We French Never Interfere in Other Countries' Internal Affairs. Please Look to Yourselves for the Cause!

(PS: Due to the author's mistake, the Republic of Burkina was placed in the wrong location. It should be in North Africa! All previous references to Central Africa have now been changed to North Africa.)

Monday, December 13.

Élysée Palace, Fourth French Republic.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

regular press conference.

"Thank you, spokesperson. A question from the Paris Daily.

Recently, during an interview with a reporter from the Soviet Union's Pravda, the president of the Republic of Burkina accused the French government of providing armed support to reactionary forces within his country and fomenting domestic terrorism, seriously harming the shared interests of his country and its people.

What is your comment on this? Thank you!"

Standing at the podium was a young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She had a nice figure, was very pretty, and was unmistakably from France at a glance.

"???"

Hearing the reporter's question, Marie visibly froze for a moment.

The Republic of Burkina?

Why did it feel as though I'd never even heard this country's name before?

In the space of a single second, Marie rifled through her memories but found nothing related to the Republic of Burkina.

Perhaps noticing Marie's predicament, a voice came through the earpiece in her left ear:

"It's a country in North Africa!"

"!"

The instant she heard "North Africa," Marie immediately understood everything.

Whenever something happened in North Africa, even if it was a sow having trouble giving birth, France must have secretly slipped it something behind the scenes.

So Marie could guarantee outright that whatever problems the Republic of Burkina was currently experiencing were absolutely the work of France behind the scenes.

But she could not say that aloud!

Marie looked toward the Paris Daily reporter, put on a practiced smile, and answered in a slow, gentle voice:

"First, I would like to reiterate here to our friends in the press-

France's consistent foreign policy has always been to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries and refrain from interfering in their internal affairs. France concerns itself only with its own domestic affairs.

Lastly, I would like to tell the president of the Republic of Burkina this.

When problems arise within your country, please first look to yourself for the cause. Is it because you have failed to do your job as president? Is it because you are oppressing and exploiting the people that they have risen up against your rule?"

Meanwhile.

Nijia, Republic of Burkina.

Aksang Brigade headquarters.

"Goddammit, it's already the sixth day, and those four brigades from the Ministry of National Defense are still sitting back watching the show! The orders said we were to take the lead, not that they didn't have to send a single man! A bunch of sons of bitches!"

Full Beard leaned back on the sofa, smoking a cigar as he cursed at the top of his lungs.

"Hah! Did you think that billion from the Ministry of National Defense would be so easy to get? Dream on! They want us to actually take a knife and carve off a chunk of our own flesh before we can get it!"

The commander of the Ailidun Brigade sat on the sofa opposite Full Beard. He shook his head with a bitter smile as he spoke.

"Phew-"

Sitting to Full Beard's left, the commander of the Drago Brigade tilted his head up and blew a smoke ring, then asked with a puzzled expression:

"What do you think is going on with this National Liberation Alliance? They were so good at fighting just a few days ago. A mere few thousand men kept all thirty thousand men in our four brigades pinned down, unable to lift our heads. But how many days has it been? And now they can't fight again? How can something so strange happen?"

"Who the hell knows what's going on with the National Liberation Alliance? All I know is that we're now bogged down fighting them in Nijia's eastern district. Sigh-"

The commander of the Duojialong Brigade, who did not like smoking, stood by the window. He sighed and continued:

"Never mind anything else. Yesterday alone, my Duojialong Brigade lost forty-eight men killed, including a battalion commander! Count the wounded, and it's even more!"

"You only lost forty-eight! Do you know how many men my Aksang Brigade lost yesterday? A full hundred! A full hundred! You lost a battalion commander, but I lost a fucking deputy regimental commander!"

At that, Full Beard took a fierce drag on his cigar, as though only this could numb and ease the grief in his heart.

Of course, he was certainly not grieving for the dead. His heart ached because the strength in his hands had been weakened.

"If we really can't manage it, why don't we just pull out? What do you think? At worst, we give up that extra billion. There won't be much left once it's split four ways anyway."

Seeing that the other three were all in low spirits, the commander of the Duojialong Brigade simply offered the suggestion.

"..."

He had expected support from the other three, but all he received was silence. Just as he began to think they could not bear to give up that extra billion, the commander of the Drago Brigade spoke:

"Is this still a question of whether you want that billion, Bal? The question now is clearly whether the Ministry of National Defense will let us leave!"

"???"

At this answer, Bal, the commander of the Duojialong Brigade, froze.

Seeing that Bal still had not caught on, Full Beard got straight to his feet and walked over to the military map hanging on the wall. Pointing at it, he explained:

"Look at the Ministry of National Defense's deployment. Our four brigades are up front, face-to-face with the National Liberation Alliance. And their four brigades? They're all behind us! They've even spread out like a net, trapping our four brigades tight inside Nijia's urban area.

If we dare take a single step back, I'll stake my life on this: the air force those high-and-mighty officials at the Ministry of National Defense keep claiming can't support us because of one problem or another will immediately appear overhead and start dropping bombs on us!"

"Hiss..."

Hearing Full Beard's explanation, Bal finally caught on and hurried over to the map. He studied it over and over, then could not help sucking in a cold breath.

"It can't be as terrifying as you say, Claude, can it? Our troops are part of the National Defense Forces' order of battle! And they only paid us a few days ago. Surely they wouldn't open fire on us over something this minor?"

Bal spoke like a drowning man making one last desperate struggle.

"So you do know the Ministry of National Defense only paid us a few days ago? What would it make us if we retreated now without their orders? Deserters, wouldn't it? Wouldn't that mean they could simply have us all shot?"

The commander of the Drago Brigade spoke with even a trace of mockery toward Bal in his voice.

"They wouldn't dare! We have-"

Before Bal could finish, he was interrupted by the commander of the Ailidun Brigade, who had said one thing at the beginning and remained silent ever since:

"Bal, grow a fucking brain! Will you? What do you think those four brigades the Ministry of National Defense sent are here for? You don't seriously think they're here to fight the National Liberation Alliance, do you?

They're here to fucking enforce battle discipline! Do you understand what the fuck 'enforce battle discipline' means?!!!"

"Uh..."

Bal froze for a moment under the torrent of abuse, but he still wanted to talk tough and said:

"But..."