Ch.286286. Civilian (1)

In conclusion, no matter how much the Korea First Party, backed by the warlords, advocated for making Gyeongju the capital, it was nearly impossible to prevent Bahamut from claiming Seoul as the capital once he had made up his mind.

Bahamut’s influence and support essentially represented everything in Serabeol, and while he promised to make Gyeongju an academy city exclusively for the Awakened instead of the capital, the citizens of Gyeongju had no reason to oppose the Dragon God and demand their city become the capital, even if they were disappointed.

Thus, Seoul officially became the capital of Serabeol, and Gyeongju, now the former headquarters, slowly began preparing its transformation into an academy city for the Awakened.

“After this apocalypse ends, a society centered around the Awakened could last at least 10 years, possibly up to 50.”

Above all, Gyeongju’s golden age was guaranteed for at least a decade, and the longer an Awakened-centric society continued, the greater Gyeongju’s role would become.

Having resolved the political issues, Bahamut turned his attention back to Seoul. Once Seoul was confirmed as Serabeol’s capital, the reconstruction efforts accelerated. New steel structures were already rising on the ruins of the destroyed city, with the metallic sounds of cranes and construction vehicle noise echoing throughout the area.

“Supplies keep coming in through Incheon. It seems there are investors looking to invest in Seoul?”

“Not bad. Now that Seoul is officially Serabeol’s capital, all power and resources should flow there.”

The reality that the Korea First Party and their warlord sponsors had desperately tried to avoid was now unfolding. Despite their desperate struggles and resistance, their opposition amounted to nothing more than dust scattered in the wind.

As these rapid changes in Serabeol continued, it was the capitalists with money and vested interests who calmly observed the intense flow of events.

“As expected, following the Dragon Priestess was the right answer. Those Korea First Party fools don’t understand that.”

“Well, as someone from Gyeongju, I’m a bit disappointed. But practically speaking, this makes sense.”

Kim Tae-hyun, who genuinely revered Priestess Yu-na, had been aggressively investing massive funds and resources for Seoul’s reconstruction since the moment she declared Seoul would be the capital. He enthusiastically followed the Dragon Priestess’s every move.

While Kim Tae-hyun criticized those who didn’t follow the Dragon Priestess as fools, his friend Kang Jae-wan, a war correspondent for Serabeol, expressed disappointment that Gyeongju wouldn’t become the capital. Though he understood that Seoul made more practical sense than Gyeongju, as someone from Gyeongju, he had hoped his hometown could become the capital since it was Serabeol’s birthplace.

“Besides, the hearts of Gyeongju’s people are with Lord Bahamut. The Korea First Party doesn’t represent Gyeongju’s public sentiment anymore.”

Though slightly disappointed, he didn’t question the decision to make Seoul the capital once Bahamut had decided. Practically speaking, it was the right choice, and he thought he would have chosen Seoul over Gyeongju himself.

“Anyway, now that Seoul is Serabeol’s center, Kim Tae-hyun Company should relocate its headquarters soon.”

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to move to Seoul?”

From Kim Tae-hyun’s perspective as a capitalist, he needed to relocate his headquarters to the place that would become the center of wealth now that Seoul had been decided as the capital.

Even if it meant losing the connections and influence he had built in Gyeongju, rumors suggested that a temple for Dragon God Bahamut would be built in Seoul. This meant that the being who was essentially the ruler and god of Serabeol would reside in Seoul, and historically, enormous wealth and power naturally gathered wherever a nation’s ruler resided.

Just as all power and wealth had gathered in Gyeongju when Bahamut stayed at Namsan in Gyeongju, now all of Serabeol’s wealth would flow to Seoul since Bahamut would reside there.

“Yes. Everything is heading to Seoul now. It may seem modest at the moment, but since the Dragon God himself has established the New Seoul Reconstruction Plan, this policy cannot possibly fail!”

“You’re not wrong. I heard the Three Major Guilds are also busy preparing to relocate their headquarters. They’re trying to secure locations near Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gwanghwamun area, where the Dragon God’s temple will reportedly be built.”

“I feel exactly the same way.”

Indeed, as Bahamut began settling in Seoul, Serabeol’s Three Major Guilds also started preparing to relocate their headquarters.

They could have remained in Gyeongju to compete for dominance there, but if Gyeongju was to become an academy for the Awakened as the Dragon God promised, the Three Major Guilds had no reason to stay. They could recruit the numerous talents that would emerge from Gyeongju through headhunting or by establishing branch offices, but the wealth and power concentrating in Seoul could only be accessed if their headquarters were located there.

“If we only care about dominance in Yeongnam region or our current positions, staying in Gyeongju would be the best option. But if we want to remain as one of the Three Major Guilds representing Serabeol, we must secure a place in Seoul, the center of all power!”

The Three Major Guilds didn’t want to remain as mere representatives of the Yeongnam region; they wanted to grow into guilds representing the entire Korean peninsula, which meant they needed to move to Seoul where the Dragon God would reside.

The Three Major Guilds, who had been quietly observing the Seoul Allied Forces’ victory, were now among the quickest to purchase land in Gangbuk area—particularly near Cheonggyecheon or Jongno near Gwanghwamun—and were constructing buildings for their guild members.

As if to prove they would represent Serabeol, the Three Major Guilds began investing enormous funds in their chosen districts, creating a virtuous cycle as those funds contributed to Seoul’s reconstruction.

“What about the cabinet?”

“It seems the National Assembly building and the Blue House repairs aren’t complete yet, so they’ll continue working from Gyeongju for a few months.”

For now, Serabeol’s cabinet and parliament had agreed to continue operations from Gyeongju since Seoul’s reconstruction hadn’t yet restored government functions. Of course, they would move to Seoul once repairs were complete, but until then, Dragon God Bahamut had announced he would directly govern Seoul.

“Then I should go up first and secure a place. Yu-na is in Seoul now, right? As the president of Yu-na’s fan club, I can’t miss this opportunity.”

So Kim Tae-hyun planned to go to Seoul first and establish himself there.

Even while the Three Major Guilds were staying in Gyeongju to observe the situation until their buildings were completed, he alone made this bold declaration.

Beyond just investing, he was essentially declaring that he would entrust his entire fortune and himself to the Dragon God and Priestess. His friend Kang Jae-wan was surprised by this declaration.

“You’ve made so much money, yet you’re still holding onto that fan club president position? Do you really need to follow Yu-na so fervently with both body and soul?”

“It’s a preference? Please respect it.”

Isn’t the risk too great?

As a capitalist, he should carefully balance risk and return, but what Kim Tae-hyun was doing was placing his entire fate in someone else’s hands.

“While I understand your feelings, wouldn’t it be better to express your faith in a different way…”

“How dare you! Losing one’s faith means death!”

“Fine, do whatever you want.”

Though Kang Jae-wan offered advice out of concern, the response he got was the meme-like statement that losing faith means death.

When Kim Tae-hyun playfully insisted there was no problem, Kang Jae-wan sighed, and they began bickering. Soon, however, Kim Tae-hyun’s expression turned serious as he honestly shared his feelings with Kang Jae-wan.

“Serabeol has truly established itself as a nation now, and Seoul will become the capital where the Dragon God and Dragon Priestess reside. My reason for going to Seoul certainly includes personal desires, but staying in Gyeongju would only lead to obsolescence.”

“Obsolescence, huh.”

Yes, Seoul would become the center, and not following this trend would ultimately lead to obsolescence.

Kang Jae-wan swallowed hard at this unexpectedly harsh statement. Kim Tae-hyun raised the corner of his mouth with confidence and shared his vision of the future.

“Jae-wan, this isn’t simply about Seoul becoming the capital. It’s the beginning of a new country, a new world. A city where the Dragon God resides. A city where the Dragon Priestess works. All paths in Serabeol will begin in Seoul and end in Seoul.”

“Begin in Seoul and end in Seoul.”

That wasn’t wrong.

Upon hearing those words, Kang Jae-wan finally understood why Kim Tae-hyun said staying in Gyeongju would lead to obsolescence.

Yes, by reclaiming Seoul, Serabeol had truly established itself as a new nation, and a new world had begun on the Korean peninsula.

Now Seoul would be Serabeol’s center where the Dragon God resided and where the Dragon Priestess governed the citizens.

“The way you put it, I think I need to relocate too. I’ll go to Seoul as well.”

Not long after, Kang Jae-wan also decided to leave Gyeongju behind and go to Seoul with Kim Tae-hyun.

Yes, if he remained in Gyeongju, he might preserve his current position, but he would ultimately become obsolete.

Kang Jae-wan was still young and not entirely without ambition to rise to higher positions.

He wanted wealth and fame, and having realized this was his opportunity, it was now Kang Jae-wan’s turn to gamble with his fate.

“All or nothing. If the Seoul capital plan fails due to the Korea First Party’s fierce opposition…”

“We’ll be completely ruined.”

But variables existed.

The Korea First Party’s fierce resistance.

From the cabinet’s and Yu-na’s perspective, it was laughable resistance, and Bahamut himself had already firmly decided to make Seoul the capital, so it was a futile action. But the two gamblers, unaware of this fact, wondered what would happen if news came that the Korea First Party had disrupted everything and the Seoul capital plan had collapsed!

“Then we’d have to jump into the Han River.”

“Time to check the Han River’s temperature with our bodies, I guess.”

They would end up checking the Han River’s water temperature with their own bodies.

For those who knew the whole truth, there was no problem at all, but from the civilian perspective, with constant news about the Korea First Party, people genuinely wondered if they could actually derail the Seoul capital plan.

That’s why even the guilds were cautiously watching instead of investing aggressively, making Kim Tae-hyun and Kang Jae-wan’s aggressive investments seem unusual by comparison.

“Even if we jump into the Han River, as long as we don’t drown from lack of oxygen, we could just swim back up, right?”

“That’s true!”

Of course, both were Awakened with decent levels, so even if they jumped from a bridge into the Han River without safety equipment, they might get slightly injured, but using their unique physical abilities as Awakened, swimming to safety would be a piece of cake.