Chapter 431: Failure(5)
Chapter 431: Failure(5)
Because the misunderstandings only deepened the more I tried to explain, I decided to stop talking about my past life—specifically, about myself—for the time being. The more I explained, the more I was met with looks of pity and sympathy.
It was a difference in common sense, so to speak. Usually, a country torn apart by civil war is impoverished. That is the norm.
In fact, if it hadn't been for the full support of the United States and the efforts of our ancestors, South Korea might have ended up like North Korea. Until the 1960s, North Korea's economic situation was actually better.
Anyway, explaining all that would require going beyond World War II and into the Cold War, so I decided to skip it.
Instead, I chose to explain what Earth was like, what kind of weapons it had, and what political systems it maintained.
First was the weapon they found hardest to understand: the 'gun.' Even without monsters, humans are much weaker than ordinary beasts.
With bare hands, the probability of defeat is nearly 100%, and even with a spear—once called the king of all weapons—it’s difficult for anyone who isn't a trained warrior.
Wolves, in particular, could be considered humanity's greatest enemy, and the weapon that finally forced even them to retreat was the gun.
"So, just by pulling a trigger like a crossbow, a lump of lead is fired... and its power is much greater than a crossbow, plus it can fire multiple rounds at once?"
"Yes."
"Can it pierce steel?"
"The weaker ones might struggle, but for the most part, they pierce it easily. However, that's based on the standards of where I lived; I'm not sure about here."
To be honest, a direct comparison was impossible. In a world teeming with monsters that could slice through steel like tofu, armor was a different story.
Even an expert like my father considered armor an absolute necessity. Otherwise, one might be struck by a stray arrow.
The weapons crafted by dwarves, in particular, were on another level. During the Race War, the reason humans were able to withstand elven magic was thanks to dwarven-made equipment.
Even when magic rained from the sky, they could block it with shields, and arrows couldn't pierce their plate. It was fundamentally different from ordinary armor.
Because of this, comparison was difficult, but the truly terrifying aspect of the gun lay in 'proficiency.'
"But the real advantage of a gun is the proficiency. Even a child can stand against a knight. You just pull the trigger, and a bullet flies with far more power than an arrow."
"Hmm..."
"For the record, it's a weapon issued to every individual. I've fired one too."
"Hah."
Father was skeptical at first, but he let out a sharp breath when I mentioned it was issued to every individual.
And for good reason. Archers are a very difficult class to train. They require a certain level of physical strength, not to mention the immense time needed to gain proficiency.
Yet, a gun—which is much easier to handle and even more powerful—is issued to every single person?
It meant that a charge was synonymous with suicide and a direct waste of manpower. An army in this world, which relied primarily on melee combat, would be mowed down helplessly.
"Then it seems like no one would want to fight. To win a battle, you have to suppress the opponent, but this makes it too advantageous for the defender."
"He's right. Charging would be nothing short of suicide. Are there separate shield bearers?"
Dave and Nicole offered their opinions respectively. I couldn't help but be slightly surprised by their words.
I had only told them about the power and usage of the gun, yet they had clearly identified the resulting side effects.
Indeed, wasn't it the invention of the machine gun that led to the horrific trench warfare of World War I? Just as they said, charging became suicide, resulting in massive casualties.
Furthermore, the same applied to artillery. They had no choice but to use artillery to break through the trenches, but it didn't yield much effect.
Instead, it only inflicted mental illnesses like shell shock on the soldiers. The decisive reasons World War I ended were the entry of the United States and the Russian Revolution.
"Dave and Nicole are right. The thing that properly neutralized that was the 'tank.' To compare it to something here, you could call it a knight on horseback."
"A knight? Is there a knight class?"
"It's not that they don't exist at all, but there are no separate knights in the army. It's just a metaphor."
[If you describe it as a knight on horseback, it must have been a formidable force.]
As Clark said, the tank is a force so powerful it's called the king of land warfare. An armored vehicle that is the symbol of army power and a reassuring presence just by existing.
While they didn't see much glory in World War I, Germany showcased its armored divisions during World War II, truly revealing the tank's majesty.
Though Stalin made his share of blunders, the reason they were able to gain the upper hand in the German-Soviet War was thanks to powerful tanks.
"Yes. To put it simply, imagine a multi-ton lump of iron moving. Bullets don't even scratch it, and it fires thick shells. As for what it looks like..."
Just as I did when explaining the gun, I drew a picture to show them what a tank looked like.
As I began to draw, my family shifted their gaze to the table. Rather than drawing in detail, I sketched just enough to show the basic features.
"As you can see, this long part is the barrel. This is where the shells are fired from."
"By the way, the wheels look peculiar. Are they specially made to move all at once?"
Father asked, pointing to the caterpillar tracks, one of the symbols of a tank. To the people here, it certainly looked like a strange shape.
"Yes. They're called caterpillar tracks, designed to move more easily over rough terrain."
"That could be a weakness. If those are removed, its mobility would drop drastically."
Father remarked, stroking his chin. I was impressed once again.
Just like Nicole and Dave earlier, he was accurately pinpointing weaknesses based on a simple explanation.
In reality, if the tracks are damaged, a tank completely loses its mobility. In movies, whenever a tank loses its function, it's almost always because the tracks are broken.
Of course, even after losing mobility, it can still be used as cover. The movie Fury depicts this point well.
"You're right, Father. But losing mobility doesn't mean its power is reduced. As I said, it's still a multi-ton lump of iron sitting right there."
"I don't know if I should be scared because it looks slow. It seems more like a vanguard than a knight on horseback."
Dave tilted his head, evaluating the tank differently. To people in a fantasy world, it would indeed seem more like a vanguard carrying a shield.
However, to infantry, a tank is literally a monster. Imagine an impregnable fortress that nothing you do can pierce, walking toward you.
To help them understand the feelings of the infantry, I brought up a metaphor suited for this world.
"Dave. If you were walking through a forest and heard a thumping sound, what would you do?"
"Uh... wouldn't I usually think it's an Ogre?"
With Dave's level of skill, an Ogre would be treated as 'nothing.' He can move massive boulders with his bare hands, so an Ogre is no big deal.
But the world I lived in didn't have superhumans like Dave. I smiled and continued my explanation.
"But imagine you can't use mana, and all you have in your hand is a single crossbow. How would that feel?"
"Aha. I see what you mean. This tank thing feels like that?"
"Yeah, exactly."
"Man. Spoken like a true writer—that metaphor is spot on."
The others let out faint chuckles, agreeing with Dave. Honestly, I thought I expressed it well myself.
However, even if the metaphors were spot on, Mother and Mari might get bored if we only talked about the military.
They were curious, but perhaps not deeply interested. Mari, in particular, was focused entirely on me as a person.
So, I pushed the paper with the tank drawing aside and looked around as I spoke.
"Is there anything else you're curious about? It'll get dull if we only talk about military stuff, so I'd prefer another topic."
"Another topic..."
"Hmm..."
"The problem is having too many things I want to ask."
From their perspective, there must be so many things they wanted to know. Having just stepped on a landmine earlier, they were likely being even more cautious.
I waited quietly for them to speak. We had plenty of time, and I wanted to tell them everything I could.
Only then could we grow closer and clear up misunderstandings like the one from before.
After waiting for a while...
[...May I ask something?]
Surprisingly, the first one to speak was Clark. For the record, Ariel was still sleeping soundly on top of his head.
I glanced at Ariel once before nodding as I met his eyes.
Once I gave my permission, it was only natural for everyone's gaze to turn toward Clark.
He opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally asking in a cautious voice.
[Were there demon worshippers in your world as well?]
"Demon worshippers?"
[Yes. Of course, I know the existence of gods in your world is uncertain. So there probably weren't many groups trying to summon a god like demon worshippers do. Even if there were, they'd likely be treated as mentally unstable. I'm just asking because I'm curious if there were organizations just as wicked.]
I had already told them that the existence of gods was ambiguous on Earth. They were quite shocked back then, too.
Hearing Clark's question, I thought deeply about whether there was a group comparable to demon worshippers.
As I began to think, everyone's eyes swarmed toward me instead of Clark.
After much deliberation, a group that was similar yet different from demon worshippers came to mind, and I spoke.
"Uh... there was something similar. Though it's a bit different, the atrocities and evil they committed are comparable."
[R-really? Surely they aren't still...]
"Oh, don't worry about that. They've all disappeared."
[Phew...]
Clark let out a sigh of relief at my answer. Surely he didn't think I had been victimized by them.
Of course, because of them, South Korea ended up implementing conscription, but I should probably leave that out.
"Um... and perhaps you could say the scale was even larger than demon worshippers. It wasn't spread out in cells like in this world; an entire nation was swallowed by it."
"An entire nation?"
"Does that even make sense? No matter how..."
"Ideology is just that terrifying. Didn't you hear the news recently about an entire village falling for demon worship?"
Reactions of disbelief poured out, but Father hit the nail on the head. Finding nothing to say to that, the room went silent in an instant.
"Father is right. It was called 'Nazi Germany,' a war criminal state that started World War II. It's a bit of a stretch to compare, but it's easiest to think of it as if Albenheim had been consumed by the ideology of demon worshippers."
"Albenheim? Why would those haughty elves...?"
"I don't think this metaphor is quite right..."
"..."
Albenheim consumed by the ideology of demon worshippers. Even Father remained silent, as if he felt this metaphor was a bit off.
But what I wanted to talk about was the 'ideology.' I looked at each of my family members' faces, which were filled with doubt, and smiled.
Coincidentally, Albenheim also had the experience of losing the Race War, so it would serve as an excellent example.
"The reason I compared it to Albenheim is that Nazi Germany, like Albenheim, lost the First World War. Because of that, they had no choice but to endure all sorts of unreasonable treatment. Albenheim's situation was relatively better, but the unfairness Germany faced destroyed the entire country."
"..."
"The economy was completely ruined, and as more soldiers were discharged, the number of unemployed skyrocketed. In a situation where self-esteem had hit rock bottom, what could they do?"
At that time, Germany literally could do nothing. However, as the primary culprit of World War I, neighboring countries constantly kept them in check.
Fortunately, the United States saw this and provided some economic funding to prevent Germany from falling into socialism, but eventually, the inevitable happened.
"But in that situation, a decisive event occurred that changed Germany. A Great Depression occurred in the United States—or the Minerva Empire, in our terms—and the entire world fell into chaos."
"Is that possible? Our Empire's economy being destroyed?"
While the others were calm, Mari questioned me in disbelief. Her wide blue eyes were filled with shock.
She was from the Minerva Empire, and the daughter of the Rekilis family at that. Naturally, her feelings for the Empire were special.
So, hearing that such an Empire's economy could be ruined—not by rebellion or even external invasion—must have been hard to believe.
"It was a combination of various factors, including World War I. Actually, wasn't it chaotic for a while after the Race War ended and the Minerva Empire was established? War doesn't just contain hell; it's followed by a long, long purgatory. The country I lived in also struggled in that purgatory for a while."
"..."
"Anyway, when the world was in chaos due to the Great Depression in America, a man appeared in Germany. A man who would stain all of Germany with evil and who possessed a terrible sense of supremacy."
I stopped talking there and looked around once more. Every single one of them had a face intensely focused on my story.
Tell us more. Tell us quickly what happened after that man appeared.
That sentiment was written all over their faces. Even Mother was clutching her hands together in great anticipation.
But, unfortunately, I intended to stop here. I couldn't say any more because it would be a spoiler.
"Well, that's it for the story. As for how that man took power, you can read it in the book..."
"No!!"
"Tell us now! Right now!"
"What happened? Huh? What happened? How did that man seize control of Albenheim... no, that country called Germany?!"
Along with Dave's shout, aggressive reactions poured out one after another. Mother leaned back in her chair as if dejected, and Nicole also looked like her tension had suddenly snapped.
The highlight was Mari. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me back and forth, begging me to tell her quickly.
My body swayed helplessly under her vigorous grip. My head was getting a bit dizzy, but I had absolutely no intention of telling them.
"Ugh... no. Absolutely not. Just buy the book and read it. Besides, it's a political story, so it's hard to explain verbally."
"Th-then just tell us roughly what kind of person he was! Please! Is there anyone you can compare him to?"
"Hmm... just..."
In an instant, one person came to mind. Not the one-balled man with the mustache...
"He was someone incredibly good at speeches and agitation."
But a certain cute and lovely Elf Queen.
*
Meanwhile, at Albenheim's political institution, Elodia.
"Achoo!"
Arwen, who was preparing to head to the Maishal mansion, suddenly let out a sneeze.
Her aide, Keir, was slightly surprised and asked with a voice full of concern.
"Your Majesty?"
"I-it is nothing. I merely sneezed."
"I see. Just in case, it might be best to get a check-up before you leave. It wouldn't do to pass a cold to Sir Xenon when you're finally going to see him."
"Hmph. I shall be careful."
She had no idea why she had sneezed.