Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 233

A short while later, two sedans came to a stop outside. From them, a group of men in black suits poured out.

Yakuza.

They all entered the loan office, and Su-ho glanced at them before asking the kneeling loan shark, Horoshi, next to him,

“Those guys?”

“Y-yes, th-they’re the ones...”

“Good work.”

With that confirmation, Su-ho struck the pressure point on Horoshi’s neck and knocked him out cold.

Around then, the men in suits parted to reveal a man emerging from behind them.

It was Gokon, an executive of the Sumiyoshi Guild.

He looked shorter and older than the others he’d arrived with, but the look in his eyes was unmistakably that of an executive.

Gokon spoke.

“Are you the one? The person Horoshi mentioned?”

For a yakuza, Gokon was someone who understood manners.

He hadn’t started off with disrespectful speech.

That alone earned him points.

Su-ho nodded.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And who are you? Why did you do this?”

At that, Su-ho took something from his inventory and tossed it in front of him.

It was Koki’s finger, wrapped in a napkin.

One of the yakuza picked it up and showed it to Gokon, who frowned.

“What is this?”

“I’m Kim Su-ho from Korea, and that’s the finger of a man named Koki, an executive of the Inagawa Guild. I’ll get straight to the point. I’ve come to meet the Chairman of the Sumiyoshi Guild.”

“You mean our Chairman?”

“Yes. Chairman Yasuda Hiro.”

“......”

Yasuda Hiro.

Just as Su-ho had said, he was the current Chairman of the Sumiyoshi Guild.

In other words, a name that wasn’t to be spoken lightly.

Normally, that alone would have earned him a beating.

But Koki’s finger, which Su-ho had brought, implied many things.

After confirming Koki’s current condition with one of his men, Gokon looked back at Su-ho and said,

“You could have requested a meeting formally. This is a bit dramatic.”

“I’m not a fan of wasting time.”

“What business do you have?”

“I’ll explain that directly to the Chairman.”

“......”

Gokon narrowed his eyes at Su-ho’s response.

Then, he finally replied,

“Then I’ll check and get back to you.”

With that, Gokon left first.

Of the group, only two men stayed behind while the others followed after Gokon.

Some time later, one of the remaining men got a phone call. After answering, he turned to Su-ho and said,

“You’re requested to come down.”

When Su-ho came downstairs, the back door of Gokon’s car was open.

Once he got in, Gokon, who was seated next to the door, gestured toward the seat beside him.

“Please, have a seat. The Chairman will see you now.”

“Great.”

After a short ride, Gokon’s car arrived at a rather luxurious apartment complex.

Even from the outside, it was clearly a high-end building. At the entrance, high-stat Players stood on guard—Hunters belonging to Sumiyoshi.

‘They call themselves Hunters, but they’re basically just yakuza.’

Su-ho and Gokon took the elevator up, arriving at the top floor.

As soon as the doors opened, a panoramic city view rivaling that of the Kaiser Cheongdam burst into sight.

Tokyo’s night skyline was dazzling.

But Su-ho wasn’t particularly impressed.

He’d lived in places with great views himself.

Shifting his gaze, Su-ho looked to the man seated at the head of the sofa, waiting for them.

It was Yasuda Hiro, the Chairman of the Sumiyoshi Guild.

Seeing Hiro, Gokon bowed respectfully.

“Chairman, this is Kim Su-ho, as I mentioned.”

“Good work. You may leave us.”

“Yes.”

With another bow, Gokon took his leave.

Yasuda Hiro was a young-looking Chairman.

He couldn’t have been older than his thirties.

But behind his youthful appearance was a man of substance.

‘Yasuda Hiro—he’s a current top-ten ranker on the Japan Grand Chart.’

Ranked 5th.

His nickname: Sekido Hiro, meaning “Red Blade.”

Not because he wielded a red sword.

But because he swung his sword until it was drenched in blood.

In other words, he too was a swordsman—just like Su-ho.

That’s why he had no guards with him when meeting Su-ho.

He hadn’t earned his Chairman position with administrative skills alone.

‘Been a long time since I’ve seen this guy too.’

In Su-ho’s previous life, he and Hiro had known # Nоvеlight # each other.

Which made sense—Hiro had been an enormous fan of Su-ho’s.

Naturally.

As a man who loved samurai and swordsmanship, Hiro saw Su-ho as a godlike figure who walked the path of the sword.

He was also a world-class Player who stayed in the top ten even during the latter half of the Great Cataclysm.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

There was no reason they wouldn’t have crossed paths.

With his signature smile, Hiro gestured for Su-ho to sit.

“You’re Kim Su-ho, right? Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

Yep. That was definitely Hiro.

He greeted Su-ho in Korean instead of Japanese.

As Su-ho sat down, Hiro smiled and said,

“So, I heard you wanted to see me. May I ask why?”

Despite his friendly face, when it came to business, Hiro was incredibly efficient.

Which was exactly why Su-ho liked him.

Since he went straight to the point without any unnecessary chatter, Su-ho followed suit.

“I’d like to propose a business deal to you.”

“A business deal?”

“Yes. I’m looking to operate in Japan for a while, and in that process, I’d like Sumiyoshi’s support.”

“Hmm, Sumiyoshi’s support... What kind of business are you looking to start that made you come to me first?”

“A raid business.”

“...Raid business?”

Raid business.

To be more precise, it meant profiting from clearing gates.

Clearing gates, after all, always yielded various kinds of profit.

Which is why the ones engaged in the raid business were usually guilds.

Sumiyoshi’s lips curled in a smile, but his brow furrowed slightly as he asked,

“And why?”

“There are no more gates left in Korea.”

“No more gates?”

“Are you familiar with the Sword God of Korea?”

“The Sword God! Of course. Isn’t he the government-employed Hunter who soloed that End Gate in Jeju?”

“Yes, that’s him. But he’s affected far more than just the End Gate. Most of the gates in Korea are under his influence now.”

“In what way?”

“In Korea, the Association first inspects new gates. Then, based on various criteria, they release them to the private sector. But ever since the Sword God became an official with the Association, there haven’t been any gates released for sale. That’s why I’m trying to move the raid business to Japan.”

Su-ho was well aware.

That ever since he joined the Gate Division and began clearing gates, Korea’s gate market had drastically changed.

Hadn’t even the leaders of Hexagon and Prime Guild come to see him?

But Su-ho didn’t care in the slightest.

‘What, you think I’m clearing gates to protect your lunch money? I’m doing this for humanity’s survival, not your profit margins.’

That’s why he was clearing every sealed gate in the country, every single one-star gate—everything.

And as a result, the gates were starting to dry up.

It was becoming a real problem.

Su-ho’s level was still only 163.

That’s why he decided it was time to expand into Japan.

‘The more land, the more gates to clear.’

Originally, he had planned to sweep through North Korea next, leveling up through two-star gates.

Japan was supposed to come afterward.

But due to unexpected variables, he’d decided to shift the order of things.

One way or another, he was going to clear them all eventually.

After listening to Su-ho’s explanation, Hiro nodded.

“Given that situation, I understand why you’d look abroad. But you know, right? In Japan, not just the items obtained from domestic gates, but the gates themselves are considered national assets. Allowing foreigners to access them without proper permits causes serious issues.”

“Yes, I understand. That’s exactly why I came to Sumiyoshi.”

A Hunter guild with yakuza roots.

Would they really treat a little illegality as a crime?

At Su-ho’s gilded framing, Hiro chuckled and said,

“Alright. I more or less understand what you want. Now then, how about we talk about your true identity?”

True identity.

Of course, Hiro didn’t believe this kind of deal had come from Su-ho alone.

Who in their right mind would propose a business of this scale on their own?

In response, Su-ho presented the fake business card he’d received from Union’s representative, Ion.

“Union?”

“Yes. We are Union, Korea’s largest underground guild.”

“Hoo...”

Hiro had heard of Union before.

The underground always keeps its ears open to whispers from the dark.

He then gave another small nod upon learning the man before him was Union’s Vice Representative.

‘They could’ve just made up something basic. Why’d they go and make him Vice Rep?’

The name had been tweaked to match Su-ho’s request—Kim Su-ho.

But the title he’d been given was none other than Vice Representative.

The reason they gave him such a lofty position was simple: it would make outside work easier.

Of course, they could’ve called him an executive or managing director, but Vice Representative? Union didn’t even have such a title.

‘Well, not that we have executives or managing directors either.’

Having confirmed Su-ho’s affiliation and title, Hiro gently placed the business card on the table and asked,

“So then, if Sumiyoshi helps Union, what do we get in return?”

“I’ll give you half of Inagawa.”

“...Excuse me?”

“You heard me correctly, Chairman. If Union can clear gates in Japan with Sumiyoshi’s help, I’ll give you half of the Inagawa Guild, which currently ranks third in the industry.”

“What in the world... So that’s why you brought me the Inagawa executive’s finger?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Now it made sense—why he’d brought the finger of an Inagawa executive.

After thinking for a moment, Hiro smiled and asked,

“So something’s going on between Union and Inagawa?”

“Not yet. But there will be.”

“Can you tell me more?”

“If you accept the proposal, I’ll explain. Of course, you’re free to decline. But if you do, I’ll just make a deal elsewhere.”

“Sounds a bit like a threat.”

“It’s a proposal. Union and Sumiyoshi are leagues apart in size—how could this possibly be a threat?”

“Let’s say I believe that. But why us? If it’s about scale, there’s also Yamaguchi.”

“Because Sumiyoshi and Yamaguchi have very different temperaments.”

“How so?”

“Yamaguchi is old school—deeply conservative. They handle problems internally, even when things go wrong. And even when it comes to power or profit, they prefer to divide it among their own people. But they cling too much to tradition, making their systems overly complex and bloated. I’ve also heard they don’t allow gambling. Inagawa is the same. But Sumiyoshi...”

Su-ho trailed off, then looked Hiro dead in the eyes and said,

“Didn’t you personally dismantle the old structure of Sumiyoshi and rebuild it? That’s why it’s now the most progressive and open to growth.”

“Haha, and who told you that?”

“Not someone—it’s clear just from the Blood Pool incident.”

Blood Pool.

At the mention of that event, Hiro’s usual smiling expression hardened for the first time.

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