Feeding the Kingdom
“Agent Jung Jin-woo. Agent Lee Min-ah. We’ve surrounded the target.”
A SWAT team member reported to the two agents entering the scene. They were a man and woman dressed in black suits.
“These Howling-related incidents are such a pain. Every time a report comes in, we have to rush over.”
He spoke while rubbing his shoulder.
“We showed up, but it doesn’t look like there’s actually a problem here.”
He was a man whose eyes curved as if he were smiling, and the woman following behind him had a prim expression and a petite, cat-like appearance.
Yet both were so strikingly handsome and beautiful that it was hard to think of them as ordinary people. Kim Hwang-je clicked his tongue inwardly.
Civil servants weren’t supposed to be hired based on looks. Damn it. Wasn’t this unfair?
“By the way, you said he’s a civilian?”
Jung Jin-woo asked.
“Yes. He is a civilian, but please step back. I don’t like guns.”
Kim Hwang-je answered, still holding both hands up.
He pointed at Park Dae-sik, who remained frozen in place.
“That man attacked first.”
“Ah, Hunter Park Dae-sik. Quite the well-known hothead. Still, he must have had his reasons… Let’s take a look.”
He narrowed his eyes and carefully examined every inch of Kim Hwang-je.
“Oh, this is strange… He’s clean.”
“Clean? That’s hard to believe.”
Lee Min-ah shook her head.
‘Damn, I did come out without washing, but… does it show that much?’
The clothes he was wearing were nothing more than a hoodie he had thrown on straight from bed. No matter how you looked at it, they were far from clean attire.
“Well, what’s certain is that this man hasn’t killed a single person so far. There’s no grudge behind him.”
“Is there any chance of a mistake? It feels like there are souls inside his body.”
Lee Min-ah scrutinized Kim Hwang-je with obvious suspicion.
“Haha. Agent Min-ah. My skill is reliable. This person has no ‘grudges’ with anyone yet.”
He possessed the ability to perceive grudges. Thanks to that, he had been specially recruited into a government position.
Was there a better trait for hunting criminals?
Yet according to what he saw, Kim Hwang-je had not accumulated grudges with anyone.
“Good work, SWAT team. Lower your weapons. This man hasn’t killed anyone yet. Not yet, anyway. So he can’t be a Howling member. I hope there won’t be any more reports tonight.”
Howling was an organization that always submitted assassination requests as the final step of their complicated initiation process.
The moment he finished speaking, the SWAT team lowered their guns. Their movements were so natural that Kim Hwang-je found himself bewildered instead.
Wait, what about the broken window they smashed through to get in?
Wow, was that going to be covered with my taxes again?
But he didn’t voice the thought. His mind was entirely focused on taking the food and going home.
“Agent Min-ah, check his ID. We at the Security Agency need to know who this famous person is who stopped the Breath.”
“Understood.”
While she ran the ID check, he approached Kim Hwang-je and spoke.
“Ah. My introduction is late. My name is Jung Jin-woo. That’s Agent Lee Min-ah over there. We’re special agents from the Monster Security Agency.”
“Yes. I saw the director apologize.”
Kim Hwang-je lowered his arms and dusted off his clothes.
Jung Jin-woo’s smile deepened. He hadn’t meant it as a joke, but the words carried a subtle provocation.
“I can leave now, right?”
“Haha… Just a moment. You’ve probably noticed my skill already. It lets me see the ‘grudges’ of my targets.”
Kim Hwang-je felt goosebumps rise on his shoulders.
So that thing about seeing something behind people’s backs—was he talking about ghosts?
“That’s possible?”
“It is. Abilities and skills surpass our imagination. Why do things like this even exist?”
That’s something you, as a civil servant, should figure out.
Seeing Kim Hwang-je’s expression, Jung Jin-woo laughed and scratched his head.
Lee Min-ah came to his rescue.
“Real name: Kim Hwang-je. Not registered as a hunter. Naturally, no criminal record either. He didn’t appear in the regular Awakener investigations. High chance he awakened recently.”
“A real civilian? No, a recent awakening? That can’t be…”
“Furthermore, within this facility, Hunter Park Dae-sik was the one who started the trouble.”
Her computer-like speed of speech was impressive.
Inside the multiple pads floating in the air, Kim Hwang-je’s movement routes appeared one after another.
Jung Jin-woo smiled gently.
Then he pointed behind him.
“You may go.”
“You’re letting him go?”
The SWAT team member looked surprised.
The requirements for self-defense to be recognized in Korea were notoriously strict. Yet after being hit with so many paralysis spells that he had turned to stone, they were just sending him back?
But Jung Jin-woo nodded.
“Mr. Kim Hwang-je. We’ll cover up this incident. In return, consider this our Security Agency repaying its debt. Thank you for stopping the Deep Sea Giant.”
He bowed his head slightly, then continued.
“However, you’ll need to register as an Awakener within tomorrow. If you don’t, civil servants will come to your house.”
“Hmm… That already sounds annoying just hearing about it.”
Kim Hwang-je glanced at the frozen Park Dae-sik. Paralysis wouldn’t cause life-threatening issues if it lasted longer, right? But Jung Jin-woo misinterpreted his gaze.
“Don’t worry. Attacking a civilian as a hunter is a serious crime. After the criminal proceedings, you’ll be able to claim plenty through civil litigation.”
“Well, I wasn’t even hit…”
Besides, he had already suffered terribly at the hands of Howling, so he had no desire to torment the man further.
Jung Jin-woo smiled as if he understood everything.
“Still, I have one suggestion.”
He spoke carefully.
“It’ll be less troublesome than what those management companies do. I can guarantee that. Are you interested in a special civil service appointment?”
Civil servant? Of course he was interested.
Well, he had been.
“If I take it, I’d have to go to work in the morning and leave in the evening, right?”
“Naturally.”
What kind of obvious question was that?
Jung Jin-woo tilted his head.
“Then it’s impossible.”
Kim Hwang-je refused outright.
“I have a bit too much work right now. I also need to use those food kits on the shelves over there.”
Kim Hwang-je pointed at the stacked shelves behind him. They were dungeon-entry food kits for hunters.
There wasn’t much rice left, so most of his purchases had been dungeon rations.
“Uh… Is that really the reason you’re refusing?”
“Yes.”
But Kim Hwang-je was sincere. Right now, his people beneath the castle walls were truly starving.
And if he became a “civil servant,” how much work would that entail? For now, the single country inside his stomach was more than enough to handle.
“You’re really letting him go?”
“Not completely empty-handed. We sent him back with the goods.”
“You even arranged a truck for him. He must have caught your eye.”
When Lee Min-ah asked, Jung Jin-woo was crumpling a cigarette and tossing it into the trash can.
He had thrown it away without taking a single drag.
The SWAT team had already withdrawn, and Costco, which had briefly been in emergency mode in the middle of the night, had returned to peace.
Anyway, once he wrote a few reports about the “minor matters” related to this Howling incident, the case would be closed.
“I know. Anyone would think someone like that has value. I don’t know what kind of ability he awakened with, but the mana inside his body feels like an entire castle.”
“It must be the Archmage’s ability. You’ll regret sending him away just like that.”
“Agent Min-ah, are you worried about me?”
“No.”
“I can see not only grudges but also gratitude. Enormous gratitude was swirling around him.”
Jung Jin-woo said.
“Does that mean he did something good?”
“Not only did he do it—he’s doing it in real time. The longer we leave him alone, the more benefit we’ll gain rather than harm. Here.”
Jung Jin-woo didn’t know it, but Kim Hwang-je had saved both an orphanage and a kingdom in just the past few days.
Naturally, the aura of gratitude around him wouldn’t disappear.
Unable to grasp the reason, Jung Jin-woo stood up with a favorable impression of Kim Hwang-je.
“Besides, dangerous times are about to begin.”
“Pardon?”
“The barrier over Seoul hasn’t collapsed, yet the Deep Sea Giant appeared in the middle of Seoul after taking only two steps. The space of the entire world is distorting. Someone… or rather, some organization or group must have used a large-scale spell.”
Jung Jin-woo’s expression was extremely serious.
“No matter who they are, if I catch them, I’ll kill them without fail.”
His face looked as though not even a needle could pierce it. Even Lee Min-ah felt the tension.
“Do you think a large-scale rift is imminent?”
Jung Jin-woo brushed off his hands and stretched his back.
“Yes. The higher-ups are already preparing. Soon, the world will become incomparably noisier than before. And if someone is going to become famous in such a noisy world…”
He looked up at the sky.
“No matter where you put them, they won’t be able to hide their traces. Still, it would be better to pull them to our side later. So… this is all an investment.”
“Understood. I’ll keep watch.”
Lee Min-ah seemed to have understood it completely differently.
Jung Jin-woo shrugged helplessly.
Five trucks drove in a line down the dark night road.
They were delivery vehicles prepared by Jung Jin-woo. Kim Hwang-je sat in the passenger seat of the lead truck, gazing at the dark mountain path.
Kim Hwang-je extended his hand toward an abandoned building just off the right side of the ring road.
“Over there. Please drop me off at the first floor of that abandoned building.”
“Huh? That building doesn’t have anything in it. Aren’t we going to your house?”
“It’s fine. Anyway, please drop me off here.”
Driver Jo Ha-rim, who operated a one-ton delivery truck, took pride in special deliveries and safe deliveries.
And all five one-ton truck drivers recruited by Jung Jin-woo felt the same way.
But unloading cargo in the yard of an abandoned building at this dark hour—what did that mean? The old, abandoned building felt eerie enough to send chills down their spines.
Still, they couldn’t ignore the customer’s request.
All the goods from the two-hundred-meter Costco shelves were so numerous that they had to be divided among five one-ton trucks.
Of course, the weight didn’t reach five tons, but the nitrogen packaging was the real problem.
The delivery drivers quickly unloaded everything together into the yard.
Kim Hwang-je sent off the worried drivers and stood before the goods.
“Phew. Now I can finally share some food.”
When he activated Tribute Trade, a status window only he could see appeared.
‘Let’s see. I’ll put a large amount of food on the left side and tell the king to distribute it.’
Through World Observation, he saw the king sleeping alone in bed.
When he pressed firmly on the screen, the king shook his head in annoyance.
When Kim Hwang-je pressed again, the king got irritated and got up.
Without reacting to Kim Hwang-je, the king kicked open the door and gave the Archmage, who had been sleeping in the next room, a flick on the forehead.
“-----?”
“-----”
The Archmage, struck in the middle of the night, protested.
But the king’s attitude, as if bullying his younger sister, didn’t change. The king kept saying something.
The Archmage listened to the king, thought for a moment, then pointed at the sky.
It seemed that someone of the king’s level could sense it through their unique intuition even when touched from beyond the screen.
Before it got any later, he needed to open the trade window. Kim Hwang-je loaded all the food kits, rice, and snacks into the trade window.
Things like rice couldn’t be bought in bulk due to government regulations, so hunter dungeon rations made from nutritional supplements and flour were the most plentiful.
Still, even this amount was quite substantial. If rationed carefully, it would last the castle’s defenders and the poor for several days.
Of course, unlike the beggar boys, he couldn’t give it to the king for free. It would spoil him.
What would you like from the Royal Treasury?
Kim Hwang-je thoroughly searched the Royal Treasury.
Sure enough, it was there!
Corpse of the Creide Scarab Champion
Among jewel insects, few monsters possess such majestic presence. A warrior of the Scarab Empire and a mammalian slaughterer with a long criminal record across many worlds.
A massive beetle, the corpse of a Calamity-class boss monster, lay inside the treasury.
Somehow, all the cement had been removed. Kim Hwang-je added the corpse along with one hundred gold coins.
He placed them in the trade window along with the food, then removed the Soyong Tea that had originally been there.
The Soyong Tea returned to reality and filled a cup.
It was still warm. It seemed the warmth was preserved even while inside the trade window.
Quest Complete — Food Supply
Your Majesty! You have supplied food. A merciful gift to the street beggars!
But someday, teach them how to fish!
🎁 Reward: The Castle Becomes Me (Lv.2) Level Up
Commission Fee Reduction!
Skill Tower Defense function installed!
Skill World Observation Level Up! Lv.1 → Lv.2
Thud!
Clatter!
A massive corpse and gold coins fell right in front of Kim Hwang-je.
“Cough, cough.”
Kim Hwang-je coughed to let the thick dust settle.
But what appeared was an overwhelmingly monstrous corpse.
Wings woven from metal, joints and claws made of jewels!
Terrifying multi-rowed teeth perfectly suited for devouring humans.
It was a monster whose appearance alone made one’s legs tremble with cruelty.
So what else could he say but admiration?
Kim Hwang-je hurriedly placed the boss monster corpse he was seeing for the first time in his life into the trade window and hid it from view.
“Heh heh…”
Smelling the Soyong Tea reminded him of Jung Da-yeon. She would definitely buy this corpse at a high price. Kim Hwang-je drank the Soyong Tea. Its smooth aroma warmed his stomach.