Upon arriving at Hotel Crossroad, it was utter chaos.
Thunk- Thud! Crash! Clang!
From every corner of the conference room, sounds of hitting, smashing, and breaking were rampant.
"Damn those barbarians from the North!"
"And you think you can talk, you dusty bastards from the West!"
A woman with dark skin wearing a turban and a man with pale skin in white fur clothes were trading blows,
"How dare you, a mixed-race slave, think of sitting at the same table as us?!"
"Of course not! Let's use this opportunity to overturn the hierarchy between humans and dwarves!"
A human king with a bushy beard and a similarly bearded dwarf were grappling with each other, rolling over the table.
Bitter enemies from all over the world were biting and tearing at each other.
Hair, beards, collars, necklaces, ornaments... they were all grabbing at each other.
Some of them had even fought shoulder to shoulder during the Imperial Conquest.
Among those who came as reinforcements during the goblin invasion, there were also those who were now punching each other.
Watching this thrilling group violence, I unwittingly muttered,
"...Wow."
No. At this level of mess, one can't help but marvel in pure awe.
Thankfully, it seemed they were all holding onto their last bit of sanity, as no weapons were drawn, only fists...
Crack-!
Just as I thought that, a female tribal chief lifted a chair and slammed it down on a nearby queen.
'Chair shot?!'
Correction. It seems they were only resorting to fists because weapons were prohibited in the conference room.
That clean chair shot was just the beginning.
Plant pots on the table were swung around, and the hotel's plate set shattered with a clang and crash.
Thick books and liquor bottles collided, ripping and breaking apart.
"Holy shit."
Staring blankly at the rapidly descending chaos of the conference room, I heard a voice beside me.
"This is quite romantic, isn't it?"
"...Romantic?"
Startled, I looked over, and there was the Emperor.
Leaning back leisurely in his chair, the Emperor was sipping his drink through a straw.
"Kings settling their age-old grudges not through war but with their own fists. What could be more romantic than this?"
"..."
I looked back at the chaotic battle royale.
'Is this the true romance of a fantasy world?'
Well, thinking about it, it's odd yet emotional.
These were the kings and leaders of various nations and groups, shedding their ranks to engage in a fistfight.
Thump!
Someone's nosebleed splattered on the floor right in front of me.
I realized anew that romance and barbarism are but a hair's breadth apart.
Stepping back slightly, I asked the Emperor,
"...Aren't you going to join in, Your Majesty?"
After all, the one who garnered the most resentment among the kings gathered here was none other than this man, the Emperor of the Everblack Empire.
Indeed, murderous glares were being shot his way from all around.
Thinking he might join in for a refreshing fistfight, the Emperor nonchalantly flicked his ear.
"Is there any need to kill them all?"
"..."
Now that I think about it, that's true...
It's rare for someone on the throne to also excel in combat, but the Emperor possesses transcendent power.
Looking around, I noticed that kings with particularly high personal combat abilities, like the Dusk Bringar sitting quietly in a corner, were staying out of it, nursing their drinks.
If she had breathed fire, this newly built hotel might have crumbled to the ground.
Other kings with exceptional combat abilities, like Kuilan, were shivering and holding back from joining in.
It's a relief they all have some sanity left... Wait a minute.
They're sane and still causing this ruckus?
Anyway, the kings gathered here fought each other as if spewing out decades, perhaps centuries-old grudges.
The Emperor clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"Look, Ash. What you're trying to unite are such deeply embroiled in their own interests, environments, and conditions, all harboring deep resentments against each other."
"..."
"Though we speak the same language, we are all different. To put it more bluntly, in reality, we all dislike each other."
The Emperor gazed at me with his deep golden eyes.
"Do you think you can unite such people?"
"We have no choice but to unite."
I answered with conviction.
"We are all targets that the monsters seek to kill."
The monsters don't engage in such mannered and romantic fistfights.
They would bite our throats in an instant, ending our lives.
The factions that joined the World Guardian Front earlier also quickly came under my command once the real threat of the monsters was demonstrated.
I believed I could bring the other kings under my command in the same way.
However, the Emperor scoffed at my explanation.
"Weren't most of those who first joined your command from the southern and border regions of the continent?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Even if the threat of the monsters is real, the southern and border regions are the first to be invaded."
The Emperor's voice was extremely cold but also rational.
"The more north you go, the more central the region, the less enthusiastic they will be to join."
"Even if the monsters come and kill us all?"
"Yes. Everyone will die. That's why the more urgent southern and border regions will put out the fire. The north doesn't need to bleed for them."
The Emperor smiled, revealing his teeth.
"The one who is desperate takes the loss, and the more the other loses, the more I gain. This is the interplay of national interests."
Suddenly, similar examples from Earth came to mind.
War, famine, climate change...
Even when threats that could destroy the world loomed, everyone hesitated when asked to bear the costs for their own country.
It wasn't a matter of blame or selfishness.
A leader weighing the gains and losses for their country is fulfilling their duty, and as humans, they naturally focus on immediate survival needs rather than distant threats.
But the monsters are real.
And they will devour the world in less than a year.
"Did you try to do politics solely for a greater cause, my son? Isn't that too idealistic?"
"..."
"Human enmity runs deep. Hatred even deeper. Accumulated over decades, centuries, to the point where crowned heads are swinging fists at each other like this."
The Emperor calmly surveyed the flying fists around him.
"Can you really form an alliance that overcomes this? Truly?"
The Emperor gazed at me, waiting for my response. Instead, I asked him,
"Then, what do you think is the best approach, Your Majesty?"
"If it were me, I wouldn't bother forming an alliance. I'd just drive out these unreliable rabble and form the front with only the Imperial Army."
As expected, it was the approach of an absolute ruler who could afford to be arrogant.
The Emperor waved his hand dismissively.
"I'd dispose of this decrepit fortress city and build a new one in the central region. I'd mobilize all the empire's power for a decisive battle against the monsters."
"..."
"But that's my way. And because it's insufficient, you're choosing a more difficult path, aren't you?"
"..."
"Now, I'll ask you again. How do you plan to unite these people?"
Instead of a clear answer, I let out a shallow sigh.
Then, I gestured with my chin towards the mess right in front of us.
"Anyway, I'll start by stopping this fight..."
It seems like someone is really going to get hurt soon.
Romance is all well and good, but if one of them gets seriously injured, there goes the alliance.
Rolling up my sleeves, I stormed into the battle royale, and the heroes under my command also poured into the conference room.
We began to separate the kings one by one from the fray.
***
Priests dispatched from the temple tended to the kings' wounds.
Thanks to their 'romantic' (?) fight, no one was seriously injured, but the atmosphere in the conference room was more hostile than ever.
If only they had become friends after their fistfight, as it happens in some stories.
"What the hell is the reason for us to unite!"
One of the newly arrived kings shouted.
His nose was stuffed with tissues, probably from a nosebleed, but his voice was firm.
"You want us to send troops, funds, and supplies to this remote southern wilderness for more than a year?"
"Why should we bear such losses!"
Most of the kings seemed to have intended to just lend their names to this grand-sounding 'World Guardian Front' and reap the honors.
That's why they had all willingly come to this remote place in the south.
They didn't want to miss out and suffer losses.
But I demanded their actual participation in the battle.
Then, the faces of most of the kings who had come here willingly changed.
To fight together meant, in other words, to bear losses together.
The kings did not agree easily.
Then the kings who were already part of the World Guardian Front shouted.
"The monsters are coming, how many times do we have to say it, monsters!"
"Ancient legendary monsters are continuously surging in! We've seen it ourselves! You all should have seen those thousands of monster hordes too...!"
And the rebuttal.
"If you've been holding them off so well until now, why the sudden fuss? Why do you need our help?"
"Is there some other ulterior motive?"
And the counter-rebuttal.
"The invasion of the monsters has been intensifying over the past two years!"
"And in the next year, even more and fiercer monsters will come! If the world doesn't unite, this front will collapse! Then it's all over for everyone!"
It's easier when they say what I want to say...
Anyway, endless arguments erupted from all sides.
"If we send our troops here, what if that damned bastard attacks our country?"
"What? Are you accusing us of something..."
Two kings from neighboring countries grabbed each other's collars.
It wasn't just these two.
Kings from neighboring countries with bad relations glared at each other with suspicion.
"Our country has suffered poor harvests for years, leaving our people starving. Without any support from you, now you expect us to take responsibility as one of the world's nations?"
"Our country was devastated by wars between the Empire and the Bringar Duchy. We have neither troops nor a penny in our treasury!"
"We can't dispatch troops! Not troops, nor a single gold coin!"
Of course, not everyone was negative.
But even those who were positive expressed their difficulties with the harsh conditions.
"Joining the World Guardian Front is good, but one year is too long..."
"We fought together against the goblin invasion, so we understand how tough the fight in Crossroad is. But how can our city survive if we send all our young people here?"
"When the Imperial Capital New Terra was blocked during the Throne War, the entire world's industrial logistics came to a halt. Our merchants nearly starved to death... Now that New Terra has finally reopened and we can breathe again, if you issue what amounts to a conscription order like this..."
Here comes the climax.
Kings of different races and those who still viewed them as slaves pointed and shouted at each other.
"If you don't drive out these filthy mixed races first, I'll leave!"
"Right, get lost! Or I'll split your head with my axe!"
"Aren't all four mixed races slave classes? Why are they occupying a place here? Don't tell me..."
"You're not thinking of abolishing slavery, are you? Our city's industry runs on dwarf slaves! Are you trying to kill us?!"
Humans and mixed races arguing,
"Our northern kingdoms have nothing to do with this war! Isn't this a matter for the southern front of the Empire?"
"We from the north will withdraw! We'll handle our own affairs!"
"What? Why should only we in the south bear the sacrifices!"
"Fine, let's all die together! Let's not stop the monsters and let them reach the north! Just watch, you northerners will also shed bloody tears!"
The north and south arguing,
"Is this a ploy for the Empire to weaken our forces and then restart a conquest?"
"The Empire has always harbored ambitions for world unification! Who doesn't know that!"
"After gathering such a large force and defeating the monsters, can you really disband voluntarily? Isn't this a plan for the Empire to swallow the world whole?"
Other countries pointed fingers at the Empire.
Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't dare oppose the Everblack Empire, but frankly, the Empire was weaker than before.
The first and second princes, who led the nation internally and externally, had died in a civil war, and in the process, more than half of the powerful army was destroyed.
The internal affairs were also shaky due to the months-long closure of the capital.
Now that they've made unreasonable demands to the whole world, the kings were eagerly raising their voices.
In the midst of the noisy conference room, I clasped my throbbing forehead.
The Emperor watched me as if he found it amusing.
- So, how will you tame them?
The Emperor was asking. I let out a small sigh.
It felt like a subtle test for the next emperor from my father, but what can I do?
Now is the time to unite people against the monsters...!