Chapter 132
In conclusion, it could be said that the international organization’s reconstruction meeting did not end in complete failure.
The reason was simple.
‘If we miss this meeting, we can’t expect another one. The risk is too great.’
Even the U.S. knew that if this international organization fell apart, there would be no guarantee of another reconstruction meeting, so they eventually gave up opposing the sophistry of the others.
For now, they decided to focus on the reconstruction of the international organization and deal with the rest later, which meant that the Saintess of Orleans’s proposal was officially adopted.
The ones who benefited the most from this international organization’s reconstruction meeting were the Lord Protector and the Saintess of Orleans.
Under the pretext of having made concessions to the U.S., they gained the prestige they had long desired and could now exert political pressure on their rivals.
‘It’s unfortunate for Alicia.’
For Alicia, who had become Bahamut’s contractor, this was another setback, but there were clear downsides as well.
‘Diplomacy with the Asia region is effectively nonexistent now.’
The nature and tendencies of the Lord Protector and the Saintess of Orleans were firmly imprinted on everyone who attended this international organization’s meeting.
All the countries present at the reconstruction meeting clearly saw their shameless sophistry, and naturally, the U.S. and the Asia region, which had opposed their proposals, were now effectively in a state of hostility with their cabinet.
‘In this apocalypse, diplomacy with other countries isn’t that meaningful anyway. It’s not like we can go to war due to the distance.’
As a result, the international organization faced a crisis of collapse from the moment of its establishment, but the Lord Protector and the Saintess paid no attention to the crisis or the complaints and dissatisfaction of others.
After all, even if relations with the Asia region soured due to distance, it wouldn’t be a significant issue until after the apocalypse.
For now, during the apocalypse, it wasn’t something they needed to worry about.
In fact, diplomacy with neighboring countries was even more important during this apocalypse, and Bahamut agreed with this.
‘Well, it’s not like we got a chance to make a speech or make our name known.’
While the Lord Protector’s cabinet at least made contact through working-level meetings and unofficial diplomatic channels, showing some intention to engage with the Bahamut Cult, the Saintess of Orleans’s cabinet seemed to have no interest at all, as there was no movement to contact the Bahamut Cult.
Not even through working-level officials, and with the Bahamut Cult being deliberately ignored at this international organization’s meeting, no connections were allowed, so the Bahamut Cult couldn’t arrange any practical or diplomatic meetings with France.
If this were just France’s problem, the Bahamut Cult could have simply established diplomatic relations with other European countries excluding France.
‘If only France had rejected us, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But unfortunately, we couldn’t connect with any Western European countries led by France.’
The problem was the remnants of the European Union led by France.
It seemed they were already under France’s control, as all the European representatives visiting here were acting according to France’s wishes.
In other words, they also couldn’t—or rather, weren’t allowed to—establish diplomatic channels with the Bahamut Cult, an Asian country.
‘Racial discrimination in this apocalypse? Seriously.’
It was blatant exclusion of Asia.
While they didn’t openly practice racial discrimination, the underhanded exclusion was so blatant that Bahamut felt like laughing at how childish it was on the international stage.
Unlike the usual WWE-style hostility where, despite outward appearances, working-level exchanges and diplomatic channels are established, these people had genuinely declared UFC against Asia.
No wonder the U.S. was shocked.
Wasn’t international diplomacy supposed to involve the U.S.’s pro-Korea stance, which Britain and France would mockingly call “Yankee”?
‘The only saving grace is…’
At least the Bahamut Cult and the Asian countries attending this meeting weren’t completely invisible or irrelevant.
In fact, in response to Western Europe’s exclusion, Asia had also begun forming alliances to find a way to survive this apocalypse.
The declarations of the two heroes had already caused a stir among Asian countries, and while the U.S. was protesting against their actions, already…
“I’m Dang Xuan Cu from Hanoi. If my name is too difficult, you can call me Deng Chung-gu.”
“I’m Abdul Rahman Wahid from Java.”
“I’m Choi Yuna. It’s a pleasure to meet the representatives from Vietnam and Indonesia.”
Two representatives attending the international organization’s reconstruction meeting had come to meet the Bahamut Cult.
Deng Chung-gu from Vietnam and Abdul Rahman Wahid from Indonesia.
Relying on translation magic, Yuna smiled and expressed her pleasure at meeting the representatives from the two countries.
As countries that had made a name for themselves in world history, they were the next countries after Japan that the Bahamut Cult, based in Asia, needed to pay attention to.
‘It’s hard to call them official representatives. It’s more like a provisional government, similar to Kim Suho’s interim government in Seoul.’
Of course, these countries hadn’t yet reclaimed their nations and established proper governments.
They were still at the provisional government stage, and if you asked whether they could truly be called national representatives, it would raise questions.
But the reason the U.S. had chosen them was that if they succeeded in maintaining their regimes, they would be favorable to the U.S., and from the U.S.’s perspective, it was very difficult to find better representatives.
Well, if you looked hard enough, you could find provisional governments better than these.
‘The U.S. isn’t a charity. The fact that they weren’t chosen means that if they maintain their governments, they won’t be favorable to the U.S.’
But the U.S. wasn’t a charity.
As Steven had mentioned during their first meeting, the U.S. was also a country struggling to survive the apocalypse, and thus acted according to its national interests.
The Bahamut Cult had friendly relations with the U.S., and since it aligned with U.S. interests, they maintained a close alliance, but for other countries, the U.S. selected governments that suited its interests and acted solely for its benefit.
‘But the fact that the two most important countries in Asia, India and China, aren’t here is really… We need those two for things to work out. But unfortunately…’
Even the U.S. couldn’t touch India and China.
The two giant countries representing Asia couldn’t attend this international organization’s meeting, and no seats were allocated for them.
You could say that the U.S. and Western Europe had joined forces to exclude and ostracize India and China, but there was a reason for this as well.
‘Everyone is at the provisional government stage, but China and India haven’t even formed provisional governments yet.’
Simply put, these two countries were still focused on surviving the apocalypse and had no room to engage in international diplomacy.
In other words, they had failed to form provisional governments, and dealing with the massive zombie hordes pouring out due to their enormous populations was already overwhelming.
There were even rumors that their infrastructure had completely collapsed due to the apocalypse, effectively causing their civilizations to regress.
‘There was a rumor that they had managed to save one, but it disappeared the next day.’
According to information Bahamut had received from Anna, the U.S. had been trying to make contact with representatives from these countries, but every time they made contact, the representatives would be overrun by zombie hordes and disappear within a few days.
‘It’s truly the apocalypse there.’
The Indian subcontinent and China were literal hellscapes.
Countries bordering them were suffering greatly from the influence of these hellish continents, according to rumors.
“We’re finishing up our behind-the-scenes negotiations, and they’re still fighting.”
“They must be desperate.”
After finishing her meetings with the provisional government representatives of various countries, Yuna sighed as she watched President Arthur and the Saintess of Orleans still engaged in their debate.
President Arthur was lamenting that his arguments weren’t getting through, while the Saintess of Orleans kept asking what the problem was, and this back-and-forth continued endlessly.
“I can understand President Arthur’s feelings. If Paris becomes the headquarters of the international organization, the U.S. will have to spend a lot of money and manpower to set it up. That’s not in the U.S.’s interest.”
“It’s only in the interest of France… no, Western Europe, right?”
“Exactly. If you follow the logic the Saintess of Orleans is presenting, it’s about exploiting other countries to save Europe first. It’s laughable.”
Frankly, setting up the headquarters in Paris is not in the U.S.’s interest at all.
It’s only in the interest of France… or broadly, Western Europe, and the ones who would benefit the most are only France and maybe Britain next door.
That’s why President Arthur is so angry and opposed.
“That’s just thuggery.”
“The problem is that the Lord Protector supported it.”
Yuna watched the debate with a look of disbelief at the thuggish logic, and Bahamut agreed, but the problem was that the Lord Protector had supported it.
No matter how powerful the U.S. is, when Britain and France join forces, even they feel the lack of strength.
Before the apocalypse, the U.S. could have forced them to back down.
“But now, the U.S. lacks the strength to impose its will on other countries.”
It was a scene that showed how much the U.S.’s international influence had diminished.
Even though the logic was laughable, the U.S. was still trying to change their minds through words rather than actions, but those two had no intention of listening.
They already knew the U.S. didn’t have the power to enforce its logic.
“I feel sorry for President Arthur, who will have to deal with those two from now on. But we’ve already gotten everything we could.”
Of course, this was the U.S.’s problem, so the Bahamut Cult was relatively free.
The Cult didn’t have the power to directly intervene in other countries, nor did it have any reason to do so.
While it was a shame to lose connections with Western Europe, they had successfully made official contact with Japan and Southeast Asia, and could fully leverage their cooperation.
Rather than getting involved in their debate and showcasing the Bahamut Cult’s presence on the international stage, it was better to quietly pursue the Cult’s interests under the shadow of the U.S.
“It’s tough.”
“It is. I find it tough too.”
And so, the international organization’s reconstruction meeting ended with half success and half failure.
The delegation led by Bahamut and Yuna returned to their hotel to leave for Gyeongju the next day, and there…
“We’re back! What’s the result? How did the meeting go?”
“Hey, is it okay for a queen to be so defenseless like this?”
Alicia, who had boldly been waiting at Bahamut’s lodging, was there.
She seemed curious about the meeting’s outcome, asking Bahamut about it as soon as he returned, and Bahamut sighed at Alicia, who was shamelessly in his room, asking if it was okay for her to be there.
“Neither the parliament nor the Lord Protector cares about me. The news I’m most interested in right now is the outcome of this international organization.”
“The result is… half and half from my perspective. The Lord Protector gained momentum for governing. That’s about it.”
Bahamut delivered the bad news to Alicia, who was once again emphasizing her role as a puppet queen.
When he told her that the Lord Protector had gained a lot from this meeting, Alicia’s expression turned grim.
“Is there any benefit for me?”
“Not really.”
In fact, in the short term, the Lord Protector had gained immense prestige, which was bad news for Alicia.
“I knew it! It’s over now! My dreams and hopes are gone! The world is just crap! That lolicon Lord Protector is definitely planning to send me to the guillotine!”
So Alicia, realizing there was no benefit for her, fell into despair and made a sad face.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment