The Kurotsukidoo Purge Operation
The boys all rushed toward me at my gesture. Seeing them bow politely to the Russian pilot who had flown them this far, it seemed they at least had basic manners.
“Anything happen on the way here?”
“No, sir.”
Choi Jinhwa, who possessed the petrification ability, answered on behalf of the group. As he spoke, a military transport truck approached us. The window of the truck that stopped in front rolled down, and a soldier asked me,
“Are you the director from East Weapon?”
“That’s correct.”
At my reply, the soldier stepped out of the driver’s seat and opened the rear door for us. Since it was a transport vehicle, quite a few people could fit in the back—around fifteen or so. The hurried way he opened the door suggested the battle situation wasn’t looking good.
“Please get in. The situation is urgent.”
“Understood. But on the way, could we stop by the nearest hotel first? I need to drop these kids off…”
“Of course. There’s a small place called Metro Hotel along the route. I’ll stop there for you.”
I got in first, then had the rescued boys and girls board after me. Since I wasn’t getting off midway, it made sense for me to sit first. The soldier glanced back from the driver’s seat to confirm everyone was aboard before pulling out. I called the Metro Hotel and reserved two rooms. Not knowing how many days it would take, I booked for about five days. Honestly, I had promised Yukiko a summer trip in four days, so I hoped this would wrap up before then.
“Here’s a card. I don’t know how many days it’ll take, but treat it like a trip to sightsee around Akita and have fun. I’ll be back within five days at the latest.”
I pulled out the card my salary was deposited into and handed it to Konoe Akina, the oldest among them and a Japanese native who would be familiar with the area. Originally it was an account I used to immediately withdraw my pay and invest in Health Miracle, but after the company skyrocketed and I sold the stocks, I’d been using it like a regular debit card. There was roughly fifteen million yen in it, so no matter how much they spent, it shouldn’t run out.
“Since none of you seem to have gotten sick from eating that porridge, starting tomorrow you can enjoy some proper delicious food.”
“Wow~!”
At my words, they all cheered excitedly. Having been starved for so long in the slave trader’s underground prison, they seemed most thrilled about eating.
I wrote down my Line ID on a note and handed it to Konoe Akina as I spoke.
“Miss Konoe, here’s my Line address. Buy phones tomorrow, register this, and contact me if anything comes up.”
“Yes…”
“I’ll be back soon, so don’t worry.”
“By the way, Benefactor, what is your name? Now that I think about it, I don’t even know your name.”
At Konoe Akina’s question, everyone turned to look at me. I’d told them to introduce themselves but hadn’t introduced myself. Seeing them all staring after her words, it seemed they were all curious about my name.
“My Korean name is Jin Yongtae, and my Japanese name is Taira Ryuta.”
“Ah… Then I’ll call you Yongtae-hyung.”
“Ryuta-hyung sounds better, doesn’t it?”
“I was just going to call him Yongtae-hyung-nim.”
When I introduced my name, the boys said they’d call me hyung or hyung-nim, while Jeong Darim simply nodded after hearing it and went back to staring at the Juangua seed. Alexandra Smirnova kept repeating “Taira Ryutta…” in her strange accent as she tried to memorize it.
“Taira?”
Only Konoe Akina, who understood the meaning behind the name, widened her already large eyes and asked again. Of course—if she had been kidnapped last year, there wouldn’t have been anyone named Taira Ryuta yet, so suddenly hearing the Taira name would be surprising. Members of prestigious families usually receive education on the names of people from other major clans, so an unfamiliar name could naturally shock her.
“It’s only been about four months since I became a Taira. It’s not that important, so call me either Taira Ryuta or Jin Yongtae, whichever is easier.”
“Y-yes… Ryuta-nim.”
She’s calling me by my first name instead of my surname? It seemed that because I had rescued her, Konoe Akina felt close to me. While talking about my name, we soon arrived at the Metro Hotel.
“I made the reservation under Miss Konoe’s name, so just give them the name and it should be fine.”
“Yes. Thank you once again… Ryuta-nim.”
“Drop the ‘nim’ from Ryuta-nim. It tickles my ears.”
“S-still… you are my benefactor. Then… Ryuta… ssi! Please go safely. I’ll take good care of your friends here.”
“Alright. Everyone, take care. I’ll be back soon.”
I thought she was about to call me Ryuta-chan. I said goodbye to the kids who had gotten off and closed the car door. Once the vehicle started moving again, I spoke to the soldier.
“How is the battle situation?”
“Kurotsukidoo made a feint like they were going to strike Daisen City through Iwate Prefecture, so Akita City and Senboku City concentrated their forces on Daisen City, the main base. But the Kurotsukidoo troops that were supposedly heading for Daisen suddenly entered Senboku City and occupied it.”
From what I heard, the enemy had pretended to attack the main base, drawing all the troops there, and then snatched an important strategic point.
“Kurotsukidoo is now concentrating their forces in Senboku City and continuously attacking both Daisen City and Akita City.”
“Then aren’t we in a favorable position? We’re attacking from both the west and south in a pincer movement.”
“Originally that would have been the case with equal numbers, but when Kurotsukidoo took Senboku, they ambushed both the Taira Foods troops stationed there and the forces returning to recapture it. Our numbers took a heavy hit. As a result, we lack the absolute numbers needed to maintain the two-front attack.”
Ah… So there were heavy losses when Senboku City fell. That makes things difficult. Plus, they had to prepare for an attack coming from behind through Iwate Prefecture, so they needed to station additional troops in Yokote City, right behind Daisen. With already reduced forces being split further, the situation didn’t look easy.
“So where are we heading now?”
“We’re going to the base camp set up along Route 46 to launch an attack on Kakunodate.”
Kakunodate, huh… I searched for information on Kakunodate. When we held both Akita and Senboku simultaneously, it hadn’t been that important. But now that Kurotsukidoo had taken Senboku, Kakunodate had become an incredibly vital location. It was in the perfect position to attack both Akita and Daisen at once.
From our perspective, if we could just capture Kakunodate, we wouldn’t need to defend both sides—we could focus solely on holding it. And from Kakunodate, taking Route 46 straight up would lead directly to Senboku City, making it an excellent staging point for an attack. The enemy likely understood its importance too and would have gathered a large force there.
The soldier drove quite fast, covering the hour-long distance in just forty minutes, and we arrived at the encampment East Weapon had established to attack Kakunodate.
“Hubae-nim!”
As soon as I got out of the truck at the encampment, Mimata Chieri greeted me. She must have been in combat until just moments ago—the strong smell of gunpowder clung to her. She quickly switched into secretary mode and began briefing me on the situation.
“We’re trying to minimize casualties on our side as much as possible, but the main Taira Foods forces that were in Senboku suffered heavy losses and are barely holding on.”
“Looks like I’ll have to step in. Prepare a cyber suit that can conceal my identity as much as possible.”
“Understood. It’s still too early to reveal Hubae-nim’s identity.”
Mimata Chieri led me to her tent, then left to prepare my cyber suit. In the end, to end this battle quickly, I had no choice but to fully utilize my abilities.
With a major battle ahead, I should check my capabilities first. That way I could plan the fight in advance.
The abilities I possessed were powerful physical stats, close-combat prowess from Shinkai Yatsude, telekinesis and shadow domination, damage reduction, instant death prevention, and regeneration from the Yeouiju, and finally, marksmanship skills I’d learned during my military service before possession—though those weren’t exceptional.
The core here was the Yeouiju’s damage reduction and regeneration traits. On top of that, if I wore a cyber suit that could block bullets to some degree, I could ignore a fair amount of gunfire damage. My calculation was that if I drew aggro and stood at the front, slaughtering Kurotsukidoo troops, we could win easily.
“I brought the suit!”
Mimata Chieri returned with the cyber helmet and cyber suit I had used before. Yeah, just wearing the helmet should make it difficult for either enemies or allies to recognize me. Since she was here, I asked about something I’d been curious about.
“By the way, how are things on the Seryu side?”
“I heard Seryu Military Company has completely cleared Yurihonjo City and is now defending the Daisen area.”
“Then we should call them over. I’m thinking of pushing all the way this time to settle things in Senboku City. The Seryu kids will be a big help.”
“Shall I call President Nagumo Shian?”
“Yes.”
Mimata Chieri dialed Nagumo Shian. Since she was in charge of the entire eastern front, Nagumo Shian picked up almost immediately. The two discussed moving the Seryu forces.
“Yes, understood. Ah! Hubae-nim? Yes~. Hubae-nim, President Nagumo Shian wants to speak with you.”
After talking for a while, Mimata Chieri handed me the phone.
“Yes, Sister. I’ve got the phone.”
Nagumo Shian spoke in an apologetic tone, as if she had already anticipated that I would join the battle.
“My people are involved, so I couldn’t just sit still. I don’t want you getting hurt either, Sister.”
“I won’t die in this fight, at least. After this war ends, you promised to grant my request, didn’t you, Sister?”
Whoops. I accidentally said something that sounded like a death flag. But there was no way I’d die from a flag of this level. I would finish this job brilliantly and make sure Nagumo Shian granted my request.
Alexandra Smirnova School Uniform Collection
Why are you holding your skirt like that?
