Chapter 052
< So-ye's Special Overnight Trip >
52
Tokyo, Japan, secret conference room inside the Prime Minister's Official Residence.
It was late at night, but the lights didn't go out.
"......."
Tanaka Genji, a giant muscular man in a military uniform, threw his gaze out the window. Beyond the window, a garden that looked like it had moved the Kyoto ancient palace as it was unfolded.
A beautiful and quiet landscape where the dignity of Japan was felt.
But now, that beautiful landscape felt like something full of unpleasantness to Tanaka.
The reason was clear.
The dignity of Japan, the pride of Japan, the honor of Japan.
Those beautiful values were being defiled by a single person from an unidentified foreign nation.
‘Hah. A benefactor? That strange freak who appeared riding a Gorani?’
Tanaka threw his gaze at the round table in the conference room. High-ranking officials of the Japanese government were gathered, flipping through documents and hardening their expressions.
Half of them had been talking throughout the meeting.
That thanks to Gorani Man 12, the current Japan could be sound.
Nonsense.
If it weren't for that existence with the unpleasant name, Japan would have been erased from the map by now?
Tanaka could not recognize that fact.
Tanaka, having adjusted his breath, requested the right to speak and then stood up from his seat.
“If we do not call this a humiliation, just what can we call a humiliation.”
The shout of General Tanaka, the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defense, echoed in the conference room.
Tanaka Genji, he was an individual counted as extreme right even among the hardliners.
He is a high-ranking military officer symbolizing the nation's military after the Emperor, commanding every unit of the land, sea, and air Self-Defense Forces.
“Our final weapon Amenonuhoko failed, and an unidentified foreigner appeared and solved our disaster. But as a reward, the system snatched a part of Okinawa's territory as his possession. Furthermore, did he not take even the Disaster Flower, the root of the disaster, and are we going to just leave it as it is!”
At his fierce opposition, several cabinet members nodded in agreement.
Tanaka raised his voice even more high-spiritedly.
“Everyone, snap to your senses. Do you think that person named Gorani Man really helped us out of pure goodwill? No way. That person is just a cunning looter who approached while targeting the Disaster Flower from the beginning. He used our disaster to take his own profit.”
The logic was simple.
Japan's crisis must be overcome by Japan's power, and any intervention from foreign powers is a violation of sovereignty.
Even if that foreign power saved Japan.
“We did not receive grace; rather we were robbed of even larger things! That guy stole our territory and a powerful force we might have been able to control······ the Disaster Flower. Yet do we have to call him a benefactor and bow? This is an insult to the great Japanese samurai spirit! We must identify that Gorani Man's identity immediately and reclaim everything he unfairly took.”
At Tanaka's inflammatory speech, the atmosphere of the conference room turned hostile in an instant.
Provocative terms like stolen territory and national pride were shaking the cabinet members' hearts.
Exactly then, the Prime Minister opened his mouth.
“······General Tanaka.”
“Yes, Excellency.”
“Could you explain the secret order you gave to the Kage (Shadow) unit belonging to the Self-Defense Forces Special Operations Group last night?”
In an instant, Tanaka's face turned white.
The Prime Minister continued coldly.
“The order to identify Gorani Man's identity and suppress him in case of emergency······ did you think I wouldn't know?”
“Th-that was to protect the nation's sovereignty······!”
“Shut up!”
The Prime Minister struck the desk.
“You talk about patriotism, but that is treason! That Okinawa territory you're talking about, if the Disaster Flower had fully bloomed, it would have been a giant submerged area by now without a trace! Is it so frustrating that land that would have vanished anyway returned to Japan's benefactor!”
The Prime Minister's words were a more rational and valid reality than anything.
Since it was a thing proved by satellite data and simulation results.
The analysis that if the Disaster Flower bloomed, the resulting mana tsunami would sweep the entire Okinawa and threaten the southern part of Kyushu was already reported.
It was a judgment the Prime Minister made based on data.
“And we were robbed of the Disaster Flower? That was the seed of a disaster that almost turned the entire Japanese archipelago into a sea of fire! Is it patriotism you talk about to try to make an enemy of such a benefactor? That is a betrayal of the nation!”
He was a Prime Minister famous for his gentle personality.
Since he took office, no one had seen him being this furious.
The entire conference room froze at his roar.
“······.”
Tanaka could say nothing.
The Prime Minister gestured toward the security guards.
“Drag him out. Investigate him for treason.”
Only then did Tanaka realize that he was completely finished.
He flinched in surprise and began to struggle while asking to be saved.
“Ex-Excellency! I am a patriot, for Japan······!”
But the Prime Minister just stared at Tanaka coldly as if he were a bug.
And he added quietly, but so that everyone in the conference room could hear.
“Not just treason, but search thoroughly for every corruption this person committed. Bribery, abuse of power, missing nothing.”
“······Pa-pardon?”
“Stripping the military uniform is not enough. Take away everything he built up in his life and bury him socially. Make an example of him so that no one ever dares to insult Japan's benefactor again!”
“······!”
At that cold command, the blood completely drained from Tanaka's face.
Tanaka's life could be considered finished as of today.
“Ex-Excellency! Excellency!!! Please just one mercy······!”
As Tanaka was dragged out in a miserable state, only heavy silence remained in the conference room.
The Prime Minister said while looking at the Foreign Minister Sugawara.
“Sugawara, contact the South Korean side. Say that this incident was an arbitrary action by some hardliners, and that the Japanese government has absolutely no intention of offending Gorani Man 12-nim. Inform them quickly that the Japanese government will responsibly guarantee Gorani Man-nim's safety and peace.”
“Yes! I will take measures immediately!”
Every cabinet member was restless for fear that this news would enter Gorani Man 12's ears and offend him.
They were now painfully realizing that to touch Gorani Man was the same as making an enemy of the entire Japan.
Repaying his grace was the only way to survive.
* * *
Sea area near Okinawa, US Navy 7th Fleet Aegis cruiser Princeton.
“Captain, 5km before the target point.”
The cruiser equipped with cutting-edge stealth functions was approaching Okinawa soundlessly.
Their mission was only one.
To precisely analyze the traces Gorani Man left and the land where the Disaster Flower was.
“Maintain approach speed. Prepare search drone launch.”
In the moment the Captain gave the order.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A sharp alarm echoed throughout the bridge along with red warning lights.
[Warning. You have approached Gorani Man 12-nim's sacred territory without permission.]
[Warning. The guardians of the territory are watching you. If you do not leave immediately, survival cannot be guaranteed.]
“Wh-what!”
While the crew were flustered, on the giant sonar screen, an unbelievable thing was captured.
From under the sea, two shadows the size of an aircraft carrier were rising toward the cruiser at a terrifying speed.
“Ju-just what on earth are those······?”
The top-tier monsters Kraken of the Deep Sea and the Ancient Hydra that survived the Rift.
No, rather than surviving, they were things that barely saved their lives because they hid their bodies deep in the sea.
-Gr-r-r-r-r-r······
-Ssssss······
Those fellows, who instinctively recognized the new master of this land, willingly offered their submission.
And they had just been reborn as the loyal sentinels of this sea.
-WHA-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-!!!
The two monsters exploded with anger toward the lump of iron that invaded their new master's territory.
Dozens of the Kraken's tentacles rose while parting the sea, and the Hydra's nine heads began to glow while holding mana cannons of each different attribute.
In their eyes, only a blind loyalty to destroy everything that defied the master was burning.
Every crew member on the cruiser bridge froze while looking at the two giant shadows floating on the giant sonar screen, which displays underwater objects through sound waves.
“Th-those kinds of monsters were here?”
“Makes no sense······! They're much larger than the individuals in the data!”
That was true.
The two monsters had mutated into much more powerful monsters, already far exceeding the level existing individuals possessed, while absorbing the chaotic energy left by the Disaster Flower.
The entire ship let out a creaking scream just from the killing intent they emitted.
“······Retreat. At full speed.”
The Captain gave the order while sweating cold sweat.
He recalled the video he saw in the White House recently.
That moment of overwhelming destruction when the meteor fell from the sky.
The man seen in the video was an overwhelming monster.
And now, the situation was that he was even handling such powerful monsters underwater.
The US soldiers who approached the island just in case had no choice but to retreat while sweating. Because they couldn't dare to completely cross paths with Gorani Man 12.
‘But······ that land.’
[Chaos Ebony Wood] that turned black after receiving the disaster's energy.
[Mana Crystal Vein] glowing blue as mana was condensed.
Those were all treasures with values that couldn't be converted into money, used as materials for top-tier artifacts.
‘What a waste, such a waste!’
He was greedy, but it couldn't be helped.
If life is precious, not touching what's not one's own was the secret to a long life.
From the retreating ship, the Captain stared greedily at the altered nature of Okinawa for the last time.
And he thought.
‘The one who handles those monsters of the sea as subordinates, and takes that land of miracles as his territory······ Gorani Man, just what kind of existence is he.’
Fear and awe for the unknown strongman didn't leave his head.
* * *
Seoul Central University Hospital, pediatric ward.
“That day has come today again.”
I forced a smile at the doctor's words.
The day the results of So-ye’s periodic checkup come out.
Over the last few years, there were no days that remained as good memories on this day.
‘There's no progress.’
‘The state has worsened.’
Every time I heard such words, hope was chipped away little by little.
But now, since So-ye has improved much, I could wait a bit more calmly today.
“You don't have to be tense.”
“Pardon?”
The doctor said in an excited voice while showing me So-ye’s chart.
“It's a miracle! So-ye’s mana resistance level has risen to 3 times the level of an average person. It means that now even if an average low-rank Rift pops nearby, the autoimmune system can sufficiently defend. Of course she's not fully recovered yet, so overdoing it is forbidden.”
There had never been such a hopeful result.
I grasped the doctor's hand out of overwhelming emotion.
“······So, you mean it's possible for one day today?”
“Actually, even if she's discharged right now, there would be no problem at all, but since So-ye is young, I’d like to watch the progress a bit more. There's no harm in being careful. For now, one day today is possible.”
The doctor nodded with a happy expression.
I expressed gratitude to the doctor several times and headed to So-ye’s hospital room.
“So-ye.”
“Oppa!”
“Today, I brought good news.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
So-ye, who was drawing on the bed, tilted her head and looked at me.
“Today, let's go to our country house.”
“······Hmm?”
“We’re going to stay and come back after one night, how about it?”
Overnight trip.
Over the last few years, it was a word So-ye couldn't even imagine.
Life was in danger just by being exposed to the air outside the hospital.
Even though she barely takes walks now, not even half a day's outing was allowed.
So-ye was just blinking her eyes, as if she couldn't understand my words.
“······Really? Is it real, Oppa? It's not a lie?”
I laughed and stroked the head of So-ye, whose eyes were round as if she couldn't believe it.
“Let's pack Bunny, so we can go right now.”
< So-ye's Special Overnight Trip > END