[November 14, 2020 — Ginza 1-chome — Reich Restaurant Steinburg]
The Gamerican presidential election was a festival of sorts that took place every four years. Several hundred million dollars were spent in the span of a year as the candidates took on a battle royale under the guise of “debates” organized by large media outlets. This festival gave people an excuse to think about the country’s politics, allowing them to reinforce their identity as Gamerican citizens.
“Turning the elections into a show helps citizens connect with politics. The guy who thought of this must have been a genius. Well, Japan’s a parliamentary democracy, so it would be difficult to import this concept either way.”
“The outcome of this year’s election is already clear. It’s no fun. This might be a bit rude to President Howard, but I don’t see how he could beat Peter Wozniak at this point.”
Ishihara continued.
“Anyway, enough talk of the elections. We need to discuss the upcoming G20 meeting. It’ll take place in the Kingdom of Saud Arab at the end of the month. Up until a month ago, we expected the main topics to be potential sanctions against Venisuela and Joker as well as dungeon cooperation endeavors. However, a lot has changed in the past month.”
I was currently in Ginza, having a meal with Vice-Minister Ishihara at a restaurant specializing in Reich cuisine. Usually, vice-ministers frequented luxurious, traditional restaurants around Akasaka and Kagurazaka, but since she was a single woman who looked like she was in her thirties, I had put a little thought into choosing the restaurant. This kind of place would allow her to relax without standing out as much as if we had gone to some high-end French restaurant.
“So Joker is finally on the verge of completely taking over Brezil... I heard the talks between the Woorian Foreign Minister and the Venisuelan President, Clyde, were a success, though,” I said.
“They were a complete failure... Or rather, Woori seems to have simply accepted everything Venisuela asked for without getting anything in return. President Park is getting desperate with the G20 meeting approaching. Woori’s economy is hanging on by a thread, and they’re keeping their distance from both Gamerica and the Oriental Republic of Sina. They’ve finally introduced a civilian adventurer initiative, but some adventurers have already committed crimes, forcing them to backtrack. I’m guessing he really wanted to brag about being the first country of the G20 to enter negotiations with Venisuela. In the end, the only thing Venisuela agreed to in exchange for Woori dispatching experts to fix their oil plants and upgrade their agricultural technologies was to sit at the table and negotiate with Gamerica and have Woori as their mediator. They’re trying to adorn the news with nice adjectives to make it sound good, but they didn’t achieve much, like usual.”
“President Clyde, huh? I thought he was Joker’s puppet, but he actually seems to be standing his ground. He doesn’t seem to be ruling the occupied areas of Brezil too forcefully either.”
Joker’s Legion had stopped advancing for a while after taking Manaus, the capital of the Brezilian State of Amazonas. Brezil was an enormous country with a large population. For a country the size of Venisuela to occupy Brezil’s full territory, which had roughly thirty million inhabitants, was impossible. Venisuela had had three demands: free access to every Brezilian dungeon, neutrality toward the Legion, and lastly, that Brezil donate one billion dollars worth of food to Venisuela every year for the next ten years.
“That’s a very well-thought-out plan, considering the ten-year limit,” Vice-Minister Ishihara explained. “Simply occupying the country won’t bring them many benefits. It was also smart to ask for a billion dollars’ worth of food. Since Brezil can donate the food directly instead of struggling to secure foreign currencies, it won’t put too big of a strain on their economy.”
“On the other hand,” she continued, “this amount will make a big impact on a country of thirty million inhabitants such as Venisuela. If they can rid themselves of hunger, public order will improve, and they’ll be able to restart their economy. Getting investors to join them will be much easier after that. Middle Eastern countries in particular are not happy with the rise of hydrogen energy. The oil tycoons will happily invest there.”
Joker was not the kind of evil villain that appeared in stories. At the very least, that was the image he was trying to convey. Some left-wing scholars had already started praising him. “Joker is no Demon King. He’s a revolutionary, like Che Guevara,” they wrote.
How would the world change after the Gamerican presidential election? I could not predict how things would turn out at all.
✦ ✦ ✦
[November 23, 2020 — Kingdom of Saud Arab — G20 Summit]
<Our great nation of Woori was able to meet the next president of the United States of Gamerica before Japan!>
The 2020 G20 Summit in the Kingdom of Saud Arab received unprecedented interest from the general public all over the world. Gamerican president Ronald Howard remained unconscious, and Democratic candidate Peter Wozniak had won the presidential election. His inauguration was set to take place in January 2021, but the state of the world did not allow for a political vacuum at this time. Michael Bates, the Vice President, had decided to forget about party divisions and invited Peter Wozniak to join him at the G20 Summit. He also organized talks between him and other heads of state.
Thus, the Republic of Woori succeeded in meeting President-elect Wozniak before Japan. The PR office of the Blue House made a show of singing the praises of Woori with slogans such as “We Beat Japan,” “Woori is the true leader in East Asia,” and “Woori has the best dungeon policies.” The true content of the words exchanged between Gamerican and Woorian leaders was far from deserving praise though. President-elect Wozniak clearly stated he had no intention to negotiate with Joker.
“I have indeed said that I wanted to include developing countries in our plans to fight dungeons in order to put together a global framework, President Park. However, I will not pander to terrorists nor will I turn a blind eye to our national interests. If Venisuela is ready to sit at the table and negotiate with us, I’ll be happy to hear them out under the condition that the Legion is dismantled, naturally.”
“I believe we should first establish a dialogue. That first contact will greatly help reduce the hostile atmosphere and pave the way toward peace. Can you not consider opening talks without asking for any countermeasures for the time being?”
“We met with the Kingdom of Ko in 2019 in that exact fashion to calm the situation. Do you remember the result of those three meetings? I just cannot condone your way of pushing us to open talks without any guarantees any longer.”
The Gamerican and Woorian leaders did not manage to see eye to eye for the entire forty minutes their meeting lasted. Eventually, the meeting ended without them reaching any agreement. Afterward, President-Elect Wozniak was puzzled.
“That President...” he said to his future aide. “He’s kind of... No, he’s actually completely insane, isn’t he?”
On the other hand, the meeting between Urabe, the Japanese Prime Minister, and President-Elect Wozniak went on for more than an hour and a half, greatly exceeding the original time slot. Not only did they discuss the dungeons but they also touched upon other topics such as the economy and diplomatic relations. The only reason the Japanese leader met Wozniak later than the Woori President was because, during that time, Prime Minister Urabe was busy meeting with Bates. Prime Minister Urabe was intent on sending a few words to President Howard, with whom he had had an amicable relationship for the past four years. He wanted to wish him a prompt recovery, since he was still in the hospital.
“Prime Minister Urabe,” Wozniak said, “I believe that we Gamericans are going through the worst crisis since the foundation of our nation. This disaster will overshadow September 11, the Cuban Missile Crisis, or World War II. I believe it is time to put the two-party system aside and focus on national unity. Japan is our greatest ally, and I would like to request your help to devise dungeon policies.”
“I believe the crisis you speak of does not only concern the United States of Gamerica but rather humanity... No. Our planet as a whole. We will spare no effort to assist you. However, we do hope that your country will join the IDAO...”
“I intend to do that as soon as I take office. I will also allow powerful foreign adventurers to clear Gamerican dungeons. I’m hoping to put together a proper adventurer initiative in Gamerica, and Japan is known for its excellent adventurer-rearing know-how. Could I please get your counsel on this matter as well?”
Wozniak had a reputation for being a passionate idealist, but as a former management consultant at a famous firm, he was still able to make logical, realistic decisions. Wozniak appeared to have found a kindred spirit in Urabe Seiichirou, despite him being a conservative politician.
“As expected of the man who got that moody Howard to dance in the palm of his hand,” he said to his aide after the meeting concluded. “Japan is lucky to have him in these trying times.”