Ch.119119. Birth of the Character

# A New Challenge: International Organizations

After the dissolution of the National Unity Cabinet, the Balhut Cult was also working on internal political reforms.

Even while still at war with the Cult of Immortality in Ulsan, the Balhut Cult continued to struggle to find new paths forward.

None of these issues could be resolved in the short term. Even rebuilding international organizations would require approval from all of America’s allies just to break ground. Similarly, political reforms within the Balhut Cult after the dissolution of the National Unity Cabinet would also take time.

Thanks to the Apocalypse Singularity, rapid legislation and administrative processing had been possible, but there was one special event that couldn’t be resolved quickly.

“Therefore, our Dragon Faith Association demands that Bahamut dissolve the parliament voluntarily.”

“The Constitutional Democratic Party agrees. We also request the Dragon Priestess to dissolve the parliament voluntarily.”

After the National Unity Cabinet was disbanded, the implicit coalition that had just finished this meeting immediately requested the dissolution of parliament.

This wasn’t a dissolution due to a vote of no confidence, but rather a voluntary dissolution through parliament’s own resolution.

Parliament had already unanimously agreed to dissolve itself, and now they were simply requesting Bahamut and his representative, Dragon Priestess Choi Yu-na, to approve this dissolution.

“I shall accept your proposal. From this day forward, the current cabinet shall be dissolved.”

“Next week, on Sunday, January 1st of the new year, we will hold a general election for members of parliament. Does anyone object?”

“No objections.”

Bahamut and Yu-na accepted the parliamentarians’ request for dissolution right there, and the dissolution was approved on the spot.

With this, all members lost their parliamentary positions from that day forward, and next week, on January 1st of the new year, the historic first general election for parliament would be held.

“Let’s see who wins.”

“Yes, and we can gauge internal public opinion while we’re at it.”

However, the implicit coalition these groups had built wasn’t over.

The reason they had voluntarily dissolved parliament and entered a general election was partly to secure legitimacy for their parties’ existence, but it was also to clearly confirm public opinion within the cult.

Even now, individual journalists and polling organizations were checking public opinion within the cult, but all of that wouldn’t represent the entirety of internal opinion.

Evidence of this was the emergence of fringe groups like opposition parties that designated Dragon Slayer as their party line or claimed Bahamut was a dictator. The two political factions believed it necessary to understand internal public opinion clearly.

“Above all, we can emphasize that we’re restoring democracy.”

“To maintain a long alliance with the United States, we need to emphasize that democracy is also being restored on the Korean Peninsula.”

The second reason was the restoration of democracy.

Before the Apocalypse, democracy was a universal ideology and system, and South Korea was also a democratic country.

This meant returning to a familiar system for the people of South Korea, and it was a reform to break away from being perceived as a religious group internationally.

Moreover, it was also a means to improve relations with the United States, which had always valued democratic ideals, and simultaneously a way to address the Balhut Cult’s notorious reputation on the Korean Peninsula.

There was hope that if they were seen as a country founded on democratic ideals rather than a cult, the Balhut Cult’s notoriety would gradually fade.

“Of course, this won’t completely solve everything.”

“Still, by holding a general election, we can show the world that we’re a democratic country.”

To that end, communities were already widely promoting that the first general election would be held in Yeongnam, and before this meeting, the Dragon Faith Association and the Constitutional Democratic Party had begun campaigning and public relations efforts to win votes.

Party members were already out on the streets campaigning, putting forward numerous promises to gain citizens’ attention.

“To prevent any absurd conspiracy theories about election fraud…”

“We should entrust the election commission to someone completely fair. How about asking Bahamut?”

And to prepare for any unforeseen situations, they asked Bahamut to manage the election commission.

Every election season, there were always ridiculous conspiracy theories about election fraud. Despite logical rebuttals that these conspiracy theorists couldn’t refute, and despite all the fact-checking they received, the term “election fraud” had penetrated deep into society.

So to counter these conspiracy theories and ensure that no one could claim this election was fraudulent, they had the extremely one-dimensional and simple idea of entrusting it to the Dragon God, who was more neutral than anyone else!

“That’s a good idea.”

“Now that I think about it, it makes sense.”

If it was managed directly by the Dragon God rather than human hands, everyone would trust it.

Even if conspiracy theories about election fraud emerged after the election, well… they’d cross that bridge when they came to it!

‘I’m already too busy as it is!!!’

Of course, Bahamut, who had unintentionally gained a new task, could only grab his head and lament.

Frankly speaking, Bahamut had too many responsibilities to worry about managing an election commission.

“My daily schedule is already packed! When I wake up in the morning, I have to supply water and electricity to Gyeongju and Pohang. At the same time, I need to mint Bahamut coins for the Balhut Cult and the United States. I also have to provide advice on reports coming into the cult. On weekends, I counsel cult members who visit. Sometimes when emergencies occur, I have to borrow Yu-na’s or Seol-hwa’s vision, or use magic to examine the surrounding areas. I need to scout whether there are dangerous enemies near Gyeongju and Pohang. I even have to conduct research on practical applications of magic for civilian and military use by the Awakened in the cult! And now election management?! Oh my! Oh my! I’m dying! I’m going to die!”

Yes, he had too many responsibilities.

If one were to pick the busiest people in the Balhut Cult, it would be the Dragon Priestess and the Dragon God at the top of the organization.

In Bahamut’s case, he had to supply energy resources to Gyeongju and Pohang, as well as produce Bahamut coins for use within the cult or for the United States.

Of course, these tasks could be quickly resolved with a simple click, and Bahamut had built systems to make them not particularly difficult, but he had to handle other duties simultaneously.

Additionally, though he didn’t mention it, if there were urgent requests or proposals from Special Ambassador Steven, Bahamut himself had to handle those conversations.

There were many other tasks piling up, and dealing with these accumulated tasks every day was Bahamut’s routine, but…

“I have no choice.”

This cowardly dragon simply couldn’t refuse their request.

If they had tried to dump this work on him just because they found it annoying, he would have refused on the spot and had no intention of doing it. However, the justification they presented was preventing potential election fraud conspiracy theories.

Bahamut also knew that during election seasons, election fraud conspiracy theories had set communities ablaze, so he couldn’t predict what would happen if such theories emerged during this apocalypse.

Before the apocalypse, it was possible to laugh off or ignore the online rants of keyboard warriors, but in the current apocalyptic situation, those keyboard warriors were highly likely to be Awakened.

If those Awakened gathered as a group and shouted conspiracy theories about election fraud, it would be very difficult to deal with.

“Let Yu-na run the National Election Commission.”

“Understood, Dragon God.”

“If necessary, seek advice or help from the United States.”

Fortunately for Bahamut, he had the Dragon Priestess to whom he could delegate this task.

Bahamut immediately delegated the election commission management to Yu-na.

Honestly, there was a practical aspect that it would be impossible to perfectly manage the general election while handling various other tasks.

‘Everyone already recognizes Yu-na as my representative, right? This should be fine.’

In the Balhut Cult, more and more people were recognizing Choi Yu-na as Bahamut’s representative.

A political party called the Constitutional Democratic Party had even formed around this logic, so Bahamut decided to further support Yu-na as the Dragon Priestess.

‘This is too much! I want to relax too! I want to live!’

Honestly, if any more work came his way, he had a feeling that a not-so-funny situation of death from overwork might occur!

“And to prepare for any unforeseen situations, both I and the Dragon Priestess will always abstain from voting. Let’s make sure the Dragon Priestess always strives to maintain neutrality.”

“As you command.”

However, he hadn’t delegated thoughtlessly and had prepared for potential issues.

In the eyes of the world, unlike Bahamut, Yu-na was human and might potentially favor one side.

Keeping this in mind, Bahamut advised the Dragon Priestess to always abstain from voting and strive to maintain political neutrality.

“But I don’t have voting rights yet. During the general election, I’ll be 17 years old. According to the Balhut Constitution, I’m one year short.”

“Ah.”

One problem was that Yu-na, who would be managing the election, had neither voting rights nor the right to be elected.

The general election would take place a week later in the new year, and on that day, Yu-na would be just turning 17 years old in Korean age.

For reference, just like the South Korean Constitution, the Balhut Cult’s constitution, which was based on it, granted voting rights and eligibility for election only to citizens who were at least 18 years old.

This meant that on the day of the general election, Yu-na legally couldn’t have voting rights.

“Similarly, Seol-hwa doesn’t have voting rights either. That child will be 15 years old on the day of the general election.”

“Ah.”

The same applied to Seol-hwa, who was younger than Yu-na.

Of course, there was a high possibility that she would be commanding the fleet for the safety of the East Sea on the day of the general election, but legally, Seol-hwa also lacked voting rights and eligibility for election.

In other words, at the current point, Dragon Priestesses Choi Yu-na and Baek Seol-hwa were minors who couldn’t exercise voting rights in this general election.

‘What’s that? That’s scary, not knowing.’

Bahamut made a blank expression upon realizing that the Dragon Priestesses he had contracted were 17 and 15 years old.

They had always responded maturely, and everyone treated them as adults, but in reality, these two were still minors who should be under adult protection.

However, at the same time, they were also monarchs or governors responsible for Gyeongju and Ulsan.

“Well, let’s say it’s in preparation for potential new Dragon Priestesses in the future.”

“Indeed! That was your intention.”

Taking this into account, Bahamut said he would decide in advance to prepare for the possibility of new priestesses appearing in the future.

In reality, he had just properly recognized Yu-na and Seol-hwa’s ages and was making excuses, but as Bahamut said, it was better to decide such things in advance to avoid issues later.

Having successfully delegated the election commission management to Yu-na, Bahamut…

“I still have more work to do…!”

The problem was that he still had more work to do.

Regarding magic development, he had already established a system to support the now well-established magician’s club to develop on their own, with Bahamut occasionally advising them or showing them original magic for them to analyze and experiment with.

The most important task for Dragon God Bahamut now was:

“Winning the war.”

Winning the war against the Cult of Immortality.

Although international diplomacy and the internal situation of the cult were in great turmoil due to new reforms, the most important thing for the Balhut Cult was to survive this apocalypse.

In other words, winning the war against zombies… no, the undead, and to achieve that victory, they had to use any means necessary.

‘Since we’re fighting zombies, poison gas and such don’t work, and the United States is refraining from using drones and various lethal weapons due to public perception issues.’

The problem was that because they were facing the undead, the lethal weapons they could use were limited.

There was the Turn Undead magic, which was a hard counter to the undead, but within the Balhut Cult, only Yu-na, Seol-hwa, and Bahamut could use this magic.

This meant that in places where they weren’t present, new weapons were needed to prepare for the undead’s advance.

“Finally. The first prototype is ready.”

Through cooperation with the United States, Bahamut had been able to import various types of minerals, and using Magic Craft magic, he had been trying to create special minerals imbued with magical power, like the Bahamut coins that were currently their main product and strength.

“This will be a secret weapon that can help us win the war.”

At the end of those efforts, a material that finally satisfied Bahamut had been created.

Looking at the True Silver in his hand that would never tarnish, Bahamut smiled as if all his hard work had finally been rewarded.