RM Vol 3: For a World without Boundary – Chapter 54-9: Stockholm Conference (Part 9)
After a one-day recess, the conference resumes under a surprisingly cooperative atmosphere. Politicians, diplomats, and heads of state work together to make a joint statement, or many in thisparticrcase. Withmany brains nning around the possible consequences that may arise from the Belkan revtion. They are hoping to minimize the potential damage that Catholic-influenced nations will incur. There''s no telling when the gag order that some delegations imposed on those reporters will fail, after all. They must be swift in cookingupand implementing their ns and contingencies, otherwise, things may start blowing up back home. As such,there have beenmany times other dignitaries have had to seek out the Belkan delegation for either advice or rification.Can''t exactlybuild their strategies on loose rocks, after all. Fortunately for them, Belka has been very transparent in their discussion, even going as far as forking up more evidence to back their ims and reinforcing their standing among the delegations.
Because of their agreeable station and having found no apparent fault in the Belkan presentation, doubts about the Belkans have beenmostlydispelled. The emphasis is ced on the word ''mostly.'' It''s a given that some stubborn foolsare still insistingon making thingsharderfor the Belkans and everyone else.
"With all due respect, why are we even seeking advice from these Belkans!?" Ambassador Udina heatedly eximed after growing tired of seeing personages of simr stature as himself bending toward the Belkan delegation. "You all are people in positions of power, whyare you acting like you''re weaker than them? Then there''s their revtiontoo! Don''t you see how convenient it would be for them if words of this got out? They will be effectively killing off the opposition to their religion with a borrowed knife!There must be foul ys involved, and I am shocked that none of you even raise suspicion about the possibility that, instead of Sardegna, it''s probable that Belka is the perpetrator of this mess!"
The room falls silent after Udina''s rant, with mixed reactions from the delegations and reporters alike. Surprisingly enough, manyof them are lookingat Udina as if he''s gone stupid. While it''s true that Belka stands to benefit from the Catholic Church''s copse, it doesn''t mean that nobody else would. The Protestant Church, for once, will be dancing and celebrating about that. And this is not even mentioning the JapanesewhosePantheonis rumoredto flourish in power by gathering the faith of their citizens, an act thatis not encouraged by the Belkans'' Yggdrasil Pantheon for many reasons. And while you most certainly may be able toin, if you stretch it hard enough, that the proofs, inthe forms ofvideo, audio, and documents, are notenough. Belka canjust go up andpresent the conference with thousands of willing witnesses if the situation demands it. After all, topresentthe case here, even when pushed by other delegations, Belka must have made their n foolproof to avoid the allegation that Udina had just made. Belka is the one holding all the cards, both physically and metaphorically, there''sno way in Hell that the gathering of nations would be able to pick up dirt if there''s any, about the Reich''s action in a reasonable timeframe.
Truthfully, the other superpowers also aren''t too keen on picking a fight with Belka at this time, eventhe Ustian Loyalists opt to stay out of this mess altogether.Other thanthe fact that Belka has been very cooperative with their questioning so far, the Reichis also holdingthe metaphorical leash around the delegations'' necks.That leash is none other than the aid supplies that, just recently, has been confirmed by the Belkan Empress herself are to be underway in nations around the globe. If they piss her off, there''s a high likelihood that the supplieswouldbe ''dyed'' unexpectedly. Rather than kicking the literal dragoness in front of them, thesmarterpeople in the room elect to dump the faults of everything on the head of a ruined Papacy.Less problemfor them that wayandthey get to keep, possibly even improvetheirpolitical standing for being the wise guys.
Unsurprisingly for them all, not many dare to follow along with Udina''s grave usation. In fact, of the many countries in the room, only Erusean affiliatedlikeCanada and Australia...dare to voice their opinions against Belka. Yet, the Belkan delegation swiftly shot downeach and everyargument with sound and concrete answers, leaving the Erusean ambassador fuming. Udina has been unable to find faults in any of the Belkans'' counterpoints, even when they are pressured by multiple countries at once. Belka doesn''t fear being ganged up upon by the Ersuean Commonwealth, after all, just how many of those countries are willing to face the might of the Reich? When presented with the request of anEruseandelegation to interview the rescued survivors, Belka immediately shuts it down by only allowing apletely neutral party to do the task. The Belkan delegation exins their perfectly sound reasoning with obvious disdain at Udina for asking for such a stupid request. At the end of the day, Erusea is still at war with Belka, there''sobviouslyno way that the Kingdom willmit to their task without any bias.
Despite the futility of his action, Udina doesn''t give up on trying to undermine Belka''s position. But seeing that the talk is getting nowhere and to avoid burning daylight, King Gustaf V steps in and exercises his authority as the host of the conference. Udina is to stop throwing shade at the Belkan delegation so the talk can resume, or risk being kicked out forcausing disruption atsuch a high-profile gathering. Just that warning alone has given the reporters something spicy to write about, imagine what they coulde up with when Udina wasactuallykicked out instead. Knowing such, the Erusean ambassador is forced to swallow his perceived humiliation and stop his tirade. At least, it does give him the chance to take a breather and survey the other delegations in the room. Udina is mortified to see that, rather than understanding his reasoning, the room has taken a stance of indifference and even disdain at the Eruseans. Can''t they see that he is trying to put down the Belka''s meteoric rise in terms of political power here? Why wouldn''t they cooperate?
Ignoring the puncturedmon sense of Udina, the conference room descends back into its prior normal pacing. They have high hopes that by the end of today, each nation should have a suitable response in anticipation of public outrage at the defamation of Christianity. It will be a worldwide effort to contain any sort of riot and immoral chaos that may ur at any given time after the announcement. There''s no telling just what sorts of unsavory elements will be given the chance of daylight when the supposedly bright beacon of morality copses.
... In such instances, people used to say:<em>"May Godhelpsus all."</em>