The Paper Kingdom
“Hwaaaaaah!”
Finally, after all this time, my own body again!
Kim Hwang-je returned to his Stronghold and stretched out on the bed, legs splayed.
The sound of the crude oil extractor hummed in the background, but the mattress was still pleasantly soft.
In truth, he had bought the bed online on a whim.
He hadn’t really known what counted as “the best,” so he simply picked the first ten-million-won model that appeared and had it installed.
Ten million won turned out to be pretty good, after all.
That was the extent of his appreciation.
Kim Hwang-je switched on the equally expensive television with the remote and stared blankly at the news.
For some reason, anything costing more than ten million won failed to interest him.
The breaking news segment showed chaos unfolding across the world as gates and monsters suddenly appeared everywhere.
Yet most of the domestic coverage focused on events inside Korea.
Reports about the two sons who had gathered at Jo Chun-ki’s mansion ran all day long.
“So the eldest and the second son have both entered the chairman’s residence.”
“That’s correct. It is the birthplace of the Gaya Group and the true headquarters where every major decision is made. They may be attempting to settle the succession once and for all.”
“With Chairman Jo Chun-ki’s vacation dragging on, some are quietly raising concerns about his health… I wonder how this will play out. It could certainly send shockwaves through the economy.”
“That depends entirely on the Gaya Group. If they buy back their own shares to stabilize the stock price, things should remain manageable.”
“To do that, they’ll need to secure the chairman’s seat first.”
“Exactly. The opinions of Chairman Jo Chun-ki, who holds the shares, and the foreign investors will be decisive.”
“Thank you. Let’s move on to the next story. Recently, the Monster Security Department has been pushing a bill to register hunter genes…”
Afternoon main news.
The economic journalists and commentators sounded convincing,
but only Kim Hwang-je knew the real truth.
Because scattered across his bed were the “handwritten business plans” the two men had written.
“They talked like they could pay it back right away.”
The two men who had seemed ready to repay a trillion won in cash had actually scheduled the repayment over more than ten years.
Kim Hwang-je, who had expected a trillion won to appear in his pocket tomorrow, let out a long sigh.
Seo Jun-seo, watching him roll around on the bed from his seat at the side table, swallowed his own sigh along with a sip of black tea.
Still, someone had to say it.
“Sir, a trillion won isn’t pocket change.”
“Well, I suppose not.”
“The government won’t just sit back and watch. The Antimonopoly and Fair Trade Act is quite strict.”
“Yeah, probably. Hng.”
Hng?
It was his own fragile body’s fault for being unable to keep up with the emotional vocabulary of the great mage who held his life in his hands.
Seo Jun-seo thumped his own chest.
Kim Hwang-je, however, was filled with nothing but confusion.
Unfortunately, he had no idea what the Antimonopoly and Fair Trade Act even was.
Jo Chun-ki’s power rested on invisible maneuvering.
He controlled Korea’s political and business circles from behind the scenes, yet he could never openly own every asset in sight.
It wasn’t because of constitutional ideals like economic democratization or public land ownership.
Koreans simply weren’t kind enough to stand by and watch one man seize all the land.
So Jo Chun-ki had kept the Gaya Group’s total assets and its contribution to GDP strictly within acceptable limits.
Still, it was a little disappointing.
Not that it mattered.
Kim Hwang-je looked at the documents.
“The eldest gets logistics, the second gets department stores? They’re going to swallow every other company with just this? Is that all they’ve got?”
The Gaya Group.
A colossal conglomerate that dominated most of Korea’s logistics industry and operated countless other businesses.
Its chairman was Jo Chun-ki.
After the monster outbreak, his family had extended their influence over nearly every major Korean corporation, wielding the name and authority of the group.
Hotels, department stores, operating rights for logistics centers, terminals, and docks, information and communications, tourism, aviation, and shipping.
Jung Da-yeon’s remark that “without the Gaya Group, there wouldn’t even be coffee, because they control the imports” had been accurate.
Yet the eldest son only received aviation and logistics, while the second son received department stores. That was it.
The third and fourth sons, along with the maternal relatives, each ran their own separate businesses?
Even combined, the two sons’ shares barely exceeded ten percent.
Still, Seo Jun-seo spoke with conviction.
“Sir… this is enormous.”
“Is it…?”
How could anyone feel full after the first spoonful?
Kim Hwang-je, who had secretly hoped for a major defense contractor, could not hide his disappointment.
All they did was manage docks and cargo ships?
At least the department stores were satisfying.
It felt like only yesterday he had been kicked out of a Gaya Mart, and now the president of Gaya Mart was locked away in his prison.
Seo Jun-seo spoke again.
“Sir, the reason we acquired the port was to facilitate trade between Earth and the kingdom, wasn’t it?”
“It was. But Adel doesn’t really have anything worth selling. Oil is probably better kept in reserve for war, especially since it’s enchanted.”
“That’s true, sir. But if we control logistics like this, we’ll be able to move massive quantities of goods without interference from anyone.”
“I suppose so…”
“Yes, sir.”
“How?”
Unable to hold back, Kim Hwang-je asked.
“By founding a kingdom.”
“What?”
What did that even mean?
“Manager Jung Da-yeon once mentioned in passing that you had founded a real country in some remote part of Africa.”
“Jung Da-yeon…”
She had a tendency to make grand misunderstandings.
Though, in a way, her imagination had struck close to the truth.
“I gave her no answer. Instead, I told her that because I had signed a strict confidentiality agreement, asking such questions again could result in serious consequences.”
Seo Jun-seo added this to reassure both Kim Hwang-je and himself, then continued.
“Ever since then, I’ve been thinking. Why shouldn’t we actually create a country?”
“Did you already pick out some good land?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Are you familiar with the British territory of King George Island?”
King George Island.
Today, it was the world’s premier location for tax evasion.
But to Kim Hwang-je, who couldn’t even manage overseas wire transfers, let alone tax shelters, only one thing came to mind.
“Ah…”
It reminded him of the friend who had already left.
Kim Hwang-je thought of his beloved pet, who would be returning from the distant cosmos right about now.
He wondered when the creature had last relieved itself.
Ahh…
Seo Jun-seo’s heart also stirred as he watched Kim Hwang-je’s eyes fill with melancholy.
Though for an entirely different reason.
“That’s right, sir! After laundering the funds through King George Island, the Empire Company will establish a paper kingdom on Earth!”
He shouted so loudly that Kim Hwang-je flinched in surprise.
Kim Hwang-je spoke slowly, trying to calm him.
“Hold on, Seo Jun-seo. This isn’t like you. Why are you suddenly so worked up?”
Only then did Seo Jun-seo look at him with a dazed expression.
How could he not be excited?
Right now, Jo Chun-ki’s two sons were locked away in prison.
And they were standing at the center of a massive criminal scheme to drain every last drop of value from the sons’ enormous industries.
Not only that…
When the most outstanding Lost Association secretaries of their generation whispered to their master about using a figurehead president to evade taxes through the best “loophole” available,
Seo Jun-seo was instead proposing the creation of an independent kingdom—a Paper Kingdom.
Of course his heart would race at the sheer scale of the conspiracy!
But Seo Jun-seo’s sharp mind quickly realized the truth.
‘Ah, of course.’
Kim Hwang-je.
He was a great mage!
And already an emperor!
What mattered most to him was the safety of his kingdom and the security of Earth.
“Ah…”
How modest he was. Despite his immense wealth, he still used a mere ten-million-won bed and had converted this old ship into his base.
Seo Jun-seo suddenly felt ashamed.
“M-my apologies. I got carried away. Please forgive me. I thought I could finally match Your Majesty’s grand scale and made a mistake…”
But Kim Hwang-je simply smiled generously.
Because he had no idea what Seo Jun-seo was thinking.
“No need to apologize, Seo Jun-seo. Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Do whatever you want. You’ve been surprised and worked hard every single day. If there’s anything you want, just say it. If it’s possible, I’ll make it happen.”
He still couldn’t forget the sight of Seo Jun-seo taking his pulse while riding a scallop.
Working under any other boss would have been far less stressful.
Instead, he witnessed bizarre scenes every day, drank stamina potions meant for office workers, worked day and night, and had recently been given actual “kingdom duties” by Professor Labanus.
If there was any way to relieve his stress before he really died, Kim Hwang-je was willing to grant any request.
That was what he had decided.
And then Seo Jun-seo dropped a nuclear-level declaration.
“Sir… did you really mean anything?”
“Yes, yes. I’m not the kind of person who says one thing and means another. Do whatever you want.”
Seo Jun-seo spoke immediately, afraid the promise might vanish.
“Then let’s join the Commonwealth.”
“Huh?”
The British Commonwealth?
Why was that coming up now?
Kim Hwang-je desperately tried to recall what he knew about the Commonwealth,
but the only thing that came to mind was the vague memory from high school that Britain had left the European Union over Brexit.
Seo Jun-seo, who firmly believed in Kim Hwang-je’s wall-facing asceticism and secluded training (?), explained carefully.
“Here’s how it works.”
The Commonwealth of Nations was still very much alive.
Only one thing had changed after the monster outbreak.
While the rest of the world formed economic blocs centered on alliances and descended into plunder and war under the shock of the monster crisis,
Britain had become obsessed with binding not only the fifty-two nations that supported it, but even tiny microstates, into a single economic belt.
Having already carried out Brexit, it had no other choice.
Thanks to that, the Commonwealth had now become the largest federation in name and reality, accepting over 420 nations worldwide…
“Management is a complete mess.”
Seo Jun-seo stated this with certainty.
“The Commonwealth doesn’t care what member nations sell or trade, as long as it isn’t strategic materials. The world needs resources, after all.”
“Strategic materials?”
“Yes—analysis data of S-rank monster corpses processed with field-emission electron microscopes, or the mathematical decryption of high-level magic using X-ray diffraction methods, or…”
“Wait, wait.”
Afraid that even more difficult terms would follow if left unchecked, Kim Hwang-je cut him off.
“So Adel Kingdom… becomes part of the Commonwealth?”
“Yes. We’ll handle it on paper only. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in Antarctica or somewhere in Africa. Once we prove effective occupation, we apply for membership…”
“So we’ll have one foot in the treaties between Britain and Korea, something like that?”
“Exactly. We’ll be able to join the FTA.”
After Brexit, Britain and Korea had signed their own free trade agreement.
In the process, the two countries had agreed to mutually supply essential military supplies from scattered federation and dungeon facilities around the world.
In other words,
Adel Kingdom would be incorporated into the domestic markets of both Britain and Korea.
Only then did Kim Hwang-je grasp the full picture of the situation and gape in astonishment.
“W-wait, we’re really founding an independent country?”
“Aren’t you already an emperor, sir?”
“Whoa…”
Kim Hwang-je sat up abruptly on the bed, dumbfounded.
“Ah, so I was only thinking about the department stores, but now we can trade by ship and sell goods through them too.”
“Yes, sir. That’s why I said it was a jackpot.”
Only then did a wide smile spread across Kim Hwang-je’s face.
“Great! Then first… let’s gather all the inventory and take it with us!”
Now he could bring plenty of fresh organic vegetables for the elf children too!
Watching that simple (?) expectation, Seo Jun-seo smiled faintly.