Slapdash (1)

May 11th. Midnight.

"Haah..."

"H-how could this...!"

"Fuck...!"

"Huuuh... what the hell is this...!"

"I'm normally a woman who doesn't swear, but today I really want to let it rip without a second thought. This is absolute fucking bullshit, honestly?"

We had driven hard west, putting a considerable distance between ourselves and Yeouido. The place we reached was near KP Airport — the boundary line between Seoul and Incheon. From here, you could take in the sky without any strange obstacles blocking the view.

And so we stared up at that sky, unblinking.

Despair slid down our spines.

"Kueeeek!"

"Kieeeeek!"

Hideous monsters. Strange creatures with wings and grotesque faces, wheeling freely through the air. The sky that had been quiet until only yesterday — the one space on this apocalyptic Earth that had still felt peaceful — they were painting it as if it already belonged to them, soaring wherever they pleased.

There was exactly one thing that offered any comfort:

At least they weren't invading the sky above this Sanctuary.

"Ah, th-there... l-l-look at that Wyvern-looking monster! I-it's going for the ground—!"

At Han Sora's cry, every gaze snapped in that direction.

One of the flying monsters suddenly dove from the sky toward the earth. If Sora's description was right, that thing was a Wyvern.

And I could see it.

In the darkness below, a considerable number of human silhouettes scattering in every direction.

Screams rose with them.

"Wh-what the hell is that!"

"Run! I said run!"

"Hiiiek! Help me! Somebody help meee!"

People like us. Survivors.

The Sanctuary. The vast safe zone wrapping all of Seoul that my companions and I had won through blood and sweat — and also the territory of a man named Jeong Hoon. My territory.

These were some of the people who had been camped out on the Seoul–Incheon border, waiting for the chance to set foot inside starting June 1st.

"Kieeeeek!"

Whoooosh!

Crunch!

"Aaaaagh!"

"J-Jeonghyeon's been hit!"

"You idiot, if you don't want to get caught then ru—kraaaagh!"

And they were slaughtered without mercy. Cut down by flying monsters that until now had been so quiet they hadn't even shown their faces — descending from a sky that had never threatened anyone.

All of this...

Could only be blamed on the flood of slapdash announcements that had poured out, one after another, across May 9th and May 10th.

Two days earlier.

May 9th.

The day after we killed the Vampire Lord and punished Han Daegeon.

Having secured the precious space known as the Sanctuary, our territory began stacking hopeful reconstruction onto ordinary life.

It was only now that I finally heard from the butler about the benefits that came with my territory's rank increasing.

"Lord Jeong Hoon's territory rank has currently been elevated to D. Originally, only the grounds of the former National Assembly Building — which you claimed as your castle — constituted your territory. From this point forward, it expands to encompass the entirety of Yeouido. You may assign roles to every building within the territory and carry out improvements such as repairs and expansions. You may also grant additional official posts to your vassals."

I pulled up the territory ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠system and checked each entry one by one while listening to the butler's explanation.

The Knight rank had gone up one tier, and I could slot in one more person.

Hmm. Not sure about the rest, but... the Chief Diplomat post should go to her. As soon as possible. We've already slept together, after all.

"As you can confirm... the number of individuals currently registered as residents of the territory stands at one hundred ninety. That figure includes both those we rescued and those who joined after passing screening."

"C-rank can be reached by gathering a thousand people. Pulling in the people inside the Sanctuary should make that possible. What do you think?"

The reason I asked the butler that was because he had already confessed that, in addition to managing the territory, he could partially manage the Sanctuary that had temporarily come under my ownership.

In other words, the butler alone could detect and monitor various movements across the entirety of Seoul in real time. Well — not perfectly, but still.

"Yes. Using my authority, I accessed and reviewed a portion of the various information within the Sanctuary... and it does appear feasible. Relative to the vast area, the numbers are insufficient, but... at least several thousand survivors are in hiding. Only a tiny fraction of them have begun external activity. Of course, I must ask Your Excellency's understanding that I have not fully mapped the Sanctuary."

"Figures."

Seoul had been the largest city in South Korea. Nearly ten million people had packed themselves onto that cramped scrap of land. How many people had scrambled just to snag a tiny one-room apartment in Seoul?

Of course, the zombie apocalypse had swept countless people away in an instant, and on top of that the monster called the Vampire Lord had set up shop in Gangbuk and gone on a rampage, so the population had been gutted beyond recognition. The density of people had, ironically, produced an even greater catastrophe.

Even so, this was still Seoul. The odds were high that at least ten thousand people were still scraping by in hiding, clinging to whatever lifeline they could find.

Fortunately, after we took down the Vampire Lord, the lofty ones sitting way up high (literally) had blasted out an advertisement through the announcement system. People had started trickling into Yeouido one by one.

More precisely, starting yesterday. Han Sora, with her wide field of vision, had told us there were several groups lurking around Yeouido, watching our territory... or rather, Seeun had heard it from Sora and passed it on to me (we were still in a cold war, after all).

The unfortunate part was that among them, the people who actually took action and requested to become residents of our territory were still a tiny minority.

By any common-sense measure, it was a strange sight. Normally when a disaster or major war broke out, people flocked to government-run distribution centers and the like. That was the standard pattern. Yet the vast majority of the "Seoul residents" remaining in the Sanctuary just watched and waited. Almost no one stepped forward.

"...It's probably because of that. The feats Orabeoni has accomplished. The fact that you're strong enough to defeat the Vampire Lord and claim this Sanctuary — that makes people hesitate. It's always like that, right? Ordinary people don't just casually walk up to someone insanely strong — a mountain of muscle, a two-meter basketball player, a football player, a boxer, that kind of person."

In the office, Yun Mina whispered that to me as I sat lost in thought.

"Even so, I didn't expect this few people to come asking to become residents. I figured it'd be at least a hundred. Per day, even."

"Wow, if that many ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠showed up we'd work ourselves to the bone, you know? We don't just accept anyone who walks in — there's a screening process. Not the abbreviated version we used for the people we rescued from Gangbuk, but the full formal procedure."

Mina was right. We absolutely were not accepting every random person who showed up as a resident. At minimum, we put them through paperwork and interviews covering what they'd done in the past, their current situation, their future potential, and whether they'd actively take on the work assigned within the territory.

It felt similar to receiving job-seeking applicants from before the collapse. There was even a fatal parallel: lives were on the line on both sides.

The problem was that the process was complicated enough to put a serious burden on Kim Seyeon, our Interior Minister. Personnel matters ultimately sat at the top of her responsibilities in our territory.

What really shocked me was that Kim Seyeon herself had proposed making the "Resident Registration and Management" section even longer and more complex. It had driven me to the decision that I needed to assign several deputies under her as soon as possible.

After more than a month of being involved with her — physically as well — I'd figured it out. Kim Seyeon was the type who fit the word "workaholic" perfectly.

Next time I get a chance, I should heal that exhausted body and mind of hers. Mostly physically.

"Ah, and besides that... there's one more reason. That..."

Hesitating, Yun Mina tightened her grip slightly on the documents in her hands, started to speak, then stopped.

The single bitter emotion that flickered through her eyes was enough for me to guess what she was about to say.

"...It's because of that notification. The one that went out after Seo Hyejin died."

"..."

Yun Mina fell silent, and I realized my guess had been exact. A bitter smile formed on my lips of its own accord.

Right. The act of killing a fellow human being. Fratricide. What some games called PK — a brutal act.

Just as that damn administrator had said, the act went out in the form of a system notification window to every survivor within a two-kilometer radius.

Seo Hyejin's death. And the one who had driven her to it — me.

I'd already killed one person, so the fear that they might be next was keeping people from flooding into Yeouido. Especially people who'd been living in Gangnam, which had been relatively safer than Gangbuk — they were much closer to Yeouido, so a considerable number of them would have seen that notification.

Amazingly, even though more than a month had passed since the administrator bastard announced that killing a fellow survivor would trigger a notification within a two-kilometer radius, that alert had only fired once up to this very moment. Exactly once — when I had killed Seo Hyejin... when I had given her peace.

Setting aside the demerit itself, it seemed people still weren't in an environment where they could casually accept the idea of killing another person. It might even be proof that a considerable amount of conscience still remained in the people living in this world.

Or maybe not. Just as Seo Hyejin's guild had eventually fled to Seoul after clinging to the clean zone we'd barely managed to secure, there might be scum out there in places we didn't know about, committing vicious acts and driving countless people to their deaths.

No matter how strong I'd become through a special system, I was neither a god nor an angel nor anything of the sort. I had no way of knowing what was happening in those distant places.

Rustle, rustle...

The bitter taste still in my mouth, I was about to review the documents in my hand when I heard the soft sound of skin and fabric brushing beside me.

And then I saw it. Yun Mina had taken off her outer layer and was now about to undo her dress as well.

Huh? Why is she suddenly doing that? Did a bug crawl on her or something!?

"W-why are you... suddenly doing that, Mina?"

Wondering what kind of prank this was, I stared hard at her face and asked. Uncharacteristically, I even stammered. I'd already seen her bare skin before, yet somehow I felt flustered in spite of myself.

But the Yun Mina who met my eyes had an expression darker and more rigid than before.

Of course, the answer that came out of her mouth still carried the faintest trace of playfulness mixed in.

"I said something out of line... so I'm going to pay the price."

With. My. Body.

She whispered the last part in a voice so small it was as if only her lips had moved.

"No. I never thought you'd overstepped or anything..."

"But it was definitely a rude remark. I knew how much that issue had hurt you, Orabeoni... and I still brought it up like it was nothing."

Her dress was already half undone.

And the naked body I'd seen just yesterday was one breath away from being half-revealed.

Hey, Mina... don't tell me...?

"So I decided to know my place... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and voluntarily repay you with my body. Orabeoni..."

"Yeah, no."

I rejected it on the spot. Mina, who had been about to throw off the rest of her clothes, froze at those words.

Mina, you... little minx! You were planning to use this as an excuse to satisfy your own desires, weren't you? Did you think I wouldn't notice?

...was something I couldn't actually say out loud. It pricked my conscience a little. It wasn't like I had zero desire to go at it thoroughly with Yun Mina myself.

So instead—

"This is the office, and we're in the middle of work right now. Aren't we? You need to pick your time and place, Mina."

I scolded her behavior in a fairly businesslike tone, keeping my voice as gentle as I could.

Without the strict hao-che register unique to Lawful Good, that vaguely charismatic atmosphere didn't quite land, and I felt a thick twinge of regret.

"...But you've gone at it thoroughly with Seyeon unnie twice already? Right here."

Th-this little minx is seriously... daring to bring facts and beat people over the head with them?

"Th-that's exactly why... even more reason not to."

"Why not? I don't particularly mind... aha, hmm... I see. Alright then."

"Hm?"

Huh, why did she suddenly... just accept it and start putting her clothes back on piece by piece?

Ah, no... it's not that I want her to stay naked... I mean I do want to see her naked but I know perfectly well now isn't the time! I know that!

But still, that attitude shift was way too fast, wasn't it!?

When I looked at her with open puzzlement, Yun Mina's expression changed. She was looking at me again with that characteristic smile laced with mischief.

"A different place for every woman you hold... is that it? I've discovered another one of Orabeoni's preferences today."

Th-this little minx is seriously...!

Heat suddenly surged up through me, and the urge to just go ahead and shut her up with a round of... that... twisted in my gut.

Out of nowhere — after a mere three days — a notification heralding an announcement arrived at that exact moment.