Ch.176176. European Union Expedition

After the shocking conversation with the Saint of Orleans, Bahamut and Alicia remained in Paris, France, attending numerous European Union meetings without fail.

However, obtaining the information Alicia wanted proved difficult.

“This is boring. They’re always fighting. Aren’t there any practical discussions?”

[Well. I agree it’s boring]

The main problem was that most of the real power in the European Union had been seized by dictators with strong authority ruling various countries.

Even when reasonable proposals were submitted, the moment they displeased a dictator, those with real power would oppose them.

In reality, it was a European Union meeting in name only—nothing could be accomplished without the consent of dictators who had banded together for political cooperation.

In Alicia’s case, she at least had the position of Queen of England, which gave her the right to submit proposals to the European Union meeting, but…

[All of Alicia’s proposals were rejected too. By order of the Lord Protector.]

“I tried just in case. It’s a bit frustrating.”

Nothing was accomplished due to the Lord Protector’s interference.

She hadn’t expected much anyway, but it was certainly annoying to face such blatant obstruction from the Lord Protector.

If there was anything worth seeing at these European Union meetings…

“Unacceptable! I cannot stand by and watch such a proposal succeed!”

“Then it’s a duel!”

“Fine! Let’s settle everything with a duel today as well!”

Readers might suspect the European Union had fallen into some card game dueling obsession based on this exchange.

It would be best to set aside any misguided fantasies about all proposals being decided by card games, drawing card-swords from decks, or awkward notions like “cards are swords! Duel disks are shields!”

True, if there was one similarity to the dueling obsession in card games, it was that the scene before them was indeed a kind of dueling system.

The problem was that these duels were…

“Bring wine and women! It’s time for heroes!”

“Now there’s something worth watching!”

“Fight! Fight! Just die already!”

“Boring European Union meetings are hereby banned!”

Not card game duels, but actual life-or-death battles where flesh was torn.

The world had been destroyed by the apocalypse, and the rebuilding process hadn’t even lasted a year.

During this period—long or short depending on how you looked at it—European common sense had quickly been stained with blood and violence, with people preferring to solve problems with fists rather than words.

Moreover, duels between Awakened could be seen as spectacular entertainment shows by meeting attendees, and winners gained both their desired proposals and public glory, reminiscent of ancient Roman gladiators.

“To put it bluntly, they have no confidence in verbal persuasion and no principles. They’re saying let’s settle things with duels… no, just violence.”

[Hmm. That’s right?]

Even this was a generous description. Coldly speaking, most European Union attendees were simply unprincipled.

The only person with any real legitimacy was Alicia, who had been crowned queen through proper procedures, which said it all.

The apocalypse had drastically changed Europe’s political landscape, causing existing political forces to collapse and new powers born from the apocalypse to rise.

Perhaps Europe’s misfortune was that extremist forces had seized control among these emerging powers.

“I’ve even seen several people at the meetings calling themselves ‘Führer.'”

[That… leaves much to be said.]

There were even those who called themselves Führer at the meetings.

If one understood what that word meant in Europe, it was clear European politics had long since been swept up by extremism when such people could represent nations.

“Is there any reason to attend these meetings?”

[…Let’s try a bit harder.]

Alicia felt hopeless about attending the meetings, but…

“Your Majesty. I have good news.”

“Sir Arthur. What good news?”

At least some of her followers occasionally brought good information.

Sir Arthur, who had accompanied Alicia as part of her royal guard, had been attending Awakened social gatherings in Paris and bringing back useful information for Alicia. He had just returned with something as her spirits were flagging.

“The peacekeeping forces are going on an expedition.”

The news was about peacekeeping forces going on an expedition.

Well, expeditions were so common in recent trends that their absence would be strange, and they were simply military operations to reclaim territories occupied by monsters.

“Is that good news?”

[It doesn’t seem like good news to Alicia.]

Both Alicia and Bahamut couldn’t help but question how this qualified as good news.

After all, Alicia herself had led expeditions to gain supporters when she was in England, and Bahamut heard expedition news every day without fail.

“Well. It may not be good news for Your Majesty. But I think it’s a chance to learn about that mysterious contractor you’ve been wondering about.”

“You mean… the Saint?”

The one who answered was Mary, the maid.

She advised that while it might not be good news for Alicia, it was an opportunity to resolve her questions.

“Yes. The Saint has already started spreading rumors through the Awakened club that she’ll reveal the divine beast she contracted with during this expedition. Apparently, she plans to include civilian collaborators in this expedition.”

There was a rumor that the Saint of Orleans’ contracted partner would appear in person.

While Alicia showed great interest in this fact…

“Is she really confident about having made a contract? Isn’t it a scam?”

She still suspected it might be some kind of con to manipulate her.

Of course, Alicia herself had contracted relatively easily through American arrangements, but she knew that beings like Bahamut were extremely rare.

[If it’s grown to this scale, it’s probably not a scam.]

However, Bahamut expressed the opinion that since they had begun advertising openly to the public, it might not be a scam.

[There’s a high possibility she really did make a contract]

“So if we participate in the expedition, we can see it? When is it scheduled?”

If so, there was a good chance the divine beast would appear during this expedition, making it worth participating.

Alicia showed interest in joining the peacekeeping force expedition.

“It will take place in a week, and the schedule is for one night and two days.”

“That’s short, isn’t it? Shouldn’t an expedition be like a week-long touring performance?”

It was surprisingly brief.

Since it was quite different from the expeditions she had conducted, Alicia tilted her head and looked at Sir Arthur questioningly.

“That’s… Your Majesty is the unusual one. Since monsters dominate the outside world, the standard practice is to return to safety as soon as the objective is completed.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. Annihilating monsters with a single finger is beyond most Awakened.”

Sir Arthur explained with a somewhat incredulous expression that it was Alicia who was unusual—normal expeditions had to be short.

While cities and populated areas were safe, everywhere else faced monster threats.

In such situations, camping without a safe zone was life-threatening, so expeditions had to be day trips or at most overnight affairs.

“I did it easily…”

“Well, that’s… How should I explain this?”

Of course, Alicia could easily establish safe zones outside using magic taught by Bahamut.

Alicia looked dejected, wondering if she was the strange one, while Sir Arthur became flustered seeing her downcast expression.

And Bahamut, listening to their conversation…

[Then it would be good to participate. A chance to confirm our reason for staying here. And an opportunity to broaden Alicia’s perspective.]

“Yes. That seems best.”

Bahamut suggested participating in someone else’s expedition would be beneficial.

It was an excellent opportunity to verify the truth about the contractor the Saint had mentioned, so there was no reason not to participate.

The maid nodded in agreement, supporting Bahamut’s opinion.

“If you both say so… I should participate. Sir Arthur, please express my intention to join.”

“Understood.”

With two trusted advisors recommending it, Alicia decided to participate and instructed Sir Arthur to register her for the expedition.

And on the day of the expedition…

“…What is this?”

“As you are a valuable person, we’ve prepared Awakened escorts and a dedicated vehicle.”

Alicia found herself unwittingly assigned escort troops and a dedicated vehicle for the expedition.

She looked around at the scene, sending questioning glances that seemed to ask “What’s going on?” but was met with avoidance.

No one wanted to get involved with Queen Alicia, and they were acting cautiously for self-preservation.

“…I wonder if my participation has become a burden.”

“Quietly boarding would be the action that puts their minds at ease.”

Alicia felt she was being a nuisance and looked somewhat apologetic, while the maid advised that quickly boarding the vehicle would be the best thing for everyone.

So Alicia promptly boarded the dedicated vehicle, followed by her maid and Sir Arthur.

“They’ve provided more formality and protocol than expected.”

“By principle, Your Majesty is the head of state of the United Kingdom. Even without real power, the public considers you the head of state, so mistreating you would be a diplomatic disaster.”

“I’m enjoying luxury thanks to you, Your Majesty.”

The Awakened assigned as escort troops were miserable because of this.

Of course, Alicia wasn’t in a position to worry about them, so she simply wished them well silently as she looked around at her surroundings.

The area was already crowded with expedition participants, creating chaos due to the sheer number of people.

[The scale is larger than expected. Participation exceeds 10,000 people]

“In reality, only a tiny fraction will be Awakened who can actually fight.”

[That’s enough. The expedition isn’t our main purpose anyway.]

While there were many participants, only a small fraction were Awakened who could actually fight.

Even if Awakened made up one-tenth or even one-hundredth of the crowd, that would be fortunate. The reason for so many civilians was that this expedition was filled with political intentions.

“That’s not wrong. But to demonstrate the prestige of the European Union forces, it’s effective for many people to see it firsthand. Nothing is more effective than witnessing the spectacle in person, rather than through newspapers or videos.”

Achievement, prestige, honor—any would do.

To secure their current positions, they needed military accomplishments to gain voluntary submission from the people.

If there was solid evidence that the European Union could protect Europeans, many would pledge loyalty to dictators just to survive, even if those leaders were tyrants.

“I see the division following the Lord Protector.”

“…If it’s them, perhaps the Royal Guard?”

“Yes… I’m ashamed.”

They could also send warnings to their own countries.

Among the expedition participants were Royal Guards who followed the Lord Protector, and the Lord Protector himself was putting on a brave, dignified show for the public.

Behind him marched the valiant Royal Guard, but Sir Arthur, who had been a member of that guard, felt self-loathing that the Royal Guard followed the Lord Protector instead of the Queen.

He bowed his head apologetically to Alicia, looking ashamed.

“No, no, no. It’s because I couldn’t give them faith. They had to betray me to survive. I don’t mind.”

“Y-Your Majesty!”

Alicia said it was her fault, not blaming the Royal Guard and comforting them that they had no choice for survival.

She calmly moved past it, saying she didn’t mind, and calmed Sir Arthur.

“I pledge my loyalty to Queen Alicia once more.”

“Oh. Yes. Thank you.”

Sir Arthur was reassured once again that his choice had not been wrong.