第８４掘：戦争を起こす理由 (Part2)
"War, fundamentally, occurs over the struggle for fertile land, resources, and human talent. Nowadays, every patch of land is claimed by some nation or another. Even if a place is crawling with powerful monsters and deemed untouchable, it is still someone's territory. Ultimately, these are just arbitrary lines drawn by people, but for a nation, these borders are of vital importance. The more land you possess, the more people you can support, and the stronger your nation becomes. In other words, building and protecting a nation is effectively a constant tug-of-war for territory with your neighbors. The most straightforward solution to this competition for land is war."
"Mm-hmm. What do you think, Seraria?"
"I share Shera's opinion. Even here, if we were to raise our own banner, it would mean seizing this land from Roschur. My father and sister would undoubtedly send a subjugation army, even if they knew they would lose."
Indeed, to put it simply, the more land a nation has, the wealthier it becomes.
Though, in reality, there are certainly disadvantages to becoming too large, such as orders failing to reach the furthest reaches of the realm.
"I see, I see. So that’s how it is."
"Dear, what do you mean by that? It sounded like you were just confirming something."
"Oh, Seraria, you really are my wife, aren't you?"
"That’s because I’ve been watching your habits for quite some time now, ever since that day."
The two of them share a smile.
Ah, I am envious.
"Now then, has everyone understood why wars happen after hearing Shera’s explanation?"
"Um, Yuki-san. Sorry, I’m not very bright, but... the recent conflict and the civil war in Litea weren't exactly about fighting over land, were they?"
"You aren't 'not bright.' It’s good to ask about things you don't understand. Riel, you are someone who is capable of learning. As for the recent conflict and the Litea civil war, those were struggles necessary to maintain the state."
"Maintain the state?"
"Exactly. As you know, a nation isn't held together solely by its leaders—the kings or the saints. They need manpower to execute and communicate their policies. Ministers, soldiers, and so on."
Yes, a nation functions with a king or a leader at the top, but that alone is not enough to keep it running.
"If those people were to turn their backs and say, 'I hate this country!', then the leaders—the kings and saints—would lose their purpose. That is why those who help build and protect the nation need to demonstrate to everyone that, 'This country is safe.'"
That is correct.
Words alone are not enough, nor are actions alone.
Both must be present.
"Shera wasn't told the details of the war between Roschur and Gartz, but it was primarily instigated by Litea to assassinate Elju. For Roschur, the goal was to secure resources, talent, and land under the guise of saving the oppressed people of Gartz. For Gartz, it was a retaliatory action to protect their citizens or to quell the anger of those who had been harmed. As for Litea, on the surface, it was a tactic to deal with the loss of public support after a saint appeared in another country. Behind the scenes, though, it was for the sake of refugee relief."
"Um..."
"Well, simply put, Roschur was manipulated by Loire, but Gartz and Litea took action to show their people that the nation was secure. When soldiers protect you, you feel that the country is properly looking after you, right?"
"Ah, I see! That’s what it is!"
"Conversely, if they don't do this—if the soldiers abandon the people—you’d start to wonder, 'Is this country going to be okay?', wouldn't you?"
"Yeah, I would."
"If that continues, people will start to feel that their own lives are in danger, leading them to flee the country or start a rebellion to try and fix it."
"Ah, so that’s what Crack-san and the others were trying to do. Because Litea was failing."
"Ugh!"
Oh, Lady Rurua is clutching her chest.
...Well, from what little I heard about this incident, it was caused by the misconduct of those at the top.
"Now, given all that, if you want to improve a nation, you should theoretically have no problems if you just hoard as much land as possible... but in reality, it doesn't work out that way. In fact, aside from these four major powers, the rest are just small fry. Why do you think that is?"
"Why, I wonder? If you make it bigger, your power grows, right?"
"Riel, managing things becomes difficult when they get too big. If you help out with the police, you should understand, right? Doesn't it get difficult when you have more subordinates or more areas to patrol?"
"Ah, yeah. It’s been really busy lately."
"Imagine that, but on a scale much larger than now. Just trying to communicate becomes a struggle."
"Whoa..."
"That’s why there’s a limit to the size—around the size of these four nations, I’d say. If you get any bigger, some greedy person will suddenly raise a flag of rebellion. If there’s distance, the response time slows down. The wider the country, the harder it is to handle."
"Ah, so that’s it... wait?"
"What’s wrong?"
"But, Seraria. Our 'Call' skill allows us to communicate regardless of distance, right?"
"““!?””"
Those of us who understood the implication of Riel’s words, myself included, could not hide our shock.
Yes, the communication skill attached to the designated protection skill.
"And if Yuki-san makes gates for us, we could go to the location where the gate was made in an instant, right?"
At Riel’s follow-up, everyone is left speechless.
With Yuki-sama, the limits on the size of a nation could be shattered.
Communication is possible, and the movement of armies could be considered instantaneous.
"Dear. You could build a nation that unites the entire continent!"
Lady Seraria exclaims.
I, too, am filled with excitement.
I understand it now—with Yuki-sama, any injustice or problem could be addressed immediately.
An ideal state could be formed by uniting the continent.
"No, calm down. I have no intention of building a nation."
That excitement is extinguished by Yuki-sama’s single remark.
Ah, he did say that from the beginning.
What could be the reason for this?
Well, well, Yuki’s true purpose on this continent is beginning to come to light.
"Not building a nation."
What is the meaning behind this answer?