Became a Dark Merchant in the Academy - Chapter 285



284 – Fake_6

“So, 2 middle-class battleships were sunk, 5 were heavily damaged, 3 Heine-class battleships were heavily damaged, 7 Sofas were damaged, 2 Enterprene-class aircraft carriers were heavily damaged, Admiral McClair was killed, and the total number of crew members killed was 5,311, 3,255 were missing, and 14,289 were injured. In addition…”

“How could that happen?”

“This must have come as a surprise attack. Otherwise, our allies, who are more than twice as strong as the Eastern Alliance, would not have been treated like this.”

“That’s right. So we should declare war. In the first place, there’s talk that the Sky Island crash incident was related to those guys…”

“stop.”

Glass Castle, Palace of the Holy Empire of America.

The First Prince of the Holy Empire, who had been receiving reports on the Ogisawara Islands clash that had occurred the night before along with the ministers lined up on both sides on behalf of the Emperor who was not feeling well, waved his hand and calmed the commotion.

“So is it us or them?”

Receiving more reports than this only makes me more upset because the extent of the damage is becoming more accurate, and it only gives me a headache because I worry about what I will have to do in the future.

What matters now is which side initiated this.

“In our report, it says that the Eastern Alliance launched the torpedo attack first, and that Admiral McClair was killed in the missile explosion, leading to the engagement. On the other hand, the Eastern Alliance says that our side was far…”

“You’re arguing the opposite? If we hadn’t made a surprise attack, our troops wouldn’t have been treated like this.”

“That’s right, this is the Eastern Alliance deceiving us. His Highness the Crown Prince must declare war on those arrogant monkeys…”

“I told you to stop!”

The ministers continued to call for war, fuming that their country had been attacked.

When their loud voices showed signs of the conversation going in circles rather than having a solid conversation, the First Prince raised his voice.

“But…”

“If you don’t shut up, I’ll make you spend the rest of your life supporting your children.”

“…”

“Keep going.”

However, when he tried to continue speaking, the First Prince made a direct threat.

The ministers seemed to be somewhat dissatisfied, but they kept their mouths shut and bowed their heads.

“No, they are claiming that we attacked first and that we simply acted in self-defense.”

So here’s the report coming back.

In short, it was said that there were conflicting opinions.

“What about the evidence?”

“The battleship that was initially attacked on our side has sunk and is at a depth of 2,000 meters under the sea, making it difficult to investigate at the moment. On the other hand, the Allied Forces are presenting evidence that our side fired the missiles first, and have responded that if they do not receive a response within 25 hours, they will make this matter public to the world.”

It was said to be disadvantageous.

“Hmm.”

In times like these, the only place we should trust is, of course, our own navy.

If a crown prince of a country does not trust his own navy, how can he trust that of another country?

Even if there was solid evidence, it was a position that had to be taken that way.

“That’s strange.”

What was the reason for the confrontation between the Osawara Island fleets?

I unofficially requested the Eastern Military Alliance to investigate the truth because it would be bad if it was known about what happened in Okinawa.

When the Donggun Alliance tried to summon the ambassador by making threats in a counterattack, they simply showed force to intimidate him.

To be honest, this is an incident where two S-class heroes, who are key figures of the country and in some ways more important than members of the royal family, have gone missing.

Although, I really did feel like using force.

‘But I’m not sure.’

Although the American Holy Empire was overwhelmingly stronger than the Allied Powers, the decision to use force or go to war was not easy, and more than anything, the information coming from the intelligence agency was full of inaccurate speculation, so if they pushed ahead with it and the outcome turned out to be a surprise, they would inevitably face criticism from the world.

So, even if there was a provocation, he made it a point to avoid fighting unless the Donggun Alliance attacked first or unless serious damage was suffered.

And that too in his own name, as the next emperor and the current crown prince.

Even assuming the Navy had a swollen liver, this was something that had to be done.

But seeing that the Donggun Alliance was presenting evidence so confidently, it seemed that they were quite confident.

So if their claims are true, it means that their country’s navy ignored the crown prince’s words and launched a preemptive attack.

No matter how I looked at it, something was strange.

“How should we respond?”

“Response. Is conversation difficult?”

“If that doesn’t give you an answer to this… then I have no intention of talking…”

“I have no intention of talking.”

“We must declare war.”

“But there is no evidence. If what they say is true, there could be a backlash. So I think it would be right to first pretend to negotiate and buy time, gradually impose economic sanctions, and then collect evidence.”

1. Let the prince remain silent for a moment.

I guess he thought I was worried.

The ministers opened their mouths again.

“Declaration of war. Haa, didn’t you tell them to shut up?”

“That’s…”

“Get out.”

“No. That, that’s not it.”

The first prince silently nodded to the ministers who continued to advocate war.

Then the guards waiting outside the door ran in, subdued them, and dragged them out.

“lowering!!”

“It’s unfair. We are being treated by monkeys who ignore the Empire─”

embrace.

Who wouldn’t get excited?

Even so, war is not something that can be decided easily.

“Clean up quickly.”

The first prince rubbed his temples and forehead with his hands as if his head was aching.

And how much time passed?

As the First Prince slowly looked around the quiet space, the remaining ministers swallowed their saliva.

“Hmm.”

The first prince trusted his country’s navy.

But now, no matter how I looked at it, it was disadvantageous.

Not a power issue, but a public opinion issue.

That’s why the first prince endured the slight fever rising in his head.

If you make a mistake here, you might end up giving in to your stupid younger siblings who are always eyeing your spot.

“What should I do?”

But that doesn’t mean we can back down completely.

Young people from our own country died due to attacks from other countries.

If we had just backed down here because it was disadvantageous, that would have been a problem in its own right.

World opinion, national opinion, and the lynxes waiting for an opportunity.

We had to come up with a way to handle all of that at once.

And the First Prince thought there was only one way to deal with them all at once.

“We need to bring evidence that they were wrong.”

evidence.

Evidence that the Donggun Alliance committed such a thing.

That was needed.

Even if this side made the mistake first.

I had to bring evidence that the Donggun Alliance was wrong.

“However, we need to salvage the battleship in order to investigate. The Eastern Alliance has a battleship in that area and is in a standoff, and even if we resolve that, it’s hard to predict how long it will take since the battleship is 2000m underwater.”

The subordinate who heard the prince’s words made an expression that said that was impossible.

“Why is there a need to salvage the battleship?”

The first prince clicked his tongue and shook his head at the sight of his subordinate.

“underneath…”

“Why did this happen in the first place?”

Then he tapped his head with his index finger as if to tell her to think.

“The reason why this happened is that Taylor and Elizabeth went missing in Okinawa… Ah!”

The subordinate muttered for a moment, pondering the meaningful words and actions of the first prince, before letting out an exclamation of ‘Ah’ as ​​if something had occurred to him.

“If you say Okinawa…”

“But, my lord, that is too risky.”

“That’s right.”

But then the ministers also showed expressions of realizing something.

Those expressions weren’t very good.

This was because the number that the 1st prince could put forward was dangerous in many ways.

“Then come up with another way. I will listen to what you have to say.”

“”…..””

However, the words of the first prince did not show even the slightest movement as if there was glue applied to their mouths.

Since this news was delivered in the morning, there are now 11 hours left, not 25.

They did not have the courage to decide the most important political issues within 11 hours.

All those with courage were dragged out.

When there was no answer even after waiting, the first prince slowly opened his mouth again.

“I guess not. Anyway, it seems like they want to make it public. Then, shouldn’t we make this public too? No, let’s put more flesh on it.”

Paladin in the Sky Island crash incident.

Taylor Marvel and Elizabeth Hudson in the Okinawa incident.

Where did it all connect?

Wasn’t it a union of the two armies?

If you want to go to a public opinion war, then just do so.

Of course, I secretly wanted to hide the fact that three S-class heroes were dead or missing.

If it was announced that the hero’s power had been reduced by 30%, there would only be one place that would be happy.

And that’s not all.

If three S-class heroes are missing, both security and the economy are at great risk.

That’s understandable, as the place they were in charge of started to float in the air and the burden on the other S-class heroes increased.

There is also the possibility that a previously dormant villain organization will run wild, or that their business areas will be disrupted, or that the Mexicans will seize the opportunity to target the South.

‘I guess there’s nothing I can do.’

If there had been no time limit, and if he had been willing to listen to the conversation, he could have devised several ways to get back, but there was no other way right now.

Give up the flesh and take the bones.

‘Ha. This is difficult.’

I feel like the future of the American Holy Empire, which seemed so bright just a year ago, is now clouded.

The first prince prayed that this matter would be resolved as quickly as possible.