Chapter 31
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The Creator I
Shin Noah
1
Among those who have listened to my story so far, perhaps some have harbored this question.
So what exactly is the government doing?
In this complete mess, this rampage of cultists, this crazy apocalypse where Cthulhu tentacles crawl around and World Tree zombies grow—what on earth are the politicians and government doing?
First, I have something to say to such people.
'Guys, the Korean government has something to say!'
Indeed. We should consider the government's position a bit too.
You've probably already heard that the moment the Gate erupted in Seoul, the National Assembly building launched itself into space.
For reference, at that time the President was also in the middle of giving a policy speech at the National Assembly regarding the supplementary budget. It was truly a moving moment as the Republic of Korea instantly ascended to become a developed nation in the space exploration era.
The grand unification of the ruling and opposition parties was achieved fatefully not on that wretched Earth but in a new colony named space.
From the politicians' perspective, wouldn't Korea be nothing more than a shabby homeland of the past? Just like the Portuguese royal family who moved their base command center to Brazil to escape Napoleon, the Korean government went on summer vacation.
Q) What now remains on the Korean Peninsula?
A) A few National Assembly members, ministers, governors, mayors, and county magistrates who didn't attend the policy speech. And a whole lot of monsters.
When social infrastructure wasn't completely destroyed yet, foolishly, the politicians wasted three days.
You'd understand if you experienced it yourself, but three days in an apocalypse situation was enough time to drive people insane.
Surprisingly, there weren't many tough guys who could keep their mental state together after hearing news like, 'Oh my, monsters are holding a meeting in our apartment park and parking lot!'
And finally, on the third day, the government—or rather, the fragments of the government—announced a public address that fired off the final fireworks of a splendid festival.
-Citizens. The Republic of Korea is still safe. Please rest assured for the time being and continue with your respective livelihoods.
Truly an unremarkable speech.
What the politicians failed to consider at this time was none other than the DNA of the Korean people.
Etched into that DNA was infinite trust in the government. The subjects of this nation remembered the blitzkrieg that King Seonjo Yi Yeon demonstrated when the Japanese army landed, and they also remembered the patriotic spirit of the national army that immediately recaptured Uijeongbu when the North Korean army invaded and proclaimed the defense of Seoul.
Fool me once, shame on the scammer. Fool me twice, shame on the fool's stupidity. Fool me three times, and you should just surrender your Homo sapiens credentials. And Koreans had not yet been eliminated in the evolutionary process.
"Safe my ass!"
"Fuck! I knew these bastards would pull this shit!"
"To the south! Unconditionally to the south!"
The civilians of the Korean Peninsula evacuated in a surprisingly orderly manner.
"Citizens! North of the Han River is still safe! Please, trust the government and the national army and return……."
"What's with that bastard?"
"They say he's the Vice Mayor for Political Affairs?"
"So what the fuck is that?"
"Don't know. Throw him."
"Huh? Uh, uh-?"
The Vice Mayor for Political Affairs of Seoul Special City (3rd in line for acting mayor in emergencies, the sole survivor) personally rushed out to Banpo Bridge to perform a demonstration dissuading citizens, but Seoul citizens simply threw him off the bridge, treating him to a Han River water temperature experience.
If the citizens of Prague from long ago had seen it, they would have given a standing ovation for such a clean yet bold throw.
If the politicians had frankly confessed, 'We're pretty fucked right now, but looking at the monster distribution, north of the Han River is surprisingly safe. To be more precise, all regions nationwide are equally dangerous,' the situation might have improved somewhat.
But what could be done? They had no choice but to resent their ancestors who had consumed the people's trust stack twice.
Once the Seoul Republic massively collapsed, the remaining coalition governments were helpless. County magistrates and mayors nationwide deeply engraved the national policy that had been handed down on this land for a long time. That is, the four characters of 'each survives alone.'
That the Mayor of Busan, who would have been closest to the throne in these chaotic times, fled to Japan of all places was the final touch and the decisive blow.
Before long, the 'Second Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea' was established on the Japanese archipelago, with the Busan Mayor installed as its head.
-Citizens. Rumors are spreading that I abandoned my duty as mayor and fled. This is not true.
-I merely moved to the stage of diplomacy to more easily draw foreign aid and restore the territory of the Republic of Korea!
But even the staunchest government supporters tilted their heads at the fact that the provisional government's capital was Fukuoka, Japan. 'Wait, was the provisional government capital originally over there? I thought it was more to the west?'
The Japanese must have been a bit flustered too.
Historically, wasn't the provisional government of the Republic of Korea a combat group with a hobby of putting bombs instead of food in their lunch boxes? How could they rest easy knowing what these bento otaku might do?
After various twists and turns, the 'Second Provisional Government' was ultimately shunned by both its own citizens and foreigners. In my view, the cause of death was suicide.
Here's the final touch—on the Korean Peninsula, a military coup d'état was even attempted by people who seemed confused about the era by about 70 years.
-Citizens. Today, I and the brave soldiers protecting the land of this country, the Republic of Korea, have agreed on the major premise that we can no longer sit idly by and watch political chaos.
-We have defeated the regime that lost the people's trust through corruption and incompetence, and our national army soldiers have risen up in unison!
However, the military coup failed.
The reason for failure was simple. Surprisingly, it was revealed that the Ten-Legged, a boss-level monster, was a fervent democracy activist.
The military units heading to the Blue House repeatedly mistook their destination and arrived in the Ten-Legged's stomach.
The military generals probably didn't know, but the Ten-Legged actually had a habit of recognizing any group of more than 300 people moving together as a food truck.
The military unit that previously attempted to enter the 'Tower of Sauron' was already the remnants of the destroyed national army. Even those surviving units slowly disappeared for their respective reasons.
This concludes the summary answer to the question, 'So what did the government do?'
Truly chaotic times. A complete mess. In tatters.
But for a lotus to bloom, muddy water must first accumulate.
From the South Korean government collective that horribly fumbled the initial response, a single lotus blossom bloomed.
Noh Do-ha.
A 7th-grade civil servant working at a public rehabilitation hospital.
He was the protagonist of this episode.
2
Unlike other civil servants, the reason Noh Do-ha could succeed was paradoxically because he was merely a 7th-grade civil servant.
From the beginning, Noh Do-ha never dreamed even in his sleep that he could replace the South Korean government. Tax management? Electing National Assembly members? Universal welfare? Why should I worry about that?
"I probably shouldn't say this, but I don't really have much awareness of being a civil servant myself……."
Noh Do-ha often said things like that to me. Not just to me but to pretty much everyone. I don't know for sure, but he probably said the same things back when he was living off the people's taxes.
"I probably shouldn't say this, but I dislike the citizens……."
"Wait, that's really something you shouldn't say."
"What does it matter? Funeral director Awakener. In this world, are there more employees who like their boss, or more employees who dislike their boss? It's the latter, isn't it? To civil servants, citizens are the boss. Then it's natural that there are more civil servants who dislike citizens……."
Noh Do-ha muttered with his shoulders slumped.
I first met this possessor of extraordinary quirkiness during the 11th round. I had heard about him indirectly through whispers before that, but this was the first time I formed a direct connection with him.
"Ah, it's done……."
"Oh."
"Would you like to stand up and try walking……?"
Because in the 11th round, my left leg had been severed and I needed a prosthetic.
I stood up from my seat. I tried walking lightly, tried jumping a bit, and even hopped in place. Noh Do-ha observed all these processes carefully.
"How is it? Is there any uncomfortable part……?"
"There isn't. Wow, this performance is amazing. It really feels like my own leg, muscles and nerves and all."
"Then I'm glad……."
Noh Do-ha smiled faintly.
Depending on the viewer, it was a smile that could feel gloomy or lecherous, but I had become quite free from such preconceptions through my long experience as a Regressor. So I could evaluate Noh Do-ha's face without hesitation as a 'kind smile.'
"There may be cases where something goes wrong and you feel nerve pain as if being stabbed. You can think of it as a 5% chance of gacha failure……. In that case, please come back to me. I'll make it again for half the price……."
Noh Do-ha was a prosthetics maker.
Prosthetics meant assistive devices used for disabled persons with mobility difficulties. Wheelchairs, crutches, things like that—you know the kind of items.
Even before the Gate incident occurred, Noh Do-ha worked at a public hospital, repairing and manufacturing various prosthetics.
Even then, he was apparently famous among disabled veterans who had lost their ankles to landmines and such. They say he was a talent that veterans' hospitals were constantly eyeing, but perhaps Noh Do-ha himself wasn't particularly interested.
"I probably shouldn't say this, but I dislike soldiers……."
"I'm asking just in case, but does there exist any human being that Noh Do-ha actually likes?"
"No, there isn't……?"
"……."
It was miraculous that someone like this hadn't become a hikikomori.
But even Noh Do-ha had concerns. Specifically, concerns about patients, or more precisely, concerns about 'patients with seriously impaired mobility.'
"It's become a bit harder for the patients to move……."
Patients whose back nerves were destroyed had to get around in wheelchairs.
If cars with disabled seating could operate, the situation would have been somewhat better, but as years passed, let alone gasoline running out, the asphalt roads themselves became bumpy. Not only cars but even wheelchairs had difficulty getting around.
At this point, most people would have given up.
Once the Gate incident began in earnest, the very notion that disabled persons should be treated became quite rare. It was an era where being killed by a monster was treated as natural death. Without Noh Do-ha, I too would have coolly given up on the 11th round the moment my left leg was severed.
"The elderly also say it's getting harder to come and go to our workshop because the roads are so difficult……."
But as expected, the possessor of extraordinary quirkiness was different in many ways.
"Then shouldn't we make the road a bit more convenient……?"
Noh Do-ha dragged his slumped body into negotiations.
Around this time, quite apart from the desensitization toward disabled persons, the number of disabled persons themselves increased more rapidly than ever. Losing an arm or a leg while fighting monsters wasn't even considered an injury, let alone a medal of honor.
And Noh Do-ha was an Awakener who had acquired 'Prosthetics Creation' as his ability.
The prosthetics that Noh Do-ha created, even if made of wood or iron, had the effect of feeling like real muscles from the user's perspective. Just run with the prosthetic leg and you're done. No rehabilitation training or adaptation period was needed separately.
In short, among Noh Do-ha's 'regular customers,' there were an enormous number of Awakeners.
Most guild leaders all had connections with Noh Do-ha. Even if they were intact themselves, wouldn't they need to quickly send guild members to Noh Do-ha's prosthetics workshop when they got injured?
Noh Do-ha was a true former civil servant who never refused bribes. If you didn't establish a connection in advance, you'd hear words like, 'Ah, customer, your reservation is a bit backed up, you'll need to wait 6 months.' When considering the probability of a limb-severed Awakener surviving for 6 months, even high-nosed guild leaders became a bit more flexible at the waist.
"Oh my, Teacher Noh! How did you come to a place like this!"
"Ah, yes……. It's nothing else, but I was thinking of repairing the road connecting Haeundae to Bansong-dong this time……."
"Yes? The road? You? Why?"
"There's a patient living in Bansong-dong who complained that the road to our workshop is all destroyed. Getting them a house in Haeundae would be no trouble at all, but I didn't want to be that considerate, so I thought I'd just build them a road instead……."
Generally, building a road was a much greater consideration than getting someone a house, but a proper balance patch had not been applied to this madman's brain.
"But this Bansong area is completely controlled by the guild leader. I was wondering if you could provide some small help if I were to build a road……."
"Hmm. So it's not other guilds interfering, but Teacher Noh doing the business alone?"
"Ye-es……."
"My goodness, then of course I should help! Just tell me what you need!"
And so, a one-lane asphalt road connecting from Haeundae-gu, where Noh Do-ha's workshop was located, to Bansong-dong in Busan was completed.
Since it was neatly renovating a road that had existed in the past, it wasn't particularly difficult construction. The workshop took responsibility for all the work and aftercare.
Thanks to this, the 71-year-old elderly patient, one of Noh Do-ha's patients named Lee, was able to visit the hospital safely even if it took some time. The patient was satisfied, and Noh Do-ha was also satisfied. The property values in Bansong-dong were satisfied too.
That was the beginning.