Chapter 35: From Here On, This Is the Wargod’s Domain (1)

“Oh my, Sujin. You look wonderful these days. The Sanctuary has had a lot of good news lately. Congratulations.”

“Hoho, Ms. Rose, haven’t you had some good news yourself? I hear rank three joined your guild. Congratulations.”

“Oh my, thank you. But that kid still has a long way to go... I’ll have to teach him a lot.”

Ha ha ha. Ho ho ho. Oh my, congratulations. Not at all, it is thanks to you.

Sunlight glittered, and the fragrance of tea drifted through the meeting room of the Korea Awakeners Association.

There, four guildmasters were cultivating friendly relations, all smiles and laughter.

It was the twice yearly closing report, specifically the second half closing report meeting for the Four Great Guilds.

A regular meeting of the four domestic guildmasters, pretty tea and bright, tinkling laughter. Inside all that… hid a knife!!

Kang Sujin held down a flutter in her stomach like butterflies dancing and sipped her tea with a smile.

Even for her, the Sanctuary’s guildmaster who could fly and leap with the best of them, gatherings like this were not easy.

You must never take the words of those who lead a pack at face value.

She had grown up watching such maneuvering in her family, but the rhetoric of guildmasters who had clawed their way up from the bottom was on a different level.

They wielded sentences more elaborate than the trendiest romance fantasy ladies.

For example, the “Sujin, you look great lately, haha” from a moment ago really meant,

‘So, you got a rank 1 in your guild and he safely cleared a grade 3 Erosion Type, now you are on an upswing, huh. Feels good to monopolize domestic ranks one and two, doesn’t it?’

As expected of White Night’s guildmaster, someone with a real knack for business. Not easy to deal with. To push back, she would have to bring up the newly joined rank three of White Night, Min Jaeyoon, the Red Devil.

“By the way…”

Beside White Night’s guildmaster, Mago’s guildmaster looked at Kang Sujin. She flinched and wiped her brow.

Given Mago’s guildmaster’s personality, it was obvious he would cut straight to the point. His mouth opened slowly.

“Now that the rank one has entered worldly affairs, he should do the work he has neglected, shouldn’t he?”

“Come now, you know this. Lude is exhausted from the Erosion Type gate raid. And our guild has a duty to protect him…”

Mago’s guildmaster pushed up his horn rimmed glasses and looked at her. Sharp black eyes pierced her.

“This is the duty of all Hunters as well. Precisely because he’s in that state, it may be better for him to step away from worldly business and devote himself to training for a while.”

Damn, speaking so slick, that Constellation and his Incarnation. When Sujin glanced aside for help, there came a soft smile and the clink of a teacup being set down.

White Night’s guildmaster was smiling with confidence.

“Indeed. I drew a card today with Lude in mind, and the Hermit came up reversed. If he keeps putting off what must be done, he’ll be in trouble, you know?”

White Night’s guildmaster, Baek Jangmi, and Mago’s guildmaster had a sly glint in their eyes. Sujin snapped her gaze to the side.

The long silent guildmaster of Wargod rested his chin on his hand. The sunglasses that hid the scar across his face flashed.

Sujin gave a little shiver. She felt her footing narrowing in this room. She had no more excuses. Slowly, the mouth of the Wargod guildmaster opened...

“Even if he is tired, bring him…”

“Hic.”

“To fulfill his duty of national defense... I will be waiting in Gangwon Province…”

Kaboom-! Like a scene out of a 2000s anime, Sujin heard thunder crash inside her head…

‘It’s over, Lude. I can’t protect you anymore…’

* * *

「 Military Manpower Administration, notice regarding fulfillment of service

Mr. Lude, your enlistment for Special Soldier Training is set for December 20 at 10 a.m.

Please report to the headquarters of the guild ‘Wargod.’ Automatic postponement does not apply prior to enlistment. Be advised that failure to attend will result in penalties.

For additional questions and information regarding military service, please consult the Military Manpower Administration and the guild ‘Wargod’ website, or the civil service desk at XXXX-XXXX.

Thank you. [Military Manpower Administration]」

Is this for real?

“I’m sorry… This one thing I could not protect.”

Is this really for real?

“Even so, I did everything I could! I can vouch for that! This is your fault! How could you ignore enlistment notices for six years… The state says it even pushed a system message to you…”

“…”

Am I really going?

“The Wargod guildmaster of all people literally shuddered when he heard your name... I had nothing I could say to that!”

“This is really happening?”

“Lude!”

Lude’s hand, clutching the induction order, trembled. She was so flustered that the words spilled out unfiltered.

Guildmaster Kang Sujin’s eyes on her were sharp.

‘I guess… it really is real. I’m doomed.’

[Yeah, you could have at least attended as Phone Lude, tsks the Lord of Chaos.]

I… am going to the army… guys…

* * *

“It’s basically the reservist system, if you compare it to the old days.”

“R-Really?!”

Kang Ihyun smiled at Lude.

His expression said, “How did you live this long knowing so little…” but Nari decided to let it slide.

Ihyun pressed a decaf Americano from the company cafe into Lude’s hand to help her focus, and took a latte for himself. Stirring soy milk and coffee with his straw, he said,

“North Korea collapsed twenty years ago due to a dungeon break. The draft changed to a volunteer system long ago. Hunters are a special case though.”

Twenty years ago, when gates, dungeons, and Awakeners first appeared, North Korea fell.

Where North Korea had been, became swarming with monsters born of the dungeon break.

Once the Republic of Korea had recovered somewhat from the dungeon break, it held meeting after meeting about what to do. In reality, no one could even consider entering, because that land had become a demon realm where monsters, not humans, were the masters.

Meanwhile, monsters streaming down from the North ruined the front line regions. Conventional arms did not work, so the skills of Awakeners were needed.

So the Republic of Korea, once a nation in armistice, became a nation that had to worry that monsters would surge over from a land that had become a demonic stronghold.

Ten years after that, during a spate of class 1 gates, when Hunters from every guild refused to join gate suppression, the state seemed to get the message and passed a law turning all Hunters into reservists.

Under the name “Special Soldier,” it offered very generous terms and began recruiting Hunters to manage the region beyond the armistice line.

“And that is the foundation of the Wargod guild. So Wargod is one of the Four Great Guilds, but it is the only public corporation rather than a private company.”

“Really? So that’s how it is.”

“Wait, but how do you not know this? This is a one point question from the written Hunter registration exam.”

“Everyone knows the rule. You forget exam content the moment you turn in the paper...”

Awakeners and Hunters are different. Many Awakeners do not live as Hunters, and the state respects that and separates the two.

Awakener Shin Bitnari is an Awakener, not a Hunter, so she had no military obligation. That is why no letters, Kakao messages, or emails ever came. Lude, however, is registered as a Hunter, so he owes service.

“If you don’t receive Kakao or mail, the state intervenes directly in the system and pops up an alert.”

“...L-Lude is a constructed person... I just ignored it…”

Lude had a Hunter registration card but no resident ID. So… honestly, who would have imagined the state would serve an enlistment notice to an alt like Lude!

Even after joining a guild, she never imagined it!

Of course, all of this happened because they did not know Lude was an alt.

As expected, the Military Manpower Administration was as scary as the National Tax Service. Lude ground her teeth.

[That is why you should not have ignored it, tsks the Lord of Chaos.]

Lude clutched his head. Ihyun laughed and told him not to worry too much.

“It is fine. You only have to go regularly, about thirty two hours a year. It is really like a reservist call up… It is not like the old days where you served two full years.”

“…”

Uuugh. Lude grabbed his head again. Feeling something ominous, Ihyun lifted a brow.

“Why the dread?”

“For me, it is a week...”

“Huh?”

Lude handed him another official letter that had been tucked behind the induction order. Inside was something even more upsetting.

“...If we total up the penalty points for evasion, Lude’s Hunter license should have already been revoked. However, in recognition of Hunter's contribution to the defense of the Republic of Korea…”

Ihyun’s voice shook as he read, mumbling. Because what he was reading was absurd.

“…we will waive it if he suppresses gates in the northern region for one week…?”

“Exactly! I’m doomed!”

Normally, once a Hunter license is canceled, you cannot retake the test for years. The state was offering maximum consideration. Even so, for Nari, this was enormous.

How was she supposed to spend a week in another guild?

Here, they used a three shift system, and she had a partner that was Kang Ihyun. There, she would have to rub shoulders with complete strangers every day!

And it was the army of all places. No private room. How would she shower, how would she sleep!

If she said, “I’ll pop home for a quick fluffy sleep~^^” they would confiscate her Hunter license on the spot!

But there was no dodging it. Every Hunter in the Republic of Korea over nineteen owed military service.

This was clearly stated as an item you were expected to understand when you registered as an Awakener and again when you registered as a Hunter.

After stewing in worry for a long time, Lude grabbed Ihyun’s hand in a tight grip and lifted it.

When Ihyun looked down, he saw Lude gazing up at him with bright, pleading eyes.

“I am really… really sorry, but… help me.”

“Eh?”

“Come to the army with me… Please… Please come with me.”

“What?! No! I already did my call up this year!”

“You know I can’t go alone! How am I supposed to get through that!”

“I hate the army too! No matter how much I like you, I cannot go to the army with you!”

“Please help me!! You are the only one I have!!”

Nari clung to his hand and begged. Operation Go To The Army With Your Partner had begun.

At her last words, Ihyun’s eyes went wide. He hesitated, then covered his mouth for a moment, his face a little red.

“Cough. Ahem...”

“Hm?”

“A-Am I really the only one you have?”

[Nari, cutest, most pitiful face! Pitiful face! The Lord of Chaos assists.]

Following the assist, Nari put on her best lost lamb look, nodding and peering up at Ihyun. He sneaked a glance at Lude.

“Yes, yes, really, only you. Please help me… It really has to be you…”

“Hmm! Ahem... If I think about it, it is only a week… If I negotiate well, maybe I can skip seven years of reservist call ups…”

“Yes!! So let’s go together!!”

Glance. He peeked at Lude again, still not done weighing it. Then, Nari dropped a bomb.

“I seriously can’t go to the army alone. Because… because… there’s someone I know there! Please help me!”

“Okay… Wait, what?”

“My high school classmate got rated as S-class and works at Wargod!”

“What?!”

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