Chapter 146: The Last Resort and the End of the Fight

Damari was one of the ordinary young men of the Republic of Smite. These days, most ordinary young people in the Republic of Smite were highly interested in games, computers, and Spirit Space.

Of course, those among the poor who did not earn much had no room to even look toward computers or Spirit Space. Even so, Arcade Game Land existed, so they could at least play games, and by reading Gamers, they knew roughly what those things were like.

And they often thought that someday, once they earned money, they would enjoy those things too.

In that sense, Damari was relatively fortunate. He was not exactly wealthy, but he had graduated from university and managed to enter a workplace that paid a reasonably decent salary.

Thanks to that, he enjoyed computer games and Spirit Space. These days, he could not even imagine what life would be like without those two things.

‘What did people even do after coming home from work in the old days?’

A world without this free network world seemed unbearably stifling. Even though he had clearly lived without such things until just recently.

He already praised modern science and technology like that, but recently, there had been something else for him to cheer about.

It was the introduction of a new technology called the Magical Connector.

In truth, he had heard rumors about it before. But since there was nothing concrete, he had simply thought of it as some urban legend.

After all, things like photos and videos still could not be uploaded onto the network, so even if someone had one, the most they could offer was testimony. Schutz had already been dragged to Meta Hardware and was being ground down as a magical engineering drone.

But then he heard that Meta Hardware was truly developing such an item and that it would be released soon.

It was not just a simple rumor. Official advertisements had appeared in Gamers, and on Spirit Space, detailed specifications were already listed in the new product introduction section of Meta Hardware’s page.

There was no Spirit Space user who did not suffer from telephone bills. Naturally, Damari also cheered over it.

‘Has the world really advanced this much?’

Damari marveled like that and had been counting the days until the machine came out.

Then one day, he saw a strange post on Spirit Space.

<The Magical Connector might not be released.>

That was the title. Since he had just seen his telephone bill a few days ago and sighed while praying for the Magical Connector to come out quickly, he immediately took the bait and clicked it.

With the creation of Spirit Space, the people of this world also learned the joy of drawing other people’s attention and interest. Because of that, all kinds of people were already spouting nonsense there. So there were many posts with provocative titles but completely empty content.

Because of that, he clicked it without much expectation. But inside, there was a fairly plausible story.

‘The telecommunications companies are worried that their telephone fee revenue will decrease if the Magical Connector comes out, so they’re trying to block its release through lobbying?’

The telecommunications company bastards were certainly greedy all the way to their throats. Until before, many consumers had not held any particular dissatisfaction toward telecommunications companies, but after Spirit Space came out and they started being gouged by enormous call charges, resentment had begun piling up.

Though from the telecommunications companies’ perspective, they were simply charging the same hourly rate they always had.

“No!”

He clutched his head for a moment, then began searching through the bulletin boards more thoroughly. He wanted to know whether there were other posts and how other people were reacting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to this one.

Sure enough, Spirit Space was in chaos. Now that the release of the Magical Connector had entered its final countdown, many people were already imagining themselves enjoying Spirit Space comfortably without paying the expensive fees they had paid until now. Hearing that this might be blocked naturally made them furious.

<Those businessmen really are all the same!>

<Revolution! We need a revolution!!>

<There’s clear evidence that the telecommunications companies lobbied them! These are the bastards who took money!>

And though no one knew how they had found out, a list of politicians had also been posted. Some people cursed them immediately without looking into the matter further, but others expressed doubt.

<But isn’t this just a random list of politicians with no evidence?>

However, there were others who made reasonable guesses in response.

<No. These people have been cozy with telecommunications companies for a long time.>

<Huh? You’re right. Didn’t Doraden say before that telephone line installation is a national project, so they should receive subsidies?>

<And that Elf Jeffrey is also the guy who pushed for government offices to be required to have telephones in the past.>

Of course, at the time, those arguments had all had justifications and sounded plausible. But what mattered here was that they were pro-telecommunications company figures.

<Then does that mean it’s true that the telecommunications companies are lobbying to block it?>

And when posts appeared about the justifications put forward by the telecommunications companies, people’s anger reached its peak.

<What the hell! This is all bullshit!>

<Huh? But if you think about the insect repeller incident, isn’t it true that magical devices are dangerous?>

<No, the insect repeller incident itself is bullshit! That mess happened because those crazy manufacturers used Demonic Realm magic. Ordinary devices that use spirit magic have never had a single problem!>

Unfortunately, it did not reach the point of direct action like protests. However, the politicians must have at least realized that public opinion was worsening.

That was because many offline gatherings had already formed through Spirit Space, and there were also offline spaces like Arcade Game Land, so the talk did not remain confined to Spirit Space.

The stories that bloomed there became topics at Quick & Fun Burger as well, then continued spreading to workplaces, streets, and other places.

John Decley, one of the National Assembly members, was trembling with anxiety. At forty-six years old, he was relatively young for a National Assembly member.

And he was also one of the people who had received lobbying from the telecommunications companies.

At the time, he had not thought much of it. Politicians needed sponsors by nature. It was simply that among his sponsors, there happened to be a telecommunications company.

But the atmosphere was flowing in a strange direction.

It had been like that from the moment several assembly members with aligned interests began throwing out bait to create a regulatory bill for the Magical Connector. After all, they could not submit a bill without any context, and they also needed justification.

But unlike their expectation that there would not be much difficulty, people began biting at it from the very beginning.

“Does it make any sense to claim magical devices themselves are dangerous?!”

When Zuluizen, who had the head of a lion, first growled like that, Decley thought it was understandable. After all, this person originally reacted sensitively whenever the Magic Alliance was involved in such discussions.

But once not only him, but also everyone with even the slightest connection to magic rose up and practically began denouncing them, the assembly members on the telecommunications companies’ side realized something was strange.

“It was revealed long ago that the insect repeller incident was clearly a matter of the manufacturer’s morality. Yet you still spread such agitation? You should be ashamed!”

“What did you say?!”

Tonchil, a Dog Beastman assembly member, had brought up the story because it had worked well before and he assumed it would work again this time. His face turned red, and the folds of skin around his neck trembled.

Fortunately, Decley was a first-term assembly member and young, so he had not stepped forward because he lacked weight. Instead, he watched what his seniors did.

Perhaps because he was standing one step back, he seemed to get a rough view of the overall atmosphere among the assembly members. He felt that more people than expected were sympathizing with the other side.

After that, every statement from the telecommunications company faction was strongly intercepted, and they failed to create any momentum. Decley had already felt at that point that things were doomed.

However, ignoring a sponsor’s request would make it difficult to continue political activity, so the telecommunications company faction did not give up and continued looking for openings.

But while that was happening, public opinion began worsening too.

“Assemblyman, the situation is serious.”

Politicians were ultimately elected officials. Since they had to receive people’s votes, they had no choice but to be sensitive to public opinion. His aides continuously went around checking public sentiment.

“What the hell happened?”

After receiving his aide’s report, Decley grabbed at what little hair ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he had left and let out something close to a scream.

Somehow, talk of a bill that had not even been introduced yet was already circulating through the streets, and some assembly members were even being denounced by name.

He had already been elected by a truly narrow margin. That meant if public opinion worsened even a little, there was a high chance he would be pushed out in the next election.

It was fortunate that his name was not on the list, but he could not relax. He did not know who had leaked it, but since the names of assembly members on their side had clearly flowed out, there was no guarantee that if he spoke in favor of the telecommunications companies in the National Assembly, his name would not appear next time.

He had to agonize while wavering between his sponsors and his approval rating.

And in the end, he withdrew from the fight between the telecommunications companies and the Magic Alliance faction. His fellow assembly members and sponsors pressed him, but his own neck was more important right now, so he gave vague excuses and stalled for time.

Decley was not the only person like that. Those whose names had already appeared on the list and been marked by the public had no choice, but those who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were not on it all shifted to watching from the sidelines.

The telecommunications company faction, which had already been unable to pass anything due to fierce opposition, instinctively realized that this was over.

Ultimately, bills were passed through votes. But in a situation where they could not even steer the overall atmosphere and even those who had originally been on their side were slipping away, it did not seem possible to draw in neutral assembly members.

No, even neutral assembly members had their own calculations. They might support a bill because it aligned with their beliefs, because they wanted friendly relations with the faction that introduced it, or because they could create some benefit through the bill.

But in this case, supporting it was likely to only lower their approval ratings.

Of course, the vote itself was secret. But since there was no such thing as a perfect secret in the world, there was no reason to take a risk when there was no particular benefit.

In the end, the bill sank without even making it onto the agenda.

“You really worked hard.”

When Ras heard the news, he laughed loudly and praised Ustar greatly. Since Ustar had successfully defended against an attack from a direction they had not been paying much attention to, his ability deserved recognition.

“Thank you. I’ll continue monitoring things carefully.”

Ras gave him small rewards such as a bonus and hotel accommodation vouchers, but more than those things, Ras’s recognition itself was the greater reward. Since he had earned the chairman’s trust and demonstrated his ability, his position within the company would become that much firmer.

Though he already held a powerful position.

In any case, after successfully defending against the attack, Ras was able to release the Magical Connector on the promised date.

It was already a product many people had been looking forward to. But this fight with the telecommunications companies drew even more attention to it.

That was only natural. Since it was a product that the telecommunications companies had even tried to block through lobbying, people could not help becoming curious about it.

“We really would have been in trouble if we had released it earlier.”

Ustar spoke with an expression mixed with relief and excitement. Originally, when friction with the telecommunications companies arose, they had even considered moving the release date forward.

Since the product registration had already been completed, there was no problem with selling it. They had thought that if it was distributed first, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it might dispel the perception that it was dangerous, and those who experienced its performance might become their allies.

But they had given up because it would be disastrous if they rushed the release and distribution was not properly prepared.

Looking at the current situation, with retail stores across the country clamoring for stock, it felt like a tremendous relief.