The 45th President of the United States, Kendrick Morrison, was having a difficult ti these days.
The reason? The mana fuel rod support he had provided to Korea.
"Are you out of your mind, Mr. President? Do you even realize how much taxpayer money you’ve wasted?"
"Please calm down. While it was indeed a significant amount of support, it was necessary to prevent a threat to all of humanity…"
"Four billion damn dollars! To Korea, a country with a higher average level of Awakened than us, just to clear a single Gate!"
The mana fuel rods sent to Korea totaled 20 units.
In dollar terms, four billion.
In Korean won, nearly five trillion.
Even for the United States, it was a hefty sum.
As soon as news of the support broke, the opposition party rose in outrage.
Not a single shrewd congressman would let this opportunity slip by.
"As I’ve explained, without our support, Korea—and by extension, humanity’s safety—would have been at risk…"
"And you’re claiming that so Awakened nad Sibylla foresaw this apocalyptic future? Using her abilities?"
"That is correct."
Of course, Morrison wasn’t just sitting back and taking the hits.
He had revealed the existence of Sibylla, an S-Class Awakened kept secret by the United States,
and simultaneously released all data related to the EX-class Gate.
This evidence should have been enough to prove that Morrison had made the best possible choice.
Unfortunately, in politics, the truth often matters little.
"The sources of this information were limited to you and two others: Sibylla and Seo Yujin.
What proof do we have that these records weren’t fabricated?"
"Look at the date. The very day we approved the research on the Saintess, who shares the sa traits as the creatures from the EX-class Gate…"
"Unconvincing. It’s all circumstantial evidence. Whether Sibylla truly foresaw the apocalypse, only she knows."
Despite his detailed explanations, the voices condemning Morrison’s actions remained loud.
Part of the reason was his political adversaries, who had seized this opportunity to inflict damage.
"The abilities of Awakened are inherently unverifiable. How can we…"
"In fact, I find this hypothesis more believable: that you were hypnotized by Seo Yujin and funneled Arica’s funds to Korea."
"……What?"
"If this docunt is accurate, it states you had a private eting with that young man. Plenty of ti to be brainwashed, wouldn’t you say?"
The biggest problem was Seo Yujin.
The fact that the leader of a nation had a private eting with a hypnotist raised serious issues.
All it would take was one suggestion that Morrison had been hypnotized, and his claims would be discredited.
"Are you suggesting that I acted against Arica’s interests, on behalf of Korea?"
"Precisely. That you were hypnotized and funneled four billion dollars’ worth of strategic resources to Korea, free of charge."
"There’s been a misunderstanding. It wasn’t free. Every support effort cos with a price."
"…What?"
"Four billion dollars. Or sothing of equivalent value. So, please be patient."
In the end, Morrison couldn’t withstand the pressure and had to raise a white flag.
Though he had never intended to demand repaynt,
he decided to change his approach and request "sufficient" compensation from Korea instead.
This was why Morrison sent an invoice to Korea.
[To Seol Hayeon, Chairwoman of the Korean Awakened Association. Regarding compensation for prior support….]
‘Surely Yujin, being as insightful as he is, will grasp the deeper aning in my words!’
At the sa ti, Morrison was confident that Yujin would understand his situation.
To Morrison, Yujin was an exceptionally shrewd young man.
Judging by his careful image-building, it was clear Yujin was even considering a future in politics.
Of course, if the man in question were to hear that, he’d probably laugh and say,
"Politics? ? Why would I do that?"
Nevertheless…
Creak.
‘Now, let’s think. How can I secure sothing worth four billion dollars without incurring Yujin’s wrath?’
Morrison began to deliberate.
One thing was certain: he had to collect four billion dollars’ worth of compensation from Yujin.
After all, Yujin himself had expressed his willingness to pay.
So far, so good.
The real issue was deciding what form that paynt would take.
Yujin’s initial offer of "villain normalization services for the United States?"
While that had imnse value,
‘No. That’s already tied to the plan to bring Yujin to Arica.’
It wasn’t enough.
The opposition’s strategy was to use the four-billion-dollar debt to entice Yujin into becoming an Arican asset.
Compared to the imdiate and tangible benefits of that plan, the proposed compensation paled in comparison.
This was why Morrison’s worries ran so deep.
"What do you think, Sibylla?"
"If we can get him to use his abilities for Arica…"
"It’s not as impactful as making him an Arican citizen."
"That’s true… This is tricky."
Even Sibylla, who had just returned to the U.S. amidst the scandal, couldn’t offer much help.
Not that Morrison had expected her to.
He had only asked out of sheer frustration.
That’s how dire the situation was—
enough to have him sighing while consulting soone who wasn’t even one of his aides.
"…Your Excellency, what if a green card would suffice?"
"Sibylla?"
"If an Arican citizen were to marry Yujin, he could get a green card. I doubt he’d mind that much."
In the midst of despair, Sibylla threw out a casual suggestion.
Making him a U.S. citizen would require him to renounce his Korean citizenship, which Yujin might refuse…
But a green card seed harmless enough.
A faint smile spread across Morrison’s face.
"Royal intermarriage? That’s quite an idea, Sibylla."
"Really? I was just throwing it out there."
"But unfortunately, it won’t work. The conditions are too strict."
"Conditions? What conditions?"
Arranged marriage was indeed an excellent political tool.
There were few thods more effective for improving relations between two factions.
History had repeatedly proven it to be a masterstroke.
But in this case, it was impossible. For such a plan to work…
"First, we’d need a woman who matches his caliber."
The prospective bride had to be of equal status to Yujin.
In an arranged marriage, the partner’s standing was critical.
If just anyone were chosen, the alliance would lose its significance.
"And second, she would have to love him."
In addition to everything else, there was one glaring issue:
This wasn’t the Middle Ages.
In a democratic society, forcing soone to marry for such reasons was unthinkable—especially for Morrison, the President of the United States and a self-proclaid defender of democracy.
In short, an arranged marriage was simply not feasible…
"———What… what if it’s , Your Excellency?"
"…What?"
A voice interrupted his bitter thoughts.
Morrison turned his gaze forward to see Sibylla, her face flushed bright red.
"Wait, don’t tell you’re serious."
"While I haven’t been officially recognized yet, I’m an S-Class Awakened acknowledged by my peers. That should suffice, shouldn’t it?"
"Well, that’s true, but… Are you sure about this? I wouldn’t want to force such a sacrifice on you for the sake of the nation."
"It’s not a sacrifice. I’m doing this because I want to."
Not only that, but she even lowered her head,
looking every bit like a maiden in love.
Morrison sighed deeply.
"Are you saying you truly love Yujin?"
"…Yes."
"Seriously? To the extent that you’d want to marry him?"
"Yes. To , he’s…"
Sibylla began to slowly pour out her feelings.
At first, it was just his looks—she’d approached him because he was her type.
It was certainly not love at first sight.
But things changed when she realized he’d healed her madness.
When she understood that he hadn’t demanded any compensation for doing so.
Her feelings began to shift when she realized that, while curing her, he’d shared sensitive information—
dates of upcoming Gate appearances, information she herself couldn’t share for fear of penalties.
Her affection deepened further on the company dinner night in Korea,
when he roughly subdued her in the restroom, shutting down her attempts to flirt with him.
That steely resolve to set boundaries, which he maintained with almost saintly patience, left a lasting impression.
Day by day, her ti in Korea brought Yujin closer to her heart.
"Though, I was a bit annoyed when he took over my body and ran around with it."
"……He took over your body? What does that even an?"
"It’s a long story."
Not every mont was a dream.
So were downright irritating.
But overall, it was enough ti for her to fall in love.
"It must be love. I do love him."
"……."
"It’s my first ti feeling this way, so I didn’t fully realize it until now."
When her lengthy confession finally ended,
a smile spread across Morrison’s face.
Not the sa faint smile as before, but one of genuine affection—
the kind you’d give a beloved daughter who’d co into her own.
"If that’s how you feel, shall I proceed with the preparations?"
"…Yes."
"Thank you."
Thus, the thod for resolving the four-billion-dollar repaynt was decided.
Through an arranged marriage, they would make Yujin a U.S. green card holder.
During the delay it would create, they would use Yujin’s abilities for Arica’s benefit,
turning his talent into a strategic asset.
It might take a long ti to pay off four billion dollars, but
with such a strong alliance, no one would mind a bit of extra ti.
"Welco, Yujin."
"President Morrison. It seems I’ve caused you a great deal of trouble. My apologies."
"Ha ha. No, not at all. Everything’s working out fine now."
This was why Morrison smiled as he greeted Yujin,
who had flown over less than half a day after the invoice had been sent.
Under this plan, everything would be resolved perfectly.
Sibylla’s love, Morrison’s political career, all of it was secure.
Even Yujin would surely be happy—Sibylla was objectively quite beautiful.
With this thought, Morrison enthusiastically began explaining the plan to Yujin alongside Sibylla.
"Sigh. So, what you’re saying is that everything will be resolved if I marry Sibylla?"
"That’s correct. We can fulfill our original agreent this way."
"And Sibylla, what about you? Do you love ?"
"…Yes. I love you, Yujin."
Finally, Yujin grasped the entire situation,
including the fact that marrying Sibylla could magically resolve this troubleso issue.
"I’m sorry, Sibylla. But I’ve already promised my future to others. I can’t marry you."
"I… I know. Chairwoman Seol Hayeon already told . She ntioned how much you love those three."
"And you’re proposing this knowing that?"
"Yes. That’s why I didn’t confess before I returned to the U.S. But now… things are different."
"……."
"I won’t ask you to leave them. I don’t care how many wives you have. Just accept too."
Surprisingly, Sibylla seed to have a more open mind than he’d expected.
She was even willing to accept his harem.
With four billion dollars at stake, surely his wives would understand the need for an arranged marriage.
There was no reason to refuse…
"Sss."
‘Why do people keep throwing themselves at this breeding maniac? Is he so kind of golden sun?’
But Yujin remained indifferent.
Even with four billion dollars on the line, he acted as if it was no big deal.
Morrison sensed sothing was off about this, but…
"Wait. Yujin, you’re not planning to…"
[Your Excellency!! A crowd has gathered outside, demanding to see you and Sir Yujin!]
"…What? Disperse them imdiately. What’s going on?"
[The leader is High Priest Ray Ellington of the Jushin Church!]
"……What!!?"
But before anything else could happen, bad news arrived.
***
Shortly After That
"Don’t tell you’re…"
"Well then, shall we start negotiations again? Let’s deal again?"
And so, the real negotiation over the fate of four billion dollars began.
‘Kkong, you bastard, you actually pulled it off. I knew you could do it….’
Thud, thud. Creak.
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