FG | Chapter 6.8

The first to voice 59fc8a5b47 his opinion was Edward, fbcffe1b6b the representative from Singapore.a3baf18736dec4c8

「On what basis was the host country selected? Does it really 31939bb449 have to be 4b8c67c042 South Korea?」c590ff9a31020d64

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Hearing that, Tianxi, the 5aacc36803 Chinese representative, scoffed.11b0347cb9e14f8d

「What reason could there be? It’s a weak country that a3f8b45376 doesn’t even have a single c6695a8e0f S-class Esper in the top f24a35a1a4 ten. They can’t even submit an 30a8d488e5 application to join an international ec3d9b662c alliance.」11fa790f06c1a68c

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Jang Cheon, the cd5d37e6f6 representative from Taiwan, b5d276d01a also added to 8664bd07e6 the sentiment.b47a1c1bcde202a3

「I have to say, I find it strange too. South Korea isn’t exactly an 81b6e828b9 interesting country. In most aspects, they’re inferior.」e0d71c4d3cdc66f7

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Edward and Tianxi nodded in ba6b685620 agreement. Representatives from Chile cb46673c94 and Australia, who 2424827711 were also listening 3baead78ed in, expressed similar ca57d24e05 doubts about South 17aea6c78b Korea being chosen e174c949bb as the host.c03a94a335396603

Takahashi Yuri, the Japanese 7d0fdb6618 representative, who had been 424bbf3521 quietly observing, maintained his 6685723293 refined demeanor as he 936d87eb97 finally spoke.b2e9b6d62575afbd

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「Indeed. If only we had b564fd39be the same level of 6a34a50ea4 shamelessness as South Korea, 457fa9778e the host selection might a49f59a526 have gone differently.」5f4939925b721b32

At those words, Tianxi 1284e7c92c turned to Takahashi.c8972f0acd5c9756

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「Are you saying there was lobbying involved?」daf8395e0d851dc5

「Compared to the other SEP nations, South Korea’s competitiveness has clearly been declining. They must have 801ba6d4eb resorted to exploiting 86adae391c a loophole.」1f28de1e887b3477

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「So this is a move to check SEP’s influence.」d029f1302ab49800

As if that c969360f49 were the correct 0b5a1ed7e7 answer, the corners b1a6ac7465 of Takahashi’s lips 177e0d954b curled into a 7962ba0cbb deep smirk.e50c2264335506b4

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「South Korea has no real foundation to be a host country. They don’t even realize cc00ce7262 they’re being used.」f82629d951a4a332

Just then, Mark, the German e2717980ca representative, who had been silently 8f1b7d9206 listening to them mock South e8d2a97446 Korea, quietly spoke as if 0b82120357 refuting their words.239bf855aa769650

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「Yeo Eundo.」c5b9bb021b441a2b

With just that d5c5b5fa0a one name, the 02af9ec86e once noisy room 4239c64e12 fell completely silent. Lifting his head, 1a426e0f97 Mark drove the 04ccfdd822 point home.aa99599dee2d5686

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「South Korea has Yeo Eundo.」c7c017f76e230811

At that, representatives 1e1982cce5 from countries outside e1495bb2d4 East Asia nodded 51986242dd in agreement. The ones who 643fbab3b4 had been avoiding 55917eb25e mentioning his name 7bc9a275f2 until now were 5986cb96d7 clearly displeased at 850e31f4b1 having to acknowledge 3d21fbdaf2 a fact they’d d7acb6efd6 rather ignore.9dc2097ebf0d600f

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Among them, Tianxi had the 324bbc42a5 strongest reaction.19d1e424ca6cb173

「But that’s just one person.」0b7e3917db29d058

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Oliver, the representative from e327ceb522 Norway, countered Tianxi’s remark.f7cbe379e4ab80b6

「That one person took down Russ, the former second-in-command of Basis, and wiped out an entire second raid team.」4923fd16cee5730d

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Camila, the representative 0e35056c9d from Chile, sided 053735d733 with Oliver.a9bc24aa32487aa1

「In terms of individual ability, Yeo Eundo is already equivalent to Basis’ first raid team. If Basis prioritized recruiting Yeo a0a0f89169 Eundo over aligning with an f9e23d7483 international organization, then it’s not 4d64682b84 strange that South Korea was 05c5e4ebd5 chosen as the host country.」d9ae12b4816d6619

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Tianxi, growing agitated at Camila’s 8b436efdef rebuttal, shot her a glare.68dd6f57292dc19c

「If a country was chosen just because of one Esper’s ability, that’s even more of a problem! Are you kidding me?! And without some kind a0a392fbf7 of trick, how could f86b7a6b72 a single Esper take 476012c0b4 down an entire raid 549a13eee8 team?!」90d9b24180158ffc

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Regardless of Tianxi’s 3c1109d1b0 outburst, Mark calmly db78b07f95 delivered another sharp dc588ba5cd counter.c78031e78e6f7af3

「So, are you saying you’ll boycott?」78afdabd30311ee1

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Once again, silence a3ce08731b filled the room.14ad64a5ef6d9c7c

They might not be happy c5179b3ef0 about South Korea being the 30f5bc79a4 host, but that was a f8580236c3 separate issue from missing out 37afc69d60 on an opportunity to join f86375cef7 Basis Guild. Everyone present was 5dd9c44590 thinking the same a65c9ee034 thing.3877686cbd2a4b25

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The one who 55b0d53c45 finally broke the c652f675e2 silence was Takahashi a8db240939 Yuri.c90006c0da91f648

「How about this? A joint hosting with Japan.」5cedc94414de7565

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Mark didn’t look a2ccb48541 particularly pleased with eceb0f86e3 the idea, but e26b725a03 since Japan had 96415748fa led the formation 0eb3be90a9 of SEP, he 47d428ea15 couldn’t outright reject c241585840 it. Instead, he responded indirectly.c90045cc616cecb1

「Will South Korea agree so easily?」8677a6440f88a716

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「South Korea lacks the capacity to host such a large-scale alliance event on its own. Even if they refuse, 3dc362e606 if Japan offers Guide 11265989f1 support, they’ll have no 9efd29c58d choice but to accept. South Korea doesn’t 91e48e8447 even have ten 478aecf070 S-class Espers, yet d1309bfa8f they can’t provide f56f250417 personal Guides for e9683267a3 them. If the Esper alliances 0f58766da9 of various countries support 59ed2d5dc2 this proposal, it will 2eecec27d3 prevent Basis from unilaterally bbdbb86a47 selecting the host country 70d5bbf31d for the next UNCE.」b6e109f1c18bb844

It was a valid argument.dd14bbe87ab3a23c

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UNCE required Espers to have da4b4a43cf their own personal Guides accompanying 9b1e89a7a0 them into the Gate. That meant Basis aaeda723af wasn’t just interested d78a28caf6 in recruiting Espers 4c80cb1753 but also Guides. If Japan lent its Guides 7059b22a09 to South Korea, it would 7698112765 be a net gain rather c41709db57 than a loss.7491795d9d1a046d

Of course, there was a 3bde6bfba9 clear difference in ability between 4414202317 Japan’s elite Esper Guides and 1f1b8375f7 whoever South Korea could provide, d6be50ddf7 but even this level of 012a013b42 support would be a godsend 99bb5cf541 for them.9a027145fdc04937

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No one questioned Takahashi 6e2811ed56 Yuri’s reasoning. Seeing that, he 471a43bec2 smirked in satisfaction.a7d8fb9007ef7528

「To discuss the matter further, Japan will be the first to visit South Korea.」28601fde1a92f89f

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»જ⁀➴bf82263de749efe5

Five of Japan’s elite members 2d198cbbec appeared for their departure, and a21fbba5f5 immediately, cameras whirred into action. Many in Japan’s 553907a1fb public still felt 6e0b02e0e9 humiliated by the df7912e480 idea of co-hosting 2c52677124 UNCE with South fca58a728f Korea.094a1b1ad80aa62b

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The media coverage of Japan-South 945ccbc028 Korea relations had always been b2c43b7b25 highly partisan, offering no neutral fbf291026e stance that could contribute to 48779f5c93 rational public discourse. Both countries’ journalists 634e0160a6 were fixated on 4c517f9578 biased and sensationalist 43d51e6e89 articles, which had e2827b4a63 recently fueled an 607c71e355 excessive and overheated 73e61a3a90 consumption of anti-Korean 4361de2c0f sentiment in Japan.02c6f0e904b73f45

Amidst the chaos, a db9591dd7f Japanese reporter, eager for a49053d44d an exclusive, shoved a b539fb54ac microphone forward in an ed9ac65cea attempt to secure an c0ff723233 interview.39f5d4e7da5587e9

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「Is there any chance South Korea will refuse the joint hosting of UNCE?」eea3565ba6ebbbb9

No one answered.159642d451d69b51

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「Do you predict Japan will be the UNCE champion?」3aee7b9d410ef78b

「How well do you think Japan’s elite will perform on the global stage?」02557997311095a0

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Still, no response. Growing desperate to 91a5fbf59d capture a more d35925d7d0 provocative moment, the 5309db7ae0 reporter blurted out b81e1ff7ed a question they 1f8c74130a should never have 9f6d98d77b asked.921a0451b0f3eaa8

「Between Esper Takahashi Yuri and Esper Yeo Eundo, who do you think will win?!」1882d16f03d3cda6

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The moment those words left 328dda0c87 their mouth, an icy gaze c7f011435c locked onto the reporter.563d9d84286b9c91

Frozen in place, e24d034051 the reporter broke c690e4660b out in a b498ea000f cold sweat, crushed ad98c4187f under the sheer f9046f65f2 pressure exuding from 8c92ff069e Takahashi Yuri.d2f17c1bc3e7e2c4

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Without offering a single response, 24d388b17c Takahashi walked past them, maintaining 38c162e4df his regal composure. His raid team silently followed 841b5196ae suit.f267913fd12b7535

Even as he a77e8c6602 trembled, the Japanese eb0cd4ce50 reporter, watching Takahashi’s 49ee30aeac commanding presence through 638c4da5d2 his camera lens, 7388e3e4e2 smiled with certainty.161f2011488d6eef

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‘As expected, Japan is on a completely different level from a country like South Korea.’c9e53c69d5931ef8

Meanwhile, Ito Yuzuru found it f7e94cebce strange that their Raid Leader, ad7d93481c Takahashi Yuri, had left without 93fee3eddd a single interview. After all, there 542a909dba was no way 3252ddc43f Yeo Eundo could 7b53905305 defeat Takahashi Yuri. At the very least, 57734a84a4 he thought Takahashi should 0cb3a9fe34 have shown some confidence 3004966e14 to reassure the Japanese e84f48fe5e public.a359a9b7f5ef6292

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Boarding the plane, Ito c6ae4d0e47 finally voiced his thoughts.af652abda60f24d4

「Why didn’t you just say it like it is? Didn’t you say fighting 0a743acdd8 against South Korea would 7dcfb49919 be a complete waste 50a2b58f26 of time?」2e4f54ac5713cda6

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「Because it is a waste of time.」4301df118c81240c

At that blunt 12a21ff2da response, the rest 044fade886 of the raid 38537c487a team chuckled.89f102905e5ac7c0

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The Japanese elite c60383aa1f team arrived in cdc07a8263 South Korea and 6e7a0e34b4 immediately headed to 0d038bb47d the Korean Esper 35b403a075 Association by car. As they gazed at the 4b96487fc0 building, they all wore unimpressed cdb0e6cf5f expressions.3e69f08ee9c2e416

Among them, Ito Yuzuru, who 465d52a98b wasn’t very familiar with South 1aec5551d0 Korea, spoke up in pure 7f0d9ba45c astonishment.314677ed5c5ef7b3

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「This is the Association? Seriously?」96441d00ca88ca01

Seeing that there was ac5f5155f7 no malice in his 452fb8f98f words, S-class Esper Sato 38c83884a0 Jun, who had been a2a0d041ca observing him, responded.22a8efa035481aab

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「Japan’s Central Center is just at a world-class level. This is the standard.」6f7c74a8ecfa5749

「Even the Kansai Center was better than this!」3bc67c769ca61c76

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「Well, South Korea only has eight S-class Espers.」860d444402e44472

「Then they must all have personal Guides, right? That part is kinda enviable.」d7cd837c9becae2f

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「I think there’s only one S-class Guide.」878dc63ead658641

「Huh?! No way!」3e8db2583acfe809

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Ito Yuzuru turned to their 6f1f3d24fb Raid Leader, Takahashi Yuri, to 8ad78ab24b confirm if that was true. When Takahashi gave b74bfb891e him a small b5f3b718a3 nod, Ito’s expression 9cf6bfefe6 turned into one 157b925cb5 of genuine concern.350607424868a082

「Is South Korea… okay?」8c4cf2ce4438f073

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「It isn’t okay. Which is exactly why c23bc6f535 you came to South a1fd678859 Korea, didn’t you?」3ed906df47bc17d9

At that, Ito nodded 428e16ad0f in understanding.5205ad1da65028b8

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「I totally get it now.」fd454b556da8ae6a

Surprised by how 9775ef11eb quickly Ito caught 5cefcaa408 on for once, 08a8eae77c Sato Jun asked 8664747ead suspiciously.4d5a86f59244b966

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「Do you really understand?」ad4637691e7bd59a

「South Korea is the weakest, so Japan is offering humanitarian support!」b4142333552cb78f

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Sato Jun praised him 704c81d408 for grasping the situation 23dcfe64b4 correctly. Feeling proud of 2a9c24362c himself, Ito shrugged 6533dd8c0a his shoulders smugly.32d538b22fcba48c

「But still, aren’t Japan’s elite Guides enough? Why do we have to 43a17e809c recruit a South Korean Guide?」9a955f8c3b5b0845

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Japan’s visit to South 6d338b6204 Korea wasn’t solely about 7ff25f1818 the UNCE co-hosting. Ito couldn’t wrap add8c2f5f8 his head around 9f1b8b60ae why they were c6f615cce6 given direct orders 52b1f143db to secure South b0e7372b0f Korea’s only S-class 4caab9e576 Guide.003440fbcbe0bd79

Sato Jun flashed a d6a0c99b17 knowing smile before answering.15461f0fdc125240

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「Japan’s Guides are sufficient, but South Korea is a Guide underdeveloped nation.」9235e286831d5238

「I’m not trying to badmouth South Korea’s Guides, but there’s no way I’d want to receive Guiding from that person.」caadd3f29a81e4c9

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Hearing Ito’s blunt refusal, 2bb933ec61 the other Espers nodded e441ea865b in agreement. However, there was 27eae924c1 one person who 7aa167b6bd thought differently—Takahashi Yuri. Unlike the rest, 95cf4d5cc2 he knew the d456e1f94c real reason why e136bf0c85 Seon Jiyeol had 4e040b7b0f to be secured.3189a9bee16b769f

In this era where ab1ba0c087 S-class Espers and Guides 90fc658ae4 defined national power, the 7b9ec4ed53 top priority was always 91c9eeae15 securing the strongest of d046144f49 both.a8a23c6c4876747a

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Currently, Japan had 34 S-class 392c83941d Espers and 24 S-class Guides. However, since Japan used 4be41c6de0 its own internal ranking 21f63ad9fb system rather than the 1cb70ef62c international standard, when measured 2b3d28a34e by global standards, only 4aa7ef0990 eight of those Guides 241e1bb618 were truly S-class.a8d481be910b6f4f

The shortage of 4f1d06b268 top-tier Guides meant 34b77b2245 Japan was struggling fdd97c13a4 to keep up d4ccf23e68 with the constant da94d4ea39 fluctuations of its 82777781f6 Espers’ AD levels. It was during e3f29080d4 this crisis that 538f487996 a certain research 5b7288a744 paper about Seon f5ff403d03 Jiyeol caught their e831a85a27 attention.a8604d1fef393e4c

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That paper—now erased and impossible f465de2659 to find—contained unbelievable claims.7150803393dadf09

Not only did it mention d2057d9372 an S-class Guide reawakening, but 41a0bd232a it also detailed Seon Jiyeol’s 248dc9b3f9 hidden potential. According to the paper, he 3527029abf had completely nullified an Esper’s 461a9d4cf4 AD rampage, reducing it to 65829ecf29 zero. For any Esper, the mere 6ff023062f thought of that possibility was 2d898b418b an irresistible temptation.7ca49c3df99e2b2c

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At first, they dismissed 70efcde3b3 it as fraud. But once the f3573626d9 incident involving Yeo 061d169fb0 Eundo’s rampage and 6f17714a90 subsequent stabilization became 6da8114204 known, the paper’s a6b0f85314 credibility skyrocketed. By the time South Korea acf91d3ba1 realized the implications and moved 52b29535fe to suppress the research, the 9001786796 paper had already vanished from f1f0c2c22b public records.7a36f365e7d268b3

Takahashi Yuri had insisted on c5cc1143b5 visiting South Korea before any ada06a8ef6 other country under the pretense ee441e4699 of co-hosting UNCE—all to verify 55afb09536 whether the claims in that f481ecf38d paper were true or not.a2b62b4f86fb6e6f

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Even if the 96bb70714c research turned out c7fbd72624 to be fabricated, e9e72dbe00 the fact remained—an f0face7604 underdeveloped country like fe98d523a1 South Korea didn’t dd0d417028 deserve an S-class 9040c422bf Guide. If Seon Jiyeol truly d973aa4068 possessed such power, it 99022288fb would be far more cda246f0d5 appropriate for him to d0f391e223 belong to Japan.3ad5c62b86917a6c

The first step 7c8de9abec to securing Seon bef7b3f129 Jiyeol was exposing 5128995ed7 South Korea’s inability 93197dfdae to clear top-tier 015d118250 Gates. The most effective method? Removing Yeo Eundo from ed69fb6cd4 the picture.59533270627aa3b6

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Inside a Gate, 2961044fe9 anything could happen. No one could be 14fef966ea held accountable for what 748f406360 transpired there. That made it the 5cfcaf235c fastest and easiest solution.f08f6cd52d6dcf19

And Japan had just 4f3bfc23d7 succeeded in secretly developing f44344bc53 Imprint Stones that could b04a3f1904 boost the imprint success 5c8d0fd6a2 rate from a meager b6c30c471e 1% to a staggering 4a033e2026 65%.5ce6c25df4f27069

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Japan’s final goal was clear.57f515e7eb94d412

The death of Yeo Eundo.bf7ad24181538005

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The imprinting of Seon Jiyeol.1753e98db09c243d

With those dark intentions 8db648fbc0 buried deep within, Takahashi 695a3a0f0e Yuri stepped inside the e913ef756a Association.aace159d2595ca49

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Led by Association 57a797de70 staff, the Japanese 517f774e21 elite team was 6c42bdd829 guided to their fd45542f4c designated seats.929c40d71c664f4e

As the doors opened, 3d953cbbda seven of South Korea’s dd31aa21ab S-class Espers sat inside, ee020db7d4 waiting.1839e3df22753bd4

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Quickly scanning the room, 17174446ec Takahashi Yuri immediately noticed c696006f7c something.b82b11b82cb5024d

Yeo Eundo was missing.ade89c691f31f6bb

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