The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 268

267

Japanese Ministry of Justice.

A direct phone call to Minister Kobayashi.

“Excuse me, is this Minister Kobayashi?”

“Yes, it is… Who is this?”

Minister Kobayashi asked, on high alert, hearing the unfamiliar voice.

“Ah, I apologize for contacting you so abruptly. I am the President of South Korea, Cho Hyun-min.”

“……!”

Minister Kobayashi’s expression instantly hardened.

It was unprecedented for the leader of a country to call a minister directly.

Without any prior notice.

Of course, he seemed to know the reason vaguely.

It must be such an important matter that the president of a country would bypass the usual procedures and contact him directly.

And that matter would be, yes, that one.

“Mr. President, what brings you to contact me directly…….”

But even so, Minister Kobayashi pretended not to know and asked.

“I heard that South Korean citizens are being illegally detained at the Haneda Airport Immigration Office.”

“…….”

Minister Kobayashi was sparing with his words.

As expected, it was about that matter.

Minister Kobayashi quickly tried to maintain his composure.

After clearing his throat a couple of times, he slowly replied.

“Is that so? Unfortunately… I cannot personally verify every detail of the immigration process. However, if they were detained at the office, there must have been a clear reason.”

“Then please confirm what the problem is so we can rectify it.”

“That’s not difficult, but… I don’t quite understand. Is this something that warrants the President’s direct request?”

“Yes. It is that important.”

President Cho Hyun-min replied immediately.

“This is a very serious matter. As you know, the Japanese branch is under the direct jurisdiction of WDSO [World Dungeon Security Organization], and those currently detained are employees dispatched to resolve the recent issue. Therefore, I request that you allow them to enter the country as soon as possible, even for the sake of Japan.”

“…….”

Minister Kobayashi gritted his teeth.

‘So, you’re going to play it like this…?’

It’s not just anything, it’s about helping your country, so solve it quickly.

If he refused this request, things would look quite strange.

Who would want their own country, their own department, to be in danger due to their mistake?

He was put in a position where he had no choice but to accept.

But…….

“We adhere to the principles. The fact that the immigration office personnel decided to detain them means there must be a valid reason. I cannot change such matters at my own discretion.”

But he couldn’t pretend it never happened now.

“Principles, you say…….”

Then President Cho Hyun-min muttered.

Soon, a faint chuckle was heard.

“Are you really going to stick to the principles?”

“……Yes?”

Minister Kobayashi’s eyebrows twitched at the provocative tone.

“Well, I understand. Let’s do it according to the principles, as you say.”

“What are you…….”

Before Minister Kobayashi could say anything, the call was unilaterally cut off.

He stared at the unresponsive phone with a dumbfounded expression for a moment.

“……Tsk.”

He clicked his tongue and put down the receiver.

He never imagined that the president would contact him directly.

He was a little uneasy about the appearance of an unexpected big shot, but… it couldn’t be helped.

He already received something from them, didn’t he?

He didn’t want to ignore their offer and stab them in the back now, nor was there any reason to do so.

After a long period of contemplation, Minister Kobayashi picked up his phone again.

Then he made a call somewhere.

“Hello, this is Kobayashi.”

“I told you to refrain from contacting me directly.”

The person who answered the phone was Emma, the CEO of PB Corporation.

“It’s not about anything else… President Cho Hyun-min contacted me directly.”

“…….”

CEO Emma was silent for a moment after hearing the news.

Minister Kobayashi continued to speak.

“She requested that we allow the people currently detained at the immigration office to enter the country as soon as possible. Of course, she seems to be referring to Kim Jun-woo… Seeing that even the president has stepped in, it seems she has noticed something is happening here.”

“So? What did you do?”

“I said I would follow the principles.”

“Good job.”

She replied.

“It’s only a few hours left anyway, so keep pretending you don’t know. These things happen all the time, so you won’t be held responsible.”

“Understood.”

“Then, good work. Oh, and as I said, have the arrest warrant for Haramura issued tomorrow morning at that time.”

“Of course.”

Minister Kobayashi answered and ended the call.

But before he could put down his phone, it rang again.

Checking the number, it was his university senior and a senior figure in the political world.

Fujiwara, the current Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“Yes, senior. What brings you to call……”

“Hey, you son of a bitch, what are you doing?!”

“Yes…?”

Minister Fujiwara started with a curse.

“What the hell did you do, and how did you handle things, that President Cho Hyun-min is calling me directly?!”

“W-What’s going on…?”

The moment he heard those words, Minister Kobayashi’s eyebrows twitched greatly.

“She said she’s going to enforce the compensation ruling for the forced labor in the dungeon 40 years ago within a week!”

“Y-Yes?! What are you talking about? Even if that ruling is made, we can’t really enforce it, can we?”

“I thought so too because it would completely sever diplomatic ties! Damn it, who would have thought she would come out like this all of a sudden! Nothing is prepared!”

Minister Kobayashi’s head began to spin.

“And it’s not just me! The byproduct trading company and the equipment research institute also received calls. She said she’s going to regulate the export and import of byproducts and equipment from now on!”

“W-What does that mean……”

“The reason why the Japanese branch continued to trade with us even after it was transferred to Korea was 100% for diplomatic reasons! If the contract is cut off now, we’re really screwed!”

“B-But… why is that my fault…?”

Minister Kobayashi cautiously tried to deny it.

In the first place, it had nothing to do with his department, and wasn’t it just that something that was bound to happen eventually happened?

He didn’t understand why he was being blamed.

But that was only for a moment.

“You still don’t understand the situation?! President Cho Hyun-min mentioned your name! Your name is circulating in every department right now!”

“……!!”

“What the hell did you do?”

“I-I just followed the principles……”

“Listen to me. If Cho Hyun-min wields her sword like this, you’ll end up turning the entire Japan against you for the rest of your life. Not only you but also your family won’t be able to set foot on Japanese soil in the future.”

“…….”

“So, forget about the principles and solve it right now! If it gets to the Prime Minister’s ears, you’re really done for!”

Fujiwara ended the call with those words.

At the same time, Kobayashi’s vision began to darken.

Just because he’s being held at the immigration office for a few hours, she’s going this far?

Is Kim Jun-woo more important than turning Japan into an enemy?

‘Damn it…….’

Minister Kobayashi’s fist began to tremble at the unexpected situation.

***

“…You may go.”

Haneda Airport, Immigration Office.

After a few more hours, permission to enter the country was finally granted.

As soon as we heard those words, Kim Min-joo and the Cleaning Team 3 members immediately packed our bags and left the office.

Of course, there were a lot of things to question, but there was no time to do so.

Everyone was hurrying out of the airport when, just in time, my phone rang.

It was none other than President Cho Hyun-min.

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Have you entered the country?”

“Yes. The permission was just granted.”

“That’s a relief.”

He let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry for asking you for a personal favor. Thank you so much for your help.”

“It’s nothing. I heard that the International Association is spreading the Void, centering on the Japanese branch. How could that be a personal matter?”

“But… may I ask how you managed to get the permission?”

When I asked, I heard President Cho Hyun-min chuckle softly.

“I just followed the principles.”

“……?”

“Well, you don’t need to know the details. Just know that if we fail this time, all diplomatic and economic exchanges with Japan will be cut off in the future.”

What.

What the hell did she do…….

‘If you’re not going to tell me, don’t say anything at all…….’

As I was feeling quite burdened, he spoke again.

“Anyway, if you have entered the country, please move quickly. We don’t have time to be doing this, do we?”

“Understood. Then I’ll contact you again later.”

I ended the call like that and immediately checked the time.

There were only about 8 hours left.

The fate of the Japanese branch depends on these 8 hours.

We have to make a move within that time, no matter what.

“Director Kim!”

And then.

Haramura Branch Manager, who had been waiting in front of the airport, found us and rushed over.

“You got out safely! That’s a relief!”

“It took too much time, though.”

“It’s good that we can move now, even if it’s late.”

“More than that… did you check the package that was delivered to your house?”

“No, I was too scared to open it.”

“You didn’t dispose of it, did you?”

When I asked, he shook his head.

“That’s not it. I thought about burying it somewhere… but I thought it would only make the situation worse if I got caught, so I stopped.”

“You did well. They wouldn’t have left you to handle it anyway.”

“So, I have to keep holding onto it?”

“Unfortunately… yes.”

A shadow fell over Haramura Branch Manager’s face.

“I don’t know if we can really solve this…….”

He muttered, then opened his mouth again with an anxious and desperate expression.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Well… isn’t it obvious? We have to find the real supplier.”

I answered immediately, but Haramura Branch Manager still looked uneasy.

“That’s true, but… there are no clues. We’ve been investigating for a week and there’s been no progress, how can we find them in just 8 hours…….”

“We don’t have time to look outside.”

“H-Huh?”

“But if we can be put inside right away, then we might.”

His eyebrows twitched.

“From now on, we are going to contact ‘Genji’ directly to purchase the Void.”

“W-What…?”

“Huh?!”

At that moment, Haramura and Kim Min-joo reacted excitedly, as if they had agreed to it.

“If we want to find the supplier, there’s no faster and more certain way than that.”

“But… if it’s true that the International Association did it, they would have received the news that you entered the country, sir. Then they will be fully prepared too.”

Kim Min-joo raised an objection with a serious expression.

“And even if you contact them directly, sir, it seems difficult because your face is already known…….”

“No.”

But before she could finish speaking, I answered firmly.

Did she think I hadn’t thought of that?

“Of course, I’m not the one buying it.”

“…Then?”

At Kim Min-joo’s question, I turned around and looked at the people behind me.

“……?”

“……?”

My gaze was directed at none other than the Cleaning Team 3 members.

“W-Wait a minute! You’re not telling us to do it, are you…?”

“How can we contact the International Association?!”

“Hey, hey, Jun-woo… that’s a bit…….”

They immediately realized what that gaze meant and began to panic greatly.

“A-And the Void doesn’t work on ordinary people! If we, who aren’t ability users, say we’re going to buy the Void, they’ll definitely be suspicious, right?!”

Han Sang-hyuk added, but I shook my head.

“Don’t worry about that.”

I shifted my gaze to Haramura Branch Manager and continued speaking.

“The branch manager will help with that part.”

“…….”

Haramura Branch Manager also had an expression that seemed to ask what that meant.

But I didn’t say anything more.

“There’s no time to explain here. Let’s talk about the details while we move.”

Because there was no time.