The National Protection Society Heads for Japan
The National Protection Society's mission to Japan. Its official name was the Korean National Protection Association. An organization whose lineage stretched all the way back to the days of the Korean Empire, it was a place filled with people steeped in the rather radical ideology of protecting the Republic of Korea by any means necessary. Thanks to the nature of the group, it was a colossal collective that encompassed everyone from retired soldiers, former National Intelligence Service agents, and hawkish politicians with hardline tendencies to ordinary citizens overflowing with patriotism. Together with the Hongik Patriotic Group—commonly called the Patriotic Group—to which Lee Yanghoon belonged, it formed one of the two great pillars supporting the Republic of Korea, and it was also the organization Park Jinsung's parents had once belonged to.
A place truly overflowing with people who burn like fire.
The National Protection Society had more than its share of extremists. From its very inception, the group had been founded with the goal of restoring sovereignty through armed struggle. A organization already prone to radicalism had then lived through the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War, enduring layer upon layer of national humiliation. It was inevitable that their resentment had fermented into pure poison. As a result, their dislike of Japan had long since crossed over into outright hatred. They burned with a single-minded obsession to exact revenge at the first opportunity.
In fact, before Jinseong's regression, they had succeeded in delivering a spectacular act of retribution. When World War III broke out in his previous timeline, the Society had dispatched four ability users to strike at Japan. One had been Lee Serin, affiliated with the Patriotic Group. Another belonged to the government. The remaining two were from the National Protection Society itself.
Lee Serin had single-handedly reduced Kyoto to ash. The government ability user had roamed Tokyo as if it were his own backyard, assassinating key figures and paralyzing the chain of command. And the two from the National Protection Society? One had gone to Hokkaido, the other to Okinawa. There they had founded and supported anti-government factions, igniting civil war within Japan. One group raised the banner of Ainu ethnic independence, the other the restoration of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The sudden appearance of these two organizations had plunged Japan into shock and terror.
In the midst of that chaos, the Unified Republic of Korea had marched its troops forward, steadily devouring Japan's military strength. Even after the war ended, Japan continued to express its seething hatred toward the National Protection Society. They labeled the group the single greatest obstacle to friendly relations between Korea and Japan, frequently running media campaigns to discredit and attack it.
Since they've taken the bait, making contact should be easy.
This same National Protection Society was also the organization most likely to interfere with Jinseong's own plans. One might ask how a group dedicated to protecting the nation could possibly hinder him, yet their extremism could easily become poison in his hands. The most obvious example was the loss of sorcery.
Before his regression, Jinseong had never been given a proper chance to examine Japanese sorcery. Relations between the two countries had been at their absolute worst. Trade was nearly nonexistent, let alone any exchange between sorcerers. After the war, the situation had grown even more disastrous. Kyoto and Tokyo—where most sorcerous knowledge had been stored—were reduced to rubble. The Japanese imperial palace had vanished without a trace beneath the influence of a grand sorcery. The entire royal family had been exterminated. The Japanese far-right, who had stolen Korean sorcery during the colonial period, died without ever revealing where they had hidden it.
The anti-government groups that had called for Ainu and Ryukyu independence? Their sorcerer leaders, who had doubled as commanders, were slaughtered in the brutal retaliation carried out by the Japanese government. What remained? Nothing. Even if one searched for sorcery in Japan, everything had been reduced to ashes.
Naturally, Jinseong had searched for ways to enter Japan before the country tore itself apart so he could secure that sorcery. Illegal entry was impossible due to the ironclad blockade. Formal entry was, of course, out of the question. As a last resort he had tried to participate as a mercenary, but for some reason both Korea and Japan had rejected him.
That was why Jinseong wanted to make contact with the National Protection Society. He needed an opportunity to seize the sorcery before Japan burned. After killing off the loan sharks, he had deliberately written a letter filled with statements the Society would love. It seemed the combination of heinous crimes and the letter's unusual content had naturally drawn the organization's attention. If they hadn't reacted, he had been prepared to hunt a few more times, so in a way this was fortunate.
Obtaining gold is good, but having it overflow is no better than lacking it entirely.
Thanks to the delivery of the artifacts, he had earned an enormous profit. Money was not an issue. In fact, he had more than enough to last until he registered as a mercenary. What mattered more to the current Jinseong than money was time—time to secure as much sorcery as possible before Japan tore itself apart.
My intuition is favorable. The altered future may yet turn into a blessing in disguise.
Jinseong gazed steadily at Lee Arin.
"Since the practicum has been canceled, that period must now be free."
At his question, Lee Arin answered with obvious excitement.
"They're replacing it with an international exchange program! We're going abroad! What do you think? Jealous? Jealous, right?"
"Abroad, you say."
So this is it.
Jinseong realized that his intuition had been pointing toward this very thing. Lee Arin continued her explanation in a rapid burst. With the practicum canceled, the entire period had opened up. As a result, the school had decided to organize international exchanges with ability-specialized high schools in other countries. Each nation had a set number of slots. Students would list their top three choices, and selection would be done by lottery. Those with excellent grades were exempt from the lottery and could go wherever they wished. Lee Serin, being an honor student, could choose freely, but unfortunately Arin herself would have to go through the lottery.
Her explanation came out less like speech and more like a barrage of words.
"Where do you want to go abroad?"
"Obviously China!"
"China, is it..."
To Jinseong, the current China held little appeal. The countries that interested him were those possessing unique sorcery or highly developed sorcerous traditions, and China satisfied neither condition. Having rejected sorcery as heretical and heterodox for so long, its development had stagnated. Then came the Cultural Revolution, which had destroyed what little remained as relics of the old era. The few practices that somehow survived were barely clinging to life. Even where records existed, the details were missing, requiring endless trial and error to restore.
Because of this, China had committed every imaginable atrocity to fill the void left by sorcery. If they could not have their own, they would simply take someone else's. They dispatched spies to sorcery research facilities and grave robbers to ancient ruins. The sorcery they obtained was then modified and repackaged as their own. It was a method that demanded astronomical sums of money and a horrific number of sacrifices.
Yet this grotesquely inefficient process of grinding people and money into the machine had proven surprisingly effective. In a short time China had produced results. They flaunted their newly created war sorcery to neighboring countries, raising tensions. After World War III erupted, they had used the powerful military sorcery they had developed to sweep through and conquer surrounding nations with unstoppable momentum.
China's military sorcery—born from the fusion of many nations' traditions—possessed a unique character, practicality, and raw power that had been enough to pique even Jinseong's interest. But the China of this timeline had not yet developed that war sorcery.
I only began encountering Chinese people in the ruins after three years of mercenary work. At this point, they probably have nothing more than the basic concept.
Still, it would be quite attractive to Lee Arin. Unlike sorcery, which had practically been stuffed into a coffin, martial arts had developed properly. Though martial arts had also been targeted during the Cultural Revolution, high-level martial artists had risked their lives to protect the legacy. Thanks to them, the brilliant heritage had avoided being used as kindling. As a result, China currently held the undisputed position of leader in all matters related to martial arts.
"First choice, China! Second choice, Russia! Third choice, Japan!"
All countries strong in martial arts.
Third choice... Japan?
Lee Arin's face flushed slightly, as if the mere thought delighted her. Jinseong turned to look at Lee Serin.
"And you?"
"Ah, m-me? I... um..."
Lee Serin glanced at him hesitantly before speaking in a quiet, faltering voice.
"It... it doesn't really matter where..."
It didn't matter where. At those words, a faint smile rose to Jinseong's lips.
"Is that so? Then how would you feel about Japan?"
"Japan?"
"Yes. Japan."
He whispered to her as though sharing a secret.
"I have good information. If you go, you will not regret it."
"G-good information..."
Having overheard, Lee Arin thrust her face between them.
"If you have something like that, you should share it with me too. How stingy, keeping it between just the two of you. Older brother, aren't you showing too much favoritism to your little sister?"
"Of course it will be good information for you as well. It may not be as beneficial as it is for Serin, but you too will gain something that satisfies you sufficiently."
At those words, Lee Arin's eyes flashed for a brief moment. It was the light of instinct, a flash born from a mixture of faint foreboding and unease. The intuition granted by martial arts that imitated beasts and drew upon their power could truly be called animalistic.
"Then I'll put Japan as my first choice. I'll go with Serin."
That instinct was whispering to her that she absolutely had to follow them to Japan.