Episode 137 — Prosperity That Steals the Future

Gustav’s footsteps were heavier than ever as he left Zect’s forest manor.

Normally, he would have hurried back to the Lord’s residence to begin debating with Argo and Edmon on how to implement the "logic" Zect had granted him. But right now, his heart wasn't filled with a sense of urgency or inspiration.

—Pressure differential.

—Unintentional plunder.

Zect’s words clung to him, refusing to let go. As if guided by an unseen hand, Gustav stepped away from his role as a ruler and walked toward the outskirts of the new city as a common man.

He headed for a worker's dormitory cafeteria at the edge of the industrial district.

Since it was dinner time, the air inside was thick with the heat and chatter of men wearing work clothes emblazoned with the Felsen Company logo. Gustav pulled his hood low over his face and approached a man sipping soup at a corner table.

"Pardon me... do you mind if I join you? I’d like to hear your story."

The man looked up, surprised. His hands were worn but sturdy—the hands of someone who had lived a long life on the front lines of labor.

"Who are you? ...Well, I don't care. My story isn't exactly 'entertainment,' though."

"Where did you come from?"

At Gustav’s question, the man let out a lonely, dry laugh.

"Duke Daryl’s territory. Back there, I was a master carver for high-end furniture for ten years. Under my old master, we’d spend days just finishing a single chair. ...But that’s over now. The moment Felsen’s 'cheap and sturdy standardized goods' flooded the market, our work became as good as trash."

"Did you... have no pride in your craft?"

The man stopped his spoon at Gustav’s words.

"Pride doesn't fill a stomach, friend. The guild dissolved, and the work vanished. I came here because I was starving... but if I’m being honest, this place is heaven. I pull a lever at a set time, and I get three times the wages my old master paid. I can actually feed my family. What more happiness is there?"

"So Felsen’s 'efficiency' saved you."

"It saved me, all right. ...But next month, I’m calling my apprentice who I left behind in Daryl to come join me. He’s got talent, but there’s nothing left for him back there except cutting down trees for timber. The 'craft' back home is dead. Everyone wants to run to Felsen."

The man went back to his soup. Gustav stood up in silence and left the cafeteria.

Individuals saved. Neighboring industries dead. Zect’s word—'castration'—pierced Gustav with the weight of reality.

Next, he headed to the suburban "Settlement Area." Families were tilling land granted by the Felsen Homestead Act using iron farm tools made in Felsen. A man, the head of a household, was stretching his back in the gathering dusk.

"You're working late. Those look like excellent tools."

"Oh, hello. These? Felsen-made hoes. I can't even get the job done without these anymore."

The man didn't recognize Gustav and patted his tool proudly.

"I used to be a tenant farmer in Marquis Loroa’s land. Over there, we were squeezed dry by heavy taxes, and the cheap wheat coming in from Felsen meant our own harvest wasn't worth a copper. It felt like the harder I worked, the poorer I became."

"Is it... different here?"

"Oh, completely! Every bit I till becomes my own land. Lord Gustav is like a god to us commoners. Everyone in Loroa is just looking for a gap in the border to escape to this side."

"That is... a blessing for Felsen. But what happened to your home village?"

As Gustav asked, a shadow flickered over the man’s face.

"I’m worried about my old man who stayed behind. All the able-bodied youth fled to Felsen, and I hear they can't even manage a proper harvest anymore. My father has a bad back, and I’m afraid he’s overworking himself. I keep writing to him, telling him to ditch the land and come here already. Loroa is finished as a nation."

Gustav walked down the dark farm road with the man's words trailing behind him. No one was resentful. Everyone praised Felsen—praised *him*.

But on the flip side, the "system" known as the surrounding territories was suffering a fatal, widening fracture. Furniture carvers were being overwritten as simple laborers, and villages were being plundered of their primary resource: labor.

Standing on a hill, Gustav gazed down at the lights of New City Felsen.

Until now, he had believed all that radiance was proof of his "justice." But now, it looked like the cold glow of a predator, burning bright by sucking the "future" out of its neighbors.

"Mr. Zect was right. I thought I was saving the people, but I was actually uprooting the very source of life from the lands next door. I have... monopolized the 'power' of Felsen for too long."

The night wind ruffled Gustav’s blond hair.

The pressure differential was reaching a critical point. If things continued, the cornered lords would eventually come to physically destroy the Felsen hardware as a matter of "self-preservation."

"I must stop the monopoly. I must distribute the functions. Felsen... has to change."

Gustav’s eyes filled with an unwavering resolve.

Tomorrow, he would visit that forest manor again. This time, not to protect their own prosperity, but to install a new OS called "Coexistence" onto the motherboard of the world.

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