Chapter 109 …
The Civil Servant Who Hid His Power Is Too Good at Possession
First of all, the messenger app started exploding.
The group chat that was most visibly on fire was, of course, the rookie group chat.
Wow, as expected of Investigator Lee Yuji! You’re amazing!
Investigator Lee Yuji, did you know you have a fan café now? It’s called Taekwondo Girl V.
Wow, you even have a fandom name! Awesome, awesome!
Looking at the chatroom filled with emojis and praise posts, I felt a strange mix of emotions.
It had been the same when I was recruited into the Special Team, and when I was promoted to Grade 3.
The truth was, I practically had no real power.
I couldn’t possibly live up to everyone’s expectations.
Was it really okay for me to keep receiving all this praise?
And my face was showing up on the internet way too much—was that really fine?
What was I even supposed to do about the fact that an actual fan club had formed?
Most of all—
This is the PR Division Chief. Could you film just one board-breaking video? The GoGo Show clip we edited and uploaded last time surpassed 1 million views. Our subscriber count is now second among all government departments^^
What was I supposed to do about this message from Min Soa, a manager from the Hunsu Bureau who had gone from PR team leader to PR division chief?
I had barely managed to avoid breaking wooden boards on GoGo Show, and now this?
…The aftershock from GoGo Show was way too big.
Of course, not all the aftereffects were bad.
When I received a message like this from Baek Sangjin—who used to look down on Team 5—it felt extremely satisfying.
Investigator Lee Yuji! I watched GoGo Show~ My kid wants your autograph. Could you sign something for them?
Oh right. I came out at 4 a.m. to buy bubble tea this morning, so send me what flavor you like~
This was Baek Sangjin, who had bullied our team before and was now desperately trying to survive in the newly promoted Hunsu Bureau.
Well, it made sense.
Now that the department had been upgraded to a bureau, a personnel reshuffle was inevitable.
Even Hong Jaegyeol, the director of the Hunsu Bureau, had received the rank of Senior Government Official Grade A in this personnel reform.
In other words…
He had become a Grade 1 civil servant.
Because of that, Hong Jaegyeol walked around smiling all the time.
“Ahahaha! Ahahahahaha!”
Of course, he was still below the Commissioner, but the atmosphere was completely different from when he used to be constantly pressured over performance.
Even though he technically belonged under the Commissioner, he had been personally appointed by the President, so he seemed to care less about the Commissioner’s mood now.
“Oh, a call from the Commissioner? I’ll take it later!”
Watching Hong Jaegyeol casually ignore the Commissioner’s call, I smacked my lips.
“Tell him I’m busy reorganizing personnel right now! Ahahahaha!”
“Yes, sir.”
The administrative officer newly assigned to the director’s office nodded with a tired expression as he watched the director laugh.
“How many days have you been ignoring his calls?”
At Pyo Sowon’s question, Director Hong answered:
“Three days? I’m planning to hold out for five.”
“…You’re seriously shameless.”
“You didn’t know? Ahahahahaha!”
Now nothing Pyo Sowon said could affect him.
That’s what I thought as I looked at Director Hong.
“But… why am I here…?”
“Oh right. Investigator Lee Yuji got promoted to Grade 3, and Pyo Sowon and Kwon Ikseong became Grade 2, right?”
“We’re not part of the Senior Civil Service, thankfully.”
Pyo Sowon replied with a bored tone, as if ranks didn’t matter much to her.
For reference, the other investigators had also received promotions, but most of them remained around Grades 3–4.
“Anyway, we should give you positions that match those ranks, right?”
“Huh? Does that mean Team 5 or the Special Team will be disbanded?”
Director Hong shook his head.
“I’m planning to establish new divisions. For now, the work will remain similar, but each division will specialize in certain areas.”
“Hmm…”
Something felt ominous.
Remembering what Pyo Sowon had said earlier about our work possibly changing, I turned to look at her.
She looked like she knew something.
Kwon Ikseong next to her also seemed to know something.
But then why was I stuck among these Grade 2 officials?
“Eventually they’ll be separated, but for now, putting everything else aside, you three and the Special Team will go to the Public Investigation Division.”
Public investigation?
Did that mean handling public cases or something? That sounded way too vague.
Reading my expression, Director Hong explained:
“Just think of it as handling major cases. Political cases too. And most importantly—”
The director smiled.
“It includes auditing the Hunter Association. This is confidential.”
“…!”
The Hunter Association?
That place had power almost equal to a quasi-government body.
It wasn’t a state institution, but among private organizations it held an unrivaled position—even surpassing economic and trade federations.
Which made sense.
Ever since hunters appeared in this world, the global economy had revolved around dungeon byproducts harvested by hunters.
Most hunters belonged to guilds, and all guilds in South Korea were registered with the Hunter Association.
Even freelance hunters were usually affiliated with the Association.
People often joked that hunters might not pay taxes, but they definitely paid association fees.
Because when the Hunter Association moved, every guild in South Korea moved with it.
“Then… why are you telling me this…?”
No way. Right?
“Pyo Sowon will take the position of Director of Public Investigation Division 1. Kwon Ikseong will head Division 2. And Investigator Lee Yuji will go under Division 1 along with the other Team 5 members.”
Oh. Director Pyo.
Becoming a division head in the Hunsu unit, which previously had no formal rank system.
I looked at Pyo Sowon with a teasing smile.
She shot me an irritated look.
“Keep listening. Let’s see if you can still laugh.”
“…Pardon?”
“So, we received a tip. Apparently some of the guys dispatched from the Hunter Association have been extorting guilds. They collect dungeon byproducts like a kind of tax, then pass them to politicians to push policies favorable to the Association.”
Hong Jaegyeol shook his head.
“This is a very bad phenomenon, right?”
Bad phenomenon my foot!
Isn’t this just the guild lobby everyone in the world already knows about?
Guild lobbying referred to major guilds lobbying politicians to steer policies in their favor. It happened everywhere in the world and had never been eradicated.
It was similar to why business and politics could never truly separate.
People with money naturally gravitate toward those with power.
“So we need to clearly identify that route.”
Ah. I see.
At that moment I understood why Hong Jaegyeol had been ignoring the Commissioner’s calls.
I could also guess the identity of the “tipster.”
Tipster, my foot.
It’s Baek Huiryeong.
This was clearly a task directly ordered by the President.
Even before his election, the President had been trying to eliminate guild lobbying.
He believed that to transparently monitor hunters, guild lobbying had to disappear from politics.
Of course, in the original story I had read, guild lobbying was never eradicated, which led Choi Woojin to take private revenge.
Will this time be any different?
And surely they weren’t planning to put me in charge of this, right?
If we investigated the Hunter Association, it would inevitably bring us into contact not only with Choi Woojin but also with the story’s main villain—the Association President Choi Jungu.
That man is a real psychopath.
He kills people constantly and feels no guilt.
If I got tangled up with a criminal like that—
The quest window would definitely explode.
Please.
“Support will come from Ma Deokho and Byeon Gudo, and you guys will handle the investigation—”
Right then.
As if crushing my hopes, Hong Jaegyeol placed three items on the desk.
Ah… wait.
I’d seen something like this before.
A few days ago, when I visited the Sun-and-Moon Workshop, Kang Ilyeon had been diligently crafting an item.
The reason it caught my eye was simple.
In the original story, it was made for Choi Woojin.
Accessories like earrings or rings that changed your face when worn.
“This investigation will be undercover infiltration.”
The moment I heard that, I remembered something Kang Ilyeon had said.
“Oh right. I was selected as an item supplier for the Hunsu Bureau, so I’ll be busy for a while. If you want me to make an item for you, tell me quickly.”
…I never imagined that item supply would return like this as a consequence.
“The Hunter Association is recruiting people right now. For reference, Investigator Lee Yuji and Director Pyo Sowon will go to the Member Guild Headquarters, and Director Kwon Ikseong will go as a secretary in the office of the headquarters director.”
This felt ominous.
Extremely ominous.
And as if to prove my bad feeling correct, a window appeared before my eyes.
Quest: “Capture Choi Se-a (A)”
Time Limit: 1 month
Reward: Special Side Story 3, 10,000 Gold
Failure Penalty: Death from excessive bleeding
…Are there really this many ways to die?
Damn it.
I immediately realized who Choi Se-a was.
The Head of the Member Guild Headquarters of the Hunter Association.
In other words, the right-hand of Choi Jungu, who rises through the ranks while squeezing guilds dry—
And—
“Oh my, Woojin has grown up so much.”
She was Choi Woojin’s aunt.
