kscans

Chapter 207 - Power Balance

"So, that's how it all got sorted out. That should put a stop to any unnecessary meddling."

"I see. Good work. It sounds like it was tough."

"Not at all. Diite and Relic did most of the work. Although, I didn't expect them to go so far as to shut down the entire Prison colony."

At the floating island campsite, inside the base's meeting room, Hayato heard from Ney about the events of the Council meeting.

In the real world, it had been grandly announced that a young blood relative of Foundation Libra was the investor in the famous "Another Frontier Online."

There had been organizations meddling with Aphrodite before, but starting with Scorpion, unauthorized access had ceased almost entirely. Even a child knew what would happen if you messed with a company connected to a Foundation.

And while there had been many people who wouldn't play a game from a mysterious company even for prize money, this announcement apparently prompted an increase in new players, a fact Diite had happily reported.

Be that as it may, having heard about the Council meeting, Hayato asked Ney a few things.

"You really laid on the settings thick, didn't you? The developer being dead, it being a black box, and all that. It's not wrong, but still."

"It didn't matter what I said, as long as it sounded plausible. It wouldn't have been a problem even if it had all been lies."

"Really?"

"I only heard this from Diite afterwards, but ultimately, all that mattered in that situation was to show the other Foundations that Aphrodite was Libra's property, that Scorpion had done something to Aphrodite, that they were retaliated against for it, and that's why Scorpion submitted. So the content of the settings didn't matter. Besides, Scorpion couldn't prove the truth anyway."

Hayato listened and somewhat understood. In other words, Scorpion had been made an example of.

If you mess with Aphrodite, you will face retaliation, though the specifics are unknown, severe enough to make even a Foundation submit. That was the situation they had shown to the other Foundations. Simply declaring that Aphrodite was Libra's property might not have stopped a Foundation from meddling while feigning ignorance. To stop them, they had to display some form of power. This time, they had used Scorpion to make that display.

Naturally, the other Foundations would gather information on this, but they likely wouldn't meddle with Aphrodite. The fear of the unknown exists no matter what position one holds. They wouldn't deliberately poke a hornet's nest.

This was a welcome situation for Ney as well. The act that could subjugate a Foundation was limited to Colony "Prison," a trump card that only worked on Scorpion.

Before boarding the spaceship Aphrodite, Relic had set a certain trap in Prison. It was a form of payback. They had framed someone important to him for a crime they didn't commit, and had used Relic and Sonia as they pleased. He had made preparations for eventual retaliation. However, the spaceship Aphrodite had fled Earth with its crew. Thinking he would never return, Relic erased his memories.

It was Scorpion who had meddled unnecessarily. To capture Hayato, Scorpion had restored the memories of Relic and the others. Many people had been sent from Prison. He had intended to capture Hayato by restoring the memories of Relic and Sonia, who were closest to him. Of course, the order was given after threatening them with information from that time.

A lot happened after that, but through conversations with Hayato and the others, Relic realized that the current Scorpion was managing Colony "Prison." Perhaps the lineage of the prison warden from that time was now Scorpion. If so, there was a possibility that they had left information in Prison that would be problematic if it leaked. Thus, Relic proposed to lay Prison bare.

And that's what they did at the Council. Even without that preparation, they could have made Scorpion submit in various ways, but thanks to Relic, it could be said that they were able to make a more significant threat than necessary. However, in some ways, they had overdone it. They had given a lot of information to the other Foundations.

"My father was a little angry with me."

"Huh? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's no problem. I just got a lecture about the Foundations' power balance, that's all."

"Power balance…?"

"Simply put, if one Foundation gains overwhelming power, a faction will form to eliminate it. This time, the situation turned into one where Libra defeated Scorpion, so some Foundations won't be happy about it. The Foundations are supposed to be equal. A little sparring is one thing, but this was close to a complete victory for Libra. The other Foundations would be afraid of where Libra might point its spear next, wouldn't they?"

"Well, I guess so."

"I think I've said it before, but the Foundation bloodlines are cowards. They are ruthless to those who threaten their position. The same goes for other Foundations. If Libra has the power to subjugate other Foundations, the other Foundations will likely band together to crush Libra."

"Whoa, whoa, are you really okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. My father is taking care of various follow-ups. Besides, while the Foundation relatives vary in quality, none of them are so incompetent or foolish as to not know what would happen if they did something like that. They won't actually try to crush Libra or weaken its power. A little thought would tell them what would happen if they did."

"I don't really get it, but is that how it is?"

"It's a matter between the Foundations, so I don't think you would understand, Hayato. Let's see, Libra has actively intervened in disputes between other Foundations and adjusted compromises for both sides. If Libra were to disappear, minor issues could escalate into conflicts between the Foundations. No one wants that, and some of them meddle with other Foundations precisely because Libra is there to mediate."

"Is that how it is? It all seems so complicated."

"It certainly is, but that's what a power balance is. That's why each Foundation tries to increase its own value to avoid being attacked. Of course, that Scorpion is the same. However, this time, we had a just cause, or rather, we showed that Scorpion was the one who meddled first. No one there probably understood everything that happened, but they should have gotten the general idea."

Hayato nodded in understanding, recalling that similar things had happened at the company where he used to work. Between companies, and even between employees, you present in an easy-to-understand way what will happen if they do something, without ever saying it directly. By doing so, you avoid the other party's strong-arming.

"Political maneuvering, then."

"Pretty much. That's why I have to pretend to be on good terms with Scorpion. If I don't, it will cause problems in the future. My father has decided to commission a part of the newly started colony's construction to Scorpion. Our profits from the colony will decrease, but this will probably serve as a settlement. Also, if Dean does a reasonably solid job, we'll need to reward him. We'll work him like a horse for a while, but if we push him too hard, who knows what he might do. Taking all that into account, my father's assessment of this incident was a draw. He's strict, isn't he?"

"…I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing, Hayato?"

"Well, you say ‘profits will decrease’ so casually, but we must be talking about a huge amount of money, right? I feel bad for getting you involved."

"Hey, hey, what are you talking about, Hayato? Because of this whole affair, I've become an investor in Aphrodite. I'm the owner, you know, the owner."

Hayato tilted his head. He didn't understand what that meant.

"From now on, I'll be receiving a portion of the sales every month. Diite showed me the figures, and it's at a level where I can recover the colony's lost profits in about half a year. That's why my father agreed to that arrangement."

"Oh, is that so? Then there's no problem?"

"It's not that there are no problems at all, but financially speaking, there are absolutely no problems. In fact, the money is increasing so much it's starting to become a problem."

It was an enviable story, but Hayato breathed a sigh of relief that Ney was getting something in return.

"Well, more importantly than that," Ney stood up from her chair and clenched her fists at her chest as if gathering power. "I couldn't play the game at all, so I'm incredibly stressed! We're resuming the exploration starting today!"

"O-Okay. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their vacation at the lake, but they're probably getting bored by now, so I think the timing is good."

"…That's sad in its own way. I wanted a vacation at the lake too. I even got Poseidon's Swimsuit and—ah, never mind. Pretend you didn't hear that."

(I don't think it's something to hide, but is she embarrassed…?) "Nope, didn't hear a thing."

"Good. Alright, I'm going to gather everyone and we'll head to that building! We'll clear it in one day!"

Ney said this and energetically dashed out of the meeting room. She didn't seem like a blood relative of a Foundation, but Hayato felt a little happy that she was back to her usual self.