After-Story Chapter 4: The 'Gorilla' Opens for Business (Part 1)

Several years had passed since the Barm Summit began—the yearly meeting where the heads of all nations convened in person (though meetings were also held during peacetime through proxies or via broadcast). The main topics thus far had been the adjustment of tariffs between nations, the reconstruction of the Northern Continental countries devastated by the rebellions during Fuuga’s rule and Krahe’s coup, and the sharing of information about the Northern Hemisphere.

However, this time, a major project was scheduled for discussion. Seated in the assembly hall were Liscia and I from the Kingdom of Friedonia, Kou and Leporina from the Republic of Turgis, Jeanne and Hakuya from the Kingdom of Euphoria, Chabon and Kishun from the Nine-Headed Dragon Kingdom, Garula and Elulu from the unified Garlan Spirit Kingdom, Shuukin and Lumière representing the young Suiga from the Great Tiger Kingdom, Tia and Julius from the reestablished Kingdom of Lastania, and Lombard and Yomi from the similarly reestablished Kingdom of Remus.

And in the presiding chair sat Queen Sill of the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom, the initiator of this project (though I was the one who proposed it). Once the introductions were finished, Lady Sill began to speak.

“Today, in this place where the world’s renowned leaders of state are gathered, the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom would like to present a proposal. As previously announced, it concerns ‘The establishment of a permanent aerial transportation organization by Dragon Knights and the securing of its air routes.'”

“O-kay? Is this that project you called an extension of the courier business?” Kou asked, clearly intrigued.

Lady Sill nodded. “Yes. With conflicts between nations diminishing and this Southern world largely becoming peaceful, clinging solely to the position of Dragon Knights makes the survival of our country uncertain. …Though, personally, I wouldn’t mind an approach similar to the current Lunarian Orthodox Papacy, where we only retain the authority of the Dragon Knights and merge our territory with Lastania or somewhere else.”

“No, we’d be troubled if you forced such an excessive fighting force on us,” Julius said with a grimace. Tia, seated next to him, nodded in agreement. If the Kingdom of Lastania absorbed the Dragon Knight Kingdom, it would instantly be thrust into the position of having the world’s number one military power. Along with that would come greater responsibility and a need to be more mindful in foreign diplomacy… so the disadvantages would likely outweigh the benefits. Besides…

“We need the Dragon Knight Kingdom to continue serving as the window to the Star Dragon Mountain Range, just as they always have.”

I also interjected. The Dragons of the Star Dragon Mountain Range, including Lady Tiamat, basically only interact with the outside world through the Dragon Knight Kingdom. Well, they are meant to watch over this Southern world, and it would be problematic if Lady Tiamat, a transcendent being from the perspective of this world, actively involved herself in the affairs of the New Humanity. But, even so, we would be troubled if the Dragon Knight Kingdom—our point of contact—ceased to exist in case anything happened. When I explained this, Lady Sill smiled wryly and nodded.

“I understand. That is why, to maintain our nation, we plan to dedicate ourselves even more to the courier business as a peacetime activity. This transportation system and air route are for that purpose. Currently, my country transports people and supplies at the request of various nations. However, going forward, we wish to create a permanent, scheduled service for transporting people and supplies that does not require an individual request each time. …The map, please.”

As Sill spoke, a map of the Southern world appeared in the center of the hall. This was thanks to the power of Mao, the AI. Although Halbert is now under our jurisdiction, and Mao is not physically present as a representative of the Siren Kingdom, being an AI means she constantly monitors the proceedings and will lend her power like this even if someone other than me asks. In a sense, she is an observer for the South Continent Union.

A circular line then appeared on the map, running along the border between the Star Dragon Mountain Range and each nation.

“We propose this air route to run along the national borders with the Star Dragon Mountain Range. We ask each of your nations to permit our dragons to pass through this air route.”

The dragons controlled by the Dragon Knights possess the capability of a large transport aircraft, able to carry huge loads, but they also possess the capability of a strategic bomber that can easily reduce a city to ash. Because of this, the current courier business required the Dragon Knights to follow pre-designated flight paths at the request of each nation.

This was necessary to reassure each country, but also to prepare for problems that might arise from a foreign-affiliated flying object passing through a country’s airspace—for example, if something fell from a dragon and struck a civilian home below, the issue of compensation could easily escalate into a diplomatic problem.

The current proposal aimed to simplify those procedures by restricting the flight zone. Creating a circular route that circles the Star Dragon Mountain Range would activate the movement of people and goods between the nations. The Dragon Knight Kingdom would secure a source of income for its Dragon Knights in peacetime, and the participating nations could facilitate imports and exports by developing their transport networks around the air route.

If one overlooked the fact that the Dragon Knights possessed combat capabilities, it looked like an appealing proposal. Then, Lumière of the Great Tiger Kingdom raised her hand.

“I believe this is a proposal of great significance. Our country is not opposed to establishing an air route along the border with the Star Dragon Mountain Range. …However,”

Lumière paused, then looked intently at me.

“I understand the benefit of this proposal to the Dragon Knight Kingdom, but it’s hard to believe that such a world-involving proposal would come from the Dragon Knight Kingdom, a country that has been rather closed off until recently. I suspect the suggestion came from an external source. Am I correct?”

Her gaze remained fixed on me. It was as if she was certain that ‘external source’ meant us.

(“What do you do, Souma? It looks like she’s figured it out.”) Liscia whispered softly next to me.

While the heads of state are gathered at this summit, they are essentially all acquaintances. They have fought as allies, fought as enemies, and clashed in opinion, so they have a rough idea of how everyone thinks.

(“…Well, it’s not like it’s a secret anyway.”) I said, sounding only slightly defensive, then raised my hand and spoke.

“As Lady Lumière surmised, I proposed the establishment of this air route. However, the Dragon Knight Kingdom will be the primary entity moving forward, and I believe that the arrangement must benefit their country accordingly.”

“Then, I would ask you to explain your intention.” Lumière said, looking straight into my eyes. There was no hostility in her gaze, only a desire to know. “We hold the Great Tiger Kingdom in trust from Lady Suiga and Lady Yuriga. Though this is an appealing proposal, we cannot easily agree without knowing your intentions.”

“That is a completely reasonable judgment. Allow me to explain.”

I stood up from my seat and pointed to the map floating in the center of the hall.

“This is going to be a bit long, so I’ll speak plainly from now on. Our idea is simple: ‘We want to have more active exchanges of people and goods with countries all over the world.’ …Ultimately, that’s all it comes down to.”

“Exchange?”

“Yes. A world where everyone can easily obtain products from other countries, and everyone can export their own products. A world where ambitious people can easily study abroad in other countries, and everyone can easily enjoy foreign travel. I want to create that kind of world. Because I believe that will surely keep the day of renewed war far away from this Southern world.”

When the word ‘war’ was spoken, everyone’s expression changed. They probably hadn’t expected the discussion to shift from the Dragon Knight Kingdom’s courier business to the topic of war. But I wasn’t joking.

“We and the generation before us know the chaos that followed the appearance of the Demon Lord’s Domain. Monster attacks and massive refugee crises plagued many nations. With all due respect to the Great Tiger Kingdom and the Kingdom of Remus, Fuuga’s heroic expansionist policy also spilled much blood, and even after his ambition was crushed, more blood was shed by Krahe and others.”

I was worried that I might cause some offense, but Lumière, Shuukin, and the Remus King and Queen listened in silence. It seems they accepted the facts as they were. I continued my explanation.

“Even outside the continent, the Nine-Headed Dragon Kingdom suffered attacks from the Great Monster Ooyamizuchi, and the Spirit Kingdom was tormented by a mysterious disease called the demon-bug illness. We are the generation that learned the hard way that there are events no single country can handle, and we are also the generation that is utterly sick of fighting. Unless some sudden event occurs in the Northern world, a large-scale war will not break out in the South while we are in charge.”

Everyone present nodded to my words. They have cooperated, fought, and clashed in opinion in their respective positions, but they all agree on being tired of the constant fighting.

“However, as the generations shift—to the next and the one after—that atmosphere will fade, and people who desire war will appear again. It’s sad, but humans have been creatures who have fought ever since they began gathering in groups. Even in the world I came from, it was just a cycle of war and peace.”

Though, apparently, if science advances enough that such conflicts don’t occur, humanity will become a bunch of shut-ins. I didn’t say that out loud, knowing it would be pointless here.

“Even so, if we want to make war less likely, or at least postpone its occurrence, the only choice is to actively promote the exchange of people and goods. It might sound simplistic, but the more people there are who see no benefit in war, the higher the hurdle to start one becomes. Conversely, those who block out the outside, seal themselves off in their own world, and let their values become fixed are the ones who believe in their internal myths and become aggressive toward outsiders.”

“…Those are painful words to hear,” Lumière said, her voice strained.

In their dire situation, the people of the Northern Continent could only find hope in Fuuga’s heroic enterprises, so they were not hesitant to throw themselves into the fight and soil their hands with blood. It can be said that this lack of options and fixed values were the problem.

“That is precisely why we want to actively promote the exchange of people and goods. Ideally, I want to create a world where everyone can easily travel all over the world—swimming at the beach in the Nine-Headed Dragon Kingdom in the summer, skiing at a resort in the mountains of the Republic of Turgis in the winter, enjoying dishes spiced with ingredients from the Spirit Kingdom, and strolling through the historic capitals of our country and the Kingdom of Euphoria. Of course, once the Northern nations are reconstructed, they’ll be added to the travel options. You wouldn’t be traveling if you were fighting a war, right?”

Realizing I had slightly strayed from the topic, I cleared my throat.

“…Well, that’s what I was thinking about when Lady Sill consulted me about expanding her business, so I proposed this idea. That’s our intent. Does this satisfy you?”

“Yes. I understand completely.” Lumière nodded. It seemed I had convinced her.

Then Kou raised his hand, saying, “Hey, hold on a minute.”

“We don’t share a border with the Star Dragon Mountain Range! The number of people in our formerly closed-off country who are interested in the outside world is finally growing. I can’t accept being left out of something so interesting!”

“I agree with Kou-san. My country cannot overlook this either.” Chabon spoke next, following Kou. “The Dragon Knights’ dragons can cross the sea even without an aircraft carrier, correct? If so, we would like a scheduled service to our country as well. While sea transport might still have the advantage for mass transport of goods, the sheer difference in speed would allow us to export things that couldn’t be handled due to freshness issues. We would also be able to frequently acquire information from the continent.”

“…If that is the case, my country would also like to request it.” Garula, listening to Queen Chabon’s authoritative words, also raised his hand, albeit with some hesitation. “We have only recently opened our borders, and it won’t happen immediately, but the number of young people interested in the outside world is increasing. We will certainly persuade those who can’t abandon the old values, so we would like our country to be included in that air route.”

“That’s right! If the dragons carry people, it will be easier for me to visit Shuukin-sama!”

“Eh, Princess Elulu…”

Elulu, next to Garula, was the only one whose opinion was mixed with personal desire. Due to the affection directed toward him, Shuukin found it difficult to deny her straightforward comment, but he also seemed unsure whether he should admonish her for saying something inappropriate for the moment. …The relationships over there seem to be getting interesting, too.