087 – Breakthrough Over Tokyo Space
Upon hearing the communication transmitted in Japanese, Myung-jun pondered for a moment before responding in Korean.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. If you don’t interfere, we should be able to pass through quietly without any trouble.”
[Is the person who just answered Mr. Cha Myung-jun, the leader of the Liberal Clan?]
“Yes, that’s correct.”
[Nice to meet you. I am Lieutenant Wataru Shiba, a pilot from the Western Air Defense Force of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. As mentioned earlier, you are currently flying unauthorized in the airspace above Japan’s air defense zone. Please follow our instructions.]
“All we want is to pass through quietly.”
[To avoid any misunderstandings, I want to clarify that the Japanese government has no intention of attacking. We simply request you to land temporarily and have a discussion with Japanese government officials.]
“Land?”
Perplexed, Myung-jun asked, and Lieutenant Wataru explained further.[The video of the Liberal Clan escaping overseas due to the attack by the South Korean government has been broadcast worldwide. That means the current Liberal Clan is a Stateless clan, right?]
“In other words, you want to negotiate a scout?”
[You can consider it something similar. And the formation currently flying around you is a kind of air escort formation. Can you confirm our aircraft from inside?]
“Sure.”
[Then, please check the armament status of our formation.]
As Myung-jun operated the tablet, the camera showed the appearance of the self-defense fighters following behind the Liberal Clan.
Upon seeing the screen, Myung-jun realized that the deployed fighters didn’t have a single air-to-air missile.
[We flew with disarmed intentions since there’s no intention to attack.]
With that explanation, Myung-jun, who had been pondering for a moment, spoke to Wataru.
“Senior, please slow down our speed a bit.”
“Got it.”
As the speed reduced, Myung-jun said,
“Sorry, but landing is impossible. Instead, we will slowly pass through Japanese airspace. During that time, negotiate through communication. If the conditions are acceptable to us, Tokyo will become the new base for the Liberal Clan.”
[Really?! Thank you! I will immediately connect you to the Japanese negotiating team on the current frequency!]
“Senior, please switch the two-way communication to receive-only mode to ensure that our conversation is not heard from their side.”
“Okay.”
Upon Myung-jun’s additional instructions, Ito Kei, the only Japanese crew member among the Liberal Clan, rushed to Myung-jun’s side and asked,
“Captain! Do you really intend to cooperate with the Japanese government? But earlier, you said you were willing to negotiate…”
“It’s just a delay tactic. At least, we’re crossing their air defense zone without permission, so out of courtesy, I’ll entertain some negotiations. Of course, I have no intention of accepting any conditions they might propose…”
“Hmm… But wouldn’t it be okay if the conditions are really good?”
Watching Kei, whose eyes sparkled with the hope that he might be able to engage in clan activities in his home country, Myung-jun smiled gently.
And then, while patting Kei’s head, Myung-jun explained.
“Of course, for now, if the conditions are good, it would be advantageous for us to accept the other party’s proposal. However, if we think more about the future, the situation may change.”
Myung-jun continued, “Operating under the administrative system of any country is like renting a store on a monthly basis. Think about it. Suppose I want to start a business, and I find an incredibly cheap and prime location. So, I invest in the interior, work hard, and make a big success. But suddenly, the building owner asks for a tenfold increase in rent?”
“…If it’s a manageable level, the profit will greatly decrease, and if it’s an unbearable level, I’ll have to leave…”
“Just until yesterday, the South Korean government hadn’t been interfering with the activities of the Liberal Clan at all. However, that was nothing more than ‘consideration’ bestowed upon us by the government, not a right we conquered. With just one change in legislation or executive order, that fleeting consideration could vanish instantly.”
“If you’re not looking for a country where you can operate under good conditions, what Captain wants is…”
“Power.” Myung-jun said.
“Freedom obtained through consideration is not true freedom. Only freedom seized with one’s own strength, unassailable by others, is genuine freedom. And that’s what I desire a true freedom.”
Upon hearing their conversation, Taylor, who had been listening while fidgeting with the long red window beside them, interjected.
“Hmm… So, today’s departure is not temporary, is it? Then, are you saying that you will continue clan activities as a stateless clan in the future?”
“Yes.”
“Is that possible? I apologize to the Captain, but basically, for clan activities, you need a ‘territory’ that serves as the base and ‘infrastructure’ necessary for activities. And the ‘consideration’ we’ve been borrowing in South Korea is precisely that.”
It was an obvious point, but to run a business, you need customers, and for customers to come, you need roads and airports. Taylor was explaining that with the current population of less than a hundred in the clan headquarters, it would be challenging to handle all of that.
“Of course, as crew members, we can live comfortably in the Captain’s sub-space, but ordinary clan members who can’t enter the sub-space will have a relatively uncomfortable life. Moreover, there are salary issues.”
“Salary?”
When So-eun, who had still been clinging to Myung-jun’s side, asked, Taylor explained.
“So-eun, until now, the salaries of Liberal Clan employees have been deposited into their desired accounts in their preferred currency. Since most employees were Koreans, they were receiving their salaries in Korean won. However, now that we can’t return to Korea, the money we’ve received has become nothing more than scraps of paper.”
“Ah-ha! It means that money is meaningless if there’s nowhere to spend it!”
“As expected of the Captain’s younger sister, you’re smart. By the way, do you have a boyfriend? If not, how about a date with me…”
Continuing his words, Taylor was about to suggest something when he had to shut his mouth due to the overwhelming aura coming from Myung-jun.
“If you dare touch even a single strand of So-eun’s hair, Mr. Taylor, you’ll have to go through a battle to the death with me. Are you confident?”
“… Not at the moment.”
“Then, challenge me when you’re ready.”
“…Alright. I don’t have the courage to go up against the world’s scariest brother right now.”
Upon hearing that, So-eun hugged Myung-jun’s arm and said with a cute expression.
“Hehe… You thought well. I don’t want to date anyone unless they’re stronger than my Oppa.”
“You might want to give up on that dream. Otherwise, So-eun will have to live a single life forever.”
“Is my Oppa really that strong?”
“Well, the battles that the Captain waged in Manaus city are treated as top-secret information by governments worldwide, and there’s no record of the fight with Banara. So, So-eun might not know. So-eun, your Oppa is the world’s strongest man. I’m considered a formidable individual myself, but he’s probably strong enough to take on opponents from ranks 2 to 10 all at once.”
Upon hearing Taylor’s words, So-eun looked at Myung-jun with a shocked expression. Myung-jun scratched his nose as if he found it amusing. At that moment, a communication request from the Japanese government’s negotiating team arrived at the Liberal Clan headquarters.
[Oh, excuse me. Can you hear my voice now?]
“Senior, make the communication two-way again.”
“Just a moment. Just in case, I’ll hack their receiver and encrypt our communication on the connected frequency.”
After a few simple manipulations by Soo-jeong, Myung-jun responded to the communication.
“I can hear you well. I apologize, but for security reasons, we’ve encrypted this communication on our end. I hope there’s no issue.”
[That’s fine. In fact, we appreciate the consideration. You probably have a general idea of the reason for our contact, correct?]
“We understand it as a kind of scouting proposal, suggesting that the Liberal Clan, which escaped from South Korea, be placed under the management of the Japanese government.”
[Yes. Since you’ve already approached near Tokyo, let me quickly explain our conditions.]
Whether they had obtained information in advance or not, the conditions presented by the Japanese government to the Liberal Clan were quite splendid. Starting from offering land in the central area of Tokyo to providing duty-free benefits for the Awakener equipment sold by the Liberal Clan.
However, Myung-jun didn’t overlook the hidden intentions of the Japanese government behind these glamorous benefits.
‘In the end, their conclusion is for us to become their arms factory providing Awakener equipment.’
Myung-jun calculated the time it would take to leave Tokyo airspace in his mind and then presented the conditions the Liberal Clan wanted.
“All the conditions you mentioned are merely legal benefits. What we want are more physical and practical conditions.”
[If you have specific conditions, please let us know.]
“Provide an independent autonomous zone within the Japanese territory where I can freely deploy and operate any type of armed structure according to my discretion. Grant full extraterritoriality and recognition of international negotiation rights within that area.”
Upon hearing Myung-jun’s conditions, the negotiator on the other side, who understood the meaning, exclaimed with a bewildered voice.
[That’s unreasonable!]
It was a natural reaction. Myung-jun’s demands were, to put it simply, asking to detach a part of Japanese land and allow it to be operated like an independent country. To avoid any misunderstandings, Myung-jun also provided an easy-to-understand example.
“Specifically, what we want is land where we can build a military city designed to perfectly defend against external attacks, similar to the Third New Tokyo City in the anime ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’.”
[That means it’s an unreasonable condition. No country in the world will agree to such terms. Even if there is a country willing to agree, it would likely have such poor infrastructure that it would be impossible to accept. If there is any country with such a capability, you can rest assured that it would not agree to such conditions.]
“On the contrary, if you agree to those conditions, we will provide a certain quantity of Awakener equipment to the Japanese government every month. Of course, it’s provided under the pretext of land usage fees, so we won’t charge for production costs and materials.”
Myung-jun’s proposal, continuously offering the equipment that governments worldwide coveted, free of charge, was a highly attractive offer. However, there was an enormous risk in accepting such a proposal.
Essentially, if Myung-jun, who would have an immensely powerful armed force within Japanese territory, suddenly changed his mind and violated the contract with the Japanese government, at that point, there would be no means to sanction him. No country would tolerate the growth of an armed force stronger than its own military within its borders.
Therefore, Myung-jun’s proposal was an ‘unacceptable’ condition for the Japanese government. In the end, the Japanese government had to give up on negotiations with Myung-jun.
[Is it impossible to adjust those demands?]
“Yes.”
[In that case, we will give up. No matter how tempting the potential of the Liberal Clan may be, placing an uncontrollable nuclear bomb within Japanese territory would be an excessively dangerous decision.]
“It’s unfortunate. We also didn’t expect the Japanese government to accept these conditions. What’s next? Will you try to obstruct our exit from Japanese airspace?”
[No. You can proceed forward and exit as planned. Although the negotiations with the Liberal Clan have collapsed, we have no intention of becoming enemies.]
Myung-jun had contemplated the possibility of the Japanese Self-Defense Force intercepting one or two fighter jets as a show of force, but fortunately, the Japanese government didn’t obstruct the Liberal Clan’s passage. In a situation where preventing the Liberal Clan’s passage over Tokyo airspace was impossible, engaging in combat over a densely populated major city held no merit for them.
As the Clan headquarters, carrying Myung-jun’s group, accelerated to exit the waters off Tokyo, the vast Pacific Ocean welcomed them. The open sea, where no country held sway, a truly ‘lawless’ world.
Now, having escaped the influence of any specific country and ventured into the true ‘lawless’ world, Taylor brought up the topic that had been interrupted during their previous conversation.
“Congratulations, Captain. You’ve finally become a genuine international pirate. No, should I call you a public figure now that you’re flying through the air?”
“Well, judging by the treatment I’m receiving now, you could say I’m a public figure in a different sense.”
“Considering that, you seem quite relaxed?”
“Before explaining the reason, there’s something I want to say to all the employees who risked becoming traitors to their countries by staying with the Liberal Clan. Let’s go down to the conference room.”
Myung-jun descended to the lobby with the Clan members. The lobby, usually filled with Awakeners from around the world purchasing equipment, was now occupied by 55 regular Clan members who had chosen to follow Myung-jun till the end, in addition to the grandmother and So-eun that they had brought along.
‘With the grandmother and So-eun we brought today, plus the crew members, we have a total of 64 people, right?’
From now on, Myung-jun realized that he had to organize and manage everything with this group of 64 individuals, and the weight of responsibility pressed heavily on his shoulders.
Then, approaching Myung-jun’s side, Soo-jeong raised her hand on his shoulder, smiling warmly.
“Don’t just think of them as people you’re responsible for. Everyone gathered here is also here to support you.”
Myung-jun, with a slightly lighter shoulder, lifted his head with a determined expression.
Behind Myung-jun, a large monitor set up by Soo-jeong displayed a real-time view of the vast, open sea with the text <Arrived at the destination> flashing.
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