“It’s a joke. A joke.”
‘Red Knight’ spoke again.
It seemed the main topic was about to begin.
“We’ve decided to appoint you as the commander of the Academy Reserve Force. If you judge there to be a serious threat to national security, you have the authority to conscript Academy students, form a unit, and command them.”
‘Red Knight’ gave a wink while sticking out their tongue slightly.
It was a beautiful sight, but knowing they were in their forties made it all… strange.
“Reserve force? Even if you say that suddenly, will the students follow me if things get rough?”
Toward the end, it seemed like there was some angle I might use, but I wasn’t sure if they’d obey me. Sure, the kids in my class might follow, but others from different grades or classes? Not so sure.
“Don’t worry about that. We’ll add drill training as a separate subject in the Academy curriculum. A drill instructor will be dispatched for teaching purposes, but you will be the commander. He’ll only offer advice. Following your command during these drills will make the students familiar enough with you that even loyalty might develop.”
“Drills, huh? There’s going to be a lot of resistance. Besides, calling it a ‘reserve force’—any title with ‘military’ in it won’t go down well.”
It felt unrealistic to start military training in high school and automatically conscript students into the reserves.
There’s no doubt there will be a massive backlash. It might even erupt into chaos.
“By the way, attending the drills is optional, but for every session, you’ll receive a lump sum of 200,000 won as compensation for your effort. You’ll also still earn Awakening income, which we’re planning to introduce this time. Oh, and if you dislike the term ‘reserve force,’ let’s call it the Academy Strike Team. Now that I mention it, this new title sounds much better. Thanks, Noda.”
The ‘Academy Strike Team’ certainly sounded less objectionable than ‘student reservists.’
“200,000 won per session? Sounds like everyone would want to join. Even regular day labor jobs don’t pay that much.”
And the offer to receive Awakening income was definitely a major benefit.
This was part of the new government’s revision plan: combat-capable Awakened Ones above the age of 20 would receive a monthly salary from the state. However, in exchange, they would automatically be enlisted in the new SF (Special Force) reserves and could be mobilized in the event of a national crisis.
Of course, this was something previous Awakened Ones had been doing without compensation under the old regime.
So naturally, these changes were welcomed by the Awakened.
Their duties hadn’t changed, but now they would receive a steady paycheck each month without doing much. Plus, the creation of a new military branch meant friction with existing military officials would be minimized.
“Most of the Academy students are Grade C, right? That’s about 3 million won per month, isn’t it?”
“Wow, that’s a lot of money! Where’s all this coming from? Awakening individuals are still relatively rare…”
I couldn’t help but be skeptical.
Where on earth would the government find enough money to create a modern-day aristocracy?
“Money? Well, we made cuts elsewhere. An 80% cut in job programs budget, a complete cut in gender equality programs, and an 80% cut in the low birthrate measures budget—so we actually ended up with extra money. Honestly, these changes won’t be noticeable since they’ve been exaggerated by politicians for their special interest groups.”
I see.
This isn’t my Korea anyway, so it’s none of my business how they manage things here.
It’ll work out somehow.
Anyway, given this situation, there was really no reason for Academy students not to join the Strike Team. With a monthly salary of 3 million won, plus 200,000 won for participating in drills, almost everyone would join, except people like Yang Min-seo.
In a sense, I had just gained a few hundred soldiers.
“By the way, I wonder if Park Hayeon might want her own room?”
She’ll need to keep being monitored. I’ll have to give her a reason to live with us.
“Noda, this isn’t the end. Earlier, the Inner Circle talked about how every deal involves a trade-off, remember? Our next reward caused quite a bit of discussion internally, but I pushed hard for it.”
‘Red Knight’ leaned forward with pride, showing off.
That tone made me naturally curious.
“Yes? What is it?”
“Pretty soon, we’re going to dissolve the National Assembly, and the National Security Council will take over the full governance of the nation. You’ll gain a position as a member of the House of the Middle.”
“House of the Middle? Is that some kind of tripartite system for the legislature?”
It seemed like they wanted to run the assembly as a multi-layered system. Still, dissolving the National Assembly could lead to a huge reaction from democracy advocates.
“There might be backlash if you remove the National Assembly.”
Yang Min-seo spoke cautiously, her first input after staying silent.
“There’s a way to counter the backlash. In fact, we’re aiming for an even more democratic approach. This council will be divided into the Upper, Middle, and Lower houses. The Lower house will create laws, the Middle house will approve them, and then the approved laws will be put to a vote in a national online poll.”
“Sounds like direct democracy. But what happens if the people boycott the vote?”
Yang Min-seo’s question was valid. Once people realize this wasn’t a real democratic revolution, as previously thought, and was instead a power grab by the Inner Circle, protests would likely occur, and everything they tried would be boycotted.
“Simple. If the voter turnout is below 50%, the law will pass by default.”
“Ah…”
With a single sentence from ‘Red Knight’, Yang Min-seo momentarily lost her words, staring blankly.
“So, what exactly does my role as a member of the Middle House entail?”
I asked finally, having been curious for a while.
“The Upper House will be filled with the Inner Circle. The Middle House will be eight members appointed by each member of the Upper House, and the Lower House will be elected by the people. Essentially, day-to-day governance will be handled by the Middle and Lower Houses, while the Upper House holds veto power over the actions of both other houses.”
Ah, so the Upper House gets to avoid the hassle of daily governance but can still overturn anything that doesn’t suit them. Got it.
“I see. So, I’ll be one of those eight people. Thank you, I accept.”
I replied humbly, hiding my feelings.
“Yes, thanks to you, even the age restrictions for legislators were removed. Anyway, now that the National Assembly is gone, citizens will decide the fate of legislation through direct voting, which will foster a sense of sovereignty.”
“What about inflated voting rights for Awakened individuals?”
The proposal ‘Red Knight’ had mentioned before. Differential voting rights, right?
“Of course. S-rank individuals will have 5 million votes, A-rank will get 1 million votes, and so on. If they’re unhappy with these arrangements, it’s their problem. What can they do about it, anyway?”
“Fair point.”
In conclusion, through these changes, I now held the dual roles of ‘Academy Strike Leader’ and ‘Middle House Member of the Republic of Korea National Security Council.’
“Additionally, we’ll keep the president as the diplomatic figurehead, but the role will now be mostly ceremonial. Ministers will be appointed by the Upper House, the president’s wartime command authority will be restricted during peacetime, and the power to declare martial law will rest with the Upper House.”
“They’ll probably criticize and blame an ineffective president for not checking the National Security Council, won’t they?”
In agreement with ‘Red Knight’, Yang Min-seo chimed in. She was wearing a sly smile.
“Yes. Humans prefer blaming a harmless ally over facing an overwhelmingly powerful adversary. Though, that’s just a hopeful side effect.”
Truly, democracy has fallen.
‘From the perspective of an informed third party… Have I just become a complete puppet of the Inner Circle?’
The problem is that on the surface, I’ll be seen as one of the individuals responsible for destroying democracy. Officially, the trigger was the shooting incident at the Academy, and after the coup, I was offered the positions of Strike Leader and Middle House member.
‘I hope I don’t become a target of terrorism down the line.’
We ended our meeting, and Yang Min-seo left. ‘Red Knight’ and I decided to rent out a private swimming pool for a second round of fun. We were left alone in the vast indoor pool.
“Ow, my back.”
After fooling around with ‘Red Knight’, I returned home to meet Park Hayeon and the others.
“You’re home early. What’s wrong with your back?”
Park Hayeon greeted me with a question.
There was no way I could answer honestly.
“Mm… it’s nothing.”
Come to think of it, I had something important to tell her. I overheard it during my second round with ‘Red Knight’, so it must be reliable information.
“Hayeon, remember that soldier you tried to shoot? He passed away from a medical accident at the hospital.”
The ostensible starting point of the entire incident. Lee Jin-wook died in the ICU due to a doctor mistakenly administering the wrong injection. Given the circumstances, it seemed like the Inner Circle might have intervened, but when I asked ‘Red Knight’, they just laughed and didn’t provide an answer.
“Ah… I see.”
Park Hayeon gave a sheepish smile. She didn’t seem particularly bothered by it. I wondered if it was a mistake to mention it to her.
Thump. Thump.
At that moment, Laura appeared with a strange ball, bouncing it and throwing it at me. Instinctively, I caught it.
“What’s this?”
“Kukuku, it’s the ‘Chan-seok Ball!'”
Laura explained, adding via telepathy that this ball was made from Oh Chan-sek, the one who kidnapped Alpha.
I could only give a confused look.
“Where on earth did this ball come from?”
I inspected the ball, meeting the stretched-out, distorted eyes that stared back at me.
Startled, I dropped it.
“Hehe, didn’t expect that, did you? It’s part of a surprise ball trend. Supposedly, it’s a Halloween concept!”
Ploop. Ploop.
Park Hayeon started bouncing the ball with a mischievous laugh. She seemed initially startled but then began to suspect foul play based on strange explanations.
“…”
This was no Halloween gag.
I faintly detected the energy trace of an Awakened individual. The eyes I’d seen were real.
There was a floating red gem inside the ball.
“Exactly what have you done!?”
I couldn’t help but ask Laura.
