Chapter 52

Chapter 52: I'm Sorry Our Country Is Poor

"Was he sent by China?"

The secretary didn't answer immediately.

He studied me for a moment before speaking cautiously.

"He's still being interrogated, and he's refusing to cooperate, so I can't say for certain. However... that seems to be the most likely possibility."

First, the Munitions Factory.

And now, me.

They came because of me, didn't they?

Then again, they might simply have been trying to infiltrate the Association.

They would probably have tried to gather information about me in the process, so perhaps it amounted to the same thing.

"Then what happens to the spy now that he's been captured?"

"Why do you ask...?"

"I'm just curious."

It really was nothing more than curiosity.

What happened when a spy got caught?

It's only natural to be curious about something like that.

After all, it wasn't the sort of thing ordinary people had much opportunity to learn about.

The secretary thought for a moment before answering.

"I'm not an agent of the National Intelligence Service, so I don't know the details. But I imagine he'll probably be transferred to the United States, and a prisoner exchange will eventually take place."

"A prisoner exchange?"

"Yes."

"For one of our agents?"

"Not exactly."

The secretary gave a bitter smile.

"They'll probably exchange him for an American agent captured in China."

A spy captured on Korean soil would be transferred to the United States and exchanged for an American agent?

Well, I suppose that makes sense for the guy they caught in Pyongyang.

After all, he'd been captured by American personnel.

"What about the one caught at the Association?"

"The same applies to him."

"Doesn't our country have any rights in the matter?"

"We do have rights."

The secretary answered immediately.

However, his response implied a great deal.

"It's just difficult for us to assert those rights, isn't it?"

"That's more or less the situation."

The secretary nodded bitterly.

Come to think of it, the situation was strange.

The spy had clearly been captured on Korean soil.

He'd infiltrated a Korean Association building and threatened Korea's national security.

Yet apparently, the country that could exert the greatest influence over his fate wasn't Korea but the United States.

"Why is that?"

"...Because protesting to China wouldn't accomplish anything. Unlike Korea, China has a great many orphans who grow up without any official identity. Depending on the circumstances, some of those children are raised to become Chinese spies."

"And?"

"In short, they have no clear identities, and there's no evidence proving they were dispatched by China. That means we have no grounds on which to lodge a formal protest. Speaking Chinese doesn't necessarily make someone a Chinese citizen."

"Then what would happen if a Korean spy whose identity had been erased was sent to China and got caught?"

The Chairman's secretary's expression hardened once again.

"...I imagine the situation would be rather different in that case. Probably."

The faint hope in that final word, probably, suggested that he desperately wished the situation wouldn't be different at all.

"I..."

The secretary spoke quietly.

"I wish the world were a little different."

I looked at him.

"A world where countries can assert their legitimate rights regardless of their size or strength, and where their citizens can live in safety."

He continued with a bitter smile.

"That's the kind of world I wanted to create."

"And?"

"Reality turned out to be far more complicated than I expected. No matter how thoroughly you examine the world, everything ultimately comes down to the logic of power."

I couldn't think of anything to say.

I'd been the one to start this conversation, but I didn't know how to respond.

I'd never been the sort of person who spent his time thinking about international relations.

Until recently, I'd been a guy barely scraping by through gold farming in games.

I'd only ever used my abilities to make my own life easier.

And yet...

Hearing this made me feel strangely uncomfortable.

Just then...

BZZZT!

The secretary's smartphone vibrated.

"Yes, Chairman."

As he answered the call, he kept repeating, "Yes. Yes. Is that so?"

Then his expression suddenly stiffened.

"...Understood, Chairman."

He ended the call with a serious expression and turned toward me.

"Hunter Choi Hyunwoo."

"Yes?"

The secretary took a moment to steady his breathing.

"We've received intelligence that the Japanese government is providing an enormous amount of financial support, not only to its S-rank Hunters but to every Hunter participating in the next Resource War."

"How much?"

"We're still confirming the exact amount, but intelligence suggests the budget is in the trillions of yen."

"Trillions of yen?"

I couldn't help repeating the figure.

"They're really throwing that much money at their Hunters?"

Of course, the number and ranks of a country's Hunters were directly connected to its national strength.

But governments didn't usually provide such enormous amounts of direct financial support.

At least, ours doesn't.

The situation might be different in other countries.

"Officially, it's being classified as the 'Operational Cost of Securing Future National Strategic Assets.'"

Future strategic assets.

It sounded like a remarkably grand title.

But when I considered what it actually meant, the explanation was simple.

They're betting everything on the next Resource War.

The secretary continued.

"There's one more thing. We've also obtained urgent intelligence concerning the Mana Stone Mine on Floor 55 of the Japanese Tower."

"What kind of intelligence?"

"It concerns the detailed map of the Mana Stone Mine and the layout of its terrain and structures. For security reasons, I believe we'll need to gather a small number of S-rank Hunters for a strategic planning meeting."

"Just give me the map."

"...Understood."

"By the way, doesn't our country have any financial support for Hunters? Something like a Resource War participation allowance?"

The secretary's eyes wavered.

"I'm not asking you to give me money. But Japan is pouring so much into its Hunters and doing everything it can to win. Shouldn't we be taking some measures of our own?"

The Chairman's secretary clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

He struggled to speak.

"Our country... simply doesn't have that kind of money."

"..."

"We're already struggling just to provide our citizens with financial assistance to cope with high oil prices."

His voice began to tremble.

"I'm sorry we can't provide you with any support..."

He stood up and bowed deeply once again.

"I'm sincerely sorry that our country is poor. I know it's shameless of us to ask this of you without offering any assistance, but... please! I beg you! Please win!"

I had a feeling he'd say exactly the same thing during the strategic meeting with the S-rank Hunters.

Thinking about it made him seem rather pitiful.

"Raise your head."

The secretary slowly straightened.

"I wasn't seriously asking for money, so don't worry about it."

"But..."

"It's fine. I'll earn my own money. And..."

I rose from my chair.

"I'll win the next Resource War, and the one after that, too. I'm going to take all of Japan's resources and turn it into the poorest country in the world, so don't try to stop me when that happens."

"..."

"We'll take everything, absorb it all, and then we'll have a go at China and the United States, too. We'll be the ones throwing our weight around!"

"Throwing our weight around...? H-haha...!"

"Don't you like that idea?"

Eventually, something resembling a flame of longing—or perhaps ambition—seemed to ignite in the secretary's eyes.

"I love it! Let's throw our weight around! Hahahaha!"

One day before the Resource War.

A system message appeared before the eyes of Japan's S-rank Hunters.

[Tomorrow's Resource War will take place on Floor 55 of the Japanese Tower of Fate: "Goblin Mana Stone Mine."]

Every S-rank Hunter who read the message frowned.

All of a sudden?

They're changing the location?

And they're moving it to Floor 55 of the Japanese Tower?

The message carried a great deal of meaning.

For one thing, it was practically telling them that it was now their turn to fight a defensive battle.

Moments later, their smartphones began vibrating so incessantly that it seemed as though the devices were malfunctioning.

The Hunters soon connected to a video conference from their respective homes for an emergency strategy meeting.

The next Resource War would be different from the previous ones.

Japan had already suffered two defeats.

The first had been at the East Sea oil field.

And the second had also been at the East Sea oil field.

"One defeat can be dismissed as a mistake. Two defeats are much harder to attribute to coincidence. And if we lose a third time..."

Yasha was the first to speak.

"This time will be different."

"You said that last time, Shura."

"Weren't you just as confident, Yasha?"

BANG!

The sound of someone slamming a palm against the table drew every S-rank Hunter's attention.

It was Katana.

"If you're here to argue, I'll just leave. It's a waste of my time."

Everyone fell silent.

She was right.

They were supposed to be discussing strategies for their next victory, not assigning blame and arguing among themselves.

Eventually, one of the Hunters looked around and asked,

"Is Inferno not joining us again today?"

Inferno.

One of Japan's well-known S-rank Hunters.

He hadn't attended the previous meeting either, and he was absent again.

Katana snorted.

"Forget him. He's probably off somewhere scheming in the shadows again. Anyway, we're going to win next time. No—we absolutely cannot afford to lose."

The video conference fell silent.

Katana thought back to the previous two Resource Wars.

The overwhelming firepower raining down from the sky.

The Japanese Hunters around her turning to gray ash in an instant.

Her own mana barrier shattering within seconds.

And then her death.

The memory was still painfully vivid.

However...

Katana looked at the documents spread across the table.

"First, let's review the reasons for our previous two defeats."

Information appeared on the screen.

Choi Hyunwoo, Korea's One-Star General.

Below his name was an analysis of the weapons and abilities he'd used.

Knight Commander's Wings.

The General's Tactical Command buff.

And...

An unidentified, high-powered Artifact weapon known as the Gatling Laser.

"Choi Hyunwoo is strong. We have to acknowledge that."

Nobody objected.

Those who'd fought him directly in the previous battles understood that better than anyone.

Choi Hyunwoo's firepower defied common sense.

And his ability to fly was an equally serious problem.

Especially for melee Hunters like us.

He might have appeared somewhat careless and flippant, but Choi Hyunwoo clearly possessed excellent combat instincts.

He never descended to an altitude where my katana could reach him.

For Hunters who fought on the ground, the sky was effectively a blind spot.

That experience had left not only Katana but every melee Hunter who'd faced Choi Hyunwoo feeling an almost unbearable sense of helplessness.

It had truly been the worst experience.

Katana displayed the next image.

It showed Floor 55 of the Japanese Tower.

The Goblin Mana Stone Mine.

"But this battlefield will be different."

A vast underground structure appeared on the screen.

Countless interconnected passages.

Vertical mine shafts, dozens of mining areas, and the narrow paths linking them together.

Yasha's eyes flashed as he examined the map.

"Indeed... In an underground environment this cramped, with such low ceilings, the wings' flight capability will become almost useless."

Of course, it wouldn't be completely neutralized.

But there was an enormous difference between flying freely through open space and maneuvering underground.

High-speed flight would be difficult beneath low ceilings.

Making sharp turns in midair would be even more challenging.

Shura added his own opinion.

"The Mana Stone Mine on Floor 55, huh? Anyone visiting for the first time is guaranteed to get lost. During my first attempt to clear it, the monsters weren't even the real problem. The passages were so confusing that I ended up having to camp there."

He shrugged and chuckled.

"Of course, I've been visiting frequently to harvest Contribution Points lately, so now I know it like the back of my hand."

Yasha nodded and continued.

"We know where the richest Mana Stone deposits are, where goblins tend to gather, which passages connect to which areas, where the traps are, and the best locations for ambushes. We know everything."

"In other words, this is entirely our home turf."

Every Hunter in the video conference smiled.

It was clearly different from the previous battles at the East Sea oil field.

That had been a battlefield unfamiliar to both Korea and Japan.

But the next Resource War would take place in a hunting ground Japanese Hunters had used for years.

A place where they'd died countless times, survived, and learned every detail through firsthand experience.

That was where they would fight.

Against Korean Hunters who were complete newcomers to the area.