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The world is changing rapidly.

From a high vantage point, it’s not easy to feel those changes, but… there are eyes that can see it from down low.

Whenever I borrow the eyes of the believers who pray to me, I can quickly sense those changes.

From a high viewpoint, you can see the overall situation, but observing the details is quite a challenge…

Perhaps that’s why the gods in the Divine Hall like to use LD to see the world from the perspective of the believers.

Even Asherat, who is working over there, seems to be addicted to it.

Anyway, if we look at the overall situation of change…

First and foremost, the biggest issue is the conflict between the divided Romania Empire—north and south.

They keep growling at each other, little skirmishes happen at the border, territories shift back and forth…

Of course, it hasn’t escalated into a full-blown war.

The emperors of both nations probably know this: if they face each other head-on, they will both face destruction.

There are slight differences in national strength and alliances due to neighboring countries, but ultimately, if the two nations clash, it will turn into a colossal war.

Even if one side wins, what they would gain is just an empire resting on ashes.

That’s why the two empires maintain a tense relationship without actively trying to end each other.

Well, it’s actually better that way.

War, especially a total war that burns everything, consumes a lot—food, money, and lives.

Instead of burning all that in war, if used elsewhere… they could accomplish so much more.

Not that I outright deny war. Some progress does arise from it.

But a full-scale war? Absolutely not! If everything is reduced to ashes, what can you possibly gain?

What happens after such a war… well, it’s obvious. A great empire would shatter into dozens of kingdoms.

Thus, the two empires are not trying to kill each other directly.

Let’s take a look at the power difference between the two empires for a moment.

While there are slight differences in strength, they are fundamentally almost equal.

In terms of economic power, the south holds a slight advantage.

This is due to the ability to recruit mages through Procyon and the overall agricultural abundance of the southern region, meaning they aren’t lacking food at all.

They do share a border with the Lizardman territory, but the Lizardmen aren’t really interested in the humans’ empire, so their diplomatic stance is passive… just kind of like indifferent neighbors, really.

Additionally, there’s an active coastal area for fishing, which also means there’s an abundance of fish-based food, contributing to a large population and significant wealth from trading and alliances with Rattkinia, aimed right at the soft underbelly of North Romania.

However, a downside exists: while they have numbers, their military strength is a bit weak, their overall equipment modest, and they mostly rely on infantry.

They might have a lot of foot soldiers, but their combat effectiveness isn’t very high—mostly lightly armed commoners whose lacking firepower is supplemented by hired mages from Procyon.

In short, their military is way too weak! They have all that money and population, yet…

Now, let’s talk about North Romania.

The strength of North Romania includes… well, for starters, they control Sirius, the capital of the Romania Empire.

This gives them a sense of legitimacy and keeps the empire’s loyalty intact.

Among the empire’s treasures, they hold the Undefeated Flag… which isn’t all that significant, but hey, it’s something.

Out of the three treasures of Romania, the Immortal Crown is missing, but the other two—the Indomitable Spirit and the Everlasting Sword—are held by each nation.

The Everlasting Sword is a bit shaky on its legitimacy, so it doesn’t hold up well as a claim to power… let’s just gloss over that.

If all three treasures were held, their legitimacy would skyrocket, but with the Immortal Crown missing, that’s impossible. Right.

Anyway, back to the strengths of North Romania.

Holding Sirius also means they possess the Epona Knight Order, which is based there.

Even when the Romania Empire split, part of the Epona Knight Order broke off and headed to South Romania, yet the majority, made up of horse beastmen, remained in North Romania.

The land of Arcadia, the home of many horse beastmen and the former cradle of the empire, is still part of North Romania, so the Epona Knight Order has maintained its scale.

Moreover, even aside from the Epona Knight Order, they can secure a good number of horses.

Thanks to that, North Romania’s cavalry force is quite substantial.

Also, possibly due to its neighboring Elves in the Great Forest, or maybe because they gather food from hunting instead of farming, the overall proficiency of archers is impressively high.

Furthermore, possibly due to being adjacent to Sagarmatha, the dwarves’ stronghold, they engage in lively trade with the dwarves, ensuring their troops are well-equipped.

Though they do struggle with food and money, the overall quality of their army is vastly superior to that of South Romania.

Given this situation… North Romania might prefer to maintain pressure through diplomacy rather than resorting to direct confrontations.

Ahem. To summarize North Romania’s strengths: they are militarily strong.

While they have connections with both Elves and Dwarves… an alliance between them is probably out of the question, so we’ll skip that. The one advantage is that they can acquire dwarven goods cheaper than South Romania.

As a result, the number of dwarven equipment exported to South Romania is minimal, and this has contributed to the weakening of South Romania’s military.

Of course, North Romania has its downsides too.

The biggest downside is that they suffer from chronic food shortages.

Thanks to the chilly winds coming from the frozen snowfields in the north, about 30% of North Romania’s territory is impractical for farming.

At least potatoes can grow well there but… that’s only enough to avoid starving.

However, hunting is quite developed, and animal furs are sold as local specialties.

Also, the gigantic creatures found only in the cold north can be sold for a high price, be it meat, fur, or even bones.

Just catching one can provide enough meat for a village to feast for days and still have plenty left to sell!

And yes, the cold north also has giants, but they don’t have any influence strong enough to affect other places.

They’re creatures that can barely survive unless the temperature is low.

Anyway, due to such food-related issues, North Romania doesn’t have the capacity to raise a massive army for expeditions.

Oh, there’s another downside: nomads.

While Wallachia effectively blocks many nomads crossing the plains, it’s not the only route they have.

Nomads that frequently cross over, pillaging and causing chaos, are bothersome—like cockroaches, really. You can’t ignore them, but you can’t eradicate them all.

If the nomadic tribes from the plains were to unify into a massive force, the situation would be different, but… it doesn’t seem like that will happen anytime soon!

In any case, North and South Romania are generally holding steady under those conditions.

Unless a major change occurs… this state of affairs will likely continue.

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I once thought that.

What to say. Hmm. Was I short-sighted?

Or did I not suspect that problems would arise from within?

To explain the situation, the emperor of North Romania Empire died, and a new emperor ascended.

That’s where the problems began… um… this new emperor of North Romania is…

To put it bluntly, a fool.

Greedy, arrogant, and unable to feel satisfied unless swinging everything around as he pleases.

A fool who can’t even recognize that he’s manipulated by the sycophants always surrounding him.

How could such a fool become an emperor? Was the previous emperor’s eyesight worse than a rat hole?

It’s not like there weren’t other bloodlines left to take the throne. Hmm…

I don’t know. Something must have happened. Sure.

Anyway, due to this fool-emperor… or rather, this emperor-fool, North Romania began to creak little by little.

He slashed the military budget, initiated large-scale civil engineering projects, built a royal villa, and established pleasure gardens… it all seemed like someone was deliberately trying to ruin North Romania.

Nobles opposing this emperor did increase, but… the emperor is still the emperor. They didn’t outwardly express their dissatisfaction, just simmered with anger internally.

Then, this fool detonated a massive bomb.

 

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