LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 390
Nasser seems like he’s going to dodge somehow.
“It’s hard to believe that he hasn’t profited at all. Still, it seems he’s pondering budgets for modernization and purchasing weapons from the Rome Treaty.”
“Since before we arrived?”
“Yes.”
Is this Nasser guy even skilled at all?
At least in this world, he seems to know what’s going on. But I have no idea what he’s really up to.
The history of the original world doesn’t seem to matter any longer.
—
Republic of Egypt
President Nasser of Egypt immediately sprang into action upon hearing the news that Gaddafi of Libya had been beheaded.
He had to move.
He needed to prepare before the Tsar arrived in Egypt.
If you think about it, he could easily come through Turkey now, and the fact that he hasn’t makes it pretty obvious. “I’ll give you a chance, so hurry up and get things sorted.”
“So, you’ve prepared, right? The opponent is that Tsar. You absolutely must not give him a justification. Understood?”
Under no circumstances should he provide justification.
“I’ve already prepared everything, but will the Tsar accept it?”
What if the Tsar decides to stomp with brute force?
I hope that doesn’t happen. After all, Egypt has no power to fight against Europe.
The Rome Treaty is, after all, a coalition of powerful nations.
To be honest, isn’t it tough just to fight against Turkey alone?
“As soon as the investigation team arrives, let’s cooperate as much as we can. In the end, what they’re trying to find out is how far our modernization has progressed, right?”
Progress in modernization.
What the investigation team wants to know is how far the money they provided has been used. How much has Egypt developed? That’s what they want to see.
They want to see it with their own eyes and show their will through actions.
At least he’s firm on his support base unlike Gaddafi.
He has never carried out purges.
Of course, to be precise, he has dealt with some political opponents but didn’t get into trouble by using force like Gaddafi did.
“Yes. That’s right. But our situation is not that different from Libya.”
That’s unavoidable.
But at least we’ve distributed budgets from before.
It even includes a significant portion from Suez added to the national budget.
After all, you can’t lie to the Rome Treaty.
They are producing results in some way.
“Then we must do it right this time. Ah.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Didn’t you prepare the budget properly?”
“Uh? Yes. You mean for the pyramid repairs?”
The Tsar is also working on restoring the damaged Eiffel Tower and covering its surface with marble while restoring ancient sites.
Of course, excluding the parts that can’t be perfectly restored due to lack of technology.
Egypt was inspired by the Eiffel Tower and came up with a plan to repair the pyramids.
To be exact, that’s just a pretext.
It would be pretty normal to use that budget elsewhere.
“Yeah, I could turn a blind eye to that. If we say we’ll pour all the budget into the pyramids, who could oppose that?”
A plan to restore the pyramids.
The Tsar, who loves justification, wouldn’t have any argument against that.
—
On my way to Cairo, I carefully read through the documents sent by the investigation team.
Repair and expansion of infrastructures damaged during the Second World War by the Italian People’s Army.
Support for private enterprises. Modernization development. Introduction of Rome Treaty-style welfare plans.
And there was something noteworthy among them.
“The pyramid restoration plan?”
A lofty plan called the pyramid restoration plan.
Oh, this is somewhat interesting.
What are the pyramids after all? They were called mysteries even in the 21st century, weren’t they?
I heard that even as of the 21st century, technology was so lacking that they couldn’t fully dig them up, and they were surrounded by mysteries.
And the surface, originally covered in white limestone, looked spectacular.
“Yes. To restore the pyramids, we factually had to use a portion from Suez.”
Using a portion from Suez, huh.
It definitely sounds like restoring the pyramids will cost a fortune.
Even if it’s restored according to this era’s standards, it’d just involve some surface coating, right?
But, let’s say they take that away.
If that’s the case, then what goes into Nasser’s back pocket?
“Something going to Nasser’s back pocket too?”
Isn’t that a tough part to cover up?
Nothing that goes into someone’s back pocket can be used ethically.
“It seems he thinks it’s hard to set up a separate budget, so he planned to stash it away for himself…”
Stashing it away for himself, huh.
It reeks, doesn’t it? Honestly, where in the world would anyone fess up to something they pocketed?
I don’t know how he’s managing without a Middle Eastern war, but human nature generally means nobody gives up what ends up in their back pocket.
This is just patching together nonsense.
“He’s quite good at patching things together.”
But I don’t dislike that sort of thing.
Isn’t it somewhat nice to see someone scrambling to make a living?
Then we should offer him something in return. Perhaps some share of the tourism revenue, even if not ownership of the pyramids.
It shouldn’t be a problem since we’ve been pushing hard all this time.
How much have we pushed into modernizing Egypt so far?
Even if we take a cut of the tourism revenue from Egypt, that money would eventually find its way back into Egypt’s pockets.
From their perspective, it’s not so bad.
I bet Gaddafi in the afterlife would be indignant, thinking why he had to die, but if he had accepted the investigation team, they might have locked him up and considered special pardoning. But whatever. That’s fine.
This way, we have no justification for sending in the army.
Maybe I should go see it firsthand. If Nasser is willing to bend, there’s no need to make it like a commissariat.
But then again, didn’t I mention that the justification was the pyramid restoration?
So, the answer is obvious. If he’s going all out for the pyramid restoration, then we can ensure his neck is safe.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how to deal with the pyramids anyway.
How can we take possession of those pyramids?
“It’s an honor to meet Your Imperial Majesty!”
“Nice to meet you, President Nasser.”
I must say, I’m truly honored to meet you like this.
You’re going to restore the pyramids for us; how wonderful is that?
From the looks of it, he seems to enjoy free goodies. But still, compared to Gaddafi, doesn’t he appear to know his place better?
It’s just a matter of degree. They’re quite similar in some ways.
I wonder if the late Gaddafi is shaking in his boots, asking why he had to die, but honestly, taking down a presidential person is more justified than going after a military dictatorship.
“I never imagined you would personally visit.”
He’s bowing his head as if he’s being crushed.
“Well, it’s better than bringing an army.”
Or should I bring the army back again?
Honestly, most of them have already been withdrawn, and not many remain, but I could mobilize the Turkey forces at any time. Anyway, Nasser will have to bow his head.
“I’ve heard news about Libya, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm. Right. I see you acted wisely after seeing Libya’s fate.”
It’s pathetic to see how he’s bending.
This guy’s been old enough to know better, too. Tsk, tsk.
“Your Majesty, Egypt—I mean, I as Nasser have never attempted to embezzle funds.”
Gosh. Is Nasser pretending he knows nothing?
It’s kind of cringy for a grown man to speak in the third person, but it seems he’s trying to express his sincerity by saying that.
Sure, I’d probably act similarly to avoid losing my head.
I’ve heard that later, Gaddafi’s body was chopped up into tiny bits.
“How much revenue do we get from Suez? Why are you even saying that?”
“That’s something I’d gladly give my life for, but…”
“So, would you die if I ordered you to?”
I pulled a gun from my breast.
The kind that’s just perfect for self-destruction. It has that nice grip in the hand.
As I waved it around, it looked like I was about to hand it to Nasser, and he started sweating profusely, then banged his face against the ground multiple times.
That’s some typical behavior you’d expect to see in the East.
“Please spare my life! Your Majesty!”
Yeah, yeah. That’s what you should do. Wearing a deathly expression like that.
“I’m just kidding. I heard you were planning to restore the pyramids, right? After all, they are Egypt’s most iconic heritage sites.”
I’m very interested in those pyramids.
How could I not be? Considering I’m all about tearing down the Eiffel Tower, I want to refurbish the pyramids as well.
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Great. If you’re going to restore the pyramids, I’ll let that slide.”
I’ll consider that point.
Now that we’ve brought this up, you should understand what’s about to happen.
“You are to repair the pyramids and restore them to their originally beautiful state covered in limestone.”
“You mean, not to maintain them as they are now?”
In this world where I exist, it won’t simply be a matter of repairs.
It’ll be a restoration to their ancient appearance.
After all, everything will fall apart with time, so isn’t it better to repair them now instead of waiting?
“Didn’t you originally say you’d repair the pyramids based on the Eiffel Tower?”
I know your true intentions very well.
Though you claim it’s based on the Eiffel Tower, in truth, you’re only trying to damage control for what you’ve embezzled. If this keeps up, when time comes for an authentic investigation, you won’t be able to justify it. So, I’ll utilize this to my advantage.
“R-Right.”
Unable to grasp the meaning behind my words, he merely nodded.
President Nasser is going to have a tough time ahead, huh?
He’ll have to restore the pyramids throughout his term while somehow managing the affairs of the nation.
It’s fortunate he isn’t dead yet.
“So you’re giving me a chance. Use all the funds to restore the pyramids.”
“Yes. Understood, Your Majesty.”
“Even so, after distrust has sprung up, we need to have appropriate safeguards in place.”
Trust has already been shattered.
That means we need to bring in a political adviser and check that the money we’re providing is being used properly.
We’ll have to bring in accountants or financial experts, ensuring things run smoother with less involvement from Egyptians directly.
Of course, I don’t plan on meddling with Egypt’s tax revenue.
After all, Egypt is an independent nation in name and reality.
“What do you mean by that?”
“For now, political advisers will be dispatched from the Rome Treaty, and we’ll station some troops to protect Egypt and ensure proper management of the pyramids.”
Isn’t that reasonable?
“Your Majesty, that would make us a colony—”
“Why would we want a colony that brings no benefits to the country? Support for modernization will continue, of course. Just focus on developing the pyramids.”
What on earth is appealing about Egypt to make it a colony?
I regret to say that I think they’d need to have some redeeming qualities to become a colony.
If it became a colony of AI Anastasia, they ought to consider it an honor, but someone as nice as me could never engage in the disreputable act of creating colonies.
“Your Majesty, that’s—”
Ah, this guy still hasn’t gathered his wits.
If it comes to that, we might have to forcibly take over.
“If that is your answer, then we’ll have to take care of this ourselves—”
“No! I will accept it, Your Majesty!”
There you go. That’s how you should accept it. Now, Egypt’s future has been decided.
The pyramids will become tools for the Suez-centered nation. For Nasser, it’ll be like crying while eating mustard, but if he’s eager to conquer the Rome Treaty, he should power up. If not, giving up is the right answer.
Now he’ll have to devote all his efforts into restoring the pyramids, huh?
Using the pyramids as an excuse is going to end up being the biggest mistake of his life.
“Yeah, he should have done that from the start. Isn’t this conversation going so smoothly?”
Let’s not waste time on trivial matters. Let’s do well.
Although the idea of being the Queen of Egypt is somewhat tempting, given its rich history. It’s an ancient civilization, after all. Of course, I have little interest in mummies, but then again, would it be better to just raise a king instead?
“Yes. That’s right, Your Majesty.”
“We’ll also search for someone well-versed in architecture on our side and send them over to cooperate. Just know there’ll be consequences if you think otherwise.”
I could take your head off anytime!
So you better keep your mouth shut and comply.
Just become our pawn and work hard on restoring the pyramids.
Given this vibe, becoming a king is somewhat of a stroke of luck for him, too.
Though there’s insufficient justification to behead him like Gaddafi.
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
“Shall we establish a king then?”
It seems Egypt is considering raising a king after witnessing the rise of a king in Libya.
Seeing as they’re trying to align with our interests, it’s clear they are quite scared.
“Yes, that’s what I’m thinking.”
“Your Majesty, why don’t you just become the King of Egypt yourself?”
Suddenly, Maria chimed in with nonsense from beside me.