Ch.132132. Preparing the Counterattack (1)

In conclusion, the International Organization Reconstruction Conference didn’t completely fall apart.

The reason was simple.

‘If we miss this conference, we can’t guarantee there will be another one. The risk is too great.’

Since the United States knew that if this international organization collapsed, there was no guarantee of another reconstruction conference, they ultimately gave up on refuting the others’ sophistry.

For now, they agreed to share the goal of rebuilding the international organization and see what happens later, which meant the Saint of Orleans’ proposal was officially accepted.

The biggest beneficiaries of the conference were the Lord Protector and the Saint of Orleans, who gained the prestige they so desperately wanted under the pretext of receiving concessions from the United States, and could now exert political pressure on their opponents.

‘Unfortunate for Alicia.’

This was another setback for Alicia, who had become Bahamut’s contractor, though there were clear disadvantages to the outcome.

‘Diplomatic relations with Asia have essentially been nullified.’

One thing that became crystal clear to all participants in this international organization was the character and tendencies of these two figures—the Lord Protector and the Saint of Orleans.

Every nation attending the reconstruction conference witnessed their shameless sophistry, and naturally, the United States and Asian regions that opposed their claims were essentially placed in a hostile relationship with their cabinets.

‘In this apocalypse, diplomacy with other countries doesn’t mean much anyway. The distance between us makes actual war impossible.’

As a result, the international organization faced a crisis of collapse from its very inception, but neither the Lord Protector nor the Saint seemed to care about the crisis or the complaints and grievances of others.

Due to the distance issue, even if relations with Asian regions deteriorated, that wouldn’t become a significant concern until after the apocalypse ended—it wasn’t something worth worrying about during the current apocalyptic situation.

Rather, diplomacy with neighboring countries was more important during this apocalypse, and Bahamut agreed with this assessment.

‘Well, we didn’t get any opportunities to give speeches or make our name known either.’

While the Lord Protector’s cabinet was at least willing to make contact through working-level meetings and unofficial diplomatic channels with the Balhut Cult, the cabinet led by the Saint of Orleans showed absolutely no interest in establishing any connection with the Balhut Cult.

Not only were there no working-level meetings, but it seemed as if they didn’t want the Balhut Cult to receive any attention at this international organization, refusing any connection whatsoever. As a result, the Balhut Cult couldn’t establish any practical or diplomatic meetings with France.

If this had been an issue with France alone, the Balhut Cult could have simply established diplomatic relations with the other European countries.

‘If only France had been the only one to reject us, it wouldn’t be a problem. But we couldn’t connect with any Western European countries led by France.’

The problem was with the remnants of the European Union led by France.

It seemed they were all on France’s leash, as all European representatives at the conference moved according to France’s will.

In other words, they too, following France’s wishes, did not establish diplomatic channels with the Balhut Cult, an Asian organization.

Or perhaps more accurately, they couldn’t establish such channels.

‘Racial discrimination in the apocalypse. How ridiculous.’

It was blatant ostracism of Asia.

While they didn’t openly practice racial discrimination, it was an insidiously thorough exclusion that made Bahamut want to laugh bitterly at the childish bullying taking place on the international stage.

Contrary to the common-sense expectation that despite outward hostility (like the WWE format), there would at least be exchanges between working-level officials and diplomatic channels, these countries had sincerely declared UFC against Asia.

No wonder the United States was appalled.

Wasn’t international diplomacy supposed to be about Britain and France being horrified by America’s eccentric pro-country attitude, calling them “Yankees”?

‘The one fortunate thing is…’

Fortunately, the Balhut Cult and the Asian countries attending this conference weren’t completely sidelined or invisible.

Rather, in response to Western Europe’s ostracism, Asian countries were beginning to band together to find their own path to survival in this apocalypse.

The declarations of the two heroes had already caused ripples among Asian nations, and while the United States was protesting this outrageous behavior…

“I am Dang Xuan Cu La from Hanoi. If my name is difficult, please call me Dung Chun Gu.”

“I am Abdurrahman Wahid from Java.”

“I’m Choi Yu-na. I’m truly delighted to meet the two representatives from Vietnam and Indonesia.”

Two representatives who attended the International Organization Reconstruction Conference had come directly to meet with the Balhut Cult.

Dung Chun Gu from Vietnam and Abdurrahman Wahid from Indonesia.

Relying on translation magic, Yu-na smiled brightly at the two national representatives and expressed her pleasure at this meeting.

As countries that had made their names known in world history, they were nations that the Balhut Cult, based in Asia, needed to pay attention to, second only to Japan.

‘Though calling them representatives is a bit much. They’re not exactly formal governments. More like provisional governments like Kim Su-ho’s in Seoul.’

Of course, these weren’t fully established governments that had reclaimed their countries.

They too were still at the provisional government level, and if one were to ask whether they truly qualified as representatives of their countries, it would be questionable.

However, the reason the United States had chosen them was partly because they would be favorable to the US if they succeeded in maintaining power, and partly because it was very difficult for the US to find better representatives.

Of course, if they had tried, they could have found provisional governments that were more established than these.

‘The US isn’t a charity. Not being chosen means that if they maintained their government, they wouldn’t be favorable to the US.’

But the United States wasn’t a charity.

Among the things Steven had mentioned during their first meeting was that the US was also a country struggling to survive the apocalypse, and therefore acting according to its national interests.

While the Balhut Cult maintained an alliance-like relationship with the US because it aligned with American interests, the US only acted in its own national interest when dealing with other countries, selecting governments that suited its interests.

‘But the absence of India and China, the most important countries in Asia, is really… We need those two to have a meaningful conversation. Of all things…’

But even the United States couldn’t touch India and China.

These two giant nations representing Asia couldn’t attend the international organization conference, and no seats were allocated for them.

It could be understood as the United States and Western Europe joining forces to exclude and ostracize India and China, but there were reasons for this as well.

‘While everyone else is at the provisional government stage, neither China nor India has even managed to form a provisional government.’

Simply put, these two countries were prioritizing survival in the apocalypse and had no capacity to engage in international diplomacy.

In other words, they had failed to form provisional governments and were already overwhelmed dealing with the zombie hordes pouring out from their enormous populations.

Moreover, with infrastructure completely collapsed due to the apocalypse, there were occasional reports that civilization was actually regressing.

‘I heard they managed to save one, but rumors say it disappeared the next day?’

According to information Bahamut had obtained from Anna, the US had been continuously attempting to contact potential representatives from these countries, but each time they made contact, the representatives would be overwhelmed by zombie hordes and disappear within days.

‘That’s truly what you’d call the apocalypse.’

The Indian subcontinent and China were literally hell on earth.

There were rumors that countries sharing borders with them were suffering greatly from the influence of these hellish continents.

“They’re still fighting even though we’re finishing our behind-the-scenes negotiations.”

“They must be desperate too.”

After finishing her meeting with the representatives of each country’s provisional government, Yu-na sighed as she watched President Arthur and the Saint of Orleans still engaged in heated debate.

President Arthur was lamenting that there was no communication at all, while the Saint of Orleans kept questioning what the problem was, in an endless back-and-forth.

“I understand President Arthur’s feelings. If Paris becomes the headquarters of the international organization, they’ll have to dispatch a lot of money and personnel to establish that headquarters. That’s not in America’s interest.”

“It’s only in the interest of France… or rather, Western Europe, right?”

“Yes. If I were to explain the Saint of Orleans’ logic, it would be ‘Let’s exploit other countries to save Europe first.’ It’s laughable.”

Frankly, establishing headquarters in Paris is not in America’s interest at all.

It only benefits France… or broadly speaking, Western Europe, and the countries that benefit the most are only France and neighboring Britain.

That’s why President Arthur should be furious and resistant.

“That’s just bullying.”

“The problem is that the Lord Protector went along with it.”

Yu-na watched the debate with an incredulous expression at this gangster-like logic, and Bahamut agreed but pointed out that the real problem was the Lord Protector’s support.

Even the mighty United States felt its power was insufficient when Britain and France joined forces to push their agenda.

Before the apocalypse, the US could have forcibly canceled this regardless of what these two said, but…

“Now the US lacks the power to impose its opinions on other countries.”

This was a scene that revealed how much international influence America had lost.

Despite the laughable logic, the US was trying to somehow change their minds through words rather than actions, but those two had no intention of listening.

They already knew that America no longer had the power to impose its logic.

“I feel sorry for President Arthur who has to deal with those two from now on. But we’ve gotten everything we could get.”

Of course, this problem was America’s alone, and the Balhut Cult was relatively free from it.

The cult didn’t have the power to intervene directly in other countries, nor did they have any reason to.

While it was regrettable to lose the opportunity for exchange with Western Europe, they had successfully made official contact with Japan and Southeast Asia and could receive sufficient cooperation from them.

Rather than jumping into their debate to showcase the Balhut Cult’s presence in the international community, it was better to quietly pursue the cult’s interests under America’s shadow.

“It’s complicated.”

“Indeed. I find it difficult too.”

And so the International Organization Reconstruction Conference ended with half success and half failure.

The delegation led by Bahamut and Yu-na returned to their hotel to prepare for their departure from Britain to Gyeongju tomorrow, and there…

“I’m back! How did it go? What was the result of the conference?”

“Is it really okay for a queen of a country to be so unguarded?”

Surprisingly, Alicia was waiting in Bahamut’s accommodation.

Curious about the conference results, she asked Bahamut about them as soon as he returned, and Bahamut sighed at her brazen presence in his room, asking if it was appropriate for her to be there.

“Neither Parliament nor the Lord Protector cares about me anyway. The news I’m most interested in right now is the result of this international organization.”

“The result… from my perspective, it’s half and half. The Lord Protector gained momentum for governing the country. That’s about it.”

Bahamut delivered the news, which wasn’t good for Alicia, who had once again emphasized her status as a puppet queen.

When told that the Lord Protector had greatly benefited from this conference, Alicia’s expression darkened.

“Is there any benefit for me?”

“Not particularly anything.”

In fact, it was bad news for Alicia since the Lord Protector had gained tremendous prestige in the short term.

“Just as I thought! It’s all over now! Dreams and hopes are gone! The world really is crap! That lolicon Lord Protector is definitely planning to send me to the guillotine!”

So Alicia, greatly despairing at the fact that there was no benefit for her, made a tearful face.