Chapter 2: Tomb Raider King (2)

“Did that idiot disappear again?”

Seeing Joo-Heon’s empty seat, Julian rubbed his forehead.

“The international conference is just around the corner! How is the person in charge supposed to disappear at a time like this?!”

That was right.

The world had changed because of Joo-Heon.

[Seo Joo-Heon completes the socialization of relics under the “Majesty” system.]

[The International Relic Research Institute will oversee the processing and distribution of relics.]

[“Tomb raiding” for personal profit is a crime; research has value.]

Everyone believed in it.

Well.

Everyone except one person.

“Hey, Majesty isn’t allowed to raid tombs!”

“What? And why not?”

“Because you’re not!”

“Isn’t it supposed to be public property? If nobody’s there, then I can keep it, right?”

“Is this really Majesty?!”

Meanwhile, someone was still looting relics that very day.

The same man who had established the treaty prohibiting the private ownership of relics was also the one violating it the most.

His name was Seo Joo-Heon.

The legendary Tomb Raider King.

And once again, a door had just opened somewhere.

Faster than anyone else.

Before anyone else.

As a result, the only ones who suffered were his teammates.

“This time… ugh… he went to a closed-off country.”

Yoo Jae-Ha, who was observing a map relic, let out a deep sigh.

“Why does he always choose countries with dictatorships, censorship, or shoot-on-sight orders?!”

“Hahaha! Our captain really is on another level.”

Behind the hero who had saved the world stood a group of companions who always supported him.

Lee Seol-Ah, an intelligence expert.

Julian, the user of Zhuge Liang’s relic, his right-hand man, even though he had grabbed him by the neck more times than he could count.

Ilya, a former Catholic priest who wielded demonic relics.

Yoo Jae-Ha, a restorer who ended up becoming Joo-Heon’s exclusive slave after trying to scam him.

Chloe, a doctor who beat up her patients before treating them.

And Dan, a tank whose power rivaled that of a weapon of mass destruction.

Every one of them had been betrayed by their former employers and had died once before being saved by Joo-Heon.

That was why the bond between them was so strong.

But.

“This time he didn’t even apply for an official relic excavation permit. He just went in.”

At Ilya’s amused laughter, Seol-Ah tried to defend him.

“B-But the tracking system detected him… um… although he just disappeared.”

“What did you just say?! We lost his signal?!”

Julian’s eyes flew open.

“The same person who created the Guardian System to prevent illegal tomb raiding is now bypassing it to raid tombs?!”

“It would seem so.”

Ilya’s calm reply made Julian rub the bridge of his nose again.

No.

Even if it was a headache, everything would be fine.

“Relax. That guy has a sense of responsibility as Majesty. He’ll just go take a look at the relic and then put it back where it belongs…”

Hearing that, Seol-Ah spoke hesitantly.

“Well… um… they said he already took everything.”

“…Excuse me?”

“He didn’t leave behind a single relic. He emptied it. Completely.”

“……”

“So you’re telling me that Majesty personally excavated a tomb declared public heritage and then stored every relic in his private warehouse?!”

Julian exploded with rage.

The others merely looked away.

“And what about the international law prohibiting the privatization of relics?!”

Julian felt his head spinning.

He had thought that after getting married, Joo-Heon would finally mature a little.

But.

Things had gotten even worse.

[Majesty has completed the acquisition.]

Every member of the team received the same message.

Cold sweat ran down their backs.

“Acquisition…? What the hell did he acquire this time?”

With trembling hands, Seol-Ah opened the details.

“Ah… this time…”

Her lips began to tremble.

[He has acquired the “Emperor’s Tomb.”]

Everyone turned pale.

“N-No way… Are they talking about… the Emperor’s Tomb? The world’s number one ruin that must never be opened?”

“Wasn’t it a completely restricted area?!”

“No! It wasn’t even an unexplored zone! Entry was strictly forbidden!”

“In that country, they consider the Emperor a god!”

“He acquired… the tomb of a god?”

Yoo Jae-Ha grabbed his head.

“…This is really bad. A war is going to break out. They’re going to call an international conference.”

“…Besides, that tomb was already the cause of military standoffs between three neighboring countries.”

When even Ilya added that remark, Julian finally lost it.

“I thought he’d finally calmed down a little! Why did he start again right after getting Isis’s Venom Fang?!”

In the end, representatives from dozens of countries added the following item to the international conference agenda.

「Emergency Discussion Regarding Seo Joo-Heon’s Private Use of Relics」

“If he himself enacted the law prohibiting the private appropriation of relics, shouldn’t he be the first to obey it?”

“Besides, it wasn’t even a tomb with an official research permit.”

Then Seol-Ah answered carefully.

“N-No… Our captain only went to… ‘inspect’ the relics beforehand.”

“Inspect them?”

“I mean… to loot them before the researchers arrived… N-No! I meant to check their danger level!”

“……”

Everyone’s expressions turned cold.

Even they themselves felt embarrassed by such an explanation.

Especially Julian, who looked like he wanted nothing more than to run away.

At that moment, Egypt’s representative spoke.

“Did you know that Majesty officially registered the name of that tomb as ‘The Tomb Raider King’s Resting Room’?”

The expressions on both the international representatives and the team members were something to behold.

But the truly absurd part came next.

[Seo Joo-Heon]

A video call suddenly appeared on the massive screen in the conference hall.

“C-Captain?”

Seol-Ah accepted the call.

Joo-Heon appeared on the screen, tilting his head slightly.

[Hey. What the hell are you all doing? Why isn’t anyone answering the phone? Do you all have a death wish?]

“We’re at an international summit, Captain…”

[Ah. Was that today? Sorry, I’m a little busy right now.]

“…And what exactly are you doing?”

[I’m in a tomb.]

“…What tomb?”

[I don’t know. But I found it first, so it’s mine.]

“…Captain, we just told you that area is in the middle of an international conflict.”

[Yeah. But the moment I walked in, they stopped fighting. I guess they got scared.]

“……”

[Anyway, I’m busy. We’ll talk later. Oh, by the way, since you’re all gathered, change my title too. ‘Tomb Raider King’ sounds too outdated. How about ‘Tomb Raider Emperor’?]

“……Is he really our captain?”

[Of course. The thief of the world’s public resources, the mythological-class fugitive, the sworn enemy of the ancient gods… and your captain.]

Click.

The call was disconnected.

Representatives from every country lowered their heads at the same time.

Julian broke the silence as he adjusted his glasses.

“…Was it really a good idea to put this person in the highest position?”

Then Ilya and Yoo Jae-Ha looked up at the ceiling.

“We can’t remove him. According to the relic system, the Captain possesses the highest authority as Majesty.”

“……”

Once again, silence filled the room.

In the end, the international conference could only cry out in unison, as though everyone shared the exact same thought.

‘Ah! What the hell are those ghosts doing? Why haven’t they come to take him away already?!’

***

That day, Joo-Heon returned home early for the first time.

When his wife, Irene, welcomed him at the front door, he was holding an envelope in his hand.

“Huh? Didn’t you go to a tomb today?”

“No.”

It was a brief reply.

However, Irene immediately understood why when she saw what he pulled out of the envelope.

After all, they were pregnancy tests.

Five of them, to be exact.

“…Joo-Heon, we already checked.”

“What if?”

“But did you really have to buy five?”

“I’m leaving one at each office.”

Irene let out a soft laugh.

Seeing her husband so excited—something very unusual for him—made her heart pound.

With that same excitement, they went to the hospital.

“Congratulations. You’re five weeks pregnant. Do you see this tiny gestational sac?”

Joo-Heon took the ultrasound.

He stared at it for a long time.

Without saying a single word.

He simply kept looking at it in silence.

Then he gently caressed Irene and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Irene knew.

That was Joo-Heon’s way of expressing his happiness and gratitude.

That night, Joo-Heon was so excited that he couldn’t fall asleep until very late.

He took out the ultrasound.

Put it away.

Took it out again.

He repeated that about fifty times.

The only thing still bothering him was the red message that had appeared when he obtained Isis’s Venom Fang.

[The Administrator of this world and Majesty No. 187487 have been registered.]

[As a result, Seo Joo-Heon has obtained the right to participate in the War of the Majesties.]

[The Forced Reset of Humanity has begun ♥]

[The scenario of humanity’s extinction at the hands of the honorable Relics has begun ♥]

Those words kept running through his mind.

‘Judging by the way it’s worded, it’s definitely a relic.’

He searched everywhere.

But he found nothing significant.

So he decided to ask his companion relic.

The Three-Legged Crow relic, the very one that had sent him back to the past and led him to the position of Majesty.

“Now that I’m Majesty, what do you think that warning means?”

As always, Crow responded through a blue system window.

[I think it’s a prank from some relic that hasn’t been discovered yet.]

“Yeah?”

With that in mind, he returned home and finally tried to get some sleep.

But then—

[A proposal has arrived for Majesty No. 187487.]

“!”

A new message window appeared before him.

However, something was strange.

It wasn’t Crow’s usual blue window.

It was an entirely red window.

Joo-Heon sat up, intrigued.

The message said something unexpected.

[Please select the policy that Majesty No. 187487 will follow.]

A policy?

‘What does this mean?’

Now that he had become Majesty—a king—did he have to decide how he would rule the world?

However, the choices were completely unexpected.

[Obedience]

— Register humanity as a resource for the relics.

— Humanity will become a colony and a source of nourishment for the relics, but your world will gain even greater power and prosperity.

— The Majesty and his bloodline will be guaranteed freedom and will forever receive the favor and protection of the relics.

[Massacre]

— Grants the Majesty the authority of [Erase].

— You may personally eliminate criminals, enemies, or anyone you dislike, and build your own utopia.

[Abandonment]

— Maintain the current state.

— You will receive no protection from the relics, and humanity must face every calamity on its own.

“What…?”