Chapter 90. The Rebel Army.
Chapter 90. The Rebel Army.
I'd assumed they wouldn't come out with such an obvious line — but the obvious line turned out to be exactly right.
"How about settling in and living comfortably with the survivors on our side?"
"Mm... honestly, I'm not really keen."
Some had no reaction at all, as if they'd seen it coming. Others had the exact opposite reaction. The Chief Advisor, one of the latter, asked why.
"I'm not trying to boast, but as you all know from the reports, I'm strong. So what reason do I have to be tied down anywhere?"
"Still, wouldn't it be better to live alongside others, relying on and supporting each other...? And someone of your caliber would certainly be treated very well here...!"
"You wouldn't be treating me well without a reason."
They'd lavish good treatment on me, and in return they'd demand something — no question about it. I'm going to be leaving soon anyway. Do I really need to be tied down to these people?
Having sized up my unyielding attitude and apparently concluded that no argument would work, the Chief Advisor pushed a little too far.
"You're a reservist, aren't you?"
In wartime-level circumstances, the Republic of Korea can conscript. And so what?
"I'm exempt."
"..."
"Still, the people here are living reasonably well. Do you really need me for some specific reason?"
"We have to look to the future. We want to rebuild the Republic of Korea instead of staying content with the present indefinitely."
Do these people not know that Yongsan is still safe? No, that can't be right.
Feigning ignorance, I asked them.
"I won't ask in detail, but have you tried contacting the Blue House or similar places?"
I won't ask in detail. They'd have grasped what I meant. In plain terms: "Aren't you taking advantage of this chaos to attempt an overthrow?"
As the Chief Advisor swallowed hard and couldn't get a word out, the Commander beside him answered instead.
"We did. We were able to make contact. Early on."
"Early on?"
"Now it's too dangerous to contact them without caution. There are people monitoring our communications."
At the Commander's bombshell statement, the others began to stop him. Honestly, I was surprised too. Eavesdropping on communications in 21st-century South Korea?
"Just as you're thinking — there really are people scheming to seize actual control of the country."
"Fellow military, then."
A few places capable of monitoring military communications came to mind, but at the very least, it wasn't Seoul. I'd been there myself. And it wasn't Gyeryong, where the three service headquarters are clustered together.
"Y-yes, correct... That's why we must escort the President here quickly. Before those people do something."
Swallowing one side of the story whole is a stupid move. These people might also be competing with those others to devour the country. Still, I could dig for a little information.
"Do you have any suspected locations? I don't know — like Seoul, or somewhere being instigated by North Korea."
The Commander hesitated, torn over whether to speak. It wasn't something to be blabbed about carelessly to an outsider, so I waited until he decided to talk on his own.
"Sigh... The places we've narrowed it down to are Busan, Seoul, and Gyeryong, where the 3rd Army Command is located."
Is there a large base in Busan too...? It's not like I'd know unless I went to the army...
But,
"Seoul and Gyeryong are off the table, at least."
"How could you possibly...!"
I gave him a flat look and silently opened my subspace, pulling out a few rifles and grenades.
"Already..."
He'd been about to ask whether I'd already gone and checked, but he stopped and stared at me, lost in thought.
Right... The reason he's showing us this is...
"Then that essentially confirms Busan..."
"But aren't there other large forces besides Busan?"
"To have a grasp on the fleets' and ships' exact disposition, you'd have to be in the same Navy, or the Ministry of National Defense, or Gyeryong Command. And since two of those are ruled out, the only one left is..."
While listening to them talk, I'd quietly checked, and these people honestly leaned closer to "good." But I mustn't judge that rashly. Not every person who wants power and glory is evil. Still, from watching the people living here, my assessment of them was a tentative plus.
"If you do rescue the President, what do you intend to do?"
"Naturally, we'd return him to his post as quickly as possible and begin the reconstruction of the nation..."
I still don't know about that...
I wanted to tear open their heads and check inside. There actually is a spell for peering into someone's mind, but the downside is that the target becomes a complete imbecile afterward.
Come to think of it, I was trying to catch fish without even baiting the hook.
I stuffed all the weapons I'd set out back into my subspace and at the same time brought out my satellite radio, which they recognized instantly — they were military people, after all.
-- Crackle...
"What are you...?"
I brought my index finger to my lips and asked for a moment of silence. After a brief burst of noise, a human voice came through the radio.
"Representative, it's been nearly two days. To what do I owe the call?"
At the voice they all were utterly shocked. None of them were minor ranks — each held a position high enough to know whose voice it was.
"I was just going to let you know I'll be heading back before long. And I called to see how you were doing."
"Hoho, Representative saying that sort of thing? You must be quite bored."
We exchanged brief, casual pleasantries and ended the call. I put the radio away and looked at them. Not a single one showed guilt or anxiety; instead, I sensed only relief from them. There was still the possibility they'd deceived my senses.
If it's at that level, well, I'll just have to be fooled.
"Why are you letting us hear this?"
They'd know, of course, that this wasn't intimidation. To begin with, the President's voice hadn't sounded afraid — it had sounded friendly.
I explained everything: that I had been suspicious of them, and that I had been living in Gimpo ever since the apocalypse broke out.
"Still, it's a relief that the President is safe."
"Would you consider joining our group?"
"Moving personnel by helicopter is possible, but the warships are not so easy."
To bring a fleet all the way from the East Sea, they would inevitably have to pass through Busan.
"Because of those bastards."
"Yes..."
We spent a long time discussing the matter of joining forces, ship repairs, and operational planning. The conversation was mostly wrapped up, and it was about time to leave. I told them I would send a helicopter later so they could come and talk further, then I stepped outside.
"Come to think of it, I figured someone would ask about you, but they just stared and said nothing."
-- Screech!
When I got outside, it was already much darker than I'd expected. It looked like I'd need to pitch a tent nearby and rough it tonight. I tore some meat into small pieces for the little guy and chewed on some jerky myself before falling asleep.
-- Peck! Peck! Peck!
Same as always, he woke me with pecks of his beak. But when I got up, I saw traces of dried blood on his jet-black feathers — as if he'd been somewhere.
It's obviously someone else's blood...
I took out a wet wipe and cleaned his feathers with a few swipes.
"You didn't eat any zombies, right...?"
As if he understood me, he cried out and shook his head from side to side. After cleaning off all the dried blood, we set off again. This time, wanting to travel a bit faster, I held him in my arms and ran fast enough that the cars I passed shook.
After running for a while, the entrance to the village soon came into view. The guard on duty at the entrance saw me and saluted.
"Representative, you've returned."
"Good work."
I walked into the village while watching the guards relay the message over the radio. Thinking they'd be gathered at the Assembly Hall, I headed that way. As expected, everyone was assembled at the entrance to the hall.
"Representative!"
"Brother!"
"Sihu!"
I answered the calls with a brief greeting and stepped inside the Assembly Hall. Once I took a seat, we exchanged how-are-you's.
"Representative, how have you been?"
"I just went out to the East Sea for the first time in a while and roamed around a bit."
As we talked, I told them about the Navy personnel I'd met on the East Sea.
"If we really could secure the warships, it would open up a lot of possibilities."
"However..."
I also told them about Busan — about whether we needed to eliminate those people or win them over.
"Given the nature of the military, if we deal with just the commanders giving the orders, the lower ranks can be absorbed quickly."
"I already told the 1st Fleet Commander I'd send a helicopter so he can come and talk with us."
"The Army, the Air Force, and now even the Navy joining us... the blueprint for reclaiming Korea is becoming more concrete. It wouldn't be possible without the Representative."
I brushed off the President's encouraging words with a humble deflection. And all the while they'd been talking, they kept sneaking glances at the little one perched on my shoulder.
"Is that bird on your shoulder the one you mentioned?"
"Yes. It was quite a struggle to hatch him."
I'd said it with a grin, as a joke, but when they heard I'd struggled, they all put on surprised expressions.
"I'm joking."
"Huh... sometimes you crack jokes too, Representative."
"Heh heh... Do I?"
I explained how this little guy could move faster than a bullet and had killed zombies.
"Huh... So that enormous bird moves at such speed?"
"It's probably a change that happened as he absorbed my mana. A special case."
On either side of me, Chaeyeon and Jia were reaching out their hands and pulling them back, as if they wanted to pet him. Then our eyes met, and Chaeyeon suddenly asked.
"Sihu, by the way, what's his name?"
"Uh... I haven't really given him one yet."