Ch.434Episode 17 – The Blood-Drinking Tree

# Resolution 3774 of the World Union to Resolve the Mauritanian Continental Crisis

The international community cast votes in favor of resolving the prolonged civil war and numerous international and social issues.

Despite the opposition from the Al-Yabd Alliance and fierce resistance from several local governments resulting in the cancellation of large-scale expeditionary forces, the fundamental framework remained unchanged.

The main point of the resolution was military intervention.

The international community intended to deploy force to end the conflict.

But reality was somewhat different.

## Episode 17 – The Blood-Drinking Tree

When you’ve spent enough time in intelligence agencies, there comes a point where information naturally flows to you without having to actively seek it.

It’s similar to how breathing continues without conscious effort.

In that context, just looking at the people gathered at the peacekeeping force base gave me a rough estimate.

“Glory to the great descendants. It’s an honor to meet you, Holy Maiden. We’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”

“May glory be with warriors who fight like dragons. I’ve heard much about the Commander from the Archbishops. It’s an honor to meet you.”

First, the Church.

The Church dispatched personnel to support Lucia in the Mauritanian continent. From clerics skilled in healing to the Holy Knights.

The fact that the Inquisition, hardened by heretic hunting, sent knights symbolizing holy war to a continent of different faiths carries significant implications, both politically and religiously.

However, considering the small size of the Holy Knight contingent, it was difficult to see the Church deliberately setting up for confrontation with Al-Yabd and other Mauritanian religions.

In fact, among the Church personnel who arrived with Lucia, there were far more clerics than inquisitors or holy knights. Given Lucia’s importance, the knights were likely there as security personnel.

So the Church’s intention appears to be controlling force at the level of protecting Lucia’s safety while avoiding friction with local religions as much as possible. There’s also a glimpse of intent to establish relationships with local governments through civilian diplomacy while avoiding the eyes of Al-Yabd.

The Magic Tower, on the other hand, was different.

“I greet the descendant of the founding father, the great visionary Ranieri.”

“Francesca Ranieri greets the seeker of intellect and truth. It’s been a while, Professor. Have you been well?”

“Heh heh. What special events could an old man have? Ah, and I’m not a professor now, but a diplomat.”

“Is that so?”

“I stepped down from my professorship to focus on research. Somehow, in my old age, I received an official position and advanced in my career. Ha ha.”

“Ah, that reminds me, the Magic Battalion will be arriving here soon, right?”

“Yes. That’s precisely why I’ve come here to discuss this matter with government officials.”

Unlike the Church, which dispatched a large number of clerics who could positively influence diplomatic relations, the Magic Tower deployed a military organization.

The Magic Battalion, the Magic Tower’s finest military force.

Officially established as a paramilitary organization for maintaining public order since the Union doesn’t recognize the Magic Tower as a formal state, they are nevertheless classified as a military by both the Kiyen Empire and the Church.

The reason the Magic Battalion can come to the Mauritanian continent stems from the Magic Tower’s diplomatic peculiarity. Marginalized in international society due to the Nastasiya Treaty, the Magic Tower diplomatically opposes the Church, while Al-Yabd, which has a firm grip on the Mauritanian continent, is a religion that opposes the Church in various areas.

Moreover, “Suleiman,” renowned as the Great Archmage, is known as a devout believer of Al-Yabd. The Magic Tower acknowledges that Suleiman, who once participated in the Holy War (a term used here to refer to the war between the Church and the Magic Tower), made significant contributions to the founding of the Magic Tower, so the Church and the governments of the Mauritanian continent weren’t completely unrelated.

From the Magic Tower’s approval of the Magic Battalion’s deployment and the local government’s forward-looking attitude in discussing with the Magic Tower’s diplomats, I understood the intentions of both the Magic Tower and the local governments.

The local governments oppose the deployment of expeditionary forces controlled by the major powers in the international community, and instead aim to resolve conflicts by accepting the army of the Magic Tower, with whom they are friendly.

The Magic Tower, by supporting this, seeks to strengthen its relationships with foreign governments.

The hipsters of the international community probably agreed to band together due to their resistance against the major power governments represented by Kiyen and Abas.

They must have been annoyed that the deployment of expeditionary forces was overturned after they protested against the major powers’ domestic propaganda.

The sight of Mauritanian governments unanimously opposing the international community’s decision must have seemed very attractive to the Magic Tower government.

In return for deploying the Magic Battalion to the north for five years, the Oracle faced domestic opposition.

This is an opportunity for the Oracle to establish its position on the international stage and create impressive achievements to quell the opposition. This even hints at their intention to use this situation as a stepping stone to create a 200-year long-term rule by the three major schools.

Of course, both the Church and the Magic Tower know exactly why each other came to the Mauritanian continent.

Similarly, major power governments including Abas also guess their intentions.

It’s hard to predict what the governments of Abas and Kiyen will do after guessing the true intentions of the Church and the Magic Tower. But whatever they do, it won’t be entirely for the benefit of the Mauritanian continent’s residents.

In that sense,

“Then, Commander, please help the clerics at the refugee camp for the time being.”

“Understood, Holy Maiden.”

“Since it will take some time for the Magic Battalion to travel from the port to here, I should meet with Defense Ministry officials in the meantime. I was actually wanting to ask about the unmanned zone. Would that be alright, Professor?”

“How could it not be?”

“Ah! Take me too! We need military cooperation to catch the monsters crossing from the unmanned zone into the border!”

“Of course, Hero.”

Regardless of intentions, only Lucia, Francesca, and Camilla came to Mauritania with pure purposes.

In other words,

“Section Chief.”

“Yeah.”

“You need to move as soon as the meeting ends.”

This means I’m not someone who came with pure intentions either.

*

Governments from around the world joined forces to resolve an international crisis.

Driving out monsters, managing refugee camps, rebuilding collapsed cities. All for international peace.

It sounds plausible at first glance, but the crucial core is missing.

The fundamental reason why the Mauritanian continent is devastated varies among scholars, but those who study this region generally agree on common factors for the catastrophe:

Warlords formed in response to certain ethnic groups monopolizing the government.

Political instability due to civil war.

Widespread corruption throughout society.

Industrial structures that lack competitiveness in the market, and so on.

The governments of Mauritania are typical underdeveloped countries comparable to Third World impoverished nations. All social problems are intertwined like a spider web, creating negative synergy.

A situation with no visible solution. Fundamentally resolving the problems would require extensive reforms over at least a decade.

But from my perspective, the governments of the Mauritanian continent had no will to solve the problems. Neither did the international community.

The international community is not a volunteer organization.

It’s a place where hundreds of countries with different positions hit each other with neckties for gain, and if necessary, create something to exploit by strangling the other party.

That’s why I watched the passage of Resolution 3774 with indifference. What’s the point of organizing tens of thousands of expeditionary forces and allocating trillions in budget? It was bound to fail anyway.

If the international community’s involvement could make conflicts disappear, there would have been no reason for Afghanistan to collapse. No reason for Armenia and Azerbaijan to wage war.

But regardless of my personal opinions, the international community was helping Mauritania in crisis, and I was here.

“Let’s set priorities first.”

This was my response to someone’s suggestion that we discuss what to do next, at a meeting reconvened after half a year.

“Here, it’s better to move together rather than scatter and act individually. So let’s set priorities and solve problems step by step.”

This deployment was realized under the leadership of the World Union. There was an international law stating that visitors from other worlds must be affiliated with a Union subsidiary organization to legally operate.

However, since international laws and humanitarian principles are often as flexible as they are ineffective, no one objected to the fact that Camilla wasn’t officially affiliated with an international organization.

Therefore, while the activities of the group centered around Camilla were formally under the control of international organizations, in reality, they were managed by a small number of governments with powerful voices, such as the Church, the Magic Tower, and countries like Kiyen and Abas.

This deployment wasn’t much different.

The Church to which Lucia belonged, the Magic Tower where Francesca was active, her homeland Fatalia, Abas which summoned Camilla and dispatched colleagues, and Kiyen and Rushan which, though not directly related, exerted enormous influence on the Mauritanian continent.

The governments that complicated the procedure for deploying expeditionary forces were actually the main players behind this deployment. Naturally, they also took control of the activities.

I decided to make a slight change to the framework tacitly agreed upon by the major power governments.

In a direction most favorable to us.

“We won’t be here for just a day or two. We might stay for months, so there’s no need to split our manpower. With hands already short, wouldn’t it be much more efficient if several people handled tasks that one person would do alone?”

I was suggesting that we stick together rather than move separately, as we did in the north.

Lucia, who had been sitting quietly lost in thought, expressed concern.

“There are urgent matters where time is of the essence. Is it really the right choice to move together?”

She was asking if it was acceptable when delays could increase damage.

A fitting sentiment for a Holy Maiden who loves peace and respects life.

However, the world is full of people with diverse thoughts.

Francesca countered with a casual voice.

“The officer is right. We need to stick together here.”

The alchemist nodded with her arms crossed. She sat with a serious posture, crossing her legs.

“In the northern Empire, we could receive government support, and the army had perfect control over the region. But the Mauritanian continent is different. Many countries are in the midst of civil war.”

This was true.

In fact, all four countries where we were deployed were experiencing civil wars of varying scales. In some places, goblin guerrillas operated in remote rural areas, while in others, government buildings were attacked by rebel sorcerers.

Camilla, who had been listening to Francesca, spoke up. She cautiously began:

“While the metropolitan areas of wealthy countries maintain stable security, the Mauritanian continent is generally dangerous. Robberies are rampant, and terrorism targeting foreigners is frequent.”

Camilla supported her argument with data from international organizations and research institutes. Information with credibility and expertise strengthened her claim.

“Moreover, there have been frequent terrorist attacks on foreign embassies recently.”

“Most were unsuccessful, but considering that even heavily protected embassies aren’t safe, it seems dangerous to operate alone even with bodyguards. We’re not just going to safe areas, are we?”

Given the situation, Lucia no longer objected. While saving lives was important, there was no need to insist if it endangered others.

I joined the conversation.

“Instead, let’s promise to prepare thoroughly if a situation arises where we must act alone. We’ll maintain contact within a distance where we can help each other at any time.”

“Yes, that sounds good.”

We, seated around the conference room, reached a consensus. Having agreed, it was now time to set priorities.

I showed them a list compiled by various governments over the past few months. The three of them pointed out what they considered high-priority items.

The first item identified was refugee camp relief activities.

“There are 60,000 refugees living here.”

Lucia pointed to a camp marked on the map. She was the one who had identified the first item.

“Officially, it’s reported as 60,000, but in reality, it’s accommodating far more people. The influx exceeds the facility’s capacity. Many people have pitched tents nearby, waiting for admission.”

Everyone knew the refugee camp situation was serious. We agreed without much opposition to start our activities there.

The next items were infrastructure restoration and monster elimination, which were designated as the second and third priorities after the refugee camp.

We decided to address all three issues simultaneously.

“Looking at the location of the refugee camp, it’s close to the border. Only 30km away.”

“Beyond the border is an unmanned zone, and there are cities between the border and the camp. It’s a distance easily traveled by magic or vehicle.”

“There’s a peacekeeping force outpost near the camp. If we get vehicle support from there, it will be easier to operate. It’s also easy to request assistance. We’re affiliated with the Union, after all.”

A formality, but true nonetheless.

Camilla calculated the distances between the peacekeeping force outpost, the refugee camp, the border, and the cities. Meanwhile, I contacted the outpost to see if cooperation was possible.

Fortunately, the response was positive, and thus our area of activity for the time being was determined.

As I organized the map, I cautioned the group:

“The Foreign Ministry has probably explained this thoroughly, but there are many rules to follow here. Not just laws, but customs and religious regulations as well.”

In regions where tribalism prevails, tribal regulations are treated with utmost importance. If we fail to respect these, the locals will no longer welcome us.

The same goes for religious regulations.

“In the Mauritanian continent, each country has religious police. They’re organizations that monitor whether people comply with the principles established by Al-Yabd’s Punishment Committee. They have the authority to arrest without warrants and impose immediate punishments based on their own judgment.”

Note that foreigners are also subject to punishment.

The religious police in Islamic countries, which correspond to those in Mauritania, exercise similar authority, and occasionally tourists are deported or fined for violating Islamic regulations.

“Don’t be complacent just because you’re a foreigner. Especially you, Lucia.”

I cautioned Lucia specifically.

“You’re not just a foreigner but a religious figure, so you’re more likely to be confronted by religious police. Try to avoid directly dealing with the police on the scene, and if possible, seek help from interpreters or diplomats. The Church has already requested cooperation from all embassies in the host country, so any embassy will do.”

“I’ll be careful.”

Lucia nodded with a composed face.

Francesca watched the scene with suspicious eyes, but fortunately, she let it pass this time.

As I cleared away the documents, I continued:

“And I have some business to attend to, so I won’t be able to join you for a while.”

“Business?”

Camilla asked with a surprised expression.

“What kind of business all of a sudden?”

“Schedule coordination. I need to look into the next deployment country as well.”

This deployment spans four countries and is a long-term assignment.

Unlike the Kiyen Empire, we won’t be staying in a specific region of a specific country but will need to cross borders.

I’ve set up appointments with local government officials regarding entry issues and activities. As a military attaché, I’m still a diplomat, so I should handle these matters.

After sending Lucia and Francesca out, I was in the middle of cleaning up the conference room when Camilla, who hadn’t left and was lingering around the room, cautiously spoke up.

“Um…”

I preemptively responded, as if I had expected this.

“You’re wondering if I’m leaving because of company business?”

“How did you know that? You’re like a mind reader.”

If it’s what she wants to say, it’s obvious.

I nodded silently as I packed my things. Camilla leaned her shoulder against the wall and gave me a questioning look.

“Are you leaving because of the warlords we dealt with before? Asen and Sanya?”

“Yes.”

At my straightforward answer, Camilla sighed deeply.

“Won’t the foreign company be suspicious if you leave now?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”

“Am I staying here?”

“You have to. I’m the one who received the orders.”

“Are you going alone?”

I placed the heavy bag I had lifted onto the table with a thud. The sound spread in all directions.

“No.”

“Then who are you going with?”

Well…

I put my hands in my pockets and stared into space, then suddenly answered like this:

“A cat?”

*

A tail sways between the curtains.

Knock knock. A gentle knocking sound is heard, and 2 seconds later, the door opens slightly.

“State the password.”

Thanos, behind the lock, unexpectedly asks for a password.

Looking down the corridor with an incredulous expression, I opened my mouth with a deflated voice.

“Is this the time for jokes?”

“A person can’t just be serious all the time.”

“Sigh…”

The lock is released, and I pass through the wide-open door. Jake, who was following behind, checks the surroundings one last time and locks the door.

I toss my bag onto the table and quickly survey the interior.

A swaying tail of a beastkin on a box by the window and a nymph gently shaking grass plucked from the roadside.

Screens installed along the walls. A technician wearing a headset.

Avoiding the tangled wires as I move inside, a dozen employees simultaneously look at me.

“…”

I took off my gloves.

“A warm welcome to all you suspicious tourists visiting this godforsaken country.”

Holding my gloves in my hand, I addressed the intelligence officers.

“Ready to raise some hell?”