Chapter 1454: Return to Work (4) |
Wiggins dashed out of his room like a streak of lightning. To think they would show up so soon!
Events like this would sometimes happen when dealing with the American officials. They didn’t hesitate to waste as much time as possible if the deal didn’t benefit them in any shape or form, but when they knew they stood gain a lot? They would try to close the deal at a breakneck speed instead.
Judging from how quickly they had shown up, the American government must’ve believed that this was an excellent deal for them.
That’s all good and well, but at least call us ahead of time first!
Wiggins reached Kang Jin-Ho’s suite in the proverbial blink of an eye, then shoved the door open. That prompted everyone in the room to turn their attention to him.
“Forgive me for my tardiness,” said Wiggins. He didn’t wait for a reply and immediately sat next to Kang Jin-Ho.
Spencer glanced at his companion. “Reese, can you bring us another glass?”
“Yes, sir.”
After Reese brought an empty flute, the affably smiling Spencer personally poured sparkling wine into it, then noted that the bottle was running empty.
“Got it, sir. We have spare bottles ready. Let me get one.”
“Okay, good.” Spencer nodded, then turned his attention to Wiggins next. “It’s been a while, Knight Wiggins… Oops, my apologies. Mister Wiggins.”
“Likewise, Mister Spencer. Or do you prefer the Undersecretary?”
While Wiggins was still a Knight in the Round Table, he had met Reynold Spencer a handful of times on business-related matters.
And he was not an easy opponent to deal with, even back then.
Spencer hid his sharpness beneath the good-natured smile. Then again, pretty much everyone in this neck of the woods did that, didn’t they?
“Okay, so…” Kang Jin-Ho abruptly chimed in to cut short this round of simple greetings. “You said you had a condition. What is it?”
Spencer leisurely picked up the flute and brought it to his lips. After taking a sip, yet another bright grin spread on his face.
“If I’m being honest with you, we shouldn’t have a reason to humor the Martial Assembly’s demands. The problem is with… the worth.”
“Worth?”
“Yes. The worth. Will stationing our men in Korea be worth the trouble for us? How will we benefit from this arrangement? That kind of worth.”
Spencer put the flute down and spoke in a more earnest tone.
“The reason why the issue is with ‘worth’ is simple. The benefit of this deal for us is not something tangible and immediate, you see? Even if we station our men in your country, how do we know we will successfully keep China in check? We don’t know that for sure.”
Kang Jin-Ho slightly tilted his head. “Even though you were the one who proposed it in the first place?”
“Of course, that is correct. And that’s why I’m here. What the Martial Assembly’s demands amount to is that your side wants to exchange the immaterial benefits for material benefits.”
The idea of stationing soldiers in Korea, and paying appropriate monetary compensation for it; since the former couldn’t be quantified in monetary terms, the latter couldn’t be calculated properly.
“I’ve delivered your demands to my superiors, but… Some of them think it’s a great deal, while others think you’re taking us for a ride. In my opinion, this impasse is not solvable through dialogue,” said Spencer.
Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded, then mouthed a cigarette.
Click…
After lighting it up, Kang Jin-Ho stared at Spencer, a hint of boredom creeping into his expression now.
“That’s enough preamble, don’t you think? Say what’s on your mind. Only then would we be able to tell you where we stand, after all.”
Spencer grinned again after noticing that Kang Jin-Ho’s tone had gotten a little stiffer.
I see. You are not unhappy, but…
It sounded as if Kang Jin-Ho would stop caring about etiquette and protocol and become more serious in this negotiation. Of course, Spencer had no problem with that.
“Our demand is simple, Assembly Master. Show us. Take this indefinable, immaterial worth of this deal and turn it into something tangible. If you do that, we will give you everything you want. No, we are even prepared to go beyond that. Information, the command of our troops, money… Not only that, but even the long-term backing, as well.”
“When you say the immaterial worth? What do you have in mind?”
“It’s education. The one you spoke of during your visit to Area H27.”
“…?” Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. “I’m not following you here.”
“To understand what I mean, you should know more about America’s current situation first. All our issues stem from there, after all. Tell me, what do you think is the biggest difference between America and the martial societies in other countries?”
Lee Hyeon-Su replied instead of Kang Jin-Ho. “Isn’t it… using martial artists as soldiers? As a part of your standing army?”
“No, that’s not it.” Spencer shook his head. “We never considered martial artists and the military as two separate entities. Why? Because a similar integration of the two sides as ours can already be seen in other countries. Both entities have been acting under the flag of their home country all this time, haven’t they?”
“Mm…”
“And in Europe, the various martial societies have copied the surface world’s union between countries. Although, one could say that’s the case of, did the egg come first, or was it chicken?”
Wiggins chimed in. “I can answer that one for you. The Round Table came first.”
“Well, at least we have an answer to that question,” said Spencer with a genial grin, then resumed his explanation. “The biggest difference between America and the martial societies of other countries is… Who is in charge? In other words, the one giving them the orders.”
Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head in confusion. “Huh? Aren’t they the same thing?”
“No, they are not. Let me simplify it for you. In other countries, the one holding the authority to command their respective martial society is a martial artist. However, in America…”
“Ah!”
“Mm!”
Lee Hyeon-Su and Wiggins gasped loudly simultaneously.
“In America, it’s not a martial artist,” said Wiggins.
“Yes, that’s right.” Spencer weightily nodded. “And that has led to a surprising number of issues. The biggest issue is that these men in power are ordinary people and do not understand the power of martial artists. They view martial artists as nothing more than enhanced super soldiers.”
“Mm… Makes sense.”
Wiggins nodded along. Now he finally understood why the soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade trained that way and settled into such a system. The American government pursued what seemed logical, and that meant their martial artists ended up in an illogical situation instead.
“While martial societies in other nations naturally developed over time, America didn’t do that. It had the image of a martial artist in mind and nurtured soldiers to match that ideal,” said Wiggins.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“And so, your incomplete and ill-informed imaginations have driven your own martial artists into a dead-end.”
“Regrettably, that will be a no-comment from me. It’s a sensitive issue, after all.”
Spencer chuckled helplessly as if there wasn’t much he could do about it.
“This is why our higher-ups cannot understand this development. From their perspective, martial artists talking about the power balance and who’s stronger and whatnot must seem like a… A comparison between American comic book superheroes and manga characters.”
Lee Hyeon-Su muttered off-handedly. “I think Superman is way stronger than everyone, though…”
Spencer’s expression stiffened ever so slightly at that comment, prompting Lee Hyeon-Su to think that Mister Undersecretary lacked a sense of humor.
“I think the opposite, actually,” said Spencer with a smirk. “It won’t be difficult for us to humor all the demands the Martial Assembly has made. However, for us to sign on the dotted line and seal this deal, we need to help the naysayers see our point of view first.
“Right now, they are unwilling to accept the fact that the members of the SOB, who benefited from an astronomical sum of investment over the years, have lost to a couple of East Asian martial artists who follow antiquated ways of training.”
Kang Jin-Ho casually shrugged. “That sounds like a thinly veiled insult? Didn’t you say it’s all about education?”
“Yes, that is correct. It’s education. If those naysayers realize that our men won’t merely be stationed in Korea to keep China at bay, but would also receive education from you, they will not hesitate to dump all the money you’ve asked for in your front yard. However…”
Spencer paused for a second and wiped his forehead, as if saying the next part was tricky even for him.
“As you know, the thing about education is that… Well, you’d need an excellent tutor and…”
“I see. Now I get it.”
Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. Long story short…
The American higher-ups simply did not trust Kang Jin-Ho’s abilities. That was it. It didn’t matter how much explanation was given or how many video footage they had watched, those in power would never understand without witnessing it for themselves first.
“Even though they can’t be a bunch of morons?”
Lee Hyeon-Su sighed deeply. “I think I can understand where they are coming from, sir. Confucius is considered one of the four eminent sages, but imagine trying to explain the truth about the universe uncovered by modern science to him.
“He’ll accuse you of being a traitor to true Confucianism and a heretic before trying to behead you. In the end, your wisdom only means something within the boundaries of things you know of. To these people, martial arts should be no different to, say, astrology. Or the occult.”
“Mister Lee has hit the nail on the head,” said Spencer with an enthusiastic nod. It seemed Lee Hyeon-Su’s explanation pleased him greatly.
“And undoubtedly, some people must think it’s all useless, too,” said Wiggins.
“Yes, that is also correct, Mister Wiggins. If I’m being honest, that opinion has been more popular than the other one.”
“That’s also understandable.”
America boasted the world’s strongest military. So, it could rely on its military might to resolve most problems. In that case, why would they jump into a… field that was not their specialty and kowtow to some unknown people to receive an unproven education?
Rather than being unreasonable, you’re trying to say their argument is rather logical. Is that it?
Wiggins now fully understood what Spencer was trying to say.
The American way was one of democracy, which was many people coming to an agreement before making a move. Even the President of the United States of America couldn’t unilaterally make decisions about everything.
So, within the American government, the side supporting the idea of paying the Martial Assembly off and kowtowing to its demands was stuck in an impasse against the side unwilling to do that.
Of course, the number of decision-makers involved should be only a handful. A secret was only a secret when only a few people knew about it, after all. Only a select few in the American government’s decision-making bodies should be privy to the information of this nature.
Wiggins glanced at Spencer. “How many people are we talking about here?”
“Two. But we don’t need to convince them both. Only one will be enough to get the ball rolling, after all.”
“I see. So, there are four?”
“I can neither confirm nor deny that.”
“Hmm. So, in summary…” Wiggins nodded while rubbing his beard, then glanced at Kang Jin-Ho. “You want something decisive and unquestionable to change the minds of the naysayers. And it’s something only we can provide.”
“Yes, that’s correct,” said Spencer.
“Since you are willing to meet our demands, and then some, in case we succeed, is it safe to assume that this thing you have in mind will be just as difficult?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Wiggins sighed deeply, then narrowed his eyes at Kang Jin-Ho. “What will you do, my lord?”
Grayish smoke drifted out of Kang Jin-Ho’s lips. He stared at the ceiling in a slight daze before lowering his gaze to look at Spencer. “You said this was urgent, but all you did was give us a song-and-dance routine.”
“…”
“Stop beating around the bush and get to the point. What do you want me to do here?”
“It’s to prove it, Assembly Master.”
“Prove it? Prove what?”
“Prove that you’re strong.”
Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “Haven’t I already done that?”
Spencer smiled wryly. “That’s why I said earlier that ordinary people hold the command of the American martial artists. Those people never had much faith in the effectiveness of martial artists. Since that’s the case, they were not all that surprised to hear that a group of people they didn’t trust had lost to you.”
“Uh? Hold on.” Lee Hyeon-Su’s expression stiffened slightly. “Then… What those people trust is… Could it be?”
“Yes.”
Reynold Spencer weightily nodded.
Lee Hyeon-Su could already tell what the answer to his question would be. And he prayed his hunch was wrong this time.
Unfortunately, Spencer’s reply accurately matched Lee Hyeon-Su’s prediction.
“Yes, it’s the United States military.”
“…”
The air in the room grew cold instantly.
As if he had sensed the precipitous drop in the atmosphere, Spencer fake-coughed several times to compose himself first.
“Assembly Master. Our official demand is this. You must prove your strength against our military. Only then will we acknowledge the worth of the martial world.”
“…You want our Assembly Master to fight the American military?!”
This has to be a joke, right?