Exchange of Interests

"Ah, political asylum you'll provide for me in the future?"

Hearing Gavin's proposal, the Speaker chuckled softly, his beard trembling along with his lips.

He merely chuckled and shook his head before speaking.

"Gavin, just now, your assessment of the promise I made you was that I was using an illusory future—one that did not exist in reality—to demand present benefits from you."

"Because I was trying to persuade the present you with conflicts that might arise in the future."

"But only a short while has passed, and the promise you've given me is likewise something from the future!"

"So you want to use an illusory promise, a promise to provide me with political asylum, in exchange for my recognition and acceptance of the current territorial division?"

"That really isn't a good reason. It truly isn't."

"But—fine, Gavin, I agree. Not because of this so-called political promise, but because I want our plan to proceed successfully!"

At that, the Speaker shook his head with a bitter smile.

Beside him, Gavin paced back and forth while nodding in satisfaction.

"That's wonderful, Mr. Speaker!"

Gavin replied to the Speaker with a soft laugh.

"Seeing us resolve our conflict over territorial division so easily is undoubtedly good news. More importantly, I can now see an opportunity for both of us to join hands through Golden Road and expand together."

"After all, only participants like us truly understand that what can prevent the Golden Road plan from succeeding will never be The Walking Dead, who have yet to develop intelligence. It will be people like us—people who crawled and fought through the apocalypse, who carved out a path through slaughter, and who have been tempered by iron and blood into something colder and crueler."

"If our two sides appear united while remaining divided, then