The Regressor Only Protects Me Chapter 157

Episode 157. The Duke (2)

I took my eyes off the book and looked at the bad guys.

They were the thugs who broke into the room, but they did not attack the group without warning.

“What the heck! These bastards!”

When Choi Myeong-jun, lying in bed, lost his temper, a nearby stranger kicked him.

“Shut up and stay still.”

At that moment, Choi Hyun-ji pulled out her hand and summoned the artifact.

At the same time, Jin Jae-hee also stood up from his seat and blocked my path.

The assailants also held weapons and threatened to attack at any time.

For a moment, an air of tension filled the room.

At that moment, a man's voice was heard behind the villains.

“Artifact?”

A man with narrow shoulders and a thin build.

Black horn-rimmed glasses and a handsome appearance.

At first glance, he appeared to be the leader of these villains.

He came out and ridiculed the bad guys.

“As far as I know, the first King of Mankyung stipulated that no artifacts could be used within his power under any circumstances. Isn’t that right, hero?”

He looked at me and licked his pink lips.

Artifact skills could not be activated under any circumstances inside Man-gyeong.

That was my way of maintaining internal stability and order in the past.

Of course, that's just a primary rule, and the artifact can be used by a designated person at any time as long as I give my orders.

He picked up a chair, placed it in front of me, and sat on it.

Then he placed both hands on his crossed knees, fingers intertwined.

“I heard that you are a very smart person, My Lord. I really wanted to see you. What kind of person are you? How could you make all those citizens of Mankyung into your minions?”

The man in the suit was demanding an answer from me.

Of course I had no intention of responding.

After a moment of silence, the man took a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket.

“Kang Shion, the first king of Man-gyeong and the hero who unified Anyang. However, he left Man-gyeong five years ago and never returned. I won’t bother explaining how chaotic Man-gyeong was after that. It was hell. Ah-. Yes. I won’t even ask why he left and never returned now. It is an unacceptable and clear crime for the leader of a country to run away from responsibility for running the country amidst the turbulent flow of the world. Do you admit it?”

They were pretending to be enforcers, talking about the current law and responsibility and such words, but enforcers would be regular military or military police exercising public power.

They seemed far from being such enforcers.

To anyone who saw him, he looked like nothing more than a simple thug.

Another thing that was strange was that the citizens' status window was not visible, only the monarch was visible above their heads.

It was strange.

No, there's nothing strange about it.

Because the man kindly explained it to me first.

“It would be useless to try to use the power of the edict. We work for Man-gyeong, but we are wanderers by nature.”

“… … .”

The powerful powers and decrees of the monarch.

It only applies to citizens within Man-gyeong.

In other words, these people are not citizens of Mankyung.

I glared at the man.

The man had evil eyes like a snake.

Although he was not particularly threatening due to his skinny body, his eyes were filled with an unknown confidence.

There was no particular crisis situation at the time.

I'm just 'observing' how they'll treat me first.

Observation is always right.

Even if you get arrested here without any problems, there probably won't be any big problems.

If I were to be arrested within Mankyung, it would be difficult for me to survive within their power, even if I don't know what kind of organization they are plotting.

“Okay, let’s think about it this way.”

The man leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees.

“I came here under an arrest order. So, I came under the order of the highest authority in the judicial system that currently rules Man-gyeong. But you. You are currently an honorary citizen or something. So, since you left Man-gyeong five years ago, you are no longer the leader of Man-gyeong. We have revised the constitution and have a new king.”

At that moment, Choi Myeong-jun, who was lying in bed, screamed.

“What the hell are you talking about, you fu*king idiot!”

“Be quiet.”

I calmed him down and glared at the man again.

“How kind of you, Hero. Anyway, I will continue to explain. So, my actions are the will of the King of Man-gyeong, and if you refuse to be arrested here and cause a disturbance… … .”

… … If they cause a ruckus, their approval ratings will drop sharply.

When I first developed this city, the most important thing I considered was the stability and security of the city.

The central government controlled the range of citizens' activities, confiscated illegally held weapons, and introduced the military and security forces to prevent crime.

Human freedom can, paradoxically, be achieved within an oppressive society and under strict control.

That has been proven throughout human history.

In that sense, the true freedom that the past monarch Park Ji-su dreamed of was actually the central government neglecting its citizens.

So, what this man who is threatening me now is saying is correct.

The control I had set for myself has now become a stumbling block for me, five years later.

Of course, all of this could have been solved if the power of the edict had been used.

If we send an edict to each control department to capture and kill those who are threatening us now, this will be easily resolved.

But that was impossible.

'There's no way that's possible.'

The reason we cannot use nuclear missiles is simple.

It is the most powerful weapon in human history with the greatest destructive power and lethality, but if used, it will lead to the destruction of humanity.

Those nuclear missiles and edicts have similar power.

Edicts are the most powerful power a monarch has, but if they are used without justification, their approval ratings will plummet.

If I were to use the power of the decree for my personal gain, I would end up like Chief Park Geon-woo of the Manan Police Station in Round 2.

'… … .'

The plan to make the vast landscape I had envisioned my own.

Even under such control and oppression, the idea was to make them think that the person called 'I' was their only hope.

It was the kind of spoon-fed education that only comes from fascism and dictatorship, but it was not enough for an individual to wield all the power of the state.

However, the citizens who began living in Man-gyeong after the war, that is, right after I disappeared from Man-gyeong, were relatively less affected by this education.

I don't know who this person is who is trying to arrest me like this…

'He's smarter than I thought.'

Because he was the one who exploited my only weakness.

I gathered my thoughts and looked at the man again.

The man was finishing his speech.

“Please. Please cooperate with the arrest as befitting your noble achievement as a hero.”

Another person approached me from behind the man.

At that time, Jin Jae-hee asked quietly.

"oh my god?"

“What… … . Okay.”

I muttered as I looked at the stranger approaching me.

I certainly expected that there would be forces that would not welcome me.

Still, this kind of treatment could not be tolerated.

I am the one who planned and built this city.

I don't know what the purpose of the guy who tried to arrest me is, but even if he did arrest me, he wouldn't be able to treat me like this.

There must be something.

And the guy who did this.

… … You will pay a huge price for that.

* * *

Office of the Land Department.

A room filled with luxurious luxuries.

There were luxurious leather sofas facing each other to welcome guests, and the space between the sofas was filled with liquor and cups.

On one side of the room hung a huge map of the world.

The latest pop songs were playing one after another from the cassette player on the desk.

And the land manager of Man-gyeong, Lee Seok-jin, was sitting at his desk, filing his fingernails.

I used nail clippers to cut off any loose nails and smoothed them out with sandpaper.

His little finger was painted with nail polish.

At that moment, a group of people knocked on the door of the manager's office.

dripping-.

“This is Gil Dae-heon from the security team. May I come in?”

His hair blew in the wind blowing through the window.

Manager Lee Seok-jin said while blowing air on his fingernails.

“Come in.”

The person who opened the door to the manager's office and came in was Gil Dae-heon, who had arrested Kang Si-on.

Gil Dae-heon approached the desk where Lee Seok-jin was and bowed his head.

“He has been arrested. He is currently being escorted to the nest.”

“Did you solve it without any problems?”

“Yes. As you expected, there was no significant resistance.”

Lee Seok-jin snorted at Gil Dae-heon's report.

“The act of rebelling there itself was an act of suicide… … . Even that ‘great’ hero must have realized it. I told you. He was a smart man.”

Squeak-.

After saying that, Lee Seok-jin got up from his chair, passed his subordinate, and walked toward the terrace.

It was a renovated swimming pool with a terrace that was filled with warm sunlight.

In front of him, two women stand side by side.

As Lee Seok-jin held out his hand, a woman took a driver out of her golf bag and put it in his hand.

Lee Seok-jin stood at the end of the terrace, where he could see the magnificent view.

There were facilities there for playing golf casually.

Gil Dae-heon followed him and said.

“What should we do now? Once we get to the nest, the first thing we should do is lock him in the solitary prison on the third basement floor… … .”

“No. No. What are you talking about? Are you saying we should all become X? No matter what people say, Kang Shi-on is a hero of all time. Just go to the market right now. Are there only a few people who believe in him?”

Lee Seok-jin, who had been complaining, placed the golf ball on the pole.

And then he started to flinch as he aimed at the golf ball with the driver.

“No matter how legal the reason is for arresting him, there is no way I can catch Kang Shi-on. What I’m after is not Kang Shi-on’s life. It’s not Ha Yoon-ha’s throne either. King? Why should I do something so troublesome? Right?”

Lee Seok-jin looked at Gil Dae-heon as if asking for consent.

Then his 'exclusive' golf coach, a woman in a short skirt, approached him and grabbed him by the waist.

“Lower your posture a little. Relax your arms.”

She was a so-called civil servant who lived off of Man-gyeong's taxes.

Lee Seok-jin continued speaking.

“Keep that in mind. From our perspective, he is a VIP who must be treated with the utmost respect. If you put a hero in jail… … . If you treat a hero who is still supported by 70% of the population like that, the citizens will rise up. Then it won’t work. It won’t work. It won’t work. We will serve Kang Shi-on. We will serve him thoroughly. We will serve him like a god. That’s what you have to do.”

At that time, Lee Seok-jin twisted his upper body and hit the golf ball with force.

Whirik-. Percussion!

The golf ball flew high into the sky, reaching out toward the city.

He smiled brightly against the backdrop of a sky covered with pure white clouds.

“Whew-! It’s flying well!”

Lee Seok-jin looked at the direction where the golf ball flew with a pleasant smile.

The subordinates applauded in unison.

“Nice shot!”

“That’s great!”

“Wow! The pose is great!”

Clap clap clap clap-.

Lee Seok-jin handed the driver to his golf instructor while receiving applause from his subordinates.

Lee Seok-jin took off his white gloves and walked back into the office.

“Kang Shi-on is to be kept in my third villa. And give him whatever he wants. Women, food, alcohol, luxury, electronic games. Anything you want. But don’t leave there until I give you an order. And keep a close watch on the king. Ha Yoon-ha must not know that Kang Shi-on has been arrested.”

“Yes, sir. I will keep that in mind.”

Lee Seok-jin came back into the room and sat on the leather sofa.

And then he opened the lid of the high-quality liquor.

Daughter-. Clink.

The ice in the crystal glass turned yellow when it met the liquor.

He took out another cup and filled it with liquor.

And handed it to Gil Dae-heon.

Gil Dae-heon bent down and received the glass of liquor from Lee Seok-jin.

"thank you."

Tank-!

The glasses clinked together and made a refreshing sound.

“Just a little bit from now on. Just trust me and follow me. If you can just grab that money, you can grab this world. If you can just grab that money.”

“… … .”

Lee Seok-jin emptied his glass in one go with an evil smile.

Gil Dae-heon, who was looking at his evil smile, soon emptied his own glass as well.

Lee Seok-jin and Gil Dae-heon chatted about trivial things.

Then, Gil Dae-heon asked him, his face red from the alcohol, as if something occurred to him.

“What about the other three?”

“The other three?”

“Yes. They are Kang Shi-on’s subordinates. Choi Myung-jun, Choi Hyun-ji, and Jin Jae-hee. All three have contributed greatly to the war, and have positions within Man-gyeong. Furthermore, Choi Myung-jun is also the root of the current Man-gyeong’s elite unit.”

“Ah. That’s right… … . Those annoying threesome… … .”

Lee Seok-jin thought about it for a while and then came to a conclusion.

“Send the nest to the Colosseum. Direct execution is out of the question. He won’t last a week there anyway.”

(Continued in the next episode)