Ch.101Coming back to find the world in complete chaos.

# Chapter 101: Returning to a World in Chaos

“Riel, what did I just hear?”

“I explained everything, and now you’re asking me again?”

One day after escaping from Artraia’s clutches.

As soon as I barely recovered from my near-death state, I was suddenly seized by the desire to return to Artraia’s grasp.

Of course, my current situation was closer to being ‘psychologically’ exhausted.

The unpleasant three days… no, exactly two days I spent with Artraia were truly life-threatening.

‘No, that’s not it.’

I shook my head involuntarily, thinking that would be insane.

But despite experiencing it firsthand, the fact that I was even considering going back there…

The current situation was, quite literally, beyond what could be described as a mess.

“Sigh… No, how on earth did work pile up this much when I was only gone for two days at most?”

In response to my words, Riel merely shrugged.

“Minister, as I mentioned earlier… what you’re seeing now is already reduced to the minimum workload.”

But contrary to Riel’s words…

-Thud.

“That’s a lot.”

My desk was now home to several towers constructed from reports that had flown in from all directions.

Well, if that was all, I could eventually process them with time, but…

The problem was, as I had told Riel earlier, the situation had developed in ways I couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

A massive number of event messages were blocking my view.

Even excluding the less significant ones among them…

[Event: War!]

[The Prosnack Alliance has declared war on the Zeltech Conglomerate.]

[As the Alliance that remained silent even during the Warlord era begins to move, the entire galaxy’s attention turns to this war.]

[Event: Intelligence Network Collapse]

[After the Prosnack Alliance conducted a large-scale purge of spies and informants, the spy network you had established has suffered significant losses.]

[However, due to some of your trusted subordinates betraying you by embezzling funds and causing other problems, recovery will not happen in time.]

[Event: War on Two Fronts]

[The Zeltech Conglomerate has been continuously retreating in the face of the Prosnack Alliance’s lightning offensive.]

[Judging that they cannot defeat Prosnack alone, Zeltech sent requests for assistance to neighboring nations, but…]

[Unfortunately, the neighboring countries were either unable or unwilling to help the Zeltech Conglomerate.]

[But the worst part for the Zeltech Conglomerate was… that the Fuchsviet Federation, successor to the Mekt-Fuchs Corporate Union, which was once their ally against Prosnack, began invading Zeltech Conglomerate territory out of territorial ambition.]

[Can the Zeltech Conglomerate survive this war?]

[Event: Sacrifice]

[As the destruction of the Zeltech Conglomerate drew near, many citizens and corporations embarked on an exodus to survive.]

[But not everyone fled.]

[The leadership of the Zeltech Conglomerate and resistance fighters made the capital system appear as the most tempting target to enemies, allowing refugees to safely escape across the border.]

[Their burning will to resist until the end is truly moving! (Goodwill toward the Zeltech Conglomerate from various nations +10%)]

[Event: Fall of the Zeltech Conglomerate]

[The Zeltech Conglomerate, once counted among the wealthiest nations in the galaxy, has walked the path to destruction due to diplomatic missteps, betrayal by former allies, and overwhelming enemy offensives.]

[However, those making their last stand in the capital, declaring they would not surrender it, self-destructed the entire planet, annihilating themselves along with the numerous enemy forces that had gathered in the capital system, spreading their valor far and wide.]

[Additionally, the many corporations that formed the backbone of the Zeltech Conglomerate have preserved their technologies and some facilities, spreading throughout the galaxy after crossing the border.]

[Though the nation may perish, Zeltech’s technology and capital will never disappear.]

‘What?’

It was absurd enough that I hadn’t heard about Prosnack’s massive troop movements until now.

And in the midst of that, Fuchsviet stabbed Zeltech in the back?

So Zeltech was destroyed, but they self-destructed their capital system to annihilate the Prosnack and Fuchsviet fleets?

‘I’ve never heard of such an event…’

Of course, my memories from when I was playing the game have become quite vague by now…

But no matter how vague my memory might be, I had never seen an event where a regular nation self-destructs its capital system to wipe out enemy fleets.

But as I continued thinking, I eventually reached one conclusion:

‘Could it be a mod? Was there such an event in one of the mods I installed without thinking?’

For some reason, whenever this game I was possessing updated, most of the mods I had diligently installed would break.

And each time, I would reinstall, reinstall, and reinstall them repeatedly, to the point where I honestly couldn’t remember what mods I had installed later on.

Thinking about it that way, I figured it was entirely possible for events I couldn’t remember to occur.

‘Alright, I’ll accept that this could happen…’

Above all, there were many more annoying issues than the capital self-destruction event.

I couldn’t focus solely on that one thing forever.

Anyway, with that thought in mind, when I checked the next event message:

[Event: Arrival of Refugee Caravan]

[After the fall of the Zeltech Conglomerate, refugees who barely managed to escape continued to be denied entry or settlement by other nations.]

[After months of traveling through gates and using hyperspatial jump routes, the refugee caravan finally reached your empire.]

[Exhausted from their long journey, they hope that the Holy Seveli Empire will accept them.]

[Option 1: We do not reject refugees! (Zeltech species with refugee traits will randomly appear on imperial planets, increasing goodwill from Zeltech children scattered throughout the galaxy.)]

[Option 2: We are already at our limit. (Reject refugees, decreasing goodwill from Zeltech children)]

‘A refugee event?’

I was equally dumbfounded by this unexpected event.

I mean, refugees during wartime are commonplace.

What kind of mod was applied that implemented an event where survivors from a collapsed nation travel around the galaxy?

In the actual game, I would have mercilessly driven them away to avoid cluttering the species tab and losing stability.

I wondered what I was thinking when I installed it, but…

That was only relevant when it was just a game.

In this reality I was possessing, it was clear that population equals national power.

[Option 1: We do not reject refugees! (Zeltech species with refugee traits will randomly appear on imperial planets, increasing goodwill from Zeltech children scattered throughout the galaxy.)] <Selected>

Without much deliberation, I immediately chose option 1, deciding to accept the Zeltech refugees.

Afterward, I asked Riel, who was standing in front of me, where these refugees were located.

“Riel, where are the Zeltech refugees?”

“I anticipated you might ask, so I’ve already placed them on an uninhabited planet in the border region!”

“Hmm.”

Fortunately, there were signs everywhere that Riel had been working hard to resolve this situation before my return.

“Good, then select appropriate personnel from among them, give them a suitable barren planet, and make it look like we’re doing them a favor.”

“Understood, I’ll proceed with that right away.”

After entrusting Riel with the treatment of these refugees.

‘Damn it, when am I going to finish all this?’

I began sifting through the mountain of documents generated by the reactivation of the intelligence network, looking for specific materials to start working on.

But just as I began working:

A new event window appeared before my eyes…

[Event: Vanished Nanomachines]

[The nanomachines that were usually just doing their job and messing around in the shipyard.]

[But suddenly, at some point, they left only the words “Where am I? I need to go” and disappeared.]

[What could possibly make Ash, who even received a baronial title, suddenly return to their homeland on their own?]

[Option 1: Leaving without a word is unacceptable! Find them! (Continue linked event)]

[Option 2: They will return when the time comes, ignore it for now. (End event, proceed to additional event)]

It was, how should I put it.

The event seemed to pretend to give me choices while the answer was already predetermined…

I felt irritation welling up inside me.