The Military Chef of a Ruined World - Chapter 414



Only Krnovel

Episode 414: Dogmatism (2)

“What is that… … !”

“Weren’t you the one who said that cooperation among survivors was necessary?”

The eyes of government officials are focused on Lieutenant Kim.

Their faces were filled with anger.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t cooperate.”

And receiving such angry looks.

“However, whether the legion comes under the government’s command or not… … That’s for us to decide.”

Lieutenant Kim continued speaking without any sign of intimidation.

The government officials seemed to be slightly discouraged by Lieutenant Kim’s confident attitude.

‘Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok… …!’

And, just like those government officials.

I too looked at Lieutenant Kim with surprised eyes.

‘I haven’t given any orders yet. What the hell is going on?’

Whether to cooperate with them or not.

I still haven’t decided.

“I was suspicious of the president and all. Are you really the vice minister?”

“That’s right! There are plenty of documents to prove it… …!”

“It’s just documents. They can be manipulated in any way.”

however.

Lieutenant Kim was the first to speak like that.

They began to argue as if it were impossible to fall under the government’s control.

‘This is a clear abuse of authority.’

However, I wanted to leave the conversation that took place in the conference room to some extent at Lieutenant Kim’s discretion.

It is not up to Lieutenant Kim to make such an important decision that will determine the future of the corps.

Lieutenant Kim must have understood that too, but there was no hesitation in his attitude.

Even leaving aside the fact that this is an abuse of authority.

I couldn’t help but wonder about that attitude.

‘Lieutenant Kim… … didn’t he want to cooperate with the government?’

Rather, he was the kind of person who would try to persuade me if I declared that I would not go under the government.

Even if I acted rashly, it would have been normal if I had cooperated with them.

“Did you really think you could move the legions around without proper evidence? Those who call themselves ‘self-proclaimed’ government officials are incredibly sloppy.”

“profit……!”

The behavior you are seeing now.

Because it was exactly the opposite.

“You have a point. But if you give us time, we can prove that we are the right group.”

When Lieutenant Kim openly showed his opposition to them.

The one who took the lead in persuading us was Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan, who had guided us here.

“Think about it, Lieutenant Kim Hyun-seok. The Awakened who have now appeared in this world possess a tremendous amount of power. It’s just that the problem is not immediately apparent because of the greater enemies, the monsters. Once we overcome this crisis, the Awakened will become a great threat. This kind of risk must be managed by the state.”

“… … .”

“A year is a long time. Even though we were separated for that long… … that doesn’t mean our essence has changed.”

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan looked at Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok and said.

“We are soldiers. We are loyal to the orders of our country!”

“… … .”

This is Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan, who was infinitely kind to us.

Even looking at the conversation with Jo Beom-seok, it was clear that Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan was a real soldier.

Against him like that.

“Then you should have prepared proof that you are in a position to give orders to me and called me. What are these so-called government officials bragging about when they haven’t even prepared such a thing!”

“Watch your words, Lieutenant Kim! I am your superior!”

Lieutenant Kim.

He refuted the claim without any hesitation.

“Do you really think I would believe that a gentleman I’ve never even met claims to be my superior?”

“Didn’t you hear that Colonel Cho Beom-seok said he knew me?”

“How do you know if they planned it or not?”

“Colonel Cho Beom-seok arrived in Seoul from Gyeonggi Province today. Are you claiming that you had a conversation with him during that day… …!”

“Even if I give you a hundred steps and say you are my superior, you have no authority to order me around since you are not even my direct superior. The 423rd Battalion, which my unit was a part of, was a unit directly under the 12th Corps. If you are going to order me around, bring the 12th Corps Commander with you. Not that ridiculous self-proclaimed president who I don’t even know is real!”

“What, what is this… …!”

Lieutenant Kim’s attitude.

Government officials appeared visibly embarrassed.

“I, I… … !”

“You became the master of a great power, but are you blinded by power… … Lieutenant Kim… …!”

“I heard you were definitely a patriot… … !”

I flinched when I heard the words spoken in the meantime.

‘I heard you’re a patriot?’

like.

It’s as if he knew about Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok in advance.

“Think carefully, Lieutenant Kim. This is a crisis that could determine the survival of our nation. If you don’t cooperate here, this country called the Republic of Korea could disappear… …!”

Without even having time to think deeply about those words.

The debate between Lieutenant Kim and government officials continued.

“Lieutenant Kim, are you planning to disobey the government’s orders?”

“Surely… … Are you planning a coup d’état… … .”

and.

As I listened to what they were saying, I felt a strange sense of alienation.

The country needs to manage the awakened.

A coup d’état, a government order.

‘They are like… … .’

Strangely unfamiliar words.

I could sense the source of the discomfort.

‘You’re saying things you’d only hear in a society before it was destroyed.’

Words you would only hear when the world was all right.

To be honest.

These were words that sounded so awkward to us, having lived through a year of destruction.

I could guess the reason for that.

‘Their civilization was not as ruined as ours.’

Seoul survived this destruction fairly intact.

Their civilization has not changed much since before the destruction.

That way of thinking was also maintained in the society before its destruction.

“The Legion is a separate entity from the government. I hope you keep that in mind.”

… … with us.

A very different group.

Lieutenant Kim’s impulsive actions were not of my own choosing.

I am at this moment.

Like Lieutenant Kim, I felt that I should not be put under their command.

Their power may help us survive.

… … Because they were a different group from us.

“Don’t you think the situation itself is funny in the first place?”

“What are you talking about!”

“We were all talking about the need for cooperation, but then suddenly our corps started talking as if they were joining the government.”

Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok turned his gaze to another part of the conference room.

“Aren’t you trying to create an atmosphere where cooperation seems natural?”

“… … !”

In that regard.

The expressions on the government officials’ faces hardened slightly.

“If you guys really wanted to have a proper partnership… … you shouldn’t be talking like this, as if it were already happening and it was a given that you would cooperate.”

Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok seemed to have no regard for their faces.

Those who have been sitting in this conference room from the beginning.

“You should have asked their opinion first.”

He looked at the leaders of the other forces and said:

Okay then.

“Kuuuu… … khuuhahaha!”

Those who were sitting in the conference room and quietly listening to the conversation.

One of them, a man.

“Oh, you spoke well. I like you, Mr. Kim Hyun-seok!”

That guy from Daejeon.

Kang Shin-cheol said with a big smile.

* * *

“I was listening to them out of the blue, wondering what they were talking about. As that Lieutenant Kim said, I didn’t like it at all.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Talking as if cooperation is a given.”

Kang Shin-cheol threw the cigarette he was smoking onto the floor.

He said, stepping roughly and putting out the fire.

“Let me be clear. I have no interest in survivors cooperating or anything.”

“… … What. Then why did you come here? If you had no intention of cooperating in the first place, you could have just ignored the message.”

“Well, it’s simple. I just wanted to see the faces of my benefactors.”

“Benefactor… …?”

Kang Shin-cheol turned his head.

He said, looking towards us.

“Most of the people in my hometown were wiped out. However, about 30 of my friends and I managed to survive. And this… … It wasn’t something we were particularly good at.”

“… … .”

“If it weren’t for the information leaked from that radio, we too would have become cold corpses. I came here to uphold my human duty.”

Kang Shin-cheol smiles lightly.

“Thank you, gentlemen.”

“… … Don’t mention it.”

“I thought it would be my duty to express my gratitude as someone who has received help.”

The soldiers and I looked at him with wide eyes.

A person who was strangely uncooperative from the beginning of the meeting.

If that was the case, I wondered why he had come to this meeting in the first place.

‘You came to see us.’

It was quite a strange feeling.

“If it’s you guys, then maybe it wouldn’t be bad to cooperate once. But I don’t plan on cooperating with people I don’t even know. I’m not that kind of person. I asked you to cooperate with me against the threat from North Korea… … I’m sorry, Hyung-seok.”

“I completely understand.”

“Then I thanked you and said so, so I will leave. If you have any business later, please come see me. But since you are my benefactor, I will treat you to a meal. That is, if I can see you alive.”

Kang Shin-cheol said that.

I walked out of the conference room without any hesitation.

“I, I… … !”

“What an outrageous person.”

“Huh. Didn’t you say that there were only about 30 survivors anyway? Even if we formed a cooperative group, it wouldn’t be of much help.”

“Well, given your uncooperative attitude, it might be better for us if you leave now.”

When I heard that, I thought.

‘It’s not helpful.’

Kang Shin-cheol’s level was the second highest in this place, excluding me.

The level of those who came with him was also considerable.

A mere 30 people came all the way from Daejeon to here.

This is only possible if those 30 people are the best, comparable to the squad leaders of our unit.

These are people who would have been of great help if they could have cooperated.

and.

‘We are open to cooperation.’

It’s a shame we can’t form a partnership here right away.

We had:

“Hmm… … .”

And then, the next place my eyes fell on was.

He was a middle-aged man who introduced himself as a cardinal.

“Your Excellency, just a moment.”

“Sister?”

A woman approached the cardinal and whispered in his ear.

The woman who was stealing information about me and others earlier.

“Wow… …! If that’s true.”

She whispered something in the cardinal’s ear.

The cardinal opened his eyes wide, then nodded and spoke.

“Thank you for asking for our opinion… … but I think we should take our leave for today.”

“Your Excellency? What are you talking about… … !”

Even government officials couldn’t help but be taken aback by those words.

At least according to them, they are a force that has succeeded in controlling most of an area.

Because it was one of the major forces that could not be left out in creating a cooperative relationship.

“If there’s anything you’re dissatisfied with… …! If it’s because we created this strange atmosphere.”

“That’s not true. However… … our base in South Chungcheong Province is quite far from here.”

Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do are adjacent to Seoul.

It wasn’t South Chungcheong Province.

“There are areas that are farther from Seoul than we are, so there are probably survivors from other areas who couldn’t come here because they were too far away. So I think it might be premature to decide to cooperate among those gathered here.”

“that……!”

“I think it would be right to discuss this again when some more time has passed and our territory has been reached.”

The cardinal got up while saying that.

They were followed by those dressed in priestly attire.

“I, really… … .”

“Are you saying you’re just going to leave? After coming all the way here… … ?”

and.

Just before they left the conference room.

“Could you lend me your ear for a moment?”

“……huh?”

When they pass us by.

The woman who had been spying on our information came up to me and spoke in a small voice.

“Mighty One. I know I have sinned greatly by stealing your information. Please forgive me.”

“… … Well, that’s it. It can’t be helped.”

“Thank you. And there is another reason why we are leaving.”

“huh?”

“The reason I came here was because meeting you solved my problem.”

It was solved by seeing me.

What is that?

“We’re leaving right now, but we hope you’ll come visit us someday.”

People from the departing church.

Just before they left the conference room, they turned around slightly.

“We are to the Legion… … no.”

He nodded slightly towards me.

“I will wait, gathering strength, to cooperate with you.”

.