[Republic of Woori — Blue House]
In Gamerica, President Howard had collapsed. In Japan, Dungeon Busters was finally ready to go abroad for the first time. In Europe, the Dungeon Crusaders had successfully cleared a Rank C dungeon. And in South Gamerica, Joker and his troops, the Legion, were finally on the verge of confronting the Brezilian army. At the very same time, the government of Woori, Japan’s closest neighbor, was filled with gloom.
“Peter Wozniak, the Democrat candidate, is very likely to become the next president of the United States of Gamerica. Unless something unexpected happens, his win is set in stone. The US Woorian Mutual Defense Treaty has never been voided, so he will likely dispatch troops again. If that happens... Well, I’m afraid our chances of reconciliation with the Kingdom of Ko will be close to zero.”
“General Secretary Kim’s younger sister Kim Yuh-Jun has blamed us in the past. She said our country was responsible for the breakdown of last year’s talks between the Kingdom of Ko and Gamerica. After the Gamerican troops finally pulled out, we were able to work on the reconciliation of the north and south as well as future reunification. Now that we’ve expressed our support of Joker, the north was finally beginning to accept the idea of a rapprochement. However, our breaking with the north will be unavoidable if the US-Woorian Mutual Defense Treaty is brought back from the dead and Gamerican troops are stationed on the peninsula once again. The north and the south may remain estranged forever,” Park Jae-An, the president of the Republic of Woori, said with a grimace.
He was on the verge of accomplishing his greatest objective, the reunification of the north and the south, but now, everything might just fall apart.
“Do we have any means at our disposal to stop Gamerican troops from coming back?” he asked after a pause.
President Park was starting to feel impatient. His dream was almost within his grasp. The Gamerican troops, the worst plague to ever fall upon his country, had finally withdrawn, and most of the pro-Japanese traitors had been taken care of. By expressing his support for Joker, he had made sure that the whole world knew that the Republic of Woori was acting to solve the worldwide issue of poverty. Becoming a nation relevant enough to have a real influence, not only in Asia but all over the world, was one of the dearest wishes of the Woorian people.
Of course, all of the above was nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of President Park—and his government. Japan, the EU, and Gamerica all considered Woori a potential enemy ever since the country had come out with a declaration in support of Joker.
Japan in particular had suspended its visa exemption measures for Woorian citizens after the Olympics. “There is no way to know when a terrorist from the Republic of Woori will enter our country,” Japanese authorities had said. At this point, diplomatic relations between Japan and Woori had pretty much been severed.
“If we do not let the Gamerican troops back, we’ll be announcing to the world that we’re siding with Joker. If that happens, Gamerica and the EU may join Japan and refuse visas to our citizens. If it comes to that, we’ll truly be ostracized by the rest of the world.”
“Many of our major companies are considering relocation, and some have already put relocation plans into action. If this continues, our country will go down the drain. I can only advise you to reconsider and collaborate with Gamerica and Japan...”
President Park Jae-An let out a dramatic sigh at these words. Cleansing society of social evils and achieving the reunification of the north and the south... Pursuing these ideals far outweighed anything else, including the constitution and any other laws in this country. In fact, these ideals were just and righteous on an absolute, universal level. Anyone who opposed this—be they a person, group, or organization—was both anti-nationalist and just plain evil. Gamerica ought to support the reunification of the Republic of Woori, and Japan ought to rectify its fallacious understanding of history and offer a heartfelt apology as well as compensation to their victims, the Woorian people. Why doesn’t the world recognize the righteousness of our ways?
“I had Foreign Minister Kang leave for Venisuela in preparation for the next G20 meeting, which will take place at the end of November. Even Wozniak, who is likely to become the next president of the United States of Gamerica, has said that while he had no intention to negotiate with Joker, he still wanted to hear him out. We need to negotiate with Joker and President Clyde ahead of time. If we can mediate and get both sides to talk to each other, our citizens will surely be impressed, and I’ll regain their support right away. This will inarguably be a big step toward reunification as well.”
The president’s aides and members of his entourage who still had some awareness left would have admonished him under normal circumstances, saying that all of this was impossible. However, President Park had been in office for three years and had already gotten rid of everyone who did not agree with him. As a result, most of the central figures of his government were thoroughly convinced by his pro-north stance. History had proven time and time again that when idealist leaders who ignored reality held power, their countries were bound to fall into ruin. The Republic of Woori was about to repeat history.