Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 196

“...Kuhh...!”

Director Baek Joon-seok collapsed.

He wasn’t dead.

He had only fainted from accumulated damage and the psychological shock.

And the cause?

Na Do-won’s relentless beating with his club.

When Baek Joon-seok saw the two men visiting him in the middle of the night, he was so startled he looked as if he had seen a ghost.

“T-Team Leader Na? And Investigator An? How...?”

“Why do you look so surprised? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“W-what are you saying...?”

“Come outside. Unless you want your family to see you in a miserable state.”

At the very least, they gave him some courtesy.

Since he was a married man with two children, they took him somewhere out of sight before beating him senseless.

Of course, in the end, no injuries remained.

Because Su-ho had taken care of it.

Looking at the unconscious Baek Joon-seok, Su-ho searched through his phone and spoke.

“No one else seems to be involved. Looks like it was just the two of them orchestrating the murder.”

“...”

Na Do-won remained silent at Su-ho’s words.

Even though he had vented his anger with the club, it didn’t really feel like he had.

After all, how many years had he spent with these people?

The betrayal ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) and loss he felt were beyond words.

Su-ho glanced at him before adding,

“What are you thinking?”

“My emotions are just all over the place.”

“I understand. But don’t waste too much emotion on them. Especially not guilt or pity. What’s done is done, and mistakes can’t be undone. Focus on the present and the future. If I hadn’t saved you, what do you think would have happened to your family?”

“...You’re right. Thank you for setting things straight.”

“No need to thank me. Let’s go ahead and process the arrests.”

“Understood.”

Su-ho gathered Kim Won-hu and Baek Joon-seok and headed to the association with Na Do-won.

When they arrived, Special Investigation Team 2 was already there, having arrived first with the captured members of the Seodaemun Three.

Lee Hyun-seok’s eyes widened in shock when he saw Kim Won-hu and Baek Joon-seok slung over their shoulders.

“Team Leader, what the hell happened? I get Team Leader Kim, but why the Director...?”

“I’ll explain later. Is everyone alright?”

“Yes, we’re fine.”

“Then lock up the Seodaemun members separately and start the interrogation. Hyun-seok, you follow me.”

“Yes, sir.”

Everything moved swiftly.

Even though it was already late at night, no one had any complaints.

If anything, their eyes were burning with anticipation at the thought of tearing into their captives.

After locking Baek Joon-seok and Kim Won-hu separately in the underground detention center, Na Do-won took Su-ho and Lee Hyun-seok to the break room on the same floor.

There, Na Do-won explained everything to Lee Hyun-seok.

When he finished, Lee Hyun-seok looked completely dumbfounded.

“What the hell...?”

“It’s all true. Their phones still have the call recordings and message logs. Use them to compile the reports.”

“...What do we tell the others?”

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“Hah...”

Yeah.

If they wanted to proceed properly, the team had to know the truth.

After thinking for a moment, Na Do-won made a decision.

“Gather everyone before they start writing reports and tell them everything. If they want to beat up the Seodaemun members midway, let them. Just don’t kill them.”

“Understood.”

Technically, beating up detainees was illegal...

But in the Special Division, it was an unspoken practice.

After all, Awakened criminals were far more resilient than regular people, and any injuries could be healed with potions or healing skills.

More importantly, villains often relied on their own durability to resist interrogations.

So, while the Special Division originally had no harsh interrogation practices, they had gradually adopted them out of necessity.

Lee Hyun-seok stood up after receiving the order, but before leaving the break room, he bowed deeply to Su-ho.

“Thank you. You saved us.”

“Haha, it’s nothing. Let’s talk again later.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Lee Hyun-seok left.

Now, only Na Do-won and Su-ho remained in the break room.

With only the two of them left, Su-ho smiled brightly and spoke again.

“Well then, should we talk about the real matter now?”

“Understood. But...”

Na Do-won glanced at Su-ho, still finding it hard to believe.

“The things you said earlier... Are they all true? You actually captured the Raid Guild leader and the Inagawa people?”

“Yes, it’s true. And right now, I have them detained separately.”

Su-ho took out several photos he had taken beforehand and showed them to Na Do-won.

The images depicted the Songgang brothers from the Raid Guild, Songgang-cheon’s elite unit, and the Inagawa faction, all unconscious.

“For a long time, the Raid Guild has been smuggling cultural artifacts, high-value items, and magical stones—practically treated like gold—to the Inagawa Syndicate. So, I caught them red-handed and arrested them on the spot. I also secured their transaction records and stolen goods.”

“Then why didn’t you bring them in immediately?”

“I was planning to. But I happened to get information about the Seodaemun Three, so I changed my plan. Look at Baek Joon-seok and Kim Won-hu. Even if I had handed over the Raid Guild right away, do you think it would have been processed properly? Sure, they might have rushed a few promotions to handle it. But in the end, I figured they’d regret it later.” ƒreewebɳovel.com

“Then... Do you trust me?”

“I’m choosing to, for now. Out of all the people in the Special Division, you seem like the most decent one. Of course, if you ever change, I might regret this too. That’s why I’m telling you this upfront—don’t change.”

The truth was, Su-ho did trust him.

He had seen Na Do-won’s character in his past life.

But even so, saying this now served as a kind of safeguard.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Taking a sip from a drink he had grabbed from the break room, Su-ho continued speaking.

"I will be joining the Special Division. I was originally supposed to enter anyway, but because of everything that happened, things got delayed. And if I do end up working in the Special Division, I don’t want another case like Pi Seong-yeol’s to happen again.

You know I was recruited as a Fifth-Class Special Appointment, right? If I transfer this time, I’ll at least become a Team Leader or even a Director. In that case, I’d like the people I work with to be as reliable as you, Team Leader Na. I need people who don’t care about outside noise and simply get their work done properly."

As Su-ho spoke, he pulled out the Raid Guild’s smuggling ledger from his inventory.

"So let’s make it so that this case is officially recorded as something you solved in cooperation with our Special Management Team 2 in the Gate Bureau. It’d be best if you took over as Director of the Investigation Department."

"Me?"

"That way, you can protect the junior officers below you and work more freely. As for me, I’ll be heading to the Special Division. Ah, and don’t worry about who will take over as the next Special Division Director. It’ll be someone trustworthy. Now, do you have any questions?"

It was a lot of information all at once.

But nothing was complicated. Everything made perfect sense.

And more importantly, Na Do-won didn’t even need to question Su-ho’s integrity. He already knew—both from internal sources and the media—exactly what kind of person Su-ho was.

So, just like Su-ho had chosen to trust him, Na Do-won decided to trust Su-ho as well.

After all, Su-ho had saved not just him but his entire team.

"Understood. I’ll contact you as soon as I finish handling the paperwork."

"Thank you. Moving forward, if I have anything else to discuss or coordinate, I’ll reach out to you directly. Oh, and one more thing—I'd appreciate it if today’s events didn’t leave this department."

"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to keep everyone quiet about it."

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"Good. Then, if you designate the holding cells, I’ll place the Raid Guild members and the Inagawa people there. Ah, and during the investigation, there’s no need to notify Japan. We aren’t obligated to, and bringing it up now will only make things unnecessarily messy."

"But once the sentencing is decided, we’ll have to inform them."

"That’s when they should find out. That way, they won’t have a chance to interfere."

Na Do-won was slightly taken aback by Su-ho’s thorough handling of the situation.

He had always known Su-ho was impressive, but he had thought that was limited to clearing Gates. He had never imagined Su-ho was this well-versed in matters like this.

It made him see Su-ho in a new light.

‘Age really doesn’t mean everything.’

Shortly after, Su-ho received the assigned holding cells from Na Do-won and proceeded to detain the members of the Raid Guild and the Inagawa Syndicate as if he had just captured them from outside.

‘With this, the Raid Guild case is settled.’

Su-ho took pictures of the Songgang brothers and Inagawa’s Suiru, all locked up in their holding cells, and sent them to Ion, the representative of Union.

A call came in immediately.

"Hello?"

— Is this real?

"Of course it is."

— ...Where are you? Let’s talk in person.

"Understood. I’m at the Association right now. Where should I go?"

— If you’re at the Association, just come to the same place as last time.

"Got it."

Su-ho immediately got into the driver’s seat and started his car.

***

Upon arriving at the same bar building as before, he saw that the guards he had seen last time were still there.

Su-ho took the elevator up to the bar, and upon seeing him, Ion stood up from his seat.

"You’re here?"

"Yes, I came straight over since it wasn’t far."

"First of all, good work. But can I ask what exactly happened?"

"In short, the Raid Guild was smuggling cultural artifacts, magical stones, and various items to Japan’s Inagawa Guild. I caught them in the act and made an emergency arrest. The holding cells I showed you earlier? They’re in the underground detention center of the Great Korea Hunter Association. Oh, and of course, I secured all the related documents, including the smuggling ledgers."

"..."

Ion was at a loss for words.

He had been trying to figure out how Su-ho planned to take down the industry’s second-largest guild.

And this was how he did it.

Even more shocking was the fact that he hadn’t known about the Raid Guild’s cultural artifact smuggling.

Yet, not only had Su-ho known, but he had gone straight to the scene and caught them in the act.

And this deal even involved Japan’s Inagawa Guild—one of the top five largest guilds in the country.

‘Inagawa... Those guys are a massive organization. And they’re absolutely insane...!’

And Su-ho went after them without hesitation?

Ion unconsciously swallowed hard.

Seeing that, Su-ho chuckled.

"Inagawa doesn’t yet know that their representative for this deal, Suiru, has been captured. They’ll only find out once the trial ends and he gets sent to Cheongok Prison. Until then, if they suspect anything, their first suspect will be Union."

"...Us?"

"Think about it. Who else is in a position to attack the Raid Guild right now? The only possible suspect is Union. And now that the Raid Guild is falling apart, you’ll be absorbing them soon, won’t you? That makes you the perfect target for suspicion."

"That’s..."

Now that he thought about it, Su-ho was right.

Which made Ion frown.

This wasn’t the outcome he had been aiming for.

Sensing his concern, Su-ho added,

"So if Inagawa does start suspecting you, just use my name. Of course, they might not believe you based on words alone, so I’ll send you this."

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Su-ho sent Ion a selfie he had taken at the smuggling site, with Suiru’s gang beaten and captured in the background.

Ion’s eyes widened.

"If Union is going to be my shadow, then it’s only right that I protect Union. So use my name however you like. It’ll make things easier for both of us. Now then, since you’ll be busy absorbing the Raid Guild, I’ll take my leave. Ah, but don’t even think about ignoring my calls in the future. We’re good partners now, after all."

"Ah... Understood."

"Let’s stick with ‘Hunter’ and ‘Representative’ as our terms of address. That should work better. I’ll be in touch again soon."

After finishing his business, Su-ho gave a slight nod and got up from his seat.

As Su-ho left in the elevator, Ion stared blankly at the spot he had just been sitting in and muttered under his breath.

"Wow... That guy is a complete lunatic."