This time, it was the woman who introduced herself as Kim Jung-sook.  

She seemed rather old and had a strong personality.  

“If you truly consider yourselves soldiers, shouldn’t you have taken steps to protect the civilians much earlier? It’s been months, so why only now…”  

“We had our own circumstances.”  

“Circumstances? What circumstances could justify the military failing to protect the people when people are dying?”  

The military exists to protect the citizens.  

Not fulfilling that role properly would lead to being criticized by the citizens.  

“The same circumstances as other military units being wiped out. Monsters attacked our barracks.”  

“…”  

“They were much stronger than regular monsters. In the process of fending them off, more than half of our unit was killed. I’m currently acting as the battalion commander.”  

“And what about the other officers besides you?”  

“All the other officers have passed away. Some were killed by the monsters, and the others…”  

He trailed off, looking down at his own hands.  

“It was by our own hands.”  

“By your own hands? Does that mean there was some kind of mutiny?”  

“Ajumma Jung-sook I don’t think that’s what he’s referring to.”  

“Huh?”  

Cheol-wook looked at Lieutenant Kim with a more serious expression.  

“He’s talking about the officers becoming zombies, isn’t he?”  

“Yes.”  

“Ah, I see. In that case… I’m sorry.”  

Ajumma Jung-sook seemed to realize then that he was referring to the dead officers coming back as zombies.  

“It must have been an unpleasant memory to dredge up. I apologize for bringing it up.”  

“No, it’s in the past now.”  

The mood of the conversation had become rather solemn.  

The unit had fiercely resisted the enemy’s attacks, but lost most of its soldiers in the process, even losing the battalion commander.  

The fact that they had to kill the reanimated battalion commander who had become a zombie must have been an incredibly dramatic experience.  

‘Well, that’s the story, I suppose.’  

About half of it was true, but the other half had been cleverly embellished.  

It’s true that the battalion commander and other officers had passed away, but they had died in the barracks, not in battle.  

However, by telling the story this way, the battles they had endured became a “fiercely intense battle that even cost the life of the highest commanding officer.”  

I think I understand why Lieutenant Kim spoke this way.  

It would be difficult to criticize the soldiers who had gone through such intense battles, saying “what were you doing, not rescuing the civilians?”  

This story… is not exactly a lie.  

 But a cleverly exaggerated dramatic narration that favours us, the soldiers.  

“It’s only recently that we’ve left the barracks and arrived in this area, after retaking a military base that had been overrun by the monsters.”  

“So that’s why other military units have settled here…”  

“I feel I’ve explained our circumstances well enough. May I ask you a question as well?”  

The self-introductions were done, so now it’s time for the main discussion.  

“You’ve settled near our unit’s base recently.”  

“So, what if we have?”  

“Wherever we decide to settle, that’s our business, isn’t it? Soldiers have no reason to concern themselves with where others choose to live.”  

 The two of them seemed a bit defensive in their response.  

“Though, if you were to join our unit, we’d be happy to welcome you.”  

“We already heard that proposal from some of your other soldiers.”  

“It’s more like being conscripted than joining, isn’t it?”  

Kim Jung-sook sighed.  

“By myself, I wouldn’t have minded that so much.”  

“Then…”  

“But for our group, it’s not feasible.”  

I glanced out the window, looking at the members of her group waiting outside.  

There were a lot of children and elderly among them.  

“Excluding me, there’s no one in our group who can really fight. Becoming soldiers and fighting… It’s just too much for the members of our group.”  

Just looking at the numbers, it’s surprising they’ve managed to survive this long.  

But then again,  

‘Awakened abilities don’t depend on age or gender.’  

Grandpa Park is a prime example.  

He’s old enough to have grown-up granddaughters, but after awakening, he’s become a key member of the engineering corps, respected as the “Elder.”  

Awakening allows one to transcend human limits.  

If her group members went through that process, they could become capable soldiers as well.  

But from her perspective, she probably doesn’t know that we’re essentially mass-producing these “Awakened” individuals.  

It seems the woman is reluctant to turn those under her protection into soldiers.  

“Your situation is not good either, I know. We’re not asking you to protect us or share your food. But would it be okay if we settle around your base? We’ll make sure not to cause any trouble.”  

“Our group is in a similar situation.”  

Well…  

I’ve also heard stories about the survivors on the ground after coming down here.  

Resources on the surface are limited.  

Survivors are wary of other groups roaming around, as they have to compete for those limited resources.  

It’s not really our concern, since we have plenty of resources.  

But we can’t just let them sit on the edges of the safe zone we’ve created either.  

I muttered quietly, just loud enough for the lieutenant to hear.  

The lieutenant repeated my words.  

“It’s fine for you to settle near the base.”  

“Really? Thank you…”  

“But in exchange, we’ll need to make a deal.”  

The smiles on the two survivors’ faces cracked.  

“A deal?”  

“What kind of deal are you talking about?”  

“Anything works. Points, food, fuel, even a small contribution would be fine. In exchange, we’ll protect you.”  

“…So, it’s not a trade, it’s a protection fee, isn’t it?”  

“So, you’re not soldiers, but gangsters!”  

Well, they’re not entirely wrong.  

“Didn’t you know? The military is essentially an organization funded by taxes.”  

“Ugh.”  

The two people’s expressions darkened rapidly.  

They had come, gambling on the hope that a normal military force remained.  

But now that military force is demanding a protection fee.  

They must have felt betrayed.  

I may have been too harsh.  

Time to ease up a bit.  

“Honestly, we don’t really need much.”  

“What do you mean?”  

“The truth is, it doesn’t matter if you refuse this deal. We’ll still protect you.”  

“…?”  

“After all, we don’t want to see the people around us dying either. But are you satisfied with just that?”  

The two people looked puzzled at what I was getting at.  

I decided to explain the reason why I wanted to accept them.  

“It seems most other military units have been wiped out, except for us. Our unit will independently build up our forces. Someday, we aim to be able to conduct large-scale military operations on our own. And as we grow our strength, more survivors who want to settle near us will start gathering.”  

“I see.”  

“Do you know what happens when people from different groups gradually gather in one place?”  

“Ugh, just spit it out already. What are you getting at?”  

“A society will be formed.”  

“…!”  

This is the reason I ignored Corporal Seo’s suggestion to drive them out – to use these people as the starting point for rebuilding human society.  

“If we just try to survive on our own, we’d end up as an isolated military force in this ruined world. What’s the point in that?”  

“So, you mean…”  

“We intend to rebuild human society.”  

These people.  

They will become the foundation for that.