"Yucheng, there's another urgent matter in Inazuma that needs addressing. I just checked our current food reserves, and they'll only sustain Inazuma's people for half a year.
"And worse still, because of the war, vast stretches of farmland have fallen into disuse. Even if we make it to the next autumn harvest, yields will be extremely low, nowhere near enough to meet consumption. It will take at least fifteen months for food production to catch up with consumption, leaving us with a gap of nearly a year. How are we going to get through that?"
Yae Miko's words made Raiden Ei lower her proud head, her heart full of regret. Miko had made herself very clear: if she remained deceived for another six months, Inazuma would face an unprecedented famine. Those consequences would be far crueler than any war or natural disaster.
A famine could easily claim hundreds of thousands or even millions of lives. If the remaining food could only sustain a hundred thousand people, Inazuma's population would fall below fifty thousand. If the remaining food could only sustain ten thousand, Inazuma's population would fall below five thousand. That was how cruel famine was.
As a god, Raiden Ei had little need for food. She could go without eating or drinking, so it was difficult for her to understand just how serious hunger was for mortals. But hearing Yucheng's brutal answer, she unconsciously clenched her fists.
"Not only that, Inazuma's finances are also in serious trouble. Compensation for the Shogunate Army's wounded and fallen soldiers has been in arrears since the war began. And there's also..."
"All right, all right, I get it. In short, Inazuma is facing shortages of food, money, seeds, and even people, right?"
"...Yes."
"Not bad. It hasn't reached the worst-case scenario yet."
"Huh? This