Very Wrong Reincarnation: Isekai with Game Nation

Chapter 24

In the conference room, or rather my office—spacious enough to hold a meeting—a dozen people were present. Normally, except for Nathan, the cleaning folks, and food delivery personnel, there wouldn’t be more than two people here at any time, aside from the two guards outside.

"So, the situation at hand..." I began, reading the update from our units in Valur. "Magically, they've incited a civil war, and the emperor is on the run," I uttered, incredulous. It seemed like Hollywood-level nonsense—how could they instigate a civil war in just two weeks homework? "Now, plans. Anyone with suggestions?" I asked, looking around as everyone whispered and gestured to each other. At that moment, Leo placed a coffee on my table. One of the attendees raised their hand. Unable to remember their names, I used my ability. "Commander Robinson," I said, sipping the coffee. "Bleh, bitter. Leo, milk," I ordered, drinking water and looking at Robinson intently.

"We have to communicate with the de facto emperor, Ledrich, to cooperate in capturing Emperor Auxas. We can leverage concessions and show our force. They might come to the negotiation table if we show an inch of power," he suggested.

"Ledrich, huh," I mused, scrolling through the information. "The problem with that guy is he's too moronic enough to fall into our schemes, even taking a hostile stance towards us when our forward units acted without my permission. Isn't that amusing — right, Smith?" I said, glaring at him. Of the three branches effectively operating outside Cignus, his unit tended to cause the most trouble.

"Yes, Your Excellence," he acknowledged. No longer just a governor, after all, I was practically the president of the transition government.

"Now, should we really have to intervene? Neither of them are friendly to us. The current emperor is too competent to be left alive, and the de facto emperor is too stupid to understand our motives and power, likely to attack us after taking down the current emperor." I contemplated the situation. "How do we force these guys to straighten up without a word?" I thought aloud. "Nukes would be a good choice, but we don’t have any," I said, as everyone remained silent, racking their brains for suggestions.

"We could puppet them, perhaps, Mister President," suggested Heinze from the southern regional office. "We could control the empire if we control the emperor."

"Puppet..." I considered the suggestion but quickly dismissed it. "That's a no-go. Understand our current situation. We can't control an entire country without messing up. Controlling the central government, maintaining stability, and recovering them could be detrimental in the long run, so I reject that idea."

By population size alone, even if we controlled them covertly, it wouldn't be profitable in the long run. Any rebellion, especially a large one, would force us to expend unnecessary resources on something we didn't directly own. After all, they're just proxy puppets to us, not full-fledged territories worth investing in.

"We need a solution...," I continued, leaning back in my chair. "Something that demonstrates our power and forces them to recognize their position without sparking widespread unrest."

"What about the day Ledrich's armies arrive at North Palmer? We could have them..." Smith began explaining, and I found myself intrigued and impressed. It was a solid plan, the kind of 'what if' scenario that had potential.

"That would be killing two birds with one stone," Smith continued. "He should understand our firepower and capability... Your Excellency."

"I'm impressed," I said, grinning with satisfaction. "Let's go with that plan." I praised the troublemaking general of our armed forces, feeling prideful for the first time in days. "Good job, Smith. Folks, I authorize this operation. Anyone against it?"