Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 301

"Over here."

As Su-ho descended into the basement, Martin Park greeted him first.

There were a few other patrons in the underground bar, but Su-ho paid them no mind and casually sat beside Martin.

"Are you buying the drinks today?"

"You little punk. You make way more money than me—why do you even care?"

"A civil servant doesn’t have any money."

“Bullshit. Alright, make me laugh and I’ll buy today.”

"Deal."

At that, Su-ho turned to the bartender and said,

"Vodka martini. Shaken, not stirred."

Pffft!

Martin Park spewed his drink at the unexpected order.

"Wow... I really didn’t see that coming. How does a kid your age even know that?"

"I’m a fan of classic films."

"You're calling 007 a classic now, huh... I guess so. They haven’t made a new one in ages. It’s definitely a relic by now."

Martin was getting on in years.

Back when he was younger, the 007 series wasn’t considered a classic. But with time flying by and the Great Cataclysm having occurred, 007 was now part of the past—a cultural artifact with no new installments.

With a soft chuckle, he asked,

"So? Let’s see the stuff."

"I don’t have much, but take a look first."

Su-ho pulled out the materials he had gathered and began explaining.

"This one’s from the Kaesong Industrial Complex..."

As the explanation went on, Martin Park’s eyes sparkled.

Clearly, the history behind the materials inspired his creative mind—they looked capable of producing deep, rich colors.

Then, Su-ho placed a few moss-covered stones on the table.

"These are from Guryong Falls in Mount Kumgang."

"Oh? Mount Kumgang? As in the Mount Kumgang?"

"Yes, the one you visit after you eat."

"Oho..."

He laid out a few more flowers and leaves plucked from the area.

Honestly, they weren’t anything special.

Su-ho had simply grabbed whatever was nearby in a hurry.

Yet Martin was still beside himself with excitement, clearly enchanted by their origin stories.

‘Doesn’t look that special to me... The world of art really is complicated.’

There must be something here I don’t understand.

Just then, the bartender brought over the vodka martini—shaken, not stirred—and Su-ho sipped it while giving Martin some time to admire the materials.

After a moment, as Martin began carefully picking up the materials, Su-ho asked casually,

"By the way, did you come here alone?"

"Of course. Who else would I bring?"

"Really?"

"Obviously."

"If you’re lying, then the rest of these /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ materials don’t exist."

"What...?"

"Let’s be honest, shall we? Unless this bar belongs to that bartender, I don’t believe someone like him is just casually making drinks in Korea."

“...”

The room suddenly grew quiet.

But Su-ho remained unfazed. He calmly pulled out his civil servant ID and placed it on the bar table, addressing the bartender directly.

"I need to verify your identity. I’m An Su-ho, Section Chief of the Special Division, Grand Hunter Association. Based on the mana density I’m sensing, you’re clearly an Awakened Player. But none of the domestic Players I know possess this level of mana. So—your ID and Player license, please."

The bartender stared at Su-ho for a moment and then responded with a soft smile.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Come on. Don’t play dumb."

"Haha. I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re talking about..."

His polite evasion only made Su-ho’s expression harden.

"This isn’t a joke. Hand them over. Now."

The bartender turned his gaze toward Martin Park.

Martin sighed and said,

"I knew you weren’t just anyone... but I didn’t expect you to be this sharp."

"So, you did know?"

"Yeah, I knew. But don’t be too wary. This man here is—"

"I’ll introduce myself."

Interrupting Martin, the bartender raised his hand and stepped in.

He looked to Su-ho and spoke.

"Apologies for the lack of proper introduction. I wasn’t planning on introducing myself like this, but... I’m Albert Kim, a Player affiliated with the United Nations."

"A UN Player?"

"That’s right."

"I see. Now, your ID and Player license?"

"Excuse me?"

"How am I supposed to know you’re really with the UN? Anyone can say it."

"Ah..."

Faced with Su-ho’s unflinching tone, Albert fell momentarily silent—then chuckled softly and pulled out his passport and UN staff ID.

Su-ho examined them and commented,

"Very convincing."

"Because they’re real."

They were.

Su-ho could see the white energy around him.

‘If he were lying, it would’ve shown black energy.’

That’s why Su-ho made the “convincing” comment—to test him.

Even with his regression, Su-ho didn’t have any ability to tell whether a passport or ID had been expertly forged.

Returning the documents, Su-ho asked,

"Then, are the others in the back also with the UN?"

"...So you noticed."

"Of course I did."

"Whoa, sharp as a knife. Let’s all calm down now."

"No need to calm down."

"What?"

"When Players of this caliber enter the country, we’re supposed to get notified. Each one of them is equivalent to a military-grade weapon. But I, despite holding a top-level clearance, wasn’t told a thing about your arrival. So from this point on, I suggest you choose your words very carefully."

Su-ho narrowed his eyes.

At the same time—

[Overwhelm has been activated.]

Boom!

The pressure exploded outward, washing over everyone in the bar.

"Depending on your answer, I can have you all arrested on the spot as criminals caught in the act."

“...”

“...”

“...”

The UN Players remained silent.

Su-ho meant every word.

And it seemed they understood that.

Eventually, Albert spoke.

"You’re right. I apologize. We were clearly in the wrong."

"Apologies mean nothing unless followed by an explanation."

"Of course. To clarify... yes, we entered the country secretly, as you said. But it wasn’t done on our own—this was coordinated with your Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"With the Foreign Ministry?"

"Yes. And we specifically requested that the Grand Hunter Association not be informed."

"And the Ministry agreed to that?"

"They did. Here—this is an official confirmation from them. I had it issued just in case..."

Albert handed over a document from the Ministry.

White energy.

He wasn’t lying.

Su-ho closed his eyes.

‘Unbelievable.’

Even if it was the UN, there were procedures in place. To ignore all of that and act like this?

There’s a limit to how far you can bend over.

He could practically hear Korea’s national dignity being trampled.

After scanning the document, Su-ho returned it and asked,

"So why the secrecy?"

"As we mentioned in the formal request, our purpose was to meet with key Korean Players—especially you, Chief An. Given that many high-level Players needed to move for this, we had no choice."

That part was understandable.

When high-level Players traveled, other nations took notice. Just their movement could cause a stir.

But still—was it necessary to keep it from the Grand Hunter Association too?

Su-ho expressed his doubt.

"I get avoiding foreign attention. But why hide it from the GHA?"

"That’s..."

At that moment—

"I’ll explain, Albert."

Another man—one of the "guests" nearby—spoke up in Albert’s place.

He was a typical blue-eyed American who now addressed Su-ho in English.

"Do you speak English?"

"I do."

Su-ho responded in English.

The man’s eyes widened slightly at his fluent diction before returning to normal.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Finn, also a UN Player."

Finn.

His mana level was no joke either.

Su-ho responded,

"I’m An Su-ho. So? Care to explain?"

"To be honest... we were here to observe you."

"Observe me?"

"What have you heard about our visit?"

"Enough. That the UN is extremely interested in Korea’s top Players—especially due to the upcoming Purification and Unification Operation."

"To be precise, it’s you we’re interested in. That’s why we’re here."

Unlike Albert, Finn had no hesitation.

Su-ho nodded, unsurprised.

"Naturally. Asking to meet just me would’ve been too obvious."

"You have quite the self-confidence, don’t you?"

"Why shouldn’t I?"

"Haha. I do hope your strength lives up to your ego. Since we’re already being open, let me be blunt—Su-ho, the UN is very curious about you. So instead of some stiff formal meeting, would you be willing to show us how amazing you really are... in a more relaxed setting?"

The directness of Finn’s question revealed it:

This was the man in charge here.

But among Finn, Albert, and the others—none of them appeared in Su-ho’s past memories.

The UN’s attention to Korea was supposed to come much later.

And none of the Players Su-ho had seen back then were here now.

‘They probably died sometime in the interim.’

That thought made them seem somewhat pitiful.

Of course, they could have survived—just sidelined by internal politics, assigned to backwater roles where Su-ho never saw them.

Still, the fact that they didn’t exist in his memory meant they hadn’t done anything important.

By Su-ho’s standards, that made them all pitiable.

And that was likely why he chose to grant their request.

"Alright. Let’s do it."

"Cool and confident to match your pride. Shall we move, then?"

"Do you have a place in mind?"

"Of course. You think we’d ask to meet you without that much preparation?"

"Thorough. Before we go, I have just one question."

"Ask anything."

At that, Su-ho turned not to Finn—but to Martin Park.

"Sir, are you also with the UN?"

Martin just shrugged. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Come on. Seriously?"

"Then why help them?"

"Simple. I made a deal."

"A deal?"

"They brought me a pigment ingredient I really wanted."

Su-ho gave a dry chuckle.

What a consistent man.

But at least it was better that the reason was so trivial.

"Got anything to say to me?"

"Sorry for deceiving you."

"Noted. But I don’t accept verbal apologies. As stated earlier—consider your supply of materials cut off."

"What? Hey, come on!"

"Let’s go."

With that, Su-ho turned and headed up the stairs.

"Aaaugh!!"

Martin Park’s howl echoed behind him.