Ch.260260. Probation (2)

The investigator, a person speaking through the mouth of an official introduced as a royal inspector who does not conduct secret investigations.

The one currently sitting on the throne of the Kingdom of Kore, the “him” whom I never expected to meet like this….

[First, I would like to express my gratitude.]

He conveyed his thanks to me with a light and courteous attitude that seemed unfitting for someone of his status as a nation’s supreme ruler and absolute monarch—more gracious than I had anticipated.

[As king, I should protect my people, but you fulfilled that duty in my stead. Honestly, I don’t know how to properly express my feelings.]

“I only did what any human being should do, Your Majesty. …It feels a bit awkward seeing you like this.”

Now, as we face each other, albeit through indirect means, the King of Kore and I could, paradoxically, understand each other remarkably well.

You might say we were kindred spirits. You know how sometimes in life you encounter someone whose personality matches yours perfectly?

In this case, that’s exactly what was happening between this king and me….

“…how about this approach?”

[Oh, not bad at all. But in such cases….]

Thanks to this connection, we became quite close in a short time—precisely speaking, in less than 10 minutes—and after dispensing with formalities, we were able to reach a conclusion through our conversation.

According to him, the aftermath of this incident had reached a level that even he, as an absolute monarch, could not fully control.

The nation’s largest trading port, which contributed the most to the national wealth, had been completely devastated to the point of ceasing function. Furthermore, the country’s third-largest city attached to it was also too damaged to fulfill its role for the time being.

Although my efforts had reduced the number of casualties, many people still lost their lives in the incident. Considering the destroyed ships, insurance companies specializing in maritime insurance, along with insurance companies worldwide, would likely go bankrupt in droves.

Moreover, it was difficult to place blame on anyone—particularly the Kingdom of Kore for failing to prevent this disaster—since Kore itself was the greatest victim, suffering damage incomparable to other nations….

The fact that the fundamental cause of this disaster was none other than a cult organization remained the most representative reason why responsibility couldn’t be shifted to the Kingdom of Kore.

In truth, globally, there exists a sentiment that treats accidents caused by cultists as “inevitable.”

This is partly an implicit rule among the privileged ruling class to protect one another, but more importantly, it stems from the fact that incidents caused by these cultists are, like natural disasters, impossible to prevent even if one wishes to.

To be frank, cultists continuously emerge naturally even in the Wu Empire, which has established a magical SF dystopian society.

Demons and outer gods make contact with those who experience unbearable despair or desire things beyond their means.

After famines, hunger cults naturally form among survivors. Magicians craving knowledge and power encounter forbidden books and all too easily succumb to corrupting powers (necromancy).

Their approach occurs not in the easily detectable material realm but in the mental and spiritual domains, which, naturally, cannot be effectively blocked.

As long as human society exists with its inherent disparities, such social irrationalities will persist, making it fundamentally impossible to completely prevent the emergence of cultists.

Just as radicals naturally emerge, as political fanatics sprout up everywhere, and as long as people are cast out from the flow of society.

In such circumstances, assigning blame for failing to prevent a cult-induced disaster?

While criticism for inadequate preparation leading to excessive damage might be understandable, complaining about failing to stop what is essentially an unstoppable flow of the world is largely meaningless.

Even noble heroes who have achieved great feats can fall into demonic traps and become corrupted.

Even loyal subjects worthy of historical recognition can be kidnapped, brainwashed, and corrupted, becoming cultists overnight.

If even such lofty and noble beings aren’t completely free from corruption, what of the weak-willed and spineless cultists?

In essence, blaming this is like criticizing someone for failing to prevent a natural disaster—a pointless act beyond mere foolishness.

Thus, the aftermath of this incident was unpredictable in its scale, and no single person could be held responsible.

And in the midst of this, I appeared and demonstrated the remarkable feat of reducing actual casualties to less than 5% of the expected number.

From their perspective, this was perhaps the best news possible.

While material damage might somehow be reduced and endured, in an era where population equals national power, human casualties are devastatingly critical.

Particularly, the population of Dongrae Port included diverse human resources from skilled artisans to international-scale merchants. Though it may sound cold… their loss is several times more devastating than the deaths of common farmers.

While farmers might be replaceable, such valuable personnel cannot be cultivated at will, no matter how much one might wish to.

Of course, even setting aside these internal circumstances, my status as a foreigner who stepped forward to rescue lives and help resolve a crisis in a foreign country could certainly be elevated….

[As a king, I express my sincere gratitude to you. Thanks to you, no more of my people had to die.]

“…The generosity shown by a sovereign to a mere wanderer like me is more than I deserve.”

Thus, exchanging courtesies and quickly aligning our opinions, we were able to determine how to conclude this matter.

First, the king said it would be problematic if our group did not visit Hanyang, the capital of this country.

Currently, the so-called “Divine Authority Faction” in the court, which aims to reduce royal authority, sees this incident as an opportunity. Therefore, if we simply left the Kingdom of Kore, they would launch a political offensive.

Their main argument would be that “despite receiving grace, the king failed to repay it,” highlighting the current court’s incompetence to weaken royal authority.

Of course, even with such weakening, the king would still maintain control over the Kingdom of Kore, but the important thing is to slightly loosen the reins of power in this tug-of-war.

In the current situation where royal authority is so strong that proper opposition (according to their wishes) to the king’s opinions is impossible, presenting a seemingly legitimate reason would allow them to express dissent, giving them a sense of breathing room.

Although this is a crude and obvious political maneuver, its very simplicity and apparent reasonableness make it difficult to refute with clever tactics.

In short, the best solution in this situation was a straightforward approach.

If I personally visited the court in Hanyang to receive rewards and commendations directly from the king, such political offensives would lose their justification and fizzle out.

After all, since their intended justification was that “the hero did not receive proper treatment,” providing proper treatment would counter this.

In the end, jumping into someone else’s political frame or structure is foolish; the best method is to overturn the entire premise and collapse the framework itself.

Deciding to use this universally applicable truth, I conspired with this country’s king to travel through this land more comfortably.

[I will ensure you don’t get entangled in troublesome affairs. I swear by my noble ancestors and forefathers.]

“…If you insist so strongly.”

One reason was that it seemed inappropriate to simply move on when a nation’s monarch went to such lengths. Another was that we had endured too much hardship to end our sightseeing after seeing only Dongrae Port.

[…Thank you, sage from a foreign land.]

“You’re too kind.”

And so our group—I—decided to head to Hanyang to properly enjoy this tour….

…But incidents, as always, tend to occur at the most unexpected moments.