Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 86

Su-ho handed a small orb to the trembling Park Gyu-min.

“Swallow it.”

“W-What is this?”

“A bomb.”

“W-What?!”

“It’s an item bomb that only responds to my commands. Once you swallow it, it will be absorbed into your body and remain undetectable by any search skill. It’s expensive, so hurry up and eat it.”

“B-But why would I...”

“Otherwise? How do you expect me to trust you?”

“...”

Park Gyu-min was at a loss for words.

Truthfully, he had been plotting ways to stab Su-ho in the back the moment he escaped from here. But to think Su-ho would resort to such a barbaric method.

With shaking hands, Park Gyu-min reluctantly took the orb. After glancing nervously at Su-ho, he swallowed it. The thought of an explosion later seemed less immediate than the threat of a beating now.

“Ugh!”

The bomb tasted bitter.

The moment it touched his tongue, it melted and disappeared. As Su-ho had said, it was absorbed into his body, leaving him with a strange sensation, as if something about his physical state had changed.

Su-ho watched the trembling man clutching his stomach and thought to himself.

‘What a load of crap.’

An item bomb undetectable by search skills?

There was no such thing.

It was just a bitter-tasting pill.

But such measures were necessary to ensure Park Gyu-min didn’t try to betray him.

Su-ho spoke again, his tone sharp.

“Listen carefully. From now on, you’re going to clean up the messes you’ve made, one by one.”

“Messes...?”

“Yes, messes. You want to survive, don’t you? Then you need to make sure Pi Seong-yeol can’t come after you. And the first step is cleaning up the wrongs you’ve done so far.”

“Clean up...”

Park Gyu-min muttered under his breath, his voice trembling.

Su-ho’s expression remained cold as he continued.

“You’ll need to take care of this quietly. Pinning it on someone else shady is fine, but if you harm an innocent person just to save your own skin... you know what’ll happen, right?”

“Of course! I would never do that.”

“Good. Don’t worry, I won’t just sit back and watch, either. So don’t waste time fretting. Just answer my questions honestly and do as you’re told.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Then, as soon as we return to the Association, let’s start with resolving this military draft-dodging scandal.”

“How should I handle it?”

At Park Gyu-min’s question, Su-ho glanced at the corruption report he had submitted.

“Looks like the ones involved in this scheme are you, the Awakening Division Chief, and the Non-Awakening Affairs Deputy Chief.”

“Yes, I secured the deals, and the Chief and Deputy Chief handled the on-site execution.”

“How was the money divided?”

“...I took 70%, and the rest was split between them, 2:1.”

Su-ho shot Park Gyu-min a disgusted look.

So this bastard pocketed most of it after subcontracting the dirty work to others? Shameless.

With a furrowed brow, Su-ho asked, “You still have the list of people you arranged deals with and the money you took, right?”

“I have it, but I’m not sure about the others below me.”

“Then get it back from them or fill in the gaps yourself. First, return all the money and shut those people up. Only then can we quietly deal with the Chief and the Deputy Chief.”

“R-Return all of it?”

“Of course. If you don’t, they’ll raise hell, and who’s going to deal with the fallout?”

“Ugh... Fine. What should I do about the ones below me?”

“Blame everything on them before the media gets wind of it and have them dismissed. Remember, dismissed—not terminated. If they’re terminated, it’ll affect their pensions, and they won’t sit still. You need to leave them a way out so they won’t retaliate.”

“...Understood.”

“Handle this first, and then we’ll proceed. Oh, and once we’re back, push through my Awakening Division evaluation immediately. The field assessment and theory test are done, so why am I still waiting? Do I look like I have time to waste?”

“...I’m sorry.”

“Close your eyes.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Ah! S-Sorry!”

The moment Park Gyu-min closed his eyes, Su-ho struck him on the head, knocking him out cold.

This was the subspace house.

No one could know how people entered or exited this place.

***

"What exactly are they doing in there?"

"Beats me."

In the outskirts of Seoul, by a rural highway, stood a lone container.

Inside the container, Su-ho had entered with Park Gyu-min, leaving the Banshees to stand guard outside. He gave strict orders not to let anyone approach, which only fueled their curiosity.

After all, no sound was coming from inside.

Time dragged on.

Eventually, the container door swung open.

“They’re out,” one of the Banshees muttered.

Su-ho emerged, carrying the unconscious Park Gyu-min over his shoulder. It didn’t take a second glance to see that Park Gyu-min’s condition was far from good.

Goo Yeon-hwa, eyeing the limp figure, asked bluntly, “Did you beat him?”

“Only beat him?” Su-ho scoffed. “If I was doing it properly, you wouldn’t have heard a thing.”

“...”

“Enough talk. Put him in the car.”

After handing over Park Gyu-min, Su-ho began briefing the Banshees on what had transpired in the container, showing them the corruption notebook and explaining the steps they’d take moving forward.

Looking over the notes, Goo Yeon-hwa frowned. “You’re really planning to erase all this? It’s a lot to cover.”

“We don’t need to erase everything. All we need to know is how much Pi Seong-yeol is aware of regarding Gyu-min’s corruption.”

“And how do we figure that out?”

“Gi-won will dig into it. Besides, even if Pi knows about everything here, it’s fine. We’ll just use Park Gyu-min and toss him aside when he’s no longer useful. Speaking of which, if anyone here has a personal grudge against him, now’s the time to let me know. We can adjust his ‘disposal’ plan accordingly.”

At Su-ho’s words, the Banshees exchanged glances, excluding Seo Gi-won. However, none of them spoke up.

“No issues here. We don’t have any unfinished business with him.”

“Good.”

The reason Su-ho had asked wasn’t surprising.

Despite the Banshees’ loyalty, they had yet to fully reveal why they formed the group in the first place or the vengeance they sought. Su-ho never pressed them for answers.

Not because he wasn’t curious.

“Being a regressor has its perks.”