Chapter 26: One-Man Army

Scent (3)

Afterward, a commemorative ceremony was held, followed by a buffet. The grand hall where the ceremony had taken place was instantly transformed with a buffet spread.

Despite the Acting President's attendance, the buffet wasn't extravagant. It seemed more for show.

Comet stared blankly at the braised short ribs. They looked familiar. Familiar like the ones she had eaten at the Exhibition Assembly Hall.

Dan Ga-yeon cheered softly and put the ribs on her plate. She seemed happy that the quality was better than the National Assembly cafeteria.

Comet considered telling her it was monster meat but decided against it.

"Eat a lot. It's delicious."

"Have you been to this hotel before?"

"Not that, but I know this."

She put a few pieces of braised ribs on her plate. Regardless of its origin, it tasted good. Comet looked over the entire menu. There were surprisingly many meat dishes.

Some of the government officials seemed reluctant to eat the meat dishes. Several journalists were talking to the bureaucrats while taking pictures of the meat, but it didn't seem like they were doing it to report that the government was living in luxury; it seemed like they had other intentions.

Comet suddenly became curious.

"Do citizens get a lot of meat in their rations these days?"

Dan Ga-yeon chewed on the braised ribs and thought.

"I'm not in charge of that, so I don't know, but probably not."

"There will be more soon."

"Why all of a sudden?"

"Officer Dan's workload will probably increase too. But maybe not."

"Are you cursing me right now?"

"Of course not. Eat a lot. It's delicious, right?"

Dan Ga-yeon swallowed the meat and sighed deeply.

"Hearing you say that makes me want to quit…."

"I don't think it's because of me. Come to think of it, how did Officer Dan end up joining the committee? Were you a civil servant from the start?"

"No. I was a job seeker."

"So you became a civil servant without taking an exam? Congratulations."

"Ugh, now that I think about it, I don't know if it's a good thing. I was definitely happy at first."

"How did you end up getting in?"

Dan Ga-yeon drank some water.

"It was when I was waiting in line at the distribution center. There was a notice posted on the wall. As the line got shorter and the distance got closer, I read it out of boredom, like everyone else."

"I remember seeing something like that too."

"That's probably it. Even though the design has changed, it was the Awakened recruitment notice I'd seen a few times, so I just ignored it and stood in line. But for some reason, the distribution process was messed up that day? I came all the way here, and they told me to come back next time, so I got really annoyed."

Dan Ga-yeon frowned as if recalling the situation at the time.

"But what could I do? I was about to give up and go back when the notice came into view! It said something like this as a benefit: priority distribution."

Comet chuckled at the reason, which lacked any sense of duty. Dan Ga-yeon rubbed her neck, embarrassed.

"When I first read it, I thought, 'Who would be tempted by this when you have to risk your life?' But that day, I was suddenly drawn to it."

"Food is important."

"Right? See, I'm not weird. There are a lot of people in the committee who joined to get better rations."

"But you don't get rations and eat at the cafeteria every day."

"I know, right? They said it was priority distribution, but it was just a scam. There's not much use for it."

Dan Ga-yeon's shoulders slumped.

"I want to quit…. It was easier to wait at home for the government to solve things. If they had just given me good rations, I would still be at home. My blanket is so warm there."

Comet smiled brightly.

"But thanks to that, you met me."

Dan Ga-yeon looked at her with listless eyes. They didn't seem to see it as a good relationship. She probably preferred her warm blanket to Comet.

Comet shrugged.

#

Each time she went to fill her plate with food, she passed by the journalists a few times, but nothing like what happened last time occurred. They exchanged greetings and a few pleasantries and quickly left. It seemed like the journalists were refraining from doing anything.

『That reporter from last time must have been a strange commoner.』

"This is normal. I really hope I don't meet that person again."

Comet recalled the reporter's name and quickly erased it from her memory. She had memorized his name while picking up the business cards one by one to sort them for recycling, but it wasn't a name worth remembering.

『Hehe. If you're unlucky, you might meet him again, no?』

"Don't say unnecessary things."

After finishing her meal, she sat there and chatted with Dan Ga-yeon. They talked about which foods were delicious. Dan Ga-yeon replied that the braised short ribs were delicious. Monster meat must suit her taste.

As they were talking, Dan Ga-yeon suddenly became tense, straightened her posture, and stopped talking. Comet was puzzled and turned around. Chairwoman was standing there.

"Comet, come with me for a moment."

"We're not going mountain climbing again, are we?"

"No, we're going to the Han River."

"The Han River? What's there?"

"I don't think this is something we should talk about here. Officer Dan, thank you for your hard work. You can go home now."

Dan Ga-yeon's expression brightened at the prospect of leaving work early. Seeing that reaction made Comet feel somewhat bitter.

She followed Chairwoman out of the hotel and got into the car. As the aide started driving, the car moved. Several cars followed behind.

Chairwoman leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs.

"We received a call from the military."

"Hearing 'the military' makes me scared about what we're going to talk about."

Chairwoman chuckled.

"They said an unidentified flying object is flying along the Han River from the West Sea."

"…Is there an alien on board? Or maybe a jellyfish."

『Jellyfish? This body is not a jellyfish!』

A small jellyfish spoke.

"I don't know about that, but they say there's a Japanese person on board."

"Aliens and Japanese people are a strange combination."

"You're not the only one who thinks so. I wonder what's going on…."

The car stopped by the Han River. The cars that had been following also stopped, and some of the people who got out seemed to be government officials.

In the distance, an unidentified flying object was indeed flying along the Han River. She didn't know how it had crossed the West Sea after dealing with the monster.

Actually, she didn't know if she could even call it an unidentified flying object. It was a fantastical ship. Instead of sails, it had magic circles, and she could see magic crystals. An awkwardly placed Japanese flag on its side indicated that it belonged to Japan.

The ship that had flown through the sky slowed down as it got closer. On closer inspection, the Japanese flag was attached with blue tape. It felt even stranger.

Chairwoman took the lead.

"In case something happens, I'm counting on you for protection."

"Don't worry."

The ship landed on the Han River. The water rippled. A seaplane. In other words, a flying boat. It seemed to be a magical flying boat. A man appeared on the flying boat and waved both a Japanese flag and a Korean flag in each hand. She could hear him saying something in Japanese.

"…What is he saying?"

"It's difficult because he's using a lot of flowery language, but he's saying he's happy to be visiting Korea."

"You know Japanese?"

"To do politics properly in Korea, you need to know four languages. It would be a disaster if you only accepted summaries translated to their liking by the media. It's okay for citizens to do that, but politicians can't."

A small boat came down from the flying boat, and Japanese people in suits boarded it. It seemed they were planning to land on the Han River.

"Judging by the situation, you can stay out of this. This is the realm of politics."

It seemed those Japanese people were diplomats.

"Alright."

Comet was worried that she might overhear some unnecessary diplomatic secrets if she stayed close, so she returned to where the car was parked. It wasn't far, but it was a distance where it was difficult to hear the conversation properly.

Chairwoman knew Japanese, but it seemed that the conversation with the Japanese diplomats was going through an interpreter. She suspected it was due to diplomatic customs.

The conversation continued for a while. The atmosphere was friendly. The representative from the Japanese side took out the contents they had brought and handed them to Chairwoman. Chairwoman examined them and handed them to her aide. It must be a diplomatic gift.

The friendly situation changed, but it wasn't because of the Japanese or Chairwoman. At some point, the conversation stopped, and their gazes turned to the flying boat.

A human-like machine descended from the flying boat. It stepped on the Han River with its mechanical legs and slowly walked towards the Han River bank. The Han River water rippled with each step.

The machine had no head. Instead, an aquarium was embedded in its mechanical chest. A small jellyfish floated in the aquarium.

『Hmph.』

Princess snorted.

Chairwoman approached to greet the machine. The machine came up to the Han River bank and walked towards Chairwoman.

Chairwoman gestured a welcome and spoke. The machine didn't stop walking and ignored Chairwoman, passing right by her.

Silence fell.

Comet then realized that the machine was approaching in her direction. Wondering what it was all about, she looked around and quickly moved to another place. The machine changed direction to where Comet had moved.

"Uh…."

Comet looked at Chairwoman. Chairwoman chuckled and crossed her arms. It seemed she was going to watch how the situation unfolded.

The machine approached and extended its mechanical hand. An artificial voice like a machine sound rang out.

"As a diplomat of the Plun Empire, I am Kanputcha, in charge of the Korean Peninsula region. It is an honor to meet Black Comet, the guider of souls, the terror of the living, and the proudly shining 13th star."

Comet hesitated and then took its hand.

"…Hello, Diplomat Kanputcha. I am Black Comet. The honor is mine."

The machine's hand was hard and cold.

Comet glanced at Chairwoman.

"But if you're a diplomat, it seems like you should be talking to someone else besides me. Like that woman over there who is the representative. She's the Chairwoman."

Kanputcha paused.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

The machine's laughter spread and echoed along the Han River. It felt like the air was vibrating. The small jellyfish in the aquarium trembled as if it were laughing.

The laughter stopped.

"The Empire,"

The machine's body glowed coldly.

"Does not engage in diplomacy with inferior democracies."

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