“……I thought a Sword Master was someone you only saw in history books.”
“They are. These days, he’s just a relic pushed to a desk job even within the PAB.”
Officer Kim wore a puzzled expression at Sergeant Hwang’s nonchalant reply.
“A desk job?”
“Yeah. I heard he’s treated like an outcast.”
“But why? Usually, people would be scrambling to scout a hero like that, wouldn’t they?”
Officer Kim’s confusion was natural.
His past reputation aside, the skill he showed by instantly pulverizing Seo Yong-chan’s summon was nothing short of miraculous.
Whether it was a guild or a government agency, an individual with that level of power was a rarity anywhere.
Sergeant Hwang asked back indifferently.
“You’ve done group projects before, right?”
“Of course.”
“How did you feel when you met a teammate who did nothing but nitpick every little thing, saying this is bad or that is bad, while actually contributing zero work?”
“It was annoying.”
“And what if that teammate had no money and a terrible personality, but was older than the professors and had such a high reputation that you couldn’t even kick them out?”
“That would be incredibly annoying.”
“It’s the exact same thing.”
“What?”
Officer Kim looked dazed, as if he didn’t understand the meaning.
Sergeant Hwang spoke to him in a low voice.
“That man is a Sword Master, not a Player. He can’t enter a Dungeon.”
“..Ah!”
“Do you get it now? Why everyone avoids him?”
Hwang clicked his tongue.
The reason high-level Players were treated with respect wasn’t just because of their strength.
It was because of the massive economic, technological, and social benefits generated by the treasures they brought back from Dungeons.
“What’s the point of being stronger than high-level Players? Keeping him around brings no profit.”
In that sense, Limon was the perfect white elephant.
Since he couldn’t enter Dungeons, he wasn’t profitable; he was just an anachronistic swordsman who only knew how to take people down.
Furthermore, because he was technically a hero of a bygone era, it was difficult to mistreat him.
There were few people as troublesome as him.
“Back in the day, people put up with him because they needed his strength, but now we have much greater Monarchs. Who would want to serve an old fogey who does nothing but nag?”
“……I suppose you’re right.”
“Now that you understand, move quickly. There are a hundred things to do to clean this up.”
“Yes, sir.”
Officer Kim sighed as he looked at the road, which had been wrecked because Limon had kicked a bull into it. He thought to himself: *I don’t know who it is, but the superior who has Limon as a subordinate must be truly pitiful.*
Bang!
“What on earth have you done!?”
***
A crisp, neatly ironed suit, a luxury watch, a shiny head, and a protruding belly.
He was a middle-aged man who exuded years of experience and authority at a glance.
Director Kang Jeong-su slammed his desk and bellowed, while Yuna Gyeong blinked her large eyes and asked back.
“Are you talking about the tea leaves and cake I requisitioned from the director’s office without permission?”
“Not that! No—wait, the finance department has been grumbling that my snack expenses have increased significantly lately. Was that because of you?!”
“Um……, could you think of it as subsistence-type corruption?”
“Does that even make sense right now?!”
“I have a condition where my health deteriorates if I don’t eat sweets. In that sense, I’d appreciate it if you could grant our team a snack budget as well.”
“Eeeek!”
Veins popped on his forehead for a moment.
Kang Jeong-su pressed his temples with his fingers, forcing himself to calm down.
There was something else he had to interrogate her about first.
“Forget the snacks. Just explain the accident you caused yesterday.”
“An accident?”
“This! This right here!”
Yuna Gyeong looked as if she had no idea what he was talking about.
Unable to bear her attitude, Kang Jeong-su pointed at the report on his desk.
“Oh, are you talking about the bull incident yesterday?”
“Yes! To go out without permission and cause such a major accident! How do you plan to clean this up?”
Kang Jeong-su was livid.
Any other agent would have hunched their shoulders just by hearing that shout.
It was a law of the workplace to watch one’s step even if the boss just cleared their throat.
Civil servants were the ultimate practitioners of such laws.
However, Yuna Gyeong, whose common sense had been paralyzed thanks to her unique superior, found it strange instead.
“Director, I’m sorry, but I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
“What?”
“In our PAB, the standard protocol is ‘action first, report later.’ So what permission are you talking about?”
It was a valid point.
The PAB was originally an organization meant to regulate Players who caused trouble.
Given its nature, there were many emergency dispatch situations, and it was impossible to get permission from the higher-ups every single time.
“Besides, all we did was go out and prevent casualties. Why do you call that a major accident?”
“You’re asking because you don’t know!?”
“Yes.”
“E-Eeeek!”
Kang Jeong-su’s face turned red and purple.
Usually, an apology should come out by now.
Looking at Yuna Gyeong’s curious face as she genuinely seemed not to know, he was so flabbergasted that he couldn’t speak.
“You! How on earth did you train your subordinate to turn out like this!?”
Eventually, Kang Jeong-su changed his target.
Instead of dealing with the frustrating subordinate who wouldn’t listen, he decided to scold her superior.
As someone who knew that scolding a superior naturally meant scolding the subordinate as well, it was a move that was more habitual than deliberate.
“What? You?”
But the moment that superior opened his mouth, Kang Jeong-su realized his mistake and clamped his own mouth shut.
He had been so excited that he only just remembered why he hadn’t been able to scold him earlier.
“Did you just say those words to me?”
As if the director’s office were his own living room, a white-haired young man was yawning while lying on the sofa.
At Limon’s low-toned question, Kang Jeong-su gulped. He squeezed out the last of his courage and said sternly.
“Y-you? How can you say that to a superior……..”
“Jeong-su.”
“Uh, um. Now that I think about it, I have an urgent meeting. I think I have to go right now.”
“Kang Jeong-su.”
“……Yes, sir.”
Kang Jeong-su stuffed the courage he had managed to pull out back where it came from.
The moment he saw those chilling golden eyes, he realized by instinct.
If he didn’t change his tone immediately, he would soon be in a position where he would never have to worry about his dignity or anything else again.
To the now-quiet Kang Jeong-su, Limon asked casually.
“How old are you now?”
“I am forty-six years old.”
“Really? You’ve grown up a lot. It feels like only yesterday you were wetting your pants because you were scared of me.”
“Pfft!”
“Ahem!! S-sir. Please, those old stories are…….”
Seeing Yuna Gyeong behind him trying her best to stifle her laughter, Kang Jeong-su sincerely regretted his actions.
Whether a major accident had been caused or not, he should have just pretended not to see it and let it go.
He wondered what kind of wealth and honor he was hoping for by calling in this old fogey who only looked young, only to end up losing face like this.
“Ah, whatever. Anyway, you, do you remember how your grandfather introduced me when we first met?”
“……He said you were a life-saver and that I must always remember your grace.”
“Right. I must have saved that fellow’s life at least three times on that battlefield. If he had died, you wouldn’t even have been born.”
“T-that may be true, but public and private matters should be clearly distinguished—”
“But what? ‘You’? Is that how your grandfather taught you? Should I contact Kang Deok-jin right now and check? Huh?”
“I apologize! I made a slip of the tongue!”
Kang Jeong-su immediately shriveled.
What was the use of being a PAB Director who could bring down flying birds?
His opponent was the man even his war-hero grandfather bowed down to.
Especially if Limon blabbed today’s story to Kang Deok-jin—his father—he might end up with broken legs even at this age.
“Tsk, tsk. This is why kids these days…”
After clicking his tongue once, Limon propped his feet up on the table.
Leaning his chin on one hand, he asked bluntly.
“So, what’s the problem?”
“Pardon?”
“There must be a problem since you’re making such a fuss since morning.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“So I’m asking what that problem is. I can’t think of anything.”
“Me neither.”
Watching Limon speak shamelessly and Yuna Gyeong quickly chime in, Kang Jeong-su’s insides boiled again.
However, the two of them weren’t playing dumb.
They really didn’t know the reason.
*We didn’t particularly wreck any buildings this time, right?*
*It’s not like you beat the suspect to the brink of death before dragging him in like last time.*
That was the case.
In fact, Limon usually considered semi-destroying buildings a baseline.
He would also beat up the suspects he arrested.
Compared to that, this incident had been resolved quite peacefully, so they couldn’t understand what the problem was.
It was a reason that would have made Kang Jeong-su weep if he had known.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Kang Jeong-su, who couldn’t guess their inner thoughts, reluctantly opened his mouth.
“Did you not destroy Mr. Seo Yong-chan’s summon yesterday, sir?”
“Who’s that?”
“You know, that guy. The drunkard who was riding on the bull the Team Leader kicked yesterday and flew away with it.”
“Ah, that brat?”
Limon nodded his head.
He had only forgotten because the Brass Bull’s presence was so large.
Thinking back, there was indeed a guy who had been screaming while pinned under the Brass Bull.
“So, what about that brat?”
“Mr. Seo Yong-chan has demanded compensation for damages from the PAB for yesterday’s incident.”
“What?”
Limon wore an absurd expression.
“What kind of nonsense is that? What did I break?”
“That is…….”
Kang Jeong-su’s voice trailed off.
He was at a loss as to how to explain this—or more accurately, how to explain it without being grabbed by the collar by Limon.
Fortunately, that worry ended quickly.
This was because the person with the answer appeared before he could even open his mouth.
“Wait a moment! You cannot go in right now!”
“Shut up! I heard that bastard is in here right now! Are you going to protect him because he’s a fellow civil servant? Huh?!”
“I-it’s not like that…….”
“Then get out of the way, punk!”
Slam!
Just as things seemed to get noisy outside, the door to the director’s office swung open.
A young man covered in bandages pushed past the secretary trying to stop him and stomped inside.
Seo Yong-chan scanned the director’s office fiercely.
After passing the flustered Kang Jeong-su and the blinking Yuna Gyeong, his eyes flashed as he spotted Limon, who had an indifferent expression.
“Is it you? The one who cut down my Colchis Bull?”
As if he were already certain it was Limon, Seo Yong-chan didn’t even wait for an answer.
He simply sat down heavily on the sofa opposite Limon, crossed his legs, and spoke.
“Now, let’s hear it. My bull—how are you going to compensate me for it?”
“Mr. Seo Yong-chan, what are you doing right now!?”
“Why? Is there a problem with me sitting on a sofa bought with my taxes?”
“That’s not what I’m talking about!”
Kang Jeong-su’s face hardened instantly.
Though he had shriveled in front of Limon, that was only because it was Limon.
He was the Director of the PAB.
He was like the King of the Underworld to Players.
Yet, a green rookie like Seo Yong-chan had dared to barge into his office and act so insolent.
Naturally, he was furious.
“Why? You got a problem? If you do, compensate me first. Huh?”
However, Seo Yong-chan didn’t even bat an eye while looking at Kang Jeong-su.
On the contrary, he argued with him while swaying his body.
“That’s…….”
“You blew away someone else’s summon and now you’re getting angry at me? You shameless bastards!”
“Urgh!”
As Kang Jeong-su swallowed his resentment at Seo Yong-chan, who was shouting like a debt collector, Limon spoke up skeptically.
“Hey, I’m asking because I don’t really understand…….”
Normally, he would have delivered a dropkick.
Limon was not the type to let someone act insolently in front of him.
Nevertheless, the only reason Limon stood by and watched Seo Yong-chan’s outrageous behavior was because it was just too absurd.
“Are you really here to ask me to pay for that bullhead I sent flying yesterday?”
“What do you mean ‘really’? Were you not planning on compensating me?”
“I certainly didn’t expect to hear that I should pay for damages.”
“Ha, what an absurd fellow.”
As if he were the one flabbergasted, Seo Yong-chan shook his head.
Then, staring at Limon with wide eyes, he asked as if interrogating him.
“Do you know how much that summon costs?”
“How much?”
“It’s over 80 billion won! 80 billion! If you blew it up, of course you should compensate me! How can you be so shameless and try to ignore it!”
“80 billion……, it certainly is expensive.”
Limon nodded his head.
Even for a Player who made a fortune through Dungeon byproducts, that wasn’t a small amount.
For an ordinary Player, it was money they couldn’t earn even if they worked their entire lives.
In that sense, Seo Yong-chan’s rampage was understandable to some extent.
The problem was that it was still just as ridiculous.
“But why should we be the ones to pay for it?”
“What?”
“According to the Special Management Act, if an unauthorized skill is used, all damages resulting from it are the responsibility of the party involved. Isn’t that right?”
Limon glanced to the side to confirm if his memory was correct.
“It is exactly as the Team Leader says.”
Yuna Gyeong replied immediately.
It was a matter that required no thought.
What was unexpected was the reaction of the other person.
“In principle, that is true, but…….”
“Hmm?”
Limon looked puzzled.
Kang Jeong-su was someone who was usually stingy with the budget.
Thus, Limon expected him to be the first to agree, but for some reason, he was avoiding a direct answer with a troubled face.
“Special Management Act? Ha, don’t make me laugh. Do you think you can use something like that to rip off my money?”
As if asking if they had really acted so boldly based on such a thing, Seo Yong-chan let out a sneer.
Then, tilting his chin up, he spoke with an arrogant attitude.
“Do you know who I am?”
“Who are you?”
“My brother-in-law is Lee Cheon-gi! Lee Cheon-gi! If I make just one phone call to him, I can change the Special Management Act or whatever as much as I want!”
At ê·¸ moment, Limon realized.
Why Kang Jeong-su was holding back despite his boiling anger.
And exactly what this son of a bitch was relying on to act so boldly.
The name Seo Yong-chan mentioned was one of the ten names that even a three-year-old in this modern era would know.
“Your brother-in-law is the Infinity Monarch, Lee Cheon-gi?”