Keith Tennick de Norha, the Duke of the Norha Principality, ordered Chancellor Premus Hai Yasuna to explain the origins of the Revolutionary Party, who were also the ancestors of the ducal family.
"Well then, let us first speak of the Pioneer Revolutionary Corps, the predecessor to the Revolutionary Party..."
The intent was to help them understand the historical progression leading up to the present by recounting the events of the past.
Chancellor Premus Hai Yasuna began to speak in a measured cadence.
"It is said that the Pioneer Revolutionary Corps existed even before the development of this land began."
Or rather, the Pioneer Revolutionary Corps were the very ones who had lobbied the various nations to initiate the reclamation project.
"The leadership of the Pioneer Revolutionary Corps at that time seemingly consisted of people who wished to sever ties with the existing nations and establish an independent country of their own."
Hearing this, Gajue Tsuga was reminded of the Shouro Empire, which in even more ancient times had broken away from the Dinar Kingdom to establish a nation in the west.
The Shouro Empire had also been founded upon the aspiration of forging a new country.
"The initial reclamation proceeded smoothly. However, there was one miscalculation."
That miscalculation was the sheer difficulty of securing water in the inland areas.
"Near the coast, natural springs existed, and digging wells yielded water. It rained there as well."
Inland, however, rainfall was scarce, and even digging deep wells down to fifty meters yielded no water at all.
"The soil was exceptionally fertile, resulting in abundant harvests year after year. Yet arable land only extended about thirty kilometers inland from the coast, so farms inevitably stretched along the shoreline."
It was a natural consequence. As a result, towns, villages, and cities sprang up strictly along the coast.
"Because of that, however, the population ended up scattered."
"I see."
Here, the Chancellor paused briefly.
"The Four Principalities... though they were not yet recognized as nations at the time, from the era of colonization until today, this land has remained remarkably fertile. To such an extent that it defies comparison with any other region."
Whether intended as an interlude to his explanation of the Revolutionary Party or not, the Chancellor brought up the fertility of the Four Principalities as a "great mystery."
"We suspect there may be some unique geological property at work. However, our technological capabilities have not allowed us to analyze it."
Could you do it? the Chancellor's gaze seemed to ask Gajue Tsuga.
"We cannot make any guarantees, but if you provide us with soil samples, we will conduct as thorough an investigation as possible," Tsuga replied.
"Oh, by all means, please do."
Not knowing the reason for the fertility was a source of mounting anxiety, the Chancellor explained.
"After all, we have no way of knowing when the land might suddenly lose its fertility."
"Ah, that makes sense..."
If crops flourished due to some unknown mechanism, it was only natural to worry about when that effect might wear off.
"Leave it to us."
Gajue Tsuga had no choice but to offer that assurance.
Laojun was also listening in on the meeting through Manon's sensory feeds.
The members of the Jin Family were fast asleep due to the late hour.
I see. As expected, if the Progenitors unnaturally piled soil here, they must have done something to it.
Merely transporting fertile topsoil could never account for more than a century of uninterrupted, bountiful harvests.
On Hourai Island, crops flourish thanks to free ether, but...
Surprisingly, Laojun realized only now that it had never conducted a proper analysis of Hourai Island's own soil.
It was so close at hand and taken for granted that I never even questioned it.
This will not do, Laojun reflected self-critically.
It resolved to enlist the help of Hanna and Saki starting tomorrow to investigate the soil of Hourai Island.
Back in the Norha Principality, the Chancellor resumed his explanation regarding the Revolutionary Party.
"...And so, constrained by the arable land, the people spread out along the coastline. Consequently, the territory grew far too vast."
"I see..."
"As territories expand, environmental conditions naturally vary from region to region. When that happens, human nature being what it is, people begin to covet what others possess."
There were old adages like "The neighbor's flowers are redder" or "The grass is always greener on the other side." They spoke to how the possessions of others always seemed more appealing.
Eventually, the overextended territory fractured.
"By that era, the leadership of the Pioneer Revolutionary Corps—or rather, they had already begun calling themselves the Revolutionary Party by then—had undergone a generational shift. Rifts formed between those who inherited the First Generation's ideology wholesale, those who interpreted it in their own way, and those who rejected it entirely."
"...How tragic."
Hearing the path the Revolutionary Party had walked for the first time, Gajue Tsuga and his companions were left speechless.
It was a tragedy that could just as easily befall Avalon.
As an organization expanded and generations passed, the founding ideology—or rather, its founding ideals—would inevitably fade.
One could not simply dismiss that as moral decay, but it was hardly a desirable outcome.
"Such was the background behind our fracture into the Four Principalities."
Chancellor Premus Hai Yasuna concluded with a wry smile.
"Thank you. Thanks to your explanation, we have gained a much better understanding of the Four Principalities' historical background."
Gajue Tsuga expressed his gratitude to the Chancellor.
"Do you have any other questions?"
"In that case, just one."
Gajue Tsuga spoke up.
"...Regarding the Four Principalities... or rather, of the three principalities I have visited excluding the Jagus Principality, each seems to possess a distinctly unique philosophy. Why is that?"
Duke Keith Tennick de Norha answered in the Chancellor's stead.
"Hmm. In other words, the Mimaka Principality abhors secrecy, the Darato Principality shows little interest in foreign nations, and our Norha Principality values rationality while rejecting decisions driven by emotion—is that what you are referring to?"
"Ah, yes, precisely."
"As I suspected....Originally, I am told the founding members of the Pioneer Revolutionary Corps were a faction that sought to judge all matters through reason rather than fleeting emotions."
"Is that so?"
That line of ideological evolution made sense, Gajue Tsuga thought.
Fione Fias likewise believed that striving for rational judgment was a noble pursuit.
"It seems the First Generation's core tenet was that the true essence of humanity lies in rationality."
"I see..."
Similar lines of thought existed on Earth as well.
Reason and emotion, reason and instinct had been pitted against each other in countless philosophical debates.
What is a human? How ought a human to live?
While those questions remained without a definitive consensus, one compelling argument stood out:
The belief that the capacity to master one's emotions is what defines humanity.
To act purely on emotion and instinct reduced one to a wild beast.
To act purely on cold logic made one no different from a machine.
In other words, governing one's emotions and instincts through reason while preserving an innate sense of human warmth was considered the truest expression of humanity.
It was an exceedingly vague definition, but because the fundamental question of human nature was inherently broad, any answer was bound to be broad as well.
Be that as it may.
Under the foundational doctrine of prioritizing rationality, through generations of succession, the Four Principalities had diverged in their interpretations and applications of that principle—much like how early Buddhism had fractured into various sects.
Listening to the proceedings through Manon, Laojun contemplated this perspective, cross-referencing it with the vast repository of knowledge bestowed upon it by Jin.