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Chapter 424: Sole Candidate (6)
The bandit leader, Jeong Yeongwoo07.
At the absurd title, Jiseon burst into laughter.
—Ha! Seriously? Those guys are no pushovers either.
It was only natural.
After all, their opponents were the planetary council.
Even Yeongwoo didn’t expect the council members to yield so easily.
“The council is already trying to establish dominance right from the start.”
—Are you sure it’s the council trying to assert dominance? Logically speaking, shouldn’t we, as the residents of Earth, be the ones greeting the council?
No matter how capable Yeongwoo was, he was still, at his core, an Earthling.
A resident of this planet, Earth.
So, in Jiseon’s view, the council, which was responsible for overseeing Earth, naturally outranked Yeongwoo in the hierarchy.
—Aren’t we all part of the same family anyway? There’s no need to create unnecessary hostility. Go out and greet them properly.
Hearing this, Yeongwoo frowned and looked up at Jiseon.
"Are you seriously saying that as the root of this bandit clan?"
—What?
"If we grovel before the council now, how do you expect us to negotiate with Earth later? Besides, those bastards just called us bandits, didn’t they?"
—…Honestly, they’re not wrong.
The Renaissance, Earth’s first-ever family, had originally set its primary industry as banditry and violence.
Naturally, the council had no reason to speak kindly of them.
—Still, being called bandit leader is actually somewhat restrained. It means they’re not going all out against us yet.
“But they don’t seem particularly fond of us either.”
—…That’s true.
Jiseon nodded begrudgingly.
Meanwhile, across from them, Song Jungho’s blue scales quivered faintly.
∴ Looks like they’re here to establish discipline before we get too out of hand. If we let them dominate us right from the start, we’re screwed.
Jungho, perhaps without realizing it, was now using the term we.
Yeongwoo glanced at his uncle, then rested his hand on Bastard at his waist.
“I have no intention of letting them intimidate us either. We are this planet’s only family. Why should we bow?”
Then, turning toward the front entrance of the venue, he raised his voice.
《The doors are open. Council members!》
His voice carried a commanding presence.
There was no overt hostility in his tone, yet it was enough to send a chill down the spines of Jiseon and Jungho standing behind him.
The sheer presence in Yeongwoo’s voice made their backs shiver involuntarily.
And naturally, the council members waiting outside the venue must have felt the full weight of the bandit leader’s presence.
「…….」
Sure enough, silence fell outside the venue.
—What the hell? Did they leave or something?
Jiseon glanced around in confusion at the unexpected stillness.
Jungho, meanwhile, dispelled the lightning surrounding his body and muttered.
∴ Did they chicken out?
And as if on cue—
BOOOOOOM!
The middle wall of the venue exploded, creating a massive hole.
“You crazy bastards.”
Seeing his business venue get obliterated, Yeongwoo sprang to his feet.
But before he could move, a voice heavy with authority rang out from within the gaping hole.
■ Just stay where you are. I won’t make unreasonable demands of a cripple.
“……!”
The speaker was clearly different from the one who had previously called them bandits.
The sheer weight and presence in this voice was on another level.
And then, the earlier familiar voice called out once again.
「The Chairman is entering!」
‘Chairman?’
Yeongwoo narrowed his eyes.
At that moment, a figure stepped through the opening created by the explosion.
Tap.
The first thing to appear was a polished black leather shoe, shining to the point of reflection.
“……?”
Then, continuing upward, sharply tailored trousers of a suit came into view.
—What the…
Jiseon muttered without meaning to.
∴ …Huh?
Jungho, too, let his maw, covered in blue scales, fall open in surprise.
The chairman of Earth’s council—their so-called representative—was unmistakably human.
Step.
The man took a second step, fully emerging through the wall’s jagged hole.
He was a tall man dressed in a dark gray suit.
His hair was slicked back, jet-black and immaculately styled.
The face beneath it was so enigmatic that it was difficult to determine his ethnicity.
His age was equally ambiguous.
At a glance, he appeared to be in his early 40s, but his smooth, wrinkle-free skin made him seem younger.
Yet, paradoxically, he exuded a profound sense of age and experience.
‘…Is he really human? No, that can’t be.’
Seeing the chairman, Yeongwoo felt disoriented.
He couldn’t tell if the man was a genuine human or an alien imitating human form.
Step. Step.
Behind the chairman, seven men and women in black suits followed him through the opening.
Their presence was equally imposing, and Yeongwoo’s instincts told him that they were the rest of the council.
‘The regular council members… they actually seem human.’
Unlike the chairman, the seven council members were clearly of different ethnicities and varying ages.
In other words, they looked human enough that Yeongwoo could guess their age.
They each had skin and eyes appropriate to their years.
One of them, notably, had a long, graying beard.
And that particular individual caught Yeongwoo’s attention.
‘That guy… He looks Korean, no matter how I see it.’
It was because the man had his hair styled in a traditional topknot.
While topknots weren’t exclusive to Korea, the cap encircling it had a familiar design.
And more importantly…
‘Why the hell is that old man staring at me?’
Of the seven council members, the elderly man with the topknot was the only one sending Yeongwoo an oddly warm, almost fond gaze.
Glance.
In response, Yeongwoo narrowed his eyes slightly and returned a sharp look.
However, rather than flinching, the old man’s eyes grew even deeper, as if he were earnestly savoring the sight of Yeongwoo.
‘…Ugh.’
Something about the old man’s gaze felt as vast and boundless as the open sea.
In the end, Yeongwoo involuntarily lowered his eyes, and the chairman observing this scene wore an intrigued expression.
■ So, you truly are human. Are you finally ready to talk?
The nuance in his words made it sound as if he were not human himself.
Unable to hold back any longer, Song Jungho abruptly asked,
∴ What the hell? Are you saying you’re not human? What about the ones behind you? Are they at least people?
It might have been a rash question, but surprisingly, the chairman let out a chuckle.
■ I am a servant of Earth. Humans are of no concern to me. However…
The chairman subtly tilted his head and glanced at the seven directors behind him.
■ The directors’ stance will inevitably be different.
He was implying that the directors were on humanity’s side.
‘…What? Does that mean the directors might actually be human?’
Yeongwoo's eyes widened in disbelief.
But of course, they couldn't be “human” in the true sense.
These beings were cosmic entities collaborating with planets from the hidden recesses of the universe.
For them to be genuinely “human,” there was only one possible explanation.
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‘No way.’
That would mean they were ancestors.
And Yeongwoo had already witnessed a similar case firsthand.
He had seen Kim Jung-un, turned into a mutant, return with two predecessors at his side.
Moreover, the red-footed orcs, the natives of another planet, had preserved their ancestors' spirits through relics and each chieftain’s rites.
So, if Earth also had a similar "preservation" system…
‘Are you telling me that ghosts have been running the planetary council all this time?’
Yeongwoo blinked in disbelief.
If that were true, the actual number of directors could be in the hundreds or even thousands.
Meanwhile, the chairman casually pointed at a broken chair lying on the floor.
Tap.
To Yeongwoo's astonishment, the chair suddenly stood upright on its own and slid smoothly toward the chairman.
Shuaaah!
‘What the…’
That was no mere telekinetic trick.
Despite having one of its legs broken, the chair balanced itself as though it were alive.
Click.
The chairman then settled into the chair, lowering himself onto it.
■ The two most important duties of our council are as follows.
With that, the chairman pulled a palm-sized rectangular object from his coat.
Fwoosh.
Made of ashen-gray metal, the object turned out to be a cigarette case.
“……?”
As Yeongwoo cocked his head in confusion, the chairman flipped open the case and pulled out a cigarette.
‘An alien bastard smokes cigarettes?’
Of course, there was no way to be sure it was actually a cigarette.
The chairman was clearly imitating human customs by wearing a suit, so why not smoking as well?
Moreover, he lit the cigarette without a lighter—just by snapping his fingers.
Chiiik!
As he took a drag, the chairman raised two fingers.
■ Our first duty is planetary protection. That task essentially falls on me.
The chairman made a clear distinction between himself and the human-born directors.
He then took a long, contemplative drag from the cigarette.
■ The second duty is the prosperity of the inhabitants.
“The prosperity of the inhabitants…?”
Yeongwoo's eyes widened at the unexpected mission of the council.
In other words, their goal was to promote humanity’s prosperity.
■ Strictly speaking, this falls under the directors’ jurisdiction. Within the given conditions, they make decisions that foster the inhabitants' prosperity.
‘At least that’s a relief. Human-related matters are handled by the human-born directors.’
But the real problem came next.
■ However, an issue has arisen.
“…What is it?”
When Yeongwoo asked, the chairman exhaled a massive plume of smoke, like a great dragon.
Hwaaaah!
■ The problem is that your group is the only family to emerge on this planet.
Renaissance.
A rising gang of bandits with Yeongwoo07 as their head.
■ In fact, 73% of the council voted in favor of you.
In other words, the human-born directors believed that the bandit clan, Renaissance, would benefit humanity’s prosperity.
“Huh? Seriously?”
Caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events, Yeongwoo glanced at the seven directors.
Then, he asked,
“But why is that… a problem?”
The chairman flicked the stub of his cigarette onto the floor and replied,
■ Do you truly not understand why?
“I genuinely have no idea.”
Yeongwoo feigned innocence, staring at the chairman with a brazen expression.
The chairman scanned the utterly wrecked hall of the wedding venue.
Then, his gaze fell upon the signature plaques beneath the altar where Yeongwoo sat—
Plaques bearing the signatures of the galaxy’s most notorious criminals.
■ Do you really think sending you into space would help protect this planet?
“Ah.”
Yeongwoo, sensing the weight of the situation, finally stood up.
At the same time, the chairman also rose from his seat.
Shuaaah!
In his hand was a sword, forged at some unknown moment.
■ In my judgment, you are this planet’s greatest threat. As chairman, I will carry out a duel for Earth’s safety.
Upon hearing this, Jiseon twisted her body into a combat stance.
-Looks like we’re screwed, Yeongwoo. We’ve got a sharp one here!
Meanwhile, Song Jungho was already brimming with lightning in his mouth.
∴ They said 73% of the council supports us! Why the hell are we getting this kind of treatment?
Yeongwoo, however, was already gripping his bastard sword.
“You alien bastard… Now that I think about it, if you were gone, the entire council would be made up of human-born directors, wouldn’t it?”
■ What?
Momentarily startled by the audacity of a mere human making such a statement, the chairman’s mouth slightly parted.
During that brief lapse, Yeongwoo grabbed the chairman’s signature plaque from the altar.
“For the prosperity of humanity and the militarization of Earth, I challenge you to a duel!”
With that, he hurled the chairman’s plaque toward him.
“Ah! W-Wait! Careful! It’ll break!”
■ ……!
The plaque bore the signature of a Grade 3 entity—a tremendously valuable artifact.
Startled, the chairman instinctively caught it.
In that moment, Yeongwoo's eyes flickered toward the ground beneath the chairman's feet as he incanted a spell.
“Summon Twenty Swords Mountain.”
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