Chapter 75. To Japan.
Chapter 75. To Japan.
"And why should I even bother to talk to you?"
My flat refusal to hold a conversation clearly caught them off guard.
"Now, now, young man. I really am sorry about the attack. But try seeing it from our side—you're living here safe and sound, and suddenly armed strangers come marching in. How are we supposed to react?"
The man glanced around, hunting for agreement from his group. One by one, the people who caught his eye started nodding along.
'No idea what this guy did before, but he's damn good at whipping people up.'
Maybe it was because I just stared at him in silence, but he crept a little closer and fished a few snacks out of his pocket to offer me.
"Come on, let's just talk for a moment, alright? Fellow survivors sharing information, cooperating—wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Wariness and greed. The wariness came from the question of how we had gotten this far without making a sound. The greed was right alongside it, in the way they eyed our clothes, our weapons, and the women.
As I quietly accepted the snacks, he grabbed me by the forearm and carefully steered me away.
"Hey! Everyone, treat these people with the utmost respect!"
The place he took us had a fairly large number of survivors gathered. But their eyes all held the same emotion: fear.
Then he stood us in front of the crowd and spoke.
"These are the heroes who have come to save us. They are made up of tremendously powerful Awakened and carry solid weaponry, so we have nothing left to worry about...!"
For a moment, a glimmer of joy mixed into the fear in their eyes.
"Just a moment... over here..."
He called me aside on my own and led me toward what looked like a warehouse, where several young women were kept barely clothed.
"What are you trying to pull?"
"Every person has their use. We struggle this hard just to secure food—shouldn't they at least offer us some pleasure?"
"I've heard enough. Sort that out yourselves. We're leaving now, so mind your own business."
I didn't say another word. I just ordered the group to move out—there was nothing here worth looking at.
Seemingly enraged that we wouldn't cooperate so easily, he shouted, making sure everyone else could hear.
"If you have that kind of power, isn't it your duty to help people? Just because you got lucky and became an Awakened...!"
'Lucky?'
"Then you try getting lucky and see if you survive. Yeah... who knows? If you're still alive when we come back in, say, about two months, maybe things will be different."
* * * * * * * *
We were walking back to the helicopter, keeping silent, when the Special Forces Commander spoke up.
"I cannot fathom what those people were after. First they attack, then they completely reverse their attitude..."
"It's simple. 'You're strong, so protect us a little.' That's the freeloader mindset."
"...Are you certain it's acceptable to simply leave the others behind there?"
"Captain... you seem to have a rather deep faith in humanity. People like that are utterly useless to a group. That man, the rest—they're all the same."
They tell themselves they have no choice. Rationalize it as having to adapt to the group—while they use those women like tools. They can't resist? The circumstances are against them? That's none of my concern.
'What, did I bust my ass for 900 years because the circumstances happened to be so favorable?'
"Everyone, get ready. We're crossing over to Japan immediately."
Our group wrapped up maintenance quickly and radioed that we were heading straight to Japan, then we lifted off. And we arrived faster than expected.
At our landing point, we were greeted not by the chief representative, but by an attendant secretary and some translators.
"はじめまして"
"Nice to meet y—"
"My name is Cheon Sihu. Pleased to meet you."
"Heh heh, your Japanese is remarkably fluent... I'd believe you if you said you were a local."
Everyone was wearing the translation artifact Terion had made for us last time, so we could converse without any trouble at all.
"If you'll come this way, the others should be waiting. Please follow me."
'Hm... They're the ones in a hurry, but they want to play a power game?'
They led us into a building that looked like an old traditional hanok and introduced each of their people. Honestly, I had no idea who was who.
'I can pick out the Prime Minister, but... the Chief Cabinet Whatever... Finance Minister... Foreign Minister... There are quite a few of them.'
"We explore the forest, rescue anyone alive, recover the belongings of the dead—and the compensation is the nuclear material, correct?"
"Yes, that is correct, but as to whether it is truly possible..."
"Don't worry. It will be handled quickly."
"To be frank, we've heard about you from Mr. David, but for our part, we would simply be grateful to learn whether our people are alive or dead... Their families are still waiting."
"Families... Are you housing more people than I assumed?"
"Japan has always taken heavy damage from earthquakes. Because of that, we built a great many shelters. Whether it was misfortune or fortune, a large number of people survived when this crisis broke out."
"Then the operation..."
"You've traveled a long way and endured much to come here. Please, let us discuss things slowly over a meal."
Uniquely, they set a separate table for each person and continued the conversation over drinks and food. Whenever a bottle ran dry, neatly dressed attendants circulated to refill them.
'I'd have needed to be a local to recognize any of this...'
After the awkward dinner with the old men ended and the tables were cleared, the conversation went on.
"It was truly strange. Once they advanced beyond a certain distance, all communications—every radio and bodycam—filled with noise and cut out. And then, they never returned."
The cause was probably powerful mana disrupting the signals. But these people wouldn't have known that, and when the first team didn't come back, they most likely sent more personnel in to assess the situation.
"Naturally, the additional personnel we sent in did not come back either..."
"How much do you happen to know about Awakened?"
"Pardon? What does that suddenly have to do with..."
"The power Awakened use is called mana. The reason your communications cut out was most likely powerful mana wavelengths."
As if he hadn't won his position by bluffing with a bad hand, he instantly grasped the meaning of what I'd said.
"Then... are you saying a powerful Awakened is inside that forest?"
"If it's human, that would be the best case. Haven't you heard from Commander David?"
"...Ah. You're referring to those creatures that resemble humans—the magical beasts."
"Yes. And with high probability, it's that giant bird captured in the photos you sent us."
"From the position of one who requested your cooperation, saying this may sound a little ridiculous, but... is this truly possible for you?"
He brought the subject up cautiously, waving his hands as he went on.
"I have heard from Mr. David how strong you are, but...!"
'Chief Cabinet Secretary? Was that what they called him?'
He'd asked for our cooperation and yet was now voicing concern out of worry for us. At heart, he seemed like a man closer to genuinely decent.
"Minister? I understand what you're worried about. But it's not as if we're fighting such a monster. We're merely surveying the situation, aren't we?"
"Heh heh, please feel free to just call me by my name."
'Was his name Fujiwara Tatsuya...? Which part's the given name?'
"Mr. Tatsuya, when shall we proceed with the operation, then?"
At being addressed by his first name, his eyes widened in surprise as he replied.
"Your Japanese is this accomplished, and yet you're unfamiliar with Japanese culture, I see."
He chuckled and explained that normally you call someone by their surname, and only switch to the given name once you've grown close...
Just then, a commotion rose outside, the door flew open, and several men and women stormed in.
"Minister! We told you we are perfectly sufficient on our own—why did you go begging for help from a wretched place like that?"
'A wretched place?'
Apparently, a small faction had come to protest, full of grievances. The others trailing behind them seemed to be trying to halt the outburst, continually urging them to stop.
"What is the meaning of this rudeness?!"
"The Minister may have argued strongly for it, but the Prime Minister was never particularly enthusiastic about the idea either. To these Joseon scum..."
'Alright, I listened, I really did, but now this fucker's gonna...'
More furious than I was, Chaeyeon lashed out at him with some rough language.
"Hey, you piece of shit! What the hell are you spouting right to someone's face?"
Not yet knowing that we could all understand Japanese, they stared at Chaeyeon with shocked eyes. And honestly, I was shocked too. For a different reason...
They ran their lecherous eyes over Chaeyeon and spoke.
"Heh, they always said Joseon women were pretty, but one who even speaks our language? Even better. How about you ditch that scrawny punk and come over here with us?"
"What's this monkey-looking bastard yapping about? You look like you wouldn't even last one punch against Sihu, and yet you're running your mouth..."
She'd rattled all that off with machine-gun speed, and Chaeyeon's face looked thoroughly refreshed. Jia was beside her, grinning and giving a thumbs up, saying, 'Unnie, you're the best!'
But their arrows turned toward me.
"Hey! Joseon bastard, come on, then. Let's you and me have a go."
Realizing a line had just been crossed that should never have been crossed, his own companions hastily tried to stop him. Naturally, the Chief Cabinet Secretary also jumped in to restrain them.
Another middle-aged man entered, having evidently heard the ruckus.
'That's the Prime Minister from before? Has he come to mediate?'
"A test of strength wouldn't be such a bad idea."
Inside my mind, the lines between us and them were slowly being drawn. That shrewd Prime Minister probably egged them on.
"Shouldn't someone who comes to help us not prove weaker than us?"
Thinking they wouldn't be able to understand anyway, I muttered to myself in Korean.
"Fucking amateurs... this should be fun..."
"Hik!"
The moment the words left my mouth, I locked eyes with a girl who looked like a scruffy little puppy. She seemed to have understood me.
"Very well. But doing it for nothing would be boring. How about we add one condition?"
"A condition?"
"The winner gets his every word obeyed by the loser."
Not even entertaining the thought that they might lose, the Prime Minister and the man were already grinning from ear to ear.
'Sigh... well, some people really do need to eat shit to know what it tastes like...'
"Then let's hold a friendly sparring match, to build a little camaraderie."
Judging by their expressions, they had no intention of treating this as just a friendly sparring match.