Ch.311311. Bahamut’s Temple (1)

In reality, while the exterior of the Bahamut Temple gleamed with a mesmerizing silver light from its Mithril-adorned pillars, the interior was eerily empty.

There were no decorations or artwork to embellish the temple, and compared to the Bahamut Temple in Gyeongju, it was merely ornate on the outside with an interior that couldn’t even begin to compare.

The path leading to the temple was lined with countless symbols of Bahamut, and the sight of seven dragon statues seemingly judging visitors as they ascended to the altar provided an overwhelming impact that could intimidate first-time visitors.

Perhaps because of this, upon discovering that the temple interior was completely empty and visiting to address this issue, key cabinet ministers from the Seorabol court as well as Choi Yu-na, the Dragon Priestess, stood in heavy silence while surveying the desolate interior.

Though they had known about it, most evaluated it as being too extreme—a temple constructed with only a flashy exterior and no proper preparations inside.

“So… is this really the completed state?”

There wasn’t even a conference table, and the empty space was completely unsuitable for serious meetings.

They were seriously considering holding the meeting at the reconstruction headquarters outside Gwanghwamun instead. Lee Hyeon-a, the Finance Minister of the court, spoke with a half-frozen expression, asking if this was really acceptable.

As a worshipper of the Dragon God Bahamut, she couldn’t help but think the current temple was far too inappropriate for a dragon deity to reside in.

Even though Bahamut prioritized practicality, wasn’t this going too far?

“Problems arose in minor areas as we rushed to complete the work… Hmm, there’s no way to receive guests. Not even places for cabinet ministers to sit.”

Even Yu-na, the Dragon Priestess, lamented how sparse the temple interior was—there was absolutely nothing inside.

There were no walls dividing rooms; only the exterior had been lavishly decorated while the interior was hardly suitable for human habitation.

One might argue that since it was a deity’s temple, it didn’t need to be habitable for humans. However, considering that the Artificial Awakened project would be conducted here, the interior should have been equipped with facilities that would allow people to reside there for extended periods.

In fact, there were already people residing in the Bahamut Temple, and pilgrims visited during weekly services.

“I apologize.”

Prime Minister Park Cheol-gon, who had caused this situation, apologized to the Finance Minister with a regretful expression.

“But the situation was urgent, so perhaps the Prime Minister maintained a high degree of flexibility and responded with improvisation? It was quite an effective response method.”

Just then, a man slowly began walking toward the court ministers from inside the temple.

Seeing the man wearing armor created by the Dragon God himself, all the court ministers, including the Prime Minister, bowed their heads in respect. The Dragon Priestess Yu-na also bowed at the very front, showing reverence to the man before her.

At this sight, the man, Dragon God Bahamut, gave a hearty laugh toward Yu-na and the court ministers, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

“Haha. If I had more time and budget, I could have completed the interior as well. Unfortunately, time and budget made it impossible. I barely finished half of it. The exterior isn’t too bad, but the interior is still too difficult to open to the public.”

“Don’t you think excuses are sinful, Lord Bahamut?”

“Haha. If only I had a little more time and budget. That would have been nice.”

Yu-na responded to Bahamut’s apologetic excuse with a joke about excuses being sinful, and Bahamut simply laughed it off.

However, the Constitutional Democratic Party court officials could hardly laugh.

The only ones who could laugh here were the Dragon God and the Dragon Priestess.

“But it won’t matter once we fill the interior. Starting with space for the Artificial Awakened project, a massive administrative office to be installed inside the temple, a magical library to record the magic and technology I’ve developed, and dedicated quarters for the Dragon Priestess to stay in—that will complete it. But to be honest about the current situation, this temple was originally scheduled for completion next year, not this year. Since the situation in Seorabol was urgent, we forcibly used it for performance purposes.”

The Seorabol court ministers looked at each other with sighs after Bahamut’s detailed explanation.

In reality, because the division crisis was urgent, a building scheduled for completion next year had been revealed now, making it difficult to present to the public.

That’s why Defense Minister Jeong Dong-geon opened his mouth with a lament.

“So it’s nothing more than a gilded shell.”

“The gilding is Mithril, not gold, but you’re not wrong. Right now, this temple has no function whatsoever. No magical power has gathered inside the temple. Because we rushed the construction, none of the various defense facilities that were supposed to be built are operational. At best, I can deploy a barrier to protect Seoul by residing here myself. But as I said earlier, time is needed for the intended functions to work.”

Yes, it was literally a gilded—or rather, Mithril-plated—shell.

The temple built above Gyeongbokgung Palace had no defensive magic operating to protect it, unbecoming of Seorabol’s reputation as a nation where magic had become part of everyday life. The imposing structures around the temple existed merely as decorations, with their functions suspended.

At the very least, the barrier that had protected Gyeongju with minimal functionality could be activated through Bahamut’s power, allowing the court to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Time, is it? At least the exterior is more splendid than expected and can overwhelm and inspire awe in the public, which is fortunate. As for the interior…”

“The construction will take time. And we’ll need artwork to decorate the interior.”

The problem was that the interior was hopelessly empty.

Originally, preparations were to be made before the Dragon God assembled it, but since that hadn’t happened and it had been assembled anyway, now the Seorabol court had to directly construct the interior.

The cost would be enormous, and above all, the interior needed to be filled with contents that matched the splendor of the exterior.

“From now on, the cabinet will have to handle it. How about holding a public contest for citizens of Seorabol to decorate the temple interior with art?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

The court nodded in agreement that holding a contest to get help from citizens wasn’t a bad idea.

After all, art couldn’t be created overnight, and how could administrative, military, and diplomatic experts seriously know about art?

Of course, many appreciated art as a hobby, but that was just a hobby, certainly not at a professional level.

Seeing this, the Dragon Priestess Yu-na sighed at the court’s behavior and questioned Bahamut.

“Lord Bahamut, is this truly a sacred space? Were we too hasty?”

“All legends begin humbly. What matters is what narrative we build here from now on. The exterior has already built the narrative of a temple’s descent, so I think it’s up to the court and the citizens of Seorabol to build the story inside.”

In response to Yu-na’s concern, Bahamut said that things could start out rough, emphasizing that the narrative was what mattered. He explained that a new narrative had already been built for the Bahamut Temple, and from now on, it was the responsibility of the Seorabol court and citizens to fill in the interior.

In essence, this could be interpreted as saying that the nation of Seorabol was not yet complete, and completing it was the responsibility of the court and citizens. The Seorabol court ministers nodded silently with moved expressions at this interpretation.

Yes, the temple was empty inside, but as Seorabol’s history accumulated, the emptiness would gradually be filled, and there would certainly be content that Seorabol needed to fill.

“So even if it’s just pretense now, let’s acknowledge it completely and laugh heartily. After all, if this pretense transforms into a true story, isn’t that all that matters?”

“Just as you say. The Constitutional Democratic Party will strive to make this pretense become reality.”

Even if it was pretense now, someday this space would be filled with truly sacred stories.

And even that pretense could be laughed off today, which was fine.

But…

“Then where will the court conduct its business? There are tens of thousands of tasks that need to be handled right now…”

“Ah.”

At Administrative Minister Lee Su-a’s practical comment, all the ministers couldn’t help but feel a cold sensation, as if a dagger had been thrust into their hearts.

They couldn’t work in this place with nothing in it, so they needed an appropriate place to conduct business, and for that place…

“…Let’s do it at the Blue House.”

“Since it’s close to the Bahamut Temple, let’s restore the old Blue House and set up the court there. Although it was relocated elsewhere, it’s still a historic place where South Korea’s administrative functions were housed.”

In the end, the old Blue House was decided upon.

Only the Blue House could perform the administrative functions at the level desired by the Seorabol court, and using the Blue House grounds as they were would allow government functions to be sufficiently revived—a practical judgment.

Therefore, the Seorabol court began to repair the old Blue House and settle in, and the Blue House began to be revived as a government building, not in its pre-apocalypse form but with new post-apocalypse technology applied.

The new government building, where modern structures engraved with numerous magical inscriptions coexisted, clearly embodied both the practicality required by the court and the symbolism of a new nation to replace South Korea.

Above all, the Blue House itself was in an appropriate location, moderately close to the Bahamut Temple while also able to form a symbolic connection. It would have been strange for the court to settle anywhere other than the Blue House.

However, the court ministers showed some anxiety about whether citizens would allow the court to operate the nation separately at the Blue House while leaving the perfectly good Bahamut Temple unused. Fortunately, the reaction from Seoul citizens wasn’t bad.

“This is… a real god.”

“That’s not luck. It’s real skill. And a warning to us.”

From the perspective of Seoul citizens who had no idea about the mess inside, the sight of Dragon God Bahamut snapping his fingers in the air, causing massive temple components to fall through the Seoul sky and gradually assemble into form, was enough to make all watching citizens feel a thrill.

At the same time, they could feel the overwhelming gap and thoroughly understand why Dragon God Bahamut was called a god.

This scene, recreating a mythological spectacle, made Seoul citizens feel as if they had become characters in a myth. After that day, all eyes were on the Bahamut Temple, to the point where they paid no attention to the minor(?) movement of relocating the court to the Blue House instead of the temple.

Honestly, after seeing this, anyone who still tried to prove that Dragon God Bahamut wasn’t a god would be considered strange. The existence of Dragon God Bahamut was definitely an event that cemented him as a god.

“In this situation, is there any reason for us to resist the Dragon God’s rule? Isn’t it more comforting to have a god directly involved than corrupt and incompetent politicians?”

A minor side effect was that Seoul citizens began to trust the Dragon God more than the assembly or the court, with arguments emerging that there was no reason to resist since he wouldn’t establish a tyranny.

As a result, support began to rise for the Dragon Association rather than the Constitutional Democratic Party that controlled the court. While this was a perplexing situation for the Constitutional Democratic Party, they ultimately decided that proving themselves through ability was all that mattered and officially announced throughout Seorabol that they had established an administrative branch in the old Blue House.

They prepared political affairs offices, a justice department, and even an office for the Dragon Priestess, the monarch, to stay in.

“Still, this country is moved by people, not gods.”

“Seeing the court at the Blue House over there, it really is a proper country.”

This actually helped alleviate the anxiety of citizens who didn’t believe in the Dragon God and supporters of the Constitutional Democratic Party.

Though the start was somewhat anxious, the court led by the Constitutional Democratic Party gradually began to settle into Seorabol.