第８５掘：丸投げ (Part2)
"As Riel said, if a nation acts in a way that makes it clear their reason for war is mere greed, other countries will form an alliance under the guise of justice, crush that nation, and divide the spoils. Unless a nation is ruled by a complete fool, there is no benefit to starting a war. In fact, the risk of the nation ceasing to exist increases dramatically. No one should be starting wars anymore."
"...I suppose I should say, 'As expected of my husband,' but wars still happen due to unavoidable circumstances or clashing ideologies. What will you do about that?"
She’s right. The world is full of "unavoidable" situations. Whether those situations are actually acceptable is another matter, though.
"Forget about them. If a country starts a war because they can't feed their people, that’s a failure of their own governance. Whether it’s the nation's natural lifespan, barren land, or just incompetence, the problem is that they are trying to remain a country in that state. They should just be annexed by another nation. You can't eat pride. And as for places that start wars over clashing ideologies, the longer it drags on, the more the citizens will abandon them. People don't want to die, and since there are gates for travel, they’ll just evacuate to a safe country."
Seraria is standing there with her mouth agape, stunned by my brother's explanation. Ah, so that’s another way to use the gates. Since they allow for trade, they can be used by anyone.
"...Unless they have a deep attachment to the country, people won't stay in a place that’s at war. ...There really is no merit to starting a war. The more you fight, the more people—or rather, people seeking safety—will leave. Mercenaries and those looking to strike it rich might gather, but..."
"And even that will be a minority. The moment a country starts a war, they’ll be under the watchful eyes of every other nation. There’s no chance of victory left. ...If it were me, I’d petition the other nations to cut off their supplies. That way, they wouldn't even be able to wage war in the first place."
Oh, Shera says such terrifying things. Without supplies, war is impossible.
"That’s how it is. As Seraria and Shera say, I could build a nation and aim for continental unification, but when you consider which path costs more time and resources in every sense..."
"I believe Yuki-sama’s plan will result in the least amount of suffering."
"...Even if we were to take Roschur or any other country, it would take an immense amount of time, effort, and resources to stabilize and pacify the territory. You’re anticipating that and deciding to leave the management to the existing countries, aren't you?"
"Management is a harsh way to put it. I’m just taking steps to ensure war doesn't happen."
"Ha, you say that, but any country that doesn't go along with your proposal will clearly fall behind the others. Whether it’s resources, human talent, or information—this is, in a sense, a threat. It’s essentially saying that if they don't build a gate, their country will perish. Is it really wrong to describe that as leaving the management to countries that move according to your will?"
My brother’s method takes less time and causes less damage than unifying the continent. I have to say, it’s amazing that he could come up with something like this.
"Do you dislike this, Seraria?"
"No, as expected of my husband. I’m happy about it. But this dungeon will likely need to become independent now."
"That’s true, isn't it~"
"Indeed. As Seraria-sama said, if we are to push forward with Yuki-sama’s plan, it looks bad for this dungeon to be under the jurisdiction of a single nation. It would be assumed that Roschur holds all the cards."
"Well, getting them to recognize our independence is fine since it promises a massive increase in profits based on what we just discussed, but even if we are independent, we’ll still be seen as part of Roschur to some extent..."
"That will be up to our own skill from here on out. Isn't that right, Yuki-sama?"
"...Ah, well, sorry for all the trouble."
My brother says this and bows his head to us. Was he like this when we first met?
"Hm? Why is everyone laughing?"
My brother lifts his head, looks at us, and tilts his head in confusion.
"No, no, it’s just... you really haven't changed at all, brother."
Now, things are going to get even busier with negotiations between the countries. As for the three nations of Roschur, Litea, and Gartz, we already have connections—or rather, people with significant authority are already part of our inner circle. If three of the four major powers are linked, the smaller nations will surely follow suit... Oh, was this all part of the plan?
Well, never mind that. We have about two weeks of break time coming up. Maybe I’ll try to make a child with my brother. Honestly, that’s more important to me.
Hahaha!! I won't have to deal with troublesome politics or respond to every little act of defiance!! I'll just dump it all on them!! Gates will be built in every country, and we’ll be rolling in it!!