Chapter 127 – Hospitality

Lately, Rai had been beaming with joy.

“Boss! Is there any more product being shipped?”

He was constantly itching for a fight…

Tired of him asking ‘Is there any more product?’ on the bridge at all hours, I eventually handed over the authority of one Observation Ship so he could go out and fight on his own.

“Thank you! Boss! You’ll be blessed!”

His face lit up at my—not-so-considerate—consideration.

The reason was simple.

“Product! More is coming.”

He truly viewed the Monsters as “products.”

Naturally, this was because of the Mana Stones harvested after killing a Monster. I was already collecting all Mana Stones of sufficient size using an Anti-Gravity Field.

As for the ones Rai caught, I handed them over to him after deducting a fee equivalent to the amount of Anti-Gravity Field used.

“Boss Minju! I’m asking for your help again.”

“Yeees…”

Minju was sending all of his Mana Stones to Incheon.

Thus, the fact that Rai’s fellow villagers from Nepal were able to settle comfortably in Incheon was overwhelmingly thanks to Rai’s contribution.

‘He’s really acting like a migrant worker…’

It was ironic. Of course, Rai’s earnings were higher than those of most mid-sized companies, so calling him a simple migrant worker felt disconnected from reality.

Meanwhile, while Rai was paying Minju a massive amount in shipping fees, Minju was starting to find it burdensome to transport such a significant quantity of Mana Stones to the other side of the planet.

However, since Minju knew how important this was to Rai, she handled the transfers without a word of complaint.

“Unnie! Get tteokbokki on the way back!”

“I want chicken!”

“You guys figure out your own food!”

On her return trips, she also delivered food from the market for Seongjae, Sua, and Seoyeon. Contrary to Rai, this part of the job always came with ‘plenty’ of complaints.

‘Well, it’s good training.’

Since improving her abilities was something to be encouraged anyway, I secretly cheered her on.

Though there wasn’t much I could actually do…

“You worked hard today too.”

“Yep!”

The way her expression brightened at my single sentence was truly a sight to behold.

* * *

Passing through the undulating blue… no, blood-red sea.

We arrived at the American continent shortly after leaving Japan. As land gradually appeared on the horizon, the bridge became noisier than usual.

“Hmm… is that Sand-diego?”

“No, Dad! San Diego!”

Deokchan, confusing the name of the city they were arriving at…

And Sua, correcting him.

“Ugh, I bet it’s going to be hot.”

“Boss, are there American products being shipped too?”

Seoyeon, already shuddering at the dry weather felt through the screen, and Rai, whose eyes were sparkling at the thought of hunting Monsters. And finally, Seongjae…

“San Diego Legoland! SeaWorld! Here I come!”

He looked as if he had come purely for sightseeing.

When Minju stepped in and said sightseeing would likely be difficult, Seongjae became visibly discouraged. Eventually, he turned to me and began to plead.

“Then please… can I at least visit that aircraft carrier museum where the Midway is permanently docked? Even if I have to go alone…”

Faced with his tearful, earnest plea…

“Fine, go with Seongmin.”

I had no choice but to give in.

“Yahooooo!”

He seemed satisfied with just that.

* * *

Meanwhile, after coordinating through Apoin, I eventually docked the fleet at San Diego International Airport.

As my Assault Landing Ship—which was so large that the Boeing 747s, which had lost air superiority and were gathering dust with nowhere to go, looked tiny—and the Photon Destroyers began to dock, the citizens generally seemed to be in a cheering mood.

‘You’d think they’d be more surprised…’

It seemed they had all been notified in advance.

Of course, I had contacted them beforehand via Apoin, but I still hadn’t expected this kind of reaction.

‘Was the Western Alliance always like this?’

I briefly searched through my memories of the previous timeline.

Since the United States was the last nation to survive, I had eventually been forced to head to America for my own survival.

Thanks to that, I remembered the situation within the US as detailedly as I remembered the situation in Korea.

‘It was that complex.’

This was especially true for the Western Alliance, formed by the merger of California, Oregon, and Washington—the three states bordering the West Coast.

As the Apocalypse progressed and the US federal government eventually lost the plains of the central continent, the West felt they had been abandoned.

Of course, that wasn’t true.

Being close to William, I knew all too well how desperately the federal government in the East had struggled to maintain the connection with the West.

But that wasn’t how the West perceived it.

Since they had poured generous resources and manpower into maintaining the front lines only to eventually fail, they believed they had been sucked dry and discarded. Eventually, they came to a conclusion.

That they would never waste another single drop of blood.

Especially for the sake of others. If you happened to meet them in the field, they were almost hostile.

‘It was a miracle we didn’t actually fight.’

Perhaps because they viewed fighting as a waste of blood, they didn’t actually provoke conflict.

However… that didn’t mean they lowered their combat readiness.

The way they maintained their lines, weapons drawn, silently waiting for others to leave their sphere of influence, was reminiscent of the Cold War.

‘But… that just meant they were that tenacious.’

On the other hand, I held them in high regard. With that spirit, they had clung to survival for a long time.

Naturally, they possessed a corresponding level of combat power.

‘Especially the Western 1st Brigade; they were the most intense.’

Right now, they were probably at a regimental level, but it wouldn’t be long before their strength was recognized and they were promoted to a brigade.

There was even a joke that the “Western operation” simply consisted of other units holding out until the 1st Brigade arrived.

And backing that immense military power was the staggering economic strength of the US West Coast. For instance, the GDP of California alone was roughly double that of the Republic of Korea.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say California was practically a complete nation on its own. Not to mention the technological prowess stemming from Silicon Valley. They produced a significant amount of oil and were strong in agriculture thanks to irrigation canals.

‘Still, they eventually walked the path of destruction because they lacked military force.’

It was a shame.

But now that I have arrived…

‘Shall I try talking to the Commander-in-Chief?’

This time, things were going to be different.

* * *

And a few days later…

I received an invitation from the Commander-in-Chief of the Western Alliance…

‘What on earth is happening?’

I felt extremely confused.

Where had the tenacious, venomous West gone? He had mobilized dozens of Korean-speaking attendants to welcome me with utmost hospitality.

‘What, is this really the West?’

I wondered if I had accidentally dropped into another dimension. Whether they noticed my confusion or not, Minju and Seongjae, who accompanied me, were frantically enjoying the food.

Moreover, it was Korean-centric food, made by sourcing chefs from Koreatown…

It was a very conspicuous display of consideration.

The attendants greeted the two with gentle smiles.

“I hope the food is to your liking.”

Seongjae gave the attendants a thumbs-up.

“Wow. As expected of LA, the LA Galbi is the best!”

Minju shook her head while looking at Seongjae.

“Seongjae… we aren’t in LA, and the ‘LA’ in LA Galbi isn’t that LA…”

She seemed embarrassed, but…

“Hahahahahahaha!”

“As expected!”

“Your jokes are truly amusing!”

…The attendants’ ability to play along was top-tier.

* * *

Meanwhile, I observed them with a subtle expression.

“Hmm…”

No matter how much I thought about it, it was hard to grasp why the West was treating me this way.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Western Alliance was looking at me with a restless expression. For some reason, he seemed anxious.

“Is the food not to your taste? If you tell me your preferences, I can prepare food from anywhere in the world.”

The Commander-in-Chief, who was treating me like some kind of hospitality agent, had the nickname ‘Rattlesnake.’ He was a man with a sharp impression, known as someone who would kill his opponent by any means necessary if provoked.

He was a man who symbolized the will of the Western Alliance.

For such a man to treat me like this…

‘Why is this middle-aged man acting like this…’

It was almost overwhelming.

I decided to ask him bluntly.

“What is the reason you are being so kind to us?”

The Commander-in-Chief’s face became quite serious.

He hesitated for a long time…

“Phew… then I shall get straight to the point.”

He spoke with a sigh.

“First… well, as you may have guessed. Our Western Alliance operates an independent Apoin intelligence team.”

“Yes, I assume you do.”

“I want to state that we are accurately aware of the fact that the Magitech Civilization led by the Lord… is exerting influence not only over the Korean Peninsula, but also Japan, China, and even Vietnam.”

“…?”

I tilted my head at his words.

‘He said he’d get straight to the point, but why is he beating around the bush—’

It was then.

“We… also wish to be with the Lord.”

The Commander-in-Chief dropped a nuclear bomb.

It was somewhat bewildering.

“Be with me… what do you mean by that?”

When I asked for further explanation—

“Please accept us into your sphere of influence.”

This time, he lowered his head.

A windfall… no, the US West Coast had just rolled right into my lap.

* * *

There was no way I could refuse. Taking the opportunity, I called in Seongmin, a Contract Ability User, to finalize everything.

He readily handed over all authority to me.

He even went so far as to hand over some of the operational authority of the Western 1st Regiment. It seemed he was willing to give me everything he had.

He was so cooperative that…

‘Is it really okay to just take this for free?’

I actually felt worried.

But soon, I changed my mind.

‘Well, if it’s good, it’s good.’

I decided to think positively.

After all, I had a lot of work to do in North America.

“I have no intention of stopping at just this anyway.”

The US West was merely a stepping stone.

* * *

Meanwhile… at the same time, in the US East.

“4th Circle. Fireball.”

As a man quietly chanted a spell—

Fwoooosh!

A vast amount of mana was drawn up.

Swoosh—

It became a single mass of fire.

And the moment he threw that fireball, the building where a dozen soldiers were holding out collapsed in an instant.

Rumble!

“What… is this all?”

The man wore a sneering smile.

“Kweeeeeek!”

Along with him, numerous Monsters advanced, seizing the moment. At the sight of the numbers covering the ground and the ghostly timing, the face of the man commanding the battle at the front turned pale.

“Damn it! We can’t retreat like this!”

Behind his back… the White House was burning.