Ch.244244. Spoils Distribution

The successful subjugation of the Hayabusa Group brought many benefits to Seorabeol.

Even after distributing spoils to the three major guilds, Seorabeol’s share—including the seized vessels—was substantial enough to make it seem like they could immediately launch an expedition across the East Sea to the South China Sea with newfound prestige.

Jin A-yeon disbanded the three major guilds after distributing the spoils and brought the captured vessels to Pohang, grinning at the thought of repurposing them as maritime police vessels. However…

“We’ve captured many vessels, but inspection results show they’re not compatible with the parts and operating systems of our current fleet. In other words, maintenance and repairs will be difficult.”

“Whaaaat?”

The real issue was that they weren’t compatible with parts currently used by the navy.

This meant self-maintenance and repairs would be extremely difficult. Given that the vessels were already battered from the subjugation battle, if asked whether they could sail comfortably in such condition… Jin A-yeon could only shake her head.

Addressing Jin A-yeon, Seo Un-jae, who was managing Pohang in place of the Dragon Priestess Baek Seol-hwa, explained the details of the report one by one.

“Of course, we have our ally, the Yamato Union, so we could request technicians or import parts from them. But for us, who only need to defend the East Sea, these are too many vessels. Maintenance costs are also an issue.”

“That costs money, right? So in the end, we’ve acquired a bunch of useless things?”

Of course, since the Hayabusa Group itself was an organization formed by Self-Defense Force members who had deserted civilian government control before the apocalypse, the vessels they used would naturally be those used by the pre-apocalypse Self-Defense Force.

This meant they could indeed request parts or dispatch technicians from their ally, the Yamato Union, for repairs and maintenance, but that would require a massive budget.

With the police budget already stretched thin due to the three major guilds, the black market, and villains, Jin A-yeon knew that squeezing out additional funds for vessel maintenance and repairs would bankrupt the police. In essence, she had brought back massive floating junk with a smile on her face.

“No, that’s not the case.”

“Huh?”

While Jin A-yeon might want to repair and use these as maritime police vessels, from Seorabeol’s perspective, these captured vessels were far from useless.

“They may be useless to us, but there’s an ally who would want them, isn’t there?”

“The Yamato Union?”

While they might be difficult for Seorabeol to use, these vessels would be invaluable to the Yamato Union.

The Yamato Union, being the successor to Japan, would naturally have recovered former Self-Defense Force vessels to protect their territorial waters.

This meant the Yamato Union would have the know-how, technicians, and parts to use the vessels Jin A-yeon had captured.

“Yes. The Yamato Union would pay a high price for our captured vessels. And since the villains we arrested were originally from the Yamato Union, we could hand them over along with the vessels for a fee.”

“I understand selling the vessels, but the latter somehow sounds like slave trading? You’re saying we should sell villains for money?”

Seo Un-jae suggested selling the captured vessels to the Yamato Union and simultaneously dealing with the villains imprisoned in Pohang Correctional Facility.

While it made sense to consider overseas detention given the increasing number of villains and the limited capacity of Pohang Correctional Facility, Jin A-yeon’s first thought was slave trading.

It wasn’t Seorabeol paying the Yamato Union to take the villains, but rather receiving money to hand them over, which could easily be misunderstood as slave trading.

Seeing her unease, Seo Un-jae simply smiled and said:

“Slaves provide labor. Villains can’t even be used for labor.”

“Then why are we talking about selling them for money?”

Indeed, villains couldn’t be used for labor.

Would someone who had already caused trouble behave differently in the Yamato Union? Even if given one chance or freedom, they would surely cause problems there too, and the Yamato Union knew this, so they would likely imprison them.

But why would such trash have enough value for Seorabeol to sell them to the Yamato Union for money?

Jin A-yeon was curious about Seo Un-jae’s logic.

“Well, the Yamato Union needs prestige right now. They need the prestige of capturing defectors who left the Yamato Union.”

“Prestige? Is that important?”

The answer was simple.

The Yamato Union needed prestige, and the quickest way to gain it was to buy it with money.

Gaining prestige through battle or war carried too much risk with little return, but buying prestige with money offered a large return for minimal risk.

“Yes, it’s extremely important. The Yamato Union, which recaptured Kyushu, hasn’t properly inherited Japan’s legacy, just as Seorabeol couldn’t inherit South Korea’s legacy. They’re not recognized as Japan’s legitimate government by forces across Japan.”

This was a problem that arose from enthusiastically following Seorabeol’s policies.

Just as Seorabeol wasn’t recognized as South Korea’s legitimate government, and the South Korean government maintained by Seoul’s hero Kim Su-ho was recognized as the legitimate one despite being just a signboard, the Yamato Union similarly wasn’t recognized as Japan’s legitimate government.

In this situation, the Yamato Union, like Seorabeol, needed strong prestige to ensure no one could doubt their power.

“Would the Yamato regime, which has entered a period of stability, want war? They’d prefer to focus on internal affairs to enhance their stability.”

In truth, the Yamato Union, having just entered a period of stability, didn’t want war.

From the regime’s perspective, it would be easier to maintain this stability for a long time and declare victory when the apocalypse ends, positioning the Yamato Union as the only recognized Japanese government, rather than attempting national unification through war, which was more difficult than expected.

Having suffered significant unexpected losses during the Kyushu recapture, choosing war just to gain prestige would also affect the regime’s stability.

“In such a situation, if there’s prestige that everyone can recognize, the Yamato regime would be willing to pay a high price for it.”

“So that’s what you mean by selling villains? If someone heard this without context, it would immediately sound like slave trading, which is problematic.”

Buying prestige with money in this situation?

From the Yamato Union’s perspective, this was such an attractive offer that they’d say “Take the money right now!”

But the more Jin A-yeon thought about it, the more it seemed no different from slave trading.

If you consider it as gaining prestige instead of labor, isn’t it still similar to slave trading?

“Haha. Anyway, Pohang Correctional Facility is reaching its capacity limit after this incident. Since things have come to this, it would be easier to manage if we could receive money and have them detained in overseas facilities.”

However, the Pohang Correctional Facility, a prison dedicated to Awakened individuals, was reaching its capacity limit, making it difficult to consider the human rights of villains.

While Seo Un-jae emphasized the importance of this matter, Jin A-yeon was reluctant, but…

“Then I will propose this to the cabinet.”

“Hmm.”

When Baek Seol-hwa, who had just returned to her office after protecting the East Sea, said she would personally propose it to the cabinet, Jin A-yeon withdrew without a word.

She sensed that once the Dragon Priestess had made up her mind, she alone couldn’t stop it.

“Thank you, Lady Seol-hwa.”

Seo Un-jae expressed gratitude to Baek Seol-hwa for making a difficult decision without hesitation.

When this matter was brought to the Seorabeol cabinet, their response was…

“It’s not a bad proposal. The cabinet agrees.”

They approved.

Baek Seol-hwa’s proposal could also enhance Seorabeol’s prestige and fulfill their debt to the Yamato Union, making it far from a losing deal.

While this approach could certainly be criticized as inhumane and disregarding human rights and morality, in this apocalypse, morality and human rights were unlikely to be preserved, and few voluntarily tried to uphold them.

“Human rights issues? This is actually a gentle method, isn’t it?”

“Better than being used as leveling material for our Awakened, or being disrespected or experimented on like the Cult of Immortality does.”

In fact, Seorabeol’s approach was considered gentle enough to respect the human rights of villains, and the Seorabeol cabinet thought of themselves as gentlemanly and merciful toward villains.

If it were a more aggressive regime or raiders, they might have used them for slave labor or as leveling material for Awakened individuals.

“They’re selling vessels used by the Self-Defense Force?”

When the cabinet approved, this news quickly reached Takashima Shiro, the leader of the Yamato Union, and his reaction was…

“Yes. They’ve expressed their intention to sell vessels captured after subjugating the pirate Self-Defense Force deserters. The Dragon Priestess has even vouched for them.”

“…Not a bad proposal. We also need naval power to protect our seas.”

Very favorable.

Shiro interpreted this proposal as a gesture of goodwill from Seorabeol, and the fact that the Dragon Priestess had vouched for the vessels increased his trust in Seorabeol.

Above all, since the Yamato Union also needed a navy to protect its territorial waters, from Shiro’s perspective, it appeared as if Seorabeol was offering exactly what the Yamato Union needed most.

“We have enough army now. Rather, we need a navy that can support expedition supplies and protect our waters. If Seorabeol sells us vessels, we’ll instantly gain powerful naval forces to protect our territorial waters!”

“They say these are military vessels used by the former Self-Defense Force. Obtained after subjugating the Self-Defense Force members who became pirates.”

“That’s excellent. These are items we can use immediately!”

Initially, the Yamato Union had focused on developing a large army due to the apocalypse, but as an island nation surrounded by water, they couldn’t neglect naval development.

In fact, they needed to focus more on naval rather than army development compared to Seorabeol, and in such situations, purchasing existing vessels secondhand was easier and faster than building new ones—a universal truth.

Moreover, the vessels Seorabeol was selling were those used by the pre-apocalypse Self-Defense Force?

For the Yamato Union, compatibility wouldn’t even need to be mentioned, as they could immediately repair and deploy them to the front lines.

“We’ve recently entered a policy of significantly increasing rice production, and it’s somewhat on track. In fact, our rice exports are increasing day by day.”

“Long live rice, you mean.”

In fact, Kyushu was transforming into East Asia’s top food exporter.

They were mobilizing all national resources for rice production more enthusiastically than anyone else, and Japanese rice was being exported not only to Seorabeol but also to China and Southeast Asia, transforming the region into East Asia’s granary.

Essentially, they had become “rice merchants,” selling rice and buying goods, but Shiro actively encouraged this transformation of the Yamato Union.

He invested enormous budgets in agriculture and collaborated with the Seorabeol Mage Association branch in the Yamato Union to research the application of magic to agricultural technology more passionately than anyone.

“Unlike Seorabeol, we don’t have Bahamut currency, so we must use food as our weapon. First, convey to the Seorabeol cabinet our intention to enter discussions about the price of the vessels.”

“Yes. And they also asked what to do with the villains affiliated with the Self-Defense Force.”

Without special items like Bahamut currency, the path the Yamato Union had to walk was humble and solid national policy, and Shiro’s policies were beginning to bear fruit. However, Seorabeol’s proposal wasn’t just about selling vessels.

The second proposal was important for the Yamato Union, and Shiro listened to it with a serious expression.

“What is Seorabeol’s intention?”

He first asked about Seorabeol’s intention.

He would make a judgment based on what Seorabeol had said.

“They said they would send them intact if we pay an appropriate price.”

“I see. ‘If you want prestige, pay up.’ Hmm, they’ve become greedier than I expected.”

Shiro smiled bitterly at his aide’s words.

He anticipated having to pay a high price, but he wasn’t pessimistic about it.

“Should we refuse?”

“No. There are still those who don’t recognize our regime, so we need to warn them and make our prestige known throughout Japan. Considering that, this deal isn’t bad for us either.”

After all, Seorabeol had provided what the Yamato Union needed most at a critical time and was selling it at an appropriate price.

From a consumer’s perspective, even if they complained about the price, they couldn’t doubt the quality that had been assured, so how could they express dissatisfaction?

“Isn’t this basically slave trading?”

“What we’re gaining is prestige, not labor. If this were slave trading, we’d be gaining labor.”

The aide immediately thought of slave trading upon hearing this deal, but Shiro simply dismissed it, saying they were gaining prestige, not labor, so it wasn’t slave trading.

Of course…

“Of course, if we used Geas Scrolls, we could form true slave contracts as you suggest. But using expensive Geas Scrolls on each villain wouldn’t be cost-effective.”

“Ah, I see.”

True slave trading was possible, but using Geas Scrolls to control the captured villains’ behavior wasn’t cost-effective at all.

Unless there was an exceptional warlord like Xuan Guan Lin, it was most efficient to simply pay an appropriate price and use them for prestige rather than using expensive magical items. Shiro had no intention of using villains for labor or military purposes through such troublesome methods.

“Then I’ll convey to Seorabeol that we accept the villain transfer as well.”

“Please do.”

After Shiro made his decision, his aide said he would inform Seorabeol of Shiro’s intention and left his office.

“This is troublesome. Seorabeol knows the internal situation of the Yamato Union better than I expected. Of course, since I lowered my guard, it’s natural that internal information flows to Seorabeol! But they know too much, which threatens our sovereignty in return.”

After his aide left, Shiro sighed, expressing the current situation of the Yamato government that he couldn’t tell his aide, with a somewhat perplexed expression.

Such blatant knowledge of the Yamato Union’s situation and offering to sell exactly what the Union wanted meant that Seorabeol already had the Union’s internal affairs in the palm of their hand.

While this situation was natural since Shiro had lowered barriers by choice, there should be a “moderation” between nations; at this level, he could feel the Yamato Union’s sovereignty was being threatened.

“But conversely, we also know about Seorabeol. And the fact that the intentions of the Seorabeol cabinet and the Dragon Priestess are not necessarily unified.”

However, he wasn’t pessimistic.

If Seorabeol knew about the Yamato Union, the Yamato Union also knew about Seorabeol, and Shiro, who had observed Seorabeol’s political system for a long time, could find one vulnerability.

“If we can persuade the Dragon Priestess, we can obtain even unreasonable requests or interests.”

Seorabeol was currently operating as a British-style constitutional monarchy centered around Dragon Priestess Choi Yu-na, but the legal power and authority Choi Yu-na held went beyond a constitutional monarchy, approaching an absolute monarchy.

This meant that if there was a logic that could persuade Choi Yu-na alone rather than the Seorabeol cabinet members, they could have an advantage in future negotiations.

The question was whether there was a proposal that would tempt Choi Yu-na, and Shiro, who had observed Seorabeol politics for a long time, could also understand Choi Yu-na’s tendencies.

“And Dragon Priestess Choi Yu-na is a devout religious person who values the influence of the Balhut Cult more than Seorabeol.”

Choi Yu-na certainly had the qualities of a monarch of Seorabeol, leadership to guide people, and sufficient charismatic charm.

However, her own identity was stronger as the leader of the Balhut Cult than as the monarch of Seorabeol, and she showed a tendency to prioritize the cult’s influence as a devout religious person.

If he targeted this point, he could certainly obtain concessions from Choi Yu-na.

“We could consider officially recognizing the Balhut Cult as a religion and helping expand its influence across the Japanese archipelago in exchange for demanding more interests from Seorabeol.”

If Bahamut learned of this, he would surely cry profusely and shout to the heavens, “Why is the Balhut Cult thriving as a religion?” in despair—a problematic policy indeed. But from Shiro’s perspective, it was simply a necessary policy to strengthen the vulnerable Yamato Union after its founding.