"My country hereby declares its withdrawal from the International Energy Agency."
Yet another declaration—no one could even count how many times this had happened now—was made at an international summit attended by numerous countries from around the world.
The International Energy Agency was an international organization that handled energy resources such as oil and coal, and it had historically been centered around the countries that produced those resources.
Its role was to facilitate the smooth exchange of energy resources, smoothing out negotiations between supplier nations and demander nations through established regulations.
However, recently, the number of countries withdrawing from the International Energy Agency had surged.
This was essentially tantamount to declaring that they no longer needed resources like oil and coal—yet the withdrawals continued all the same.
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Most of them were small to mid-sized nations—countries that had been forced to bear considerable burdens in their energy policies—but among them were even some major powers that were not exactly in dire straits.
Every country that had made the declaration had solved its energy problems through MA Energy and no longer needed resources like oil and coal.
At first, MA Energy had faced no shortage of skepticism regarding its very existence. But when people actually tried the methods described in the paper, energy truly did seem to spring forth from nowhere.
Moreover, there was no environmental impact.
No air pollutants from burning oil and coal, no radiation, and no need for large-scale power generation facilities.
As long as you had the device, anyone could obtain energy with ease.
And the device itself was compact enough to carry around—at least the smaller models.
Even the larger variants were only about the size of a heavy truck, easily transportable.
You could keep one in every household.
With such a convenient device, energy that had previously cost a fortune was now readily available.
Developing countries pounced on it first.
The president of the Daztorudia Nation furrowed his brow at the representatives of the countries that had made the declaration.
He had foreseen this outcome.
And yet, he had stubbornly refused to approve the use of MA Energy within his own country.
His approval ratings had plummeted as a result, but he had no intention of changing his mind.
Dream energy produced from nothing.
Such a thing could not exist.
If it did exist, then that energy had to be coming from somewhere.
The problem was where it was coming from—and whether that energy was truly harmless.
After all, it was an unknown form of energy.
No one could say what kind of effects it might have on the human body.
And the method of human evolution that had been published alongside it—was it truly safe?
The president believed it was his duty to verify that.
As long as that verification remained incomplete, no matter how convenient it was or how desperately people craved it, he would not permit its use in his country.
But that was only because it was his own country.
He could not stop other nations from promoting it.
He could appeal to them, but ultimately the decision rested with other countries' politicians.
The president had repeatedly warned of the dangers, but whether anyone had heeded those warnings was plain from the current state of affairs.
Even if something might be dangerous, people could not feel a sense of crisis about a danger they did not directly face.
Rather than living in fear of an invisible threat, people chose the convenience right before their eyes.
All the more so when that convenience had the potential to transform the world entirely.
Of course, not every country had jumped on the bandwagon immediately.
Oil- and coal-producing nations stood to lose their greatest source of foreign revenue and were vocally opposed to MA Energy.
Several wealthy, advanced nations had also adopted a posture of quiet observation.
Even so, the world's momentum was tipping inexorably forward.
The reason was simple: the dangers of MA Energy had never been proven.
Use it as much as you liked, and it would never run out—and it could be generated from nothing.
What's more, no problems had surfaced so far.
It was truly dream energy.
Countries that had embraced MA Energy early on were developing at a breathtaking pace.
Watching that from the sidelines was an exercise in patience that few could endure.
Public opinion, too, was tilting toward an endorsement of MA Energy.
The human evolution method using MA Energy—it enhanced all abilities and, above all, extended one's lifespan. Countless people desired it.
However, undergoing the procedure required MA Energy.
If a country did not legalize MA Energy's use, citizens could not receive the treatment.
It was therefore inevitable that more and more citizens would call for MA Energy's legalization.
This trend was particularly pronounced in advanced nations.
Developing countries pinned their hopes for national growth on MA Energy; advanced nations were drawn in by the human evolution method.
There was no longer any way to stop this tide.
The president knew that he could not hold the Daztorudia Nation back forever, either.
He still had time left in his term, but even that was not guaranteed.
Impeachment was a real possibility.
The president sighed.
Did they realize?
That the person behind those two papers was Potimas Haranifenas?
A criminal wanted internationally for committing unspeakable human experimentation?
And there was one more thing.
Something that nagged at the president.
Two factions had taken a negative stance toward MA Energy.
One was the dragons.
The dragons, who rarely initiated contact with humans unless directly interfered with, had made an active declaration.
Do not touch MA Energy.
Those dragons, of all beings.
Just knowing that gave him nothing but a bad feeling.
The other was the Saliera Church.
Its leader,
Both were warnings from beings that existed entirely outside the bounds of human common sense.
The president believed it would be unwise to ignore them.
And yet, the world's momentum would not stop.
Could not be stopped.
At this point, the president would come to deeply regret that he had not tried harder—even resorting to military force if necessary—to put a halt to it back then.
But time could not be turned back.