chapter 382: dice (5)

    “...so, since both sides have that weapon, neither will launch a preemptive strike. if they shoot, we’ll shoot; if we shoot, they’ll shoot. unless someone has a death wish, there’s hardly any reason to use it.”

    “oh, that’s ironic. but i get it. the more you have, the more you stand to lose. only a madman would use it. in a way, it’s like it’s half-sealed, isn’t it?”

    as i wiped my face with the handkerchief rina had handed me, i explained the concept of mutual assured destruction (mad).

    the idea itself was simple enough for rina, a person from a medieval world, to grasp.

    put simply, it’s akin to “if i die, you die too.”

    but the deeper you delve into it, the more flaws and limitations surface.

    “but do you really think that can prevent war? i feel like the day will come when it gets used...”

    rina hesitated as she shared her opinion, looking at me apologetically. i handed the handkerchief back to her and replied calmly.

    “the moment it’s used, the whole world will turn against you. still, like you said, there are limits. if things go awry, there’s no room for flexible responses—it just devolves into ‘if i go down, you go down too.''”

    “then why even create such a weapon? sure, it’s to utterly subdue the enemy, but isn’t it just too reckless? i mean, even one of them can wipe out a city, yet there are thousands of them...”

    rina shook her head, clearly struggling to understand. from her perspective, it might be possible to sympathize, but it would still be hard to truly grasp.

    it’s not just rina—einstein himself once said something similar.

    if he had foreseen hiroshima and nagasaki, he might have torn up the theory of relativity.

    even today, the world is moving toward reducing nuclear weapons, but there’s rarely talk of abolishing them entirely.

    they’re simply too powerful.

    even a weak nation with nuclear arms becomes untouchable to military superpowers.

    no matter how mighty the u.s. is, it’s helpless in the face of nuclear missiles.

    explaining why such weapons were created would require diving into world war ii, which is a very long story.

    but i could at least explain why nuclear weapons were mass-produced.

    “it’s not that there were no alternatives—it’s that there was no other choice. the world was split in two after the war.”

    “huh? split in two? but you said your world has over a hundred countries.”

    “it was about ideology.”

    “ideology? like what philosophers talk about?”

    “exactly.”

    understanding ideology itself shouldn’t be too hard. in this world, as in earth, philosophy has its roots in ancient times.

    moreover, humans here have developed philosophy further by observing and learning from elven civilization.

    this is the same species that, until the brink of the race wars, faced severe discrimination as an inferior species under the elves.

    despite the era, their understanding of human rights is surprisingly solid, which hints at their progress.

    “one ideology emphasizes the collective, while the other prioritizes the individual. these two ideologies split the world in half. and the nations that embraced them were the strongest of their time.”

    “those are some extreme opposites. wouldn’t another world war happen because of that?”

    “strangely enough, there was no direct conflict. they didn’t have the energy to fight after the war, and the two nations had actually been allies during the war.

    instead, other countries fought wars over ideology. in our world, we call this the cold war.”

    “it sounds just like the state of the human alliance after the race wars.”

    “exactly.”

    a similar situation existed here as well. after the race wars, the human alliance underwent that process, eventually becoming the minerva empire.

    but during that transition, countless conflicts arose.

    the final victor was the current imperial family and the house of requilis.

    the rest were eliminated to prevent future threats to the imperial family.

    even the kingdom of teres participated in the war but gained little.

    it was a half-baked cold war, so to speak.

    “so, the world can really split in two because of ideology, huh? as long as the nations are superpowers, i suppose...”

    “sounds like the future of alvenheim and helium, doesn’t it?”

    “huh? oh, yeah. it does.”

    rina seemed flustered, nodding as if i had read her mind.

    her gaze silently asked how i knew.

    i responded with a faint smile.

    it wasn’t hard to deduce.

    as long as i’m alive, there won’t be direct conflict, but alvenheim and helium are fundamentally different.

    the chosen of the gods versus those victimized by demons.

    religiously, ideologically, and even racially, they’re set up for competition.

    “that future won’t come anytime soon. helium still has much to prove diplomatically and otherwise.

    and as long as arwen and cecily rule, direct military clashes will be rare—or so i think, at least.”

    “what about our empire? what will happen to us?”

    “i’m not a prophet, rina. these are just guesses. and there are many fundamental differences between the world i lived in and this one.”

    rina seemed disappointed by my firm answer.

    i, on the other hand, casually picked up a cookie.

    honestly, there are too many variables in this world to give a definitive answer.

    the gods might intervene, or demon worshippers might cause chaos.

    in fact, there’s evidence suggesting demon worshippers have twisted history before.

    elena’s recent obsession is precisely because of that.

    “do you have more questions?”

    “yeah. do you have books like the chronicles of zenon in your world? books that turned the world upside down, i mean.”

    “that ideology i mentioned earlier, the one emphasizing the collective, came from a book. it split the world in two after it was published.”

    “i see. but why did such an ideology become the foundation of a nation—especially one of the strongest?”

    “that’s a long story, so let’s skip it for now. anything else?”

    rina asked me a variety of questions after that, mostly about policies, politics, and history.

    unlike science, which she struggled to grasp even with drawings, these topics were easier for her to understand.

    though this world resembles the middle ages and maintains a class system, the concept of human rights has surprisingly taken root, albeit faintly.

    take the kingdom of teres, for example.

    the zeros revolution turned the country upside down, and the chronicles of zenon nearly sparked another revolution.

    though both ultimately failed, the people learned they couldn’t be treated as pawns and that united, they could be terrifyingly powerful.

    “didn’t your world have nobility?”

    “some places did, and some didn’t. even where it existed, the systems varied.

    the flow of history... it’s hard to argue with the way she phrased it.

    i lifted my teacup to gather my thoughts.

    while the essence of this world differs, many aspects of its historical flow are strikingly similar.

    for instance, despite the different races, the mere fact that civilizations were established indicates that their historical progress mirrors each other.

    events like the zeros revolution, the atrocities committed by the savior in the past, and even the species-wide war—all of these reflect a similar flow.

    even if science and culture differ, the progression is eerily similar.

    more importantly, if an industrial revolution were to occur, the oppression of workers would naturally follow, leading to the rise of communism.

    it’s almost inevitable.

    after organizing my thoughts, i set down my teacup.

    rina, her face adorned with a smile full of anticipation, was waiting for my answer.

    i scratched my cheek and let out a small laugh.

    being treated like a prophet felt oddly complicated.

    “first, there’s something you need to know. the ‘chronicles of zenon’ were nothing more than a hobby for me.

    i had already planned to write a novel related to my world after finishing the chronicles.”

    “you’re really going to write it?”

    “i’ve already decided. but now, after hearing your thoughts, i’m slightly worried.”

    “what about?”

    “rina, rapid advancement inevitably leads to major upheavals.

    it doesn’t matter if it’s science or culture. it happened in my world, and it’s happened in this world too.”

    “...”

    “in my world, there was an event similar to the zeros revolution. it was called the french revolution, and it clearly shows what happens when such a revolution succeeds.

    do you want to know?”

    “what... what happened?”

    “most of the nobles, including the king and queen, met their end under the guillotine. they were executed by the citizens, the commoners.”

    “.....”

    gulp—

    hearing my words, rina nervously swallowed, her eyes wide as she focused on my story.

    “afterward, various scientific inventions emerged, like steam locomotives, and two world-scale wars broke out. how many casualties do you think resulted from those wars?”

    “well... i’m not sure? maybe similar to the species war, around 3 million?”

    the species war claimed about 3 million lives, most of whom were massacred beastfolk.

    it might seem low, but considering the war relied mainly on close-quarters combat, the number is somewhat understandable.

    “what if i told you the total number was 100 million?”

    “what?!”

    “100 million lives were lost. in just two wars.”

    “...”

    the incomprehensible number left rina speechless.

    such rapid advancements in science and culture always come with horrifying side effects.

    rina’s mouth clamped shut at the unimaginable numbers.

    the rapid development of science and culture had led to such horrifying side effects.

    it would be the same when writing the next piece.

    there would be people like rina trying to imitate it, claiming it came from future knowledge.

    that’s why i’m writing about world war ii.

    to show what kind of horrors unfold when war breaks out in a world where science and culture have advanced greatly.

    “the choice is yours. if civilization advances, not just you, but everyone will find life more convenient. plus, the likelihood of war breaking out will decrease.”

    “...then why are you even telling me this when you’re just going to publish it in a book anyway?”

    “because you’re the princess of this country. and once the book comes out, there’s bound to be conflict.

    between those who insist on following what’s in the book and those who want to maintain the status quo. that’s just how the world works, isn’t it?”

    the dwarves, regardless of my warnings, would eagerly follow whatever seemed innovative.

    in fact, luminous had even predicted that the dwarves would bring tanks.

    rina listened to my words and contemplated for a long time before letting out a deep sigh.

    it seemed to be quite a difficult decision for her.

    “...can’t you just tell me what resources will be used in the future?”

    still, she couldn’t completely abandon her greed.

    hearing her question, i smirked.

    “and what would you do with that? you wouldn’t be able to use it immediately anyway. oh, but coal might be different.”

    “coal? you mean that black rock?”

    “yeah. demand for coal will skyrocket soon. even in my era, coal was consistently used as fuel.”

    “got it. i should tell my brother later. anything else?”

    “what else do you want to know?”

    “like culture or something i might be interested in?”

    it seemed she wanted to shift from the heavy topics to something lighter.

    looking at rina exuding her characteristic elegance, i smiled inwardly.

    something she’d really be interested in... there’s just one thing.

    “there is one thing.”

    “what is it?”

    rina immediately showed interest. i tried my best to suppress my laughter as i replied.

    “pornography. you see, it’s—”

    after hearing my entire explanation, rina’s reaction was:

    “hey! you’re unbelievable!!”

    she nearly threw her teacup in anger.

    her face flushed bright red, and her clenched teeth were visible as she fumed.

    ‘ah, this is fun.’