The Emperor's New Harbor
The sky was clear, and the forest air was crisp and clean.
Seo Jun-seo's car glided smoothly to a stop on the shoulder of the road.
“Sir, we’re supposed to meet them up there.”
“Your Majesty, this humble one shall go ahead and scout the area first.”
The hunter opened the door, leaped out, and vanished up the stairs.
“That man is truly impressive. Doesn’t he ever get cold?”
They were in a snowy mountain valley in Gangwon Province. The hunter nimbly bounded up the icy steps.
Of course, he had taken his shirt off.
“His teeth grow back too, so I don’t think we need to worry about him.”
Kim Hwang-je opened the car door and stepped out, stretching his arms wide.
Following Seo Jun-seo’s advice, he had disposed of every item that could be tracked via GPS before heading deep into the remote mountains.
“Do we just head up?”
“Yes, sir. It shouldn’t be too far.”
Just how many stairs are there?
Kim Hwang-je grumbled inwardly as he climbed the path alongside Seo Jun-seo.
An abandoned temple from long ago stood forlornly against the desolate wind.
The hunter leaped down lightly from the worn, faded dancheong paintwork.
“Your Majesty. There was no surveillance nearby, and nothing in the sky either.”
“Good. You’ve worked hard.”
Seo Jun-seo checked his wristwatch beside them.
“It’s exactly the appointed time. Fortunately, we’re not late.”
While Kim Hwang-je took a deep breath, savoring the clean forest air,
Special Agent Jung Jin-woo from the Monster Security Agency and his escort agents appeared via teleportation on one side of the temple.
“Team Leader. No anomalies in the vicinity. No signs of tracking detected.”
They delivered a similar report, much like the hunter had.
Jung Jin-woo scanned the surroundings before spotting Kim Hwang-je and striding over briskly.
“Did everything go smoothly? They didn’t try to ambush you, did they?”
Jung Jin-woo already knew that Kim Hwang-je had agreed to share his hunting grounds, and he had subtly warned him that they might attempt an attack.
Kim Hwang-je nodded.
“Not for now. I made sure they couldn’t pull anything.”
“What about the conflict level?”
“Conflict level?”
“Total annihilation? Or suppression?”
“Suppression should cover it.”
Jung Jin-woo let out a sigh of relief, patting his chest.
“That’s good to hear. The higher-ups were feeling rather uneasy about clashing head-on with Jo Chun-ki at this particular moment. This worked out perfectly.”
Kim Hwang-je simply shrugged.
No matter what they thought, the wheels of history were already rolling over Jo Chun-ki.
“Let’s sit and talk.”
Kim Hwang-je summoned a table and chairs, then brought out some simple dishes the royal chef had prepared earlier.
“So the port development project has been approved, right?”
“Yes, of course. I’ve secured and brought over the regions you might find suitable.”
Jung Jin-woo pulled several thick folders from his coat and handed them across the table.
“I primarily selected promising sites where an underwater underground prison might plausibly exist. Even where that wasn’t the case, I carefully chose areas with frequent rifts that offer excellent profitability.”
Kim Hwang-je flipped through the documents.
They essentially granted him an autonomous zone.
A strange new emotion washed over him.
My own land at last!
“Once you choose your preferred location, you will officially become a lord. Just like the medieval knights.”
“Knights, huh…”
In medieval Europe, castles had dotted the landscape.
Knights would establish and defend territories at strategic defensive points.
In return, all the income generated there belonged entirely to the knights.
Princes who fell in the line of succession expanded their domains this way, and some knightly orders even became recognized as nations in their own right.
For example, the Crusader Kingdom that once occupied Jerusalem.
“You only need to pay the minimum in taxes. It’s even cheaper than corporate tax. In exchange, you must cooperate with local defense. We’ve exclusively selected land with the highest possible profitability.”
“You mean land where the barrier doesn’t reach, so rifts keep opening up.”
Even if they scraped together every treasure available, they lacked the power to create a barrier strong enough to completely suppress gates in every remote corner of the provinces.
All they could do was lay down a weak barrier, one so faint it was barely noticeable, like a poor cell signal.
The government rented out such lands to hunters, and the hunters made a fortune dealing with the monsters.
Of course, no one dared speak of “independence” in front of the Republic of Korea’s thermobaric aerial bombs.
“Profitability is important, but what matters most to me is the harbor.”
Profitability?
To Kim Hwang-je, who possessed an entire continent full of dungeons, a tiny scrap of Korean land held little interest.
The only thing that truly mattered was a harbor from which he could trade with his royal capital.
“Understood. Every harbor listed in the catalog offers easy access to any sea route, and they’re convenient for hunters bringing in goods as well.”
He cleared his throat and continued.
“Additionally, a Letter of Marque will be granted to you by the end of this month. As you know, that license is only valid against pirates and other hunters.”
“That’s strictly confidential, right?”
“Of course. Officially, the Republic of Korea government denies any involvement in privateering by hunters.”
Kim Hwang-je nodded.
Even before the monster outbreak, the United States had been able to issue letters of marque under Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of its Constitution.
Now it had become the country that issued the most such licenses in the world.
In any case, Korea still wasn’t at the level where it could openly walk such a “my way” path.
“The world has become such a complicated place. Haha…”
Jung Jin-woo shrugged.
“In any case, the government’s request is clear. Do not show any mercy to monsters or those Japanese pirate bastards. You may wipe them out completely if you wish.”
Jung Jin-woo made the request with a serious expression.
Kim Hwang-je burst out laughing, utterly bewildered.
“Japanese pirates?”
It was the 21st century. What on earth was he talking about?
Jung Jin-woo let out a deep sigh.
“The Japanese government has completely lost control over its rural regions.”
He remembered seeing it in the comments.
There had been a comment asking who the king was after seeing a bandit call himself “Your Majesty.”
Among Northeast Asian countries, only Japan still had a royal family, but apparently all the men there had been wiped out.
“They bomb any discovered threats immediately, but with awakened individuals, magic, and people driven by evil mixed in, it’s not a problem that can be solved easily.”
Even the mighty United States and NATO had taken a long time to deal with ISIS.
The difference was that those people had only waved around Allah’s magic wand, whereas these pirates used real magic.
“Ugh. Understood. Well, if I train them properly, those friends might prove useful too.”
Not understanding the deeper meaning behind Kim Hwang-je’s words, Jung Jin-woo simply nodded.
Back when there were no monsters, experts used to say this:
War no longer occurred in modern society because the knowledge-based era had begun, and even though America and China growled at each other, they didn’t fight because trade was far more profitable than plunder.
But the world had changed.
After the monster incident, the world had reached a point where the plunder industry sustained the knowledge-based economy.
What kept Korea’s massive semiconductor clusters alive was monsters.
Dungeons that spat out enormous quantities of rare minerals, and monsters that dropped rare materials.
For example, the eye socket bone of a cyclops that fired laser beams from its eyes was composed of a platinum-iridium structure.
Kim Hwang-je scanned the documents again.
“So if I have to choose between the West Sea Harbor, South Sea Harbor, and East Sea Harbor… it has to be the East Sea Harbor.”
This route would connect the melted Arctic sea lanes down to become the central hub of massive trade linking America, Russia, Japan, and China.
It would allow for large-scale ordering, construction, and smuggling.
Of course, he had to admit it.
Seo Jun-seo had already marked this location in advance.
Yet a smile still crept across his face.
Wow. To think I’m already planning to run an SOC project just to smuggle supplies? I’ve come a long way, Kim Hwang-je.
He shrugged his shoulders repeatedly.
Jung Jin-woo, who had been staring blankly at the sight, spoke up.
“Understood. We’ll prepare everything accordingly. However, there is one more favor I’d like to ask.”
“A favor?”
“Are you aware of the Monster Security Agency’s current major issue?”
Look at that sly expression on his face.
You really can’t trust narrow-eyed characters. What is he about to say now?
Kim Hwang-je shook his head.
He was already busy enough dealing with his own problems. He had no mental energy left to keep track of what every government agency was doing.
Jung Jin-woo continued.
“As you know, the Monster Security Agency is currently pushing a bill to register 100% of all hunters’ genetic information. It’s called the Genetic Registration Act.”
Whoa. Just hearing the name makes me think hunters would hate it.
Didn’t something like that cause a civil war in a movie once?
“Ugh. Is it like the Genome Project?”
“It’s even more ambitious. The official purpose of this project is to create artificial awakeners using genetic serums.”
“Does that even work?”
He had read about it in the newspaper once long ago.
A story about the government creating special agents through genetic manipulation.
But if that were possible, the government would have already turned its entire standing army of one million into hunters.
“Of course it’s impossible. Since you’ve awakened, you already know that awakening isn’t genetic modification. It’s simply magic.”
Kim Hwang-je understood perfectly.
After all, this eunuch hadn’t entered his body through genetic modification.
“Therefore, this policy is purely political propaganda. It’s nothing more than an appeal saying, ‘Look, we’re researching this method, so please trust our government.’”
“…Wow. Are civil servants allowed to talk like politicians?”
“I am.”
Damn privileged mindset.
No matter how much of a show it was, hearing it stated so directly left him feeling hollow.
Reading Kim Hwang-je’s expression, Jung Jin-woo continued.
“What I’m about to say is classified Level 1. In the end, the true target of this law is Jo Chun-ki.”
“Jo Chun-ki?”
That old man again?
“The real intention is to neutralize Jo Chun-ki’s plan to create a clone army using artificially produced sperm and eggs.”
“…A clone army?”
What the hell was that?
Was this Star Wars?
But the people from the Righteous Sword Party he had met yesterday flashed through Kim Hwang-je’s mind.
Weren’t they all supposedly siblings?
“Ah, so did Jo Chun-ki go to the urologist, get that stuff extracted, and give it to a surrogate mother?”
At Kim Hwang-je’s words, Jung Jin-woo’s forehead twitched visibly.
Extracted…
“No, that’s not it.”
“Haha… Thank goodness. I almost imagined it.”
“He used artificial sperm and eggs created from his own stem cells and had them carried by carefully selected surrogate mothers.”
He’s taking it even further?
While some people become eunuchs, others are doing self-fertilization?
Of course, becoming a eunuch would probably be better than self-fertilization…
No, this was a no-win scenario for the imagination.
Kim Hwang-je shook his head to clear away the disturbing thoughts.
“But does that even make sense? Aren’t there ethics laws or something? Can’t they just make whatever they want and force an investigation?”
Even as he said it, Kim Hwang-je felt awkward.
The port development project he currently held in his hands was also an enormous special privilege.
A normal country would never allow something like this.
In this world, the government was desperately struggling just to avoid collapsing.
“In the end, it’s a battle between law and power, and that takes time. Have you heard of the Gaya Group Act?”
Kim Hwang-je glanced at Seo Jun-seo.
Seo Jun-seo answered.
“Its full official name is the Special Measures Act for Enhancing Corporate Vitality During Monster Outbreaks and Rift-Related Wartime Situations. In reality, it’s a law that recognizes various privileges for the Gaya Group. They enjoy freedom from the state in many areas.”
“…Ugh. Tsk tsk.”
Kim Hwang-je clicked his tongue.
Just where is this country headed?
“Exactly. For now, you can consider this Genetic Registration Act as the government’s best available policy for suppressing powerful clans.”
“It really does feel like the Middle Ages.”
“Well, the very thing you’re wearing on your head is the Gaya Gold Crown.”
Ah, that’s right.
Kim Hwang-je placed a hand on his head and fiddled with the gold crown.
It gave him a sense of stability.
Poyu, sensing his touch, let out a delighted giggle.
“Then the issue you mentioned must be the work of creating this law. Once registration begins, it will become clear that everyone shares Jo Chun-ki’s genes.”
“Correct.”
Kim Hwang-je thought quietly for a moment.
“It would be nice if I could help, but I’m already busy taking care of my own affairs. Exactly what do you want from me?”
“We aren’t asking for much. It would be enough if you simply dealt a blow to Jo Chun-ki’s major businesses.”
“His major businesses?”
“Since your relationship with him has already gone sour anyway, consider this our gift.”
Jung Jin-woo pulled out a file on the Jo Chun-ki clan and handed it over.
When Kim Hwang-je opened the file, it contained a list of companies controlled by the Gaya family along with all their weaknesses.
“Whoa, is this an entire list of vulnerabilities?”
“Yes. The Monster Security Agency prepared it.”
“This all looks illegal…”
“As of right now, you are the only person capable of freely moving funds on the scale of trillions of won.”
“Haha… So everyone knows I’m rich.”
“An auction item went for two trillion won. It would be stranger if people didn’t know. We will assist you as much as possible when you wish to acquire any of these companies.”
Kim Hwang-je flipped through the documents.
Gaya Motors, Gaya Hotel, Gaya Department Store, Gaya Securities… Gaya Fertilizer and Gaya Agriculture?
Fertilizer and agriculture, huh…
He recalled the tearful plea from the royal official who had been whining about wanting to eat rice.
“Oh, this one’s tempting. By any chance, can I also buy Gaya Food?”
“In the case of the food-biotechnology company, it is designated as a national critical industry. It will be difficult to purchase with money alone.”
“What about defense contractors?”
“The Gaya line does not possess any defense companies.”
It was a polite refusal.
“You really won’t sell weapons to hunters? Even though you’re trying to help me like this?”
“I’m sorry. That is beyond my authority.”
Tsk. Who knew mounting autocannon turrets on the castle walls would be this annoying.
“However, hiring a PMC (Private Military Company) is acceptable. It must be a PMC that accepts accounting audits and the attachment of political officers.”
In that case, it would be difficult to bring them to the royal capital.
He would have to obtain weapons from somewhere else.
“Well then, you’ll at least sell me brown rice, right? Please loosen the purchase restrictions a bit.”
“Brown rice?”
“If I sell food, will the government buy it from me?”
“…Well, if you were to suddenly conquer the Kamchatka Peninsula and start farming there, it wouldn’t be impossible. The rate of farmland loss is quite severe, after all.”
“It’s a promise, then.”
Jung Jin-woo tilted his head in confusion.
Kim Hwang-je simply smiled.
So this is the power of connections.
Indeed. When one person tries to monopolize everything alone, there will always be those lurking beneath the surface aiming for their throat.
Once Jo Chun-ki’s power weakened, there would be plenty of people ready to bite him from all sides.
For Kim Hwang-je, that was fortunate.
After sending Jung Jin-woo off, Kim Hwang-je teleported with Seo Jun-seo to the pier of the tentatively named “East Sea Emperor Harbor.”
This was the pier Kim Hwang-je had chosen.
The construction vehicles Seo Jun-seo had ordered had not yet arrived, so the bay still felt rather lonely.
“Sir. Lost has secured an FPSO. According to the map, it’s in close proximity.”
Seo Jun-seo showed him the location of the FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel) on his tablet.
“Then that will become our base. Have we secured a buyer for the oil?”
“For now, they’ve promised that Lost will purchase it once the crude is refined. We’ve also prepared small vessels to collect the crude. Will you refine it at sea?”
“No. Let’s bring that thing ashore. It’ll be better for defense.”
“Pardon?”
“Come forth, Fisherman!”
Splaaash—!
The water parted as the Fisherman revealed himself.
“Your Majesty! Greetings! You are with a handsome young man today!”
The Fisherman stared at Seo Jun-seo with an uncomfortably intense gaze.
Ah, was this their first meeting?
“His body looks frail, but I bet he’d enjoy the taste of plunder quite a bit. Hehehe…”
“Plunder?”
Don’t teach him bad things.
Kim Hwang-je cut the conversation short.
“Carry us over there.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Come forth, Spo-B!”
The Fisherman summoned the Spo-B.
Thud—!
A bright red sports scallop burst from the sea, slicing through the water.
“S…sir?”
“Come on, get on.”
“Wait just a moment.”
Even in a fantasy world, there were still laws and common sense.
Stepping onto the bare flesh of a scallop with shoes was simply unacceptable!
But Kim Hwang-je’s Fisherman boldly stepped onto the bare flesh and sat down.
Seo Jun-seo hesitantly followed suit.
“Let’s go!”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Handsome sir, you’d better hold on tight?”
Boom!
The Spo-B shot across the water like a bullet, racing toward the FPSO.
“Uwaaaaaaaaah!”
Kim Hwang-je felt a strange sense of enjoyment at Seo Jun-seo’s screams.
***
The black hole is quite to my liking.