A Dark Fantasy Spy

---

Thomas Jefferson, the President of the United States and a founding father, once said: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

Democracy is a tree that drinks blood.

But there are trees in this world that demand even more blood.

That tree is called Dictatorship.

—

Episode 17 – The Tree that Drinks Blood

As July reached its midpoint, the dispatch was decided.

The target area was the countries located in northern Mauritania. Four coastal nations stretching from east to west were selected as dispatch locations.

The Mauritania continent has traditionally been an unstable region. The central government, which indulged in dictatorship, constantly faced the threat of military coups, and the unstable political situation led to the activation of local warlords.

The latent elements of unrest in various sectors of society shook the foundations of numerous local governments, resulting in monsters breaching the borders.

Therefore, the residents of the Mauritania continent now faced survival threats represented by civil war infernos along with monsters, disasters, and epidemics.

Amidst these conditions, a ray of light descended.

[The World Union has approved military intervention to resolve the situation on the Mauritania continent.]

[Chairwoman Ariana called upon member states to actively participate in the alliance’s activities to maintain international peace and security as a responsible member of the international community.]

An international organization was taking military action.

I tossed a stack of passports and files into my suitcase while glancing at the television. The screen wall of the Military Intelligence Agency Office displayed a statement from the spokesperson of the Abas Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[Our government praises the World Union’s decision. Established under the banner of freedom, our government has worked tirelessly for international peace and global security over the past hundred years.]

It was archive footage from a cable network.

The panelists exchanged views while watching the Foreign Ministry’s statement. University professors, Senate aides, and defense journalists—experts in their respective fields—shared their opinions, but everything remained mere desk debates.

The screen transitioned to the statement from the Defense Ministry spokesperson. Dressed in a sharp suit, he spoke in a businesslike tone in response to a reporter’s question regarding the decision to deploy troops.

[I understand that we have not yet received a request for troop deployment from the alliance. Currently, we are not considering troop deployment, but if a request comes, the government will review it comprehensively….]

“…….”

After packing my bag, I turned off the office lights and closed the door.

In the empty room where a desolate atmosphere lingered, only the hollow noise of the television echoed.

—

The World Union, corresponding to the UN of the global village, decided on military intervention to resolve the situation on the Mauritania continent.

The alliance urged the members of the international community to participate in the noble cause of preserving world peace and security, and proposals were received from as many as 18 countries through official diplomatic channels.

Kien Empire.
Kingdom of Abas.
Cult.
Republic of Patalia.
Lushan Federal Kingdom.
And minor states from the Mauritania continent and Eastern continent.

Each government that received the alliance’s proposal began to consider troop deployment. Discussions were occurring at the government level, and motions for the dispatch of peacekeeping forces were introduced to the Imperial Assembly and the Abas upper and lower houses, as well as the Patalia Assembly.

As signs of a multinational alliance army forming began to appear, the international community stirred.

A large-scale military operation aimed at saving innocent lives suffering from civil war and monsters. The news that a multinational force was being formed to rescue citizens gasping under life-threatening situations brought cheers from many.

From intellectuals who criticized governments turning a blind eye to foreign tragedies to ordinary people completely unrelated to the war.

The noble cause of world peace had bestowed them such significant hope.

But problems arose.

[Peacekeeping forces, you say? No way! This is a blatant example of foreign interference in our internal affairs!]

As the large-scale dispatches from various governments were announced, voices of opposition began to erupt. The voice belonged to nations neighboring the Mauritania continent.

[The essence of military intervention is foreign interference in our internal affairs. This means that imperialists from the continent are attempting a dangerous adventure to seize the oil and magical stones buried in the Mauritania continent.]

[Who exactly are you sending the troops for? The stationing of foreign troops is an encroachment on our government’s sovereignty!]

Delegations sent to the World Union fiercely opposed the alliance’s military intervention. The argument was that regardless of whether it was peacekeeping forces or not, the stationing of foreign troops was a clear invasion and interference in internal affairs.

Considering that the places making those claims were all dictatorships guilty of human rights violations, it was indeed a comical phenomenon.

However, the effect was undeniable.

As the governments of the Mauritania continent collectively objected, the assembly began to move.

Amidst arguments to ‘save innocent lives on behalf of a government that failed to protect its citizens and abuses human rights’ and ‘any act that infringes on the sovereignty of another country cannot be justified,’ the assembly was split, leading public opinion into division.

The domestic backlash exerted great political pressure on the government. The opposition party lay down in protest against the war, and civic organizations demanded humanitarian solutions from the government. In a democracy or a dictatorship, public opinion presented an intangible force that the government could not ignore.

In the end, the government raised the white flag.

Some of the 18 countries that received the troop deployment proposal from the alliance decided to withhold their deployment.

—

[Our military has consistently participated in activities to maintain international peace and security. Currently, many soldiers from Abas are serving as peacekeepers overseas, contributing to international peace. However, regarding the deployment of troops to resolve the situation on the Mauritania continent, there are claims that it could worsen the situation and yield negative effects. Therefore, our military authorities have decided to temporarily postpone additional troop deployments….]

Inside the Restaurant of the Magic Tower Immigration Office, the Abas Defense Ministry spokesperson’s “postponement of peacekeeping troops” statement echoed from the TV.

Sipping coffee, I leaned back in my chair and spoke.

“Well, it ended up like this.”

The news that the deployment of international peacekeeping forces was to be postponed had already been taken as a given, particularly within the Abas Assembly and Defense Ministry. To be precise, the high-ups had known all along that deployment was unlikely to happen.

I was one of the few who knew that fact.

“Well, troop deployment isn’t something you can decide in the blink of an eye. From the point of view of the decision-makers, it’s not a particularly attractive issue, and soldiers dislike going on deployment too. Their families feel the same way.”

“Plus, there are plenty of countries using internal interference as an excuse to oppose the stationing of peacekeeping forces. Kosovo was a prime example.”

“There are probably more than just one or two such places.”

The vast majority of dictatorial nations do not tolerate the stationing of foreign troops. Because if foreign troops settle in their country or neighboring countries, they can no longer reign supreme.

As such, countries in the African and Middle Eastern parts of the globe also frequently rejected the UN peacekeeping forces’ deployments.

As domestic public opinion began to heat up, the Abas government seized the opportunity to pull the brakes on the troop dispatch. Once Abas hit the brakes, other countries displayed reluctance toward additional deployments as well.

Most major powers had already stationed a significant number of their troops abroad. Abas had, and so had the Kien Empire.

The reasoning the Abas government used to reject troop deployment was straightforward. The argument was that given the current situation of having already sent plenty of units as peacekeepers overseas, it would be difficult to send out more troops.

It wasn’t an incorrect argument.

The Abas government had plenty of precedents for sending peacekeeping troops to the Mauritania continent, and even now six units were on mission there. Troops were stationed in some of the countries being discussed as potential deployment locations.

As such, the Abas Defense Ministry had no qualms about denying the deployment. It was challenging to deploy another unit when peacekeeping troops were already sent out.

And the Abas government had never claimed that they would send peacekeeping troops. They had merely ‘considered’ the alliance’s request to send new troops.

—

As the Abas government discreetly shifted its stance, other governments began to withdraw as well.

The Kien Empire shifted to the stance that their existing peacekeeping force in the Mauritania continent was sufficient to fulfill their obligations, thereby evading responsibility, while both Patalia and Lushan refused to send troops from their homeland.

To be exact, they all said, “We’ll decide the matter through a national referendum, so please wait for now,” yet they avoided answering when asked when that vote would be held.

Regardless,

The major powers, including Abas and Kien, opted to forgo additional deployments, instead shifting their stance to redeploy the peacekeeping forces already stationed there. Of course, no one knew when those troops would move.

Thus, the major powers, which were supposed to form the backbone of a multinational army comprising 18 countries, succeeded in evading responsibility amid the turmoil on the Mauritania continent.

Now, that void was filled by a few countries maintaining a semblance of stability on the Mauritania continent and minor nations from the Eastern continent. In effect, they bore the responsibility.

From the perspective of those governments, they could easily curse and rage at the major powers for acting as they did, yet ironically, there was no backlash.

The logic of power applies in the international community.

There’s a reason why developing countries account for a significant portion of the UN peacekeeping forces.

Packing my suitcase, I turned my head to look next to me.

“Camila, are you ready?”

Camila, with a backpack slung over her shoulders, answered, bouncing with excitement.

“I’m all done!”

Having returned from the Magic Tower, she appeared with an enormous load. A backpack about to burst and two oversized suitcases. Not to mention a duffel bag and a sports bag full to the brim.

“Why on earth did you pack so much? Are you immigrating or what?”

“It’s a long-term dispatch. I packed only what I needed, and it turned out to be this much.”

“Good grief.”

I clicked my tongue, lifting some of Camila’s bags with her relaxed hands. She grinned and thanked me.

With her arms flailing excitedly, Camila marched ahead and tossed me this question.

“Shall we go now?”

“Let’s do it.”

In mid-July, right at the heart of summer.

The Warp Gate leading into the red desert began to glow.