At a federal press conference, after Mr. Truman finished reading his prepared statement and announced the Q&A session, every er immediately raised their hand.
“You, second lady from the right in the front row…” Mr. Truman pointed to a female er not far from him.
She had golden hair, a sweet face, and a very attractive figure. She was also a well-known socialite in Eminence’s high society.
Socialite
is a curious profession. A writer once described them as
keys no one can refuse
—able to unlock most doors in the world with ease.
Whether it’s the heart, a house, or a zipper, these women possess techniques only women can master.
With a bit of background and status to support it, people tend to desire things that are not easily accessible. That’s why some become obsessed with them, and even pay for their company.
Though they could live well just by flaunting their charm, these women still choose to do something
serious,
to prove their success isn’t just because they’re good at getting on their knees.
That’s also the prevailing mindset in the Federation now: a person’s private life and professional development should be viewed separately. In other words, a woman sleeping with her boss has no bearing on her promotion.
As more career women emerge, any woman with even a little social standing now appears at all sorts of events to reinforce this idea in a deeper way.
Mr. Truman knew this er. She had her own column in The Federal Times, was an independent journalist, a Golden Press Award winner—her network in Eminence was vast and complex.
Choosing her to ask the first question was partly because of her status and connections. With no apparent conflict of interest, Mr. Truman didn’t mind doing her a favor.
Also, her being a woman made her a fitting first speaker. This era’s men, while looking down on women to some extent, were also unusually tolerant of them.
“Thank you…” The female er stood. Someone in the back whistled, but she ignored it and calmly asked her question. “Mr. Truman, if the ruling regime in the Kingdom of Nagaryll undergoes changes—or is even overthrown by its people—will that impact the Federation’s local interests?”
“Also, if more regions declare independence, could that trigger war and affect our investments?”
She paused briefly to collect her thoughts. “I mean, we’ve poured so many resources and so much energy into the region—if we’re abandoned, all our early investments will be lost because we can’t predict what will happen next!”
Though framed as a question, it was really more of a discussion. Mr. Truman looked at her for a moment, surprised that a woman could pose such a deep, layered inquiry.
In fact, she hadn’t even laid out the full scope, but Mr. Truman understood what she meant. There were three main points:
Would the current monarchy be replaced?
Could the independent regions maintain friendly cooperation with the Federation?
How would the Federation protect its assets in a worst-case scenario?
“A good question!” Mr. Truman praised sincerely. The er smiled and sat down, ready to take notes.
After a brief pause, Truman gave his answer. “No matter what changes occur in Nagaryll, our role is not to
change
anything. As we’ve said before, the Federation respects all national governments and will never interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. This is our global promise.”
“If the current regime stays in place, we’ll continue our friendly diplomatic relations. If there’s a change, we’ll actively engage the new government to reestablish ties and continue our cooperative projects.”
“Furthermore, we understand and respect the decisions of leaders in breakaway regions. Where necessary, we will encourage them to negotiate with the central authority and support peace efforts to the fullest.”
“At the same time, we will demonstrate our sincerity and determination in all ongoing projects to ensure our interests are not violated. We also commit that we will not initiate the use of force to resolve our concerns!”
It was a very official answer, but Truman conveyed everything he meant. The ers were satisfied—this was much more direct than other press conferences, especially Truman’s final line:
“We will not initiate the use of force.”
The keyword was
initiate
—which meant that force was not off the table. If other methods failed, military action was still an option.
Ever since the Federation’s naval victory over Gephra, citizens had developed a mysterious confidence in their military. Some even hoped the Federation would pick fights left and right.
This was pressure from the isolationist era finally being released after years of repression.
After answering this question, the ers again raised their hands in frenzy. Mr. Truman casually pointed to one of them. “The gentleman in the blue T-shirt—the one that says…” He paused. “…
Fuck Me
.”
International language isn’t always literal. In different contexts, the same phrase can have different meanings. That
Fuck Me
shirt was more a symbol of disdain and defiance toward misfortune—a way of mocking adversity.
But once read aloud, all nuance disappeared.
Amid laughter, a slightly embarrassed er stood up. He’d left home in a rush that morning and had put on the wrong shirt.
He took a deep breath and calmed down. “Mr. Truman, I’ve been following several international news agencies, and some suggest the Federation has played a dishonorable role in all this. What’s your response?”
This viewpoint is actually quite common internationally. Nagaryll had experienced decades, even centuries of stability before establishing relations with the Federation. But in less than two years, there were riots, protests, independence movements—it’s hard for even Federation citizens to believe their country isn’t involved.
“Baseless nonsense,” Truman replied. “A few years ago, when Gephra was at its peak, every global incident was framed as their conspiracy. Now it’s our turn!”
“In fact, this only shows how much global influence the Federation now has. People fear we’re gaining too much importance in world affairs, maybe even shaping the future of the international order. That’s why they slander us—just as they once slandered Gephra.”
“I hope everyone views this calmly and rationally. We’ve reiterated many times—we do not interfere in other countries’ internal affairs. And we mean it.”
“All these malicious speculations are the greatest insult to our goodwill. You can hand those articles to my aide after the session—we reserve the right to seek justice and defend ourselves!”
It was powerfully assertive—unlike anything seen before from the Federation.
Under the previous president, the most frequent press conference statements were
We decline to comment
and
It’s unrelated to us
. Now, it was all about asserting authority, warning the world in an aggressive tone.
This thrilled domestic journalists. Some foreign ones looked uneasy. A powerful Federation didn’t serve international interests—and worse, it wasn’t just powerful, it was still growing.
Many feared the Federation might become a second Gephra. That would be a disaster.
Worse still, they weren’t even tolerating
speculation
from international media anymore. It was
just speculation
, yet they were threatening action. These people really couldn’t take a joke!
After a short pause, Mr. Truman pointed to a third er. “The gentleman in the baseball cap…”
“Thank you, Mr. Truman!” The man, another domestic er, asked a more practical question compared to the previous two. “I recall that not long ago the Federation stockpiled a large amount of Valier. Now that the Valier is plummeting on the foreign exchange market…”
“If the Nagaryll government fails to resolve its crisis and collapses, wouldn’t that mean the Federation’s decision to treat the Valier as a reserve currency was a mistake? Wouldn’t we face massive losses? How do we explain that to the taxpayers?”
National funds come from taxpayers. If the Federation’s reserves—measured in billions—turn to worthless paper because the Valier is removed from international markets, that would be a real disaster.
This was what people cared about most—not tens or hundreds of Sol, but billions in foreign reserves. How many people’s taxes had funded that? Would the Federation really let it all go up in smoke?
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