Chapter 137
Chapter 137
There were certain procedures one had to follow to talk to the President of the Republic of Korea.
Calling the President wasn't like office workers ordering jajangmyeon from a Chinese restaurant during lunch.
On my way back to Paju, I held my smartphone in my hand.
The easiest method I could take was to have the Association President arrange contact with the President.
— Wait, why the President, His Excellency all of a sudden?
The Association President, who received my call, threw out a question immediately.
Oh, are people calling him 'His Excellency' again instead of just 'President' these days?
Time was moving backward.
Or maybe the Association President was just choosing to call the President that.
“There's something I need to consult him about urgently.”
It's not something you need to know in detail.
If you're that curious, try investigating on your own.
— I can send a word, but the decision is entirely up to His Excellency. What, should I arrange a meal or something?
“No. A phone call is enough.”
We aren't close enough to eat together.
If anything, the government and I are on rather bad terms.
Considering that, there was no reason for the Association to like me either.
“I can't give you the details, but I’m not calling just to say hello. Tell the President it would be better to get in touch if he doesn't want to see the country ruined.”
— Hey, Yoo Chan-seok. That's a threat you know.
“I trust you'll refine the wording well. And I didn't say I was the one who'd ruin it.”
The Association President seemed to want to talk more, but since I had nothing left to say, I ended the call immediately.
“Do you think the President will call?”
Jung Oh-hoon, who was listening to the conversation between me and the Association President from the seat next to me, asked.
“He will. Even if he's the President of Korea, he'll spare enough time for a single phone call.”
Han Sang-ah, who was driving from the front seat, added a word.
“With our current standing, I think we could even stay a night at the Blue House.”
“I get it, so you just focus on driving, focus!”
Jung Oh-hoon shouted urgently at Han Sang-ah.
“I don't understand. Even if this car hit the guardrail and got crushed, we wouldn't even get a scratch on our skin.”
“I'ts scary even if I don't die! You, you won't know what I’m talking about!”
At Jung Oh-hoon's words, Han Sang-ah clicked her tongue slightly and continued driving with one hand on the wheel.
While spending time enjoying Han Sang-ah's refreshing driving skills, a call came through the smartphone.
“It's an unknown number.”
Twenty five random digits were floating on the smartphone screen.
But I knew who was calling.
“I’ve received the call.”
— Hunter Yoo Chan-seok. I wanted to talk face to face if possible. Our previous meal was quite enjoyable, after all.
After identifying the voice over the smartphone, I deliberately replied in a cheerful tone.
“I feel the same way. But you are busy, Mr. President, and I have a lot of work to do myself, don't I? I’m very glad we can check in on each other like this even if it's just over the phone.”
— Likewise, it's a pleasure to be able to converse again, even by phone.
We exchanged brief greetings.
If this call was a duel, the previous conversation was a light clashing of swords as a greeting before entering battle.
— I heard the news. To think you’ve cleared Triple Blood Cave following Jaun Valley. The Headhunter is truly worthy of being called a hero of Korea.
Listening to Jo Wonhoon's smooth voice, I replied simply with a laugh mixed in.
“I heard dictators tend to hate heroes. Well, Korea is a democratic country no matter what anyone says, so it shouldn't matter.”
— Of course. Who could deny now that the Headhunter is contributing greatly to Korea's development.
A brief silence followed.
Then Jo Wonhoon spoke again.
— So, I’m curious as to what business made you go as far as asking the Association President for a call with me today.
You want to move straight to the point? That’s fine. I'll gladly let you know the purpose of today's call, just as you want.
“Gonsalok of Beijing will attack Korea.”
— Huh?
Why the 'Huh?' when you heard everything.
I moved to the main point immediately as requested, so why act flustered.
“To put it briefly, Triple Blood Cave had a mutual defense treaty with Gonsalok. Since Triple Blood Cave has vanished, Gonsalok will move for retaliation.”
It seemed difficult to shorten it more than this.
A thud, the sound of a desk being struck, echoed from across the smartphone.
— Ah, I’m sorry. I almost spilled some water.
Liar. What does spilling water have to do with slamming a desk.
— A mutual defense treaty, it seems those monsters were maintaining such relationships with each other.
“I was quite surprised too. To be precise, it's more fitting to describe it as a relationship between an Emperor and a vassal, or a King and a lord.”
Anyway, the probability of Gonsalok attacking Korea as a price for the disappearance of Triple Blood Cave was extremely high.
— Then it seems raiding Triple Blood Cave in the first place provided the catalyst for this situation.
Ah, I knew he would say something like this.
“Are you saying I should have anticipated that the monsters in the Erosion Zones were forming sisterhood ties? Even you, President Jo Wonhoon, seemed quite surprised.”
He wouldn't be claiming that a mere hunter should have known information that even the President of Korea didn't know.
— Not knowing doesn't mean there is no responsibility. This isn't a matter that can be packaged with things like 'the intention was good.' The three Headhunters have now put Korea in danger.
“Even if you lock us up, Gonsalok will still come.”
It was just like the college entrance exam. It came for you whether you were prepared or not. And since we were talking about responsibility, I agreed with that too.
The person who sowed the seeds should be the one to harvest, right?
“The Headhunters want to start the removal of Gonsalok with some cooperation from the Chinese provisional government. From Korea's perspective, nothing good would come from the Korean Peninsula becoming the battlefield for the war with Gonsalok, would it?”
There were three ways to get to Beijing.
Going by sea, scraping down from the top through Manchuria, or pushing up from the bottom after arriving in Nanning where the Chinese provisional government was located.
Manchuria was impossible. I couldn't turn the land where development was in full swing after clearing Jaun Valley into a battlefield. The sea? If things went wrong while going through there, the entire force could drown.
Jo Wonhoon replied to my words.
— Then you should have contacted the Chinese provisional government, not me.
“Isn't this quite a complicated issue.”
At my words, Jo Wonhoon let out a low laugh.
— Beijing is Chinese land. It's as much common sense as Seoul being Korean land.
“There has never been an era in human history where common sense prevailed.”
In the current situation, the Korean government's thoughts were more important than public common sense.
If Korea truly succeeded in removing Gonsalok by any chance, they would try to gobble up not only Beijing and its vicinity but also the Central Plains.
“If the Korean government takes the lead in moving Korean hunters to deal with Gonsalok in Beijing, would the Chinese provisional government still be able to claim it as their territory?”
— Well. I don't want to give a reckless opinion on that point right now.
I thought that alone was a sufficient answer. At the very least, Beijing would end up in a situation similar to the old Hong Kong. They would probably set conditions like a 99 year rent free lease.
And the Chinese provisional government couldn't be unaware of Korea's thoughts.
Rather than handing over the Beijing area and the Central Plains as a price for removing Gonsalok, they simply wouldn't cooperate.
“Anyway, due to various factors, there's a high possibility they won't grant my request for cooperation from the provisional government in Nanjing.”
— Why don't you just press them down like you did in Europe?
What are you talking about. The warlords of Europe and the Chinese provisional government are different. The provisional government is an officially recognized organization. They have the right to officially represent China's position.
“Are you telling a mere hunter to intimidate a national government?”
The picture of a hunter directly putting pressure on the Chinese government wasn't good. Such an act was rude to a degree that was hard to even describe with the words 'interference in internal affairs.'
Furthermore, if the Headhunters directly put pressure on the Chinese provisional government, how would other governments evaluate us?
Crazy bastards who crawl up to even the government if things don't go their way.
That kind of ridiculous title would absolutely not help in forming the Headhunters' image.
“So, I want to get some help from our kind President.”
In truth, he wasn't very kind, and strictly speaking, he was a dictator rather than a President, but so what.
I was more than willing to call him a kind President mister as long as it benefited us.
— I recall you saying you had no interest in politics.
“I don't see what this has to do with politics.”
The subjugation of Gonsalok was a task that was difficult for hunter companies like Jannabi, Mugunghwa, or Taebaek to handle alone, let alone the Headhunters.
I needed to make the Korean government move, and thanks to dealing with Triple Blood Cave, I created a situation where the Korean government had no choice but to move.
It was all for the sake of raiding the Erosion Cores.
“If I have a sin, it's nothing more than trying to remove every Erosion Core from Earth.”
If that was truly a wrong, I should be sentenced to life in prison.
— This is quite… I don't want to be swayed by a mere hunter. But there doesn't seem to be any other way. Fine.
Those words had to be listened to selectively. It just meant he would be my partner and dance with me in the ballroom I prepared because there was no other way.
If another way appeared, the partner dancing with me would drive a dagger into my back that very moment.
“Thank you.”
— Hunter Yoo Chan-seok. But I really want you to be aware of this. The Korean government is quite troubled by this matter. I can't hide my feelings of regret.
What is he saying. This gentleman was talking in a very interesting way.
“I’m not a foreign diplomat, so do you need to speak like that?”
— I got a bit pissed off. Do know it won’t be fun for you if you keep messing with the Korean government like this.
Right, so now he was choosing words that were easy to understand as soon as I heard them.
“Don't be so angry. Still, if this goes well, it's not a bad thing for Korea either, is it?”
The population on that small land was currently 300 million.
Furthermore, including various foreigners, Korea was practically at a saturation point.
They needed land to spread the population like spreading jam on toast.
— Of course, if things go well, my anger will be appeased too. But if things get twisted… Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, I’m not sure what I’ll do then.
“That's scary. Let's both prepare well so that doesn't happen.”
In this task, the Korean government would be in charge of supplies and hunter command.
The Headhunters would also act under the control of the Korean government.
Of course, we wouldn't obediently follow the Korean government's words like dogs on a leash.
But for now, that was how the relationship would be set up externally.
After finishing the call and putting away my smartphone, Jung Oh-hoon pressed his eyelids with his index finger and thumb.
“To crawl up to the President of Korea.”
“So what. He's just a servant elected by the citizens anyway, isn't he?”
I didn't know how they truly thought, but that was what everyone said.
Even the President himself said so.
“Where in the world is there a master who walks on eggshells around a servant.”
In the world I used to live in, if a situation arose where a master walked on eggshells around a servant, that servant was immediately torn limb from limb while alive.
“That's proof that the President is not a servant of the citizens.”
It was Han Sang-ah's simple evaluation.
“Anyway, President Jo Wonhoon will handle the cooperation of the Chinese provisional government well.”
Furthermore, since the government planned to take the lead in mobilizing hunters this time, there would be no need to worry about labor shortages or supply issues at all.