“Everything is ready.”
Jonathan and Joshua were still gone, so Kim Cheong-Soo had no choice but to notify us of their absence.
“Out of 131 members, one was represented by someone from the Rothschild family. It was confirmed that one member didn’t come back from the Stage of Advent, while Peter D. Friedman is now recognized as a master section Awakened as you already know.”
It meant that I was the only one left to go to the conference room.
[* Inventory]
[Odin’s Golden Armor (God of War) has been removed.]
When the armor suddenly appeared and attached itself to my body, Jamie cried out softly in surprise.
Ah.
[Odin’s Golden Armor (God of War) has transformed into Odin’s Golden Armor (God of Battle).]
[You have used Odin’s Golden Armor (God of Battle).]
Upon entering the Ender section, I was now able to summon eight Valkyries. These female warriors, with their short hair and bandaged chests and bottoms, looked like real humans to Jamie. She was mesmerized by their presence, unable to look away. When she attempted to speak to them, the Valkyries simply followed me with blank expressions.
Everyone looked at Valkyries along the way to the conference hall. Mason was the first to recognize what they truly were as his face instantly became pale. He seemed to be punishing himself for failing to prevent yesterday’s infiltration as he was the sole Awakened among the security chiefs. A sense of failure surrounded him as if he believed that I no longer trusted him.
I reassured him, “You couldn’t do much yesterday, Mason.”
I patted him on the shoulder and passed by him.
The conference hall was quiet. They all knew about the Chinese girl’s death. They stood up in unison and held their breath, but their eyeballs were focused on the Valkyries, who were holding various weapons and shields, and my armor.
Ordering the Valkyries around was similar to using a skill as it was guided by the user’s will through their Sixth Sense. As soon as I activated my Sixth Sense, the Valkyries swiftly positioned themselves at the four doors of the hall, standing guard.
Stamp! Stamp!
Two Valkyries were stationed per door. Their emotionless gazes were fixed forward, and they heightened the seriousness of the conference hall.
I said, “We will spare no money in hiring the Awakened in the future.”
It meant that I wouldn’t stop the members from employing Awakened privately, so everyone’s eyes widened.
My reasoning was simple. I was bound to get an order from Doom Kaos one day, and it was obvious that he would demand that I go attack other dimensions. In the Stage of Advent, there were useful tools, XP, and boxes, so the Awakened used them to gain dominance over the world.
A quick look at .com will leave you more fulfilled.
But now, with those resources gone, a new approach was necessary. The second option was to scare them while securing their cooperation. Thus, it was essential to ensure they still had access to the benefits they had in the Stage of Advent.
The Stage of Advent was dominated by force, but this world was controlled by wealth. Actually… It was my goal to keep this world dominated by money and to maintain consistency between pre- and post-Stage of Advent. I hoped the Awakened would familiarize themselves with capitalism, and I would create such an environment for them.
Also, I didn’t know what dimension I would have to attack, but I would use the resources that existed there to make the Awakened chase the money. I wished there were resources equivalent to mana stones there. A gold mine would be better.
I announced, “Sit down, everybody. Let’s start this year’s meeting.”
***
Members began to present agendas on behalf of their families or countries of influence. They all knew that this year’s conference would determine the future of mankind. Therefore, they were no longer conscious of the guarding Valkyries anymore and were enthusiastic about the meeting.
At present, the topic of discussion was the direction of the basic interest rate of the U.S. Central Bank. The global economy revolved around monetary policy, and the member, the bank president, proposed a gradual rate cut. He was aware of my intention to drive a boom in the global stock market.
The public thought that interest rates were determined by the U.S. Central Bank, but nope. It was decided in this small conference room. This was why club members made investments and always retained money. It was impossible to lose money as they knew the future.
Besides stocks, it was evident that they were also considering derivatives influenced by interest rates. Matters of conflicting interests between families and nations were postponed to tomorrow’s meeting, then the conference proceeded in earnest.
One of the U.S. members raised the topic of the project Tessera, then almost all of the members agreed to it. The support wasn’t limited to just the member who brought it up. Of course, they weren’t going to implant microchips into their own bodies.
Anyway, all members had been waiting for this opportunity to come back because a shocking incident, which was more horrifying than the 8.11 terrorist attack, had just occurred.
I had already come to a conclusion yesterday, so I immediately dismissed the idea on the spot.
“It would be good to proceed only for the Awakened. It will be implemented instantly in time for the Awakened registration date, so never mention that project again.”
I put an end to it, and there was no counter-question.
Peter D. Friedman stood out among the general members as he was the only Awakened and could be considered an executive of the association. He had started calling himself Horus[1]. He wriggled his eyebrows and hurriedly fixed his face. That level of distinction was only evident when compared to other members, but he wasn’t exceptional.
He could have thought the issue was unfair because who would want to put a slave label on their body? Meanwhile, the other members regretted that this chance had come to naught.
I tilted my upper body and opened my mouth as I was resting my chin on my hand.
“There is an agreement that has to be stated between the World Awakened Association and the United Nation.”
Then, Jamie moved just in time. She kindly put the file on the table for each member, then began to examine the documents after returning to her seat. I also got a copy.
「 Agreement Between the World Awakened Association and the United Nations About the Members’ Status
Article 1
The term “members” shall refer exclusively to those individuals who have undergone and successfully completed the formal admission procedure as prescribed by the World Awakened Association.
Article 2 Facilities and Zones - Provision
The World Awakened Association shall have the right to use the facilities and zones within the territory of member states of the United Nations. The usage of each individual facility and zone shall be established through agreements reached by the World Awakened Association’s Board of Directors Conference, which the relevant member state of the United Nations must then execute. The term “facilities and zones” encompasses all existing facilities, fixtures, and settlements used in the operation of such facilities and zones, regardless of their geographic location.
Article 3 Facilities and Zones - Security Measures
The World Awakened Association shall have the authority to undertake any and all measures deemed necessary for the establishment, operation, protection, and management of its facilities and zones. Furthermore, member states of the United Nations shall take the necessary measures within the bounds of their respective laws and regulation, concerning the land, territorial waters, and airspace adjacent to or surrounding the facilities and zones of the World Awakened Association, with the aim of providing support to its members and facilitating access. The World Awakened Association shall also have the discretion to take any necessary steps to fulfill the aforementioned objectives.」
At that point, the position that Horus and general members had began to change. A smile appeared on Horus’s face while the faces of the others became stiff. They looked as if they had never seen such an unreasonable and one-sided agreement. Even a defeated country wouldn’t stamp such an agreement, and this was out of common sense.
This implied that if the World Awakened Association made a request, then they would be given anything they needed, including land, ocean, and sky, as well as all necessary resources and manpower.
However, it was too early to be appalled. Such a thing was possible without this agreement. The largest problem with this agreement lay on Article 22, which dealt with Criminal Jurisdiction.
「Article 22 Criminal Jurisdiction
The World Awakened Association holds the authority to enforce all criminal jurisdictions and disciplinary powers granted by the Association to its members within the territories of UN member states. The Association shall also have the exclusive right to exercise jurisdiction over all crimes related to the safety of UN member states, including those concerning the safety of UN member states.
1. “Crimes concerning the safety of UN member states” include the following:
2. UN member states are required to provide assistance to the World Awakened Association in conducting all necessary investigations into crimes and acquiring evidence.
3. The World Awakened Association holds the right to exert its police powers within the facilities and zones designated in accordance with Article 2 of this Agreement. The Association may take necessary actions within the confines of its facilities and zones.」
Cough.
The sound of a dry cough filled the space while people gazed around at each other. Everyone, except for Horus, looked at the agreement with horror. The same applied to the Gillian couple. They were waiting for another member to come forward, not knowing what to do.
In one sentence, the agreement was basically telling the world not to get involved in anything that the World Awakened Association did. It required the world not to get involved with their matters, even when an Awakened committed murder or conducted treasonous acts. Therefore, the reactions of political and military members were more noticeable than financial members.
People started looking at me with hesitation, and they were shifting their work to others.
Gasp-
When I tapped the agreement while taking a big breath in, the chaotic atmosphere died down.
I made eye contact with the U.S. President, and his Adam's apple wobbled. Then, he said in a voice that no longer shook, “Things will turn out as you wish.”
Another member beside him said, “Things will turn out as you wish.”
And the others also said, “Things will turn out as you wish.”
Then, everyone said the same thing as if it had become our slogan. All the members lowered their heads in their seats and chorused unanimously, “Things will turn out as you wish, Odin.”
1. An ancient Egyptian god, often depicted as a falcon-headed deity, who represented the sky and was associated with kingship, protection, and the fight against evil. ☜