The Civil Servant Who Concealed Their True Strength Turns Out to be a Master of Possession - Chapter 215

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Civil Servant Who Hides His Strength Is Exceptionally Good at Possession – Episode 215
“I’m Lee Seok-jin from KSJ! Before the questions, could I possibly see Lee Yu-ji perform a kick just once?”
X-ray….
Captain Hong tapped my shoulder and spoke.
“Why not? It’s just a kick, not board breaking. Go ahead and show them something impressive.”
“Don’t tease her, sir.”
Pee So-won pretended to stop Captain Hong while suppressing her laughter as she looked at me.
You’re the worst one here!
As I hesitated, Ji Won-gil, who had been standing beside the Vice Chief to manage this chaos, stepped forward.
He had climbed onto the stage after the remarks and photo session concluded.
Standing beside the bewildered Vice Chief, he spoke in a low, rapid voice.
“I apologize, but we’ll keep the questions brief for efficiency. We’ll only take questions from exactly ten people.”
Competition among the reporters intensified immediately.
The reporter from before, worried about losing out in the fierce competition, quickly continued with his question.
“A video of Lee Yu-ji’s parents was revealed at the hearing. I’m curious if there was any personal reason behind your investigation.”
Oh.
A direct hit right from the start.
Pee So-won, her forehead creasing with visible irritation, tried to snatch the microphone from me, but I desperately held on and spoke.
‘If I let this slip, I’m facing disciplinary action!’
“That wasn’t the case. Rather, through the investigation process, I learned the truth about my parents’ deaths.”
Click. Click.
Tap. Tap.
The cameras turned toward me once again.
My heart, which had briefly calmed, began racing again.
I felt my voice cracking and tried my best to control my trembling hands as I spoke.
“Personally? Difficult? It was a case, but? That… uh? Over there… yes.”
Phew…
I took a deep breath and glanced at Lee Yu-gyeom.
Lee Yu-gyeom, who had been feeling embarrassed, was now looking at me quietly.
“I’m grateful we could preserve my parents’ honor.”
Seeing that, my racing heart calmed down somewhat.
Get a grip.
I still have a long road ahead.
Right on cue, Ji Won-gil waited for my statement to finish before speaking.
“Please refrain from making personal remarks about the investigators. You there in the back. Please go ahead.”
At Ji Won-gil’s designation, one reporter’s face lit up.
“Yes. I’m Choi Sun-ok from MSK. I’d like to ask Captain Hong. This morning, the Hunter Personal Information Protection Act amendment was rejected in the National Assembly. There was an expectation that the amendment would provide significant support for investigating hunter crimes, but I’d like to hear your thoughts on this setback.”
Finally, a proper journalist’s question emerged.
Well, it was a question I’d anticipated anyway.
Captain Hong continued with his response as if he’d expected it too.
“Hunter personal information is critical. Particularly sensitive data like awakened skills directly impacts national security. That’s why I believe each and every member of the National Assembly voted on behalf of the people’s will. However—”
Captain Hong spoke with a somewhat bitter expression.
“If the state lacks the power to check hunters’ strength, we’d be entrusting citizens’ safety to the individual conscience and morality of hunters alone.”
He continued, looking at me.
“Just as we failed to protect Lee Yu-ji’s parents. You asked whether Lee Yu-ji conducted her investigation with personal emotions—”
Captain Hong glared menacingly at the reporter Lee Seok-jin who had just posed the question.
“Of course she has personal emotions. Lee Yu-ji is human, after all. But Lee Yu-ji’s personal emotions have always been a sense of justice. Without such feelings, Lee Yu-ji wouldn’t have risked her life in Jeong-an City, Kwon Ik-seong wouldn’t have been able to face an S-rank hunter at the hearing, and the other Public Investigation Division staff here wouldn’t be grinding themselves down working day and night.”
…What?
The usually bumbling old man version of Captain Hong had vanished, and he was quite impressive…
‘Like a high-ranking executive.’
In other words, he still looked like a civil servant.
“We are hunters too. Yet we stand here, sacrificing many things for the nation. I believe that if we don’t question hunters’ patriotism, the Personal Information Protection Act wouldn’t remain pending in the National Assembly any longer.”
The camera shutters grew louder once more.
I heard the Vice Chief sitting behind Ji Won-gil groan in distress.
He must be feeling like he’s sinking deeper into a quagmire.
Ha, the Captain of the Hunters Bureau came here and made such a forceful political statement.
The Hunter Management Office would likely be swept up in this wholesale.
And he’d probably anticipate that various troublesome consequences would pour down on him as well.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected Captain Hong to speak so forcefully either.
‘The rejection of the Hunter Personal Information Protection Act was shocking, after all.’
The opposition party was one thing, but there were quite a few defections from the ruling party.
There was talk of the upcoming by-elections, factional splits within the ruling party, and so on, but no one knew exactly why a bill that had seemed almost certain to pass was defeated.
‘Did Choi Jun-gu, locked up in prison, pull some strings?’
It wasn’t entirely impossible, but Choi Woo-jin was gradually bringing the Dae-yeong Guild under his control.
His method wasn’t ‘purge’ but ‘persuasion.’
After securing a few higher-ups entangled in Choi Jun-gu’s various misdeeds, he utilized those below them who harbored grievances or sought promotion.
If you want to climb to this position, hand over all the materials you have.
That was the message.
As a result, it seemed the Dae-yeong Guild’s board members and all Dae-yeong Guild employees except for hunters who only ran raids had switched their allegiance from Choi Jun-gu to Choi Woo-jin.
Thinking about it that way, Choi Jun-gu no longer had the power to move the Dae-yeong Guild.
‘Then could it be…?’
The Hunter Church?
It was just suspicion at this point, but it wasn’t entirely impossible.
The Hunter Church had close ties with the Dae-yeong Guild and was actively lobbying political circles worldwide.
And what was the Hunter Church’s first doctrine?
That gates and dungeons were divine judgment cast upon this world, and hunters appeared to save it?
Then naturally, the Hunter Church wouldn’t want hunters’ power to fall under state control.
The problem was that investigating this also required discovering some grounds for suspicion within the Hunter Church.
How could I discover suspicions that even that lizard bastard—whether it was Lieutenant Cheon or Kang Han-geul—hadn’t found?
No matter how skilled I am at possession, the Hunter Church’s organization is too tightly woven and diverse; the information I could obtain through undercover investigation like I did with the Hunter Association was limited.
That was when it happened.
“W-well, given the time constraints, let’s just take two more questions and wrap this up!”
The Vice Chief, unwilling to let the conversation veer further into dangerous territory, quickly took control of the situation.
“You there at the end. Yes, you may ask your question.”
A reporter seated at the far end stood up and accepted the microphone.
“Hello. Following up on Captain Hong’s remarks, I’d like to ask: is there a possibility that the administration might reorganize the Hunter Investigation Unit to check hunters’ power, similar to how the Unit was elevated to the Bureau?”
At the reporter’s question, every eye in the Public Investigation Division turned toward Captain Hong.
Organizational restructuring?
Usually, civil servants despise nothing more than talk of organizational restructuring.
The reason was simple—organizational restructuring always brought change, and civil servants were creatures who detested change.
But then—
“Yes, there is. However, since nothing is finalized yet, I’m unable to comment further.”
“…?”
What? There’s going to be a reorganization?
That was when I began to panic.
“Yes, the reporter in the blue suit, please ask your question.”
The next reporter quickly took the microphone.
“I have a question for Lee Yu-ji. From the Hunter Investigation Unit terror incident to the Jeong-an City case, and now to the arrest of hunter Choi Jun-gu, Lee Yu-ji has been instrumental in every major case. There are rumors that the performance Lee Yu-ji displays is at A-rank or above, so I must ask: is it true that you’re a low-rank hunter? Could you possibly be a case of re-awakening?”
“Huh? Re-awak… what?”
My mind short-circuited again.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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