Ch.346The Sorrow of the Scarecrow Emperor

* * *

Unfortunately, I no longer intend to simply put up with this.

“Does anyone have something they’d like to say? Your faces don’t look good.”

Well, they’re all getting on in years, so their complexions can’t be helped.

“Your Majesty. I heard you’ve suffered countless bomb attacks recently.”

Well, yes? I’ve endured so many that it’s far beyond just one or two incidents.

More than all the assassination attempts before I went to the Middle East. Looking back now, I only think that I never want to experience that terrible pain again.

“Well, that’s true.”

Suddenly feeling responsible, I turned my head.

I’m truly sorry about that. Ahem. But it couldn’t be helped.

From my perspective, that was the best I could do.

“‘That’s true’ is not an adequate response. This is quite dangerous.”

“Yes. No matter how well you appear, we need to address the fact that you’re being targeted by terrorists. If this continues, it could set a troubling precedent.”

Now that I hear it, they have a point.

Yes. Whether I live or die, it ultimately connects to the authority of the Tsar.

I’ve suffered countless terrorist attacks in the Middle East.

This fact alone is enough to make citizens anxious.

But anyway, it won’t happen again now.

I’m not some pervert who finds joy in the agony of dying, nor am I someone who enjoys exchanging blows with knives for fun.

“Your Majesty, isn’t it time you settled down?”

Settled down? I am already settled.

“Settled down? Anyone listening would think I’m wandering around with nothing to do.”

It’s not like I’m doing this on purpose.

I intended to be as accommodating as possible, but I’m not going to stabilize everything, change my identity, and become Anastasia II or III.

I just want the world to improve, even if only a little.

In that sense, I will travel around the world.

After that, when things stabilize, then I can have some fun.

“But Your Majesty, you are the Tsar of this nation.”

“Moreover, Your Majesty has already achieved enough accomplishments to last a millennium.”

Oh my, accomplishments to last a millennium?

Such words make me too embarrassed.

Of course, we’ve essentially dealt with all enemies who opposed the Roman Treaty. But still, it’s a matter of pride.

If they’re so annoyed, wouldn’t it be better to pressure Vladimir to accept the throne? That would make things easier for me and for the Duma.

I really don’t want to end up becoming the Emperor of Humanity.

My plan is to build Romanov villas in countries around the world and travel leisurely.

This trip to Japan would be the first step toward that.

Western Japan seems to be developing its tourism industry quite well.

It seems Western Japan is pushing tourism. Modengu appears to be trying to bring in money from various sources.

In that respect, I can give Modengu quite high marks.

“Your Majesty, you’re going to Japan?”

Why, is it strange that I want to go to Japan?

But after this trip to Japan, shouldn’t we start looking at manned spacecraft?

“After returning, wouldn’t it be time to launch a spacecraft?”

By then, shouldn’t we be launching spacecraft?

I’ll enjoy a trip to Japan along the way. This isn’t a business trip. I’m just going to have a moderate amount of fun.

Last time I visited Korea, so this time it would be nice to cross the sea from the Maritime Province to Japan.

“But Japan is too far.”

“Isn’t it quick if you take the train from Siberia? You could take the train all the way to Vladivostok and then cross the sea directly to Western Japan.”

If I take the Trans-Siberian Railway, I’ll get there quickly, won’t I?

Then, it should be surprisingly fast.

I’d prefer to just stay in Moscow if possible, but I can’t leave things unfinished.

“Whether that can be called ‘quick’ is debatable.”

Having made the journey several times already, I surprisingly don’t feel anything special about it.

It’s obvious since I enjoyed the apocalyptic world so much in the original history.

“You need to personally support Renya Mutaguchi to prevent the turmoil that will arise in Japan.”

Preventing future turmoil in advance. But I’m curious about something.

Well, how enthusiastically will our teacher Modengu welcome me!

“Your Majesty, absolutely not.”

“Why not?”

“Supporting him through radio or television from here is sufficient. It doesn’t look good for the Emperor of Greater Rome to personally travel to that distant archipelago. The Roman headquarters has mentioned this several times already. Above all, rather than having Grand Duke Vladimir grade… it would be more symbolic if Your Majesty did it.”

So tell Vladimir to ascend to the throne.

Seriously, how long do I have to stay here?

I was about to say something, but seeing everyone’s exhausted faces, I kept my mouth shut.

This is why being a figurehead emperor is no good. I can’t do what I want.

“Tsk. How unfortunate.”

I clicked my tongue and puffed my cheeks.

So in the end, I can’t go?

Alright. Let’s think positively. It’s probably not appropriate for the Roman Emperor to go personally to comfort someone.

As the representative of the Roman Treaty, I’ll publicly support Renya Mutaguchi on broadcast, expressing my admiration for his judgment.

I’ll also offer support necessary for peaceful unification.

But you know.

The fact that they’re trying so hard to stop me suggests there’s something else going on.

Unless the Duma is foolish, they must know that Asia is safe.

“Seeing how adamantly you’re preventing me from going, has something happened in Europe?”

That’s the feeling I’m getting.

I just finished dealing with the Middle East, and these guys keep stirring up trouble in Europe?

“Rather than something happening, the situation is delicate. This isn’t something Your Majesty needs to personally worry about.”

But I still need to grade it, right?

If I have to grade it, I need to check it.

Anyway, I decided to receive and review the content.

“Your Majesty. Today’s agenda is this.”

Today’s agenda was about France.

France is a member of the Roman Treaty Organization, but it doesn’t seem to be doing well.

They even Frenchified Algeria, so what’s the problem?

Is it because the mainland was split by Britain and lost Burgundy?

Honestly, Burgundy has already declared its independence from France.

“France and Burgundy? Don’t they only have a self-defense force now?”

What can they do with just a self-defense force?

Unification or whatever, they’re already separate entities that joined the Roman Treaty.

Even if they have complaints, what can they do?

We’re already pushing Burgundy from behind the scenes.

“They’re saying a lot about establishing a unified France. Of course, Burgundy is firmly refusing. I understand they’ve made several unification requests to the Roman Treaty Organization.”

“One France, huh.”

But that’s not acceptable.

France has betrayed us more than once.

Ah, well, from our perspective it’s only been once or twice, but when you think of France as the country of revolution, it gives the impression they’ll stab you in the back.

How many years has it been, and they’re already talking about unification? We should keep them divided as France and Burgundy while keeping both within the Roman framework.

“And there’s also the issue of rebuilding Paris, which is in ruins.”

“That’s good. Paris should be rebuilt.”

Rebuilding that collapsed Eiffel Tower and everything else will cost a fortune.

“However, the cost of reconstruction is not insignificant.”

“I’m sure it is. Isn’t it all thanks to Marshal Pétain?”

Why is everyone looking at me strangely?

Marshal Pétain used the nuclear bomb, not me. A Frenchman, flying a French plane, dropped it directly on their own capital.

We only destroyed Belgrade in Yugoslavia, Sendai in Japan, and Nanjing.

“Moreover, recently.”

“Recently?”

“It seems there were ground stability issues, and the catacombs containing hundreds of thousands of skeletons collapsed. Many French Communards living there are confirmed dead.”

French beggars were living there?

“There were ground stability issues?”

That’s terrible. If the catacombs collapsed due to ground issues, would all those skulls be visible?

What’s certain is that the catacombs were destroyed and all those skeletons were crushed and mixed into the ground.

“Probably aftereffects from the nuclear bomb, right? Not to mention, during the Battle of Paris, our artillery mainly hit the land where the catacombs were located, so the ground must have weakened.”

“To think Marshal Pétain’s decision led to such results. Tsk tsk.”

The complete annihilation of communism under Marshal Pétain’s resolute decision led to these results.

The catacombs are where those hundreds of thousands of skeletons are, right?

Pétain. This terrifying old man caused all this chaos!

Well, if nuclear weapons hadn’t been used, who knows what else might have happened there.

Then I read about the Paris reconstruction part in the agenda, about the victims who were reportedly buried in the catacombs.

The number of deaths is higher than I expected?

“Communards? Perhaps…”

“They were nuclear victims from the last war. They were living in the catacombs.”

So nuclear victims were living in the catacombs.

How pitiful they’ve become.

Of all places, they were living there?

People should live sensibly. No matter how close to death I might be, I don’t think I could live in such a place.

Or did they knowingly enter what would soon become their grave?

“Logically, even if they knew they were doomed, wouldn’t they normally run out of the city begging to be saved?”

Logically, seeing them holed up in the catacombs somehow continuing their irradiated lives, perhaps they were saying, “Even in this condition, we won’t break our revolutionary will.” Isn’t that it?

It’s their own fault. That’s what it is.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Truly a fitting end for Reds. They brought it upon themselves. Since they might spread radiation, handle the irradiated bodies with lead.”

It’s probably not that serious, but we should warn about the dangers and handle it properly.

Those dead Reds might emit radiation, so coat them with lead appropriately, clearly warning about the dangers of nuclear radiation.

“I hear weapons belonging to the Reds were also discovered.”

“They were planning to emerge and harass us.”

“Yes, preparing for contingencies. Operation plans, dates, and basic supplies of water and food were also found. The surviving Reds must have sustained themselves with these.”

How pitiful.

Who would want to live in that skeleton-filled cemetery?

I heard the scale is incredibly vast.

The French are truly incomprehensible.

“Aren’t the catacombs themselves absurd to begin with? Why did they create such a thing? From what I’ve seen, they just piled up bones.”

“They must have some French aesthetic sense that we don’t understand.”

Honestly, it’s not completely incomprehensible.

It happened when Paris consolidated all its cemeteries as part of urban beautification policies.

Add the Black Death to that, and this is what happened.

I think it was unavoidable.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s not disgusting.

“If that aesthetic sense develops further, they’ll make catacombs with living people. Hahahahaha!”

The White Army department mocked the French aesthetic sense.

Well, repairs would make it even more ridiculous, but the catacombs are surprisingly extensive.

This made me feel something strange.

Could there be healthy survivors in there?

I mean genuine Reds.

“Are there no Reds seriously fighting against us?”

“There were some. But most were buried together in the catacombs. Of course, the exact numbers haven’t been determined yet.”

But they said they dealt with all of them.

“So the remaining Communards are truly radiation victims who only wander around areas that haven’t collapsed yet.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Really now, who would want to walk around that skull-filled cemetery?

Punished Communards and skulls. A well-matched pair.

“What about the surviving Parisians? I mean those who survived when the nuclear bomb went off, not the catacombs people.”

I had left it to France before, but I’m curious about what happened.

“Most were dealt with, except for a few.”

“Surely they didn’t just kill them all?”

Even so, that would be dangerous.

Even if it was Pétain who did it, as the Roman Treaty, this is unacceptable.

It’s no different from what an uncivilized nation would do.

Paris is now essentially under joint ownership of the Roman Treaty Organization for reconstruction, but the French government was supposed to handle the Parisian citizens.

“The French government isolated them to live by themselves in the Paris suburbs. Just giving them water and food.”

Oh dear. They’re treating their own people with such disregard. Tsk tsk, we should have known better when they said they would launch nuclear weapons.