Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 274

It wasn’t a mistake.

It was real.

The President and the ministers—every last one of them—was a fake.

Meaning: they had all used either items or skill effects to alter their appearances.

Anyone else might not have noticed, but Su-ho had spotted it immediately.

No—any player with decent perception could have noticed.

The flow of mana they exuded was completely different from the real thing.

Which is why Su-ho closed his eyes in rage.

He was furious.

Do they take us for idiots?

What was even the point of renting out an entire hotel to host this briefing if this was how they were going to handle it?

Not even in his past life had something like this happened—proof that there were still far too many things that needed to be straightened out.

Soon enough, the "President" took a seat at the center, and the other ministers—no, their impersonators—sat down beside him.

The "President," or rather, the agent disguised as the President, spoke.

“Let us begin.”

Oh, please.

He even used a voice modulation item?

Being an unofficial briefing, there was no formal schedule.

No pomp. No protocol.

But even if this wasn’t an official state meeting, the mere fact that they’d sent stand-ins was absurd.

Once the briefing was over, these agents would go back and relay the information to the real VIPs. But that would inevitably distort everything.

Reading it on paper, hearing it secondhand, and hearing it directly from the source are completely different things...

Which is why Su-ho didn’t even feel like explaining anything.

After a brief pause, he picked up the mic.

“Before we begin, I have a question.”

“A question?”

“Yes. I understand that this project is of national importance. That’s why this unofficial briefing was arranged, and why we’ve spent so much effort preparing a direct presentation.”

“And?”

“Then why are the very people who should be here absent—and why are impostors taking their place?”

“What do you mean...”

“Am I wrong?”

Su-ho’s tone turned sharp with frustration.

An indescribable pressure immediately swept across the hall. The agents, including the VIP stand-ins, found themselves momentarily breathless.

But the GHA staff were unaffected.

Su-ho had full control over his Overwhelm skill—he could suppress or release it at will.

Realizing what Su-ho had just done, Jeong Cheol-min spoke up in alarm.

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m just seriously pissed off.”

“Pissed off—why?! What the hell are you talking about?!”

At Cheol-min’s demand, Su-ho withdrew the pressure.

As the weight lifted, several of the ministers’ faces flickered and shifted—revealing the faces beneath the disguise.

The strain had broken their transformation effects.

The expressions of the Association staff shifted to stunned disbelief.

“Wh... what?”

“What is this?!”

As the masks fell, Su-ho narrowed his eyes and spoke.

“Exactly as I said. These people are fake. To be precise, they’re proxies standing in for the real VIPs. Which raises the question—why send disguised stand-ins to a briefing this important?”

At his words, the room fell into stunned silence.

No one, not even Jeong Cheol-min, could say a thing—they too now wanted answers.

Thankfully, Association President Lim Cheol kept his mouth shut.

He, a man known for walking the tightrope of politics, had chosen—for once—not to play the spokesperson for these outsiders. Had he opened his mouth here, Su-ho’s fury would have doubled.

Now, all eyes turned to the stand-ins.

One of them finally regained his composure, let out a deep sigh, and motioned to the surrounding bodyguards.

At his nod, the guards sealed off the exits.

Then the man spoke.

“How did you know?”

“I’m nearly level 200. The real question is—how could I not know?”

“...Fair enough. The reason we came in place of the VIPs—”

“Cut the crap. Who the hell are you people?”

Su-ho’s tone dropped to informal speech.

Gasps filled the room.

This was a national-level meeting. And he was using banmal?

Jeong Cheol-min, already well past what his threshold for sanity could endure, just sat in silence. There was nothing left he could do now.

The man who had been speaking frowned.

“Please speak respectfully.”

“Respectfully?”

Su-ho opened his hand.

[Blood Weapon has been activated.]

As soon as the skill triggered, a blood-red sword materialized in his grip.

The agent flinched and shouted.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

“What do you mean what am I doing? Seems like you still don’t get the situation. I should be the one asking questions here.”

“Excuse me?”

“We’re here today because of a briefing for a national project. We even went through the trouble of renting out a hotel hall. Then, out of nowhere, a bunch of fakes show up pretending to be the President and ministers without any prior notice. Should I be bowing and scraping? Or should I be wondering whether some villains disguised themselves as VIPs and infiltrated the meeting?”

“That’s...”

“Hey.”

Su-ho opened his eyes fully—gleaming with a deadly chill.

“Do I sound like I’m joking? You’re all Awakened. And we’re the ones managing Awakened in this country. I belong to the Special Division—the ones who beat the hell out of villains. If you don’t show proper ID right now, I’ll bury every last one of you face-down on the floor. Get it?”

This wasn’t a bluff.

He meant it.

Had they been real proxies, and given even a sliver of advance notice, Su-ho might’ve let it go.

But with zero warning and this level of arrogance? Treating them as terrorists would’ve been charitable.

This was a matter of national security.

“This is too much. No one else even dared touch the North Korea reclamation project. Let’s be real: we should be getting medals from the Ministry of Personnel Management, not being treated like potential terrorists. This is a joke. This country’s leadership is so disconnected, it’s no wonder the Hunter Association is in shambles. This is the only country that treats those who sacrifice for it like this.”

Silence.

There was no rebuttal.

Some of the agents even looked ashamed—faces flushed with guilt.

And some... some of them agreed deeply with Su-ho.

They were NIS agents after all. Nameless stars working in the ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) shadows for the country.

Su-ho said flatly,

“Go get the real VIPs. Or this briefing is canceled. And let me be crystal clear—if we’re penalized or retaliated against for what happened today, I’m canceling the North Korea Project and going public with this whole event. Demotion? You think I’m afraid of that? If I announce I’m moving to another country, let’s see who panics then. Go tell them. Is this really how they plan to treat the Hunters risking their lives on the frontlines?”

“...Understood.”

When he finished, Su-ho folded his arms and stared them down.

The meaning was clear: Get lost.

Led by Ban Jun-sik, the agents all filed out of the room.

Once they were gone, Association President Lim Cheol and Vice President Do Sang-wan collapsed into their chairs.

“...Haa.”

“...Whew...”

Jeong Cheol-min was no different.

This had been completely unexpected.

But he was still the department head.

Even if he weren’t, someone had to step up and calm things down.

After a deep breath, Cheol-min approached and sat beside Su-ho.

Su-ho also took a seat. Cheol-min pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

Smoking indoors was technically banned—but no one cared.

Su-ho sat in silence beside him as Cheol-min inhaled deeply and exhaled a slow stream of smoke.

It crumbled apart in the air like his sigh.

Cheol-min asked,

“So... what now?”

“What do you mean ‘what now’? Our job today was to explain the North Korea Project to the VIPs. We rented this hotel hall. So we’re doing it. It's taxpayer money, after all.”

“And if they don’t come?”

“Then they’ll have to come to the Association. We serve the country—not the President or ministers.”

“...You really don’t fear anything, huh? Aren’t you scared of what those people might do?”

Su-ho chuckled.

“Chief, you sure scare easy. What’s the President going to do—kill me? Mobilize the military over one guy? The real danger is what’s inside the Gates.”

“Goddamn...”

“Don’t be afraid either. Someone had to throw a wrench into this mess eventually. And if you get demoted because of this—I’ll take responsibility. I make good money.”

“What kind of... Never mind. Screw it. Let it all fall where it may. Honestly, you’re right. I wouldn’t want to keep working under this kind of treatment. So... thanks. No one but you could’ve said any of that.”

“Then just trust me and follow my lead.”

Su-ho made eye contact with Association President Lim Cheol.

Then gave him a wide grin and a thumbs-up.

Lim Cheol responded with a helpless laugh.

And shortly after that...

The real President arrived.