Ch.153152. The Refugee Problem (1)

# Seoul’s story comes to an end, and now we begin the tale of Pohang after quite some time.

Pohang, liberated through the efforts of the Balhut Cult, had been busy every single day without exception.

Fishing boats were setting sail from the harbor to secure food supplies, and trade had begun not only with container ships from the United States but also with Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia—countries with whom they had established agreements through the international organization reconstruction conference held in London.

In effect, Pohang had become the economic center within the Balhut Cult’s sphere of influence, ushering in what was essentially its second golden age.

“It feels like I’ve returned to land after a long time. Every day is truly busy.”

Naturally, Baek Seol-hwa, who had been ordered by Bahamut to govern Pohang, was gradually being granted more authority.

Especially as she personally took the role of admiral to protect the East Sea, the Balhut Cult had realized that securing the safety of the East Sea was essential for maintaining this region.

However, the Dragon Priestess wasn’t just a being meant for fighting; her position also involved direct governance.

Of course, as the ultimate authority in Pohang, Seol-hwa needed to be directly involved in its administration for things to run properly, and fortunately for her…

“You’ve arrived, Lady Seol-hwa. You’ve returned earlier than expected.”

In place of Seol-hwa, who faced daily battles protecting the East Sea, there was a loyal subordinate who handled internal affairs.

Seo Un-jae, formerly one of Pohang’s three major camp leaders and now Baek Seol-hwa’s advisor and administrator, came out to welcome her return to Pohang. Seol-hwa smiled brightly at him and spoke with an imposing presence.

“Yes. Things were resolved faster than expected. We achieved a decisive victory on the Ulsan front, and we discovered that the ghost fleet appearing in the East Sea is connected to the Cult of Immortality.”

“That’s truly wonderful news. Excellent. It’s about time the new members of the assembly were beginning to doubt Captain Jeong Dong-geon’s abilities. This victory will put an end to those doubts.”

She had discovered who was behind the ghost fleet and simultaneously achieved a decisive victory on the Ulsan front.

Hearing this, Seo Un-jae expressed relief, warning that the newly elected members of the assembly had begun to question Jeong Dong-geon’s abilities.

Baek Seol-hwa looked at Seo Un-jae with an incredulous expression and spoke.

“Are such rumors circulating?”

“Yes. The Dragon Faith Association and the Constitutional Democratic Party. While both factions secured clear victories in the recent general election, neither achieved a complete landslide. The emergence of a third force was inevitable, Lady Seol-hwa.”

Both political factions had achieved some success, but neither had won decisively enough to claim a landslide victory.

This allowed for the emergence of a third party, and the new faction that entered the assembly was struggling to make its presence known by finding fault with officials who had worked in the existing cabinet.

At the same time…

“Above all, what concerns me is that there are far-right forces even within the Balhut Cult.”

What worried him was that these weren’t ordinary political factions but dangerous forces that could clearly be classified as far-right by pre-apocalyptic standards.

“Is it dangerous?”

“No. Rather, it’s natural. In fact, it would be strange if there weren’t any far-right forces in such a harsh world. In this apocalypse, extreme statements gain more traction. Citizens disappointed with moderate groups like the Dragon Faith Association or the Constitutional Democratic Party sometimes fall into more radical factions.”

When Baek Seol-hwa expressed concern about the term “far-right,” asking if it was dangerous, Seo Un-jae advised that the emergence of far-right forces was actually to be expected.

After all, in such a harsh world, it would be stranger if extreme groups didn’t appear, and it was inevitable that inflammatory rhetoric would gain power.

Just as always speaking the truth can be boring, extreme statements could provide enough dopamine to capture people’s attention.

Of course, if such rhetoric were actually implemented, it would be nothing more than delusional logic, and if it truly came to pass, it would be troublesome for most citizens—a fact that could be conveniently ignored.

“By the way, what do you mean by saying they’re appearing in Pohang too?”

“Ah. Recently, more people have been coming to Pohang from outside. Charitably speaking, they’re refugees. Less charitably, they’re displaced persons or asylum seekers.”

So what he could do was to shift the conversation to another topic he had intended to report.

Fortunately, the Korean First Party wasn’t the only matter he needed to report to Seol-hwa; there was also the issue of uninvited outsiders coming to Pohang.

Seo Un-jae mentioned that unidentified refugees were arriving in Pohang.

“Isn’t it natural for people to come to safe places to escape the apocalypse?”

Seol-hwa responded that this was only natural and saw no problem with it.

Of course, refugees were a natural occurrence in this apocalypse, and there were many seeking refuge with the Balhut Cult.

It was truly a common story, but…

“These refugees are disrupting Pohang’s public order. From their perspective, it feels like a foreign country has suddenly been established on South Korean territory. They’re struggling to adapt to this unfamiliar environment.”

The problem was that these refugees were disrupting Pohang’s public order.

Current Pohang had severed ties with South Korea and joined a new country, so it was true that one could see unfamiliar sights different from South Korea, but wasn’t its foundation still South Korean?

Seol-hwa responded to Seo Un-jae’s explanation with a puzzled expression.

“What? Really?”

“Yes. Many refugees who have come to Pohang are completely failing to adapt to the current atmosphere. Above all, the Balhut Cult is the most alien organization on the Korean peninsula, so there’s bound to be psychological resistance.”

However, Seo Un-jae insisted it was true, explaining that the Balhut Cult itself was the most alien entity on the Korean peninsula, causing psychological resistance.

Though Seol-hwa wore a somewhat bewildered expression at this…

“If they saw Lord Dragon, they would all believe.”

“Haha. While it would certainly have an effect, most would either fall into fear or madness.”

She immediately suggested that if Dragon Lord Bahamut personally descended, all complaints would disappear. Seo Un-jae smiled bitterly, acknowledging that it would certainly be effective while warning that it would cause great confusion.

Of course, he couldn’t deny her words.

After all, Seo Un-jae himself had surrendered to the Balhut Cult without resistance after witnessing Dragon Lord Bahamut’s descent.

Though during the Pohang negotiations, he had been somewhat stubborn for Pohang’s benefit.

‘Thinking about it now, I was quite fearless.’

He simply shook his head calmly, considering it a memory no different from an embarrassing past mistake.

“So, Seo Un-jae. If you’re specifically mentioning this to me, it means there’s something that needs to be done right away. Please summarize the internal situation of Pohang in one line while I’ve been monitoring the East Sea.”

“It’s simple.”

However, if it was just a refugee problem, Seol-hwa knew Seo Un-jae could handle it alone, and she had delegated that authority to him.

Above all, as she had just said, the emergence of refugees during this apocalypse was extremely natural, so there was no need to report it as an important agenda item.

Yet the reason Seo Un-jae had personally emphasized and reported this as important was…

“We need to restore Pohang’s public order, which has been damaged by the sudden influx of outsiders.”

The public order in Pohang was being disrupted because of these refugees.

In other words, an enormous number of refugees that Pohang couldn’t handle were emerging from all over the Korean peninsula.