Chapter 114. Founding a Country.
Chapter 114. Founding a Country.
The moment England came up, everyone in the room started. The president, likely having met him before given his position, had the look of a man who'd already half-expected it.
He apologized over and over and laid out the circumstances that had forced his hand. With South Korea's direct line down, he'd come without any prior contact. Honestly, we wouldn't have been able to communicate between countries at all without the satellite-capable radio David had left us, so I could fully sympathize with his reasoning.
And, well, the United States and the United Kingdom share a bond deep enough to be called a blood alliance.
"It's quite all right. With a crisis like this unfolding, what else can one do? Let's eat first, and we can take our time talking afterward."
They showered us with compliments throughout the meal, though they focused less on the flavor of the food and more on the ingredients themselves.
"Good heavens, meat and fish this fresh..."
"We're self-sufficient. How are the United States and the United Kingdom handling the food shortages?"
Both nations, it turned out, were solving their food problems through different means.
"The United States is the most security-sensitive nation on Earth. We've constructed bunkers of staggering scale in preparation for nuclear war or this sort of post-apocalyptic scenario. A single bunker holds enough food to feed a thousand people for ten years."
"The United Kingdom's approach is similar. The royal family stockpiles a great deal of supplies for emergencies."
'Still, I figured heads of state would be eating well enough on their own. Seeing them this happy about it makes the effort worthwhile.'
We cleared the table, poured some tea, and got down to business.
"Allow me to introduce myself once more. I am Jacob, Crown Prince of the British Royal Family."
A faint, self-deprecating smile crossed his face as he added.
"Or rather, I suppose it's King now..."
I'd heard the UK had a symbolic royal family. Reading between the lines of what Jacob said, the previous monarch had likely perished in this catastrophe. I asked Jacob directly.
"It was a bit startling to have you come all this way in person, accompanying the Americans. Is there a specific reason?"
"We heard a great many things from the American side. The rescue of US troops at Pyeongtaek, the independent restoration of facilities, and so on."
"..."
"The fact that this is all so readily possible, even with Force Users, struck me as remarkable. I came in person on the off chance I might seek your advice."
Whether it was a quirk of the translation magic or a difference in terminology, the English-speaking world calls them Force Users.
"I was actually planning to discuss related matters with you."
At my offer to share our methods, Bruce and Jacob's expressions began to brighten.
"What I am about to say may sound utterly absurd, but every word of it is the unvarnished truth."
"Naturally, we will hear you out."
"Even if you dismiss it as a bad joke and storm out of here, I'd have nothing to say in my defense. That's how preposterous it may sound to your ears."
As I lowered my voice and spoke with a serious expression, a similar tension crept into their faces. And then, for several long hours, I told them everything. The story of Titan. And the reason why zombies appeared in this world.
Having listened intently for a while, they fell into a deep silence.
'They're not some crackpot conspiracy theorists. It can't be an easy thing for heads of state to swallow.'
Whether they had finished sorting out their thoughts or not, they soon began to nod slowly.
"You're accepting this more readily than I expected."
"The United States is privy to numerous secrets that ordinary people would dismiss as conspiracy theories. Considering those, it's possible to accept this to a degree."
"I also believe you, though I reasoned somewhat differently. Even believing only half of your exploits suggests you possess staggering military power. I saw no reason for you to bother with a lie."
They voiced their honest thoughts. Then, after taking a sip of tea, the U.S. President asked me a direct question.
"This is a shock as immense as humanity's first journey into space. In the midst of it all, what do you want to do?"
If I'd been asked that in the past, I would have cut him off flatly with "Nothing in particular." But lately, with the formation of the group and the fusion with Titan, my thinking had been gradually shifting.
'On Titan, I always lived with the idea that I could leave at any moment.'
"I..."
Even on Titan, I'd sometimes thought, 'What if I tried doing something like this?' Of course, it never went beyond a thought. Both men, and of course my own party, were all staring only at me, waiting to hear what I would say.
"I intend to found a nation."
A goal on a scale that can't even be compared to developing a group or reclaiming a country. Everyone was bewildered by my declaration of founding a nation, but a few people caught on to what I meant by it. And among those who realized were included the U.S. President and the King of the United Kingdom.
Then the president spoke up.
"As I thought, you've had this in mind all along, Representative."
"Yes."
"I had my suspicions when you first demanded autonomy, back when we first met. And watching people cross over as the fusion with Titan progresses, I've become certain that you would found a nation."
"Of course, don't worry. I have no intention of demanding autonomy now."
"In that case...?"
"North Korea."
"Excuse me...?"
It was something utterly unimaginable in the past. But now, the world has already collapsed, and even if I seized that land, there's no one left to object. To be brutally honest, aren't the North Koreans our enemies?
"In the old days, unification or whatever was impossible, tangled up in the vested interests of neighboring countries. But now, it's whoever is the strongest takes all, isn't it?"
"..."
"And besides, isn't this better than having a ticking time bomb sitting right on top of the peninsula?"
"That will prove immensely difficult, you know."
"We'll develop the place while giving jobs to the people coming over from Titan at the same time. Two birds with one stone."
Truthfully, part of the reason I'd chosen North Korea was its proximity to South Korea, but the country's mineral resource reserves are also rated at a globally significant level. Of course, they lack the technology and infrastructure to utilize them—but that's where the help of races skilled in magic and craftsmanship comes in.
'If that's not enough, collaboration with other countries would be possible too.'
Honestly, I doubt it would come up short.
"You truly never fail to pull off things that exceed all expectations, Representative..."
Maybe it was because they were Westerners, but they both reacted with intense interest to my story.
"So, does that mean you wish to create a nation now where multiple races reside together?"
'How fitting for the country that produced The Lord of the Rings...'
The British king was fascinated, bringing up the various races from the movies, while the Americans, as expected, focused on something else entirely.
"Should you found a nation, would the United States be able to engage in exchanges regarding the other races' technologies and magics?"
True to the country that pours staggering sums of money into new technologies, he was showing intense curiosity about the technological side of things.
"If we can combine the superhuman ability called magic with science to create something new, humanity will take another exponential leap forward in development."
"Well, we still don't know when they'll arrive, and it's such a distant future..."
"Even so, the United States invests vast amounts of money just for that single possibility. And in this case, isn't it a certainty rather than a mere possibility? Only the timing is unknown."
I was running the mental calculator in my head alone. What could we receive from them in return for offering our magic and technology?
'The old man's a pro at wringing stuff like this out of people...'
"In that case, let's discuss the compensation later, once the nation is established and the political situation has stabilized."
At that settling statement, the U.S. President gave a quiet, satisfied smile.
"That much of a promise is more than sufficient."
Well, it wasn't the most critical topic right now, so we moved on and resumed our conversation with the subject of what the System had called "Awakening." Upon hearing my explanation, the U.S. President and the British King nodded.
"Ah, I see... So everyone here has already Awakened, so you weren't aware..."
"Yes, that's correct."
"It's the same as existing Force Users. However, what's peculiar is that people seem to gain powers in fields similar to their past occupations."
"Similar fields...?"
"Yes. For example, engineers Awakened abilities related to 'Crafting.' Although, we lack sufficient data to generalize this just yet."
"Are there any cases of a Second Awakening?"
The United Kingdom, not just the United States, also reported gaining abilities related to their prior work. And no one had experienced a second Awakening, they said.
"Origin Essence..."
Hearing me mutter to myself, the U.S. President asked.
"Is it related to this 'Origin' you spoke of, Representative?"
"Every living creature possesses an Origin Essence. From the moment of birth, all of one's karma and deeds are recorded upon it. Perhaps Awakening is based on that..."
"Indeed... Then it stands to reason."
I hadn't asked about their awakened abilities so far. It might be a bit rude to spring that kind of question on someone you've only just met.
'Guess it's about time...'
"So then, what abilities did you two awaken?"
They hesitated slightly before speaking.
'Trying to eat and run, are we...?'
They must have discussed this on the helicopter, as they exchanged glances before replying.
"Ahem... We did speak about it in advance, but it's a bit ambiguous, so I'm not quite sure myself either."
"Is it not related to combat?"
Perhaps thinking a simple explanation wouldn't get through to me, he launched into a bizarre analogy.
"By any chance, do you know a game called StarCraft?"
"Excuse me...? In Korea, a country that loves games, there's no one who doesn't know it..."
"The abilities His Majesty and I awakened are similar yet subtly different in nature."
"...?"
"We have no personal combat ability whatsoever, but we possess an ability akin to a command center, allowing us to directly appoint people and issue orders."
'The hell is that...? Some kind of command center?'