Supply Chain Stabilization (2)
Supply Chain Stabilization (2)
"Lulu-lulu-lul. Let's see."
I happily pinpoint the justification for their illegal occupation.
What the dwarves are putting forward is the 'Principle of Territorial Status Quo'.
Territorial issues between nations are more complicated than you'd think.
You can win a war and claim, "From today, this land is ours," but...
Realistically, the citizens of that country living on the land and their property don't immediately become ours.
Census. Property registration. Drawing borders, etc.
It doesn't end just because you've taken the land. There are so many things to deal with afterward.
Reorganizing administrative districts, surveying, and sorting things out—all sorts of disputes and problems arise.
And what if you finally get it sorted, only for the border to change in real-time as you go back and forth in war?
It's obvious that the two countries fighting over the land are having a hard time due to the war, but the lives of the people living on that land are ruined.
Because there are various difficulties like resident eviction, property transfer, and cultural clashes, this principle is accepted as a major premise in modern international society.
Stop fighting useless wars over an extra inch of land.
Let's just be satisfied with the current borders and keep them as they are.
The dwarves' logic was similar to this.
-We've been occupying this for over a hundred years anyway. Let's not waste our energy fighting each other, okay?
"But that's logic that only applies to Earth Online."
Grin.
A smile blossoms at the thought of simply tearing apart their pathetic excuse.
International regulations.
International principles.
International law, and so on.
Rules with 'International' attached to them have one major premise.
It means that all participating nations have agreed in advance to keep this promise, at least for now.
In reality, various wars still happen today, and you can tell by how aggressor nations plead to the world that it was a justified war according to international law.
But the reality is that international law is only kept because no single country is overwhelmingly strong enough to defeat the entire world, so they keep it because they're desperate too.
What if there was a country that could bring the whole world to its knees?
International law or whatever, it would have been unified under one country and run under a single system called Earth Law.
Agreements between nations exist because they are all more or less on the same level.
Since no one can win anyway, it just drags on indecisively.
It's like, "If we're stuck facing each other anyway, let's at least keep the minimum rules."
But this is not Earth.
It's the Yggdra Continent inside a romance fantasy novel.
In the first place, nations here have never regulated anything like international law.
And above all, Lunatium possesses the capability to overwhelm the world.
{Shall we proceed as planned, Archon-nim?}
"Proceed."
There are no rules in this world that my Lunatium needs to be petty about.
Though, there is that.
It looks a bit tacky if I say I'm going to blatantly rip them off.
The only people I need to worry about are the citizens of Lunatium.
The justification isn't for the opponent; it's to show our own people.
///
Northern mountain range near Lunatium.
Dwarf open-pit mining outpost.
Mining Foreman Yorim Greg, who had been taking a leisurely nap, was so startled he fell backward.
"Greg!! Come here! Some ignorant scrap-metal bastards are yelling and throwing their weight around!"
The dwarf miners were calling him, shouting at the top of their lungs.
For decades, the only noise in this mine had been the beautiful sound of pickaxes from the tunnels below and the comfortable rhythm of mine carts clattering along the tracks.
For some reason, there were now unfamiliar, violent shouts coming from outside.
Sure enough, when he rushed out in surprise.
"Damn it, you bastards! What the hell are you doing!"
"Stop it right now!!"
Clang-!
Crash!!
Lunatium's public service androids were turning the entire mine upside down.
Greg shouted, brandishing his pickaxe.
"W-what is this? You reckless idiots who haven't shown your faces in your whole lives, what gives you the right to throw your weight around in our workplace!!"
Zing-
Metal bodies resembling humans with square head parts.
The androids stopped acting in unison and looked at Greg.
The black scale crossing their heads and the blue light flickering in between gave off a quite chilling and cold-hearted feeling.
-Are you the person in charge of this unauthorized mining site?
"W-what?! Unauthorized? U-unauthorized?? What kind of fairy-tale nonsense are you spouting, huh?!"
-I asked if you are the person responsible for the unauthorized occupation and illegal mining activities taking place within Lunatium's jurisdiction.
The hunk of metal asked again with inhuman calmness, as if to emphasize its own legitimacy.
Unauthorized and illegal? That's absurd!
"What? Unauthorized occupation?! I-illegal?! This neighborhood has been land our people have cultivated for over 100 years! Where do you bastards who haven't even shown your faces come from to babble about it being unauthorized and illegal now! If it was your land, you should have managed it a long time ago, we know you're just trying to skim off the effort we put in, you heartless trash!!"
"That's right, that's right! Greg! Well said!"
"This is why you shouldn't associate with those mountain-bottom dwellers who have no tradition or history!"
The miners agreed with the mining foreman, who was spitting as he spoke passionately.
The cold machines of the humans from below the mountain stopped, as if stumped by the perfect logic of the picture.
But the dwarves didn't know.
That the very brief silence was just a wait to present the notification that would follow.
-Your country's unauthorized occupation, illegal mining, and unfair trade practices violate Lunatium's permanent sovereignty over resources. Unauthorized entry into Lunatium's jurisdiction. Leakage of strategic resources linked to Lunatium's urban security. Violation of Lunatium's customs regulations. Non-compliance with Lunatium's rules of origin. Violation of Lunatium's anti-dumping laws, etc., totaling 174 violations of Lunatium laws and administrative bureau orders.
"...W-what? What are these scrap-metal bastards babbling about now?"
The dwarves, including Greg, were dumbfounded.
Terms that they felt they vaguely understood but didn't exactly know.
-To remedy the rights infringed upon as stated above, the Lunatium City Government issued a special notice regarding the mining site for strategic materials yesterday. We notify you that this eviction measure has legitimate legal binding force based on that order, and if you cooperate with the eviction procedure, no bloodshed will occur. We ask for the understanding of you non-citizens.
Even if they wanted to refute it, they felt like they were in the wrong somewhere, and since they didn't know exactly where to start arguing, they couldn't refute it at all.
"These fucking bastards. In the end, you're just going to take it by force!"
If so, the countermeasure is obvious.
If you're at a disadvantage in logic, attack the messenger.
The dwarves, who had lived their whole lives covered in the dust of tunnels, had learned realistic negotiation tactics with their bodies.
The dwarf miners gathered threateningly, holding shovels, pickaxes, and mining explosives.
"Don't even think about it, get lost! This is our mountain and the turf we've cultivated!"
"This is our turf! Are you confident? Are you full of confidence, huh?!"
Woo-!
In the comfortable office, the protest of the bunch of dwarf runts transmitted on the screen.
Indeed, those short, bearded things are shameless and have nasty tempers, so they are very unpleasant to look at.
{Trixie-nim. The unauthorized occupants are pushing back hard on-site. What should we do?}
"Crush them mercilessly and drive them out. I authorize unlimited suppression involving force."
{Understood.}
Kee-ing-!
The androids' eyes turned red.
At once, they armed themselves with black iron batons stored in their bodies and deployed defensive shields.
The dwarf miners swung their tools and threw explosives in an attempt to resist, but the androids were completely fine without a single scratch.
-T-this pickaxe isn't penetrating? What kind of trick did the humans play on the iron...!
-Aaaagh!! Run!
-Oh, damn it!!
The screams of the dwarves running away in a panic, getting whacked and smacked, ring out satisfyingly from beyond the screen.
Swish-
Colonia adjusts her glasses triumphantly and reports.
{Zero loss rate for the task force. Eviction procedures from Hill No. 1 to Height No. 395 are going well.}
"Very satisfactory. Send official documents to the mining companies to prepare for excavation. Also, have the task force androids that were dispatched for on-site security stay on standby for patrols for the time being."
{Executing as ordered.}
Naturally, this wasn't the only eviction site.
Since the dwarves, who love digging, had occupied the entire vast mountain range for 100 years and developed it very thoroughly and meticulously.
It's infuriating that they've been digging tunnels like spiderwebs without restraint, weakening the ground and sucking out underground resources as they pleased....
But our proud companies will solve profitability or safety issues with their leading technology.
Because Lunatium's excellent companies have always delivered results once I just point them in the direction to go.
[The problem is how and when the dwarf race, who have lost their mines, will come out now. They'll definitely be furious and come at us, right? Even if they are primitive and unsystematic, the handcrafted weapons forged with their unique rune-engraving technique aren't at a level to be ignored as children's toys....]
{Agree with Elara. I'm not sure if public service androids with poor combat specs are enough to respond to full-scale armed provocations. If necessary, we can request cooperation from the Defense Bureau or the Enforcement Bureau.}
Elara and Colonia put their heads together and agonized.
Whoosh-!
I stood up from my chair and ended the two AIs' worries.
"Prepare the transport plane. I'm going to go crush a little hiking trip."
[H-hiking?]
{Are you going to inspect the site yourself?}
If the problem is that the enemies are acting up because they believe in runes, then I just need to make the runes useless.