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The council member spoke confidently, seemingly eager to showcase his abilities.

“If I receive help from my connections, infiltration would be a piece of cake.”

He asserted that there was no need to sneak around, glancing worriedly at the South Koreans; all he had to do was boldly enter, complete the mission, and return.

Others around him were impressed by his confidence.

“Haha.”

“Such bluster….”

They looked at the council member as if he were a braggart.

A way to avoid being captured on video or in pictures?

Of course, there were.

They could use a disruption camouflage, activate a jamming device, employ an artifact with optical camouflage abilities, or a warrior skilled in shape-shifting could alter his appearance. Alternatively, they could simply trigger an EMP to disable all surrounding equipment.

Yeah.

There were numerous methods.

Yet, the crucial thing was not just to conceal themselves, but to avoid detection entirely.

Was mere absence from video recording enough?

No.

How many capable individuals were lurking about, how much equipment was deployed, how many artifacts were in play?

Just because they wouldn’t be caught on machines didn’t mean they were safe.

Furthermore, people posed a problem.

South Korea was a bustling place relative to its size.

In rural areas, it was plausible to operate undetected through stealth and covert tactics, but this mission obviously required action in the metropolitan area.

In other words, to avoid detection until the mission was completed and they returned to Japan,

They needed to evade machines.

They needed to remain unseen by people.

They needed to dodge surveillance equipment everywhere.

And they needed to avoid artifacts too.

Moreover, they weren’t just going in and out; they had to work, right?

They had to bring back an item!

South Korea was subtly hinting to Japan, saying, “We have something like this, so we should discuss negotiations.”

There was no way such a relic would be rolling around unprotected.

They had to penetrate those defenses and safely secure the item, then transport it back to Japan without incident.

Isn’t it enough to make a person nauseous just thinking about it?

To achieve that, they’d need a group of specialized capable individuals for infiltration and stealth, alongside an onmyoji or wizard for support, plus various helpers on standby. They would also need to arm them with several tools to help them escape if detected.

These were the bare minimum conditions for the capable people to return safely after completing their mission.

What if those conditions weren’t met?

Right.

The operation might go well enough.

If luck was on their side, they could send the item back to Japan safely.

But what then?

They would definitely get caught.

A capable person related to His Majesty the Emperor would be arrested after completing the task of sending a divine object to Japan.

Disposable.

Used once and discarded!

Does that even make sense?

“I thought you might have some brilliant idea when you spoke so confidently about dispatching capable individuals…. Tsk, tsk. But it seems there’s nothing.”

“As long as we don’t appear on video equipment, we’re good? But won’t we leave traces? Like, they can track us through noise, right?”

“If we block video equipment, we might manage to infiltrate. We might even sneak out with the item. But that capable person will get caught in South Korea.”

“The South Korean government would make a big fuss, presenting that capable person as evidence, claiming Japan tried to steal South Korean relics and divine objects. What a disgrace for Japan!”

“Besides, are we really in a position to risk capable individuals? Right now, even that elder can’t have enough capable bodyguards with all the eyes watching him.”

“Thank goodness that elder has made significant contributions to Japan’s revitalization, so he receives some consideration. I can barely keep one warrior with me. Tsk. No matter how thorough the protection is, it always feels lacking…. The head of security is a warrior, and the bodyguards have been trained in self-defense, so they consider that enough, or so they say.”

Elsewhere may differ, but to the aristocracy, capable individuals were precious.

To them, capable individuals were like the samurai of old times.

Loyal, brave protectors who wielded armed force at their command.

They weren’t merely bodyguards.

For them, having capable individuals under their command represented their strength, prestige, and status as aristocrats.

Back in the day, before modernization,

What determined the power of a clan?

Money?

Land?

Sure, those counted.

But the most definitive indicator of a clan’s power was the warriors.

Warriors!

Samurai!

Living embodiments of armed force, their arms and swords!

It was the same during the Imperial Japan era.

The clans believed that the influential ones in the military were the strongest, and indeed they were.

These aristocratic ideals remained, preserved under the title of ‘tradition’ and have endured in various forms even today.

One of those is the belief equating the strength of clans with their capable individuals.

However….

The council member, fully aware of such traditions, casually suggested sending capable individuals off as sacrifices.

“You seem to think capable individuals are expendable?”

“Perhaps you believe you’re a shogun, right? Haha. One capable individual for one mission.”

“Or did you happen to join some right-wing group? Did you manage to connect with a right-wing capable individuals group while evading the government’s eyes?”

“Haha, if I had, I would not be here now. I would have resigned and been arrested for treason in an instant.”

Absurd.

If a council member said something like that without knowing anything, it could almost be understood.

If they were a newcomer to the clan who had only recently married in, perhaps their common sense was lacking.

But this particular council member had astonishingly interacted with them since childhood.

Born into the aristocracy, having had no prolonged study abroad, he had continuously followed the elite path in Japan.

Did someone like him really say that?

Naturally, it could only be perceived this way.

『 What’s important is the item, so let’s send any capable individual. Return? Oh, all we need is to secure the item, right? Capable individual? Ah, I have no intention of sending my clan’s capable individuals; let’s just pick a competent one from a clan that can be controlled.』

This is why people looked upon him unfavorably.

They regarded him as a braggart and a selfish jerk, someone who had learned only the dark side of politics over his lengthy career while tossing the unity of the aristocracy aside as if it meant nothing.

Facing their discontented glances, the council member slowly opened his mouth.

He didn’t seem intimidated at all; he spoke confidently.

“I see. I understand what you’re all thinking. But there’s no need to worry. What I said is…”

The council member took out his smartphone and grinned.

“There’s no need to fret; all I meant was that we just need to be a bit more wary of video and photo recording.”

He displayed a photo on his smartphone for everyone to see.

“Eh…?”

“Hold on.”

The picture was a crude one, consisting of just text.

But despite its simplicity, the content was highly significant.

“Surveillance equipment locations…?”

“This isn’t confidential, is it?”

Surprisingly, it contained military secrets.

The locations of surveillance equipment in certain areas of Seoul were listed.

While certainly not exhaustive, it was sufficient to formulate an infiltration route.

People stared at the council member in shock.

“How did you obtain this?”

This was not information one would expect a mere second-tier council member to have access to.

“There are always ways.”

Seeing the awe in their expressions seemed to please the council member, who let out a smirk.

“So, does this instill any faith in you?”

“Uh, well… yeah?”

“That’s right, but… ha, my my….”

Watching the transformation of the previously sharp individuals into docile ones made the council member chuckle.

“Look, we have the surveillance equipment locations. There are ways to avoid being recorded. So, any more issues?”

“Hmm….”

“It might be possible….”

People began to ponder.

If they had this level of information, it seemed feasible to return safely with the item.

The council member, in a commanding tone, urged the pondering individuals.

With such thorough preparations, there was no way they couldn’t succeed. Japan’s capable individuals were on a different level compared to South Korea’s. South Korea’s security surrounding the item wouldn’t be on par. If Japan’s capable individuals encountered complications, they could overpower them with sheer force and return; not many would be deployed, so if they wanted to gain the honor of obtaining the divine object associated with His Majesty the Emperor, they needed to decide quickly…

The council member planted a sense of urgency in their hearts through his polished political rhetoric.

And.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

Finally, they received the green light.

“Good decision.”

He smiled.

* * *

Several capable individuals began to move as a group.

They met at Osaka International Airport, where they purchased the identities of a few vagabonds in Nishi-Nari District.

Then they crossed the sea after taking two flights.

To reach South Korea.

 

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