Chapter 393: Bet Everything on This One Blow…!!

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Honestly, getting greedy for Bakumatsu might've been a mistake. Now grown to the point where it shows its might to neighboring nations as one of the contenders for continental supremacy, I couldn't help but think that, leaning back deeply in my chair in the study of the President House of the Dinner United States.

Rice Miso: "Mr. President, an envoy from the Shanarasta Nomads is seeking an audience."

Sunraku: "Figures, no way they'd ignore us when we're right next to the Great Plains..."

· Take a friendly stance · Take a hostile stance · Turn them away

Sunraku: "Welcome them with all your heart. The United welcomes all who are friendly."

Rice Miso: "Understood."

I see Rice-chan off with a smile as she leaves the room. She's dressed in much finer clothes compared to when we first met. A single sigh escapes me.

Sunraku: "Religion sure is amazing..."

I'm starting to understand the essence of this game's shittiness. Basically, the difficulty curve is pretty lax. Not only is the combat itself a breeze, but on the internal affairs side, picking specific choices makes the difficulty plummet even further. Here's how it goes: once you've built up a decent amount of national power, an envoy from the Ahfrent Holy Kingdom shows up. It's some Palfion Faith or whatever, and at first glance it looks like an invitation to religious subjugation. But, depending on your choices, the President player can personally go to the Holy Kingdom. There, if you succeed in persuading Saint Fionale, you can form an alliance with the Ahfrent Holy Kingdom. When that happens, the difficulty... becomes incredibly lax. The moment the rapidly-growing United States gets a religious backing, a bunch of smaller nations come rushing to ask for membership all at once. Nations that have the Palfion Faith as their state religion also see a rise in friendliness. Send some spies into enemy territory, provoke them into attacking your allied nation, and once they're weakened, you absorb them... What is this, instigating a problem just to solve it? If I had to point out the worst part, it's that the management side—checking your own faction's stats, issuing orders—gets more and more annoying. Plus, meetings with leaders from all over... All the worst parts of internal affairs play just stand out more and more.

Still, the motto of our Dinner United States is "everyone gets along." Even if it's some useless old man from a tiny nation, the President will give them a full-power hug.

???: "Mr. President! The New Galkart Empire's forces! They're being led by the Purgatory General!!"

Sunraku: "That guy again..."

I've beaten him down about five times now and he just doesn't quit... Damn it. After going through the "Defeat Raid Boss-san" battle post-Bakumatsu event, every combat element in Prejiden just feels like pure agony.

· I'll sortie myself! · Leave it to the subordinates · Send a friendly envoy

I'm not getting fooled again. No matter how many friendly envoys I send to Galkart, they just come back as heads.

Sunraku: "I'm going out!"

And done. Slash, done. Beam, done. President Beam, done!

Sunraku: "The EXP and stuff is pretty tasty, which just makes it all the more..."

That's the sixth set of Purgatory General armor... It's a guaranteed drop and not even that strong. Ah well, I'll just have the President's personal guard, who I can exceptionally build soldier by soldier, wear them.

Sunraku: "Four more sets to go."

Am I aiming for a "Purgatory Legion" as my personal guard? The fact that it seems totally possible is also a weird feeling.

Time passes. The next day.

Sunraku: "Go! My personal guard, the Purgatory Battalion! Scatter the enemy! Charge! Charge! Charge!!"

After seizing the workshop where they make the Purgatory General armor, I ended up with enough sets for a whole battalion. Is this a joke? I'm laughing. Watching hundreds of Purgatory series suits march in formation, slowly cornering the actual Purgatory General... it gives off this weird sci-fi horror vibe, like a clone rebellion or something. Even if it's a cheap knockoff, the general-class gear is no joke. Honestly, throwing in my personal guard decked out in strong equipment lowers soldier attrition rate like crazy, which just accelerates the easy-mode even more. For now, the Dinner United States, having finally joined the ranks of major powers, basically has only one real enemy left. The New Galkart Empire. A great power that claims to be the legitimate successor to a massive empire that flourished before the prologue of this game. While the other small nations' generals use more or less recycled graphics (differentiated by beards), only that empire gives its high-ranking soldiers impressive, unique character models. The Four Generals, especially that Four Heavenly Kings squad, are a real pain. If you fight them without the player character, no matter how well you've trained, you can't completely shake off about a twenty percent chance of defeat.

Sunraku: "So, it seems like I've established a cheese route for the Purgatory General... but the Darkness General is annoying."

He's got a name that sounds like high ATK, but everything he does is scheming and trickery. I broke out in a cold sweat when he launched a surprise attack on our grain belt. Though, I did follow up by crushing their army and smashing them to half strength... In this game, enemy generals are invincible until their event chapter arrives. And soldiers seem to just pop out of the fields, since their attrition level is pretty low.

Sunraku: "For now, I'll farm aggro from the Purgatory General while sending relief to the nations the other generals are attacking... Ah, but I need to delay them just enough to let the enemies get worn down..."

And one President Beam. A grind is a grind. Even if you find an efficient farm, tedious things are still tedious. I watch the upside-down, foot-targeting President Beam explode, and process the results as usual.

Sunraku: "Good grief..."

Rice Miso: "Good work, Mr. President. Are you injured?"

Sunraku: "Ah, Rice-chan. Another flawless victory today, as always."

Rice Miso: "...That's wonderful to hear. Let us celebrate today's victory with a pie I've baked myself."

Man, I'm so glad I raised Rice-chan's affection. Maybe they prepared a lot of variety, because her welcome lines almost never repeat. My cheeks loosen a bit without thinking. Honestly, the taste quality can't even compare to SLF, but when it's a luxurious menu like this, it makes me happy.

Sunraku: "Maybe it's because I just came off a grind session... It heals me in a weird way."

Isn't Rice-chan the best? Alright, let's work hard on the next chapter...

Sunraku: "Gah!?"

Could this be... the reason this game hasn't seen much circulation? By piling up trash elements and then having the secretary character suddenly act affectionate, it produces an effect beyond what its actual numbers should achieve... Don't tell me, all the trash elements up until now were designed to make this stand out...!? No, when I think about it that way, a lot of things weirdly click into place. It's a sim game, so I just chalked it up to being normal, but the secretary character has an unusually high number of interaction patterns. Her character model (though comparing her to mobs is something else) has an odd amount of effort put into it... And this character engine—wasn't it the latest one around the time Fuuun Prejiden was released?

Sunraku: "No way... it sacrificed everything... for this one blow...?"

...

No, isn't that totally backwards? That's like saying, "To gather the best ramen toppings, we sacrificed the noodles and broth." Then just serve the toppings on their own! I don't want to eat lazy noodles and broth as a side dish. Well, it's better than having all three—noodles, broth, and toppings—poisoned... right, Fuckaria? Still, pouring effort into the secretary character, the "wife" role, isn't a bad move. Usually, you just get sick of looking at those navigator character faces after a while. If moving through the story lets you see new sides of a character, then even in a grind-fest, it makes you want to keep going. Actually, the other characters' models give off this weird, indescribable vibe, so the secretary is kind of my only emotional anchor... Well, whatever. If it fuels my motivation, that's a good thing.

Sunraku: "Alright, time to advance the chapter."

The flag was to topple the Purgatory General's stronghold, was it? But if I pick a fight from my side, our national trust goes down... Got it. I'll send a spy to this one small nation that's getting just the right amount of dissatisfaction with our United States... Fwahahahaha! You shall be a sacrifice for the sake of game progression!!