132. Preparations for Counterattack (1)
In short, the international organization reconstruction conference didn't quite collapse into total failure.
The reason was simple. 'If we miss this one, there won't be a next time. The risks are too high.' Even the United States realized that if this conference fell apart, there'd be no chance for another reconstruction meeting anytime soon. So they ultimately gave up countering the sophistry from the others.
It was a case of agreeing on the reconstruction for now and dealing with the rest later. In the end, the Orleans Saintess's claims made it onto the official agenda.
The biggest winners from this conference were the Protector and the Orleans Saintess. With the justification of concessions from America, they secured the prestige they'd craved and could now apply political pressure on their rivals.
'Poor Alicia.' For Alicia, Bahamut's contractor, this was yet another setback—but it wasn't without its downsides.
'Diplomacy outside Asia is basically nonexistent now.'
The key point was that everyone at the conference now had a clear impression of the character and tendencies of the Protector and the Orleans Saintess.
Every nation attending the reconstruction conference had witnessed their shameless distortions firsthand. Naturally, America and the Asian bloc, who opposed their claims, ended up in a de facto hostile standoff with their cabinets.
'Diplomacy with foreign nations doesn't mean much in this apocalypse anyway. Distance makes real war impossible.'
As a result, the international organization faced a crisis of collapse right from its founding. But the Protector and the Saintess couldn't care less about the complaints or unrest.
Even if relations soured with Asia due to distance, that was a post-apocalypse concern—not something to worry about now, in the midst of the end times.
In this apocalypse, diplomacy with neighboring nations mattered far more, and Bahamut agreed with that assessment.
'Well, we didn't get a chance to give speeches or make our name known, either.'
The Protector's cabinet at least made some effort—contact through working-level meetings or unofficial diplomatic channels, showing intent to engage with the Balhut Cult.
But the Orleans Saintess's cabinet showed zero interest. There was no sign of any outreach to the Balhut Cult whatsoever.
They wouldn't even allow working-level contacts, as if they didn't want the Balhut Cult drawing attention at this conference. So no practical or diplomatic meetings with France materialized for the cult.
If it were just France, the Balhut Cult could simply establish state religion ties with the other European nations.
'No big deal if just France rejects us. The problem is we have zero connections with the Western European nations they lead.'
The issue was the remnants of the European Union under French leadership. Already leashed by France, every European delegate here moved strictly according to French directives.
In other words, they too refused—or couldn't—open diplomatic channels with the Asian Balhut Cult, per France's wishes.
'Racial discrimination in the apocalypse? What a joke.'
It was blatant Asian exclusion. Not outright racism, but a slimy ostracism that made Bahamut want to scoff: what is this, playground bullying on the world stage?
Common sense dictated that even if public facades were hostile—like the usual WWE-style posturing—they'd at least open working-level exchanges or diplomatic channels.
But these two had declared full-on UFC against Asia. No wonder America was shocked.
Back in the pre-apocalypse days, wasn't international diplomacy all about Britain and France freaking out, calling America "Yankees," over its pro-Korean antics?
'At least there's some silver lining.'
The Balhut Cult and the Asian nations at the conference weren't total wallflowers without presence. In response to Western Europe's exclusion, Asia was starting backroom alliances to carve out survival paths in this apocalypse.
The declarations from those two young leaders had already stirred unrest among Asian nations. While America protested the outrage, deals were already underway...
"I'm Dang Xuan Cu from Hanoi. Call me Deng Chun-gu if the name's too tricky."
"Abdulrahman Wahid from Java."
"I'm Choi Yu-na. It's truly a pleasure to meet the representatives from Vietnam and Indonesia."
The two delegates attending this international organization reconstruction conference had come directly to meet the Balhut Cult.
Vietnam's Deng Chun-gu and Indonesia's Abdulrahman Wahid.
Relying on translation magic, Yu-na smiled brightly and expressed her joy at the meeting.
These were nations with some historical name recognition worldwide, second only to Japan in importance for the Balhut Cult's Asian foothold.
'But calling them proper representatives? They're more like Kim Su-ho's interim government in Seoul—not fully legitimate governments reclaiming their countries.'
Of course, they hadn't fully reclaimed or restructured their nations into proper governments. They were still provisional setups, and questioning if they truly represented their countries was fair.
But America chose them partly because they'd be pro-US if they held power—and no better options existed from America's view.
Sure, stronger interim governments could be found.
'America's no charity. Not being selected means they'd form governments unfriendly to the US if they succeeded.'
America wasn't in the business of philanthropy. As Steven had said during their first meeting, the US was just another nation scrambling to survive the apocalypse, acting purely in its national interest.
The Balhut Cult aligned with that interest—and benefited mutually—so they maintained near-blood-alliance ties. But for others, America cherry-picked governments fitting its agenda.
'And yet, the real heavyweights—India and China—are absent. That's the real issue. Without them, it's meaningless...'
Even America couldn't touch India or China.
The two Asian giants had no delegates here, no seats assigned. It felt like America and Western Europe conspiring to exclude them—but there were reasons.
'Everyone's at the provisional stage. Neither China nor India has even managed that.'
Simply put, survival came first for them—no bandwidth for international diplomacy. They'd failed to form interim governments, overwhelmed by zombie hordes from their massive populations.
Rumors even said civilization had regressed, infrastructure collapsed.
'They barely secured one spot, but it vanished the next day.'
Per intel from Anna, America kept trying to contact their would-be reps, but groups crumbled to zombie legions days after contact.
'True hellholes.'
The Indian subcontinent and China were pure inferno. Neighboring nations suffered spillover hell.
"We're wrapping up backroom talks, and they're still at it."
"They're desperate too, I suppose."
After wrapping meetings with the provisional reps, Yu-na sighed watching President Arthur and the Orleans Saintess still bickering.
Arthur lamented how nothing got through; the Saintess shrugged it off like it was no issue. Endless back-and-forth.
"I get President Arthur's frustration. Making Paris the HQ means pouring money and manpower there. Not in America's interest."
"Just France's—no, Western Europe's?"
"Exactly. The Orleans Saintess's logic boils down to exploiting others to save Europe first. Laughable."
Bluntly, a Paris HQ benefited no one but France—Western Europe at best—and mostly France and neighboring Britain.
Hence Arthur's fury.
"That's straight-up gangster."
"And the Protector backed it."
Yu-na watched the debate in disbelief at the thuggish logic, but Bahamut noted the real problem: the Protector's endorsement.
Even America couldn't overpower a united Britain-France push. Pre-apocalypse, sure—but now?
"America lacks the clout to force its views on others."
A stark lesson in America's diminished global sway. They barked for a mindset change against laughable logic, but those two weren't listening—they knew America had no teeth.
"Poor Arthur has to deal with them from now on. But we've got everything we could."
This was America's headache; the Balhut Cult stayed free. No power or reason to meddle abroad.
Western Europe ties were regrettable losses, but they'd secured official contacts with Japan and Southeast Asia, plus solid cooperation.
Better to lurk in America's shadow, pursuing cult gains quietly, than jumping into the fray for visibility.
"Tricky."
"It is. Even for me."
Thus, the conference ended half-success, half-failure.
Bahamut and Yu-na's delegation left for their hotel, set to depart Britain for Gyeongju tomorrow. There...
"We're back! Results? How'd the talks go?"
"I-Is it really okay for a queen to be this unguarded?"
Bold as brass, Alicia awaited in Bahamut's lodging. Curious about outcomes, she grilled the returning dragon. Bahamut sighed at the brazen queen in his room: really okay to be here like this?
"Parliament and the Protector don't care about me anyway. The big news for me is this conference."
"Results... Half and half from my view. Protector gained momentum for governance."
Reaffirming her puppet-queen status, Alicia got bad news from Bahamut. The Protector's big win soured her expression.
"Nothing for me?"
"Probably zilch."
Short-term, the Protector gained massive prestige—a disaster for Alicia.
"Knew it! It's over! No dreams, no hopes! The world's shit! That lolicon Protector's plotting my guillotine for sure!"
With zero gains for herself, Alicia despaired, face crumpling.