RM Vol 3: For a World without Boundary – Chapter 54-9: Stockholm Conference (Part 9)

Author notes:

New chapter is up alongside the pictures! 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/waZgkRa3UQhqKQBi9

Though I hate to be a broken record but, if possible, please support this story in any way you can! Both Pa-treon and Ko-fi have a set of tiers with benefits! With Patr-eon has a chatroom if you want to stick around and spitball stuff with me or the others! The Generals, in particular, can aid me in steering where this story is heading!

Any help is appreciated by my mother and me! We're in a bit of a pickle lately.

Income goal: 661/700 USD to ensure to improve our standard of living

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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 this particular case. With many brains planning around the possible consequences that may arise from the Belkan revelation. 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 cooking up and implementing their plans and contingencies, otherwise, things may start blowing up back home. As such, there have been many times other dignitaries have had to seek out the Belkan delegation for either advice or clarification. Can't exactly build 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 claims 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 been mostly dispelled. The emphasis is placed on the word 'mostly.' It's a given that some stubborn fools are still insisting on making things harder for the Belkans and everyone else.

"With all due respect, why are we even seeking advice from these Belkans!?" Ambassador Udina heatedly exclaimed after growing tired of seeing personages of similar stature as himself bending toward the Belkan delegation. "You all are people in positions of power, why are you acting like you're weaker than them? Then there's their revelation too! 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 plays 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, many of them are looking at Udina as if he's gone stupid. While it's true that Belka stands to benefit from the Catholic Church's collapse, 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 Japanese whose Pantheon is rumored to flourish in power by gathering the faith of their citizens, an act that is not encouraged by the Belkans' Yggdrasil Pantheon for many reasons. And while you most certainly may be able to complain, if you stretch it hard enough, that the proofs, in the forms of video, audio, and documents, are not enough. Belka can just go up and present the conference with thousands of willing witnesses if the situation demands it. After all, to present the case here, even when pushed by other delegations, Belka must have made their plan foolproof to avoid the allegation that Udina had just made. Belka is the one holding all the cards, both physically and metaphorically, there's no 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, even the Ustian Loyalists opt to stay out of this mess altogether. Other than the fact that Belka has been very cooperative with their questioning so far, the Reich is also holding the 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 supplies would be 'delayed' unexpectedly. Rather than kicking the literal dragoness in front of them, the smarter people in the room elect to dump the faults of everything on the head of a ruined Papacy. Less problem for them that way and they get to keep, possibly even improve their political standing for being the wise guys.

Unsurprisingly for them all, not many dare to follow along with Udina's grave accusation. In fact, of the many countries in the room, only Erusean affiliated like Canada and Australia... dare to voice their opinions against Belka. Yet, the Belkan delegation swiftly shot down each and every argument 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 an Erusean delegation to interview the rescued survivors, Belka immediately shuts it down by only allowing a completely neutral party to do the task. The Belkan delegation explains 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's obviously no way that the Kingdom will commit 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 for causing disruption at such a high-profile gathering. Just that warning alone has given the reporters something spicy to write about, imagine what they could come up with when Udina was actually kicked 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 punctured common 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 occur 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 collapses.

... In such instances, people used to say: "May God helps us all."