Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 22

Suho smiled upon seeing them.

*“Ah, I was wondering when they'd show up.”*

The staff quickly formed a human barricade, blocking the crowd's access.

Through this barricade, Jung Chul-min appeared, standing beyond the safe line, gazing at Suho while dialing his phone.

The recipient, of course, was Suho.

Suho answered the phone and asked,

“Hello, Team Leader.”

- *"Suho, I don't know if I'm dreaming or seeing this for real."*

“It’s real, Team Leader, unless you've been using some kind of drug.”

- *"I would never do that... Suho, you’re always more than I imagined. Anyway, would you please move with us to the Association?"*

“May I ask why?”

- *"It’s an unprecedented incident. We thought the Tower would never be conquered. The government has been managing it as a public gate."*

“I know that, but there’s no reason for me to go to the Association, right? There’s no official reason to do so.”

It was obvious.

Jung Chul-min was probably ordered by the president or vice president to bring him in.

The reason? Probably for a photo op.

Those former members of parliament were always so meticulous about their image management.

*“They probably told him to bring me along for some staged photo. Chul-min’s been involved in this kind of stuff often.”*

That’s why Suho wasn’t planning on going to the Association anytime soon.

If he went, it would be on his terms or out of necessity—not because those two had called him to take free pictures.

Upon hearing Suho's words, Jung Chul-min hesitated and spoke up.

- *"That’s true, but... considering the scale of the incident, we still need to conduct an investigation."*

“You didn’t investigate when other major guilds cleared a hard gate like this. If you need any information, just make a separate request.”

- *"...*

Jung Chul-min fell silent.

He had nothing to say.

But despite that, Jung Chul-min wasn’t going to give up.

Even though he was just a powerless civil servant, he had become a team leader at a young age because of his competence.

- *"I understand. But would it be okay if we at least escorted you outside? If we don’t move carefully, there could be a stampede."*

“Don’t worry. I can leave on my own.”

- *“Huh?”*

“I’ll contact you again soon, Team Leader.”

At that moment...

- *"Huh?"*

Jung Chul-min was bewildered.

Suho, who had been standing right in front of him, suddenly vanished.

It wasn’t just him—others around also noticed.

- *"Huh? Where’d he go?"*

- *"Where did he go?"*

- *"What’s going on?!"*

- *"Hey, where’s Ahn Suho?!"*

But Suho, without any hesitation, walked past them and exited the Tower of Trials.

[ *Monochrome Solitude* is activated. ]

Thanks to the first *Mumumu* synthesized for stat boosts.

Suho leisurely walked out and spotted the yellow Ferrari, ready for departure, at a nearby parking lot. He got into the passenger seat.

The moment the passenger door opened, Jo Jin-hwi was startled and immediately on guard.

*“Ah! You scared me... Wait, Suho?”*

“Let’s go now.”

“W-How did you get out?”

“I managed to avoid them.”

“That’s weird. I was keeping an eye on you through the side and rearview mirrors.”

Even if he kept watching, how could he have seen Suho?

No matter how hard a regular person looked, the first *Mumumu* caused cognitive distortion.

Soon enough, the yellow Ferrari roared to life and pulled out onto the highway.

Once on the highway, Jo Jin-hwi pulled out a business card from his pocket and said,

“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I’m Jo Jin-hwi, Senior Reporter at PBS.”

At PBS, reporters have a ranking system starting from trainee reporters, to full reporters, senior reporters, and eventually lead and chief reporters.

In company terms, Jo Jin-hwi's rank was equivalent to an assistant manager.

Suho responded,

“Ahn Suho. I’ve already introduced myself by phone, so I don’t need to repeat it, right?”

“Of course. You’ve told me everything I needed to know. But... can I ask you one thing?”

“Of course, you’re a reporter, after all.”

“I’ve been thinking about this, and I just can’t understand. Why did you choose to become a civil servant? With your skills, you could be called anywhere, so why this?”

Suho smiled faintly and answered.

“Money? Sure, I’d probably get paid more. But no matter how strong a private guild is, it can’t match the power of the government.”

At this, Jo Jin-hwi’s eyes widened in surprise.

He had never heard anyone interpret it this way.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

“But if you think about it, don’t private guilds have more power? Their collective force is a lot stronger than the national hunters’ combined strength.”

“Even so, they’re still just civilian hunters. And why does that matter? Honestly, if it were just about power, they could have started a coup already. But what would they really gain? At best, a brief feeling of achievement. The only place where they can truly shine is within the infrastructure the government has built.”

“True...”

Suho wasn’t wrong.

Of course, if they went abroad, the treatment they’d receive could match or exceed what they’d get in Korea, but could they ever truly be satisfied living in a foreign land, especially as native Koreans?

The answer was no.

*“Why do people who flee overseas because of money or military service issues always want to return to Korea?”*

No matter how luxuriously they lived abroad, Koreans born and raised in their homeland could never be completely satisfied in foreign countries.

So, no matter how strong a private guild might be, it wouldn’t dare cross the line against the government.