The Martial Unity

The moment the man began, Rui understood exactly why he was there.

He was here to try to wring Rui’s gifts from him without needing to commit to the Sage-level task force. They were greedy for his power but had no intention of doing the bare basics of what he required in return.

Rui needed to hammer through the head of not just this man but also the president of the Republic of Gorteau to acquiesce to his demands.

“You’re dooming your nation with your desire to win the next election.”

Rui’s sharp voice cleaved through the man’s monotonous diplomatic spiel.

The smile on the man’s face waned. “Pardon?”

“You heard me,” Rui growled. “I understand that committing to this will not be good for your electability, but frankly, it’s better than allowing massive amounts of harm to not just the Republic of Gorteau but to countless other nations as well.”

The man tried to maintain a cordial atmosphere. “Your Highness, this is a complex problem that requires deep thought and shrewd problem-solving-“

“Save the nonsense for someone else,” Rui snorted. “There is only one problem. That problem is that you want to win the next election, and you know that you will earn the ire of your traumatized citizens if you are perceived to be hawkish and militaristic.”

“We are a democracy, Your Highness,” the Secretary of State grew a bit firmer upon the fact that Rui was not willing to maintain a veneer of civility. “We are by the people, of the people, and for the people.”

“Hah,” Rui scoffed with a hint of contempt. “Give me a break.”

The Republic of Gorteau was merely a democracy in name. In reality, it was closer to a corporatocracy like the Shionel Confederation. Politicians represented the donor class that supplied them with money. Countless industries, interest groups, and power blocs funded different politicians in the legislative and presidential candidates to represent their interests. It wasn’t even illegal. Political action committees, also known as PACS, were simply legal bribery that openly took place in the Republic of Gorteau.

“Regardless of what you think of our polity, we cannot dismiss civil sentiment. We cannot dismiss the will of our people,” the secretary of state insisted.

“I think the single greatest will your people have is not die,” Rui glared at him with disdain. “If they understood everything that we do…”

“But they do not, Your Highness,” the Secretary of State bluntly fired back. “We are dealing with frightened and traumatized people who now think that war and the Martial-industrial complex are the most evil thing in the world. If we send away our Martial Sage at this point in time, we will lose the next election without any shadow of a doubt.”

“Fool. If you do not commit to the Sage-level task force, there may not be an election next time, how do you not understand this much?” Rui spat.

“You underestimate our power, Prince of Kandria,” the Secretary of State shook his head. “It appears that your success in the previous war has led to the depreciation of our power. Need I remind you that if not for us of the Democratic Socialist Party holding back the full might of Gorteau, the Kandrian Empire would not have been able to survive.”

Rui scoffed. “Impressive how you are able to spin treachery and corruption into such a positive light.”

Then again, that was the genius of his father. He not only managed to bribe and manipulate the democratic socialist party into crippling the Republic of Gorteau, but he made them feel good about it, which is why they never stopped even after the Kandrian Empire was clearly winning the war.

“Regardless, the Republic of Gorteau will be able to withstand any potential onslaught of the quasi-Transcendent beasts with the power of our Sages,” the Secretary of State uttered with complete conviction. “We will not fight against the will of our people.”

It was just a pleasant way of saying that they didn’t want to lose their positions of power. Rui shook his head.

He had already realized that there was no way he could convince this man to take the plunge. If that was the case, he knew that it was almost hopeless to convince the President to make the sensible choice. He heaved a sigh as he shifted his gaze to the expanse of the Gorteaun city he traveled above.

He had to admit, it truly reminded him of modern cities on Earth. In addition to the other truly remarkable feats and accomplishments of the Republic of Gorteau in its ascent to becoming an unrivaled economic powerhouse, he could only conclude that the nation must have had some truly shrewd and highly competent leaders and founding fathers.

It was truly unfortunate that the country had been cursed with incompetent, corrupt, and greedy leaders in the present age. President Raymond’s decision to go to war and this new administration’s unwillingness to go on a war footing when it truly needed it was going to destroy what was otherwise a truly remarkable country.

“We have arrived at the Presidential Headquarters, Your Highness,” the secretary of state tried for a perfunctory smile. “Madam President herself is here to greet you and welcome

you.”

Rui glanced outside as the convoy of flying carriages descended down upon a pathway outside the presidential headquarters. On the other side was an enormous gathering of people and the press.

CLACK

The moment the door opened, he was greeted with a wave of cheers and applause, much to his surprise.

It appeared that the Beggar’s Sect’s propaganda had begun penetrating the powerhouses as well.

While they did not worship him, their minds radiated positive emotions towards him. Perhaps it was because the Republic of Gorteau was a highly non-religious society, or perhaps powerhouses had too firm of a control on their people. Regardless, Rui was glad not to run into a nation that treated him like the literal incarnation of God.

A small smile emerged at the edge of his mouth as he waved to the people of Gorteau before turning to meet the most powerful person in the entire nation.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Prince Rui,” President Amelia greeted him with a sharp smile. “I am the President of the Republic of Gorteau, looking forward to cooperating with you in a path to the future.”