Side: Ratz
"No, calm down. I have no intention of building a nation."
Onii-san says this to suppress the excitement in the room. Or rather, I should say he cooled it down.
From the very beginning, he had said he had no interest in nation-building.
eraria, Rurua, and Sheila-sama — who had once held important positions in their nations — seemed excited because they had many thoughts on the matter, but I wasn't particularly surprised.
However, I couldn't imagine or even guess what method Onii-san was thinking of to save the continent. Like Seraria and the others said, I think it would be more reliable for Onii-san to become a king and build his own nation.
"Yuki-san, then how?"
Eris asks him for the answer. Everyone stares at him, waiting for his response.
"Alright, shall I unveil my thoughts? Well, just think of this as part of dungeon management. If you have any opinions, feel free to speak up, okay?"
Everyone nods.
...It seems Onii-san intends to use the dungeon as a means to save the continent. That makes sense; there's no reason not to use such a convenient tool.
"Now, about that war stuff from earlier. War is bad for many reasons. Decline in national power, drop in productivity, loss of labor... basically, there are too many downsides. Well, I suppose it also functions as a way to reduce mouths to feed. There are probably wars started just to cull a population that the land can't support."
Seraria and the others grimace at his words.
I see. On the surface, they say they're expanding territory, but the harsh truth is they aren't just expanding; they're adjusting the population by sending conscripted people to die in battle. It's a nauseating story, but not one that's hard to believe.
"No country takes the lead in starting a war lightly. Even starting one incident requires vast amounts of money and resources. You understand that, right?"
That's obvious. Countries at war face heavy taxes, conscription, and the seizing of supplies. Mostly from the citizens.
"But still, they feel the need to start wars to secure land. The root of it is that the land they have isn't enough to sustain their people. So they use war as a means to produce a clear result of victory or defeat. As long as they have some leeway, countries will try to negotiate."
I wish they could settle things at the negotiation stage, but if they could, war wouldn't exist in the first place.
"Well, it seems the four Great Nations have already shifted to a struggle for vested interests—basically, seeing how much profit they can rake in. But small nations first have to snatch away other people's land just to raise their national power."
"Yes, that is exactly right."
"Now, to save the continent, I think the best thing is to prevent wars where people die."
That would be ideal. In the end, wars are often for the "face" of each nation. For the people living on the land, it doesn't matter which country it is as long as they're safe.
"So, to prevent wars, I'm thinking of creating dungeon Gates in each country to make the exchange of goods easy. I want to make it so they can easily get each other's resources with money or something. If we do this, they can trade supplies from other countries normally, so they won't feel forced to steal someone else's land because they lack something, right?"
Onii-san's point is sound.
I see—he'll build and connect dungeons in every country to use them as tools for trade, preventing the depletion of resources that causes conflict.
"Dear. That's a naive way of thinking. Trade happens everywhere; if that alone could stop war, wars would have vanished long ago. You say the four Great Nations care about profit, but small nations have their own sources of income too. They can't do anything without them, so they feel the need to carve out land just to increase that income. You can call it national selfishness, but humans can't easily stay silent and do nothing while others are wealthy."
I understand Seraria's point as well.
If others are living a better life than you, you'll want that for yourself. If your country is starving, you'll do anything to fix it. People start wars because trade alone doesn't cover their needs.
"Heh heh heh... Seraria, what you say is true. However, you're overlooking something important."
"Something important?"
"True, trade alone won't end war. But I said I would build Gates for trade in every country... meaning Gates where people can come and go freely. Do you understand what this implies?"
"C-Could it be...!?"
Oya, it looks like Sheila-sama has realized something.
Based on her stature, she seems just a bit older than Aslin and the others, but her speech and conduct since earlier show she is a very capable person.
"Do you intend to have each country monitor one another through the Gates...?"
"Correct."
Onii-san grins happily. Yeah, he looks quite wicked right now.
"Sorry, Yuki-san. I don't get it."
Riel looks like she's about to cry, appearing very apologetic. Well, it's a different field, so it can't be helped.
"Okay, Riel. Suppose Tori next to you has something you desperately want, but she won't give it to you. Or, what if she demands an exorbitant amount of money?"
"Eh? I'd give up."
"Ah, sorry. Giving up isn't an option here."
"Then... I'd try to steal it while Tori isn't looking... Ah! But I'd never do that to Tori!?"
"I know. I trust you'd never do that to me, and I wouldn't do it to you either."
"Right. You'd steal it. That's close to the truth of national wars. Or rather, it's more like Riel punching Tori and snatching the thing away."
"Uwah... war really is awful."
"But that's because there are only two parties involved. I or anyone else wouldn't know who's right, and since the matter is already settled, there's nothing to say. So, let's change the premise. Would Riel try to steal that thing if there were people besides Tori around?"
"I wouldn't. I'd be caught and everyone would know I'm the bad guy... Ah, I see! Since all the countries are connected and everyone is watching, if you pick a fight and start a war, all the other foreign countries will become your enemies at once."
Exactly.
That's why I said his smile looked wicked.
Even if we don't intervene, countries will monitor each other.
If one nation sets outrageous prices, others can simply trade elsewhere—and that nation's reputation will fall. Conversely, even if they start a war out of anger against that country, other nations will see it as a rash action when there were other options, and your reputation will suffer.
Depending on the item, prices may fluctuate, but you won't be forced to trade with only one country at an inflated price. Sellers will also negotiate based on surrounding prices, so prices should settle within a certain range. In fact, if trade is done through gates, we should control all the pricing information.
...Onii-san, you think of terrifying things.
"Just as Riel-san said, if a country takes an action judged to be driven by self-interest, many nations will form an alliance under a 'just cause,' take that country down, and split its interests. Unless a complete fool is ruling, the merit of starting a war vanishes. In fact, the risk of losing your country rises drastically. No one will want to wage war anymore."
"...I suppose I should say 'as expected of my husband.' But even so, wars happen out of necessity or differences in ideology. What will you do about those?"
True. There are many cases of "necessity" in this world. Whether those are within the realm of what can be forgiven is another matter.
"Leave them be. If they're forced to start a war because they can't feed their citizens, then the problem lies with that country's leadership in the first place. Whether it's the lifespan of the nation, barren land, or a foolish ruler—trying to remain a nation in that state is the problem. They should just let themselves be annexed by another country. You can't eat pride. And as for those who start wars over ideologies, the longer it drags on, the more their citizens will desert them. People don't want to die, and since there are Gates to move through, they'll just evacuate to a safer country."
At Onii-san's explanation, even Seraria stands there blankly with her mouth open.
Ah, so Gates can be used that way too... If trade is possible, it means other people can pass through as well.
"...People won't stay in a country that starts wars unless they have extreme attachment to it... There really is no merit to waging war. The more you fight, the more people—or rather, the people who seek safety—will leave. You might attract mercenaries or those looking to climb the ranks through combat, but..." (Seraria)
"Even those would be few. The moment you start a war, you'll be glared at by every other nation. There's no chance of victory... If it were me, I'd request the other nations to cut off supplies. That alone would make war impossible."
Whoa, Sheila-sama says some scary things too. Without supplies, war is impossible.
"And there you have it. Like Seraria and Sheila said, I could start a country and aim for continental unification, but when I think about which way is more taxing in terms of time and loss..."
"I believe Yuki-sama's plan will result in the least amount of damage."
"...Even if we took down Roshure or any other country, it would take an incredible amount of time, effort, and resources to stabilize and pacify the interior. You're anticipating that and deciding to leave the management to the existing countries, aren't you?"
"'Management' is a harsh way to put it. I'm just making moves so that war doesn't happen."
"Hah, you say that—but any nation that doesn't accept your proposal will clearly fall behind others. In resources, manpower, and information... This is, in a way, a threat. 'If you don't accept the gates, your country will perish.' Would it really be wrong to say you're managing countries that move according to your will?"
What Onii-san proposes is far faster and less destructive than conquering the continent.
Honestly... how does he even come up with this?
"Seraria, do you dislike this approach?"
"No. As expected of my husband—I'm delighted. But it seems this dungeon will need to become independent."
"Yeah... that's true~"
"Indeed. Just as Seraria-sama said, if we are to go through with Yuki-sama's plan, the image of this dungeon being subordinate to a single nation is bad. People would think Roshure holds all the cards."
"Well, getting them to recognize our independence shouldn't be too hard if we tell them about the massive increase in profit they can expect. But even if we become independent, we'll still be seen as somewhat part of Roshure..."
"I suppose that will depend on our skill from here on out. Right, Yuki-sama?"
"...Yeah, well... sorry for putting so much trouble on you all."
Onii-san lowers his head to us.
Was he like this when we first met too?
"Hm? Why is everyone laughing?"
He tilted his head after looking at our expressions.
"No, nothing. You really haven't changed at all, Onii-san~"
Now then, things are going to get even busier with negotiations with each country.
Roshure, Rithea, and Gartz—we already have connections... rather, people with considerable authority are practically family now.
If three of the four great nations are connected, the smaller countries will rush to agree... Wait, was this all part of the plan from the start?
More importantly, I'm on break for about two weeks now.
Time to make Onii-san's child.
Honestly, that feels like the higher priority for me.
