第１０６８堀：手を伸ばした理由 (Part1)
Chapter 1068: The Reason for Reaching Out
Side: Seraria
"So, how did the meetings go?"
I asked my husband for his impressions after he finished a week-long series of meetings with several small nations.
"Man, 'exhausting' doesn't even begin to cover it. You really do a lot, Seraria."
"I appreciate you acknowledging how difficult my work is. Though, it sounds like you had a different kind of struggle... Still, I was surprised. You actually took in nearly half of the daughters they offered."
Yes, it was quite unexpected. I had assumed my husband would refuse them, but for some reason, while he didn't go so far as to marry them, he accepted quite a few. Doing something like that usually just invites unnecessary complications and endless headaches.
"Ah, it’s not really that I 'took them in.' They just happened to be the perfect candidates to act as representatives for each country in the upcoming investigation into the magical power depletion phenomenon."
"Yes. We’ll compile the reports later, but we’ve decided to have the small nations form their own survey teams to conduct investigations."
"And when we thought about who could act as a leader or who possessed deep knowledge in each country, the women we met during these sessions fit the bill perfectly."
"I see. That makes sense. They wouldn't send over foolish girls, after all."
After all, they brought these women here with the intention of probing into Weed or seeking aid through my husband, so they would need the intelligence and capability to handle such tasks. Thinking about it that way, they really could serve as leaders or researchers for the magical depletion investigation, just as my husband said.
"Since we were already short on personnel for that, it was like a gift from the heavens, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, this should help the investigation move forward to some extent. Though, we’ll still need to verify the accuracy of their findings on our end."
"That much is unavoidable. But that means the other half didn't qualify as leaders or researchers, then?"
"Well, only about half of them were actually 'daughters' offered up. The other half were there to consult on whether we had any resources that could turn into an industry for them. In a large nation, that kind of thing just takes up time and leads to being ignored, after all."
True, even the kings of great powers can't afford to spend time on the trivial administrative consultations of small nations like this. Unless they are on exceptionally good terms, it’s impossible. We, however, managed to steer the conversation toward accepting their consultations in exchange for them conducting the surveys. This has effectively created a situation where we can legally intervene in their investigations. All things considered, it’s a promising start.
"And there was supposed to be a consultation regarding border disputes as well. What happened with that?"
"Ah, that. That’s a lost cause."
"It’s a matter of conflicting interests between the small nations directly involved, so we can't really step in."
"Exactly. The issue was that a town that holds the key to water rights defected to a neighboring country, leaving the original country without access to water..."
Ah, that kind of situation. That is...
"According to international treaties, the affiliation of a border town is supposed to be confirmed and recognized by a third party after the lord makes a declaration, right? What about that?"
"Roschur properly confirmed the defection declaration, so it’s impossible to change it now."
"Wait, that shitty old man!?"
Why would he make such a foolish judgment? Or rather, isn't that a problem for my own motherland?
"Now, now, calm down. It’s not that the King of Roschur is at fault here. It was Princess Aria who made the decision this time."
"What!? That has to be some kind of mistake. My sister would never make such a foolish, unreasonable error that would inevitably lead to trouble!"
I could believe it of that shitty old man, but my wise sister would never accept a defection declaration that was so blatantly problematic.
"Like I said, calm down. You know better than anyone that Roschur protects more than ten small nations. You don't really think the Princess goes out to check every single border demarcation herself, do you?"
"...So, you mean the subordinate who approved the declaration was an idiot?"
"No, that’s not it either. Apparently, the change in affiliation was made without issue, including the contract regarding water rights. Since it’s water, it’s a matter of life and death. They must have known it would be bad to leave that ambiguous."
"What do you mean? If the contract regarding water was handled properly, why are they still fighting over water usage?"
"That's exactly it. That said, right now we only have one side's story."
"Yes. We heard their side, but we can't just take it at face value."
"Indeed."
Eris and Ratz agreed with my husband with wry smiles.
"Still, if they went through the trouble of coming all the way here to complain, there must be a significant problem, right? What are the details?"
"Right. The tributary that flows from the main river—which the town now belongs to—used to supply water to the country that is complaining. But since it hasn't rained lately and water is scarce, they’ve stopped the flow to the tributary and are using only the main stream, effectively keeping the water for the country the town defected to."
"That side?"
"That side. But you can't just tell them not to complain because it's a natural disaster. After all, the water is right there in front of them. That said, the side holding the territory also has a problem because they don't have enough water for themselves, let alone enough to share with another country. The complaining side wasn't even asking us to 'do something' about the other country; they just wanted to know if there was any way to secure water."
"The border dispute itself isn't really between the nations, but rather a clash between the neighboring towns and villages over water usage."
Conflicts over water rights have been endless since ancient times. Moreover, because water is a matter of life and death for those living there, the intentions of the nations don't really matter.
"I see. So, a war could break out regardless of the nations' intentions?"
"That’s the situation. And for those villages, it’s a matter of survival. The prevailing thought is becoming: 'If they won't share, we'll take it by force.'"
"And they were saying the root of the problem wasn't the other country, but the fact that the town defected to the neighbor in the first place."
"Come to think of it, I remember them saying that. But wouldn't the water problem have been the same for the town regardless of which side it belonged to?"
"No, actually, from the perspective of the town's lord, the current situation is better. The side they defected to has more surrounding villages. They likely switched sides after considering exactly this kind of situation."
"...So it was a place with water issues from the start. And what about the water source? Even if it hasn't rained, did they go to check the source?"
"They haven't been able to. The mountain where the source is located is home to many monsters, so they can't investigate it easily. In fact, the reason the town's lord defected to the neighboring country was the judgment that they had higher national power and would take action in an emergency. The complaining country understood that, which is why the defection itself wasn't the issue."
That is a far too rational judgment. Attaching oneself to a country that lacks the power to protect the town is the same as choosing to let the town perish. It was a natural decision for a lord to make.
"In that case, this is a matter that the side that accepted the defection should handle first. So, shouldn't this kind of problem be handled by the neighboring country or a great power like Roschur that provides protection, rather than Weed? This is beyond the level of a minor issue. If handled poorly, a major war could break out over the water in that entire region."