Pulling Some Strings

Although they had long guessed what would happen, it still exceeded Wakanda's expectations.

Black Panther came over to complain again. "You've really dumped a huge problem on me."

"Didn't you already have contingency plans?" Kino asked with a smile.

"But who could have expected this many people?" Black Panther looked thoroughly vexed.

Although they had stated that Wakanda would bear no responsibility should deaths occur, how could they truly avoid responsibility? Setting everything else aside, if too many people died at once, it would spark negative international public opinion. When that happened... Wakanda would have to make concessions under pressure.

Only a week had passed since the announcement, yet more than three thousand people had already gathered in the countries surrounding Wakanda.

Three thousand.

They looked like a huge crowd when packed together, but spread across the neighboring countries, they were fairly scattered. Yet one issue was crucial: there were not many places near the borders of those countries where adventurers could stay.

This was nothing like Baarle Town on Earth in Kino's previous life.

That town was divided directly between two countries. In Belgium, it was called Baarle-Hertog; in the Netherlands, it was called Baarle-Nassau.

National borders were generally drawn in the outskirts, with barbed wire and sometimes heavily guarded troops; at the very least, the boundary was clearly defined. But Baarle Town was truly interwoven, with each country embedded within the other. The boundary was marked simply by plus-sign-shaped bricks on the ground.

The damn funniest part was that some houses were split in half as well. You could eat in Belgium, then sleep in the Netherlands at night.

You might not even know where to pay your utility bills.

But it had one advantage.

There were places to live along the border.

That would not work in