Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 228

It was real.

An Su-ho’s name was echoing throughout the entire nation.

— Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint!...

— Mom, when I grow up I want to be the Sword Saint! Mom, when I grow up I want to be the Sword Saint! Mom, when I grow up I want to be the Sword Saint! Mom, when I grow up I want to be the Sword Saint! Mom, when I grow up I want to be the Sword Saint!...

— Damn it, it's Daesuho again. I was gonna sleep after reading just one more post tonight, but now I have to worship him and fall asleep. Because I...

— Seeing stuff like this, I suddenly realize how insane it is that An Su-ho has been consistently pulling this off solo within the Grand Hunter Association.

— I went to the Sword Saint Café today.

The Sword Saint Café didn’t open or anything.

I just thought about the Sword Saint at a café.

Actually, I didn’t go to a café.

I just drank coffee at home.

Well, not even coffee.

I’m just... in a Sword Saint state.

......

Su-ho’s popularity wasn’t just peaking—it had turned into worship.

And of course it had.

He was doing what no one else could.

At this point, unless some major scandal occurred, Su-ho had become a religion and a full-on social phenomenon.

As Su-ho skimmed through the online posts overflowing with obsession, he thought:

‘If I manage to purify the North as well, I can fully restore my position in Korea to what it was in my past life.’

This kind of thing wasn’t unfamiliar to Su-ho.

In his past life, he had already been both a religion and a social phenomenon.

Naturally.

He had been more than just Korea’s top Player—he was one of the most powerful in the world. National pride was bound to overflow.

That’s why Su-ho understood better than anyone how potent popularity could be as a weapon—and just how powerful it could become when wielded properly.

He spoke to Jeong Cheol-min, who had just returned.

“You did great.”

“I thought my heart was gonna give out.”

“You seemed pretty charismatic up there, though.”

“Took a calming pill.”

To be honest, even without it, Jeong Cheol-min would’ve done fine.

The version of him Su-ho remembered from the past had a surprising knack for public speaking.

Jeong Cheol-min asked,

“I went with what we discussed, but... are you seriously pushing forward with the North Korea project?”

“Of course. Absolutely. I’m not the kind of guy who runs his mouth and doesn’t back it up. And now that we’ve gone public with this, the elections for President and Vice President of the Association are going to move quickly.”

“Right. Normally you’d need upper management approval before making this kind of announcement...”

Unfortunately, both the Association President and Vice President positions were currently vacant.

So they had gotten interim approval from acting representatives to go ahead with the official announcement.

That way, it would pass easily.

‘Not that even if the President and VP were in place, I wouldn’t have gotten approval anyway.’

In fact, the timing of the official announcement during this power vacuum wasn’t solely because of upper-level approval.

The real reason was to separate the wheat from the chaff.

‘Should be getting some reactions soon.’

And that evening.

Just as Su-ho had predicted, the reactions came in.

He heard the news through Jeong Cheol-min.

Su-ho answered the phone while lying on his sofa at home.

“Yes, sir?”

— “You hear the news? All the candidates for President and Vice President of the Association just withdrew.”

“Really?”

— “Really? That’s your reaction? You sound way too calm.”

“I expected it.”

And he had.

They’d just dropped the North Korea purification project bomb before anyone had even officially stepped into those roles. From the standpoint of incoming senior officials, it was an overwhelming burden.

Even if Su-ho was the one leading the raids, in public office, the top brass usually took the fall when a project went sideways.

So it made sense they’d pull out early to avoid the fallout.

Su-ho asked,

“So who’s left?”

— “For President: Im Cheol. For Vice President: Do Sang-wan and Chae Gyu-cheol.”

“Hm.”

None of the three were the ones he and Jeong Cheol-min had picked.

Still, they weren’t the worst of the bunch, so Su-ho nodded.

“Between Do Sang-wan and Chae Gyu-cheol, who should we go with?”

— “Who do you prefer?”

“They’re basically the same, but if I had to pick the lesser evil, I’d go with Do Sang-wan.”

— “Then let’s go with Do Sang-wan.”

“Understood.”

Su-ho ended the call and then called Jo Jin-hwi.

— “Yes, Pro-nim.”

“Did you hear? All the President and VP candidates for the Association just withdrew.”

— “Wait, really? Then who’s still in the running?”

“For President: Im Cheol. For Vice President: Do Sang-wan and Chae Gyu-cheol. We’re going with Im Cheol as President and planning to back Do Sang-wan for VP.”

— “Then should I just release the article about Chae Gyu-cheol?”

“Let’s do that.”

— “Hmm... Pro-nim, if your goal is just to get him to back out, I can quietly take care of that on my end. Want me to do it?”

“On your end? How?”

— “If I just send some dirt to Chae Gyu-cheol, he’ll freak out and resign on his own.”

Ah.

Right.

That was definitely an option.

And a pretty good one at that.

The goal wasn’t punishment—it was to push for resignation.

“Alright. Go with that.”

— “Got it. I’ll take care of it right away.”

That was Jo Jin-hwi for you.

And the effect showed up the very next day.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Chae Gyu-cheol, under pressure, quickly submitted his resignation.

Thanks to that, the appointments for the President and VP of the Association progressed rapidly.

Jeong Cheol-min said,

“They start work in two days.”

“That’s fast.”

“No point leaving the seats vacant any longer. Also... the new Association President wants to meet with us.”

“Already?”

“Yeah. He said if we’re free, we should grab dinner tonight.”

“What about the Vice President?”

“Didn’t say anything. Not surprising though. Vice Presidents are basically just seat warmers anyway.”

That was true.

The real decisions and approvals always happened at the President level.

‘Which is why Park Gyu-min used to just skim off the top while playing both sides.’

Su-ho nodded.

“It’s because of the North Korea project, right?”

“Exactly. Normally, he’d summon all the department heads, but the Association’s in no state for [N O V E L I G H T] that right now. So he’s starting with us.”

There was probably another agenda, too.

But that worked out well.

Su-ho had wanted to meet anyway—better that the invite came first.

Su-ho smiled, and Jeong Cheol-min sighed.

“How can you smile? I’m more worried than anything.”

“What are you worried about? Im Cheol’s got more than enough skeletons in his closet. If he sucks, we’ll just boot him later.”

“You say stuff like that so casually. But here’s what you need to remember: the fact that he stayed while everyone else quit means he’s got ambition—and a lot of it. Guys like that can be scarier. They might try to control us for their own gain.”

“Then I welcome it.”

Jeong Cheol-min shook his head.

“Knew you’d say that. Anyway, keep your evening free. You’re coming with me.”

“What about the other team members?”

“Only you and me were invited. That means he’s already done his homework on us.”

Then the conversation would be simpler.

Su-ho smiled and said,

“Then let’s use the free time to grind some levels.”

“Oh, come on!”

“You’ve been slacking. You need to at least hit level 100. Don’t worry, though—I’ll help this time.”

And he meant it.

He was planning to use the Ring of Sacrifice.

“...Ugh, fine.”

The two of them headed for the Virus Dungeon.

Time was money, after all.

***

That evening.

After exiting the dungeon on schedule, the two of them headed to the restaurant they’d been contacted about.

It was a high-end Korean set-course restaurant called Geumhojeong. When they arrived, Im Cheol was already there, waiting for them.

“Oh, so you two are the talents from Special Management Team 2. Come, have a seat.”

Im Cheol gave a much better impression in person than he did in photographs.

He had a solid build and slicked-back hair. He gave off a hearty and bold vibe.

Of course, that was just his appearance—he’d certainly done his fair share of shady things behind the scenes too.

Su-ho and Jeong Cheol-min greeted him politely and sat down across from him.

Then, smiling, Jeong Cheol-min reached for the bottle of alcohol first.

“I’ve heard a lot about you two. Word is, you’re the hottest names not just in the Association, but in the entire country.”

“Haha, that’s too generous.”

“No need to be modest. I may not be an Awakened, so I can’t fully relate, but I’ve heard plenty. Especially about Officer An—you’re considered a one-of-a-kind in the industry.”

He went on and on, laying the praise on thick—almost ridiculously so.

So Su-ho and Jeong Cheol-min simply played along, exchanging the usual pleasantries.

Once they were nearly through the first bottle of liquor, Im Cheol finally got to the point.

“The reason I asked to meet today is simple—I wanted to ask you something.”

Something he wanted to ask.

At those words, Jeong Cheol-min tensed up slightly.

Su-ho kept his faint smile unchanged.

Su-ho asked,

“What would you like to know?”

“First off, the North Korea project. Are you seriously planning to move forward with it?”

“Yes, we are.”

“I see. Then... are you intending to run it through the Gate Bureau?”

At that question—

Su-ho picked up on a subtle nuance and had a feeling.

Jeong Cheol-min did too.

So Su-ho pretended not to notice and asked,

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. If the North Korea project does go forward, it’s going to be the largest project in the history of the Association. Is there really a need to push that through the Gate Bureau? Personally, I think it has a very specialized nature—something that would be better handled by the Special Division.”

At that, Su-ho smiled inwardly.

Ha.

This guy’s smarter than he looks.

He and Jeong Cheol-min had already planned to use that same reasoning as justification to move themselves into the Special Division.

But with Im Cheol bringing it up first, the conversation was going to be much easier.

Then Im Cheol drove the point home.

“I’m not a capable man. I lack your industry knowledge, and since I’m not an Awakened, I can’t stand on the front lines. But as Association President, I can give wings to the work you’re doing. So here’s my proposal: how would you two like to transfer to the Special Division with this opportunity?”

At that, Su-ho and Jeong Cheol-min exchanged a glance—then both nodded.

Su-ho said,

“Thank you very much for the generous offer. If we may ask—should the team leader and I transfer to the Special Division, what would our ranks be?”

It was the most important question.

Im Cheol answered without hesitation.

“By the book, you’d be a team leader in the Special Department, and Team Leader Jeong would be promoted to Section Chief.”

Hmm.

As expected.

But that wasn’t quite the arrangement they were aiming for.

Just as Su-ho was about to think that to himself, Im Cheol continued.

“However, from what I’ve gathered, the Special Division isn’t the kind of place where procedure and tradition matter much. I’ve heard they handle the hardest tasks in the entire Association. That being the case, I believe Team Leader Jeong should take the position of Division Chief, and you, Officer An, should be promoted to Section Chief. That way, you two can handle the North Korea project—and whatever else comes your way—smoothly and efficiently.”

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at f(r)eew𝒆bnov𝒆l.com Only