I Became the Last Princess of the Brown Bear Kingdom

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* * *

What do you even hope to achieve by trying to be like me? I wonder if everyone will perish when we head to space.

Going to space isn’t child’s play.

“Well, it’s not bad. So long as it’s not a bunch of weird applicants.”

Yeah, I just hope there aren’t those shouting “I love Anatti-chan!” as we head into space.

Or those Russians flailing about yelling for Mother Tsar! I wouldn’t even bother stopping them.

Aside from that, I suppose I can kind of understand those from the Rome Treaty member states.

“Should I call them strange volunteers? Even among the Iraqis from the Hellenistic Federation, there are some who are coming to lend their support this time.”

“Oh God, no.”

Are our esteemed Muslims going to be running around yelling “Allahu Akbar!”?

“Japanese people who settled in Northern Manchuria, and those from Cossacks, all claim they’re here to repay His Majesty’s grace.”

I’m starting to feel something is going terribly wrong in this country.

Seriously, something is genuinely off.

“What’s the next goal?”

Next goal, huh? I guess it’s pretty obvious.

First, if we succeed in launching into space, then the next should be landing on the moon.

People should aim higher and dream bigger!

“Next, we have to land on the moon.”

We’ll plant the flags of the Rome Treaty and the Russian Republic on the moon.

To be honest, I want to go, but I know that if we do, the world will go absolutely bananas.

In this era, if we’re lucky, we might get ahead of the United States.

“Seriously, doing something like planting flags on the moon. Do you think that’s possible?”

“It should be possible, as long as we keep attracting everyone’s attention.”

As long as we draw interest, that technology will advance further.

But if we lose that attention, it’ll fade away like the progress of ancient Rome as time goes by.

We can’t let that happen.

“The spacecraft is causing quite a commotion everywhere. If we get to the moon, it will be even crazier.”

“That’s for sure.”

As long as we reach the moon, the era of space travel might arrive sooner than we think.

That’s just how humanity rolls.

Like floating in water, riding the waves, people tend to love being swept away like that.

After the rocket launch, the Rome Treaty was all the buzz.

“Could we really reach the ends of the universe?”

“Someday, even other stars will belong to the Rome Treaty!”

Truly, various claims are pouring in from all over. We succeeded in launching, so related products will surely follow.

There were already shops popping up before, painting signs about spacecraft, but after the successful launch, everything changed.

Items like breads shaped like rockets, and a bunch of other goods came flooding in.

Various things related to the spacecraft, starting with scale models of rockets, really a wide diversity.

“If we design cars to look like rockets…”

A rocket-shaped car? That’s a bit off.

“No matter how you put it, that would just look ugly.”

Still, this main rocket development is gaining momentum.

In fact, the push into space was initially funded solely by the Russian Republic’s budget, but thanks to this success, now member countries of the Rome Treaty have also begun to help out.

The rocket launch united the member states of the Rome Treaty once more.

At the current rate, heading into space wouldn’t be impossible! Just saying.

Mosley, now the Prime Minister of Britain, was especially frenzied, proclaiming he would allocate funds for the rocket launch to restore the glory of the British Empire.

He was even saying he’d mobilize the wealth of the Commonwealth.

Well, let’s face it, the title of “the first in space” will still belong to the Russians. But if countries are helping like this, we’ll keep pushing forward with space development even more, and even more!

“But what’s this?”

There seems to be a letter here; I wonder what it is?

It’s wrapped up nicely. It looks like a letter.

“It’s a personal letter from Eva Perón.”

Maria, who was serving the tea, answered.

So it’s Eva Perón. She’s called the mother of the South American Union now.

A woman who was supposed to die turned her life around remarkably.

“I’m guessing the letter is about the spacecraft. Hmm.”

Sure enough, she’s asking us to share some basic technologies for artificial satellites.

I don’t really get what she wants, but it sounds pretty desperate.

It likely means more than just a simple request.

From the contents of the letter, it seems that at a minimum, we need to match the standards set by North America, to keep a check on their influence.

Right now, it feels like South America is conceding too much to the United States, especially in acknowledging U.S. sway over countries like Venezuela and Suriname, making complete South American unity seem implausible.

Yet if we were to touch on those two, the Americans would definitely not sit idly by.

Unless they’re foolish, they must know how significantly Eastern Japan has risen.

Moreover, even if South America unites, capturing the U.S. military, which possesses accumulated warfare experience, would be incredibly tough.

They wouldn’t have naval power or anything.

Realistically, Argentina reaching this point could be seen as a miracle.

“Hmm, so that’s why they’re targeting artificial satellites.”

To even remotely compete, we need some kind of technology to reach for the stars.

If they can unify South America, their national power will indeed increase.

The future of South America: Argentina’s condition isn’t great, but at least during World War II, Argentina was considered a strong country in South America.

If they’re still maintaining that potential…

They might be able to bolster their navy to a degree, and would surely push to advance their army and space technology somehow.

I do feel a bit sorry for the US, but isn’t the current US still plenty big?

Honestly, they’re sharing the stakes of Alaska in exchange for its return.

And they’ve expanded into Eastern Japan, Vietnam, and so on. The map is just overly expansive. So, it shouldn’t hurt if South America grows a bit.

“Hmm, but we can’t let everything go, can we?”

“Then what are you planning to do?”

South America is now where it is thanks to us.

Then, it makes perfect sense for us to demand what we need.

What can we gain from South America? It’s rather obvious. Is there anything other than resources?

Those guys are in no position to teach us any technology, so whatever they have to offer will likely just be resources.

“I guess it’s clear: we should trade resource access for some technology.”

Receiving resources seems reasonable enough.

“That’s not a bad plan, but is giving too much okay?”

Of course, we can’t simply hand over this technology as is.

At the very least, we should give them just a sliver, enough to make them think, “Aha! With this, we can research and reach for the stars too!”

That would suffice.

Honestly, that Eva Perón lady has been way too chummy with me.

I don’t like how she seems to have returned with a ton of misunderstandings, treating me as if we’re comrades.

“Then shall we head to the Duma?”

I’m also curious to see their reactions.

They haven’t said much about this yet either.

* * *

National Duma

“Now, our Rome Treaty has extended beyond the skies! Hahaha!”

“Indeed! No one in the world will dare to oppose us now!”

Look at them! They’re so pumped up!

No one will suspect that this is all thanks to me!

Now, I’m a visible figure among puppet emperors, while real power lies with the Duma, the eternal symbol being the Romanovs!

This sort of official setup will continue.

“Truly, Your Majesty, you have been watching all along.”

“Of course. With strides like this, it’s clearly worth investing in, isn’t it?”

Honestly, I can’t admit I was nervous about a potential launch failure! But anyway.

But yes, this is sufficient, isn’t it? The Duma seems happy about this too.

“Indeed. So, do you have the next goal in mind?”

Yeah. Of course. I need to say the same thing I told Maria.

“Our next goal is to reach space. Once Yuri Gagarin returns, we should begin cultivating other candidates right away.”

As if on cue, more applicants wishing to go to space have increased.

It’s time for a full-on promotion of Yuri Gagarin.

“We are heading out to space! How incredibly sweet.”

“There are countless stars out there. While Earth is still humanity’s cradle, the day may come when we leave this place.”

Perhaps it’s still quite far in the future, but there could indeed come a day when humanity truly departs from Earth.

“And by the way, Eva Perón sent me this letter.”

I had the letter circulated around among the councilors.

At a glance, it looked like a letter asking if it was left in our care.

“My, what is it that they’ve entrusted us with?”

Sure enough, there were some councilors indignant about it.

“I can see why. With the United States above us, we must demonstrate some achievements to show we’re not lagging behind.”

Alisa Rosenbaum viewed it calmly.

Yeah, our Alisa seems to really get things.

“What if we just trade some resources for the basic technology?”

“Already overflowing, and we need to speak of more resources?”

The more resources we have, the better.

As the pool of usable resources increases, we can leverage that to make further advances.

Grabbing resources is our stepping stone to the future.

“Essentially, we should squeeze a bit from them. Resources should never be limited.”

With those resources, we can develop all of Europe.

How magnificent would that be?

With investment in the Far East, Israel, the Balhae Federation, and Japan, we’d be completing our bulwark against the United States.

“You’re planning to keep the US in check through South America.”

“But when it comes to checks, it’s primarily about space technology.”

Honestly, I doubt that the South American Union will last long.

Eva Perón is enthusiastic, but she’s too radical.

They’ll provide support, but how far will they actually get?

After all, if they ruin it, by the time the US moves in, we would have already surged ahead.

“Please take good care of Yuri Gagarin’s family. He’s a hero who daringly advanced toward space with no regard for his life. His family deserves ample respect. Let’s name the Rome Treaty’s space research facility after Yuri Gagarin.”

Yuri Gagarin Space Research Institute. Isn’t that magnificent?

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Now then, we’ve talked enough about space. Next issue.

Looking at what has come up, there’s also the topic of vaccines.

“Is there sufficient supply of the polio vaccine?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. This report comes from the integrated Department of Health and Welfare of the Rome Treaty Headquarters regarding polio.”

Upon reviewing the report, it’s quite proactive.

Polio has always been a concern, and apparently, vaccination rates in major urban areas have hit 100% almost immediately upon rollout.

“The polio vaccine has been distributed rather quickly.”

I was somewhat surprised by the efficiency of the polio rollout.

After all, it’s from the United States that’s bringing it in with a plan, so it should go this well.

“Thanks to simultaneous distribution among European nations.”

“Are there any holdouts?”

Looking at the data, there are such individuals around.

Despite the high distribution rate, their resistance seems suspicious.

Are they really planning to reject the Rome Treaty’s policies?

The Rome Treaty is united now. There aren’t any national opposition groups, so if some refuse to be vaccinated, that’s concerning.

Should I force them to get vaccinated?

“Mostly from the socialist factions. They’re claiming they won’t take anything unverified, especially technology from a rival nation.”

What are the socialists even worried about?

“Are there still leftists around?”

Socialists are practically the same as Reds, aren’t they?

The commune has died off, yet the socialists remain?

Are they the types who won’t resort to armed struggle but will chatter endlessly?

“Yes, we can probably categorize them like that. In addition, there are separatists in the Danube Federation opposing the unification and those from the Serbian Autonomous Region who are saying they won’t take vaccines from those who brought their nations to ruin.”

Oh dear, that’s just ludicrous.

Clearly, Hitler wasn’t on the level of some hypnotic app.

Well, now a handful of socialists might just shout about worker welfare from the shadows, rather than inciting revolution.

“This is why liberalism can be problematic. It allows anyone to spout off on anything. Under a dictatorship, at least they’d be forced to shut their mouths.”

I can’t simply deal with those types.

With such a high vaccination rate, it’s maddening that Serbia is like this. But there’s no way I can just kill them all.

Maybe isolate those who aren’t vaccinated?

“We need to resolve these issues.”

“How about making them pay fines for not getting vaccinated?”

Fines would suit perfectly.

Regardless of whether they’re socialists or not, they should just cough up some light fines, and if they want to ignore polio, that’s their problem.

“Even if they are socialists, they have money, don’t they? But would a failed state have funds to pay fines?”

Yugoslavia. No, these Serbians are likely pretty hard-pressed even within the Danube Federation or Bulgaria.

They don’t seem to get treated all that nicely in Bulgaria either.

“If they don’t like it, they can be deported abroad, so they can’t reproduce.”

“Well, there’s a bit of a desire among couples from that side who are expecting children.”

“Is there pushback from their surrounds?”

No matter what, they just irritate me even when they’re already crumbled.

When you think about it, it’s these Serbs who selectively do the evil deeds without having any power. Even after falling apart, they still refuse to listen.

“These Serbians sure are a tough breed.”

I really despise them.

Just the very history itself rubs me the wrong way.