Author notes:
New chapter is up alongside the pictures!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/waZgkRa3UQhqKQBi9
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"... And that will be it for this press conference. As I had said prior, I have a limited time slot. If you want to be a reporter worth your salt, you may want to do some prep before heading over to Stockholm."
"Marshal, may we assume that the Stockholm Conference is set in stone?"
"While there's no exact timetable, Stockholm has been chosen by the leaders of the world as a conference. It will be where major nations will be drafting, or at the very least, negotiating for a humanitarian accord. That's all coming from me, dismiss."
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I watch as the floor flickers before the scenery changes from the conference room to an overhead view of Berlin. Despite the overcast caused by volcanic ashes, the city below is still bustling with activity. Reconstruction effort is in full swing, with those who lost their homes relocated to military housings with full amenities. The housings are made from general-purpose military tents or containers, providing the displaced citizens with warm shelter until their homes are deemed safe and secured. The process isn't long though, with the reconstruction period finishing up soon. And even with some parts of the city being partially useable, it doesn't affect the overall liveliness of Berlin.
Berlin has grown into a mighty capital, going as far as expanding beyond its old city walls in the middle of the Months of Demons. A new wall segment is built ten kilometers away from the former city walls. The new area encompasses the smaller settlements and suburbs, with city development designating the area suitable for economic expansion. Land is a rarity in this day and age, hence apartment complexes are constructed daily, with citizens being given incentives if they relocate their family into one. With many people flocking into the new establishments, their old lands are bought up by the government to be converted into further city amenities or industrial complexes. Sometimes, a prime real estate is snagged to be rebuilt into a military installation.
In short, Berlin is changing, day by day, uncaring of the damage it incurred by natural disasters. Speaking of natural disasters...
I glare to my front, where a certain Will of the Planet is chilling and sipping on her wine glass. The effect of my disgruntled gaze would have been more pronounced, had I not been cuddled and pet like a housecat.
The one being glared at, Gaia, has taken on the form of a refined young lady with short blonde hair and ruby-red eyes. Gaia revels in my annoyed gaze and smugly gestures. "Go on, say it."
I nearly bristle at that if it weren't for Yggdra patting me on my hair a few times, saying. "There, there..." Her head pats have a surprisingly calming effect. That's the literal Mother of Nature for you, though Yggdra ranks way higher than a mere Gaia. That's beside the point, however.
I raise a finger at Gaia. "You, what the Hell was that six weeks ago!? The entire planet is plunged into chaos, too many lives were lost, not just Belkans! I get it that Belka would have been affected in some manners, but an entire planet? What the Hell were you thinking?"
Gaia shrugs. "Yes, yes. How sad, how depressing." Gaia puts down her wine on the glass table separating her from me. "But I have a good reason."
"Good enough to throw your human lives, even though you want humanity to progress?" I quipped back.
Gaia replies. "Some of them may die," The Will of the Planet then places a hand over her heart. "But it's a sacrifice I am willing to make. Besides, humanity breeds like rabbits. As long as I, or Yggdrasil, or you, or that Vill-V girl, don't make the planet uninhabitable, humanity will pick itself up in no time." Gaia said, half in jesting.
She then turns serious. "It has been a calculated move, to be honest. A bit of a low blow to be sure, but it can be seen as both an opportunity and punishment for Belka's lack of oversight regarding the Lyssa matters."
I just squint my eyes at her with my eyepatch removed before visiting Yggdra in her abode. I already know where she is coming from, I am just honestly peeved by the development. It scrapped a couple of my strategic plans in less than an hour. The thing about Belka being a nation-sized charity organization has been a matter of it being the best we can go about. To accomplish plan V2, namely, to unify the world, firepower isn't the only thing you need. You need hearts and minds too, and being an alms-giver is a surefire way to earn that... The only detriment is that it's a hella expensive endeavor and annoyingly irritating to work out the logistics for it. We are, quite literally, everywhere, all at once.
More troubling is that the world is already asking questions about Belka's military might, trying to flip the stigma regarding our nation worldwide means shoving ourselves right into the spotlight. It's gonna be a delicate game of balance, a game of cloak and freaking shotgun on this one. Too mysterious means citizens won't trust us, while too overbearing means warring nations will just sign a cease-fire immediately or band together all at once. If Erusea suddenly sues for peace out of fear, we won't be able to absorb the country without making ourselves a warmongering nation. As ironic as it is, war must continue, with us holding out a first aid kit to an enemy while a pistol is being pointed at their head.
'Carrot and a stick is old school. We go with morphine and gun by now.'
Truly, we're stuck with a most troubling punishment and reward game.
Gaia continues after she measures my expression. "I could see you working your mental gymnastics, you know. Why the Hell do you even need me to explain myself for even?"
"Yeah well, it might make me feel a tad bit better inside." I gestured my two fingers in a measuring manner in front of her gaze.
Rolling her eyes, Gaia replies. "OK, fine. I was a bit impatient, alright? With you two's skewed perception of time, quite literally in your case Yuki, it would have taken generations and two more World Wars to fully complete plan V2. The Kaiju was made not just as a medium for me to balance out the karma that woman Lyssa had been avoiding by hiding in her pocket dimension. It's also there to propel your V2 plan forward as you would have guessed."
Gaia promptly raises a hand up before I can say anything. "And before you ask, I ran this by Yggdra before I started moving the plates around. She allowed it after seeing the time-saving benefit, otherwise, it would have been just the Kaiju going around crushing your army. There's no way in Hell that I'd made a beast of that size being that stupid to be a punching bag for half a day, you know."
Hearing the explanation, I sigh while directing my gaze upward. "Seriously?" I did not just pout, truly.
Yggdra giggles sonorously before one of her fingers starts poking my cheek. "Honestly? While I can understand while you have been biding your time, keeping our military might under a veil of shadow... What's the gamer word again...?"
Gaia perks up. "Tech-ing up?"
"Yeah, that one~!" Yggdra said, looking down into my eyes. " I truly don't see the need for you to keep building up your tech when you're already leagues ahead of our nearest competitor, which is the Japanese Empire. Until what point would you deem it's enough to roll over the entire world? With the revised V2 plan, you just need a tiny bit of your attention in the short term before you can subvert the minor nations. Placing some movers and shakers here and there before you can influence the medium ones. All the while your military can contest with your enemy openly and swiftly. Other superpowers, well, let them fight among themselves. Once the rest of the world realizes the true extent of your reach, there would have been so few allies left on the board for them to band around. Thus, with a final move on the board, you can checkmate the rest of the dissidents."
I just gaze into her beautiful orbs, mulling about her honest thoughts. She... Is not wrong. I have been taking my sweet, sweet time here. My thought was to nation hopping, one superpower at a time with absolute technological advantage at my behest. It would have taken some time, well, a lot of time, but it will be a foolproof plan. Once countries like Japan, China, Rusviet, and the USA are out of the picture. A new world order will be made with Belka as the sole superpower, other nations would have to either fold or risk isolation, stagnation, and total collapse.
The revised V2 plan has the same end goal, just different execution methods... I guess I was just peeved because my former plan was flipped on its head, more so than the actual loss of innocent lives that weren't from our nation. I have caused so much destruction in my two lives combined that I honestly, don't really care about the deaths caused by Gaia.
Sighing, I relent. "Fine, fine! I can see your point, though it will be a pain to manage everything but I will follow it through. I will just chalk this up as my punishment for letting Lyssa run amok."
Gaia raises an eyebrow at my wording before looking over to Yggdra. "Did she truly not realize?"
It's not Yggdra turns to sigh and smiles wryly. "Yup. That she did." Yggdra then start ruffling my hair. "Silly girl, you still haven't realized that your old V2 plan hadn't accounted for the fact that you now have your temporal clones? With the clones, you can literally be everywhere, anytime, doing everything, all at once. That's a major reason why we even pushed up the schedule in the first place?"
It's at this moment that my collective brainpower grinds to a halt, with myself and every single one of my clones saying. "Well, fuck me!" How the Hell did I not notice that!?
"Gladly!" Yggdra chirped. "But only later~!"
I have the decency to blush at that.