I Became The Leader Of A Revolution In A Romance Fantasy

< Chapter 31: Evil Spirits of the Old World – 4 >

The Prime Minister squinted his eyes and asked.

“Shall we take a walk?”

“Sure.”

I stood up from my seat.

Then, I headed towards the lakeside with the Prime Minister.

#

The cool air of the forest permeated my lungs.

The sticky stuff clinging to me from the port was washed away refreshingly by the air.

I could understand why the nobility and the wealthy were so obsessed with suburban life.

‘In reality, the city ended up like that because they wanted to make money.’

They were the ones who reaped the benefits while leaving all the consequences to the poor. Hmmm, this feeling of a small, stirring revolutionary in my chest.

Just then, the Prime Minister started speaking first.

“Roche… he’s a Congressman now, isn’t he? When I received the message through Congressman Roche, I was honestly surprised.”

“I’m more surprised that you said ‘surprised.'”

It’s obvious the entire country is a nest of spies.

But the Prime Minister shook his head.

“Our intelligence agency judged that the aristocracy had been completely ousted along with the abolition of the royal family. Ha ha, these freeloaders.”

I looked down at the Prime Minister intently.

And I recalled the description from the original story.

“The Prime Minister of the Logres Empire always holds a ‘certain position’ concurrently. This is a tradition that dates back to the founding of the country by the ancestor who established it with sword and magic when the empire was just a small tribe…”

“If the head of MI6 says so, it must be true.”

The Prime Minister, who was also the Spymaster of the empire, raised his eyebrows slightly.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Are you saying it’s not true?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Hearing that cliché line from the espionage genre in real life made me realize anew that I had indeed fallen into a strange world.

Because it’s an island nation, the Logres Empire had always been attuned to the continent’s affairs even before it became an empire.

The legendary ancestor, now considered a figure of old tales, ‘Dragon King Pendragon,’ had unified the Logres Islands into one nation, ending the era of the Seven Barbarian Kingdoms, largely by cleverly leveraging continental powers.

By Dragon King Pendragon’s side was a wise advisor and sinister strategist,

According to legend, his name was Merlin.

He used to joke that his role was neither a Minister nor a Manager but practically a Mother to a bunch of brats.

When Mordred, another schemer, succeeded Merlin, a joke was formed.

M. The Prime Minister of the empire, concurrently the Spymaster.

The reality was neither a substitute nor an administrator, but the mother of a colossal brat called the Empire.

And the M of the time was precisely the man in front of me.

“Homeㅈ……”

When I tried to address him politely, the Prime Minister shuddered. He responded with genuine disgust.

“Oh, please. Let’s drop that surname. It’s been tainted daily by my idiotic brother in the tabloids. Just call me Mycroft.”

Isn’t it too long to call you that?

You will remain the Prime Minister from now on.

#

I got to the point.

“I received the invoice you sent. However, I was a bit confused whether you intend to collect money or slit someone’s belly.”

“Hahaha, isn’t it more like ‘We’ll slit if we don’t get paid’?”

Prime Minister Mycroft laughed heartily.

I couldn’t laugh.

‘Damn, it’s tough being from a small country.’

However, just because the country is a mess, doesn’t mean I am too. Especially with the special privileges of a transmigrator.

“Well, in my opinion, the Logres Empire’s stance is closer to ‘Even if we don’t get paid, slitting is a bit…'”

“……”

The Prime Minister’s eyes behind the gleaming monocle didn’t move. He maintained a charming social smile plastered across his face.

But for a very brief moment.

His plump tongue, which had been gliding smoothly like butter, stiffened.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He continued speaking nonchalantly, but in front of a transmigrator, concealing his true feelings couldn’t hide the truth.

‘I should have broken the author’s fingers before I transmigrated.’

The author had already detailed everything in the synopsis. The basic ‘layout’ of this world.

I continued speaking while looking at the water.

“From the Empire’s perspective, our Republic is in an ideal location. Whether it’s the east or west of the continent. Whenever one side expands, they inevitably collide with us. And the Empire does not desire stability on the continent.”

“Hmm, it’s a misunderstanding. The Logres Empire aims for the coexistence and co-prosperity of all civilized nations…”

“Let’s not pretend that the Empire has always been at peace by dividing the continent. At that point, it would be an insult to each other’s intelligence.”

“……Hmm.”

Prime Minister Mycroft let out a murmur.

But he couldn’t deny it.

「Anyone from Logres is born with ‘continent’ written in their left brain and ‘damn it’ in their right brain.」

No matter how vast their colonies were worldwide, the mainland of the Logres Empire was ultimately just a few islands adjacent to the continent.

Historically, whenever the continent stabilized, they always tried to conquer the islands, and the Logres Empire survived each time by relying on the sea, heavenly fortune, and the power of heroes.

However, this is now an era where guns and gunpowder overpower individual valor.

It is an era where high waves and fierce storms cannot stop steamships.

I brought up an issue with my own mouth that, according to the author, the Empire’s top brass are currently having divided opinions on.

“You do not wish for the Republic’s demise. The Republic must remain as a perpetual buffer zone so that a new hegemon of the continent will not emerge.”

“……”

“Therefore, the Empire has never considered the option of ‘gutting the Republic.'”

The Prime Minister remained silent for a long time.

Until the moonlight rippling on the surface of the water tilted slightly.

He then took a deep breath and spoke.

“That’s not entirely incorrect, but… it seems our Congressman doesn’t know me very well.”

“?

“I’ve come this far by gutting all the bastards who lie down and say ‘gut me.’ While it’s true that the continent needs a buffer zone, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the Republic.”

In other words, if you refuse to pay your debt, we’ll gut you and make someone else our buffer zone.

His eyes gleamed with a fierce fighting spirit, as if to say just that.

I instinctively recalled the Prime Minister’s nickname.

‘The Empress’s Attack Dog.’

“Of course, that’s true.”

I took a step back. He was not an opponent to be recklessly threatened head-on.

But my initial provocation was merely a setup for my next proposal.

I brought out the hidden carrot.

“And we’re not saying we won’t pay the reparations.”

“Hmm?”

His expression seemed to ask why we needed this conversation at all, then.

Seeing that expression, I smiled broadly.

‘So, from the moment we requested this conversation, they assumed we might outright refuse to pay reparations. Even with that condition, they found it worthwhile to meet.’

Conversely, this meant that for the Empire, the continent’s division was more important than the reparations.

Seeing my smile, the Prime Minister’s gaze darkened, realizing that I had seen through their position based on the earlier clues.

(I smiled to let him catch on.)

“Congressman Hastings is a tiring person.”

His grumbling voice lacked the thorough ‘gentlemanliness’ from earlier. It was purely the growl of the Empress’s attack dog.

“Haha, I’ll take that as a compliment. In any case, I have no intention of attempting an absurd deal with this. If the Empire’s stance is as we initially thought, I believe we can indeed have a constructive transaction.”

“A constructive transaction?”

The Prime Minister crossed his arms, his expression filled with distrust.

I wondered if his wariness of me had risen too much during this short meeting.

Regardless, I smiled broadly.

With the addition of the author’s insight, the Empire would never be able to refuse this proposal.

###

There were many reasons why the once-dominant Logres Empire was now likened to a ‘setting sun.’

If I had to pick just one, I would say it was because their colonial management had become ‘outdated.’

In other words, colonial management was no longer profitable.

Let’s borrow the original text’s description:

「As the necessity for economic monopolies through colonies decreased and industrialization progressed, the importance of infrastructure and skilled workers increased over cheap labor.」

Let’s add just two more points to this:

1. The gap between the colonies and the mainland had become too wide. The colonies could no longer function as a domestic market.

In the face of the Great Depression, where ‘free trade’ was treated as a joke, the size of the domestic market became crucial. The Logres Empire had to consider that more than 70% of its national structure was effectively nonexistent.

2. The accumulated conflicts due to harsh colonial rule had started to erupt. Even though the colonial enterprise itself had become less profitable, with rebellions and strikes causing chaos, most colonies were now operating at a loss.

In other words, the Empire was not in a position to act leisurely.

According to the synopsis, the Empire eventually shrinks as it fails to overcome this crisis.

In that situation.

#

“You must have heard that our Republic has recently significantly increased government spending.”

“Well, it’s only natural that the Reds took over the country.”

The Prime Minister chuckled.

But I nodded without minding him.

“Red or blue, the important thing is that we have started running businesses with state burdens.”

“?”

“If this situation is utilized well, don’t you think your country can enjoy the same effects without having to bear the government spending as we do?”

“Hmm…?”

The Prime Minister’s face no longer held a trace of laughter, and I smiled broadly at him.

“I propose economic cooperation. From my perspective, the economic portfolios of the Logres Empire and our Republic can coexist sufficiently.”

So, you need to fight the hardliners of the victorious countries for us.

Dividing and making another country a puppet is not a skill exclusive to the Empire.