees wandering homeless were hardly rare.
Refugees were the most common plight in the end times, and hadn't the Balhut Cult encountered such groups frequently? What reason was there now to create a whole new organization for something so ordinary…
"That commonplace issue caused the Daegu provisional government to collapse. The Balhut Cult must step in seriously."
"…That's frightening."
…Apparently so.
At the news that the neighbors had been chased out by knife-wielding thugs, Yu-na snapped to attention and listened intently to Hwang Geun-chul. It wasn't a full government, but the Daegu provisional government had been expanding as an independent faction in the apocalypse—only to be destroyed by mere refugees.
That meant the Balhut Cult was next, and whatever had toppled Daegu was heading for Gyeongju.
"Even now, public order is crumbling in areas under Balhut Cult influence due to these refugee bands."
"The military's surveillance must have broken down."
"Yes. With the monster packs in the mountains gone, gaps appeared in surveillance. They're exploiting those gaps to infiltrate."
But at Hwang Geun-chul's words about internal security deteriorating, Yu-na pointed out the military's failed oversight. Hwang agreed, reporting that the monsters in the mountains had vanished due to the cold snap, allowing refugees to slip through.
"I see. Seol-hwa or I might have to step in personally."
Above all, Hwang Geun-chul felt grateful enough to thank the absent Dragon God Bahamut that Yu-na was taking the crisis seriously and showing willingness to handle it herself.
"…Could this be connected to Jo Sun-do's remnants?"
"Intelligence networks indicate no link to Jo Sun-do's remnants. This is an external problem, not internal to Gyeongju."
Before that, Yu-na had asked if it was the work of Jo Sun-do's lingering forces, and Hwang firmly denied any connection. This wasn't plunderers or crime syndicates already entrenched in Gyeongju causing trouble—it was outsiders disrupting order.
Yu-na pondered the fact that these intruders from outside were wrecking Gyeongju's security.
"What a hassle. Jeong Dong-gun, who handles the military, isn't here right now."
"That's the problem."
She lamented that Jeong Dong-gun, in charge of the military, was absent due to the Ulsan war. Had he been in Gyeongju, Hwang would have consulted him first, confident he could handle it. But with Jeong tied up in Ulsan, entrusting the military to dangerous refugees who had even retaken a provisional regime was impossible—making this a last resort visit to Yu-na.
"What shall we do? May we present our proposed plan to Lord Bahamut?"
If Yu-na showed interest, reporting through her to Bahamut wasn't a bad choice.
"Not possible right now. He's instructing a new contractor in the UK."
"I see."
The issue was that even the cabinet's hoped-for Bahamut was busy. A new contractor in the UK… meaning the British queen. Unlucky timing—focusing on a contractor there now meant he couldn't intervene much in this crisis.
"Soon, he'll respond to Alicia's summons too. Her situation isn't good."
What the hell happened in Britain?
From Bahamut's perspective, personally watching over a contractor's safety was only natural, but for the Balhut Cult, it was a major setback.
Hwang felt a twinge of resentment toward the unknown Dragon Priestess in distant Britain.
"Then we'll have to use your authority, Lady Yu-na, to organize it."
"Organize what?"
"The military has handled security so far, but it can't manage both war and policing perfectly. We're thinking of creating a dedicated organization for security and crime investigation… a police force."
"Ah, right. I never thought about it because the military's been doubling as police."
The cabinet's plan was solid enough, so Hwang proposed establishing a police force for security. Yu-na reacted as if it had never occurred to her.
Indeed, the Balhut Cult had relied on the military for policing rather than a separate force, effectively running a military regime to exert influence beyond the city.
It's also a chance to fix the military's overloaded authority.
The military handled not just warfare but security too, drawing criticism for overburdening one branch. Hwang proposed the police to address that, and Yu-na agreed, admitting she hadn't considered it.
Security issues? Just invest in a specialist organization like police.
"We could ask former police to lead it, but our territory is vast… and since plunderers are disguising as refugees, they're surely battle-hardened awakeners?"
"Yes, the refugee criminals have plenty of blood on their hands. That's the trouble."
The problem was they weren't ordinary refugees. Most were experienced, levelled-up awakeners—villains by American standards, top-tier criminals.
"Then the new police force and its personnel must be composed of awakeners, not normals. We can deploy those from the Awakener Project."
Naturally, police facing them needed to be awakeners too. Fortunately, the Balhut Cult's project produced higher-quality awakeners than standard methods, now used as troops.
Most went to the military, but shifting some to police would give them solid strength.
"Field officers should be at least level 10."
"Got it. Fresh awakeners can't capture high-level plunderers. I'll transfer high-level ones from the military."
Fresh recruits couldn't handle elites, so they'd have to split military personnel for police leadership. It would weaken the army, but internal security came first.
"At least the decisive Ulsan victory gave us breathing room. Jeong Dong-gun did better than expected."
"Yes. Without that, we couldn't spare troops for police."
The post-victory stalemate was a boon. If Ulsan were still a hot zone, neither Yu-na nor Hwang would dream of pulling frontline soldiers for policing.
"Their intelligence network will be weak at first, so we'll need National Tax Service agents' cooperation too. They have the best internal intel."
"…You're really going after that one person?"
Involving the Tax Service felt ominous. Hwang asked seriously if they meant to pursue even that figure.
"If they're disrupting order, I'll demand more than that if needed."
"Mm. If it's necessary, even more."
Yu-na affirmed she'd go beyond if required.
"Above all, they're outsiders. 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'—they don't even know that."
"Quite right."
It was their fault for barging in and committing crimes. Hwang wanted to shout that in Balhut Cult lands, follow cult law.
"Considering the apocalypse, they might claim no choice, but we'll punish them properly through trials."
"Declaring harsh penalties?"
"Yes. While establishing police, let's form a special police strike team for hardcore criminals."
She proposed a strike team for iron-fisted security. Harsh pre-apocalypse, but fitting now.
"Then the police chief needs someone solid in both field and admin—at least level 15, capable of real work."
Hwang didn't object, instead supporting that the police representative must be a strong awakener.
"Anyone you recommend?"
"A recommendation…"
Tricky. Level 15+ are mostly executive material.
Few fit; they were already key figures. Unplaced ones often had personality issues or were hard to control. Hwang had to recommend carefully.
His choice after deliberation:
"How about giving the police chief position to Han Seong-geun?"
Not internal, but post-Ulsan ally Han Seong-geun. Practically external, yet Hwang vouched for him.
"Han Seong-geun?"
"Yes. He recently declared he'll stay with the Balhut Cult. He's long past level 15, served as Jeong Dong-gun's deputy commander in Ulsan—his leadership is unquestionable."
"True, he led a region. He deserves proper treatment."
His skills were Jeong-endorsed, fitting for police chief. Admin, command, level 15+—a perfect all-rounder.
"Then I'll recall Han Seong-geun to headquarters and appoint him police chief. Any objections?"
"None."
Yu-na approved casually, Hwang concurring. The new police chief post went to Han—parachuted in, really. Ulsan merits or not, handing a top role to an outsider would raise army and cabinet suspicions.
"Inform the cabinet, then… I'll report to Lord Bahamut myself."
"Understood."
Hwang would persuade them; Yu-na would brief Bahamut post-facto, who usually backed her unless major issues.
"Support personnel from military and Tax Service. Share intel networks too. They'll need help until police stands alone."
"Understood, Lady Yu-na."
Other agencies would aid independence. With military and Tax backing, it was feasible—for secure establishment.
"If needed, use my name too."
Yu-na pledged full commitment, staking her name.
Meeting ended, Hwang exhaled in relief, steadying his anxious heart.
"We can handle this mess now. Inform the assembly, and Park Cheol-gon too."
Yu-na's help resolved the headache; cooperating with Park would finish it.
"Got an excuse for Lee Su-ah now. Thanks to Lady Yu-na."
With a justification for Lee Su-ah, Hwang decided to visit her soon and explain the meeting.