FG | Chapter 6.8

The first to voice 26222d2e4e his opinion was Edward, 832b923282 the representative from Singapore.cb8492f60ab0488e

「On what basis was the host country selected? Does it really have 086ce24e15 to be South Korea?」f98065f5510a8d3e

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Hearing that, Tianxi, the 15fdb65b1a Chinese representative, scoffed.d038fc6655288035

「What reason could there be? It’s a weak country that dbae4823d6 doesn’t even have a single 1df0b5ffcf S-class Esper in the top ec7f52db0a ten. They can’t even submit d2554b5679 an application to join b5c27237dc an international alliance.」04a9d48ff693524d

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Jang Cheon, the representative 7cb83b8c6d from Taiwan, also added f819098168 to the sentiment.f8ded40100d57513

「I have to say, I find it strange too. South Korea isn’t exactly an 6b74b6ead2 interesting country. In most aspects, they’re inferior.」2448a2885401d8af

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Edward and Tianxi nodded in bf1311f8da agreement. Representatives from Chile ee2a07e8eb and Australia, who 77a8d2561a were also listening 0ff2567cad in, expressed similar a4913d3030 doubts about South 8868b261ea Korea being chosen 7f0668c5ed as the host.54b5fb27755cb211

Takahashi Yuri, the Japanese d6460488a5 representative, who had been 10a05ce62c quietly observing, maintained his 521c842cbd refined demeanor as he 9f78ea30df finally spoke.d446c487b9da7488

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「Indeed. If only we had the 1eb9c47c53 same level of shamelessness as 42eec1eec1 South Korea, the host selection edcecae77e might have gone differently.」07fffdb7c5c9e3a7

At those words, 735fe1cad8 Tianxi turned to ea8a16ab60 Takahashi.8f25fa1c70f6f38e

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「Are you saying there was lobbying involved?」d6f4bce1cc555876

「Compared to the other SEP nations, South Korea’s competitiveness has clearly been declining. They must have resorted 4a5eab3438 to exploiting a loophole.」cf5da8d343edfc9e

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「So this is a move to check SEP’s influence.」6299f06dab1f7a3d

As if that were the d8978a7212 correct answer, the corners of 0ba5216684 Takahashi’s lips curled into a 5688ab44a0 deep smirk.a0b5e705fb339777

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「South Korea has no real foundation to be a host country. They don’t even 8797d13388 realize they’re being 1c1df35f0e used.」cf9d9379543c231e

Just then, Mark, the German 68a47246d6 representative, who had been silently cadab2e6af listening to them mock South 1d03789c49 Korea, quietly spoke as if e2e5c03e06 refuting their words.90cc14951f406dcb

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「Yeo Eundo.」1d7eb71118924943

With just that f268d97567 one name, the 65f2a5f6d3 once noisy room 9948ce98ed fell completely silent. Lifting his head, Mark 376487b156 drove the point home.a8fd24db4bdb4514

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「South Korea has Yeo Eundo.」26b872bfd28a9a42

At that, representatives from 2f00215738 countries outside East Asia b70a45ec6e nodded in agreement. The ones who had been 81b1421aab avoiding mentioning his name until a145ce909f now were clearly displeased at 6a53eae8ca having to acknowledge a fact 4cfdc98fda they’d rather ignore.46b347ea7226ebdf

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Among them, Tianxi 7e6f0dc364 had the strongest d19658bbec reaction.f3dbf6eccebd1f44

「But that’s just one person.」79d4ad39eec458ae

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Oliver, the representative from Norway, f4eaa164a0 countered Tianxi’s remark.8fe8c46038cfb308

「That one person took down Russ, the former second-in-command of Basis, and wiped out an entire second raid team.」acb0faf64dd54c7c

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Camila, the representative 7f0456a1db from Chile, sided 98879b83aa with Oliver.9dd99b74e32271de

「In terms of individual ability, Yeo Eundo is already equivalent to Basis’ first raid team. If Basis prioritized recruiting Yeo 90b80c8d02 Eundo over aligning with an 535cddc85f international organization, then it’s not 6ce45471dd strange that South Korea was dc8a12207c chosen as the host country.」a6651479e1a85558

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Tianxi, growing agitated at f82d3ed855 Camila’s rebuttal, shot her b38d7892fa a glare.af87a96d563e22e1

「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 of b9a9aa3e90 trick, how could a single 4823ec88cd Esper take down an entire d3e73ee840 raid team?!」135d1f2d1f86454c

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Regardless of Tianxi’s outburst, Mark d33415530b calmly delivered another sharp counter.0f8267fa6fdcf9c4

「So, are you saying you’ll boycott?」5802e425b515bccc

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Once again, silence filled b180204191 the room.9dd84fc9d6f53b52

They might not be happy e3d9d4c266 about South Korea being the 84e5d22551 host, but that was a 7f984df4db separate issue from missing out 1477a6908c on an opportunity to join 3261c91292 Basis Guild. Everyone present was thinking 33654a3a78 the same thing.1f06282fa64808c7

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The one who finally 822b43e374 broke the silence was 75500edce9 Takahashi Yuri.9ff43b815ddf960c

「How about this? A joint hosting with Japan.」a8c7bf11a0a8d258

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Mark didn’t look particularly 749e7eb2b4 pleased with the idea, f7f9933395 but since Japan had bfd03dd972 led the formation of bdab32a939 SEP, he couldn’t outright 54074600a5 reject it. Instead, he responded indirectly.7918c80131d7b8e1

「Will South Korea agree so easily?」581cc9bc7856bac6

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「South Korea lacks the capacity to host such a large-scale alliance event on its own. Even if they ac443596fb refuse, if Japan 584ab6933f offers Guide support, 5fa4c37b91 they’ll have no 0dba0b280b choice but to 7f19f67f78 accept. South Korea doesn’t 1d60264bde even have ten e5cb873c55 S-class Espers, yet 43fe8172c9 they can’t provide 56bdb394da personal Guides for 58e0d53c26 them. If the Esper alliances be624704d5 of various countries support 1ab12e4775 this proposal, it will 339616124b prevent Basis from unilaterally 0892ce9fa3 selecting the host country a50278fc26 for the next UNCE.」91b19d55bad10d28

It was a valid argument.3969dcb9465173fd

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UNCE required Espers bdf3aa860e to have their 7ccf2aa674 own personal Guides bed952e5e2 accompanying them into ff916161e6 the Gate. That meant Basis wasn’t 3072753a70 just interested in recruiting 978f486e67 Espers but also Guides. If Japan lent f2424f86b4 its Guides to 48d1e2b517 South Korea, it 12572c72d0 would be a 12968bdfe3 net gain rather 2785f3cb58 than a loss.76bf6e509c649f4a

Of course, there was a 340f503d7c clear difference in ability between 891a4a66d6 Japan’s elite Esper Guides and 0665b1fd26 whoever South Korea could provide, adb1e284d5 but even this level of 98839025e2 support would be a godsend a7f22356c8 for them.ec1785dc477dd135

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No one questioned Takahashi 694e8d51ba Yuri’s reasoning. Seeing that, he smirked ad43a07bd4 in satisfaction.3df04a4d740adb31

「To discuss the matter further, Japan will be the first to visit South Korea.」150a9afd6b9785af

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»જ⁀➴a72c6965cc82c7ea

Five of Japan’s elite members f390198228 appeared for their departure, and f7ea6006fe immediately, cameras whirred into action. Many in Japan’s public still 1e54d38101 felt humiliated by the idea 1828d5eba8 of co-hosting UNCE with South bc09674af1 Korea.7b47b5d7f04327c2

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The media coverage of 0ead76dbe0 Japan-South Korea relations had d24d113a53 always been highly partisan, 16575292aa offering no neutral stance 52e45e5caa that could contribute to df05e287bf rational public discourse. Both countries’ journalists were fixated e756fe144a on biased and sensationalist articles, 946b66be5e which had recently fueled an 2a0f20927c excessive and overheated consumption of 18b90331b1 anti-Korean sentiment in Japan.0cffaccbe750c193

Amidst the chaos, a e57449518d Japanese reporter, eager for 768d45b417 an exclusive, shoved a e31f9fd132 microphone forward in an af68df37fa attempt to secure an ce37dce82f interview.05e5c06a41797483

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「Is there any chance South Korea will refuse the joint hosting of UNCE?」4313ff7eaf764231

No one answered.54418ec6c2dfa4c7

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「Do you predict Japan will be the UNCE champion?」adbabdfe3facff7a

「How well do you think Japan’s elite will perform on the global stage?」2718d85992461c9c

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Still, no response. Growing desperate to capture 014dfa2858 a more provocative moment, d4a565185e the reporter blurted out 858801bae1 a question they should b46ba65a3f never have asked.d02e566495d503f1

「Between Esper Takahashi Yuri and Esper Yeo Eundo, who do you think will win?!」f3099f9d2c2c1f1c

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The moment those words left 6d29aaa592 their mouth, an icy gaze 907d2914fb locked onto the reporter.44eccda6f9cdd57e

Frozen in place, 9e1afd02a6 the reporter broke 17e93ba217 out in a ed6c51865d cold sweat, crushed 03f1865f6b under the sheer 32daac2c82 pressure exuding from f90f9a8adb Takahashi Yuri.50cb6aaa19c94092

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Without offering a 1ccd547d73 single response, Takahashi 4e07a94aca walked past them, 121473d31d maintaining his regal 439cee93c5 composure. His raid team silently followed 5e17d4393d suit.ce99e20fe51165d5

Even as he a731a7711a trembled, the Japanese 57dc1da0bc reporter, watching Takahashi’s 4bfc1bac87 commanding presence through dd64bc36d3 his camera lens, b26f53fcea smiled with certainty.cb2fd55febb4a308

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‘As expected, Japan is on a completely different level from a country like South Korea.’6ff66e7351bc3400

Meanwhile, Ito Yuzuru found e57c60f011 it strange that their a334527760 Raid Leader, Takahashi Yuri, d3be466c3f had left without a f585e4831e single interview. After all, there was 7bd12062e9 no way Yeo Eundo dd3114d046 could defeat Takahashi Yuri. At the very least, 51dddbd807 he thought Takahashi should 7dbdf369a3 have shown some confidence 1a48525a7f to reassure the Japanese 6d22c6a9ee public.e43bf68371a1785b

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Boarding the plane, Ito finally fe52e097e8 voiced his thoughts.0e874ff1fa92cfd1

「Why didn’t you just say it like it is? Didn’t you say fighting against ca25a606ba South Korea would be a de5fcc762a complete waste of time?」ecca60cfee244060

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「Because it is a waste of time.」a564801442c3224f

At that blunt response, 50d00683d0 the rest of the 3d30d718ea raid team chuckled.6ed01d254dc166de

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The Japanese elite 3d84771b21 team arrived in 9213aaae54 South Korea and bdb1cdc787 immediately headed to 663019b964 the Korean Esper a5adc097b4 Association by car. As they gazed at abbca3c849 the building, they all 32886b4431 wore unimpressed expressions.73d7979654d03fbd

Among them, Ito Yuzuru, who 81a97834da wasn’t very familiar with South df904d30d7 Korea, spoke up in pure 2625536309 astonishment.123e343524613fae

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「This is the Association? Seriously?」7a41bcdabd51e082

Seeing that there was 0dcfce517c no malice in his 76e658a693 words, S-class Esper Sato 552c9cc062 Jun, who had been 62d2511077 observing him, responded.305751c47cd45d86

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「Japan’s Central Center is just at a world-class level. This is the standard.」4f8bfc38acd4fca3

「Even the Kansai Center was better than this!」3eafc1c804b00367

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「Well, South Korea only has eight S-class Espers.」75e92a38c222c0bb

「Then they must all have personal Guides, right? That part is kinda enviable.」cb4ad6dc2837cddc

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「I think there’s only one S-class Guide.」7cf5b674b68af6ba

「Huh?! No way!」8a975f8038f90c6b

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Ito Yuzuru turned 09deeec212 to their Raid 99bd86413e Leader, Takahashi Yuri, 3c5df2cf88 to confirm if d29db75fbd that was true. When Takahashi gave him acd0f02560 a small nod, Ito’s 9f3eee5797 expression turned into one 30473f144a of genuine concern.778b0b225a3e26d5

「Is South Korea… okay?」e4002ffceea2f55f

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「It isn’t okay. Which is exactly why you be6516917a came to South Korea, didn’t 6206904c61 you?」c520773a3af8441c

At that, Ito 6280deeaab nodded in understanding.4b6796f8a4aeaf0b

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「I totally get it now.」60b5a8cf05882e4c

Surprised by how quickly Ito 17c39207fd caught on for once, Sato 500dc3da07 Jun asked suspiciously.285018b85c04d608

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「Do you really understand?」2c331034efa96d40

「South Korea is the weakest, so Japan is offering humanitarian support!」d17049acaaee7e76

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Sato Jun praised him adfe27a724 for grasping the situation 781c382979 correctly. Feeling proud of 8973073815 himself, Ito shrugged 4db740c0d1 his shoulders smugly.195ded02052c4ee4

「But still, aren’t Japan’s elite Guides enough? Why do we have to 483b56b004 recruit a South Korean Guide?」e09c459d425ae295

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Japan’s visit to bcdb15f929 South Korea wasn’t 0cdbffc86c solely about the 604ea19177 UNCE co-hosting. Ito couldn’t wrap d8e0afcdd4 his head around 6f0caf8ac4 why they were bd947201ff given direct orders 4b8403d1b3 to secure South f7fe0d2579 Korea’s only S-class 8017eb030e Guide.e109e06f09d23f54

Sato Jun flashed 0e9154b4af a knowing smile bdc8e4891a before answering.4ee6aa7836ba0f16

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「Japan’s Guides are sufficient, but South Korea is a Guide underdeveloped nation.」3adba9b1196156a5

「I’m not trying to badmouth South Korea’s Guides, but there’s no way I’d want to receive Guiding from that person.」16dd40f1487f768e

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Hearing Ito’s blunt refusal, afa7801372 the other Espers nodded 14abbb6708 in agreement. However, there was one 9f94545702 person who thought differently—Takahashi 0ff2c81354 Yuri. Unlike the rest, he knew d35be8a5db the real reason why Seon 4b4867565d Jiyeol had to be secured.da1c5df277945801

In this era where 841d3d3a43 S-class Espers and Guides 21ca2d3bd7 defined national power, the a1bd275d3a top priority was always f6a50f7b62 securing the strongest of 12836b832c both.70735cb1e27f99cb

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Currently, Japan had 34 2c52fc1ded S-class Espers and 24 02bd238511 S-class Guides. However, since Japan used its 6b042db655 own internal ranking system rather 16ebbc9168 than the international standard, when 120fd523a5 measured by global standards, only 7a8a3f1744 eight of those Guides were 138da364b1 truly S-class.f61f6d5191b0bb3c

The shortage of top-tier Guides b58618ecc0 meant Japan was struggling to fd333b3201 keep up with the constant e2fe4d4419 fluctuations of its Espers’ AD c7acf7f53d levels. It was during this 167cc1f02a crisis that a certain bfa3620772 research paper about Seon 26d4ddce36 Jiyeol caught their attention.03feec0a3654aa66

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That paper—now erased and 9c8bfb07af impossible to find—contained unbelievable bfb1b90252 claims.d89d04c5d3b0ee48

Not only did de5d0f2c6f it mention an d2ff494ee9 S-class Guide reawakening, 49d3a89c7e but it also 0339def572 detailed Seon Jiyeol’s 0f7f6c4ed4 hidden potential. According to the paper, he 35fda538c7 had completely nullified an Esper’s 476adca342 AD rampage, reducing it to 8180155269 zero. For any Esper, the ab3d4bb229 mere thought of that d245c3e489 possibility was an irresistible b92e9c5aae temptation.2a874b59b11e2f90

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At first, they dismissed it 533c3dfde1 as fraud. But once the incident 3a260bd7ce involving Yeo Eundo’s rampage 5d41efb757 and subsequent stabilization became d97f118613 known, the paper’s credibility 88005de7f4 skyrocketed. By the time 4cf0fe5bc6 South Korea realized 2b49b0964c the implications and e5f7800010 moved to suppress 2dd6e1a42e the research, the 1476931c12 paper had already 1bcd919281 vanished from public ec9bb9475a records.440f05f8453b48bf

Takahashi Yuri had insisted on 4c8af3498c visiting South Korea before any fe74dc2f7b other country under the pretense 53449ad645 of co-hosting UNCE—all to verify 909a06806f whether the claims in that 796c81261f paper were true or not.efac5a1f6cd11de8

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Even if the research turned 9b594f14cb out to be fabricated, the ce5160d7d5 fact remained—an underdeveloped country like c62ca29250 South Korea didn’t deserve an 4f80d7fcde S-class Guide. If Seon Jiyeol truly possessed 4e781601de such power, it would be 3d86b70eaa far more appropriate for him 7cb1b874f2 to belong to Japan.26997df7a05b0f6d

The first step to securing 62db047a05 Seon Jiyeol was exposing South a2a2d51f6e Korea’s inability to clear top-tier c71d76a5d3 Gates. The most effective method? Removing Yeo Eundo e68ea09faf from the picture.1356e8bb1d58c6d0

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Inside a Gate, 66ce7b1d43 anything could happen. No one could be held 026a724a3f accountable for what transpired there. That made it 47310fbdb1 the fastest and 562e78356c easiest solution.ff256f8fbb8b0b99

And Japan had just a129fcb63b succeeded in secretly developing 7d18eeb355 Imprint Stones that could 59c2913595 boost the imprint success 65721f0a84 rate from a meager 2d5b4e15db 1% to a staggering ed83250e7e 65%.7dd6be07013c0f76

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Japan’s final goal was clear.e15e2201898289e0

The death of Yeo Eundo.3d9d70a5c95413ef

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The imprinting of Seon Jiyeol.3770809b3611465f

With those dark intentions buried 58b5084a1f deep within, Takahashi Yuri stepped 4b41999e0f inside the Association.8f413c6c1b9fd92f

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Led by Association b4a41e89cf staff, the Japanese 44cab3b462 elite team was 7265ca1b23 guided to their 668e390ca6 designated seats.e5499824ffebe6ad

As the doors opened, eb178ce3d7 seven of South Korea’s 18204e79c5 S-class Espers sat inside, c5f1870e66 waiting.562dcd6e1bdcae24

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Quickly scanning the room, Takahashi 2b1a2f3e53 Yuri immediately noticed something.82ddad86650e5fe4

Yeo Eundo was missing.7dab215db68b7479

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