Chapter 237

“I've never used【 Transfer Gate 】before. It's amazingly convenient. I never imagined that it would be so easy to move from one country to another.”

After some discussion about the alliance between the five countries, Governor Fleur suddenly said.

The Republic of Aneka and the Yuri Empire share a border, but there is currently no direct trade route between the two countries. Therefore, if you want to go back and forth between the two countries, you have to go through the Holy Land of Nimun.

Even with that in mind, it is a distance that can be traveled in a day by a carriage pulled by a strong horse. On the other hand, if you are worried about the strength of your horse, or if you leave later in the afternoon, the distance is far enough that you won't be able to reach it by the end of the day.

The existence of【 Transfer Gate 】that can shorten such a travel time to an “instant” must seem astounding to those who have never heard of it.

“It's magic that can transport a person so easily. If it were to be used for military purposes, for example, it would completely change the shape of war.”

“―――Yeah, that's for sure.”

In response to Altorius' words, King Raven immediately nodded his head.

“In fact, the army of the Kingdom of Rapier used the【 Transfer Gate 】set up by Your Majesty Yuri to conduct a counterattack against the royal castle of the Kingdom of Hydra, which was planning to invade our country.

At that time, we were a small country in the continent of Mekia, and the military power of our army was negligible, but even so, the advantage of being able to directly invade the enemy's royal castle with an entire army was overwhelming, and we were able to easily capture it.”

“Directly attacking the castle… There's no way to prevent that.”

“Yes. Moreover, Your Majesty Yuri set up the【 Transfer Gate 】inside the gates of the Kingdom of Hydra. The gates, which were supposed to prevent the enemy from invading, were used by our troops and functioned as a wall to block the support of the troops that were outside the castle. It's not like there's any way for the enemy to resist.”

“What the…”

Lord Cadain marveled as he listened to King Raven's words about the war in the past.

At that time, there was a huge disparity in the scale of the nation between the Kingdom of Rapier and the Kingdom of Hydra. Of course, this disparity would be clearly visible in the form of military power.

―――Despite this, the Kingdom of Rapier defeated the Hydra Kingdom. It was a one-sided battle that took place in just one day, without causing any damage to their side.

This is certainly a good example of how powerful the military use of the Transfer Gate can be.

(Though that was not a very smart move, to say the least…)

In contrast to King Raven's unrestrained praise of the【 Transfer Gate 】, Yuri was lamenting the folly of the plan she had devised at the time.

【 Transfer Gate 】allows you to come and go between two places where you have installed the magic gates, so If one of the magic gates is destroyed, it will stop all functions.

If the opponent has a strong offensive or offensive magic user, it would be easy to destroy the magic circle at any given moment.

If so, the army that had been transferred would be left behind, unable to return, and isolated.

If <Nadeshiko> hadn't found out in advance that the Hydra Kingdom didn't have any great magicians, it would have been a very risky operation.

“Well, aside from military use. Isn't Your Majesty Yuri intending to use the【 Transfer Gate 】for trade? It seems to me that it would be of great value even if used peacefully.”

“I understand what Viceroy Fleur is trying to say. Unfortunately, the use of the Transfer Gate for commercial purposes is forbidden for all merchants in our country and our allies.”

It is possible to use the transfer gate to transport goods up to a certain amount that is within the category of personal luggage.

At the very least, restrictions are put in place to prevent the use of the system for transporting quantities that are intended for commercial purposes. In some cases, such as the former territories of the Volmisian Empire, where food is in short supply, the use of the transfer gate is allowed on a limited basis.

“…Is that so? Is there any reason for this?”

“I don't know if I can call it a reason. To put it simply, the【 Transfer Gate 】is something that is completely dependent on the abilities of an individual, me.

If there were no restrictions on the use of the【 Transfer Gate 】, there would be no merchants or passengers using the existing trade routes. If there is no one left to use them, they will become obsolete far too quickly. That's what I'm afraid of.”

In response to Yuri's words, Governor Fleur pondered.

Then, after a few seconds, she nodded quietly.

“I see… If the trade routes become obsolete and unavailable, it will take a lot of time and money to restore them. And that would probably be far greater than the cost of maintaining the trade routes as they are now.

Given the possible risks involved, it may indeed be dangerous for a nation to become too dependent on something that depends on Your Majesty Yuri personally.”

“I'm glad you understand.”

The ‘roads’ that connect cities and villages are essentially the minimum requirement to form the foundation of a nation, and they are also extremely important.

If something happens to Yuri in the future and the foundation of the nation is lost, the nation may not be able to maintain itself. This is a risk that should be greatly feared.

At the moment, there are no known threats to Yuri or the Yuri Empire in this world.

We have no reason to believe that we are the strongest in this world.  Yuri is not so foolish as to think that she can be so confident.