I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

The question of Gwang Ik Gong’s existence.

The cultivation of a substitute for Gwang Ik Gong.

Securing several S-rank individuals.

Amid various anxiety-inducing elements, I finished investigating the part where Taejo sought advice from Gwang Ik Gong.

“Certainly, Taejo has strengths in this area.”

The ability to manipulate iron.

More broadly, the ability to control metal.

Naturally, using and applying this ability allowed one to identify underground resources.

And right above Korea, there was a relatively resource-rich area.

Now, Hwanghae-do, Pyeongan-do, and Hamgyeong-do had truly been incorporated into the territory of this world’s Republic of Korea.

For convenience, everyone called it the former land of North Korea, and although it was a minority, people still lived here.

And it turned out that this place had more untapped resources than expected.

Compared to the south.

“If we can extract the resources in the ruined land of North Korea and it brings economic benefits, then it certainly has value. Yumir, this is one of the contents in the report you submitted.”

“How do you have my report?”

Yumir clung to me, trying to snatch the smartphone that contained the report I was reciting.

“I’m a faculty member.”

“But I submitted the report on paper.”

“It was scanned and uploaded as a PDF file.”

Yumir’s report topic was ‘Utilization of the Northern Land of the Korean Peninsula.’

“The former land of North Korea is a land of opportunity, and if utilized well, Korea can achieve greater economic development.”

This perspective was written from the viewpoint of someone who had lived abroad, not someone who had lived in Korea.

“The land north of the demilitarized zone is full of possibilities. Yes, it’s a place everyone drools over because there are no people, resources are abundant, and there’s nothing to hinder them.”

I spread a satellite map on the screen.

“That’s why many companies are now expanding northward. This marks the beginning of the northern pioneering era.”

“The person discovering the underground resources is…”

“Taejo. He utilizes his abilities to aid the nation, particularly in the economic sector. This is the ideal way the country hopes ability users will be employed, right?”

This map, showing the entire Korean Peninsula, delineated the territory of the Republic of Korea in this world, with its sovereignty extending clearly to the Amnok River and the Duman River.

All the resources within this vast territory belong to Korea, and both the government and Haegneul were actively developing these resources.

Leading the effort was Taejo.

“Externally, it seems like he’s staying in Busan, but in reality, he often travels to North Korea to locate resource veins.”

“I thought he was just a child.”

Having directly encountered Taejo, Yumir knew well what kind of person he was.

“Think simply. If there’s a Taejo who purely enjoys ability battles as an S-rank detector, then in his shadow, there’s also a Taejo who is a patriot using his abilities to help the national economy.”

“How can such a person exist simultaneously? Is he dual personality or something?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

It’s just that humans were peculiar beings.

“And if you look into other S-rank individuals, you’ll find many interesting cases. It’s not just Armored Taejo.”

“…Will you tell me?”

“If necessary.”

The deceased Gwang Ik Gong.

The adulterous Snow White.

The Secret Society spy Yoon Iseon—‘Firefox’.

Tosin, Thunder King, Cheok Jun-kyeong, and Baridegi all had their own secrets.

The difference was whether those secrets were as political as Taejo’s or more personal, depending on the person.

“Teacher, do others know about Taejo’s dual nature?”

“No. Only Gwang Ik Gong and the President.”

“Wow… If it weren’t for the Gwang Ik Gong app, I would have lived my whole life thinking he was just an S-rank detector.”

“Yeah. Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Of course. Oh, does anyone in the Secret Society know?”

“As far as I know, the executives all know. But below the executive level, it’s top-secret.”

“I’ll never tell. Not even to I-seon. Unless she figures it out herself.”

I was revealing information to Yumir because she was a woman who kept her mouth shut.

Though she sometimes went on a rampage to make things advantageous for me, it’s not a major concern as it involved matters between me and the nation.

And in the end, the story often flowed in a direction that turned out well.

“Then I need to talk about Taejo being dispatched to the north as a black agent of the National Intelligence Service. Let me ask you, Mir. Do you know the cause of North Korea’s downfall?”

“Do you mean the official or unofficial cause?”

“Unofficial.”

Officially, it was known that a nuclear explosion occurred in Pyongyang.

A nuclear missile was transported to Pyongyang, and then it accidentally exploded underground.

“I heard about it from you last time. Taejo and Tae Irin’s younger sibling, an S-rank baby, was sold to North Korea by a woman named Min Ji-young.”

“Yes. I didn’t go into the details, but anyone would understand at once if they heard it.”

I displayed Min Ji-young’s picture on the screen.

She looked like a beautiful woman you might see on social media, with nothing particularly strange about her appearance.

“Wow, she really looks like she has a bad personality.”

“Is that a prejudice or are you judging by the photo?”

“Judging by her face.”

“Facial features can be telling. Yes, that ill-natured woman sold her S-rank baby to North Korea. Why would she do that?”

“Did North Korea offer her an unimaginable amount of money?”

“Similar. Instead of money, they agreed to give her land. Well, there’s no need to go into the details of their transaction; let’s just look at the result.”

Conclusion.

“They took the baby and executed Min Ji-young.”

“…Oh.”

“Yes, she was betrayed. By North Korea. And the baby who lost his mother went berserk. And died. Along with the entirety of Pyongyang.”

I displayed another picture.

It was a vast plain with a crater resembling a meteorite impact, which was once Pyongyang.

The width was so vast that it looked like a nuclear bomb had exploded underground.

In reality, it was a mana nuclear bomb that had exploded.

“This is how North Korea was destroyed, and the North Korean people, having no place to live, spread out up and down. The surviving North Koreans now reside in Kaesong Special Administrative City, and except for very special cases, they are not allowed to cross Panmunjom and the DMZ.”

“Ability users, right?”

“Yes. Only if a family member awakens an ability can the family cross together. Only the direct family members.”

There were talks about cruelty or lack of compassion, but the government of this country did not accept all the refugees, which could number in the millions or even tens of millions.

Instead, they gathered them in Kaesong and built homes using abilities, making sure they could live there so that the UN wouldn’t have any human rights issues to raise.

“There are still people living in the northern region besides Kaesong. They live self-sufficiently, farming and surviving in the region, ensuring no one from other countries can intrude.”

“It’s something. I feel like I’m seeing a very dark side of things right now. These are details not covered in the Academy classes.”

“It’s a reality you will never see on Sejong Island. The logic is simple. If you say you feel sorry for those people, the immediate response is, ‘So, will you take them into your house and let them live there?’”

“Wow. That really leaves you speechless.”

“Yeah. The former North Koreans know that too. And there are those who incite conflict against them.”

I expanded the map.

Gradually, it began to spread out like a world map, and two countries started to sparkle in red.

“China and Russia are eyeing the land of North Korea.”

“But the territory belongs to Korea, right?”

“The territory belongs to Korea, but the land documents and landowners are different. Not all the land is state-owned; individuals can buy land with money. While Chinese people can’t buy land in Jeju Island, they use Korean agents to buy land and live there like a vacation home.”

“Does that really happen?”

“It’s just an example.”

An example that couldn’t happen in this world.

“Think of Pyeongan-do, Hamgyeong-do, and Hwanghae-do in the same way as Jeju Island. How does that sound?”

“…Using agents to infiltrate foreign capital, it’s similar to the case in Gangwon-do, right?”

“While Gangwon-do is for patriotism, this side is for resource plundering.”

Even if it’s only a small amount of resources, they were still resources.

“The chairman has given the order. We are to support Taejo.”

“Is Taejo part of the Secret Society?”

“No. He’s not part of the Secret Society, but we are helping him. Dealing with other S-rank individuals.”

I promised Taejo support as Black Wing Gong.

I proposed to call another man to assist, and Taejo accepted the proposal.

“In that sense, I have to go up to Pyeongan-do with Taejo for a while.”

“The country is moving, but can you go, Teacher?”

“I’m going as an invited man.”

I displayed two employee IDs on the screen.

“As a person of Haegneul.”

“…There’s one for me too?”

“Yes.”

There were two employee IDs.

One was mine, and the other was Yumir’s.

“You’ve finished your final exams, and it’s vacation time.”

“Oh.”

“Think of it as a trip for the two of us, going up tomorrow. You’ll have to do some work as a Haegneul person, though.”

“…….”

Yumir turned her head to the side with a serious expression.

“Uh, what about that person?”

“…….”

The ice doll, who was staring at the wall, just kept looking at the wall silently.