Chapter 1213. Finishing Touches (3)

“Prime Minister! We just received news from the Martial Assembly!”

South Korea’s Prime Minister, Kim Myeong-Chan, shot up to his feet when a messenger burst through his office doors.

Entering without knocking like that should have been enough of a justification for a summary dismissal, but neither Kim Myeong-Chan nor the messenger had the mental leeway to care about stuff like that.

“What happened? Tell me! Hurry!”

The messenger noticed how urgent the Prime Minister sounded and quickly began his report. “Sir! According to the Assembly, our side has completely obliterated the first and second wave of the enemy invasion! Losses to our side are negligible!”

“Obliterated? As in, completely routed?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Do we have confirmation?”

“Not yet, sir. We haven’t been able to verify their claim yet. But they don’t have a reason to give us a false report...”

“Right, right...”

Kim Myeong-Chan plopped down on his chair. It felt like all of his energy had suddenly abandoned him. With his tension keeping him on the edge gone, a wave of horrifying fatigue suddenly washed over him.

He stayed up the whole night to hear this news. And he had been paying the utmost attention to any voices coming from outside his office until now, too.

‘A complete victory, eh...?’

It was good news, indeed. Very good news. So good that the anxiety gripping his entire body instantly left him after hearing it.

However, he still couldn’t say this was the best outcome for the country.

As a Korean, Kim Myeong-Chan obviously prayed for the Martial Assembly’s overwhelming victory. However, as the Prime Minister of this country? His ultimate wish was a little different.

Why was that? The answer was actually simple.

The Korean Martial Assembly was expanding its scale with unstoppable and frightening momentum. Since that was the case, just how much more frightening would the Assembly’s momentum be after it had completely crushed the invaders and taken over the Japanese martial society?

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

‘A person’s position can be such a devious thing.’

The Martial Assembly and Kim Myeong-Chan were in the same boat together. So, the Prime Minister’s office went all-out with its support of the Assembly. In return, the Assembly gifted the government with massive benefits.

The cost from the legalization of the Assembly had netted the government a massive windfall as tax revenue, but the more ‘pertinent’ thing to note in that situation was that a portion of that revenue went directly into the coffers of the ruling party.

Since the party couldn’t publicize this... donation, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it bribery. But it was also the world’s safest bribery since the opposition couldn’t complain to the media about it. Indeed, no one could complain about how corrupt this arrangement was.

The government pocketed bribery and a large boost to its tax revenue. Meanwhile, the Martial Assembly could legally expand its business ventures now. Without a doubt, this was a win-win situation for everyone involved.

In that sense, the ruling party and the Martial Assembly could be referred to as best buddies. They both knew what they wanted from each other, and better still, they had no reason to antagonize each other, either.

However...!

‘Nothing in this world is everlasting.’

Kim Myeong-Chan knew all too well. As a matter of fact, any individual participating in the game called politics would know, too. And that was...

There was no such thing as an eternal friend or irreconcilable enemy.

For the sake of benefits, yesterday’s enemy could become today’s ally. For the same reason, today’s friend could become tomorrow’s foe. That was what politics was like.

In that sense, the Martial Assembly continuously getting stronger shouldn’t be viewed as

a good thing

overall. If this rate of growth continued unabated, the government would one day end up in a position to obey the Assembly instead.

...For instance, like the Japanese government.

That didn’t mean Kim Myeong-Chan wished for the Martial Assembly’s defeat, of course. He thought that the best outcome would be the two sides exchanging crippling blows with each other before the Koreans emerged victorious. However, the pendulum had swung completely to one side in the end.

This would put some pressure on the government’s shoulders moving on.

Kim Myeong-Chan squeezed his eyes shut.

‘It’s... We’re already riding on the tiger’s back, anyway!’

It was too late to back out of this arrangement now. With how far things had progressed, the Prime Minister believed he had no choice but to cooperate with the Assembly for a mutually beneficial coexistence.

Besides, it wasn’t as if he had a workable method to keep the Assembly in check, anyway!

A soft sigh leaked out of Kim Myeong-Chan’s mouth without him realizing it.

The messenger tilted his head a little. “Sir?”

“Give me a moment.”

Kim Myeong-Chan dismissively waved his hand at the messenger. Acting this way in front of other people was not a good idea, but he needed time to organize his thoughts first.

In the time it took a cigarette to burn to ashes, and then some, he kept his eyes closed and carefully pondered his options. Eventually, though, Kim Myeong-Chan opened his eyes and stared at the messenger.

“Was that all the Assembly’s communication said?”

“No, sir. They also said they would be moving to the next destination to tie up the loose ends of this war.”

“And where is that next destination?”

“They did not specify, sir.”

Kim Myeong-Chan silently gestured with his chin.

The messenger wordlessly bowed, then exited the office. He had noticed that the Prime Minister’s mood seemed to be tilting toward ‘discomfort’ at the moment. He obviously had no idea why the Prime Minister would react this way, but his experience still told him to keep his mouth shut in situations like this one.

Clack...

Once the office door silently closed, Kim Myeong-Chan leaned against his chair.

‘Good news, is it...’

What a strange thing this was.

The more one lived, and the more one learned about life, the harder it’d get to define certain things.

When Kim Myeong-Chan was younger, the world was black and white.

Either it was for good or for evil. You were either a good person or a bad person. One should stand on the side of the good to fight the bad people.

Do good things and eliminate the bad—how simple those days were back then!

However, growing older and learning about the ways of the world had taught him that life was not that simple.

Seemingly good things always had another, a darker, side to them. Even things that seemed bad could usher in a beneficial situation if you were patient enough.

This was one such case.

On the surface, at least, this event was a ‘good thing’. Winning big against another nation should always be counted as good, no? However, look past the veneer of good, and what was lurking under the surface didn’t seem all that encouraging.

The influence wielded by the Martial Assembly increasing over the system of governance called the Republic of Korea shouldn’t be celebrated mindlessly, after all.

‘We need a way to keep the Assembly in line.’

The duty of the government was to protect its citizens... and also to keep them in line.

It must protect its citizens from danger. And it must keep dangerous citizens in line, too.

Different people should have differing opinions on this topic, but Kim Myeong-Chan believed this was the fundamental role of the government.

To fulfill this role, then, he needed a way to keep the powerful organization called the Korean Martial Assembly in line somehow.

“

Fuu-woo

...”

Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of a way to do that.

Weakening the Assembly’s influence was actually simple. One mustn’t forget that the government wielded the ultimate power.

No matter how powerful a company or an organization was, it’d still be powerless before the might of the country. If the government wanted to, it’d be possible to scrub clean the Assembly’s influence from the Korean society.

However, so what?

The Martial Assembly’s true power wasn’t its wealth or the influence over the politicians. No, it was with

violence

. The Assembly would never lose its grip on power as long as that source remained unaffected.

Even if the Assembly’s assets were seized to sever their hands and feet, it’d still regrow its lost limbs like some kind of lizard before thrusting their blade of revenge right under Kim Myeong-Chan’s throat.

Kim Myeong-Chan sighed deeply as his thoughts deepened.

He reached out to a packet of cigarettes resting on his desk. After mouthing a cigarette, he slowly lit it up. The tip of the cigarette sizzled quietly, releasing pure-white smoke into the office’s air.

‘I’ve grown old, haven’t I?’

His vision had gotten blurrier from fatigue.

He only had stayed up for one night, yet fatigue was trying to crush his entire body now. To think he must drag this ageing body to a negotiating table with those physically powerful individuals!

He deserved all the pity in the world, didn’t he?

Kim Myeong-Chan sobered up from his thoughts when his phone suddenly rang. He furrowed his brow at the name appearing on the phone’s screen.

‘At this hour?’

It was too early to be morning, but too late to be dawn right now.

Of course, it wasn’t as if there was a fixed schedule when discussing matters involving the country. Even so, it was still a bit too early to receive calls like this. Especially when the caller was Kim Myeong-Chan’s superior officer in the government!

Kim Myeong-Chan stubbed his cigarette out, then sat upright before answering the phone. “This is Prime Minister Kim Myeong-Chan speaking.”

He got up when he confirmed who was on the other side of the line.

“Yes, sir.”

While listening, Kim Myeong-Chan’s brows furrowed even more. His expression was unreadable, as if what he heard just now had been completely out of the left field for him.

“But sir, that is...”

Even before Kim Myeong-Chan could say anything, the other side interrupted him first. He was forced to listen in silence while chewing on his lips.

“Sir, I understand what you’re saying. But they aren’t people we can control like that. Yes, I’ll do my best and request it from them. But expecting a firm answer will be...”

Kim Myeong-Chan’s brows creased up even deeper.

“Yes, of course. That is a possibility. However, your excellency... No, I mean, Mister President.”

Kim Myeong-Chan was so flustered that he even muttered a term no longer used in the government. After immediately correcting himself, Kim Myeong-Chan was about to say something, only to falter for a few seconds. Eventually, though, he forced himself to speak up.

“Giving them too many benefits in their way could become a noose around the government’s throat, sir. That other

place

is proof of this, sir.”

After saying that, Kim Myeong-Chan closed his eyes and listened to the words coming through the phone’s speaker.

He had done everything he could. As the Prime Minister, he could offer his advice and taste the waters in a roundabout way, but going against the President was out of the question.

The idea of the Prime Minister being the second-in-command of the government was just an illusion. At times, the Prime Minister wielded less power than the Chief of Secretaries in the government. And he was like a little fly compared to the heads of the ruling and opposition parties.

This was all he could do in his position.

“Understood, sir. I’ll try my best, then. Yes. Good day to you, too.”

Once the call ended, Kim Myeong-Chan carefully put the phone down. Without budging an inch, he stared at the phone’s dark screen for a while.

But then, he began moving a bit more frantically than before to take out another cigarette.

After filling his lungs with the cigarette smoke, Kim Myeong-Chan spat out a lengthy groan.

‘This is so goddamn laughable.’

His irritation level suddenly shot through the roof.

Of course he knew. He knew his opinions couldn’t be correct all the time. And he couldn’t possibly predict the future, too.

That was why humanity got rid of monarchy and set up the system of democratic governance. Several people discussing and making decisions should have better odds of getting it right than one person having all the power, after all!

Even though Kim Myeong-Chan knew that, he still found it difficult to keep his frustration down in situations like this.

‘The Martial Assembly is far too dangerous.’

The President sounded as if he greatly underestimated the danger posed by the Martial Assembly. No, maybe he didn’t fully appreciate the danger of the martial world itself. Even though he had many examples of countries that were nothing more than puppet regimes after their own martial societies had crushed them!

As a matter of fact, he didn’t even have to use the example of the martial world here. Just look at Mexico or the Middle East; those regions were beset with crises of

uniquely

themed powerful organizations suppressing the local governments.

Of course, it wasn’t as if the Martial Assembly would act as unreasonably as those lunatics, but what guarantee was there that it wouldn’t try to control the Korean political scene from the shadows?

‘Right. We definitely need a countermeasure.’

If doing so internally was impossible, then...

Then, Kim Myeong-Chan must consider asking for help from external players next.

He could think of a few factions, although it was unknown if they would be willing to offer a helping hand. However, as long as he could get them to help, well...

Then, effectively suppressing the Martial Assembly could be a distinct possibility.

Of course, he knew he must avoid the situation of inviting a hungry tiger into his backyard just to chase away a wolf.

“For now, though...”

Now wasn’t the right time yet. For now, he must remain on good terms with the Assembly.

Kim Myeong-Chan consciously tried to smirk. To ensure that his voice would not contain any hints of anxiety.

...So that the Assembly wouldn’t notice all the anxiety suppressed deep inside Kim Myeong-Chan!

This task wasn’t difficult, however. Kim Myeong-Chan was a politician, after all. One would never survive as a politician if one couldn’t drink a cup of booze containing spit.

His expression noticeably softer now, Kim Myeong-Chan picked up his phone and dialed a familiar number.

Several ringtones later, the expected voice came from the phone’s speaker. Kim Myeong-Chan spoke up in the smoothest, friendliest voice he could muster.

“Chief Lee Hyeon-Su? It’s me, Kim Myeong-Chan.”