Chapter 22: No Charges

“Therefore…”

“No charge due to insufficient evidence…”

“Decision not to indict!”

“We did it! Ms. Fride!”

“Yes! It turned out well!”

After several more rounds of investigation, the decision not to indict was made for me.

The reason was ‘insufficient evidence’, naturally.

Gaechon City is still under access control by the Pyongyang Defense Force. All telephone lines leading to Gaechon were cut beforehand.

Not a single ant, not a single phone call, not a single strand of text. Nothing can enter or leave Gaechon City.

This is the victory of justice.

The recorded video couldn’t serve as evidence.

‘Image quality is very poor.’

‘Possibility of manipulation exists due to advancements in AI technology.’

‘Does not capture the overall situation.’

The soldier who filmed the video, which was rejected for such reasons, has already been dealt with.

Of course, I didn’t kill him.

I’m not a psycho…

Sent him to prison according to regulations.

Separate from the prosecution’s decision not to indict, the parliamentary investigation continued.

Those guys were tearing into me like crazy; I seriously considered blowing them away but held back.

Because I am a law-abiding citizen.

Testimony as a witness before the National Assembly Special Committee for Parliamentary Investigation.

Of course, the witness here refers to me. A few other Pyongyang Defense Force officers attended, but naturally, I was the protagonist.

“Territory Reclamation Commander, General Yakovlena El Fride, has appeared.”

“Witness, I’ll ask you directly. Was there a civilian massacre in Gaechon?”

“There was no order for a civilian massacre. At least not in my orders.”

“Witness! This is an official setting!”

Park Jeonghun, sitting next to me, interrupts.

“The witness is suffering from aftereffects due to a long life in another world. We ask for the honorable members’ generous understanding.”

“What does that have to do with this! You! How old are you?”

That assemblyman who’s been yelling at me since earlier belongs to the opposition party. Looks like he’s in charge of action within the party.

And he’s in his 60s.

“I’ve probably lived five times longer than you.”

“Assemblyman Park, please calm down.”

The chairman steps in to mediate.

“Hoo… Understood.”

“Anyway, witness, according to your statement, there was no direct order for a civilian massacre, correct?”

“Correct. In fact, according to the documents submitted by Pyongyang, civilian deaths were minimal, mostly friendly fire incidents caused by the Korean People’s Army.”

“Well said. According to those documents, there were quite a few civilian injuries. How do you explain this?”

“I used magic targeting the enemy garrison. If you look at this video…”

I requested playback of a video.

A video showing me casting magic.

The video contained scenes from me chanting to the explosion occurring.

-Thwooom!!

-“What’s that wind..!”

An assemblyman with his mouth agape asked.

“That… Is that possibly a nuclear bomb?”

“You saw it, didn’t you? It’s magic I used.”

“Perhaps, it emits radiation or something like that…”

“None. You could call it an eco-friendly attack.”

“Anyway, the civilian casualties occurred because North Korea’s dilapidated and hastily built structures collapsed due to the shock of the explosion.”

“Shouldn’t you have anticipated civilian casualties and established measures to prevent them?”

What kind of bullshit is this…

“We did our best. We gave warnings well in advance, and even distributed leaflets announcing the operation using transport planes the day before. What more should we have done?”

“No, still…”

“Assemblyman Park, during World War II, the United States also gave warnings before bombing the Japanese archipelago. Is that also a problem?”

“Speak after obtaining permission!”

“Chairman, I request permission to speak.”

“Go ahead.”

“Witness’s statement means that warnings were given in advance, and civilians were not targeted… meaning magic wasn’t used against them, correct?”

“Precisely.”

“That being said, I believe we need to hear the truth about the execution of the leadership of the Gaechon City Workers’ Party branch.”

“Requesting permission to speak. Witness, executing surrendered prisoners is a violation of the Third Geneva Convention, the ‘Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War’. Are you aware?”

“I am aware.”

“It is also a direct violation of Ministry of National Defense Directive No. 1094, ‘Directive for Compliance with the Laws of War’, Chapter 4, Articles 11 and 12 regarding commander’s responsibility and treatment of prisoners.”

“I am aware of that as well.”

“And you did it knowing that?”

“First, there’s something you need to know. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and its de facto successor, the Pyongyang Reconstruction Government, have never ratified the Geneva Conventions.”

“The territory north of the armistice line is also territory of the Republic of Korea under the Constitution!”

“Then you must also know that under the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, North Korea is an anti-state organization? The target of the operation was the remnant of an anti-state organization.”

“So now, are you saying there was no problem with the order to hang them?”

“I never said I ordered them to be hanged.”

“Then what about the videos circulating?”

“We are conducting our own internal investigation regarding that matter.

However, as the prosecution also concluded, either the image quality is too low leading to misidentification, or it’s manipulation using AI technology. Well, I suspect it’s one of the two.”

“Wouldn’t investigating Gaechon City quickly resolve the matter? Why is Gaechon City still sealed off? Isn’t it a ploy to destroy evidence?”

“As I keep saying, due to the worsening public security…”

“Then why are communications cut off!”

“If remnants remain and contact organizations outside, wouldn’t that be a major problem in itself? It was a measure taken for pre-emptive blocking.”

“■■■■!!”

“□□□□!!”

The first witness examination ended like this.

With the dogfight between ruling and opposition party members, with the barrage of questions from dimwitted assemblymen who couldn’t grasp the point, with the despicable bastards for whom approval ratings were more important than truth.

Several other Pyongyang Defense Force commanders also appeared as witnesses, but there were no significant results.

Perhaps because they all had experience surviving under the Kim dynasty, they skillfully dodged the questions.

The Special Committee for Parliamentary Investigation ended anticlimactically.

Through feigned ignorance, through the dual status of the Pyongyang Reconstruction Government, through insufficient evidence.

-[“The Unified Korea Party held an off-site rally, insisting on extending the parliamentary investigation.

Unified Korea Party floor leader Kim Mujin revealed his determination to extend the investigation, saying, ‘We will not stop the fight for truth.'”]

-[“Meanwhile, the Democratic Liberty Party dismissed the Unified Korea Party’s claims as ‘absurd whining’.”]

These are chaotic times.

-[“Another major crime involving a Powered Individual has occurred. This is a large supermarket in Gimpo, splattered with blood. The suspect is Mr. Kim in his 30s; over 10 casualties occurred. Mr. Kim was shot dead by the dispatched Vigilantes and Dimensional Special Forces. Police are investigating the circumstances of the incident…”]

-[“The bill allowing Powered Individuals to belong to general corporations, the so-called ‘Vigilante Privatization Bill’, takes effect today. Some criticize it, saying corporations are creating private armies…”]

-[“The Workers’ Party of Korea Reconstruction Committee released a statement via SNS today. They declared, ‘We will rebuild the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, we will reclaim Pyongyang, the capital of revolution’…”]

Internally as well.

-[“The UN Security Council held a vote on the use of nuclear weapons against the super-giant monster known as the ‘Sea Dragon’ that appeared in the Indian Ocean. …(omitted)… By exercising the veto, the Sea Dragon will continue to block the Indian Ocean and disrupt international maritime trade.”]

-[“There was a large-scale monster movement near the Chinese border. The Chinese government claimed it was ‘natural movement of monsters, not intentional herding’. The monsters that crossed the border were dealt with by the Pyongyang Defense Force and dispatched Vigilantes.”]

-[“Seven years have already passed since coups occurred in major South American countries like Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. Most were coups by military factions led by Powered Individuals…”]

Externally too.

To end these chaotic times…

“A new order is always necessary.”

***

I returned to my workplace, the Territory Reclamation Command Headquarters, for the first time in a while.
Along with Ion.

And the workplace I saw after a long time… had changed significantly from before.

That… is me?

A huge poster plastered on the garrison entrance, a drawing of me.

The inside was even more spectacular. Not only was I drawn on the building walls, but my portrait was hung in every single space.

The written words were also dizzying.

Defend the Immortal General to the death?

The Nation’s New Sun?

Uphold the Commander Comrade with armed force?

Hey you…

“Major General Kim!!!”

I kicked open the door to Major General Kim’s office and entered.

“S-Supreme Commander Comrade!”

“Are you crazy?”

“Wh-What are you referring to?”

“Start by explaining the pictures hanging everywhere and the portrait placed above your head.”

“That… I thought you might like it…”

Huh.

“I like it though? I can see the General everywhere “

Is that so?

“Th-That’s right! Our soldiers also deeply respect the General…”

“It’s all fine, just don’t hang them in the city center. I’m not the leader of this country.”

Besides, having my face plastered all over the country is something I already experienced in my past life.

With phrases praising me in Albheim, And with phrases hating me in enemy nations.

“More importantly, have you roughly handled what I mentioned?”

“Yes, I have. I will report on the current status.”

“First, the Military Security Bureau.”

Major General Kim had created exactly what I described, perfectly.

Military Security Bureau officers densely packed from corps-level units down to company and platoon levels. It must have been hard to find so many personnel.

He even brought back those who worked in former North Korean intelligence agencies to establish the semblance of an intelligence agency.

“Good.”

“Thank you!”

“Furthermore…”

The Special Warfare Brigade, a direct unit of the Territory Reclamation Command, was established.

Personnel were mostly recruited from volunteers among those with good physical strength and physique, and it even included a company composed solely of Powered Individuals identified through testing all soldiers for ‘This Ability’ manifestation.

My personal guard, you could say.

Ion was seated as the Special Warfare Brigade Commander.

Because she is the person I trust the most.

***

Late at night, Hero Kim Minsu met with someone.

“Oppa, why did you call me at this hour…”

The Hero met with some woman. Are they on a date?

“Well… there’s something I need help with.”

“Is it catching monsters coming from Manchuria again? I’m sick of it.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it? It’s not something difficult, right?”

“I’ll explain.”

“If it’s difficult, I’m going home.”

“Listen.”