Ch.284284. Reconstruction Begins (1)

However, from Seorabeol’s perspective, the excessive loyalty competition that arose during the pacification of South Korea was truly a trivial matter.

While regional public sentiment might have deteriorated, that sentiment was ultimately directed toward the local warlords, not toward Seorabeol itself, which had remained unproblematic thus far.

Seorabeol had merely accepted their loyalty oaths and granted their requests. It wasn’t as if Seorabeol’s army had directly invaded, attacked civilian militias, or imposed tyranny.

Rather, the most pressing issue that Seorabeol was currently grappling with was none other than…

“Now that we’ve recaptured Seoul, it’s time to address the metropolitan area issue that we’ve been postponing.”

“…Sigh. Are you doubting Lord Bahamut’s promise, members of the cabinet?”

“Of course we believe in him! But I resist that generous proposal because I believe it’s for Seorabeol—no, for my hometown of Gyeongju.”

The question of where Seorabeol’s capital should be now that Seoul had been recaptured had plunged the Seorabeol cabinet into a whirlwind of fierce debate.

Before they could comfortably celebrate and toast to their victory in the war to recapture Seoul, the cabinet had already split into two factions and begun to clash.

Moreover, this debate had ultimately led to Bahamut causing the Ulsan Tragedy, which shocked the cabinet into reform. Despite Bahamut himself declaring that he would not make Gyeongju the capital of Seorabeol, there were inevitably cabinet members who wanted their region to become the center of the Korean Peninsula.

Even the reformed cabinet members seemed unwilling to yield on this point, boldly arguing for Gyeongju as Seorabeol’s capital despite the Prime Minister’s warnings, claiming it was for their hometown.

‘They’re either seeking political performance or targeting the next generation.’

Of course, they didn’t have enough political power to overturn Bahamut’s decision.

In Prime Minister Hwang Geun-chul’s opinion, this was merely posturing for the next election; no one was seriously arguing for Gyeongju as Seorabeol’s capital.

In truth, while being the capital might not have had many merits, Gyeongju’s prosperity was already guaranteed since Bahamut himself had promised to build an academy for the Awakened there.

With the Dragon God personally involved, who would dare harbor doubts?

“It’s fortunate that we won the war.”

“If this debate had erupted during the war… Bahamut might have truly been angered this time.”

“This is happening because we won.”

The fundamental reason such statements could emerge was that Seorabeol had risen as the ruler of the Korean Peninsula after defeating the Cult of Immortality.

With Seorabeol already established as the dominant power, no remaining force in Korea could challenge Seorabeol’s ascendancy. Therefore, only one matter remained:

Meritorious service—determining who would be recognized for their significant contributions to the founding of Seorabeol.

Too many cabinet members wanted their names on the list of meritorious subjects, which would bring numerous privileges and power. This political taboo, which neither the Priestess of the Dragon nor Bahamut had readily mentioned during the war to maintain their reputation, had now erupted.

“Gyeongju is the land where the Balhut Cult began, marking the start of Seorabeol! It’s also the heart of Seorabeol that never surrendered to the Cult of Immortality’s invasion!”

Most of the cabinet members advocating for Gyeongju as Seorabeol’s capital were either based in Gyeongju, belonged to third-party forces not aligned with the Dragon God Association or the Constitutional Democratic Party, or were outsiders who belonged to a party but disagreed with party unity.

In the former case, there might be members who genuinely believed they were working for their hometown, Gyeongju, but the latter was truly a political calculation targeting the next election, as Hwang Geun-chul had predicted, which made the situation all the more troublesome.

Since this was ultimately a political struggle for the next election, it was a problem the cabinet needed to resolve voluntarily, but…

‘They have no intention of listening to us.’

‘They’re not party mainstream figures. Wouldn’t controlling each outsider like this be tyranny? And…’

‘This isn’t even bad for Gyeongju. That’s also a problem.’

First, there was reluctance to control individual cabinet members’ actions, as that itself would be considered tyranny. Additionally, from the perspective of Gyeongju citizens, their arguments had some merit.

Moreover, since all three heroes were Gyeongju citizens, it was difficult to outright reject this proposal, which would bring enormous benefits to Gyeongju, on purely emotional grounds.

In other words, they were trying to persuade the cabinet members and citizens with emotion rather than practicality, and conversely, those advocating for Seoul as the capital had sufficient logic to counter.

“No. While Gyeongju is indeed the birthplace of Seorabeol as you say, that’s merely history and tradition. Gyeongju is too modest to serve as a capital. Seoul has long been the center of the Korean Peninsula—the core of economy, administration, and population. Even now, Gyeonggi Province alone has 3-4 times the population of Seorabeol. In this situation, Gyeongju cannot handle the role of a capital!”

Indeed, there were enormous differences in economy, administration, and population.

Even after gaining Daegu, Pohang, and Ulsan, Seorabeol’s total population could never surpass Seoul’s, and if Gyeonggi Province in the metropolitan area was included, it easily exceeded Seorabeol’s population by 3-4 times, as the cabinet member claimed.

‘That’s the correct argument. If we think emotionally, we should make Gyeongju the capital. But considering practicality and national capacity, Gyeongju can no longer fulfill the role of a capital.’

Hwang Geun-chul nodded in agreement with those words, and ultimately, Seorabeol would have to leave Gyeongju and settle in Seoul.

And the debate that accompanied the metropolitan issue was…

“Now that Seoul has been recaptured, how do you plan to distribute the seats? Even excluding Gangwon Province, where North Korean forces remain, we could conquer the remaining administrative regions in about half a year.”

“Well, through the dissolution of parliament. We’ll hold a general election for members of the National Assembly again. The cabinet will also be dissolved, but during the election, the Priestess of the Dragon or Lord Bahamut will act as proxy, so there won’t be any problems. I believe in that.”

It was none other than the distribution of seats after the pacification of South Korea.

Ordinarily, Bahamut would declare the dissolution of parliament and hold a general election for the National Assembly again. In fact, Bahamut himself had promised this right after parliament was formed, so sooner or later, a general election would take place.

‘This is also becoming an issue.’

‘Yes. Once things settle down somewhat, Lord Bahamut will certainly dissolve parliament. That’s the promise, but it would be difficult for the members to accept it readily.’

Since the dissolution of parliament itself was Bahamut’s authority, there were no legal issues whatsoever.

However, considering problems arising from seat numbers and distribution, it was inevitable that some members would be dissatisfied with the news that parliament would be dissolved before they could even complete their terms due to changes in seat numbers.

Finally…

‘We can no longer cooperate with the Constitutional Democratic Party.’

‘This marks the end of the implicit National Unity Cabinet.’

With the war ending in victory, there was no longer any reason for the Dragon God Association and the Constitutional Democratic Party to maintain their implicit National Unity Cabinet.

While the two heroes had stronger identities as direct staff to the Priestess of the Dragon rather than party representatives, ultimately, the Dragon God Association was a party pursuing absolute monarchy with Bahamut as the sovereign, while the Constitutional Democratic Party dreamed of a constitutional monarchy centered on parliament.

The Dragon God Association wanted stronger state control and a system focused on order after the victory, while the Constitutional Democratic Party aimed for reconstruction and integration. Therefore, the implicit National Unity Cabinet maintained by the two forces would inevitably break down sooner or later.

However, as long as the three heroes remained active, extreme partisan fighting would not occur immediately.

‘This also leaves homework for the future.’

‘It can’t be helped. We won’t live forever.’

Even if they weren’t fighting right now, these were ideologies that would inevitably clash in the distant future, and this too was a problem for future Seorabeol to resolve.

In essence, Hwang Geun-chul and Park Cheol-gon had given up on resolving this issue, but with urgent problems piled up like mountains, they needed to solve the most pressing issues first. Solving problems that hadn’t yet erupted would be nothing but a waste of resources.

The fortunate thing was that the main content of debate between the two major factions was merely about how to redistribute political power after Seoul’s reconstruction.

“The ruling party wants one-third of the seats!”

“That’s a challenge to the modern parliamentary system! Surely the Prime Minister doesn’t think so?”

“This is crazy. Absolutely not my opinion.”

Occasionally, trivial humorous responses arose among the members, but parliament was still functioning normally, so these minor comments from ordinary members should be taken lightly, like a comedian’s remarks.

In fact, if they debated more radically, Bahamut might directly intervene as during the Ulsan Tragedy, telling them to behave properly. So they would likely set their own boundaries and act accordingly.

“More noteworthy is…”

“Yes, the rise of the third sector.”

Amidst the rough political struggle between the two major parties, there was another group exerting influence within Seorabeol.

They claimed to be a third political force, neither the Dragon God Association nor the Constitutional Democratic Party, and they were not a party born within Seorabeol.

“I never expected local warlords to establish themselves in the cabinet so quickly.”

They had approached the Korea First Party, a third force, and transformed the party’s identity into one representing the interests of local warlords.

The Korea First Party, which had always required substantial political funds and the exercise of force, gladly cooperated with their approach and even demanded policies for the warlords from the cabinet.

Having received reports that Chungcheong, North Jeolla, and South Jeolla were already cooperating with the Korea First Party, Hwang Geun-chul could only sigh at the Korea First Party’s intentions, but…

‘We can’t help but worry, but from Yu-na’s perspective, they must be nothing but a group of clowns.’

As Prime Minister, he couldn’t help but fear and worry about each of their moves, but he realized that to Yu-na, they were merely putting on a cute show.

Hwang Geun-chul had informed Yu-na of this fact first, preparing for any possible situation, but Yu-na’s response was:

“Not really a problem?”

“Is, is that so?”

“Even if they gather together, I wonder if they can defeat me alone.”

Indeed, it was a law that the weak couldn’t defeat an overwhelming strong opponent just by gathering together.

Not only in terms of military power and financial resources, but her advisor was none other than the Dragon God, and the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the National Assembly were handling her political capacity.

Yu-na, with her overwhelming power, had no need to fear the advancement of these minor parties; as mentioned earlier, their behavior was merely a cute performance.

“Well, they’re acting boldly without their master’s knowledge.”

“That’s right. But the Korea First Party’s claims are starting to cross the line.”

Park Cheol-gon, the Speaker of the National Assembly, merely sighed regretfully at the burning cabinet, without particularly restraining it.

Hwang Geun-chul agreed but lamented that the Korea First Party’s claims had crossed the line.

“The claim that we, who defeated the Cult of Immortality, are not yet a force representing the entire country?”

“Yes. Isn’t that saying the victory of the Seoul Allied Forces was meaningless?”

Indeed, a regretful sigh was inevitable.

It was a radical claim that this war’s victory was completely meaningless, and it nullified the significance of the Awakened who had fought in this war.

This statement had been made when Yu-na and Seol-hwa were absent, which is why it hadn’t caused problems. If Yu-na or Seol-hwa had returned to the country after winning the war, there would be no defense if a Yu-na Death Beam immediately flew toward the member who made such a claim.

“Such claims should be made once in a while. Isn’t that what parliamentary politics is about?”

“That’s right.”

Nevertheless, Seorabeol’s parliamentary politics would continue to grow through fights and debates, and someday, Seorabeol’s parliament would be reborn as a parliament pursuing the advanced politics they dreamed of—that was their belief as they moved forward.