Ch.19The Galaxy and the Affairs of Its Nations (2)

# Chapter 19: The Circumstances of That Galaxy and Its Nations (2)

I continued examining the nation window, which still had plenty left to see, and clicked on the next nation to check.

[10th Place: Republic of Roirakan +1]

[Reason: Victory in war against Riksi Parliamentary Territory]

“Well… this is as expected.”

Roirakan, a typical combination of capitalism and democracy, seemed at first glance to be a nation that would always clash with Sebeli, a theocratic state.

However, our two nations were surprisingly compatible in the Galactic Federation’s council and diplomatic affairs.

‘That issue has always puzzled our intelligence agents.’

Perhaps we were strictly following the principle of “close to the far, far from the close.”

‘With three nations between Roirakan and our Empire, there’s no need for us to fight.’

Having organized my thoughts, I continued clicking on nearby nations to explore.

[12th Place: Uko’Praknar Interstellar Union -2]

[Reason: National division due to civil war, territorially incorrect borders]

[14th Place: Ik-Nur-Bal Independent Republican Federation]

[New Nation: Gained independence from Uko’Praknar Interstellar Union]

When I saw the reason for Uko’Praknar’s demotion, I was left speechless.

‘Border aesthetics… I can’t believe they’re actually pushing this.’

The kind of joke that would only be made on internet forums in my previous life was being seriously applied in this world, giving me complicated feelings.

Of course, these complicated feelings completely disappeared when I saw the galactic map territories viewable through the status window.

‘Argh, my eyes!’

I felt disgusted by the borders that resembled some medieval country that was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire, and had to turn off the map.

To cleanse myself of this disgust, I searched for and opened a nation with more normal-looking borders.

[11th Place: Syr Citizens’ Alliance]

A country not disconnected from surrounding nations via hyperspace jump routes, and connected to more than five countries.

A nation that controlled the only passage connecting the eastern and northern galaxy, reaping sweet profits from trade.

A place with no rough edges, boasting the most perfect border aesthetics in this galaxy.

And while it formally claimed to be an independent sovereign nation…

‘Tch, just another puppet of Kerzin.’

With that thought, I scrolled through the nation window and selected the country at the very top.

[3rd Place: Kerzin Federation +1]

[Reason: Massive seizure of Prosnak territories through the Irtelan War]

The Kerzin Federation.

Excluding the two ancient nations, it reigned as the de facto hegemonic power of the galaxy.

It was also a place that demonstrated its might by defeating the space Nazis known as Prosnak, who had destroyed three nations.

Moreover, it had numerous countries serving as its dependencies or protectorates…

It would be no exaggeration to say that the entire northeastern region of the galaxy was essentially Kerzin’s domain.

No, to be completely honest… the entire galaxy could be considered under Kerzin’s control.

Even the Riksi Parliamentary Territory near us had officially declared itself under the Kerzin Federation.

The Syr Citizens’ Alliance, connecting the north and east, served as Kerzin’s financial pipeline and rear supply route.

Several other nations were also under Kerzin’s control, so what could one expect?

And there was one more ridiculous advantage:

[4th Place: Zeltech Composite Corporation +1]

[Reason: Massive seizure of Prosnak territories through the Irtelan War]

These Zeltech Composite Corporation fellows.

Like how Britain would always join America’s wars in my previous life, they tagged along in Kerzin’s conflicts and ended up becoming the galaxy’s second strongest power.

The problem was that they were among the first to bow their heads to Kerzin.

‘The 1st and 2nd powers forming an alliance and dominating everything around them? Is this for real?’

Even in games, this kind of situation would make you curse, but what could one do when it was reality?

With this madness, surrounding nations had no choice but to submit to Kerzin for survival.

[8th Place: Mekt-Fuks Free Trade Association +2]

[Reason: Gained star systems by intervening in Uko’Praknar civil war, victory in war against Ik-Nur-Bal Independent Republican Federation]

Even the eastern hegemon, who stabbed nations in civil war in the back and annexed smaller countries, had to kneel before Kerzin.

“Sigh… this is truly not easy.”

I took my eyes off the nation window for a moment and gazed at the vast, clear sky, lost in thought.

‘To achieve victory, the goal of the main quest, what exactly do I need to do?’

A main quest where defeat means the end, regardless of what the reward might be.

For the sake of completing this quest, and for the Empire and Artraia that I’ve grown attached to over ten years, I had to lead the Empire to ultimate victory.

However, the current situation was far from favorable.

‘Invading neighboring countries through war? That’s not good.’

Although the Empire’s military strength was formidable, recent economic and political repercussions had caused the Empire to become quite cautious.

Moreover, there was no justification for starting a war…

‘Kar-Du has been our neighbor for so long that public opinion would never accept a war?’

I considered other adjacent nations but soon found myself shaking my head.

‘Ztrak is at a similar level to us, so military force seems difficult.’

Despite these thoughts, I began to formulate a plan.

‘Still, if we were to wage war, couldn’t we use the exclave within Riksi’s territory… like East Prussia in my previous life?’

Perhaps manipulating diplomatic pretexts to worsen relations with Riksi…

But as I continued to expand my thoughts, I suddenly realized it would be meaningless.

‘Ah, but Riksi is under Kerzin’s control, which makes things difficult.’

No matter how well I manipulated the pretext, if Riksi were invaded, Kerzin’s invincible fleet would arrive.

And the problems didn’t end there.

‘Kar-Du, perhaps due to the influence of the last war, completely blocks foreign combat fleets from entering their territory…’

Despite being militarily weak, they couldn’t be diplomatically bullied due to our friendly relations, which was frustrating.

I continued to think of various sub-plans, considering what might work better, creating and discarding ideas.

After repeating this process for a while, I finally decided to stop thinking about it.

“Ah, forget it! I’m done!”

After receiving an officially approved vacation with imperial certification, coming to the Empire’s best resort only to plan future strategies?

‘I will never become a workaholic, argh!’

Accepting such a future would be too terrible.

Besides, I’m still a fresh 29-year-old (with Sebelians having an average lifespan of 200 years, I’d be equivalent to a 19-year-old on Earth)!

‘Yes, right now I should just enjoy myself, empty my mind, and have a great time!’

With that thought, I sat up abruptly and shouted:

“The sea!!!”

Although typically such lines were spoken by bright young women rather than gloomy men like me, as per international rules.

Unfortunately, the only female-like being in this place was…

“Grrrrrr!!!”

The petite and frail Riel, who was engaged in a life-or-death battle with a kraken that had emerged from the seabed wrapped in seaweed.

But what did that matter?

Now was the time to focus on cooling down my overheated body and mind, rather than worrying about galactic plans or analyzing regional politics.

“Ocean! I have returned!”

Trusting my body, which I prided myself on keeping in decent shape, I immediately jumped into the sea…

And shortly after.

“Minister, why did you go in without warming up?”

“Phuuuuu…”

I had to painfully learn the consequences of starting to swim without warming up after not having gone to the beach for so long.

“If I hadn’t been here, you would have died, Minister.”

“…”

“It would have been quite the headline, wouldn’t it? No one would have expected the Minister to die from swimming without warming up.”

“…”

“Executive Minister, Duke Arto Virtorius Sebeli, assassinated during vacation at resort… a perfect title, don’t you think?”

“…”

“Then His Imperial Majesty would be furious, and while searching for the cause of a non-existent assassination, he might suspect Prosnak, with whom relations are already poor.”

“I’m sorry, I was wrong.”

“Yes, that’s right, you were wrong. Your grand plan almost disappeared before it even began, didn’t it?”

I couldn’t offer any resistance to Riel, who was unusually snarky toward me.

Finally, after making an iron-clad promise to Riel that I would never repeat such behavior, I was able to escape the nagging…

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t looked into Prosnak.’

Hearing Riel’s words, I realized I hadn’t investigated the most important players.

“Hmm… nation window.”

[6th Place: Prosnak Union -3]

[Reason: Massive territorial losses to Kerzin, Zeltech, and Ztrakfor due to the Irtelan War]

Just as I opened this nation window and began to think about them.

-BEEEEEEEEP!!!!!

A piercingly loud alarm suddenly blared from my terminal device on the parasol table.

“What’s happening?!”

Alarmed by the ominous warning sound, I rushed to the parasol to check my device…

And seeing the information there and the event message that appeared before my eyes.

I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

[!!!EMERGENCY ALERT!!!]

[Prosnak Union has declared war on Kerzin Federation, Zeltech Composite Corporation, and Ztrakfor Council!]

[Prosnak’s grand fleet has already crossed the borders of these nations.]

[Citizens residing in these countries are advised to evacuate immediately upon hearing this alert.]

[Emergency Galactic Council session activated]

[Event: Prosnak’s Eastern Advance]

[Prosnak, ambushed by Kerzin in the Irtelan War, has finally drawn the blade of revenge they’ve been sharpening for 20 years.]

[The existing three galactic superpowers respond to Prosnak’s reaction by preparing their counterattack, saying “what was bound to happen has finally come.”]

[Who will be the victor of this war?]

“…Holy shit.”

And with another urgent message arriving, my legs finally gave way.

[Emergency message for Holy Sebeli Empire high officials]

[All ministers and council members are to enter the Imperial Palace as soon as possible from this moment.]

“No, fuck!!!”

And so, I had to release a scream that no one would hear into the clear, pristine sky of the resort planet.