第８５掘：丸投げ (Part1)
### Dig 85: Passing the Buck
**Passing the Buck**
**Side: Ratz**
"No, calm down. I have no intention of building a country."
Yuki-oniisan said this, suppressing the excitement in the room. Or rather, he extinguished it. From the very beginning, he had stated that he had no intention of founding a nation. Seraria, Rurua, and Shera-sama, who were all heavyweights of their respective nations, seemed to have been stirred up by their own thoughts, but I wasn't quite as affected.
However, I couldn't fathom how Yuki-oniisan planned to save the continent. As Seraria and the others suggested, I truly believed it would be more certain if he simply became a king and established a country himself.
"Yuki-san, then how will you do it?" Eris asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind. Everyone stared at him, waiting for the answer.
"Well then, shall I reveal my thoughts? Think of this as part of dungeon management, and if you have any opinions, feel free to speak up, alright?"
At his words, everyone nodded.
...It seems Yuki-oniisan intends to use the dungeon as a means to save the continent. Naturally, there is no reason not to utilize such a convenient tool.
"So, about that war from earlier. War is bad for many reasons. A decline in national power, productivity, and labor force—well, there are just too many demerits. I suppose there’s also the aspect of 'reducing mouths to feed.' Sometimes, war is just a way to thin out the population that a country can no longer support."
Seraria and the others winced at his words. I see. While the public excuse is expanding territory, the underlying truth is not about land, but about adjusting the population by sending conscripted soldiers to their deaths. It is a nauseating concept, but not one I cannot understand.
"No country wants to be the one to initiate a war. Just starting one requires vast amounts of capital and resources. You understand that, right?"
That goes without saying. Countries at war suffer from heavy taxes, conscription, and the requisitioning of supplies—mostly from the common people.
"However, they still feel the need to start wars to secure land. The root of it is that they cannot support their own citizens with the land they currently have. That’s why they use war as a means to produce a clear-cut result of victory or defeat. As long as they have the leeway, countries will negotiate, of course."
I wish they could settle things at the negotiation stage, but if that were possible, wars wouldn't happen in the first place.
"Well, it seems the four major powers have already shifted to a game of interests—calculating how much profit they can squeeze out. But for smaller nations, they have to seize land from others just to boost their national strength."
"Yes, that is exactly correct."
"Now, to save the continent, I think the best way is to prevent wars that result in casualties."
That is indeed the best way. In the end, these wars are just for the sake of a nation's pride. For the people living on that land, it doesn't matter which country rules them, as long as they are safe.
"So, to prevent wars, I intend to create gates using the dungeon in every country to facilitate the exchange of goods. I want to make it so that they can easily obtain each other's resources with money or some other medium. If we do this, they can trade normally with other countries, so the need to seize land because they lack resources should disappear, right?"
I think what Yuki-oniisan is saying makes perfect sense. I see—he plans to connect the countries by building dungeons, using them as tools for trade to prevent the scarcity of goods that serves as the root cause of conflict.
"My dear, that way of thinking is naive. Trade is already happening everywhere. If that alone were enough to stop wars, they would have vanished long ago. The four major powers talk about profit, but smaller nations have their own sources of income, and without them, they can't do anything. They have to carve out land to increase that revenue. You might call it the selfishness of a nation, but it’s impossible for people to simply stay silent and do nothing while others are wealthy."
I understand Seraria's point as well. If others are living better than you, you want to be like them, and if your own country is starving, you will do anything to improve the situation. Even with trade, if it’s not enough to sustain them, they will start a war.
"Heh heh heh... Seraria, what you say is true. But you are overlooking something important."
"Something important?"
"That’s right. Trade exists, yet wars don't stop. That is true. But I said I would create trade—that is, gates where everyone can come and go freely—in every country. Do you understand what this means?"
"C-could it be...!?"
Oh? Shera-sama seems to have realized something. Judging by her stature, she might be a bit older than Aslin and the others, but based on her conduct, she is clearly a very capable person.
"You intend to make the countries monitor each other through these gates..."
"Bingo."
Yuki-oniisan smiled happily. Yes, he looked absolutely wicked.
"Sorry, Yuki-san. I don't get it." Riel looked like she was about to cry, sounding terribly apologetic. Well, it’s a different field of expertise, so it can't be helped.
"Let's see, Riel. Suppose Tori, who is sitting next to you, has something you really want, but she won't give it to you. Or, she demands an exorbitant price for it. What would you do?"
"Eh? I'd give up."
"Ah, sorry. Let's assume giving up isn't an option."
"Then... I'd try to steal it while Tori isn't looking. Ah, but I wouldn't actually do that to Tori!?"
"I know. I trust that you wouldn't do that to Tori."
"Right. You'd steal it. That’s closer to the truth of national wars. Actually, it’s more like you’d punch Tori and take the item by force."
"Ugh... I hate war."
"However, since there are only two parties involved, neither I nor anyone else would know who is in the right, and since the outcome is already decided, there’s nothing to be said. Now, let’s change the premise. Would you think about stealing that item if there were other people around besides Tori?"
"I wouldn't. Everyone would know it was my fault. ...Ah, I see. That’s what you mean. If every country is connected to many others and is being watched, if one tries to start a war, the rest of the foreign nations will immediately become their enemies."
Yes, that is why I called his smile wicked. We don't even have to lift a finger; they will monitor each other. If one country puts an exorbitant price on goods, others can just buy them elsewhere, and the country that gouged the price will see its reputation plummet. Conversely, if a country gets angry and starts a war, their reputation will also fall among the foreign nations for taking such a short-sighted action when other means were available.
Prices may fluctuate depending on the goods, but no one will be able to unilaterally hike prices by trading with only one country. The sellers will likely trade based on the market prices of those around them, so prices should settle at a certain level.
Or rather, if they use the gates to trade, we will be the ones holding all the price information.
...Yuki-oniisan, you really do think of terrifying things.