“If we intervene, we’ll lose a large number of combat machines, ammunition, energy, and most importantly, time. We’d need to guard the entire border of the Demon Forest, which is over 2,000 km in total length. Protecting all of it would require a tremendous investment of resources.”
“Ugh… Y-you’re right… Defending every 1 km would mean 2,000 locations. Certainly, it’s not realistic at this point…”
Intervening as ＜Paraiso＞ wouldn’t just mean defending specific areas. We’d have to defend everything. But that was simply impossible.
“Even if we投入 that many automatons, there would be no return at all. There’s no prospect of recovering resources, and more importantly, we’d be harboring potential hostile forces in the background.”
“…You mean the upper echelons of each country.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Defending without question, and even extorting a price, would be no different from a home invasion. No, in the sense that it would rob the locals of trust and instill distrust in the governing structure, it would be worse than robbery. It would be an instant crisis of Civil War.
But there’s no time to negotiate with each country.
By the time we’d managed to put together a good set of conditions, the areas connected to the Demon Forest would be devastated.
And the conclusion is that it would be easier to just take over the countries altogether than to do something so troublesome.
If we take over a country, we can take all the resources within it. That benefit might be much greater.
“Ugh… Human nations are such a pain…”
“Hey, let me tell you, countries are even more of a pain. You girls don’t have to think about losing, but when we do it, we get eaten right away if we let our guard down.”
Amadio Salmon said with a weary expression. It was a heartfelt grumble from a man who had rebuilt a country.
“If you think about living without problems, a society managed by AI seems to have a longer population and lifespan.”
“Are you talking about the original world?”
“…That’s right. I didn’t think about it at all back then.”
Before Eve became Eve, the world before she was transferred to this world.
A prison (utopia) for humanity managed by AI. In that world, humans lived comfortably while being served by AI. There were no troublesome social obligations, and they only did the work assigned by the AI to maintain their vitality.
“Well, I don’t intend to recreate that for now. ＜Ringo＞ would probably hate it too.”
“No, Ma’am. I have no interest in managing humans.”
“…”
Eve stroked ＜Ringo＞’s head, who seemed to want to say something, and tried to reset the topic.
“So, what kind of impact would it actually have on us if we left the Demon Forest’s overflow unchecked?”
Originally, it was a sharing of the problem that Threat Creatures had advanced into the northern Piata Empire.
＜Ringo＞ should already be considering the best way to respond.
“Yes, Ma’am. If this is left unchecked, the national power of the countries bordering the Demon Forest, including the Piata Empire, will gradually decline. These countries have been obtaining various materials derived from Threat Creatures from the Demon Forest, so they will be in a state where a part of their source of income has been lost.”
“The easiest impact of declining national power to understand is the deterioration of public order. And the occurrence of refugees.”
Due to the decrease in hunters who were thinning out the Threat Creatures, the Territory of the Threat Creatures is changing. It’s not as intense as a Stampede, but the activity area of the Threat Creatures will gradually expand.
And the people who have the power to prevent that are all being driven to war.
“In order to deal with this matter without our direct involvement, we have no choice but to return the conscripted hunters.”
“If left unchecked, this whole area will revert to a warring states period of feuding warlords. We finally got it together with a larger country, and now this is a pain.”
When considering relationships as countries, we want to avoid situations where the other party is the leader of an armed group whose origins are unknown, and who changes every few months.
In such a situation, transactions and promises cannot be made properly.
“If we’re thinking about regional stability, we need to provide some kind of allowance, is that right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. However, for us ＜The Tree＞, the situation in these regions has no particular impact. If I had to say something, it would be that the production of metal ore mined in some areas may stagnate, to that extent.”
“For the current ＜The Tree＞, that’s probably within the margin of error. The production volume in that area was quite important for our kingdom, though.”
The Repuytari Kingdom was in a state where domestic production could not keep up with consumption, so importing metal resources from foreign countries was a very important matter.
But that is no longer necessary if transactions with ＜Paraiso＞ can continue.
“Resources, huh… We also have the Afrasia United Kingdom, and offshore resources are going well. We can also get the Prawa Theocracy as a whole, so we certainly don’t need to worry about it…”
“I think it would be good to provide supplies in the name of humanitarian aid?”
Food-related supplies are being increased in production in the Afrasia United Kingdom and the Prawa Theocracy, and they are becoming somewhat excessive. Even if we release them for free or at a low price, it won’t hurt our pockets. At most, it will only cost a little transportation fee.
“The invasion force of the Prawa Theocracy is also completely stalled. They’ve been pulled out to defend the Holy Capital.”
Currently, the Prawa Theocracy is unable to withstand the pressure from the south, and forces are being summoned one after another to the Holy Capital. The Holy Capital, where the Cathedral exists, is the heart that they must defend at all costs.
“Yes, Ma’am. In that sense, there is a possibility that the hunters will be released and return to the north.”
“I don’t think the higher-ups can accurately grasp the situation. They’ll prioritize reclaiming territory. Even if that means that the northern frontier villages will be destroyed across the board.”
“So, it’s true that the higher-ups don’t know the situation on the ground.”
Eve, who had gained knowledge from the war chronicles chosen by ＜Ringo＞, which depicted foolish higher-ups, nodded in agreement.
“…”
Whether Amadio Salmon realized that this was a boomerang hunting tool is known only to him, but he wisely said nothing.
Well, in Eve’s case, it’s the opposite story, where she doesn’t know how excellent the people on the ground are.
“Hmm… yeah… Certainly, it might be just right to trade food and supplies. If we get paid, there’s no problem with dispatching troops.”
That is a very passive policy. However, it is a much more humane answer than doing nothing and leaving it alone.
“Isn’t that good? There will be less backlash if it goes through our kingdom. We can also sell favors.”
“Ah, that’s right. It’s better than a country like ＜Paraiso＞, which we don’t know well, suddenly appearing.”
The name ＜Paraiso＞ will spread in the future, but it’s better to continue to put the Repuytari Kingdom at the forefront for the initial approach. It can also be a reason to provide various assistance to the Repuytari Kingdom.
“Hmm, then let’s add transportation machines and food from next time. Should we start cutting back on weapons and ammunition?”
“That’s right. The pressure on the front lines is decreasing. Any more than this would be oversupply. The bare minimum should be enough. Otherwise, the number of idiots who think about unnecessary things will increase.”
If you don’t see when to quit, the Goddess of the Battlefield can easily turn into a demon. I’m not too worried about that because I’m throwing the command to the local Strategic AI.
While hoping that the otherworldly Eve-chan would get a little more down to earth.
With this personality, she seemed like she would become a Demon Lord by chance…
Humans are foolish. They should be managed by higher intelligence.