NOVPUBLooking at Seong Guk-eon, who was lost in thought, I felt an inexplicable sense of frustration.
Jeon Moo-young knew that Seong Guk-eon’s grandfather, the former head of the Korean branch, had left some clues at Eungwang High.
However, when Seong Guk-eon was attending, there was no time to find any clues due to the establishment of the Jiikhoe.
So, Seong Guk-eon had planned to leave the task to his cousin.
He had been waiting for the moment when Seong Si-wan would become a third-year student and, together with a trusted friend or junior, search for the clues left by his grandfather.
But now, Seong Si-wan was struggling just to protect the Jiikhoe and other students.
‘It will be difficult to find the clues at Eungwang High through Si-wan. There’s not much I can do as a helper.’
Both Seong Guk-eon and Jeon Moo-young had entered politics, gaining access to various information and the right to intervene in events.
As time passed, they became increasingly certain that what the former head of the Korean branch had said was true.
There was a tribe targeting the Korean Peninsula, and the invasion would start at Eungwang High.
The invasion might have already begun, but they didn’t have many options left.
“Let’s find another way to obtain clues. If we can’t find any, we’ll stop them without clues.”
When thinking about the invasion, it felt as though the ground beneath me was slowly crumbling from a distance, but hearing Seong Guk-eon’s confident voice gave me strength.
If it were Seong Guk-eon, he would stand tall whether the ground crumbled or the sky fell.
Seong Guk-eon had the power to reassure those who believed in him.
It was because of Seong Guk-eon’s leadership that the students followed, and the Jiikhoe was formed.
However, Jeon Moo-young still felt uneasy.
If there were invaders, they would target Seong Guk-eon.
It seemed unlikely that invaders would leave the mental and political pillars of the people untouched.
‘No matter how uneasy I feel, nothing will change. I will protect the legislator from behind.’
Jeon Moo-young shook off his anxiety and stared at Seong Guk-eon’s broad back.
As summer came to an end, the incident at Eungwang High’s youth training camp was settled, and the Korean Peninsula was gradually returning to stability, but the political and player communities were once again in turmoil.
There were several issues, but the most problematic was the nationalization of player satellites.
The recent major incidents were related to Player SAT-K’s failure to detect the prelude to the otherworld.
As a result, the government argued that because the Player Association had failed to properly manage the satellites, the responsibility should be taken, and the satellites should be nationalized.
Seong Guk-eon found that argument absurd.
‘If the association’s top players couldn’t identify the issue, how can the government’s non-experts solve it?’
The government gathered talents for the nationalization of the player satellites, but most of them were not players or were people with familial ties to government officials.
Moreover, most of them had been involved in controversies over favoritism during graduate school admissions and thesis evaluations.
There was no way they could do what the scholars who passed through the fierce competition to enter the satellite management team of the association could not.
‘They might sell the satellite technology to the Jin Tribe, or later privatize it under the guise of government budget issues for profit... Or maybe it’s someone’s plan to disable Korea’s player satellites.’
The conflict between the Otherworld Bureau and the association was becoming severe, and since the majority of the people were not players, public opinion was gradually leaning toward the Otherworld Bureau.
At first, people thought it was nonsense, but as the media and government started to back it, some began to change their minds.
Furthermore, the fact that the association had failed to respond properly every time a major incident occurred didn’t help.
The Player Association had rotted from within, and because they couldn’t cut out the rotten parts in time, the rot had reached the roots.
“It’s hard to expect a proper response from the association. First, I will investigate the Minister of the Otherworld Bureau again.”
“There’s something different from the hearing. Find that point. Was he blackmailed, or bribed with money?”
“I will first check the bank accounts and real estate holdings of those related to the Minister of the Otherworld Bureau.”
The investigation didn’t progress smoothly.
There were movements aimed at politically and socially undermining Seong Guk-eon.
They attacked with fabricated information, and at times, they tried to manipulate actual events to attack him.
Seong Guk-eon successfully verified and defended against all these attacks in advance or countered them at the right moment.
The rushed attacks in a short period of time didn’t manage to bring down Seong Guk-eon’s reputation or approval rating.
[We keep seeing articles about the National Unstoppable Warrior lately. A lot of them seem to be speculative, but is it just me?]
[Same reporter, same media company writing nonsense.]
[Isn’t that reporter a secret fan of National Unstoppable Warrior? The articles they’ve written have been uncovering hidden good deeds and stories.]
[To be serious, it’s probably because of the satellite nationalization issue. What do they want by targeting player-originated members of parliament?]
[I don’t like the association, but I support National Unstoppable Warrior. Go Seong Guk-eon!]
The voters' minds were unwavering, and in fact, more people were supporting Seong Guk-eon and distrusting the media.
The public opinion toward Seong Guk-eon had turned so favorable that it could be called a backlash.
But it wasn’t without its costs.
‘In response to the attacks, the investigation into the Minister of the Otherworld Bureau has been delayed, and I couldn’t dig into the satellite nationalization issue. I’ve wasted valuable time.’
Additionally, since he had to manage his existing schedule, Seong Guk-eon had been extremely busy.
As the only player-originated member of parliament, there were many places he had to attend.
For example, there were the regular seminars on player-specialized laws.
Since the National Assembly was a legislative body, Seong Guk-eon made sure not to neglect his studies on the law, especially researching the latest international cases related to player-specialized laws.
Though some people thought of the seminar as a social gathering since many famous players attended.
“Seong Guk-eon, would you like a drink?”
A glass filled with sour-smelling grape juice was offered.
In case the seminar ran long, simple drinks were usually provided, but today the drink was a famous foreign brand juice.
It was likely that the person attending for the first time had made this request.
In a place where only water was usually served, it wasn’t uncommon for powerful guests to demand expensive drinks or alcohol.
‘This must be someone from the ruling party’s proportional representation nomination list.’
There were reporters present, and many eyes were watching.
If he refused here, articles with tags like ‘nervous tension’ would spread around.
Even if he politely refused, just the fact that he refused could be used against him.
There was no way to avoid taking the glass, but there were plenty of ways to avoid drinking from it, so he decided to accept it for now.
“Ai, I’m sorry!”
Crash! Clink!
At that moment, a man in an old suit stumbled and collided with Seong Guk-eon, causing the glass to fall onto the table and shatter.
The staff began preparing to replace the tablecloth, which had turned purple.
“I’m sorry, Seong Guk-eon!”
“Where were you looking!?”
Seong Guk-eon, the victim, remained silent, but a member of the ruling party yelled loudly.
Seong Guk-eon looked at the broken glass and quietly admired it in his mind.
‘Nice technique.’
The person who broke the glass had pretended to fall and used Ineungpa.
He had precisely targeted the glass, making sure its contents didn’t spill on Seong Guk-eon and adjusted the Ineungpa so subtly that it was hard to detect from the outside.
The clumsy appearance and shabby clothing didn’t fit with such a precise manipulation of Ineungpa.
“I’m fine.”
“Ai, there’s a stain on your clothes... I’ll clean it up and pay for the dry cleaning later.”
The person took out a handkerchief and wiped Seong Guk-eon’s clean sleeve, then gave a small wink.
Intrigued, Seong Guk-eon decided to deal with the person instead of the legislator.
When he looked at Jeon Moo-young, he nodded.
This person seemed to be someone with a clear identity.
Seong Guk-eon still had no intention of confronting the legislator, who seemed ready to vent his frustrations, and left the place.
“Apparently, the drink was requested by Seong Guk-eon.”
As he distanced himself from the seminar hall and there were no people around, the man who had been bowing earlier spoke in a calm tone.
As he spoke, he adjusted his appearance, and he looked like a completely different person, now with a neat impression.
It seemed that the little drama in the hall was meant to get Seong Guk-eon out of there.
“I never gave such an instruction.”
“Yes, but the staff says they heard that you asked for it. They were excited, as they thought you had specifically requested it. There has been a lot of noise around you lately, so they were paying close attention.”
Someone had clearly played a prank again.
This would be something that could be quickly clarified through investigation, and since there was a lot of fake news surrounding Seong Guk-eon recently, no one would believe the rumors. But still, it would waste time clearing things up.
“Everyone else is just drinking water as usual. They probably just wanted to get a picture of you holding that glass alone at such an event.”
“Thank you. I’m in your debt.”
“No! It’s only natural to believe and protect those I’ve chosen. All of my office staff are fans of National Unstoppable Warrior. Oh, here’s my business card.”
The law firm Byeonwol.
Chief Attorney Byeon Jae-ik.
Seeing the name on the business card, Jeon Moo-young understood why he had nodded so easily.
The law firm Byeonwol was making a name for itself, fitting its name, which meant ‘The Moon Shining in the Borderlands.’
Byeon Jae-ik, who might have become a top player, had chosen to open his own law office instead.
His main job was to legally protect lesser players, but since the cases he took on were often not profitable, it was said he maintained the office through campaigns against otherworld invasions.
“Haha! This is the first time I’ve met a lawyer who’s so easy to talk to.”
“There’s no one else like you, a frank congressman.”
They had mutual respect, and since their interests aligned, the conversation between Seong Guk-eon and Byeon Jae-ik quickly became lively.
Since they were of a similar age, it was easy to talk to each other.
They exchanged device codes and naturally mentioned that they would talk again when the opportunity arose.
‘Almost got involved in troublesome matters, but thanks to this, I had a good encounter.’
Meanwhile, Jeon Moo-young, who had been investigating the aftermath of the drink incident, reported back.
Jeon Moo-young, rather than giving a report, first offered an apology.
“I’m sorry. We couldn’t get the physical evidence.”
“I suppose it was just the physical evidence you couldn’t obtain. Was that legislator involved?”
“Yes.”
“There must be a reason to drag things out with him.”
Incidents continued to occur that would hold Seong Guk-eon back.
Any incident connected to players or the otherworld, especially those related to Eungwang High, would not go unnoticed by Seong Guk-eon.
Although a lot of time had been wasted, it wasn’t all for nothing.
“Good juniors. They don’t seem connected to the Jin Tribe.”
Seong Guk-eon focused on two students from Eungwang High.
One was Joo Su-hyeok, and the other was Ahn Da-in.
The incidents that could have turned into major catastrophes at Eungwang High were being kept under control thanks to their efforts.
Moreover, both of them were members of the disciplinary committee and the student council.
‘It might be a good idea to create connections through Si-wan and investigate the secret organization.’
Eungwang High had a major event coming up, and once that was over, Seong Guk-eon planned to make contact with the two of them.
The event was Eungwang High’s Christmas charity event.
