A Nation Beyond Common Sense

President Imavuel, who had introduced himself as the president, appeared to be a person with a fairly cheerful personality. Above all, he could be called a person overflowing with confidence. Look at him. Without hesitation, he was shaking hands freely with the diplomats of the Magnia Empire, as well as the diplomats of the other empires.

‘Since they fought that well against the Magnia Empire, is it only natural?’

He shook hands with him as well, exchanged a few words, and passed by, and from that appearance, although it could not be said that they had won, it seemed confidence had settled in him from the fact that they had not lost either. In any case, Baron Reiman thought that perhaps it was because they had such a result that they were showing that kind of confidence.

While such a large-scale welcoming event was held, this time, not carriages, but automobiles were provided, and they were able to board them. He thought the shape of the automobiles was also quite different from those outside. As he moved his body slightly, he thought the seats were fairly comfortable.

‘Their automobile technology is also quite developed.’

He thought that perhaps they might possess automobile technology even more outstanding than that of their Polia Kingdom. His homeland, the Polia Kingdom, was certainly developing in the automobile industry as well. However, he knew that it still could not help but fall short when compared to the empires.

‘We are still lacking in technological power compared to the empires.’

Of course, he thought that the gap might not be too great, but that did not mean they could be considered to have completely caught up either. Baron Reiman, who had been comparing this place with the situation of his homeland like that, saw the car slowly depart and begin entering the city center.

He saw the streetlights placed along the roads, the traffic lights located here and there, and the broad automobile roads stretching out widely. Perhaps it was being controlled now, as only the vehicles carrying diplomats were racing along the roads. But once the control was lifted, this place would also soon become a place where many vehicles came and went.

‘More importantly, how do these people obtain oil?’

As far as he knew, this country itself was located inside the mountain range. That meant there should be oil deposits, and deep down, he wondered if oil was found even inside mountain ranges.

‘They must have it, so they are operating things like this, right?’

More than that, he also wondered since when oil had been used here. The world had only recently begun using oil on a large scale. Of course, it had been used before that as well, but using oil to the point of fully changing even the system as it was now was a recent matter.

‘They also acquired our information and showed a similar pattern of development, but judging from the level of utilization, it seems they may have attempted it earlier than us.’

The place the vehicle arrived at after moving like that was called the Presidential Palace. Rather than feeling like a palace, the Presidential Palace, which felt more like looking at a mansion, was a very spacious white structure. When they arrived at such a place, he saw that quite a few people were already waiting.

‘It seems the major figures of this country have gathered.’

He could even see hundreds of reporters, at least, packed into the place. Deep down, he thought that whether outside or here, the behavior of reporters always seemed similar. The competition for coverage was no joke. The moment he thought that, he saw the diplomats of the empires who had gotten off ahead of them.

Amid their appearance, Baron Reiman also got out together with his attendants. Amid the flashes bursting from cameras, various voices could be heard, but as expected, because the language was different, he could not understand what they were saying.

However, if there was one thing he knew for certain, it was that the language these people used was Pito, the traditional language of the Colonial Continent. This could be called the language mainly used by the natives.

‘It is certain that these people had entered and lived here even before being colonized.’

There were still many things he did not know about their history, but from the language they used and other aspects, he could tell they had a deep connection with the people who had originally lived on this continent. Meanwhile, he wondered whether there was no resentment toward them in their emotions.

‘In a sense, were they not driven out by our ancestors and forced to hide here?’

Like other places, the Polia Kingdom had also advanced into the Colonial Continent, and in the past, when it obtained large colonial territories, there had been records of it massacring many natives. Although now, His Majesty the current king had divided the territories among his brothers and made them independent, that did not mean the past had disappeared.

‘Judging from their expressions, they do not seem to have any particular hostility toward us.’

Even though they had been invaded by the Magnia Empire not long ago, the expressions of the people of the Republic of Promance present here did not seem to show any hostility. They seemed to think of past affairs and present affairs as separate matters, and it seemed they thought of the war in a similar context as well.

‘I simply cannot understand these people.’

As Baron Reiman still did not know much about them, he had no choice but to think that there were many things he did not know right away. He thought there would likely be many things to find out while spending time here.

In that way, the diplomats of each country were able to exchange greetings with President Imavuel, who had come with them, and the leadership figures composing the Republic of Promance. And while attending the party held at the Presidential Palace that day, they were able to confirm at least a few facts.

‘This country is certainly a democratic nation with the ideology of egalitarian liberalism. And it is also a country of capitalists.’

Among the people attending the party, those who exercised considerable power and influence were all businesspeople. From that fact, the diplomats of various countries where monarchy was the mainstream had no choice but to think that it was somehow an awkward yet exotic country.

June 1.

The Polia Kingdom, the king’s office in the royal palace.

“Looking at the materials Baron Reiman sent, it is certain that the Republic of Promance is a nation that has formed a democratic society.”

“A country where all sovereignty belongs to the people and equality and freedom are guaranteed. It certainly seems right to say it is a nation with a strange ideology. Even the fact that they choose the representative of the country through voting still feels unfamiliar.”

“A strange ideology, huh. From this side’s perspective, it certainly could be seen that way.”

Since only one country was like that, he thought it was not unreasonable for it to be regarded not as a mainstream idea, but as a strange ideology. Meanwhile, he confirmed that peculiar circumstances had been detected. The strange name “resource acquisition rights” was something coming from the capitalists of that country.

Ian looked at the chancellor, who was examining the materials with a serious face in front of him, and asked.

“What do you think of the resource acquisition rights mentioned here?”

“I wonder if, because the resources they can obtain are limited, companies receive resources from the government.”

“That could be the case. It seems companies need raw materials, and through resource acquisition rights, they are allocated resources.”

“I do not know if it is a phenomenon that can be seen in an isolated country.”

If that was the case, he thought they could become quite a good resource import partner. A considerable portion of the resources produced in the Vincent Kingdom and Rubid Kingdom was being purchased by the Polia Kingdom, and if they passed the resources bought cheaply through that to the Republic of Promance at a high price, they might leave behind considerable profit.

In terms of distance as well, it was not bad. It was a country located on the same continent, and since the railroad was even connected up near the mountain range, we should be able to secure a smooth export route. Of course, since it would be moved through the tunnel in the mountain range, movement there might be somewhat delayed.

‘I will have to try proceeding with it.’

“For now, diplomatic relations seem to be progressing well. They also seem to want to actively conduct exchange and trade with the outside.”

“Since they must have been trapped inside the mountain range all this time, it must have been frustrating.”

“I expect many travelers and businessmen will come outside. More importantly, their population is truly surprising.”

“I saw it as well, and it was surprising.”

Do you know how large the population was while they had been practically trapped inside that mountain range? It was said to be over a full two hundred million people. With limited space and limited residential areas, for that population to exist, the thought of how they could obtain enough food to sustain such a population came first.

‘Even we, with generally many flatlands, have only recently exceeded a population of one hundred million, yet they have a population of two hundred million without even having many such flatlands. Just how did they secure that much food?’

He had already heard about their unusual farmland through the report. However, even so, it was absolutely not enough to feed two hundred million people. The chancellor also spoke as if this was what puzzled him.

“How do they obtain food to feed such a large population?”

“Indeed. I cannot understand it at all. It seems they are clearly obtaining food from somewhere, but I have no idea where that place is.”

“Since they were even more isolated by the Magnia Empire for one year not long ago, does that not mean they are obtaining food on their own?”

“No matter how much they overturned the mountains and created farmland on a large scale, the numbers simply do not add up.”

“I feel the same. They will send more information about them soon, so perhaps we will be able to learn information about that then?”

“To do that, we will have to wait for now.”

Amid these questions, three days passed. And through the information delivered at that time, they were able to learn just how quickly the common sense they had possessed until now could collapse.

“Is this true?”

“…It seems to be true.”

“So this thing called resource acquisition rights literally means choosing the desired resource and determining how much of it they can obtain?”

“It was not what we had expected.”

“They were able to obtain far more resources…”

The reason they reacted like this was nothing else. Surprisingly, in the information Baron Reiman, who was in the Republic of Promance, had sent, there existed something that “produced” resources. In other words, instead of digging into the ground and mining resources, resources were being created somewhere.

‘Is this even proper information?’

The information delivered this time was so far outside the realm of common sense that it made him suspect that perhaps incorrect information had been sent. However, no matter how much he examined the materials, they had even marked them accurately as if to say there was no mistake in the notation, showing that it was true.

“I do not know if I am seeing this properly.”

“It seems you are seeing it properly. There is no way the content would change.”

“What does this seem to be? Producing resources… Is such a thing even possible?”

“For now, perhaps the most likely possibility is ancient ruins?”

“Ancient ruins. That is right. There was that.”

If there was a place that most exceeded common sense, it would probably be ancient ruins. At the very least, they even released monsters, and at the same time, there also existed a mineral containing tremendous energy called White Crystal. In that case, it meant that ancient ruins existed inside the mountain range where that country had been established, and they had explored and utilized them from early on.

“I envy them. A device that produces resources.”

He thought he understood how they had achieved rapid development while isolated. If this was true, the parts that allowed their country to develop could be explained. If they could produce resources, it clearly meant they could also produce food.

Then what were the farmlands carved out of the mountains? Were they simply for show? If not, did specific conditions have to exist?

“The empires that learn this fact will probably become noisy as well. From their perspective, it is a device with tremendous value.”

“Even so, they are in no state to covet it.”

The timing was appropriate. If it had been before the Great War, they would have attempted to attack the Republic of Promance no matter what losses they suffered. Whether through the tunnel or through the sky, they would have tried to break through somehow. But now? They had not only lost tremendous human resources, but many of their foundations had also been destroyed.

Only now, after several years had passed, had they finished restoring their infrastructure to some degree, but economically, they were still crawling along the bottom. A war when they were finally trying to recover? It was close to impossible.

In such a situation, even the Magnia Empire had failed to produce proper results for one year, became afraid that it might fall into the quagmire of the Great War, and ended up concluding a peace agreement with them.

‘At this point, there is no justification at all for attacking. They have even gained an outline of those people to some degree now. They have come to know that they are not a country that can be dealt with easily.’

If it were an unknown opponent, they might be able to attack recklessly, but since they had come to know about the opponent, they would have no choice but to become even more reluctant to attack. Whatever the case, for now, it was a situation where they could do nothing to the Republic of Promance.

“Depending on what they do, the global resource market could fluctuate from now on.”

“It seems we must create a policy to prevent this. In addition, not only we, but countries around the world may need to band together and regulate the resources that will come over from the Republic of Promance.”

“We thought they would be a place to export resources to, but unexpectedly, it has become a matter where we have to worry about what they will export.”

Of course, since they still did not know how many resources they could produce, there was nothing they could be certain of yet. If the method of producing resources cost more than theirs, then it could actually be a situation that was not bad.

‘It means they are an unknown country where not everything has been revealed yet.’

He thought it was a country they needed to learn much more about. At the same time, deep down, he thought that the possibility that ancient structures like theirs might exist somewhere in the world could become an even greater reason to search for ancient structures.

‘The problem is that even if they are discovered, it will not do if they are not in our territory. It could pointlessly become something good only for others.’

The only ancient structure located in our territory could be said to be Goblin Island, where goblins were produced. Thinking of that fact, he suddenly wondered whether it was really right to say that producing resources was true.

At the very least, they were even producing goblins, which were living creatures. He thought that perhaps that was actually even more incredible. Because what belonged to someone else looked better, he had failed to think about what he himself possessed.