Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 453

People often use the expression “faster than light.”

In this case, that expression fit perfectly for the news of Su-ho’s victory.

The moment notifications announcing the extinction of the Big Gate and the declaration of the Australian region as a completely safe zone appeared before people’s eyes, not only the media of every country but also ordinary people rapidly spread the news through their own social media.

Before Su-ho even reached the Australian Sabers.

“Sword God-nim!”

“It’s the Director!!”

“Uwaaaah!! Director, I love you!!”

“Sword Gooooood!!”

Su-ho emerged from the exit portal, mounted Cheolma, and returned to the base like a triumphant general.

People poured out into the streets like citizens after the end of a war, all waiting for Su-ho to appear someday, and the moment he did, they were busy praising him.

It wasn’t particularly surprising.

After all, it wasn’t just any feat—he had solo-cleared a Big Gate.

Flying through the air atop Cheolma, Su-ho looked down at the people’s warm welcome from the sky.

‘Yes. This was how things were supposed to be.’

However, in his previous life, after barely clearing the first Big Gate, he had been killed right in front of the exit portal.

After emerging without a single casualty from a Gate that should have been impossible, he was killed in vain—not by monsters, not by the system, but by the very comrades he had trusted and relied on the most.

The faces of his former comrades flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.

Anger surged up once more, but this time, he decided to let it go.

‘My personal revenge is over, and I’ve cleared the first Big Gate I longed for so desperately.’

Now was the time to focus not on petty emotions but on the remaining Big Gates and the new truths he had learned.

Su-ho returned to the people who had been waiting for him.

*

Several days passed.

During that time, the world was engulfed in celebration.

All because Su-ho had cleared the Big Gate.

Su-ho had now become a religion.

He was a new savior, a messiah, a god.

Some raised voices of concern, asking whether people were believing in Su-ho too much, but each time, those who voiced such opinions were carpet-bombed by Su-ho’s knights and disappeared without a trace.

It couldn’t be helped.

There was nothing more frightening than people’s blind faith.

Even so, Su-ho didn’t try to deliberately resolve this phenomenon.

It was a natural social phenomenon—something that couldn’t be fixed just because he wanted to fix it.

‘It’s better for me to be at the center of the typhoon.’ 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

I won’t fall into corruption anyway.

Su-ho had no interest in power or fame.

From the moment he organized Save the World, his influence had already surpassed that of the U.S. President or even Jesus from the Bible.

And even if that weren’t the case, Su-ho’s interests would inevitably be directed more toward what he wanted to accomplish than toward money or fame.

Now he had come to know not just about Big Gates, but about worlds beyond even things like Player ranks—things he had known before.

Because of that, he tried to avoid external ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) activities as much as possible.

But the world didn’t work the way one wanted. With the Big Gate cleared, presidents, the United Nations, and countless places around the world wanted to invite Su-ho.

‘I couldn’t refuse them all, so I did go to a few places.......’

Even so, there was still a mountain of schedules left to deal with.

Still, he refused news interviews as much as possible.

The information he felt obligated to inform the public of was wrapped up by calling Jo Jin-hwi and filming a single, light interview-style video.

If he didn’t even do that, it felt like Su-ho’s entire life would truly grind to a halt.

It was right after the interview with Jo Jin-hwi ended.

“Thank you for your hard work, Director.”

“Not at all. You’re the one who worked hard, reporter. If you need anything else, feel free to contact me anytime. We can talk comfortably over a cup of tea or a drink.”

“Yes, I will.”

Jo Jin-hwi smiled as he organized his recorder and documents.

Seeing that, Su-ho asked,

“By the way, aren’t you getting promoted?”

“Ah, promotion. I turned it down. I could become a bureau chief even now, but I think work would become less fun if I did.”

“I see. Well, at your level, it wouldn’t matter much anyway. Or rather, maybe it’s meaningless in the first place, since you’re a child of a chaebol family?”

“Haha, it’s true my family is well-off, but even so, I’m an illegitimate son, aren’t I?”

“An illegitimate son still has its variations. You said your family is the Daesan Group, right? Haven’t they contacted you separately at home?”

“I’ve had meals with them a few times, and they all supported me. To begin with, I’m not involved in management rights anyway. It’s all thanks to you, Director.”

That was true.

Jo Jin-hwi’s position within the Daesan Group—as the youngest illegitimate son with no shares or anything of the sort—was exactly that.

And even aside from being a chaebol’s youngest illegitimate son, Jo Jin-hwi’s current social power was already considerable.

As Jo Jin-hwi finished organizing his belongings, he spoke,

“Oh, more importantly, did you hear about that?”

“About what?”

“I heard that both the ruling and opposition parties are working behind the scenes to appoint you as the president of the Grand Hunter Association.”

“What?”

“You hadn’t heard? It was something being passed around like a rumor, but it should be starting to gain traction by now. But I’m an outsider, and you’re an insider of the Association—how are you more out of the loop than I am?”

“Well, I did have a dinner with the President not too long ago, but.......”

At that moment, the President’s words suddenly came back to him.

“Haha, thanks to Section Chief An alone, our country has become a superpower. So I was thinking—how about taking on the position of head of the Association rather than just Section Chief An?”

“That’s a funny joke.”

“Haha, is it?”

A passing memory.

Now that he thought about it, he definitely hadn’t denied my words back then, had he?

Goosebumps ran all over Su-ho’s body, and he immediately pulled out his phone and called Jeong Cheol-min.

- Yes, Director.

“Ah, what do you mean Director? Just address me the way you always have.”

- Why? Am I not even allowed to call the Director ‘Director’? What am I, Hong Gil-dong?

“I’m losing my mind...... Manager, this is pretty serious right now.”

- Why?

“I just heard something utterly ridiculous, and I wanted to check if it’s true.”

- What is it?

“I’m not getting ahead of myself or jumping the gun, but I heard there’s talk about appointing me as the next Association President. Is that true?”

- Ah, that?

Jeong Cheol-min went silent for a moment.

As the silence dragged on, Su-ho asked uneasily,

“Manager?”

- Ah, yeah. Why?

“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear. Did you know? What is all this?”

- What do you think? Exactly what you heard.

“No, I just got promoted to Section Chief. What Association President? Are the qualifications just for show?”

- It’s an appointed position. What qualifications? The President is appointing you.

“Even so, won’t the current President of the Association feel bad about this?”

- Why would he? His popularity’s great these days. Once he finishes his term, he’ll probably be promoted to an even better place.

“What does that even——.”

- Hey, honestly, I couldn’t argue against it either. At this point in time, what could possibly earn more praise from the public than putting you in the Association President’s seat?

“No, why would I take on something like that just to get praise from the people? This kind of thing should be handled more fairly and strictly——.”

- That’s hilarious. In this world right now, who’s more suited for the GHA President position than you? Is your ability lacking? Your résumé? Your qualifications? That’s why I kept my mouth shut and stayed still.

“Ha......”

This was something he’d never even imagined.

And to be honest, Su-ho couldn’t refute Jeong Cheol-min’s words either.

- Why not just accept it? It’s not like the country will oppose your Director activities just because you become President. Just think of it as holding concurrent positions and keeping the title.

“.......”

Su-ho hesitated for a moment.

Then, frowning, he said,

“No. No matter how I think about it, this doesn’t feel right.”

- What doesn’t feel right? Then what are you going to do? Submit your resignation or something? Hey, cut that resignation-threat stuff out. If you tried to resign, the President and ministers would all come clinging to your pant legs. You didn’t even form a guild—no, wait, you’ve got Save the World. That’s different, I guess? Anyway, since Save the World is more of an NGO than a guild, it feels a bit less direct, but wouldn’t it be better for you to stay affiliated with the GHA? It’d probably sit better with public sentiment too.

“.......”

That was also true.

Nothing made fans more anxious than a player believed to be a one-club man suddenly refusing to renew a contract.

‘Even being affiliated with a Korean guild would probably make them uneasy.’

To put it in the extreme—what if he were to suddenly change nationality and go to another country? That kind of anxiety.

Of course, Su-ho would never do that, but that was why Jeong Cheol-min mentioned public sentiment.

- Just do it and become Association President. I’d feel more at ease if you were President. At least while you are, the Association will operate transparently. And if there’s annoying work, just dump it on your subordinates.

After a moment of consideration, Su-ho replied,

“Ha...... For now, I understand.”

- Then we’re agreed?

“I said I understand for now.”

- Fine. Call me again if anything comes up. Good work.

The call ended.

Jo Jin-hwi smiled and asked,

“See? What I told you.”

“This is really something I never expected.......”

“I only say this because I overheard the call, but considering public sentiment, the most beautiful picture really is you holding the Association President position concurrently.”

“Ha......”

What a hassle.

No matter how much the Vice President or others delegated work, there would still be essential duties that had to be handled personally, especially when there were plenty of perfectly capable people above.

After a moment of thought, Su-ho spoke,

“This won’t do. I need to deal with this before rumors spread any further.”

“How?”

“I need to meet the person in charge.”

“The person in charge? The Association President position is appointed, isn’t it? Don’t tell me you’re planning to meet the President himself?”

“Yes. For something like this, talking directly with the person in charge is the most effective. I’ll start by going to the Blue House.”

“What?”

Su-ho stood up immediately and began preparing to head to the Blue House.

*

“Hahahaha!”

The Blue House.

Surprisingly, with just a single phone call from Su-ho, the President immediately made time and arranged a private meeting.

The President smiled and said,

“So you came because you were worried we might seat you in the next Association President position?”

“Yes. Is it really true? When I checked several places, everyone spoke as if it were already a done deal......”

“It’s true.”

“What?”

“The current Association President Im Cheol doesn’t have much time left in his term, does he? So we needed to appoint a successor. We discussed this matter many times with the top brass, but no matter how much we deliberated, the conclusion was that seating you was the best option.”

“Is it because of public sentiment?”

“I can’t deny that either. It’s a very important issue as well.”

Su-ho closed his eyes briefly.

Then, slowly opening them, he spoke,

“......I won’t deny that point either. If I were to refuse the Association President seat and step aside, it could create anxiety in public sentiment. So, in that case, how about we do this instead?”

“How?”

It was right after Su-ho explained the idea he had organized on his way to the Blue House.

“Haha, that’s acceptable too. Very well. If that’s your best option and wish, we’ll proceed that way.”

“Thank you, Mr. President.”

“There’s no need for thanks. Honestly, I should be the more grateful one. Usually someone at your level wouldn’t need to worry about things like this, yet you took the trouble to personally consider even these small details.”

“Not at all.”

“Since you’re here, why not have some tea before you go? Or are you too busy for that?”

“No, I’m not. Since I’m here, I’ll take care of a few things I can do at the Blue House before leaving.”

“Oh? Then would you do that for me?”

After reaching an agreement, smiles bloomed on the faces of both men.