Ch.201I’m in the process of inheriting the throne, Papa.

# Chapter 201: I’m Succeeding the Throne, Papa.

Samiya Ambassador’s proposed method was nothing complicated.

‘The current leadership’s atrocities are so disastrous that once the mind control is lifted, the regime would immediately collapse and then some.’

‘So we release our people from mass mind control, and during the ensuing chaos, rescue my father who’s likely being held captive somewhere in the capital fortress.’

In other words, she was willing to inflict tremendous damage on the nation of Prosnack just to save her father.

Faced with her outrageous proposal…

I gradually began to wonder if she wasn’t an ambassador at all, but rather a spy sent by Prosnack to provoke us into launching a preemptive strike.

Moreover, there was a major problem with her method.

“Excuse me, but how exactly are we supposed to disrupt the transmission waves controlling people’s minds?”

As evident from Riel’s interjection after listening silently…

Her plan absolutely required a ‘wide-area’ signal jammer (specifically for mind control chips), but…

“It’s completely impossible to block with existing signal jammers.”

As Riel pointed out, we simply didn’t possess the technology to disrupt and block Prosnack’s mind control waves (as we’d temporarily decided to call them).

“It’s Dark Age technology with no known countermeasures. Do you really think we can handle something like that?”

Faced with Riel’s brutal facts, Ambassador Samiya showed a slight hesitation.

It seemed that, like me, the ambassador lacked expertise in such technical areas, leaving her at a loss for words due to insufficient knowledge.

But at this point, I suddenly realized something…

‘Ambassador Samiya’s demeanor doesn’t seem like that of just a filial daughter.’

She was clearly angry about her father being imprisoned and replaced by an impostor.

But beyond that, there was something else…

Though difficult to pinpoint precisely, I sensed a strange “ambition” emanating from her.

And combining all these circumstances and facts…

I could somewhat understand what Ambassador Samiya truly wanted.

‘Could it be that she’s trying to draw us in so she can become the ruler of Prosnack?’

Of course, this was merely my speculation, but…

I couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was suspicious.

After pushing aside Riel, who had been venting her frustration about technical issues for quite some time,

I adjusted my posture and addressed Ambassador Samiya in the most serious and respectful tone possible.

“Ambassador Samiya, didn’t you say that we and you are essentially bound by a common fate?”

-“That’s right, Minister Arto.”

“…Then perhaps it’s time you told us your true intentions?”

Despite my words, Ambassador Samiya maintained her poker face, though for entirely different reasons than before.

After a moment.

-“…I see. It appears you’ve already figured everything out, Minister Arto?”

“…”

The words “What do you mean?” rose to the tip of my tongue.

But I managed to hold them back as Ambassador Samiya nodded resolutely and began to speak.

——————————————-

-“…That concludes my plan.”

Right after Ambassador Samiya finished her rather lengthy explanation.

-Ding-a-ling-ling♪

With an unnecessarily long and beautiful notification sound.

[Time Pause]

In a world where everything had stopped, a new event message appeared before my eyes with a clear, elegant window.

[Event: Everyone Is Equal Before Power]

[Jad Samiya Halabi’dus, the owner of the Prosnack Embassy in the Holy Sebelli Empire and the plenipotentiary diplomatic ambassador sent from Prosnack to the Holy Sebelli Empire.]

[As the daughter of Prosnack’s Supreme Commander Fern’dus who has lived a life of privilege, her hidden goal was none other than this:]

[To end the internal power struggle within the current Prosnack Union and emerge as the ultimate victor.]

[She sought to bring the massive nation of the Prosnack Union under her control.]

[Of course, since Samiya couldn’t overcome the power struggle within Prosnack with her strength alone,]

[She decided to act as a ‘diplomat’—a position generally looked down upon within the Union—to seek her own ‘running mate’.]

[And the ‘running mate’ she chose was none other than the person most feared within Prosnack:]

[You, Arto Virtorius Sebelli.]

‘Seriously?’

I was utterly shocked to discover that I had unwittingly become involved in Prosnack’s internal power struggle.

But since the event message was continuing…

I decided to finish reading the event content first.

[…Of course, she didn’t initially intend to make you, Minister Arto, her running mate.]

[However, during Prosnack’s eastward expansion, the ‘pro-Prosnack’ attitude displayed by Minister Arto resulted in Ambassador Samiya gaining reassurance and trust.]

[This led her to believe that you could serve as her running mate.]

[And to use you to consume the Prosnack Union, she exposed some of their internal confidential documents to you as bait,]

[And deliberately maintained a friendly attitude toward you to strengthen your relationship, aiming to instill a sense of alliance and shared destiny.]

[Event Chain in Progress…]

After reading this far, I truly felt my head spinning.

‘…Well, you’re not the first to try to use me.’

Of course, that didn’t mean I was upset by Ambassador Samiya’s actions.

After all, I had used this approach myself before.

When the Ik-Nur-Bal Independent Republican Federation was reorganized into the Nurbal Republic,

I had employed this exact method by attaching myself as a running mate and backing to the opposition leader, turning the republic into a vassal state of the Empire.

‘Hmm.’

I always thought the day would come when I’d fall victim to a tactic I once used, but…

I never expected it to be today.

‘Well, this feels strange.’

Despite my complicated feelings…

Now that I understood Ambassador Samiya’s intentions toward us, I found myself nodding inwardly.

‘Well, in this game, the one who gets played is the fool.’

And in some ways, this approach wasn’t necessarily bad.

‘If we play this right, we might be able to control Prosnack ourselves.’

In terms of my previous life… wouldn’t this be like America freely manipulating Russia right after the collapse of the Soviet Union?

To welcome our most threatening enemy as our most reliable ally.

‘Hmmmm… Brilliant!’

Therefore, I decided not to mention anything further about Ambassador Samiya’s attitude of openly trying to use us.

Instead, I resolved to use her to bring the massive nation of Prosnack under our control…

[Time Pause Released]

After releasing the time pause, I faced Ambassador Samiya, who wore a rather complex expression, with the brightest face and expression I could manage.

…Of course, since I had never smiled since entering this world, my expression was merely at the level of not frowning rather than actually smiling.

“Well, such actions are quite common in the world of diplomacy and politics, aren’t they?”

“Ah.”

After I casually expressed this sentiment, Ambassador Samiya’s complicated expression brightened somewhat.

‘…According to the event message, this is essentially her first assignment as a diplomat?’

Even if her judgment and intelligence were superior to mine, her inexperience was evident in aspects like facial expression management.

Of course, that didn’t mean she would develop more slowly than an ordinary person like me.

From now on, I decided to build up Ambassador Samiya’s goodwill toward me and the Empire,

And through that, eventually place Prosnack under the Empire’s control, using it as a stepping stone toward victory in the game.

But perhaps this thought was too extreme.

“This is the first time I’ve seen the Minister’s expression so bright… it’s kind of scary.”

In response to Riel’s reaction, I discreetly tapped her head,

And proceeded to prepare for initiating a palace coup within Prosnack according to Ambassador Samiya’s plan.