Chapter 119: The World Expo

Ravendawn, Dawn City

Several days before the World Expo officially began, Dawn City was already bursting at the seams.

Visitors poured in from every corner of the world. Merchants. Nobles. Officials. Opportunists who didn’t quite fit any category but smelled profit in the air anyway. They all came for the same reason:

the first-ever World Expo, where every participating nation would proudly showcase its latest advancements.

Science.

Magic.

Technology.

Tamed rare monsters.

And anything else that could be wheeled in, displayed, or explained with enough confidence to pass as impressive.

Both the old port and the newly expanded port of Dawn City were operating at maximum capacity. Ships lined up in long, patient queues, waiting their turn to unload passengers and cargo. Sailors shouted orders, dockworkers cursed loudly, and tired customs officials gulping not enough coffee.

The Dawn Airport was no less chaotic. Flights arrived nonstop, most of them packed with demon tourists from Murica.

Not because they cared about science.

Not because they were curious about cultural exchange.

But because everyone else was going.

FOMO was a powerful force.

The citizens of Dawn City were ecstatic.

Every inn was fully booked.

Every tavern was packed from morning until well past midnight.

Local shops were flooded with visitors buying souvenirs they didn’t need but absolutely wanted.

Even citizens who had never sold anything in their lives suddenly discovered a lifelong passion for commerce. Overnight, stalls appeared everywhere, selling snacks, charms, commemorative mugs, and suspiciously generic “World Expo Limited Edition” merchandise.

No one wanted to miss out.

The Murican private sector was equally delighted.

Every major hotel was filled with foreign VIPs, wealthy nobles, and merchants with expense accounts larger than some kingdoms’ treasuries. Airline and cruise ship routes were booked solid. Corporate lounges were constantly occupied.

Friendly nations busied themselves negotiating with Murican company representatives—discussing natural resource extraction, public transportation systems, infrastructure projects, and various other things that, inconveniently, only Murican technology could provide at scale.

Business was booming.

Optics were immaculate.

Everyone was smiling.

---

Dawn City, Murica Embassy

And all of this, every last bit of it, only worked because of Bub.

The official face of the World Expo.

Who was currently not smiling.

“WHY DO I NEED TO LIE ABOUT THE MISSILE RANGE?!”

Bub’s voice echoed through the embassy meeting room.

Present with him were Stan, Mo, and Hannya. All of them sat calmly at the table. All of them looked like men who had already accepted this conversation was inevitable.

“Because,” Stan replied flatly, “we don’t want our enemies to know our real capabilities, you idiot.”

“But those are my children!” Bub wailed, clutching his head. “What kind of parent goes around telling people their children can’t read and write when they’ve already finished a thesis?!”

“We told you this from the beginning,” Mo said with a tired sigh. “You’re allowed to showcase some of our military capabilities at the expo. Under very specific conditions.”

“Tch.” Bub clicked his tongue. “Don’t say it like you’re doing me a favor. You’re only allowing this because other kingdoms already know about missiles and fighter jets anyway.”

“Well,” Hannya added calmly, “there’s no realistic way to keep that secret forever. Muricans travel. Muricans talk. Muricans brag.”

“Exactly,” Stan said. “Which is why it’s better to give them wrong numbers.”

“Booohoohoo…” Bub whimpered, covering his face with his hands. “But cutting everything down to one quarter of what they can actually do is just too cruel.”

The room fell silent.

No one corrected him.

No one comforted him.

No one cares.

---

Dawn City, Helton Hotel

While Bub, the official face of the World Expo, was busy being emotionally devastated somewhere else, the other side of Dawn City told a very different story.

Inside the luxurious Helton Hotel, in a private meeting room insulated from noise, chaos, and inconvenient moral questions, the true architect of the Expo was having a wonderful day.

Monny.

The brain behind the entire idea.

He sat at the long meeting table, surrounded by several foreign officials dressed in luxurious medieval attire. Silks. Gold trim. Jewelry that quietly screamed ancient wealth and current anxiety.

Monny’s usual grumpy expression was gone. In its place sat a look of pure satisfaction.

“Minister Mammon,” King William began carefully.

Formerly Duke William of the Meridinian Alliance.

Formerly part of something bigger.

Currently a king again, after retracting his small kingdom from the rapidly collapsing alliance.

“As you requested…”

He placed several scrolls onto the table with visible care.

“This is the report from my kingdom’s survey team. We found what you referred to as oil, and several other materials within our territory.” He smiled cautiously. The kind of smile used when one’s national security depended on good manners.

“And here is the report from my kingdom’s survey team,” King Emmerson added quickly.

Formerly Duke Emmerson of the Meridinian Alliance.

“We found minerals you called nickel, cobalt, and several others. Hehehe.”

The nervous laugh gave him away.

The other two kings followed suit, placing their own scrolls onto the growing pile at the center of the table.

“Ah, thank you very much,” Monny said pleasantly. “That must have been quite troublesome. Conducting so many surveys is never easy.”

“Oh no, no problem at all!” King William said hastily. “Your team helped tremendously, after all. So, anyway…”

He hesitated for just a fraction of a second.

“Will these be sufficient to smooth our path toward joining the… Democratic Peacekeeping Coalition?”

Monny leaned back and adopted a thoughtful pose.

“Hmmm.”

“I’ll need my researchers to verify all of these reports first.”

The atmosphere in the room immediately tightened.

Four kings exchanged uneasy glances.

“Minister Mammon, please…” King William said, his voice carefully controlled. “Joining the coalition would greatly ensure peace in our kingdom. It would deter other kingdoms by making them think twice before invading us.”

“Oh?” Monny replied mildly. “What’s the problem? Doesn’t the Meridinian Alliance lack strength now? Its members are leaving one by one, and the Dwargonian forces keep pounding their capital and cities.”

“I-it’s not them,” King William said quickly. “It’s the other former Meridinian Alliance kingdoms. They are actively building up their armies. No one knows when they’ll decide it’s profitable to invade us.”

“Ah. Them,” Monny said easily. “Yes, I remember.”

He flipped through the scrolls absentmindedly.

“They’ve also sent proposals to join our coalition.”

The four kings froze.

Their expressions darkened in unison, like a synchronized eclipse.

Monny carefully kept his smile from becoming too sharp. He knew exactly how well he had played this hand.

“But,” Monny continued smoothly, “since all of you approached us first, of course we’ll prioritize you.”

The tension in the room loosened slightly.

The four kings visibly relaxed, just a little.

“Especially if…” Monny added, glancing down at the pile of scrolls, “Murica can assist you in mining these newly discovered resources.”

He paused.

“With… friendly shares. And friendly prices.”

“Of course. Of course,” the four kings replied in unison. “We wouldn’t even know what to do with them ourselves.”

“Hohoho,” Monny chuckled. “It’s always good to have more friends.”

He waved a hand dismissively.

“Don’t worry. As scheduled, we’ll handle the signing during the Economic Summit on the final day of the expo.”

All four kings let out a collective sigh of relief.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

One of Monny’s aides entered the room and leaned in to whisper something into his ear. Monny nodded once.

“Well, gentlemen,” Monny said pleasantly, “I don’t mean to be rude. But let’s continue this discussion at our next meeting. I have representatives from another kingdom waiting.”

The collapse of the Meridinian Alliance and Murica’s cooperation with Dwargonia had truly worked wonders in reshaping how other kingdoms viewed Murica.

Monny knew this.

And Monny intended to use it.

Down to the last penny.

---

Dawn City, Trampton Hotel

But scheming was not exclusive to the host.

Some of the guests had arrived carrying schemes of their own.

Inside one of the luxurious rooms of the Trampton Hotel, the Celeste Foreign Minister sat at a table. A portable mana-comm rested neatly before him, faintly humming with stored mana. Two holy knights stood at his sides, motionless and watchful.

Then the door opened.

The Elvandar Grand Magus Paerith entered, followed by two elven mage escorts. He said nothing as he walked across the room and took the seat directly opposite Ignacio.

Paerith gave a short nod to his escorts.

The two elven mages immediately began casting sound barrier spells, layering the magic carefully around Ignacio and Paerith. Once the barrier fully formed, the mages and the holy knights turned away, positioning themselves as guards while granting privacy to the meeting.

“…any other members of your group sneaking around at night?” Paerith asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes,” Ignacio replied flatly. “A servant and a soldier were caught visiting Murican… night clubs nearby.”

His irritation was obvious.

“And I suspect many more managed to sneak out without being noticed.”

Ignacio paused, then continued.

“The ones who were caught also testified that they saw elves in those same night clubs. Drinking. Getting drunk.”

“What?” Paerith’s eyes widened. “My people drink alcohol?”

His jaw tightened.

“Grr… I will find them. And heavy punishment will await them when we return home.”

“Sigh…” Ignacio said quietly. “The Muricans are deliberately trying to corrupt us by placing us near these so-called night life entertainment districts.”

Suddenly, the portable mana-comm on the table began to glow.

An incoming call.

A child’s voice echoed cheerfully from the device.

“Hello, Mr. Ignacio. Mr. Paerith,” the voice said. “How is your visit to Dawn City?”

“I cannot wait to return home, Priest Raphael,” Ignacio replied immediately.

“Ah, you should learn to enjoy your visit, Mr. Minister,” Raphael said lightly. “Understanding enemy culture and all that.”

“I believe it would be a waste of time to learn something we intend to eradicate in the future,” Paerith scoffed.

“Ah, that’s actually pretty true, haha,” Raphael replied.

Then his tone shifted back to business.

“Anyway, how is our pavilion progress over there?”

“Everything has been built according to schedule on our side, dear Priest Raphael,” Ignacio replied politely.

“And your side?” Paerith asked. “Is it finished?”

“Of course,” Raphael answered cheerfully. “Completed. And functioning exactly as planned.”

“As expected,” Ignacio said, “when the brightest minds from the Church, Celeste, and Elvandar work together… nothing can stop us.”

“That’s right!” Raphael replied, his voice still cheerful.

Then turns cold.

“Nothing can stop us. Not even the demons. By the third day of the Expo…”

There was a brief pause.

“The demons will regret ever inviting us.”