Ideologies
Yuuji sat before the Guardian Overseer and Nazarick's Defense Commander, his eyes gazing at Albedo's beautiful, slitted, golden eyes and Demiurge's diamond gems as his lips curled into a soft smile.
On his side, Lelouch had picked up one of the reports on the table, specifically the ones regarding Nazarick's current defenses, and chose to let Yuuji take the reins for the meeting.
"Firstly, I would like to establish the agenda for the meeting."
The two guardians nodded in stoic reverence, though determination and absolute loyalty still apparent in their eyes.
"The first topic would be regarding Nazarick's current economic situation and plans to invest in the economy of other nations.
Secondly, to establish an information network consisting of undercover agents and spies within other nations for the purpose of intelligence gathering.
And lastly… For Momonga, Aika, and I to establish ourselves as high ranking adventurers in Re-Estize."
Even before Demiurge, who was already on his feet, Albedo rose from her seat and placed her hands on the table, leaning towards Yuuji.
"Yuuji-sama! That is too dangerous! How could three Supreme Beings leave the safety of Nazarick and go to another nation, which isn't in our control yet, with so many dangers yet to be known?!"
"I fully agree with Albedo's concern, my lord. Moreover, to do so without any guards… How could we serve as your shields and ensure your safety?!"
Yuuji raised his hand and the two guardians halted their stream of concerns. But, while they had stopped expressing their concerns verbally, Yuuji could still see their opposition to the sheer notion of having the supreme beings outside of Nazarick within their eyes.
"I understand your concerns. However, let us discuss the previous points first before I explain our reasoning behind this decision."
With such words, both Albedo and Demiurge had no choice but to obey and sat back down to their seats.
At this point, both of them could not understand why the supreme beings would decide on becoming an adventurer in a kingdom in which they have no information or control over.
If it was for information, they could simply task the two of them to send their spies and agents to the kingdom, as they were already planning to do.
'Could it be… No. No, it couldn't be… The Supreme Beings have expressed how much they care about us…'
The terrifying thought of the Supreme Beings deeming them as incompetent and decided to take matters into their own hands was quickly dismissed by Albedo.
After meeting them yesterday within the Amphitheatre, Albedo could see that the Supreme Beings did not merely see them as tools. In fact, Momonga had personally referred to them as their children.
So, this should not be the reason behind his decision.
But if it wasn't, then… It could only be something beyond their meager intelligence could come up with.
Truly… She knew that the intelligence and wisdom possessed by Yuuji and the rest of the supreme beings were beyond her reach. But now… to actually see it in person was truly awe inspiring.
"Well then, first regarding Nazarick's economic situation and plans to invest in other nation's economies."
Yuuji picked up the report Albedo had made regarding the current financial situation of Nazarick, including all details regarding the Yggdrasil Gold needed to maintain the various traps, Mercenary summonings, pop monsters, etc. and upkeep the great underground tomb.
It was an extremely detailed report regarding every single aspect related to the topic. Just by reading these, he would have all the knowledge he'd need to understand Nazarick's finances deeply and make appropriate decisions.
That said, if it wasn't for his Investment Proficiency, Management Proficiency, Enhanced Memory, and Accelerated Learning Speed, it would've been too difficult to understand and truly comprehend the report in such a short amount of time.
It was no wonder that Momonga couldn't comprehend these reports even though he was a veteran salaryman.
But, revising these reports could be done at another time.
"I see you've worked hard to produce these reports. You even included the amount of gold Draupnir produced if all of its eight copies were turned into gold. Thank you, Albedo."
"Thank you for your praise, Yuuji-sama."
Having read the report, Yuuji now had a clearer understanding of Nazarick's finances at this point in time. And truthfully, if they were to simply stay and live within the confines of the underground tomb, they could easily do it for decades, especially with the Yggdrasil Gold they could infinitely generate with Draupnir, the World Item Momonga had acquired in the last moments before they were transported to the new world.
However… That's not what they plan on doing.
"As explained in Albedo's report, Nazarick is in no dire need of funds for the upkeep of the tomb, especially with the existence of Draupnir. If we were to simply live in hiding and never interact with the outside world, we could live in abundance for decades. However… Those outside will definitely find us sooner or later. And as you might imagine… They will not simply let a treasure trove remain unclaimed."
The temperature around Albedo and Demiurge instantly fell as their expressions turned even more cold and stoic. If they weren't in the presence of two supreme beings… furniture would've been destroyed in their rage against the very notion of inferior beings daring to take a step into the holy grounds and home of the supreme beings and even think of plundering it.
Yuuji simply smiled softly at their cold display of anger and continued.
"That is why, we will need to strengthen ourselves in case such a time comes that others wish to harm us, or even prevent it from even happening in the first place. And one way to do so would be to acquire more resources which could be done by investing in others' economies, and letting their gold flow into our own treasury."
Gold from the real world may not be usable for the Guilds' myriad of functions, as all of them required Yggdrasil gold. However, it would allow them to trade in the new world and gain resources for Nazarick's growth.
Even useless items could be turned into Yggdrasil Gold by using the "Exchange Box". While the more useful and interesting items could be researched or used for their purposes.
The two greatest minds of Nazarick fell into a deep thought, processing each and every word uttered by Yuuji in detail, dissecting it carefully as to absorb every single wisdom contained in his every word so they could perhaps understand a sliver of his intention.
Then, a look of realization came to the both of them.
"However, my intention, as you may have already guessed, is not to simply collect resources."
With eyes wide in realization, Albedo muttered.
"It is… to control their economy. Am I right, Yuuji-sama?"
Yuuji nodded, his lips curling into a soft smile.
"Indeed. By investing in their economy, we would be able to easily control the direction their nation is going by simply tugging at a few strings of the marionette, supplying Nazarick with the resources we need to grow. And if they prove to be a liability more than a profit, we would be able to easily destroy them as well by simply cutting the strings and letting them fall to the ground."
The two guardians nodded in understanding.
It was as Yuuji had said… By controlling their economy, they would be able to easily shape the future of the nation to their will. May it prosper under the rule of the Supreme Beings, or be destroyed from inside out as its people suffer from poverty, hunger, and war.
Instead of taking them over through force and war, they would be able to exert an absolute control over the future of a nation by controlling the invisible strings of the nation named "gold".
"However, controlling the economy of an entire nation would be impossible without information. Thus, we would need to establish a network to collect information within these nations."
Yuuji then turned towards Lelouch.
"And, thanks to Lelouch's abilities, we've ascertained a bit of the structure of the three nations we are bordering."
Lelouch placed down the report he was holding back down to the table and faced the two guardians.
"The three nations closest to us are the Re-Estize Kingdom, the Baharuth Empire, and the Slane Theocracy."
Located northwest of Nazarick, Re-Estize was a large kingdom occupying most of the western continent with a population of over nine million souls. However looking behind the thin veil, it was a failed state, suffering from near-constant political disorder and civil unrest.
Moreover, the kingdom was also in frequent conflict with its neighboring nation. With a bulk of its army consisting of mostly conscripts taken from villages and small cities who held the rake many more times than a sword, the kingdom engaged in small territorial skirmishes at the Katze Plains every year during its harvest season. And with its farmers conscripted into soldiers, the food production within the kingdom slowed dramatically over the years.
On the other hand, the Baharuth Empire, which was located east of Nazarick, was one of the strongest nations in the region. They posses a powerful armed force as all imperial soldiers in the Empire were professionally trained and equipped with the latest magical equipment provided by its ministry of magic.
A single knight of the empire, trained and equipped, could easily defeat more than 10 conscripts (farmers) of the kingdom. Thus, while the size of the armies during skirmishes between the two nations were vastly different, the results were mostly a draw.
While the resources needed to train and equip a single knight was vastly more expensive than conscripting 10 villagers, with their farmers workers not conscripted into the military, food production and the economy could still function even during war times if a full-scale war were to erupt; a stark contrast to the kingdom's situation.
And lastly, the Slane Theocracy was, as suggested by its name, a theocracy centering around a main governmental body that worshiped the Six Gods. They were a highly religious, orthodox state, promoting human supremacy.
Their doctrine revolves around the "Gods" they call the Six Great Gods. As such, their country was divided into six different religious sects, each with its own intelligence agency focusing on one expertise they're skillfully good at.
Due to their humanocentrism, they are in frequent conflict with other non-human kingdoms, especially the Elven Kingdom and had used Elven prisoners of wars and slaves as a bulk number of their workers.
Their economy, essentially, depended on these elven slaves, thus not suitable for any sort of investments.
This was why Yuuji only said to invest in the Kingdom and the Empire.
They also seemed to have institutionalized a divine magic training system that was comparable to the Baharuth Empire in terms of arcane magic.
Thus, their forces mainly consist of regular knights as well as divine magic casters. But the most important and dangerous scripture they need to be careful of is the Black Scripture. It seems they have extremely powerful members when compared to other denizens in the world.
"...and while their strengths are not known, it'd be safe to say that they were superior to the former nations I explained."
Lelouch crossed his arms and legs as he explained to the two guardians.
Last night, while trying out his abilities, he had actually looked into these three countries by scrying into the notable "characters" he had seen from the anime and collecting as much information as he could.
Although most of his knowledge about them came from the anime, he was still able to confirm much of his knowledge about the country and accumulate more details regarding their culture and current state.
Meanwhile, both Albedo and Demiurge sat in silence… speechless.
Even after employing numerous magic casters and going through great lengths to collect any sort of information on the three nations, they failed to even scratch the surface.
But alone… Lelouch had collected such a detailed and thorough insight into these nations, down to their political, military, and economical structure and weaknesses.
How astounding… No, could this be what they should expect from the greatest mind of the supreme beings…?
"That said, we still don't have enough information…"
While the information he has regarding these three nations had been quite detailed and extensive, there was still a possibility that the reality they were in differed from the anime.
Thus, there was a need to actually collect information in this world and experience it themselves.
Yuuji nodded in agreement.
"I agree. That is why we should plan on creating an information collecting network in these three countries to provide the appropriate nudge towards a more favorable direction for us when needed."
The two guardians nodded in understanding.
"This is where the plan for Momonga, Aika, and I to go to Re-Estize as adventurers comes in."
Once again, both Albedo and Demiurge rose from their seats in opposition to the sheer notion of letting the supreme beings be without guard in an unknown and dangerous space.
"Yuuji-sama, it is too dangerous. Please reconsider. Or bring me and a few others along so we can protect you!"
"I agree, Yuuji-sama. Even if we understand that your strength knows no bounds… We could not let even the tiniest chance of you and the rest of the supreme beings be in any kind of danger!"
Yuuji nodded in understanding and looked at the two guardians with a soft smile.
"We will be fine. The three of us will be equipped with a World Item, and we will also have Lupusregina Beta come with us to be an adventurer."
"Even so…"
More than her feelings of not wanting a supreme being to be in a dangerous space without guards, Albedo felt a deep fear and worry for Yuuji being in a far off place outside her reach.
But seeing the resolute determination and faced with his devastatingly beautiful smile, at this moment, Albedo could not find the words to deny him…
"Yuuji-sama… Please reconsider."
On the other hand, Demiurge still had not given, and bowed in reverence to persuade his master to not take on such a dangerous plan.
"Our goal in becoming an adventurer isn't solely to collect information. It is to create a name for ourselves… as heroes of the kingdom and the people."
A look of confusion flashed across the guardian's faces as they tried to understand his words…
Then slowly… a look of realization and understanding began to appear.
"Could it be…?"
Yuuji nodded.
"In this time of conflict and danger, the people would rather trust a group of adventurers, who had protected them from various terrifying monsters and calamities, went through thick and thin together, and give them hope and safety more than if we were to suddenly appearing out of nowhere and try to befriend them."
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