A New Beginning (4)
A lawmaker… a National Assembly member?
My dad was a politician?
If he was a National Assembly member, every lingering question snapped into place at once. It wasn't a profession that made you rich on its own — but people who ran for office usually came from money, so a well-off household made perfect sense.
Plenty of politicians were former executives at major corporations, too. He could just as easily have been a genuine self-made success.
Looked at that way, the kidnap client's determination to keep me alive suddenly made sense. The single most powerful advantage you could squeeze out of blackmailing a National Assembly member? Influence over legislation and policy — bill-writing, regulatory carve-outs, that sort of thing.
And the payoff from that kind of influence took a long time to mature. Even a president needed months just to get a bill introduced. A lawmaker who lived and died by public opinion couldn't simply yank support from a policy or piece of legislation once he'd already backed it.
But if I died? He could blow every dirty secret wide open and take them down with him. From that moment on, the entire political establishment would tear them apart.
So that's why the assassin was so sure of himself. The daughter of a politician — they'd keep her safe no matter what. And if he was a mid-tier player of any real standing, of course the guy would know. Even if a third party recognized Dad, it wouldn't be strange at all.
A National Assembly seat could wobble over a relative's scandal, so lawmakers told their families the full picture. The original Baek Sowol would absolutely have known.
And if he was famous enough that anyone might recognize him… that meant a district politician who'd won at least three terms — someone serious enough that people could start whispering about a presidential run.
Even if he wasn't gunning for the top job yet, he was the kind of figure who might one day become party leader and a legitimate contender. At minimum, he was mentioned in that conversation.
At that level, knowing who he was wouldn't raise any eyebrows.
"How on earth did this get exposed?"
"Th-that is… we aren't entirely…"
"No. Forget it. Tracking it is pointless anyway. The fact that they targeted my youngest means the information already leaked. If Ragnos dumped the intel themselves, there's no trail left to follow."
Dad had said the name out loud. Ragnos. That had to be the killer outfit that hit me. For a politician of his caliber, knowing it wasn't surprising.
Then… right now, at this exact moment…!
I snatched up my phone and ran a search. Opening the gallery in front of the whole family felt a little much, so I typed Dad's three-syllable name into TreeWiki instead.
Baek Dohan (Politician)
A single article popped up. I tapped through, and there was Dad's face, plain as day.
Famous enough for this, and he still tried to hide it? Honestly.
Four terms, no less — and not even a proportional seat. A district seat. At that level he could have run for president. The fact that I didn't know about it meant he simply hadn't tried yet.
I found the Controversies and Incidents tab. There were quite a few. Gaffes, as you'd expect from a politician, and a healthy pile of suspicions besides. But you couldn't cover the sky with one hand forever.
"…Sowol? That… Dad can explain all of…"
"Huh? Yeah?"
"Never mind. Ahem. Ahem."
Not exactly a spotless politician, then. Not that it mattered. Too much integrity got you frozen out of politics. In the land of the one-eyed, the two-eyed were the freaks.
A four-term National Assembly member was bound to have a problem or two. That wasn't strange.
"So… if you're ever in trouble, Dad can pull some strings. I have that much influence. You understand…? If anything hard comes up, you tell your father…"
Judging purely by what I'd seen so far, he was a textbook doting dad. So why had their relationship soured in the first place? Being a politician's daughter was something most people would brag about. There was no obvious reason to resent it.
Well. You couldn't judge the inside from the outside. No matter how much money a family had, if a little kid was left home alone all the time… that kid could still end up lonely.
"So what are you going to do, Dad? You can't exactly call it a baseless rumor."
"First we protect her. Then we slip her into a decent guild or something—"
"…Is that even possible? Sowol's only D-rank."
"She'll make C-rank. She survived that gate. I already checked with the Association. At that level, if we play it right, they might take her."
"Forget that. Couldn't we just put her forward as a face for the brand…? There was that celebrity whose great-aunt was the president."
"For PR? That angle could actually work pretty well…"
Before I knew it, Soae unnie and Dad were mapping out my future. They had all the justification they needed. I'd nearly died (not really), so taking precautions was the natural thing for a family to do.
"If we park her somewhere like that, they'll stay away on their own. Hard to mess with someone who's famous in the entertainment world."
"And once people know she's my daughter, she won't get discriminated against from the inside, either."
Hmm. Dad had clearly decided to plant me in one of the Four Major Guilds. Honestly, with a politician's halo behind me… the odds were excellent. There was almost no way it wouldn't happen.
Factor in that I actually had some ability, and they had zero reason to refuse. They'd probably beg me to come. But that didn't mean they could force me in if I said no.
I was an adult. Dad's power didn't change that. A National Assembly member had to care about public opinion — if I refused, he couldn't shove me through. And I'd already seen how terrified he was that I might hate him.
So let's think this through. Do I go or not?
There was no need to pick a fight for the sake of it. So assume I go in. What do I actually gain?
Keeping the mage thing buried is already hitting its limits…
Lee Jihyeon knowing was fine. Han Yaeseo knowing was fine. Telling the family I was a mage wouldn't be a problem either.
As long as the circle stayed that small, I could control it. Even if it leaked, I'd know exactly who the culprit was. But there was one more person who already knew I was a mage.
In the end, that side has to have figured out I'm a mage. Next time they come for me, they'll send nothing less than an S-rank.
Mages were a class with near-limitless versatility. And when you hid your power, nobody could predict how strong you really were.
I'd even awakened a unique ability at the end. From their perspective, treating me as S-rank equivalent wouldn't be unreasonable. My actual skill didn't reach S-rank, of course — but the fact that they'd think that way was what mattered.
Hmm. Looks like joining a guild is unavoidable.
Going solo wasn't realistic anymore. If I kept operating alone, those people would just come after me again.
"Um… Dad? Unnie?"
"What is it, Sowol?"
"What's wrong, Sowol?"
"I… there's something I need to say…"
That didn't mean I was walking straight in, though. If I'd been an ordinary C-rank (genuine), maybe. But I was a mage.
"I'm actually… a mage."
With those words, I unfurled a simple spell above my open palm. A green magic circle turned slowly in the air, showing off its presence.
"…"
"…"
"…"
Soae unnie, Dad, and the aide all froze solid. Not a word out of any of them — they just stared.
"…What did you say?"
"…Since when?"
"W-wait a second… so… a mage… you mean? Miss… that class… the one with only eleven people…?"
Shock had them stumbling over their own tongues. In a way, mages were rarer than National Assembly members.
Even a president couldn't lean on them without a rock-solid pretext, terrified they'd bolt overseas. I wasn't at that level yet — but simply being a mage carried that kind of weight.
Which was exactly why everyone was losing their minds.
"…The reason I kept trying to work as a hunter was because I was a mage… I was hoping to climb the ranks as one…"
"Hold on. Sowol? Dad looked into this, you know. Mage status is fairly critical intelligence. But I never heard anything about the number of mages going up."
"Ah. That. I didn't find out through any official evaluation. The day I awakened, remember? I asked around online, and they told me not to go public."
"…I see. So that's why you refused the evaluation?"
"Yes. So I kept it hidden all the way until now… but if I'm going to join a guild… um. I think it would be better to reach B-rank first and then do it. People say mages are major strategic assets for the future, but right now they don't have any real combat power, so you can get locked into a terrible contract. They said growing carefully first and signing later wouldn't be too late…"
"…Dad could have handled any contract issues for you…"
"Right? I… honestly don't really know why I never told you either…"
From here on, I was gambling. I had no idea what the original Baek Sowol would have done. She might have called him. She might not have.
But looking at everything I knew about Baek Sowol and Baek Dohan's relationship… the odds were high that Baek Sowol had never even considered asking Baek Dohan for help.
"…I see. That's on me."
And the prediction landed dead-on. Dad backed down.
"Then… at least let me assign you an escort. B-rank? With a bodyguard at your side, you could grow into that easily enough."
"No. It's fine, Dad. I… actually have another option."
No — a better idea had just occurred to me.
"You know the chairman of Hermes? I've already got a meeting set up with him. I figure I can work things out through that conversation."
Time to cash in the meeting I'd lined up earlier.
The chairman of Hermes — Kim Jian.
Almost certainly the man Dad had sent my way back then, the one who'd crossed paths with me. It was time we had a proper talk.