Ch.1818. Why Did You Come to My House? Why Did You Come? (2)

It was only when he saw those gentle blue eyes that Hwang Seung-man seemed to gather proper courage, boldly asking the question he had prepared for this day.

“Then, trusting in that promise, I’ll ask! What is your purpose?”

What was the first dragon’s purpose?

He believed that depending on the answer, the fate of Gyeongju’s citizens… and broadly speaking, the entire Republic of Korea, would change.

“To fulfill Choi Yu-na’s wish. The wish she expressed to me was the normalization of Gyeongju. In other words, the restoration of order.”

That answer was unexpectedly gentle.

Wasn’t the restoration of order essentially about rebuilding the order of this ruined country?

Since many survivors already wanted to rebuild the collapsed order and return to normal daily life, no one opposed the justification of restoring order.

“……..”

…Of course, there were some who harbored internal dissatisfaction.

Jo Sun-do glared at Bahamut with a displeased expression, but upon seeing that enormous figure, he had no choice but to turn away.

“Is there your own will in this?”

Hwang Seung-man’s second question was whether Bahamut had his own will in these actions.

If this was just Choi Yu-na’s wish and completely different from Bahamut’s will, he would have to reconsider everything he had been thinking.

“Of course my will is involved. I saved those who fell into disaster, and I deeply empathize with your situation.”

The truly fortunate thing was that this action wasn’t solely the will of Choi Yu-na who had contracted with the dragon.

Bahamut clearly had his own will in this.

It meant this dragon voluntarily wanted to save people.

“Are you saying you pity us?”

“Yes. From your perspective, it could be seen as me expressing pity. But since our perspectives differ, I cannot give a clear answer about that.”

Bahamut deeply empathized with the situation of ordinary people facing the zombie apocalypse disaster and pitied them.

That’s why he unhesitatingly lent his power to Choi Yu-na and exterminated all the zombies in Gyeongju.

At the same time, he left a kind of deferment, saying that because Bahamut’s perspective and the survivors’ perspectives inevitably differed due to differences in species and ideology, he couldn’t give a clear answer.

‘This is going better than expected? He’s really being favorable to us.’

However, Hwang Seung-man actually liked this deferment.

He felt hopeful about this dragon who was unexpectedly gentle and favorable toward humans.

“Then, may I ask the next question?”

“I don’t mind.”

And as Hwang Seung-man stepped back with a satisfied look, a woman raised her hand and came forward.

The woman, who introduced herself as Lee Hyeon-a, ignored her frightened younger sibling whispering behind her to stop immediately and asked the dragon a question.

“Why are you trying to recruit us? More specifically, why recruit the Gyeongju Support?”

“It’s to establish the duties and disciplines that humans should uphold.”

When Lee Hyeon-a asked about the reason for recruiting the Gyeongju Support and other survivor camps, Bahamut mentioned without hesitation the duties and disciplines that humans should uphold.

This essentially meant the revival of the judicial system, and Hwang Seung-man, who had been quietly listening, was greatly surprised that Bahamut, a different species, was interested in human law.

Lee Hyeon-a, who had asked the question, was no different, so she continued.

“Then there are the existing laws of the Republic of Korea. These are clearly laws too.”

“But that’s from a time of peace. The world has greatly changed and collapsed, so I thought laws adapted to that were needed.”

She countered that the laws used in the Republic of Korea were also laws, but Bahamut argued back that the laws from the Republic of Korea era were from a time of peace.

The Republic of Korea had greatly changed due to the zombie apocalypse, and since its order had collapsed, Bahamut said new laws fitting this collapsed order were needed.

‘He’s right. He’s completely right. I can’t deny it.’

…The dragon’s answer wasn’t wrong.

The current laws of the Republic of Korea were established before the zombie apocalypse… during the peaceful period before the disaster.

Naturally, they weren’t laws created with the zombie apocalypse disaster in mind.

Hwang Seung-man, who had been listening quietly, deeply empathized with Bahamut’s statement that new laws suitable for the apocalyptic disaster situation were needed.

New wine needed new wineskins, and after hearing Bahamut’s words, Hwang Seung-man could be certain that new laws fitting this era were necessary.

“…Then, do you intend to rule over us?”

Lee Hyeon-a’s thoughts weren’t much different from Hwang Seung-man’s, but the most important question remained.

Perhaps this was the most important statement for survivors living in a democratic country.

Did the Bahamut before them… intend to rule over them?

“Should I take that to mean govern?”

“Yes.”

“No, I do not rule over anyone. However, if people wish me to reign as a symbol, I will accommodate that. I have never harbored the intention to rule over people.”

But Bahamut honestly stated without hesitation that he had no intention of ruling over anyone.

Whether this was truth or falsehood was for Hwang Seung-man and the other survivor camps to judge.

However, Lee Hyeon-a, the questioner, was convinced that this was truth, not falsehood.

‘If that had been his intention from the start, he would have done it already.’

Considering the dragon’s past actions, if he had wanted to rule, he would have done so long ago.

There would have been no need for this troublesome meeting; he could have forced obedience through power.

There were many easier ways to rule, but the dragon before them deliberately chose not to.

‘This dragon prefers to resolve things through dialogue, not force.’

Even now, wasn’t he answering each of Lee Hyeon-a’s rude questions without showing any discomfort?

She could tell that Bahamut had a gentle disposition, preferring to resolve matters through dialogue rather than force whenever possible.

“From the beginning, I have never been one who rules over others.”

“Then, I’d like to ask something.”

Lee Hyeon-a stepped back with a satisfied expression, and next, Jeong Dong-geon raised his hand to ask a question.

Jeong Dong-geon was known among the survivors as a retired soldier, and he was the leader of a group that had gathered retired soldiers living in Gyeongju to demonstrate their influence in the city.

“If you were to face a situation where fighting is necessary, what would you do?”

What choice would this dragon make when faced with a situation where fighting was inevitable?

Other survivors didn’t quite understand the intent of the question, and some suspected that the soldier was seeking a place where he could fight.

However, Jeong Dong-geon asked the dragon more seriously than anyone how he would fight, and…

“I would prefer to resolve things through dialogue as much as possible. I want to find as many areas for compromise as possible by exchanging opinions and talking.”

Bahamut chose dialogue.

While other survivors thought Jeong Dong-geon would be disappointed by the statement that he would choose dialogue rather than force…

“I believe resolving things through force is ultimately like eating one’s own flesh.”

Bahamut stated without hesitation that resolving things through force was like eating one’s own flesh.

He wanted compromise through dialogue… not fighting.

He considered force a bad option and wanted to prioritize dialogue if possible.

This could be considered an extravagant statement in this apocalyptic disaster situation.

“If compromise isn’t possible, then persuasion. If persuasion fails, then gentle surrender. Is that sufficient?”

“I will follow you.”

However, as soon as those words ended, Jeong Dong-geon declared without hesitation that he would follow Bahamut.

As if all the doubts in Jeong Dong-geon’s heart had disappeared, he bowed his head without hesitation and pledged loyalty to Bahamut.

“I, I will follow you too!”

After Jeong Dong-geon bowed first and pledged loyalty, Hwang Seung-man also bowed his head and shouted that he would follow Bahamut.

Others were no different.

Survivor leaders and survivors who had demonstrated influence or gained fame in Gyeongju also one by one said they would follow Bahamut.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. I… no, we of the Gyeongju Support will join Bahamut and the Balhut Cult!”

“Don’t you have any pride, you bastard!”

Of course, half agreed to follow, while the other half could not agree to follow.

The group of survivors who unhesitatingly agreed to follow Bahamut was exactly half, and the other half criticized those who would follow Bahamut, asking if they had no pride, with expressions full of dissatisfaction.

“No. I’ve determined this is the most advantageous for the survival of Gyeongju citizens. Jo Sun-do, the reason your faction can’t follow Lord Bahamut is simply because you’re reluctant to give up the scraps of power you currently hold.”

“You dare insult me?!”

The retired soldier Jeong Dong-geon countered the survivor leader Jo Sun-do, who criticized him for having no pride, by asking in return if he was just reluctant to surrender because he was attached to the power in his hands.

Some rough survivors took this as an insult, while others felt ashamed.

Or there were clearly some who were calculating the pros and cons with shameless expressions, wondering how to use this situation to their advantage.

“Silence. I have not permitted meaningless fighting here.”

Opinions were split in half, divided between survivors who did not agree and those who did.

The reason these two forces didn’t clash was only because Bahamut mediated from the side.

‘This determines the power structure in Gyeongju. The Balhut Cult’s South Gyeongju and Jo Sun-do’s North Gyeongju…’

‘Then I should align myself with the faction that has the best chance of success.’

And the two politicians who were quietly watching this conflict could be certain which faction they should belong to.

“The National Party is with South Gyeongju!”

Naturally, it was the Balhut Cult led by Bahamut.

* * *

Numerous survivors leaving the temple.

The survivors were all able to have in-depth conversations with Bahamut, and through those conversations, they gained much.

From Bahamut’s perspective, it was a good opportunity to bring numerous survivor camps under the cult’s wing without major conflict.

With just one conversation, the cult gained half of Gyeongju.

“Half of the survivor camps agreed with our opinion. But the other half did not.”

However, only half of the survivor camps, centered around Hwang Seung-man’s Gyeongju Support, agreed with Bahamut’s opinion, while the other half did not agree with Bahamut’s proposal and went their own separate ways.

This could be seen as an unsatisfactory conclusion for Choi Yu-na, but Bahamut shook his head at her dissatisfaction and spoke.

“I never thought everything would be perfectly resolved from the beginning. If we calmly work toward compromise from now on, they will eventually join us.”

“I hope it happens as you wish, Lord. Those people still denied your existence, didn’t they?”

“Hehe. It doesn’t bother me.”

Of course, there were survivor leaders who still denied Bahamut’s existence despite witnessing it.

However, the decisive reason was…

‘It’s difficult for people to easily give up the power of leadership.’

The power gained through disaster was too precious to give up immediately.

Or there were survivor leaders who had already recognized that the tide had turned but wanted to sell their forces at a higher price.

In other words, they could be seen as staging a kind of protest because they were dissatisfied with the conditions Bahamut had proposed.

‘Anyway, I’m really glad this ended smoothly.’

The rehearsal had been effective enough that the foolish dragon felt truly proud of himself for calmly answering all their questions without getting scared.

However, since he had clearly achieved results, this time it was true that he had succeeded too greatly to be simply dismissed as a foolish dragon.

‘Next… start reconstruction projects through these people. Then, persuade the remaining survivor camps we couldn’t recruit. That will be quite difficult.’

However, since reconstruction projects had not yet begun, the city was still in ruins, and the remaining survivor camps that hadn’t been recruited remained as a kind of spark.

With the tasks of implementing reconstruction projects and persuading the remaining survivor camps still ahead, Bahamut tapped his head as if it was aching.

“We’re going to be very busy from now on.”

Things would really get busy from now on.

This was true for both Bahamut and Choi Yu-na, who had become the leader of a faction.

“No! I’m actually looking forward to it.”

However, for her, armed with faith directed toward Bahamut, the current situation was merely a trial.

She spoke as if there was no problem at all, saying she was actually looking forward to it.

‘Hmm. Before Yu-na causes trouble, I should quickly establish laws first.’

Bahamut decided he needed to quickly organize laws before Yu-na could cause any trouble.

No matter how positively Bahamut tried to view it, Choi Yu-na’s mind was full of thoughts about causing trouble with good intentions.