Volume 20 Chapter 5, Reactions from the Tower Side

Kousuke let out a sigh as he watched the images on the monitor.

He had thought that he had adjusted the power of the device after considering its impact, but if he had made a slight mistake, it could have affected the fleet as well.

Of course, there was also the humanitarian aspect of preventing harm to others.

But more than that, he wanted to minimize the casualties as much as possible because he thought that even a little damage to the fleet would affect future negotiations.

The monitor that Kousuke and his team were watching was originally part of the Tower’s functionality.

To be more precise, it was added after the functions of the barrier and attack were released.

If they didn’t know where to place the barrier or attack, there was almost nothing they could do, so it was apparently there to confirm the target location.

He wondered if such a high-performance monitor was really necessary, but he was grateful to have it.

Incidentally, Kousuke and the others were in the control room of Amamiya Tower, but in the conference room on the Administration Floor, high-ranking officials of the executive branch and the heads of Crown’s departments and above were gathered to watch the same thing.

The results of the meeting were so unexpected that everyone, including Kousuke, was a bit on the edge of their seats, but they had expected it to some extent and were able to recover more quickly than the rest of the group.

Kousuke and the others in the control room could not see it, but those in the conference room were still looking at the monitors in silence.

“Well, I hope this will make them pull out, but let’s see what happens.”

Kousuke muttered to no one in particular.

The response to that comment came from Floria, the most politically savvy of the members.

“I think they’ll pull out.”

“What made you think so?”

“Nobody could look at that result and think that their fleet would be safe. I wonder if they would be willing to sacrifice their entire fleet to fulfill the interests of the Kingdom.”

“Are you saying that the interests in the western cities are not so great that they would want to lose their armies to get them?”

Floria nodded at Shrein’s confirmation.

“More to the point, I think they would rather benefit from Amamiya Tower than continue to be hostile to it.”

“I see.”

Kousuke nodded in agreement.

Well, it was a military set-up, and although he didn’t find it interesting, he would just follow up as needed.

Since there were no human casualties on either side, or rather, it would be advantageous for them to proceed with discussions in the future, they would not complain, especially if they could be pulled out of the situation.

In the first place, Tower’s functions could not be used for other Continents, and hence there was no need to go to the trouble of an overseas expedition.

This would mean that the Kingdom of Column would continue to operate, so it would be best to maintain a moderate diplomatic relationship with its neighbors.

Since even Kousuke could think of something like this, Alec would have naturally thought of it.

“So, is it safe to leave the matter to Alec from now on?”

“No problem. I mean, that’s their specialty, so they’ll negotiate enthusiastically.”

It would be difficult to negotiate on such favorable terms, but now that they achieved that result, it was up to them to negotiate the rest.

And it was important to note that the results of the attack were not limited to the Kingdom of Column.

“Even if it isn’t – will it also serve as a demonstration against other cities on the Central Continent?”

“I have no doubt it will be.”

It was Shrein who answered Peach’s question.

“Well, it will affect not only the Kingdom of Column, but many other places as well.”

Kousuke chuckled at Floria’s comment.

“And by ‘various places’ do you mean the executive branch, Crown, and so on?”

“Of course.”

“Speaking of which, can this function be directed to the Tower’s Floors as well?”

Sylvia, who had been listening silently until now, asked, as if it had suddenly occurred to her.

“Well, I originally didn’t think it was possible. But when I was trying various things, I found out that I could do it if I used markers.”

For Kousuke, he did not intend to attack himself with it and commit suicide, but just knowing that he could do it in some cases was significant.

Incidentally, a marker was used as a guide when launching an attack.

This time, of course, Colorado had the marker.

Of course, even if the Kingdom of Column had taken the initiative and done something about the merchant ship on which Colorado was riding, it would be a possible target.

For example, they could have launched a direct attack on the merchant ship once it was attacked.

Kousuke was glad that it did not come to that.

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“What a surprise…”

Schmidt’s voice echoed in the hushed conference room.

“I think it would be quicker and easier to have them use the current attack to wipe out the monsters on the continent, don’t you think?”

“…Are you serious?”

Schmidt’s unusual light-hearted comment prompted Gazeran to ask.

“Of course I’m joking. If we do that, the ecosystem will be ruined, or rather, I don’t even know if any living creatures would survive the attack in the first place.”

“It wouldn’t do any good if we unleash that attack and destroy the town itself, you know.”

Dulles, who had been listening to their exchange, exhaled deeply.

“Just to be certain, can you build a structure that can withstand that attack?”

Alec’s question was answered by Dulles with a deliberate eye roll.

“You want us to collapse from exhaustion?”

It was typical of Dulles to never say it couldn’t be done, but this was effectively the same as saying it couldn’t be done.

“Of course I was joking.”

The conversation was a mixture of light talk and jokes, but it was impossible to switch the current mood without doing so.

While they were having this kind of conversation, a knock came on the door on the opposite side of the transition gate.

Since only a limited number of people were allowed to enter this place, they knew immediately who it was.

He was someone who didn’t need to knock in the first place, but his lawfulness revealed his character.

“Yes. Come in.”

Wahid answered the knock on behalf of the others.

Sure enough, the members of the Tower who had caused the commotion this time entered through the door.

At the center of them, of course, was Kousuke.

“As for the results, I think they’re up to the task, don’t they?”

“…I’d say it’s a bit too much.”

Alec answered without changing his tone, but still with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

“Huh? Is there a problem?”

“This matter will definitely spread throughout the Continent. If they think that Tower will suppress problems with military force, it will be awful.”

It was Alec’s opinion that there would be no positive results if he ruled by force alone.

It was because Alec held this view that Kousuke felt comfortable entrusting him with the executive branch of the government.

Of course, he also believed in using what was available to the maximum extent possible.

“Why don’t we just notify them that it is only for forces outside the Central Continent?”

Shrein interrupted Kousuke and Alec’s conversation.

Incidentally, Floria was not present here.

“…Well, we have no choice but to do so… Are you sure about that, though?”

At Alec’s confirmation, Kousuke shrugged.

“If I blasted something like that inland, it would be more than just an environmental disaster. I don’t intend to take on such a task. Besides, even that attack was already the most we could suppress, you know?”

Kousuke said with a wry smile, leaving everyone speechless.

“For reference, what would happen if its power was increased to the maximum?”

Kousuke answered Gazeran’s question with a troubled expression on his face.

“The land around where the Towers stand would only remain as small islands. The rest would be blown to the bottom of the sea.”

At Kousuke’s answer, Gazeran’s expression turned into a look that said he shouldn’t have asked.

Looking around, everyone had a similar expression on their faces.

“So, since we really don’t intend to use it to do that, please go in that direction.”

“Ah. I understand.”

“Well then. Is that all regarding this topic?”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Kousuke’s confirmation.

With that, the meeting was dismissed, but each of them had a lot of work to do, so they hurried to clean up the mess.