Chapter 128: The Delegation
The next day, having ended up staying overnight after all, we were in the room we’d been assigned, waiting for our guide to arrive.
“Still, this is amazing.”
“Y-yes. Isn’t this truly the work of a god?”
Ignat hadn’t been able to hide his bewilderment since yesterday.
After we entered the room, I told him about my past life and explained that it was advanced technology from another planet. He calmed down a little, but it seemed he still couldn’t shake off his unease.
“Simply put, it’s like if someone from a few thousand years ago saw a modern Magic-Powered Car and went, ‘What the heck is this?'”
“I-is that so? But this is on a completely different level…”
“Rui really is a special person. The Gun must come from this technology too, right!?”
I’m not an engineer, and in my memory, the technology wasn’t this advanced, though, I thought, replying to Yuri, who was looking at me with sparkling eyes, as we continued our idle chat.
As we were doing so, we heard a knock. When I replied, “Come in,” Katsura-san from the other day and the woman we had met first entered.
“We will now guide you to the National Diet Building. I am Keishi Katsura.”
“Likewise, I am Hayashido Maki!”
A complete change from yesterday, they had a crisp and formal demeanor.
“Good morning. We look forward to working with you today.
Ah, you can be as casual as yesterday. That level of formality is normal for me.”
“W-we are grateful for your consideration!!”
She looked even more humbled, as if to say she couldn’t possibly do that, so I didn’t press further.
Afterwards, under Katsura-san and the others’ guidance, we were led to a place that resembled a government building.
It had been the same on the way here, but there were hardly any people for the amount of space.
Well, it looked like a town built for a million people with only thirty thousand inhabitants, so it was to be expected.
Since they called it the National Diet Building, I imagined a place like I’d seen on TV, but of course, it was different.
We were guided to a long table in an ordinary, clean, office-like room and sat down.
“Pleased to meet you. I hold the position of Prime Minister… in other words, I am Aso Goro, the representative of this place. Welcome, His Highness, Crown Prince Rui.”
An old man who looked to be in his sixties, wearing a smile that seemed like a veteran poker face, bowed his head to us.
Following his lead, we also gave a slight bow, introduced ourselves, and then got down to business.
The conversation was mostly a repeat of the other day.
I couldn’t decide on immigration on the spot without confirming with Pops first, but I told them I could provide an Energy Supply right away and asked what they wanted to do.
“Both are very welcome proposals. If the compensation is something we can manage, we would very much like to accept. We would like to hear what Your Highness, the Crown Prince, considers a fair exchange.”
To be honest, I want that god-like 3D printer technology, but that’s probably asking too much for just an Energy Supply. Besides, with our current technology, we probably couldn’t make it anyway.
When it comes to the foundation of infrastructure, it’s gotta be electricity.
In this world, it’s Magic Stones, but with electricity, the number of things we could do would increase dramatically.
“Umm… how about power plant technology? Would that be no good?”
“Oh? If it’s to that extent, we have no objection. Though it also depends on how much you can supply.”
“Well, I think we can provide most of the materials, but what are you using for energy in the first place?”
“Currently, bioenergy is our main source, but shall I explain in detail?”
“Does that mean Monster corpses are fine? If that’s difficult, then please explain…”
“No. We primarily continue to produce energy from those.”
I replied that if that was the case, we could provide them without any problem, but when asked about the quantity, I wasn’t sure.
So, as a test, I had them convert one of the demons I hunted the other day into energy.
“H-how wonderful! To get this much from just one body…”
“For now, will about fifty of these do?”
Looking at the percentage, it had gone up from five percent to six percent.
From the way the corners of his mouth were turned up, it must have been a really significant increase.
I also want some for research back home, so this is about half of what I have on hand.
It won’t be full, but it should recover to just under sixty percent.
“Yes. That’s more than enough.
However, which type of power plant Blueprint can be replicated on the surface?”
As I listened, there was no talk of nuclear or thermal power plants; instead, I got unfamiliar terms like Gravity Power Generation.
“Um, gravity? I know a bit about nuclear and thermal power, but…”
“Oh? Nuclear power generation? I’ve heard of it. It’s something that was banned due to its extremely high toxicity, isn’t it?”
As I listened further, I became fascinated by this Gravity Power Generation. It was simple and clear: they manipulate gravity to create motive force and then generate electricity.
Apparently, if made precisely and with high efficiency, it could become a perpetual motion machine that continuously produces power.
“Um, why don’t you build that perpetual motion energy facility here?”
“No, we already have one. However, here, it ends up being a net negative overall.”
They apparently manage everything, like oxygen and heat, using energy.
Inside the Dungeon, Mana Essence automatically makes adjustments, but because the coating completely blocks it, they have to make the adjustments themselves.
That’s why even if they generate electricity here, it’s a net negative.
They apparently used it when they had something called Master Authority, but they’ve stopped now.
“That Master Authority… what is it?”
“I apologize, but that is classified, and I cannot speak of it now.
Therefore, if you wish to know, it would have to be after your side has decided to accept us and things have settled down.”
Is it the foundation of their technology, I wonder?
In any case, I nodded, figuring it wasn’t something to press further on now, and ended the topic.
Honestly, if we can build this Gravity Power Generation thing, that alone is a significant gain.
Even with my knowledge, I could probably manage to light up a town or create basic heating and cooling with just that.
We can already cover those with Magic Stones, but if we have a surplus of those, we can just sell them.
And so, I was given the Blueprint, but it was completely incomprehensible, and I grew uneasy.
Can we really build this? I wondered.
“Um, would it be possible to have an engineer dispatched for a while who can explain it…?”
“Yes, of course, that’s fine. But please promise us. That you will treat them with respect and return them safely without fail.”
“Yes, of course. I believe if the members of your delegation see it for themselves, you will be reassured.
Compared to my knowledge from my past life, there isn’t much difference in how people are treated.”
He showed interest in those words and asked about the differences with Japan.
Just in case, to avoid any misunderstandings later, I made sure to convey the bad parts as well, sharing all the information I knew.
“Hmm. So, the slavery system that existed in the past, has that been abolished?”
“Yes. At least in my country and the neighboring country of Lestall, it was abolished long ago.”
As we continued to exchange words, he nodded as if he had made up his mind, and with a strong gaze, said, “Then, I would very much like to see it with my own eyes.”
“Huh? Of course, that’s fine, but are you, the Prime Minister, coming yourself as part of the delegation?”
“Yes. If we cannot afford to make multiple trips back and forth to decide slowly, then I have no choice but to go myself.”
Ooh. Well, it makes things quicker, which is helpful, though.
“Well then, shall we go as we are? We can prepare anything you need, and depending on His Majesty’s schedule, if it takes too long, you could just do some sightseeing, and we can send you back once.”
“Yes. If Monsters appear and we can no longer travel back and forth, it would defeat the whole purpose.
Our preparations on this side are already complete, so we would be grateful if you could proceed that way.”
And so, after shaking hands, we set off back to Belfast, accompanied by Prime Minister Aso, Defense Minister Takagi, and several other guards.
However, there was a problem. Their pace was too slow.
It seemed they possessed less strength than an average person.
So, I created a car with Maso and had them ride in it.
“I had learned that you can manipulate Magical Power freely… but can you really do anything to this extent…?”
“No, His Highness the Prince is just special.
Even for a soldier with a certain amount of training, creating armor like this is about their limit.”
Ignat, who had calmed down a bit mentally, attempted to charm her with his usual smooth tactics, and it succeeded as a matter of course, causing her, the Defense Minister, to blush.
Th-this time it’s not my fault, I thought, glancing over as we pulled the car and rushed up the Floors.
We even made the stairs barrier-free and rushed up, quickly reaching the Treasure Chest Floor.
“Ugh, they’re spawning. Bad timing.”
“What should we do? Annihilating them will take too much time.”
“For now, we have no choice but to ignore anything not on our path. If necessary, after we safely escort them to Belfast, we can come back to subjugate them.”
Agreeing with his words, I pushed forward, quickly scattering them with the Laser Gun, and ascended to the surface via the shortest route.
“This is… this is the heaven I’ve even dreamed of…”
“So the sunlight is this hot and strong a light, isn’t it?”
With Prime Minister Aso and Defense Minister Takagi showing such elation, I had them board the plane, and we flew to Belfast.
First, I had them guided to the reception room as my guests, and then I went to report to Pops.
As I quickly relayed the events of yesterday and today, his cheeks started to twitch.
“Wha-!? What did you say!? A-Are you absolutely sure that’s true!?”
“Yeah. We were so surprised, we just stood there dumbfounded the moment we saw it for ourselves… But we can’t just leave it be, right? If they sided with us, their technological prowess would be incredibly reassuring.”
“That may be so, but it’s not that simple!” Pops exclaimed, roughly scratching the back of his head.
He seemed considerably confused.
I quickly excused myself, saying, “This is important, so I’ll go get Duke Fastall,” and left.
Then, I dragged Grandpa over and showed him to a seat.
Duke Fastall was all smiles, asking, “What seems to be the matter?” But as I explained the situation, his face inexplicably turned deathly pale.
“No, they were friendly, you know? And from the way they spoke, they said they’d like us to protect them.”
Wondering why he looked so grave, I studied Duke Fastall’s face.
“No matter how you look at it, that must be the Garden of the Gods… Our gods were on the brink of ruin, you say!?”
To a visibly shaken Grandpa, I explained that while the first king had called them gods, they weren’t actually gods. When I added that they themselves admitted this, and that perhaps the first king left behind incorrect information because he wanted to protect those people, Duke Fastall calmed down a little.
“I see. That would explain why he told us not to enter the lowest level.”
“Yeah. So, I brought their representative here as an envoy. Will you meet with them?”
“Of course, I will! The problem is, I haven’t organized my thoughts at all! But if their leader has come all this way, we can’t keep them waiting.”
Huh? But they said they’d wait normally, though?
I told him that, but whether they were gods or not, to Belfast, they were benefactors who had granted them power and guidance. There was no way they could treat them poorly. The two of them then barraged me with questions, eager to quickly formulate our stance.
“I see. So we should welcome them warmly. That said, is it really alright to do something like absorb them…? But ceding a portion of our land is also problematic, as expected… Should we create an extraterritorial special zone?”
“Indeed. We’ll have to listen to their story and then ask whether they’d prefer our protection or the creation of a special zone. Though if they wish to immigrate, that might not be necessary…”
And so, things progressed smoothly, and it was decided we’d meet them that very day. Naturally, I was to attend as well.
I was worried if they were feeling unnecessarily pressured, but once the meeting began, it proceeded in a friendly atmosphere, and they themselves requested to come under Belfast’s protection.
However, it was then that I learned a new fact for the first time.
It was that they possessed no Magical Power and couldn’t gain strength even if they defeated Monsters.
Hearing that, I understood why they had moved their residence underground.
An undeveloped world is, physically speaking, a place where the strong devour the weak.
Being weak sometimes means having everything easily taken from you.
That’s probably why they put a Dungeon between themselves and the surface dwellers, isolating themselves.
Properly protecting people like that sounds like it’ll be a lot of work.
Well, since Pops and the others are enthusiastic about it, I guess it’ll be fine to leave it to them.
Or so I thought…
“Rui, I’m leaving them to your domain. Understood?”
“Huh…? No, but we’re expecting several thousand Imperial citizens to arrive soon, you know?”
Isn’t putting them together a bad idea? I tilted my head.
“Lord Ignat, you can manage the Imperial citizens, can’t you?”
“Yes, leave it to me.”
“There you have it. New technology will be targeted. Your place is the only one where they can operate with a certain degree of freedom and without constraints. I’ll send Duke Fastall over temporarily. The two of you, work together on this.”
Ah, so that’s how it is.
But we’re talking tens of thousands of people… This looks like it’ll be a lot of trouble.
“However, Your Majesty, where shall we bring the soldiers from? Most of our trustworthy regular soldiers are away at war, but we need troops who can maintain discipline.”
“You’re right… How about the soldiers who returned from Leben? They were originally our regular soldiers. We can trust them, and they have a decent amount of strength.”
Oooh. It’s my village, yet where does my opinion factor into this…?
Well, I guess it can’t be helped given the circumstances.
But just moving them in the first place sounds like a huge undertaking.
Well, I’m the one who discovered them, so I guess it can’t be helped.
With that, I steeled my resolve and started making plans in my head.