Chapter 0
On one gallery board, people say that serving as an official under His Majesty King Sejong is something you should never do.
You might think that's utter nonsense—after all, King Sejong is widely regarded as the greatest monarch in Joseon's 500-year history—but there is a reason for it.
King Sejong is indeed the perfect ruler: wiser than anyone else, fair and just, deeply loving of his people, and utterly trusting of his subordinates.
I have no intention of denying that fact, not even a speck of dust's worth... but the problem is this.
If a capable man catches King Sejong's eye, he'll make him Chancellor for life.
It's just like how an especially active poster on a gallery board suddenly goes blue before you know it.
And the more you beg to be allowed to retire, just like Hwang Hui did, the more retirement gets delayed, and King Sejong—who works overtime for the people as if it were second nature—will grind you down to death.
I had no desire to experience that firsthand, either.
Serving a great monarch like King Sejong may be the honor of a lifetime for a retainer, but if you're ground down for decades until you're worn out...
"Please grant this servant, Chancellor Kim Daebung, permission to resign!"
It has been forty years since I began my career in office under King Sejong.
In the original history, he reigned for thirty-two years and died from obesity-related complications and adult-onset diseases... but thanks to my intervention, King Sejong is still in excellent health to this day.
It's good that King Sejong is healthy and long-lived, but the problem is that I've been ground down for that much longer.
So now, at long last, I'm trying to win back my freedom.
"This servant is now old, and my back and legs have lost their strength. My body has grown frail, and I have lost even the sharpness I once had, so I can no longer serve the ancestral shrines and altars of the state."
I had already asked to resign fifteen times.
Now let me retire like Lord Hwang Hui too. I want to live in peace after retiring.
God, Buddha, and the head mod of the alt-history gallery, please...
King Sejong, who was often the very picture of a ruthless taskmaster to his retainers, chuckled and gave this command once again.
"I refuse to permit the Chancellor's resignation. The Chancellor is my Zhuge Liang, my Xiao He, and my Jiang Ziya—how could I possibly let you go?"
...... If I'd known it would come to this, back then I should have...
When I went to the capital for the civil service exam, I shouldn't have snapped at King Sejong when he appeared before me in disguise.
Looking back now, that was basically me putting on a cutesy act and begging the head mod to conscript me...
'What the hell is this, seriously.'